I am spending my day preparing the Learning Centre for Random Acts of Kindness Day (RAK Day... get it?). In doing so, I have come across hundreds of quotes on kindness that really are meant to make a person think about their own kindness. I could regurgitate the hundreds that I have found, but I would prefer to add my own to the masses.
If your inner kindness were written on your face, would you still be beautiful?
I have to say that I have been very lucky in my life to have known several wonderful people who, if their kindness were written on their faces, would shine like the stars themselves.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Going Out
The other day I was driving to Dubai for a seminar on e-Assessment. It was an interesting seminar, though not all of it was applicable to me or my setting. I will talk about that later. During the drive I was listening to the radio and the station that I was listening to, 104.8 Dubai, was having several competitions. They had a quiz of which I knew the answer but I didn't call it in. I was driving. Then they had another quiz and I knew the answer but I didn't call it in. I was still driving. Finally they offered the chance for dinner for two at the grand opening of a new restaurant. I had just pulled in to Dubai so I thought, hey I am not driving anymore, I can send in for this. In order to win the prize the person had to text in their name and they would be called by the radio station. Then they would have to listen to a phrase in Chinese and try to say it. They played an example on the radio. Something about wanting to get on a different bus and how much was it. Well having lived in China for 2 years I at the very least remember how to say how much was it, so I thought it would be something I could at least make an attempt on.
So they call me back. I have a feeling I was the only person to text in. They call me back and I get all nervous and flustered because I know I am on tape and my voice will be on the air. They play me a Chinese phrase. It isn't the phrase I had heard earlier. This one is so long and fast it almost seems impossible to me. I panic and ask them to play it again. Then I did my best to imitate what I had heard. I know that there wasn't a single thing that came out of my mouth that sounded remotely like Chinese except perhaps the wo-shur sound I threw in at the last moment. But the radio group thought it was very funny (and I am sure anyone who heard me may have as well... it had to be as ridiculous as I felt). And low, I won entry into this premier restaurant opening. That is when I realized that it was in the middle of a work week and it was on the same day that I do volunteer work at the local animal shelter, plus it was also on the day that I had to go to a meeting at the kids school. Talk about the worst timing ever.
But I still liked the idea.
So yesterday I left work early to go to the kids school for the meeting and had my husband go to the shelter with a friend for dog walking. He went at 3:30 so he would be back in time for shower and dressing. The meeting was about the kids school play. All three of my kids are performing in the "Secondary" or high school performance.
My daughter isn't in Secondary, but she is "reliable and projects her voice really well" according to the director producer, who also knows my children from their performances in the Pantomimes. In fact, my children were the only young participants in the RAKADS performance this year. So I needed to attend this meeting to find out about the kids costume requirements. The kids are performing the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland. Rae is playing 3 of hearts as well as Tweedle Dum (or Tweedle Dee... I really don't know). She is 11 years old and is playing opposite a 16 year old boy who is the only other performer who can hold voice with Rae. He is Tweedle Dee to her Tweedle Dum. She also plays "Mrs Bird". So I have 2 costumes to make (as 3 of hearts is already made) for Rae.
I have a plan for what to do about Mrs. Bird. I intend to use a colorful version of the Martha Stewart No-Sew Raven Bird Costume.
I need to work with t he other parent for the Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum costumes because they need to be opposites. Orange and Lime Green is what the director visualizes. She also has the type of hat she wants, which I have borrowed so I can find the clothe to make a set of the hats. They are the only thing that should match. We will have to see if my sewing skills are up to these projects.
My little William isn't so little now. He stands to my eyebrows, about the same height as Grandma Diane I believe. He is playing the white rabbit. His role runs throughout the performance so I only have one costume to make for him. Thank goodness. I even found a place that sells oversize pocket watch fobs for just this kind of role. At $4.00 it is a bit irresistible. But the shipping is a bit prohibitive.
Zeb is performing as the Dodo and I have no idea how I am going to work that costume. I found an excellent costume example but I don't know if I am up to it. In fact, most of the costumes I have seen for the dodo in school productions are knock off crows. So I have my work cut out for me. At least I have a week off next week to work on these costumes. But his director is incredibly happy with his particular performance so far.
