Tuesday, April 29, 2008

In which my need for symmetry makes itself known



I break out in hives when I see this intercom by our elevator. I don't understand why the toggle switch and button aren't equidistant from the screw. Stop the insanity!

Speaking of insanity, I was suddenly wide awake at 2:30 this morning and couldn't fall back asleep. This promises to be a long day...

Trust me, I'm a nurse

I wasn't worth bubkes (literally, "goat droppings) today. It was great! Gazza took a while to recover from the past few days, and she was still dragging a bit. I'm oddly proud that I'm keeping my labradoodle worn out. Also, I can't say "labradoodle" without giggling. How can anybody take that word seriously?

Another thing I can't believe is that anyone would give me the sorts of responsibilities I currently have. I totally lost my glasses two times today, and then found them again- on my face. And then I couldn't figure out which side of my skirt was the front. Also, I ran into the counter for no apparent reason except for maybe the magnetic attraction between my abdomen and the faux slate countertop. Are you all sure I'm ready for this job??

It was a great day, though :) Seattle is continuing to grow on me. The weathermen, however, are not. They are notoriously awful at their professions, but it really is comical. It was around sixty degrees, sunny, and there was no rain past nine this morning... despite the forecast calling for upwards of a 60% chance of rain and temps in the 40's. I mean, really now. They didn't even bother to change the hour-by-hour to reflect the current conditions!

I was able to convince a friend to play hookey, though, to enjoy the beautiful weather along Puget Sound- complete with ice cream! And then a very chill night of music and a fire. Perfecto!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Even the stars fade away

Man, am I ever glad that course is over! After the half-day course wrap up today, I'd had it up to my eyeballs with pediatric codes thankyouverymuch! Take home message? Uh, don't code... Tell your kids.

Finally escaping scrutiny of the general malignancy of the human condition, Erica and I watched a terrible Lifetime movie. I'll give her some credit here and say that I was the one asking to leave it on that channel because seriously, I have a crush on Patrick Dempsey. I can't help it...

Ok, since everybody except Jenny et co. all bailed on Storyhill tonight *ahem, Jason,* I have to rub it in- they were great! We're going to try for Storyhill Fest this summer. If tonight was any indication, it will be a blast! You should come :)

Oh, and I find it very interesting that the email I use for professional stuff is the only one that has ludicrous amounts of spam. Considering that email address is dedicated solely to professional correspondence, certifications, training, and union emails, at least one of those things is a gateway of some sort to spammers. The funny thing, though, is that at least half of the spam is for drugs. While the ANA and AACN are indeed medically related, I somehow doubt they have a vested interest in Viagra and the various other (misspelled) drugs. Then again, I could be wrong. This is medicine in the twenty-first century, after all.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Let your troubles roll by

When I was still in nursing school, an awesome preceptor in the ER stuck me into a three-day ACLS class. It was the best class of that type I've ever taken (twelve leads ad nauseum), and I still appreciate his getting me into it so early. Later on, I had to take the provider course, not just the recert course, at The Forefront. It was so bad. To me, it represented too well my concerns regarding the hospital. Lesson learned? Expect nothing and be happy with anything more.

Going in for my PALS (ACLS for the wee ones) this weekend, I wasn't sure what to expect. Today was pleasantly helpful, so I'm calling it a success. Who knew you started CPR on an infant with a heart rate less than sixty? Yikes! Barring a non-perfusing rhythm, that's ridiculous for adults! And then we practiced IO's on chicken legs *shudder* I don't do bones, people. And I certainly don't want to puncture them! Ick.

I couldn't help laughing in the pharmacology portion, though, when we were told, "The problem with procainamide is that while it has been shown to be the best anti-arrhythmic for VT, it's an old drug. Old drugs don't make money, so nobody studies it anymore." That's both sad and scary, but kudos for the honesty, folks.

During lunch I got in touch with Jason to figure out some details for tomorrow at the Tractor. It sounds like a good group will be going, and he's bringing some friends along too. What cracked me up was when he asked what kind of music Storyhill plays. Anybody that invites friends along to a random show based solely on the fact that they're playing at the Tractor is a-okay in my book!

