Category: Uncategorized Page 86 of 157

a mistake

On June 14, 2010

After the division wide meeting this morning, I hit the pool for swim.

It was a mistake. I’m still having issues with it taking more effort/force to breathe out than it does to breathe in – so breathing out through my nose underwater was not very effective and quickly became somewhat painful. So, I switched to mouth breathing exclusively and while that worked, it felt unnatural. I only did 9 laps today, 1/4 mile, and I may wait until Friday to try again.

Disappointing, but hey, at least I didn’t drown.

Unrelated items

By admin

On June 14, 2010

In Uncategorized

I got my car back on Friday afternoon. It’s running quietly now and things seem to be back to normal. I’m still vaguely annoyed by it, but things could have been much worse.

I got a little sun this weekend and played some bocce ball. We tried to follow the “rules” at the start, but it sort of degenerated as time went on. I started to get over-heated and we cut the second game short. It didn’t help that we were playing in grass that was too tall – the inaccuracy of the throws made the game much longer.

Watched the movie Legion over the weekend. It was okay, but somewhat predictable. The big battle at the end was not as over-the-top as I would have liked, but like I said, it was okay.

Did a little reading, played a lot of assassin’s creed – good game. Watched some True Blood on DVD – excellent show. It follows the books to an extent, but then goes off in other directions that are just as good if not better.

We’ve got a division wide meeting coming up this morning. The free breakfast is nice, but the time it covers make it a little tough to stay on target for the day – I’ve got lots to get done this morning.

There’s a noise

By admin

On June 11, 2010

In Uncategorized

There’s a noise under the hood of my car. Or at least there was one yesterday at lunch time and again in the evening. A horrible grinding screeching noise. On the way to drop off my car at the dealership last evening, the noise seemed to stop. But since I’d already made an appointment of sorts (they are booked today, but they’ll take a look at my car as soon as possible) – I went ahead and left the car and the key.

It didn’t help matters that I was already cranky from the day at work. And I’m nearly always cranky when something goes wrong with my car. I’m a computer guy, not a car guy. I’m perfectly at ease in taking a computer apart – but only when backed up by information on the screen, or lack there off. With a car, though, it’s all meaningless warning lights and undefinable noises. Then getting a straight answer out of mechanics I’ve gone to is nearly impossible. And if you ask questions, well, then you’re an idiot that doesn’t know anything about cars. Which, duh, is why I bring the car in to start.

So, my co-worker was able to drive me in and my room-mate should be able to pick me up after work. I’m hoping it’s something simple and definitive – and not too expensive. Too much to ask for, I know.

My room-mate thinks I should buy his car when his lease is up – but, seriously, the headrests in that automobile are horrible. Seems like a silly reason to dismiss car, but I’ve ridden in there for long distances and after about 25 minutes I’m ready to cut my own head off to get some relief.

Makes me want to track down the engineer that designed those headrests and force him to sit in the car leaning back until he realizes what he’s done and apologizes. There’s where the recalls should be focused.

So, I’m not going to buy that car, but I may end up getting a Honda as my next car anyway. With a test drive focused on the head-rests.

See? I told you I wasn’t a car guy.

Breathe in, breathe out; also, adventures in personal hygiene and grooming

By admin

On June 8, 2010

In Uncategorized

I had about 27 hours of clear breathing before a cold hit me – and now I’m fighting to keep a clear nose and I’m apparently snoring again. I’m hoping it passes soon, right now it’s taking more force to breathe out than it does to breathe in – which feels pretty weird.

I’ve been busy here this morning, but feeling curiously out of sorts. Just kind of moderately irritated by little things. It doesn’t help that I’m waiting on a phone call to launch a site and I really need to hit the restroom. They are already a bit late and I’m hoping they call soon.

(later)

Well, we launched the site and things went poorly – though while I was waiting to hear back from people about what was going on, I had plenty of time to go to the restroom.

I had to raise my voice in my boss’s office – though not at my boss. I was trying to report in on the site launch and suddenly the room filled up with talking people. I finally raised my hands and my voice and proclaimed that I still had the floor. My boss backed me up and we finished up our discussion. I was still Mr. Cranky-pants most of the day though.