That was the meeting that I attended. I then rushed home to get a quick rinse off so I could get changed for going out. It was particularly difficult because I wanted to put make up on, which has always taken me an inordinate amount of time. I even tried something new with my eye makeup, quite difficult because most of my makeup was used up during the pantomime performances because no one wants to wear caked on performance makeup when they can use real makeup. I had to use it for Will in particular because of his allergies. I always buy makeup that is hypoallergenic because it smells better than other makeups and I like hugging my husband.
Surprisingly I was actually ready 10 minutes early and ready to go. I had started dinner in the slow cooker in the morning, so dinner was ready for the kids (a strange concoction of chicken, carrots, celery, and apple slices. The kids say it gave it a really tart flavor that they enjoyed.) and I only needed to worry about myself. Off we went to Dubai and the opening of this new eatery.
We arrived a little late for the party (disappointing but not too surprising. I shouldn't have taken so long with my hair). It was kind of funny because we had left early but still arrived late. Anyway, we get to the door of the club and the woman asks me, oh so sweetly, if I am on the list.
You know, it is actually the first time in over 30 years that I have ever head someone ask me if I am on the list. I was stumped. Am I on the list? I don't know, what list? The list of the hot new stars, well of course not. The list of best dressed/worst dressed? I hope never to make that list in either category. What flipping list? I gave her the fish impression for about two seconds with Will standing at my side with a laugh dancing around his mouth. Then I blurted out "I won a prize from channel 4". Talk about smooth. (can you taste the sarcasm in that sentence, cuz it is definitely meant to be there). Regardless, she laughed and said in a very Texan style voice, "Well come on in!" and in we went.
The restaurant, which claims to be Shezuan cuisine, was packed with what Will terms "the beautiful people". Oddly enough we seemed to fit right in. There were women dressed like they had just come off the runway with shoes that scream... they don't scream anything in particular, they just scream. And if I ever tried to put on a pair of shoes like that I think my foot would up and throttle me all on its own. I mean really, do you really need those 5 inch heals? Are you that insecure in your height that you need to stand on the head of a nail to feel pretty?
Will and I took the opportunity to people watch. And boy was that fun. I saw what I think was a woman from somewhere near the Ukraine who was the eye candy for a gentleman perhaps 3x her age. When I happened to lean over to look in her direction (he wasn't there) she gave me the most interesting look that seemed to suggest that she thought I was there to poach on her man, or perhaps to judge her. But having already started on the over large glass of white whine I had pressed into my hands on arrival, I simply gave her one of my lovely endearing smiles and dismissed the attitude. I spent time watching the gay men try to hook up with each other and the beautiful women try to catch the attention of some of the more powerful men. All in all it was a lot of fun.
Then the restaurant had a dragon dance to bring in the good luck. Two dragons, one silver one gold, danced into the restaurant and around the entire place before leaving again. They even had live drummers for the dance.
I had a lovely time, but I do think that it was easier to go out like this when we didn't have all the wonderful commitments that life (and kids) has given us.
I was going to tell you about the seminar, but it wasn't all that interesting, except for the video conferenced-in presentation by the guy in Britain talking about a new program for making writing grading a far more objective process. Loved that part.
I am heading into a week long vacation break, so I may not post for a bit. But I am doing just fine, thanks for asking.
:)
So they call me back. I have a feeling I was the only person to text in. They call me back and I get all nervous and flustered because I know I am on tape and my voice will be on the air. They play me a Chinese phrase. It isn't the phrase I had heard earlier. This one is so long and fast it almost seems impossible to me. I panic and ask them to play it again. Then I did my best to imitate what I had heard. I know that there wasn't a single thing that came out of my mouth that sounded remotely like Chinese except perhaps the wo-shur sound I threw in at the last moment. But the radio group thought it was very funny (and I am sure anyone who heard me may have as well... it had to be as ridiculous as I felt). And low, I won entry into this premier restaurant opening. That is when I realized that it was in the middle of a work week and it was on the same day that I do volunteer work at the local animal shelter, plus it was also on the day that I had to go to a meeting at the kids school. Talk about the worst timing ever.
But I still liked the idea.
So yesterday I left work early to go to the kids school for the meeting and had my husband go to the shelter with a friend for dog walking. He went at 3:30 so he would be back in time for shower and dressing. The meeting was about the kids school play. All three of my kids are performing in the "Secondary" or high school performance.
