I am now officially into my second week of not drinking any pop. The first few days of my illness I had a throat so sore the thought of any carbonation passing over it made me cringe and preemptively gag. By the time my throat was feeling better I was well into the expected caffeine withdrawal headaches, so I decided to ride it out and use the initial aversion to my advantage.
Water, even in massive cups full of ice, is starting to get old so today while at Walmart I picked up a few flavoring options. Typically I do not really care for such packets because they are too sweet, but Crystal Light has a few flavors that aren't too bad. Today's find includes Green Tea Peach Mango and Raspberry Lemonade. I won't be able to drink water flavored with these packets all of the time (the artificial sweetener would really start to get to me) but once in awhile they will be a nice change.
I have my third care package ready to send to the troops that I decided to adopt. I have a Marine squad that is based in the Horn of Africa until September. I do not know if my first two packages have been received, but I figure I'll just keep sending the packages until I'm told not to. It's amazing how much you can fit in what are actually rather small APO/FPO boxes. This particular package, along with the snacks that I always include, also has a lawn game. Does anyone remember the Velcro-covered ball and the two mitt/paddle combo things used to "catch" said ball? That's the game I am sending, properly colored in Bronco blue and orange, of course. I look for things that can be fun and entertaining but that don't require batteries. Suggestions are always welcome!
Work has been interesting this week. Saturday is the last day of our fiscal year, so there has been a big push this whole week to end the year with a bang... a.k.a. big sales. Saturday will be the most interesting as there is a company-wide "New Year's Eve" competition, broken down by region so that there will be more winners. If you are thinking of going shopping at Christopher & Banks this weekend do it on Saturday and do it in my store. Can't come into my store? Call me at work and have me order what you want online for you. :) In case you are wondering, one of the prizes for being a top-10 store in the region is the privilege of wearing jeans to work for a week. We desperately want that prize.
I have been in one of my moods lately that any of my past roommates would recognize by the presence of multiple episodes of "The West Wing" playing on the television. I do not know how else to describe the mood other than quiet and a bit reclusive. I have just started season 4 ("20 Hours in America", especially the latter half, is, in my opinion, one of the best episodes of the entire series) and since I only own seasons 1-4 I will be coming out of my current state of mind shortly.
Cadbury Creme Eggs are back in stores in abundance, for which I am very happy. The original is the best.
Love!
~g
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Mending
I have been down sick for a week now. I usually get a bad cold in the winter, but this one went way beyond bad. On day three of a sore throat so swollen I was literally choking on my food, I found myself at Urgent Care since, you know, I don't have health insurance.
Long story short, the nurse was incompetent (seriously... she had trouble using a manual blood pressure cuff) and the doctor was convinced, after hearing the time line of my symptoms and doing a cursory, 1-minute exam, that what ailed me was viral and therefore would be unresponsive to antibiotics.
I know who got me sick. I know how their illness progressed. I know antibiotics worked well for them. I went to the doctor so I could get a prescription and start to get healthy. And I met a doctor who did not want to give me prescription.
He and I eventually came to a silent agreement - I subject myself to a strep culture and in return I walk out with a script for the antibiotics I want and feel I need. The bartering system is alive and well in 21st century American health care.
I got my prescription and strong advice to wait a few days before filling. He wanted me to get sicker so I could be sure the prescription would help. I'm all for not over-medicating so as not to create medicine-resistant illnesses, but I knew antibiotics would help me. I filled the prescription and started feeling better that same day. I have five days left to go and I'm definitely on the mend.
I can hardly believe we are in the last week of February. Time certainly seems to be passing more quickly every year. I find it odd to think that, even if I live to 100, a quarter of my life has already passed. Craziness.
Work has been a bit nuts lately, what with half of our staff out ill, the spring line arriving in large quantities daily, and the build up to a large event. Still, the job remains fairly easy and I really can't find much to complain about. Our computers are horrible and cause a lot of problems, but I can't do anything about that.
Both my state and federal tax returns have come through. The state paid for the next six months of insurance on my car, a very small portion of the federal return went towards paying the doctor at urgent care, and the last 90%ish of my federal return went straight into my savings account. Go me with being responsible!
