July 30, 2008
July 27, 2008
This week in review...
Monday - After work, Carrie and I went to see Elton John at the Champlain Valley Expo Center. Carrie waited 2 hours in line for tickets a few months ago. Though our tickets weren't together, we both had a great time. I even got busted (a little) for capturing some of the concert on my mobile phone. ha ha ha (Pictures coming soon)
Monday - Friday - Carpooling is going great. I get to work right around 8am and leave around 5. Two times this week I was delayed at the end of the day and Dora kindly waited. The buses around here don't run past 6:30, so I really can't leave much later that that. I could walk home if I miss my ride or the bus, but I really have no reason to work late either. Though when the weather is hot, it's nice to work in an air-conditioned office. Work is going well, though a little stressful. All of my clients want to launch their websites at the same time - the end of the month. I have to really work hard at focusing on working "smarter not harder", as we say all the time at work.
Thursday - Every so often, I go to trivia night at one of the local bars. It's been really fun. There's a group of us that with our combined powers (and a little extra help - thanks Doug) we have been doing okay. I have a friend who's team tries to beat us, but we have whipped them for the last three weeks. This past week, we won the first round of questions!! I was super excited.
The weekend - Jen toted me around this weekend so I could test drive some cars and do some much needed errands like getting a rice cooker. My rice cooker of 6 years died. I had a great time test driving and feel it will really help me make a good decision when I do want to get a car. The weather was really nice which was great considering it has been really rainy and icky for the last two weeks. A little bit of sunshine lifts my spirits so much.
I am looking forward to this week because of more trivia and two softball games with some of my favorite work people.
Monday - Friday - Carpooling is going great. I get to work right around 8am and leave around 5. Two times this week I was delayed at the end of the day and Dora kindly waited. The buses around here don't run past 6:30, so I really can't leave much later that that. I could walk home if I miss my ride or the bus, but I really have no reason to work late either. Though when the weather is hot, it's nice to work in an air-conditioned office. Work is going well, though a little stressful. All of my clients want to launch their websites at the same time - the end of the month. I have to really work hard at focusing on working "smarter not harder", as we say all the time at work.
Thursday - Every so often, I go to trivia night at one of the local bars. It's been really fun. There's a group of us that with our combined powers (and a little extra help - thanks Doug) we have been doing okay. I have a friend who's team tries to beat us, but we have whipped them for the last three weeks. This past week, we won the first round of questions!! I was super excited.
The weekend - Jen toted me around this weekend so I could test drive some cars and do some much needed errands like getting a rice cooker. My rice cooker of 6 years died. I had a great time test driving and feel it will really help me make a good decision when I do want to get a car. The weather was really nice which was great considering it has been really rainy and icky for the last two weeks. A little bit of sunshine lifts my spirits so much.
I am looking forward to this week because of more trivia and two softball games with some of my favorite work people.
Test driving 7/26/08
July 12, 2008
All About My Mother Part 1
January 8, 2008 I got a call from my brother that said that mom wasn't doing well. She had gotten an infection the week before and was refusing to go to dialysis or to the doctor. The last time she had been at dialysis the center told my dad that it was time to make funeral arrangements. Long story short, they didn't know how long she would have and I needed to get out there. She had also stopped eating and was resistant to even liquids.
January 9, 2008 I was on a plane to California to say good bye to my mother. When I arrived at the house in the early afternoon, I went in to see her. She was looking so frail, pale and laying down. There was an oxygen tube in her nose. It was unsettling to say the least to see her like that. My Aunt Gail was already there and my sister Merry and husband Dwight were on their way from Northern California. Though now it has become a little blurry, the second day to the last day of my mother's life I spent time with my sister, brother, aunt and father crying and being numb.