My daughter isn't in Secondary, but she is "reliable and projects her voice really well" according to the director producer, who also knows my children from their performances in the Pantomimes. In fact, my children were the only young participants in the RAKADS performance this year. So I needed to attend this meeting to find out about the kids costume requirements. The kids are performing the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland. Rae is playing 3 of hearts as well as Tweedle Dum (or Tweedle Dee... I really don't know). She is 11 years old and is playing opposite a 16 year old boy who is the only other performer who can hold voice with Rae. He is Tweedle Dee to her Tweedle Dum. She also plays "Mrs Bird". So I have 2 costumes to make (as 3 of hearts is already made) for Rae.
I have a plan for what to do about Mrs. Bird. I intend to use a colorful version of the Martha Stewart No-Sew Raven Bird Costume.
I need to work with t he other parent for the Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum costumes because they need to be opposites. Orange and Lime Green is what the director visualizes. She also has the type of hat she wants, which I have borrowed so I can find the clothe to make a set of the hats. They are the only thing that should match. We will have to see if my sewing skills are up to these projects.
My little William isn't so little now. He stands to my eyebrows, about the same height as Grandma Diane I believe. He is playing the white rabbit. His role runs throughout the performance so I only have one costume to make for him. Thank goodness. I even found a place that sells oversize pocket watch fobs for just this kind of role. At $4.00 it is a bit irresistible. But the shipping is a bit prohibitive.
Zeb is performing as the Dodo and I have no idea how I am going to work that costume. I found an excellent costume example but I don't know if I am up to it. In fact, most of the costumes I have seen for the dodo in school productions are knock off crows. So I have my work cut out for me. At least I have a week off next week to work on these costumes. But his director is incredibly happy with his particular performance so far.
That was the meeting that I attended. I then rushed home to get a quick rinse off so I could get changed for going out. It was particularly difficult because I wanted to put make up on, which has always taken me an inordinate amount of time. I even tried something new with my eye makeup, quite difficult because most of my makeup was used up during the pantomime performances because no one wants to wear caked on performance makeup when they can use real makeup. I had to use it for Will in particular because of his allergies. I always buy makeup that is hypoallergenic because it smells better than other makeups and I like hugging my husband.
Surprisingly I was actually ready 10 minutes early and ready to go. I had started dinner in the slow cooker in the morning, so dinner was ready for the kids (a strange concoction of chicken, carrots, celery, and apple slices. The kids say it gave it a really tart flavor that they enjoyed.) and I only needed to worry about myself. Off we went to Dubai and the opening of this new eatery.
We arrived a little late for the party (disappointing but not too surprising. I shouldn't have taken so long with my hair). It was kind of funny because we had left early but still arrived late. Anyway, we get to the door of the club and the woman asks me, oh so sweetly, if I am on the list.
You know, it is actually the first time in over 30 years that I have ever head someone ask me if I am on the list. I was stumped. Am I on the list? I don't know, what list? The list of the hot new stars, well of course not. The list of best dressed/worst dressed? I hope never to make that list in either category. What flipping list? I gave her the fish impression for about two seconds with Will standing at my side with a laugh dancing around his mouth. Then I blurted out "I won a prize from channel 4". Talk about smooth. (can you taste the sarcasm in that sentence, cuz it is definitely meant to be there). Regardless, she laughed and said in a very Texan style voice, "Well come on in!" and in we went.
The restaurant, which claims to be Shezuan cuisine, was packed with what Will terms "the beautiful people". Oddly enough we seemed to fit right in. There were women dressed like they had just come off the runway with shoes that scream... they don't scream anything in particular, they just scream. And if I ever tried to put on a pair of shoes like that I think my foot would up and throttle me all on its own. I mean really, do you really need those 5 inch heals? Are you that insecure in your height that you need to stand on the head of a nail to feel pretty?
Will and I took the opportunity to people watch. And boy was that fun. I saw what I think was a woman from somewhere near the Ukraine who was the eye candy for a gentleman perhaps 3x her age. When I happened to lean over to look in her direction (he wasn't there) she gave me the most interesting look that seemed to suggest that she thought I was there to poach on her man, or perhaps to judge her. But having already started on the over large glass of white whine I had pressed into my hands on arrival, I simply gave her one of my lovely endearing smiles and dismissed the attitude. I spent time watching the gay men try to hook up with each other and the beautiful women try to catch the attention of some of the more powerful men. All in all it was a lot of fun.
Then the restaurant had a dragon dance to bring in the good luck. Two dragons, one silver one gold, danced into the restaurant and around the entire place before leaving again. They even had live drummers for the dance.
