Saturday, June 1, 2013
Coping with Change
I do my best to keep up with technological changes in today's world. Ignore the fact that I still own and use an iPhone 3GS (a dinosaur of iPhones). A recent change (today) occurred when I decided to combine my blogs with my Google+ account. A few days ago, I merely glanced at the information page regarding the merge, but, at that time, I just wanted to type a post and add it to my other posts. As I'm typing this post via an iPad app, I'm also looking at my Google+ profile page as the public would see it. That brings to mind another recent change: using my real name on YouTube. Anyway, I'm looking at my G+ profile page, and I notice that there's a link to my YouTube page. I want you to know that I have not posted/uploaded any videos to YouTube. I created the account so that I could watch videos and subscribe to the ones I like and view the most. Update: By the way, I just uploaded my own video; it's the one Blogger should have uploaded in my previous post (written earlier today). I'm adjusting and adapting to change! Yay!!! YouTube has this new feature called One Channel, so, naturally, since I'm on the bandwagon to technologically change with the times today, I switched to One Channel. I seem to be making a lot of changes today, but, actually, all but one of the changes are Google-related: Blogger merged to Google+, switching to One Channel in YouTube, and installing and using the Blogger app on my iPhone and iPad.
Changes, continued
Today, I'm working on PowerPoint presentations for a friend/colleague of mine. I copied and pasted a paragraph from another presentation into the one I'm currently working on. With it came animation (Glide) that no longer exists in the Microsoft 2010 PowerPoint program. After I typed a title on the slide, I wanted the Glide animation, but when I clicked on the title and looked for the animation, no such kind existed. Then, I searched online for how to add an animation from a previous version to the MS 2010 PowerPoint program.
My results were futile, and I was ready to give up. I went back into the presentation and decided to add the title's text ("Addition") to the copied/pasted text so that "Addition" would have the same animation as the other text on the slide. A light bulb, of sorts, turned on in my head: I copied the copied/pasted text with the title now added to it. Then, on a blank area of the slide, I pasted the extra text box (so now I have 2 text boxes that contain the same thing). I clicked on the extra text box, positioned the cursor immediately after the title ("Addition"), and deleted all of the text after it. Then, I resized the text box and put it at the top of the slide. Now, both the title and the text below it (2 separate text boxes) play the same animation (Glide).
I repeated the process for another slide where I had to add a text box via copy/paste from a previous-versioned presentation. This slide is called Time, and it shows a sample paragraph of how the time order is used in a paragraph or selection. The animation that came with the copied/pasted text box from another presentation is called Thread, and it is not included in the MS 2010 PowerPoint program. How annoying that is to those of us who enjoy using certain animations to convey messages to our students but those animations no longer exist in newer versions of Microsoft PowerPoint 2010!
Changes like these really irk me. I'm annoyed because MS took it upon itself to remove certain features I (and others) consider to be important. That kind of change irritates me to no end. I have to live with it or find a way to modify it. Many times, I can modify changes to suit my needs. Sometimes, I cannot.
A couple of days ago, I replaced the battery in my iPhone 3GS because I'm too poor to buy a new iPhone (I like iPhones, and there are other perks my iPhone and data plan have that I can't get from a new iPhone and data plan), and I didn't want to send the only cell phone I have to an Apple Service Center to get the battery replaced.
The old battery in my iPhone 3GS was dying; my phone would shut off during calls or texts or app use when it was at only 75 - 85% power. Online researching told me my iPhone's battery was on its last legs of life. I went to YouTube to watch videos on how to replace the old battery with a new one. I found a reputable website (www.ifixit.com) that not only showed me how to replace the battery (with a video, still photos, and step-by-step directions) but also sold me the battery replacement kit for a hair less than $20! Wow!
[The collage of pics above shows the innards of my iPhone 3GS, as well as the new and old batteries. The video that I hope will uphold after I press the Publish button shows the iPhone booting up and explains the tools I got from the Replacement kit. Then, I can be heard exclaiming joyously that the replacement process was successful.]
The next change I will have to make will be to replace the graphics card in my desktop computer. This is a change I know how to do because I replaced the old graphics card with a new one about 13 months ago. This is a change that also somewhat irritates me because I don't think I should have to replace the graphics card if it is only a little over a year old. The old graphics card lasted from 2009 to 2012. I'm wondering if the replacement card was not so new, or maybe the graphics card I bought (same version and model as old one) was just as old as the one I replaced, but it hadn't been used on any other computers. That reasoning would explain why I now have to install a new card, a newer card, actually. This time, I ordered a card from a different manufacturer. The graphics card that is now in my computer is an NVidia card (NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240). The new one I recently received in the mail (from Dell) is an AMD Radeon graphics card by VisionTek (AMD Radeon HD 7850). Once I install the new card, I hope that this change is one I will be happy with now and in the future.
If you're wondering how old my computer is, it's four years old, and I am not planning on buying a new computer for quite some time (again, because of financial reasons). My computer is very capable of handling all my computer needs despite the recent problem with the graphics card. I bought it in 2009 because it has the ability to hold up to 12 tb (terabytes) of memory. Right now, it has 1.5 tb of memory. Despite all the programs I have installed on this computer, it still is running well.
I, no doubt, will have other changes I will need to write about, but for now, I had to write about the change I was able to modify to suit my needs (ppt animations). Now, I have to finish the PowerPoint presentation, and start working on another one.
My results were futile, and I was ready to give up. I went back into the presentation and decided to add the title's text ("Addition") to the copied/pasted text so that "Addition" would have the same animation as the other text on the slide. A light bulb, of sorts, turned on in my head: I copied the copied/pasted text with the title now added to it. Then, on a blank area of the slide, I pasted the extra text box (so now I have 2 text boxes that contain the same thing). I clicked on the extra text box, positioned the cursor immediately after the title ("Addition"), and deleted all of the text after it. Then, I resized the text box and put it at the top of the slide. Now, both the title and the text below it (2 separate text boxes) play the same animation (Glide).
