"Normal"

It occurs to me that I never did post the requisite update about my MRI. It was "normal" per my doctor. That's all she said. Normal. Oh, and she tossed in a line about taking that last prescription she gave me. No mention of how there wasn't bursitis and there wasn't anything to indicate why I was in severe pain during the MRI and what the next steps might be other than "Here, have some more drugs."

Also, it's a very good thing I got a copy of the radiologist's report on my own as my doctor didn't think it worth mentioning that I had several benign ovarian cysts that need a follow-up via ultrasound in 3-6 months to make sure they remain benign.

Needless to say, I'll be cancelling my follow-up with this particular doctor and investigating other options for addressing whatever the hell is going on with my joints.

Murphy's Law, Toddler Interpretation #342

Drew's inner monolog, 7PM, on the drive home:

Hmm. Let's see. Looking around the car I see no diaper bag. That means nothing to change me into if something unfortunate should happen to these clothes or this diaper I'm wearing. That's very interesting.

Wow. It's really dark out. Can't see anything unless it's got headlights attached. That's very dark.

Hey, we just drove under Riggs Road. That means there's no exit for ten miles, and that's just for a solitary gas station. Home's another ten minutes beyond that. That's very isolated.

You know, dinner isn't sitting very well with me. Hasn't been for a while. But this seems like the perfect time to deal with that particular problem.

Jury's Still Out

My spidey-sense told me that I should have asked for a copy of the radiologist's report of my MRI in addition to picking up a copy of the films, which I was told my doctor would need. I was also told that a copy of said report would be faxed to my doctor, so all would be revealed at today's visit. The doc would help me understand the report and point out the relevant images on the films. This is how it's worked before with another doctor.

Yeah. Not so much with this one.

So I still don't know exactly what's going on. I've taken a look at the films (well, duh; I can't just sit on something like that and NOT peek), but the bright lines that I suspect are significant may turn out to be noise or something.

One thing I know for certain. Tomorrow I will be requesting a copy of my own from the radiologist. I am not going to sit around and wait for my doctor's office to get their copy and call me with the results.

What I've Been Up To

Work's been crazy lately as we packed up our old facility and moved to the new one this week (actually, the move happened today, and I missed out on that fun; they didn't want too many hands in the pot, and it seemed silly to drive 55 miles only to get in the way; I did, however, pull a twelve hour day on Thursday to help get everything packed up).

On top of the regular work I'm doing to get a couple of studies caught up and into a reasonable steady state, I've been diving into a project that hasn't been touched for all of 2008 and even some of 2007, and there's a deadline of Nov 24 for all that data that hasn't been entered yet. And, of course, Drew's brought home the next in a line of bugs from school and has lovingly passed it on to me (Mark seems to be immune).

Add to that the MRI from hell last weekend (over an hour with my legs taped together in an extremely painful position; I sobbed throughout the last fifteen or twenty minutes of the experience; the only positive is that my head wasn't into the tube as I had to go in feet first and they focused on my pelvis). More on this Monday when I have an appointment with the rheumatologist and she tells me the verdict.

I was supposed to buckle down and get back to work on PPR revisions today, but see above referenced bug gifted from Drewbie. So instead I'm using the limited brain function I've got tonight to get some work done for my RWA chapter. Tomorrow I'm hoping the bug won't be harrassing me as much, and I'll get back to my writing. I've had to take a break from it for too long. I'm getting cranky.

PPR's Theme, Apparently

Seeing as how I can't stop listening to this song as I work through several key scenes from this story in mind, I guess I've found a main title song for my soundtrack.

Scalzi is Smart

What he said. (And here is is, pointing out the obvious. Really, no matter how you voted or what your politics, this link is essential, especially if you could use a laugh at the election's expense.)

