rants and ramblings of utter randomness

I'm too sick to work (seriously, I'd cough and sneeze all over everyone. It wouldn't be pretty), but not sick enough not to be bored out of my skull from not having energy to do something, but not feeling sick enough to do nothing but lie around. So I made bread.

It's a doctored-up version of this. I used maple syrup instead of honey, half-and-half instead of buttermilk, and I left out the raisins (because I was also too sick to go shopping for ingredients). And does 'white whole wheat flour' actually exist? One of you guys must know this. I used all whole wheat, in any case, and made two smaller loaves instead of one big one. Yum.

Yeah, this is about me. But it's also about most Americans.


So day before yesterday I go to a cardiologist, because with my family history it seemed like a good idea to me and my neurologist. So I drive all the way down to Westerly, and the cardiologist (who is also my mom's cardiologist) says that except for a teeny bit wonky EKG that he and my primary doc both think is not a problem, everything looks good. He was, however, worried about my family history (mom's had a bypass, pacemaker, stent; her mother died from a heart attack, my paternal grandmother died of congestive heart failure, paternal grandfather of a heart attack, etc., etc.).

So he orders a nuclear stress test, to get a baseline and to catch anything he might have missed. And he says if my insurance company won't cover the nuclear version, he'd give me a lesser test that they would cover. Which was fine with me, and I made my appointment for next week. Well. I go to pay and to check about which test my insurance will cover, and, whoops. My insurance won't cover any test at all. I don't quite understand why I was officially refused, but apparently it was something like I wasn't sick enough. The test costs three thousand dollars without insurance.

Now. My insurance used to be Healthmate Coast-to-Coast, but Care New England apparently had a spat with Blue Cross about what patients they'd cover, and threw them out and got us Tufts, whose plans suck. Well. It seems that they've kissed and made up, because as of Jan. 1, I can have Healthmate again. The problem is, now I have to wait until January to find out if my DNA is turning on any switches in my body. And if Healthmate doesn't cover it, I may have to wait until I'm symptomatic before any tests are done.

The next day I went to a rally.

Here's a message for the Obama is Che Guevarra AND Hitler reincarnated crowd: When you're lying about American healthcare reform, DO NOT TALK TO ME ABOUT WAIT TIMES, ASSHATS.

Currently having issues with sitting down for any appreciable amount of time. I'm still working on the betas I'm doing, but it's taking a bit of time--rest assured, I have been working on them. When I'm home I'm going to try to rig up something that will let me use my keyboard from a more comfortable position. Replies are coming, you guys, I promise!

I'm trying to see if I can get TDI. My nurse manager advised it and I think she's right, even though I'd have to wait three weeks or so for any benefits whatsoever because the State of RI and Providence Plantations is slowass. Still, it's better than working when I'm no good to myself or my patients.

However, I still have to work THIS shift which makes no sense, because I'm seriously not sure if I'm going to fall down, pass out, throw up, or all three. And then there's driving home, which means sitting for over an hour AND clutching and braking and going over bumps. Yes, this is me whining. Sorry about that.

Pain update: OW^44530659

Lying down is good, and by good I mean a level between six and eight out of ten.

Sitting, not so much. A couple of minutes at a time is all I can manage right now. Which means I've had to drop out of ds_c6d_bigbang. I was considering it anyway, on account of all the other RL stuff, but I'm still really disappointed.ds_con_envy is still a go, since it won't take me as long and I can do a lot of that longhand.

I have a few Vicodins and a few muscle relaxers left. They work some but not a lot and not for long. And the Vicodin upsets my stomach, so bleh.

I'm going to call my neurologist for an MRI referral tomorrow. The doc-in-a-box I went to yesterday wouldn't do it because they were afraid of the insurance company. I can't go for an MRI up here because my insurance isn't accepted anywhere but SE Massachusetts and RI, and I'm in NE Mass. God bless America.

Phone update: Still can't find it. It's probably under some piece of furniture or something, which mean the chances of finding it in the near future are slim and OMG ARE YOU CRAZY?


RL is no longer an evil zombie serial killer. Now it's turning into an evil zombie serial killer with a bayonet. And possibly nuclear weapons.

Going to take a nap, now. The muscle relaxers and Vicodins might not work for very long, but they make great sleeping pills. I don't get how people LIKE feeling like that, wtf?

This picture is from a webcam located literally down the street from my house:



Which begs the question: How the HELL am I gonna get to work tonight?

In related news, marymarymaryk has been notified (by me) to wait to have her baby until tomorrow.

