is the position i've been in for nearly 48hrs. one of my few outings was to the doctor. i chose a different urgent care this time because andrew and i were both somewhat dismayed at the last place (yes, i'm getting a family doctor now, i just needed to be seen asap). we went and waited a little until i was called back to have my vitals taken. once again, the machine showed my blood pressure to be very high - 140/90, but when the grumpy nurse took it by hand, it was normalish - 130/70... i don't know why it wasn't just 120/80, but honestly i don't really care. then the grumpy nurse tried to swab my throat, but she kept doing it like she was afraid i was going to bite her or something, and i kept gagging. it was lame. i even asked her if she could just do it faster, and she had some snippy comment for me. i am not her biggest fan.
after grumpy nurse stuck me in a room, the friendly doctor came in. he looked me over and thought i probably had the flu. he recommended the "flu test" which should be called the "shove a swab up your nose and into your brain test". another nurse, we'll call her the sniffly nurse, cause she sniffled, did the flu test. after waiting 25 more minutes (though the test only takes 10 according to the doctor), friendly doctor came back in to give me a great diagnosis of "viral symptoms". apparently both the strep and flu tests were negative. he tried to tell me i could have bronchitis, but i reminded him that that would have to include some breathing issues or shortness of breath... which i don't have. next, discharge nurse came in to give me my instructions, the doctor had written me a prescription for vicodin, which i didn't fill because i still have tylenol with codine, and vicodin is probably expensive - after paying $50 for urgent care copay and having no real diagnosis to show for it, i'm not into paying another prescription bill.
i guess i have to go back to work tomorrow, but i'm so not into that idea. blah. i think i would stay home if i hadn't missed so many days of work already. man, when you're sick, teaching sort of sucks!
orchid update: sad, sad day... my orchid has mealy bugs :-( the dreaded of orchid pests due to the difficulty of getting rid of them completely. i will do my best to get rid of them. i think they came diseased from the store though... boo for bugs.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Fortune
Uh Oh. This was my fortune tonight. I wonder what it means.
In other news the chinese take-out leaked all over the car seat and my clothes.
like a ton of bricks
so yesterday i was totally fine, i hung out at home, worked out at the gym, and went to the climbing gym for its grand opening partaaaay. unfortunately, while i was hanging out there, completely out of the blue, my throat started hurting terribly, and i got a headache. by the time we got to carrie's birthday gathering, my whole body hurt, and it was uncomfortable even to have pants on.
i've rarely experienced this sort of horrible onslaught of pain. i feel like there are 3 options, either it's my sinus infection, back AGAIN, it's strep, or it's the flu. the only thing that has helped so far is the tylenol with codine that i have from my first sinus infection. taking that is probably the only thing that has allowed me to make macaroni and cheese and type this. i hope it doesn't wear off anytime soon. and i'm hoping i'll be able to go, but i fear i might be home from work tomorrow. we'll see.
random orchid update: not only is my orchid still alive, but it now has 6 blooms!
i've rarely experienced this sort of horrible onslaught of pain. i feel like there are 3 options, either it's my sinus infection, back AGAIN, it's strep, or it's the flu. the only thing that has helped so far is the tylenol with codine that i have from my first sinus infection. taking that is probably the only thing that has allowed me to make macaroni and cheese and type this. i hope it doesn't wear off anytime soon. and i'm hoping i'll be able to go, but i fear i might be home from work tomorrow. we'll see.
random orchid update: not only is my orchid still alive, but it now has 6 blooms!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
making the best of it
yesterday was the end to a long, terrible week. there were a lot of things that really just bummed me out about last week, so instead of talking about it, i'll just talk about the lovely dinner andrew and i had last night at the george. we thought friends might want to come join us, but everyone had their own plans, so it turned into a private date-night with just the two of us, the candle-lit ambience beside a HUGE window, looking out on raleigh's downtown area, and over 2 hours of food, wine, and conversation -- just what the doctor ordered after a hard week. i tried to take pictures of the table and window, but they came out really dark... not surprising.
