P. D. and J. ...with a special appearance by H
Monday, September 19, 2011
I need everyone to read this.
ARE YOU AS GROSSED OUT AS I AM!?
Two quotes from this post sicken me:
Two quotes from this post sicken me:
- "[The rats would] crawl up in a pillow and start pulling my hair out, trying to make nesting material out of it."
- "But Glen had begun taking control of his life -- participating in the cleanup (which entailed knocking out sections of wall to flush out the rats)..."
Would I still watch the episode? You bet! And I'm going to look for it on demand the next time P is at the gym. He won't let me watch it when he's here. "WHY would you want to watch this??"
Sunday, September 18, 2011
How does this happen?!
Yesterday was P's and my ten-year anniversary. (No, that's not what the post title is referring to!) We celebrated with gifts and dinner out at one of our favorite Indian restaurants. I had the "Indian pot pie" special -- lamb and vegetables on a puff pastry crust -- and P had Kalonji Chicken. It was yummy. And we're pretty sure we haven't been there in a couple of years! It may have even been for an anniversary past... It's crazy to think it has been ten years. That means Cole is also about ten (we got him shortly after we started dating). That makes me sad. But cats live a long time, right? That also means we've been in Chicago for about half of our relationship.
Yesterday was also memorable for another reason. This is where the post title comes in. I managed to lose my keys somewhere in our condo. I'm not really sure how that's possible. We're not hoarders. It's not as though there are innumerable places the keys could be. Pockets of the shorts I changed out of? Nope. Bottom of the litter box scoopings we threw away? Nope (and thanks to P for looking in that bag!) I even looked in the freezer. Still nothin'. I know they are inside. I needed them to get back into the building after letting Fergie out. In the five minutes between when I came back inside and we left for dinner, they vanished.
So today, after looking in all the same places again, I went to the hardware store to get some copies made. On my way there, I started panicking about the cost to replace my car key. In my mind, it was playing out a lot like it did in Denver when J lost her only set of keys somewhere between the bar and the car (which was about 100 feet away from the exit). Lucky for me, my dealer was nice enough to give me three sets of car keys. Also lucky for me -- I keep important things like that safely locked up in my fire proof safe. You taught me well, Dad!
This kind of thing doesn't happen to me. I'm anal about where I put things, especially those things that are always in my pockets. I don't think I've ever misplaced my keys. This leads me to one of two possible (and logical) conclusions. Either I have Early Alzheimer's (something I've assumed I have since seeing a story about it 15 years ago on "20/20"), or we have a ghost. I'm hoping for the ghost.
Yesterday was also memorable for another reason. This is where the post title comes in. I managed to lose my keys somewhere in our condo. I'm not really sure how that's possible. We're not hoarders. It's not as though there are innumerable places the keys could be. Pockets of the shorts I changed out of? Nope. Bottom of the litter box scoopings we threw away? Nope (and thanks to P for looking in that bag!) I even looked in the freezer. Still nothin'. I know they are inside. I needed them to get back into the building after letting Fergie out. In the five minutes between when I came back inside and we left for dinner, they vanished.
So today, after looking in all the same places again, I went to the hardware store to get some copies made. On my way there, I started panicking about the cost to replace my car key. In my mind, it was playing out a lot like it did in Denver when J lost her only set of keys somewhere between the bar and the car (which was about 100 feet away from the exit). Lucky for me, my dealer was nice enough to give me three sets of car keys. Also lucky for me -- I keep important things like that safely locked up in my fire proof safe. You taught me well, Dad!
This kind of thing doesn't happen to me. I'm anal about where I put things, especially those things that are always in my pockets. I don't think I've ever misplaced my keys. This leads me to one of two possible (and logical) conclusions. Either I have Early Alzheimer's (something I've assumed I have since seeing a story about it 15 years ago on "20/20"), or we have a ghost. I'm hoping for the ghost.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Charlie Sheen: "I'm BiWinning"
I have largely ignored the details of the Charlie Sheen drama, but this provides a lovely summary of his recent interviews in a catchy song which is actually quite hilarious. WINNING!