Imbibing in a Comelatory Drink

I offer into the English language a new word: comelatory. It's an amalgamation of "comiserating" and "celebratory" in that I need a drink to watch all this talk of statistics and political commentary. But with only 30-40% of precincts nationwide reporting and no one yet projected to have the necessary 270 votes, I have no idea whether my drink is supposed to be drowning my sorrows or toasting my preferred candidate's success.

The drink in question is my second attempt to recreate The Vixen. If I may say, the second time's the charm.

Also, Comedy Central has the most entertaining election coverage by far.

Armageddon Eve

God willing, this time tomorrow night a clear winner will be emerging and there will not be a trace of the shenanigans of 2000 and 2004 to muddle things for days or weeks afterwards. I'm ready to know who's going to be leading this country for the next four years and get on with making my peace on that score (a task which will be infinitely easier should my preferred candidate win).

I've kept mostly silent about politics on my blog and at work. In fact, I've only really hashed this election out with Mark, and he's been in leaning my way for a while. This is mostly because I don't seem to find myself around people who are undecided and whom I might offer information or an informed opinion that might help them. Mostly I find myself frequenting strongly opinionated blogs and in the company of firm believers of one strip or another. If there's one thing the internet's taught me, it's that "debate" is just a way to try to lord it over the other guy (sometimes with impeccable logic, sometimes not), not to actually do any sort of persuading. I've developed an ear for those who are actively seeking an opinion to educate themselves, but mostly I'm just hearing those who are already convinced and want to remain convinced.

It's allowed me to sit back and just watch the narratives fly.

Human beings tell stories to make sense of what's happening around them. This is well and good and vastly entertaining and helpful for things like empathy and, well, just dragging yourself out of bed each day. It's also good for creating something of a fever pitch over tomorrow's results. On the one hand, you have the possibility of Caribou Barbie being one seventy-two year old man's heartbeat away from the Oval Office. On the other hand, you have the possibility of welcoming our new socialist overlord on January 20th. While this has all been very entertaining, I can't say I'll miss it much. Such dramatics can be oh-so-tiring.

If you do happen to be undecided, look past the theatrics, get to your polling place, bring a coin to flip if you must, and vote. Help us get on with reality and life as usual again.

Things I Accomplished This Weekend Other Than What I Intended

Saturday was pegged for locking myself in my office and devoting many uninterrupted hours to PPR revisions as Muse has been cranky with my piddly half-hour lunch breaks devoted to same recently. (Usually I take an hour, but work be crazy.) Sunday I had slotted to blaze through this month's newsletter for my RWA chapter so I could go back to the proper writing focus the rest of the week.

Drew intervened by waking up every other hour Friday night and Saturday morning and demolishing any chance I had of catching up on a woeful lack of sleep from the past two weeks. Add in a mild but still mostly debilitating gastorintestinal bug, and I spent Saturday trying to recover some semblance of humanity. Sunday I just decided to kick away responsibility and just be Mom. So here's what I did manage to do:

1. Start and finish Charles Stross's The Family Trade, Book One of the Merchant Princes series. Fabulous fun book that while not being fluffy was a quick and engaging read. Of course, it ended on cliffhanger so now I'm eyeing my TBR pile and budget and wondering just when I can get to the rest of the books. I know at least four are out in the series, a fifth has either recently come out or will be out shortly, and he's just starting writing the sixth. I have my work cut out for me.

2. I tried my hand at a home-made version of The Vixen, my new fave drink last sampled in Vegas. Overall, it was a decent effort, though I think I had just a touch too much vermouth. Experimenting in this fashion is fun, though, so expect another report next weekend.

3. Found two perfect birthday cards on my first try this morning: one for my brother and one for my mother's Significant Other. This to go along with appreciated gifts, a wonderful dinner and great company made for a fantastic evening at my mom's.

4. Cheered (via watching an internet feed) my brother-in-law to his personal best marathon time, an obscene two hours, fifty-three minutes and change.

