At least I have good drugs.

In case anyone was wondering having your gallbladdar removed sucks.

That is all.

The End of Respiratory Care Week

With last week being National Respiratory Care Week I'm going to take the time to mention one (of the many) of my work related pet peeves.
Asthma is a reactive airway disease. You are born with it. Like an allergy. Your airway comes into contact with an allergen and creates more mucus and constricts. This causes the wheezing sound associated with it. Wheezing, however, is not limited to asthma. There are other respiratory conditions that can make a person wheeze, like chronic bronchitis. Which leads me to my pet peeve.

You can not outgrow asthma.

When people say to me "I used to have asthma when I was a kid, but I outgrew it" it makes me crazy. Most of the time I politely correct them because I'm a nerd like that. I get irritated when people then look at me like I have no idea what I'm talking about because their sister/brother/cousin/self outgrew it. I mean it is only my JOB and all. It says it right in the title. RESPIRATORY therapist.

But anyway.....What I think happens is when dr's have a little one that wheezes they automatically think asthma. Which is good because with little airways asthma can be exceptionally dangerous. But the wheezing could be because the kid just has a cold (RSV-which is another pet peeve but we'll save that for another time shall we?) or some other respiratory condition. The treatment for wheezing is pretty much the same no matter what causes it so they label it asthma to cover their ass. Then they watch the kid. If the wheezing reoccurs continually and has a pattern to the recurrences then they're good because the kid probably has asthma. They then order a pulmonary function test....which is the only way to really diagnose asthma but can't really be performed until the kid is older.

If they never wheeze again or it only reoccurs a few more times the kid then has "outgrown" the asthma. And no one ever gets corrected. And the myth persists.....to make me nuts! Now if you have asthma as a kid that doesn't mean that it can't get better. You can get better at managing it. Avoid triggers and get on management meds. But if it truly is asthma you can still have an attack. I can't tell you how many asthmatics I have had in the ER who "outgrew" it until they had one bad attack that almost killed them.

And yes, Asthma can kill you. In high school a friend's sister had an attack and her airways closed off before she could get help. A former coworker had an attack and tried to drive herself to the hospital and didn't make it. It can happen. So to wrongly inform people that their disease can just "go away" is irresponsible.

In my opinion.

Sorry For This Rant, But it Can't be Helped.

I'm going to warn you ahead of time. This post may piss some people off, but I am still compelled to write it because you know what? It's MY blog.

Today as I was driving home from my local Target, there were about 100 people lined up along the main drag of my little town. They were holding signs saying Abortion kills children, Abortion hurts Women, Adoption is the better Option, and Pro-Life. I think that the pro-life stance over simplifies a decision that is way more complex.

I don't think it's really appropriate to have the opposing sides be called pro-life/pro-choice. I mean we're all pro-life. No one in either party is pro-death are they? No one really wants to "kill" babies. I don't think that the women having abortions feel that they really have other options. I mean sure, they could give the child up for adoption. I considered adoption myself when I thought I couldn't have children. I still may.

I wanted to stop and ask the people holding signs how many adopted children each of them had. It's easy to "stand up" for the unborn and then not give two shits about them after that. Once they are born they're on their own aren't they? These people aren't going to adopt them, they aren't going to help raise them, and they sure as hell don't want to pay for them. I think it's more than a little hypocritical.

My opinion? Who the hell am I to make such a life changing decision for someone else when I personally don't have to accept responsibility.

As far as the religious implications of abortion? I think that's between the individual and their God. It seems to me it's the self righteous religious people who become obsessed with this cause. Of course THEY know how best for everyone else to live. Because they are such shining examples of perfection? Their sin-free lives should be an example to everyone? Puleeze!!! We as a people need to start worrying about our own lives and cutting others some slack. Who among us is so 100% sure that they're going straight to heaven that they can afford to spend time passing judgement on others. I doubt many can say that.

I mean, what are they really worried about? That NASCAR , Walmart, and holy-roller revival attendance will suffer if abortion is allowed? That jean bib overall production will plummet? Who will they feel better than if there are fewer welfare momma's and crack babies for them to click their tongues at?

*sigh*

Okay, I'm done spewing my anger.

Thanks for listening.

See? I CAN Still Post About Non-Baby Stuff!

Is it possible to gain weight from watching the Food and Cooking Network all day long? When I was in the hospital I had limited cable channels, but I did have the Food Network and HGTV. Since I've been home those seem to be the two things I watch the most of. Jack seems to like it, and it is one of those things you can have on as background noise and not be irritated by it. Now the E! Channel, on the other hand, is my guilty pleasure. Spiderman sighs and rolls his eyes when I watch E! News or the Kardashians. I have to watch it on the sly. This has become really hard for me since he's been home with Jack and I these past 2 weeks.