I repeated the process for another slide where I had to add a text box via copy/paste from a previous-versioned presentation. This slide is called Time, and it shows a sample paragraph of how the time order is used in a paragraph or selection. The animation that came with the copied/pasted text box from another presentation is called Thread, and it is not included in the MS 2010 PowerPoint program. How annoying that is to those of us who enjoy using certain animations to convey messages to our students but those animations no longer exist in newer versions of Microsoft PowerPoint 2010!
Changes like these really irk me. I'm annoyed because MS took it upon itself to remove certain features I (and others) consider to be important. That kind of change irritates me to no end. I have to live with it or find a way to modify it. Many times, I can modify changes to suit my needs. Sometimes, I cannot.
A couple of days ago, I replaced the battery in my iPhone 3GS because I'm too poor to buy a new iPhone (I like iPhones, and there are other perks my iPhone and data plan have that I can't get from a new iPhone and data plan), and I didn't want to send the only cell phone I have to an Apple Service Center to get the battery replaced.
The old battery in my iPhone 3GS was dying; my phone would shut off during calls or texts or app use when it was at only 75 - 85% power. Online researching told me my iPhone's battery was on its last legs of life. I went to YouTube to watch videos on how to replace the old battery with a new one. I found a reputable website (www.ifixit.com) that not only showed me how to replace the battery (with a video, still photos, and step-by-step directions) but also sold me the battery replacement kit for a hair less than $20! Wow!
[The collage of pics above shows the innards of my iPhone 3GS, as well as the new and old batteries. The video that I hope will uphold after I press the Publish button shows the iPhone booting up and explains the tools I got from the Replacement kit. Then, I can be heard exclaiming joyously that the replacement process was successful.]
The next change I will have to make will be to replace the graphics card in my desktop computer. This is a change I know how to do because I replaced the old graphics card with a new one about 13 months ago. This is a change that also somewhat irritates me because I don't think I should have to replace the graphics card if it is only a little over a year old. The old graphics card lasted from 2009 to 2012. I'm wondering if the replacement card was not so new, or maybe the graphics card I bought (same version and model as old one) was just as old as the one I replaced, but it hadn't been used on any other computers. That reasoning would explain why I now have to install a new card, a newer card, actually. This time, I ordered a card from a different manufacturer. The graphics card that is now in my computer is an NVidia card (NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240). The new one I recently received in the mail (from Dell) is an AMD Radeon graphics card by VisionTek (AMD Radeon HD 7850). Once I install the new card, I hope that this change is one I will be happy with now and in the future.
If you're wondering how old my computer is, it's four years old, and I am not planning on buying a new computer for quite some time (again, because of financial reasons). My computer is very capable of handling all my computer needs despite the recent problem with the graphics card. I bought it in 2009 because it has the ability to hold up to 12 tb (terabytes) of memory. Right now, it has 1.5 tb of memory. Despite all the programs I have installed on this computer, it still is running well.
I, no doubt, will have other changes I will need to write about, but for now, I had to write about the change I was able to modify to suit my needs (ppt animations). Now, I have to finish the PowerPoint presentation, and start working on another one.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Changes
In
January of this year (2013), I had hoped (and prayed) that the spring 2013
semester would be better than the fall 2012 semester in regards to my personal
life. However, the spring 2013 semester was no better, and, at times, a bit
worse than the previous semester.
This is what happened during the fall 2012 semester months (of August to December): From late October to the middle of November, my mom was hospitalized because of a fall she had taken. My dad has short-term memory loss and didn’t know where his wife (my mom) was. Mom returned home during Thanksgiving week, which made my dad a very happy man, thankful God returned his wife to him.
In the middle of November, shortly after returning home from an educators' conference, my youngest cat Bella became so sick I had to take her to the vet. The veterinarian took some blood from her, and when the results came back, he said she tested positive for the feline leukemia virus (FLV). He told me Bella was in the final stages of the disease. Since Bella was in the final stages of FLV, the vet told me that there was not much that could be done to prolong her life. The doctor said her life as it was would get progressively worse in a short period of time. I had to make the difficult decision of having her put to sleep. Therefore, on the morning of Thursday, November 15th, Bella died. She was almost two years old.
The vet told me that the feline leukemia virus is highly contagious to other cats (not to people). Naturally, I thought of my other cats that came into contact with Bella. Stormy loves to lick (herself, other cats, and people), and I remembered Stormy licking Bella's head on the morning of November 15th - before I took Bella to the vet's office. I took my three cats to the vet, and they all tested negative for FLV. I was so happy they were okay that I took pictures of each of them in their respective cat carriers, as well as pictures of their negative results and posted a collage of the pictures on Facebook.
The Monday and Tuesday before and after Thanksgiving, I substitute-taught for a fellow reading teacher in addition to teaching my own classes. In all, I taught nine classes, and those classes wiped me out. Thankfully, my boss was able to find another teacher to cover my sick colleague’s classes after I realized I could no longer teach them because of the toll they took on me.
For the rest of the semester, life was basically normal for me. I cried a great deal about Bella's demise, and I felt guilty about having to make the decision to have her put to sleep, but I felt comfort knowing that she was in heaven and pain- and illness-free (yes, I do believe animals go to heaven after they die).
Changes occurred for me during the fall 2012 semester. Even more changes occurred during the spring 2013 semester - changes I wish had never happened.
The first half of the semester was, thankfully, uneventful. I taught five reading classes and one writing class from Sunday through Thursday. In February, I aged another year (although I always tell my students I'm still 39). In February, my dad fell two times. The first time he fell, he broke his shoulder (hairline fracture that required a sling), and the second time he fell, he broke his ankle. He had to wear a cast and was ordered not to put any weight on it while wearing the cast (for 12 weeks). The problem with that order is that dad could not remember it. The two falls caused him to have to leave his assisted-living apartment and live in a nursing home while he was healing. In the meantime, early in March, my mom fell and had to be hospitalized and then, she, too, had to go to the nursing home (my dad is 96 and my mom 94). Their new home became the Lutheran Home, which thankfully is a mere few blocks from my friend's home (where I stay when I go to PA). Because of their separate health conditions, they each had their own room. They were not put into the same room. I was disappointed in that, but, as it turned out, Dad did not miss Mom so much because they did not see each other as often.