In other news…

I shaved my face the night before my nose surgery and then didn’t shave again for over a week. When it was finally time – or some would say past time – to shave, my electric razor wasn’t up to the task. Which was a bummer – since it takes three weeks or more to get used to using it. I’d suspected that I wasn’t going to be able to adapt – it irritated the skin on my neck something fierce. And then switching back to a razor to get the job done means I’ve lost ground with the shaver. Might be time to clean it up real good and put it away for a while and just go back to using a razor.

Back during the winter months I decided to try a new deodorant. I was starting to get a little concerned about the amount of chemicals I was putting on or in my body and thought taking aluminum out of the equation would be a good place to start. I switched to a mineral salt stick – you wet it with water, then apply. Simple. And effective during the winter months when I don’t sweat as much. Now that summer time had rolled around, it’s less effective. Primarily on the right side for some reason. So, this morning I switched back – at least for the next few months.

Finally, in totally unrelated news, I just watched a trailer for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Looks like a fun movie, but before I could watch the trailer, I had to sit through a commercial for Outback steakhouse. Isn’t a trailer a commercial for a movie? So, did I have to watch a commercial in order to watch another commercial? Is that what happened?

I’m doing much better now

By admin

On June 3, 2010

In Uncategorized

I had a doctor’s appointment this morning and I headed out to the office from home a bit early with the idea that I might get in a little early and get the splints removed from my nose.

Except that the doctor has two office – one on Massillon road and the other up in Cuyahoga Falls. And I was at the wrong one. They called ahead to the other location to let them know I was on the way.

I got on the road right away and headed out. I ended up being about 8 minutes late – and then the receptionist ignored me for 2 minutes before getting me signed in. It was another 5 minutes before the nurse took me back. The doctor was in a few minutes later and got right to work. The splints were held in place by a couple of small stitches and he snipped those – then braced me for the “removal”. His favorite part.

This is the best / least gross picture I was able to find on the web of what he pulled out of each side of my nose. The Splints. (sounds like the name of a band)

The only problem with this picture is scale – the splints from my nose were about 2.5 – 3 inches long and nearly as wide as a quarter. The whiter section in the picture was a tube and the whole thing was made of hard plastic.

It wasn’t painful coming out – but it was… intense. Gross and covered in mucus, the splints seemed far too large to have fit in my nose – I suspect these were actually lodged in my brain.

The doctor jokingly asked if I wanted to keep them – and I was slightly tempted to. But I declined and he said that they make a note in the file of anyone that does keep them – labeling them a little crazy. He did a little more clean up in there and then the nurse left and I quizzed the doctor about using the saline solution, when I could swim again, and horrible taste in my mouth (which should pass in a couple days).

So, overall, not that big of a deal. It took me a couple hours to train myself to breath through my nose again, but it does feel a lot better.

When I was out on campus later today…. I could smell the flowers.

a funny taste in my mouth

By admin

On June 2, 2010

In Uncategorized

1. I’ve had this for a couple of days – might be a side effect of coming off the pain meds from my surgery – but I’ve got a weird chemical taste in my mouth. It’s not horrible, but it’s persistent and nothing seems to get rid of it.

2. Found out that my next door neighbors had their vehicles broken into. Well, sort of. One had a window broken and the still turned on GPS stolen. The other was left unlocked and tools were stolen out of it.

My room-mate and I are substantially more careful than they are in general, but we talked a little about how we can be a little safer. It’s not a bad neighborhood by any means, but even good neighborhoods can be vulnerable to opportunity.

3. One of my co-workers has been without email for about 6 days now. His email is routed in a way that I’m pretty sure is unique to the entire campus – and I’m not sure why he just doesn’t do it like everyone else. If I was without email for 6 days – involuntarily – I think I’d be pretty ticked off and looking for a solution.

4. I’ve been playing Final Fantasy 13 for a few days now. It’s a good game – I think, I’m only 21 hours into it – but strangely linear for a game like this. The combat is fast paced and complex, but elements seem to drag or are overly simplified. I’m enjoying it, but it’s really not what I expected.

5. One unpleasant side effect from my surgery that no one told me about beforehand is that the anesthesia inhibits normal bowel function afterwards. I’ve managed – with difficulty – to go a couple of times since my surgery, but I’m essentially, well, full of it.

6. I did a full day of work yesterday and did okay – though I was pretty wiped out by the time the day ended. I slept pretty well last night and seem to be doing okay today so far, but I’ll be more glad than usual when the week is done.

