OH MY GOD!

I think that I just had one of the most exciting days ever! In addition to my previous post where I got to interpret a rally for Michelle Obama, I got free passes to an event for the DNC here in NC tonight. So I dragged my mom to it. The passes that we had entitled us to sit in the bleachers. Down by where the speakers would be were all of these fancy pants white table clothed tables. Turns out that it was a $225 a plate dinner down there.

So long story less long, mom starts chatting with a woman who sat near us (I was at the concession stand, Dorton Arena, please staff your concessions better at events like these!) and the woman ended up going to ask if we could sit at one of the empty tables down there. Apparently this was instigated by my mom who said "If my daughter were here she would ask if we could sit down there." So the woman said she would. And she did. AND we got to sit down there! We had a FREE 3 course meals including filet mignon! And we got to hear the Gubernatorial candidates, US Senate candidates for NC, AND Hillary and Obama! And we were right there, all for free, all due to a trickle down effect from my interpreting assignment earlier that day, a last minute thing, and all built on just being open and talking to people!
Life can be pretty exciting sometimes!!! Whoo hoo! I am still so wired, I might not sleep tonight!

ROCK ON!

Well, in contrast to the last day that I posted, I had an awesome few days, culminating in one amazing experience! First off, after the bad incident that I had last Monday, on both Wednesday and Thursday I had the Deaf client that I was working with each time, without any egging on by yours truly, go to the agency where they have their appointments and SPECIFICALLY request me, by name! Yay! Ha, talk about an ego boost when you need it the most! So, that plus some more thinking and I am over the situation the other day, and I have to say that that is the quickest I have gotten over something, EVER!

Then today, I had a whole day of nothingness ahead of me when I got a call asking if I was free for a job, long story short, I took it and it was to interpret at a Rally for Michelle Obama! How awesome is that!? And I must say that I have been planning on voting for Clinton but I might just change that vote. We shall see, going to another event tonight, I will reserve judgement 'til then!

ROCK ON!

Bad day

Today was my first really bad experience since I have returned to the interpreting world. A client was already upset and mentioning a lawyer when I didn't understand a word, granted a basic word, but one I haven't used or seen in a while, and I had a freaking brain freeze. So then the client asked if I was certified and claimed that the communication wasn't good in the situation and was definitely going to get a lawyer. I know that I did a good job, everyone needs a bit of a nudge on a word here or there, this client was just pissed and took it out on me as well as who they were really mad at, but I still feel like crap on toast. Blech, and it is pouring out.

Snow Alert

Heading to Boston this weekend for Northeastern University's 11th Annual ASL Festival! Whoo hoo! Taking one of my best friend's, and my boss! Have almost every minute accounted for and will be more tired coming home than I am now, but it will be a blast! And they say it might snow while we are there, hot dog!

Dad

Whoo hoo! Dad is coming home tomorrow! He is a 'miracle', that is what the hospital staff is telling him, he went from seemingly fine one day, to having a heart attack and double bypass the next, to progressing slower than average, to beating the time in the hospital, or at least catching up to the projected average time! And he still has his sense of sarcastic humor! Great stuff. :)

Easter Miracle

Well, it is a good day in the world of news in relation to Dad! We went in for the first visit allowed (10am) and while we were there his doctor showed up and told us that as soon as we left they were taking the balloon out. They also said (yippee!) that when the bleeding is done from that (usually in a few hours) they will take out the breathing tube!!!! This is the best news that we could have gotten at this point and we are thrilled! Finally he will be able to communicate! This is just the beginning of a long and arduous road, but being able to communicate is a huge barrier for him right now.

As well as the good news, he was even more alert and himself than last night. He doesn't like to try to write in an attempt to communicate, for various reasons, but he does like to draw letters in the air to tell us what he wants to tell us. This can be difficult to understand as we may all recall from our games as a child with this. Especially since he thinks in cursive. But he is getting his point across. Today he was trying to get something across, and when I couldn't understand it he took my hand (which is great, he is more mobile today!) and laid it on the pillow on his stomach, and smacked it! Then he proceeded to draw his letters in my hand. That worked well!

Also, when I made a comment about his new leg stocking (something having to do with holding the veins in place since they had to take part of a vein from his leg to do the bypass) he made the universal 'whoopee' sign of circling his finger in the air. He also attempted to strike a pose! It was very heartening stuff and we couldn't be happier about this progress!

We are hoping to find his breathing tube out by 2 but if not then I expect it to be gone by the 5 o'clock visit! Yay.

Dad

On Thursday March 20th my father had emergency double bypass surgery. He had a heart attack at some point, but they are not sure when exactly. Apparently a migraine saved his life. Who knew one could be grateful for a migraine!

He had had the migraine for about a week off and on at which point he finally went to the doctor. They gave him some Immitrex for it and then detected an arrhythmia. They took an EKG and referred him to a cardiologist with the recommendation of being seen within the next week. They went ahead and sent the EKG along to the cardiologist who told him to get in to see him immediately. He went. They called an ambulance and sent him to the hospital right away for a cardiac catheter at which point they let me know that I should come to Wilmington.

By the time I got there, a few hours later, thinking that I am just going to sit around while they do this test on him, I was notified that he was already in surgery for a possible triple or quadruple bypass. It turned out that it should have been a triple but one of the areas that was blocked was where the heart attack occurred and was atrophied so they couldn't bypass it.

