Friday, June 29, 2012

Hot again

NYC got up to 98 today.  Not as bad as I expected.  Changing clothes and showering two to three times as much, but do-able.  Especially when you look at what the rest of the country has had the last few days.

This morning when I left for another day fraught with banging my head against various study materials I found Merus tucked inside a litter box.  Luckily this was the clean, unused box.  

11:30 a.m.  'Sup, human.
Later, after four hours of swearing, flailing arms, growling and head thumping (read: studying) amongst the babies and crazies at Whole Foods, I came home to find her still content within the pine nubbins. 

4:00 p.m.  Still there.
Whatever works, I suppose.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

29

Twenty eight was a year of not so subtle feigned patience.  Waiting all coiled up in the blocks, waiting some more, waiting so long that my muscles shake and cramp and I have to sing to myself to keep my mind on track.  Waiting so that I may shed the years of the financial rat race and the life-on-the-back-burner forfeit of choice that was working in the service industry and grad school.  Seven years is a long time to live in limbo.

So now, at 29, there is momentum and a plan and the opportunity to act.  You have no idea how much I look forward to this. 

I tend to keep my birthday celebrations small.  Honestly, the idea of gathering a mass of people to celebrate me is a bit weird.  I realize its not that big of a deal, but I don't like to make a big deal of myself.  That's another reason why having a job lined up is so exciting -- I'm horrible at talking up myself, making myself look good in an interview.  "What are your strengths?"  What I want to say: "I don't know.  Ask my last clinical instructor."  What I end up saying: "Ummm... communication?"  Okay, so that may be exaggerating a bit (hence the failed-comedy-sketch drum and symbol with my delivery).  Offer a congratulations, wish me happy birthday, whatever -- it's just that I'm not going to put up a sign asking (or, like some I know, mandating) for others to celebrate me unless its a super big life altering deal. 

So yesterday started with a 10 mile run.  Nothing special, just the usual mid-week run to, around, and back from Central Park but with perfect summer weather. 

Nathan and I were gonna see Marvel's The Avengers at either 11:20 or 2:45 at the Magic Johnson theaters in Harlem.  Nathan realized the 11:20 show was $6 per ticket, whereas 2:45 was $9.50.  (This is also compared to the $12.50 for non-matinee movies in larger theaters downtown).  So 11:20 is was.  It was AWESOME.  Nathan is usually not into these kinds of movies, and even he enjoyed himself.

We grabbed lunch from a nearby deli and ate it sitting outside Grant's Tomb.  We had plenty of time before our dinner plans, so I figured after eating we could actually go inside the tomb -- emphasized because for all the at times daily commute passing by the tomb I have never actually seen the true memorial.  We took our time eating and talking.  Eventually we went up to the door, only to find that it is open in 1 hour blocks interspersed with 1 hour closures.  It was open 2-3pm, closed 3-4pm, and open 4-5pm.  We walked up at exactly 3pm on the dot.  Guess that one wasn't in the cards after all...

Instead we took the subway down to Union Square.  Tried on a shoe I'd been considering at one store (New Balance still doesn't and likely never will fit my alien toenail babies and Flinstone feet *sigh*).  Bought Merus a new food bowl in hopes to further disassociate the sight of her food with pain (old bowl: solid yellow; new bowl: white with blue and green dots).  Swung through the green market and grabbed Nathan a scone so he did not perish before dinner.  Looked in another shoe store for a replacement of my daily sneaks, but they don't carry the model anymore.  Futzed around in Barnes and Noble to start a summer reading list for once the licensure exam is over. 

In the evening we met up with my friend and former classmate Laura and her boyfriend Davis for dinner at Kitchenette.  Yum.  Was a good time.  Because of my recent Reese's obsession, dessert was Breyer's Blast ice cream with Reese's that we had to acquire on the walk home.  Struck out at two places.  Found an open drug store where we could at least get Reese's that we could mix with vanilla ice cream from the deli close to home.  Saw a random grocery store we'd never been into, found it to be six times the size we had assumed, and they had Breyer's with any and all cookie concoctions possible.  Score!