Some of the funniest sh*t on YouTube
My cousin Matt (by marriage, not blood) shared with me a couple of gems currently on YouTube. If you have not seen them, then you can credit me with injecting these into your consciousness. The first: an auto-tuned interview with a witness to a robbery. So catchy, you'll be humming it for the rest of your life:
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Airport
Hello, blog. I was thinking about you most of the weekend. How I wanted to instantly post my thoughts as I made several insightful observations of people at the airport.
I spent all day traveling last week, Denver to Raleigh through Philadelphia. I think once you know flying is going to take all day, you can find this zen-like state where you are just passing the time and observing. For the most part, I was impressed to watch people follow the rules. We all line up, we all take off our shoes, etc., etc. I think maybe 95% of people don't cause problems as individuals at the airport. Of course, the more people there are, the more congestion there is, and that can cause its own problems, but those types of issues aren't attributable to any one person
But then there are those people that seem to have no sense of the impact of their actions on other people. Like, the woman who refused to get off the phone as our plane was taxiing. The announcement to turn off all electronic devices was made five times (I know they were addressing her). But I could believe she couldn't HEAR the request since she was hanging onto a phone call. But then when SHE decided to end the phone call, she was still texting and then waiting for a reply to her text. I watched her do this even as the flight attendant made a personal request for her to turn off her phone--she pretended to, then turned it right back on to watch her text screen. I wanted so badly to say something. Something like, "Hey, I assume you don't believe that there is a real reason for you to turn off your phone, but I do. And, since I'm a little anxious about being on a plane, would you mind, for the sake of my anxiety, turning off your GODDAMN phone?!" --see, I wasn't sure I'd be able to pull off a polite request.
She did eventually turn her phone off. She must have been an expert in flight navigation systems, right? Knowing for sure her phone being on was okay and all. Of course, she proceeded to talk incessantly to her neighbor on the flight (not me). And since her neighbor seemed interested in carrying on a conversation with this person, I decided not to let THAT upset me. But I do want to say that the next time anyone decides not to follow the rules on a plane, I will be willing you dead. Except not in a place crash.
That goes for the guy who, once we landed, jumped up to retrieve his suitcase from the overhead. The flight attendant asked him to sit. He said he couldn't--his phone was in his bag and his ride was waiting for his call. She explained (SO nicely--God bless her infinite patience) that she needed to get to the unaccompanied kids in the seats behind him to get them off the plane first and that he needed to sit down. Long story short: he yelled at her that he needed his phone as if it was OBVIOUS the need for urgency in this matter and completely disregarded her order. I want to know: WHERE WAS THE US MARSHALL?? I think he thought he was perfectly justified, but all I could think was: he is blatantly disregarding an order. If this were a fire and she were trying to direct us all out, he's be pulling the same crap and we'd all die so that he could get to his cell phone and let his ride know the plane had landed early in a fiery crash.
Oh, what else? Oh! The guy who wanted to be in another line in security, so crossed in front of me dragging his bag behind him. At first I thought, "Hm. He didn't even say excuse me" but THEN, his bag got caught on the bag of the standing in front of me and he STILL didn't say anything! He just annoyedly looked to see what the holdup was--never looked at the guy, just at the guy's bag.
And the lady who bumped into me several times as I was sitting on a stool at an airport restaurant. I looked to watch her mount the stool next to me and she let me know that she's "sorry, I'm just trying to sit down and keep my bag near me" which is fine and all except 1. I didn't appreciate the tone--I was perfectly nice about it, but it sounded like she was arguing with me and 2. she never LOOKED at me.
And then the guy who held up the plane as he left his 3rd row seat and PUT ON HIS JACKET before he left the plane. We are all watching you. And we are all hating you.
And, finally: baggage claim. If I am standing where the bags come out, that's my spot. I got there first. Just because you see your bag does not mean you get to elbow me out of the way to get it. Just wait and the belt will carry it down the line to you. I promise! And parents--it's not cute if your kid is the one doing this. Also: the rope they put in front of the area right where the bags come out? Your kid should not be standing in front of it. Casual observation tells you that the bags tend to come out with enough force that they could topple onto the ground right where your kid is standing. I mean, I'm pretty sure you'd still sue if your kid got hurt which makes it all the more annoying when you giggle everytime your kid winces at the bags toppling toward them.
All this being said, it's still my belief that the vast majority of people follow the rules and are self-aware, if not always super polite.
