Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. When were you last 'on a mountaintop'?  You may answer in the literal or figurative sense.

That would be the last time I went to Mt. Lassen. And it still wasn't the "top", I don't think. But it was however high the highway went. lol
2.  Do you establish and maintain a strict budget in your household?  What is one piece of financial advice you would offer someone just starting out on their own? 

Since normally my household is just me, and I typically live paycheck to paycheck, yes there is a pretty strict budget. My advice would be "do not EVER live off a credit card". Because I have had trouble with that, and I know so many people who have had problems. If you can live without it and you can't afford it then you don't NEED it. Simple as that. There is no reason to go playing "keeping up with the Jones'" because everyone loses.
3.  Cherries-yay or nay?  Cherry pie, cherry cola, black forest cake, or a scoop of Ben and Jerry's Cherries Garcia...pick one. 

Nay. I like cherry flavored things, but not the cherry itself.

Yes. I know. I'm weird.
4.  Should you ever discuss religion or politics with people you don't know? 

This is a bit like a double-edged sword. You can have civilized discussions about both of these topics and in many cases, learn something knew. 

However.

Discussions can easily take a turn for the worse. I personally try not to discuss religion or politics with strangers. Hell, I typically don't discuss them with family or friends. However, no matter who you discuss these topics with, it's best to try to keep an open mind and respect that other people have different ideas and opinions than you. And don't pull the "my faith/political party is better than yours" attitude.
5.  When you take a road trip do you prefer to be the driver or the passenger?  Where were you headed on your last road trip? 

Either. Sometimes just being a passenger can be tiring. But so can being just the driver. So really, if you're alone and all you can do is drive, it's just plain exhausting. LOL
6. If we peeked inside your closet, what color would we say is most prevalent?

Black and purple.
7. Who's your favorite senior citizen and why are they special?

Betty White. Seriously the woman is a rock star. 

Seriously? All of my grandparents would be my favorite seniors. I admire them all for things they've gone through, things they've done, and who they are.
8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

Granny's coming home!! G's family took her to the doctor today (Tuesday) and he said there were no blood clots and it was safe for her to travel. G's family is going to drive her down, and my parents will meet them half-way, in Redmond, OR. For those that missed my last post, my Granny broke her leg a couple weeks ago while on a road trip with her (boy)friend, G to visit his daughter for her birthday. His family has been so great to keep her there at their house and take care of her before and after the surgery she had last week to repair cartilage/muscle/tendons that she tore. So, by Friday, my Granny will be home!

Birthdays and Hitches

My birthday (a couple weeks ago) went off with only one hitch this year. It's an upsetting hitch, but a hitch that will be rectified in time.

Thursday at work, I jokingly told Dr. S that I didn't want any emergency calls that night as I was going out with friends for my birthday (we were both on call that night). He said, "Oh, happy birthday! How old are you gonna be? 35?" I promptly told him he's now on my Shit List. How dare he add two years onto my age?! He won back a couple brownie points for emptying the dishwasher for me because he had nothing to do. But he's still not out of the woods.  ;o)

Thursday evening I had dinner with a couple of girlfriends at a nice restaurant, and as a bonus an old high school classmate of ours was serenading the restaurant patrons with his guitar. He played lots of tunes from my high school days (mid-late 90s), which was great because I don't hear those songs very often anymore. After he finished a set, he came over and visited with us for a bit. After he had his dinner but before he went back on, he came back over as my birthday dessert arrived and sang Happy Birthday. I'm glad he didn't use the microphone, but since it's a small restaurant, I'm pretty sure everybody heard anyway. The folks at the restaurant got a thumbs up from me as they wrote in strawberry something-or-other "Happy Birthday Miss CB 17th". Considering the waiter carded me when I ordered a drink, I'm pretty sure he knew it wasn't my 17th birthday.

Friday, my birthday, I had to work half the day. One of my co-workers went and bought me a small chocolate cake. I got home, and my mom had fixed what I wanted for my birthday dinner - Brangus Burgers and fries, with funfetti cupcakes for dessert. The story behind the Brangus Burger is that was the name of the restaurant my parents owned when I was really little. It's a simple burger - BBQ sauce, onion rings, bacon and cheese. An ex-boyfriend had them once and said, "so basically it's a western bbq burger from Carls Jr." Yes. It is. But we had never heard of Carls Jr at the time of our restaurant. Jack ass. Carl has got nothing on a Brangus Burger.