I asked which bowl Nathan preferred for his ice cream.  He thought using a bowl was silly, so let's just eat out of the carton.  I grabbed two spoons and we put on another episode of Arrested Development on Netflix.  By the end of the show I had eaten 2/3 the carton, Nathan ate 1/3.  This was not a pint, people.  This was 1.5 quarts. 


I blame Nathan.  Going bowl-less was his bright idea. 

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

A job (!!) and other news

In order of most to least exciting news...

1)  I got a job!

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.  It's a great institution for numerous reasons.  I had my first student rotation there, so I got to experience what I call The Machine first hand.  I swoon.  Therapists rotate yearly as well as sub-rotate within a given area every couple months.  I'll be in acute care, though which area will be determined closer to my start date (could be orthopedic, medical, neuro...).  My estimated start date is not until July 23rd, so I have time to get licensed and twiddle my thumbs.  Won't see a paycheck until August, but it is nonetheless amazingly reassuring to know that I have a job -- a GOOD job -- secured.  It's also a 20 minute walk from home.

ABC News is putting out a documentary of NYP called "NY Med" on July 10th at 10pm eastern/9pm central.  Here's a link to the preview (~two minutes).  The cameras were allowed to go anywhere and everywhere over a period of months.  I've not heard of a project like this before.  They had full access and full rights to anything so long as those caught on camera volitionally agreed and gave written approval (HIPAA laws somehow fully respected, so blurred faces of those in the background). 

2)  Soon to meet Nathan's mama

In the just over two years Nathan and I have been dating I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Nathan's mom.  Looks like we'll get to use the days following my licensure exam for a visit upstate, so long as the pre-employment stuff (physical, fitness test, etc) required by NYP does not impede.  Get ready, May, a storm's coming your way!

3)  Visceral mobilization course.

It was as literal as it sounds: finding and then releasing restrictions in the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, greater omentum, large intestines, liver, gallbladder, diaphragm, bladder, many sphincters, and a discussion though not full training for the uterus.  It was kind of incredible.  Huge changes in people without touching their musculoskeletal system.  The course instructors like to use people who have actual symptoms rather than just poking at another healthy body, and there is never a lack of someone in the room who could use the technique at hand.  Previous whiplash injury - esophagus restricting neck and chest range of motion.  Asthmatic on chronic steroids - difficulty utilizing the diaphragm for breathing rather than his shoulder muscles.  GERD (acid reflux) - particular dysfunctional sphincter and restricted stomach.  Difficulty digesting fatty foods - dysfunctional gallbladder output.  Low back pain (especially right sacroiliac) with difficulty extending the right hip when walking - cecum (start of the large intestines in the lower right portion of your abdomen, neighbor to the appendix) adhered to underlying musculature and the right pelvic bone.  Very cool stuff.

4)  Merus's and her seven extractions.

Her initial good progress became a nose dive into worse and worse state of pain despite Buprenex 3x/day.  Recovery food from the vet helped (super smooth texture, high calorie so her ability to eat very little went much further than normal food).  Just as I was starting to wean her from 3 doses per day of Buprenex (an opiate pain med) down to 2 per day, she hid for a solid 36 hours without eating.  Great...  I started to worry, only for her to skip and meow at my side for food.  She had effectively stopped cold turkey from meds, so I took a chance and gave her food without meds for the first time in a month and a half.  Took 15 minutes and two or three bouts, but it worked!  She's been off meds for at least a week now, and eating more easily and normally every day.  Not 100% yet, but I'll take it. So will Sadie.  She's had it with Merus getting all the extra attention, much like a two year old acting out once their sibling is born.  I tell you what -- Sadie (a.k.a. Little Miss Princess, a.k.a. Spiderrabbitdolphinsealworm) may make everyone swoon but she sure as heck can cause A LOT of trouble....

5)  First heat wave of the season.

It barreled into town on the actual first day of summer.  NYC didn't get into the triple digits, but we sure were close.  That was when Merus hid for 36 hours.  My guess is her spot was a magical 5 degrees cooler than our sweltering apartment (we have two fans, no AC).  I know much of the rest of the country experienced it too.  (If you haven't already heard, much of Colorado has been burning for some time with more than one area evacuated.  Check out the Denver Post for a map of all the fires, and I found this link to a handful of photos of the fires.  Amazing to think how harnessing the power of fire opened humanity's window into modernity, and yet I too forget that it can occur spontaneously and, as evidenced in CO, doggedly.)  I had to be particular as to what kinds of fluids I was constantly ingesting, though I'd say it was the first time in years that I wasn't completely miserable during a heat wave.  We still have July and August though, so I'm not delusioned into thinking this year will be easier as a whole. 