It is now Saturday and he is doing ok. Not great, but he is making progress. There was a blip with his blood pressure this morning, but they got it stabilized. They were hoping to have the breathing tube out yesterday but his vitals aren't yet strong enough to do that. We are hoping very hard that it is done by Monday (although tomorrow would be better!). It would mean that his vitals are very good and that he can communicate effectively.

When visiting him today he was lucid and aware when we were there (although we are told due to the medications that he won't really remember these days) and was able to interact in a manner with us. The GREAT news is that he still has his sense of humor. When he was told that a family friend, a straight male no less, asked what his favorite flowers are so that he could send him some, I noticed his hand moving and realized that he was giving the finger in response! I asked him if he was in fact giving the guy the finger and he nodded a clear yes! So this is all good news. His color is great and the nurses say that his lab work is coming back looking right on target, so we have every reason to believe that he will make a full recovery (albeit a slow one).

I am scared because this is the first real sign that I have had to deal with that my father is in fact mortal, and I don't like it one bit. I think that if I lose him (and I don't expect that to be any time soon!), I will fall apart, because he is my best friend. And yes I realize that I said if and not when, I am not even ready to deal with the difference yet!

Bill Bryson, you slay me!

For those unlucky souls out there who don't already know, there is this author, Bill Bryson. He writes books that fall in the 'travel' category. I can't quite recall how I stumbled upon the first book of his that I was lucky enough to read (I'm A Stranger Here Myself) but I did, and boy howdy, I am one happy girl for it! He is hilarious, sarcastic, and can alternately be nostalgic, sweet and a sarcastic straightforward speaker. You should all read him, it is worth your time. Just to give you a taste, here is a part that is in 'Neither Here Nor There' about his recreation of a youthful tour of Europe that he took as a middle aged man. When he originally did the tour he was joined by Steve Katz and that guy just didn't seem very pleasant. While Bill was in Paris for this go round he recounted an incident that occurred those many years ago. This one had me laughing out loud, tears streaming down my cheeks, mostly from the 'tone of voice' that he uses. Enjoy!

"Katz was in a tetchy frame of mind throughout most of our stay in Paris. He was convinced everything was out to get him. On the morning of our second day, we were strolling down the Champs-Elysees when a bird shit on his head. "Did you know," I asked a block or 2 later, "that a bird's shit on your head?"

Instinctively, Katz put a hand to his head, looked at it in horror, and with only a mumbled "Wait here", walked with ramrod stiffness in the direction of our hotel. When he reappeared twenty minutes later, he smelled overpoweringly of Brut aftershave and his hair was plastered down like a third-rate Spanish gigilo's, but he appeared to have regained his composure. "I'm ready now," he announced.

Almost immediately another bird shit on his head. Only this time it really shit. I don't want to get too graphic, in case you're snacking or anything, but if you can imagine a pot of yogurt upended onto his scalp, I think you'll get the picture. It was running down the sides of his head and everything. "Gosh, Steve, that was one sick bird," I observed helpfully.

Katz was literally speechless. Without a word he turned and walked stiffly back to the hotel, ignoring the turning heads of passerby. He was gone for nearly an hour. When at last he returned, he was wearing a poncho with the hood up. "Just don't say a word," he warned me and strode past. He never really warmed to Paris after that."

I still giggle when I read this. I tried to read it out loud to my mom once, could barely breathe for laughing so hard because I knew what was coming. Great stuff!

Gums

I have periodontal disease. Yay. I have my first 'special' cleaning tomorrow. Hopefully I won't come home spitting out blood every five seconds from my newly clean teeth and shredded wheat gums. After they get rid of all the nasty bacteria that are eating away at the bones in my mouth, I am going to get Invisalign (after having my SIDEWAYS wisdom tooth pulled, plus the other 3). Then I will have nice, semi straight teeth! Finally! Whoo hoo!

Airbus- foul language ahead

So, I admit to not being the most informed person when it comes to politics, but in some ways I like it like that. Because I realize that when it comes to policies and things there is sooo much info to factor in that it seems that the people who make the decisions and such get bogged down by it all. Sometimes it is much simpler than it seems once the politicos clutter it all up in one big cluster fuck of rules, regulations and negotiation.

Case in point. The 40 billion dollar contract that went to a French company to build the refueling planes for our airforce. Ok, just saying that statement gets me all riled up. First off let me say that I AM a supporter of Free Trade to a degree and I do believe that we need to get the best for our money. That being said, I think this is one of the most IDIOTIC things that our government has ever done, well at least recently and excluding violent actions.

1) When it comes to supplying things for our armed forces, I just think it best that we do it here at home. Period.

2) When we are coming into one of the worst economic times for our country since the depression (thanks a lot, W!) why the HELL would we give a contract of that high a value to another country. We could have spent a bit more and kept it here at home where it would create jobs and keep the money flowing HERE!!!! I know that they say the company has some plant in Alabama and all, but come on! BULLSHIT. I am so pissed about this that I can barely stand it. Ugh.

3) Our tax money, those of the middle class who pay the highest percentage of taxes (right?) would I believe overall agree that OUR money should be spent HERE! If Boeing (the company that has traditionally made these refueling planes until this point, and is AMERICAN) charged a bit more, then pay it damnit, I am sure we would rather as a country pay a bit more if it stayed here and boosted jobs and the economy, then getting a 'deal' and leaving us. It isn't like this is a private company paying for these planes, it is us, our government and our taxes, so why the FUCK would they not factor that in when they made the decision on who got the contract! Idiots. But then again, look who runs the damn country, I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. Again.