the good, the bad...and the shiny

On the one hand, Mom got to go home Monday.

On the other hand, while she was in the hospital last week, she was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. A culture from the tissue sample taken during surgery started growing. Luckily, it is inactive TB…meaning she can't transmit it airborne to others. The disease is treatable with meds but it does change her status on the transplant list to hold again. Once she is done taking the medication, they will re-evaluate and take her off of hold status.

This afternoon, I'm going to get tested to see if I have TB. It's really just a precautionary thing. I'm going in for a mantoux test. They'll give me a shot in the forearm today. On Friday, I have to go back in so they can "read" it. If the injection spot has any sort of a reaction, that's when there's trouble.

In happier news, I got a new toy over the weekend. My contract was up so it was time to get a new phone. I swung by the Verizon store in Rochester and walked out with this:

So far, I love it. I also got talked into the Bluetooth/car charger/case bundle...I think it was a good call. It's hard to drive a stick and talk on that bugger at the same time. I tried using my shoulder as a cradle for the phone and it is nearly impossible.

hooray for good news!

Mom's surgery yesterday went well. The spot on her lung is not cancer. She has officially been granted an active status on the transplant list and is expected to be in the hospital for 3-5 days. I'm going to head down to the Roch tomorrow afternoon. I'll spend some quality time at the hospital tomorrow night and Friday. As it turns out, Monday is a holiday for me so I get an extra long weekend.

And now for something completely different:
Yesterday I discovered that I get a discount on my cell phone plan through work. I get 19% off of my monthly plan cost and 25% off of any accessories. Sure it isn't much, but over the course of a year, it will be like I'm not paying for a couple months of service. If you work for a big corporation (aka "the man") you may want to check and see if your company offers something similar.

I try to avoid stress - it makes me feel like I'm rubber-stamping all my organs "Urgent."

-Berri Clove

Let's face it, I'm stressed out.

Work is less than I hoped it would be by this point. At the moment, I'm trying to find out what my options are. In the near future, I'm going to be having a talk with my bosses about it all. I'm trying to my ducks in a row before that happens. I like having options.

I think this is common with a lot of people but it doesn't matter how much money I do or don't spend, I'm always running short. Hibernation is going to be my only option soon :) I actually think that a part time job is going to be a necessity. I'd love to hear any good ideas you all may have for a part time job.

The most significant source of stress right now is that tomorrow morning my mom is having surgery. January 15th is turning out to be my least favorite day of the year. Last year on Jan. 15th, Mom was placed on inactive status on the transplant list. That means she still holds her place on the list, but is not eligible for a transplant. The status change was caused by a spot that showed up on her lung. Tomorrow morning they are doing surgery to figure out what that spot is. It may be cancer, it may not. If it turns out to be cancer, they are going to make an attempt at getting rid of it. We're hoping for a good outcome so we can finally get things going again. Any happy good thoughts are much appreciated.

In happier news, I had a good weekend. Saturday was my big day out. I saw Avenue Q at the State Theater. It was fantastic...we had great seats in the 2nd row. Saturday night brought a Swarm home opener win over Toronto. The boys were rowdy which made for a good time.

Stay warm out there!

"Only the pure in heart can make a good soup"

-Ludwig van Beethoven

Last night I went to the orchestra. My sister and I made a night out of it. We went and picked up tickets at Orchestra Hall. UBS is a sponser of the Minnesota Orchestra and their way of saying thank you was a private concert for UBS employees and clients.

After we picked up tickets, we made our way over to Brit's Pub for dinner. After a couple of Strongbows and a delicious steak sandwich, it was off to the show.

Led by Osmo Vänskä, the first half was made up of Symphony 2 and Symphony 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven. I was reminded how amazing Beethoven's work is. The man was a musical genius. His music is simply beautiful. That in and of itself is enough to leave you in awe. When you try to process the idea that he was deaf, it takes that awe to a whole new level. How does someone who can't hear put notes together to make such brilliant harmony? How do you know how dramatic the difference between piano and forte is? I realize he didn't start losing his hearing until his twenties but still...it's remarkable. The orchestra did a beautiful job. Osmo himself was a treat to watch. In a word, he was animated. I love watching conductors who really get into it.

Beethoven's works were followed by an intermission. Essentially it was a big dessert bar in the lobby from Lunds/Byerlys. The lobby was packed to the point where it was almost impossible to move. It was good getting to see some of the people from the old Minnetonka office.

The second half of the show got a little long. They never actually told us what the musical selections were. Of course it was good but again, it got a little long. It was well worth it considering the tickets and parking was free. Plus I got my culture for the week :)

"I'm kind of jealous of the life I'm supposedly leading."

-Zach Braff

That's google's quote of the day. I found it amusing.

It's been busy over the past month.

On December 17th, I started my job in Wayzata. All things considered, it's ok. The people I work with are great. The hours are better than my old job by a half an hour every day. The drive is even a little better...especially on the way home. I really struggle with the salary. When I was inerviewing for a new position, I was told by both potential supervisors that I was significantly underpaid. When they went to division for approval they were told that they weren't allowed to give me a raise because I was transferring with like titles and it was end of the year raise cylce season. At this point, I'm just rambling because I'm still bitter. I just need to get over it.

I took off several days around Christmas. My brother was home from Colorado so it was nice to spend some extra time with him. He came up to visit some people here in the cities. We followed each other on the way down to my parents house. On the way, the dash lights and the tail lights decided to go out on my car...in the dark. So that was a fun repair.

Christmas day started well enough. Great presents and food. Good time with the family. We sat down for dinner around 5. Before you know it, we called an ambulance to take Mom to the hospital. She was having a difficult time breathing. She had some congestion in her chest and after a couple of nights in the hospital, she was on her way home. She seems to be doing better now.

New Years Eve I went to the party I always go to with a combination of my high school and college friends. It's always a good time and a great way to bring in the new year.

Last weekend, some of the college friends and I headed up to Lutsen for the annual drink a lot and ski trip. I'm not much of a skiier due to my not so good right knee, but the night time sledding down the ski runs was fun.

Today I'm at home. I woke up with a headache that I couldn't get rid of. I did go to work for a couple of hours but it was pretty useless. I came home and took a nap. That helped some. I had some lunch and I'm back to hanging out on the couch. I think another nap might be in the works.

I have a fairly busy week this week. Tomorrow night i'm going to a private performance of the Minnesota Orchestra through work. Saturday afternoon my sister and I are going to see Avenue Q at the State Theater. Then Saturday night is the Swarm home opener. After that, I should be able to lie low for a little while. It will be good for both my energy level and my bank account.

That's all I've got for now. Hopefully it won't be so long before the next update.