One afternoon I did get to watch several old episodes in a row while he was out running errands. I came across the episode where Kourtney gives Khloe a bikini wax and she claims she's also done anal bleaching on people. Hold on......what?......anal bleaching? I was all WTF is anal bleaching? Of course I had to Google that shit. Apparently when you have all the hair removed from your lady parts you notice that your butt hole is a darker color than the skin around it. And some people feel the need to bleach it to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

Aesthetically pleasing? It's your butt hole for crying out loud. It's where poop comes from. That in itself is not all that pleasing of a concept. Maybe it's me and my irritable bowel, or the fact that I don't have a lot of traffic in that general area but this seems a bit excessive. I mean, are they getting complaints or something? Any guy who is lucky enough to be back there should thank his lucky stars and not be critiquing anything!

Tell me, what's your opinion on the topic? Am I getting really old, or does this seem a little much?

Finally, A Post About Something!

Last week I was reading the newspaper and found an article about a woman in Illinois who was convicted of reckless homicide. She had been painting her fingernails while driving her car and hit and killed a woman on a motorcycle. PAINTING HER FINGERNAILS!?!?!?

I mean, when you get into your car and paint your fingernails that is a conscious decision to not even remotely pay attention to driving. She was saying to herself that the state of her nails was more important than driving. It's not like she was temporarily distracted. She never even tried to pay attention.

More shocking than this is the fact that after being found guilty she was only sentenced to 18 months of intermittent jail time. INTERMITTENT JAIL TIME?!?!? What does that mean? Well, it means that she only has to Sleep in the jail at night. During the day she can go to work, seek medical care, perform community service and attend therapy. So explain to me, HOW is this a punishment?

Oh, and why does she need to attend therapy? The article says that she is distraught by her situation and sees a therapist daily. Um.....yeah.....she should be distraught.....She KILLED someone because she's a vain idiot. A vain idiot who also thinks that her sentence is too harsh.

At what point do we start to accept responsibility for our own actions? Am I the only one who is irritated by this situation? Granted, I am guilty of talking on my cell phone while driving, but I think there has to be some kind of limit to driving distractions. I kinda think they should have made an example out of her and given her a bit harsher sentence.

What do YOU think?

No One Should Be Allowed to Drive But Me

And maybe Spiderman.

Maybe.

And you too if you promise to be nice.

Yesterday I was almost hit twice. Once while I was in the parking lot of the hospital. I was driving an appropriate parking lot speed....25mph.... and heading toward the exit when some jerk comes flying down the aisle going at least 55 and almost T bones me. Many curses later, I continue home. I'm driving in the lane farthest left when suddenly a lady in her stupid SUV crosses from the far right turn lane, across 3 lanes and cuts me off. I could have licked her rear bumper that's how close she was. Oh, and did I mention that she didn't even have her turn signal on at all? More cursing and the finger on that one. I also hate that as I'm driving in the left passing lane (aka the fast lane) there are people in front of me who are getting into the left turn lane, but first have to come to an almost complete stop. Umm....THAT'S WHAT THE TURN LANE IS FOR!!! That's why it's there. And so long. So that you can get in it and THEN slow down and completely stop if you need to. Not slam on your brakes so that everyone else in the fast lane must do so also.

If other people insist on driving like idiots on the road with me then I think that I should get a dart gun and be allowed to blow out their tires as I see fit.

It's only fair.

An Open Letter To John Mayer

Dear John,

It would be really awesome if you could stop acting like a complete douche-bag. I mean, you're a very talented singer/songwriter and I have all of your albums so far. I would hate to have to boycott you because of your poor treatment of women, rude comments and general feats of assholery.

I still haven't been able to stomach anything Tom Cruise has done since he's proved to be a bag full of crazy. I'd hate to have that happen here.

What you should do is concentrate all your energy on making more awesome songs like this one:


And keeping your mouth shut.

x0x0,
Sarah

Thank God It's Thursday?

You ever have one of those weeks? Well I'm having one. I found this on The Bloggess and it about sums my week up.

Unless You Want to Sleep in the Bathtub

In case you know any other preggo's out there, here are a few things that you should probably NEVER say to them.

You're going to eat all that?

Did you move from the couch at all today?

You're not buying those pants are you, they're HUGE!

It's just a suggestion.

Weather Alert!!

For the last two days everyone has been readying themselves. It's on all the newscasts, and it's what everyone is talking about.

It is going to snow! In Northwest Indiana! In December!

