Gateruner

Wow, where did the time go?! Seriously!

I disappeared again, didn't I? Well it's been a wild and woolly last part of the year for me. I am not even sure where to begin. So I guess I should break it all down:

1. School - Well it was in a word, HARD! I have to say though I persevered. Not only that, but I kicked it's ass! That's right, I ended the semester with ALL A'S!!!!!!! I can't believe it! I am still in shock! lol. It managed to boost my cumulative GPA up to a 3.81!

It was so rough though, I can't even describe how incredibly hard it was. We had a test and/or quiz every day. If not 2 on most days. There wasn't a day that went by I wasn't studying or reviewing something.

And the blood bank practicals were not nearly as bad as I had imagined. We did lose one student though. :( She will be missed. I have to say I ended up really enjoying blood bank after being so nervous about it. It's one of my favorites now! And I am totally in love with microbiology now! :D

The best part of the semester was that we got to do a lot more hands on lab time. I really enjoyed it and it gave me some good insight into what the job will really be like and I am gonna love it! So glad the semester is over though, I can't even describe it.

2. Sickness - Given my track record for all things happening at the worst time, I managed to hold true. The Friday before finals I started sneezing and running nose. No big thing, I thought, just a cold. By Saturday evening my head had completely stopped up. On Sunday morning, I thought I was gonna die. My head hurt so bad that my eyes wouldn't stop watering. It looked like I was crying it was so bad. Craig had guard drill and I had to get Carter to drive me to Wal-Mart to get some severe sinus medication. Well that was lovely because as soon as we got there I was diving out of the car and throwing up in the parking lot. Lots of mucus and junk. Ugh. Then I had to make a dash for the bathroom in the store for the other end. :(

By Monday I was loaded up on sinus meds and downing the fluids and feeling a bit better. So I managed to muddle through my finals. It just so happened that I had a doctors appt on Wednesday for a check up. I go and guess what? I had Strep Throat. I couldn't believe it. It was so weird because my throat didn't hurt all that bad. But there it was. And I have been battling it ALL MONTH LONG! I had to go back for a second round of antibiotics and another shot because it came back on me by the time I finished the first round of antibiotics.

I am finally over it, I think. But my stomach was completely torn up from the sickness and the antibiotics. I started eating a ton of yogurt and taking some probiotics to help out but it's still not back to what I'd call normal. Here's hoping it's truly knocked out now.

3. Rosie - As if everything else going wrong wasn't enough, my poor dog got sick on Christmas Eve. It was storming here and I was cooking dinner and she peed on the floor. She hadn't done that in a long time but I wasn't sure it wasn't from here being scared of the storms. But she did it again later that night. By the next morning she wouldn't jump on the bed or on the sofa and becoming lethargic.

Well with the holiday and weekend it was Monday before we could get her seen about. We were pretty sure she had a UTI so we didn't opt for an emergency vet call. By that Monday morning she wouldn't eat at all and barely drank any water. Poor baby.

So I took her in and they ran some blood work to check her pancreas which was normal and urine which did show she had a UTI. Well it's the second on in several months so the doc wanted to do an X-ray to check for kidney stones. Unfortunately, that wasn't the issue. She had an extremely large (as in bigger than the size of my fist) mass in her abdomen.

There was no way to tell what it was for sure, nor what it was attached to but it was pushing on her stomach, intestines, and bladder. That was most likely causing the bladder irritation and her not wanting to eat. Pre-surgery labs showed what we had begun to suspect. Her liver enzymes were off the chart. So going into surgery the doc and I were pretty sure it was a mass on her liver, most likely a hepatocarcinoma.

The doctor had initially told us she'd put Rosie down if she she couldn't remove it all and it appeared like cancer. But she didn't because she said it looked strange and not necessarily cancerous. She sent it off for a biopsy and we are supposed to receive the results tomorrow. I am so nervous. If it does turn out to be cancer, we will put her down. Sadly, it will be the best option and most humane thing to do.

If it turns out not to be, then we have other issues to contend with. One being that the doc couldn't remove all of the mass and then figuring out what it is. The doctor was nice enough to tell us she would foot the bill for the board and care and the biopsy and only charge us for the surgery if it is cancer. Because it was all her call. Even so, she will pay for the biopsy either way.

4. Other randomness - Between all of that, I have been busy with holidays and family and generally trying to get better. I am finally feeling a bit rested now and more like myself again. I think the stress of school added to my sickness and when it knocked me down it really took me off my feet.

Despite everything, I did manage to have a pretty good holiday and new years. I hope everyone else had a great one as well.

A special thanks to lmichelle599 and huntersglenn for the wonderful Christmas cards! I apologize that I never got to respond before now, but with everything going on it's been difficult. I didn't send out any cards this year despite my attempts to do so.

