31 December 2007

The Hours

That's how long I spent at the hospital yesterday. I'd been having pain in my side for a few days and was getting nervous it wasn't going away, so I went to Urgent Care. I was there for a grand total of three hours before being referred to the Duke ER to make sure it wasn't appendicitis.

I arrived at the Duke ER at 5 pm and finally walked in the door to my house a little before 3am. I didn't have appendicitis and all of the poking and prodding they did hurt a thousand times more than the pain that brought me in to the ER in the first place. It sucks having bad veins - they had to try twice to get an IV line in - they tried my arm, my elbow, my shoulder, and finally settled on my wrist. Ouch. Did I mention that getting stuck with needles makes me feel faint? I finally got the all clear after the CT scan, no appendicitis - and for any of you who have had one before, it is the weirdest feeling. Everything on the CT was fine, so they sent me home.

I woke up this morning with horrible pain in my shoulder from the attempt to draw blood from there. This pain put everything else to shame. Fortunately its getting better. Thank goodness I have never been a big new year's partier, because I am spending today curled up on the couch under my blanket.

21 December 2007

A Christmas Story

It really is the best time of the year. Even though I am spending this holiday season in my new home city of Durham I am happy that it is Christmastime. I will miss being home this week, but duty calls at work and I am unable to get away. I am envious of my sister who is in Florida this weekend. Up until yesterday she was saying I could still go. I couldn't really justify spending the money on a ticket to Florida and not one to go home for Christmas so I decided to stay put. I did hear that Auntie Lynn rented a van to drive people around. I made Missy promise to take a picture.

Since I am not going anywhere and the family I do have in NC is in Florida, what will I be doing for the next couple of days? Apart from the mundane things like a vet appointment for Jack, I will be watching my favorite Christmas movies:

1. Love, Actually. One of the best ensemble casts on film and one of the few movies my sister and I actually both like.

2. A Christmas Story. I am one of those people who watch the 24 hour marathon on TBS. It never gets old.

3. Elf. The funniest holiday movie. Christine and I saw it in the theatre and we laughed so hard we were crying. The tears were streaming down our cheeks.

4. Little Women. The newer one with Susan Sarandon as Marmee (fantastic casting), Winona Ryder as Jo, and Christian Bale as Laurie.

Hopefully I'll get to catch "Meet me in St. Louis" on AMC or TMC. It's not a Christmas movie, per se, but it has a Christmas scene, where Judy Garland sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". It was on the other night, but I could definitely watch it again.

17 December 2007

Five Easy Pieces

Courtesy of Nancy, here are Five Things I Am Not:

1. Outgoing. I've tried very hard to work at this over the years, but there are still moments when I hate to pick up the phone to make a phone call to someone I don't know and on rare occasions, someone I do know. Even after all these years, I prefer to order my pizza on-line as opposed to picking up the telephone to call.

2. Average. I'm speaking in the physical here. I'm 5'8" and wear heels most days, so I teeter somewhere close to 6'. I also wear a size 11 shoe, so some days I feel Amazonian, especially when I am next to my 5'3" sister.

3. Spontaneous. I like to know where I am going and what I am doing. The occasional surprise is okay - especially when it comes from the right person. I generally am not all that spontaneous on my own though. I like routine and order and most of my days follow a similar pattern...even on the weekends.

4. Alone. Not to be confused with lonely. I do live by myself in a city where I know some people and have some family somewhat close by, so some days I do feel lonely. But I am not, nor will I ever be alone. My family is only a phone call away - and there are so many to choose from when I need to talk. The aunts especially are an entity unto themselves and I love them for it.

5. Socially Graceful. I was a dancer for years, so I can carry myself. I'm not one to trip over my feet or walk into walls, but I can never seem to juggle all the things I am supposed to when I am out. If I am at a party - wine glass, napkin, plate, etc. When I am leaving Starbucks - wallet, receipt, drink. I feel shorthanded and awkward and I hate that feeling.

