Hopefully I'll skip right past level 2 and on to fresh air ... just in time for the Frankenstorm. Although week 2 apparently has its own new amusements, from what I gather. :yelsick: However. Not going to borrow trouble!

Preparing for Frankenstorm is a good distraction. I'm taking tw's suggestion about freezing gallon jugs of water to use in the refrigerator as needed. Cooling may not be my first need, though - I'm in the area predicted to get heavy, wet snow. Power outage seems likely due to snow/ice on the power lines. Liquid water, light, and heat may be more to the point.

Look, orthodoc, you get to use the Cancer card a few times. I don't know exactly how many, but I know I've done it myself.

IF your power goes out you go to the hospital, take over one of their MANY unused beds (we all know they're there) and say, "I"ve got cancer, goddammit, and I need electricity! and meals! and hydration! And MEDS!"

See how that works?

Trilby has a very good advice for you right there. Do eeeet!

I'll keep it in mind ... the ironic thing is, I'm on the list of providers for emergencies in this area. I'm fairly likely to get called up for duty! I can always decline, of course (and I would, it won't help anyone if I keel over from fatigue or whatever in the middle of working) ... but there will be people who need help more than I do, honestly. If I become acutely ill I'll go in, no question, but so far, so good.

I think I mentioned my friend, a Neurosurgery LPN, who rebelled against the hospital administration by wearing "Dago" red nail polish and not wearing any underwear.

Shortly afterward she completely succumbed to burnout and changed careers.

(The story gets very interesting but I have to

you have to what? go?

Anyway- this happens more often than you'd think.

Nurses, like policepeople and dentists, flip out a LOT. It's b/c they have to work with the public. Anesthesiologists flip out coz they have too much pressure on them (as a friend once said, you're not paying them to put you to sleep, you're paying them to wake you up again) and I'd imagine BMV people and the post office folks are pretty xanax'ed up just to get to work never mind to interact with the public. The public are an exasperating bunch, you know. And when you see people at their worst - like when they're sick or on bath salts or beaten senseless by their bath-salt snorting boyfriend who doesn't pay you ANY child support but you refuse to leave him because you luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv him - you tend to burn out.

And then you think about buying a cabin in the woods, far, far away from people.

I decided not to participate in Halloween tonight. The SOLD sign is in the front yard, I've given out regular size candy bars for 18 years, there's nobody to help me do it, the bushes by the steps haven't been weeded, the banister on the front steps is actually unsafe, and the dog shouldn't be excited right now because she goes into cardiac spasm and could die.

For some reason I still feel guilty about this.

I'd say, put all the lights out and enjoy the quiet and Pearl's company. Don't feel guilty about doing what's important for you. Be good to yourself.

Seriously. Do this and eat all the candy for yourself. No chocolate for Pearl.

Don't feel guilty. 'T'aint like the kids will be short on candy because of you not participating :P

Seriously though: Pearl's your priority and that's just how it should be.

I hope you and Pearl had a nice bit of quality time together in the dark.

Sent by thought transference.

At least three times a day, more actually, if you include #1.

I had an 1 1/2 hour grueling interview at the JOC (Joint Operations Center). I'm sweating it because my medication makes me have a dry mouth and I didn't take a drink in with me. By the time the interview was over, they could barely understand me

As I posted last summer, my G-son moved out of his apartment
(next door) to work for the Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife.

We have been gradually moving his stuff over into his new place.
Today, we got to the last things... his potted and planted (outdoor) plants.

He's completely on his own now, living independently on his own salary.
We are a little more than a "tad" apprehensive, but we're also quite optimistic.
Maybe it's too soon to tell.

Congratulations on your g-son's independence! I would stick with the optimism. If he has a significant number of indoor and outdoor plants, he probably has the ability to organize himself enough to take care of things.

Tomorrow is chemo #3 - halfway done! This time I'll get the Neulasta shot the following day, which means a bad week following but should mean I don't have to hide out in a bubble for two weeks with nonexistent white blood cells. I'm a little apprehensive that I'm not going to get all my projects done and exams studied for, since this lost week (that starts tomorrow) immediately precedes all the due dates and exams. However - you never know. I might be able to do some work when the meds have kicked in. And I'll be alone for chemo tomorrow, which is a good thing. Trying to be more independent.

I had a laugh today after I cracked a joke in the work room at clinic ... I was sitting doing charts with three attendings, and one of them helped himself to coffee. This coffee, which is truly awful, appears daily in the work room as either encouragement or punishment, I'm not sure which. Most of us avoid it but this attending, who is extremely polite, serious, and OCD, drinks it every day. This morning he took a sip and remarked, "This coffee will make hair grow on places where your skin is smooth!". I said, "Well then, I'd better get myself some!". He stared at me in horror and turned ten shades of dark red; the other two attendings gave me a look that said, are you going to fly into hysterics now? I had to laugh at all of them (well, I felt bad for the OCD guy). Just told them I take my humor where I find it. They had a good chuckle over it then.