I hope everyone is well and I am looking forward to a new year and a new semester! School starts back on January 11. I begin clinical rotations the following Tuesday, January 18. My first rotation will be microbiology. I am super excited about it. I have my scrubs and got a nice pair of Dansko shoes to work in as well.

How are you guys?

Damn. I broke my "A" streak. I got a 89 on my clinical chem test. :(

To be fair, I didn't study like I should have for it.... so there you go. Not that 89 is really bad, it's still a solid B, but I know I could have done better.

I need to get over it.... quit being so hard on myself.

Seems like all I do is bitch about school anymore. Guess that's what my life has become. Feel free to sail on by if it's not your cup of tea.

I'm exhausted. I can't believe what this program is doing to me. And no, I'm not blaming the program per se. I'm more upset with myself. I spent hours yesterday and and the wee hours of this morning studying for a big Blood Bank test this morning. By the time I was dressed, I was nauseated and couldn't stomach the thought of breakfast. Made it to school and got sweats and shakes. And no, it wasn't my blood sugar. It was all nerves. Over a damn test.

The good news is it's another 100 for me! The bad new is I totally stressed myself out and then crammed for a Hematology test that was this afternoon (97 on that) and had tons to do for that class. By the time I got home LATE this afternoon, my stomach was a wreck and I've spent most of the evening back and forth from the bathroom while trying to study for a Clinical Chem test tomorrow! Oh, and a Blood Bank quiz will be coming first thing in the morning as well. OMG! I can't take it!

I'm not going to survive this semester if I can't get a grip on my stress. I'm totally freaking myself out over everything. And I don't know how to relax or let it go. Also, my sleep is ruined because of the combination of stress and the fact that Craig is not here this week. I never sleep as well when he's not here on any given day, let alone add all this one there.

I kept waking up last night like every 30 minutes in a panic and disoriented (wondering what time it was, how long I had been asleep, all that jazz). So I'm so tired now I don't know what to do.

I'm about to crawl into bed and hope that I can get through tomorrow and figure out some way to decompress this weekend. I don't know what I'm going to do if I can't let it go.

Another week is underway. I am happy to report a 100 on my hematology test and a 97 on a POP quiz! (The quiz should have been a 100 as well but I second guessed myself on one question. I had the right answer to begin with. Grr. When will I learn)

And I made three beautiful gram stain slides this morning. I wish I could have gotten pics of them under the microscope. A few students managed to get some pics with their phones. You have to hold the lens at just the right angle looking into the eyepiece of the microscope. Eh, maybe I will manage to get it to work next time.

I did get a bit frustrated with one slide because the teacher said it was bacillus (rods) and I swear it looked like cocci (spheres or dots). Not on that, but it looked like they were in a chain. But according to my teacher they were rods that were rounded on the ends. I did notice that they seemed slimmer than the other cocci bacteria we've looked at so far and asked if that was part of what could help me distinguish but of course she said no. :(

There's where I really wish I had a picture because I would stake my life on it that it looked like cocci. Either way I've got to figure out how I can make the distinction because of that particular slide was, in fact, NOT infectious bacteria, but a contaminated sample. She wanted us to see that specifically. It was gram positive rods which in this case was not really an infection or a true pathogen.

Oy. I hope to get better clarification as we delve further into the world of bacteria.

On non-school related notes, I am now officially hooked on Blacklist. I am still finishing up Season 1 so nobody tell me anything! In fact I am pissed off right now because I accidentally stumbled upon a spoiler for the upcoming season and it was a big one. Grrr.

I can't believe Falling Skies is almost over. *sniffles* Only one episode left. I hope it's going to be a satisfying end. It's been a very good season so I hope it ends off well.

I'm all over Hawaii 5-0 spoilers though. I've been following tons of blogs on tumblr and know about everything out there to know so far. I am kind of thinking I may back off. While I love getting excited about episodes I kinda like the surprise too. I just don't know if I can keep away. ;)

I am still trying to play catch up on NCIS and Bones. There's no way I will be caught up before the season picks up. I will just take my time.

I've gotten nowhere with my school papers and am blocked on my fanfic writing. That's probably because I know if I'm on the computer to write it needs to be on schoolwork not fanfic. *g*

Hope all is well with everyone!

I don't get it. I REALLY don't get it. I am trying to adapt to this creature that is living in my house now. A fifteen-year-old boy with major moodiness and brooding. It is beyond me how to live with this thing my son has become.

He simply WILL NOT listen to me, no matter what I say. And we are not talking about major things. I mean ANYTHING. It can be something as simple as what's for dinner. And I say two words and he already assumes he knows what I'm going to say and cuts me off. I. Can't. Stand. It.

And I am trying so hard not to let it get to me. But some days I want to scream. Like today, for example. His computer has been messing up for a few days now and he's been desperately trying to "fix" it. It keeps blue screening and overheating. I know for a fact it was slam full of viruses not long ago but he "cleaned" it and said it was "better". Well it takes an insane amount of time to boot up and you get blue screens randomly all the time.

