Checking in

So,  as you can probably surmise from my lack of posts,  I've been very busy.

Monday I found out that everything was fine in terms of my gynaecological health,  and I took a friend to the doctor,  so I went in at 6 am so I could at least work half a day and still go to the two appointments.

Tuesday I worked from 7:45 am to 4:00, and had my counseling session.  I've been under a lot of stress lately,  and he  advised concentrating on maintaining the house and dealing tooth the stress rather than de-hoarding,  so I wouldn't get discouraged.

Wednesday I had PT after working from 6:15 to 4. While I was there,  my stepfather called to tell me my mom was in the hospital again,  this time at UK.  I got out of PT and took care of some things I'd promised to do,  and by the time I was finished it was 9, I was hurting quite a bit,  and was driving on empty, and I figured she was getting settled,  so I went home and went to bed early in the morning,  as I was getting up by 4:30 am.

Thursday I worked from 6:15 to 5, and I was tired,  but I went and visited my mom,  and she was doing pretty well in the ICU.

Today we were off for Christmas Eve,  which,  of course, is on the weekend this year.  I got the 32 hours I needed in this week,  and I have enough PTO for today.  I had a CT scan of my head and one of my lower back at Lexington Clinic first thing this morning,  and my doctor's office called me to let me know both scans were normal. I also went to the grocery,  the ATM,  the library to pick up a hold and pay a small fine,  and I got my allergy shots.  Then I came  home and treated for a bit.  I went to Gabriel Brothers and found 3 Lane Bryant bras for $5, rather than the normal $35. I also found a soft blanket for a friend's who needs his furnace replaced.  Important safety tip: when your friends gives you a smoke detector that doubles as a carbon monoxide detector, do not automatically take out the battery,  thinking it's your cooking.  The CO was being detected and was causing the alarm to go off.  But considering it was going off without a fire present,  the CO turned out to be an issue. After that,  I went home to relax for awhile. I visited with my stepfather and mom.  She was doing even better today. I could understand her and she was joking with John.  The resident said that the ammonia issue is a side effect of the procedure done last year to take care of the tumors she had on her liver at the time.  It was a necessary procedure but it cuts off some of the smaller blood vessels and affects the filtration by the liver.  The key,  he said,  was making sure she she took the lactolose like she should.  He's thinking she'll be an inpatient for at least a few days,  but moved out of the ICU. He thinks she should have some PT there before going back home and they will see about home health.  She's been in and out of the hospital,  so this could help build her strength.  But she's doing much better than she did at Danville's hospital, and I think they are more attentive at UK. She's still sick,  but at least UK seemed more optimistic than Danville,  which was ready to call on hospice and urged my stepfather to do a 'do not resecuitate'  order.  After that I went to YKWIA and he fed me and we watched two episodes of 'Shadowhunters',  which is expiring off his Hulu subscription by the end of the month.  Now I'm home.  It's been a productive day.

Tomorrow I have some things to do for YKWIA,  will visit my mom, and help cook for Sunday.  Sunday there is no game,  but A will come over and we'll all celebrate Christmas.

Monday I'm off for Christmas,  so we're doing Chanukah that night and I'll be making latkes.  Then it's back to long days, as my PTO will run out for Monday, 

It's back to work on Tuesday.  Here's to having a de-stressed holiday.

That's it.  Good night!

It's amazing

how hungry you can get when you're told you can't eat for a few hours. Today I had a chest CT scan with contrast, and couldn't eat for four hours prior to the test. Fortunately, the imaging centre is very close to my apartment, so I came home and am having a peanut butter and fruit sandwich with some vegetarian baked beans, and plenty of water.

This has been a very rough week in terms of scheduling my friend's and my appointments so they don't interfere with my work. My relative is doing better, although still in the hospital; her husband texted a picture of her to me today, and that was nice. I now face a very difficult decision--do I drive an hour away to see her, visit, and then return, or do I take care of some things that have been on the back burner and basically regroup and get recharged while I have some time tomorrow? If I get up very early, I might be able to do both, but I think that would be pushing it. I haven't been taking care of myself very well of late, something I'm trying to get back to doing.

