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!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
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!
"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!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Last Night
So last night I had quite an experience! I was at the hospital interpreting for a Deaf woman who had a baby! I was there for all the good and gory stuff! I saw the baby the second it was born! It was an amazing and odd experience! It was awkward because I had never met the parents before and here I am, a stranger, there and privy to the most intimate and special moment in their lives. The awkwardness was more on their part. But we all got through it beautifully. They had a beautiful and healthy baby and I am honored that I was allowed to be a part of it. Yay, interpreting!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Moving Hell
Yup, moving again. Some would think that as often as I engage in this particularly stressful pastime that I would be good at it by now. But alas, it is not so! Not by a long shot. As a matter of fact, I usually cry, fight with my husband and overall become a stressed, tired, cranky bitch. I hate it in other words. I would love to say that I won't move again until we have enough money to pay someone to do the whole shebang for us. But that is unlikely. But I swear, I SWEAR that the next time that I move it will be into a house that I will own, so it will be worth it all!!!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Sucker's Day
So I have decided that I will now refer to this day that most of our society calls Valentine's Day as Sucker's Day. I say this not from a place of bitterness (if you haven't read it before, I am married). Since before I was married I began to look at this holiday differently.
First I hated it because I was frequently single and bitter about it. Then I spent years working as a server then manager at a restaurant. First off, it is hard to see the romance in the holiday after you have watched it from the 'other side' for a while. There is nothing romantic about all of the pressure that couples put on each other to be romantic and special and find just the right gift and make the right reservations and so on and so forth. It is just more stress. Then there is the fact that it isn't romantic to do the same thing as every other couple (or person trying to get laid) out there on the same day that they do it! Just not romantic.
Now that being said, I do love all of the cute stuff that they sell for the holiday, I can't help it, it gets me! So I buy the stuff before and after the holiday and give it to hubby when the mood strikes, to show him that I love him and am thinking about him, not to show him that I can read the calendar or that the Hallmark commercials have gotten through to me.
So..... Happy Sucker's Day!!!!!!!!
First I hated it because I was frequently single and bitter about it. Then I spent years working as a server then manager at a restaurant. First off, it is hard to see the romance in the holiday after you have watched it from the 'other side' for a while. There is nothing romantic about all of the pressure that couples put on each other to be romantic and special and find just the right gift and make the right reservations and so on and so forth. It is just more stress. Then there is the fact that it isn't romantic to do the same thing as every other couple (or person trying to get laid) out there on the same day that they do it! Just not romantic.
Now that being said, I do love all of the cute stuff that they sell for the holiday, I can't help it, it gets me! So I buy the stuff before and after the holiday and give it to hubby when the mood strikes, to show him that I love him and am thinking about him, not to show him that I can read the calendar or that the Hallmark commercials have gotten through to me.
So..... Happy Sucker's Day!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Rant and then some good!
So, we were always warned in our Interpreter Training program that we would encounter professionals who had issues with us, working with interpreters that is! Professionals such as teachers, lawyers, doctors and such are not used to having to share authority or feel that they are not entirely in control of the situation. Having another educated adult, not to mention one who effectively has the reins of control of communication in their hands can be a difficult change for them.
Well, up until this point I haven't really encountered too much of this. But today, boy howdy did I ever! Not to mention that this geriatric (and she is, technically) teacher acted as if she was in high school!!! After an hour and a half of straight interpreting, the class went on break and I let her and the client know that I was running to the bathroom. While I was in there, the classic cliche situation out of a bad high school drama occurred to me! And I am over 30! The teacher was talking with another teacher about my client, and then began to discuss me! And she trash talked me. While I was in the stall!
Up until this point I had done my best to communicate effectively with this teacher, explain to her the interpreting process and inform her of things that she needed to know about in relation to the client. I viewed us as a team that was working in conjunction to get this client the best education we could. Well, apparently this teacher does not look at it the same way!
I had explained to the teacher that this class almost, and I said ALMOST required a team for interpreting because it was 2 1/2 hours and the only break wasn't until an hour and a half in. It may not sound like much, but this class is ALL talking, rarely an instance of independent work, which means that while the teacher may only be saying so much, I have to interpret every word that she, the client and all of the other students say. It is mentally taxing and much harder than it may seem to those who don't do it. So I mentioned this to her and she told the other teacher that apparently she talks too fast because I can't keep up and need help! She also told the other teacher that she wasn't sure if the information she was getting was correct or just my version. I am not sure if she is saying that I don't interpret correctly or if she is calling into question the information I have discussed with her about the process and the client's progress with me on that. Either way!