I had a lovely time, but I do think that it was easier to go out like this when we didn't have all the wonderful commitments that life (and kids) has given us.
I was going to tell you about the seminar, but it wasn't all that interesting, except for the video conferenced-in presentation by the guy in Britain talking about a new program for making writing grading a far more objective process. Loved that part.
I am heading into a week long vacation break, so I may not post for a bit. But I am doing just fine, thanks for asking.
:)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saw my first UAE snake
Yesterday I was in Dubai for the day for a meeting on e-Assessment. Not very exciting for me for the most part, although one speaker who was video fed in from near Leeds in the UK was fascinating and had interesting things to say. Regardless, it was late by the time I got back to the office, around 4:50 and of course everyone had gone home. I stopped in my office to put away my stuff and to check my email and turn off the office lights.
I opened the door to one of the student study rooms and noticed a very long thin thread on the floor. I thought it looked like a really long string from someone's blouse or shirt. But then it started moving. I looked very closely (without getting anywhere near it) and it was most definitely a snake. It was pink, almost red, in color, and about as long as my arm if not a little longer. It was at least as thin as the inner part of a pen (but not as thick as a pencil... really thin). I watched it move and it wasn't moving like a worm (they move with that segment contraction) it was moving like a snake. I use to have a garden snake (green racer) so I know a snake when I see one.
Very exciting. Now, not being familiar with snakes of this part of the world I didn't get anywhere near it. You might be thinking, come on, it's just a thread snake, why didn't you capture it or something, but let me tell you why.
Last year at about this time of year at the RAK Sailing Club, the commodore of the club opened a cupboard and disturbed a snake. He was bit. He was rushed to the hospital. They weren't entirely sure what kind of snake had bit him. They gave him the wrong anti-venom. Then they got the right anti-venom, but he was on deaths door for about three weeks. The whole incident ended up with him hospitalized for nearly 6 months and it was a horrifying experience for everyone involved. The sailing club has barely recovered. One of the biggest problems was that they didn't know what kind of snake had bit him.
My thought is, better safe than sorry. So I called in security and had them remove the snake. It took 10 men to get the snake out of the room. Most of them were far more freaked out by it than I was. Mostly I just wanted to know what kind of snake it was. So I did my research and looked at pictures and found it.
It is a Leptotyphlopidea of some kind, which according to some experts should only grow to about 15 cm. That is only about 6 inches. This snake was exactly the same shape, width, color, and movement type, but it was easily as long as my arm. It wasn't just 6 inches long. It was easily 12-15 inches.
But then I saw this article from the Dubai newspaper...
"'We spotted the thread snake under a stone in the civic body's special conservation area in the Bab Al Shams deserts. The non-venomous snake, which looked much more like an earthworm, had a length of 40 centimetres with just the thickness of a lady's hairpin,' he explained.
The slender thread snakes, known in its scientific name, Leptotyphlopidae, are featured with smooth and shiny scales. Members of this family look much like blind snakes, and all of them have tube-shaped bodies that are about the same diameter from head to tail. The snakes have short heads with mouths that open downward instead of right on the front end of the head. "
Yup, that is the snake alright. So it is a non-venomous type of blind snake.
Kind of cool.
Everyone is doing fine. I am just excited about my first UAE snake. Plus today is the second time it has rained in 340 days. Have a great day.
I opened the door to one of the student study rooms and noticed a very long thin thread on the floor. I thought it looked like a really long string from someone's blouse or shirt. But then it started moving. I looked very closely (without getting anywhere near it) and it was most definitely a snake. It was pink, almost red, in color, and about as long as my arm if not a little longer. It was at least as thin as the inner part of a pen (but not as thick as a pencil... really thin). I watched it move and it wasn't moving like a worm (they move with that segment contraction) it was moving like a snake. I use to have a garden snake (green racer) so I know a snake when I see one.
Very exciting. Now, not being familiar with snakes of this part of the world I didn't get anywhere near it. You might be thinking, come on, it's just a thread snake, why didn't you capture it or something, but let me tell you why.
Last year at about this time of year at the RAK Sailing Club, the commodore of the club opened a cupboard and disturbed a snake. He was bit. He was rushed to the hospital. They weren't entirely sure what kind of snake had bit him. They gave him the wrong anti-venom. Then they got the right anti-venom, but he was on deaths door for about three weeks. The whole incident ended up with him hospitalized for nearly 6 months and it was a horrifying experience for everyone involved. The sailing club has barely recovered. One of the biggest problems was that they didn't know what kind of snake had bit him.