I know, it's amazing. Every year people get all aflutter. Like it doesn't snow the same time every year. They're always surprised. And can't possibly remember what it's like to drive in that snow. I'm always stuck behind the one person who is braking constantly while others are flying by at 90 mph like there's no reason to slow down.

What does snow mean to me? It means that I have to get up extra early in the mornings. Something I'm not a fan of as sleeping is my #1 hobby. Also? With this snow comes frigid temps. The temperature tomorrow is supposed to be 0. That's not even a degree. It's like the anti degree. With the windchill it will be negative degrees.

That means I'm going to have to dig out my insulated coat and finish knitting that scarf I started this summer. I should probably go do that now.

Babyland

Tomorrow I have to go to a baby shower so today I had to go here: The enemy of all infertile women.

For expectant mothers and pretty much everyone else, it's a place to ohhhh and ahhhh over carseats, high chairs, tiny jumpers, and the world's smallest socks (how are their feet that tiny?) For me, it's a kin to torture. It makes me want to stick sharp objects in my eyes.

Repeatedly.

I have had to go to here three times in the last two months. Every time is a mixture of emotions. I mean, of course I'm happy for the soon-to-be parents, but it always reminds me of what I don't have. May never have. And it makes me sad. And a little jealous. I've gotten to hate showers. I've been to over a dozen in the last 2 years. I hate trying to put on a forced overly happy face to convince those who know what I'm going through that I'm alright. It's extremely self centered of me, I know. But it hurts my pride to see the way people look at me when they find out I can't get pregnant. With that uncomfortable pity on their faces. Then they inevitably will pat my hand and say some condescending, bullshit platitude that is designed to make themselves feel better, and me feel like shit.

It'll happen when it's supposed to.

Just relax, and try not to think about it.

Have you tried....(insert an odd suggestion that is usually TMI)?

Do I sound bitter? It's not meant to sound bitter. Just to convey my dislike of showers. If I didn't like my new friend so much, I wouldn't even go. It's her shower. So I'll put on my cute outfit and forced smile, eat finger foods and cake, and play lame baby shower games. I'll even fawn over the little socks and hooded towels with duckies on them (they are pretty cute).
Because I'm that kind of friend.

Sandals and Snowshoes

I went out today in search of new sandals. And new sunglasses. And maybe a few other summer outfit items. There was hardly anything left.

I mean, it is still summer right?

That's one of the many things I hate about the retail world. They rush things. It's only a matter of weeks till they put out the fall clothes. Maybe I'm one of those instant gratification people who like to wear the clothes immediately after purchase. I don't like to have to put them away until the weather suits.

The spring is not only full of rain and 50 degree weather, but shorts and bathing suits. The summer is in the 90's, sweltering, and humid enough to make me temporarily retire my flat iron. Not exactly the kind of weather that makes me yearn for the wools and cable knits in burnt oranges and browns that are so cozy in the fall.

I remember growing up my mother would take us school shopping. We'd buy corduroy jumpers and new jeans and other school type clothes. Then we'd have to wait what seemed like an endless amount of time until the weather got cool enough so we could wear them. I mean, what good are Guess Jeans or an I.O.U. sweatshirt if you cannot wear it immediately to school? How will people know that you've advanced in coolness over the summer? How????

Anyway....I implore you, retail world, to SLOW DOWN and let us enjoy the current season.

And try to keep the Christmas decorations put away until at least after Halloween this year.

It's wrong.

They Just Let Anyone Have Kids Don't They?

Did anyone else witness child abuse on television last night? I'm referring to the interview with the mother of the octuplets. There were SO many things about that interview that bothered/angered me that I feel that I have to make a list.

1. 14 children? And no job?? And no partner???
2. As someone in the medical field I feel that the fertility Dr. should be held accountable. I mean, it's irresponsible to let her have that many kids that she cannot take care of.
3. But wait, she'll be able to take care of them once she receives her degree....in psychology. Good luck with that one, lady.
4. She seemed a little obsessive about having children so she could have people to love her. Maybe you should have to take a psych test before you can have that many children. It's just a thought.
5. People are NOT supposed to have litters of babies. It's not healthy or safe for the babies to be in there with 7 others. 8 babies all vying for limited resources. They will all grow up to have problems. Respiratory, developmental, cerebral palsy...etc. As a parent if you can possibly avoid the risk of having your child born with issues shouldn't you do it? It's selfish and irresponsible.
6. She didn't seem to give a crap about what any of the children wanted, or what was best for them, just what SHE wanted. When they interviewed her other children, they didn't seem thrilled to have 8 new brothers and sisters to compete with for mommy's attention. Kids aren't stupid you know. They seemed to have a better grip on reality than the mom did.
7. She said she had invitro because of her advanced age of 25. 25?? I'm ancient then.
8. This crazy chick has 14 kids and I can't manage to be blessed with one? Does this seem fair?
9. And finally....she looked like she had her lips done. It was annoying, because if she did shouldn't she be saving that money for all those damn kids?