I finally got to open the presents that had been sitting on the buffet, torturing me all week long. Granny got me an electric throw blanket - which is awesome because the house gets cold. As does the 5th wheel. My parents got me a pair of Skecher shoes that are slippers inside yet are tennis shoes on the outside - score! And the bestest present ever? I got me a Buster Posey Jersey!! I was so shocked and excited! Now I just need to go to a Giants game. ;o)

Saturday night I got to have dinner out with my family at my choice of restaurant. I chose Red Lobster because I only go there every couple of years or so and I have had a craving for those cheese rolls for at least that long. Plus I wanted clam strips. All of it was yummy and I was miserably full afterwards.

The hitch was that a couple days before my birthday, we got a call from Granny saying that she had fallen down and had broken her left leg. She had taken off with G for a road trip a few days prior to see the coast and then drove up to Washington to see one of G's daughters for her birthday. We found out on my birthday that she will need to have surgery as she'd torn the cartilage surround the bone. And that it would need to be done as soon as possible - preferably up there, and then would have to stay put for at least two to three weeks. G's family has been taking great care of Granny, and G's granddaughter is a CNA so we know she'll do her absolute best for my Granny. Granny's one request? If my parents could bring her recliner up there. By Friday afternoon, my parents had decided to drive up to Washington on Sunday, stay for Granny's surgery on Monday, and drive back either Tuesday or Wednesday (each trip about 12 hours). So, when I got home from work Saturday, I helped my parents get the recliner out of Granny's room, out her back door, through the back yard and into the back of my parents truck and wrapped in a tarp and tied it down with bungee cords. What we do for Granny. lol

Her surgery went well, and now she has to stay up there, with her leg up for two to three weeks. We're so grateful for G's family up there for taking such good care of her. We wish she was home, and she will be eventually. 

Valentine's Day Victory

Valentine's Day is the kind of holiday where I can take it or leave it. We're not always on good terms, but the way I see it is that if I'm still breathing at the end of the day, it's a success. I've dated guys that didn't bother to make it special, making me feel like an afterthought, an obligation, a nuisance. I've dated guys who made an effort at least to make the day nice. I've also been dumped around this time of year. So, yeah, I'm not always on good terms with the holiday of chubby cherubs with bows and arrows.

This year, however, I would consider a success. Thanks to my parents. Thanks to Dad. I wasn't expecting anything at all, with the exception of maybe some chocolate from my parents.

I had to work a ten hour shift today, and I literally had no energy. I didn't want to get up - I was just tired and didn't want to get up. I dragged myself to work, where a sales rep passing through town brought us a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. I hadn't had one of those in years. I pretty much inhaled one, telling myself it doesn't count if you only eat one every 5 years or so. I was able to stay busy until lunch. Another sales rep for one of our products came in and bought all of us lunch. That was a perk, as I hadn't known about it. The sales rep saved me from my PB & J. By the time I finally grabbed my sandwich, I was starving and I think the sandwich tasted good. After lunch, my energy took a nose dive. And I wasn't the only one - everyone seemed to be dying for a post-lunch-afternoon nap.

I abused my power over the ROP student that came in - making her clean up a couple nasty messes, sweep, mop, take out the trash. In all fairness, I did all the laundry, got my hands and arms dirty helping a doctor clean out a laceration under a dogs chin, making a puppy vomit because he got into Mommy's Valentine candy, cleaned exam rooms, dumped the mop bucket, and started the dishwasher. Among various things that popped up. 

Around 5pm, everything was done, and I got a text from Mom that said I "have the sweetest dad ever". Well, I already knew that. But I figured that meant he got me something nice for Valentine's Day.

And I was right.

I walked in the house at 6pm, smelling something cooking on the barbecue, a single red rose, the world's sweetest card (no, seriously), and a huge chocolate-peanut-butter candy - from my Dad. My Mom made sugar cookies, got me a sweet card, and a red and white stuffed puppy, and a Kit Kat. The two of them cooked up an amazing dinner of tri-tip, salad, garlic bread, and homemade french fries.

