The air traffic controller at the island of Lesbos, Greece was sleeping on the job leaving 2 planes to circle the island while trying to get in contact with him. He was suspended for days.
This was obviously interesting because of the location. What would have happened if the planes ran out of fuel?!?!?
A girl in Australia is suffering from being blind 3 days out of 6. Every 3 days her eyes close unwillingly and she can't open them. Then after 3 days they open again. While they are closed she can see with her left eye. While they are open she has a lazy eye. She was treated with botox earlier making her able to see 5 days out of 6. Now it's not working anymore so she and her doctors are looking into other treatments.
This is scary. One day she woke up and couldn't open her eyes...I hope that's not the case with my foot. It started with waking up one day and hurting without no apparent reason!
This is the BEST: Sarah Palin thinks that Dinosaurs and humans lived side by side in the same era!
For my geoscience class we are doing a mock proposal for a science grant. We need to come up with a proposal for a study, something that could be done realistically. One of the criterion to be considered is how will your study/research educate people? Our professor showed a study made about how much American people know about science and one of the questions was did humans and dinosaurs live at the same time! So this is priceless!!!
USA is screwed if McCain and Palin win the election! McCain could drop dead any minute now and then there would be this crazy Alaskan in charge with NO actual experience! Oh my! GO OBAMA!
BTW, Palin want to teach kids creationism so it's no wonder she's a little looney!
More later or not!
12:26, back for more.
I just read that a religious leader in Pakistan has declared "Fatwa" for the president of the country for meeting with Sarah Palin in NYC. Now I can understand that religious leader wouldn't be happy about the meeting but wanting someone dead for that? That's a overkill...Unless he was trying to educate her what's really going on in the world. and when Dinosaurs were on earth. And about how the war in Iraq is not a mission from God. And how Tina Fey would be better qualified to be the VP than she is. And how abstinence did not get her daughter pregnant. You know, little things.
Just saying.
I don't know how this became about Sarah Palin today BUT...it's too easy.
Apparently her daughter Bristol, 17, who is pregnant and unmarried is planning on getting married before the presidential election. She will be 18 in October so after she turns 18 they will get married. After the whole pregnancy scandal the republicans insisted that they want the candidates' kids to be left out of the campaigning and from the limelight. Now they are planning on televised wedding for Bristol to boost their image and get the undecided voters on their side. Now only republicans can spin out-of-wedlock-pregnancy from a ultra religious, abstinence preaching family into a good thing. Or try. Lets hope the Americans, well MAJORITY of Americans are wiser than that.
The first debate between McCain and Obama was last Friday (?) and T was watching it. I was on my computer my back turned to the TV because my blood starts to boil whenever I see either one of the Republicans. I was trying to focus on what was on my screen and my homework but I couldn't help but hear what was being said. McCain was clearly in trouble many times and was getting frustrated and Obama was poised and knew what he was talking about. What I remember from the debate was that many times McCain used the word "maverick" (which will make me never to support the Dallas Mavericks in NBA) and how he repeated over and over again how he has "fought" against Bush's policies...and how he got frustrated when Obama called him on those occasions. Obama CLEARLY won that debate but the next day you could read from reviews that it wasn't as clear cut as that. Fox news channel analyst (Fox news channel is MAJOR republican spinning channel) was saying how he tought McCain got his point across and did really well...which universe is he living in?!?!?
Also, one thing I can't understand is how McCain is using his time as prisoner of war in his campaign. It seems like EVERYONE who has ever been in the war, little less POW is NOT willing to talk about the experience and would much rather forget about the whole thing. Here he is talking about how that experience would make him the perfect candidate to be the commander-in-chief...HOW THE HELL DO YOU FIGURE THAT?!?? So just because Obama has not been POW makes him LESS qualified to be the president? right. Wake up...
PHEW! I feel much better after this little rant.
Later
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
quote of the day
I wanted to do this section on my blog called "X of the day" which can be something funny I saw, heard today, something interesting or a quote or whatever that I just wanna share. Today in my geoscience class (we were talking about how oil is formed) I heard something that I thought was true, so the quote of the day is:
It's not about the hard shell, it's about what's underneath it.
Obviously this has nothing to do with oil.
It's not about the hard shell, it's about what's underneath it.
Obviously this has nothing to do with oil.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Few minutes to spare
I have about 15 minutes before I need to leave. Right now I'm in the office but my workday is over. I'm waiting for my 5 o'clock handicap bus to come to pick me up! c") I called the bus service on campus today to schedule my pick ups from work and from after class and today is the first day! YAY! I feel so special!
On Mondays and Tuesdays they will pick me up from work at 5 and take me to my classes. At 8:15, they'll come to pick me up again and take me to the train station from where T will come pick me up. The campus is crazy at 8pm and it takes time to sit in traffic to get away from here so this is a good solution for now. After my foot gets better, if it gets better, I will take the train from campus and T will pick me up from station closer to home.
Working and taking classes is a little bit of a challenge. This is the first time I've done it and managing time is an issue for me. I think everyone who knows me knows that I've never been one to do a lot of homework or studying but now I have to. Do homework at least. I sometimes cut corners on reading but as long as homework gets done it's all good. And unfortunately I can't be lazy because 2/3 classes have group projects and I can't exactly let down my group. SHIT! And the classes have strict deadlines too...I have 1 paper due next week. Doing some research for it now. Well I did anyway.
Work is much more demanding than it was during the summer. I was told by my fellow student assistant that it's a good time to do homework. Do research, print out papers, articles, read etc. Yeah, right! It's not demanding in a way that it would be difficult because it's not but there's a constant flow of new things to do. I guess I should be happy about it since some are out of work or don't have much work to be done during the day. And it pays the rent. Somewhat.
Gotta go now, bus will be here soon.
Later
On Mondays and Tuesdays they will pick me up from work at 5 and take me to my classes. At 8:15, they'll come to pick me up again and take me to the train station from where T will come pick me up. The campus is crazy at 8pm and it takes time to sit in traffic to get away from here so this is a good solution for now. After my foot gets better, if it gets better, I will take the train from campus and T will pick me up from station closer to home.
Working and taking classes is a little bit of a challenge. This is the first time I've done it and managing time is an issue for me. I think everyone who knows me knows that I've never been one to do a lot of homework or studying but now I have to. Do homework at least. I sometimes cut corners on reading but as long as homework gets done it's all good. And unfortunately I can't be lazy because 2/3 classes have group projects and I can't exactly let down my group. SHIT! And the classes have strict deadlines too...I have 1 paper due next week. Doing some research for it now. Well I did anyway.
Work is much more demanding than it was during the summer. I was told by my fellow student assistant that it's a good time to do homework. Do research, print out papers, articles, read etc. Yeah, right! It's not demanding in a way that it would be difficult because it's not but there's a constant flow of new things to do. I guess I should be happy about it since some are out of work or don't have much work to be done during the day. And it pays the rent. Somewhat.
Gotta go now, bus will be here soon.
Later
Fall my ass
Fall was supposed to be here. We turned off the A/C because it was supposed to get cooler and we could keep the place cool by having the windows open. yeah right. For the past few days it's been hot and humid, there was supposed to be a big storm but other than rain there really wasn't anything to it. We've had the windows open but it doesn't help. Yesterday and today we have cooked like crazy. I'm not home during the night from Monday to Wednesday because I have classes and since T is picking me up from school (while I'm crippled) she doesn't have time to cook either and we both need lunches to work so we decided to use Saturdays as days for cooking. Why not use Sundays you ask? Well, it's reserved for watching football! All though today I did cook like a maniac because the Eagles game isn't on until 8. I finished my homework earlier today and then cooked. Which is why it's so hot in here. The stove was on for hours!
