the search is on
Tomorrow morning, we hop a flight to Manchester, NH and from there we'll drive up to the NEK (that's North East Kingdom, Vermont also known as BFE - and you'll have to figure that acronym out for yourselves.) The object? Find a place to live. And, also, attend some wedding in New Hampshire on Saturday. But mostly, I'm interested in the finding a place to live part.
We've got four places lined up to look at, and hopefully one of those will be both livable and within our budget. It doesn't have to be perfect; buying a house is on next year's agenda, so wherever we live, it will be more temporary than most places I've lived since college.
OH - and, yes, Jay's PhD defense was yesterday, and YES, he survived. Mostly. One of his committee members... well, some of his commentary afterwards seemed like a "mine is bigger than yours, so there" kind of thing. And generally, I think the man is just not a happy guy. But as one of the other students put it: critical is good, but there's no need to be an asshole. But Jay got enough signatures to pass, though he needs to do more revision work than he hoped. So it will still be another 2 to 6 months before the Doctor Jay is official. Fortunately, it doesn't affect the job in Vermont much. Minor salary difference is all.
In the meantime, I recently had an encounter with a person who reminded me of an important lesson I learned that had a rather large impact on my attitude toward life... or perhaps it was just representative of my pigheadedness at an early age. I don't have time to do the story justice tonight, but I'll post when I get back on the 4th. Anyone else have any formative experiences in the pre- "age of reason" years?
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Friday, June 24, 2005
Mawwiage
My high school AP US History teacher, Mr. Oskey, used to tell us how he met his wife and fifteen minutes into their first date proceeded to ask her to marry him. Six weeks later, they were hitched. Pure insanity, right? Well, maybe not. At the time of the telling, they had been married for over twenty years and had three children. The rush had to do with Mr. Oskey's pending overseas posting with the Army.
My parents were a more standard case, I think. Except for the 16 year (okay, 15 and a HALF) year age difference. They met in 1972 (my mom graduated from high school in 1971), married in 1974, and had me in 1976 and then my brother in 1978. After that, of course, their every 2 year life change schedule sort of broke down. Though they did move into our house in 1980. So let's just say that the 80s and 90s were a mess. Big time.
Jay and I met 4 years ago. Let's just say that we do not intend to wait 2 years to start having hairless monkeys of our own. Mostly because I'll be 30 next year and I don't want to be like my grandmother and keep having babies until I'm 46. (Mostly because I'd like a shot at knowing my own grandchildren, eh?)
This pace has suited me just fine. In fact, when I hear about some of our friends who have been together a lot less time than Jay and I, I tend to have the "what? didn't they just meet?" reaction. Some examples: one friend (female) still dating several people in May of 2003. By July of 2003 is functionally moved in with one of these boys. Six months later, they are engaged. Two months later: married. Crazy. Another friend (male): starts dating girl with newborn last spring. three months later she is pregnant again. They are married by February and now have a baby girl together as well as one that "came with". Seriously crazy.
On the other end of the spectrum, Jay was in a wedding in 2003 for a couple who had been together for 9 years, engaged for 7. They went to college togther but then their grad school plans didn't mesh, so they lived separately for several years. My understanding is they want to start trying for kids in the next year or so. So that's the other side of the extremes I've witnessed.
Experiences? Comments? Boredom?
My high school AP US History teacher, Mr. Oskey, used to tell us how he met his wife and fifteen minutes into their first date proceeded to ask her to marry him. Six weeks later, they were hitched. Pure insanity, right? Well, maybe not. At the time of the telling, they had been married for over twenty years and had three children. The rush had to do with Mr. Oskey's pending overseas posting with the Army.
My parents were a more standard case, I think. Except for the 16 year (okay, 15 and a HALF) year age difference. They met in 1972 (my mom graduated from high school in 1971), married in 1974, and had me in 1976 and then my brother in 1978. After that, of course, their every 2 year life change schedule sort of broke down. Though they did move into our house in 1980. So let's just say that the 80s and 90s were a mess. Big time.
Jay and I met 4 years ago. Let's just say that we do not intend to wait 2 years to start having hairless monkeys of our own. Mostly because I'll be 30 next year and I don't want to be like my grandmother and keep having babies until I'm 46. (Mostly because I'd like a shot at knowing my own grandchildren, eh?)
This pace has suited me just fine. In fact, when I hear about some of our friends who have been together a lot less time than Jay and I, I tend to have the "what? didn't they just meet?" reaction. Some examples: one friend (female) still dating several people in May of 2003. By July of 2003 is functionally moved in with one of these boys. Six months later, they are engaged. Two months later: married. Crazy. Another friend (male): starts dating girl with newborn last spring. three months later she is pregnant again. They are married by February and now have a baby girl together as well as one that "came with". Seriously crazy.
