Holy crap. I don’t know if you check here very often or not, but if you do, you’ve probably been wondering where I’ve been.
It’s been one heck of a March here at Casa de Jorge. When we last talked, Mona was off work with depression, the Peanut was sick and I was busy and had a back ache.
The Peanut was sick for about 2 weeks with some kind of unpleasant virus that turned, as usual, into an ear infection. She had a visit to the ENT who wanted to schedule a time to put tubes in her ears. I didn’t make it to the appointment because of work, and Mona said she didn’t care for the Doc. I’m anti-tubes anyway, expect as a last resort. That, in my opinion, is the problem with surgeons in general. They just want to get in there and cut. OK, I get it, they are surgeons after all, but sometimes I wonder at point in med school do they have their humanity excised. So we did another round of antibiotics supplemented with an antibiotic shot and she seems to be fully recovered.
In the meantime both Mona and I got sick. We both had some kind of unpleasant bug, with all that generally accompanies your basic winter sickness. I was pretty miserable, and school was not easy. 14 hour days do nothing whatsoever to help you get over a cold. Or flu, or whatever it was. I finally broke down and went to the walk in clinic. The Doc there said it was a sinus infection (I still have my doubts) and wrote me for 14 days of Bactrim. After I left I called home and told Mona what he gave me and she reminded me that Bactrim has some really unpleasant side effects for me. So I called my soon to be sister in law and asked her to call in a Z-pack for me. She’s a physician, but as a specialist is not much help when someone is just under the weather. I’m sure she does great work in her field, but I doubt I’ll ever find myself in her office for treatment.
And in the meantime Mona, in addition to her depression, felt more or less the same as I did. So she basically spent nearly two weeks in bed. She went back to work last Tuesday and was basically miserable. While she was out they posted her job (she found it on Monster.com) and she pretty much decided she was going to quit. Then on Friday she had her evaluation. It was her 6 month review. She had a great 90 day review and this one was a complete 180. She had planned to give her notice that day, but after the review she decided that she would finish the day and leave. So that’s it, she’s now unemployed. I’m really glad she left when she did. With the recent snow here she would have been going in at midnight or two AM to dispatch the plows again. It worked out well I think. I told her while she was home that it was fine with me if she quit. She only took this job because it looked like it suited her and I was a) on the verge of losing my job and b) expecting to be going to nursing school full time right about now. Since neither of those things happened I told her it was pointless to stay there. This was the best time to look for a job, while I still had mine and we could afford to have her unemployed.
One of the lessons we learned was about working as a contract employee. She was contracted to an extremely large, locally headquartered company through an agency that rhymes with “smelly”. It turns out that they can provide employees at a lower cost because the benefit packages suck. To maintain coverage for the family it would cost almost 25% of her total pay annually. Add day care in and we would have been struggling while I was in school. Fortunately we don’t have to worry about that now. With 12 months or so to find another job I’m sure she can find something more suitable.
Last Wednesday she had an interview with another department at my company. She interviewed for a customer service job. I thought she would be a good fit and talked with the hiring manager who agreed to look at her resume. She was called for an interview and she felt it went well. I really hope she’s right.
Not only would it get her out of the industry she’s in (a less professional industry I can’t imagine) but it would mean we keep our same benefits when I leave. And I work for a Fortune 50 or so company, which means pretty solid benefits. Plus it’s a pretty good place to work. The people are friendly and the managers are all good at their jobs. In the field where Mona works now it is not unusual for women to go home crying. I imagine the men go home angry. I really hope she gets the job.
Right now, I’m in the basement with the TV on mute, listening to The Peanut absolutely howling. Her bedroom in on the second floor and I can hear her over the monitor in the kitchen. She really has no interest in going to bed and is fighting it with everything she has. This is very unusual. Normally we put her down and she goes right out. We even expect her to sleep a minimum of about 11 or 12 hours. But not tonight I think. We’ve been up to check on her a couple of times. We’ve changed her, given her milk, sang songs and given her as much comforting as we know how. We also gave her some gas drops just in case. But it looks to me like she is just pissed about being put to bed. We’re only 4 months short of having a two year old, and I think we’re getting a preview of the terrible twos. Man, you ought to hear her yell. She is really screaming up there. I expect to have to go up there again within the next 30 minutes at the most if she doesn’t settle down.
Wow, it’s really sounding bad. She sounds like she’s gasping and now it’s back to frantic. If I didn’t know better I’d worry there was someone taking a chainsaw to her. Mona is concerned, and I understand it. But I don’t think there’s much we can to short of letting her come downstairs to play. And I just can’t see giving in to the demands of a toddler. Even if it is 10 PM. We’ll see.
OK, just took a 20 minute break to go back upstairs. Mona gave The Peanut a massage after I checked her to see if she showed any signs of pain. She didn’t. So we put her back down and so far so good. I hope it sticks this time. It really is unusual for her to be so upset.
Anyway, that’s the short version of what’s been going on. I’ll try and keep up with the updates as much as I can. Hopefully I’ll have some more time now that Mona will be managing the house while I handle work and school. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, OK?
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
A lesser man would have broken by now.
