![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
yondergirl's journalLog in Create a LiveJournal Account Learn more
| You are viewing yondergirl's journal Log in Create a LiveJournal Account Learn more | Explore LJ: Life Entertainment Music Culture News & Politics Technology |
|
|||||||
 |
|
|
|||||
|
yondergirl's Journal  Hubby and I have both finished reading Animal, vegetable, miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It was awesome! Funny, informative, thought provoking. It's rare that we both will read the same book - I tend to like more fluffy, main stream, don't have to think too hard about it, take me away calgon types. He likes to read sci fi, techie stuff. But occasionally we do overlap - both of us think the Lord of the Rings is the greatest ever, we also like the Harry Potter series, and authors: Bruce Sterling, John Irving, William Gibson (well I only like a few of his), Diana Gabaldon (although he hates to admit this one), etc. Anyway, this was a fun book, especially since we are already into the local food, farmer's market scene. And it has inspired us to think about trying to commit to a year of local food like they did. It takes a bit of prior planning, so we are working on planting more vegetables this year in our tiny back yard. We've had fun choosing heirloom seeds and planning out the plots. This year, in addition to our little herb bed, we are putting in lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, basil, carrots, onions and cool blue baking potatoes (All Blues). For the fall, we've selected broccoli, kale and garlic as well as some neat tomatoes called long keepers. Long Keepers actually ripen off the vine over time and store well - apparently for several months. If it works out, this will definitely be a good addition to use in the cafe to extend our tomato slice serving into the early winter. Current mood:  hopeful.
To borrow and bastardize from ee cummings.... Christmas is creeping by on silent cat feet.... Or rather the Robinson's are not really having Christmas this year. Wah! Seems like every year we say, maybe next year; we'll do better next year; we'll really do it big! Go all out! And that never materializes. So do I just give up on celebrating Christmas? I'm really too old for all this nonsense anyway. It's just that it's my favorite holiday. My Mom always made a big deal of it, which I suppose is where I get it from. I can't give up. There's always next year, right??? Meanwhile back at the bat cave... the house is a mess, the dogs are dirty, the bank account is empty, we work seven days a week and rarely see each other.... Christmas day will be for sleeping.. which we never get enough of. Not comlaining really, though it may sound it. This is just my new reality. And I'm working on learning to accept things. That and trying to keep calm. Can't afford my medication any more... so I'm REALLY FEELING EVERY LITTLE THING right now, and my emotions are on the roller coaster ride again. Never a dull moment at least. Just creeping by.... Current mood:  weird.
A.R.T. has changed my life. My trainer at the gym referred me to a chiropractor who is certified in this type of therapy. It involves manipulating the muscles while you are moving them to break up scar tissue and adhesions that cause pain and limit movement. I've been living with scar tissue in my back ever since I tore a back muscle almost 10 years or so ago in Atlanta. I've had general back problems for even longer. I've had four treatments with Dr. Brake so far... and I have more flexibility than I have in 15 years!!!! It is so incredibly amazing! It's so wonderful to work out or to even just work in the yard and not have my back hurt at all!!! Plus he's working on my shoulder - it gets knotted up and over used at work. The treatment hurts while he's performing it - I've even gotten bruises. But it is so worth it!!! It's nothing that's not bearable. I just wish I had met him years ago... I might not have left the horse business.... Oh well. Still happy with my new profession. Current mood:  chipper.
Guess I'd better catch up on things here ... life just moves too insanely fast these days. And to think we moved up here in part to slow down a bit! Ha! Anyway, cafe is coming along slowly. I'll leave most of that for Chuck to update. As for me... I joined a gym and started working out with a personal trainer. Today is the second day on the low carb, low GI diet and it really, really sucks. I have no energy whatsoever. But I'm trying. Sept. 30 was really tough - as it was the one year anniversary of my mom's death. Still working on dealing with that. Still rarely get to see my husband - well, actually I see him, just can't actually spend time with him. We started trying to have dinner in the cafe together (either something from there or something I've cooked and brought over). But the employees keep coming over to join us or ask questions, or a customer comes in that he needs/wants to talk to, and there he goes again... Well that's nothing new I guess. I'm reading a really cool book on women's self defense called "Fight like a girl... and win" by Lori Hartman Gervasi. I borrowed it from the library, but am considering purchasing it. It offers really good insights and suggestions on staying alert, avoiding attacks and things to do when you are in a difficult situation/attack. I'd reccomend it to all women out there. It's really sparked an interest for me, and I've even gone on to purchase some DVD's on self defense for women. They are all geared toward things that any woman could do no matter what size or shape you are - and you don't have to be physically fit - although that certainly helps. It's definitely something I'm going to share with my niece who is getting ready to go to college next year. Also, last Saturday I got to see/hear Barack Obama speak in our town at a local high school gym. The sound system was a little sucky and several times I had to strain to hear - but mostly because the crowd was so enthusiastic. There were about 2000 people there - not bad for our small town. I really liked him. Of course, like all good public speakers he was excellent at rousing the crowd and like all candidates he made a lot promises... but underneath, he seem genuinely down to earth and human. I like what he has to say. I won't go into specifics - this isn't a political forum. I respect that he didn't slam insults at anyone else - okay well maybe a little bush bashing, but I don't consider that bad form! Ha! Ha! And I think it's time that we had someone in the White House who is ready to make a difference, who might seem a little starry eyed about what this country stands for and can still be..... Other than that, it's just work and then work. I'm learning to live with a messier house - since that's the first thing to go. Saturdays are usually my day to clean and do errands. However this past one I needed to spend the day with an elderly friend who is depressed. Her sister died this summer and her little dog passed away last week. So she's very lonely. Our dogs are great. Spoiled rotten. JackJack is having an adolescent revenge moment - that last hurrah before he admits he's an adult dog (he turns one year old this week). This morning while I was in the shower he pulled out three pair of shoes from the closet, chewed one shoe and then also pulled out a new skein of yarn and exploded that all over the living room. And that's after yesterday's day of pooping in the house all day......ARRRGGGHHH!! But he's so damn cute! Okay, that about does it for now. I'll try to update more often. Current mood:  thoughtful.