5. And...well...hmmm. I think that's it. Mostly my biggest accomplishment was unplugging the "must do this, must do that" cord and letting myself be a slug. Maybe now that I've gotten the lazy weekend out of the way, I won't need to indulge in one again until 2009. Ha.

Vegas, Baby!

Everyone survived the first parental trip without the munchkin. Momma and Daddy didn't ruin a vacation by worrying and guilt-tripping. We kept our calls to two a day and half the time Drew didn't want to talk to us (he's out of the phone phase, apparently). Drew was perfectly happy to be hanging out with Gramma and Grampa instead of Momma and Daddy. He did miss us, but he never got too bent out of shape about it. And Gramma and Grampa had a blast with Drew, though they were still very happy to hand him back to us upon our return.

As for Vegas itself, it was a great trip. We even learned a few lessons:

1. Generic less drowsy dramamine is not nearly as less drowsy as the real thing. Thus I had to take a nap just two hours into our time in Vegas.

2. Spending $12 or $13 on a drink is well worth it, apparently. I've never had a drink so well mixed. In fact, I've got a new favorite drink. It's called the Vixen: Glenlivet 12, vermouth, sweet & sour, and honey. Yummy.

3. Apparently the Venetian took seriously their theme and made the hotel float on pretension. At least, that's the vibe we got at the restaurant we selected for dinner. It takes a decent sized pair to bill a restaurant as fine dining and then try to cram seating for 80 into a room barely bigger than our living room and kitchen combined. It's also remarkably crass to interpret a reservation for "as secluded a table as possible" into "here's a seat less than a foot away from another occupied table when there's only three other couples in the entire albeit cramped room." I ordered the cheapest meal on the menu. We ordered only two glasses of wine, and we declined desert. The service was great and the food was good, so we didn't stiff on the tip. But we certainly won't be recommending Valentino's to anyone. Not that they care as we and our circle are most decidedly too middle class for that establishment, apparently.

4. On the other hand, the Luxor seems designed for folks more from our walk of life who want to live it up a bit and have budgeted their vacation accordingly. Mark and I can't stop talking about the fabulous experience we had at Fusia. Sure, a meal with appetizers, entrees, desert, and drinks will set you back at least $200, but man is it worth it. Everything was delicious. The service was superb. The manager was making the rounds and chatting with everyone eating there. Sure, we had people sitting all around us, but this place had maximized their space and there was plenty of room to feel like we weren't sitting on top of our neighbors. If you are in the mood for some high quality food the next time you're in Vegas, go to Fusia. The only downside this place has is that it's closed Wednesdays and Thursdays.

5. Drew's birthdate (the 4th) is our luckiest number at the roulette table. Paid off three times, including once when I had on a whim told Mark to put a second chip on it.

6. Slots aren't nearly as much fun as I used to think. And I'm just not all that into the table games either. Guess I'll be gravitating more toward the shows on our future trips. My age. It shows.

7. The casinos are in the timeshare business. We were accosted several times in several casinos by folks wanting to give away gambling money and discounted show tickets if you'd just take a look-see at this lesser known property of theirs on the south end of the strip. These folks were awful. Anyone they saw that looked to be a married couple over 21 was a target. It got so bad that Mark and I couldn't walk around holding hands or even just side by side in certain areas.

So, a great trip, no trauma to be seen on the part of either the 'rents or the kid, and tips for future such trips. When can we do it again? :)

State of the Blog

I do want to continue blogging, I just haven't figured out how to fit it in to my schedule now that I'm working full-time and commuting three hours each day. Any time left in the evenings is either spent focused on my writing or resting a fried mind in front of the TV or with some internet surfing. My lunch hour (when I can take it) is also focused on writing. And I'll eventually have to divvy up the evening time and lunch hour into attending my future duties as the Vice President of Programs for my RWA chapter.

So, essentially, I may not have time to blog but once or twice a week, and the entries may be rather short. I might start blogging my writing progress again, as those posts go fast and still give me a chance to provide a line or two of entertaining content in addition to the stats those writing geeks out there love.

