Gustav

Wow! If Gustav keeps up as predicted, it's going to get pretty scary. My thoughts are with anyone who might be anywhere within its path.

Maybe I'm Not Their Target Demographic?

I'm working on a proposal for an upcoming dance event & have the tv on in the background. Living where I do, it's not surprising to see tourism commercials from various beaches in the MidAtlantic and Southeastern areas. One such commercial touting the benefits of South Carolina just came on.

Their particular angle was to not only tout how wonderful the South Carolina beaches are, but also to show you why you *need* a vacation. To wit, while showing a couple walking hand-in-hand along the surf or dancing in the sand, a voice-over asked:

"When was the last time someone called you 'Ma'am' instead of 'Mom'?"

....um, unfortunately, all too often.

Right after that it was, "When was the last time you danced without music?"

...um, well, let's see.....last night at dance rehearsal.

Maybe I'm just not their target demographic. Either that or obviously, I don't NEED a vacation, even tho it's been a few years since I took a real one. Yeah, that must be it!.....NOT!!

Thankful Thursday Friday

It seems that this making-a-Thankful-Thursday-post-on-Friday thing is starting to be a pattern. Oh well.

Things I'm thankful for this week include:

• Seeing my friends from Sweden again. They were in town for the weekend to judge a dance competition. Since we weren't competing & weren't involved in organizing or running the event, we actually got to just spend social time with them. It was a lovely visit and we'll hopefully see them again soon.
  
  
• Feeling a whole lot better this year than I did this time last year! AS the old saying goes, if you don't have your health, you don't have anything!
  
  
• A 3-day weekend. (Does anyone find it ironic that we celebrate the concept of working by NOT working?)
  
  
• The dancers working on this upcoming group performance. We had rehearsal last night & it was wonderful to see how much progress each couple had made since we last met. They clearly had put in the time & effort to really get this routine down. We were able to make sooo much progress & it's starting to look pretty good. We've worked with other dancers before who never bothered to do the "homework" that was necessary, so it was slow-going and at times very frustrating. It's so nice to be working with people who understand what it takes to pull something like this off & who are willing to give us that!!

So, how about you? What makes you thankful this week?

One Year Ago....

At this moment one year ago, I was on my way to the hospital. Nervous as all get-out Scared witless, but trying not to let it get the best of me. My surgery was scheduled for 1:15 pm & I had to be there 2 hrs before...I had had my pre-op appt one week before. I was dealing with pretty severe anemia, but had responded well to a new form of iron my doc had prescribed. He also wanted me to take another drug, but after doing my own research, I decided the side effects/risk were too high & said no. The pre-op blood numbers would be where "the rubber meets the road" -- if I had been right, my Hct and Hgb would be high enough to go ahead with the surgery. If I'd been wrong, I'd either need to have a transfusion in order to proceed or it would have to be cancelled & rescheduled. I hadn't gotten a call telling me something in my bloodwork was amiss, but was pretty nervous about it, so it was a BIG relief when I asked my pre-op nurse what my levels were & to hear for sure that they were high enough to go forward.

They had taken me back into pre-op very shortly after I arrived & checked in with admitting. A few minor preliminaries & then all that was left was to wait. Luckily, they let my SO come back, so I had someone to talk to/someone to help distract me. 1:15 pm came & went, with no sign of my doc. About 1:40 pm, a resident came in & introduced herself. Followed shortly thereafter by a med student, my soon-to-be OR nurse, my surgeon and the anesthesiologist. It's surprising how quickly one of those hospital cubicles/bays gets crowded!! After 15 mins of poking & prodding, answering questions, etc, we were good to go. The anesthesiologist announced he was going to get started. I remember handing my iPod and my glasses to my SO, but nothing after that. He says we were downstairs for another 5 mins or so after that, during which time we were still conversing, but I have no memory of it.

The next thing I was aware of was PAIN. Intense pain. Pain like I've never known before. (I told my doc the next day when he came to check on me that I could cross being a magician's assistant off my life's list since I already knew what it felt like to be sawed in half!)...I wasn't really expecting that much pain. Yes, I knew that it'd hurt, but I hadn't expected to be in that level of pain, figuring they'd keep me pretty doped up so I didn't feel that much pain. Only thing I can figure is they needed to bring me back to a certain level of awareness before they could administer anything else. Once they realized I was aware, my OR nurse touched my leg, called my name & told me it was over. I don't remember a lot of other details, but I do remember that he was surprised that I not only knew who he was, but remembered his name.

