Jabbed, Scraped, Poked, Prodded & Squozed

The day started at 9, when I went to Cindy's to have the second half of my root planing procedure. It seemed to go more quickly than the first half did and I didn't get as much book listening done as last time, but listening to a book sure makes a couple of hours fly by!

This time Cindy prescribed some antibiotics for me so I had to go to the Kaiser pharmacy to drop them off. While I was waiting, I decided to get the lab tests I haven't gotten around getting yet. The lab is just across the hall from the pharmacy and even has a pharmacy board in the waiting room, so you can check when your prescription is ready.

While I was checking in for the lab work, I asked if I needed a mammogram (since the mammogram desk is right next to the lab desk). They checked the computers and decided I did, so I registered for a mammogram too. The lab lady said that if I wanted to get a flu shot, there was a nurse on duty down the hall in the flu clinic who was giving them.

I went into the lab and got my blood drawn. She thought my good ol' reliable vein, which I use every time I donate blood, had collapsed because she couldn't get any blood out of it at all, even after digging around in my arm. Finally she tried a different test tube and that made all the difference in the world.

When I'd finished giving blood, I went down the hall and got a flu shot. I don't know if they still use needles or if they have finally discovered how to inject stuff in an arm with some sort of pneumatic device because I did not feel a needle at all. It's also possible that the novocaine from the root planning had numbed my arm too. LOL.

Then back to the lab area where I was called for my mammogram. The lady who gives the mammograms is from Russia and I can truly say I have never had a mammogram while discussing the benefits and shorcomings of the Soviet system of government and how the older people would prefer to return to Communism, while the younger people don't care.

I can also honestly say that I've never had a mammogram that hurt as much. I wonder if there is a correlation...?

I left Kaiser completely caught up on all my pending work, still numb in the mouth, and having this sudden craving for scrambled eggs. Kaiser is just across a field from an iHop, so I decided to go and fill my craving for scrambled eggs and they tossed in a side of pancakes for me as well.

I came home and took the first dose of pills. The downside is that one of them (Flagyl) has, they tell me, the same effect as Antabuse and if you have any alcohol at all, it will make you violently ill. Well, I guess I won't be toasting Kayleen and Sean at their wedding with anything stronger than water on Saturday!

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Oh. There is a new chapter in my parking citation saga.

The Department of Theatre and Dance has issued me a placard to be placed on my car. I have been invited to attend a costume fitting for an upcoming production tomorrow and someone is going to meet me in the parking lot to give it to me.

But I have received a message from The Parking Nazi that they will not honor that placard and that she has sent a message to the News Media Management people and "will let me know" their opinion. (This is so stupid because this has not been an issue for the ten years I have been using my old card!)

"No parking for YOU!"

I have not let her know that the Enterprise has ordered me personalized business cards after all, but I have let the Department of Theatre and Dance know that I will not be attending the costume fitting they invited me to come to to help with my review of their upcoming show.

At 10 p.m., I got a call saying they would pick me up and take me to the costume fitting and drive me home afterwards. There is talk of having the chairman of the department call the Parking Nazi.

My mail today: a letter from Fred in the Philippines
and a post card from Slovenia through Postcrossing.

Getting Over the Guilties

I don't know why I don't feel bad when I sit down and watch television in the middle of the day, but it just feels wrong to sit down and read a book.

But today, I found a guilt-free way to spend a couple of hours enjoying a book. Take along an audio book to play while you're having 2 hours of dental work done.

Instead of my normal cleaning, I was scheduled for the first of two appointments to have root planing done. I was a little nervous about it. I remember back in the 1970s when our neighbor had root planing done. I remember seeing him with cottong packed in his mouth and looking like he was in a lot of pain.

In the years I have been seeing Cindy, I can truly say I have not had any painful procedures done, so I wasn't exactly a basket case when I got to the office, but I was more nervous than I would be for a cleaning.

