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lifeisjustanotherstory · 6 years ago

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W/c 21/01/2019 - the week in anecdotes and not-shower shower thoughts

Monday

Aytaj went to Milan for the weekend. MILAN. Beats my weekend.

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I just found out that “Royals” by Lorde came out 6 years ago this year, and time suddenly seems to have flown past. I mean...6 years? Really?! It’s probably been a year since I heard the song, and listening to it feels very nostalgic. The Youtube playlist moved on to “Team”. I used to like a particular chorus in that song - and still do - it lent itself to story ideas, and great character adventures in my head. I need to write again soon - it has been too long.

We live in cities you'll never see onscreen

Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things

Livin' in ruins of a palace within my dreams

And you know we're on each other's team

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Waiting for allocation of tasks from the US team. Currently have to chase Chase for our scoping file.

(chase Chase...once you hear it, you can’t unhear it...)

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Tuesday

I wore my jumper on Tuesday, as I had planned. Getting up early, I hadn’t thought much of not seeing the brand logo on the front - it crossed my mind, only to be replaced with the thought of catching my train.

I went through the day - a good 95% of it - before one of the Managers called me as I made my way to my locker to put away my things for the day. Her name is Amy, and she lives near one of the towns that my train stops in on my way home.

“Deepa? I think your jumper is on back to front.” I lifted up the item of clothing in question, and to my deep embarrassment I was faced with the jumper’s label. I nervously laughed and headed to my locker as she made her way out to the bathroom. I was walking around with a silver pheasant on my back all day.

Mortified doesn’t cut it.

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I accidentally put Sahil’s coffee cup in my locker yesterday and now he’s got a huge white label on it, with his name in block letters. Oops.

But at least he’s sitting next to me again. Or maybe that’s just because I always let people use my chargers.

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Wednesday

I’m trying to make my way up the stairs without stopping, which causes me to huff and puff (no houses are blown down, however), go red in the face and get a pain in my lower abdomen. No pain, no gain eh. Anyway, my eyes met Jasper’s on the way up, and we exchanged “Morning”’s. He knows I come in early, and vice versa, but we never seem to interact any more than that.

Anyway, he held open the door for me on the 10th floor, which I felt was very considerate. He didn’t have to, but he heard me coming (granted, I wasn’t that loud) and waited. I can’t say I’ve heard all good things about this guy - but his action today spoke a lot.

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Finally relented and chose to get a breakfast from the canteen today. Still haven’t decided whether I’ll expense it though. Mushrooms were my favourite kind, wide and flat - like I’d never seen before, the egg nicely poached and the beans tasty. The sausage was all the more succulent for the guy forgetting to charge it to my total bill, which came in at a round £3.00.

Back up in the audit room and I was in mid-conversation, with my breakfast box hanging dangerously close to the edge of the table. Indeed, if not for Fahim’s hand, it could have ended up on my (suede) dress or on the floor. Credit to his reflexes for saving my day.

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Thursday

My dad remarked that the jumper I chose to wear today doesn’t have a very obvious logo on it. What cruel irony is this?

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Did 11 year old me ever think of her 21 year old self deciding to take a 6:11 train, instead of the 6:20, just so she could catch some z’s onboard? #10yearchallenge

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Aytaj offered me some of her chocolate. It’s milk chocolate with a hint of toffee, but it looks like dark chocolate. Azerbaijani chocolate has exceeded my expectations.

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Had to reach out to a guy from our Swiss team in order to get some accounts that the UK team needs. No need to fear - Emanuel is here (!!!)

He is also up for the weekend because let’s be real, as if that isn’t what everyone is thinking.

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Oh my gosh, just filled up my bottle and that is some.fresh.water.

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I enjoy sitting next to Aytaj. No one else would have such fun trying to solve an IT issue. Or have cool client names (Sandwich, Hong Hong...and my personal fave; Jing Jing). Or laugh about their half-eaten chicken leg on the floor. (Thankfully, it was in a box).

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Managed to return the favour to Aytaj and gave her a chocolate biscuit. Matt H had one too.

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Friday

Does Nick even know my name? Of course, there is no reason for him to address me by it when it’s just the two of us in the audit room.

He promised not to rub his fancy breakast in his face as he left the room to go the restaurant. We’re approaching banter stage.

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Fahim looked shattered, and I told him as much.

Me, over Skype; You look so tired

Fahim: my face speaks 1000 words about my tiredness lol

Me: Where’s a painting emoji when you need it?

Earlier we’d gone to get drinks from another floor today. I remarked that I don’t drink coffee, and he was really surprised. Shocked indeed. I must be one of the few people who don’t in this job. Coffee is like water for the majority of finance professionals. (I jest, but I have honestly seen people drink as much coffee as water, if not more.)

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Sahil knows I get in early, so when someone said that I’d need to go and do something at 11:30am, he joked and said “That’s like evening for her.”

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“Deepa, who you Skpying?” I could feel my stomach fall as I heard Jits ask. “You always put on your privacy screen when you’re not doing work?” I wasn’t Skyping, I was updating this blog. My thoughts will live on, as I hope them to, in this manner. Even if my currently healthy sleeping pattern doesn’t make it.

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Nick (Dorn as opposed to Daws) asked Jits which song the line “It’s electrifying” I was. I responded “Greased Lightning” without a second thought. Jits remarked that it must have been a favourite of my parents’ in their teen years. He wasn’t right about them liking it - but they were both 19 at the time of its release. Wow.

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Watching a comedy programme and I just sat through the comedian mentioning the word ‘cunnilingus’ without any change in my facial expression whatsoever. I deserve a pat on the back for making it. Thank god my parents didn’t ask me to explain what it was...

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Saturday

Four months till my exams, with busy season yet to really start for me. Cripes.

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Attempted to read. Attempted being the key word here. Made my revision timetable though.

A bit sad about my lack of weekend social life over the next few months, as if I even had one to miss?

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Steak was worth forgoing my nap for. Only just. It’s been too long since I’ve had pure meat like this. I don’t think I could ever be a vegetarian.

Asked for a different kind of salad and got served the wrong one, only for them to bring a new one instead! Free salad, yay! (Green leaves are gr8, what)

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This new car is too clever for us. One tyre goes under the set pressure and it sets off a warning sign in the car. Ignorance really is bliss.

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To write or not to write, that is the question.

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Sunday

Lifted my stuff off the floor and found Ayana’s letter underneath.I’d completely forgotten about it. It’s nearly a month after she sent it to me, and she deserves a lengthy reply. I’l take it in my bag to work and draft a reply to write next week.

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Revision is going rather fine, if I do say so myself. Of course, I am not even one day in. Time will tell.

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You know when you can sometimes taste what you had earlier? My cod liver oil capsule obviously broke on the way down, because my mouth has just been flooded with a fish taste. If someone kissed me right now, would they taste it?

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I wrote, and it was liberating.

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Less than an hour to bedtime and the first edition of a week in anecdotes and not-shower shower thoughts was a success. Here’s to next week and many more.

Deeps

#pieces of mind #diary #a week in anecdotes

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dangeroustimemachinehologram · 4 years ago

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Diary of Joanna weirdest time in her life-story

Hi!! I’m Joanna and I'm a nurse in a local hospital. I live in Cracow, Poland. I'm 33 years old. I live a little apartment near the city centre and this is my diary:

Thursday 17th October 2024.

I woke up late as I had long shift yesterday. Its 10:30 and it's still dark. I don't know what is going on. I can hear thunder and some other weird noises in the background. Sometimes they are close, sometimes they are even closer.

Its afternoon already: Some light comes out - The thunder had stopped and the other weird noises have calmed down. In the news they said that it was just bad weather conditions. It has never so dark this late in afternoon before.

It's evening now. Nothing really happened in the last few hours. I don't have any more shifts this week. I'm doing nights next week and I'm back on Tuesday. I hope everything will be ok. I will just watch some movie, have some dinner and some wine; then I will go to bed. Long shifts wear me out.

Friday 18th October

It’s 3 AM. Some very scary noises from outside woke me up. I have never heard anything like that before. I am honest to God terrified! What this can be? I'm not going to check right now. It's too dark; I'm too tired and too scared.

It’s 3 PM. I just woke up. I had to be really tired. Waking up in the middle the night really didn't help. I had a shower and something to eat. Was very hungry! I just came back from a town. Everything looks empty, but the shops were still open. I know I left home late. Just to remind shops are open till late here! What is going on??? Where are people who usually been out? Some people still should do shopping after work etc. Like later in a day. But still I did shopping in 24 h off-licence shop. Person behind till knew nothing. He just was enjoying quiet evening shift. After dinner I try to watch TV Shows but I can't. The power keeps going out and I keep hearing weird noises outside. Sometimes they are far away and other times they are close. I will try to record them. Looked out, record noises and whatever happening outside. All I could catch it, are the noises. Can't see nothing from a window and I won't go out now. It's too late, too dark and too tired. I will go to bed and may try to read a book before sleep. Saturday 19th October It’s Saturday already. Like 9 in the morning. Seems like I fell asleep while I reading book. I really had to be tired or the book had to be really boring. At least I slept all night and I don't feel tired any more. It's really afternoon. I just left my apartment. It’s middle of the day. And big city as Cracow shouldn't look so empty. But it is looks like a ghost city. The shop I’ve been yesterday for a shopping is closed now. It is weird, very weird. Am I dreaming or did I wake up in different dimension? Someone has to be around. But I can't hear a single frigging thing or see anyone! Only saw few pets. They looked ok to me. A person just ran by on me on a street. He gone by the time I got chance to talk to him. I will try going the way he runs. Walked like half hour. Saw some people in their flats. Couple ask me to go home. They said at night I came back from my last shift, something happened that people are afraid to leave. Some people keep seeing a flashing blue lights at night from a streets. It wasn't police or anything like that. I'm home few hours now. I had some food. Try find out what is going on. TV signal is going off all the time. On the internet you can't see much. Apart some people posting pictures and videos of this weird blue lights and some strange humanoid looking things. What or who are they? No signs of activity outside. Come to think of it, that I never heard of a gunshot so close to my apartment. I lock myself in the apartment, close windows and curtain and try to stay alert to any strange and dangerous activity. At least there were no more blue light here. Sunday 20th October I must to fell asleep. But I didn't feel tired. I just called my boss and booked 2 weeks of. Need rest and holiday. Over tired doctor or nurse isn't very useful one. I really need it. I just looked outside and it's absolutely grey. It's the biggest fog I ever saw. There is a guy, he has been standing completely still and I can see only his back. I have no idea how long he has been standing there. WHO IS HE???!!! Why is he standing there? What does he want? He really creeping me out.....!!!! Few hours later and he is still standing there. SHIT. Should I be worried? Hiding in my room and waiting when this end and see how this will end. I had a food and looked outside. Whoever was standing outside is gone now. I swear to God it sounds like someone is banging outside of my door, but there is no way in hell I'm going to check or open the door. And the blue lights started flashing outside. This is really, really creepy. But is this lights and knocking has anything to do with this guy who was standing outside building earlier on???? I'm manage scare him off. See him running away from a window. But the lights are still there. I'm worried now. I’ve got to stop falling asleep so much in worst moments. I need set my mind to keep myself save. I need to get serious about securing my house. I'm running low on food and I feel like I could sleep for a week. What can I do??? I need to sort this shit out, and do a shopping, lol. Monday 21st October Just woke up. It's 7 in a morning. It’s early in a day for once. I will try having shower first. It's 10 am. I had some cheese and tomato toast. But I am not going anywhere. I am too scared. Just my neighbours called me. They manage get some stuff from one of the shops. Because they have car, they thought to bring me few bags of shopping. I offered them money back. They refused. That is nice and weird of them. This shopping must to cost them fortune. But it is still nice of them for bringing me. It really helps. They are very nice people. Just been sitting and thinking. Whatever is happening in a last few day doesn't since normal. Am I dreaming, going crazy? It has to be....!!! This isn't real..... Just came back from a walk to clear my mind. I feel better now. I’m glad to have some food in a fridge. I’m planning have some food, wine and watch some DVD. This will cheer me up. Tuesday 22nd October I think I need my clear head. Tiredness and stress can make anyone paranoid, but why don't my parents answer phone. I think if I won't be able hold on to them I will go and visit them. At the end of the day they should be back home now. They went to Slovakia for a holiday. I'm glad they enjoy themselves, yet I worry about them, mostly, if I can't get in touch with them. I’ve been on Wawel castle. Just walk around. I wasn't inside to see anything really. Just sit in a cafe, walk around. I love the place because of the history, lots of legends etc. 100% my kind of place. I enjoyed the day. I also made myself nice lasagne today for tea. Wednesday 23rd October It's early in a morning. All night couldn't stop think about legends around Wawel and in my dreams they was fading in with what is going on around me. Also what didn't help is fact that lights came back. And I heard very weird noises outside building. But I am not sure what was real and what a dream was. Started have weird dreams. They were connected to my trip from the other day..... And some connected to legends about Wawel I think. Need to put it into words, put it on paper. Never had weird dreams like that before........ There you go: I was in a pub. Old style pub... like really old... And there were a guy who was talking to deathclaw style of crater... And then this guy could fly out of window on a chicken or something... And then I saw a big army coming out of Mountain and heading into a Wawel. It is like they are getting ready for war or something. And then I was visited by angels where I became a queen. And then was this dragon flying on a sky. And in my castle was this magical and powerful stone. That was bizarre. ****(explanation what legends are there on the end) Wonder what this dreams meant. I know they came from legends... Still weird... Thursday 24th October Nothing happened last night. Stayed home, Spoke to neighbours I had rest and feel better. Its feel like what happened was a dream. I keep having weird dreams....... It is few hours later and its middle of the night. I just heard yelling, but this time it sounded like the person was in agony..... It's just quiet now. The blue light is still here again Friday 25th October .I left the apartment. I'm trying my best to stay calm as I write this, but I think there is a dead body in the middle of the street. To take my mind off of what is outside, I dug deeper into the piles of books to read. Just look outside. The body is just gone. Didn't see what happened to it, but it's not in the street anymore. Saturday 26th October I am going to check on my parents. I’m leaving my diary up till Monday. Have some quality time with them, I hope. Monday 28th October Spent all weekend at my parents house. They weren't there. I'm worried. Police don't know anything. They saying they will have to looking to it in some time. Just get back home and realized that someone broke to my apartment. Also found blood by an entrance. What the hell is going on? I'm scared.... I don't know what to do..... My neighbours don't answer the door, my parent are missing. Most things are closed down.... I thought this was only a dream but this nightmare is getting worse..... I heard a gunshot...... I should leave how soonest I can..... It's not safe here. I will go to family holiday house in Koscielisko. It's town close to Slovakia border. If anything I could move to another country. I don't know what to do but this is an option. I'm packed. I’ve got all food, drinks, toiletries and most of the clothes. Everything is in a car. I’m ready to hit the road. I should be there 2-3 hours. It's almost 11. House looks fine and cosy. Its looks like my parent were here not long ago. But when I try to contact them on a cells and landline no one answers. Why they don't answer? Tuesday 29th October It's 11 am .I woke up to my mobile ringtone. My parents just called me. They just came back from Slovakia. At least they fine. Couldn't get in touch with them cause they lost one mobile they had with them. Other phone has been hidden in their House for some reason. They've been in by my apartment. Saw blood outside a block. Place looked empty for them. They've been worried about me. There is something going on. I think I stay here and have some short holiday. Bit rest might be good for me and it seems to be safe. Wednesday 30th October It's 7 am. I had a nice day yesterday. I just am having rest today. Bit food and wine. DVDs and a good night long sleep. Time for breakfast and shower!!!!! Keep having these weird dreams. They always look similar every time. It's 12. I just tried to have dinner. But I just saw something outside. It really looked creepy. Maybe it's only a lost, scared bear or something. I lock myself in and call someone for help. Shit, no signal. Oh dear god... This isn't a bear or anything I saw in my life. I'm shaking.... This is something between big foot and Reptilian humanoid..... It's really scary.... Have big red glaring eyes.... make bear like sounds...... And.... and.... and this weird light from my apartment started here.... and it's like middle of the day... what cans I do....?. What to do.....? I need hide... I need hide right now.... Ok. I'm in a closet, in a bedroom. I'll wait.... I hear sirens.... and scream.... and growling..... And.... and.... I heard the gunshot. There someone start shooting. There's a hope for me.... large scream and gone quiet now... I hear knocking on the door... See what's going on... It was a police. Someone else manage to contact them and let them know it's some kinda dangerous creator acting suspicious on this property. It's dark now... How long I've been hiding out? I've done some research on the internet. I'm not a first person who met this type of "animal". Apparently some group of crazy scientist was running illegal experiments in "bunker" hidden labs where they've been inbreeding 2-3 different type animals together. For example: monkey, bear and lizards etc. But also try to make them smarter...!!! WTF!!! WTF!!!! Is this a reason what is going on in my county in a last couple of weeks? Is it a reason for gunshots and blood, and lights and this illness.......???? Why.....??? Where they had funds from....? How they manage hidden for so long......? Saw on the news a lot of reports from other people who manage to record them on their cells..... Is this an end of the world...?? It's like 3 in the morning.... I can't sleep.... I'm absolutely scared, tired and.... don't know anymore.... Thursday 31st October HALLOWEEN I must to past out on sofa last night. TV was on when I woke up. It's like 2 pm. Had really creepy dream..... I was in the middle of main market in Cracow. I was on my own.... It was like crazy foggy... couldn't see properly. And then lots and lots of zombies and this freaky inbreeding "animal" come from nowhere.... and when they try attack me... I woke up... Thank God my parents picking me up... It wasn't safe home but not ask dangerous as here... I'm home.... don't feel safe.... but glad to be home... Glad that my parents are fine.... Halloween parties etc. been cancelled for a safety and people been advised stay home after dark and be careful in a day... I'm not leaving my apartment any time soon.... I'm telling ya..... Nothing really happened today.... I will try to have rest now.... I had weird dreams from the other night maybe 2-3 times after that. It is not exactly same but very similar. They are very bizarre. What are they mean????? 1st January 2025 HAPPY NEW YEAR