Did any of you see the interview and if so, what did you think?

Shitty Day at the Chamber of Horrors

If my life was a book today it would be titled : Sarah and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
My boss's boss thinks that educating the students isn't enough work and I should be doing more. She has no idea what it is I do. She's been bugging two other people in our department on the management "team" that we don't work. HELLO? Could it be that you have NO IDEA what it is we actually DO all day? Has she ever followed us? No. Is she even an RT (respiratory therapist)? NO, she's a nurse....and nursing is a whole Different job. (not to knock nurses...but it's like comparing apples to oranges)
She also only comes to check on our department between the hours of noon and one pm. Then she complains that everyone was sitting and no one does any work. Again...what are you mentally challenged? It's freakin' lunch time! Of course we're all sitting there. We're EATING! By law we're allowed a lunch break. Most of the time we don't even get that.
I don't think she should take a small sampling of our time and incorrectly use it to determine our productivity. She never sees us on the floors working our butts off (I wish that were literally true, I'd be so skinny!) She doesn't take notice of the countless times we all work straight through our breaks when we're down in CT or MRI or I don't know....saving people's lives.

Deep Breaths

More Deep Breaths

Okay, I'm better now. I just had to rant a bit. I seem to be doing a lot of that here lately, but it's cheaper than therapy and right now I'm poor. I think after this day I need to put on my toasty flannel nightgown and make a homemade pizza. Sometimes, pizza fixes everything.

An Open Letter

To the little old man in the car behind me the other morning as I went to work.
Thank you for laying on your horn for a full minute because I.....gasp.....actually stopped...at the stop sign just outside my neighborhood. I really appreciated it. You have no idea how hard it was for me to not grab my ice scraper and shatter your windshield with it.
I am not a morning person.
And you are an asshole.

Women are Bitches

Okay, so maybe the title is a little harsh. This post wasn't triggered by anything in particular, it's just something that's been on my mind lately that I wanted to address. My sister-in-law (we'll call her Spiderteen) is a sophomore in high school. She's having some issues with the girls there. She's pretty, smart, sporty, good at just about everything, and thanks to having two older brothers comfortable with boys. Of course some of her peers are intimidated and threatened by her. They're starting rumors and generally being bitchy. From my past experiences, I can totally relate and this upsets me.
When boys/men fight they punch it out and the problem is resolved...they go shoot some hoops. When girls/women fight, they set out to systematically ruin your life. They are manipulative and say some of the most hurtful, spiteful things. Studies show (I remember reading them somewhere, don't ask me to be specific cuz this isn't a research paper) that this behavior starts even at a very early age. Preschool age. It's appalling!
As women, we struggle so hard to get ahead in this "man's" world and it's never going to happen as long as we are sabotaging each other. We need to get past this. Girls who behave this way are growing up and teaching their daughters that it's okay to behave like this. The cycle continues on and on. At some point we have to stand up and say THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! We need to stop the backbiting ourselves and teach our daughters to do the same. If we can't do this, we really don't stand a chance. We'll continue to get paid less than men for doing the same job. We'll continue to get condescending pats on the head whenever we try to "think" too hard, and we sure as hell will never see a woman as president.
So here's my question: Who's with me?

Fist Fight at the Polls

I got up extra early this morning so that I could vote before work because after work I had class. I am NOT a morning person. Never have been. I get to my polling place before six and start to wait in line. It was a good size line, but it was moving pretty quickly. There was a lady in front of me totally freaking out. She was yelling "I can't believe this...All these DEMOCRATS need to just GO HOME! This is ridiculous, the DAMN DEMOCRATS don't usually vote why are they bothering now?" I could not keep my mouth shut. I told her that I am a democrat and I've voted in every election since I was 18 years old and she needed to SHUT IT! It really pissed me off. She should be happy that there was such a large voter turn out. I'm proud that so many people participated this year. Maybe this will encourage more people to vote in the future. Honestly, it wasn't about being a Democrat or Republican, we should be allowed to cast our votes without being harassed by ignorant, spiteful harpies bothering us. It's our right. Our votes are especially important as women because we had to fight so hard to earn this right.
I hope everyone voted today. I don't care who you voted for, just that you did.

A Shout Out.....Seriously?