I had my MRI on Friday night. I was in a tube for 25 minutes listening to music and checking my watch every 5 minutes thinking it had died on me. It was a birthday gift from T so that would have been really bad! Thankfully it was only the magnetic field that stopped it for while I was inside. Afterwards it was working like a new. The pictures will be sent to my doctor who I guess will call me. So I don't know when I will get the results. I can tell you that it hasn't gone away and it's been 5 weeks. Now it's starting to hurt my ankle too.
We went grocery and other shopping on Friday and Saturday. First to BJ's to buy toilet paper etc. BJ's is like tukku but for people instead of businesses. You pay 40 bucks a year for the membership and the foot etc is cheaper than in a supermarket. We went a little overboard and few hundred bucks later came out of the store. oops! Then on Saturday we went to the farmers market. We both love the produce from there and the prices BUT it's like a ZOO!!! tons of old folk pumping into you with their carts. Ouch! and T with her short fuse...you need to get her away from there quickly!
So as you can see, nothing much going on here. Now we're waiting for the Eagles game to start and then tomorrow back to work and school. I want the Eagles to win for obvious reasons but I also need over 10 points from the kicker since I'm 10 points behind in fantasy football and I WANT TO WIN!!!
Let's go EAGLES!
Later
I had my MRI on Friday night. I was in a tube for 25 minutes listening to music and checking my watch every 5 minutes thinking it had died on me. It was a birthday gift from T so that would have been really bad! Thankfully it was only the magnetic field that stopped it for while I was inside. Afterwards it was working like a new. The pictures will be sent to my doctor who I guess will call me. So I don't know when I will get the results. I can tell you that it hasn't gone away and it's been 5 weeks. Now it's starting to hurt my ankle too.
We went grocery and other shopping on Friday and Saturday. First to BJ's to buy toilet paper etc. BJ's is like tukku but for people instead of businesses. You pay 40 bucks a year for the membership and the foot etc is cheaper than in a supermarket. We went a little overboard and few hundred bucks later came out of the store. oops! Then on Saturday we went to the farmers market. We both love the produce from there and the prices BUT it's like a ZOO!!! tons of old folk pumping into you with their carts. Ouch! and T with her short fuse...you need to get her away from there quickly!
So as you can see, nothing much going on here. Now we're waiting for the Eagles game to start and then tomorrow back to work and school. I want the Eagles to win for obvious reasons but I also need over 10 points from the kicker since I'm 10 points behind in fantasy football and I WANT TO WIN!!!
Let's go EAGLES!
Later
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Fall is here
Or so it seems. The weather is definitely cooler, or as T would say, nipply. It's great for me since crutches make you sweat like crazy, especially if it's hot and sunny and your carrying a heavy backpack . So I'm happy about that.
The cooler weather also means that people are wearing warmer clothes; the jeans, long sleeves and sweatshirts come out. But there are still some people, mostly men who resist and wear shorts. Yesterday I was at the student center studying before my class started and was looking at people passing by. There were girls who were clearly happy to be wearing something other than shorts. Then a guy wearing sport shorts and a sweatshirt came by. It kinda still is shorts weather if you are outside and it's sunny but when it dark it definitely is not shorts weather anymore. And the classrooms are NOT warm. When the A/C is on, it is friggin cold! But anyway, back to this guy. I was looking at his choice of clothes and thinking to myself "your upper body is cold but your legs are not. Why?" I know for me when I wear shorts in a classroom when the A/C is on, it is cold and having a sweatshirt isn't helping. Your legs need to be covered too. So I looked at his legs and they were hairy. Does body hair really keep you warm? Does it keep your legs warm but not your arms? And this led to me thinking about evolution...Supposedly thousands of years ago when our ancestors were populating the earth they didn't have all these fancy and warm clothes so they needed the body hair. Over the years, millenniums and decades we have lost most of it, not all though. Supposedly the traits that humans had back then were all needed and over the years some have disappeared because those traits are no longer needed. Like our corner teeth. Once upon a time we didn't have knifes and forks to cut our meet so it was necessary to have sharp teeth to eat meet. No it's not anymore...but we still have them. They're not as sharp as they used to but the shape is still visible. Why do we have them? Why do we have body hair that doesn't seem to have any use anymore? And why do some people have more than others? Why do men have more than women? Why? If anybody knows the answer, you're free to tell me.
There's a type of bunny in Finland (I call it a bunny because I don't know the English name for it, in Finnish it is Rusakko) which is brown during the summer and white during the winter. Why, you ask? Because that's its camouflage.Being brown during the summer makes it easier for it to hide from its predators and same in the winter. If you're white they can't see you from the snow. Why is it like this? Because if it wasn't able to adapt, it wouldn't be here anymore.evolution. So why do people still have hairy legs and arms when we don't need them anymore? Why do men have beards? And why do people have hair on their head? And no T, I am not saying we shouldn't have hair on our heads I'm just asking what's the purpose.
One area where evolution has NOT reach is insurance companies. I had a little episode with my MRI place and the insurance company today and they almost cancelled my appointment so I'm a little on edge right now. I've never in my life called the insurance company so many times as I've done these past few weeks. But hopefully it'll settle down. The good news is I can go to a chiropractor and have my back cracked without having to see a doctor first. I just want them to twist and pull and tie my back into a knot! I don't care, just fix me!
The cooler weather also means that people are wearing warmer clothes; the jeans, long sleeves and sweatshirts come out. But there are still some people, mostly men who resist and wear shorts. Yesterday I was at the student center studying before my class started and was looking at people passing by. There were girls who were clearly happy to be wearing something other than shorts. Then a guy wearing sport shorts and a sweatshirt came by. It kinda still is shorts weather if you are outside and it's sunny but when it dark it definitely is not shorts weather anymore. And the classrooms are NOT warm. When the A/C is on, it is friggin cold! But anyway, back to this guy. I was looking at his choice of clothes and thinking to myself "your upper body is cold but your legs are not. Why?" I know for me when I wear shorts in a classroom when the A/C is on, it is cold and having a sweatshirt isn't helping. Your legs need to be covered too. So I looked at his legs and they were hairy. Does body hair really keep you warm? Does it keep your legs warm but not your arms? And this led to me thinking about evolution...Supposedly thousands of years ago when our ancestors were populating the earth they didn't have all these fancy and warm clothes so they needed the body hair. Over the years, millenniums and decades we have lost most of it, not all though. Supposedly the traits that humans had back then were all needed and over the years some have disappeared because those traits are no longer needed. Like our corner teeth. Once upon a time we didn't have knifes and forks to cut our meet so it was necessary to have sharp teeth to eat meet. No it's not anymore...but we still have them. They're not as sharp as they used to but the shape is still visible. Why do we have them? Why do we have body hair that doesn't seem to have any use anymore? And why do some people have more than others? Why do men have more than women? Why? If anybody knows the answer, you're free to tell me.
There's a type of bunny in Finland (I call it a bunny because I don't know the English name for it, in Finnish it is Rusakko) which is brown during the summer and white during the winter. Why, you ask? Because that's its camouflage.Being brown during the summer makes it easier for it to hide from its predators and same in the winter. If you're white they can't see you from the snow. Why is it like this? Because if it wasn't able to adapt, it wouldn't be here anymore.evolution. So why do people still have hairy legs and arms when we don't need them anymore? Why do men have beards? And why do people have hair on their head? And no T, I am not saying we shouldn't have hair on our heads I'm just asking what's the purpose.