I have no idea how long I was in surgery vs how long after that I came to vs how long after that I was in post-op. I'm virtually blind as a bat without my glasses or contact lenses, so I couldn't bring anything into focus even if I had been able to (and I'm not sure I could have). I do know that it was after 6 pm before I was taken upstairs to my room, so there's a 4+ hr window. My SO made sure I'd been transferred to my room, that he had told me the details as reported by my doc (and written it on the white board in my room so in case I wasn't really "with it", I'd be able to read it later), given me back my glasses & iPod, etc. He then had to take off to teach our dance classes that evening. He was supposed to come back afterwards, but when he called after the classes were over, I told him to go on home & get some sleep instead. I'd had 2 friends come by earlier in the evening & they both have since told me that they are amazed I even remembered they came, so I'm guessing I looked pretty awful.

I was supposed to be released 2 days later, but I spiked a fever that morning, so ended up staying an extra day. 6 weeks later, I had to go back to work. Luckily, I don't work in the main bldg & my boss was kind and kept it quiet that I was back for the first week to give me time to get caught up on emails/voicemails and to gently ease back into work. It took 3 months until I could start trying to build strength & I'm still not back to where I was pre-op on some things, but it keeps on improving, so with work & dedication, I should get there.

So, here's to a better August 27, 2008 than August 27, 2007!! Of course, I wouldn't mind the 6 weeks off work option, but not if that's what it takes to get it!!!

Biggest Loser 5

A blogging buddy Tiburon has been organizing Biggest Loser contests for a while now. Biggest Loser 5 starts this upcoming week, so I'm posting it here in case anyone reading this might want to jump in. You can get more information and sign up here.

In the interest in total disclosure, I will tell you that I am not participating. However, I think it's a great idea and I'm all for anything that helps even one person get in better shape! I know that for some of you, a competition of sorts is just the motivation you might need; for others, having to report your progress every week will be what keeps you on track; for others, it's the chance to win cold, hard cash that will help the pounds melt away....whatever it might be, the Biggest Loser might just offer it, so go check it out.

Oh, and if any of you need someone to nag you/hit you upside the head to keep you on track, let me know. I can be very good at that! :-)

I've Been Told I'm a Nut Before....

Now I know what kind.

You Are a Pistachio

You are funky, freaky, and a total character. You're very different than anyone you know. There's no way you're changing the way you are... Which is good, because no one wants you to change.

What Nut Are You?

Thankful Thursday

Yeah, I know. It's already Friday. Things have been crazy busy at work, followed by dance rehearsals to get a group performance ready that's less than a month away, so sometimes, things just slip a little on the schedule....Without further ado, things I'm thankful for this week include:

• Friday!! Every week needs one. And boy am I glad we've reached the one associated with this week!
  
  
• Reaching the point on this particular group routine where everyone has the actual choreography & can now practice it on their own. We will still need to get the group together to work on the "big picture", but we don't have to all get together every time in order to make progress from here on out! Yay!
  
  
• Finding easy costumes for this group routine. Better yet, the hardest part to find (usually) is on clearance & dirt cheap!! Woo Hoo!!
  
  
• Working in a fun place/with good people. Yeah, work has been crazy & probably will be even crazier for the next few months, but we still manage to have a good time & keep the atmosphere jovial, even while all heck is breaking out.
  
  
• Chocolate.....I can always find a good reason to be happy for chocolate!!
  
  
• Meeting a couple of good friends for dinner tonight. We haven't seen them in a while (much too long), so it'll be nice to catch up.

So how about you? What's made your week nice or a little more pleasant this week?

Parade of Nations

It seems appropriate, given the Olympics & all.

135

I could have named more if I could have typed faster.....or spelled better.

Thankful Thursday

I never got the chance to stop long enough last Thursday to make a "Thankful Thursday" post. It really is nice to spend a few minutes focusing on the good things around me, so I'm not going to let another week slip by without making it happen. This week, I'm thankful for:

1. The Olympics. I love the pagentry, the excitement, etc. I was completely enthralled by the opening ceremonies; I only wish I could get my dancers to be 1/2 as precise as the 2008 drummers or the people inside the boxes that created the "Great Wall" or the tai chi masters who made perfect circles, etc.
   