***** Legends in the order they came in a dream: Polish legends include: plenty of angelic characters, but also a great number of devilish ones. One of the best-known devils in Polish legends is the one that signed a pact with the 16th-century nobleman Sir Twardowski. According to the contract, the devil provided the nobleman with great wisdom and magical powers in exchange for his soul. However, a key stipulation stated that Twardowski’s soul could only be collected in Rome. That allowed the cunning nobleman to exercise his special powers without ever having to pay the price – as long as he avoided the Eternal City. On one day, the devil tricked Twardowski into visiting an inn… An inn called none other than Rome. That was when the party ended for Sir Twardowski: a confrontation with the devil ensued and as a result the nobleman became stranded on the moon forever. The Devil Lands on the Moon in Sci-Fi Movie Based on Polish Legend Twardowsky, a brand new release by Oscar-nominated director Tomasz Bagiński, revolves around a nobleman who signs a deal with the Lord of Darkness...on a lunar base. 1890 drawing is titled Rozmowa Twardowskiego z Diabłem (Twardowski Talking With the Devil) and is the work of the Polish draughtsman Michał Elwiro Andriolli, author of numerous illustrations for Polish literary works, such as Józef Ignacy Kraszewski’s Stara Baśń (Old Fairy Tale). Here’s another depiction of a Polish legend that revolves around knights and an angel – the legend of the sleeping knights. According to this tale, there’s a secluded cave in Mount Giewont in the Tatra Mountains, where a band of armour-clad knights rests in eternal sleep, waiting for a time when Poland will be in need of their services. The knights are guarded by an angel who is always ready to inform them whether that time has arrived. One of the legend is about the beginnings of the Polish state. This tale goes that the humble wheelwright Piast was visited by mysterious travellers on the day of his son’s first haircut. Piast was celebrating this important family occasion with some friends. According to legend, Ziemowit would go on to become the great grandfather of the first historical ruler of Poland, Mieszko I, who lived in the 10th century. The Wawel Dragon was a beast which lived in a den under Wawel Hill and terrorised all the inhabitants of King Krak’s town. They had to feed to the monster by giving him offerings of cattle, while other tales speak of that hellspawn eating nothing but virgins. No knight could vanquish the monster, until a young shoemaker Skuba outsmarted the Dragon. He stuffed a ram’s hide with sulphur and pitch, and put the doctored ram in front of the Dragon’s Den. The monster caught the bait and devoured the ram. Immediately, he felt a bad pain and burning in the throat. To quench his thirst, the Dragon started to drink from the Vistula River. However, as water cannot extinguish burning sulphur, the gases produced by the fires inside him made the beast explode. All the townsfolk revelled in the news and the heroic shoemaker was properly rewarded. To commemorate the vanquishing of the Dragon, Bronisław Chromy designed a sculpture of the beast which now stands by the river at the foot of Wawel, near the Dragon's Den. Though the legend may be controversial, it simply states that hidden in Wawel is a Chakra: a mysterious stone which is a source of supernatural energy. For the initiated it is a source of unspeakable power, giving unbelievable spiritual force. The legend refers to a tale of the Hindu god Shiva who cast seven magical stones (the Chakram) into seven parts of the world. One of them was to hit Kraków, while the remaining six reached Delhi, Mecca, Delphi, Jerusalem, Rome, and Velehrad. The partisans of the legend speak of radiesthetic research that proves that the Chakra lies in the remnants of the 11th-century chapel of St Gereon. Others believe that there is a source of negative ions, which generally help relaxation, somewhere under the western wing of the castle.

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kellexplainsitall · 4 years ago

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Keegan started crawling last week. Cue: OMG MY BABY! It's kind of a scoot on his belly, but he is moving! He is super thrilled about this, of course. He just loves trying to chase Miles, but Miles is still too fast for him!

We also dropped off Tim's and my ballot. It feels so weird to not be voting in person, but this is easier for us. And now I am done! I am super hopeful to see the results, and trying not to think of a universe where Donald Trump wins again.

I had a pretty good week of running! On Monday, I ran 8 miles moderate (8:05 pace). I was in a pretty bad mood during this run for some reason, but it got done. On Tuesday, I did 7 easy with the guys, Wednesday was 8 at 7:41 pace with Allison. I was super impressed with us because this had some serious hills. I did 60 minutes of spin on Thursday, 30 minute increments because Keegan inexplicitly woke up at 6 a.m. (foreshadowing!).

On Friday, I ran 8 easy ON THE BOARDWALK! I had an epic workout Saturday, I did a 15-mile progression on the boardwalk, it was 3 loops of the 5-mile loop, I started with an 8:25 mile and ended with a 7:17 with 0 breaks. While the boardwalk is pancake flat with some give, there was a pretty strong wind. On Sunday, I ran 10 easy with my mom.

I also got in six strength workouts, two we did bodyweight from the rental house. It was a good week of workouts.

We arrived at the beach late Thursday. We left home at 7 p.m. and got there around 10 p.m. Keegan did pretty well! He mostly slept in the car (As did I). He did take some coaxing to go down when we got there, but he did great.

Sadly, he was up by 5:30 a.m. on Friday, which became a trend the whole time we were there. Oh well, what can you do? We hung out for a bit while everyone woke up and then my mom and I went for a run on the boardwalk, my favorite place.

Later in the day, we took Keegan down to the beach - he was not too sure about the water! I think it was too cold for him. We walked on the boardwalk for a bit before waiting for my sister to arrive.

Once my sister and brother-in-law arrived, we got my favorite pizza for dinner and just relaxed around the house. We didn't bring Keegan his tub, instead opting to give him a bath in the regular tub, but he was NOT HAVING IT! He had a complete meltdown! We just gave him washcloth baths after that. Babies are funny. I think he was overwhelmed - there were more people there than he was used to and we weren't home.

I was up earlier than I'd have liked with Keegan on Saturday, but I still was able to leave for my run by 6:40, thanks to my dad. After my 15-miler, my mom and I took Keegan for a walk and then Tim and I got acai bowls, WHICH WERE SO GOOD! (But terribly expensive.)

My mom, sister and I spent the day wandering around town and the boardwalk. Mostly everyone had a mask on, even on the boardwalk, so we all felt pretty safe. If we ever felt uncomfortable in a store, we just hightailed it out of there. Keegan did get a new sweatshirt!

We were pretty lazy in the afternoon, we hung out on the roof deck before picking up Mexican for dinner. (I had leftover pizza.)

On Sunday, Tim took over baby duty, so I slept in until 6:15 and waited for my mom to get up so we could run. After that, Tim and I took Keegan on a long walk and in the afternoon, we headed down to the beach to take photos.

Keegan was a champ! He only got fussy after about 1 million pics.

On Sunday, they got Italian and I had more pizza because pizza is life. I was sad to go to bed because it was our last night!

We had planned to stay until Monday night, but it was storming terribly throughout the night and was supposed to continue through the day. I couldn't even run, which made me way too antsy, haha. We left after Keegan's first nap (around 9:15), and he was a champ in the car, napping when time and eating fine. We did make one stop and hit some traffic, so we didn't get home till close to 1, but I was glad to be home to get things done. I went for a run, did laundry, food prepped and child cared. It was a lot to tackle, and I am glad I wasn't drowning today trying to get things done.

I am sad the weekend is over, but we had an amazing time.

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years ago

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The Weekend Warrior 12/13/19: JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL, BLACK CHRISTMAS, RICHARD JEWELL, BOMBSHELL and more!

Woooooooo!!! We’re starting to get to the end of the year with only three more weekends of new movies before we’re into 2020, which on one hand, has to be better than 2019, but maybe not in terms of box office with no “Avengers” or “Star Wars” movie in sight.

Sony Pictures is releasing the second-to-last sequel of the weekend, JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL, which brings back all of your faves, including Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, and introduces a new character played by Awkwafina. I reviewed the movie over at The Beat, and also discussed its box office prospects

I also will have a review of Sophia Takal’s horror remake BLACK CHRISTMAS (Universal) over at The Beat, but that’s mainly interesting since it’s the second remake of the ‘70s horror movie, this one produced by Blumhouse. I really liked Sophia Takal’s previous movie Always Shine, so I’m definitely interested to see what she does with a mainstream horror film.

You can read my reviews of both those movies over at The Beat, although the Black Christmas review is embargoed until Thursday night… make of that what you will. Plus you can read more about the three wide releases over at my weekly Box Office Preview.

One movie I haven’t reviewed over there is Clint Eastwood’s latest, RICHARD JEWELL (Warner Bros.), which stars Paul Walter Hauser as the famed Atlanta security guard who discovered a bomb in the city’s Centennial Park and was then accused of planting the bomb there to be seen as a hero. The movie also stars Sam Rockwell (as Richard’s lawyer), Kathy Bates (as Richard’s mother), Jon Hamm as the FBI guy who is after him and Olivia Wilde as the Atlanta reporter who first breaks the story about Jewell being a suspect. I’m going to try to write a mini-review for this one, but long and short of it, is that this is another really good movie from Eastwood, and if I get a chance, I will write more about it soon.

LIMITED RELEASES

There are a bunch of great movies coming out in limited release, some that will expand wider later in the month.

First and foremost is Jay Roach’s BOMBSHELL (Lionsgate), starring Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly and Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, and if you know those names, then you might already realize that this film written by Charles Randolph (The Big Short) is about the Fox News sexual abuse scandal. Margot Robbie also stars in this one, as does John Lithgow as Roger Aisles, plus there’s lots of other great character actors in roles as people you might know from the news (both on camera and behind the scenes). I was hoping to write a fuller review of this and maybe still will but didn’t have time before getting this column out. Regardless, this is a very intriguing and entertaining film (just like The Big Short) with fantastic performances by all. The movie will expand nationwide next Friday.

Josh and Ben Safdie are back with UNCUT GEMS (A24), starring Adam Sandler as a New York jewelry merchant who gets his hands on a rare South African gem, and then spends the entire movie trying to get it back after lending it out to star basketball player Kevin Garnett (playing himself). I wasn’t really a very big fan of the Safdies’ Good Time, which Millennial critics tend to cream all over, but Uncut Gems is definitely better even if it’s similarly manic. Sandler’s definitely good in the role, but awards-worthy? Not even close… I think this ia good movie being sold by people as a great movie, and I couldn’t disagree more. If you liked Good Time, you’ll probably like this, too. This will be nationwide on Christmas Day.