as an appetizer, we had spinach gouda dip accompanied by a glass of chenin blanc for me and duck rabbit milk stout for andrew. then came andrew's glass of shiraz, and caprese salads for each of us, all of that was great. andrew talked the whole night about his agility test, and now i really want to know if i would be able to do all that stuff. sounds like a fun (and difficult) challenge, especially for someone like me who has no desire to actually be a firefighter.
after salads, we ordered the tuna sashimi that came with very strange foamy stuff on top which the waitress called "lime infused" something-or-other and some dryish balls of rice with too much pepper to be asian. along with that were two glasses of pinot noir for me. two glasses because i sent the first one back because it smelled like dog poop (and i would know) and tasted even worse. andrew and i think the bottle was bad. that was followed by the other pinot noir, which didn't have a great aroma or flavor. that was sad. out of those two glasses, i probably had about 1/4th of the glass total. round two - yucky.
but that didn't stop us from round three - dessert. i wanted to order the poached pears we were all so intrigued by the last time we went, but they were no longer on the menu. they had been replaced by "milk and cookies" which was supposed to be an almond cookie confection with some kind of white chocolate liqueur. andrew and i decided to try the just plain cookies part and a chocolate concoction and split them both. that didn't happen though, because they were all out of cookies. so we just split the chocolate mousse thing, which was excellent. i got another glass of chenin blanc to go with it since my attempt at red wine there had been so unfortunate.
we sat together a little longer, chatting and enjoying the evening, before leaving to perhaps meet up with megan and her friends for a little first friday action. however, by now it was past 9, and most of the art galleries were closing down. megan didn't really know the plans for her group, so we just headed home and called it a night.
plans for the rest of the weekend include (for me anyway): working out, making a stop by the triangle rock club open house, meeting up with the carrie's birthday party crew, church tomorrow (either at vintage21 or the river with melissa), more grading for school, and perhaps some sunday evening event with jackie (though i know no details as of yet). feel free to join up for any or all of this weekend's planned events. hopefully this week will go more smoothly for me. at least it's the last week before our two-week track out. thank you, Lord.
as an appetizer, we had spinach gouda dip accompanied by a glass of chenin blanc for me and duck rabbit milk stout for andrew. then came andrew's glass of shiraz, and caprese salads for each of us, all of that was great. andrew talked the whole night about his agility test, and now i really want to know if i would be able to do all that stuff. sounds like a fun (and difficult) challenge, especially for someone like me who has no desire to actually be a firefighter.
after salads, we ordered the tuna sashimi that came with very strange foamy stuff on top which the waitress called "lime infused" something-or-other and some dryish balls of rice with too much pepper to be asian. along with that were two glasses of pinot noir for me. two glasses because i sent the first one back because it smelled like dog poop (and i would know) and tasted even worse. andrew and i think the bottle was bad. that was followed by the other pinot noir, which didn't have a great aroma or flavor. that was sad. out of those two glasses, i probably had about 1/4th of the glass total. round two - yucky.
but that didn't stop us from round three - dessert. i wanted to order the poached pears we were all so intrigued by the last time we went, but they were no longer on the menu. they had been replaced by "milk and cookies" which was supposed to be an almond cookie confection with some kind of white chocolate liqueur. andrew and i decided to try the just plain cookies part and a chocolate concoction and split them both. that didn't happen though, because they were all out of cookies. so we just split the chocolate mousse thing, which was excellent. i got another glass of chenin blanc to go with it since my attempt at red wine there had been so unfortunate.
we sat together a little longer, chatting and enjoying the evening, before leaving to perhaps meet up with megan and her friends for a little first friday action. however, by now it was past 9, and most of the art galleries were closing down. megan didn't really know the plans for her group, so we just headed home and called it a night.plans for the rest of the weekend include (for me anyway): working out, making a stop by the triangle rock club open house, meeting up with the carrie's birthday party crew, church tomorrow (either at vintage21 or the river with melissa), more grading for school, and perhaps some sunday evening event with jackie (though i know no details as of yet). feel free to join up for any or all of this weekend's planned events. hopefully this week will go more smoothly for me. at least it's the last week before our two-week track out. thank you, Lord.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
I passed!
