Faster than a Speeding Bronchial Tube

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I was coughing a little bit when I was trying to go to sleep on Tuesday night.Â? I didn’t sleep well and when I woke up feeling crappy on Wednesday, I thought it was just lack of sleep and nothing was wrong.Â? Ummm… not quite.Â? I had crap in my chest and was having coughing spasms.Â? My head was killing me and I was feeling seriously feverish.Â? (How did I know that I might have a fever?Â? The area where I work is so warm that I’m usually stripped down to the least amount I can wear and be decent and I was having major chills.)Â? I pondered going home at lunch but we were short-handed and I didn’t want to leave my two co-workers alone.Â? Around 4:45, I started coughing up blood.Â? I decided that it would probably be best to just go home, have some chicken soup, and go to bed.

Needless to say, work was NOT on the agenda today.Â? I went to see my doctor (and had to wait an hour because she was the only provider there — the head of medicine chased off one of the other ones, another is on vacation, and my doctor’s husband was headed to a rural clinic) and she confirmed that I definitely have some kind of respiratory infection.Â? My temperature was in the 99’sF which is a fever by normal standards and a pretty decent one for me because I tend to run around 97.5F.Â? If it was that high today after Aleve and Robitussin, I’m not sure I want to know what it was yesterday.

We also looked briefly at my neuro FNP’s report.Â? As she thinks some of my headaches might be caused by a blood sugar drop, she gave me a glucometer and had her nurses teach me how to use it.Â? (It’s true… pharmacies do kill you on the price of strips.)Â? We’re going to track it and see if there’s a pattern.

Right now, it feels like my fever might be breaking.Â? I’m going to go shower and see if that helps.Â? (OK… I know it will help.)Â? I’m just still kind of amazed and a bit scared that I got hit with this level of bronchitis this quickly and I’m hoping it has nothing to do with my hospital visit on Tuesday.

Melange Goodness

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A melange of stuff because I need to empty my brain.

[+] L’shanah tovah to all who are celebrating at the moment.

[+] Our trip to Lethbridge this past weekend was awesome.Â? We stayed at the Lethbridge Lodge, took advantage of their fitness room, ate good food, got to swim, got to chill in the lounge and listen to an awesome guitarist on Friday and Saturday night, attend an AWESOME church, and just enjoy getting away from the U.S. for a couple days.

[+] My neuro appointment went well today.Â? I wish all doctor’s appointments were comparable to sitting at $tarbux and drinking coffee.Â? I seriously heart my neuro ARNP.Â? We’re upping my beta blocker and she gave me some samples of triptans to try because Imitrex isn’t doing it for me.Â? We also talked about some other health things and some things in my life.Â? I wish I wasn’t her patient so she and I could have $tarbux dates.

[+] If reincarnation were to exist, I’d want to come back as this cat.Â? Sue, you definitely take the cake for cat-spoiling.Â? *MY* cats don’t have their own water bottle and fleece cover.Â? 😛

Tiredness Abounds

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So I’m on Day 2 of Migraine from Hell.Â? I’ll probably be fine to go into work tomorrow — drugged on Toradol most likely, but still going into work.Â? (Jon’s driving me so he can get my car taken in.) I came home from work early yesterday because the pain, the photosensitivity, and the sound sensitivity got to be too much.

I slept most of today and cleaned off a couple things on the DVR.Â? (No… I have not watched last season’s finale of Grey’s Anatomy and yes, I am aware that the season premiere is tomorrow.)Â? I probably shouldn’t be watching The Biggest Loser: Families and eating BBQ chips, should I?Â? (Then again, it’s one of the few things I’ve eaten today.)

I was the champ-eee-yon of the dare last week at work — I clocked 32.85 miles.Â? I’m so not even approaching that this week but I only really need about 9 miles to stay on track for my goal and I’ll have that easily.

Implications of War With Canada

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Quoth Richard:

HEY! Wait a second!

About possible VeeP Palin and the â??œno international boundary thatâ????s remotely threatened by terrorismâ???â???

What about those Canadians? Arenâ????t you worried that we they might start throwing TimBits(tm) or Loonies at you?