6)  Obsession with Reese's

Give me a Reese's peanut butter cup and I'll be gone in one bite.  Give me a bag of mini Reese's and there'll be a pile of foil and wax wrappers the size of my two fists put together.  A few weeks ago we discovered that Breyers has started a line of ice cream involving name brand cookies and -- lo! -- Reese's.  It's usually only carried at our local grocery store in half gallon size instead of pints.  Very bad idea.  Very, very bad...  At a different grocery I found Reese's ice cream cups.  I stared for about half a second before running away.  You saw nothing.  Nothing at all.  Frozen okra, that's what it was.  Pathetic.  Then a week ago I found a recipe online for something I have no idea what to call aside from monster cookies.  It uses pre-made refrigerated cookie dough formed into the bottom of a muffin tin, an upside down Reese's placed on top, then brownie batter over the top until each tin is 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.  I stood in front of the brownie mixes at the store for a solid five minutes, first considering brands, later considering if it was a good idea.  I choked and walked away.  *sigh*

7)  T-minus 6 days and counting...

The licensure exam is July 2nd at 8am.  Something like 6-8 hours per day have been spent studying for this thing.  Banging my head against study guides and coffee shop tables, jabbing holes in my skull with pens and highlighters, slicing myself like Edward Scissorhands with my stack of 350 flash cards and counting.  You know, quality studying time.  Luckily my cohort from school (also named Laura, a.k.a. Subconscious) has needed someone else to study with.  We study our own things aside from questions or venting, but we commit to a location and stay there for a set number of hours.

The TherapyEd study guide by O'Sullivan is thorough, though has pissed me off numerous times.  I almost chucked my laptop through the wall on Thursday of last week after one of the practice exams left me infuriated.  I'll stick to one example: placenta previa.  During pregnancy the placenta attaches itself incorrectly and could end up separating from the uterine wall.  Study guide: no pelvic floor exercises (i.e. kegels), no abdominal exercises; any pelvic muscle exercise could induce uterine contractions and further placenta separation.  Practice exam A (made by the same TherapyEd group): that answer is wrong.  Continue pelvic floor exercises, discontinue abdominal exercises.  *sigh*

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Less teeth, more silly

First a quick reminder:  Help support Nathan's ride from Boston to NYC as a fundraiser for homeless people with AIDS.  Donating is speedy and secure via online here.  He's up to 10% of his fundraising goal.  Remember, every small donation (even $5 or $10) helps more than you think.

*****

Thursday was a big day for Miss Merus.  She finally undergwent extractions for pronounced gingivitis that was unresponsive to numerous conservative treatments attempted since January.  The only thing that did show promise was prednisolone, though she cannot tolerate the treatment as it caused a nasty flare up of her left eye.  (She and Sadie have benign feline virus that is usually benign with minimal symptoms, but when kitteh is immunocompromised it wreaks utter havoc.  In Merus's case an otherwise minimal eye discharge turned into copious drainage, dark red sclera/conjunctiva, and swollen shut.)

The last few weeks of waiting for surgery have been just shy of torcher for poor Merus, with Buprenex pain killer to get her through.  Eating was an ordeal.  She no longer came to food since the visual or sound of the food bowl was enough to trigger pain by association and send her diving for cover.  It took a minimum of 10 minutes for the whole process of finding her, minimizing distractions, and tricking her to eat before her brain figured it out.  Probably the only benefit of being in the post-school pre-job limbo land is ample time for taking care of my ailing kitteh.  Well, that and studying for the licensure exam, but you know what I mean.


The extraction estimate included 4-6 maxillary (upper) molars.  When they called with an update as she started to recover from surgery, I was not surprised at all to hear that they actually pulled seven teeth.  The gingivitis was nasty and warranted removal of all six aforementioned molars, three on each side, though those teeth were themselves in okay shape, considering.  The seventh tooth was the rear mandibular (lower) molar on the left.  It had a major cavity that nearly went all the way through.  Neither the vet nor I had seen any evidence of it because Merus never let us get an actual good look into her mouth.  Likely the reason why pain meds had such a limited effect the week leading up to surgery.