7. I go in to have the splints in my nose removed tomorrow – which will be a relief though I’ve been told the actual process is terrible. Maybe I’ll get a heads up on what happened when I came out of the surgery – I’ve been told I was combative, but I don’t really know what that means.

8. Finally, the underside of my SoBe bottle cap told me yesterday “You’re so cool”.

The SoBe has spoken.

sneezing

By admin

On June 1, 2010

In Uncategorized

I just sneezed – twice. It was horrible. Felt like something inside my nose got knocked loose and was deeply pissed off.

It wasn’t as bad as my first post-surgery sneeze. I was advised to “not hold anything back” and as a result – from across the room – I managed to spray bloody mucus on the door to the basement. Not a lot, mind you, but enough that it made a noise when it hit.

Someday – hopefully soon – I’ll be able to blow my nose. I expect a choir of angels to appear and sing when that happens.

It’s all blood and mucus

By admin

On June 1, 2010

In Uncategorized

You’ve been warned.

My septum un-deviation surgery was last Wednesday and while it wasn’t a big deal as far as these things go, it was kind of monumental for me.

My room-mate was my driver and we got to the hospital at the designated time in the morning. I got checked in and I was signing some papers the clerk at the desk asked what the stack of papers I had was all about. I told her it was paper for Origami and my room-mate told her that I’d make her something. So, in the short time before the nurse called me back, I quickly made her a small origami person. She was excited and I was glad someone at least was having a good day.

The nurse had me change into a gown – which was more like some kind of purple construction paper than actual cloth (it also included what looked like a place to attach a vacuum hose that no one really explained to me) – and I got to keep my underwear on. Yea! Though, frankly, with the intense draining of my dignity I think I would have been better off naked.

The anesthesiologist made some jokes with us and seemed pretty cool – though she did mock me a bit for not moving my hand where they had harpooned me with the needle. She put something in my IV as they wheeled me away and there was no count down or anything. I was all of the sudden out.

I woke up in recovery with a horribly sore throat – cranky, and freaked out. Which I remember telling someone though I don’t remember much else. I woke up later feeling a little better but still having a rough go. I learned later that I was “combative” I first woke up.

I was dizzy for a while and tired, but by the afternoon I was ready to go home. I slept in the lazy-boy that first night.

My sister was in town on Thursday for a meeting and she stopped by to see me – which was cool. She brought some baby pictures and stayed for lunch. I had the first of my many milk shakes.

My MFR’s mom and grandmother stopped by for a short visit to see how I was doing. They didn’t stay long, but told me that I could call them whenever I needed anything.

So, it’s been a lot of napping – which I’m normally no good at – a lot of blood and mucus in my tissues, a lot of saline up my nose and a lot of breathing though my mouth. Which keeps the sore throat cranking away.

I’m headed back to work tomorrow, for a 1/2 day at least, and I’ll play it by ear. My doctor’s appointment isn’t until Thursday morning, so I’m going to take it easy. I’ve had no bruising and only a little swelling – but the marbles up my nose are apparently enough to wear me down. I’m going to play a little of a video game and then try to get to bed early.

I’ll try and fill in some of the gaps in this post later – I’m sure I’m forgetting things.

Oh, I wrote an apology to the staff at the hospital for being combative. It wasn’t my fault, but I still feel bad.

That’s it for now – wish me luck at work tomorrow.

I passed my pre-testing

By admin

On May 21, 2010

In Uncategorized

On Wednesday, one week before my septum un-deviation surgery, I went in to the hospital for pre-testing.

Which was a waste of time. I was told in advance that it would 30-45 minutes – it took 15.

The nurse practitioner took my temperature, my BP and pulse, listened to my heart (she seemed to have trouble finding that one), my lungs, and oddly enough, my stomach – which didn’t make nearly enough noise for her.

She looked in my ears, down my throat, and rubbed the sides of my neck. I have expected her to kill a chicken and examine it’s entrails to see if I was a good candidate for the surgery.

A little bit of paperwork, a few vague suggestions, and I was on my way. No idea how much my insurance is going to be charged for that little visit, but I’m guessing it’s a lot.

In other news… my sister is coming to town – and campus – to meet with one of our higher-ups about how we do our accreditation. It’s right after my surgery so I’ll be at home and not the best company, but it will still be nice to see her – if only for a short time.