Or maybe try and start branch offices of The United Church of Canada?

Ummm… not really?Â? In fact, we’d love it if you’d send some Timbits down here.Â? 🙂 In fact, the local co-op requires the Canadian drivers to bring some down with them in order to be allowed to stop for coffee.

I work on the border and can deal with the loonies — at least the coin version.Â? (The people… not so much.)

Holy Cross Day

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For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:â??œ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.â???

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

— 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

The General Feeling of Jen Right Now

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Maybe I’m just really tired.Â? Maybe I’m incredibly overworked.Â? Maybe I’m just cynical.Â? (OK… that’s not a maybe.Â? I *AM* cynical.)Â? These things, however, are just on my nerves and draining me:

[+] My in-laws’ cat Bartholemew being gone.Â? My mom has told me to keep up hope because their cat Homer returned after 48 hoursish.Â? However, it seems like there’s somewhat definite proof that Bartholemew was eaten by coyotes.Â? I’m sad for them and for the white monster because while he was bitey (he was referred to as “The Great White” and “The Daisy with Fangs”), he was a sweet cat and did hang with me when I’d go and visit.Â? He’s in the picture I have of my sister-in-law Joanna on my filing cabinet so I have had to put a post-it note over him so that I don’t cry when I look at it.Â? Sigh… maybe I shouldn’t have nicknamed him “Purina Coyote Chow” when I was down there last time?

[+] The fact that we rip the scab off the national wound every year in how we observe 9/11.Â? OK… first thing: the renaming of the day as “Patriot Day” is offensive to me as a decent human being and seriously offensive to the families of the vicitms and victims themselves.Â? It’s a political move that is on the lameness scale next to the whole “freedom fries” incident.Â? Secondly, I’m more than chill with flags being at half-mast that day — that’s actually tasteful.Â? Moronically suggesting that people wear red/white/blue and watching hours of coverage of the towers falling?Â? Not so chill with that.Â? (For the record, I have no issues with people posting where they were that day.Â? My issue is with those who are trying to co-opt the grief of others.)Â? It was my 6th year of media-fasting because I don’t need to see all the footage to believe it happened.

[+] People who believe that Sarah Palin is the best thing since sliced bread. OK… I know some people reading this are planning to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket for pro-life reasons, same-sex marriage reasons, evangelical Christian homeboy/homegirl reasons, being blue dog Republicans, hockey mom unity reasons, being part of the pitbull cosmetic industry, or whatever.Â? Skip this rant if you are.Â? I honestly cannot understand how otherwise intelligent people can find Sarah Palin worth voting for.Â? Seriously, I can’t understand it.Â? She has zippo experience to qualify her for national leadership.Â? Yes, she’s the governor of Alaska — a state that shares no boundaries with the lower 48, has no international boundary that’s remotely threatened by terrorism or illegal immigration, is largely unpopulated, and oh wait… it’s an oil state.Â? Haven’t we learned how stupid it is to elect oil company people to leadership yet???Â? Obama was in the Illinois legislature AND has served in the US Senate.Â? She was the mayor of a podunk town outside of Anchorage (6700 people is not a large town) before becoming governor.Â? Sorry… no parity there.Â? Then there’s the fact that Obama and Biden both told their people to leave her family alone… and she’s attacking the crap out of Obama.Â? Can we say “cannot play nicely with others”?Â? She also believes that the Iraq War is a “divine calling” and I feel a little uneasy about having someone in the White House whose foreign policy is based on dispensationalism.Â? There’s a lot more to my puzzlement at people actually *liking* her as a VP candidate but that’s another entry within itself.

[+] People who find words like “pollack” and “raghead” acceptable in normal conversation.Â? I don’t give a flying whatever if you were raised in small town Montana or if the First Amendment covers your speech — it’s still offensive!!!Â? Maybe most people around here don’t care but there are people like me who would prefer to be in a hate-free zone where we aren’t tempted to vomit when you open your mouths.

OK… I think my nerves are sufficiently worked now.

Pray

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My in-laws’ white cat hasn’t been seen since Tuesday.Â? They think he got eaten by coyotes.

It’s probably past the point of return for him but… pray that he shows up.