Would it surprise you to hear that things have been really busy lately? Yeah, didn’t think so. But I’m going to try and get you up to speed.
I’ve talked before about having to work harder for a boss with high expectations. That hasn’t changed. If anything he seems to continually raise his expectations. This week he’s asked me to be a mentor to a “new” hire. New is in quotes because the lady I’m mentoring has been with my company for 10 years. She just transferred into my group this month. Before she joined the company she worked at another company we all know for 32 years before retiring. So she’s been working since before I was born. And I’m her mentor? Most of the mentoring is really about systems and procedures, so it’s no big deal. My job is just to give her an idea of how get the administrative part of our job done. I like it, but it sucks up a few hours of my time every week. The boss has laid down a few more expectations too. Nothing big, but again, challenging. I’m still pretty amazed what it’s done for my morale. I am really happy in my work for the first time in a while.
School seems to be going well too. I’m getting A’s, although in Anatomy only barely. I don’t study all that much and most of what I do is last minute type stuff. But, like I said, as long as I get a B- I’m good. I’ve worked out a count down to the minimum number of points I need in the class to get that grade. It’s completely doable I think. Microbiology is a guaranteed A. It’s an easy class and the instructor makes it pretty damn hard to fail. Plus I enjoy the lectures. The instructor is gay and to me is a cross between Paul Lind and Jim J. Bullock. He’s entertaining in a subject that could easily be tedious.
Home is really the toughest part of my life. Mona has really had a hard time this winter. Since she has to dispatch snowplows when the weather gets bad she has been going in to work odd, and often long, hours. The fact that this is one of the snowiest winters on record has not helped matters. The last I saw we’re just under the 5’ mark for the season. (Luckily we’ve had a couple of melts; otherwise we’d be in real trouble.) What really makes things difficult is that she is not a winter person. She really likes the sun, and the more sunshine she gets the better. The funny thing to me is the fact that she’s an Irish red head. If she leaves the house between June and August I have to dress her up in welding gear just to make sure she doesn’t burst into flames. Actually I have to insist she wear sun screen. She doesn’t care for it, but most of the time I get my way. I, on the other hand, prefer the indoors although with my olive complexion I rarely burn. Anyway, Mona has always suffered a little from the winter blahs. But this year it’s been bad. Add the blahs to her funky schedule and her desire to still be at home with The Peanut full time, my time away from the family for school and a possible (fairly minor) autoimmune illness she’s had some trouble with depression. I finally got upset with her about 2 weeks ago. I told her I was tired of all the crying and sleeping and all the rest. I insisted she talk with her doctor. She went in this week and was given some anti-depressants and more importantly a note for 2 weeks off work.
She’s somewhat upset and embarrassed about being off, and to a certain extent I understand that. She said today that she is concerned that I’m unhappy about our problems, specifically her time off. I told her that she was exactly wrong. The fact that she sought treatment and is making progress makes me very happy. I’m not expecting overnight miracles but any step forward is a step in the right direction.
She was seen on Tuesday night. Earlier that day The Peanut was sent home sick from daycare with a fever and cough. We got her in to the doctor on Wednesday. They took a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia, told us it was a virus and told us to give her plenty of fluids and bring her back on Saturday if the fever hadn’t broken. We’ll be headed over there in the morning. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Wednesday evening Mona was feeling pretty rough; mostly from the new meds (which she’ll be off in the spring) so I picked up some carry out from a really good Chinese place not far from home. It was later in the evening because I was at work longer than usual; trying to catch up on all the stuff I didn’t get done in the morning due to The Peanuts doctor visit and an appointment with a customer. Because she wasn’t feeling great, The Peanut was not interested in dinner and really wanted to be held. It didn’t matter to her that Mommy and Daddy wanted to scarf down some dinner. We eat in the kitchen usually. We have a counter with a couple of bar stools that we use instead of the dining room. So I had The Peanut on my right knee and was turned away from the counter enough to keep busy hands out of our dinners while I ate with my left hand.
Have you ever held on to a water balloon that wasn’t knotted and felt it drain? That’s what it felt like when The Peanut yakked. She managed to miss the food but hit the counter and the floor and got a little on the dog too.
We got her cleaned up and managed to finish dinner. Then I went and got some pedialite and put her to bed.
And that’s how Mona and I spent our 3rd wedding anniversary. What can I say? We’re true romantics.
Anyway, the next two days were pretty much the same, Mona at home with a sick peanut and me out selling stuff and trying to win as much bread as I can.
To top it off, my backs been bugging me again. I'm certain it's weight related, but nonetheless it hurts. It only really hurts at night. Getting out of bed in the morning is rather painful. Vicodin is getting me through the day, and by the time it wears off in the evening everything has loosened up to the point that I feel pretty good. And then I go to bed and we start the cycle all over.
I think after we get back from the doctors office tomorrow I'm going to talk to Mona about getting a new TENS machine. It's a little device that works off a 9 volt battery and sends a mild electric current through electrodes you place around the injured area. I have one now but the wires are breaking and I don't know if I can replace them. It's very effective for me and is, in my opinion, an excellent alternative to medication.
