A Tense Week

Monday: Got coffee with D. I always look forward to hanging out with her. Dear Starbucks, we enjoy visiting your patio but your seating is highly uncomfortable for long-term chatting of any kind.

Tuesday: Worked my first shift at the new job. Felt a little like Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz in Ghosbusters when someone would answer the phone.

"We got one!"

Wednesday: Worked both jobs. I find I hate being at my day job now that I've resigned. I can see they are not going to hire someone before I go. I almost wish I'd given them two weeks notice instead of a month.

Thursday: Sucked. My (soon to be ex) boss told me she thought a social work degree indicated a commitment to a certain type of work. She is very casual in her delivery of comments such as this and the insensitivity of her words always hits me like a slap in the face. Axl spent the day defending his thesis which meant that we were both grumpy by the time we got home. In the evening, he went to visit a friend and I went to the coffee shop for some girl time and knitting with RWKN and C. I should say that they knit and I fretted and cast on and tore out stitches instead of accomplishing anything. I was glad I went out though because it brought me out of the pissed off mood I was in just sitting at home.

Friday: Looking forward to getting finished at work, going home, and doing some things I want to do this weekend which is what I need most. I hope you get to do what you want and need to do most this weekend too.

Monday: Found out that COBRA is going to cost about $528.00 a month. Considered taking back my resignation and delaying going back to school by a semester. Axl says no, that we will work it out somehow and to keep my plans. Such a gem, he is. I couldn't do this without him.
Tuesday: Scheduled an appointment with the cardiologist. August 5th, it is. I'm trying not to bite my nails while I wait. I just want to know what I'm dealing with already.
Wednesday: Went to the mall after work with Axl to return the Posie Tint I purchased over the weekend. In the store, Posie Tint looked like it was going to be my new makeup best friend. I'm so pale and this product livened me up a bit. At home, victim of poor lighting in the bathroom, I may have applied a little more than I should because I looked like I'd been slapped. Plus, the tint settled into my blemishes in such a way that I suddenly had little red freckles. *sigh*
Thursday: Training day at my new part-time job. Some of the girls in the lab were frosty but other than that I liked it. I had three practice sessions and was told each time that I'd done a good job.
Today: We've discussed going to see a punkabilly band tonight. If we do, it will be fun to put on a dress and get dolled up. If we don't, vegging out on the couch sounds devine.

Discovery

I just had to share the sweetness of My Milk Toof with you.

Matters Of The Heart

When our move began, I would jot down notes for post topics and when I would revisit the list later the topics would feel like ancient history. Time is flying by faster than I can blog about it. Here are some recent highlights:
On Monday, I resigned from my job. My boss took the news well. She stated that she is excited for me, that I've done a good job for the agency, and that she understood that my job is an entry level position with no opportunity for advancement. My last day at my job will be August 13. The same day I resigned, I received a call to interview with the local university for a survey research position I'd applied for in June. I interviewed on Tuesday and was hired. Hooray! I have a part-time job that fits around my school schedule for this fall. I am hugely relieved by all of this.

Previous to my good news, I had a tiny scare around the fourth of July when I thought I might have a blood clot forming in my left leg. I'd had a persistent squeezing sensation (think of how it feels to have your blood pressure taken) and pain behind my knee so I went to see my general practitioner. She ordered an ultrasound of my legs and, very thankfully, I was told the test came back just fine. Still, what caused my symptoms? I was stymied when my general practitioner didn't follow up with me. As I was commenting about this to a friend (J.), she said I should see her doctor because her doctor is very thorough and has a great bedside manner. I am forever bitching that my general practitioner and ob/gyn aren't thorough enough so I made an appointment with J.'s doctor. My first appointment was this morning and wow! Dr. M discovered I have a heart murmur possibly caused by something called atrial septal defect (asd) and she thinks she heard the clicking noise associated with mitrovalve prolapse. Dr. M is recommending me to see a cardiologist at the university to have an ultrasound of my heart. This cardiologist has found a link between asd and migraines, which I also have. Am I scared? A little. When I read about asd online, every article mentions frightening complications. For example, there is a complication called Eisenmenger's syndrome that generally results in death by age 40. I'm assuming (read: hoping) that is only if Eisenmenger's goes undiagnosed before age 40. Ultimately, I figure it is better to be hearing I have a heart murmur/asd and mitrovalve prolapse now while something can still be done about it than later when my activities of daily living may be impaired by it. Having asd would certainly explain some things I've noticed through the years (unusual tiredness after physical activity, heart palpitations, fainting and migraines from a young age on up). In addition to sending me to see the cardiologist, Dr. M ordered a battery of blood work that will show if I am susceptible to any clotting disorders. Since I am adopted, I don't know much about my birth family's health history and Dr. M. felt that by having this test we could put to rest any questions we both have about whether I am at risk for blood clots or stroke. Though I am excited by this turn of events, I am also concerned about my upcoming lack of insurance since I might possibly need surgery to close the hole in my heart. Hopefully, I can do some sort of COBRA thing.

Anyway, this is why my posts are infrequent as of late. I am as distracted as distracted can be.

Welcome To My Party

On Saturday, Axl called me to say he was at a garage sale and having a terrible time keeping folks away from a major vintage hat score. A man had already bought the marching band hat and top hat that were for sale and was now reaching for the hats Axl had his eye on so Axl stepped up and said, "How much for all of these?" and, luckily, the man backed off. Now, Axl was just waiting for me to arrive and pay the good woman selling them. Oh my goodness! Look! What a great treat to wake up to! I think there are about 21 hats total. Thanks, Babe, for the good looking out.

You Never Expect What You Don't Plan For

Imagine my surprise today when I did the final walk through with my landlord’s maintenance guy and he got down on his hands and knees to sniff the carpet. I did a mental "Thanks." to the Universe for giving me the foresight to Febreeze. Maintenance Guy wrote down on his form that he detected a “very, very, very slight pet odor” but that it didn’t seem to be coming from the carpet and I thought to myself, “If it’s that slight, why even mark it down?” After 2 years and nine months at a place, I figure that a very, very, very slight pet odor is remarkable. I had the place so clean you could eat off the floor. I’m not saying you would but you could. That’s usually enough when it comes to walk throughs.

My biggest disappointment came when Maintenance Guy tested the smoke detector and it didn’t go off. That damn smoke detector has gone off every time I’ve had the oven on in the last six months and it gave up the ghost on walk through day? Wtf?!? So, he told me they might charge me for the battery and you know landlords, they won’t charge me the going rate for a 9-volt battery. I’ve never in my life been counted off for a smoke detector battery.

Let’s hope they see reason and give me my full deposit back.

*Sigh*

We Now Return To Our Regularly Scheduled Program

Goodbye, Old Apartment. Thanks for being there.