Me-ow!

2002-08-23 9:38 a.m.

Jordicat sent this to me. Aren't I cute? I always wondered what I'd look like with cat ears.

Complete and utter pandimonium.

2002-08-22 11:39 a.m.

Pleurisy sucks. My chest still hurts unless I'm doped up on painkillers and then it still hurts, I just don't care as much. I spend half my time trying to get some work done from home - It's pretty cool, I learned how to dictate letters from the comfort of my own couch - and watching Law and Order re-runs. I'm at work now for a little bit. I sneak in, return all my phone calls, send out a few letters, pick up some more files then head for home. I called my qigong instructor who is also an excellent acupuncturist and scheduled an office visit with her for tomorrow. Let's get those lung meridians cleared out.

There was a bit of excitement yesterday. We're storing the miata hardtop in the backyard in a small area we call Loki's Garage. It's a corner of the yard with a big blue tarp covering where we keep the lawn mower and basic yard equipment. Loki likes to hang out there like it's his own personal club house. Simon thought he saw some critter nosing around there late one night so he wanted me to help him check behind the hardtop for wild animals. We moved the hardtop and didn't see anything. So Simon went to wrap up the gasoline tank in the corner of the tarp and BOING out pops a possum! I scream, Simon screams (he told me later it was a battle cry, not a scream) and we start running around the yard in a frenzy. The cats freak out and we have complete pandemonium for about two minutes. Eventually we get the cats inside. Our plan of attack is this: I go inside and watch through the window. Simon goes on the other side of the fence and reaches down to pull the tarp away. I watch as the possum rolls out of the tarp and starts running around the yard looking for an escape. Unfortunately we have the yard so well cat proofed that the possum can't find his way out! He climbs up the hawthorne tree and we decide to leave the back gate open in hopes that he'll wonder off once it gets dark.

Chest Pain Part II: The ER

2002-08-20 11:03 a.m.

The chest pain came back yesterday at about 1:30pm. I called Kaiser to see if I could get an appointment with my doctor later in the afternoon to get it checked out. I found out how to get good service from Kaiser, just tell them you're having chest pain. I got put through to an advice nurse - without being put on hold - and she told me to take an ambulance to the hospital. I really didn't want to be carted away in an ambulance from work. Especially because I was 90% certain that my pain was not cardiac related. I promised the nurse I'd get Simon to take me to the hospital right away. Of course I go to call him at home and he's on the internet. I try his cellphone and it's turned off. Crap! I e-mail Simon with a cryptic message asking him to call me ASAP. About a half hour later he calls back and we're on a roll! We speed to the hospital through pre-rush hour traffic. I get to the ER and when they hear the words chest pain they leap into action! I get my blood pressure taken and a vampiric technician steals five huge vials of my blood. Then I get taken into the EKG room where I get hooked up to a monitor and have a print out done of my heart rhythm. Then I get to sit in the waiting room until they have a bed open for me. Then I get tucked into a gurney and get hooked up to a heart monitor, blood pressure monitor and I get some oxygen. Once I hear my blood work and EKG are normal and healthy I start to calm down a bit. I have to wait to get a chest X-ray done so to pass time I impress Simon with my ability to slow my heart rate at will. Sheesh, I thought everyone could do that but apparently my qigong training has paid off. My blood pressure goes back to normal. Two technicians come to wheel me to the X-ray lab. I insist that I'm OK to walk but they say it's hospital procedure. I then tell them to go faster! Faster! We race down the hall at breakneck speed nearly running over an intern. We are giggling madly by the time we get to the X-ray lab. (must have been all that oxygen) Simon is running after us lugging all my personal possessions. I get a chest x-ray done then it's back to my hospital bed to await the news from Dr. Steve. Approximately five hours have gone by. Then Dr. Steve comes back an assures me that I don't have any tumors in my lungs and that my heart is in good condition. I have pleurisy which is some sort of inflammation of the sac around the lungs. I'm given a prescription for gigantic ibuprofens and some pain killers. Bad news: I can't exercise until the inflammation is gone. Good news: my heart is all right.

Memo to self: don't hijack a van with a Judo team inside.

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