In the meantime I'm going to take a friend to get some furnace filters and leaf bags (in Lexington, leaves and other yard waste must go in either big paper bags or the Lenny (yes, we name our trash receptacles here, there's also Herbie and Rosie) container, which fills up pretty easily, although it is pretty large. I also going to try to do some laundry over there, as I missed it last Sunday and didn't manage to do it any of the rest of the week, either, and I'm kind of down to very little cool weather clothes--although it was fairly warm today, in the high 40s, low 50s.

I think I'm going to lie down for about a half-an-hour nap, then stop by the grocery store briefly and go over there. I should still be there before the friend I'm taking shopping gets home.

Sorry I didn't post yesterday

I've been crazyily busy of late.  Thanksgiving exhausted me,  YKWIA had some issues and needed extra help, and we have seven appointments (mostly in the evening, thankfully) between us this week to go to.  My family member is back in the hospital,  this time at her local one,  although they are talking about sending her up here to Lexington at the University of Kentucky.

Things I'd like to get done this week between ail that include putting the Yule tree up,  watering all the plants in the apartment,  doing my laundry (I got it into the cart Sunday,  but left it at home accidentally).  I'd also like to go use the gym some more at the apartment complex. Oh,  and I need to put the stiff I pulled out of the closets back in. Just little things,  really,  but things I've been too tired to accomplish of late.  Oh,  and I need to schedule a CT scan because of something that cropped up on an x-ray.  I was going to go to a Web conference at UK tomorrow,  but something more urgent came up.  My head is just about spinning.  But hey,  I'll figure it all out,  and get what needs to be done finished.

In the meantime,  I applied for a job for which I am well-qualified.  Keep your fingers crossed for me. It's even another hospital librarian position,  similar to what I do now but at a larger institution,  administered by a university,  so it's a faculty position renewable yearly.  I would really love to get it. We'll see.  Wish me luck.

Also,  they posted the position of the woman I'm filling in for in scheduling.  I don't want to give up my librarian job,  which pays more than most of the clerical jobs in the hospital, (although the data entry job pays much less,  so it rounds down, and the result could be about the same as her position) just to have a position that would go to the new building. But I don't love scheduling.  I love being a librarian.  I'm not saying I wouldn't take a position outside of librarianship to make ends meet if we get down to the wire in terms of the elimination of my position,  but I'm not ready to give up on my library career yet.  :)

Okay,  I'm blogging on my phone,  and this is a long post for that.  Let me see how much damage autocorrect has done and wrap this up.  Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving!

That was incredibly easy

I got over to the hospital at 8:30, and since I'd already pre-registered, they just needed me to sign a couple of sheets of paper and give them my ID and insurance card to verify. Then I waited just about five minutes after being taken back to radiology. The CT scan itself was much easier than an MRI--I didn't feel closed in (of course, they were just doing my sinuses), and was able to stay still, except for breathing. I got back to the waiting room by 9:01 and the longest wait was actually the one for my disc with the scan on it that I have to take to my doctor. But I was still out of there before 9:20. I could have actually gotten to work by 9:30 or 9:45. But a friend has an appointment of his own today at 2 pm, so I took the day off. I really thought the scan, or at least the waiting, would take longer.

So now I'm eating some plain low-fat Greek yoghurt with raspberries and blackberries because 1) I haven't eaten yet today and am a bit peckish, and 2) I'd like to give blood, especially since I have time now. So the plan is to finish breakfast and then drive over to Mapleleaf to the Andover branch of the Kentucky Blood Center, which opens at 10 am, and see if I can donate (sometimes my iron doesn't cooperate). Then I'll head over to my friend's house.