A woman from the Hospice Center came to talk to us about what to expect in the last hours and to give us support. She talked about the physical changes that happen when a person is close to death - rapid breathing, like panting and gutteral sounds. She told us that our family was one of the most touching and sad family situations she had ever seen. We asked her why and she said it was because we were all calm and seemingly at peace. There was no fighting, yelling or anger of any kind. I don't know if that's because we were all so numb, but I think it mostly had to do with our believe in God and and the afterlife.
Mom was dying. There was nothing we could do about it. What was the point of fighting, arguing or any of that crap. It was important to spend whatever time I could with her and the rest of my family. The next 27 hours were amazing, sad, and nothing I had ever experienced before.
January 9, 2008 I was on a plane to California to say good bye to my mother. When I arrived at the house in the early afternoon, I went in to see her. She was looking so frail, pale and laying down. There was an oxygen tube in her nose. It was unsettling to say the least to see her like that. My Aunt Gail was already there and my sister Merry and husband Dwight were on their way from Northern California. Though now it has become a little blurry, the second day to the last day of my mother's life I spent time with my sister, brother, aunt and father crying and being numb.
A woman from the Hospice Center came to talk to us about what to expect in the last hours and to give us support. She talked about the physical changes that happen when a person is close to death - rapid breathing, like panting and gutteral sounds. She told us that our family was one of the most touching and sad family situations she had ever seen. We asked her why and she said it was because we were all calm and seemingly at peace. There was no fighting, yelling or anger of any kind. I don't know if that's because we were all so numb, but I think it mostly had to do with our believe in God and and the afterlife.
Mom was dying. There was nothing we could do about it. What was the point of fighting, arguing or any of that crap. It was important to spend whatever time I could with her and the rest of my family. The next 27 hours were amazing, sad, and nothing I had ever experienced before.
Bus and carpooling
So a few weeks ago, one of the ladies at work hooked me up with a carpooling buddy. Dora, is a new hire in our Support department and lives close enough to me so she has to pass my way onto work. We have been carpooling to and from work for the last two weeks. It is going really well. I would say the only drawback (if you can even call this one) is that I have to leave at 5pm if I want a ride home. All that means is that I have to work harder at being done with work at 5. If I had a car, I would probably stay later than I should. I am being green, which is nice. I am hoping I can do this at least through July, if not the whole summer.
I have also been taking the bus. Today, I walked about 15 minutes to the bus stop, and took a bus to the U-mall (largest mall in Vermont. Smaller than the Glendale Galleria, about the size of the Media Center mall in Burbank). After about 10 minutes, I took another bus to Williston, which is about a 20 minute bus ride. I walked around for a little bit and ended up seeing Journey to the Center of the Earth. After that, I walked around a bit more and then popped back onto the bus for the journey home. It ended up being a whole day event. I had a good time and the bus ran often enough so I didn't feel like I was wasting my time.
Between carpooling, walking and bussing, it's a little inconvenient, but not too bad. So far it's working well.
I have also been taking the bus. Today, I walked about 15 minutes to the bus stop, and took a bus to the U-mall (largest mall in Vermont. Smaller than the Glendale Galleria, about the size of the Media Center mall in Burbank). After about 10 minutes, I took another bus to Williston, which is about a 20 minute bus ride. I walked around for a little bit and ended up seeing Journey to the Center of the Earth. After that, I walked around a bit more and then popped back onto the bus for the journey home. It ended up being a whole day event. I had a good time and the bus ran often enough so I didn't feel like I was wasting my time.
Between carpooling, walking and bussing, it's a little inconvenient, but not too bad. So far it's working well.
July 04, 2008
4th of July concert
Happy 4th of July! I am listening to the Vermont Symphony at Shelburne Farms on this lovely summer evening. The venue is really great, and we are so much closer to the Vermont Symphony Orchestra than I think I would ever be if I was at the Hollywood Bowl.
That's pretty cool.
(PS - It was a great concert with low bug appearance. They played medleys from Oklahoma and Guys and Dolls. They played one of my favorite Hungarian Dances and the 1812 Overture, among others. )
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