At the unofficial start of Spring Break, I hit my left pinky toe against the corner of a book-filled cardboard box and ended up elevating that toe (and foot) with ice on it periodically for the whole week of Spring Break. This was a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that I could not do the housework I had planned to do during the week-long break. The curse was that I could not wear closed-top shoes except for my $5.00 pair of Crocs (yes, real Crocs for five dollars!) for several weeks after the break. Today, I "touched" a box with that same pinky toe, and now, I'm wondering if wearing my sneakers would be too painful (if I had to go somewhere).
In the wee hours of Monday, April 8th, I experienced two severe dizzy spells while I was trying to find objects in a hidden object game in Facebook. Later in that morning, I asked my friend if she could take me to the emergency room. While I was waiting for her to come and get me, I called my boss and told her I couldn't teach my classes because I was having dizzy spells off and on that day, and I was going to go to the emergency room to get checked.
The ER doctor tested my coordination and motor skills by having me follow his finger as it moved left and right in front of me. I also did the test where I had to put my right hand out in front of me and with my index finger, touch the tip of my nose and then touch the doctor's palm repeatedly. Then, I walked away from him and, on return, did the "sobriety" walk of one foot directly in front of the other. I was hesitant to do that because I was feeling off-balance and lightheaded, but I did it. Then, the doctor ordered two separate CAT scans, one without dye and one with dye, called a contrast scan. He told me he was worried a little about me, that my head was wobbling a little. I knew that my eyes were wobbling when I was following his finger left to right; he said he noticed that, too.
My friend stayed with me while I was in the ER. She waited outside the CAT scan room while I was having the CAT scans done, and she walked alongside my gurney while the nurse was taking me back to the hallway spot in the ER. I was so worried that I had some awful disease or illness that I gave my spare house key to my friend in case I had to spend the night (or more) in the hospital. I tried to call my other friend (the one I stay with while I'm in PA visiting family et al), but my cell phone lost its signal in the ER hallway. I had to use my friend's cell phone to call her and leave a message on her voicemail. She sent a text to my friend's phone to confirm she had gotten my message and hoped everything would be okay.
The scan results came back negative, and the ER doctor told me he thought it was an inner ear infection. He prescribed meclizine for the dizzy spells (Did you know that you can buy prescription-strength meclizine at the local grocery store? At the time, I didn't know that.) He told me that if I needed to, I could go to my own doctor for further treatment. The one thing he didn't do was look into my ears to confirm the ear infection. My guess is he just wanted to rule out anything more serious.
I tried to call my doctor, but I couldn't get a hold of him. The number I had for him was wrong, and the number the hospital had for him was also wrong. The hospital's number was that of an ordinary citizen's number, which I discovered when I called it and talked to a woman who said people keep calling her thinking it's the doctor's number. I profusely apologized to her. Because I couldn't contact my doctor, I had to change doctors through my health insurance company. On Thursday of that week, I went to see my new doctor. She looked into my right ear and instantly said, "Ear infection." Then, she looked into my left ear and confirmed her own diagnosis. I asked her why the ER doctor did not look into my ears, and she, too, thought it was because he wanted to rule out other illnesses. My doctor prescribed the Z-pak (azithromycin) because I'm allergic to ampicillin, as well as Ciprodex (anti-bacterial and anti-biotic ear drops). The doctor told me to cut down on salt because the fluid in my ears needs to dry out and salt makes the body retain fluids. Then, the doctor said, "It'll be a while." Wow! She was absolutely right about that.
I then did extensive online research on bacterial inner ear infections and discovered that healing time can take 10 to 90 days! Wow! The meclizine didn't totally remove the dizzy spells, but it did tone them down considerably. I took meclizine day and night, and because it is an antihistamine, it made me very sleepy. That was great for night-time use, but not so great for day-time use. I was not able to teach or go to work for that whole week. I did teach my Sunday, April 7th, writing class because I was not sick at that time (or so I thought). At least, I wasn't contagious. I returned to work on the following Sunday (April 14th). I was very nervous about getting in the car and driving to work that Sunday because I was afraid I would have a dizzy spell while driving. I did not have a dizzy spell while driving to and from work. I even stopped at the local PetSmart to buy much-needed cat food and litter (I saw my new doctor there; she was stocking up on cat food because she has six cats!).
While at work that Sunday, I did feel somewhat dizzy and lightheaded while my students and I were in the lab room, but it was very mild. I worked that whole week. By the time my classes ended each night, I was very tired. There is no doubt that the medications and the infection and the work made me more tired than normally.
On Sunday evening, April 21st, my brother called me to tell me my mom died. In a way, this was not a surprise because Mom had been hospitalized and then taken to the Lutheran Home (LH) for rehab and, eventually, to live there. At one point, one of my brothers called me to say a nurse at the LH didn't think that Mom would make it through the night. I questioned my brother about the nurse, saying, "That was the nurse. What did the doctor say?" Apparently, I wasn't the only one who questioned the validity of the nurse's diagnosis. Other family members also had doubts about Mom's condition. Another brother went to see Mom and called and told me she was fine, that the nurse didn't really know Mom. As the days passed, Mom continued to improve. However, she was very quiet, and, at times, both the nurses and my brothers had to feed her because she was not able to feed herself. She ate very little, and the nurses gave her "power shakes" to restore lost nutrients.