Hello! I'm back to Live Journal! Hubby has finally got the cafe open (www.cuppscafe.com) and is working insane amounts of hours there. But he absolutely loves it!! And so does the community! We've been doing very well. Although I do miss spending time with him. Mostly we just blearily hug each other and doze off. Sleep is sorely lacking for both us. We've both run off the road a few times - he on the way to the bank (actually bumped into someone, but there was no damage) and me on the way home during my commute (woke up with my side mirror six inches away from the concrete barrier). We must have some guardian angels looking out, because we managed to avoid death or injury. The few nights we've had off - we mostly eat dinner and fall asleep. That's if the neighborhood noises don't wake us up. But that's another story.... Current mood:  groggy.
My Terrible Day by Yondergirl Yesterday, April 30, was a terrible day. I had to get up early to take my dog to the vet because she has an upper respiratory infection. Little unexpected expense there. And a lot of fun trying to convince a 75 lb. dog to go out in the rain to the vet!!! On the way back, since my brakes decided to start making a grinding noise this week all of the sudden, I stopped by Just Brakes to see if they would be able to look at them for me. No problem they say. $99 for a brake job, hope you don't need the rear pad upgrade or rotors, because your car isn't made in the U.S. anymore. So I left the car with them and called Chuck to pick me up. We decide we're hungry and drop off the freshly medicated dog at home with her neurotic companion dog who is freaking out over the thunder storms - and head to IHOP for a late breakfast. Things are looking up at this point - despite the rain. It's actually cozy in IHOP, even though it's crowded beyond belief and very noisy. We discuss the fact that it's actually more private and cozy with so many people around. Then the phone call. The $99 brake job just turned into $600 !!!!! I'll spare all the details. But basically, it just sucks! When we get home, I realize that I've left my grocery list in my car. I'm hopeless without my lists. It's a terrible dependancy. Anyway, I head back out to the grocery store, hoping to remember a few things, and to deposit my paycheck which still hasn't made it to direct deposit yet. At our local Kroger, the entrance is swarming with boy scouts selling candles for Mother's Day. I wait in line for 20 minutes at the bank window, only to be told I cannot get cash back on the deposit as there is a 2 business day hold on the check. This is news to me as I was able to do this with my last paycheck. Great! Should I now worry about whether this contract agency can pay me reliably? Do I need to look for a permanent job ASAP? In the meantime, I wait in line again for the ATM to withdraw some cash. As I leave the store, I'm accosted by a boy scout shoving a candle in my face and asking me to buy one. I reply no thank you. But as I'm walking away I hear the little shit say, "you suck"! That was the last straw in a really crappy day! I turned around and said, "What did you say? With that attitude you certainly won't be selling any candles!" The little delinquents just stared at me balefully. So I found the scout master there. He smiles facetiously as I start to explain what happen, but it's wiped off when I get to the "You suck" part. "Who said that?" he asks. I can see he doesn't really care. I glared at him and said, "Is this what you're teaching these kids?" He doesn't reply. So I leave, fuming. As I got into my car, I glanced back and it was business as usual. I should have complained to the store manager. Later that day, I'm getting ready to see Gilgamesh again. As I'm blow drying my hair, somehow I managed to stick a finger in my eye and scratch the inner corner of my eyeball. I drop the dryer in the sink and start crying - partly because it hurts, partly in self-pity because, damn, this is a crappy day!!!! So now I've cried off my makeup and I have a bloody stripe inside my eye! At this point they call cheerfully to tell me my car is ready. When I go to get the car, there is a hubcap missing. I ask about the hub cap. They don't know. I say, well I came in with four of them, and now there are three. Where is my hub cap? They say, it's gone, go get another one and we'll reimburse you. I said, you don't just go and get a hub cap for my car. You have to special order it. It's an expensive little crappy piece of plastic! So the guy goes back into the garage and yells at the other guys and they come out with my hub cap. It's broken they say and won't go on. He looks at it, snaps a piece back in place and tells the guy to put it back on my car. Now, standing in the office and looking right at my car parked in the first space - it's glaringly obvious that the right front passenger tire facing us is missing a hub cap. But this guy walks right by it and around the entire car until he realizes that's the one. This is really frightening. Now I'm worried about the brakes. Thankfully, I can report that the brakes seem to be working fine. I have four hub caps. Gilgamesh was absolutely wonderful. I had a much better evening, assisted by the benefit of alcohol and wonderful friends!! The end. Current mood:  exhausted.
