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For the last four months I've been working 2nd shift as part of my training program at work. I've been working a lot of overtime with 12 hour shifts and weekends. Seriously, a lot. Life has consisted largely of working, sleeping, and sneaking in gym visits. I should be back on first shift in a couple of weeks, though. Last month I didn't turn on my tv once. Apparently my dvd player decided to give up the ghost during that time, so I have to watch my new tv show addiction, Bones, on my wee laptop screen until I decide what to replace it with (I'm thinking I might as well upgrade to a blu ray...once I get over the sticker shock). Speaking of my tv show addictions... Dexter married his sister? I have my first iPod, which I use to listen to The Killers, Coldplay, and other bands you like. I'm not sure why I didn't have one before. It's awesome. Over the last 9 months I've lost about 20 pounds, which I had gained over the previous year and a half. I think I've hit a bit of a plateau as of late, but I'm pretty proud that I've been keeping up with my regular gym visits. I definitely feel a lot healthier and stronger...and feistier. Also, I'm about 50 times more likely to spontaneously start dancing in front my my full-length mirror (which is kind of saying something). Tyler recently moved to Florida to work for his dream company - Lockheed Martin. Yes, the Lockheed Martin. He'll work 9 hour days and gets every other Friday off. They give him a gym allowance (my HR manager still hasn't agreed with my great plan to build a huge gym right on plant property...ha). He makes 10k more than his old job and might get a security clearance (!!!!). It's 80 degrees there and the streets are lined with palm trees (it' 30-40 degree here). In short, he's got the world at his feet and I couldn't possibly be happier for him. We've been dating three years as of mid-December. Wo-ah. Tags: consumerism, health/medical, movies/plays/television, tyler
Current Location: MO
The Bottomline:  accomplished
Background Noise ♫: Katy Perry - If You Can Afford Me
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So, I have tendonitis. Mildly. I have a sexy new wrist brace that I am a bit fond of. As my dad pointed out, I will probably be in and out of some sort of brace for the rest of my life. There are certainly worse fates and the doctor isn't worried about permanent nerve damage just yet. It's a little hard to type and do stuff with the brace, but I'm getting used to it. All in all it's not so bad and I can always tell strangers that I injured my wrist saving a baby from a Jaguar or something. Punched it in its damned mouth, is what. Dad is recovering remarkable well from his heart surgery and while it's too soon to tell because his heart is still so irritated, I really hoped the ablation worked (he's a fib-ey much less often now). He was doing well enough to be bored and his doctors say he's a week ahead of the recovery schedule (I guess having 23 odd invasive surgeries in your life helps prepare you). Unfortunately he's back in the hospital right now because one of his stitches in his femur got badly infected and burst (he says the emergency nurses got all sorts of excited about that one). When I went to visit him (and bring him tasty sugar-free treats from Starbucks) he was pretty miserable being back in the hospital right now, but hopefully it won't be for long. It's been a pretty good break and I'm not terribly looking forward to going back to school. I only got to spend a couple days with my family for Christmas, but it was still nice. All the relatives from mom's side came in for Christmas here, including the California side who can only afford to travel to Arkansas every two years. We had an amazing Christmas lunch/dinner spread all the way down the two banquet tables we had stuck together to accommodate all twelve of us. My dad and Natalia came as well and it was just a really pleasant gathering. We had turkey and ham and countless different kinds of mashed potatoes and cranberry dressings and stuffings and casseroles and other side dishes. Afterwards, Natalia got out her Harp (the 4 ft, not the 7) and played beautifully. She even took requests (and, yes, she can play Free Bird on the harp, thankyouverymuch). It was so luxurious. I had to leave in the wee hours on the 27th to catch a plane to APO National Convention. It was a really great experience and I think Louisville put on a really great event. I think the authentic engraved miniature Louisville Slugger bat we got at the first banquet was pretty much the best APO Trinket I've ever gotten. ( More on Convention )After convention was over, there was the debauchery. Well, technically there had been plenty of debauchery during the convention, but I was finally able to join it. It was such a good night that Jenni, Kevin, Josh, Laura and myself all slept to 2pm the next day (well Jenni and Kevin until 3pm...the bums). It was such a good night that we all celebrated the next night, New Years rather conservatively (read: with little to no alcohol) in Fred's huge larger-than-my-apartment suite. Not that Fred's party was particularly tame - it wasn't - we just happened to be. It also turns out that downtown Louisville all but completely shuts down the before and after New Years and it was kinda boring after that. I did manage to get Tyler a full-sized and personalized Louisville Slugger bat right before we left for the airport. It's pretty sweet looking. Speaking of that Tyler guy...yeah, he's pretty much the best guy ever. I don't think you could persuade me otherwise. On a final note, my USB hub isn't working and it's really annoying. My mouse is hard to use in the brace and I'd really like to switch to my wacom tablet. Oh well. Tags: apo/service, awesomeness, booze, family, health/medical, travel