One area where evolution has NOT reach is insurance companies. I had a little episode with my MRI place and the insurance company today and they almost cancelled my appointment so I'm a little on edge right now. I've never in my life called the insurance company so many times as I've done these past few weeks. But hopefully it'll settle down. The good news is I can go to a chiropractor and have my back cracked without having to see a doctor first. I just want them to twist and pull and tie my back into a knot! I don't care, just fix me!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Trying to stay awake
I'm at work, well at the office and I'm trying to stay awake. My work hours officially ended 20 minutes ago and now I'm biding time until my class starts at 8pm. Since I'm on crutches it's very difficult to go anywhere so I decided to stay in the office and do some homework etc.
Right now I feel like I could take a nap. I don't know why all of a sudden I'm so tired. School's been going on for few weeks now and I've been working 3 or 4 days a week. I get decent enough hours of sleep, usually at least 7 if not more but it seems like I had none last night, which I did. Weird. I'm having a cup of coffee from my awesome penguin thermos but it hasn't kicked in yet.
I'm surprised that not many people have asked/ commented on the school shooting yesterday. I think 2 people asked me about it yesterday and today my co-worker commented on it. Last year when the Jokela tragedy happened, people from left and right were telling me about it. Might also be because I was living in the dorm and had a Norwegian roommate. Obviously the newspapers there were running the story.
Reading the articles here about Kauhajoki are very misleading, as I'm sure a lot of the other articles about other places and happenings are. I have read them on Yahoo which gives the impression that everyone in Finland owns a gun and knows how to shoot and go hunting. As far as I know, none of my family members or friends own a gun. I don't have one. I've never been hunting and it's not something we do in my family/ circle of friends. The picture the articles give is that everyone has a hand gun and is carrying it with them all the time. Now I have a picture of wild west in my mind. That's not the Finland I know. That's not the people I know. I don't think hunting is something that you just pick up by yourself. You either need to have family traditions or know a person who hunts. I'm so clueless when it comes to hunting that I'm not even sure what exactly people can hunt in my neck of woods. Moose, yes. some birds, yes. ( Don't know the birds English name so we just call it a bird). We don't have bear or wolf problem so those are out. I think it's more of something that people in the east and north do, not in the south from where I am. That is not to say that the people living in eastern or northern Finland are more barbarians that we in the south are but the article was very generalized. There might be 5 million of us but it doesn't mean we're all alike.
I know there's a store that sells guns in my home town. I've never been there though. I don't know what the procedure is to buy a gun if there is one. I was told by my co-worker that apparently we can buy a gun at 15. If that's the truth then we need to do something about it. I've never even thought about buying one, I guess I've been lucky to have been living in areas where guns were not needed. I don't really know what to think of all this except that I'm disappointed that this is the picture that is given of Finland. It's a tragedy on it's own, what happened in Jokela and in Kauhajoki, but it's also not fun to open up your computer and see that when Finland is in news here, it's because of something like this. That's how I started my day yesterday and I was not happy about it. And no, this is not about me so please don't take it like that.
I'm not sure if any of that made any sense but I just needed to unload.
I went to see my advisor today because I need to apply for a final audit by Oct. 3rd. I'm not really sure how the whole school/ college system works here but I need to have a final audit to determine that I have enough credits to graduate and that those credits are from courses that are relevant to my major field of study. My advisor said I am on schedule and shouldn't have any problems. Obviously I will need to pass my courses for this and next semester and pass the comprehensive test in March but overall I'm on schedule to graduate next May. Then it's time to find a job. Ugh!
Right now I feel like I could take a nap. I don't know why all of a sudden I'm so tired. School's been going on for few weeks now and I've been working 3 or 4 days a week. I get decent enough hours of sleep, usually at least 7 if not more but it seems like I had none last night, which I did. Weird. I'm having a cup of coffee from my awesome penguin thermos but it hasn't kicked in yet.
I'm surprised that not many people have asked/ commented on the school shooting yesterday. I think 2 people asked me about it yesterday and today my co-worker commented on it. Last year when the Jokela tragedy happened, people from left and right were telling me about it. Might also be because I was living in the dorm and had a Norwegian roommate. Obviously the newspapers there were running the story.
Reading the articles here about Kauhajoki are very misleading, as I'm sure a lot of the other articles about other places and happenings are. I have read them on Yahoo which gives the impression that everyone in Finland owns a gun and knows how to shoot and go hunting. As far as I know, none of my family members or friends own a gun. I don't have one. I've never been hunting and it's not something we do in my family/ circle of friends. The picture the articles give is that everyone has a hand gun and is carrying it with them all the time. Now I have a picture of wild west in my mind. That's not the Finland I know. That's not the people I know. I don't think hunting is something that you just pick up by yourself. You either need to have family traditions or know a person who hunts. I'm so clueless when it comes to hunting that I'm not even sure what exactly people can hunt in my neck of woods. Moose, yes. some birds, yes. ( Don't know the birds English name so we just call it a bird). We don't have bear or wolf problem so those are out. I think it's more of something that people in the east and north do, not in the south from where I am. That is not to say that the people living in eastern or northern Finland are more barbarians that we in the south are but the article was very generalized. There might be 5 million of us but it doesn't mean we're all alike.
I know there's a store that sells guns in my home town. I've never been there though. I don't know what the procedure is to buy a gun if there is one. I was told by my co-worker that apparently we can buy a gun at 15. If that's the truth then we need to do something about it. I've never even thought about buying one, I guess I've been lucky to have been living in areas where guns were not needed. I don't really know what to think of all this except that I'm disappointed that this is the picture that is given of Finland. It's a tragedy on it's own, what happened in Jokela and in Kauhajoki, but it's also not fun to open up your computer and see that when Finland is in news here, it's because of something like this. That's how I started my day yesterday and I was not happy about it. And no, this is not about me so please don't take it like that.
I'm not sure if any of that made any sense but I just needed to unload.
I went to see my advisor today because I need to apply for a final audit by Oct. 3rd. I'm not really sure how the whole school/ college system works here but I need to have a final audit to determine that I have enough credits to graduate and that those credits are from courses that are relevant to my major field of study. My advisor said I am on schedule and shouldn't have any problems. Obviously I will need to pass my courses for this and next semester and pass the comprehensive test in March but overall I'm on schedule to graduate next May. Then it's time to find a job. Ugh!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Kauhajoki
My condolences for everyone affected by the school shooting today. These things should not happen ever, anywhere.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Holy football sunday
The title is strictly for Elviira who voted for me to recognize Sunday as a holy football Sunday! Which it is...today we won't be going anywhere, we're just gonna watch football...3 games in a row. First it's the Giants and Bengals at 1, then our Eagles take on the Steelers at 4 and the last game of the day is at 8, Green Bay and Dallas. I need to do a little homework at some point but that won't take long. I hope....
Yesterday was fun but a long day. We were supposed to go apple picking with T's dad, sisters and brothers and their wives but with my foot that was impossible so we went to the BBQ afterwards. T had a hair appointment before noon and while she got a haircut I was reading in the car. Had to use the little free time that was available yesterday for homework.
We got to her dad's after 12 and stayed there until about 4. It was good times, seeing her sisters is always fun and talking with Victoria is like talking with an adult. She's wise beyond her years! She's only ten but you would never know it by talking to her. We ate burgers, salad, some chips and had few beers. It was probably one of the last chances for this summer to have a BBQ because the weather was nice. It's starting to get a little chillier, there's a crispness in the air now. It's way warmer than in Finland, don't get me wrong, but it has been so warm/hot for so long here that it's kinda weird having to have long sleeves on. For me it will be good because being on crutches and it being hot is not a good combination! No gym needed, sweating is part of every day life...
After leaving her dad's we went to her mom's. T had promised her cousin Erin that we'd go check out her new place so we stopped by there. We sat down for awhile, played with her kitty Lucky and went back to Erin's mom's place to have pizza before getting back on the road. We had planned on doing some shopping as well but were too tired and just came home.