Terrence Malick is also back, continuing his amazingly prolific degree of filmmaking in his mid-70s with A HIDDEN LIFE (Fox SEarchlight), a three-hour drama about an Austrian farmer (August Diehl) who refuses to swear allegiance to Hitler as WWII begins, which first makes him a bit of a pariah in his rural community but eventually gets him thrown in prison for treason. Valerie Pachner is quite terrific as his wife, and the movie has some great smaller roles for Matthias Schoenaerts, the late Michael Nyqvist, Bruno Ganz and Jürgen Prochnow. If you’re a fan of Malick’s better films than

Kristen Stewart plays French New Wave actress Jean Seberg in Benedict Andrews’ SEBERG (Amazon), about how the actress got into a relationship with Hakim Jamal (played by Anthony Mackie), causing trouble for her career. The movie also stars Margaret Qualley (Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood), Jack O’Connell, Zazie Beetz and Stephen Root, and it will get a limited release this weekend.

Stephen and Robbie Amell star in Jeff Chan’s Code 8 (Elevation Pictures), Robbie playing Connor Reed, a guy with superpowers living in a world where those with powers are minimalized and living in poverty. In desperate need of money to help his ailing mother, Connor gets in with a powered thug named Garrett (played by his cousin, Stephen) to use his powers for elaborate heists. It’s a surprisingly good movie, mainly due to Jeff Chan’s ability to create a big movie on a seemingly limited budget.

You can check out the trailer and Chan’s original short film that inspired the feature below, and my interview with Robbie Amell will be on The Beat on Thursday sometime.

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Steven Luke’s The Great War (Saban/Lionsgate), opening in select cities Fridays, takes place during the last days of WWI where a regiment of African-American “Buffalo Soldiers” are trapped behind enemy lines. When one escapes, he asked to join an all-white troop to find the survivors.s

An interesting doc, especially for lovers of dance, is Alla Kogvan’s documentary Cunningham (Magnolia), which uses 3D technology to explore the life and work of the late choreographer Merce Cunningham (who would be celebrating his centennial anniversary this year), combining archival footage with newly-created performances of Cunningham’s greatest work. This movie reminded me quite a bit of Wim Wenders’ doc Pina in that I enjoyed this, despite having zero to no interest in dance in general. It will open at the Film Forumin New York on Friday, as well as Film at Lincoln Centeruptown, the Royal in L.A, the Arclight in Sherman Oaks and Edwards Westpark 8 in Irvine.

Xavier Dolan’s latest film The Death and Life of John Donovan (Momentum), stars Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, Jacob Tremblay and more. It’s about the relationship between a young actor and a TV star that takes place ten years after the latter’s death. It will open in select cities and On Demand.

Lastly, there’s Danny Abeckaser’s MAFIA drama Mob Town (Saban Films), starring David Arquette, Jennifer Esposito, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and PJ Byrne.

Also, next Monday, Trafalgar Releasing is releasing Gorillaz: Reject False Icons, a new concert doc about Damon Alban’s Blur spin-off group with comic artist Jamie Hewett.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Michael Bay’s action-comedy 6 UNDERGROUND (Netflix), starring Ryan Reynolds, will get a very limited release Weds. before debuting on the service on Friday. I really don’t know much about it other than it’s about six specialists come together to do stuff.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

This weekend, the Metrograph begins a fairly self-explanatory series called “Malick: The First Four Films” to coincide with the release of A Hidden Life (see above), although 2005’s The New World won’t screen until next weekend. Also, the theater also continues its annual “Holidays at Metrograph” series with Billy Wilder’s 1960 Oscar winner The Apartment screening Saturday and Sunday. Welcome To Metrograph: Redux continues with David Lean’s Brief Encounter (1945) on Wednesday and Otto Premingers’ Bunny Lake is Missing (1965) on Friday and Saturday. This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph is David Lynch’s Dune (1984) while Playtime: Family Matinees is the 1992 The Muppet Christmas Carol.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” is Blue Vengeance from 1989, while the weekend’s “Kids Camp” is last year’s animated The Grinch. On Monday evening is a 10thanniversary screening of Vernon Chatman’s Final Flesh. Tuesday’s “Terror Tuesday” is the original Black Christmas from 1974 (already sold out), and “Weird Wednesday” is the 1985 thriller Trancers, hosted by John Torrani.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

The Weds. Afternoon Classics matinee is The Thin Man (1934), starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, while Friday’s “Freaky Fridays” offering is the original 1933 James Whale movie The Invisible Man. The Weds/Thurs double feature is Todd Haynes’ Carol (2015) and Far from Heaven (2002) with DP Ed Lachman appearing on Weds (sorry, sold out!). Saturday and Sunday offers the Kiddee Matinee of A Christmas Story, as well as a special “Holiday Edition” of the New Bev’s Cartoon Club. Friday’s midnight is Tarantino’s own Reservoir Dogs, while Saturday midnight is the holiday horror film Don’t Open Till Christmas (1984). Monday’s Matinee is Bad Santa, starring Billy Bob Thornton and Monday night’s screening is Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander (1982).

FILM FORUM (NYC):

“Scorsese Non-Fiction” will continue through December 17 with screenings this week of Rolling Thunder Revue and Shine a Light, as well as another screening of A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American MoviesFriday, and screenings of the classics The Last Waltz and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan on Sunday.The 70th anniversary 4k restoration of Alec Guinness’ Kind Hearts and Coronets will continue through December 19 with screenings at 12:30 and 6:10pm each day. This weekend’s Film Forum Jr. is the Disney animated film The Aristocrats (1970).

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

After an encore screening of Auntie Mame (1958) on Thursday, the Egyptian will screen a David O. Russell hosted screening of Tourneur’s 1919 film The Broken Butterfly with musical accompaniment on Friday. Saturday night is “Retroformat 10thAnniversary” sponsored by the George Lucas Family Foundation, showing two hours of movies from the early 20thCentury with musical accompaniment. Saturday night is a Spike Jonze double feature of Being John Malkovich and Three Kings, while Adam Driver will continue his awards campaign run by appearing for a double feature of Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Storywith Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson.

AERO (LA):

Terry Gilliam will be appearing in person on Friday night for a TRIPLE FEATURE (!!!) of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Time Banditsand The Adventures of Baron Munchausen… which makes me really wish I lived in L.A. On Saturday, screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will screen their new movie My Name is Dolemite along with Tim Burton’s Ed Wood (1994). Edward Norton and Primal Fear (1995) producer Hawk Koch will appear on Sunday afternoon for a double feature of the latter (in which Norton stars) along with Norton’s own new film, Motherless Brooklyn. Tuesday’s “Christmas Noir” Is Nicholas Ray’s debut TheyLive By Night (1949).

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

MOMI’s own Terrence Malick series ends this weekend with screenings of Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey on Friday and Sunday, The New World: Limited Releas Version on Saturday, as well as The Thin Red Line on Sunday evening. Monday, there is a free screening of Martin Scorsese’s Casino (1995) as part of “Martin Scorsese: Four Movies over Four Decades.” Saturday’s family matinee is Hiroyuki Morita’s 2002 film The Cat Returns, while John Cassavetes’ Gloria (1980) will screen on Sunday afternoon as part of the ongoing “Always on Sunday: Greek Film Series.”

MOMA (NYC):

This week’s new series is called “The Wonders” and it’s the first American retrospective of writer-director Alice Rohrwacher and the actress Alba Rohrwacher. I’m really not that familiar with either although Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro last year was fairly well-received.Modern Matinees: Iris Barry’s History of Filmal so continues this week with Hamlet (1920) today, Greed (1924) tomorrow and a program called “Great Actresses of the Past 1911 – 1916” on Friday.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: May All Your Christmases be Noir will be screening Charles Laughton’s 1955 film The Night of the Hunter, starring Robert Mitchum; Waverly Midnights: Spy Games will screen Hitchcock’s North by Northwest; and Late Night Favorites: Autumn 2019 will show Aliens and Eraserhead.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Not much to report except that there will be an encore screening of the 2001 Korean blockbuster My Sassy Girl on Thursday afternoon.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

Continuing its Nicolas Cage vintage series with 1991’s Zandalee on Wednesday, Barbet Schroeder’s Kiss of Death (1995) on Thursday and Sunday.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

#JumanjiTheNextLevel Bombshell RichardJewell BlackChristmas Movies Reviews TheWeekendWarrior

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hangonimevolving · 5 years ago

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Dad’s Cabbage.

We have had a DOOZY of the last ~3 weeks. Like, doozier than the dooziest times in recent memory. NOTE: this might be the longest post in the history of my blog. I’m not kidding. Sorry. And thanks in advance for whatever effort anyone out there wants to make in reading it.

Alright, here goes:

Wednesday, August 28th-ish: the news starts reporting about a tropical weather system that is gathering steam in the Caribbean islands. It is a serious hurricane, and it is called Dorian, and projections start coming in that it *could* impact South Florida at a Category 5 strength. I absolutely HATE it when the media starts projecting hurricane impacts way, way early - because so many factors are at play, and anything over 72 hours in advance is usually wrong. But the buzz starts circulating, and the kids’ school starts talking about closures, so it is clear I’ve got to start hurricane prep even though I don’t want to. I am just SO annoyed at the prospect of school disruptions, when the kids have literally JUST started school the previous week. Ugh.

Cue annoying trips to Walmart, Lowe’s and the gas stations for provisions, batteries and bottled water, and gasoline. Lots of waiting in long lines. Le sigh.

Thursday, August 29: My parents have been calling from New Orleans to find out what our hurricane evacuation plan is, should we need one... then on their latest phone call, they disclose that they’ve had some weird stuff going on too. That morning, it seems my father randomly fainted in the kitchen. My mom was home, rummaging in the pantry for something, when she heard a loud THUNK. She whirls around, and there is my dad on the floor near the kitchen sink. He had been taking his daily diabetes medication, and as he was swallowing the pill, he suddenly and only momentarily lost consciousness. HE came to right away and was totally with it, but perplexed about what had happened, plus his head hurt from thwacking it on the hard tile floor. After an hour or two of rest, he shrugged the incident off and drove himself to work (UM, yeah, maybe not the best idea!). I find the whole episode mildly troubling, but the fact that he was well enough to go to work makes me feel maybe it was just a random moment...? Who knows.

Friday, August 30: Turns out, over the last 24 hours since thunking his head on the ground, dad hasn’t been feeling too well. His head aches, and he is dizzy and nauseated. RED FLAGS! We all - and especially Dr. Spouse, the neurologist - urge dad to get checked out. He dutifully abides... to a point. He again drives himself to work at his own hospital, where he has been a nephrologist and internist for the last 40-ish years, and goes into the ER where a colleague runs a panel of blood tests on him, obtains a head CT, and orders a stress test for his heart. Fortunately, his head CT comes out clear - but there are some surprising and worrisome issues that pop up on the blood tests and stress test. His cardiac enzymes are showing up slightly elevated - a marker for heart attack. Dad is shocked - but he hasn’t felt even the slightest chest pain, just this dizzy and sick feeling. We are all suddenly feeling that pit in our stomach... but my dad is not entirely convinced that this can be right. Again, dad is a physician himself, and he has no personal history of heart disease - either his instincts tell him this is inaccurate, or he is in denial, but whatever the case - he signs himself out of the ER, which requires him to sign legal papers for discharge “AMA” (against medical advice), and goes home.

Saturday, August 31: All signs are pointing to Hurricane Dorian NOT making landfall anywhere near us, and yet - we are all warned of the possibility of landfall, and the whole town is operating under hurricane precautions. The coming Monday is Labor Day; the schools preemptively announce closures for Tuesday as well.

Meanwhile, calls to New Orleans are not particularly reassuring. Months ago, Mom and Dad have been invited for a wedding of some close friends’ son this day, and they RSVP’ed yes, but now that the day is here, Dad isn’t feeling up to going - more worrisome is that the wedding is taking place at the clubhouse in the very subdivision they live in, but Dad’s not up to even popping by for a bit, even though its down the street. His dizziness and nausea are a little worse. Mom attends alone. Dr. Spouse and I reiterate that he might need further medical workup than he had permitted his ER colleagues to do, but he’s not ready to hear it yet.

Sunday, September 1: Still hanging out, waiting for the hurricane that isn’t coming. The buzz begins about airport and business closures. Dad is about the same, but seems okay resting at home, so my mom is going to some social event that afternoon/evening with my uncle. Around 5-6 pm, my dad calls Dr. Spouse’s phone, and relays that he’s not feeling well at all. He’s already called my mom and uncle back to the house, and they are on their way to take my dad to the emergency room - this time, at a bigger, university-affiliated hospital where my uncle was formerly a neurologist and professor, and has lots of connections. Dr. Spouse takes the opportunity to give my dad a full (respectful but serious) earful about all the various tests and scans he thinks my dad ought to have done, and my dad is eerily receptive. While my dad is an excellent physician in his own right, he has always been the embodiment of the phrase “doctors make the worst patients” - so its almost unnerving that he’s being so open and receptive to anyone’s advice, especially his own son-in-law, who is much younger than him.

They arrive at the ER around 9 at night, where after some initial tests, its discovered that my dad has an 85% blockage of his LAD, the left anterior descending artery that supplies the heart muscle with blood. A 100% blockage of the LAD almost invariably results in a fatal heart attack called a “widow maker.” It’s dad’s good fortune that this has been found out. A plan is made for dad to undergo an angiogram and stent placement the very next day.

Monday, September 2: I am antsy, because I’d ordinarily have rushed to New Orleans to be there for my parents during a serious situation like this, but alas - Dorian, the Hurricane that Would Not Hit Miami, has caused all my area airports to close for 2 days. Frustrated is not even the word for my state of mind. However, my heart goes out to citizens of the Bahamas, who are being pummeled by the slowest moving Category 5 hurricane I’ve ever seen. This morning, over in New Orleans, dad undergoes a successful angiogram and LAD stent placement. He’s moved to the intensive care unit for recovery, and our entire family is seemingly relieved that all has gone well. My mom returns home, with plans to return the next day to bring dad home after his discharge. But late that night/early the next morning, things take a turn.... dad suddenly loses consciousness, his heart rate and blood pressure bottom out, and the code team is summoned to resuscitate him with heart-stimulating medications. We are all shocked to hear this news the next morning.

Tuesday, September 3: The Non-Hurricane is decidedly NOT swirling around us, but the kids are home from school, making chaos and messes everywhere, and excitedly awaiting the hurricane... that is not coming. The only hurricanes we have are pancake hurricanes.