And while I'm being honest, Gazza is with Erica tonight so that she can watch her tomorrow while I finish the course. I'm dying from withdrawal. I feel like I'm missing my own shadow! She's getting so much better and likes Erica, so she'll be fine. Maybe Erica is right, maybe now I'm the one with separation anxiety. Apparently it's contagious! On a different note, her previous owner emailed me some pictures of her with her breeder. I can't bear to look at them again- it makes me want to cry. I like this one much better. My happy shadow :)

Friday, April 25, 2008

Blazing out of sight

Man. I love days like today. I woke up early knowing it was going to be a good day. It was sunny and (relatively) warm. Lacking available human companionship, the beast and I spent most of the day wandering along the low tide shoreline between Golden Gardens and Carkeek park. I'm loving it- fresh air, dogs for Gazza to wrestle with, and lots of shiny things (smoothed glass pieces). And the people! I've been meeting some really neat and friendly folks. It's one of my favorite walks...









Afterwards, we were both pooped. I had to practically carry the beast upstairs and wasn't entirely sure we would make it to meet Email Dude. We did make it, however, which brings me to this evening! Getting more nervous as six o'clock approached, I seriously thought about just skipping out and disappearing back into anonymity. I'm glad I didn't, though! He's pretty cool and definitely worth getting to know more!

AND for those of you who haven't been told yet, Storyhill is playing at the Tractor on Sunday night. I'm going along with some other friends. Come join!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Sound the trumpets!

Let it be known, Gazza was home alone for a solid hour... and barely acknowledged my return! With only a few whumps of the tail, she lifted her head, looked at me, and then proceeded to continue her nap. People, this is big! I could hardly believe it, and it took all I had not to roll onto the floor next to her and cuddle for the next hour. Well, maybe not all I had. She had rolled in some duck poop...

Which reminds me, I've noticed this past week that something in Gazza has changed. As Bob, the Almighty Dogwalker, said, "she's acting more like a dog." As my mom said, "she's acting less like a caged animal." I'm not entirely sure what changed recently, but maybe it's just time finally adding up. She actually makes noises now, and she's at ease with her pack at the dog park. On the down side, she's challenging my alpha status more frequently, but so far I've maintained my status. And so the battle of wills begins. Gazza? I'm in it for the long haul, so bring it on :)

Lastly, when we went to see the tulips a few weekends ago, Kyunga informed us that the way we're pronouncing "Gazza" means "let's go" in Korean. Yeah, Ragazza is a lady, but she's a lady of adventure- my Gazza.



Well, usually...

When you feel you have no rhythm, don't place your hand on MY heart!

I got slammed with a migraine last night that is still trying to make my head explode today, though somewhat less forcefully now. As I lie in bed last night, unsuccessfully willing it to go away, I instinctively took my pulse. It's wacky anymore, but I'm learning to read its irregularities. My heart was doing its "sick dance" all evening- a bad polka with some pirouettes thrown in for pizzazz. Cardiac-savvy readers, I know that description was just an abomination of medical terminology, but it's an art, not just a science, right?

Anyway, the beast had a busy day and was passed out next to me, twitching and making funny noises. She always has an irregular rhythm, so we passed the night away, each lost in a dreamlike state, our tickers marching along to the beats of their own drummers. Or SA nodes. Whatever.

This morning, I got up to get something to eat and she stayed in bed as usual. I finally got a photo of her ritual morning conquering of the bed:



I need to get her a Do Not Disturb hang tag...

Monday, April 21, 2008

This little light of mine

On my way to church this evening, I drove by a building with a stained glass window. It was less than inspiring to me because of the muted colors and lack of form (that I could appreciate). I thought, "stained glass windows should be bright and inspiring!" It got me to thinking about various stained glass windows that have either left an impression or been in the backdrop at important times in my life.

I always liked the huge stained glass window at First Pres. in Elkhart (ha, they have an awesome web address). I remember spending what seemed like hours staring at it and then still finding new images.

There are two stained glass windows at Culver's chapel. The one up front never really did anything for me, but I did like the variety of colors. I liked the one in the back, but unless you were up near the altar, you wouldn't really see it. I spent a lot of time at the chapel for one reason or another (it was on the way back to the main campus from the riding hall, so it was a good air conditioned layover point in the stifling Midwest humidity!). Anyway, it's a really neat place, and I have good memories there. Actually, some funny stories came out of that place too!