So I finally get him to tell me about one BSOD and I look up the code, it says one of the system files has been hacked and/or needs windows updates. He says he's "tried" to run updates but it won't let him.

*headdesk*

I step two feet to his computer and he starts hollering. I try to help and he gets defensive and in the same breath asks for my help. How the fuck can I help if you won't let me do anything? "Just tell me, Mom!" I can't tell because I don't know exactly what the hell is wrong!!!!

So I finally push him out of the way, literally and realize that no he can't run updates because he's been running in fucking guest mode! And he's been doing it for months! Because his other account got "jacked up".

Oh for the love of God!

So no windows updates. no real anti-virus protection/updates to run properly without admin control. And god knows what else he's done under guest mode that really needs admin rights to run.

No wonder his computer is jacked. And I can't help apparently because I can't touch the damn thing. I'm about to go in there and rip it from the wall and format the drive. Either he's got something on there he doesn't want me to see or he's just being a prick. Either way I'm about done with this shit.

Homeowner crisis #123:

Half the backyard is dug up and we need a new septic tank pump.

*sobs*

ETA: $912 later we have a working septic system again.

( A couple of pics to contemplateCollapse )

As for more mundane things, someone's coming out this afternoon to look at the septic tank pump. I'm praying it won't be that bad. *crosses fingers*

Eesh. Always something.

So the washing machine drama turned into a huge clusterfuck. I think I said in my last post that we did realize it wasn't the washing machine that was broken, but something with the circuit breaker.

I unplugged the washing machine and tried plugging in my hairdryer and it wouldn't work. Went to the garage and reset the breaker, before I could make it back inside the house I heard it pop and click and off. Set it again, same thing. Plus no hairdryer working.

So we go and get a new breaker thinking that's the issue. Install it. No joy. Same exact thing happens. And it's happening without the washing machine even being plugged in anymore. Okay, next we pull the outlet out of the wall and check it out. Seems fine.

We sit around scratching our heads and Craig chats with a buddy of his and he suggests that maybe there's more on that circuit than just the washing machine, so we go around the house systematically trying every outlet and switch we can find all to no avail. Nada. Everything works fine.

And then Craig starts to wonder about outside the house. So we try the outlets around the house, still no luck, until..... we check the frakin' septic tank pump. Unplug it and voila. No tripped breaker. Son of a mother!

When the septic tank got backed up we realized that it wasn't pumping properly and when they dug up to get into the tank they cut the electrical wire by accident. Well that got fixed, but then it took several tries to get the pump to start up and the man that did the work said that he thought the pump might be failing as well.

Craig went and got new electrical line and replaced the broken and spliced wiring and still nothing. So whatever the problem is, it's either further down the wire and down into the tank itself or the pump itself is bad. Either way it's not going to be cheap to repair.
*cries*

Why is it always something?

Watched the first episode of "The Blacklist" tonight. OMG. I loved it. But I cannot get into another show. Nooooo! lol.

And it's forecast for a high of 100 degrees here tomorrow with a heat index of 110+. Ugh I hate Mississippi in the summer.

Where has all my time gone? I seem to be pissing it away. Seriously. I have GOT to get serious about writing the papers for school and finishing my stories. I did make it to the doctor to have my MMR vaccination redone and the first of the 2-step TB skin test. Had it read yesterday and go back next Monday for the second step. I am happy to report I don't have TB. Which is good. :)

I can't seem to get a hold of anyone at the school who will give me specifics on any of the other vaccinations other than MMR. My adviser won't be back until Monday so I guess I'll just pray and hope that anything else I need can get done next week.

Carter started back to school yesterday. I can't take this. He's growing up too fast! And did I mention he has his learners permit to drive? eeesh. I don't want to think about it.

Our washing machine decided to go on the fritz too. That's just perfect. It trips the breaker every time you try to start a new cycle. I am trying to track down someone local to repair it as Sears can't send anyone for a frickin' week! It's always something....

I've been getting back into the study swing though and I'm getting excited about starting back. I am brushing up on the Gram Stain and various types of bacteria. :) Geek love!

ETA: It's not the washing machine. It's the circuit breaker! Thank goodness for small favors. At least one of Craig's friends suggested checking that first before spending a small fortune on a service call. Now it's just a couple of bucks on a new switch. So much better!

I go to track down my old immunization records from *coughs* long ago *coughs* and find out that there are no records any longer. In fact, Mississippi didn't require private doctors to report their immunization records to the state until 1994. Meaning that all MY records are just gone because I have no way of tracking those records down. That pediatrician is long since retired and so is his practice.

So, what does that leave me? I have to go back and get all those lovely childhood immunizations again. Un-believable. And so help me if my insurance doesn't cover it!

And yes I have to do it because I'm in a health program at school and ALL health program students are required to have documented proof of vaccinations before they begin clinical rotations.

Ugggggghhhh!!!!!!!!!!