Don't expect any changes in the blogging department this week, though, as Mark's parents arrive tomorrow evening and Mark and I jet out on our own for a three-day belated anniversary trip to Las Vegas. So any free time I usually have? Definitely won't have it until next Sunday. Given the reasons for not having said time, however, I do not mind this circumstance in the slightest.

Six Years Ago Today...

...Mark and I said "I do" and took lots of fabulous pictures on a beautiful if a touch windy day. So many of our family and friends were there to share in our special day and celebrate joyfully with us. If ever we develop technology that lets us relive our memories, that day would be a frequent choice for me. Thank you to everyone for making it such a wonderful moment in Mark's and my life together.

And, Mark, these six years (and the eight we've been together in any fashion) have been great. Great is such a small word, really. And even "supercallifragilisticexpeallidocious" is too small (also too silly). Maybe in another six years I'll have a better adjective to describe how much I have loved/love/and will always love our time together.

Three Years Ago Today...

...Drew got stuck on his way out into the world, and the doctors had to cut me open to get him out. He still shows absolutely no signs of this trauma, and I doubt he ever will. Instead, he's ahead of his years kinesthetically, making up for lost time in the talking and potty-training department, and having a blast at school. Thankfully, he still enjoys snuggling up to Momma and Daddy just after he wakes up. Mark and I both know those days are numbered.

So, Happy Third Birthday, Drew. We're having a lot of fun living these years with you and watching you experience life and the world. We can't wait to see what you're up to in another year.

A Nice Night

I'm making an effort not to jinx anything, but I did want to report that Drew had a very good night tonight, free of the fits he's been throwing just about every other night since I started the new job. It's amazing how energized and good Mark and I feel when the night ends peacefully with Drew. Of course, then I went and used all that energy to get caught up with a college buddy on the phone instead of writing, but I certainly don't mind that.

I'm not going to hope or cross my fingers or anything like that, just reiterate again that this evening was very nice indeed. It was a joy to share time with Happy Drew instead of Fussy Drew.

The Back in Daycare Crud

We knew it was going to happen. We knew it would likely happen at least once a year. We didn't expect it to happen at the end of Drew's very first week back in daycare.

While suffering from only some minor congestion himself, Drew has lovingly passed on some sort of cold/flu ickiness to Momma and Daddy. Daddy is congested with a sore throat and mostly feeling lousy. Momma felt listless earlier today (and napped for an hour and a half to make the feeling that much more authentic) and has a sore throat.

This means that, since I'm in a probationary trial thingamajig at work, I can't take time off (and I'm already pushing that by demanding as a condition of my acception their employment offer three days off in October due to a pre-existing trip to Vegas planned and booked) and Mark generally isn't able to take time off due to being like one of two people who has to manage and care for (translation: actually, you're better off not knowing what my cruel cruel husband has to do to the dear sweet things) the mice, that the chances of my resuming regular blogging this week are slim to none. Better luck next week.

Oh, Lookee! A Learning Curve!

The brain is fried. Not only did I force it to work a full eight hours today, I also forced it to concentrate through an hour and a half commute each way. Then there's the learning curve. Clinical research is not a new thing to me and, theoretically, neither is cancer research. The technicalities of oncology as a medical field of study is a realm of new with tantalizingly familiar vistas. So short story: love the new job, will love it even more once I find my groove and get jiggy with the jargon.

Short story for Drew: Five to ten minutes of meltdown when we dropped him off at daycare, the sounds of which haunted me throughout the rest of the drive. But, true to Drew Monster style, he got over it a couple of minutes after we left and was a happy and eager kid the rest of the day. Definitely excited about going back tomorrow; we'll see how he handles it when he remembers that school involves large chunks of time w/o the 'rents.

Longer stories (or at least longer musings) to follow as I get the hang of this working full-time thing again.