While I was on the phone with my brother, I told him I could not fly because I had a bacterial inner ear infection, and flying could damage my ears and hearing. When another brother called, I told him the same thing. He told me that some of the other family members could not get to Pennsylvania (PA) until Wednesday or Thursday. Then, I realized that I could drive to PA and make it in time for the viewing and the funeral. I was also texting my friend about Mom's death and future travel plans. I told her I was going to drive to PA. I notified my boss about my mom's death and plans to drive to PA. She told me that arrangements would be made to get a substitute teacher for my classes (the same colleague, by the way, whose classes I covered in November, 2012). She told me, as well, that I could take off for several days for bereavement and illness. What a relief that was to hear that. My colleague covered my classes for two weeks (unlike me, she was not teaching her own classes this past semester).
On the day I left for PA (Monday, April 22nd), I stopped at the grocery store to buy Dramamine and sodium-low munchies for the trip. I discovered that prescription-strength meclizine can be bought over-the-counter (called Bonine). I took Dramamine during the day and meclizine at night. On Wednesday, when I was about an hour from my final destination, I experienced a bad dizzy spell while driving. Fortunately, I did not have an accident. I kept driving, slowly but surely, to reach my friend's home. My friend drove me to the viewing and the funeral. As a matter of fact, I didn't have to drive while I was in PA, which was good because I figured the more rest I could get the better because I had to drive back to TX that next week. Frankly, I was very scared to drive back home, but I knew that there was no other way. As it turned out, I had to take an extra day of driving to get home. I could drive only about 500 miles a day (a normal trip to PA takes three days).
I have discovered that caffeine is a no-no during an inner ear infection healing process. I didn't have any coffee while I was in PA. I did have coffee during my trip up to PA. That's why I experienced the bad dizzy spell on day three of the trip. Once I got home, I did have a cup of coffee on Friday and one on Saturday, and on Saturday, I, once again, had a bad dizzy spell. Off and on, for the next few days afterwards, I felt dizzy and lightheaded, so it took a while for me to feel better. I have since bought and made decaffeinated coffee; there is caffeine in decaffeinated coffee, but it is a very small amount (and cold-brewing decaf coffee reduces that amount even more). Today, I drank a cup of decaf coffee. I have not had a dizzy spell (yet), and I hope I don't have one. I don't take Dramamine during the day anymore because that was not working. I wonder if I built up a resistance to it. I still, however, take meclizine at night because that is still doing its job and helps me get to sleep.
I have not really cried about my mom's death. I did cry on that Sunday night (that she died) when I saw a picture of my mom (in her teen years) that my niece posted on Facebook, but that was a short-lived cry. I cried the other night, but, again, that was a mild cry. I did not cry at the viewing, but I did come close to it. I did not cry at her funeral. I think I did not cry while I was in PA because I thought I had to get things done first. I know that, eventually, I will cry for my mom.
My brother told me he talked to Mom and Dad several years ago about their will and last wishes. Both of my parents had already told me they wanted to be cremated. When my brother asked my mom what she wanted the family to do with her ashes, she said she wanted me to have them. I was greatly touched by that, but I did not cry. I took Mom's ashes home with me. My friend thought that my mom wanted to go back to Texas (where she was born). The beautiful box that my mom's ashes are in sits on a shelf in my living room (next to Bella's box of ashes) and between two bowling trophies. My friend thought that was a very appropriate spot because Mom used to bowl, and she was very good at it.
I am still healing from my bacterial inner ear infection; however, the dizzy spells have nearly all gone away. My right ear still feels full, and I hope that that, too, clears up soon. My friend told me that the dizzy spells would go away before the infection does. I think that is true because I have had to cut down considerably on my sodium intake (and caffeine). The fluid in my inner ear is slowly (too slowly, in my opinion) drying up. I look forward to the day I have no dizzy spells, clear ears, and no infection.
Changes occur whether I like it or not. I'm all for good changes, but I'm not too keen on the bad ones. I have to adjust and adapt to whatever changes happen. God-willing (and with God's help, of course), I will be able to cope with the changes that happen in my life.
One change that is happening right now, and that I need to pay attention to, is my computer's graphics card is making noises. I know what those noises mean. They mean I have to open the CPU tower, remove the card, and clean it. Eventually, which will come sooner than I want it to, I will have to replace the card with a new one. The card that's in the computer now is only a little over a year old. It's time to upgrade my graphics card - get one that won't die on me a little over a year old.
This is what happened during the fall 2012 semester months (of August to December): From late October to the middle of November, my mom was hospitalized because of a fall she had taken. My dad has short-term memory loss and didn’t know where his wife (my mom) was. Mom returned home during Thanksgiving week, which made my dad a very happy man, thankful God returned his wife to him.
In the middle of November, shortly after returning home from an educators' conference, my youngest cat Bella became so sick I had to take her to the vet. The veterinarian took some blood from her, and when the results came back, he said she tested positive for the feline leukemia virus (FLV). He told me Bella was in the final stages of the disease. Since Bella was in the final stages of FLV, the vet told me that there was not much that could be done to prolong her life. The doctor said her life as it was would get progressively worse in a short period of time. I had to make the difficult decision of having her put to sleep. Therefore, on the morning of Thursday, November 15th, Bella died. She was almost two years old.
The vet told me that the feline leukemia virus is highly contagious to other cats (not to people). Naturally, I thought of my other cats that came into contact with Bella. Stormy loves to lick (herself, other cats, and people), and I remembered Stormy licking Bella's head on the morning of November 15th - before I took Bella to the vet's office. I took my three cats to the vet, and they all tested negative for FLV. I was so happy they were okay that I took pictures of each of them in their respective cat carriers, as well as pictures of their negative results and posted a collage of the pictures on Facebook.
The Monday and Tuesday before and after Thanksgiving, I substitute-taught for a fellow reading teacher in addition to teaching my own classes. In all, I taught nine classes, and those classes wiped me out. Thankfully, my boss was able to find another teacher to cover my sick colleague’s classes after I realized I could no longer teach them because of the toll they took on me.
