No rest for the wicked

No, no, I haven't fallen off the bloggy wagon. I've just had a very full few days. Claudia came down to visit this weekend and we had a blast. She got to hang out with a lot of my local friends. We had a very good time.

The highlights of our weekend (as I see them, in no particular order):
- good company and catching up
- fabulous dining out, and a lot of it, including trying several new-to-me places
- losing at 3-on-1 pool
- gluten free brownies made of awesomeness
- coffee
- Claud Meets the Village
- a new - and fabulous - vacuum to replace the one that died in the Unfortunate Catnip Mouse Incident of 2011
- breakfast with one of my favorite four year olds
- Cabaret. Or should I say, "cabaret."
- drunken Waffle House with the boys at 2am on a Tuesday.
- Claudia Learns Crochet
- so many moments of "now you see what I've been talking about, right?"

Fan-freaking-tastic.

I dropped her off at the airport tonight and then went to say goodbye to my aunt and uncle, the ones that moved here nine months before I did. They've been such an incredible source of support, and they're moving back to Chicago on Thursday. It's tough for me, to be honest, and all of that saying goodbye in such a short period of time while running on three hours' sleep is even a bit rougher. So, my bed is in my near future, even though I have SO many more things to say.

But I will share this piece of completely awesome news -

I PASSED MY BOARDS.

I am officially a fully-licensed, board-certified, ready-to-roll General Psychiatrist. Cannot beat that.

Come on, Irene

I think the hurricane has left NC.

It was quite anti-climactic here in the Triangle.

I'm exhausted, because I was on at New State Hospital last night and totally overcaffeineated myself and so now haven't slept since 6:30 yesterday morning. So, I'm going to go to bed. But we are all doing just fine here. Maggie's totally chilled out. Even the motorcycle made it through without blowing over.

I will leave you with this, one final act of rebellion against my "no people on the blog" rule before I go medicate myself into Morpheus' realm - My coffee shop buddy Chris put this together today after watching several hours of totally ludicrous weather-related coverage. I think it sums up the aftermath of the hurricane (here, two and a half hours inland) quite well....

Perspective (just a little)

One of the radio stations I listen to has this Wednesday feature called, "You've got to be kidding me!" where you call up and discuss things that made you angry. It's mostly little annoyances and kind of reminds me of this site. It's funny and everyone understands that you're not like, oh my God, my life is soooo awful because my nail polish turned out to be matte instead of shiny or because you spent an hour shopping and then the grocery store couldn't take credit cards because the computer was down. Total first world problems.

My 8am patient came, but my 9am canceled, so after I wrote my note, etc, I was reading today's "You've got to be kidding me!" posts on Facebook. And there was one from a female soldier that read, "I woke up this morning and I'm still in Afghanistan."

It kind of gave me pause.

Now, don't get me wrong. I think this is a little bitchy. Not for nothin', but you made the choice to join the military. And, yes, people have many different reasons for doing so, and, true, they don't always let you make the decisions about where you go once you're in, but I'm saying, you knew waking up in a war-torn country that resents out presence there was a distinct possibility. And to post it in a forum like this is a little woe-is-me. Not that she's not entitled to it, but, nonetheless.

Still.

I'm looking out over the rolling green hills and bright blue sky of this hot North Carolina day. I'm seeing patients, I'm in the air conditioning, I have cute shoes and manicured nails. And, yes, I have a lot of things to deal with, and yeah, my job can get pretty taxing. But no one is shooting at me.

Well, I do live in the Dirty D. I guess it could happen. But so far it hasn't. And the gangs aren't real big on IEDs, either (pool noodle incident notwithstanding).

I've been obsessing a lot lately about where I want to be when this year ends. What sort of job, what sort of setting, etc, but also where I want to end up geographically. Raleigh? Chicago? New York? Baltimore? In the end, I suspect, it'll come down to where the best offer turns up. But this morning I'm thinking that it's nice to consider whether I'll be shoveling snow or dealing with traffic instead of if I'm going to run over a land mine today or someone is going to throw a grenade at me while I trudge along with 70 pounds of gear on my back in the desert heat.