That's about it, nothing exciting here. Now I will need to go watch football and put on the fantasy football website! I'm gonna win this week! I can feel it!
Later
Correction: I had few beers yesterday, T was driving and didn't have any.
Yesterday was fun but a long day. We were supposed to go apple picking with T's dad, sisters and brothers and their wives but with my foot that was impossible so we went to the BBQ afterwards. T had a hair appointment before noon and while she got a haircut I was reading in the car. Had to use the little free time that was available yesterday for homework.
We got to her dad's after 12 and stayed there until about 4. It was good times, seeing her sisters is always fun and talking with Victoria is like talking with an adult. She's wise beyond her years! She's only ten but you would never know it by talking to her. We ate burgers, salad, some chips and had few beers. It was probably one of the last chances for this summer to have a BBQ because the weather was nice. It's starting to get a little chillier, there's a crispness in the air now. It's way warmer than in Finland, don't get me wrong, but it has been so warm/hot for so long here that it's kinda weird having to have long sleeves on. For me it will be good because being on crutches and it being hot is not a good combination! No gym needed, sweating is part of every day life...
After leaving her dad's we went to her mom's. T had promised her cousin Erin that we'd go check out her new place so we stopped by there. We sat down for awhile, played with her kitty Lucky and went back to Erin's mom's place to have pizza before getting back on the road. We had planned on doing some shopping as well but were too tired and just came home.
That's about it, nothing exciting here. Now I will need to go watch football and put on the fantasy football website! I'm gonna win this week! I can feel it!
Later
Correction: I had few beers yesterday, T was driving and didn't have any.
Friday, September 19, 2008
It's done
I just scheduled my MRI. It'll be next Friday at 7pm. I called 2 places, the first I called last Monday and since I don't have my insurance card the receptionist was going back and forth from phone to her boss but I got disconnected so I decided to wait till I knew what's going on with my insurance.
I called my insurance company and they said they'd be happy to give any information to the MRI place should they wanna call. So today I called back to this place, which is in Clifton, less than 5 miles, 7,5km from us. Someone else answered and as I telling her my insurance situation she said I should call my Doctor and and have them make the appointment for me as they don't call insurance companies...bullshit but they just lost a client so it's their loss.
I was not about to call my Doctor because a) they wouldn't know when is a good time for me and b) it's easier for me to do it. I don't only have to factor in MY availability but T's as well. T already took this Monday off to take me to the doctor so I wasn't about to have her take more time off if it wasn't absolutely necessary! So I decided to call the next place on my list. After I gave her my information and explained the situation, she took my insurance company's phone number and said It was all good, I have the appointment at 7pm next Friday and hopefully we can go from there to getting to know what's wrong with my foot. I'm so relieved that all this insurance BS is behind me.
I don't have school or work on Friday's so I'm home chilling right now. Right now I have the TV on, the Ryder Cup in the background. USA is leading Europe 3-1 after the morning round. We need to make a comeback! Go Europe!
The cats are sleeping, as always. Sox has a whole couch just for herself, she's sleeping in the middle of it just so that no-one, namely me or Bailey right now, can have a seat there. Bailey is on top of a cushion on the other couch where she usually hangs out. It must be hard being a cat...sleep, eat, poop, play and be cute...Take over the place. Oh yeah, one thing i forgot was clean yourself. Sox is OCD about that, she now is cleaning the area between her back toes/paws/claws. Bailey is just bored with golf.
I have few articles I need to read for my Monday's class and some other homework to do. We bought a printer on Monday which we haven't been able to get to work just yet so I might have to work on that as well. Tomorrow's gonna be a busy day away from home, we have a BBQ at T's dad's, maybe go see her cousin Erin's new place and then dinner with her mom. Sunday obviously is a whole day football day so homework will be hard to do...And there's not much time for homework at work so I better get to it! But before that I'll go fold the laundry. Exciting stuff!
Later
I called my insurance company and they said they'd be happy to give any information to the MRI place should they wanna call. So today I called back to this place, which is in Clifton, less than 5 miles, 7,5km from us. Someone else answered and as I telling her my insurance situation she said I should call my Doctor and and have them make the appointment for me as they don't call insurance companies...bullshit but they just lost a client so it's their loss.
I was not about to call my Doctor because a) they wouldn't know when is a good time for me and b) it's easier for me to do it. I don't only have to factor in MY availability but T's as well. T already took this Monday off to take me to the doctor so I wasn't about to have her take more time off if it wasn't absolutely necessary! So I decided to call the next place on my list. After I gave her my information and explained the situation, she took my insurance company's phone number and said It was all good, I have the appointment at 7pm next Friday and hopefully we can go from there to getting to know what's wrong with my foot. I'm so relieved that all this insurance BS is behind me.
I don't have school or work on Friday's so I'm home chilling right now. Right now I have the TV on, the Ryder Cup in the background. USA is leading Europe 3-1 after the morning round. We need to make a comeback! Go Europe!
The cats are sleeping, as always. Sox has a whole couch just for herself, she's sleeping in the middle of it just so that no-one, namely me or Bailey right now, can have a seat there. Bailey is on top of a cushion on the other couch where she usually hangs out. It must be hard being a cat...sleep, eat, poop, play and be cute...Take over the place. Oh yeah, one thing i forgot was clean yourself. Sox is OCD about that, she now is cleaning the area between her back toes/paws/claws. Bailey is just bored with golf.
I have few articles I need to read for my Monday's class and some other homework to do. We bought a printer on Monday which we haven't been able to get to work just yet so I might have to work on that as well. Tomorrow's gonna be a busy day away from home, we have a BBQ at T's dad's, maybe go see her cousin Erin's new place and then dinner with her mom. Sunday obviously is a whole day football day so homework will be hard to do...And there's not much time for homework at work so I better get to it! But before that I'll go fold the laundry. Exciting stuff!
Later
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
If you are squeemish, don't read any further!
I hope this is not as sappy as a blog I read every once in awhile. It has potential and I can't promise anything so if sugar's not your thing, I'm sorry about that. Boo to the hoo as T would say.
Other than the foot (and back) problem(s) that has been a topic of posts recently, I've never been happier in my life. I feel like I'm finally me and completely comfortable with who and what I am. I feel like I'm on a path that I'm supposed to be, living the life I'm supposed to have. Ever since T and I met, things have worked out for me (us) in a sense that when changed needed to be made, they happened, sometimes effortlessly and sometimes it took some maneuvering, but I'm here, I am on track to graduate next May, I have time on my visa to find a job and most of all, I'm with her. We have a great apartment together, we have a ton of fun together and we share the same vision as to what we want from our future. I am not a poet so I don't have anything original to say so I'll use words so many other people used before me: She completes me. As personalities go, we are quite opposite. She's outgoing, I'm an introvert but somehow when we're together we bring out the good in each other. It's something I can't explain but I just feel like I'm home with her. She is my home. I left my home in Finland to be with her and I haven't regretted it. Home is not about property, home is not about land, home is not about nice shiny things. It's a feeling of total happiness. Of course I miss my family and friends in Finland and wish I could talk and see them more often but you have to make some sacrifices when you fall in love with a person from another country. I wasn't happy being by myself the months leading up to my move here and being so far away from T so being here now, with her, is definitely worth it all. She makes me laugh every day, she keeps me grounded and she makes me fall in love with her deeper every day. Twice this week I've just wanted to go home and hug her like there's no tomorrow. Wouldn't have helped since she was at work at the time and in NYC, but you know what I mean.