On the other end of the spectrum, Jay was in a wedding in 2003 for a couple who had been together for 9 years, engaged for 7. They went to college togther but then their grad school plans didn't mesh, so they lived separately for several years. My understanding is they want to start trying for kids in the next year or so. So that's the other side of the extremes I've witnessed.
Experiences? Comments? Boredom?
Thursday, June 16, 2005
More highlights
And I am totally going in to work for a couple hours tomorrow, despite the phlegm gagging thing. So bored here at home. Eyes tired from reading both online and off... and I have only so much tolerance for tv. Need some human interaction.
So the antibotics have completely reduced my bowels to water. Dirty water. Sick sick sick. Sorry for sharing. I'm not going to take the final day's worth. I need my bacteria back, dammit.
The tattoo on my wrist would actually look even better if I had reddish-brown skin. The IV bruise on my hand has drifted.
Jay was in the room when the tubes were YANKED. from. my. NOSE. Though he was very definitely staring down at his meteorology notes, his comments afterwards were roughly: "Oh no, didn't want to see it. Tried very hard not to look. But then he pulled that thing out and you... LAUGHED." :shudder: :shudder:
So... the women in my family tend to laugh hysterically under the influence of moderate pain. It's when we go dead silent that you have to worry.
And I am totally going in to work for a couple hours tomorrow, despite the phlegm gagging thing. So bored here at home. Eyes tired from reading both online and off... and I have only so much tolerance for tv. Need some human interaction.
So the antibotics have completely reduced my bowels to water. Dirty water. Sick sick sick. Sorry for sharing. I'm not going to take the final day's worth. I need my bacteria back, dammit.
The tattoo on my wrist would actually look even better if I had reddish-brown skin. The IV bruise on my hand has drifted.
Jay was in the room when the tubes were YANKED. from. my. NOSE. Though he was very definitely staring down at his meteorology notes, his comments afterwards were roughly: "Oh no, didn't want to see it. Tried very hard not to look. But then he pulled that thing out and you... LAUGHED." :shudder: :shudder:
So... the women in my family tend to laugh hysterically under the influence of moderate pain. It's when we go dead silent that you have to worry.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Hmmm
After having subsisted on mostly liquids and squishy foods for five days and being a bit wonky in general from the antibiotics and aftereffects of anesthesia, do not be surprised when your tummy ache presages wicked diarhea, Likewise, do not be startled by its flaming crimson color. Recall, instead, the remarkable staining power of the mighty beet. (Holy crap... no pun intended... freaked me out for a minute last night.)
Also, I would pay a lot to be able to blow my nose. But not until Saturday.... sigh. Gagging up bloody snot is losing its glamour somehow. Yeah. Somehow.
After having subsisted on mostly liquids and squishy foods for five days and being a bit wonky in general from the antibiotics and aftereffects of anesthesia, do not be surprised when your tummy ache presages wicked diarhea, Likewise, do not be startled by its flaming crimson color. Recall, instead, the remarkable staining power of the mighty beet. (Holy crap... no pun intended... freaked me out for a minute last night.)
Also, I would pay a lot to be able to blow my nose. But not until Saturday.... sigh. Gagging up bloody snot is losing its glamour somehow. Yeah. Somehow.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Recovering: and why I love Jay
I look kind of like I'm wearing a tribal mask at the moment... yes, I'll post pictures eventually. The area around my eyes is very yellow, with purple stripes starting near my eyebrows including two that look like Nike swooshes under both eyes. Most interesting are the two green - yes, GREEN - stripes falling from the corners of my nose down to my chin. Those, I'm fairly certain, are new as of today.
I also have a small trio of bruises on the inside of my right elbow and a spectacular capsule-shaped bruise about 3 inches long on my left hand from the IV. I miss the pretty turquoise color they were two days ago. Alas.
We just got home from the follow-up appointment. Dude. They had some nastyass TUBES up my nose. And they had to YANK. Them. OUT. Motherfucker. So gross.
But the nose looks good - healing well, straight but swollen on the outside, and the inside evidently looks even better than the doc had hoped. So that's all good. And some day I might be able to scrape the last of the adhesive from my pores... so unsexy.
So Jay was a total rockstar for this whole thing. Went with me to the hospital and waited until I went in for surgery. He was there when I woke up and I think I only told him to fuck off once when he asked me where on the pain scale I was. He filled my meds and drove me home and stayed with me for the next 24 hours - the first night he got up every 2 hours to check on me. Got up during the night for the next two nights as well. Also entertained my niece, going way above and beyond the call of duty to make sure she had a good visit. All of this is made more impressive by the fact that he's in the final crunch days before his PhD defense. What a guy.