I am on the phone, trying to get real-time updates about dad. IT seems that though the LAD stenting was successful, further review of the angiogram reveals he has blockages in 4 other arteries surrounding the heart. His cardiologist calls in a vascular surgeon colleague, and upon thorough review and consultation with each other, its determined that the best course of action for my dad is a CABG - otherwise known as a coronary artery bypass graft. Open heart surgery - a quadruple bypass!!!! I think we are all struck dumb. At first pass, its hard to believe. At age 74, my dad is still pretty active, works five days a week, and he does about 40 minutes on his elliptical cross trainer about 4-5 times a week. He is a vegetarian, has never smoked and hardly ever consumed alcohol. How could he have such severe coronary artery disease to warrant a bypass?! But we realize over time, he has the risk factors of fairly serious Type 2 diabetes, which in honesty hasn’t always been controlled that well, plus he has a pretty impressive family history of heart disease. Genetics are legit. The surgery is set for Monday, September 9th.

From this point till Sunday, September 8th, we live in a bit of a nervous daze, mentally preparing for the fact that dad is going to have open heart surgery, and getting things in order to support him and my mom in the weeks to come. I call out an SOS to my mother-in-law, who graciously agrees to fly down and help Dr. Spouse with the kids while I fly to NOLA for the big event. I set about getting things prepared at home to make it easier for her and the kids - I wash and iron school uniforms, prepare homework packets for the next 2 weeks, make and freeze custom-shaped airplane pancakes for breakfasts... its a roller coaster of a week. I’m nervous about the events ahead, and also sad to leave the kids for an uncertain amount of time - the longest I’ve ever been away from them till now is 4.5 days! And this time, it might be 2 weeks....

Cue STRESS. I am having trouble sleeping, sitting still, doing anything, really. I realize I’m kind of losing it, and busy myself with two things: running, and volunteering at my local town hall’s relief efforts to help Hurricane Dorian victims in the Bahamas. I spend two days sorting and packing boxes of canned goods, baby diapers, emergency supplies, and other stuff along with other good samaritans in my community. It helps, a LOT.

(that’s my handwriting on those boxes)

Meanwhile, the doctors have insisted that my dad remain in the hospital during this waiting period between the stent placement and his surgery. They are worried that with the degree of blockage he has, he could once again lose consciousness or have a more serious heart attack at home if they release him. So, right there he sits. At some point, he is transferred by medical transport ambulance from one hospital to another, because the vascular surgeon only operates at this other hospital. Mom and Dad send selfies periodically of themselves biding their time, watching Indian soap operas and game shows on their iPad.

Friday, September 6: my sister Rithers arrives in NOLA to spend two days with mom and dad. She’s in a tough spot - she had worked at the same giant corporation for several years, and she’d accrued over 180 days of paid time off there... but just 10 days ago, she had quit that job to start a brand new position at a brand new company, and she’s been terribly excited about this new opportunity - but in so doing, she’s forfeited all her available free days and is down to ZERO. She’s distraught that she can't spend more time - but we all reassure her that its okay, she can come for the weekend to see dad, and the rest of us will be there for the surgery and post-op period.

Sunday, September 8th: Early this morning, at 5 am, I silently kiss and pat Dr. Spouse, Dey, and Vev goodbye, and board a Lyft car to the airport. I make my way towards my airplane for my 7 am flight...

... and I am in New Orleans by 8 am local time.

I took a Lyft directly to Touro Infirmary, and found my way to my dad’s room upstairs on the 8th floor - the cardiac telemetry ward, aka a floor full of patients all on constant heart monitoring, being watched over by specially trained cardiac nurses. My mom and sister drove there too about the same time, and the four of us overlapped in dad’s hospital room for about 30 minutes, before my mom had to take off to drop my sister at the airport for her return flight to DC. It was a surreal experience.

My mom returned, and she and I hung out with my dad till about 7 or 8 that night, at which time we gave him big hugs, and then departed for home. Tough moment. We urged dad to get a really good night’s rest in preparation for the morning. Also, before bed that day, he would be required to take a thorough shower with a special kind of medical-grade antibacterial soap, and then shower once again with it in the morning - this was to help inhibit him from contracting any infections post-operatively. The nurses would help him after showering to wear special sterile gowns, and they would make up his bed with sterile sheets each time. Apparently, he and my mom had gotten a lengthy inservice by the cardiothoracic surgeon’s NP and staff about the importance of infection prevention, limiting visitors post-surgery, etc. and we all took this stuff really seriously.

Mom and I went back home to a dark and quiet house - it was my first time entering that house alone, and so quiet, since Vev was born almost 7 years ago. I haven’t visited NOLA alone once since that time, and it felt totally bizarre and incomplete to be there without the kids :( Mom and I warmed up a quick dinner for ourselves, which we both probably gulped down without tasting a thing. Then we resigned ourselves to bed, where we both probably lay for hours without sleeping before finally succumbing for a few short hours.....

Monday, September 9: Cabbage Day. This is the day my dad’s engine would be completely rebuilt inside his vintage exterior. So so surreal. Mom and I got up early, around 5 am, and quickly showered, then packed our bags with sweatshirts, blankets, iPads, snacks, and other stuff to keep ourselves occupied for the long day of waiting ahead. We sped off to the hospital in the pre-dawn hours and arrived by about 6:15 am to find dad laying in bed wide awake, freshly showered for the second time in the special soap, and tucked in tightly to pristine white sterile sheets. We knew from earlier that we wouldn’t be allowed to touch him, hug him, or even go too close to him. But we sat and talked to him, and mom played some Hindu shlokas (chanting) on her iPhone until the nurses came over to tell us it was time for him to be wheeled down to the pre-op area on the 3rd floor.

I feel like we all had our game faces on. Every single one of us was steeled and ready for this moment - weird as it was.

Mom and I found our way to the surgical waiting room, which was a quiet and comfortable room filled with plush chairs, a few vases of flowers, and a kindly volunteer lady at a desk who kept a coffee maker running, and some muffins on a tray. Within a few minutes, a face familiar to my mom came into the room to greet us. One of my dad’s anesthesiologists for his surgery happened to be an acquaintance of my parents - he is a good friend of my mom’s other brother, who is a general surgeon. Dr. A said hello to us and shook my hand, and he and my mother conversed briefly in Tamil, the Indian language that my family speaks - and then he offered to take us back to see my dad again in the pre-op area (a privilege not usually offered to family members). We followed Dr. A through special double doors and into the pre-anesthesia bay where my dad was now laying on a metal gurney, with his eyes closed. He had been administered a small dose of Versed already, a sedative, because the pre-op team had had to begin prepping him for the surgery. He had a variety of tubes and lines already inserted into him at various places on his body - I’ll detail these later - so I guess they had given him a little Versed to take the edge off as they did all this prep. Dr. A gently said dad’s name and his eyes opened for a minute and saw us. He looked at us for a few moments, then closed his eyes again - it was clear that he was having a hard time keeping them open. Mom and I decided not to stay longer than 2-3 minutes - we didn't want him to fight sleep - so we thanked Dr. A, and found our way back to the waiting room.

Now began the long haul of waiting. The kindly volunteer at the desk provided helpful directions to us for the cafeteria and anywhere else in the hospital we might want to go; she also taught us how to follow dad’s status by tracking his hospital ID number on a big monitor screen on the wall.

Mom and I went to the cafeteria and bought ourselves some breakfast, then took it back to the lounge and ate it while we waited. We decided to take some time to educate ourselves on Sternal Precaution - this is a type of caregiver protocol that is extremely important in caring for patients who have undergone a sternotomy, or surgical breaking of the sternum (breastbone).

The nuts and bolts of the surgery, according to Lay Person Moi, are like this: cut chest skin, break sternum, open pericardium (heart sac), hook patient up to a heart-lung machine so that the heart can be stopped to fix stuff, fix all the clogged vessels by using vessels harvested from other parts of the body (esp lower leg) to bypass them, then take patient off of the heart-lung machine and make sure everything works, then close heart sac, wire sternum back shut, and close skin. EGADS. Yes, they would LITERALLY BE STOPPING MY DAD’S HEART AND LUNGS for a few hours. Isn’t that INSANE?! Yeah. It is pretty wild. It’s also amazing that this type of miraculous medical knowledge and technology exists.

Mom and I weren’t alone in that waiting room for long.... within about an hour, a battalion of my parents’ friends started showing up to wait with us. First came Uncle S, then Uncle D - these are two of my dad’s oldest friends, they all went to medical school together in India in the 1960′s, and somehow all found their way to the United States, where they all then settled down in the New Orleans area to build their lives. Then they all started families around the same time, and us kids all grew up together. I went to high school with Uncle S’s daughter and Uncle D’s son! (and no, none of them are my actual uncles! I have two actual uncles in NOLA too!) Uncle S’s wife Aunty N came, along with Uncle R and Aunty J, and then my ACTUAL uncle, my mom’s brother Marley (the neurologist) showed up. The last well-wisher to arrive was one of my best friends in the entire world, who I will lovingly call LadyWhoDat here, because she’s the biggest New Orleans Saints fan I know. LadyWhoDat is the daughter of another one of my dad’s med school friends, and his medical practice partner of over 40 years; she and I went to school together from Kindergarten through 8th grade, we did Indian classical dance together our whole childhoods, played together, trick or treated together, had sleepovers and tea parties and attended nearly every Saints game together in the Superdome from about the 2nd grade till we graduated high school. We were the MC’s for each others’ weddings, and we both had our first and second children in the same years. She is an amazing friend - and she is now a high-risk OB/GYN and she happens to work at Touro hospital. It was sooo thoughtful of her to take time out of her busy life to be with us that day - and she had already visited my parents a number of times in the previous week.

So altogether, my dad’s entourage numbered at a whopping NINE people, and we were absolutely the biggest group in that surgical waiting room that day. Aunty J had thoughtfully brought my mom some Indian food for lunch. I ran down to the cafeteria and snagged a limp piece of pizza to bring back. I don’t think we were even hungry - we just needed something to do with ourselves during the waiting time, otherwise we would go bonkers.

The surgery had started a tiny bit late, around 10:30-11 am, but by 3 pm, we got a phone call from an OR nurse who announced that the surgery was complete, that it had been a success, and that they were closing now. PHEW. A palpable sigh of relief washed over us all. The well-wishers loaded me and mom up with hugs and supportive shoulder squeezes, and then one by one, they went on their way. Mom and I settled back down in the waiting room and waited another few hours, until finally, we got word that Dad was out of the OR and settled in his room in the ICU for the night. We were told that dad would remain sedated and intubated, on a ventilator, for several hours more, but that we could pay him a short visit if we wanted. So we gathered up our stuff, steeled ourselves, and shuffled slowly towards the ICU.

I was really grateful at that moment to be married to Dr. Spouse, who is a critical care neurologist. My husband works every single day of his life in an Intensive Care Unit, where breathing tubes, ventilators, IV’s and tubes and lines and all sorts of bleeping, blinking machines surrounding an unconscious or semi-conscious patient are the norm. I’ve visited ICU’s a couple of times in my life, sometimes as a friend or family member of a sick person, but other times just in the course of accompanying Dr. Spouse at work as he passed through before we went on to do something else. So I had seen a lot of the actual equipment and “stuff” before.

Its a very, very different ball game when its your parent laying there. Dad was still on the metal gurney, with his torso kind of propped up in a sitting-up position - but his eyes were closed and he was clearly still knocked out. He had a large breathing tube in his mouth, going down his windpipe, connected to the ventilator, which made his chest slightly puff in and out in a mechanical way. His tongue was sort of lolled out to the side, to stay out of the way of the tube, I guess. He had a Swann-Ganz catheter inserted in the side of his neck to monitor his heart and lungs, and a central line entering his upper neck/chest area for the administration of fluids and medication. He had two IV’s going, one in each arm, and a pulse ox on his finger. There were chest tubes coming out of each side of his rib cage and connected to a thora-seal - a collection chamber for post-operative blood and fluids accumulating in his chest cavity. (*this might have been the most alarming thing to look at, though I knew it would be there - though he had the appropriate amount of post-operative oozing going on, it was still kind of scary to see how much red fluid was collecting in the chamber). There were two pacemaker wires sticking out of the skin of his chest for monitoring his heart, in addition to the giant bandaged incision right over his sternum. He had a foley catheter attached to a collection bag for urine. All together, I counted like 16 different contraptions sticking out of his body. YIKES.

Some of the scary stuff around him...

Shudder. Poor guy. Mom and I stood silently for about 2-3 minutes, while some ICU nurses and personnel moved about efficiently, attending to the beeping screens and monitors, and flashing us warm, reassuring smiles. They gave us a direct phone line to the ICU to check on Dad later, but also said they’d call us once he woke up and was breathing steadily enough to come off the ventilator. So at about 6:30 pm, we whispered to Dad that we’d see him in the morning, then at long last went to the car and drove home.

That night, dazed and exhausted from the day but too keyed-up and anxious for information to really rest, Mom and I tuned into the Saints game on Monday Night Football versus the Texans. It turned out to be a real nail biter! As if the nail biter of the day we’d just had wasn't enough :) With 40 seconds left on the clock in the 4th quarter, it looked like we were going to lose to the Texans in our own stadium - but through a series of miracles - we ended up scoring a touchdown and a field goal, to win the game 30-28!

We called the ICU at this precise moment, around 9:30 pm, and they told us that it was such a coincidence we’d just called right then - b/c dad had come around, and was signaling to them to remove his breathing tube, because he was breathing over the ventilator. YAY!!!! We wearily went to bed, still somewhat keyed-up, but glad for positive news to end our day.