I spent all day traveling last week, Denver to Raleigh through Philadelphia. I think once you know flying is going to take all day, you can find this zen-like state where you are just passing the time and observing. For the most part, I was impressed to watch people follow the rules. We all line up, we all take off our shoes, etc., etc. I think maybe 95% of people don't cause problems as individuals at the airport. Of course, the more people there are, the more congestion there is, and that can cause its own problems, but those types of issues aren't attributable to any one person
But then there are those people that seem to have no sense of the impact of their actions on other people. Like, the woman who refused to get off the phone as our plane was taxiing. The announcement to turn off all electronic devices was made five times (I know they were addressing her). But I could believe she couldn't HEAR the request since she was hanging onto a phone call. But then when SHE decided to end the phone call, she was still texting and then waiting for a reply to her text. I watched her do this even as the flight attendant made a personal request for her to turn off her phone--she pretended to, then turned it right back on to watch her text screen. I wanted so badly to say something. Something like, "Hey, I assume you don't believe that there is a real reason for you to turn off your phone, but I do. And, since I'm a little anxious about being on a plane, would you mind, for the sake of my anxiety, turning off your GODDAMN phone?!" --see, I wasn't sure I'd be able to pull off a polite request.
She did eventually turn her phone off. She must have been an expert in flight navigation systems, right? Knowing for sure her phone being on was okay and all. Of course, she proceeded to talk incessantly to her neighbor on the flight (not me). And since her neighbor seemed interested in carrying on a conversation with this person, I decided not to let THAT upset me. But I do want to say that the next time anyone decides not to follow the rules on a plane, I will be willing you dead. Except not in a place crash.
That goes for the guy who, once we landed, jumped up to retrieve his suitcase from the overhead. The flight attendant asked him to sit. He said he couldn't--his phone was in his bag and his ride was waiting for his call. She explained (SO nicely--God bless her infinite patience) that she needed to get to the unaccompanied kids in the seats behind him to get them off the plane first and that he needed to sit down. Long story short: he yelled at her that he needed his phone as if it was OBVIOUS the need for urgency in this matter and completely disregarded her order. I want to know: WHERE WAS THE US MARSHALL?? I think he thought he was perfectly justified, but all I could think was: he is blatantly disregarding an order. If this were a fire and she were trying to direct us all out, he's be pulling the same crap and we'd all die so that he could get to his cell phone and let his ride know the plane had landed early in a fiery crash.
Oh, what else? Oh! The guy who wanted to be in another line in security, so crossed in front of me dragging his bag behind him. At first I thought, "Hm. He didn't even say excuse me" but THEN, his bag got caught on the bag of the standing in front of me and he STILL didn't say anything! He just annoyedly looked to see what the holdup was--never looked at the guy, just at the guy's bag.
And the lady who bumped into me several times as I was sitting on a stool at an airport restaurant. I looked to watch her mount the stool next to me and she let me know that she's "sorry, I'm just trying to sit down and keep my bag near me" which is fine and all except 1. I didn't appreciate the tone--I was perfectly nice about it, but it sounded like she was arguing with me and 2. she never LOOKED at me.
And then the guy who held up the plane as he left his 3rd row seat and PUT ON HIS JACKET before he left the plane. We are all watching you. And we are all hating you.
And, finally: baggage claim. If I am standing where the bags come out, that's my spot. I got there first. Just because you see your bag does not mean you get to elbow me out of the way to get it. Just wait and the belt will carry it down the line to you. I promise! And parents--it's not cute if your kid is the one doing this. Also: the rope they put in front of the area right where the bags come out? Your kid should not be standing in front of it. Casual observation tells you that the bags tend to come out with enough force that they could topple onto the ground right where your kid is standing. I mean, I'm pretty sure you'd still sue if your kid got hurt which makes it all the more annoying when you giggle everytime your kid winces at the bags toppling toward them.
All this being said, it's still my belief that the vast majority of people follow the rules and are self-aware, if not always super polite.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Victoria Jackson is as dumb as she sounds
Maybe I'm late coming to this game but I never knew that Victoria Jackson was one of those ignorant, racist, homophobic, anti-Muslim Tea Party a-holes. But boy do I know that now. Watch this!
