misc.

* I love The Office

* One more person dropped out of my class this week. This brings us to a total of 15 ~ 75% of what we started with. I hate to see people quit or get fired from class. It always means that the possibility of it happening to me exists, too.

* Speaking of fired...a girl I work with got fired earlier this week. They called her on her day off and told her not to bother coming back. That just sounds so chicken shit to me. I know there were some problems, but she's been with the company for at least 2 years and I think they could've at least given her the opportunity to retrieve her personal items from her desk. Again, I hope this never happens to me.

* My shoulder is getting better. I still have random flare ups that send a shooting pain down my arm, but overall I think it's improving.

* I wish we got the BBC channel. Not BBC America, but the real honest to goodness cockney speaking snobby British BBC.

* I also wish someone would come over this weekend and do my laundry.

* I noticed the other day that I almost always put on my right sock and shoe first. I wonder if I was left-handed if my shoe putting-on would be the opposite?

* I hate Jesus shoes (Birkenstocks). My instructor wears Jesus shoes with knee-high nylons every day to class. Just when I thought they couldn't get any worse...

floppy sock night

When I'm not studying or doing homework or reading or listening to the ball game on the radio, I have been known to plop down in front of the TV and watch Law & Order reruns or something cool on the History International channel (it was Stonehenge the other night!). But otherwise, I really don't watch a whole lot of TV. Except for 3 shows. All of which come on tonight.

I love love love Ugly Betty and The Office, and love love Grey's Anatomy (only 2 loves here cuz they were kinda whiney last year!). I'll probably record Betty and Grey's so that Vic & I can watch them together this weekend. But I'm gonna get all hunkered down and put on my big floppy TV watching socks for The Office. Can't wait!

poor anne & the tigers

I've been a bad blogger of late, and I fear it will only get worse once school starts next week. I've been keeping busy with homework and with my new book, The Other Boleyn Girl. (I decided last semester that I was going to take some time out each day to read something not school related.)

I finished Angels & Demons over the weekend. I guess I'd have to give it an overall 7. The first 450 pages were fantastic! I literally couldn't put the book down. Then it got goofy and a little unbelievable and ended just okay. I've only read a few books that have been wonderful from start to finish (all the Harry Potters!). I'm looking forward to seeing the movie version now. I started the Boleyn book immediately upon finishing Angels and so far it's been great! I pretty much know how it's going to end, though. Poor Anne.

I've stopped going to therapy for my shoulder. I still do the exercises at home and my shoulder and arm still hurt, only not as much as before. I've got to see some improvement soon. School is hard enough with two good arms!

We're going to the final Tigers game of the season this Sunday. Mercifully, the Tigers will be put out of their misery soon. Who knew at the beginning of the season that a team with so much talent could play so incredibly sucky? It's fan appreciation day on our game day, so maybe we'll come home with some bling!

nothing new

Nothing new or exciting happening here...

* At my therapy sesssion this morning, Mark told me I'd probably only need one more session and then he's going to cut me loose. My range of motion has greatly improved. I still have difficulty sleeping the whole night thru and usually wake myself up because I've rolled over onto that shoulder.

* I've got a heap of homework due by my first day of class in less than 2 weeks! I'm feverishly reading Angels & Demons and have less than 200 pages left. I want to finish it before I start schoolwork because I know once I pick up an instrument or pharmacology book, I won't be putting it down for 10 weeks!

* I've decided to go by the library and check out a book or two on CD to listen to on the drive to/from Traverse City that I'll be making in a few weeks. Any recommendations?

uneventful events

This past weekend was extremely uneventful, but in a good way. Vic & I actually got the whole house cleaned. This is usually an undertaking that takes weeks of planning and then I have to trick Vic into thinking it was her idea before anything actual dusting or mopping gets done. I guess all the rain we had inspired us both, though, because we whipped thru the whole house on Saturday afternoon. Then we napped. Then we got all caught up on our DVR watching.