I was talking to my supervisor a couple of weeks ago about making the decision to stay in the area or go back home, and I told her, it feels like whichever decision I make, it's going to feel like the wrong one. If I stay in NC, I'm going to wish I was in Chicago. If I go to Chicago, I'm going to miss my people (and weather) in NC. This sucks. And her perspective was, well, you could look at it as, whichever place you decide to go, you've got great things going on and great people to be with (there are fewer people there, but the same thing can be said for NYC or Baltimore).

I still don't know what the hell to do. But I'm trying to hold on to the perspective that it's a win-win. Or at least that it could be a lot worse.

Awesomeness

It was a generally good day.

I got up late, but I still managed to get coffee and breakfast and get to my morning meeting on time. I had a really good meeting with my research collaborator, and left with an in-theory-educational DVD about infant development titled "Everybody Loves Babies." I also left with a quest to purchase the book, What Babies Say Before They Can Talk, about infant communication (my research is on mother-infant bonding). Which, I found it on the nook bookstore (the nookstore?) and stopped in the parking lot of the Barnes and Noble near State Hospital to download it onto my electronic reader. I went to SH, at lunch and read the first chapter of What Babies Say, and had a lovely conversation with Peng and Mike and then our newly transplanted junior fellow, Moira. I had a lovely hour of supervision (we talked mostly about what novels we've been reading, since two of my patients are off for the summer and one went to the beach last week instead of coming to therapy). I ran and got more coffee (white mocha, yum). My last patient of the day no-showed (thankfully...) and so I got the rest of yesterday's diagnostic interview typed up. I kibbitzed with Peng and our boss Athena for a while, and finally came home and had dinner with my parents. It was nice.

Oh, also today I printed up a return label for and reboxed the First Aid for the Pediatric Boards from yesterday's post. Because I'm thinking that will be useless on the psychiatry boards I'm taking in two short months. And then I re-ordered the right book. From Barnes and Noble. 

And then! I came home, right, and I looked in my mailbox for the first time in several weeks (my mailman hates me). And in my mail I had the most awesomest card from Jer and Ali (and little baby Grace). On the front it says, "I'd totally take a bee for you" (there's a little picture of a bee) and then when you open it, it plays this song:



Which, I looked up on Lyrics Freak, and I think it's a song about a little bluebird nightlight. I....love that so much.

(Thanks, guys!!)

In other news, my parents today attended the memorial service of one of their neighbors at Shady Pines. He was a nice guy. Lived downstairs, next door to the other Greek lady. He was 97, and he finally gave up golfing four years ago. I saw him last week and he was looking pretty good; apparently it was a swift decline, which is a blessing, I'm sure. Still, sad.

But here's the thing.

They came home with balloon animals.

No joke! There was a guy there making balloon animals. We think maybe he was a friend of the deceased. To the best of my knowledge, the guy that died wasn't a clown or anything. Maybe he just really liked balloon animals?

Suprising...

Olga's been out of the hospital and settled in her new rental place for several weeks now. So today she texted and was like, "how about we take the cat off your hands?"

Reasonable, right? I mean, Gulan *is* her cat.

I had no idea I was going to be so upset when the cat left. It really made me sad.

But I packed up the cat's stuff to take her over to Olga's new place. Gulan knew something was up and hid in the corner of the living room behind the piano and didn't want to come out. I finally bribed her with treats, picked her up and put her in the car. She sat very quietly on the front seat and purred when I petted her at stoplights.

And she was happy to see Olga and her son again. You know, in that cat way. Then she hid in the closet.

I got to spend some quality time with Olga and her little boy and her mom and sister, though. That was a nice cap to a busy day of errands and fussing and running around.

I'm really going to miss that damn cat...

Hot in Durham

It's hot in my house.

84 degrees, to be precise. Our air conditioner must've gone out today.

Bleh. Hopefully they'll fix it tomorrow. I called and left a "we're so hot!" voicemail on the maintenance line.