It speaks for itself. As does her shrill, high-pitched tone which everyone that watched her on SNL in the 80's thought was an act. But it turns out, it's not! She REALLY is that dumb! I would say that I will never watch one of her sketches on SNL again but now that I think about it, I can't really think of any characters or sketches she did that I thought were funny. They were all just playing the stereotype "dumb blonde". Who knew it was more than just a stereotype!?
And that's why Victoria Jackson is today's worst person. Oh wait, I'm not Keith Olbermann.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
There has to be a morning after... Chicago Blizzard 2011
For some perspective... do you think they are going anywhere in that car anytime soon?
Snow Day for D!
The above video is from last night before we went to bed. We're hearing on the news that some people were just rescued from Lake Shore Drive after being trapped in their cars all night. It's still coming down. Some places are mostly free of the snow -- other places have drifts as tall as me. Yours truly will NOT be going in today. Poor P is going to try to go in. Fergie doesn't know what to do. She pooped on the back steps (which are outside) this morning.
Here are some photos from this morning. These are hard to see, but this is our parking lot. If you were actually standing there, you'd see the drifts were nearly as tall as my car. No one's driving today! The news highway cams show completely empty highways.
This is our neighbor's backyard. Those drifts in the corner are as tall as me.
An updated window shot. See the buried car?
We're supposed to get a minimum of 14 inches. They showed a radar image of the skies over Chicago -- no planes. Hope you don't get this much snow, NY family!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Thundersnow!
Unless you're very familiar with our building, this probably won't mean much to you. That is the drifting snow against our building's main door. You can't tell from this picture, but the snow is sloped from the fence to the door! I took poor wee Fergie out and the drifts are taller than her! Also, we just heard that Lakeshore Drive is closed.
Tonight was also the first time I saw/heard thundersnow! You can't really hear the thunder in this clip, but you can see the lightning in the sky. Crazy. You probably would have been able to hear the thunder but for P's very "interesting" phone conversation (and the burp you hear very early in).
Blizzard of '11
Look closely! I think there is actually a ghost in this picture! FYI, I'll bet this thing is nothing compared to the Denver Blizzard of 2003 when Denver got about 3 feet of snow. See below:
Also, sometimes it sucks working in healthcare. Hospitals don't close for snow. Area hospitals were encouraging employees to bring changes of clothes in case they had to stay the night at the hospital. Or they were asking people to stay at nearby hotels. Ummm, no thanks!
"I'm gonna move to Florida soon!"
I know it's hard to see, but the wind is what's the worst. Fergie is very glad to be inside, I tell you what.
It begins...
How could you NOT have heard? One-third of the country will experience severe weather over the next few days. Chicago appears to be right in the middle of it. Snow falling at a rate of 1-3 inches per hour, 14-18 foot waves off the lake (some of which are expected to crash into Lakeshore Drive), 30-40 mph wind gusts... in other words, a mess. A smaller system moved through last night with a couple of inches falling. Fergie (who looks remarkably like Dracula in this photo) is ready for it. OK, that's not true at all. With 12-20 inches of snow expected, she's going to hate it. But she's at least dressed for the occasion.
This is what the snow looked like last night. See the tiny Fergie and P in the second picture? He took her out before bed while I sat inside, all warm and toasty.
Here's what it looks like now. The snow is just starting, but you should be able to tell how much harder it's snowing. And this, ladies and gents, is apparently nothing.
I was let out of work early in anticipation of the bad weather, so I will be coming to you throughout the storm with updates. Keep checking back!
P.S. -- Fergie has real bad gas.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Arctic Cold
They are not kidding. We were mid-60s Friday, and 50s through the weekend. This morning at 3:30am, we hit our high for today: 23. Tomorrow's high: ZERO. And that doesn't factor in wind-chill. Ah, Colorado and her schizophrenic weather!
I had quite a time of it trying to scrape the thick layer of ice from my windshield this morning. That took about 20 minutes and I probably should have tried to get more of the ice off before I got on the highway, but I arrived safely! Really, I should have taken the bus.
They are also saying my commute home should be a doozy...
I had quite a time of it trying to scrape the thick layer of ice from my windshield this morning. That took about 20 minutes and I probably should have tried to get more of the ice off before I got on the highway, but I arrived safely! Really, I should have taken the bus.
They are also saying my commute home should be a doozy...
