Goings-on...

Well, I'm just over a week post-op now... and feeling much better.

The trouble with recovery is that it gives one a LOT of time to sit around and mull things over. In doing so, I've decided to try to go back to school. I did an online application to community college today, so I guess we'll see where it goes from here. I'm attempting to get in to the nursing program. The Bachelor's degree I have just isn't working for me the way I hoped it would, and my current job isn't going to really take me anywhere. I want to be presented with new challenges, and I think this is a good way to do it. And of course, making more money is always nice too.

Other than that, there's really nothing new to report at this point... guess I'll see if I can accomplish anything around the house before work.

The latest...

So, I've been a bit... absent... lately. I've also not been keeping up with the workout regimen. Oops. However, there's a good reason. I'm headed in for surgery on Friday. I've been dealing with abdominal pain again for quite a while, and it just seems to be getting worse... along with some other random, fun issues. I had a laparoscopy about 7 years ago, at which time I was diagnosed with and treated for endometriosis. Tomorrow morning (well, I guess technically at this point, it's this morning) I go in to meet with the doctor for my pre-op appointment, and Friday he's performing a laparoscopy, a hysteroscopy, and a D&C. Fun fun fun!!!

In order to prepare for Friday's fun, I've been cleaning the house like a madwoman, collecting books and DVD's (recovery time was about a week last time, and this time they're doing more extensive work), and doing my pre-surgery shopping. I have soft, tummy-friendly foods for the first day or so, a big, loose pair of sweatpants to wear to and from the hospital, and two reusable ice packs (buy one get one free... worked out well for me so I can have one on standby and rotate them out).

I have been riding the anxiety train a little, but I'm not really anxious about the procedure itself - I'm more anxious about being appropriately prepared. I think I'm well on my way, and I think handling up the shopping tonight helped assuage some of my panic. Now it's just a waiting game. I'm ready for Friday to be here - I'm ready to have it over with, hopefully have some of my issues resolved, and get on the road to recovery and being able to get physically fit in addition to healthy. The nice thing is, I don't have a whole lot of free time prior to the procedure to sit around and think about it. I'm working tomorrow and Thursday, and I have a handful of projects lined up to occupy myself in my rare moments of free time.

My parents, brother, and sister are going to be out of state until sometime Monday, visiting my other brother who is stationed at MacGuire AFB in New Jersey. They're feeling bad about not being around, but between my husband, my awesome neighbors, and a couple other great friends, I know I'm going to be well cared for. Additionally, my father-in-law has to be in town anyway that morning, so he's going to hang out in the waiting area with my husband while I'm being sliced and diced, scoped and scraped. That was a relief for me, because my main concern was how the husband was going to handle the waiting. I've had the experience of waiting in the waiting room while he's been sedated and undergoing minor procedures, and I know that regardless of how minor the procedure, the waiting can be very anxiety-provoking. I've also had the experience of being an E.R. patient with his accompaniment, when I'm able to sit with him and communicate with him, and he's a big enough ball of stress when that's going on... he and his dad have a great relationship, and other than possibly his sister, his dad is probably the best person who could be spending that time with him and keeping him calm and sane. I'd say I got pretty lucky on the whole in-law thing... My husband's family is wonderful. They're fantastic, caring people, and it's nice to know that they're around and willing to do whatever they can to be supportive in a situation like this. I'll admit that my initial reaction to this news was not really wanting anyone other than Sean to see me in the state I will surely be in once the procedure is over... but then I quickly realized how silly that is, and that no one will have high expectations for how I'm presenting myself.

I also found out today that I've been added to the prayer list at my parents' church. While the whole church thing isn't really my speed right now, my mom mentioned a handful of people there who have been inquiring about me, and said that they're supposed to call the minister on Saturday to give them the update. As much as I've had issues with the things that have gone on in that church in the distant past, and as much as it turned me off of religion, I will say that this particular church is full of wonderful, caring, giving, thoughtful people, and I certainly feel very loved and appreciate their caring and concern.

As far as concerns surrounding the actual procedure, I did have a minor complication last time around. When they removed my breathing tube, I didn't exactly start breathing on my own right away, from what I'm told. I was supposed to spend 2 hours-ish in the recovery room, moving from the bed to the chair to out the door... but it took FOREVER to get my oxygen saturation high enough that I could do anything other than lie on my gurney without nearly passing out. My procedure was early in the morning, and we didn't leave the hospital until mid to late afternoon (granted, my recollection of the specific details is a bit foggy). I just recall feeling like I was never going to be stable enough to go home that day... and then I remember my mom accompanying me into the bathroom to use the restroom and get dressed - and discovering that I have a tattoo. She was SHOCKED BEYOND REASON, but I must say, she handled it very well that day. (Believe me, there was a discussion about it later, but she was a SAINT the day of, considering how infuriated it made her.)

At this point, the only major thing I have left to do to really be prepared is get my laptop working again. It won't boot right now, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to reformat the hard drive. I've been meaning to clean a bunch of crap off the computer, but I certainly didn't want to lose it all. Ah well... what can you do.

So long story short, that's what's coming up for me in the immediate future, and while I'm planning on being pretty dopey Friday, Saturday, and probably into Sunday, anyone local should consider giving me a shout and dropping by at some point - I'll be off of work until the... 16th(?) and I'm sure I'll have cabin fever long before that time. There's X-Files and Freaks and Geeks on the movie list, and I'm open for just about any kind of entertainment that doesn't involve physical exertion. I'll update when I'm feeling up to computer-ing for those of you outside my immediate geographical region. :)

Just checking in...