He has emptied countless bags of bloody tissues and made sure I had things I could eat. Even homemade applesauce - my favorite! So between him and my mother, I was well taken care of during the last five days. I'm still sleeping on the couch to protect my nose for the rest of the week, but good things are in his future if you know what I mean.
Anyway, I'm doing okay. Still in a bit of pain and definitely weak from lack of sleep and lack of regular meals. But starting to feel human again. yay.
I look kind of like I'm wearing a tribal mask at the moment... yes, I'll post pictures eventually. The area around my eyes is very yellow, with purple stripes starting near my eyebrows including two that look like Nike swooshes under both eyes. Most interesting are the two green - yes, GREEN - stripes falling from the corners of my nose down to my chin. Those, I'm fairly certain, are new as of today.
I also have a small trio of bruises on the inside of my right elbow and a spectacular capsule-shaped bruise about 3 inches long on my left hand from the IV. I miss the pretty turquoise color they were two days ago. Alas.
We just got home from the follow-up appointment. Dude. They had some nastyass TUBES up my nose. And they had to YANK. Them. OUT. Motherfucker. So gross.
But the nose looks good - healing well, straight but swollen on the outside, and the inside evidently looks even better than the doc had hoped. So that's all good. And some day I might be able to scrape the last of the adhesive from my pores... so unsexy.
So Jay was a total rockstar for this whole thing. Went with me to the hospital and waited until I went in for surgery. He was there when I woke up and I think I only told him to fuck off once when he asked me where on the pain scale I was. He filled my meds and drove me home and stayed with me for the next 24 hours - the first night he got up every 2 hours to check on me. Got up during the night for the next two nights as well. Also entertained my niece, going way above and beyond the call of duty to make sure she had a good visit. All of this is made more impressive by the fact that he's in the final crunch days before his PhD defense. What a guy.
He has emptied countless bags of bloody tissues and made sure I had things I could eat. Even homemade applesauce - my favorite! So between him and my mother, I was well taken care of during the last five days. I'm still sleeping on the couch to protect my nose for the rest of the week, but good things are in his future if you know what I mean.
Anyway, I'm doing okay. Still in a bit of pain and definitely weak from lack of sleep and lack of regular meals. But starting to feel human again. yay.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Scheduled
Alrighty. I am officially scheduled to be at the hospital at 12:15pm tomorrow afternoon. This kind of sucks, because I'm not allowed to eat anything after midnight tonight. Hmm. However, in light of the fact that they aren't getting around to me until afternoon, I am graciously allowed to drink water or clear juice until 8am. Wow. Thoughtful, eh?
I am mostly not thinking about it. Because, truly, I have no idea what to expect and I suspect it might be better that way. Naturally, I've read everything I can find regarding the whole shebang, but everyone responds differently to these things. I've heard enough anecdotal evidence to figure that much out.
So we shall see. I might be offline for a few days. Then again... I might not. We shall see.
Alrighty. I am officially scheduled to be at the hospital at 12:15pm tomorrow afternoon. This kind of sucks, because I'm not allowed to eat anything after midnight tonight. Hmm. However, in light of the fact that they aren't getting around to me until afternoon, I am graciously allowed to drink water or clear juice until 8am. Wow. Thoughtful, eh?
I am mostly not thinking about it. Because, truly, I have no idea what to expect and I suspect it might be better that way. Naturally, I've read everything I can find regarding the whole shebang, but everyone responds differently to these things. I've heard enough anecdotal evidence to figure that much out.
So we shall see. I might be offline for a few days. Then again... I might not. We shall see.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Because while blowing off steam is well and good...
I don't want my pissy post to be the first thing I see when I come in. So really, there's no purpose to this post except to knock the other down a bit. I could delete, but I meant what I said when I said it, and... hey, whatever.
But now that I'm thinking of it...
I was a little bit disturbed at the phone call I got from my surgeon's assistant today. She called to ask if the cosmetic portion of the surgery was all we were doing on Thursday... and I'm like, Nooooooo, that's the secondary reason for my getting sliced up, thanks. I'm really more concerned with the whole "being-able-to-breathe" thing. And she quickly replied that in that case she would make sure to schedule that in.
???
Um. Surgery is THURSDAY. Shouldn't this have been scheduled weeks ago? Like when you called to confirm scheduling with me on May 3rd? Hmmm? The call I should have gotten today should have been from the scheduling people at the hospital to confirm my day, time, and procedure. Not reassuring. This better not get derailed. This week is really the only time I can do this this year. I'm not even sure if I will have health insurance as of August. And I have no idea how far I would have to travel in Vermont to get a similar set up. I'm guessing it would be farther than the 3 blocks I now live from the major medical center in the area... Just maybe. So maybe I should call back tomorrow and double check everything. I confess that I was so surprised by the nature of her call that I didn't clarify exactly what I am expecting to happen on Thursday. And the fact that she didn't seem to have any idea whether I had paid their $1500 or not rather unnerved me as well. Hmm.