Bleh.

In less "bleh" news, I had a great weekend. My uncle and my cousin came in for graduation. Graduation itself was a pretty fun thing. Long, but fun. One of these days I'll write an actual post about the graduation ceremony, but I'm hot and I want to go to bed.

My uncle left Saturday and was definitely not here long enough. It was really good to see him - it's been over a year. I think he was a little anxious about seeing my mom sick, but I think he was pleased with her progress and all and all it was a very positive visit. My cousin stuck around until today. We had a great Sunday - breakfast out, coffee with the Villagers (including Misty's new puppy, who is so cute it might overload your brain), a jaunt around Raleigh, a visit to the State Hospital campus, a trip to the Harley Davidson store, and a stroll around the State Farmer's Market. We hung out with my parents a bit, and then had dinner at a place I'd not tried before, but with which I was really pretty impressed. She came to coffee again this morning to meet the AM crew. It was great to see her. She's been such a huge support for me.

Today was super productive. I got a lot done at work, including 53 minutes of actual psychiatry. But I also replaced my ID badge, did all my little hospital educational crap, got my motorcycle parking pass, re-joined the APA (my membership lapsed), filled out two separate applications for moonlighting, ate a little lunch, did a little therapy....

Not bad for a Monday.

Here's hoping I don't melt before Tuesday....

Full circle

Tonight was the first in a series of graduation celebrations. Our chairman had all of us over for dinner, which was exactly how I started residency. It was a good time, full of stories, fond memories, and hearty laughs. I still really like my classmates, although there are personalities to which I gravitate more than others. The Pink Office was reunited. I got to see Sparrow for the first time in a while. And of course we had a lot more kids than the last time.

Funny how much things can change in the course of four short years.

And how many things haven't.

What a nice evening. 

Mom's day

It was a nice Sunday today. Took my parents breakfast, then my mom and I went to coffee. She got to meet a little more of the Village and see people she knew and likes and doesn't get to see very often. She reported that she had fun, and I believe her (I did, too). We got to spend some quality mom-and-daughter time while Maggie dad-sat (he and I got some time in over lunch, too, don't worry). In the afternoon I went to a friend's graduation party, which was at this brewery in town which is pretty unique. All they serve is beer, so they actually encourage you to bring food in - so we moved in with our pig-pickin' and potluck (which was originally scheduled to be in a park). And they advertise themselves as a "kid and dog friendly" establishment, which meant I got to bring Maggie. She ate some pork, got lots of love and attention, met some other dogs, and thoroughly wore herself out.

All in all it was a good day, with family, friends, and even some time with my own "baby." Can't beat that...

More weekend, please.

It's been a nice weekend.

Had a good ride yesterday. Went down to the motorcycle shop nearby looking for a cargo net (they were sold out) and took the looooong way back. I did much better on this ride. I'm definitely doing better than I was, say, 200 miles ago when I bought the bike. And it was really nice. There were a lot of other bikers out on the road, too, which was cool. I need to keep riding. One of my biker friends just sent me a link to a map of a ride they take often, which I need to try out one of these days.

Had a nice visit with Olga last night, too. She's recovering nicely from her pneumonia and her bedsore is healing. It's such a long road for her  - it's been 10 weeks since the fire, and although she has a long way to go, she's come so far. She's so awesome and amazing. I'm glad we're friends.

Went for sushi last night with some coffee friends and friends of theirs. Met some fun new people. Hung out with some fun folks I already knew. Ate some really good vegetarian sushi (I love me some good vegetarian sushi). Had a really good time.

Today was a little more laid back. Coffee with the Village, lunch with the girls. Worked out with my trainer. Tried to take a nap (didn't work). Dishes, laundry, blah, blah, blah. Can't complain about today except that it's followed by a Monday.

I start consults tomorrow. I'm definitely looking forward to the lower intensity. It'll be nice to have a little change of pace....

Easter

What a great day.