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thank you, condo
Thank you, condo, for that huge tax refund! I really do appreciate it. I still think you are a huge git for that whole incident with the floor, but I do appreciate the gesture you are making to reestablish what we once had.
As a result of this huge refund, I will officially be out of credit card debt for the first time in I-don't-know-how-long. Woot! Alarmingly, this only makes me want to spend money. Damn this culture I live in! More specifically, I want to go on a vacation. Even more specifically, I want to go to Iceland. It seems I won't be able to afford that in 2011. 2012 is also out because we're going back to Colombia with S, L and C for a reunion tour. So, it's looking like 2013 is the soonest that will happen.
Note to J and Brian -- you have plenty of time to save for this trip so I will accept no excuses. You both will be coming with us. And since it's unlikely we'll ever go back to Iceland, it will be at least a 7-10 day excursion. You've been warned. Also, I have an Icelandic travel book that I will share with you when you visit in May.
So, I will do the responsible thing and save my money for future travel. I'll be glad for it eventually. I'll also make a responsible purchase -- we need to replace the windows in our bedroom. Before this condo, I never would have thought buying windows would be exciting, but it is. It's drafty in our bedroom and I hate paying high utility bills. That and I'm hoping that we can still write a good chunk of them off in 2011. We bought some last year for the living room and were able to write 30% of the cost off!
(I'm not sure when I became this boring, but it probably happened when I hit my 30s.)
As a result of this huge refund, I will officially be out of credit card debt for the first time in I-don't-know-how-long. Woot! Alarmingly, this only makes me want to spend money. Damn this culture I live in! More specifically, I want to go on a vacation. Even more specifically, I want to go to Iceland. It seems I won't be able to afford that in 2011. 2012 is also out because we're going back to Colombia with S, L and C for a reunion tour. So, it's looking like 2013 is the soonest that will happen.
Note to J and Brian -- you have plenty of time to save for this trip so I will accept no excuses. You both will be coming with us. And since it's unlikely we'll ever go back to Iceland, it will be at least a 7-10 day excursion. You've been warned. Also, I have an Icelandic travel book that I will share with you when you visit in May.
So, I will do the responsible thing and save my money for future travel. I'll be glad for it eventually. I'll also make a responsible purchase -- we need to replace the windows in our bedroom. Before this condo, I never would have thought buying windows would be exciting, but it is. It's drafty in our bedroom and I hate paying high utility bills. That and I'm hoping that we can still write a good chunk of them off in 2011. We bought some last year for the living room and were able to write 30% of the cost off!
(I'm not sure when I became this boring, but it probably happened when I hit my 30s.)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Wordle
"Wordle" makes me giggle. I think it's because Kindle (Rising!) once did this thing where she said "gurgle" into a clenched fist and it sounded really funny. ANYWHOO...
Check it out: I linked this blog to Wordle. Note to PD&J--we have GOT to use more positive words in 2011!
"Wordle is a toy for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends."
Check it out: I linked this blog to Wordle. Note to PD&J--we have GOT to use more positive words in 2011!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Things That Are Annoying Me Today
I am hoping this will be a regular feature.Today - January 20, 2011
1. I turned my head and now have a debilitating pain in my shoulder/neck. I even tried Tammy's old trick of holding a stapler on the affected area to no avail. I am convinced this portends the collapse of my posture (see image below).
3. Really cold weather. This creates all kinds of problems: icy roads (which I spent over an hour on last night trying to get home. Probably one of the many sources of my neck pain.), having to scrape off my car in the morning, the new crack in my windshield (assuming everyone's cracked yesterday since it went from 50 degrees to 9 in one afternoon), numbness in my toes (I think I have nerve damage from some long-ago cold spell), dreading showers (okay, this probably has very little to do with cold weather), heating bills, hat hair.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Bread Maker!
One of my most favorite Christmas gifts came from P. He got me a bread maker! Last Christmas (I gave you my heart), my parents got me a bread recipe book. Let's just say I've not had the energy to make bread on my own. Remember that time I made bagels? It's a lot of work. Not something you can pull off very quickly. And by the time you're done, you don't even want to look at the bread you just poured your heart and soul into.
Enter the break maker! This little device literally does all the work for you. You put the ingredients (in a very specific order) inside the little bowl, press the buttons and voila! Bread! So far I've made:
- Walnut/Gruyere whole wheat bread
- Whole wheat pizza crust
- Beer bread
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Death Panels
I know, I know--not exactly the lightest topic for my first post in the new year. But this article grabbed my attention and I'd like a chance to explain why.
