And by the way
23 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: school
I passed physiology! I didn’t get an A, but who cares! Passing is what counts! C+ for everyone! Yay not getting kicked out of my nursing program before it even starts!
Pain
22 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: ladybits, pain, tattoos
I used to think that I had a pretty decent pain threshold.
Then I got a tattoo along my left ribs. JESUS LORD.
I thought, okay, except for tattoos, I’m pretty tough. I mean, I had an ovarian cyst burst, that was pretty bad!
And then I got an IUD inserted. WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED. Seriously, I PASSED OUT – full-on fainted for three or four minutes, I wake up from what I think is a delicious nap (I dreamed!) and my NP and LN are freaking out. That was the first attempt at insertion. The second attempt worked – my body tried to faint, but I wouldn’t let it! Go me!
If anyone ever asks me about these two procedures – IUD insertion, tattoo application along the ribs – I will be entirely honest and tell them never to do it, it’s not worth it, wtf are you thinking run while you still can.
Summer
16 May 2012 Leave a Comment
School’s out, which means that my World of Warcraft account has been thawed. Ah, Loremaster! You will be mine!
The only thing I’m waiting on is my physiology grade. I need a C- or better in the class; if I do worse than a C-, I have to retake the class over the summer. My nursing program requires a C- or better in all prereqs, so this grade is pretty important.
If I were the praying type…
12 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: oh dear lord, school
…I would pray to pass this physiology exam. I need to get 70 points out of the 96 that are available to me – this will give me a C in the class, which will mean that I’ve passed all my prerequisites and will not get kicked out of the Master of Nursing program (which I’ve been accepted into).
Ugh omg omg omg omg
Hello neighbor
11 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: garden, house
When we bought our house in the summer of 2010, the landscaping was one of the biggest attractions. The previous owner had taken quite a lot of care, putting in walkways and lots of native plants. We have tons of room for flower and vegetable gardens. The first year, though, we ignored the front of the house in order to focus on the backyard. We tore up more sod to expand to vegetable garden, put in a rock path, paved the garage floor, redid the north flower bed, etc. The front of the house looked like it belonged to a halfway house for homeless schizophrenics.
This week Max has attacked the front of the house, at last, and we had a hilarious encounter with a neighbor. Ann is an older woman who lives across the street from us, in a lovely white house with an impeccable yard. She came across the street yesterday afternoon as Max was putting in the last of the mulch for the day. Introductions all around.
“It’s so nice to see this house looking lived-in again, it’s looked just awful for the past few years. The front was so ugly. Did you just move in?”
“No, we’ve lived here since August 2010.”
…
…
“Well, good to meet you!” and she dashed back across the street.
Braaaaain
18 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: depression, meds
Early last year I finally caved and started taking antidepressants. This was an incredibly difficult decision for me. My father is a physician; his general opinion of depression and antidepressants is that the sufferer is either lazy or is not right with God.
Although my brain disagreed with this viewpoint, my gut agreed wholeheartedly. I resisted drugs for a very long time, thinking that maybe, this time, the depression would lift on its own, that I wouldn’t spend months in a deep pit of despair. I worried about fucking up my brain chemistry; my psychologist said, “Honey, your brain chemistry is already fucked up.”
I had another very bad depressive episode in October – Max was out of town, and I took that opportunity to spend the entire week asleep. I woke up to walk the dog, feed the animals, and eat a little bit of food. This depression has lingered for a while, despite upping my citalopram dosage and changing all kinds of things about my life.
I’m switching to generic-zoloft, doing a cross taper. When my psychiatrist first mentioned that I would be tapering off my initial drug, my mouth dropped and I refused; she hurried to assure me that I’d start the new med at the exact same time.
So far…I feel pretty good. I feel lucky that I respond fairly quickly to these drugs; whether that’s real or placebo effect, I don’t care, it works.
I am SO. GLAD. that I decided, or was convinced, to try antidepressants. I was so scared of what would happen, and it’s been nothing but goodness. It’s not perfect yet, we’re obviously still messing with the type and dosage, but I love my drugs.
Damn squirrels
11 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: pup
Freki fulfilled her life’s ambition this week: she caught a squirrel. Not for just a second, not just the tail as it escaped her…like, jaws around the chest, ready-to-tear-apart caught a squirrel.
For about half a second, it was the happiest day of her short life.
Then the squirrel realized how close it was to death, and bit its executioner on the face. Full on bit Freki’s lip and hung on for dear life! Freki spun in circles on the end of her leash, howling and wailing like a banshee. I was screaming, too, because a rabid squirrel was biting my dog! (Then I remembered that she’d gotten her vaccinations just the week before. Whew!) In a panic, I kicked my foot out, not really thinking I’d be able to do anything. I did manage to kick the squirrel – and Freki’s face, through the body of the squirrel, in the process. The rodent dropped to the ground and ran for dear life.
Freki has been less interested in squirrels for several days now.
Beauty is exhausting
09 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: tattoos
Today I started to get a new tattoo. I say “started” because only the outline and a tiny part of the color is done. Mike the Face, at St Sabrina’s in Uptown, is the fabulous artist who is working on me. I contacted him back in September with what I wanted – a large and lovely peacock for my side – and he’s created a gorgeous piece of body art for me. Next week we’ll hopefully be able to finish!
And, let me tell you, IT HURTS. I have one tattoo that I got in…2009, a text tattoo on my wrist. It was mildly painful, but took less than thirty minutes from start to finish. This giant peacock on my ribs? “Motherfucker” was my most frequently said word today, let me say that. I had to ask Mike to stop 45 minutes before the end of my appointment, as my poor nervous system was panicking and couldn’t take any more needles.
So! One week from today, I hope to have it finished!
Lazy Saturday
08 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: politics
I accidentally slept in until 1 pm. Oops.
I am currently embroiled in an e-argument with my father over this woman’s statement, which I posted to my Facebook page. My father is a physician, and a raging conservative, who loves nothing more than to cast aspersions on people who need any kind of public assistance. “Her tumors were probably benign and she had a pointless surgery.” Oh, really? Where did you get a copy of her chart from? Needless to say, I’m seeing red, and writing it, too.
Anti-SOPA
06 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: politics
So Google, Facebook, Amazon may go black in SOPA protest. SOPA = Stop Online Piracy Act, another stellar piece of legislation from a Congress that doesn’t seem to understand any aspect of modern technology/communications/basic rights.
I rather hope this happens. Sure, it will be annoying for a couple days, not being able to check my email; I think the cause is well worth it.
Get started early – contact your legislators TODAY.