The Bottomline:  pretty alright
Background Noise ♫: Ok Go
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I am currently sitting in Java Dave's. It was voted best coffee shop in 2006 by the Oklahoma City Reader's Choice Awards. Good french fries. I got the call that dad was out of surgery at 7:30pm on Wednesday. It took longer than expected because one of the grafts for the bypass wouldn't stop bleeding. Also, apparently the metal mesh around his stomach (from the whole army tank-induced disembowelment incident) made things a little trickier. They ended up not having to do the valve replacements. I think I was probably in and out of prayer and meditation for the last 30-60 minutes before I got the call. I bet it kinda freaked out my roommates. Yesterday I somewhat impulsively decided to have my first cross-state multi-hour driving experience (I've had plenty of passenger experiences of this sort) - solo and mostly after dark - and visit dad in the hospital. I didn't die and I only got lost 1.5 times (and really, it's all Oklahoma's fault...left lane exits without proper signage, my fanny). He was just moved from ICU to a regular room yesterday. After hearing jargon about how he's "in stable condition" and "doing as well as can be expected" and "there's nothing surprising about his recovery considering the condition he came in" it is nice to actually see daddy. The morphine makes him itch and gives him nightmares and anxiety attacks. He's exhausted and bit grumpy. He has some interesting visual disturbances like blue spots on the wood floor, orange and gold lights from the side of my face, an orange rabbit being chased across the horizon by a purple horse (goodness knows, the dreary gray sky here could use a bit of color). His Pavel Powers might be acting up a bit and he was briefly annoyed with me because he was awoken from a sound sleep when "I called him" around the time I got lost in Sapulpa (I never called him and my phone confirms this). None of that is particularly unusual for the major heart surgery he had. His color is good and he seems pretty normal, if not a bit bruised and exhausted. He's not walking unassisted much and his left foot is pretty swollen. The large and winding scars/wounds on his chest and legs (where they took the coronary arteries for the bypass grafts) are red and purple and covered with yellow-tinted clear tape. Most of the tubes and cords were taken out before I got there, there only appears to be on tube and one wire sticking out of torso. It's not quite as gruesome as I was expected. I should probably finish my Chai Latte and get back. Thank you everyone who sent their well-wishes. Tags: family, health/medical, travel
Current Location: Java Dave's, Oklahoma City, OK
The Bottomline:  mellow
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A lot has happened since I last posted. I'll probably get to most of it later. Currently my dad is in Oklahoma having his big heart surgery. He's been in it since 7am and has around 3.5 more hours to go. He's having an ablation procedure to fix the arrhythmia he's had for the past year. It's a fairly new operation (or new version of an old operation), so he had to travel out of state to get to the team of doctors who could do it. When they were doing his pre-surgery surgery on Friday, they discovered some blockage and signed him up for a triple bypass as well (which might make the ablation easier, because before it they had to use slits in his armpits and pull his lungs out a bit to do it, now they're cracking his chest). After the pre-op procedures on Tuesday, they upped it to a quadrupedal bypass and added valve surgery/replacement (one of our cardio nurse friends supposes they added that because being in atrial fibrillation for the past 14 months might have "warped" the valves and lead to clotting if they are not attended to, so that might be more a maintenance thing than something worse). Usually they wouldn't have found out about his blockage until he had a heart attack, so...there's something optimistic. I last got an update at 2pm, when one team of doctors came out and another went in. Apparently he got through the hardest part (opening the chest and cracking the ribs) with flying colors and they've completed the ablation and is doing "reasonably well." Dad's birthday was on Monday and we went out to Shogun (and had terrible enough service that dad's almost decade long streak of going there for his birthday may be over) and then back to his place for cake, ice cream and hot tubbing (did I mention that Dad moved recently? Same week I moved. He totally has a hot tub now). Tags: birthdays, family, health/medical
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My throat is sore, I'm tired and I felt a little puny at my personal trainer session today (I totally took the easy route when it came to the cardio part today). My handlebar mustached trainer keeps remarking on how long my arms are (which I think is code for "haha, arm exercises are going to be harder for you!"). Things that are awesome: Hands-on community service - on Friday I got a call from Fred saying they needed some last minute help preparing for Razorfest. I called a few people I knew were in town and 5 of us showed up around 7p and didn't leave until 1a. I helped build a stage and hung up a million banners. It was awesome, I really love that kind of physical work where you really get to see what you've accomplished (that's why HforH is one of my favorite projects). I also really enjoyed working on the benches as part of Tyler and Phillip's project. Foosball - I kind of suck, but it's really fun...like bowling. Tyler and I played last night. I got my ass handed to me. Hammocks - I've been hanging out in my hammock a lot recently. It's