Well, phooey

I just got in from class a little while ago and was trying to use my new University of Kentucky online account that was set up today to get my unofficial transcripts to apply for a job at a local college by Friday (I just learned about it yesterday). Unfortunately, something wasn't submitted when they built my account and I can't access the transcripts at all, and won't be able to until at least a couple of days, meaning I'll miss the deadline. While I could pay $10 and get an official transcript, I'd still have to wait till sometime tomorrow or Friday for that because the older transcripts are on microfilm, hence there needs to be someone at the office who can scan them and send them to me, and technically the HR department at the college had requested a mailed résumé, cover letter, unofficial transcript, and three professional references, although there is an option to upload a résumé and cover letter on their website. While I certainly could do the job, I suspect they have an internal candidate in mind, as it wasn't posted the last time I checked a few days ago, and so I'm going to chalk this up to an omen that the job wasn't going to pan out, get my access for future use, and go on my merry way. Still, it's the first job in awhile that would be a good fit, and I really like their library; I interviewed there years ago. So anyway, I think I missed the boat on this one, and that's my fault. I should have been more vigilant about looking, although in my defence last week I was mostly preoccupied with the snow storm, cold, and just getting to my current job.

I got my airline and hotel confirmation for the Chicago trip today, and went by Office Depot and got a padded lightweight bag with an over-the-body strap for my laptop at a price less than the sleeves alone, which I plan on taking on the trip. I'm so hoping everything like weather, etc., goes off without a hitch. I should have time the first day to go to the Field Museum of Natural History, and then there's the morning of the second day before our seminar for a little sightseeing. On the third day there's a morning meeting and then I'll have to head straight to the airport. But the idea this time is to definitely see a bit of downtown Chicago.

Okay, I have a CT scan of my sinuses first thing tomorrow morning, and should see if I can find the paperwork in case it's needed. I've already pre-registered and paid for my part (which was a bit of an annoyance, because I'm within $47 of my out-of-pocket maximum for the year but had to pay $127 over the phone yesterday. I just couldn't make the clerk understand that I shouldn't pay that amount, and if I did, they might owe me a refund.

I also have to take a friend to an appointment tomorrow, so I've taken off from work for that day. And afterwards I need to go by the pharmacy because another friend got only a partial fill of his medicine and needs more. I am in high demand this week. Friday there's another appointment and Saturday I'm taking two other people, three dogs, and a cat to the vet--in a Taurus. That should be fun. :) But it's nice to be needed.

Okay, on to finding that paperwork. I've never had a CT scan. There doesn't seem to be much to it, but I did want to read their recommendations and make sure everything was as planned. Good night!

Over spending some time at my friends' house

One of them is at the barber shop getting his hair cut, the other is working on something at the computer, and I brought my laptop with me, so I thought I'd take a few moments to blog. Yesterday I went to an ENT specialist about recurrent sinus infections. Next month I'm going to have a CT scan of my sinuses to see if there is a reason for them. I've never had a CT scan before, so this should be a new experience.

So most of yesterday morning was spent at the doctor's office. I went on into work and got everything I needed to do finished. Then it was over to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine for two people (including myself), to the post office to pick up a certified letter (regarding an issue that's already been resolved), and the bank to put a little cash into the ATM to cover a debit that will go through today. Afterwards, YKWIA and I watched some videos and then 'Grimm', which has been really great of late and promises to continue to be.

This morning I was very slow to wake up and wasn't feeling the best. My back is hurting, but I took some acetaminophen. I'm trying to get away from ibuprofen due to the kidney issue, but take only as little acetaminophen as possible. Now I've eaten and taken all my meds and I'm feeling a little better. Today we are finally taking down the Christmas tree, there's a movie we want to watch in DVD form from Netfiix (The Ladykillers, with Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers), the grocery run, and maybe some projects around here. But I also have to do the game notes, so I'm going to sign off here and start that. Have a great day!