Met with my trainer first thing this morning. The gym was so empty! We had a great session, and he even let me throw things at him at the end (always a good day). Was gross and sweaty, but went to coffee anyway. Today was mostly just the Village, which was sort of nice. Had a skinny caramel latte to celebrate the beautiful Spring day. Had a really good time with my friends. Stayed a little too long.

Ran home and showered, made it to Shady Pines before the priest from the local Greek Orthodox church came to do a shut-in visit for my parents. It was actually quite a lovely visit. I hadn't met him before, but he was a really nice man. We sang Christos Anesti, prayed a little, and then he gave them communion, and me too - I told him I felt weird about it - I'm no exactly a shut-in - but he said some very kind and convincing things.

Afterwards we went to the Easter brunch at SP. We sat with two of the friends my parents sit with for dinner most nights. They're adorable. They've been married for 68 years. Sixty-eight! It's amazing, really. I can't even get my head around how you meet someone at 17 and know they're the one you're going to be old with, have kids and a life and cancer with. And they're just totally cute as anything. We should all be half as lucky. She's dealing with breast cancer now, too, and is a few months ahead of my mom in terms of the schedule of things. She's doing so well. She's a great influence for my mom, I think. A good support and a great role model.

After lunch I brought Maggie home and then - for the first time in like six weeks - I went out on the bike. It went pretty well. The ride was beautiful, down by the lake and out in the country. I got a little lost, and ended up at the hospital. I can get home from there in my sleep (and probably have), but it required me to ride on a couple of big roads. Funny, they weren't as scary as I was anticipating. Especially after I'd found myself in a couple of 55 mph zones out in the country. I did a pretty good job, mechanically speaking, too. I only stalled the bike out twice, had one ugly turn and one sketchy downshift. I've got to start getting out on the bike regularly again. After all, there's only one way I'm going to get good at this.

The rest of my day was less exciting - cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes, made lunch salads for the week, etc. But on the whole, it was a very lovely Sunday. And a good Easter.

Goodness

So I saw Olga today. She has the breathing tube out and is doing great. She looks awesome. We spent like two hours catching up and chatting - she's definitely back to her old self. Which is just so great.

She reminded me that only 0.3% of adults who go on ECMO (the lung bypass she was on) ever get off. It's incredible. She's still got a long road ahead of her - adjusting to the amputation, and her other foot might need a skin graft - but she's just like, okay, so this is what I have to do.

I'm just so grateful she survived this.

We talked about her son, about coming back to work, about rebuilding the house. She's so forward thinking. Speaking as someone who gets caught up in the drama of the moment so often, it was nice to hear her talking about the future and having goals, etc.

It was such a nice visit. And it was something I needed so badly.

Love Thursday

Ten things I love (in no particular order)....

I love vacation.

I love good news from good friends.

I love some particular friends of mine who don't have such good news tonight.

I love iTunes and loud, good music.

I love that feeling I have when I leave the chiropractor and it feels like my body is actually aligned for a moment.

I love dinner at Shady Pines with my parents and their spunky, hilarious, kind friends.

I love that my parents have crafted a whole circle of friends at Shady Pines.

I love that I'm finally a redhead again.

I love that my trainer used the word "athletic" to describe my work at the gym today (bless his delusional little heart).

I love that I have the world's best dog and a furry houseguest who purrs (if only dogs could purr!).

Sunday fun-day

It was a really nice Sunday.

I slept in this morning - not entirely on purpose, mostly the effect of that whole Daylight Savings Time thing. Went to coffee, and had a really nice visit with the group, as well as the first iced coffee of the season. The owner's oldest child (I think she's 4) came and sat with us. She's completely adorable and this funny little chatterbox. We were playing tic-tac-toe (she learned this game this morning) and she looks up at me and says, "Do you have a wife?"

Wow, I thought. Good for her parents!

"Nope." I told her. "I don't have a husband either."

"Well, why not?"

You don't know the half of it, kid. I said, "Well, I haven't met the right husband yet."

"Which husband are you going to marry?" She asked.