There are also days when I don't understand her at all and I wish there was a manual on how to interpret her but I'm learning. There are some cultural differences that make some of the things she does seem strange to me and some of the things I do strange to her but we're learning to accept the diversity. She doesn't like salmiakki which is not bad as there is more salmiakki for me (not that you can go to your local grocery store and buy super salmiakki but when I get shipments from Finland they are ALL MINE!!!) and I don't like chocolate so there's more for her. Works out perfectly!
We both love sports. She's introduced me to American football and baseball. Almost every night we have some kind of game on TV and when we have a chance, we go to see live games. (Ticket prices here are high though, at least compared to Finland but the players also make more money so I guess we need to pay their salaries...) Right now it's getting to the end of baseball season, the playoffs are around the corner and football season just started 2 weeks ago. Ice hockey and basketball will soon follow. Football, or soccer as they call it here is getting closer to the end of the season as well. We saw David Beckham play at Giant stadium in July. It was awesome! T's first live David Beckham experience. I'm a seasoned veteran! LOL! Baseball is on almost very night, the season is like 160 games long! It is not on my fave sports list but we watch the Mets try to secure a playoff place...T's blood is boiling right now.
I really like American football. The Eagles have started their season well even though they lost to the cowgirls on Monday BUT, they played well and they are gonna do really well this season. And the added excitement from fantasy football...it's so much fun!
Ice hockey is not a big deal in USA unless your in a specific hockey oriented area. Living close to NYC, there is 2 baseball teams, 2 football team, 2 ice hockey teams and 2 basketball teams...I'm reading the Finnish newspapers every day trying to keep up with what's going on there and in Europe. They have not mentioned Teemu Selanne coming back here, I guess it's not of any importance here. But I'm rambling...
I hope I wasn't too sappy or sounded like I'm off my meds. I just wanted to let everyone know I am really happy with my life.
I think it might be time to do some work...later.
Other than the foot (and back) problem(s) that has been a topic of posts recently, I've never been happier in my life. I feel like I'm finally me and completely comfortable with who and what I am. I feel like I'm on a path that I'm supposed to be, living the life I'm supposed to have. Ever since T and I met, things have worked out for me (us) in a sense that when changed needed to be made, they happened, sometimes effortlessly and sometimes it took some maneuvering, but I'm here, I am on track to graduate next May, I have time on my visa to find a job and most of all, I'm with her. We have a great apartment together, we have a ton of fun together and we share the same vision as to what we want from our future. I am not a poet so I don't have anything original to say so I'll use words so many other people used before me: She completes me. As personalities go, we are quite opposite. She's outgoing, I'm an introvert but somehow when we're together we bring out the good in each other. It's something I can't explain but I just feel like I'm home with her. She is my home. I left my home in Finland to be with her and I haven't regretted it. Home is not about property, home is not about land, home is not about nice shiny things. It's a feeling of total happiness. Of course I miss my family and friends in Finland and wish I could talk and see them more often but you have to make some sacrifices when you fall in love with a person from another country. I wasn't happy being by myself the months leading up to my move here and being so far away from T so being here now, with her, is definitely worth it all. She makes me laugh every day, she keeps me grounded and she makes me fall in love with her deeper every day. Twice this week I've just wanted to go home and hug her like there's no tomorrow. Wouldn't have helped since she was at work at the time and in NYC, but you know what I mean.
There are also days when I don't understand her at all and I wish there was a manual on how to interpret her but I'm learning. There are some cultural differences that make some of the things she does seem strange to me and some of the things I do strange to her but we're learning to accept the diversity. She doesn't like salmiakki which is not bad as there is more salmiakki for me (not that you can go to your local grocery store and buy super salmiakki but when I get shipments from Finland they are ALL MINE!!!) and I don't like chocolate so there's more for her. Works out perfectly!
We both love sports. She's introduced me to American football and baseball. Almost every night we have some kind of game on TV and when we have a chance, we go to see live games. (Ticket prices here are high though, at least compared to Finland but the players also make more money so I guess we need to pay their salaries...) Right now it's getting to the end of baseball season, the playoffs are around the corner and football season just started 2 weeks ago. Ice hockey and basketball will soon follow. Football, or soccer as they call it here is getting closer to the end of the season as well. We saw David Beckham play at Giant stadium in July. It was awesome! T's first live David Beckham experience. I'm a seasoned veteran! LOL! Baseball is on almost very night, the season is like 160 games long! It is not on my fave sports list but we watch the Mets try to secure a playoff place...T's blood is boiling right now.
I really like American football. The Eagles have started their season well even though they lost to the cowgirls on Monday BUT, they played well and they are gonna do really well this season. And the added excitement from fantasy football...it's so much fun!
Ice hockey is not a big deal in USA unless your in a specific hockey oriented area. Living close to NYC, there is 2 baseball teams, 2 football team, 2 ice hockey teams and 2 basketball teams...I'm reading the Finnish newspapers every day trying to keep up with what's going on there and in Europe. They have not mentioned Teemu Selanne coming back here, I guess it's not of any importance here. But I'm rambling...
I hope I wasn't too sappy or sounded like I'm off my meds. I just wanted to let everyone know I am really happy with my life.
I think it might be time to do some work...later.
Insurance jungle
As everyone can see, insurance is something that has been on my mind lately. With my foot all fucked up and doctors and nurses guessing what might be wrong, seeing an actual specialist and getting the tests needed done is a relief to me. At least I have hope that they can figure out what is going on in my foot. One thing that is very different here is the insurance and the whole procedure to get one, get your information correctly and finding a doctor who takes your insurance. In Finland you can just walk to a public health center and they will take a look at you, send you to have labs done or to see a specialist and you pay the visit or annual fee, which is not a lot. If you have an insurance that covers private doctors, you can make an appointment to see ANY them, pay the bill and have your insurance company reimburse you. Here not so much...
First you need to know what your insurance covers. Then you need to find a doctor that takes your insurance.Then you fear that whatever they will do to you, the lab work, tests and specialists they want to take a look at you don't cost more than what your insurance covers. And then you need to go see them all over the place. I went to see the orthopedic surgeon in about 45 minutes from where I live, but this was because
T's mom set up the appointment. Tiffany went there when she slipped last winter and said the doctor was great, which she was. Totally different from the "It might be this or it may be that" doctors I saw at school.
Now I have my insurance situation settled, I am actually double covered as my Finnish insurance also covers me here. So what ever my insurance from school doesn't cover, I can have my insurance from Finland to pay. Awesome! Now I can take care of my back too...
School started 2 weeks ago, on my birthday no less! It always starts on my birthday...School's OK, I have 3 classes which have potential to be really interesting. I'm also working at the global education center on campus which is great. I have met some great people through school and work and for the most part it's fun. Today I'm working from 11:30 till 4:30 and the classes don't start until 8! I will be on campus until 10:30 when T will come pick me up. I will stay at work and do some homework for couple of hours. Today's class is about environmental health determinants which has a potential to be really interesting except the professor has kind of a monotonic voice which obviously is a problem at 8 in the evening. Thankfully I have my fantastic new thermos that I got for my birthday so I can always load up on caffeine! And in case you wonder what makes it special...it's painted to be a penguin! It is the cutest thing ever and I got it from T. The whole summer I was going to Dunkin Donuts for my morning coffee and decided that once school starts I will bring my own. Will save a lot of money and since DD sells their flavored coffees in stores I can make that at home. So I needed at thermos. And T got me one. Penkku, as I call it, goes to school and work with me every day now!