My thought is, better safe than sorry. So I called in security and had them remove the snake. It took 10 men to get the snake out of the room. Most of them were far more freaked out by it than I was. Mostly I just wanted to know what kind of snake it was. So I did my research and looked at pictures and found it.
It is a Leptotyphlopidea of some kind, which according to some experts should only grow to about 15 cm. That is only about 6 inches. This snake was exactly the same shape, width, color, and movement type, but it was easily as long as my arm. It wasn't just 6 inches long. It was easily 12-15 inches.
But then I saw this article from the Dubai newspaper...
"'We spotted the thread snake under a stone in the civic body's special conservation area in the Bab Al Shams deserts. The non-venomous snake, which looked much more like an earthworm, had a length of 40 centimetres with just the thickness of a lady's hairpin,' he explained.
The slender thread snakes, known in its scientific name, Leptotyphlopidae, are featured with smooth and shiny scales. Members of this family look much like blind snakes, and all of them have tube-shaped bodies that are about the same diameter from head to tail. The snakes have short heads with mouths that open downward instead of right on the front end of the head. "
Yup, that is the snake alright. So it is a non-venomous type of blind snake.
Kind of cool.
Everyone is doing fine. I am just excited about my first UAE snake. Plus today is the second time it has rained in 340 days. Have a great day.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Hug a Porcupine Today
The porcupine is the animal I believe best represents relationships. During the winter animals die from the cold unless they huddle together for warmth. They pile together and breathe in the heat of each other. By staying close together they protect one another and stay warm in the deepest cold.
But a porcupine has sharp and painful quills that can easily damage another standing nearby. With each movement or shift there is a chance that wounds will be opened. But moving away from each other would mean a loss of the warmth and protection that they desire. So they stay and prick each other. They live with the small wounds that a close relationship can cause and together they survive.
This is not a commentary on love relationships or family relationships, it is all relationships. In every relationship that you start, there exist always the small wounds of being near someone else. With family sometimes those small pricks are much deeper, more painful, and occasionally slower to heal. But those are also the ones that we will give more time to heal and have more hope that the wounds won’t be inflicted.
Friendships are the more dangerous. With a friendship, if a wound is unintentionally deep it may never heal and the friendship is over. Sadly, sometimes friendships end even if the quill belongs to another. A deep friendship though will not only survive those pricks but will be even stronger for it.
Nothing has happened and I am not in any way feeling pricked by anybody, I was just planning a Random Acts of Kindness Month for my school and was considering kindness deeply. In doing so it brought me to relationships and I wanted to say to those of you whom I may have pricked, however deeply, that I am sorry for the wounds I have given you. Though I don’t wish to dwell on past wrongs, it is in my nature to look backwards and regret the harms I have done. Even when they have been unintentional, or can be blamed on stupidity and misinformation, I am sorry for the wrongs I have done.
I intend to embrace this month theme and see if I can’t do a turn of good for every poor decision I have made. I already volunteer my time at the Animal Welfare Centre, a no kill shelter in Ras Al Khaimah that is working hard to be a shining example to this part of the world. Doing this with my family has become something truly special that I look forward to even on days that it seems like a chore. Truth be told even on days when I am worn out from work and tired and drained, walking those dogs around and knowing that I am making a difference in their lives is refreshing. Seeing the kids taking on the task as a measure of social responsibility fills me with pride and joy.
So now I am thinking that if porcupines could hug, their quills wouldn’t get in the way, would they? Time for me to hug the world. I just bet it will hug me back. Wanna hug?
Saturday, January 8, 2011
A Surprise Date
Occasionally I am required to work on Saturdays. While this is not an enjoyable activity, as the day is spent invigilating exams, it is not so tedious as to be too exhausting usually. In fact I am normally done well before 3pm, so it isn't such a bad thing.
I had to work this Saturday. And it was an interesting day. First, I saw a car accident in the parking lot when I was looking out the window. A young woman in a car had hit an SUV. The damage wasn't that bad. But then she reversed her car and it pulled off the front "bra" of the car.