"I don't know. But if you meet him, let me know, okay?"

She gives me the perfect four year old hands-on-hips, you're-a-silly-goose head tilt. "Well, that's silly. How would I know who YOUR husband is if you don't?" All I could do was laugh. The girl has a point.

So I let her win at tic-tac-toe again...

Went to the gym after coffee. Had a good workout. Chatted for a few minutes with my anxious trainer. You know, he just wanted to make sure I wasn't too sore after yesterday's session. Were my knees okay? What did the armband say about our workout? Did I have any thoughts about nutrition? And of course, I wasn't, they were fine, it said we burned a reasonable amount of calories, and nope. Such a nice change from my workouts with Gomer when I couldn't move for several days afterward.

(Did I mention I'm wearing this little armband now that tracks all the calories I burn? It's one of the coolest gadgets ever. It's part of the Jenny Craig Metabolic Max thing. It counts calories burned, steps, amount and quality of activity, even how much sleep I get. So much techno-geeky awesomeness.)

(Did I mention I was back on Jenny Craig? Yeah, that's a whole other blog entry.)

So I came home and showered, and then I met Sparrow for lunch, which was really nice. We met at this local Greek family place that's just sooo good. Had a nice conversation, did some catching up. I took the bike to and from lunch, which was also great. What a beautiful day for a ride. It was almost 80 here today, and sunny, blue skies, just gorgeous North Carolina spring weather.

The rest of the day was the usual...laundry, dishes, groceries. Prepped for the week. Watched the Cubs win in preseason. "Rescued" the cat from her hiding spot in the basement (twice). Made dinner. Just a nice, comfortable day. Doesn't get much better than that...

Well, except when that happens on a Saturday or a three day weekend...

Cats n dogs

What a week.

Wednesday was the big day of oncology appointments for my mom. It's been a year since the stroke now so they're entertaining the idea that something more definitive can be done for the tumor. We saw surgical oncology, radiation oncology, and medical oncology. The team is definitely moving towards surgery and chemo/radiation. I think that's a good sign. There was a day when they wouldn't have entertained the idea at all because she has some questionable evidence of metastatic disease (although her medical oncologist doesn't think it's anything, actually), and that day wasn't more than a couple of years ago. But the fact that they're even ready to consider surgery makes me feel like there's a good chance at extending my mother's life.

The day itself was productive, of course, but crazy stressful. We were both really anxious about what they were going to say, not to mention about the whole process itself. As it turns out, we get to be anxious a little longer. They found something questionable on the mammo of the other breast, so they need to do further testing before they can actually make a plan. So we follow up again the first week of April to do the scheduling and more definitive talking. My mom has friends coming to visit at the end of April, so I suspect when we all put our heads together they're going to schedule the surgery in May. Which is helpful for me, too, because I'll me on Consults for May and June, and the scheduling is more flexible.

It does leave my planned trip to Chicago at the end of this month in question, however, because of some of the testing they've got scheduled. My mom is pushing me to go, of course, but I'm still not convinced.

In other convalescence news...Olga is getting stronger by the day. She's still on the ventilator but has done very well off of heart-lung bypass. Unfortunately, though, as a complication of the bypass, her foot didn't get perfused well enough (they focus on perfusing the important things - brain, heart, kidneys - and sometimes the peripheral stuff doesn't get enough blood flow. And let's face it Olga's feet are a looooong way from her brain) and had to be amputated on Friday. I can't even imagine how hard that's going to be for her. Olga's kind of a fashionista, you know? Cute shoes. Cute skirts. Cute toes. Well, I mean, the shoes are still in...and there are a lot of cute pants...and we can still go for manicures.

But in both cases...I can't imagine losing a piece of myself. I mean, like, a real, visible piece of myself (I say this as someone who has already lost most of her accessory organs). Whether a mastectomy or a foot amputation, there's a very obvious void created, you know? But at the same time, I'm amazingly glad both Olga and my mother have both thusfar survived something that could have killed them. It's a steep price, but compared to the alternative...