For the rest of the semester, life was basically normal for me. I cried a great deal about Bella's demise, and I felt guilty about having to make the decision to have her put to sleep, but I felt comfort knowing that she was in heaven and pain- and illness-free (yes, I do believe animals go to heaven after they die).
Changes occurred for me during the fall 2012 semester. Even more changes occurred during the spring 2013 semester - changes I wish had never happened.
The first half of the semester was, thankfully, uneventful. I taught five reading classes and one writing class from Sunday through Thursday. In February, I aged another year (although I always tell my students I'm still 39). In February, my dad fell two times. The first time he fell, he broke his shoulder (hairline fracture that required a sling), and the second time he fell, he broke his ankle. He had to wear a cast and was ordered not to put any weight on it while wearing the cast (for 12 weeks). The problem with that order is that dad could not remember it. The two falls caused him to have to leave his assisted-living apartment and live in a nursing home while he was healing. In the meantime, early in March, my mom fell and had to be hospitalized and then, she, too, had to go to the nursing home (my dad is 96 and my mom 94). Their new home became the Lutheran Home, which thankfully is a mere few blocks from my friend's home (where I stay when I go to PA). Because of their separate health conditions, they each had their own room. They were not put into the same room. I was disappointed in that, but, as it turned out, Dad did not miss Mom so much because they did not see each other as often.
At the unofficial start of Spring Break, I hit my left pinky toe against the corner of a book-filled cardboard box and ended up elevating that toe (and foot) with ice on it periodically for the whole week of Spring Break. This was a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that I could not do the housework I had planned to do during the week-long break. The curse was that I could not wear closed-top shoes except for my $5.00 pair of Crocs (yes, real Crocs for five dollars!) for several weeks after the break. Today, I "touched" a box with that same pinky toe, and now, I'm wondering if wearing my sneakers would be too painful (if I had to go somewhere).
In the wee hours of Monday, April 8th, I experienced two severe dizzy spells while I was trying to find objects in a hidden object game in Facebook. Later in that morning, I asked my friend if she could take me to the emergency room. While I was waiting for her to come and get me, I called my boss and told her I couldn't teach my classes because I was having dizzy spells off and on that day, and I was going to go to the emergency room to get checked.
The ER doctor tested my coordination and motor skills by having me follow his finger as it moved left and right in front of me. I also did the test where I had to put my right hand out in front of me and with my index finger, touch the tip of my nose and then touch the doctor's palm repeatedly. Then, I walked away from him and, on return, did the "sobriety" walk of one foot directly in front of the other. I was hesitant to do that because I was feeling off-balance and lightheaded, but I did it. Then, the doctor ordered two separate CAT scans, one without dye and one with dye, called a contrast scan. He told me he was worried a little about me, that my head was wobbling a little. I knew that my eyes were wobbling when I was following his finger left to right; he said he noticed that, too.
My friend stayed with me while I was in the ER. She waited outside the CAT scan room while I was having the CAT scans done, and she walked alongside my gurney while the nurse was taking me back to the hallway spot in the ER. I was so worried that I had some awful disease or illness that I gave my spare house key to my friend in case I had to spend the night (or more) in the hospital. I tried to call my other friend (the one I stay with while I'm in PA visiting family et al), but my cell phone lost its signal in the ER hallway. I had to use my friend's cell phone to call her and leave a message on her voicemail. She sent a text to my friend's phone to confirm she had gotten my message and hoped everything would be okay.
The scan results came back negative, and the ER doctor told me he thought it was an inner ear infection. He prescribed meclizine for the dizzy spells (Did you know that you can buy prescription-strength meclizine at the local grocery store? At the time, I didn't know that.) He told me that if I needed to, I could go to my own doctor for further treatment. The one thing he didn't do was look into my ears to confirm the ear infection. My guess is he just wanted to rule out anything more serious.
I tried to call my doctor, but I couldn't get a hold of him. The number I had for him was wrong, and the number the hospital had for him was also wrong. The hospital's number was that of an ordinary citizen's number, which I discovered when I called it and talked to a woman who said people keep calling her thinking it's the doctor's number. I profusely apologized to her. Because I couldn't contact my doctor, I had to change doctors through my health insurance company. On Thursday of that week, I went to see my new doctor. She looked into my right ear and instantly said, "Ear infection." Then, she looked into my left ear and confirmed her own diagnosis. I asked her why the ER doctor did not look into my ears, and she, too, thought it was because he wanted to rule out other illnesses. My doctor prescribed the Z-pak (azithromycin) because I'm allergic to ampicillin, as well as Ciprodex (anti-bacterial and anti-biotic ear drops). The doctor told me to cut down on salt because the fluid in my ears needs to dry out and salt makes the body retain fluids. Then, the doctor said, "It'll be a while." Wow! She was absolutely right about that.
I then did extensive online research on bacterial inner ear infections and discovered that healing time can take 10 to 90 days! Wow! The meclizine didn't totally remove the dizzy spells, but it did tone them down considerably. I took meclizine day and night, and because it is an antihistamine, it made me very sleepy. That was great for night-time use, but not so great for day-time use. I was not able to teach or go to work for that whole week. I did teach my Sunday, April 7th, writing class because I was not sick at that time (or so I thought). At least, I wasn't contagious. I returned to work on the following Sunday (April 14th). I was very nervous about getting in the car and driving to work that Sunday because I was afraid I would have a dizzy spell while driving. I did not have a dizzy spell while driving to and from work. I even stopped at the local PetSmart to buy much-needed cat food and litter (I saw my new doctor there; she was stocking up on cat food because she has six cats!).
While at work that Sunday, I did feel somewhat dizzy and lightheaded while my students and I were in the lab room, but it was very mild. I worked that whole week. By the time my classes ended each night, I was very tired. There is no doubt that the medications and the infection and the work made me more tired than normally.