Obama Administration Reverses Decision On End-Of-Life Counseling
I really don't care if end-of-life counseling is included as a part of the new Medicare update. As the article points out, medical practitioners will generally counsel patients on their rights and encourage them to have a living will in place anyways. What I DO mind is that every time the idea that you have any right to end your own life and avoid suffering a painful and humiliating death comes up, it's squashed by I-don't-even-know-who. I don't want to generalize and say "conservatives" because I would guess opinions vary based on people's individual experience.
As for my own experience, my Grandma broke her hip and was on her way to recovery when she had a stroke, slipped into a coma and we decided not to continue her medical care. She was 90. The doctors had no hope for her recovery. And still, the best we could do for her was to decline life support and wait for her to die. For FIVE DAYS.
Not only was this painful for my family as we waited for the inevitable, but I know my Grandma was in pain. She moaned everytime they had to administer to her. Which, by the way--thank God we were there to demand that she be attended to--her morphine shots were ALWAYS late and we ALWAYS had to track someone down and get their attention. What if we hadn't been there as consistently as we were?
Soon after, I had to go to the ER with back pain. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it hurt to even breathe. They gave me FOUR doses of morphine. Not only did I feel a surge of anxiety each time (they explained that your body reacts with adrenaline), but the pain didn't stop--I just started to feel so loopy I didn't really mind. I couldn't help but think of my Grandma. They assured us she didn't feel pain, but I now know they couldn't guarantee that. The fact that we let her body fight for 5 days in what was probably--at least at times--excruciating pain will always haunt me.
At one point, I asked the hospice nurse if they could administer enough morphine to kill her. I put it almost as bluntly as that. She gasped as she grabbed the cross around her neck and tersly said no.
On the last of her five days, I told my Grandma, in front of the rest of my family, that I had to leave for the day and told her she didn't have to wait for me to get back in order to die. I said it in a joking way since that's how I always talked to my Grandma--and she always got a kick out of me. She died less than an hour later. My family stopped speaking to me for over a year after that.
And why? Because I "wanted Grandma to die". Yes, I did. I admit it. I didn't want to walk in to her room alone one more time to see that no one had checked in on her all night and witness firsthand what happens as a living body starts to decompose. That IS selfish, and I admit it. But I also knew she wasn't coming back and I wanted her to go with the same dignity and grace with which she had lived her entire life. My Grandma was 90 and still lived on her own. She had even bought a sporty new car a few weeks before. I guarantee she didn't want to die that way, with all of us watching and putting our lives on hold waiting.
So getting back to what I DO mind--not even allowing the debate. No--there really is no debate, in my mind. Disallowing a basic right. I would never encroach on someone else's right to live as long as they want that way (well, so long as I'm not paying for it). And I actually do believe in miracles. But I think in certain circumstances there just can't be a miracle and we have to face reality. Which I know is hard to do. But why would we deny a terminal patient a peaceful end to their life? For what? Because you don't want that forced on you? Fine! Let everyone make their own decision. And if you believe it's a sin to end your life before God does, you probably also believe that that person will have to deal with God on their own anyways, right?
I'm hoping this serves as my living will until I get around to signing one. Which, by the way, only lets you avoid being put on life support--it doesn't prevent the same miserable death my Grandma had. You don't have that right.
Obama Administration Reverses Decision On End-Of-Life Counseling
I really don't care if end-of-life counseling is included as a part of the new Medicare update. As the article points out, medical practitioners will generally counsel patients on their rights and encourage them to have a living will in place anyways. What I DO mind is that every time the idea that you have any right to end your own life and avoid suffering a painful and humiliating death comes up, it's squashed by I-don't-even-know-who. I don't want to generalize and say "conservatives" because I would guess opinions vary based on people's individual experience.
As for my own experience, my Grandma broke her hip and was on her way to recovery when she had a stroke, slipped into a coma and we decided not to continue her medical care. She was 90. The doctors had no hope for her recovery. And still, the best we could do for her was to decline life support and wait for her to die. For FIVE DAYS.