I'll blog with more substance later. For now, I just wanted to announce that I'm on a fitness kick, and I'm hoping that if I blog it, it will hold me more accountable and help me to stay on track. I'm also tweeting some of my progress with things such as the Hundred Pushups Program. If you twitter, you can follow my progress at http://www.twitter.com/pavilionofflux

More to follow.

H1N1 Influenza A

Come on, you knew I'd weigh in sooner or later.

Like everyone else I know, I'm tired of it. I'm going to devote 1 entry to it, say my piece, and move on. I suggest the rest of the world do the same.

I work in the healthcare field. I am constantly exposed to sick people, day in and day out. Perhaps I should be more concerned than I am, but... I'm just really not all that concerned. Remember when we were all worked up about bird flu a couple years ago? Remember how it was really not THAT BIG A DEAL in the end? Well folks, that's how I'm approaching swine flu.

Except we can't call it swine flu anymore, because that's causing people to get even more ridiculous. People are forgoing pork products, countries are banning import of pork products from areas affected by swine flu (don't worry, I'll stop using this term momentarily), and Egypt ordered all of its 300,000+ pigs to be slaughtered because ZOMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE... even though there has been NO LINK WHATSOEVER between eating pork and contracting swine flu. But since I can't call it swine flu anymore, and H1N1 Influenza A is such a mouthful (or a handful, when it comes to typing), the illness (which apparently causes fever, lack of appetite, coughing, and widespread hysteria, as well as a shortage of masks and hand sanitizer) shall henceforth be referred to as "bacon pox." (Oh, like that's any sillier than the "monkey pox" of 2003...)

Don't get me wrong, I think that awareness is a great thing. I also understand that it IS a serious concern for some - particularly people working in the healthcare field who are likely treating bacon pox patients, as well as individuals who may for whatever reason be immunocompromised. I don't (completely) intend to simply make light of the whole situation and suggest that we all run around licking each other's hands and faces. However, much of the panic is unnecessary if we all take some relatively minor precautions that we should all be taking on a regular basis anyway. Seriously folks. It's all the stuff we learned as children. Cover a cough. Wash your hands. Stay away from the general public when you're sick and contagious. Cook your food to the appropriate temperature. And stop seeking unnecessary pharmaceutical treatment. Yes, there are supplies of flu-fighting medications available. Leave them alone unless you legitimately have bacon pox (or some other form of the flu). Stop buying respirators from hardware stores - they aren't going to help. And most importantly, pull your head out of your rectum. It's full of germs.

Our little family is growing...

No, no, no... I'm not having babies. But we have added a new furbaby to our clan! For reference, this is Stanley. He's been part of the family longer than I have. Husband's rule was that if one of us "had to go," it was going to be me. Stanley stays regardless!



This is our newest addition, Nadia.



She's estimated to be about 10 months old, according to the good people of the SPCA. They rescued her from the pound, we adopted her from them. She already had a litter, none of which survived, and therefore is not likely to grow any bigger than she already is. For reference, she's approximately half the size of Stanley, who weighs something like 12 pounds. She was just spayed on Friday, so we've been struggling to keep her somewhat quiet. Easier said than done! She's queen of the guest bedroom right now, as we've been advised that keeping the two cats separated at first is the way to go. There is a big enough gap under the door that they can look at each other, Stanley can meow at her, and she can growl back...

Yesterday she was a little more mellow, but I slept in the guest room with her last night, and she woke me up MANY times. She's a head-butter: she'll bang her head right into you when she wants affection, which is ALL THE TIME. :) Stanley is a very lovable, friendly, affectionate cat, but Nadia is the ultimate cuddlebug. She fell asleep on my craft table next to the sewing machine, and is now curled up next to the bed. She seems to prefer the hard floor to the fleece blanket I put out for her. However, she must be feeling better today, because she was jumping repeatedly from the sewing table to the bed so I could pet her.

So that's what's new and exciting at the Flux Pavilion... what's new with everyone else?

Please take a moment to locate the exit nearest you...

I've been reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. I'm very near the end now, and just read something that struck me.

"...some of the best caregiving advice we've ever heard comes from flight attendants: 'Put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others.'"

If I've been a bit absent lately, it's because I'm still trying to adjust my own mask. I'll return full force before long.

Is it acceptable to revise New Year's Resolutions?

I really didn't make that many resolutions... but somehow I'm still having trouble keeping them. The first was a repeat from last year - I want to read an average of one book each month this year. So far, I've given myself a bit of a cushion on that... I read The 12-Step Bush Recovery Program by Gene Stone (an excellent Christmas gift), and Lamb by Christopher Moore. I've started on my third book, The Stupidest Angel, also by Christopher Moore. If you haven't read any of his books, I HIGHLY recommend them.

The second resolution was to blog more frequently. Clearly, I haven't done as well with that one... so that's the one I'd like to revise. I intended to blog more frequently, but whether it's a case of the winter blahs, my bizarre schedule, or something else, I haven't had the motivation or the inspiration for blogging lately. SO instead, perhaps I'll blog with substance this year instead. I don't know exactly what that means yet... but I'm getting there.

In other news, I finally got out the sewing machine last night, and I'm almost done with my first project. Perhaps I'll post some pictures when I finish.

I have to say, I'm definitely excited about the start that the Obama presidency is off to. Closing Guantanamo, reversing the global gag rule, and tackling the economic crisis right off the bat are all great moves, and I'm excited to see what else happens in Washington in the next days and weeks.

Yes We Can!

I've been watching inauguration coverage on several channels throughout the day. Wow. I feel like there is hope again.

And seriously? HOW ADORABLE were the Obama girls? I want their coats. :)

I'd write more, but it's about time to take my husband to the doctor... so maybe I'll have more to say later. More than anything, just wanted everyone to know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.