I've had full time work for three weeks in a row !!! Yahooooo! Plus I got my first paycheck in a year!! That was really wonderful! I met Yonderboy at his car when he pulled into the driveway - I was so excited about it (both the check and Yonderboy coming home!) Still working for the contract agency, but the client is keeping me busy. Plus I'm hoping they'll eventually take me on permanent. I'm getting a little faster on my scans, and, I think, a little better at them. I'm certainly getting lots of scan time and seeing a wide variety of cardiac problems, and patient body types. So far, I really don't like scanning the obese patients, or those who are extremely top heavy.... makes my hand go numb. Although very skinny patients are also difficult, as their ribs are often set close together, making it difficult to get the sound beam through to image the heart. Current mood: cheerful.
This was my first day on my own at a contract job. It went okay. Hopefully I didn't kill anyone or cause anyone to have unnecessary tests. If the cardiologists don't yell at me tommorow, I'll consider it a success! Current music: Moxy Fruvous. Today IS another day. And sometimes you just have to get by one day at a time. Went through my pre-employment drug screening test today - even though I've already been employed at the agency. These nurses weren't such nazi's as the last place. I thought the nurse at the last place was going to pat me down and walk in with me to watch. Do I look like a drug user who might swap out samples? Life is so weird. So today's scanning adventures include: 1. My first two patients complained through the first 5 minutes of the test and then refused the rest. One lady even started to leave the bed before I could unhook the EKG leads! She wanted to go upstairs and lay down. I tried pointing out that she was laying down and that it would only be another 10 minutes, if that. But she refused. So I stopped. And she still had to wait 10 minutes for the transporter to take her back to her room. Irony! :) 2. The next two patients were bed ridden, and unable to move much. So the scans weren't the best quality. I've been having trouble getting my apical views lately - the long view of the heart up from the bottom. Have no idea why. But it's stressing me out. 3. Finished up at lunch time and was told to go ahead and leave for the day, since they didn't have anymore patients waiting. So I'm off to play in the sun...... Current mood: chipper.Current music: Garden State soundtrack. I signed a contract with a placement agency today. They are finding short term jobs for me at the moment, one of which will hopefully turn into a real part time job. The guy who owns the company has been very supportive. So I figured I kind of owed it to him to sign up - otherwise I wouldn't still be trying to make it as an Echo Tech. So hopefully by next week, I will have steady work Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week. And he's trying to talk another client into using me another 8 hours a week - between Tuesday and Thursday. So I went to my other pseudo-job - the one that used to be my intern site - today, as I'm supposed to be going in a few times a week for more scanning experience. I was asked if I knew that they had decided that I should come in Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays from now on - not on Mondays because it was too busy for them to work with me; and they need more time to work with me..... oh right, you didn't come in the day we decided this. So I told her I was already booked MWF, but could come in on Tues. and Thurs. That didn't make them happy. But they didn't say anything. Each day there seems to bring at least one painfullly, embarrassing moment. Today was no exception. I keep asking myself if this is worth it. How many times do you feel so low before you just give up and admit that this isn't working? I couldn't find my supervisor after a scan today to okay it - so I sent the patient back upstairs. Of course, it wasn't right (it never is with her). So I had to take the machine upstairs to a very cranky senile old lady (with supervisor in tow) and explain that I had forgotten or neglected to measure something and would need to get some more images. YOu can imagine how well that went over. Had to also explain it to her daughter. Then through the whole thing, the lady kept saying, but you've scanned that area before already. So I had to keep saying how I had screwed up and had to do something again - over and over and over again. And they both watched interestedly while my supervisor coached me through the measurements and even put her hand over mine to guide the imaging when I wasn't getting the picture she wanted. I'm sure my face was bright red. Very humbling. Maybe I needed/deserved this after so many years of being able to do my previous profession extremely well. Wait. Why did I change again? More money you say. Where? I certainly haven't seen any yet. Oh right. That would be because I screwed up the exam today and missed the early meeting with the contract agency that would have gotten me a small paycheck this week - which means it is now added to next pay period in two weeks. Well. I think this is all going well. Don't you? This is, of course, on top of having only 2 hours of sleep last night due to an argument. It's all just disheartening. Current mood: exhausted.
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||