So I confronted her! I told her that I was in the bathroom and heard her conversation. I told her that I interpret everything and that if she is ever unsure of what is going on, to just ask me. I also told her that I can more than keep up with her but tried to explain what I did in this blog, and told her that our industry standard is 45 - 50 minutes of straight interpreting and then a break, that is what is determined as optimal time for quality interpreting.
What really gets me is that she didn't apologize or act in the least bit embarrassed for having been caught trash talking someone like that. That had never happened to me in grade school! But it happened to me at this age! It is nuts. That b$%h. Screw her. I am good at what I do, and I know what I am talking about, I can't account for her lack of professionalism or bad judgement!
Onto the good news! We are moving into a great house in 2 weeks! While I have loved being where I am at the moment, very cute comfy condo, we are going to move into a bigger house (yay, space for animals AND mom!) and have a big backyard for the pupster! It is a cute house, and has 3 bedrooms and I get my own office too (gotta love a tax write off!). It is very well maintained and I think we will be very happy there until it is time to FINALLY buy a house! It will be nice to be settled into somewhere for a while and feel really established. Wish us luck!
Well, up until this point I haven't really encountered too much of this. But today, boy howdy did I ever! Not to mention that this geriatric (and she is, technically) teacher acted as if she was in high school!!! After an hour and a half of straight interpreting, the class went on break and I let her and the client know that I was running to the bathroom. While I was in there, the classic cliche situation out of a bad high school drama occurred to me! And I am over 30! The teacher was talking with another teacher about my client, and then began to discuss me! And she trash talked me. While I was in the stall!
Up until this point I had done my best to communicate effectively with this teacher, explain to her the interpreting process and inform her of things that she needed to know about in relation to the client. I viewed us as a team that was working in conjunction to get this client the best education we could. Well, apparently this teacher does not look at it the same way!
I had explained to the teacher that this class almost, and I said ALMOST required a team for interpreting because it was 2 1/2 hours and the only break wasn't until an hour and a half in. It may not sound like much, but this class is ALL talking, rarely an instance of independent work, which means that while the teacher may only be saying so much, I have to interpret every word that she, the client and all of the other students say. It is mentally taxing and much harder than it may seem to those who don't do it. So I mentioned this to her and she told the other teacher that apparently she talks too fast because I can't keep up and need help! She also told the other teacher that she wasn't sure if the information she was getting was correct or just my version. I am not sure if she is saying that I don't interpret correctly or if she is calling into question the information I have discussed with her about the process and the client's progress with me on that. Either way!
So I confronted her! I told her that I was in the bathroom and heard her conversation. I told her that I interpret everything and that if she is ever unsure of what is going on, to just ask me. I also told her that I can more than keep up with her but tried to explain what I did in this blog, and told her that our industry standard is 45 - 50 minutes of straight interpreting and then a break, that is what is determined as optimal time for quality interpreting.
What really gets me is that she didn't apologize or act in the least bit embarrassed for having been caught trash talking someone like that. That had never happened to me in grade school! But it happened to me at this age! It is nuts. That b$%h. Screw her. I am good at what I do, and I know what I am talking about, I can't account for her lack of professionalism or bad judgement!
Onto the good news! We are moving into a great house in 2 weeks! While I have loved being where I am at the moment, very cute comfy condo, we are going to move into a bigger house (yay, space for animals AND mom!) and have a big backyard for the pupster! It is a cute house, and has 3 bedrooms and I get my own office too (gotta love a tax write off!). It is very well maintained and I think we will be very happy there until it is time to FINALLY buy a house! It will be nice to be settled into somewhere for a while and feel really established. Wish us luck!
Sunday, February 3, 2008
SuperBowl Sunday!
I am such an idiot for not having posted this earlier, of course it would only really matter if anyone other than my sister actually read this thing, but I just want to make sure that as many people as possible know what is going to happen today! During the pregame show, Pepsi is airing a one minute commercial that will be done entirely in ASL (American Sign Language) and it will be captioned for those hearing folks not lucky enough to know the language! This is a great coup for ASL and the Deaf community. Please check it out! When the TV goes silent, look up!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
House Hunting?
So, if anyone has themselves, or knows someone who has just under 2 million to spend on a gorgeous custom built beach house, check out some pics and fun facts about this place. I can personally attest that it is one of the most unique and fun houses ever built! No cookie cutter construction here!
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