Fast forward to Chicago when Miki and I were talking about rooming together. Because of lease timing issues, it didn't pan out, but we had fun looking! The one that I just absolutely fell in love with had, you guessed it, huge stained glass windows. The apartment building was nearing one hundred years old and had originally been a synagogue (Temple Emanuel) and then a church before being renovated. The architect added on a second floor inside to make loft apartments and maintained most of the inside facade- floor-to-ceiling (in a loft!) stained glass windows included! Good thing we didn't end up getting it- I might never have left the apartment, let alone the city!

There's a stained glass studio not far from me now. Everytime I drive by it, I get this intense urge to go in and sign up for a class because I want to make something that will spread beautiful color. Without beauty, what are we here for anyway? Beauty is the essense of God and we need more of both, you know?

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Say it right

We had to start learning foreign languages back in fifth grade. By sixth grade you had to choose one, a "major" if you will. I chose French and have many memories of the classroom with Mrs. Gerard. Most of them were in the same vein as "I cut the cheese, you cut the cheese, he/she/it cut the cheese" followed by snickering. It was fun, though, and sometimes I think I learned more in grade school there than I ever did in high school or college.

We started learning French the usual way- numbers, colors, adjectives, nouns, and basic facts about France and the French. Mrs. Gerard was adament about describing France's flag as "bleu, blanc, et rouge." We all wanted to say, "rouge, blanc, et bleu" because the American flag is red, white, and blue. It seemed like a lame point to make at the time, and if it weren't for her emphatic corrections, I probably would have continued saying it wrong until eventually I stopped getting half-hearted corrections. Incidentally, that's how I got through seventeen-ish years of schooling without learning cursive. I always sort of laughed inside when I correctly described the flag's coloring because I always pictured her peculiar reaction.

Later on, the experience symbolized for me various things like "giving them what they want" in the academic setting and then later still, cultural competency. Being the social nimrod that I am, I totally missed the most obvious lesson: it's all in how you say it. I mean, the colors come across the same, but you're giving an unspoken message when you conform. I don't usually understand why it should matter (those are my dad's genes coming through) but it does. Some people are more attuned to those subtle things while there are those of us who blunder right past, quite possibly never realizing the accidental implications.

I feel like recently that's the story of my life. Maybe because I'm in that mode to take in chunks of information to process later? And in the meantime it all just comes out garbled? I mean, I know what I'm trying to say (usually), but asking questions with new information becomes difficult. Add in the social factor and feelings and I'm ready to hit the woods. Oh well, you live and learn (and then you die and forget it all).

So I just finished a stretch of eleven days in which I worked nine of them. I'm sort of over it all. I've been sleeping well, though, so that always helps. The problem is that I can't relax completely on my days off. I feel like I'm wasting my life away if I'm not doing something. Along the lines of, "Quick! While you're young! While the sun is out!" ...only it wasn't really sunny today. It rained and sleeted and snowed. Thankfully it stayed sunny long enough for Erica and I to take a long walk downtown during her lunch break. The clouds really decided to let loose when Gazza and I were wandering around Golden Gardens. My teeth are still chattering!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Slip slidin' away

I feel like maybe I shouldn't end today's blog on such a grouchy note. But just know that I am grumpy and frustrated. It brought to mind a particular Calvin and Hobbes strip that I can't find, but in the process of finding the one below, I read through a bunch of others and feel much better now.



Time is going so fast! I don't know where exactly it's all going, but it's sure in a hurry. I made it through the run of seven work days, had a great day off, and am now back to the grindstone.

I wish I could have frozen time on Saturday. Kyunga, Erica, Gazza, and I went to see the tulips up in Mt. Vernon. Grandma and I went last year, but there were no tulips, so I was beginning to think it was all a scam, but they were actually blooming! It's a late year for the tulips because of the late snows, but the daffodils were out in force. We found several huge fields of the first blooms. Amazing! Also, it was really warm. I mean, high 70's/low 80's warm! I got a tan! I don't remember the last time my pasty white noodles even saw the sun!





It's amazing to me that you can be so warm, standing amid fields of flowers and still look up to see snow covered mountains so close. Mount Baker is still totally covered in snow, much to the delight of the skiiers. Afterwards, we took a drive to Deception Pass. It was pretty crowded but still beautiful. I hope to make a lot of trips up that way this summer. Gazza loved swimming in the frigid water!