I play fantasy football with my friends. For the past 2 seasons I have lived through T's FF team, checked how here players were doing and being happy and sad depending on how they did. This year we both are participating in our friend Shari's league. It is a ton of fun even though I'm 0 and 2 right now. Watching the games take a whole new meaning when you can see "your guy" have a touchdown and you can celebrate it and see the score on your match up change...I have a bunch of great players but so far who ever I've played hasn't produced and whoever I left on the bench has been awesome! If the points left on the bench would count I would win this league hands down! This week is my week. I can feel it. Brad, you're going down!
First you need to know what your insurance covers. Then you need to find a doctor that takes your insurance.Then you fear that whatever they will do to you, the lab work, tests and specialists they want to take a look at you don't cost more than what your insurance covers. And then you need to go see them all over the place. I went to see the orthopedic surgeon in about 45 minutes from where I live, but this was because
T's mom set up the appointment. Tiffany went there when she slipped last winter and said the doctor was great, which she was. Totally different from the "It might be this or it may be that" doctors I saw at school.
Now I have my insurance situation settled, I am actually double covered as my Finnish insurance also covers me here. So what ever my insurance from school doesn't cover, I can have my insurance from Finland to pay. Awesome! Now I can take care of my back too...
School started 2 weeks ago, on my birthday no less! It always starts on my birthday...School's OK, I have 3 classes which have potential to be really interesting. I'm also working at the global education center on campus which is great. I have met some great people through school and work and for the most part it's fun. Today I'm working from 11:30 till 4:30 and the classes don't start until 8! I will be on campus until 10:30 when T will come pick me up. I will stay at work and do some homework for couple of hours. Today's class is about environmental health determinants which has a potential to be really interesting except the professor has kind of a monotonic voice which obviously is a problem at 8 in the evening. Thankfully I have my fantastic new thermos that I got for my birthday so I can always load up on caffeine! And in case you wonder what makes it special...it's painted to be a penguin! It is the cutest thing ever and I got it from T. The whole summer I was going to Dunkin Donuts for my morning coffee and decided that once school starts I will bring my own. Will save a lot of money and since DD sells their flavored coffees in stores I can make that at home. So I needed at thermos. And T got me one. Penkku, as I call it, goes to school and work with me every day now!
I play fantasy football with my friends. For the past 2 seasons I have lived through T's FF team, checked how here players were doing and being happy and sad depending on how they did. This year we both are participating in our friend Shari's league. It is a ton of fun even though I'm 0 and 2 right now. Watching the games take a whole new meaning when you can see "your guy" have a touchdown and you can celebrate it and see the score on your match up change...I have a bunch of great players but so far who ever I've played hasn't produced and whoever I left on the bench has been awesome! If the points left on the bench would count I would win this league hands down! This week is my week. I can feel it. Brad, you're going down!
I wonder...
how a country full of so many great people can have a such a dick for a president?
We all know I hate the president of this country and think he's a joke and since it's an election season the TV is full of idiots telling more lies...not naming names (McCain and Palin) here. But I was not gonna talk about politics...I wanted to do a little shout out to the bus driver who picked me up this morning. I needed to take an earlier bus to Bloomfield this morning because I had to come to school early to go to the bursar's office before work. As I'm still on crutches it takes forever for me to go from place A to place B. I was walking to the bus stop and on the other side of the road when the bus came. I started to wave like crazy for the bus to stop and he did. He even waited for me to cross the road and waddle my way to the bus. the reason why I'm even writing about this is because most bus drivers wouldn't have done it. I've met so many who are "just doing their job" without caring that it might be the only way for some people to get around and how much it sucks to miss your bus by seconds. To see the back lights and having to wait for half an hour for the next one, or even longer. I would mention his name except there was no name tag. I said a big thanks though. It was a good start for the day that ended up being OK. My foot is still not OK but more about that later.
Another bus driver who took me home from work this summer was awesome too. The bus passes our development but the actual bus stop is further away. Larry always dropped me off at the gate! As soon as he knew where I lived he always did that. I didn't even have to push the stop button. Sometimes I would get off earlier to run some errands and he would always ask me when I entered the bus where I was going and would leave me there. I doubt I will see Larry anymore though because of my schedule.
And then there are the ones who don't care at all. They ignore your waves to stop the bus, leave without opening the doors or are just rude in general. But enough about them.
So my foot. I went to see the orthopedic surgeon yesterday and she said it could be a stress fracture. She took X-rays which came back negative but she wants to make sure there isn't anything going on inside my bones. she had me stand on my foot and take few steps and she wasn't happy the way it looked. so far she's definitely the one to impress me. The other doctors just twisted and turned my foot to the point where I wasn't able to sleep the following night but she was good. She sent me to have an MRI which I will do as soon as the paperwork for my insurance goes through. At least the school has sent it now (finally). I could talk about the money hungry school too and how much help I'm getting...but I will leave that for next time. Right now my class is about to start so I need to go. I'll try to blog more tomorrow.
Good night.
P.S. The spell check suggests that instead of Palin I should write plain! I like that!!!
We all know I hate the president of this country and think he's a joke and since it's an election season the TV is full of idiots telling more lies...not naming names (McCain and Palin) here. But I was not gonna talk about politics...I wanted to do a little shout out to the bus driver who picked me up this morning. I needed to take an earlier bus to Bloomfield this morning because I had to come to school early to go to the bursar's office before work. As I'm still on crutches it takes forever for me to go from place A to place B. I was walking to the bus stop and on the other side of the road when the bus came. I started to wave like crazy for the bus to stop and he did. He even waited for me to cross the road and waddle my way to the bus. the reason why I'm even writing about this is because most bus drivers wouldn't have done it. I've met so many who are "just doing their job" without caring that it might be the only way for some people to get around and how much it sucks to miss your bus by seconds. To see the back lights and having to wait for half an hour for the next one, or even longer. I would mention his name except there was no name tag. I said a big thanks though. It was a good start for the day that ended up being OK. My foot is still not OK but more about that later.
Another bus driver who took me home from work this summer was awesome too. The bus passes our development but the actual bus stop is further away. Larry always dropped me off at the gate! As soon as he knew where I lived he always did that. I didn't even have to push the stop button. Sometimes I would get off earlier to run some errands and he would always ask me when I entered the bus where I was going and would leave me there. I doubt I will see Larry anymore though because of my schedule.
And then there are the ones who don't care at all. They ignore your waves to stop the bus, leave without opening the doors or are just rude in general. But enough about them.
So my foot. I went to see the orthopedic surgeon yesterday and she said it could be a stress fracture. She took X-rays which came back negative but she wants to make sure there isn't anything going on inside my bones. she had me stand on my foot and take few steps and she wasn't happy the way it looked. so far she's definitely the one to impress me. The other doctors just twisted and turned my foot to the point where I wasn't able to sleep the following night but she was good. She sent me to have an MRI which I will do as soon as the paperwork for my insurance goes through. At least the school has sent it now (finally). I could talk about the money hungry school too and how much help I'm getting...but I will leave that for next time. Right now my class is about to start so I need to go. I'll try to blog more tomorrow.
Good night.
P.S. The spell check suggests that instead of Palin I should write plain! I like that!!!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Quick update on my foot
My foot has been hurting for awhile now and it's to a point where I am going to see an orthopedic surgeon on Monday. Here's what happened (if you watch Monk, that's what he says before he tells how a crime was committed)
A little over 3 weeks ago I woke up Thursday morning and my left foot was hurting. I didn't think too much of it, just thought maybe I hit it somewhere and as the day went on it kinda went away. The next morning it was hurting more and I was limping. It started to really bother me and I didn't know what was going on. I couldn't remember hitting it anywhere, I hadn't dropped anything on it and I hadn't sprained it...(so I haven't been to the gym for awhile, big deal! I'll go when the health issues go away) so what was causing it? It started to swell a little and was turning red. That Saturday we had a busy day. We were all over the place, had hair appointments, lunch with T's mom, candle party that we were too late to go to and a fantasy football draft (more about that later). The foot was hurting even more and I could barely put any weight on it. That Sunday we had a 50th anniversary party, OBVIOUSLY not ours! DUH! In the middle of it I started to feel like I was getting sick, the feeling when you feel like it's hitting you, tired, hurting and cold. I also got a bad headache and basically wasn't in any shape to be at a party but since we drove all the way there (2 hours north from us) and the party was only few hours long AND we didn't know how to get home, we stayed until the end. I think it was just too many people for me, too much noise and me panicking about my foot and it just got me. I got something for the headache and after we left we went for ice cream. It seamed to help a little.
