the RATS of moose

The Random Access ThoughtS of a mid-west, approaching-middle-age, nurse starting the next phase of life.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Nurse seeks medical evaluation for injury!!

HA!! THAT will be the day! (what else is new??) Thank you all for your kind words and concern.... the leg is still attached and has made a steady recovery. It is almost back to it's pre-injury level of pain. Still can't run, but couldn't run before I fell over. Will get that checked out when I go see Herr Doctor in July for my annual physical.

And... since I am fully (or as full as it's going to get) recovered... and I have the day off, I think it's time to go shopping... YIPPEE!!! (Yes, accountant-type person, I paid the savings accounts first... all 5 of them).

Lator GAtors!!

Friday, March 16, 2007

The "POP" heard 'round the parking lot

For the most part, yesterday was an okay day. There was a fight at work Wednesday when I was off. Honestly, I leave them alone for one day and look what happens... sheesh.

I was a good girl on the way home and dropped several boxes of clothing and misc. stuff off at Goodwill (including 3 pair of shoes). Went to the grocery store and forgot to get carrots to put in my salad. Oops. Got almost home and Chuck called and asked if we could go to the store to pick up a little fridge for under his desk at work. Sure... I like shopping... especially if he is spending.... pulled into the parking lot and picked him up and off we went.

Got to the store, got the fridge. Got out to the truck with the fridge on a little flat bed cart. Opened the truck. Chuck picked up the box, stumbled and the day went from okay to not-so-okay.

He was falling backwards towards the flat bed cart. And since I was right on the other side of the cart I thought I would move so he and the cart didn't run into me. I picked up my left foot, twisted/turned to the left and put my foot down and I felt a sensation in my left butt that must have been the equivalent of the 'shot heard 'round the world.' It was the loudest "POP" I have ever heard my body make. I was stunned. And OH-MY-GAWD did it hurt. On a one-to-ten scale of pain (1 the least, 10 the most) I was running 25.

I must have made some strange noise because an entire family across the parking lot turned to stare. One of the men with that group came running over to see if we needed help. Chuck was sprawled on the ground and I was stuck in a bent over, legs in a ballerina-unnatural stance, wondering if I could breathe without sucking air between my clenched teeth. The bottom of my foot was numb and it felt like a lightning bolt had gone thru my leg.

I've been having problems with this particular part of my leg for about 6 weeks. Something deep inside just under that crease between butt cheek and leg has been bothering me. Can't figure out what it is, don't remember doing anything to injure it. But it hurts... to the point of not being able to run. Not good, but not annoying enough to go see someone.

Whatever it was, it's WORSE now.

Chuck helped me straighten up and piled me into the passenger seat, loaded the fridge and off we went. Dropped the fridge at his office and by then the pain was less and I could bear weight so we continued on to dinner. (Fluffy people should quit reading here as they may gain weight just from the description). We ate at Houlihan's. Oops. Talked our server into bringing us a big plate of chips and salsa. I had 3 mini-tinis (totally yummy, chocolate, key lime and guava. Thanks for the inspiration, Flau!!!), baked potato soup (hey, they didn't have corned beef and cabbage on the menu, I got the next best thing!), and chicken enchiladas with a chipotle sauce. YUMMY!!

The motrin and the -tinis helped with the pain... but my leg don't work so good. I used Chuck to balance myself last night. He makes a great crutch!!! I have an old wood cane in the closet and I got it out last night and put it to good use. Also found some 9 year old Vicodin in the closet. It helped too!!

I am going to be fun teaching tonight and this weekend. Think I will take one of the students and park them on the lectern computer and I will prop myself on a stool. Will also drag my cane. I'll leave the Vicodin at home.... hee hee hee Speaking of which, I suppose I should get ready for work.

Old age... another day another body part fails... Ain't life grand.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

The changing of the seasons

Tuesday afternoon was wonderful.

I know I am a die-hard winter fan. I love the cold. I love the snow. I keep wondering if I would like living further north where it is cold and snowy longer.

And then along comes a Tuesday.

I left work.

I rolled the windows down.

I turned off the heat/air conditioner.

I let the breeze ruffle my hair.

And I find myself, the winter lover, looking forward to spring.

Rambles without guilt

I blink my eyes and half the month goes by.

I was off today. Once you get out of the habit of being off work on weekdays, they seem exotic and strange when you get them. I was up early. Worked on little dinky projects that I never quite get to on the weekends. It was strangly relaxing.

Commuting in surface (as opposed to expressway) traffic lets you see things that should be restricted to the privacy of ones bathroom. Door closed. The other day it was a portly, elderly gentleman digging in his passenger-side ear canal with a key. That is WRONG on so many levels. Immediately after seeing him go for China, I had the most irresistable itch in my drivers-side ear. Nearly drove me wild. Attacked it with a Q-tip in the privacy of my bathroom. Good thing I was only 4 blocks from home.