After dinner, we settled in for our recorded TV shows - one of them was a new Inside the Actor's Studio, which Hugh Jackman, who belted out a few tunes of Heartbreak Hotel. From there, the three of us lost it. Mom and I teased each other about who Hugh was singing to, when Dad pulled out the dog's rope toy out of his lap. I don't remember exactly what set us off - who said what - but the gutter was involved. Mom asked if that was a bone or if he was happy to see her - we all died laughing. It kept going, anything with the word "bone" in it, we started laughing harder and harder. I literally had tears rolling down my cheeks, I could hardly breathe, and it was relentless. We did eventually make it through the show. But I'm pretty sure we did the equivalent of a million situps/crunches with all the laughing we did.

All in all, I would say that this Valentine's Day was a good one.  Thanks to the best parents a girl could ever ask for.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1.  This week marks the beginning of Lent...will you be giving something up or adding anything to your life during this season of the year? 

Mama didn't raise no quitter. lol I've never observed Lent. Doesn't mean I never will, but I have yet to do so.
2. The day before Lent is Shrove Tuesday... tradition states you eat pancakes on this day. In some parts of the world Shrove Tuesday is actually known as 'pancake day'. How do you like your pancakes? Or don't you? 

I'm simple, I like my pancakes with butter and syrup.
3.  I'm sure there are many, but what's one love song you really love? 

My all-time favorite song is "Fishin' in the Dark" by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I was so proud of myself for finally remember all the lyrics when I was a kid. Now the song just takes me back to riding around in the truck as a kid trying to sing it. Good times.

4.  What are some things you do to let others know you love them? 

I will do something nice for them without being asked. Sometimes I send family members or my BFF a postcard just to say "hi".
5.  Roses...red, pink, or do you prefer another color? Can you recall the last time someone gave you flowers? Given your choice would you like to open the door and see a dozen red roses, a dozen purple tulips, or a dozen pink peonies?

I'd say lavender because purple is my favorite color. But I love red roses, too. It's been a very long time since anybody has bought me flowers of any kind. So if I were to open my door, as long as the flowers aren't dead, I'd be happy. lol
6.  President's Day will be celebrated in America next Monday. Does US Presidential history and trivia interest you?  Many Presidential homes are open to the public and offer guided tours...Monticello (Jefferson's home), Mount Vernon (Washington's home), Montpelier (James Madison's home), Hyde Park (FD Roosevelt's home) and The White House (home to the sitting President) to name just a few. Of those listed which would you be most interested in touring?  Why?

I have been to the White House, Monticello, and Mount Vernon. All in the same week. lol Monticello was interesting, Thomas Jefferson was an interesting man. Mount Vernon was pretty cool, too, if I recall. The White House - it was an okay tour. For some reason, it looks more regal on TV, but up close and personal it didn't seem to impress that much. My whole class left that tour a bit disappointed. But it was still cool to see. Maybe one day I'll see the others.
7.  Are you good at keeping secrets? 

Fort Knox, baby.  ;o)
8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

I think Petunia was sent home with her owner yesterday as she wasn't at work. I was actually disappointed to not see her as I really wanted to. Silly little pig, stole my heart away. Click here if you missed the story of Petunia the Pig.

A Pig Named Petunia

This last Saturday at work, a guy burst through our front door with a piglet wrapped in bloody towels. Her name is Petunia. Petunia the pig had been attacked by a dog and badly. According to the owner, he had only just taken possession of the piglet about two hours prior - supposedly from a neighbor who didn't seem to be taking good care of her - when another neighbor's dog tried to eat it for lunch.

Petunia had puncture wounds all over, from top to bottom. A couple puncture wounds punctured through her chest cavity, exposing her lungs - which were unharmed as far as we could tell. She was in shock, her gums were pale and she was shaking. And her temperature was so low, it barely registered on our thermometer. An average body temp for a pig is anywhere between 100 and 103* (F), although potbellied pigs can be a bit lower. When I left her at 3pm, her temperature was 93.9 and that was an improvement.