Awesome repartee. There's some Oscar Wilde in you screaming to be free.

I love Oscar Wilde - and Dorothy Parker. Beside them I'm pretty much an anti-wit. But I appreciate the good stuff when I hear (or see) it. :)

You can't go wrong with either of those two.

My beloved car dealership has closed its doors, so I'm sitting in a Midas muffler shop waiting for the verdict on my inspection ....

Well, what a waste of good apprehension ... I am already home. Shortly after I submitted that last post, the nice man said okay, you're done and presented me with a bill for $150. Time to make some breakfast and maybe take a mm ice nap ... I only got about 5 hours of sleep. Heck, I didnt even get a chance to pee out the nice, fresh, tasty courtesy coffee in their surprisingly spotless bathroom.

It's always good to come down on the 'not' side of the apprehension equation, once you can tell.

Enjoy your nap!

orthodoc, that is some funny!

wolf--I don't have inspections for cars out here, except for emissions inspections. I imagine they're stress inducing. Are they really sticklers for the sticker?

Yeah, they are. Everything get checked, including emissions. Tires, brakes, body rust, and all the innards. At least we only have to do it once a year instead of every six months, like we used to.

Getting an inspection here is a royal pain in the ass. The state legislates that the body shops all have to charge the same flat rate for it, and if there's any profit built into that price it is very small. So a lot of shops just refuse to do them at all, and the rest put a quota on how many per day they are willing to do. I've gone in at 8:00 AM before and been told, "Sorry, there are already three ahead of you, and that's the max for the day."

There are a few places that do nothing but inspections, but they invariably have a line six cars long.

And it gets worse as you get closer to the end of the month and everyone needs that sticker so they don't get a ticket.

Do they give priority to cars that are getting serviced, like an oil change/lube, or something?

I posted the other day that I had a flat tire. I changed the tire and took the car and the flat to my local tire shop the following Saturday. I was there at 8:10 am, thinking "oh, smart, proactive me, I'll get my car work done and have the weekend for fun." Right. When I got there, there were three clerks working the counter and the line was three deep. The lot and the waiting room were both full. When I finally got to the service counter, I communicated my surprise at how busy it was so early. The fellow said that people started lining up at 5:45 am. For the 8:00 am opening.

They sure are a popular tire store.

For those of you who need an emissions inspection be sure not to add dry gas to your tank before hand. It will reduce your emissions to zero and the machine will think your car passed, thus saving you a potentially expensive repair bill to get your car into compliance.

Dry gas? As in, no ethanol? I can't even find that around here.

Dry gas=you will pass

My G-son and I are repairing/improving two (extremely) small,
attic bedrooms in a (very) small house at the coast.
We're adding a toilet and washbasin and 4 new electric circuits for additional lights, plug outlets, etc.
This means we have permits and inspections to bring some things up to code.

Yesterday, we passed inspections for structural (improved stairway + WC walls),
mechanical (fan and ducts), and plumbing with flying colors. :thumb:

But the electric inspection was a bust. :sniff:
The inspector was unhappy with how short were our (already crimped) "ground"
wires are in the boxes, and is insisting on a 6-inch length outside the box.
His rationale is "THE CODE", and that future repairs would be more difficult than making the changes now.

Romex does not stretch !

So we have to go back on each outlet and switch to either re-wire the boxes,
or re-position the lines to get the length the inspector needs.
And, we just got the old (blown-in) insulation washed out of our hair and clothes.

Eventually, we will get through this, but it is frustrating to be so close but then have to re-do.

Good for you getting the inspections. I never bother with getting inspections on work I do on my own house. But it's a good idea.

Hooray, on Friday we passed our (rough wiring) electrical inspection !
But then the inspector dropped a couple more bombs on me.

Instead of adding the regular (inexpensive) circuit breakers to our panel,
we will have to use the newly required, AFCI breakers.
These run about $45 each, instead of usual $10-$25.

But in the real world, AFCI breakers stop the arc's that are the cause
of a lot of home fires, and are now being required in all "new construction"

Here's a link for any home DIY's to keep up with national electrical codes...

The second bomb was that all new and replacement plug/receptacles now are required to be "tamper proof".
These have a shield built into them that prevent kids from poking something (wire paper clip, etc) into the receptacle.

I know this happens IRL because years ago my middle daughter told her youger sister to do that.
She did and was burned on several fingers !