My hygienist, Christina, was going to do the procedure, which I had been told would take 2 hours. She shocked me by saying that she could see from my chart that I had my last root planing in 1993. Huh? I had root planing before? I truly have no recollection of having it done. But I also don't remember any painful procedure, so maybe this wouldn't be all that bad.

And it wasn't. The entire right side of my face was frozen from the novocaine so I just lay there, listening to a Michael Connelly book while Christina did her thing. The time just flew by...harder for her than for me, I think, since she took a break after an hour to do some back exercises. Me? I was so relaxed I nearly fell asleep in the chair.

It was a little weird because she kept asking me questions. Not only could I not hear her because of the ear buds, but I couldn't answer her because of all the stuff in my mouth!

She sent me home with a bottle of stuff to swish around in my mouth, a discount coupon for a Sonicare toothbrush, and a promise to see me again on Monday, when she will do the other side of my mouth and I'll hear two more hours of "The Concrete Blonde."

I stopped at CVS Pharmacy on my way home and bought a new $150 toothbrush. It's weird to think that I'm going to need the read a manual to figure out how to use the damn thing. But it's supposed to be the very best way to keep the gums from dying off, so I guess I will do it.

I came home to spend the afternoon immersed in my big project, which I had not intended to do, but which was necessary. And I planned a soft food dinner -- Spam and mashed potatoes. Funny how people turn up their noses at Spam. I remember it as being one of my favorite meals when I was growing up and, of course, Walt grew up in Hawaii, where Spam is king, so we both enjoy Spam for dinner now and then.

I went back to working on the project after dinner, and so late into the night that I was too tired to finish this journal entry until morning, after I'd watched the DVR recording of the very emotional latest episode of Project Runway.

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And then there is my continuing parking ticket saga. It has been forgiven, as I said, but there was no response to the message I sent giving my opinion about why this shouldn't even be an issue. OK, it was a little snarky, but not a lot.

I am soon going to be the most credentialed person ever, since not only is the Department of Theatre and Dance going to make my own special placard that I can place in the car when I'm on campus, but the newspaper editor decided to make an exception for me and have personalized cards printed for me. I'm glad she's going to do it, which will eliminate all problems in the future, but it is such overkill. At the most I will need 2 or 3 cards, in case the first wears out

No Devil's Playground

They say an idle brain is the devil's playground. Well, ol' Scratch better search elsewhere, 'cause there ain't no idle brains around here today. I feel like I'm working mentally on so many different things that I was more or less oblivious to what was happening in my real world today.

I'm doing one project that has been occupying my time for all this week. I'm lovin' it and will talk about it more when it's finished, but I spent all my time looking at it and changing and then changing it again.

I'm also trying to get together Christmas packages for the Compassion kids and looking for Christmas things in September is not easy, even though sometimes you can find Christmas stuff being put out after the 4th of July. Just not what I'm looking for specifically.

And I'm also still in the honeymoon phase of the postcard project, looking for interesting postcards to send, getting my first postcards from Belgium and Germany. I particularly liked this one from Germany.

I was so engrossed in my various projects that I nearly forgot I was going to lunch with Ruth. And then when I remembered, I called upstairs to tell Walt goodbye as I was leaving and when he didn't answer, I assumed he'd gone to work and I'd been so busy I hadn't noticed when he said goodbye (later I found out he was actually home and just in the shower, so didn't hear me call to him).

There were several errands to run after lunch, including getting a haircut. I had washed my hair yesterday and I was looking like Franz Liszt and decided it was time to get it all chopped off. So I went to SuperCuts and got the haircut. They never do it exactly the way I want it, but I figure if I can kind of brush it into the shape that I'm used to it's OK, and this was one of the good cuts, so I was happy.

I had more errands to run, but instead came home to the projects briefly. At 4 p.m., I was meeting the head of publicity for the Theatre and Drama Department to talk about what they have coming up on their schedule.