We got up early again the next morning to arrive at the ICU to see Dad around 8:30. I actually went for a run this morning, knowing it would again be a long day of sitting around. Our plan was to get there in the morning, then mom would stay and hang out with dad for a few hours while I would come home and rest for some time - then I’d return in the evening around 7 pm to have dinner with her, then spend the night with dad once he was transferred back up to the cardiac ward. We walked into dad’s ICU room to find him alert, talking, and kind of agitated - he was talking about being hungry, demanding his breakfast, and alarmed that without eating, his blood sugar would go down. It seemed to me that he was a little disoriented, didn’t appear to have any idea what day it was or how long it had been since he’d had surgery, or that he was actually on a glucose/nutrient IV and insulin pump at that moment to keep his blood sugar level perfectly stable. So I talked to him, explained to him that he was in the ICU, that it was Tuesday, September 10 at about 9 in the morning, that he had only just come out of surgery about 18 hours before, that he had only come off the ventilator about 11 hours before, and that he was on glucose and insulin IV. Once this was all put into chronological perspective for him, he kind of calmed down and started talking to us normally. He explained that an overhead light hanging above his bed was blocking the digital clock on the wall, and that he had no idea what time it was - he chuckled at this, and we all did. So funny the conveniences that hospitals think they’re putting up for their patients, but then little logistical things like the placement of the light, etc. make these conveniences moot! We talked for a bit - he said he was not in any real pain, but that he was hungry. Perhaps most interestingly of all to me, Dad had been gifted his STERNAL PILLOW. I’d read and seen a lot about this online, but it was sort of a big deal to me to see it in real life. The sternal pillow is a pillow that open-heart surgery patients get after their procedure; it is often shaped like a heart (I assume just for aesthetic purposes) and is used to keep the patient from engaging their chest/arm muscles while sitting up, standing, and even coughting/sneezing. The patient has to hug their pillow to the chest while changing position or coughing/sneezing as a reminder not to use their upper body, and risk re-opening their sternal incision or stressing the sternum bone, which has been closed up with wire.

I told my dad that once he was well and recovered from everything - that I wanted to keep his pillow as a souvenir. I couldn’t help but think it was cute :)

He kept dozing off in between short snippets of conversation - he was still on IV morphine, which explained the absence of pain but also the spontaneous sleeping. My mom and I hung out there awhile, then when it was clear he was going to sleep a lot that day, we decided to leave. We thought it might be a good use of our time to go to Walmart, and run some other errands - so we left and went directly to do these things. We bought some groceries and other supplies that might be useful to have at home, then went back home and had some lunch. We both then decided to take a nap, with the plan that upon waking, mom would go to the hospital on her own and stay awhile, then I’d follow on my own later that evening to relieve her, then I’d spend the night. And this is what happened. Mom woke up and left for the hospital around 3 pm, while I stayed, puttered around the house, then showered, ate some dinner, packed a bag, and took off for the hospital around 7 pm.

I arrived at 7:30, and went straight to the ICU waiting room. The next few hours were kind of a boring blur - we’d heard that my dad would be transferred back upstairs to the 8th floor, but there wasn’t clear communication on when this would actually happen - so both my mom and I were waiting, in separate areas (she in the ICU by dad’s side, me in this random lounge). It seemed really stupid and pointless that we were both there, but not in the same place. She asked me if I was serious about staying the night, and would I prefer that she did it - but I was adamant that I’d stay and let her leave. The previous week, she had spent several nights in the hospital with my dad, sitting in uncomfortable chairs and not sleeping properly. I figured I ought to do a few nights and give her a break, especially because once he was discharged to home, she’d be tasked with caring for him on her own, around the clock, so I thought she ought to rest a little before that. I eventually found my way into the ICU to sit with dad, and she got to go home. My dad started urging me around 11 pm that I ought to leave too - that it didn’t appear like anyone would be transferring him anywhere, anytime soon. He was getting frustrated that I was sitting in a crappy stiff chair... I insisted that I’d stay, but it was upsetting him more and more - so I got up to go around midnight, but was stopped by a nurse who said it was transfer time. Murphy’s law. So then I headed up to the 8th floor, and into the room which would be my dad’s for this second round on the cardiac telemetry unit - M823. I ensured that the room had a plush recliner, at my mom’s urging, and a few minutes later, the orderlies arrived with my dad. I made some room for them to transfer him from the gurney to the bed, which was sort of a nerve-wracking thing to witness, what with all the tubes and wires sticking out of him, and the delicate condition of his post-operative wounds and stuff - but it all went smoothly. My dad’s heart monitors indicated that he was experiencing a slight arrhythmia - which the nurse attributed to “all the excitement” of being moved and transferred - so they had to start him on an IV of amnioderone, a drug which stabilizes the heart rhythm. Then they left us to sleep. By this time, it was about 2 am on Wednesday, September 11th.

He looks just about as exhausted as he actually was in this picture.... what a disorganized transfer, ugh :(

The nurses made sure he was settled, then shut off the lights to let us sleep.

I think it was around 3-3:30 am when dad started kind of moaning, groaning, cursing and crying out - - and I knew that the morphine he had been given in the ICU was wearing off, and the post-surgical pain was setting in :( I felt bad for him. I asked him repeatedly if he wanted me to get the nurse to give him something for pain, but he declined.... He’d continue writhing and moaning till sunrise. I went down to the cafeteria at some point and bought myself a breakfast burrito to bring back to the room, and I ate there because I didn’t want to miss the physicians’ rounds. I was present when the cardiologist and internist both made their visits to check up on dad, and he finally conceded that he needed something for the pain. The internist prescribed him some Percocet, which he took. My mom arrived somewhere around 10 am, and she took my place, sending me wearily off to home to get some rest.

I went home, showered, ate a second breakfast/brunch, then checked in with Dr. Spouse on the phone briefly around 12 noon, before hitting the sack for a few hours. My eyes automatically opened up around 3:30-4 pm, and I couldn’t sleep any longer. I texted mom to check in, and saw that the PT had come to my dad’s room to make him walk a lap around the ward. My mom mentioned that he was complaining of dizziness and nausea, and he balked at doing the PT, but eventually did it. Upon completing his lap, he ended up vomiting due to the nausea, which was a bummer to hear because he’d hardly been eating anything except a few teaspoons of jello the last day - but oh well. He got back into the bed and was sleeping in small stretches.

I once again made my way back to the hospital in the evening, with the plan to take the night shift. My mom was reluctant to let me do another night in a row, but I insisted again. This night, my dad and I seemed to sleep from about 11 pm to 3 am, relatively uninterrupted - hard to do in a hospital, because people are coming in every 30-45 minutes to check vitals, administer meds, or do whatever - but I really thought we got a decent stretch this night. He claimed later to me that he barely slept (though he was snoring? I dunno). At 3 am, dad woke up suddenly, and immediately started vomiting. I jumped up, lurched forward, and held a plastic basin for him. But I saw that absolutely nothing was coming up. No small wonder - in the 8+ hours I had been there, he hadn’t eaten or drank a thing, and the day before that, he’d only had like 2 spoons of jello. I ran out of the room and got a nurse immediately, and talked with her about what was going on. Here he was, in pain, getting Percocet, but he was super nauseated and not eating or drinking, and now he was vomiting. I didn’t feel like this was good for him. She got him some Zofran, an anti-nausea medication, and administered it in his IV. It appeared to take at least 40 minutes to kick in, and somewhere in that time he had another dose of pain meds, and then once again he settled back down and fell asleep for a few hours. But he woke up again around sunrise, once again in pain, and before long he was again feeling the nausea and dizziness.

The morning shift nurse arrived around 7:30 am and introduced herself, and offered to help my dad get up, brush his teeth, and clean up a little in the bathroom. He was reluctant at first, which worried me - he is usually very insistent upon brushing his teeth first thing in the morning - but he said he was feeling so weak, dizzy and nauseous, that he wasn’t sure he could stand. The nurse tried encouraging him, and helped him up and into the bathroom.... moments later, I could hear him vomiting in there, and her reassuring him. I was troubled by all of this, knowing he hadn’t eaten anything. I discussed it at length with the nurse and she was sympathetic, and just urged my dad to try and eat something soon. He said he’d try, but he didn’t seem very enthusiastic or sure he could do it. In general, he was being VERY reluctant to do ANYTHING at all - he tried to refuse doing his PT, he didn’t want to sit in a chair for awhile or even sit his bed up a bit, and getting him to do his respiratory therapy was a huge chore. Dad had been instructed to take 2 minutes out of every hour he was awake to do 10 reps, sucking on an incentive spirometer, to help him fully re-inflate his lungs after they had essentially been “turned off” and deflated for a few hours during surgery. Even this small effort, he didn’t want to do - despite knowing how important it is to prevent pneumonia :(

He managed to swallow maybe 2-3 more spoons of jello that I fed him, but he couldn’t do much more than that. We discussed it briefly, and he explained to me that both amnioderone and Percocet had a side effect of nausea, and in addition, the cardiologist had him taking a VERY high dose of cholesterol-lowering medication that had a common side effect of elevating the liver enzymes, which also caused severe nausea. He was frustrated at the medications and dosages he was on, and at this point, he started questioning things, demanding they run bloodwork to see his liver enzymes, and refusing certain medications from the nurses. I was worried about this, but also knew that he probably knew what he was talking about. It would turn out that he was right - his liver enzymes WERE elevated - but we only got the results of that bloodwork the next day. Anyway, the nurse was willing to allow him to skip his cholesterol medications and even the pain meds, but she wouldn’t turn off the amnioderone, and her call to dad’s physician confirmed that they’d insist he stay on that to stabilize his heart. Dad’s nausea started abating just a tad at this point, but he’d still have it for another day or so, till his liver enzymes started coming down.

It was now the morning of Thursday, September 12th. I felt like dad hadn’t slept much at all this night, and I hadn’t either... as soon as it was an appropriate time, I called Dr. Spouse to sing him the “Happy Birthday” song. It was his 40th birthday today! I of course felt bad to be missing it, especially after the GIANT EXTRAVAGANZA he had thrown me for my own 40th birthday - but of course he was understanding and wouldn’t have wanted me anywhere else but with my parents at this time.

My mom arrived kind of late this day, around 10:30 am, but I didn’t take off just as she arrived. A few hours earlier, I had actually requested that the nurse page the hospital social worker for me and set up an appointment to talk, as I wanted to meet with her and discuss setting my dad up with a home health aide and other assistive services at home after his discharge. There was buzz that my dad would be discharged the following day, on Friday - and while many people would see this as good news, I confess I was in a PANIC. Dad still did not look well at all, he was still in an a-fib heart rhythm, he was eating less and less with each passing day, and I was NOT CONFIDENT that his coming home would be a good thing at this point. The last thing I wanted was for him to come home, only for us to have to rush him to the hospital again. I was also worried about how we would take care of him at home, and ensuring that my mom had adequate support. I’d been doing research and making some calls throughout the week to find out more about setting up a home health aide, but I got really serious about it this day.

I met with the social worker around 11 am that morning, and she was really helpful - she helped me figure out which services my dad’s insurance and Medicare would cover, and which services we’d have to acquire by self-pay. My dad qualified for a registered nurse to visit him at home 1-2 times a week for checking vitals and his surgical wound healing, to do “patient education” (LOL - my dad would probably kick into doctor mode and try to “educate” the nurse if she dared to teach him anything about heart function), and to draw blood for labs if needed. He would also receive 2-3x/week visits from a physical therapist and/or occupational therapist for cardiac rehab in the home, for a couple of weeks. YAY! I was so happy to hear that these services were available to him. The social worker provided me with a brochure and a list of local agencies to call and set these things up for him, and advised me to ask them if they accepted his insurance before moving forward. She also happily agreed to start the pre-authorization process for these services with my dad’s insurance company and medicare, and I thanked her profusely. She was very pleasant about it and actually praised me for being so proactive, saying “I wish more families were like you! A lot of them don’t think of all this till they’re already home, then they have to play catch-up after the fact!” It was so nice to have the aid of a warm, encouraging, and helpful person like this... I’ll never forget her.

But, though I was glad for the few services that insurance would cover, what I really wanted for my parents was MORE help at home - at this juncture, I was really anxious about how my mom would manage just ordinary, day-to-day things, because with his sternal incision, my dad needed a LOT of help to get up from bed, to come to a sitting or standing position, walking around the house, going to the bathroom/shower, etc. and I just didn’t think she’d be strong enough for all that, especially considering that she’d just had knee surgery herself a few weeks ago.

Unfortunately, neither insurance nor Medicare provided anything to help with this - what we would need was a “home care sitter” or “respite sitter,” basically an assistant to provide some muscle and an extra set of hands around the house. Some agencies had people on staff who could do this for a fee, but there was no way for me to see if these folks were well-reviewed. So I decided to use Care.com to try and find a sitter, since I’d used it many times for babysitting services and nannies with my kids, and had good experiences. After some legwork and phone calls, I was able to find a local woman who lived close to my parents’ home, and who could come everyday for about 7-8 hours a day for the first 2 weeks of my dad’s recovery at home. I set up an in-person interview with her for Sunday 9/15. I also read reviews, made calls, and at long last selected a well-reputed local home health agency for the nurse and PT/OT visits, and set up their initial client intake meetings for Saturday 9/14.

After the meeting with the social worker, I went home to sleep for awhile again. My mom had told me that she INSISTED she’d do the night shift this night, that there was no way I’d be permitted to say a 3rd night in a row. I didn’t want to agree to this - I really hated the thought of my mom sleeping on that horrible recliner - but she was adamant. I told her we could touch base in the afternoon. So I crashed for a few hours.

I called her around 3-4 pm, and she informed me that my dad was being sort of cranky and grumpy, and that she really felt it was time for her to stay with him because she would probably be able to make him feel more comforted and less self-conscious than me. He was now insisting on getting up to use the bathroom - no more bedside urinal - and that there was no way he would let me assist him with that. I knew that was probably true, so I said okay. She suggested I get to the hospital a little earlier, around 5-5:30, and that I have dinner with her, spend some time, then go home around 9:30-10 pm. So I said okay. She asked me to prepare some rasam for my dad, thinking perhaps he might eat better if he had something more familiar and palatable than jello. Rasam is a peppery broth, flavored with tamarind paste, tomatoes, and coriander leaves, and usually eaten over steamed white rice. Though I do make rasam frequently enough to know how to do it, I’m not a gourmet cook - and I cringed at the thought of my crappy cooking being the thing to try and tempt him to eat... but I decided to do it: I’d cook something for my dad :)

I poured a bit of the rasam over some freshly-made white jasmine rice, then put the whole thing into the blender and pureed it. I ladled a little of it into a thermos, and packed it in my bag to go to the hospital.