Did everyone watch the debates last night? Do any of you seriously think that after that debate Sarah Palin is capable of potentially being the president? Can she even spell the word president? Because not many folksey, "main street Americans" can. Here's what annoyed me about the whole thing.

• It irritated me that she used phrases like "Joe six-pack" and "hockey mom's. Quit trying to sound like the rest of us. You're not like us, you're the governor of the U.S.'s largest state. Last time I checked I wasn't a governor. I can barely make my cats listen to me.
• It's Nu-cle-ar. It's NOT Nu-cu-lar. The moderator got it right. So did Biden. (This is one of Spiderman's biggest pet peeves and I tired from hearing about it last night)
• Did she really "give a shout out" to some third graders? Is that appropriate behavior for a political debate?
• I wished she would have actually answered the questions that were asked of her and not the ones she was coached to answer.
• She must have said the word "maverick" 10 times. Again....annoying.
• I think it's condescending to women that
  a. they think that women will vote for her ONLY because she's a woman
  b. this is the best female republican that they could come up with?
• It made me cringe every time she winked at the camera.
  
• The fact that she is supposed to be a role model for women when she blatantly uses her sexuality and "cuteness" instead of her brain. She is not Shirley Temple nor are her gimmicks "cute".
• It pisses me off that she is sullying the name of Sarah. The rest of us totally Rock!
  

I'm sure Biden was thinking that she was making him look REALLY awesome. In fact, I'm not convinced that she isn't a little bit retarded. I think my IQ dropped a little bit just watching her.

Grumpy and Sleep Deprived

I now have to post from my old "home" computer, otherwise known as the slowest computer in the history of the world. And I have to sit in my office where I can't watch TV or anything. I hate it. They were able to fix the motherboard on my laptop, but stripped a screw while doing it so they have to come back to fix that.....and I need a new keyboard...which will be another visit. Unless I don't want to ever actually type anything. Oh, and the Dell guy won't come after 3pm. I told him that I work till 3pm mon-fri and Spiderman works till 5. You'd think they'd be a little more accommodating since, like, ALMOST EVERYONE has a 9-5 job. They don't have any sort of evening hours? WTF?!?
Sorry if this post is a little grumpy. I'm also sleep deprived. I had to have an EEG performed this morning as I've been having some strange visual disturbances in addition to the migraines that I already suffer from. After mentioning it to my Dr, he thinks it's a possibility that they could be small seizures and wanted to check. That's all fine and dandy....check away....except that there were stipulations when I called to schedule the appointment. I had to come with clean hair (not an issue), couldn't have caffeine or chocolate beforehand (there goes my candy breakfast) and here's the kicker, I could only sleep from midnight to 4am. They wanted me to fall asleep. Midnight to 4am? 4 hours of sleep? They let prisoners of war sleep longer than that! Sleep deprivation is a form or torture you know. Plus I wasn't thinking when I made the appointment and I had all 4 of the students. Needless to say, I was not overly pleasant today. I thought it best that they did a lot of "independent study".
I feel like I can hardly think anymore.
I think I'm going to take a nap.

All Fired Up!

There's a subject that I was thinking about over the weekend and I want to get it off my chest.  I'm citing one specific instance in this post, but it's not the first time I've seen this happen.  I just HAVE to say something.  Last week I was reading Dooce and she wrote a post about the Republican Convention and Sarah Palin's appointment.  I could go into detail about what she said in the post, but that's not what completely disgusted me.  What pissed me off more than anything else was the 2400 or so comments left on that post.  While most of them said "you go, girl"  and agreed whole heartedly, there were a scary amount that attacked her.  One of them even included a death threat.

YOU'VE GOT TO BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!

Don't they get the whole point of a blog?

If you can't post your opinion on your own blog where can you?  I completely understand that when you give your opinion anywhere, especially on a subject as touchy as politics, you open yourself up to have people disagree with you.  That's fine. It's expected.  What I cannot even begin to understand is what compels brazen, rude, self righteous people to personally attack someone because their opinion differs from yours.  If it is a book, magazine, newspaper or post that offends you. Stop. Reading.  If it is music or television, turn it off.  You have that choice. No one FORCED these people to continue to read her post.  Absolutely no one FORCED these people to call Heather B. names, insult her intelligence or threaten her.  Her opinion is still valid.  She's still entitled to have it.  It's what this country was based on.  Freedom.  Freedom to voice your opinion even if it's the minority.  Even if it's controversial.   Again you have a choice to be exposed to it or not.  You also have the choice to either be like the many people who left comments on her blog or you can be a better, more tolerant person.  

I choose tolerance.  

Because you never know when your opinion may be the one in the minority.  

And you would expect the same respect.