Just before I left, I had an e-mail from Erin XX about the parking ticket:

I discussed this with our Operations Manager, who has indicated that in order to honor a media business card for parking, that the card must have the person’s name on it. When I dismissed the previous citation (below), you did not attach a copy of the business card; I looked online to confirm your affiliation. When I responded at that time, I was not aware that the business card you were using did not have your name on it.

I have gone ahead and dismissed this citation as an exception, and there is no further action required on your part. For future parking, it would be best to display something with your name on it (perhaps you could display a copy of whatever credentials you use to get in to the event you are covering), along with the business card in the vehicle.

What the bloody f**k???

I discussed it with the Publicity rep, who is going to make a special placard for my car with their logo on it. But good God, when you think of it, it costs them nothing to let me park for free. I am giving them free publicity. When I do a story I make 3 or 4 trips to the university for interviews and rehearsals (none of which require "credentials") and by the time I write the story, it has taken so much time to gather the information that I don't even come close to making minimum wage for that story. So what's the big deal??? This is doing them a favor. I could just never write any story about university functions again, if their bloody $6 is so important to them!

I was still angry a few hours later when we had to leave to go review a show in Sacramento. Now it is 1 a.m. and I have spent the last 2 hours on my big project, have now written this journal entry and am just now starting to write the review. After that it is my hope that my brain will be idle for a couple of hours, but don't hold your breath, Devil.

The Advantage of Being a Packrat

Ha! You may groan about my cluttering habits, but I have the last laugh.

Not only is my house cluttered, so is my computer, which is why I had to recently get a terabyte external hard drive.

Now, backtrack to a couple of weeks ago when I went to the University to see a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. As I have done for many years, I parked in the pay lot and placed my Davis enterprise business card on the dash boad.

Note that this does not have my name on it, but merely "staff writer." For many years now, this has given me a pass to park in the university parking lots.

However, when I returned to the car after Putnam County, I had a ticket.

I wasn't worried. I've had one ticket before and it was excused when I wrote to the parking office and explained my predicament.

So on Monday morning I called the parking office. Only now it's all computerized, so you are supposed to go on line and make your case.

I did that, explained what happened, included the above scan of the business card and figured it was just a matter of time before it was expunged.

HOWEVER, today I received a note from an Erin XX saying that because my card does not have my name on it, it is not sufficient to excuse the ticket and that I am responsible for it unless I can produce a PERSONAL business card.

Well, I still didn't think it was a biggie. I wrote to the woman in charge of publicity for the Theatre and Dance department and asked her to talk to the parking department and straighten it out for me. But I also tried to call the parking office and learned they had closed for the day.

So I decided I would try to write a note to this Erin XX and plead my case directly.

I began to address the e-mail. Now, as most of you probably know, if you have sent an e-mail to someone on Outlook Express, it automatically retains that e-mail address in your address book. I sometimes find this a pain because of how many addresses are there, but it's convenient that when you begin to write the address for someone to whom you have written before, it automatically fills in the address for you.

Before I had finished writing ERIN, the address filled in for me. Hmmm...

So I went to my inbox to see if there was anything in there from Ms. XX. Yes, you should clean out your in boxes. I have >7,000 e-mails in my inbox from people who don't deserve a special folder of their own, plus dozens of folders that filter the more personal mail. I rarely clean any of them out...especially now that I have a terabyte hard drive. I even have folders for dead people that I've never deleted.

Lo and behold there was an e-mail from Erin XX from April of 2009, the last time I got a parking ticket. It reads:

Bev,

I have dismissed this citation based upon your media affiliation. You should be able to park with just your business card displayed; it just seems that the officer that issued this citation did not see your card.

There is no further action required on your part, but please let me know if you need anything else.

Thank you,

Erin

A-HA!!! I forwarded this letter to Ms. XX, along with my comments about the current ticket and we'll see what happens tomorrow.

See? Sometimes being lazy about such things pays off!