Dr. M spoke with the pig's owner, as well as the dog's owner, about cost and they both agreed to try to save her. The dog's owner put down the required $500 deposit, and both men were quoted that the bill could get as high as $1000. We got Petunia started on oxygen, we had the ROP student get hot water into bottles and lots of blankets. I started clipping the different wounds, while trying to keep pressure on her right side as that was where the hole into her chest cavity was. Dr. M didn't have everything she needed to fix Petunia completely or properly, but we sutured her up as best as we could and cleaned her up. I set up a cage for her and put fresh hot water in the water bottles and extra towels. I just kept petting her on her nose. I'm not partial to pigs, but she's super cute. Besides, how can you not love a pig named Petunia?

I went to work Monday morning, having thought and worried about this poor little pig through the weekend, went straight to the back to see if she was still on our white board for in-house patients. She was. Then I went to her cage in the cat ward, and there she was. I opened her cage door, she started oinking. I was so happy, I was near tears. Over a pig. I fed her a bowl of dog food and she just chowed down on it. We have to syringe feed her water, because she'll knock the bowl over and only make a mess. Her wounds have already started healing. She's still sore, and won't actually walk. Dr. M had me take her outside to see if she'd walk. She squealed the entire way. I'm pretty sure the folks in the pizza kitchen next door had to be wondering, "What the hell?!" lol

Once outside, she just sat there. And scooted around a little. But she wouldn't walk. I took her inside when she tried eating rocks, because we don't need that. I took her back inside, carrying her with her squealing away. I got her back in her cage, gave her more food and water, and let her be. She's still not out of the woods by any means, but she's slowly improving.

As I was leaving this afternoon, I told one of the girls to, "not forget to water the pig." That really tickled her funny bone, and I only made it worse when I said, "well, her name is Petunia, so don't forget our little flower."

I will see how she's doing on Tuesday.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1.  Chinese New Year will be celebrated on February 10th, and 2013 is the year of the snake. When did you last see a snake?  Are you okay around snakes or do they give you the shivers? 

 

I saw a snake wrapped around a guys hand at Barnes & Noble awhile back. I'm not fond of snakes, but after working for Petco for 3 years in college, I did learn to handle snakes. If I know they're biters, I won't hold them, but if they're not, I'm okay with it. 

2. The color red in Chinese culture usually means good luck.  Do you believe in luck? 

Yes - to a point. Whether it's just random luck, or you make you're own luck, or even bad luck, it all happens to us at some point. 

3. Sledding-ice skating-building a snowman...if given a choice, which activity would you choose?  Which of the three have you done most recently?  

I've never been ice skating and probably not wise to do so with my horrible ankles. I haven't been sledding since I was a little kid. And I haven't built a snowman in ages. So, sledding and/or building a snowman would be good fun! 

4.  Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited as saying, "The years teach much which the days never knew."  Where have you seen this quote played out in your own life?  

Probably all the time. It's looking back on things - lessons learned, things learned over time, that you realized how much you have learned. Each day I learn something new, but sometimes either you don't really realize it, or don't focus on it. It's all of it combined, that when you look back, you realize how much you've learned. 

5. When was the last time you ate a cupcake?  

In the last few months. When my job  opened it's new office our reps brought us all kinds of goodies and then there were the holidays. Plus Mom is baking some for my birthday on Friday.

6. What's something you can't say no to?  

A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Lord help me. 
 

7.  Are you a doodler?  

Sometimes, yes. And I'm not very good. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

I've signed up for the A-Z Challenge - again. This will be my third time. Which means I must really be crazy if I'm willing to do it more than once! I may actually try to do a theme this year, which I haven't done in the past. However, creativity is not my BFF, so any ideas would be awesome.

Also, congrats to the Baltimore Ravens for winning Superbowl 47 this past weekend. They opened up a can of whoop-ass on my Niners. A very large can. It was embarrassing, really. Luckily they rallied back in the second half and made it a game worth cheering on. But alas, the better team won. Although, the Superbowl ads pretty much sucked this year. The Budweiser commercial brought tears and I loved the Paul Harvey bit by Dodge. Other than that, not worth air time.

What Are We Doing To Our Kids?

*steps onto soapbox*

Humans have a tendency to overreact. A lot. It's apparently in our nature. And inevitably, we upset ourselves, our society, our way of life, etc.

These days, our overreacting is hurting our children, who are innocent bystanders in this world. They are now being forced to grow up too soon because of how society works. The shootings in Newtown, CT and terrorism are huge things in America right now. Adults are often afraid because of racial or ethical stereotypes and what they see on the news. Or should I say "news".

