Well, that was decidedly odd

I've been burning the candle at both ends, by working long days, doing errands and going to appointments with friends and for myself, visiting my mom (who was transferred to the rehabilitation centre within the nursing home my grandmother used to be in, closer to their home but further away from me), and basically getting about 4-5 hours of broken sleep at a time. So it's probably no wonder that I haven't written much.

I came home about 6:30 or 7 tonight, had a quick bite to eat, and then laid down for a bit. I shot for an hour's nap; I got two, with Pandora in the background and my fan running (I was terribly hot). I'd been having some trouble breathing today, which is why I didn't go get my allergy shots today. Anyway, I slept well. Then I woke up, went to the bathroom, and then the kitchen, where I grabbed something to drink and some string cheese, and I had my glasses off (you know, you get used to your house and can do certain things, even if you're nearly blind without them). But I did notice the light in the aquarium was off, which was odd, because it was on when I got home, and I didn't turn it off. I have several LED bulbs in the aquarium hood--one might have gone out, but that is unlikely, as they're not old and LEDs last a long time. So I went and got my glasses, turned the light to the dining room on, and tried the light. Nothing. I looked around to see what could be amiss, and it turns out the large and one small, heavy pictures on the wall, maps of the world, had fallen off somehow, fortunately straight down, so they didn't hurt the aquarium (29 gallons of water and fish on the floor would not have been good), but they did unplug the light and the pump. So I've plugged those in and I'm going to check and make sure the pump is putting water through in a minute. But it was weird.

There are a few things I need to do this weekend:

1. Get up early tomorrow and go over to YKWIA's house by 8 am and get him up for an appointment.
2. Take him to said appointment.
3. Go get some of his medicine from the pharmacy.
4. Pick him back up.
5. Take him home.
6. Go to the library and return a book. Read off the small amount of fines I have (they've got a fine read-off through tomorrow).
7. Go to work and get some hours in, doing the extra work I agreed to do, which will help keep me from being as short from the holiday for Christmas day from Monday.
8. Come home and work on:
   1. A book review.
   2. The game notes.
   3. The house.
   4. Watch the ball drop at midnight.
   5. Pick up A at 2 am from work on New Year's Eve downtown, hopefully without getting struck by a drunk driver.
   6. Get over to YKWIA's at 9 am Sunday to clean house for the game.
   7. Play the game.
   8. Pick A up at midnight from work. At least I don't need to work Monday due to the holiday, unlike normal, when I struggle to get up in time on Mondays.
9. For Monday--I have physical therapy with YKWIA in the middle of the day. Otherwise, I'm going to try to work on my own house and try to get caught up on my rest.

So, yeah, still busy, and starting the year off just as hectically. Oh, well. Anyway, I hope you all have a good New Year. 2016 has been pretty sucky--here's hoping that 2017 will be much better. Granted, I'm scheduled for a lay-off, but I might do better in the long run.

This is an excellent video

With Simon Sinek about Millennials and the challenges they face in the workplace. It was recommended to me by a coworker.  Apparently it was the day for video recommendations,  as another coworker suggested the Doc Vader videos such as Doc Vader vs.  the Hospital Administrator.  The author,  who also does music video parodies,  is a physician who uploads under the channel name ZDoggMD,  a character played by Zubin Damania, MD.

Just a quick note before bedtime

My mom's doing better.  She's still at UK hospital but in a step-down unit,  where yesterday she was talking,  eating,  and even walked a bit and sat up in a chair.  Today when I was over there I couldn't wake her,  and neither could the nurse practitioner,  so she ordered more medicine to help with the symptoms,  which include extreme sleepiness. Basically,  they're trying to find the right balance between her meds,  lab levels,  and symptoms. She may need some extra PT at a rehabilitation centre nearer to her hometown before getting to go home.  But she's been clear and with it and relatively easy to understand.  I've been over every day from Thursday to today,  except for Saturday,  when we were cooking for Sunday's Christmas dinner.  Sunday we got together for that,  and YKWIA and I went to a late-night showing of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Then we got A from work. Monday night I made latkes for Chanukah. Today it was back to work,  then visiting my mom, helping YKWIA with his house,  and then watching another episode of 'Shadowhunters'.  I think we have two left,  which is good,  as they expire off Hulu on the 31st of December.

Okay,  so much for something brief.  Have a good night.

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!

Good news on the health front

So I went to my post-op appointment and everything was benign, and while I could take hormones to keep things on a more even keel,  I chose to just let things continue as is unless my symptoms get worse. There was no sign of cancer or hyperplasia.  Instead it was termed 'dysfunction of the uterine lining',  meaning the uterine wall swings between being too thick or too thin. Basically that's a fancy term for a side-effect of perimenopause,  like I hoped,  although given my risk factors it was good to check everything out. So,  no hysterectomy or progesterone IUD required. I'm breathing a sigh of relief tonight.

Watched two things this weekend

Twice,  actually -- once with YKWIA on Saturday,  the second with him and Brenda today.  The first was the movie Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, based on the quirky novel of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith that blends Jane Austen's classic work with horror. It was a fun movie.  Regency costumes are beautiful,  and whoever did the costumes for this did an excellent job,  not only capturing the period look,  but making them serviceable for concealing a number of daggers and other weapons while looking sexy,  too. This garnered approval from the two history people and one professional costumer,  all of whom play in or run a game where they regularly keep various weapons on their characters' persons.

The second thing was an episode of 'Black Mirror', from season 3, episode 1, called "Nosedive",  in which there is a society where an individual's worth is their social media rating (which affects everything from your credit to getting housing to being able to even enter a building to go to work).  This leads to a superficial and desperate populace continually trying to please and appease everyone around them. The main character is invited to a wedding,  and things collapse in the attempt to get there. All of the show's episodes show,  in 'Twilight Zone'-like fashion,  some horrific aspect of our modern technological world and what it could lead to. This was the first episode I've seen,  but I definitely want to set more.  It definitely leaves a disturbing  image of what could be afterwards,  and gets you to think about the downside to technology afterwards.

Okay,  A should be calling for a ride in a few minutes, and I must get up early. I should go.  Good night.

The good, the bad, and the weird, respectively...

1) I have a new job to apply for,  this one at the University of Kentucky Law Library.  It's a digital librarian position.

2) I didn't get either of the part-time positions I interviewed for, but I'm moving on and trying not to take the rejection hard.

3) At the employee social tonight I asked the bartender for a Diet Pepsi, watched him put something in it and assumed it was some sort of syrup,  then tasted it and realised it was bourbon. Needless to say,  as I was driving,  dislike alcohol, and can't even drink a half a glass of wine without getting drunk,  I didn't drink any further. When asked, the bartender insisted there was nothing in it. I guess he was on autopilot and didn't realise what he did.  But that could have been bad.

Yay!

Got the opportunity today to make some extra money at work,  including overtime and on weekends,  doing data entry.  Couldn't happen at a better time... Have I mentioned I love my workplace?

This quote just popped up

In my inbox:

  “The remarkable thing is, we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.”

― Charles R. Swindoll

Feeling a bit better tonight,  and this is very true.

Speaking of mood

One of the applications I have on my phone is called Daylio.  It's a mood tracker  and I've used it for 100 days in a row as of today.  It is simple and allows you to rate the day using faces and icons for activities. It will back up to Google Drive,  too,  so I didn't lose anything when I changed phones.  I've found that overall I have good days,  although today was just  'meh'. Anyway,  if this is something you're interested in tracking,  I highly recommend it.