Month: August 2009 Page 1 of 2

drive, swell, sing, drive

I drove down to my parents for the weekend – it took the usual time to make the drive, and as usual, it felt like forever. My dad’s hand had swelled up as the result of an infection. He was on some antibiotics and some meds for the pain and was somewhat subdued for his birthday weekend.

We did get out on Saturday and went pretty much all over the region trying to buy some gifts for my cousin’s wedding. We also stopped at a 1/2 priced books and I of course went right for the papercrafts section. And was followed by a woman with headphones on – singing some kind of gospel music. Very loudly. I was determined not to react or be driven out – because that level of volume is either insanely rude or asking for a confrontation. She left first, but kept singing around the store at a lower volume before she finally left.
I spent the rest of the weekend with them, mostly just hanging out and watching movies. I brought my old Playstation 2 with me to donate to their pastor’s adopted son from the Ukraine – we dropped it off to him so he could arrange to have it shipped back to the orphanage where he used to live.
On Sunday, I drove back. Again, it took pretty much forever to make the drive. Last night, I dreamed that I was a substitute art teacher for an elementary school. Once I finally found the room, it turned into the nicest dream I’ve had in a long time.
That’s about it… back to a busy week at work. later…

cookie

My fortune cookie had no fortune today. It was empty.

Discuss.
(and no, I didn’t eat it by mistake)

lost, meetings, website

This is the first week of classes and there are always a few freshmen that get lost on campus. I always try to help when asked, but this year I got stopped by a guy that was “looking for the place where he could enroll for fall semester”. This, on the first day of classes for the fall semester. So, I gave him directions to the admissions building and wished him luck. He was going to need it.

I’ve got 4 meetings today. Count ’em – 4. That ain’t right. I think I need another note from my mom.
Finally, I made a few updates to my website. No real big changes, just a little re-org and some minor design tweaks. http://gozips.uakron.edu/~aws/

grandma, song

I got some good news about my grandmother yesterday – she had a colonoscopy that tracked the location of a secondary infection – which they were able to treat successfully within 24 hours. She talking again and more coherent. So, they’re going forward with a feeding tube in her stomach and from there she’ll head to a nursing home for rehab on her leg. It was a nice change from the flurry of bad news we’ve been getting recently.

In other news… there’s a sign in a neighbors yard on my street that says “Christie Croce for Clerk of Courts” – and every time I drive past I get a Jim Croce song in my head. It’s usually Don’t Mess Around With Jim, but occasionally Operator pops up. I’ll be glad when the election is over so I don’t get this compulsion to sing in my car.
That’s it for now… back to work…

tea, chipotle, day

I ordered my tea properly at Starbucks today – and the staff were impressed. I didn’t get a discount or anything, but I’m still pleased with myself.

In other food-based adventures – the Chipotle burrito was awesome today. As usual. And it was gigantic. Which is also awesome.
Almost done with work for today – looking forward to getting into more comfortable clothes and playing some video games.
That’s about it – not much to report. later…

appointment, call

I was up early this morning to take my room-mate to the doctor’s for the “real” appointment. His aunt wasn’t able to take him and one of his friend’s didn’t get the message in time. So, a little cranky I had to take more time off of work, we headed up to the doctor’s office.

We were about 30 minutes early and three other people that arrived after he did got seen before him. Finally, 45 minutes after the appointment time, he got seen. I had a book with me, so I was sort of okay, but it was irksome. Apparently, one of the technicians that was going to help him with a “bone growth stimulation device” was running late and that threw everything off.
I took my room-mate back home and went on into work. No problems with taking the time off as far as the boss is concerned, but it still troubled me a bit. I’ve got a reputation for not taking time off – which I guess is why the boss wasn’t phased by it. Still, you know, grumble.
I talked to my sister last night, she was very upset about an email she’d gotten from my aunt about my grandmother’s condition. Grandma just doesn’t seem to be getting better and there’s a general idea that perhaps she’s giving up. My sister and I counter that maybe she needs more things to look forward to and some positive reinforcement. We’re going to start sending her lots of get well cards – maybe a little smile from her Ohio grandkids will help.
Well, back to work…

commencement, doctor, swim

I attended the commencement ceremony on Saturday for one of our former student assistants. The ceremony was a little on the dull side, but it went a little quicker than I expected. They didn’t use the ceremonial mace – much to my disappointment. Afterwards, pictures were taken and cookies were eaten, and presents were given. I headed out soon afterwards and got changed into much cooler clothes.

I took off work this morning to take my room-mate to the doctor for his 10 day follow up after his surgery. We were early to the doctor’s office – a full day early. His appointment is actually tomorrow – but we didn’t find this out until we were already at the office. His aunt will take him tomorrow, I think. Kind of a waste of time and the verdict is still out on where the confusion was – but at least I wasn’t at work.
Finally, the ONAT pool reopened today. Nice wide lanes, clean, and uncrowded. And hot water in the showers afterwards. Heaven…
Well, just got a big project – better get to it.
later…

i.g.s.g.t. , word, pool

Since they don’t seem to stock the Tazo Tea I like at the local starbucks, I’ve been getting the shaken iced tea. Apparently, I keep asking for it “wrong” and they always change the order of what I say into the Starbuck’s lingo. This time, I paid attention and should be able to order “correctly” next time – and maybe save just a little of the collective brainpower of the universe.

Iced Grande Sweetened Green Tea
Please make a note of that.
Back on the job, I’ve been trying to unlock a Word 2003 document. And we don’t have the password to go in there and make change. It’s not going well – we may have to recreate the form from scratch. Annoying.
That’s about it, just another day at work – though it’s Friday which is cool. Oh, and the pool is still closed. Color me slightly cranky about that. Mainly because I don’t like being teased and that’s what they are doing with the ever changing “tentative re-open dates”.
later…

tweet, shoulder, graduation, game

I finally set up my phone to send updates to twitter. I’m still using this as a haiku poetry archive so I won’t get updates from other people sent to my phone – this should help me keep a handle on my charges. I’m still not using it enough to justify paying for a full texting plan.

My shoulder is still bothering me and though it hurts a little less, it’s now wrapped all around my back and somehow up to my jaw on the right side. I’m not sure how to do a stretching exercise to cover all those areas.
The summer graduation for the campus is on this Saturday. I had been invited by a former student assistant to attend and she’s arranging for a meet-up for her friends beforehand. The meeting place she’s chosen is the only good land mark in the area – I’m guessing it will be pretty crazy there. I’m going to make a big sign to hold up and help gather the group.
I’ve been playing Mirror’s Edge a bit recently – and I find myself lunging at the screen to try and help the character make a difficult jump. I’m glad no one watches me play video games.
Time to get back to work…

back, slow, grandma

My back and left shoulder are bothering me today – I must have slept on it weird. Reallllly didn’t want to get out of bed this morning, but I had to go to work. At least it’s quiet here – the boss is out today and I don’t have any big projects on fire at the moment. And I think I got an extra piece of bacon on my subway sandwich today – so, that’s cool.

My sister wrote a really nice post about grandma on her blog – even if she did diss me a bit about me being in a photo. 🙂 I added a link to her site on my blog.
I thought about writing about grandma a bit and some of the good times we’ve had over the years, but I find myself starting to tear up – just the thought that those times may be done troubles me enough that I don’t want to even think about the good times now.
I’m sure there’s a pile of psychology to sort out from that run-on sentence above, but I’m going to let it go for now. I can write about the clinical issues she’s going through, but really thinking about what it means really hits me.
I think I need to take a break, maybe get out of the office and get a few minutes of sunshine.
later…

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