If you've seen recent headlines with kindergartners being suspended over childhood items at school, then you know what I'm talking about. Kindergartners are 5 years old. Typically, they don't see the news headlines about the violence in not only our nation, but around the world. They are learning to color inside the lines, how to write their ABC's, how to read, and how to play with others and share. Most parents don't want their little ones to see headlines regarding school shootings, murder investigations, and that the guy who does the voice of Charlie Brown recently got arrested. Parents want to protect their kids from bad things like these. I am not yet a parent, but these things I know.

When a 5th grader gets called a "murderer" by her classmates and school administrators because of a piece of paper that she forgot was in her pocket that somehow resembled a gun (think more of a taser, really), and also gets a suspension, I think our overreacting has gotten way out of control. She's in 5th grade people, she's only 9 or 10 years old. She's fucking innocent. It's a piece of paper. If she had brought a real gun to school, then no, that's not overreacting. But it's a piece of paper that barely resembles a gun. What's she going to do, give someone a paper cut? Give me a fucking break.

This is the gun the girl had that was considered a "terrorist threat".

When a kindergartner is suspended for talking with a friend about shooting each other with a Hello Kitty Bubble Gun, I think we're overreacting. First, it's Hello Kitty. It's pink. It looks like a hair dryer. And it blows bubbles. Unless she forces the bubbles down her friends throat, I think the kids are safe. Holy crap, people. Stop and think about this. She's five years old. She doesn't know about the school shootings, doesn't understand the implications behind her words. Because she's five years old. She still believes whole heartily in the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Clause. She still believes that unicorns exist and leprechauns. When I was her age, I would have been made to share it's use, or made sure I had enough for everyone. I wouldn't have been suspended.

Who is a afraid of Hello Kitty?

When a first grader is suspended for making a gun motion with his hand, I think we're overreacting. What's he going to do, poke an eye? OMG, call the cops! Trust me, at six years of age, he's not going to do much else with it. Maybe pick a nose. And eat the booger (hey, he's a boy, it happens). Boys do this sort of thing. They play cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, Harry Potter and Voldemort (I'm sure it's happened somewhere). And in the first two, guns are involved. Hand gestured guns. I remember playing those as kids. In school even. We didn't get in trouble. This little boy now has a record that states, "threatened to shoot a student". With what?! His finger nail? Are you fucking serious?! This little boy was sent to the Principal's office three times in one day for making a cutting motion with his fingers like scissors (WTF?! Don't people know that finger scissors don't cut anything?!) and making "hand gun" gestures. Because the school believes it was a threat of gun violence. He's six years old. He barely understands what a gun is.

 Obviously these adults don't remember Uncle Joey from Full House.

When six year old boys are suspended for making hand gun gestures with their hands while playing cops and robbers, I think we're overreacting. They. Are. Boys. Next you're going to tell them that the mud puddle they want to splash in will blow up and kill them all. Cops and robbers doesn't work as well without the hand gun motions. Besides, it wasn't like one kid was chasing the other with a baseball bat. Just sayin'.

What are we doing to our kids? These little ones will one day run the world. Do you think it's going to help them by forcing a psych evaluation on a 5 year old for her Hello Kitty bubble phase? What about the 5th grader who had been called a murderer over a piece of paper? How will this affect her in the long run? These kids are forced to pay for some random asshole's insanity and trigger happy finger. The kids are not the problem. Their play-acting is not the problem. We adults are the problem. Our propensity for overreacting is the problem. Our lack of healthcare for mental illness is the problem. Loopholes in gun control laws are the problem.

What happened in Newtown was a tragedy through and through. But it wasn't a kid's fault. No child died at the hands of another child in this tragedy. They died because a mentally ill adult had some kind of psychotic break and he wanted to inflict the most pain possible.

A 5 year old wanting to shoot bubbles from a pink bubble blower is not the problem. A 6 year old playing cops and robbers is not the problem. A 10 year old with a piece of paper that could easily be an "L" for all we really know, is not the problem.

The problem is the adults. We're not letting the kids be kids anymore. The world is constantly changing, sometimes for the worse. But kids should always be allowed to be kids. Simply put.

The next time those schools (or any school) have an issue like this, they should make it an educational opportunity. Not a lynching.

*steps off of soapbox*