"X" your confessions:
[ ] I'm afraid of the quiet
[ ] I am really ticklish
[ ] I'm afraid of the dark
[X] I'm afraid of facing my back to open doors at night (or anytime, for that matter)
[ ] I believe in true love
[ ] I've run away from home
[X] I listen to political music (I'm counting my friend Steve's "angry" album, here)
[ ] I collect comic books
[X] I shut others out when I'm sad
[ ] I open up to others easily
[X] I am keeping a secret
[X] I watch the news
[ ] I own more than 5 rap CDs
[X] I own something from Hot Topic (well, I did until it was ruined by mold)
[X] I love Disney movies (some of them, anyway)
[X] I'm a sucker for blue eyes (or brown, doesn't matter)
[X] I don't kill bugs
[X] I curse regularly
[ ] I have "x"s in my screen name
[ ] I've slipped out an "lol" in actual conversation
[ ] I love spam (spam spam spam spam spammity spam!!)
[ ] I bake well
[X] I have worn pajamas to class
[ ] I have owned something from Abercrombie
[X] I have a job
[ ] I love Martha Stewart
[X] I've tried alcohol
[ ] I drink alcohol on a regular basis
[ ] I've tried a cigarette
[ ] I've smoked a pack in one day
[ ] I have cough drops when I'm not sick
[ ] I can't swallow pills
[X] I have many scars
[X] I've been out of this country
[ ] I can't sleep if there's a spider in the room
[X] I love chocolate
[ ] I bite my nails
[ ] I'm comfortable with being myself around EVERYONE
[X] I play computer games when I'm bored
[X] Gotten lost in the city
[X] Seen a shooting star
[X] Had a serious surgery
[X] Hugged and/or kissed a stranger (gotta love Latinos)
[ ] Been arrested
[X] Pushed all the buttons on an elevator
[ ] Made out in an elevator
[X] Swore at my parents
[ ] Kicked a guy where it hurts
[X] Gotten stitches
[X] Bitten someone (but only because my mom MADE me)
[X] Crashed into a car (with my wheelchair trying to go across the seriously sloped Levitt arena parking lot when it was covered in ice)
[ ] Shoplifted
[ ] Been fired
[X] Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
[ ] Stolen money/profitable items from work
[X] Stolen supplies from work
[X] Had a crush on a teacher/coach
[ ] Slept with a co-worker
[ ] Been married
[ ] Gotten divorced
[X] Saw someone/something dying
[ ] Been to Canada
[X] Been on a plane
[ ] Thrown up in a bar
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Overdue health and NOLA updates
Apparently my mitral valve prolapse (which my cardiologist also heard) is not serious enough to be seen on a ultrasound, so Dr. B (my cardiologist) is not worried about it at all. She DID, however, see that my tricuspid valve (the one between the RIGHT atrium and ventricle) is wonky, but she said that particular valve just isn't all that important. She told me about a 90-year-old Indian woman in the SW she saw once that popped hers completely apart carrying a sheep down a mountain. She declined having the valve repaired, and a year later she was still carting sheep down the mountain. Since I'm probably going to be here until at least February, Dr. B did go ahead and switch my prescription vasodilator to a different one. I take the medicine to dilate the blood vessels in my legs to reduce edema, and turns out a side effect of Adalat (the med I was taking) is edema. Not only that, but it is such a powerful vasodilator that it tricks the heart and makes it pump harder and faster, thus a potential cause of my resting heart rate (80 beats per minute on average, sometimes higher) and my heart palpitations.
See, this is why when taking "heart" medications, you should really be under the care/supervision of a cardiologist. Make a note, kids.
Dr. B had been reluctant to switch the med last month when she wasn't sure how long I'd be here. She's a conscientious doctor and likes to monitor the patients after a med switch. Imagine that! ::grin:: When she heard I'd be here for at least two more months, she switched me to the lowest dose of Norvasc. Now we just keep an eye on my feet. If I notice swelling, I'm to double my dose. If that doesn't work, we try another med. I started the Norvasc today, and I HAVE noticed that my chest doesn't feel as heavy. Keep your fingers crossed.
Now, about being here. UNO has received authorization for 400 single-wide (16' X 32') FEMA trailers for faculty and student housing for next semester. I talked to Barney last Friday, and he said they likely won't even arrive until February -- two to three weeks AFTER the Spring semester starts. I just don't see how I can live in a single-wide with Reba and at least one other person (they are two bedroom trailers), not to mention I'm sure the bathroom situation would be worse than my campus apartment. So I may be here for a while longer. As such, I will probably enroll in nine hours of research and get my review article cranked out. If I don't, I'll receive a U in the said nine hours of research, and then I might as well start looking for that bank teller job my grandmother always wanted me to get. I am not going there! I'm not!
See, this is why when taking "heart" medications, you should really be under the care/supervision of a cardiologist. Make a note, kids.
Dr. B had been reluctant to switch the med last month when she wasn't sure how long I'd be here. She's a conscientious doctor and likes to monitor the patients after a med switch. Imagine that! ::grin:: When she heard I'd be here for at least two more months, she switched me to the lowest dose of Norvasc. Now we just keep an eye on my feet. If I notice swelling, I'm to double my dose. If that doesn't work, we try another med. I started the Norvasc today, and I HAVE noticed that my chest doesn't feel as heavy. Keep your fingers crossed.
Now, about being here. UNO has received authorization for 400 single-wide (16' X 32') FEMA trailers for faculty and student housing for next semester. I talked to Barney last Friday, and he said they likely won't even arrive until February -- two to three weeks AFTER the Spring semester starts. I just don't see how I can live in a single-wide with Reba and at least one other person (they are two bedroom trailers), not to mention I'm sure the bathroom situation would be worse than my campus apartment. So I may be here for a while longer. As such, I will probably enroll in nine hours of research and get my review article cranked out. If I don't, I'll receive a U in the said nine hours of research, and then I might as well start looking for that bank teller job my grandmother always wanted me to get. I am not going there! I'm not!
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Holiday Eating Tips
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like in single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards!!!!!!!!!!!!
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.
ENJOY!
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like in single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards!!!!!!!!!!!!
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.
ENJOY!