On my way to the hospital, I stopped by my uncle Marley’s house - my mom’s brother, the neurologist uncle who had helped get Dad to the ER in the first place. His house is in the same subdivision as my parents’, just down the street. His wife, my aunt Shreeks, was away for the week, and he was home alone. Marley retired a few years ago and has himself been going through some challenging health problems; I’d actually been more worried about him than my own dad in the months leading up to my dad’s surprise heart troubles. So even if all of this hadn’t happened, I probably would have made a few trips to visit with Marley and hang out with him.... I had been texting with him throughout the whole hospital thing with my dad, and knowing he was all alone at home, feeling anxious about my dad, and a little guilty that his own health problems did not allow him to come visit my dad or be more involved in his care, I just felt an obligation to go spend some time with him and assure him that we had it all under control. Marley has been an important figure in my life - a second father, a mentor, and always a comedian who has brought levity and laughter into our family gatherings. Even my kids adore him. I always feel lucky that he lives so close to my folks and that I get to visit him whenever I’m in town.

Pic of Marley with Vev and Dey from last summer; they’d also actually just hung out with him a few weeks ago....

Anyway. After a few minutes at Marley’s house, just shooting the shit and updating him about my dad, I took off and made my way to the hospital. I delivered the care package of rasam to my mom, who took a small taste and exclaimed “THUPPA!” which means ghee/butter :) I confess I’d played it a little fast and loose with the ghee, knowing how much he likes it.... yeah yeah yeah, the guy just had a quadruple bypass, we are going to have to make sure he is on a heart-healthy diet from now on. But since he hadn’t eaten in nearly four days, and we were desperate to try and get him to eat something, I figured we’d try and play to his favorite tastes for now :)

Dad ate maybe 2-3 tiny spoonfuls of the rasam/rice puree, which wasn’t much - but at least it was something other than jello. He was kind of frustrated because even despite almost entirely starving for days, and still receiving regular insulin doses, his blood sugars were nearly 300 at each testing. But he himself had told me years ago, when the body is under severe stress, sometimes the blood sugar shoots way up. Maybe that’s what was going on.

He fell asleep again, and mom and I decided to go down to the cafeteria and rustle up some dinner. She got a bagel with cream cheese, and I got a Beyond Burger. We ate together, then I headed back up for one more quick visit with dad before then heading home for the night.

I came back the next morning after a brief run in the park, and was told that dad would be getting discharged this day. My mom and I were both glad in a way, because it was evident dad wouldn’t be getting much sleep if we stayed in this hospital any longer - the multiple days in a row of vitals checks every 45 minutes, interruptions all night for meds and IV’s and other things, were just getting OLD at this point. His nausea wasn’t great, he still had it - but, it was a tiny bit better than before. He seemed motivated to come home - he managed to agree to a shower this morning; his doctors had come and removed his pacemaker wires and chest tubes, so he could move around more freely than before. My mom helped him shower and clean up, and he looked much better afterwards.

I hung out for awhile, allowing my mom to go home, shower, and do a few things for herself. My dad was resting at one point, when I got a text from my BFF, LadyWhoDat. She was in the hospital with some free time today, and wondered if I might be up for meeting for a cup of coffee or something. I asked my dad if that was okay, and he said sure - so I headed down the elevators to meet up with her. We sat and chatted for about an hour, and it was WONDERFUL - we caught up about our husbands and kids, but also ourselves, which was so, so nice. It was awesome to hear about how she is training for a full marathon, and poignant to hear the challenges she’s faced trying to balance her fast-paced career with the demands of momming THREE little boys. We were long overdue for some bonding time, and it was awesome to get it.

My mom texted me toward the end of the hour, saying she had returned to the hospital, but that I could take my time, nothing was really going on. So eventually I found my way back upstairs after saying goodbye to LadyWhoDat, and resumed my perch in dad’s room. It took HOURS - but somewhere around 3-4 pm, they decided the discharge could happen. We packed up dad’s things, then my mom suggested I head down and load up my car, and head home, stopping at the grocery store and pharmacy along the way to fill his prescriptions. She would accompany my dad to the car she had driven in and we’d all probably get home around the same time.

I did as instructed, schlepping his suitcase, misc bags of snacks and blankets and other stuff my mom and I had accumulated during our respective time in the recliner chair, and all our other crap - and I headed downstairs. I drove off to the pharmacy, dropped off his prescriptions, then went to the nearby grocery store for some things she’d asked for. I also picked up a balloon bouquet and card for dad, before getting the medications and then driving home.

My mom called me once I’d gotten home and asked me to prepare a plate for aarti, a ceremony of welcoming, that she wanted to do for Dad upon his reentry of the house. I did my best to make it. The aarti plate is usually silver, and has a mixture of water, vermillion, and turmeric in it. It also has a small silver oil-lamp in the middle. I felt like I made a mess, but it more or less had all the proper stuff going on.

Soon enough, they were home!

The first thing Dad said when he walked in the door is “the minute I stepped out of that hospital, half my nausea went away.” LOL :)

Nothing like sleeping in your own bed....

So... Friday, September 13th, a whopping 14 days after first going to the emergency room for weird, non-specific symptoms he couldn’t really piece together - my father finally returned home with his same, vintage body - and a fully rebuilt engine <3

I stayed home a few more days, to see through the entire home health arrangements, and also just hang out and help my parents out with things. During this time, I went running a few times in the neighborhood, watched a bunch of TV with my parents, and checked out some childhood crap and other sights of interest around the house....

a “book” authored by my sister, probably in about the 1st grade... this is the same sister who is now a graphic designer, and self-declared authority on all things color. She’s a Pantone Institute to herself.

a MUCH LOVED favorite childhood book series of mine - the “Little House on the Prairie” books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder! I actually reread two of them in the few days I was home :)

An awesome garden frog, just chilling on the gate.

About an hour or two after dad was comfortably settled at home, he asked that we invite Marley over to see him. Marley came, and the two of them visited for a short time. I think Marley was awash in relief to know that dad was, at long last, home and doing well.

Though I think my mom and I were both a little nervous as night fell, fortunately things with dad went pretty smoothly. I think he slept okay, and there weren’t any major alarming incidents or concerns overnight. He might have had to go to the bathroom once or twice, and my mom accompanied him just to ensure he was steady on his feet - but it was all fine.

The next morning, dad seemed even better. He claimed he hadn’t slept well and was tired, but I actually think he slept alright - he just had fatigue from all the medications, the recovery, and probably from the blood loss he had experienced in surgery. All of that I’m sure was tiring, but it would get better with time. Dad spent the day about half in bed, half on the sofa, and I was pleased - he hadn’t wanted to sit up much in the hospital, but he seemed to be more okay with it now. The home health agency nurse and physical therapists came by to do their initial assessments - so out the gate, upon discharge, my parents could see that the next step of recovery was beginning, and that they’d have folks around for that.

Sunday was even better. I did a quick trip to the Vietnamese market (for some groceries my mom needed, but also to score a veggie banh mi from the adjacent food stall for myself, ha!) and also the regular grocery store for milk and stuff. There was a Saints game this afternoon (which we lost, boo), and we also had the interview with the respite care sitter and her manager this day, which went well. We hired her and asked her to start on Tuesday. Following her departure, I finally agreed to buy my return ticket home. My parents were starting to get anxious that I had “abandoned my duties” back in Florida to help them out for so long, but that the kids and Dr. Spouse were probably beginning to miss me. They were also feeling terribly guilty, because this week, I had actually planned a big reunion trip with some of my college girlfriends, and I had had to miss it. I didn’t care one bit about this, but they of course felt very bad about it. They wanted me to get back to my life as soon as I could. Now that the home health agency and the sitter were all squared away, I finally felt comfortable to do it... so I bought a ticket back to Florida for the early morning of Tuesday 9/17.

Monday was a chill day. I hung with dad for a few hours while Mom visited the Hindu temple, and then she returned and we all just vegged out. Marley came for dinner that night, which was nice, and dad was in the best spirits and with the most energy and stamina that I’d seen him since the surgery. He was able to sit on the sofa recliner for several hours, and he ate like 2-3 chapatis with vegetables and rice. That was really great to see.

My flight the next day was at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am. I’d have to leave the house at 3:45 am to get to the airport. So I arranged a Lyft for myself and instructed my parents NOT to wake up and see me off. But they did anyway. They both hugged and thanked me for all my help, and my mom walked me out to the dark driveway while I awaited my driver. I could hear an owl loudly hooting in the dark, which was kind of awesome - Vev would have loved it.

Soon enough, a giant Dodge Ram pickup truck was pulling into my parents’ driveway, and I was off.

I landed in Ft. Lauderdale around 8 am, and Lyfted it home, where I was greeted by my smiling mother-in-law. We chatted for awhile, then I went to shower and rest till it was time to pick up the kids from school.

Pixel seemed happy to see me too :)

The kids’ smiles upon my picking them up were huge - it was an awesome reunion. I feel like they each grew a foot in the 11 days that I was away from them. They had a zillion things to tell me and update me about, even though I’d FaceTimed them multiple times a day. We chatted and talked till it was time for me to take them to swimming lessons. It felt really good to be back in mom mode.

School pictures that they had taken during my absence. They look huge.

My MIL stayed another two days before finally leaving on Thursday, then Friday morning, Dr. Spouse took off for a weekend trip with his college buddies in Austin. It was just me and the kids for the weekend, and it was mostly quiet but good, with the usual playing and throwing toys in every corner of the house :)

Dr. Spouse returned late night on Sunday, and at long last - life was back to normal again. I made sure to plan a special morning outing for him on Tuesday, as a belated birthday celebration. We went to a 10:15 am show of the “Downton Abbey” movie!!! We were both superfans of the series when it was on-air, so it was fun to go see the movie together :)

Yes, we had popcorn and a Coke Icee at 10 in the morning!!!

Magazine I’d bought a few days earlier, but didn't permit myself to open till seeing the movie, out of a fear of spoilers.

Over the last few days, I’ve had a chance to write thank you cards to the many healthcare providers and support staff who helped my dad and our family out over the last two weeks. I had kept a careful list going throughout the whole experience of my dad’s illness, and I went and purchased some pretty thank-you cards with my MIL before she had left. It felt good to say a few words of gratitude to each and every person who had helped him through this unexpected illness.

I put a picture of our family in each card, so the person could remember the patient in question. It only took a short time to write these cards - but these folks helped us a lot, and I think they ought to know how much we appreciate it! I also sent a special birthday card and present to LadyWhoDat, whose 40th was a few days later - she went above and beyond for my parents, and I am so grateful.

Anyway. So, that’s more or less the end of the story of my Dad’s Cabbage. He will still be doing cardiac rehab, and undergoing monitoring and follow-ups for a good long while.... but I think the rebuilt engine will hopefully continue to thrive in the vintage body for some time. And with lots of good reasons.... he’s a pretty important person around these parts.

February 2013: first time meeting Vev

Dec 2014: first time meeting Dey

May 2019: hanging out with Vev and Dey

#family #Dad #CABG #heart #travel

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my-lonely-married-life · 8 years ago

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So my life is the problem...

Another week, another grueling counseling session… Tuesday came and I wasn't looking forward to our counseling session. After last week's session where she came out of it and wouldn’t even talk to me, I wasn't sure what to expect this week. I knew that I wanted to bring up her attitude after that session and how she barely would talk to me Sunday when I got back in town from spending the weekend with a friend in Houston.

For those of you that follow this blog, you probably don't know me. Let me explain a little bit about me, I tend to make a plan weeks in advance of the date. When I want to do something, I want to go and know where I am going to be by certain times. When I'm done with what I need to accomplish, I will leave when I'm ready to leave. With my wife, its always been her plan. We leave when she's damn good and ready. There is no negotiating that we leave early. I also made a pact with myself 4 years ago when I went back to the gym. I rarely skip my workouts. If I do skip going to the gym I supplement in some other work (IE work outside all day or something). I try to stay active because of two reasons, I don't want to lose my momentum of staying active. I don't want to fall back into old habits. The second reason is that my time at the gym is probably the only thing that keeps my anxiety in check. I've had General Anxiety Disorder since I was 12 but I wasn't diagnosed till my mid-20s. It took me meds, counseling (fuck all that) and finally going to the gym at least an hour a day, 6 days a week to keep my depression and anxiety under control. Even then there are days that it gets the better of me.

So back to counseling and how this plays into my marriage problems. My wife likes to travel a lot. She loves to go out of town and not come back till late Sunday afternoons if we are lucky. I hate that. If I go out of town, the work that didn't get done during the week (Laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning the house) doesn't get done. It usually means that I start the week behind on everything, no clean work or gym clothes, rushing to the grocery store late Sunday night, leaving the bags unpacked in the bed room or on the kitchen floor for a week (God knows she won't unpack them till the following weekend). Her issues this week after I brought up her crying and how she is still trying to "process" everything that is going wrong with our marriage, she ganged up on me with the counselor about how I don’t bend my rules around her.

With her, I also avoid making a plan that involves her. I have tried for years to make plans and make things work with us but every time she bails out on it at the last minute because she doesn't want to go or she's just tired. It pisses me off every time. An example would be me asking to go to Conroe (an hour from our house) to buy work clothes and have lunch together. I can make these plans on a Monday morning or even the week before with reminders in her Outlook calendar. By Wednesday or Thursday she will have come up with some excuse that she's tired and doesn't want to go. Its happened so much since we started having issues in our marriage that I stopped asking. Now when I need something, I buy it online (amazon prime is amazing) and just have it shipped to the house.

So by the end of this week's counseling session, I felt ganged up on. I felt that how I prefer to live my life is the problem. Even though I try my hardest to avoid conflict and just go with the flow on everything. No, I am not going to change and skip my workouts on the weekends. I will go early before she gets up because I have to get it done or I will struggle with how frustrated I am the rest of the day. I will try to go out of town but I know every time we go somewhere her mom till tag along because she can't be alone.

I hate how our lives are so different and not supportive. It's always a struggle to find the middle ground where we both aren't fighting each other. I hate it. I really want out.

#divorce #i just want out

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keywestlou · 5 years ago

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KEY WEST PARTY TOWN NO MORE.....ALL BARS AND NIGHT CLUBS CLOSED

As of 5 pm yesterday, all bars, night clubs, and restaurants in Key West were ordered closed.

Party time ended swiftly. On St. Patrick’s Day no less.

What was will return when the virus passes. The world will come alive again. In the meantime, we all have to be careful. Better safe than sorry.

The Governor closed all bars and nightclubs state wide. Restaurants will be permitted to remain open. No alcohol to be served. Restaurants must only operate at 50 percent capacity. People must be seated with a 6 foot separation.

A stupid move on the Governor’s part. Shut it all down! The idea is to keep people home and not out and about. Might not be a problem in the end. People will be out of work and have no money to spend. Even with government assistance money will be in short supply.

