The Green Tower

My uncle Ron just phoned to let me know my mother is safely checked into her hospital room for another stay in the green tower. Her two dogs are in the kennel and he was in the room with her. Glad she's there and that he called to let me know her status.

Joy O Family

So my mother phoned me just to let me know she is going into the hospital tomorrow morning. Her red blood count has gotten dangerously low again. Her doctor wanted to put her into the hospital immediately today but no, she had to take care of things at home - things she won't let me do for her -  before driving herself to the office of her doctor, who will immediately put her in the hospital.

My brother and nephew are leaving for a father-son trip. I'm not even sure my of my brother's family know she's going into the hospital tomorrow. I could, if she would only let me, take tomorrow  off work, take her to the hospital myself, and take her dogs to the kennel or Rancho de WereMonster. It would not be easy or convenient but I could certainly do it and she could already be in the hospital. 

As things are, I will do nothing and just hope I can keep up with how she's doing. 

File this under Irish Martyr Syndrome. 

the Memorial Day weekend

So I missed the Twistin Tarantulas show at the Star Community Bar during Bubbapalooza Saturday night. I felt bad physically - a bit queazy from the greasy lunch we had at Six Feet Under with John and Kathy English, who were visiting from Birmingham, Alabama - and so tired I could hardly hold my head up at 8p.m. I had also failed to get in a good nap before the show, which was going to be the last set of the night, starting at 12:30 a.m. I started to take a nap at the house in Buckhead after taking care of cats there but I woke up thinking I was going to be ill because I felt so nauseated. As it turns out, I did not get truly sick but I was not well enough to go out.

I came home and went to bed and stayed down all night. I still got up pretty early the next morning. The low-paying part time job I have in Tucker has me on a schedule that forces me to get up at 5:00 a.m. to make it to work on time. The only partial mercy this week is, because the upstairs A.C. is out in the House Of Cats, I can't really sleep there well and their downstairs room mate has agreed to give the cats their morning scoop of dry food, since she's there anyway. This frees me to have a shorter commute in the morning and I can go there straight after work to handle feeding and cleaning and other miscellaneous duties at the house in the late afternoon. It really has been a life-saver this week, with the AC partially out in the house, to be able to spend the night at home this time. Of course, the holiday weekend helps as well.

Yesterday, we spent some time in Snellville with Clark and Beth, who had a very small gathering of friends at their house for burgers and games. We brought fresh pineapple and watermelon. There was some good potato salad and chunky guacamole there as well, so I had plenty to eat other than red meat.

They got some bad news on Clark's health this week. It seems his cancer has spread now. He's having to make some decisions on whether to change his treatment or not. He told me that he kinda wants to just play it through, like Wayne did, and keep working and making music as long as he can. I agreed that seemed like the best use of time to simply keep living. Doctors would like to stick him into a hospital and make him into a lab monkey but that seems like a great waste of time and energy for him.
I would imagine whatever he decides to do also depends on how Beth and Nate feel about his future. I plan to stay close.

Ages

Roommate is beginning to forget things and it is worrying both of us. He can't seem to keep up with his inventory lately and has had to decline buyers of things he has on sale because he can't find the items and doesn't recall if he should still have them or not. He's also loosing simple things around his office and the house. He asked to borrow my xacto knife today because he can't find the one that he keeps in his office. He sleeps a lot more now too. I don't know if this is a sign of being under stress or foreboding something worse. When he is short-tempered and needy simultaneously, it already gets to be too much for me. I feel sorry for him and I want to bitch-slap him at the same time.

The 600 pound gorilla in the room is how his mother's family has a strong occurrence of Alzheimer's disease. I would think he should have at least 15 to 20 years before he has to worry about that but he has been breaking apart on a daily basis lately. He is normally someone with a better than average memory and sense of organization. Now, when I'm home, I have to manage him. In a way, the time I get to spend house-cat sitting in away from home is a bonus, not just because I get to take a vacation from home, but because it also shows him that things get out of place or go missing when I can't be blamed for it. It gives him a bit more humility when undeniable lapses of memory occur that he can't blame on me and he has to face up to. He appreciates me a lot more when I'm not there.

Still, he could just be suffering from too much stress. Here's hoping this problem will be past us soon.

Wednesday

Okay day at the part time job that only affords me spending cash for groceries.

The Universe often knows when I need answers and responds. Was thinking of inviting a rather-difficult-but-disabled neighbor over to Saint Patrick's Day dinner at el Rancho de WereMonster. Got home and found a crumpled package in my mailbox that was erroneously stuffed inside a neighbor's box this afternoon from the same sad fellow I was considering inviting to dinner. Inside the hap-hazard brown wrapper was an odd magnet set, a brown Zildjian cymbals "Made in USA" T-shirt (in reference to a facebook post I made on this company - I admit the shirt is kinda cool), a book titled "Body Types" and a note, with alternating words "MURDER" and "REDRUM" scrawled in red on back, telling me to put on the T-shirt and show up at his house at 8PM to go out to eat sushi. With this, he has effectively pushed the envelope. I have had so many stalkers and fan-boys that I have very little patience for this sort of behavior because I've seen it spiral out of control so many times in the past.

I think I will pass on the invitation.