I wasn't ready to stay inside when I got home, so I called Katie. I'm not sure what it says about my current situation that our evening together was as close as I've come to a date in a while! I'd say that's what family is for, but... What I'm trying to say is that we had a good time :) She and I met up at Golden Gardens to watch the sunset while the dogs ran around. Despite the whole of Seattle being at the beach, we managed to find a quiet spot. So pretty.



I realized as it suddenly got cold and dark that I was ravenous. We headed to Spud Fish and Chips on Greenlake for some awesome halibut and people watching :) Ahh, now that's what I call a good day!

Lastly, the Weepies have a new album! I love, love, love them! Between listening to Deb Talan and reading Calvin and Hobbes, I'm going to bed in a much better mood...

Monday, April 14, 2008

Not on friendly terms with Uncle Sam

Remember how simple taxes were in Monopoly? You came away a little worse for the wear, but you knew how much you owed and then your turn was done, right? Well this year, in real life, I got screwed. I kept redoing my federal taxes (even went to have them professionally reviewed!) because I kept coming up owing an arm. Turns out my math skills are good and I'm less one limb.

And then despite my best efforts, I couldn't figure out how to do the Illionois part-time resident tax form. In the end someone else did it for me. Here's to hoping Illinois doesn't think I stiffed them with my whole month's worth of Illinois income. My luck I'll owe anyway.

I'm not a pleasant person today.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Sneak peak at summer

I met up with a friend from work this afternoon to introduce the pups to each other at Magnuson. Afterwards I couldn't bear to run errands or stay inside on such a warm, beautiful day, so Gazza and I spent our Friday evening at Gas Works (with what appeared to be fully a third of Seattle). As we lounged on the hillside full of daisy patches, I had Ivar's fish and chips for dinner (and so did Gazza...). The sunset over the Olympics was stunning.



As it grew a little chilly, we wandered along the lake for a while, meeting the usual random assortment of people along the way. Gazza is a heartbreaker- she inevitably leaves some poor boy pining after her. It cracks me up! This time it was a cute little pug (I know, I didn't think it was possible either). I couldn't have planned tonight any better if I had tried. It didn't require too much effort on my part but included easy interactions with friendly people and their dogs. And speaking of dogs, if Gazza dies in her sleep tonight, it's because she drank from Lake Union. I tried to stop her!



Hazardous substances? Actually, I heard a story from a reputable source a few months ago about the bottom of Lake Union. He said they had dropped a screwdriver overboard but didn't get it until the next day. By then, the handle end had melted. In less than a day! Eww. So I'm crossing my fingers that maybe Gazza will only glow. Would save my headlamp a few batteries...

But yeah, it was a good way to end the stretch of seven days :)


Note Gazza at the bottom right, totally pooped but captivated by the skyline too.

On a closing note, I find it thoroughly amusing that payroll feels compelled to offer help in opening my own mail. The envelope containing my pay stub says, *see reverse side for easy opening instructions.* Where do they come up with this stuff??

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Collide

I was a little concerned about how Gazza would take this recent stretch of work days. I mean, she's getting exercise, but I like to be the person providing most of that, not the dog walker (a saint, though he is!). I realized that I probably don't need to be concerned when she did this as I ate dinner this evening:



Even worse, we've gotten into this routine where she falls asleep right next to me at night. When I lean over to flip off the light, she immediately scoots over so that I fall back directly onto her. She looks at me all, "what? you moved." At some point after I fall asleep, she does a 180. When I roll over, I nearly always end up mere inches away from the wrong end. And then when the alarm goes off, she crawls on top of me, begging to be scratched and rubbed for at least ten minutes before I actually get up. When I get ready for work, she stretches out to impossible dimensions, taking up the entire bed as I stumble around in the cold.

The fact that she loves snuggling keeps me from dumping her off the bed completely. In fact, if I let her, she loves to snooze with her snout in my armpit. Now that is love. I defy you to find a man with that level of devotion!

Changing gears, today at work was interesting. It seems that all the ADD-ers gravitate toward the ICU. I'm in good company- this is gonna be fun!

PS: Katie, Gazza, and I made it into Jennie's PI blog again! We're famous! You should run like rockstars with us :)

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

These shoes are made fer walkin'

I had made it thus far in my new job without hearing the word "forefront" uttered from the lips of any hospital employee. It didn't escape my attention, this conspicuous lack of the word, and it made me like the job even more. Today, however, a speaker said it and my vision of the hospital was rudely shaken into reality. I'm sure they don't know, but the word "forefront" in the context of medicine will never be the same for me. In fact, it's actually a bad thing.