Finally, we had a meeting yesterday – actually a webinar – about our recent usability testing. I got some praise for my role, once they got the right name, and then got slammed. In the nicest way possible. I’m not taking it personally – it was my first time running a session and I was bound to screw it up a little bit.

The meeting wrapped up with a “discussion” about the terminology used on the site we were reviewing. The people in the department insisted on using the terms you could only know if you had already been taught about them. I was in the “either explain it or change it” camp – and we nearly came to blows over it. It was like they had a secret club and you had to be “initiated” before the site made any sense. It was irksome to a geek like me.

adventures in retail

By admin

On May 13, 2010

In Uncategorized

I got a couple of gift cards to Barnes and Noble for my birthday and christmas and though we don’t have any stores in the area, our campus bookstore is part of this chain. So, with two $25 cards in hand, I headed to the store in the student center.

The selection was not what I’d hoped for and decided to go online instead. Back at my office I visited the online version of the campus bookstore site and was underwhelmed at the selection again. I found a pair of shorts and a sticker for my car – with a total price of over $25 dollars. I entered the first card and then couldn’t find a spot to enter another card or my credit card. Instead, the order got submitted – even though I hadn’t paid enough. The shipping info said it would be delivered to the campus bookstore, so I figured that I would be contacted to sort things out.

A couple days later I got an email indicting a problem with my order. Which wasn’t a surprise, I hadn’t really paid for the items. I called the phone number on the email and was transfered to 5 different people before I got someone that knew what they were talking about. She indicated that yes, the system will let an order go through without sufficient payment. She asked for my credit card number to complete the order.

I suggested that since I’m on campus, we could just cancel the order and I could stop by in person. She said she would cancel it and I could pick up and pay for the items at the counter.

Shortly after that call, my room-mate called and said that someone from the bookstore called and said there was a problem with my on-line order. I thanked him for taking the message and explained I’d already called to sort things out.

After my swim, but before I got my lunch, I stopped by the bookstore and indicated that an online order was being held for me at the counter. They looked around a bit, then sent me downstairs to the online pickup area. I head downstairs, wait for a clerk and then explain what I’m doing there. They look though the records, can’t find it, and send me back upstairs.

I go back upstairs to the counter and explain I’ve been sent back up. They call back downstairs and after a few minutes find the order sitting on the counter. Less than two feet from where the cashier was standing. I use my gift card and then cash to complete the transaction.

I was lucky to have been on campus to sort this out – it could have been much worse.

The shorts are cool and fit great, the sticker is pretty cool too. I think for my other gift card, I’m going to the main barnes and noble site and just get some books.

In other retail related news…

I don’t listen to the radio much in my car, except when I’m stuck in traffic. And then I only listen to AM stations. It makes me appreciate how lucky I am to be in traffic than to be the kind of person that listens to AM radio all the time – and believes what they are being told. Yesterday, road construction prompted me to listen to a “doctor” that was promoting digestive health (i.e. over-eating cures) by – I think – “mud-packing emotional scars”. This would align your Chi or something and make you not be fat. Or something. He also promoted a special formula for sale of 13 different types of pollen, specially blended to prompt genital health. Operators were, presumably, standing by. As his show ended and the traffic cleared, there were two separate announcements indicating that pretty much no one was willing to back him up on anything he had said.

On a final note of confusion, I went out to dinner with my room-mate and his sister. We had a coupon for one free entrée with the purchase of an appetizer and another entrée.

I usually get a “3 course meal” with appetizer, entrée and dessert. Which is not valid with the coupon.

He ordered green bean fries for me (which I was going to do myself as part of 3 courses) and another appetizer of mozzarella sticks.

The server left and I told my room-mate this might be a problem since the 3 course is usually ordered all at once.

The server came back to take our order and I asked if the previously ordered green beans could be shifted to my 3 courses. He said he would have to have his manager do it, but yes. I felt bad, but not as bad when the rest of the orders were taken. My room-mate’s sister got an entrée and he then ordered pot-stickers. An appetizer – and thus not valid with the coupon. The server thought about it for a minute and said that if my order was not treated as the three courses -then it would count as one of the entrees.

So, everything worked out – and I made sure we tipped the server well for the trouble we caused.