So today I passed the agility test for the Chapel Hill Fire Department. This only means that I might be able to move onto the "written" test. I say that b/c I think it's on a computer. I should be getting a letter this month since the test is April 5 and 6. The agility test was one of the hardest things I've done in quite some time. I really thought I was close to quitting several times but I really wanted it so here I am.
From the CHFD website: (Obviously the pictures aren't me but you get the idea.)After being cleared for the test, the firefighter will report to the test monitor at the apparatus and don the following equipment for safety purposes: gloves, fire helmet, weighted vest, and safety belt.
EVENT ONE: Pick up a fan from tailboard of fire engine parked in designated spot and then relocate fan to table positioned at corner of drill tower. TIME STARTS ONCE CANDIDATE TOUCHES THE FAN.
EVENT TWO: Walk to the affixed ladder and prepare to hoist. Using a hand-over-hand method, hoist the ladder until the fly hits the stops at full extension. Lower the ladder in a hand-over-hand method until the ladder stops at the bottom. Gloves must remain on during the entire event.
EVENT THREE: Walk to the ladder for climbing. Ascend the ladder one rung at a time, with one foot and one hand maintaining contact with the ladder rungs at all times. Exit from the ladder into the 3rd floor window. A monitor will be inside to ensure your safety. AT NO TIME DURING THE EVENT SHALL THE APPLICANT HOLD OR GRAB THE LADDER RAILS – ONLY THE RUNGS MAY BE USED WHEN CLIMBING.
EVENT FOUR: Hoist the rolled hose into the building, using the attached rope. Place the hose roll on the floor and exit the building using the stairs.
From the CHFD website: (Obviously the pictures aren't me but you get the idea.)After being cleared for the test, the firefighter will report to the test monitor at the apparatus and don the following equipment for safety purposes: gloves, fire helmet, weighted vest, and safety belt.
EVENT ONE: Pick up a fan from tailboard of fire engine parked in designated spot and then relocate fan to table positioned at corner of drill tower. TIME STARTS ONCE CANDIDATE TOUCHES THE FAN.
EVENT TWO: Walk to the affixed ladder and prepare to hoist. Using a hand-over-hand method, hoist the ladder until the fly hits the stops at full extension. Lower the ladder in a hand-over-hand method until the ladder stops at the bottom. Gloves must remain on during the entire event.
EVENT THREE: Walk to the ladder for climbing. Ascend the ladder one rung at a time, with one foot and one hand maintaining contact with the ladder rungs at all times. Exit from the ladder into the 3rd floor window. A monitor will be inside to ensure your safety. AT NO TIME DURING THE EVENT SHALL THE APPLICANT HOLD OR GRAB THE LADDER RAILS – ONLY THE RUNGS MAY BE USED WHEN CLIMBING.
EVENT FOUR: Hoist the rolled hose into the building, using the attached rope. Place the hose roll on the floor and exit the building using the stairs.EVENT FIVE: Exit the tower and move to the dummy drag station. Drag the dummy from starting point in a direct line to stopping point at the cone located 50 feet from the start line. There will be straps attached to the dummy that may be used to assist in dragging the dummy across the
designated line. The event will be complete when the dummy’s feet cross the line.
EVENT SIX: Walk to the doorway of the tower, pick up the hose pack, and walk to the stairwell entrance of the drill tower. Place the hose in any manner you choose which allows you to carry the hose safely up the stairs. Ascend the steps, one step at a time to the top landing of the uppermost flight of stairs. Descend the stairs one step at a time and exit the building. The handrails may be used at any time. After exiting the building, drop the hose pack.
EVENT SEVEN: Walk around the building to the charged hose line. Drag the charged line to a designated location. Length of the drag is approximately 100 feet. In the event the candidate cannot complete the drag in one pull, you may stop, PLACE the nozzle on the ground, go back to pull slack in the hose, and return to the nozzle to re-start the drag. Place, DO NOT DROP, the nozzle in the designated area. The timed portion of the test will end when the hose is placed in the designated area.
EVENT EIGHT: Walk to the black pipe and don a blackened face mask. Once the mask is secure the monitor will signal the candidate to begin. The candidate must then crawl on hands and knees to the wall at the end of the pipe. After the candidate touches the wall, the monitor will instruct the candidate to turn around and exit the pipe. Time stops when the candidate exits the pipe and returns to a standing position (this event is timed separately: time starts once candidates begins motion in tube and ends once he/she returns to the entry point).