Giddy

Tomorrow starts a new phase for Drew and me. Drew goes to "school" full-time, and I go to work out of the home full-time. We haven't been here in nearly two years. We're both more than a little giddy anticipating these changes.

My giddiness was mostly expressed in the glee and speed with which I unceremoniously dumped all of my previous DDJ files and laptop and such off at the UPS Store for mailing on Friday. No kidding: I wasted only fifteen minutes between when I shut down for the last time from my the old job to when I loaded up the car with everything to return it. This is not to say the old DDJ was terrible or really horrible or anything. It wasn't. But my projects involved a lot more contact with the customers rather than with my colleagues, so I hadn't felt integrated or connected with my team in a while. Plus, I'm really stoked about my new job and coworkers.

Drew's giddiness is expressed in different ways. He felt big boy enough to use his potty a bodily function not involving pee for the very first time. When he saw me stacking up the stuff we need to bring with him for his first official day tomorrow, he carried his dinner from the kitchen table to where I was at the dining room table so he could watch and direct the flow of items into proper stacks. Then he danced and screeched his way into his shower with Daddy.

I guess you could say we're both more than a little excited. I'm sure by next weekend, though, Drew and I will be a bit clingy with each other as it sinks in that all the time we've had together for these past two years has changed.

Random Thoughts on a Saturday

1. Jimmy Clausen doesn't really work with long hair. But, thankfully and much more importantly, he works much better with an offensive line that actually, you know, protects him long enough to do anything with the ball. Go Irish!

2. It really hurts to cheer on USC even if doing so means they slaughter OSU. I whimpered after every positive, encouraging thing I said about USC in that game.

3. I'm getting sick of store rewards programs that require you to print out coupons for benefits that are inextricably linked to the reward program card itself. We are immersed in the digital age, people. Please bring your business models into alignment with this fact.

4. I never discussed the free samples BPAL sent with the last order. The first is "Blood Kiss" which overwhelmingly smells like honey when I open the sample and first apply it. Then it mellows into this sweet musk that is just divine. Me rikey. The second is "Loup Garou" which reeks of pine extremely when the sample is open but almost immediately mellows upon application. It reminds me of the Bath & Body Works holiday fragrance "Winterberry" and this is a good thing. Once you get over the eye-watering pine bit.

The Perils of a Geek Marriage

Mark and I were up until 1 AM last night having a heated argument. It wasn't about the bills or the house or the chores or the car or whatever the Greatest Hits of matrimonial dischord are. No, we were duking it out over, essentially, what the Grand Unified Theory will do about the logic dichotomy of classical physics vs quantum mechanics. The reason this got so heated is that I was approaching the discussion from a philosophical, follow-the-bouncing-ball-of-logic position (which, given my background in biochemistry, is clearly rigidly locked with classical physics and Can See No Other Way) while Mark was actually, you know, arguing from the current body of scientific evidence that quantum mechanics has produced.

This spat may well have unseated the previous Geek Marriage Moment of 03 when Mark and I went at it over dolphin and monkey intelligence metrics.

Just Another Day, Apparently

Had I needed to write down the date or heard it aloud on the radio or something, it likely would've sunk into this thick skull of mine that today is another Sept 11. But without those cues, today is just the day that I have to juggle transitioning my current DDJ responsibilities to colleagues with jetting up to Mesa with toddler in tow for a date with a rheumatologist.

As it was, the date didn't click until I read this brief but excellent post by Scalzi. In fact, it didn't click until I got a few comments in. I read Scalzi's post and figured it was a clever and sarcastic reference to some goings-on in the science fiction community that I, in my infinite lameness, had completely managed to miss. Being slightly more nice to myself, I also thought it might be one of Scalzi's random posts to serve as a way to get silly comments about imaginary events and such. Then my brain finally came around to the big picture.

Every now and then I'm surprised by how much humanity, while decrying the daily grind, seeks to get right back to the status quo at least in the space of our own minds.