Some more thoughts regarding medicine that came to mind today during the lectures: While the words "kinked bloodline" were used several time in reference to CRRT, every time I heard it, this picture kept coming to mind:

humorous pictures

And then when she went on with her lecture, she referenced an article from "Nomenclature for Continuous Renal Replacement Therapies." Seriously. It's a monthly publication. When I worked at the library in college, I never ceased to be amused at what people find interesting enough to support these ongoing publications. This one receives that dubious honor in my book. Not that CRRT isn't interesting because it's cool, but really? A publication dedicated solely to the system of names and terms of dialysis? Apparently.

Ok, pointless rant finished. Moving along!

I'm trying to be consistent with the running. I've so far kept up twice a week around Greenlake with the running group, and then a few longer runs or hikes in between. It helps that Katie and I have been alternately able to tell each other to HTFU (running slang for suck it up and just do it). I almost bailed on tonight because the sky was looking mean, but in the end it turned out to be great weather for a run- cool and cloudy with periodic sun breaks. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed that the other folks around the lake were in a good mood too :)

We may have started a Tuesday tradition of going for sushi after running. I found myself craving it on the drive over and it hit the spot. Yum! It was nice to look around the table at the random assortment of people who came and know that we all just met but were genuinely enjoying the company :) The topic inevitably turned towards relationships (with four girls at a table it's bound to come up), and I thought Jennie summed up the dating scene in Seattle quite well tonight: the odds are good but the goods are odd! Truer words may never be spoken.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Killing 'em with kindness

Welcome to the blogging world, Dad! We spent a long time tonight getting through Blogger basics- talk about the blind leading the blind! Nothing like someone more ignorant in matters than you to boost the ol' self esteem :) Anyway, I'll let him figure some more things out before I give away his secret internet hiding spot...

Some girls from work and I had to take the Be Nice to People Service Quality class this morning. It was actually kind of fun, but I think the crowd had something to do with it. So watch out! I learned how to be nice (which actually came in handy for my appointment afterwards at H&R Block. They were very nice, but I was frustrated to learn I had actually done my taxes correctly and therefore still owe Uncle Sam). All in all, I think the day's take home message was something like this:

Humorous Pictures

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Three dog pileup

Gazza and I met up with another brown "doodle" at Magnuson who is in love with her. They wrestled for a while as we walked around Magnuson under a beautiful blue sky after work. It was awesome.

Then this evening at church something happened. To say I lost my marbles would be an understatement. To say the marble bag exploded would be more accurate. I don't know why, but I was hit with an emotional wave. To be honest, I'm still not completely sure where it all came from. Wherever the origin, I had a good cry with some girlfriends (punctuated with many, many hugs) about things like life and this (courtesy of my preceptor).

It's not ok when kids suffer these illnesses. It's just not. Why am I feeling this more acutely than with adults? I mean, I take their troubles hard too, but this is ridiculous. I'm certainly not the first person to struggle with it, and I'm trying to use the support I've been given, but in the end it's just so wrong. God is here... but I don't know where to find him.

Over the past three and a half months, people at various times have asked me why I got a dog. My answer is sort of tailored to the situation, but it boils down to this: I prayed hard for the right dog because it's time. While she may be a handful (usually of money wads headed distally), she's mine and I love her.

She's my happy little shadow who makes me laugh (like when she fell out of bed last night) and keeps me company. I like to think she feels the same about me. Tonight when I crawl into bed, her fuzzy face will be right next to me, shamelessly asking for belly rubs and more room on the bed. So while the world may be a beautiful mess, Gazza makes my little corner of it more sensible.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

I'm not sure what this says about my state of mind tonight, but it took me no time at all to see what it says. It's one of those mind's eye pictures that you have to look through, or whatever it takes to see the picture within the blur. Remember that fad?

Today was busy. While I know precious little in the grand scheme of medicine, I at least know some things at my old job. I'm totally out of my element in the new place. Want to know which one is me? I'm the one watching everything happen with a totally bewildered look on my face. Being new is rapidly getting old... I'm good. It's a hard transition, but I'm not alone and it's good. I figure if I keep telling myself that, I'll muddle through it and end up in one piece on the other side.