Then I saw the strangest thing. A young man took off his dishdasha (white dress for men) and opened the hood of his car and rubbed the engine with it. Then he wiped down the inside of the hood. Then he wiped down the engine again. I thought that was terribly funny looking. The next time I looked out he had 5 or 6 guys all standing around with him looking at the engine and pointing, but none of them doing anything. It reminded me of several jokes I have heard. Men and cars. Funny.
Finally, the exams that I was monitoring were on computers. So of course we had to have complete computer failure. One computer that the students were working on decided 9 minutes before the exam ended to crash. She was right at the end of the exam when the screen flickered and turned up the lovely blue complete memory failure message. Nice. So I had to stay after trying to ensure that the student shouldn't have to take the exam again.
So at last the work day was over and I went home. I had about 10 minutes to wash my face and get ready because my hubby was taking me on a surprise weekend date. We went to see a movie, just him and me. It wasn't really worth it. I mean, the first half of the movie was kind of fun and interesting, but at a certain point it stopped being all that interesting. I liked the actors, and they had some pretty funny moments and definite range in their performances, but the movie was not good. We had gone to see "Season of the Witch". It had such great potential to be so good, but it was almost as if they had changed writers half way through. It stopped being any good.
But it was nice to spend a little time with my husband. Afterward we went grocery shopping. We stopped to help an elderly man having trouble with his cart. It was nice. I actually enjoyed walking around grocery shopping with my husband until we passed the display of olives. The smell was so strong and overwhelming that it was like being punched in the gut. I would think that I am allergic to olives, but I can have olive oil. But that smell of those olives and the different meals that they had made with them was so strong that I almost lost my lunch right then. It gave me physical shudders and Will took one look at me and asked if I was ok. He thought I was going to be ill right there. I just walked away until I was in a different section of the store.
We went home and I made myself some liver and onions. Rae tried it and actually liked it. Will can't stand liver so I was careful to run the fan and rinse the pan afterward so he didn't have to smell it. I needed the iron. I have been more anemic than usual. I am having my levels checked again, as I think that my hormones are effecting my anemia. Not fun.
Anyway, It was a nice surprise date though the rest of the day wasn't great. And the kids sure seemed happy that they could help us have a nice date too. They were really hoping we had a good time. They are such great kids.
I had to work this Saturday. And it was an interesting day. First, I saw a car accident in the parking lot when I was looking out the window. A young woman in a car had hit an SUV. The damage wasn't that bad. But then she reversed her car and it pulled off the front "bra" of the car.
Then I saw the strangest thing. A young man took off his dishdasha (white dress for men) and opened the hood of his car and rubbed the engine with it. Then he wiped down the inside of the hood. Then he wiped down the engine again. I thought that was terribly funny looking. The next time I looked out he had 5 or 6 guys all standing around with him looking at the engine and pointing, but none of them doing anything. It reminded me of several jokes I have heard. Men and cars. Funny.
Finally, the exams that I was monitoring were on computers. So of course we had to have complete computer failure. One computer that the students were working on decided 9 minutes before the exam ended to crash. She was right at the end of the exam when the screen flickered and turned up the lovely blue complete memory failure message. Nice. So I had to stay after trying to ensure that the student shouldn't have to take the exam again.
So at last the work day was over and I went home. I had about 10 minutes to wash my face and get ready because my hubby was taking me on a surprise weekend date. We went to see a movie, just him and me. It wasn't really worth it. I mean, the first half of the movie was kind of fun and interesting, but at a certain point it stopped being all that interesting. I liked the actors, and they had some pretty funny moments and definite range in their performances, but the movie was not good. We had gone to see "Season of the Witch". It had such great potential to be so good, but it was almost as if they had changed writers half way through. It stopped being any good.
But it was nice to spend a little time with my husband. Afterward we went grocery shopping. We stopped to help an elderly man having trouble with his cart. It was nice. I actually enjoyed walking around grocery shopping with my husband until we passed the display of olives. The smell was so strong and overwhelming that it was like being punched in the gut. I would think that I am allergic to olives, but I can have olive oil. But that smell of those olives and the different meals that they had made with them was so strong that I almost lost my lunch right then. It gave me physical shudders and Will took one look at me and asked if I was ok. He thought I was going to be ill right there. I just walked away until I was in a different section of the store.
We went home and I made myself some liver and onions. Rae tried it and actually liked it. Will can't stand liver so I was careful to run the fan and rinse the pan afterward so he didn't have to smell it. I needed the iron. I have been more anemic than usual. I am having my levels checked again, as I think that my hormones are effecting my anemia. Not fun.