I'm looking forward to spring.
Love!
~g
Long story short, the nurse was incompetent (seriously... she had trouble using a manual blood pressure cuff) and the doctor was convinced, after hearing the time line of my symptoms and doing a cursory, 1-minute exam, that what ailed me was viral and therefore would be unresponsive to antibiotics.
I know who got me sick. I know how their illness progressed. I know antibiotics worked well for them. I went to the doctor so I could get a prescription and start to get healthy. And I met a doctor who did not want to give me prescription.
He and I eventually came to a silent agreement - I subject myself to a strep culture and in return I walk out with a script for the antibiotics I want and feel I need. The bartering system is alive and well in 21st century American health care.
I got my prescription and strong advice to wait a few days before filling. He wanted me to get sicker so I could be sure the prescription would help. I'm all for not over-medicating so as not to create medicine-resistant illnesses, but I knew antibiotics would help me. I filled the prescription and started feeling better that same day. I have five days left to go and I'm definitely on the mend.
I can hardly believe we are in the last week of February. Time certainly seems to be passing more quickly every year. I find it odd to think that, even if I live to 100, a quarter of my life has already passed. Craziness.
Work has been a bit nuts lately, what with half of our staff out ill, the spring line arriving in large quantities daily, and the build up to a large event. Still, the job remains fairly easy and I really can't find much to complain about. Our computers are horrible and cause a lot of problems, but I can't do anything about that.
Both my state and federal tax returns have come through. The state paid for the next six months of insurance on my car, a very small portion of the federal return went towards paying the doctor at urgent care, and the last 90%ish of my federal return went straight into my savings account. Go me with being responsible!
I'm looking forward to spring.
Love!
~g
Thursday, February 11, 2010
I suppose it is about time
Time for a new post to show up in everyone's blog reels. I haven't had much to report or say lately so my blog has been very quiet. Life has just been trudging along.
Today I completed another goal on my 101 list. I sent 2 care packages to a Marine squad based in Djibouti, which is located in the Horn of Africa. The goal is complete since it was simply to send a (as in one) care package, but I will be sending a lot more to the squad I decided to adopt. I had enough items to completely fill two boxes so both went off today. I have decided I want to send at least 2 boxes a month from now on.
We hired another assistant manager at the store so I have lost about 5 hours a week but the store is now staffed like it is supposed to be. I am contemplating attending a higher education job placement exchange in Chicago in just a few weeks. I need to decide soon if I'm going so I can get places lined up to stay and pay the registration fee for the exchange. My decision would be much easier if my federal tax refund would come through.
Google Buzz is stupid. Facebook changed it's homepage AGAIN. I am kind of sad I have to work during the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. Tucker is getting strange in his old age. NCIS is a fantastic show and I have finally seen every season if it. Stopping the consumption of pop (a.k.a. soda for all you strange people out there) is difficult.
These are the little things that make up my rather unexciting life. :)
That's really about it. It's cold and snowy and just your basic beginning-of-the-year drudgery.
Love!
~g Djibouti
Today I completed another goal on my 101 list. I sent 2 care packages to a Marine squad based in Djibouti, which is located in the Horn of Africa. The goal is complete since it was simply to send a (as in one) care package, but I will be sending a lot more to the squad I decided to adopt. I had enough items to completely fill two boxes so both went off today. I have decided I want to send at least 2 boxes a month from now on.
We hired another assistant manager at the store so I have lost about 5 hours a week but the store is now staffed like it is supposed to be. I am contemplating attending a higher education job placement exchange in Chicago in just a few weeks. I need to decide soon if I'm going so I can get places lined up to stay and pay the registration fee for the exchange. My decision would be much easier if my federal tax refund would come through.
Google Buzz is stupid. Facebook changed it's homepage AGAIN. I am kind of sad I have to work during the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. Tucker is getting strange in his old age. NCIS is a fantastic show and I have finally seen every season if it. Stopping the consumption of pop (a.k.a. soda for all you strange people out there) is difficult.
These are the little things that make up my rather unexciting life. :)
That's really about it. It's cold and snowy and just your basic beginning-of-the-year drudgery.
Love!
~g Djibouti
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)