You know what's really good, though? Jess! And Steve! And they're coming to visit! Hooray!! Seriously, the world just got even better! We have four short days in May, and I'm excited beyond words :) And then I'm going home to see Nicholas graduate. I love that kid and am really excited to see him finish up school and head to college. Mom may not be so excited to have him leave the nest, but I think it's pretty cool. We're all growing up *sniff.* For some reason Nicholas's graduation seems like it will herald a new era in the family. That sounds dramatic, but that's how it feels. Dee is coming to stay with me for six weeks or so this summer, so I'm also looking forward to that. It'll be good to spend time with friends and family without being half asleep. Or even mostly asleep.



On a closing note, I heard this joke today and it made me laugh out loud:

Q: You know what's the worst part of getting a lung transplant?
A: The first few times you cough, the phlegm that comes up...is not your own.

Hehe. Gross.

Friday, April 4, 2008

A note to you

I realize many posts lately have been play-by-plays. I also realize those don't make for the greatest blog posts (as per Maggie's Nobody Cares What You Had for Lunch). But I slept most of 2007, and I'm out doing things now- it makes me excited! I wish you all could be here! So bear with me as I pick my life back up in the sunshine. Er, well, such as it is.

Better yet, come join me! Then you'll be famous! At least to all five of my readers :)

Get out of town!

Success! On a much needed escape from the city (sorry Seattle, I still love you), we did Mount Si in 2.3 hours! For those of you not yet lured to the Pacific Northwest, it's a 3,500ft elevation gain in four miles, yo. It's also where Twin Peaks was filmed. At the top, we had a clear view of Mount Rainier, the Cascades, and Seattle. Actually, Seattle was sort of in a haze, but you could see it. Then again, maybe it's because I didn't wear my glasses?

At any rate, it was gorgeous outside. While there was about two feet of snow at the top, it was nice and warm in North Bend. I love it! I was surprised to see a vibrant blue jay at the top, but even more surprised that the robber jays watch for you to put your hands up in the air and then swoop down to take peanuts :)



We tried to get a "friend of all the jungle creatures" shot, instead it looks like Justin just whacked the two birds away and is about to smack Cletus. Equally unsuccessful was the attempt to have the birds pick up peanuts from the dogs' heads. You win some, you lose some...



The dogs had a great time. They seem to have boundless energy but lagged a bit towards the end (personally, I think it was a ploy by Gazza to avoid carrying her pack on the way down). A nap in the car refreshed them, and they were ready for action when we got back home. Ahh, to be young again!





Gazza woke me up this morning wanting to cuddle until I got up for breakfast. She came out to eat a few bites before going back to bed while I did some work in the living room. Lazy bum!

Dinner with Munoz last night was the perfect way to end the day. I say eating Chinese food on comfy couches while listening to KEXP is a great way to spend a lazy Thursday evening!

Note to self: knock off these crazy hours and make more days like yesterday!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Another day, another dollar... to be taxed away

I'm feeling a bit burned out from the two jobs. I like them, but it seems all I do is work. I feel discouraged from taxes this year to begin with, so I find myself wondering whether a second job is worth it. Thankfully I have the next two days off... followed by seven straight days of work (in one form or another). Rest assured, during the next two days I will be consciously not thinking about critically ill children and adults. I'll be doing Mt. Si tomorrow with a friend and his dogs and then having a long overdue dinner with Munoz. I'm giddy just thinking about it!

I ran around Greenlake (2.9 miles) with a new crowd yesterday. My legs were killing me from last week, but I ran again at a 10.5 minute mile. Not that you care. But I'm announcing it because somebody needs to congratulate me on my land speed record (and it might as well be me). So on behalf of the internet community, congratulations Wenikio! Thank you, thank you :)

Erm, yes, well, moving along. When I'm bored (or hiking, which is not boring), I play a little game. I like to pretend I'm someone from another era that has been plunked down in the here and now and then try to see how absurd our daily lives are. I was doing just that this morning when somebody on the radio mentioned something about gay marriage. I realized that many years ago, when gay just meant "happy," those people brought to the present day would probably wonder why all the fuss about gay marriage? I mean, who doesn't want a festive wedding? And then I just laughed :)

Well, on the upside of all this, I'm sleeping fine. I won't be taking a good night's sleep for granted for a very long time, that's for sure...