On Sunday evening, April 21st, my brother called me to tell me my mom died. In a way, this was not a surprise because Mom had been hospitalized and then taken to the Lutheran Home (LH) for rehab and, eventually, to live there. At one point, one of my brothers called me to say a nurse at the LH didn't think that Mom would make it through the night. I questioned my brother about the nurse, saying, "That was the nurse. What did the doctor say?" Apparently, I wasn't the only one who questioned the validity of the nurse's diagnosis. Other family members also had doubts about Mom's condition. Another brother went to see Mom and called and told me she was fine, that the nurse didn't really know Mom. As the days passed, Mom continued to improve. However, she was very quiet, and, at times, both the nurses and my brothers had to feed her because she was not able to feed herself. She ate very little, and the nurses gave her "power shakes" to restore lost nutrients.
While I was on the phone with my brother, I told him I could not fly because I had a bacterial inner ear infection, and flying could damage my ears and hearing. When another brother called, I told him the same thing. He told me that some of the other family members could not get to Pennsylvania (PA) until Wednesday or Thursday. Then, I realized that I could drive to PA and make it in time for the viewing and the funeral. I was also texting my friend about Mom's death and future travel plans. I told her I was going to drive to PA. I notified my boss about my mom's death and plans to drive to PA. She told me that arrangements would be made to get a substitute teacher for my classes (the same colleague, by the way, whose classes I covered in November, 2012). She told me, as well, that I could take off for several days for bereavement and illness. What a relief that was to hear that. My colleague covered my classes for two weeks (unlike me, she was not teaching her own classes this past semester).
On the day I left for PA (Monday, April 22nd), I stopped at the grocery store to buy Dramamine and sodium-low munchies for the trip. I discovered that prescription-strength meclizine can be bought over-the-counter (called Bonine). I took Dramamine during the day and meclizine at night. On Wednesday, when I was about an hour from my final destination, I experienced a bad dizzy spell while driving. Fortunately, I did not have an accident. I kept driving, slowly but surely, to reach my friend's home. My friend drove me to the viewing and the funeral. As a matter of fact, I didn't have to drive while I was in PA, which was good because I figured the more rest I could get the better because I had to drive back to TX that next week. Frankly, I was very scared to drive back home, but I knew that there was no other way. As it turned out, I had to take an extra day of driving to get home. I could drive only about 500 miles a day (a normal trip to PA takes three days).
I have discovered that caffeine is a no-no during an inner ear infection healing process. I didn't have any coffee while I was in PA. I did have coffee during my trip up to PA. That's why I experienced the bad dizzy spell on day three of the trip. Once I got home, I did have a cup of coffee on Friday and one on Saturday, and on Saturday, I, once again, had a bad dizzy spell. Off and on, for the next few days afterwards, I felt dizzy and lightheaded, so it took a while for me to feel better. I have since bought and made decaffeinated coffee; there is caffeine in decaffeinated coffee, but it is a very small amount (and cold-brewing decaf coffee reduces that amount even more). Today, I drank a cup of decaf coffee. I have not had a dizzy spell (yet), and I hope I don't have one. I don't take Dramamine during the day anymore because that was not working. I wonder if I built up a resistance to it. I still, however, take meclizine at night because that is still doing its job and helps me get to sleep.
I have not really cried about my mom's death. I did cry on that Sunday night (that she died) when I saw a picture of my mom (in her teen years) that my niece posted on Facebook, but that was a short-lived cry. I cried the other night, but, again, that was a mild cry. I did not cry at the viewing, but I did come close to it. I did not cry at her funeral. I think I did not cry while I was in PA because I thought I had to get things done first. I know that, eventually, I will cry for my mom.
My brother told me he talked to Mom and Dad several years ago about their will and last wishes. Both of my parents had already told me they wanted to be cremated. When my brother asked my mom what she wanted the family to do with her ashes, she said she wanted me to have them. I was greatly touched by that, but I did not cry. I took Mom's ashes home with me. My friend thought that my mom wanted to go back to Texas (where she was born). The beautiful box that my mom's ashes are in sits on a shelf in my living room (next to Bella's box of ashes) and between two bowling trophies. My friend thought that was a very appropriate spot because Mom used to bowl, and she was very good at it.
I am still healing from my bacterial inner ear infection; however, the dizzy spells have nearly all gone away. My right ear still feels full, and I hope that that, too, clears up soon. My friend told me that the dizzy spells would go away before the infection does. I think that is true because I have had to cut down considerably on my sodium intake (and caffeine). The fluid in my inner ear is slowly (too slowly, in my opinion) drying up. I look forward to the day I have no dizzy spells, clear ears, and no infection.
Changes occur whether I like it or not. I'm all for good changes, but I'm not too keen on the bad ones. I have to adjust and adapt to whatever changes happen. God-willing (and with God's help, of course), I will be able to cope with the changes that happen in my life.
One change that is happening right now, and that I need to pay attention to, is my computer's graphics card is making noises. I know what those noises mean. They mean I have to open the CPU tower, remove the card, and clean it. Eventually, which will come sooner than I want it to, I will have to replace the card with a new one. The card that's in the computer now is only a little over a year old. It's time to upgrade my graphics card - get one that won't die on me a little over a year old.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Anti-Resolutional
As my cat Moky lounges on my lap, I am pondering what to write in this particular blog post. I know what to write; I just don't know how to start. That is the primary reason my students give me after I assign an essay: "I don't know how to start it." Already, I'm digressing - trailing off the topic at hand. I'm sorry.
I was perusing the Internet today, reading headlines and researching information and names found in the news stories. Inevitably, I end up here because I almost always end my search with a blogger's post about the topic or the name or anything else of value in the news stories. After I sign in to the Blogger site, I feel a sense of writing even though I'm not immediately sure of what exactly I want to write.
During my news stories' paths, I often come across articles about New Year's resolutions. People from all different walks of life tell their readers what resolutions they've made. Some people provide resolution guidance or advice. Others proclaim they refuse to make any resolutions whatsoever. I am of the latter group although, occasionally, I try to make a resolution or two from time to time.