Had a fluffy person meeting tonight. The subject was emotional eating. (too bad this isn't TV... you would have just witnessed me typing that last period, getting up and going to the kitchen to get a napkin and stopping by the freezer for 3 teaspoons of ice cream) I did not enjoy the meeting. The leader is bound and determined sold on the idea that if you eat when you aren't hungry, that it's emotional eating. She wasn't buying anyone's assertion that sometimes we eat bad things just for the sheer joy of eating them. I'm going to run with the herd on this one. I eat ice cream when I am not hungry. Sometimes I eat it when I feel full. I eat it because I LIKE it. Pure and simple. I like ice cream. I like the way it tastes. I like the mouth feel. I like the cold. I like that you can eat it straight out of the carton or in a bowl all dressed up with fruit or syrup or milk and chocolate chips. I like that it turns into floats and milkshakes. I just like ice cream. And the fluffy person with the white and black striped shirt likes chocolate glazed doughnuts. And the fluffy person with the long gray hair likes candy bars. And the fluffy person on the far side of the room eats out of unconscious habit because some dork at work puts out a bowl of candy that she passes all day long. She walks and dips just because it's in her path. I do the same. Me and M&Ms at work on Tuesday. Knew I shouldn't eat them. Did it anyway. Didn't feel guilty afterword. (that usually doesn't set in until I've eaten a whole bag of them... about 1500 calories-30 points worth. I felt guilty after that.) And I just read Flau's blog. Now I want to go buy a bunch of flavored vodka and make drinks.

I won't feel guilty if I do that, either.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Outta my rut....

Ruts... ruts are bad bad bad.... Don't get stuck in a rut!!

How many times have you heard that? How many times have you ignored that statement and stayed comfortably in your very own personal private rut? More than once I'll bet.

Ruts can be de-motivating... last night at the fluffy people meeting was a good example... One of the participants was bummed because she hasn't lost any weight for a couple weeks. Follows plan faithfully. She's changed a little something here and there, but no results. So the leader asked.. give me an example of what you eat for breakfast... the woman answered.... blah, blah, blah.
Okay.. what 'other things' do you eat for breakfast?
Nothing else. I have the same thing for breakfast every day.
Okay. What do you eat for lunch.
Blah, blah.
What else do you eat for lunch.
Nothing. I eat the same thing every day.
{heavy sigh from audience}
Okay... what do you eat for dinner?
Oh, well, it changes every day...
And how long have you done the same routine for 2/3's of your meals?
2 years.
Oh good grief... CHANGE IT UP!!! Body is bored with the food you eat. Get OUT OF THE RUT!! Bet she loses weight this week.

Some days, ruts are bad.

On the other hand... when I left work yesterday, I didn't save the document I was working on to my desktop hard drive. I just saved it to the flash drive I had been working off of. And when I got ready to leave, I didn't put my flash drive in it's usual carrier in my purse. I held it in my hand.

Then today comes and it's time to work on my document. Casually reach for flash drive carrier. Empty. No big deal. I'll just work off the copy on my desktop. Look and look and look. No copy. Rats. Go digging thru purse in earnest. No drive. Rats. Look harder. No drive. Take everything out of purse and dump whole thing on floor... {GASP} IT WAS GONE! MISSING IN ACTION!!! WHERE OH WHERE COULD IT HAVE GONE?? WHO STOLE MY FLASH?????????? I looked and looked all over my desk. I looked in my desk. I looked at the computer in the other room that I had been working on. I looked on the floor. No drive.

I got home. I looked all over the desk. And the kitchen table. And the bedroom. And the living room. And the desk, again. And the truck. And at Chucks. No drive. Rats. Called the fluffy people meeting place website. They don't have a phone and the 1-800 operator couldn't get a hold of anyone there. Rats. Hopped in the truck. Looked around some more. Looked all over the parking lot. Checked the hallways. Drove to fluffy people meeting place. Explained problem to helpful women behind counter.. or woman... one said "What's a flash drive." The other reassured me that she knew what it was and she would post a note. Shuffled out of meeting hall bummed and pissed at self. On to the grocery store to check their lost and found (hahaha). Checked the parking lot at meeting hall. No drive. Rats.

Hopped in truck. Thought to self... I don't think I checked the floorboards on passenger side of truck. Looked down. Saw flash drive. Walked back in to meeting hall. Held drive up to clueless woman... "This is a flash drive." She smiled and made happy noises that I had found it. I took the note down. Drove home.

Sometimes ruts aren't so bad.