So now you're up to speed.
What have you been up to?
I’ve talked before about having to work harder for a boss with high expectations. That hasn’t changed. If anything he seems to continually raise his expectations. This week he’s asked me to be a mentor to a “new” hire. New is in quotes because the lady I’m mentoring has been with my company for 10 years. She just transferred into my group this month. Before she joined the company she worked at another company we all know for 32 years before retiring. So she’s been working since before I was born. And I’m her mentor? Most of the mentoring is really about systems and procedures, so it’s no big deal. My job is just to give her an idea of how get the administrative part of our job done. I like it, but it sucks up a few hours of my time every week. The boss has laid down a few more expectations too. Nothing big, but again, challenging. I’m still pretty amazed what it’s done for my morale. I am really happy in my work for the first time in a while.
School seems to be going well too. I’m getting A’s, although in Anatomy only barely. I don’t study all that much and most of what I do is last minute type stuff. But, like I said, as long as I get a B- I’m good. I’ve worked out a count down to the minimum number of points I need in the class to get that grade. It’s completely doable I think. Microbiology is a guaranteed A. It’s an easy class and the instructor makes it pretty damn hard to fail. Plus I enjoy the lectures. The instructor is gay and to me is a cross between Paul Lind and Jim J. Bullock. He’s entertaining in a subject that could easily be tedious.
Home is really the toughest part of my life. Mona has really had a hard time this winter. Since she has to dispatch snowplows when the weather gets bad she has been going in to work odd, and often long, hours. The fact that this is one of the snowiest winters on record has not helped matters. The last I saw we’re just under the 5’ mark for the season. (Luckily we’ve had a couple of melts; otherwise we’d be in real trouble.) What really makes things difficult is that she is not a winter person. She really likes the sun, and the more sunshine she gets the better. The funny thing to me is the fact that she’s an Irish red head. If she leaves the house between June and August I have to dress her up in welding gear just to make sure she doesn’t burst into flames. Actually I have to insist she wear sun screen. She doesn’t care for it, but most of the time I get my way. I, on the other hand, prefer the indoors although with my olive complexion I rarely burn. Anyway, Mona has always suffered a little from the winter blahs. But this year it’s been bad. Add the blahs to her funky schedule and her desire to still be at home with The Peanut full time, my time away from the family for school and a possible (fairly minor) autoimmune illness she’s had some trouble with depression. I finally got upset with her about 2 weeks ago. I told her I was tired of all the crying and sleeping and all the rest. I insisted she talk with her doctor. She went in this week and was given some anti-depressants and more importantly a note for 2 weeks off work.
She’s somewhat upset and embarrassed about being off, and to a certain extent I understand that. She said today that she is concerned that I’m unhappy about our problems, specifically her time off. I told her that she was exactly wrong. The fact that she sought treatment and is making progress makes me very happy. I’m not expecting overnight miracles but any step forward is a step in the right direction.
She was seen on Tuesday night. Earlier that day The Peanut was sent home sick from daycare with a fever and cough. We got her in to the doctor on Wednesday. They took a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia, told us it was a virus and told us to give her plenty of fluids and bring her back on Saturday if the fever hadn’t broken. We’ll be headed over there in the morning. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Wednesday evening Mona was feeling pretty rough; mostly from the new meds (which she’ll be off in the spring) so I picked up some carry out from a really good Chinese place not far from home. It was later in the evening because I was at work longer than usual; trying to catch up on all the stuff I didn’t get done in the morning due to The Peanuts doctor visit and an appointment with a customer. Because she wasn’t feeling great, The Peanut was not interested in dinner and really wanted to be held. It didn’t matter to her that Mommy and Daddy wanted to scarf down some dinner. We eat in the kitchen usually. We have a counter with a couple of bar stools that we use instead of the dining room. So I had The Peanut on my right knee and was turned away from the counter enough to keep busy hands out of our dinners while I ate with my left hand.
Have you ever held on to a water balloon that wasn’t knotted and felt it drain? That’s what it felt like when The Peanut yakked. She managed to miss the food but hit the counter and the floor and got a little on the dog too.
We got her cleaned up and managed to finish dinner. Then I went and got some pedialite and put her to bed.
And that’s how Mona and I spent our 3rd wedding anniversary. What can I say? We’re true romantics.
Anyway, the next two days were pretty much the same, Mona at home with a sick peanut and me out selling stuff and trying to win as much bread as I can.
To top it off, my backs been bugging me again. I'm certain it's weight related, but nonetheless it hurts. It only really hurts at night. Getting out of bed in the morning is rather painful. Vicodin is getting me through the day, and by the time it wears off in the evening everything has loosened up to the point that I feel pretty good. And then I go to bed and we start the cycle all over.
I think after we get back from the doctors office tomorrow I'm going to talk to Mona about getting a new TENS machine. It's a little device that works off a 9 volt battery and sends a mild electric current through electrodes you place around the injured area. I have one now but the wires are breaking and I don't know if I can replace them. It's very effective for me and is, in my opinion, an excellent alternative to medication.
So now you're up to speed.
What have you been up to?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