Those Arc Fault breakers are the result of successful lobby by electrical unions according to my electrician. They have a ton of problems associated with them. Our local fire dept told me that nearly 7 out of 10 home fires are the result of mice chewing wires, that'll cause an Arc fault.

Not sure what to think.

Wait.

Lamplighter-you have a house on the coast?

Which coast and when can I come?

The specific coast. I'll go with!

My G-son, Sam, took a job with Oregon Fish & Wildlife in Tillamook, OR, about 80 miles west of Portland.
Several coastal rivers empty into the large Tillamook Bay, and salmon and steelhead fishing there is famous.
The commercial ocean fishing and canning industry used to be bigger, but it is still important.

We helped Sam with part of the down payment and our credit score, on a 1931 doll-house (750 sq ft).
We are "improving" the place by adding a new toilet+wash basin in between two sleeping rooms in the attic.

Sam is a friendly young fellow, and he's looking forward to visitors, once the "construction work" is finished. ;)

YAY! sounds like heaven!

Friendly, has a job, handy. Is he man enough for you and Infi? (is anyone man enough for you and Infi?)

I just broke a string on my sister's Vietnamese zither. Not looking forward to hear her complain and bitch. Accidentally did it while I was doing something for my friend. Made the situation much worse. My sister thinks my friend doesn't treat me well so she'd get especially upset. :3_eyes: Oh well, gonna have me some good coffee now. Press my mental ignore when my sister gets home later. :D

My sister did not yell. She was not happy and a bit confused how I managed to break the string. Luckily I broke the metal string and not the red one because it is replaceable. :)

whew!

This is my first day back at work. I've gotten a few hugs from my closer cow orkers. I'm apprehensive because I expect there will be some sort of meeting...but I don't know. HR sent me the FMLA paperwork, but I didn't get it until I got home. On the phone it sounded like they wanted me to come back.

I'm using the skills I learned in the cuckoo's nest. I didn't miss a meeting and took as much from the program as I could. As it stands, I can't control what might happen, only my response and my subsequent actions. I feel so much better than before I went bonkers...and I see just how bonkers I was getting before the big blowout. I needed to be where I was...I needed to get away from it to deal with it, and learn how to cope with it all.

And I know it's not JUST work. There are issues from long ago I've not really dealt with, and the recent deaths of friends (especially my very good friend who died right before my breakdown) and just, everything.

I have a psychiatrist to work with and have put my meds in his care, and will also be seeing a counselor on that team. I have a team. I feel like a guest on House.

I will also need to see a cardiologist because they did two EKGs before they ran me over to Bellevue and those didn't match the one from when I was there with my back issues. It could still be lead placement but it could also be that I had a minor heart event. They almost put me on the cardiac floor that day, but the cardiologist thought it was OK to send me over.

That's my update. Thanks again for all your thoughts and well wishes.

Infi, you sound as though you've got a handle on things now. And a whole nother team (apart from us lot here) on your side, too. Good luck x

We're all pulling for you.

Thanks for checking in. I'm glad you are focusing on figuring this all out and getting in a better place. :comfort:

I'm so glad you've got some IRL support and a "team"---it's nice, isn't it? Having those people know your story and on your side.

Hugs, girl.

I'm glad you made it home for the deluge! LOL!

Thanks for checking in, infi. I was just thinking about you this morning before I logged in -- glad to hear you've got some good support!

Slight slap in the face # 1.

Pattern, or just an oversight? We shall see. I have yet to have any discussion with "THE PERSON." I don't know if there are plans to listen to me and work with me.

But I will stay calm. I don't have to stay here. I'd like to, if things would change as they should, but I don't have to.

Welcome back

Good luck

You're clearly doing better and you're gonna do great. :)

I'm very happy for you, infi.
You da ... ahh ... woman

Good luck as you start back, IM.

So glad you got your big girl panties on and you are ready to get on with it! :)

I don't view mental health issues as not having my 'big girl panties' (an abhorrent phrase anyway) but I'm going with the benefit of the doubt and assuming that you were trying to be funny. :)

Big O' Wig says we will meet next week to discuss the issues I've brought up in the past, and see what we can do to make things better.

Thanks everyone.

Maybe my Arrested Development, Interrupted, was not only what I needed (to stay alive) but was also an eye-opener here?

Let's hope so.

Managers can be really lazy and just ignore problems hoping that they will go away. They need a kick in the ass every once in a while to remind them that the problem still exists.

slowly start building a guillotine in front of Big O' Wig's office...


I know, I know...my first impulse is to chop off heads. It's my bad French blood that makes me do it.

Was it Lupus?

Glad you've found some equilibrium hon. Well done for getting the assistance you needed pretty quickly all things considered. Your survival and self-preservation instincts are still there and you can cope with this.

*hugs*

Thanks youse guys.

:hug: