This entry has been removed.

Due to the fact that I am, in many ways, still a child trapped in a grown-up body. And therefore am driven to listen to any and all advice that my father gives. This posting (originally entitled "Creative Writing") has been removed to protect the innocent (and my job).

If you actually know me, and didn't get to read it - shoot me an email and I'll be happy to email it to you directly :)

Thanks,
Management

A wonderful day

Every year, on September 25, I try to live my life a little bit slower. I try to take in the beauty of the outdoors. I get in touch with someone I haven't spoken to in a while. I let go of a grudge. I hug a little tighter. I sit in the sun for a few minutes and enjoy the warmth. I do some thinking. I consciously remind myself how lucky I am. And I call my mom to say "Happy-anniversary-of-successful-brain-surgery."

Quarantined

My husband moved out. Of the bedroom. Temporarily.
Last night my throat started to feel a little bit sore. And apparently when your husband works in a surgical ICU for 4 weeks with no days off, it is REALLY important that he not get sick . . . .

And so, tonight he packed up his pillow and his alarm clock and he moved to the guest room. Hopefully I will be cured soon and we can be reunited.

Wildcat Nation

Inspired by my sister-in-law . . . here was my weekend in the ATL.

Friday:
Booked it out of work immediately after class and drove to Suwanee, GA to see Dr. Joshey - a good friend, a former roommate of Ben's, and an award-winning dentist. Ok - no awards yet - but a dentist - and that's the important part. Joshey was kind enough to stay late at the office to fit me for a night guard so that I can finally quit clenching my teeth at night.

From there, I had a wonderful dinner with two very long-time friends - went to the Wheeler-Walton game for approximately 8 minutes - met up with old high school friends at Wild Wings (our traditional post-game gathering place).

Saturday:
Got my hair cut and had a lovely lunch with my wonderful Grandma Susie. I finally got to give her the present that Ben got for her and Papa after they treated us to the most amazing vacation in the B.V.I.s - the complete DVD set of Arrested Development (greatest show on earth).

Saturday night was the big 10-year high school reunion. Lots of catching up. Lots of drinks. Lots of fun. The party continued in Vinings after the official reunion ended - where we laughed until the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday:
Recuperate.

All in all - wonderful weekend. Glad I went. Looking forward to seeing my high school friends again . . . in 2018.

Test Anxiety

When you were in high school - did you ever think that while you were at home the night before a test, vigorously cramming the material for the next day - that your teacher was actually at the school - anxiously writing the very test that you were studying for? Worried about how long the test would take. Would it be too hard? Too easy? Is it ok to include a few true/false questions even if it was originally supposed to be multiple choice? Oy vey.

One of my "pet peeves"

I can't handle the inappropriate usage of quotation marks.
In my opinion, there are essentially TWO reasons when quotation marks should be used in print.

1. When you are quoting another person or indicating dialogue in text.

2. When you are trying to highlight irony in text

It is IMPROPER to use quotation marks for emphasis. For example, the restaurant on my way to work which offers a "Lunch" Buffet.

This makes me think that your use of the word "Lunch" is somehow supposed to be funny. Like it's not really lunch . . . but actually some other meal. Or that I'm in for some ironic twist where I come in expecting an all-you-can-eat buffet and end up finding nothing but small bowls of warm water in the buffet tray. That would be a "Lunch" Buffet. And I would be "thrilled" to be there.

My Husband - In a nutshell

While on a totally separate mission in our Office/Where-we-keep-all-things-we-haven't-really unpacked room - I saw these two images and had to capture them on camera. They basically sum up my husband in a nutshell. I did NO rearranging . . . these objects are EXACTLY as I found them.

The first is a reel of speaker wire on top of a medical text book, study guide, and ortho book. The second is fishing rods next to an instrumentation manual for surgery.

Magical Mystery Tour - Debriefing

Many of you have inquired about how the Magical (Masochistic) Mystery Tour with the 9th graders went. Truth be told - we had a pretty good time. I'd never been on a train before (unless you count the MetroNorth that runs from NYC to Westchester :) Plenty of leg room, nice reclining seats . . . dare I say, downright comfortable. Our group took up two cars of the train - the caboose - which housed 60 students, and then the second-to-last car, which held the remaining 30 students AND 30 normal-train-riding-passengers (who are likely all in therapy now).

The students loved the train ride more than they enjoyed D.C. Show them historical monuments representing centuries of heroes, memorials, and freedom - and they are struggling to stay awake. But put them on a train for 11 hours and they couldn't be happier.

We actually had a private tour of the Capitol Building where we were allowed to walk out onto the floor of the House. But when asked what their favorite part of the trip was - they enthusiastically replied "The Dining Car."

I got home at 7:00 a.m. on Friday morning and slept until about 2:00 p.m. (Had to go into work for the afternoon). Between Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights - I probably got about 30 hours of sleep - so its safe to say that I'm all caught up. Just in time for another crazy week at work!

It's not easy being Green

This little guy was in our backyard. I'm telling you it's like Wild Kingdom back there.

A Pseudo-Single Housewife's Weekend

Ben was on call this Saturday night and had weekend rounds on Sat. and Sun. - so I had the whole weekend to get things done.
In the time that I had to myself I . . .
Folded 8 loads of laundry
Changed all the sheets on the bed
Cleaned the kitchen
Bleached the shower
Cleaned the sinks
Returned items to Bed, Bath, and Beyond (seriously - this is not an "Old School" reference)
Watched 3 episodes of Law & Order
and lunched with the other resident wives.

Not much to report other than that.

The Magical Mystery Tour (with apologies to The Beatles)

It is 8:45 p.m. In one hour I am heading to the Amtrak train station to meet up with 70ish 9th graders for the 9th grade Mystery Trip.

The Mystery Trip is a school ritual that started several years ago - when the school decided to get all the 9th graders and 12 chaperones together for some good-old-fashion-misery.

We leave for our mystery destination around 11:00 PM on a train. The students don't know where we are headed. (If you are wondering how their parents let them board a train without knowing its final destination, then your guess is as good as mine.)

The train ride is 11 hours long. We arrive at our destination in the morning and spend the day in the super secret location. And by "day," I mean about 9 hours.

We then TURN BACK AROUND and head back (11 hours) to Greenville overnight on the train.
A colleague asked if I wanted her to pack some extra Dramamine for me - I told her only if she was bringing liquor to wash it down with.