You know how people ask questions like, "Do you remember where you were blahblahblah years ago?" No?

Well, um. I definitely remember where I was nineteen years ago, because I'd just given birth for the fourth (and, alas, final) time. Despite my horrendous experience at Evil Baby Factory, the end result was, and is, pretty awesome. :D :D

Happy birthday, mr_t00by, YAAAAY! *kermitflail*

I suck at sentiment, so I'll let someone more eloquent talk instead (and yeah, this is the same thing I quoted when Hannah turned nineteen, but I'm pretty sure mr_t00by will appreciate it more, seeing as how he's actually read the text in question).

( On Being Nineteen )





And now for some pictures!

( Baby!Isaac, circa 1991 )

( This one's from last summer )

( And this one was taken in San Juan during a cruise in January )

Random post of randomness, now with Numbers!

1. Hannah called me at least four times today (technically yesterday) from her car, in which she had been lost in Boston for quite a while. I had to look up directions for all the different streets she found herself on. And by 'found herself' I do not mean 'discovered the meaning and purpose of life on Mass Ave.' but rather 'took a random detour because driving in Boston SUCKS'. I think she found her way out because the last I heard she was seeing Mass. Pike signs. Geez.



2. Last night we had to have Baby, my niece Veronica's very sweet but very sick 13-year-old kitty put to sleep. It was sudden and sad (she had an only recently diagnosed tumour in her abdomen and the vet says she probably had a stroke because of it). On the way home from the vet ER Veronica asked us (her boyfriend Alex, who was driving, and me), if she could put on a song as tribute. The logical expectation would have been 'Stray Cat Strut' or something felinesque like that. But no, the song she played was 'My Way' by Frank Sinatra. My response: 'Okay, that's the only time I've heard that song used as a tribute to a cat'. Even Veronica was amused by the concept, which helped cheer her up some. I wonder what Sinatra would have thought of the idea.



3. I was supposed to go to Mary's first official appointment with the midwife but mr_t00by couldn't make it back in time for me to use his car, so she had to go by herself. I'm pretty upset about it, but I really can't do anything about it. I'll go with her next month. :/



4. OMGBSG. Now we have to wait until next year? *flails*



5. Holy shit. Could this actually happen? I mean, woah. Iraq might just up and kick us out? I repeat: Holy shit.



6. U.S. Supreme Court backs Detainees' Rights, a.k.a. Constitution 1, Bush Regime 0. \O/
   
   
7. Credit where credit is due: Stephen Harper Does a Good Thing. Seriously, I was glued to CPAC for a solid hour on Wednesday and was blubbering through most of it (and how much do I love Mary Simon?). Real history, being made right in our back yard and it barely made a blip on the news radar. Last February, Australia did something similar. It's not all that needs to be done, but it's a heartfelt start. So, yeah. I'm thinking it's way past time for the US to apologise for what we did to OUR First Nations and make some history of our own.

I'm hopelessly behind in most everything in life right now, including LJ comments/entries/etc. Plus I have four stitches in my head, which is why I didn't come back from MA or go to work yesterday..

Here's the short version: I had an altercation with a door, and the door won. This is because Evil Bedroom Door had Bedskirt With Big Hole In It as an accomplice, which helped accomplish teh evil by not letting me in on the fact that my foot was inside said Big Hole, so that when I turned to walk across the room, I caught my foot and fell headlong into the (sharp like steel) corner of Evil Bedroom Door.

There's a longer story involving the house resembling a crime scene, my lovely niece being all nice and helpful and niece-ly, the Irish Guy at the ER, and the friendly and competent doc whose one flaw is wanting to tell me everything he observed about my injury. (Note to doc: Just because I'm a nurse doesn't mean I don't get a little freaked when you tell me my head is lacerated ALL THE WAY TO THE BONE). Also, note to nice but descriptive ER nurse: You are tending to the injured, not providing colour commentary. Telling me you are pulling CHUNKS OF FLESH out of my hair is not soothing in the least. Even if you do like my tattoo.

I'm in RI now, but I think I'll be going back to MA, where there is still no internet. Wah. But I am getting a lot of cleaning done. :D

In other news, wah, Patriots.

So. When does Spring Training start again?

I either want this:



Or something like it. Like maybe the same style, only with Anna Conroy instead of the Karate guy. Because she kicks bigger ass anyday.

I do not have an Anna icon. I will fix this egregious omission later. Now I'm off to the wilds of Tewksbury, where it's probably even colder than it is here (which? Is damn cold).

Also? I'm getting a massage tomorrow. And a pedicure. Oh, bliss.