In the end, my thoughts progress to not making any resolutions because I know, from experience, that I will break them, and I do not like breaking promises, even if those promises are to myself. What does that make me (besides a passenger in the same boat as almost everybody else)? That makes me anti-resolutional. I'm well aware of the fact that anti-resolutional is not even a word; maybe it should be. That word conjures thoughts of rebellion because I am refusing to make resolutions; I am making a stand against resolutions (I know, circular reasoning).
Originally, I thought about what resolutions I could make, and, at one point, I was nearly sure I would be able to pull off the deed without struggling with it. However, as is my MO, I weighed the pros and cons of the promise, and I surmised that my life would be better if I made no promises whatsoever.
This is how my new year pans out, at least for the first month, anyway: I want to enjoy the last vestiges of the previous year. I'm not ready to jump into new waters just yet; I like my comfort zone. I don't care what others have to say about hesitation or comfort zones, and I definitely don't need the guilt that comes with that advice.
By the time the second month of the year arrives, I'm ready to make some changes, but they are not the resolutions I gave some thought to at the beginning of the year (or at the end of the previous year). Truthfully, I make resolutions at the end of almost every semester because, for me, it's a way to modify or revise what I did during the semester, and I am hoping that the revisions will help me in the upcoming semester. Those promises are usually kept, and if they aren't, it's because I rationalized them to death (really, isn't that what people do when they break their resolutions?).
One such resolution I made at the end of the fall 2012 semester was to eliminate my late-work rule. Last semester (as in previous semesters), I allowed late work. I gave an amnesty deadline (last call, of sorts, for the work my students put off until the very end). I also allowed my students to make-up one test they missed or to retake a test they scored poorly on (with the use of a test coupon). At the end of the fall 2012 semester, I was highly stressed. Some of that stress had to do with my rule, and some had to do with personal issues. Before heading out to meet with family and friends for the Christmas celebrations, I revised the spring 2013 writing syllabus so that all work had to be turned in on the due dates and all tests had to be taken on the original test dates.
Going back to news stories for just a moment, newscasters were hyping up the flu epidemic, saying that the flu was widespread in 48 states. I don't know how I got home without getting sick if that is truly the case; I mean, I drove through half of the US and arrived home unscathed. That, right there, should help me instill my new rule on assignments and testing, right? I did my homework (excuse the pun) and read all about the flu that's plaguing the US. Most articles regard getting a flu shot and what to do when the flu hits. One article I found was about why people should not get the flu shot and should not take medicine to take the fever away. That was a very good article, and the writer had solid points to make about his topic (I have no idea what the article's title is or who the author was, but I'm sure I could find it on the Internet if I had to). Most people are oblivious to the fact that a fever is the body's way to rid the body of infections. They don't know that when they take medicine to get rid of the fever, they are actually welcoming the infection, and that infection will spread because it won't have to contend with the fever, which would destroy it.
Have I veered off the path of anti-resolutionalism? I think I have to wander a bit to bring myself back to the topic. With wandering comes thought, and with thought comes realization.
When people make resolutions, do they do it for themselves or for others (or for society)? Most people would say they are making resolutions for themselves, but I think that is not the case at all. I think, subconsciously, people are making resolutions to please others (to please societal norms). If I have something I need to change in my life, and if nobody else knows about it, then I'm changing for myself, not for others. However, if I need to change something that others know about, on the outside, I think I'm doing it for myself, but on the inside, I'm really doing it to show other people that I made the change (usually a positive change). Generally, people should not give a rat's whisker what another person thinks about them; however, in reality, people live their lives trying to please others. Human nature seeks approval and praise from others. Otherwise, social media wouldn't exist.
Back to my anti-resolutional thinking, I am rebelling to what society demands. What does society demand? It demands that I live my life like everybody else's. It demands that I reside within the norms - to the best of my abilities and capabilities. I'm not saying that everybody does live the "normal" life; the world is full of other norms that don't fit the so-called (societal) norm. The other norms are equally good. The other norms occur because people are different. Some people cannot fit into any one norm, and that is perfectly fine. Some people have to make their own norms because it is impossible to fit into the societal norm. That is also perfectly fine. [The more I write the word norm, the more I think of any Cheers episode where Norm walks into the bar, and everybody there shouts, "NORM!" lol Is Norm the norm?]
Therefore, this anti-resolutional me declares no resolutions for the year of 2013. That does not mean I will not change (this change is to be regarded as positive); that only means that I am not setting time periods for change. When (or if) those changes occur this year, I will be happy. If no change occurs, I will still be happy. In the words from a song by the Indigo Girls, "The only thing that stays the same is change."
I was perusing the Internet today, reading headlines and researching information and names found in the news stories. Inevitably, I end up here because I almost always end my search with a blogger's post about the topic or the name or anything else of value in the news stories. After I sign in to the Blogger site, I feel a sense of writing even though I'm not immediately sure of what exactly I want to write.
During my news stories' paths, I often come across articles about New Year's resolutions. People from all different walks of life tell their readers what resolutions they've made. Some people provide resolution guidance or advice. Others proclaim they refuse to make any resolutions whatsoever. I am of the latter group although, occasionally, I try to make a resolution or two from time to time.
In the end, my thoughts progress to not making any resolutions because I know, from experience, that I will break them, and I do not like breaking promises, even if those promises are to myself. What does that make me (besides a passenger in the same boat as almost everybody else)? That makes me anti-resolutional. I'm well aware of the fact that anti-resolutional is not even a word; maybe it should be. That word conjures thoughts of rebellion because I am refusing to make resolutions; I am making a stand against resolutions (I know, circular reasoning).
Originally, I thought about what resolutions I could make, and, at one point, I was nearly sure I would be able to pull off the deed without struggling with it. However, as is my MO, I weighed the pros and cons of the promise, and I surmised that my life would be better if I made no promises whatsoever.