Anyway, It was a nice surprise date though the rest of the day wasn't great. And the kids sure seemed happy that they could help us have a nice date too. They were really hoping we had a good time. They are such great kids.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Zeb is Fine-surgery a success
On December 21 2010, Will and I took Zeb to the hospital for his surgery appointment. The previous day I had put in to take 3 vacation days so I could spend them with my son. I did this in the morning. By the afternoon I got a phone call from HR telling me I should take "special leave" for this because it is for death or illness. So I deleted my request for vacation days (which had been approved) and put in for the special leave. More on that later.
We arrived at the hospital and he was being prepared for the surgery. We walked him into the room, but they didn't administer the drug while we were present. I didn't like this part. When it was time for my surgery in the states, Will was there up until I counted back from 10. So I was worried about Zeb but Will had planned ahead to distract me.
A friend of mine arrived at the hospital just as we were being escorted out of surgery to have coffee with me. So we sat and chatted for the hour while we waited for Zeb to be finished. It was a very nice conversation with a friend who has been around for the last two years and whom I have really enjoyed spending time with. A good portion of the conversation was discovering that she will not be returning next year. Sad for me, but good for her. I am glad that they are going on to bigger and brighter things.
At an hour after it started, the surgery was over and the doctor leaned over the railing to inform us (we were on the first floor, he was on the second) that Zeb was in recovery and we could go in now. So we said goodbye to our friend and up we went. I went right in and found my baby moaning. I held him and let him know I was there and let him cry as he needed to. He was drooling blood and wanted it out of his mouth, so I manned a little tissue box and was handing him tissues as he wiped his mouth. He signaled to me that he wanted another pillow (complex sign language for someone going in and out of consciousness) and I was able to get him another pillow.
Then he lay back down and fell back asleep. It wasn't a deep sleep, but he was no longer moaning. Whenever he came to he wanted to spit. But then he would go back to sleep. The attendant in the room gave me a little jar with Zeb's tonsils and adenoids in it. He had asked the doctor if he could keep them. He had said yes, so we did. I have them at home on my book shelf. They will stay there until we get the photos for Zeb, and he has the chance to show his friend. Then we are going to bury them in the backyard. Deep.
On with the tale. Zeb spent an hour in recovery and then they put him on his hospital bed and moved him back into his private room. Room 313. He was suppose to be in 327 but when we arrived there was someone already there. So we were moved to 313. and 13 being my lucky number, I took it as a good sign.
He was tired and slept most of the time. We had brought a lot of books with us and I sat there with him until 3pm. He was ready to take a long nap and I told him I was going home to get a shower and dinner. He didn't want to do anything but sleep. He had already had ice cream and jello (they call it jelly here... weird) but just wanted to sleep. He said goodbye to us and Will took my home for dinner and a shower. Then I packed a small bag to bring with me of clothes and different books. And a bag of videos and borrowed Rae's DVD player. Then we went back to the hospital. We set up the DVD player and Zeb wanted to watch the sorcerers apprentice. We really enjoyed it. Even Zeb. Afterward, he was ready for bed. So we got the bed set up. He went to sleep.
Then the hospital brought in a visitors bed so I could sleep next to him. It was a bed that folded up small and could lay out so I could sleep near him. I should have slept on the sofa. It had this horrible metal bar in the middle and it hurt my back and hips when I slept on it. Wish I had been smart enough to just shift to the sofa.
Anyway, in the morning we both had breakfast. Then the doctor came in and checked him out and declared him fit to go home. I packed everything up and by the time it was all packed up and Zeb had finished his meal, Will was there to take us Home.
I get back to work and find that I have been denied the Special Leave because it is really meant for bereavement. For heavens sake! I had wanted to take my vacation days in the first place. HR was really apologetic for putting me through all of that and wanted to know if I wanted to take my vacation days. Which they have now approved, so it all worked out in the end.
On a continuing note... Zeb is now talking, eating pizza, and having regular foods (plus tea). He gargles every night with hydrogen peroxide.
As for the talking. Have you seen Pirates of the Caribbean 3 yet? In that movie there is a sequence where Kira Knightley's character has been declared the king of the pirates. She declares war. And a turbaned pirate says "and so we go to war" in a voice that makes Johnny Depp's eyebrow crawl up his forehead. When Zeb started talking, that was the voice that he had. It is starting to deepen back to his normal range, but it was sure funny to hear him talk. Especially when the second thing he said to me was "and so we go to war". Very funny and I laughed out loud.