Now that the teeth are out she is like a whole new cat.  Some discomfort, some loopiness induced by continued pain meds, but she actually seeks out food voluntarily and is amazingly more social.  Giving her the pain meds is much less of a process.  It seems the pain of recovery is less than the pain of her gum/tooth disease.

Thank. Good. Ness.

The evening following surgery - already a whole new kitteh.  You can kinda make out the little square shaved off her right arm for the IV.

I have a feeling that a second goofy troublemaker is soon to be unleashed.  Already Merus is knocking stuff over (living up to her full Brontomerus name) and is sidewinding like Sadie is wont. 

The original troublemaker, exhibit A, while trying to give Merus her pain meds.

Exhibit B.  Followed soon by more chewing on non-edibles.  *Sigh*

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Kitteh Bourdain

The list of foods edible according to Sadie continues to grow.  Currently she eagerly eats avocado, whole beans/legumes, refried beans, arugula, spinach, kale, alfalfa sprouts, watermelon, carrot, brussel sprouts, cheese, and meat.  Most veggies she will eat if dressed (salad stuff) or cooked (carrots, brussel sprouts).  Raw veggies are not her thing.  What a foodie.

We also already know that her tastes are far less civilized than what the aforementioned list implies.  Anything that has rubber, foam, or adhesive draws her like a moth to a flame.  Rubber bands, packaging tape, yoga blocks, shoes, ear plugs... you know, yummy stuff. 

The other night we returned home to find two tiny puddles of frothy liquid just inside the apartment door.  In my year of caring for these worms I have only witnessed or found evidence of Sadie puking.  In all cases was a precipitating cause -- avocado rind, purple foam pellets (formerly from my yoga block), sea foam green cylinders (former ear plug bit in half), that kind of thing.  So when I saw the two empty puddles of puke I new the hunt was on for the real pile.

Nathan found it on the bathroom floor.  It was a whole cockroach.  Bleh.  (For those grossed out by the idea of cockroaches in NYC apartments, this is only the second roach I've found in the 10 months I have lived here and the previous year and a half of visiting here on a regular basis.)

To top that off it was basically the shell, including the head.  It was also about two inches long, exoskeleton as straight as ever, most legs and antennae still attached.  How the hell did that thing fit down (and back up) the throat of a tiny 7-lbs kitteh??  And how were the innards so nicely separated and missing?  Maybe let's not think about that last one.  Bleh.  She could probably compete with the most bizarre of Anthony Bourdain's food escapades. 

Then I realized that I gave her a kiss on the nose before the puke piles were found.  Gross gross gross gross gross....



In the first many upcoming logical segues, here's a shameless reminder:

Help support Nathan's ride from Boston to NYC as a fundraiser for homeless people with AIDS.  Donating is speedy and secure via online here.  So far he's at 8% of the goal.  Remember, every small donation helps more than you think.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Braking the Cycle

Nathan has decided to turn the whole crazy endurance event thing into a meaningful fundraiser. 

Braking the Cycle is an annual ride from Boston to New York that donates to a different charity each year.  This year they've selected Housing Works, a local non-profit that uses a chain of thrift stores to support medical and housing programs for homeless people with AIDS.  The concept is that supplying housing at the same time as treatment can help stop the spread of AIDS better than otherwise.  Their data shows that it works.  Good stuff.  Housing Works also happens to be Nathan's employer -- he manages one of the thrift stores, and he has seen first hand the great effect such fundraising directly benefits people in need. 

Now he and a small team of other employees will ride 285 miles during this year's Braking the Cycle to help raise further funds for what is a very worthy cause for a very underserved community.  Please help support the effort -- non-profits tend to ride a fine line between operating in the black or in the red, accomplishing a great deal on a ridiculously small infrastructure, and Housing Works is no different.  Every small donation helps more than you know.

You can donate here via a secure and speedy website.  Nathan (and I) sincerely thank all those of you who help out.  Again, every donation helps no matter how small or large.