No acts of kindness go unpunished.

Metal is not the best material for a desk on a cold day.

It's chilly here at el Rancho de WereMonster. Facebook friends report that there are snow flurries all over Atlanta but I've seen no snow or rain here northeast of the city.

Last night, I made it out to the first screening of Zombie Crush at the Plaza Theatre and hung out with a lot of my friends and co-workers from the crew. Makeup artist Chris - a.k.a. Rotzo The Clown - had a demostration of zombie-making in the lobby before the film. The Bontrager Twins introduced their project and answered questions from the veiwing audience afterwards. This is a tweenage/teenage zombie romantic comedy, made by kids for kids. We are still looking for more funding for this project, which is 90 percent completed. We have plans/ideas for at least two more consecutive "episodes" for the story. I think this would make a great TV series and the Bontragers have a great sense of humor in their work.

Today, I'm keeping most of my activity indoors until I head out this evening for a friend's 50th birthday party in L5P. I will be the small woman in the corner, indoors, with a camera and possibly a glass of wine in hand. Wondering if I could still find Gluehwein anywhere in this town to bring to the party. The search for that heat-friendly spirit might pull me out of the house for a little while today. Otherwise, I'll see if there are any snacks I can make or scrounge from the freezer to bring.

Curry Ketchup

I found curry ketchup and mustard sauce on aisle 11 at the BHFM today. It is always hard for me to locate it.

Sometimes I feel I have missed my life.

Ugh! Totally forgot about Vinophile meeting last night at the home of 2 of my favorite people. Now, what am I forgetting about or missing today? 

I just finished another week of cat-house sitting. This time I-285 got the better of me and I came in late on two mornings. Usually, the opposite is true during the weeks I spend in Buckhead because I adjust my schedule to give myself at least an extra 15 minutes on my commute + time to run into the Starbucks at Kroger on the way to grab a nonfat grande misto to take in with me. Accidents and more congestion than I've seen in the past killed my best laid plans. On the positive side, maybe it's a sign of a recovering economy. I can hope for  the best. 

On the job front, I got two references from friends that have not returned my calls or emails but I made one cold call that has landed me an interview on Thursday.

Now, I'm looking for something to do with my weekend that is fun, creative, productive, or all of the above.

professional perspective

"If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours... But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives."

The uncle of a friend of mine illustrated this once by sticking his finger in a glass of water. "This finger is you and the water is the business you work for." He pulled his finger out of the water and showed him that there was no hole left by his absence in the company. That's pretty much how businesses work. 

When I was stressing over where I could find a job that would allow me to leave a full two weeks notice (or more) at my current employer years ago, while working under a lot of stress at one place as an Art Director, my best friend reminded me that they would never give me notice if they let me or any of my staff go and they could replace everyone as needed. I was screwing myself by fretting so much over setting up an easy transition and passing up opportunities that, perhaps, I should have taken. 

Heard at work

"Don't make me dot your I this morning."

follow-up

My mother is home from the hospital. Her doctors still do not know how her hemoglobin got so low but they have given her a transfusion, which has helped a lot, although she still has low energy. I phoned her Sunday to let her know I was on the way to her house and she was breathless from vacuuming her living room. She is one of those who do not let let cleaners come to her home until she has already cleaned it. I admit sometimes her cleaners do more harm than good to what they try to clean and polish. House cleaning is apparently one of those jobs that everyone thinks anyone can do and actually very few people do properly with the correct materials.

I thought I would only be working Monday day this week but I have been given permisssion to come back into the office on Wednesday for my temp job. I could always wiggle the days around if I want to now since they hardly have enough work for me to come in to do. I will try to see if I can get more extras work in the near future and try to remember to view that gig as flexible. They say they will not be needing me after this week but there is no telling. They have cut my hours and added days in the past. It is an entirely undependable gig that gets in the way of other work more than it helps at times. I wish I could choose an all-or-nothing (40 hours a week at decent pay) work situation.

Click here to support Earl Maddox Needs Your Help by Tim Lathrop

Click here to support Earl Maddox Needs Your Help by Tim Lathrop

Y'all please keep Earl in your thoughts today. He is in the ICU with g.i. bleeding. Not on life support or anything, but hurting bad.

drag

Today was ridiculously slow at my part time job. Spent far too much time making up work for myself and checking fb status on my phone. I am surprised they expect me back in on Friday. Thankful for any work I can get, regardless.

I was planning on meeting the girls for Zumba and eats tonight but I am cancelling the gym for now. Might still try to meet them for dinner afterwards because, hey, I gotta eat and MonsterMustDie usually eats a very good lunch during the day at work. 

My mom is in the hospital tonight and tomorrow, undergoing tests to try to find out why she is anemic. Good news is, they found out why she's been short of breath for so long - low hemoglobin, which is a start for treatment & recovery - and are giving her blood and iron supplements, etc. The pulmonologist and cardiologist could'nt figure it out. It was not until her kidney checkup that her nephrologist saw the problem. She does not want company and has begged me not to visit her tonight while she's being poked, prodded, and going through some very unglamorous procedures.

I think I need this book.

There is so much I can't know about a product or publication from an online description, it's nice to discover new things every time I go into a brick & mortar store like Barnes and Noble.