Sunday, May 27, 2007

the wee hours

Idiot of the Day - Tom Saitta

I don’t know if you’ve heard about the big drama over the flag at a Hummer dealership in town.  The city restricts flagpoles to a height of 40 feet, and the Hummer dealer has a 100’ flagpole, with a flag the size of a volleyball court attached to it.  The neighbors have been complaining because the noise of the flag flapping is so loud that it disturbs them when they’re inside their homes.  I can only imagine how awful it is because when we first moved into our home, the houses behind us were still up for sale, so for a couple of years, we had about half a dozen small flags flapping behind us.  It was annoying.  So, the thought of a GINORMOUS flag that’s 30’ x 60’ near our house is scary.  The neighbors say that it wakes them up, and some silly people are arguing that they’re not patriotic.  Holy crap, it’s a Hummer dealership.  If we were going to go with the patriotism angle, maybe the dealer should stop selling Hummers.  If they cared about their country, they wouldn’t sell huge gas-guzzling cars that are contributing to global warming.  However, it has nothing to do with that.  The flagpole is more than twice as tall as the city allows.  Period.  The end.  Take it down.

Are you ready for the idiocy?  This letter to the editor was from Tom Saitta, who owns a few car dealerships around town.  Not Towbin Hummer, the one with the oversized flag.  To the editor:  Isn’t it funny how different people interpret sounds so differently? I am referring to U.S. flag at Dan Towbin’s Hummer dealership and the people who live nearby (Wednesday Review-Journal).  Those neighbors hear noise when the flag flaps. Personally, when I hear a flag flapping, it sounds like the voice of American freedom telling me how lucky I am to live in a country where flag flying is our American right.  To the neighbors complaining, think about that for a while.  Tom Saitta PAHRUMP You know what’s really funny about that?  Tom Saitta lives in Pahrump, some 60+ miles from that flapping flag, so it’s laughable that he’s telling the neighbors of the dealership that when HE hears a flag flapping, he thinks it sounds like American freedom.  LOL, easy for him to say when it isn’t disturbing HIS sleep.  He lives in the middle of nowhere.  It’s often really windy here in Vegas, which means the flag is noisily flapping all the time.  I want someone to put a volleyball court sized flag next to Tom Saitta’s house, and then let him tell us that when he hears the stupid flapping sound, he feels ever so lucky to live next to the big ol’ flag.  I’ll bet he’s not hearing the flag singing “God Bless America” after a night of listening to the wind blowing the flag around.  Man, what a jackass.

I just checked the county assessor’s website, and it doesn’t look like Tom Saitta lives in Pahrump, although he owns a dealership there.  He appears to live near The Lakes.  Gee, Tom, I hope you aren’t one of the people complaining about the new flight path, because I think the sound of jets overhead is like the joyous boom of freedom we hear every 4th of July.  It’s like Independence Day, but you get to enjoy it every day.  (Mom & Dad, just kidding - I know the planes are noisy, and I’m glad they’re not flying over us.  The fighter planes we get overhead about once a week, that’s plenty for us)

Friday, May 25, 2007

terribly early in the morning

Take That! Cute Overload

They never publish my cute kitten pictures, so I’ll show them off myself.  This is one of the first pictures I’ve been able to get of Bunny that shows off her pretty blue eyes.

And Carlo wants to break your heart.  (They’re 9 weeks old now)

This is blurry, but it shows off Bunny’s groovy coloring.  Half of her nose is white, the other half grey.  Her whole face alternates color like that, and her gums actually match her checkerboard coloring too.  She also has grey feet, with occasional white toes here and there.  The brown on her nose...that’s, uh, food.

the wee hours

On A Lesser Note, Other Good News

On our way home from the hospital, we needed to stop and get some chlorine for our algae-laden pool.  The pool supply place was conveniently a block away from the hospital, so we got some packets of Shock.  Then, we bought some necessities at the Target next door that are scads cheaper there than the grocery store - deodorant, Sudafed, detergent, etc.  Because there was traffic coming out of the Target driveway, I made a right, instead of a scary left.  That meant that we went down a side street that we hadn’t taken in a while.  It took us right past the shopping center where we get our hair cut, but on the side that we never ordinarily see.  And what brand new bitchin’ fast food place just went in?  A place whose other location is 10+ miles from our house, where we only go occasionally when I have a doctor’s appointment nearby?  That’s right,

It’s now only 5 miles from the house, 5 mostly freeway, non-traffic miles (the 10+ miles to the other Popeye’s makes it often 30+ frustrating minutes away, in each direction), which means that we can get Popeyes’s delicious spicy chicken, yummy mashed potatoes & Cajun gravy, amazingly tasty artery-hardening biscuits, and be able to get it home while it’s still hot.  I’m so excited.  While I only want it every so often, I still love it so.

HOORAY!

the wee hours

My Pa’s Surgery

My dad’s surgery went well.  They cut some chunks o’ cancer out of his forehead, and then sent extra bits to the lab.  The news from the lab was good - no extra cancer found, so they stopped digging around in Dad’s forehead.  He charmed the nurse - she said, and I quote, “He’s so cute!  But, I think he knows that.” Heh.  That’s something when you can charm a cute little nurse (she was really cute) while in a lovely hospital gown with a big chunk out of your forehead.