The next morning I couldn't put any weight on my foot. It was hurting like hell and I was in serious pain. I went to the health center at school at 9am and they asked me to come back at 1pm. I asked for crutches just so that I could walk across campus and the not-so-nice receptionist told me no. If the nurse thought I needed crutches, she would give me crutches at 1pm. So I walked to work, which would usually take 5 min took me 30 min and I was in PAIN.
At 1pm I went to the health center and a nurse was taking care of me. The HC doesn't have doctors except on Thursdays. She was looking at my foot and thought it was some kind of infection for which she gave me naproxen. Told me to take them every 6 hours and come back on Thursday. Would have sent me away like that except I asked for crutches. They don't give away crutches, you need to BUY them! OK, I can do that. Beats crawling...
I took the naproxen as ordered and nothing changed. I was still in serious pain, the swelling wasn't going down and and I couldn't walk with my foot. I was going to work full time and since I don't have a car I take a bus to the train station and train to school. Bus stop is not far except when you are crippled. The 5 min walk takes about 15...and using crutches isn't as easy as you'd imagine. My arms are killing me (one more reason to go to the gym, like T keeps telling me) and it definitely takes its toll on your good foot. Since my foot has been like this my friends and co-workers have really stepped up. My friend Candace has taken me to school (and Dunkin Donuts ;-) ) as has Aditi from work. T is getting me from school now that classes have started since it would take me forever to get to the bus or train and it's just easier this way. Even after this she needs to pick me up on Wednesdays when classes end at 10:30pm. But as I was saying, the meds were not working and I went back to the HC on Thursday. T had told me all along she thought I had been bitten by something since we didn't remember anything happening. This time the nurse brought in another nurse to evaluate (and guess) my foot. The other nurse said she thought she saw a bite mark so they settled on that. The nurse also called a doctor and told him what was going on. The doctor recommended antibiotics and that's what I was given. The thing was, this was the labour Day weekend and we had been invited to T's cousins' place in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Was I in shape to go to the beach? Was I in shape to enjoy the the fun? And more importantly, was I in shape to SHOP?!?!
T told me if I thought I'd be OK, we would go, so I said yes and off we went. My foot was still hurting and stepping on it was still as painful as ever. Nothing had changed by Friday afternoon and we decided to seek medical attention. We went to a local doctor who also thought I was bitten by something. HE didn't think the antibiotics were working so he put me on steroids. for 6 days I was supposed to take them. " You might have the munchies...and you might act in a way you normally wouldn't act and say things that you would normally say" said the Doc. I was like "So basically you're giving me a free pass? Cool". He obviously didn't give me a free pass but It fun while it lasted.
The steroids helped a little, I was able to step on my foot for few hours a day but the pain was still there. During our weekend there we hanged out with some awesome gay men who were playing nurses and waiters for me. I told them my story and that I was on steroids and T told me I sounded like I was proud about that! I've never been sick in my life, seriously sick or hurt so this was new to me...now I can say though that I wish I never had this experience!
The doctor in Delaware told me not to bother with the antibiotics because they didn't seem to work so I stopped taking them. On Tuesday morning when I went back to seeing the nurse she wasn't happy about that. She also didn't know what to do about the foot since it wasn't getting better so we made an appointment for me to go back there on Thursday when the doctors were there. On Thursday I went back, once again, and the doctors couldn't figure it out so we tried antibiotics again. We made another appointment for the next Thursday, which was this week to follow up on the foot and if the antibiotics were working. There was a new doctor and he finally admitted they had no idea what was going on so I got a referral to see an orthopedic surgeon.
I spent Friday calling to local doctors trying to get an appointment and finally called T all frustrated and teary eyed. She suggested calling her mom, who is a nurse and seeing if she could get me an appointment with the doctor T saw when she was training for her marathon. So on Monday I will finally be seeing a doctor who hopefully will be able to help. We will see what happens...
It seems like the school HC is kinda similar to a Finnish arvauskeskus (guessing center...technically a health center but guessing center is more appropriate since they seem to be guessing what's wrong with you)...unless you have a simple fever or something close, don't go there. And what makes it even more difficult and frustrating is the health insurance system here. In Finland I have a kick ass health insurance which covers just about everything...in here I have a health insurance through school which covers very little and not to high amounts...so you really need to hope you don't get seriously ill! And it also seems like health services have been priced really high here...maybe too high. Few months ago T needed some blood work done and even though her insurance paid for it, the amounts were ridiculous! Health insurance and health services are one of the things I miss about Finland. You might get good care here but you also need to PAY for it!
I will have an update next week about my foot. Today was the last day of my antibiotics and it did nothing to help. I've been taking painkillers, first Motrin and when that didn't help, Tylenol. Tylenol seems to help every now and again. I don't really know how it works if it works because there are days when it's better and then days when it just hurts. Some days I'm able to walk and some I really need the crutches. And the nurses tell me the crutches won't work if I just carry them with me and don't use them..well, what do you know since you didn't even wanna give them to me in the first place?!?!?!
Anyway, that's the story of my foot so far. I am gonna go now, we have a football date with T's god daughter Carly tomorrow so I need to be well rested. Good night everyone.
A little over 3 weeks ago I woke up Thursday morning and my left foot was hurting. I didn't think too much of it, just thought maybe I hit it somewhere and as the day went on it kinda went away. The next morning it was hurting more and I was limping. It started to really bother me and I didn't know what was going on. I couldn't remember hitting it anywhere, I hadn't dropped anything on it and I hadn't sprained it...(so I haven't been to the gym for awhile, big deal! I'll go when the health issues go away) so what was causing it? It started to swell a little and was turning red. That Saturday we had a busy day. We were all over the place, had hair appointments, lunch with T's mom, candle party that we were too late to go to and a fantasy football draft (more about that later). The foot was hurting even more and I could barely put any weight on it. That Sunday we had a 50th anniversary party, OBVIOUSLY not ours! DUH! In the middle of it I started to feel like I was getting sick, the feeling when you feel like it's hitting you, tired, hurting and cold. I also got a bad headache and basically wasn't in any shape to be at a party but since we drove all the way there (2 hours north from us) and the party was only few hours long AND we didn't know how to get home, we stayed until the end. I think it was just too many people for me, too much noise and me panicking about my foot and it just got me. I got something for the headache and after we left we went for ice cream. It seamed to help a little.
The next morning I couldn't put any weight on my foot. It was hurting like hell and I was in serious pain. I went to the health center at school at 9am and they asked me to come back at 1pm. I asked for crutches just so that I could walk across campus and the not-so-nice receptionist told me no. If the nurse thought I needed crutches, she would give me crutches at 1pm. So I walked to work, which would usually take 5 min took me 30 min and I was in PAIN.
At 1pm I went to the health center and a nurse was taking care of me. The HC doesn't have doctors except on Thursdays. She was looking at my foot and thought it was some kind of infection for which she gave me naproxen. Told me to take them every 6 hours and come back on Thursday. Would have sent me away like that except I asked for crutches. They don't give away crutches, you need to BUY them! OK, I can do that. Beats crawling...