Life gets so complicated sometimes.

In related news, we have a new little houseguest.

Her name is Gulan (it means "Cutie" in Swedish), and she is Olga's cat. She's been staying with some friends, but their dogs aren't so cat friendly and they can't let her out because they live in coyote country (real, wild coyotes, not Maggie-like coyotes-once-removed). So she was living in their utility room in their basement. It seemed kind of inhumane, so they looked for alternatives, and I figured it was the least I could do. So we brought her here today. She keeps hissing at Maggie, but Mags is being very respectful. I'm sure they'll be just fine.

I did, however, forget about two things when I offered to do this... my hatred of litterboxes (haaaaaaate) and my cat allergy.

I addressed the one by irrationally spending an obscene amount of money I don't have on a self-cleaning litterbox (Hate. Hate. Hate.). I totally can't justify this at all, unless of course the cat moves in permanently, which is not the plan. I'm sure Olga will want her cat back in a couple of months, and I can go back to my cat-dander-free existence. And I can probably sell the litterbox on Craigslist. Until then, self-cleaning litter and a good dose of antihistamines should get us through.

She's a sweet old thing. Who's currently hiding somewhere in my house where I can't find her.

I do hope she remembers where that fancy litterbox is.........

Good things.

So Olga's doing a little better. Things are still tenuous, but the improvement makes me happy.

I also picked up my CPAP today, finally, finally. I'm going to try it out tonight; maybe I'll actually get some rest soon. I even got away with this itty bitty little nose mask thing they call nasal pillows. It's tiny! The machine also has a heated humidifier, which might even help my sinuses. Here's hoping...

Holding out hope

Olga is not doing well. I'm focusing my energy on thinking positively about what will go well for her. But in the meantime - and you know how rarely I say things like this - if you all could send up whatever prayers you have to whatever deities you believe may be listening, it would be greatly, greatly appreciated...

I can't even imagine...

Olga's house made the news. Click on the picture to enlarge it. I can't believe it. I'm so incredibly grateful they got out alive.

Olga herself is in the ICU on a ventilator after sustaining airway burns from smoke inhalation. She's doing okay overall, I saw her today, but it was horrible seeing my friend that way. 

We're all pretty shaken up by this. Sparrow said she was nauseated and shaky all day yesterday. I slept four hours and dreamed of fires and houses of which I couldn't find my way out (and skeletons, oddly). Today I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach for most of the day (it was a tough day for a lot of reasons). And the department announced that she's not taking visitors, but when I left today I promised her I'd visit tomorrow, and now I don't know what to do.

This is awful.

And I shouldn't have looked that article up right before I went to bed...

Prayers welcome

So my friend Olga's house burned down last night. Not sure what happened, not sure what they're going to do from here, but do know that she, her two year old, and her parents (who were staying with her) all got out okay. And so did her two dogs and her cat. But they lost absolutely everything in the fire. 

Needless to say, the news shook me up quite a bit. Frankly, that's one of my worst fears, personally. And she's been having a horrible year; this was rather the last thing she needed. What a mess.

It did drive home a point, though. She texted me, "amazing how it became about what was salvaged instead of what was lost."

It made an impression.

So as I went through my day today, I tried to make a point of being grateful for who and what I have in my life. And it turned out to be a nice day. Coffee with the Village, a little bit of work, a good lunch with friends, and a nice afternoon with Cleo and the baby on her last day of maternity leave. It was really good. And then I came home and did my taxes. I managed not to owe anything. And then laundry, dishes, dinner...the stuff of everyday life. Sweet and simple.

Totally worth today's exhaustion

So I spent the weekend in Chicago.

Oh, did I not mention I was going to Chicago?

Yeah, that was rather on purpose. I was supposed to go over New Year's, right, and then that fell through. And I haven't seen my Chicago crew in...yikes, almost ten months. And of course, Robin's little guy is two and a half, Bei's two are four and a half and just over a year. They're all growing so fast. And then my friend of nearly three decades, Ali, is having a baby next month. So when New Year's fell apart, I thought Ali's baby shower seemed like the perfect excuse to fly in. I decided to surprise her, so we kept it quiet. I didn't even clue her husband or Bei in until this past week. And the weekend was a raving success.