Might be worth that call.
I don't want my pissy post to be the first thing I see when I come in. So really, there's no purpose to this post except to knock the other down a bit. I could delete, but I meant what I said when I said it, and... hey, whatever.
But now that I'm thinking of it...
I was a little bit disturbed at the phone call I got from my surgeon's assistant today. She called to ask if the cosmetic portion of the surgery was all we were doing on Thursday... and I'm like, Nooooooo, that's the secondary reason for my getting sliced up, thanks. I'm really more concerned with the whole "being-able-to-breathe" thing. And she quickly replied that in that case she would make sure to schedule that in.
???
Um. Surgery is THURSDAY. Shouldn't this have been scheduled weeks ago? Like when you called to confirm scheduling with me on May 3rd? Hmmm? The call I should have gotten today should have been from the scheduling people at the hospital to confirm my day, time, and procedure. Not reassuring. This better not get derailed. This week is really the only time I can do this this year. I'm not even sure if I will have health insurance as of August. And I have no idea how far I would have to travel in Vermont to get a similar set up. I'm guessing it would be farther than the 3 blocks I now live from the major medical center in the area... Just maybe. So maybe I should call back tomorrow and double check everything. I confess that I was so surprised by the nature of her call that I didn't clarify exactly what I am expecting to happen on Thursday. And the fact that she didn't seem to have any idea whether I had paid their $1500 or not rather unnerved me as well. Hmm.
Might be worth that call.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
A request is not to be met with an attack: or WHY I have a "bad" attitude right now.
Make a simple request... repeatedly. Well, nevermind.
Got a few more leads on education jobs, including one teaching English at Jay's college. Might be interesting. Probably wouldn't pay all that well, but definitely good experience. We shall see - the resume is sent.
Nita asked how did Jay and I meet... would you believe me if I said the Great and Powerful (and at the time FREE) Yahoo Personals? Sigh. Well, it would be true. Amazing what you can find online these days. The returns policy is a bit shaky though... grrrr.
I'm sorry. I'm abandoning three years of career building efforts to follow your sorry ass to Ice and Bug-filled Nowheresville. I expect to be treated like a fricking PRINCESS until I resettle. M'kay? I'm so glad we have that resolved. You asked if there was anything you could do to help me. I said only, "don't be an asshole this summer." Not a huge request, considering. You're not being very helpful at the moment. And as a helpful hint for future survival... never talk to me like I'm a five year old unless you INTEND to escalate the disagreement.
On another note... 5 more days until my facial rearrangement. I. Can't. Wait. woo.
Also - the US vs Costa Rica game was awesome. The Real Salt Lake vs FC Dallas sucked ass. I will never sit through a double-header again. Especially not when the second game is so blatently a waste of my time.
Damn, I'm in a pissy mood now. Thirty minutes ago, before Mr. Speed Walker decided to go Fundamentalist on my ass, I was having a good night. Funny how that works. I guess if I didn't care, I wouldn't be so irritated.
Make a simple request... repeatedly. Well, nevermind.
Got a few more leads on education jobs, including one teaching English at Jay's college. Might be interesting. Probably wouldn't pay all that well, but definitely good experience. We shall see - the resume is sent.
Nita asked how did Jay and I meet... would you believe me if I said the Great and Powerful (and at the time FREE) Yahoo Personals? Sigh. Well, it would be true. Amazing what you can find online these days. The returns policy is a bit shaky though... grrrr.
I'm sorry. I'm abandoning three years of career building efforts to follow your sorry ass to Ice and Bug-filled Nowheresville. I expect to be treated like a fricking PRINCESS until I resettle. M'kay? I'm so glad we have that resolved. You asked if there was anything you could do to help me. I said only, "don't be an asshole this summer." Not a huge request, considering. You're not being very helpful at the moment. And as a helpful hint for future survival... never talk to me like I'm a five year old unless you INTEND to escalate the disagreement.
On another note... 5 more days until my facial rearrangement. I. Can't. Wait. woo.
Also - the US vs Costa Rica game was awesome. The Real Salt Lake vs FC Dallas sucked ass. I will never sit through a double-header again. Especially not when the second game is so blatently a waste of my time.
Damn, I'm in a pissy mood now. Thirty minutes ago, before Mr. Speed Walker decided to go Fundamentalist on my ass, I was having a good night. Funny how that works. I guess if I didn't care, I wouldn't be so irritated.
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