   


2. Great weather -- usually August is pretty unbearable around these parts. This year, however, we've had GORGEOUS weather. Thanks to low humidity, I've had the AC off and the windows open for the last week. It's been delightful!
   
   


3. My foster dog did get adopted and is doing really well in his new home. In fact, he's blossoming; ya see, around others, Harley is a submissive dog. If he were a human, he would have been the kid that always had the "kick me" sign on his back. In his new home, the only other dog in residence is a 12-yr-old blind Bichon Frise who follows him around like a lost puppy dog, so for the first time in his life, he gets to be top dog. As a result, he's really coming out of his shell & gaining confidence......People often ask me why I do rescue. Now ya know. His time was up at the shelter & if we hadn't taken him, he would have been euthanized. Instead, he's got a great new life, is finally becoming the dog he always had the potential to be, and his new family has filled the void that was left when their previous dog passed away. It's a win-win all around!!
   
   


4. No staff meeting today. 3rd (or is it 4th now?) week in a row! Gotta love a boss who doesn't hold meetings just to hold meetings!
   
   


5. Getting assigned to a really interesting new project at work. When I had my performance evaluation with my boss last week, we spent a lot of time talking about what type of things I enjoy doing/find interesting/would like to work on. This new one is definitely a good fit & a nice affirmation that he was listening to what I had to say & wants to make that happen for me.
   
   


6. A clean PET scan....I've mentioned before that my SO battled lymphoma last year. At his last PET scan, there were a couple of "spots" found. The good news was they weren't showing hypermetabolic (i.e. cancerous) activity, but they were definitely there. The docs didn't know what they were -- best guess was damaged tissue that resulted from the chemo or radiation, but it was possible that they could be the start of the tumor coming back. The decision that was made was to "wait and see". If they either showed cancerous activity or had grown by the next PET scan, then they'd go in and do a biopsy. (Since that would involve cracking the chest wall, not something one would really want to do.)
   
   The good news is that the PET scan was clear!! Not only had the spots not grown/weren't showing hypermetabolic activity, they had actually SHRUNK!! Most likely, they are evidence of collateral damage from the cancer treatment, but unlike what was first thought, the damage may not be permanent as it appears that his body is doing its best to heal itself!!
   

So, how 'bout you? What things are you thankful for today?

Missing In Action

I know I've been MIA lately. Sorry bout that. Work got crazy-busy between a server that went kablooey last week & an impending audit happening this week. The kaput server messed up everything my coworkers use on a daily basis, so there was much scrambling about to recover from that. That was further compounded by the scrambling about that always comes with an internal audit. So, even tho neither thing directly affected me, I ended up jumping in on some stuff that had to get done ASAP. (On the plus side, nothing like showing yourself to be a "team player" just before your boss conducts your annual performance review!)

As for the weekend, it was pretty busy since we ran a dance this weekend. Luckily, the weather was GORGEOUS, so it was very pleasant!! We took last night off & enjoyed the weather. Afterall, we don't get many low-80's, low-humidity days in August & my sweetie's convertible was just begging to be taken for a spin!! A "progressive dinner" (dinner in one place, dessert in another) plus a couple of errands made for a pleasant evening on a beautiful late-September-like evening.

Now, time to tackle the work that got pushed aside by all that scrambling...

Time for a Little Geometry Lesson!!

"They did a 360 degree turnaround".

I keep seeing this statement used to indicate a complete reversal of direction/attitude/whatever & it bugs me like nails being scraped on a chalkboard!!

Ok, people. Let's go back to about 5th-grade math, shall we? This is 360 degrees:




This is 180 degrees:
If someone were to do a 360 degree turnaround, they wouldn't have changed a bit. They'd end up right where they started & continue along the same exact path. If they were heading East to begin with, they'd still be going East after doing a 360 degree turn around. To indicate a complete reversal of direction/attitude/whatever, they need to make an 180 degree turnaround.

Thank you. That concludes the lesson for today. Tune in next time when I tackle the use of, "I could care less" as opposed to "I couldn't care less".