We actually arranged it so that I surprised her Saturday night, instead of at the actual shower on Sunday. She was definitely surprised, it was so good to see everyone. We had an awesome weekend. Claudia picked me up from the airport Saturday morning, we had coffee and chatted, and then had lunch at my favorite Greek restaurant. From there we headed to Robin's, where we all met up and watched (well, some of us "watched") football and ordered pizza. I made this drink that one of my Villagers taught me, which was a hit. We talked, and laughed, and ate real pizza (Chicago-style, baby!). We played with the kids. We were a little kiddish ourselves. It was great.

Sunday I saw my cousins from the North Side for breakfast, and then we had the shower, hosted by Claud and Jer's sisters. It was fun. The games were non-obnoxious, the cake was excellent, and the company was great. We met some neat new people.  And then the girls went back to Robin's for Wii Pictionary and Mexican food, which Jer was kind enough to deliver to us. And, you know, just being us girls. Monday Robin and little Luke and I went over to Bei's, and then hung out until it was time to take me to the airport.

Where I was for a very long time. My flight kept getting delayed. I was supposed to be on the ground and back to my house by about 8pm, originally; instead, I got home at almost 1am. I spent a lot of time wandering around O'Hare. Ate some more pizza. Bought a Cosmo. Discovered I've possibly outgrown Cosmo. Drank some iced tea. Nearly finished the hat I've been knitting (I needed DPNs, which I didn't have). Finally got on the plane, and we sat on the tarmac for almost an hour. It was a teeny-tiny plane, and I didn't fit especially well into the seat. So I was uncomfortable, and feeling giganamous, and the woman in the seat next to me was clearly irritated to be sitting next to such a fatty. However, she spent the whole flight flopping onto my side of the armrest and snoring like a chainsaw. I actually apologized to that bitch at the beginning of the flight for being so fat! Ridiculous. Whatever. We eventually got back to NC, and Bill came out in the middle of the damn night and picked me up, which was awesome of him.

But on the whole, the weekend was just so awesome. I miss my Chicago people. It was so nice to see everybody, and so nice to be back with the group I grew up with that knows me so well. And how amazing it is for me to have such a group of people who know me so well, who I came up with through the early part of my life, who are still so close to me. How great that I still count them among the most important supports that I have, even when I'm 850 miles away. And how blessed am I to have both groups here and in Chicago that are so comfortable and awesome.

The dog ate my post.

No she didn't. But Blogger did. I have no idea what happened to the - short and relatively uninteresting - post that I wrote yesterday. But, like I said - short and uninteresting, so, not really a big loss.

It's been a nice weekend. Lots of time with friends and with my parents. Maggie finally got a bath yesterday. We went to a new groomer - a friend of Garth's - who was fantastic, and who rides a motorcycle. She was great, and Miss Mags is all fluffy and good-smelling and soft again. It's lovely.

Bill had a gallery showing yesterday, which was a lot of fun. He's been taking a photography class, and one of his submissions won in the class competition in the Abstract category. It's a beautiful macro shot of bubbles in amber glass. So they had a little reception and showing for all the winners in the college library. A bunch of us went to support him (except for the two of us who were at two separate funerals. Which I fine eerie). It was neat, and some of the photos were really fabulous. (I'll be honest. A few left me thinking, "I've got much better shots than that...")

I did get out on the bike for a minute yesterday. Something still doesn't feel right. I don't think it's just anxiety. Garth and Bill have both offered to ride it for me and check it out, and I'll probably take them both up on it. We'll see, I guess. Alls I know is that two miles I rode yesterday was hell for uncomfortable.

Today was mostly errands. Coffee, then laundry, groceries, etc. More time with friends and family.

All in all, a good weekend. I could still use a little more, but then, when is that not true....?