My shoulder is feeling better. It's been a week since the accident and I think I'm functioning at about 60% now. Yea! Hopefully I'll be done with therapy before school starts on the 30th.

Speaking of school...my instructor emailed us to tell us that she's going to be emailing us a "pre-class assignment." (Who emails you to say they're going to email you??) What ever happened to school vacation?! I've only got 2 more weeks of it left, so let me enjoy it! Geez ~ I can't wait until I'm all graduated! The fun just never ends.

rainy day

It's a dreary, rainy Saturday around here today...and I love it.

I actually like it when it rains, especially all day. Days like this give me the opportunity to catch up on chores around the house and this absolutely the best weather to read in. I'll finish going thru the Sunday ads (we get them in our Saturday newspaper!) and then if Vic is still not up, I'll start on my book. I'll turn on some light jazz and curl up on the couch and listen to the rain fall while blissfully reading Angels & Demons.

Later on, Vic & I will get caught up on some of our DVR recordings and then she'll probably talk me into taking a short nap. Sometime during the day we'll have to eat and since I've been craving Mexican, maybe I can talk her into that. I'm really looking forward to a day of nothing.

This definitely has all the makings of a close-to-perfect day.

inflamed

I've been diagnosed with "inflammation of the rotator cuff tendon." I guess I should be happy that I don't have a tear or something worse. It's still hurts like hell though. I have to go to therapy 3x/week and I have exercises I have to do at home in between sessions. They're mostly strengthening and range of motion exercises, but they still burn.

It's amazing how much I do with my right arm. Not just the obvious stuff like writing or typing, but also opening a door and lifting a can a pop to take a drink. My right arm is almost totally helpless. And it sucks! The simplest activities like brushing my teeth or washing my hair are painful. I know the inflammation will eventually subside, but it could last for weeks and school starts in just 2 short weeks!

Back to exercising!

some veggies & whine

I tripped today at work and fell full splat! on my right shoulder. My knee and forearm are both a little scraped, but my shoulder took the brunt of it all and now I'm in copious amounts of pain, both the dull achey kind and the shooting down my arm kind. I promptly went to the local clinic, compliments of workman's comp, and after waiting hours in the aptly named waiting room, I was seen by the world's oldest doctor. He was a nice enough guy, but he really didn't instill much confidence in me.

The x-rays didn't show any breaks, but they also don't show any tears to your ligaments or tendons either. I have a follow-up appointment on Thursday at which time I "shouldn't be in that much pain anymore." If I am, though, it might indicate a rotator cuff injury or a shredded tendon. Eek!

So now I'll be spending my evenings with a bag of veggies on my shoulder (only 15 minutes at a time!) and another bag on my foot (plantar fasciitis). And, of course, I'll be whining alot. Mostly at work, because there's nobody at home in the evenings to take sympathy on me when I make boo-boo pouty-face lips.

my night at the bar

Well, Donna's son's band won the semi-final round of their battle of the bands competition Thursday night due in large part to a big turn out from my work. I guess the winner was determined not only by how well they played, but also by crowd reaction. He goes to the finals in a couple of weeks ~ the grand prize is the opportunity to open for "a well-known band at an upcoming concert."

He seems like a nice enough kid, but I think we were all there for Donna and she seemed very pleased. I doubt I'll be attending the final, though. The only evening was very long, very loud, and very smokey. It was nice getting out and having a few drinks (Diet Cokes ~ it was a work night) and it's always interesting to see your co-workers outside of work ~ especially when the women get all floozied up and have knocked back a couple shots. I have a feeling my upcoming conference in Traverse City will be nothing like this. I hope.