Not only was this painful for my family as we waited for the inevitable, but I know my Grandma was in pain. She moaned everytime they had to administer to her. Which, by the way--thank God we were there to demand that she be attended to--her morphine shots were ALWAYS late and we ALWAYS had to track someone down and get their attention. What if we hadn't been there as consistently as we were?
Soon after, I had to go to the ER with back pain. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it hurt to even breathe. They gave me FOUR doses of morphine. Not only did I feel a surge of anxiety each time (they explained that your body reacts with adrenaline), but the pain didn't stop--I just started to feel so loopy I didn't really mind. I couldn't help but think of my Grandma. They assured us she didn't feel pain, but I now know they couldn't guarantee that. The fact that we let her body fight for 5 days in what was probably--at least at times--excruciating pain will always haunt me.
At one point, I asked the hospice nurse if they could administer enough morphine to kill her. I put it almost as bluntly as that. She gasped as she grabbed the cross around her neck and tersly said no.
On the last of her five days, I told my Grandma, in front of the rest of my family, that I had to leave for the day and told her she didn't have to wait for me to get back in order to die. I said it in a joking way since that's how I always talked to my Grandma--and she always got a kick out of me. She died less than an hour later. My family stopped speaking to me for over a year after that.
And why? Because I "wanted Grandma to die". Yes, I did. I admit it. I didn't want to walk in to her room alone one more time to see that no one had checked in on her all night and witness firsthand what happens as a living body starts to decompose. That IS selfish, and I admit it. But I also knew she wasn't coming back and I wanted her to go with the same dignity and grace with which she had lived her entire life. My Grandma was 90 and still lived on her own. She had even bought a sporty new car a few weeks before. I guarantee she didn't want to die that way, with all of us watching and putting our lives on hold waiting.
So getting back to what I DO mind--not even allowing the debate. No--there really is no debate, in my mind. Disallowing a basic right. I would never encroach on someone else's right to live as long as they want that way (well, so long as I'm not paying for it). And I actually do believe in miracles. But I think in certain circumstances there just can't be a miracle and we have to face reality. Which I know is hard to do. But why would we deny a terminal patient a peaceful end to their life? For what? Because you don't want that forced on you? Fine! Let everyone make their own decision. And if you believe it's a sin to end your life before God does, you probably also believe that that person will have to deal with God on their own anyways, right?
I'm hoping this serves as my living will until I get around to signing one. Which, by the way, only lets you avoid being put on life support--it doesn't prevent the same miserable death my Grandma had. You don't have that right.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
It's over...
...let the post-Christmas / Holiday let-down begin. It was exhausting, no? Same time next year!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Ancestry.com, how I love thee
I have spent an incredible amount of time on ancestry.com over the last year. On my mom's father's side, I can trace my lineage back to John Alden -- my goal is to get my family into The Mayflower Society, but that's going to take a lot of work. I keep insisting to P that I am American royalty. He's not buying it.
The rest of my tree is still a bit of a mystery. I really need to go through my parent's safe at home. I'm told they have a bunch of documents related to my grandparents (all sides). I'm sort of stuck at the moment.
I have, however, found some pretty fascinating things that I would have assumed had been destroyed long ago. My favorites are below. Item 1 is the ship manifest from when my grandmother came to the US with her two kids (Margitta and Bob). I assume the letters that are written in are stand for "M"other, "D"aughter and "S"on. I also found a picture of the ship.
Item 2 is an article from the August 18, 1955 issue of Penn Yan's Chronicle-Express, the local newspaper that still runs to this day. You'll see that Carl Nelson (my dad) had the bike with "the most unusual decorations" in the bike parade. His "black and white panda received the funniest title" in the doll contest. My aunt (Mary Nelson) is also mentioned.
2011: The Year of the Blog
And hello 2011! Let it be known that the year 2011 will be the best year this blog has ever seen. There will be more witty posts, more snarky observations and yes... even more wild rantings than you can even imagine. On behalf of P, D and J, we thank you for your continued readership and look forward to another year with our followers.
Interestingly (to me), I found the above picture using a Google image search. It's from a pretty nerdy blog that I will be going back to after finishing up here. For those that do not know, I was a pretty large He-Man geek growing up. It was a bit of an obsession. An obsession among many (Garfield, stuffed animals, anything with googly eyes and/or pipe cleaners, etc.)
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