Gah, the men in my family are SO annoyingly stubborn about taking pain meds.  My oldest brother basically refuses to take anything...unless he has a kidney stone.  My dad refuses to take anything...just about ever.  Even my other two brothers, while better than the “it’s totally manly to be in pain” oldest brother and dad, still are such guys.  My dad was given a pain med prescription for after his surgery.  He had it filled, it was just sitting there at home, waiting to be taken.  I told him to have a bite to eat when he got home, and to take a pill.  Did he?  No.  I called my parents a couple of hours after we all left the hospital, to make sure my dad took his pill.  I know, and Leigh-Ann knows, because we live with pain every day, that taking the meds before the pain engulfs you (like when, oh, you’re still NUMB from being sliced open) helps keep the pain away.  Does anyone listen to us?  Hrumph.  It’s harder for pain meds to take pain away, after it’s already started, than it is to prevent it.  Also, it’s been proven that patients heal faster when their pain is controlled.  Not to mention, you don’t get any brownie points for suffering in pain, so why would you want to not just take a tiny little pill?  Anyway, you may be surprised by this, but after a surgery where your forehead is cut open and then stitched back up, when the numbness wears off, you end up in pain.  I know, totally shocking.  And yes, I realize I’m being sarcastic, but I really hate this refusing to take pain meds stuff from my dad and brother.  I suppose if they’d grown up having headaches like my mom and I, they’d probably be more willing to do whatever it took to get rid of the pain.  And, I’m happy that they didn’t have the headaches, because they suck.  Still, taking pain meds when you’re in pain is a good thing.  It’s an even better thing when you have a prescription just sitting on your counter, that you take it before the pain starts when you’ve had surgery.  Most people don’t have chronic pain, so they’re not generally going to be taking pain meds to prevent pain, they’re going to have to take them to relieve pain.  But when you’ve had surgery, you do what the surgeon tells you (never mind what your kid tells you) and take the medication prescribed.

When I was talking to my mom, before my dad had taken the pill, my dad was in pain.  It was making him nauseous and giving him the cold sweats...because that’s what pain can do, make you feel sick.  I stomped my feet over the phone and told my mom to bring my dad something to drink and the pill.  He was going to take something, or I was just going to keep calling back until he at least told me he’d taken something.  I talked to my sister-in-law, and we somehow “found” a bit of Ativan magically floating in front of my parents’ house, so it was decided that if he felt nauseous again, .5mg of Ativan would do the trick.  I hope that he keeps on top of the pain now, instead of letting it sink its grubby little paws in again, but who knows...he’s stubborn.  Sometimes it drives Leigh-Ann crazy how stubborn my family is about certain things.  I admit it, I’m stubborn too, but not when it comes to pain.  After a childhood of headaches, followed by a car accident & back pain, followed by a herniated disc and fibromyalgia, I’m not going to win any awards (or even attempt to) for sucking up pain.  Life is hard enough without physical pain, and pharmaceuticals were invented for a reason.  I’m in a constant battle to prevent pain, and I HATE taking the pills.  I hate the side effects and the cost.  But, I hate the pain more.  So, Dad, you have pain meds specifically for the pain...take them.  Take them even if you’re not in pain yet, if it’s time to take them.  Prevent the pain (but don’t drive), and do it regularly at least for a few days, if not more.  Oh, and uh, make sure you get enough fiber.  Pain meds can cause constipation.  Don’t let it get out of hand, because although I don’t want to discuss it with you personally, I can tell you that that is one really lousy side effect.  Easy enough to deal with though, if you’re prepared.  Plus, don’t take your meds on an empty stomach, it’ll probably make you feel a little sick.  A bite to eat, a bunch of fiber, and some pain meds.  The perfect prescription to healing from surgery.  Love, Your Daughter

Hey Dad, did I make my point strongly enough?  I don’t want you to be in pain, so get up and go take one of your pills now.  If you’re due and you haven’t taken one, you should feel guilty...and go get one.

Updated at 11am Friday - My sister-in-law took a picture of my dad and his snazzy bonnet before he was wheeled away.  Not bad for 82 and a paper (or is it plastic?) hat - it’s tipped jauntily to one side.  I got my mom’s permission to upload the picture.  I asked if she thought it would annoy my dad, and she said that she didn’t think so.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

terribly early in the morning

The Ooky Day Ahead - A…head.

This afternoon or early evening, my dad is having surgery to dig more cancer out of his forehead, until they can’t find any more.  They’re not overly concerned, as it’s not the most dangerous form of cancer.  Although, right now I’ve taken a sleeping pill, because I need to get some good sleep before I toddle over to the hospital to hang out.  My dad is starting to insist that he wants to be awake during the surgery, and I think that’s nuts.  He’s already paying the anesthesiologist to be there all prepared, let him do his stuff.  The procedure isn’t the good part, it’s the drugs that are the good part.  No one needs to watch the surgeon work.  He’ll do fine.  Besides, it’s completely pain-free when you’re asleep, and that makes for some awesome surgery.  Hell, I don’t even remember counting down, I was so out of it.  Perhaps he can work on topping my “funny” record, even though Ray would never tell me what I said, he just kept saying I was funny.  So, Dad, get knocked out...and be funny.  And to be honest, all the gooey gory parts, I’d rather hear those talked about from the surgeon.  So, you’re going under, and you’re going to like it.  It’s like drifting off into the best sleep ever, only it’s way too short.

Now, I’m off to bed.  I took some meds to see if I could get some restful sleep.  I doubt it, but my next sleeping med is Xyrem.  DUNDUNDUNdun....  I’ve read some amazing stories about how people who had Fibromyalgia were really helped, and were able to get off all their meds.  That would be great.