This weekend we really don't have much planned. I'd like to rearrange my sock drawers (it's getting to be that time of year, you know!) and try to read a few chapters of The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie. This was actually a two-part movie that Vic & I started watching last week. We watched the first part, but the second part didn't record, so I have no idea who killed the blonde girl in the library. I couldn't find anything online, so I picked up the book at the used bookstore and am now determined to find out the identity of the murderer! I think it was Basil Blake, but only because I like saying Basil.

misc goings on

Vic & I got new carpet upstairs. Well, new to us. It's actually her mom's old carpet. Mom got the entire condo re-carpeted and she gave us her old stuff ...and paid to have carpet guy lay it! It wouldn't have been my first choice, because it's white and we have a farmload of animals, but we had it installed upstairs and it really brightens the room up. It's also more cooshy up there now, too, because we got new matting underneath.

Since we were revamping the upstairs, we decided to move Vic's desk downstairs and toss the old computer desk. I had that desk for well over 10 years and although it was still functional, it was starting to slowly fade away. It was just a pressed wood desk I bought at WalMart a decade ago and assembled myself with the nifty allen wrench that accompanies all such quality furniture. Our new desk was actually Vic's dad's desk and is really quite nice. It's going to take some getting used to, though. Our chair is too short, so we'll have to get a taller one to accomodate our new computer area. And I'm now sitting on the right side of the desk instead of the left, but I think I'll be able to adapt.

I bought books for the upcoming semester. They were just under $500 this time, which is a bit better than the $700 I paid last semester. I really need to be in the textbook business.

In a little while I'm going to a bar to see my co-worker's son's band compete in a battle of the bands type thing. It's being held at a bar ~ not a bar inside a restaurant where normal people sit at tables snacking on nachos, but a smoky, crowded, no umbrella drinks BAR. A bunch of other people from work are going, too. I just wish this was taking place on a Saturday instead of a Thursday night. And I wish it was starting earlier than 9pm. I'm usually in bed by 10 and I haven't been to a real bar in probably more than 10 years! I'm looking forward to a night of watered down Diet Cokes slurped thru a teeny straw while pressed up against a grungy guy in a Nine Inch Nails t-shirt while trying not to think about what could possibly be "that sticky" on the bar floor. I'll let you know if I make it out alive.

this weekend

I love long weekends! Especially when they don't involve school! The weather's been beautiful all weekend, a little hot, but still manageable. Saturday we walked around the Village of Romeo and took in their annual peach festival. I was a little disappointed that there were no gian peaches walking amongst the crowds and posing for pictures with litle kids (and goofy adults that like that kind've stuff!), but we still had a nice time. We stopped at a few garage sales along the way and, surprisingly, bought nothing! And of course we picked up some delicious fruit. Now that September is here, the cider mills and haunted corn mazes can't be far behind!

Our Sunday was spent washing the Jeeps and reading the newspapers. But today, we've got a lot planned. We are getting carpet laid upstairs tomorrow morning, so we have to move as much as possible up there today. It probably wouldn't take too long, except that Vic and I tend to take quite a few breaks whenever we're involved in anything labor-intensive. I'll let you know how it works out.

I've also included photos of the remaining kids. I think you've all met Shannon several times, so I didn't include any shots of her and I have a feeling you'll probably be treated to plenty pics of her playing in the snow (in a few months).

Rickie didn't meow for the longest time & we actually thought

she was mute. I think she just didn't have much to say in

the beginning, because now she talks all the time!

Zach is our second oldest kitty~he's about 16ish. He has the

sweetest disposition and is still a big baby. When he was born,

he was teenie-weenie & the vet thought he might

not make it. Now he's about 15lbs & healthy as an ox.

Vic actually helped deliver Murphy. He came out backwards

and Mama kitty was having a hard time delivering, so Vic

helped ease him out & then broke his little sack so Mama

could clean him. He's got a deep gravelly voice ~ think

Harvey Fierstein.

This is not such a great picture of Emily, but she wouldn't

sit still long enough to pose. She is the first kitty that

Vic & I got together. She was an outside kitty that came

with our house in P'Cola. Shortly after we moved in, there was a

hurricane, so we brought Em & her brother inside. After the

storm passed, she said, "Hell no, I'm not going back to a life

of eating bugs!" and she's been an inside kitty ever since!