Information is generally swift on TV and the internet. So much going on that not everything is shared.

The Key West Citizen is useless. They only publish every other day. For more than a year now. Finances.

The best place for local news is KONK Life. I refer specifically to the KONK Life E-Blast which appears every day on the internet. Subscribe to it. It’s free.

Guy de Boer does a wonderful job!

Sometimes, I see what others do not.

I predicted sunday that the House bill would not be acted upon by the Republican Senate monday. Here it is wednesday and it still has not been acted upon.

The true problem is the Republicans want to favor corporate interests above those of the working class. The Republicans want to really make the working class second class citizens this time.

Another prediction. Better phrased as a concern.

I reported 4 weeks ago when all this started that ammunition sales had increased 400 percent in one week. This weekend it was reported that gun sales have surged.

Why? My sense is people are concerned about themselves and their families first. Properly so. They trust not the government. Blame Trump.

With everything closing down, they fear what may come. Food scarcity, thievery, etc. It will be each man for himself.

Don’t say no. An inevitability in the making.

A coronavirus update, some observations.

A world wide report. As of yesterday, the virus had doubled world wide in 2 weeks. Now more than 200,000 cases. Deaths reported at more than 8,000.

Some Republicans still do not believe coronavirus a significant danger. No big deal. They consider it a media generated frenzy.

Wait till they or a member of their family get sick. Even worse, die.

McConnell is the perfect two-face. His duplicity exceeds Trump’s.

The House bill from friday still has not been voted on by the Senate. The bill provides protections for the working class.

McConnell failed to keep the Senate in session friday night. He let them go home till 5:30 monday. Mnchin and Trump had approved the bill friday night. Over the weekend, certain Senate Republicans, the President, and McConnell came out of the woodwork saying more had to be done with the bill. A bill the nation is “desperate” for.

Nothing happened monday. Yesterday at noon, McConnell said many changes were required. By 5 pm, he was telling his dissident Republicans to “gag” and pass the bill, there were other bills ahead they could work to achieve the benefits they sought. Like more for corporate America and less for the working man.

Will the Senate pass the bill today? The one we felt confident would be passed monday night. Or, more bullshit?

Blame for the condition the U.S. is in is being placed at the feet of Trump. He waited too long. Too long to acknowledge the problem, too long to act.

I have mentioned more than once in recent days Italy’s move in staying all mortgage payments. One way way to help people get ahead of the crisis.

I suggested it should be done here. Even going one step further. All tenant rent payments should be stayed. Renters need help also. If the landlord does not have to make a mortgage payment, the tenant should not be required to pay the landlord.

It will all balance out in the end. The banks will survive. They always do. The government right now is dumping trillions into their pockets and want to provide more.

Give the working class a break!

Which now brings me to the U.K. My thought re not having tenants pay rent for a while is being pushed in Britain. Johnson wants rent payments to be stayed.

The matter is under serious discussion. All facets being reviewed. No mention of Italy’s suspending mortgage payment plan yet. I suspect the U.K. might adopt both parts of the plan.

At 10 this morning, the stock market was down 850 points. Another 1,000 day drop in the making? God forbid, 2,000!

The market is no different than the people. Each can take a beating only so long.

Note, it is only beginning. The worse is yet to come.

The hotel industry is getting hit big time. The Trump family may lose a dollar or two.

The occupancy rate in New York City dropped to 74 percent following 9/11. Dropped to 79 percent following the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2009. This past week found some New York City hotels with occupancy running 5 percent.

The writing is on the wall. Major hotel chains see it. They are furloughing employees by the tens of thousands. Many are closing on a scale en masse.

Italy keeps moving ahead. PornHub is providing free porn to Italians. Something to do/watch while at home.

Kentucky Fried Chicken has suspended its “Finger Lickin’ Good” slogan.

Enjoy your day!

How?

KEY WEST PARTY TOWN NO MORE…..ALL BARS AND NIGHT CLUBS CLOSED was originally published on Key West Lou

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jrpneblog · 6 years ago

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The only way is up.

A dramatic 24 hours for North End last weekend on a Gentry Day that may well be remebered for many years to come. As the 2,752 made their way to the Hawthorns nobody was really sure what the day would bring both on and off the field. Rumours were rife that the manager was about to leave North End for the Gentry Day opponents, West Brom, and this gave a slightly surreal feeling to the whole afternoon. On the field North End were clearly not at their best and the players looked like they were lacking some leadership on the field. We played ok for 25 minutes or so but some shocking defending saw the Baggies go in 3-0 up at half time and North End were absolutely all over the place. To be honest I feared for the boys at the interval and I had visions of it being six or even more. To be fair to the team they came out in the second half and gave it a much better go than they had in the first and were probably the better team after the interval with Callum Robison`s late goal making the final score 4-1. At the end of the game Alex Neil declined to come over to the supporters to acknowledge their attendance and superb support giving more fuel to the theory that this was his last game in charge. I have to say, also, that the crowd control was poor inside the stadium as was the behaviour of a tiny minority of fans who certainly spoiled the day for a young disabled lad and his father. I have had my fair share of lubrication over the years, particularly away, but I hope I have always showed respect to fellow fans and these incidents just leave a really nasty taste in the mouth.

So Sunday morning comes and I am expecting the announcement that Alex Neil has been named as West Brom manager. It is all quiet till around lunchtime at which point I get a message from the Sports Editor of the LEP saying do I want to change my fans panel submission as Alex Neil has just signed a three year contract ....with PRESTON NORTH END. For once I am rendered speechless and after quickly weighing up all the alternatives I come to the conclusion that this is by far the best outcome for the club and therefore the supporters. I really hope that Alex Neil gets the reception that he deserves on Friday afternoon before the Ipswich Town game.

Looking forward to the Easter Programme and after Ipswich visit Deepdale on Friday, North End make the short journey to play Wigan on Easter Monday at the DW Stadium. These were supposed to be the easy games after the three we have just played but as anyone will tell you there are no easy games in the Championship. Ipswich are now relegated to League One so can come and play with the freedom and expression that they will hope to play with in their League One campaign next season. To be honest, though, I feel the North End squad, and the fans, will be right up for this one although it is really a dead rubber in terms of the league. Nevertheless I am confident of a home win after these four defeats on the trot that have put paid to our play off hopes.

Easter Monday at Wigan may be a much trickier affair and all the time I have been watching footing I have always said that the games against teams at the bottom can be the most difficult games of the season in many respects. Apart from the local derby aspect the Latics will want revenge for the hammering North End gave them at Deepdale earlier in the season and I expect this to bev a real local derby with plenty of blood and thunder as the home side go for the points to stave off the threat of relegation. However in spite of all that I expect North End`s class to eventually shine through and I take the boys to win by the odd goal in a tight affair.

And finally this week:- the game against Ipswich is Retro Day so no doubt all the old shirts will on parade. My particular favourite shirt in the late 60`s all White shirt with the PP under the Lamb on a blue background. Friday also sees a collection around the ground for the Gary Parkinson Trust and I hope as many people as possible can give their change to this very worthy cause for one of our great ex players from years gone by who has the very dibilitating locked-in syndrome. We are all thinking of you, Parky.

Telly Treble:

CHELSEA TO BEAT SLAVIA PRAGUE 30/100

NORWICH TO BEAT SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 1/2

LEEDS TO BEAT WIGAN 4/11

A fiver on these three returns £19.12 with Coral

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eclectichippieca · 6 years ago

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A Week in the Eclectic Hippie Household

On most Thursdays we have 3 kids under 3 during the day. It's busy and fun and ultimately a blast! But it has its challenges when it is really the only day we have at home in a week. A little look into a week in the Eclectic Hippie Household!

Monday's are fun!

I wake at 6am to make sure I have some alone time/husband time before kids start waking and getting to our house. My first Dayhome kiddo shows up before we are even awake. She is put back to bed by her mom in my step daughter's room each morning, or she spends the night if we had an event the evening before. 7am our house gets noisy. I wake up both girls and our second Dayhome kiddo arrives. Our little guy, F, is usually up around this time too.

We spend our morning getting ready for school and playgroup. 8am the Bigs are sent to school with my homeschooler, A, she walks the dogs and the kids to school. A gets home, dogs get kenneled and we grab our lunches and jump in the vehicle to head to playgroup. Playgroup is planning and time of its own as well, that time comes out of my quiet time usually. Home from playgroup by 1ish (sometimes closer to 3 if there was work to be done in the classroom.) We have lunch, homeschool, reading and spend time together, just me and my kids (sometimes we have extra toddler who don't go to school on these days too.)

Just before 3pm A leaves for the school to pick up the 4-5 kiddos who come after school. Monday's are “Chill Day” as decided by me and the kids in September. We have snack, watch tv or play video games. Toys, puzzles and games are always an option.

Most of the Dayhome kids are gone home by 430-5pm. Our friends come over for Friends’ Dinner. Usually 5-830 or 9. Kids go to bed. Hubby and I have some couple's time at this point. Usually in bed sleeping by 10 or 11

Tuesdays are school focused.

Tuesdays are similar to Monday's to start, the kids are the same, the schedule is similar only I get up at 630 and don't have playgroup prep.

A walks the kids and dogs, she gets home and we start school work. Math, reading, baking, science experiments, crafts and art, etc. Whatever we had planned for the morning. Piano practice. Snacks…. All of the snacks! F plays with flash cards, matching etc. He is learning french when we work with those flashcards for A.

Piano lessons are at 1pm. We drive 20kmseach way for lessons. When we get home around 2 we spend some time just chilling or reading.

A goes back to the school for 3pm. Library day, the big kids who can read go and enjoy half an hour of reading and a treat, while the Non-reading Bigs come home with me. No screen afternoons. Lego, outside, puzzles, games, crafts etc. 4:30-5pm everyone goes home.

Family night. Some school, some reading, sometimes a movie, lots of playing, cooking meals together etc.

Tuesdays are mine and the hubby's gaming night together. We pretty much exclusively play Destiny 2. Him and our clan help me rush through the weekly needed things to help me keep up with our group. This is when new things are released as well. We always run new content storyline stuff together. Its neat to have someone who is willing to help you through even though you can't do it as much as everyone else. I definitely never feel left out when we game on Tuesdays! In bed by 11 at the latest.

Wednesdays are straight up wacky!

Mornings go the same as Monday only we don't leave the house until 8:30am.

Home from playgroup around Noon. Lunch, piano practice, school work, of course some cuddles. A heads to the school just before 3. Except on 2 Wednesdays a month when we go to the Hall at 2:30pm to set up for a Gym Program that we volunteer for. She goes to bring the kids to the Hall at 3. Wednesday is a Video game day if we are home.

On Gym Program day, we spend from 2:30pm until 5:30pm playing, running and having a blast with friends. Also full set up and clean up.

5:45 we are in the vehicle heading to Lacombe for youth group. It starts at 6:15pm until 8pm. I go out with a friend or a few friends once a month for Mommies’ Night Out, which I organize, during this time so that I have some time out of the house alone. Daddy stays home with LO. At 5:45 while leaving town we pick up 3 extra kiddos, one of which who spends the night every Wednesday unless there is a holiday.

8:45pm we are done drop offs and home and getting ready for bed. Wednesday nights are hubby's gaming night. I usually take the time after the kids go to bed to do some crafts or I will game if I feel like it. Wednesdays are about kids and self care. We go to bed around 11pm. Most Wednesdays I'm in bed before then.

Thursday are full of toddlers!

Like Tuesdays, we have a bit of a slower start. Once the bigs are off to school and my little lady is home from her walk we have about half an hour before the house fills with toddlers, sometimes 4 plus LO. Little lady starts school work right away on these days, she can get more concentration time that way. Then it starts! A day of her helping me with the littles; we do the cooking, she helps with chores and bum changes, and playing etc. She bakes with my instruction, we cook lunch, play with babies, read to them, she loves to imagines with them (one of my favorite things about her!). We keep busy! But we don't leave home all day other than school pickup trips! We have so much fun and find our most learning in these days.

Movies and treats are common during nap time on Thursdays. 3pm A gets the kids and most Thursdays go to Craft Time at the library. They get home around 4 to have snack and play for a bit. Another no video game day. Everyone goes home 4:30-5pm. Youth group number two is on Thursday nights at 630pm. This one is in our village. This is when LO gets an evening of one on one with both parents. We pick her up at 8pm, we read, get ready for bed and it's bedtime at 9. Hubby and I spend time together, usually in bed by 10 to be well rested going into the weekend.

Fun, Funky Fridays!

The school in our village has Proffessional Development days almost every other week. So on PD days, we have all of the Bigs at our house. If we have enough seats for us to travel, we all go to a Homeschool Gathering where kids of all age play games, do STEM and STEAM activities, group activities and so much more, from 1-3 in the same town as piano lessons. PD days vary in what we do to fill our time. Sometimes the kids had a busy week and just need a rest day, other Fridays we need to be going non-stop to keep everyone busy.

On school days, mornings are like Tuesday and Thursdays, not too busy, slower starting. This day we do meal planning, grocery lists, house cleaning, playgroup planning, linen washing, general household catch up and so much more. School work is a priority on school day Fridays. A will generally do 2 math lessons, and LOTS of reading and writing, on top of everything else we do.

After school A picks up the kids and we either all go to Free movie Friday (once a month) or home to enjoy some gaming or tv time. We generally have popcorn and a special treat in these days.

Dayhome ends 4:30-5pm. 6pm we jump in the vehicle to go get T and K 3 out of 4 weekends a month. They are my bonus babies, Hubby's kidlets. Home for just before 7, eat quickly and bring T to youth group. F goes to bed, Hubby games, I spend girl time with the girls, K and A. If the girls want to play alone I let them, I will then game with Hubby. 10pm one of us goes to grab T from youth group. Bedtime for the kids after a late night snack. On Fridays we don't have T and K we typically have at least one other child who comes to spend time with A, or A will go somewhere for the night or weekend (that's rare though, probably once in every 3-4 months.)

Weekends are for family.

With a week like the one we have, when we get the time to be just a family it feels so good and so right. We all crave to be together, so our weekends are now our family time. This time used to be filled with appts, events, friends, family, camping, etc. But since having another little in the house and life has been getting busier and busier with these new ages of the big kids, we now take this time to be grounded at home. We don't shop over the weekend, we wait till drop off on Sunday, or sometimes we will go in 15 minutes early on Friday to grab a few things we missed for the weekend. We don't leave the house unless we have to. We no longer go out for dinner, we don't go to friends houses unless there is an event we have been invited too. Not because we don't want too, but simply because our life in simpler this way. We are so busy all the time with the things WE feel are important to our family, that we have to limit the things we don't hold at the top of the list of priorities.