I'd say that the hardest parts for me were the stair climb with the high rise pack and the weighted vest. It was also really hard to breathe while in the tunnel b/c I was out of breath and the face mask only had a ~2" hole for air.
Wish me luck on the rest of the process.
EVENT SIX: Walk to the doorway of the tower, pick up the hose pack, and walk to the stairwell entrance of the drill tower. Place the hose in any manner you choose which allows you to carry the hose safely up the stairs. Ascend the steps, one step at a time to the top landing of the uppermost flight of stairs. Descend the stairs one step at a time and exit the building. The handrails may be used at any time. After exiting the building, drop the hose pack.EVENT SEVEN: Walk around the building to the charged hose line. Drag the charged line to a designated location. Length of the drag is approximately 100 feet. In the event the candidate cannot complete the drag in one pull, you may stop, PLACE the nozzle on the ground, go back to pull slack in the hose, and return to the nozzle to re-start the drag. Place, DO NOT DROP, the nozzle in the designated area. The timed portion of the test will end when the hose is placed in the designated area.
EVENT EIGHT: Walk to the black pipe and don a blackened face mask. Once the mask is secure the monitor will signal the candidate to begin. The candidate must then crawl on hands and knees to the wall at the end of the pipe. After the candidate touches the wall, the monitor will instruct the candidate to turn around and exit the pipe. Time stops when the candidate exits the pipe and returns to a standing position (this event is timed separately: time starts once candidates begins motion in tube and ends once he/she returns to the entry point).
I'd say that the hardest parts for me were the stair climb with the high rise pack and the weighted vest. It was also really hard to breathe while in the tunnel b/c I was out of breath and the face mask only had a ~2" hole for air.
Wish me luck on the rest of the process.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
the thumper rule
"if ya can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all"
and this week hasn't been going well, so i've been abiding by it. today was no exception, but i have a few things i'd like to be positive about:
and this week hasn't been going well, so i've been abiding by it. today was no exception, but i have a few things i'd like to be positive about:
- yoga tonight was good (as usual)
- my dog is adorable (and is laying by the door waiting for her daddy to get home)
- my co-workers (for the most part) are fun
- i love glade french vanilla scented candles
- my orchid has ANOTHER bloom - that makes 5 at once!
- more importantly, my orchid is still alive
- tomorrow is the students' last day this week because friday is a teacher workday
- my pulled muscle, while still there, is getting better
Saturday, March 1, 2008
a day of memories
today i woke up and saw andrew off to work. then i showered and met jessi over at the hunt horse complex to see the horse auction. we ended up staying ALL day watching horses go anywhere from $200 to $20,000 - literally. though jess toyed with the idea of purchasing one, he went for too much money, and we left emptyhanded. i realized at some point while sitting there, that jess and i have been going to the hunt horse complex annually (for various events) for about 13 years now. crazy.
after the sale, we parted ways briefly and met up again (with our hubbys) for a tasty dinner at humble pie. i really like that place! it was a rather early night, and andrew and i got home wondering what we should do next. so, we moved the hope chest i bought last week from the middle of the living room into the bedroom. that also gave us the opportunity to finally take my tack trunk out of the scion and empty it into the new trunk! in the old trunk, i found a picture of me and my pirate. after gazing longingly at my college love, i framed the picture and set it on top of the trunk.
i sure miss my horses :-/
maybe sometime soon i can start riding again, and even get one of my own.
after the sale, we parted ways briefly and met up again (with our hubbys) for a tasty dinner at humble pie. i really like that place! it was a rather early night, and andrew and i got home wondering what we should do next. so, we moved the hope chest i bought last week from the middle of the living room into the bedroom. that also gave us the opportunity to finally take my tack trunk out of the scion and empty it into the new trunk! in the old trunk, i found a picture of me and my pirate. after gazing longingly at my college love, i framed the picture and set it on top of the trunk.
i sure miss my horses :-/
maybe sometime soon i can start riding again, and even get one of my own.
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