been great weather for it. It's a nice place to take naps or spend an hour or so with your boyfriend under the stars (even if it says it's a 2 person hammock and it's really more a 1.5). I looked briefly at Pack Rat with Krissy for a bigger hammock. Someday. Eating sweets again! - okay, okay, I kind of ended my lent on Saturday not Sunday, and I do feel bad...but I didn't cheat on any Sundays but one! I had a delicious chocolate cake on Easter with all 4 of my parents and Lance. Cream Smoothies with Krissy - We went to packrat then Sonic. Krissy bought us some delicious fruit smoothies. It was good times. Free Stuff - Yep, it doesn't need a lot of explanation. My Family - I got to go to church with my dad and Lance and it was a really nice service. Afterwards we went out to eat and mom, Steve and Natalia joined us. I got a delicious free meal and Steve did my taxes for me and I get a decent return! Woo! I've been asked about it today, so I might as well address it...I'm not upset or hurt or anything. Last night, I don't know...after the long weekend I just felt really tired...and a quiet night with Tyler was just what the doctor ordered (we've been dating 4 months and 2 days now, by the way). I was just in one of those "I need attention from the boyfriend" moods, you know? Tyler was kind enough to oblige even though he's a busy boy - he's such a good guy. Also, as the first paragraph indicates, I might be a little bit sick. So...I don't know...no worries, eh? Tags: apo/service, friends, health/medical
The Bottomline:  bored
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Well, Tri-Secs is over and it went pretty smoothly. I spent pretty much all day in the command post type spot working with Jenni and others to keep it smooth. My cell phone went from all bars to no bars by the end of the day. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and we've gotten some nice compliments on the event. Laura did an outstanding job decorating for banquet...it was super cute with Mario touches and live fish. Saturday night I hung out with some cool people from Edwardsville, IL (along with some fine Fayetteville folks) and there might be some "interesting" photos on facebook. There is one shot that I think provides significant evidence to changing the term "fish-belly white" to "Alex-belly white." Rock. I did somehow manage to lose my phone between sitting on Brian's couch, running to Peggy Sue's car, and going straight to bed. I haven't seen it since...which needless to say TOTALLY SUCKS. I'm meeting with mom tonight to talk about what we're going to do about it (RAZRs ain't exactly cheap to replace). I may have a plan. Jenni and I started our personal trainer sessions on Monday. Did I mention my trainer has a handlebar mustache? Awesome. It's good, although I forgot to eat before going the first day (and all I had for dinner the night before was a slim fast before going with Shelle for a pretty decent work out)...and I kinda got a first-hand demonstration that my stomach was devoid of any substance except water. I got measured for my maid of honor dress on Tuesday. I apparently have the same dimensions I did in high school despite being 5-10 lbs heavier now. I guess that’s a good thing, maybe? In other news: I have introduced Tyler to Firefly. Good times. Dad's been having heart problems again. Bad times. Um...interviews for elections are tonight. So I'm wearing a skirt. It is pink plaid. I should head over there sometime soon... The all-male chapter drama has sprung up again at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) alpha_phi_omega. I always kind of feel like my opinion isn't listened to as much because I'm a female (a.k.a. biased by birth and unable to appreciate the finer details of the argument). Eh. The winds of change and all that. Tags: apo/service, awesomeness, firefly, friends, health/medical, shenanigans
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I've been working out lately, five times since last Tuesday. Shelle is my workout sensei, as I'm kind of workout-machine-illiterate. It's awesome opossum and I can already tell a difference in my stamina. Right now I'm mainly doing interval resistance on the elliptical machine. I am going to the Grand Freaking Canyon for spring break. We're ( Clark, Vicky, Shelle, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) peggy_the_angel and me) road-tripping it on up there and will proceed to camp, hike, and cave the heck out of the landmark. We're doing this without the expected aid of showers...Vicky says she'll french braid my hair so it won't attack people with craziness. I want to find some thermal underwear, but Wal-Mart was out of my size. I got little boy's hiking shoes!! And duct tape!! Rock out! I can't find my freaking food dehydrator. Man. I was going to make apple leather for the trip. Lots of it. *shakes fist* Dad is going to the hospital to have his heart worked on this Friday. The top two chambers are still not working properly and he's having a hard time getting around without getting exhausted. As I understand it, they're going to first attempt to get it started with some drugs and if that doesn't work...they're going to stop it and restart it. We're all very nervous, but it should be a fairly safe procedure. We're going to church together tomorrow. I've found myself praying more lately. Martyrdom is alluring. The victim doesn't have to take blame. A Persephone awaiting a rescuer. It's no way to live, though, and live is too dang short to actively try to be unhappy...even if it's "not your fault." Tags: awesomeness, family, friends, god, health/medical, self-actualization, soapbox
Background Noise ♫: Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
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Reminisce
pleased
worried about dad