Ok, OUCH!?

1. The Cure is a Shot in the Ass

Well turns out my pancreatitis really wasn't pancreatitis . Are we suprised? No. Anyway, I went into urgent care on the Sunday following my self-diagnosis as the pain was still there and not improving. I get every test they can probably do at that urgent care facility - EKG (which was like nothing but some thingies pasted to parts of your body and you sit there for maybe 5 seconds and that's it. Very anti-climactic.), blood test, urine test, ribe cage x-ray, etc. They conclude it's something muscular (after 3 hours of this). At this point, I'm feeling a little sheepish with my internal organ failure theory. Anyway, so the nurse tells me the doctor has prescribed a pain medicine shot (torodol) along with a prescription for NSAIDS. She tells me that it can burn so the best place to deliver the shot is in my hip (which is really the upper part of my butt). OK. Expose the upper part of my ass, here comes the shot. Holy Ow! Wow. I mean, at first you feel the pinch, ok, whatever. But then a wave of burning pain in your "hip" comes about 3 seconds later and lasts a good minute. Believe it or not , it is now 10 days later and when I press on the area, it hurts. And this pain stuff took an hour to do any good for my back/side pain. Seemed like a good way to take my mind of the back pain and deflect it to my butt.

Anyway, it is better now, not completely, but mostly. I can go back to my Ashtanga yoga and teaching without grimacing so it's close to 100% in my book.

2. To Obama or Not to Obama.

Where to begin. I am really at a loss on what to think about the upcoming primary. I am not gungo-ho AT ALL about any of the candidates. I wish Gore would just ante-up and get into the race already. Basically, 8 years of dubya have made me extremely risk-averse. And by that I mean, I am scared to back a candidate that mainstream America might not accept (i.e. woman or African American). We are a country that has so far to go on social equality - sure the metropolitan areas are a different story where diversity is more prevalent. However, the rest of the country consists of small towns that are predominantly white and Christian. Will they vote for a woman? Not sure, especially if she is Hillary Clinton. A black man? Again, not sure. So I am gun shy on the both of them.

The thing with Obama is that there is alot of "buzz" surrounding him. He is the "hip" candidate - he is in his early 40s, intelligent and handsome, focused and driven. R&B and rap industry artists name drop him in songs - I mean, while it's refreshing and kinda cool - is it viable? And by that I mean, is this publicity we are seeing from Hollywood and the music industry truly a reflection of sustainable popularity that will result in a candidate with the ability to beat a white, Christian Republican male?

This is the rub. I really don't know that I want to vote for Edwards but the thought of 4 more years with a Republican president makes me seriously consider it.

3. Latest Home Improvement Idea (I must say, I am v. proud of this one!)

I would post a Visio diagram of my latest idea if I could but I don't have it and the new company computer doesn't have it either :o( It's ok though, my drawings are pretty good! Anyway, I think the best improvement project is a kitchen expansion - a small addition to the first floor adjacent to the dining room and nook area. It'll be an extra 130 sf which by just $/sf adds close to 40K in home value, but I am hoping the project will cost 25K or less (since we would be doing alot of the work ourselves, like installing the cabinets and tile counters, as well as tiling the floors - these are items that cost alot in labor!). So, when the new job settles a little I will see about getting some estimates from general contractors on how much a "just walls with electric and plumbing rough-ins" 130 sf addition would cost. I am hopeful it is doable because I am desperately in need of more space in the kitchen (it's like 80 sf right now) and it's really cramped in the dining "nook" area (with the dog food bin and bowls and such). Then pool will be after that (hoping that the addition will add enough value to the house that a 3rd mortgage or a refi of the 2nd will result in some additional capital (without maxing out to 100% LTV - want to keep it at 90% LTV) that could be used for the backyard pool project).

4. The Neighbors are Nocturnal... [harumph!]

Yeah, we thought it was just their rambunctious, inconsiderate, college-aged son that was going to be disturbing our sleep at 1am with parties but in reality he is more considerate than his middle-aged parents. He chose to have his loud get-together on a Saturday night when it's not that bad to be kept up because you can catch up on Sunday. His parents, instead, chose to do it on a Thursday night (um, work night!!!?). Apparently, their daughter and 2 young children arrived that night and they just HAD to use the pool... at MIDNIGHT! It's great to be sound asleep, in REM sleep no less, and be woken up by yelling little boys. Now, she had mentioned that the previous owners did not like it when they had "night swims". Um, to me, a "night swim" is not 1am nor does it involve yelling. That's just rude.

So, at this point, if my dogs bother them with barking during the daylight hours, they can EAT ME because I have to put up with "night swimming".