I took the naproxen as ordered and nothing changed. I was still in serious pain, the swelling wasn't going down and and I couldn't walk with my foot. I was going to work full time and since I don't have a car I take a bus to the train station and train to school. Bus stop is not far except when you are crippled. The 5 min walk takes about 15...and using crutches isn't as easy as you'd imagine. My arms are killing me (one more reason to go to the gym, like T keeps telling me) and it definitely takes its toll on your good foot. Since my foot has been like this my friends and co-workers have really stepped up. My friend Candace has taken me to school (and Dunkin Donuts ;-) ) as has Aditi from work. T is getting me from school now that classes have started since it would take me forever to get to the bus or train and it's just easier this way. Even after this she needs to pick me up on Wednesdays when classes end at 10:30pm. But as I was saying, the meds were not working and I went back to the HC on Thursday. T had told me all along she thought I had been bitten by something since we didn't remember anything happening. This time the nurse brought in another nurse to evaluate (and guess) my foot. The other nurse said she thought she saw a bite mark so they settled on that. The nurse also called a doctor and told him what was going on. The doctor recommended antibiotics and that's what I was given. The thing was, this was the labour Day weekend and we had been invited to T's cousins' place in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Was I in shape to go to the beach? Was I in shape to enjoy the the fun? And more importantly, was I in shape to SHOP?!?!
T told me if I thought I'd be OK, we would go, so I said yes and off we went. My foot was still hurting and stepping on it was still as painful as ever. Nothing had changed by Friday afternoon and we decided to seek medical attention. We went to a local doctor who also thought I was bitten by something. HE didn't think the antibiotics were working so he put me on steroids. for 6 days I was supposed to take them. " You might have the munchies...and you might act in a way you normally wouldn't act and say things that you would normally say" said the Doc. I was like "So basically you're giving me a free pass? Cool". He obviously didn't give me a free pass but It fun while it lasted.
The steroids helped a little, I was able to step on my foot for few hours a day but the pain was still there. During our weekend there we hanged out with some awesome gay men who were playing nurses and waiters for me. I told them my story and that I was on steroids and T told me I sounded like I was proud about that! I've never been sick in my life, seriously sick or hurt so this was new to me...now I can say though that I wish I never had this experience!
The doctor in Delaware told me not to bother with the antibiotics because they didn't seem to work so I stopped taking them. On Tuesday morning when I went back to seeing the nurse she wasn't happy about that. She also didn't know what to do about the foot since it wasn't getting better so we made an appointment for me to go back there on Thursday when the doctors were there. On Thursday I went back, once again, and the doctors couldn't figure it out so we tried antibiotics again. We made another appointment for the next Thursday, which was this week to follow up on the foot and if the antibiotics were working. There was a new doctor and he finally admitted they had no idea what was going on so I got a referral to see an orthopedic surgeon.
I spent Friday calling to local doctors trying to get an appointment and finally called T all frustrated and teary eyed. She suggested calling her mom, who is a nurse and seeing if she could get me an appointment with the doctor T saw when she was training for her marathon. So on Monday I will finally be seeing a doctor who hopefully will be able to help. We will see what happens...
It seems like the school HC is kinda similar to a Finnish arvauskeskus (guessing center...technically a health center but guessing center is more appropriate since they seem to be guessing what's wrong with you)...unless you have a simple fever or something close, don't go there. And what makes it even more difficult and frustrating is the health insurance system here. In Finland I have a kick ass health insurance which covers just about everything...in here I have a health insurance through school which covers very little and not to high amounts...so you really need to hope you don't get seriously ill! And it also seems like health services have been priced really high here...maybe too high. Few months ago T needed some blood work done and even though her insurance paid for it, the amounts were ridiculous! Health insurance and health services are one of the things I miss about Finland. You might get good care here but you also need to PAY for it!
I will have an update next week about my foot. Today was the last day of my antibiotics and it did nothing to help. I've been taking painkillers, first Motrin and when that didn't help, Tylenol. Tylenol seems to help every now and again. I don't really know how it works if it works because there are days when it's better and then days when it just hurts. Some days I'm able to walk and some I really need the crutches. And the nurses tell me the crutches won't work if I just carry them with me and don't use them..well, what do you know since you didn't even wanna give them to me in the first place?!?!?!
Anyway, that's the story of my foot so far. I am gonna go now, we have a football date with T's god daughter Carly tomorrow so I need to be well rested. Good night everyone.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Starting to blog again
So the myspace trial didn't work. Big deal! I don't go there anymore but I realize I should keep people notified as to what I'm up to here so I created this blog for that. Hopefully I will be a little bit less lazy about this one. I've seen people write their blogs and it seems like a good "therapy" so I thought I would give it a go. I'm sure I will be yelled at many times for not writing enough but I guess that's a chance I have to take!
Today's the 7th anniversary of the attacks on the twin towers. It seems like people are slowly being able to overcome it but today is hard on everyone who experienced it or lost loved-ones. T is on my mind a lot. Hope she's doing ok.
I need to go back to work now but I will be back. I promise! Have a good day everyone!
Back for more...
Here is a link to a global storm tracker http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/specials/interactives/hurricanetracker07/index.html?SITE=YAHOO&SECTION=HOME
The past couple of weeks have been interesting to say the least. There has been a hurricane after a hurricane forming in the Atlantic ocean and some of them have hit the States and the Caribbean Islands hard. One of them came all the way to NJ, all though it was much weaker than expected. Last Friday and Saturday we got heavy rains but they went by fast. We were kinda worried that there might be flooding and we kept our eye on the front yard where the grass quickly was under water but no water came to our front door. We prepared ourselves for power outages and not being able to go outside for awhile by doing a lot of grocery shopping etc... (We also noticed that our own neighborhood Dunkin Donuts had closed but more about that later) In the end all that preparation was not necessary but we're glad we did it anyway. At least we didn't need to evacuate like so many in Louisiana.
It is exciting and yet frightening to see what a storm like that can do. How powerful it is and how it can affect so many lives. It is exciting from afar, especially since Finland doesn't have natural disasters like this. But when you are closer to it, when you have friends who will either be affected by it or whose loved ones are affected by it, it becomes a totally different story.
As one sign said...take a hike, Ike!
Today's the 7th anniversary of the attacks on the twin towers. It seems like people are slowly being able to overcome it but today is hard on everyone who experienced it or lost loved-ones. T is on my mind a lot. Hope she's doing ok.
I need to go back to work now but I will be back. I promise! Have a good day everyone!
Back for more...
Here is a link to a global storm tracker http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/specials/interactives/hurricanetracker07/index.html?SITE=YAHOO&SECTION=HOME
The past couple of weeks have been interesting to say the least. There has been a hurricane after a hurricane forming in the Atlantic ocean and some of them have hit the States and the Caribbean Islands hard. One of them came all the way to NJ, all though it was much weaker than expected. Last Friday and Saturday we got heavy rains but they went by fast. We were kinda worried that there might be flooding and we kept our eye on the front yard where the grass quickly was under water but no water came to our front door. We prepared ourselves for power outages and not being able to go outside for awhile by doing a lot of grocery shopping etc... (We also noticed that our own neighborhood Dunkin Donuts had closed but more about that later) In the end all that preparation was not necessary but we're glad we did it anyway. At least we didn't need to evacuate like so many in Louisiana.
It is exciting and yet frightening to see what a storm like that can do. How powerful it is and how it can affect so many lives. It is exciting from afar, especially since Finland doesn't have natural disasters like this. But when you are closer to it, when you have friends who will either be affected by it or whose loved ones are affected by it, it becomes a totally different story.
As one sign said...take a hike, Ike!
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