So to sum up, Zeb had his tonsils out for Christmas. And his voice back for his birthday.
We have had the follow up meeting and the doctor says he is doing great.
Crissy
We arrived at the hospital and he was being prepared for the surgery. We walked him into the room, but they didn't administer the drug while we were present. I didn't like this part. When it was time for my surgery in the states, Will was there up until I counted back from 10. So I was worried about Zeb but Will had planned ahead to distract me.
A friend of mine arrived at the hospital just as we were being escorted out of surgery to have coffee with me. So we sat and chatted for the hour while we waited for Zeb to be finished. It was a very nice conversation with a friend who has been around for the last two years and whom I have really enjoyed spending time with. A good portion of the conversation was discovering that she will not be returning next year. Sad for me, but good for her. I am glad that they are going on to bigger and brighter things.
At an hour after it started, the surgery was over and the doctor leaned over the railing to inform us (we were on the first floor, he was on the second) that Zeb was in recovery and we could go in now. So we said goodbye to our friend and up we went. I went right in and found my baby moaning. I held him and let him know I was there and let him cry as he needed to. He was drooling blood and wanted it out of his mouth, so I manned a little tissue box and was handing him tissues as he wiped his mouth. He signaled to me that he wanted another pillow (complex sign language for someone going in and out of consciousness) and I was able to get him another pillow.
Then he lay back down and fell back asleep. It wasn't a deep sleep, but he was no longer moaning. Whenever he came to he wanted to spit. But then he would go back to sleep. The attendant in the room gave me a little jar with Zeb's tonsils and adenoids in it. He had asked the doctor if he could keep them. He had said yes, so we did. I have them at home on my book shelf. They will stay there until we get the photos for Zeb, and he has the chance to show his friend. Then we are going to bury them in the backyard. Deep.
On with the tale. Zeb spent an hour in recovery and then they put him on his hospital bed and moved him back into his private room. Room 313. He was suppose to be in 327 but when we arrived there was someone already there. So we were moved to 313. and 13 being my lucky number, I took it as a good sign.
He was tired and slept most of the time. We had brought a lot of books with us and I sat there with him until 3pm. He was ready to take a long nap and I told him I was going home to get a shower and dinner. He didn't want to do anything but sleep. He had already had ice cream and jello (they call it jelly here... weird) but just wanted to sleep. He said goodbye to us and Will took my home for dinner and a shower. Then I packed a small bag to bring with me of clothes and different books. And a bag of videos and borrowed Rae's DVD player. Then we went back to the hospital. We set up the DVD player and Zeb wanted to watch the sorcerers apprentice. We really enjoyed it. Even Zeb. Afterward, he was ready for bed. So we got the bed set up. He went to sleep.
Then the hospital brought in a visitors bed so I could sleep next to him. It was a bed that folded up small and could lay out so I could sleep near him. I should have slept on the sofa. It had this horrible metal bar in the middle and it hurt my back and hips when I slept on it. Wish I had been smart enough to just shift to the sofa.
Anyway, in the morning we both had breakfast. Then the doctor came in and checked him out and declared him fit to go home. I packed everything up and by the time it was all packed up and Zeb had finished his meal, Will was there to take us Home.
I get back to work and find that I have been denied the Special Leave because it is really meant for bereavement. For heavens sake! I had wanted to take my vacation days in the first place. HR was really apologetic for putting me through all of that and wanted to know if I wanted to take my vacation days. Which they have now approved, so it all worked out in the end.
On a continuing note... Zeb is now talking, eating pizza, and having regular foods (plus tea). He gargles every night with hydrogen peroxide.
As for the talking. Have you seen Pirates of the Caribbean 3 yet? In that movie there is a sequence where Kira Knightley's character has been declared the king of the pirates. She declares war. And a turbaned pirate says "and so we go to war" in a voice that makes Johnny Depp's eyebrow crawl up his forehead. When Zeb started talking, that was the voice that he had. It is starting to deepen back to his normal range, but it was sure funny to hear him talk. Especially when the second thing he said to me was "and so we go to war". Very funny and I laughed out loud.
So to sum up, Zeb had his tonsils out for Christmas. And his voice back for his birthday.
We have had the follow up meeting and the doctor says he is doing great.
Crissy