At the Movies

If any of you are looking for a fun movie to see this holiday season, I highly recommend Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was such a cute movie. The music brought me back to my childhood and this movie is introducing the Chipmunks to a whole new generation. The kids that were in the theatre were dancing in the aisles and clapped whole-heartedly when the movie was over. The Chipmunks are voiced by actors Justin Long (Alvin), Matthew Gray Gubler (Simon), and Jesse McCartney (Theodore). Not that I think that matters a whole lot, since you can't tell who they are since they record their voices in that trademark "chipmunk" style. I do love Matthew Gray Gubler (Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds) - if you haven't seen Criminal Minds on CBS, you should. Anyhow...the music has been updated, but the Chipmunks' personalities are still the same as you remember them.

Up next...I might check out National Treasure 2 this weekend. I was coerced into seeing the first one by a friend and was pleasantly surprised. I'm looking forward to the second installment, especially since the divine Helen Mirren is in this one. I will definitely be seeing Sweeney Todd on Christmas Day. 2 hours with Johnny Depp on Christmas Day? I'm there.

12 December 2007

Insomnia

Why must I spend my nights lying awake in my bed? I've tried everything - from warm milk, to meditation, to getting up and doing something else until I feel tired. It hasn't helped. I'm particular about not taking anything medicinal unless absolutely necessary, so sleeping pills are out of the question. Besides - I've attempted that in the past and they make me jumpy. The insmonia doesn't happen all the time, but there are stretches every few months where sleep is elusive and I would give anything to sleep straight through for 8 hours. It is entirely frustrating to count down the hours until you get up the next morning and know that the rest of the day is going to pass in some kind of haze. I used to think it was stress related, but I don't feel particularly stressed. Yes, its the holiday season, but my shopping is done, my decorations are up, and I am loving my new job and my new apartment. I promise that if someday I find the miracle cure for sleeplessness, I will share it.

09 December 2007

Hackers

It's interesting. My sister is still in touch with a group of her friends from high school. They kept in touch throughout college and after mainly via e-mail, cell phone, and IM. These were all advances in technology that were not around when I was in high school. Many weren't around when I started college. It was very exciting to get my first e-mail address when I started at Fairfield. Only the privileged few had cell phones and that didn't start to happen until I was heading into my senior year. The people I am still in touch with today that I knew in high school were people that I wrote to throughout college. Not e-mail - I'm talking about pen to paper, put it in an envelope and drop in the campus mailbox writing to each other. I still have most of the correspondence.

There are 4 individuals who I corresponded with that way. I'm still in touch, now mainly via e-mail and this wonderful blog world, with Theresa and Michaela. Its generally bi-weekly or monthly, but we still check in with each other and know whats going on. There are 2 others who I keep in touch with peripherally, through myspace and facebook. Its fascinating - I've been able to reconnect or stay in touch with so many people via these social networking websites. Its kind of like a mass communication tool. Rather than send out mass e-mails to people, they can check in with me whenever they want by checking out my site.

I was fortunate enough to make many friends and acquaintances while I was a part of NACURH, and these people criss cross the US from the east to the west. I like seeing what they are up to now. I'm closer to some more than others, but I still like hearing their news - who got married, who has kids, who went to Europe. The wonders of modern technology have made that possible. Its also possible to stay in touch with my family. Many of my cousins have facebook pages and its nice to see their bright shining faces and the pictures of our family that they have on their pages. I wish they all had pages so I could see everyone.

05 December 2007

Finding Neverland

I found it. I knew I would. I ordered a new camera cord when I bought my mixer. You really can find anything on amazon.com. The cord arrived with the mixer last week. A few days ago I was looking for an extra ethernet cable, when lo and behold, my original camera cord. Now I have two. Better two than none, I suppose.

The other thing I found this week was a little slice of heaven at a resort on Myrtle Beach. I've never been to Myrtle Beach. I've never been to any of the vacation areas of the Carolinas. The only time I have ever seen Myrtle Beach is in the movie "Shag", which takes place in the early 60s. It's changed a little, but there is still a lot to do. My time to explore was limited as I was there for a conference, but there was time for the beach. The weather was a little chilly, but not too cold to go walking on the shore. It was worth it.

It was also worth coming home to my little man - Jack. He missed me and its always nice to come home to his purr and his undivided attention. For a little while anyway.
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