This is how my new year pans out, at least for the first month, anyway: I want to enjoy the last vestiges of the previous year. I'm not ready to jump into new waters just yet; I like my comfort zone. I don't care what others have to say about hesitation or comfort zones, and I definitely don't need the guilt that comes with that advice.
By the time the second month of the year arrives, I'm ready to make some changes, but they are not the resolutions I gave some thought to at the beginning of the year (or at the end of the previous year). Truthfully, I make resolutions at the end of almost every semester because, for me, it's a way to modify or revise what I did during the semester, and I am hoping that the revisions will help me in the upcoming semester. Those promises are usually kept, and if they aren't, it's because I rationalized them to death (really, isn't that what people do when they break their resolutions?).
One such resolution I made at the end of the fall 2012 semester was to eliminate my late-work rule. Last semester (as in previous semesters), I allowed late work. I gave an amnesty deadline (last call, of sorts, for the work my students put off until the very end). I also allowed my students to make-up one test they missed or to retake a test they scored poorly on (with the use of a test coupon). At the end of the fall 2012 semester, I was highly stressed. Some of that stress had to do with my rule, and some had to do with personal issues. Before heading out to meet with family and friends for the Christmas celebrations, I revised the spring 2013 writing syllabus so that all work had to be turned in on the due dates and all tests had to be taken on the original test dates.
Going back to news stories for just a moment, newscasters were hyping up the flu epidemic, saying that the flu was widespread in 48 states. I don't know how I got home without getting sick if that is truly the case; I mean, I drove through half of the US and arrived home unscathed. That, right there, should help me instill my new rule on assignments and testing, right? I did my homework (excuse the pun) and read all about the flu that's plaguing the US. Most articles regard getting a flu shot and what to do when the flu hits. One article I found was about why people should not get the flu shot and should not take medicine to take the fever away. That was a very good article, and the writer had solid points to make about his topic (I have no idea what the article's title is or who the author was, but I'm sure I could find it on the Internet if I had to). Most people are oblivious to the fact that a fever is the body's way to rid the body of infections. They don't know that when they take medicine to get rid of the fever, they are actually welcoming the infection, and that infection will spread because it won't have to contend with the fever, which would destroy it.
Have I veered off the path of anti-resolutionalism? I think I have to wander a bit to bring myself back to the topic. With wandering comes thought, and with thought comes realization.
When people make resolutions, do they do it for themselves or for others (or for society)? Most people would say they are making resolutions for themselves, but I think that is not the case at all. I think, subconsciously, people are making resolutions to please others (to please societal norms). If I have something I need to change in my life, and if nobody else knows about it, then I'm changing for myself, not for others. However, if I need to change something that others know about, on the outside, I think I'm doing it for myself, but on the inside, I'm really doing it to show other people that I made the change (usually a positive change). Generally, people should not give a rat's whisker what another person thinks about them; however, in reality, people live their lives trying to please others. Human nature seeks approval and praise from others. Otherwise, social media wouldn't exist.
Back to my anti-resolutional thinking, I am rebelling to what society demands. What does society demand? It demands that I live my life like everybody else's. It demands that I reside within the norms - to the best of my abilities and capabilities. I'm not saying that everybody does live the "normal" life; the world is full of other norms that don't fit the so-called (societal) norm. The other norms are equally good. The other norms occur because people are different. Some people cannot fit into any one norm, and that is perfectly fine. Some people have to make their own norms because it is impossible to fit into the societal norm. That is also perfectly fine. [The more I write the word norm, the more I think of any Cheers episode where Norm walks into the bar, and everybody there shouts, "NORM!" lol Is Norm the norm?]
Therefore, this anti-resolutional me declares no resolutions for the year of 2013. That does not mean I will not change (this change is to be regarded as positive); that only means that I am not setting time periods for change. When (or if) those changes occur this year, I will be happy. If no change occurs, I will still be happy. In the words from a song by the Indigo Girls, "The only thing that stays the same is change."
Friday, March 14, 2008
Humor IS the Best Medicine
I have been searching the Internet for a picture I found a few weeks ago. I can't find it. I want to find the website or person that posted the photo so that I can ask it/him/her a question. Fortunately, I did save the picture onto my computer.
I'm putting the photo in my blog in the hopes that someone will see the owl and tell me from where it came. Thank you (whoever you are), by the way, for making this picture available.
I happened upon this unique picture by sheer luck. I saw a snowy egret while I was at work. After I saw it, I looked on the Internet to see if that really was a snowy egret that I saw. During my search, I found the owl photo. I saved it to my usb drive and printed the pic, too. I have that picture taped to my office door. Every time I see it, I laugh. I've received some compliments on it, too.
One person commented on it, saying she thought the photo was doctored. She said she thinks there is a human face behind the owl's face. I really hope that is not the case because that would take the uniqueness out of the picture. That's why I'm looking for the website or person who took the picture.
I don't think the picture has been altered. During my search tonight, I found another laughing snowy owl, and its pupils were dark and the area around the pupils was school-bus-yellow. I think the owl above is the real thing.
Whatever the case may be, looking at the photo makes me smile. It makes many people smile. That is something we all need: laughter. Laughter makes us feel good. Laughter puts us in a better mood.
When I'm having a bad day at work, laughter lightens my mood. I like to share my good mood with others, which is why the photo is on my office door. It is near a picture of how to weigh yourself. Another funny pic is a Hagar the Horrible cartoon that stresses the importance of reading (sorry, I don't have that cartoon to post here).
Generally, most of my days at work are happy ones. I enjoy being happy. I like to make people laugh. I have a dry sense of humor. I'm most notorious for my one-liners. Those are what people laugh at the most. I'm terrible at telling jokes because I can never remember them after I've heard them. My dad, on the other hand, has a wealth of jokes and remembers every one of them. Amazing! That is truly a gift, I think.
Okay, I've probably written enough in this blog, so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead. Perhaps, I will post another entry tomorrow. One thing is for sure, I need to post more often than once every three months. I'll do my best.
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