Weekends can still be busy in their own ways that get us out of the house, traveling to see grandparents, birthday parties, friend invites, church gatherings, local events, but these things we keep to a minimum. If friends can come to us we will always have an open door. But with 4 kids, 13, 10, 9 and 2.5 it's hard to be anywhere that suits all of their needs. Home is just best for us right now! There are not many of these years left. “The days are long but the years are short” I read it in memes all the time, but it's true. It's profound and it's real.

So this is what our general weeks look like. We are busy and on the go all the time. But we are putting family at the center as much as we can in this crazy life! I'm so incredibly blessed to be able to do all of these things and have my children be as happy as they are with the busy, chaotic life we lead in the Eclectic Hippie Household.

Peace and love!

God bless!

Eclectic Hippie

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cynthiajayusa · 6 years ago

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What’s Hot Central Florida: January 2019

Welcome to the What’s Hot Column, where we feature countless events in the Greater Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, and surrounding areas. This is also your connection to activities and events by local LGBT+ Organizations. Continue reading on to learn What’s Hot this New Year, well at least in January!

Tuesday, January 1

Disney Springs Town Center presents Kingdom Hearts III Experience – A one-of-a-kind, limited-edition experience featuring the chance to be one of the first to play a demo of the new game, a special Keyblade exhibit featuring life-size replicas directly from the upcoming game, larger-than-life art inspired by characters and worlds from the game, and more. Now through January 29, admission is free.

Join Stonewall Orlando as they welcome 2019 with their Inaugural Guilty Pleasures New Year’s Day Party. Taylor B. & James C will be behind the bar for this special occasion serving up cocktails. Tommy Mot will be bringing in some friends and new Stonewall DJS rocking the day away along with surprise guest DJ’s. Tako Cheena will be serving up the food so come hungry. Free admission, and free parking, It all starts at 11am!

Saturday, January 5

The Parliament House proudly presents New Years REHAB as their first party of 2019. Footlight Players at 10pm & 12am along with DJ Brianna in the Disco till 3am.

Monday, January 7

Wilde Lexus Sarasota & ABC 7 in association with the Van Wezel present Something Rotten, “Broadway’s big, fat hit!” (New York Post). Set in 1595, this hilarious smash tells the story of Nick and Nigel Bottom, two brothers who are desperate to write a hit play. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first Musical! With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, Something Rotten! is “The Producers + Spamalot + The Book of Mormon. Squared!” (New York Magazine). Show runs till January 8. For Tickets and Information at: Vanwezel.org.

Wednesday, January 9

Dr. Phillips Center in association with AEG present Diana Ross. In a remarkable career spanning over 50 years, Diana Ross has proven herself the consummate music artist as well as one of the most iconic female singers of all time. For Additional information and Tickets Drphillipscenter.org.

Friday, January 11

Southern Nights Orlando Welcomes Bob The Drag Queen, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 (18+ Welcome) with drag shows at 11pm & 12:30am featuring Roxxxy Andrews, Maya Andrews, Tasha Long, & Sassy Devine! (Don’t worry if you can’t make the show, she will also be at Southern Nights Tampa the following day Saturday, January 12)

Amor & Southern Nights Tampa present international Dj Nina Flowers, as they take you on a Journey! Doors open at 9pm with admission $10 before 10pm, and $15 after. 18yr+ welcome.

The Amway Center proudly presents Billy Joel. A Songwriters Hall of Famer, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Tony Award-winner (“Movin’ Out”), and six-time Grammy Award-winner (“Just the Way You Are” – Record of the Year and Song of the Year, “52nd Street” – Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance and “Glass Houses” – Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance) including the prestigious Grammy Legend Award. For additional information and tickets gp to: amwaycenter.com.

98.1 Salsa y Más, DJ Frankie G Productions and Fuego Night Club present Freestyle meets Salsa. Performing live all their Freestyle and Salsa hits are George Lamond & Brenda K Starr backed by Orquesta Mambo Lebron. Featuring DJ sets by Frankie G, Baron Lopez, Blazer One, Baby D & Benny Velez. Doors open at 9:30pm with show time 11:30pm sharp. This is an 18+ event, and for additional information and tickets go to: Fuegonightclub.net.

The Annual Orlando Home and Garden Show returns to I-Drive for its 11th year at the Orange County Convention Center . This is a premier show talking about things that are related to home accessories, kitchenware and bathroom ware. This international expo will facilitate the home owners and buyers by giving them an opportunity to have a direct conversation with the landscapers and gardeners of the contemporary times. Orlando Home & Garden Show will bring into lime light the importance and value of various kinds of home improvement ideas and techniques. By attending this expo the home owners and buyers can also understand the significance of all kinds of home accessories and kitchens and bathroom accessories, architecture & designing, and hand, machine & garden tools. For tickets, which start at $9, or additional info go to: Showtechnology.com.

Saturday, January 12

Crawl With Us in association with the Bars and Nightclubs of Ybor City present the “Onesie Bar Crawl” featuring Kelly Days Firehouse Tavern, Flynns Retro Bar, Bad Monkey, Big Easy, Boneyard, Dirty Shame, Southern Nights Tampa, Bradleys on 7th, Honey Pot, Coyote Ugly Saloon, The Bricks, Tampa Bay Brewing Company, Brass Tap, Double Decker Pub, First Chance Last Chance, Gaspars Grotto, James Joyce, Reservoir Bar, Tequilas and many more. Presales are only $10 till day of the event, and $25 day of.

Sunday, January 13

The Van Wezel Foundation presents Air Supply. Graham Russell & Russell Hitchcock have been singing together for over 40 years and this season they return to the Van Wezel to share some of their famous hits including “Lost in Love,” “All Out of Love,” “The One That You Love,” “Sweet Dreams,” “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All,” “Goodbye,” “It’s Never Too Late” and “Dance With Me.” Showtime at 7pm. For additional information or tickets go to: vanwezel.org.

Tuesday, January 15

The Tampa Bay Times in association with The Straz Center present Les Misérables, which is Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning musical phenomenon. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an unforgettable story of heartbreak, passion and the resilience of the human spirit. Featuring the beloved songs “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars,” “Bring Him Home,” “One Day More” and many more, this epic and uplifting story has become one of the most celebrated musicals in theatrical history. With its glorious new staging and dazzlingly reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, this breathtaking new production has left both audiences and critics awestruck. Show runs till January 20th. For additional Information or tickets go to: Strazcenter.org.

Thursday, January 17

Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando & AGoldPhoto Pet Photography along with Orlando Brewing present their annual Pet Photo Shoot Fundraiser. Adam from AGoldPhoto uses photography to tell stories of adoption, rescue and highlight various animal welfare issues. The goal of the photos is to bring traffic to his website, but once you are there, you’ll learn something too. His unique approach to working with animals allows him to showcase the pet’s personality in ways most people haven’t seen. Event runs from 5-7pm and shoot start at $50 per pet with $35 of that going to the Shelter. For additional information and to schedule your timeslot go to: Agoldphoto.com.

The Van Wezel presents Linda Eder, one of the original stars of Broadway’s Jekyll & Hyde, Linda has one of the greatest voices of our time, and her diverse repertoire spans Broadway, standards, pop, country and jazz, making her one of America’s most beloved singers and dynamic live performers. Showtime at 8pm, with tickets and more info available at: vanwezel.org.

Friday, January 18

Southern Nights Tampa presents “Surge Fridays” with International DJ Sensation Kidd Madonny, spectacular décor, sexy Go-Go dancers and much more. This is an 18 event with doors opening at 9pm and no cover till 10pm.

Saturday, January 19

The Parliament House presents RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 alum Blair St Clair with shows at 10pm & 12am with the Footlight Players. This is an 18+ event with general admission $10, and VIP admission $25, which includes reserved theatre seating for the midnight show and photo opportunity after the show. DJ Brianna spins till 3am.

Join Friends, family and your four-legged companions at the 3rd annual St. Pete Beer and Bacon benefiting Pet Pal Shelter from 12pm – 8pm at Vinoy Park. This event will feature 100+ craft beers (3-7pm), option to sample from 15+ Craft Spirits & Cocktails, 60+ bacon dishes from 15+ food vendors, live music from 4 bands, games, prizes & tons of fun. Sample & vote for your favorite brewery. For more information & to purchase tickets, go to StPeteBeerandBacon.com.

Monday, January 21

Join Orlando Downtown Recreation Center and GayDodgeBall.com as they host their first welcome all $5 pick-up game. All skill levels are welcome and everyone is encouraged to make new friends and have fun playing dodgeball. GayDoodgeBall.com has the largest Gay Dodgeball League in Florida. This is an 8 week league, with 8 Teams Maximum, with 13-20 Players a team. For additional information go to: GayDodgeball.com/orlando.html.

Tuesday, January 22

Fairwinds Broadway in Orlando presents Hamilton, which is the story of America’s founding father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington’s right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation’s first treasury secretary. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and Broadway, Hamilton is the story of America then, as told by America now. Show runs till February 10, in the Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. For additional information and tickets go to: Drphillipscenter.org.

Friday, January 25

Southern Nights Tampa presents “Surge Fridays” with DJ Twisted Dee, sexy Go-Go dancers and much more. This is an 18 event with doors opening at 9pm and no cover till 10pm.

Orlando’s Hard Rock Live presents TLC in concert. They scored nine top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four number-one singles “Creep“, “Waterfalls“, “No Scrubs“, and “Unpretty“. The group also recorded four multi-platinum albums, including CrazySexyCool (1994) which still remains the only album by a female group to receive a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. The Ultimate Flashback Friday starts at 8pm. For tickets which start at $33 or more info go to: hardrock.com/live/locations/Orlando.

Sunset Events & Disco Donnie present Steve Aoki at the Ritz Ybor. After years of relentless touring, EDM producer, promoter and label owner Steve Aoki is now recognized as one of the most exciting live performers in the world. Doors Open at 10pm for this 18+ event. For tickets or more info go to: Theritzybor.com.

Saturday, January 26

The world famous Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest is today and tomorrow. For the full line up go to: Gasparillapiratefest.com.

The VanWezel Foundation & Hyatt Regency Sarasota present “The Empress of Soul” Gladys Knight. This seven-time Grammy winner has enjoyed #1 hits in Pop, Gospel, R&B and Adult Contemporary, and has triumphed in film, television and live performances. Hits include: ”You and I Ain’t Nothin’ No More”, “Midnight Train to Georgia”, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”, “If I Were Your Woman,” and “That’s What Friends are For.” Show time is at 8pm. For additional information and tickets go to: Vanwezel.org.

Amor & Stonewall Orlando present: The Miss Orlando Universo Latina USA Reunion with show time at 12am starring: Chris Sant Lorans featuring Sasha Fiercee (Miss Orlando Universo Latina USA 2017) Rakell Riviera (Miss Orlando Universo Latina Usa Plus 2018) & Gucci Michelle Reyes (Miss Universo Latina USA Plus 2018) alongside the Dynasty Girls Norma Fis-Vernaza , Bella Fis & Spiidey Montalvo. With sounds by Johan Mateo Quintero, Kraig Matthews & Franklin Cruel, the doors open at 9pm.

Sunday, January 27

The Amway Center presents Marc Anthony in his Legacy Tour. Anthony is one of the most influential artists of his time and a true ambassador of Latin music and culture. He has had 25 Billboard chart hits, sold over 12 million albums worldwide and has been recognized with countless standard gold and platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America. Doors open at 7pm. For additional information and tickets go to: Amywaycenter.com.

Tuesday, January 29

Bank of America Broadway at The Straz and Tampa Bay Times present A Bronx Tale. Broadway’s hit crowd-pleaser takes you to the stoops of the Bronx in the 1960s where a young man is caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he’d love to be. Bursting with high-energy dance numbers and original doo-wop tunes from the songwriter of Beauty and the Beast, A Bronx Tale is an unforgettable story of loyalty and family. Academy Award winner Robert De Niro and Tony winner Jerry Zaks direct this streetwise musical – based on Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri’s story that The New York Times hails as “A Critics’ Pick! The kind of tale that makes you laugh and cry.” Show runs till February 3rd. For Additional Information and Tickets go to: Strazcenter.org.

Thursday, January 31

IMG Artists present We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. In this thrilling, emotional tribute inspired by the words of Dr. King, producer and musical director Damien Sneed showcases repertoire from across the African-American music traditions that have electrified generations of civil rights activists and defenders. Pulling together a concert of works by Nina Simone, Duke Ellington, Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis and more including traditional gospel, modern gospel, jazz and Broadway tunes, Sneed interweaves these musical flashpoints with King’s impassioned oratory from recorded historic speeches. The end result is a stand-up-and-cheer celebration of one of America’s greatest heroes. This event takes place at the Straz Center, Tampa. Show starts at 8pm, with tickets starting at $25 at Strazcenter.org.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/12/27/whats-hot-central-florida-january-2019/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2018/12/whats-hot-central-florida-january-2019.html

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hotspotsmagazine · 6 years ago

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What’s Hot Central Florida: January 2019

Tuesday, January 1

Saturday, January 5

The Parliament House proudly presents New Years REHAB as their first party of 2019. Footlight Players at 10pm & 12am along with DJ Brianna in the Disco till 3am.

Monday, January 7

Wednesday, January 9

Friday, January 11

Amor & Southern Nights Tampa present international Dj Nina Flowers, as they take you on a Journey! Doors open at 9pm with admission $10 before 10pm, and $15 after. 18yr+ welcome.

Saturday, January 12

Sunday, January 13

Tuesday, January 15

Thursday, January 17

Friday, January 18

Saturday, January 19

Monday, January 21

Tuesday, January 22

Friday, January 25

Southern Nights Tampa presents “Surge Fridays” with DJ Twisted Dee, sexy Go-Go dancers and much more. This is an 18 event with doors opening at 9pm and no cover till 10pm.

Saturday, January 26

The world famous Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest is today and tomorrow. For the full line up go to: Gasparillapiratefest.com.

Sunday, January 27

Tuesday, January 29

Thursday, January 31

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/12/27/whats-hot-central-florida-january-2019/

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