Monday, June 25, 2007

Crazy Pictures of the Week

Grandma in Denial perhaps?

Grandma & Thong Boy's Dad

Wonder what a tattoo would have looked like now?

Do you think they're real?


DISCLAIMER: THIS POST AND THE PREVIOUS THONG BOY POST WERE CO-ERCED, AS I WOULD NEVER POST SUCH THINGS ON MY OWN. JEWELS MADE ME DO IT

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Gaining Some Balance

After ignoring the ever worsening shifting of my driveway, it finally came time to bite the bullet, and get it fixed before someone hurt themselves. It also was very bad feng shui, as all the chi was sliding away from the house.

Went with a newer process called concrete levelling, where they drill quarter-sized holes in the existing slabs, and pump a concrete mixture into the holes, lifting the slabs. Much, much cheaper than having the old driveway removed and a new one poured, but still very expensive.

Here's what it looked like before :


Notice the ramps I had to use to get into the garage



Here's how much the slabs had shifted in the center.





The step from the driveway to the front porch.


After a few days of work, here's a few after shots:



Where the driveway & garage meet....no more ramps!




The driveway looking out towards the street...you can see the holes they drilled and then filled back in.




The front step now, raised about 4 to 5 inches, and levelled out.

Feng-shui-ifed!

Monday, June 04, 2007

Emergency Room

I spent the night, well not all of it, just from 1:00 a.m. to 5:30 a.m at the local hospital emergency room. My mom was running a fever of 103.5, and after much cajolling, I was able to convince her that she needed to go to the hospital. At 12:30, I was able to convince her, at 5:00 in the afternoon, she didn't want to go. LOL!

They undertook a number of tests and found that she has a very bad bladder and kidney infection. She was put on I.V antibiotics about 2:00 in the morning, and we had to wait until the medication entered her body.

While we waited, I realized that the acoustics in the emergency room are excellent. Actually a little too excellent, as you can hear the conversations from behind their respective curtains, of the other patients and family/friends, even when they whisper. At 2:00 in the morning, waiting around the emergency room, it was something to do...I know I shouldn't have been eaves dropping, but like I said the acoustics were a little too good, and there was nothing else to do, except watch, count and time the I.V drips --which I also did. Lol!

The girl across from us had had difficulties with her parents, and was debating whether or not to call them and let them know she was having minor health issues. Her friend, (and I, since I could hear everything) were kept entertained by the stories of her assorted family members. She was sent home around the same time we were, with a bladder infection diagnosis.

Another one, right next to us, was named Diane, and was brought in by the paramedics, because she had had too much to drink, and her vital signs weren't too good. She was placed on oxygen, with much prompting from the nurses to get her to move in the proper position. When she finally woke up, she didn't know where she was, and tried to get out of bed, and fell. The nurses ran to pick her up, and admonish her that no she couldn't get out of bed to go outside and smoke. She was still there when we left.

Two beds over, was Jane and her husband/boyfriend John. Jane came in as she was having difficulty urinating. After the initial visit and blook work, the doctor came in to tell Jane that he wanted to talk to her in private. She insisted no, that anything he had to say, could be said in fromt of John. The doctor persisted, that he wanted to do a pelvic exam in private, but no Jane needed John there to hold her hand. John stayed, and the doc performed a very painful examination, after which he said, he couldn't be sure until the cultures came back in a few days, but that he was fairly certain it was a sexually transmitted disease. This caused both Jane and John much upset, with both of them professing to themselves and to the doctor, that his diagnosis would surely be proven wrong.
They were still there when we left.

It's now Day 2 of the meds, and things seem to be progressing slowly better from an infection standpoint. The pain however, continues to be a major issue, and has taken on a life of its own, and fills her every waking thought...and by default mine. Of course, the more she thinks about it, the worse it gets.