Man, my life lately has been like a bad Soap Opera....
I talked to my back surgeon yesterday, and he was "reluctant" to do surgery. He didn't rule it out completely, but he felt that there was one last option to explore.
He referred me to this guy who runs a private clinic in the city. He apparently has a PhD. in sports medicine, and he's a Physiotherapist who specializes in chronic pain, and different coping methods.
At this point, I'm willing to try acupuncture, massage, or hypnosis. OK, maybe not hypnosis, but you get my drift....
As a last option, Dr. J said he would fuse the affected disc, but I would more than likely need further surgery down the road. I've inherited my Grandfather's bad back, and have to play with the cards I've been dealt. I just wish I knew what to do so that Ali won't worry about me as much.
To take my mind off of my back issues, I went to scout baby furniture. That's right, you heard right, I went shopping - alone. I even had to steer away form the pushy salesman. The kind who lines you up as soon as you enter the door, then cuts down the angle like a linebacker coming in for the hit. I must have given him a certain "leave the the hell alone" look, because he fumbled his words, and totally messed up his approach. As he walked up to me, he said "Uh, good morning. Ah shit, it's not morning....good afternoon. It's afternoon now. 12:45 to be exact...."
I just diverted my eyes to the nearest piece of furniture, which happened to be one of the most ugly two toned couches I've ever seen. It was black, with tan leather.
As soon as I looked at it, he says "I bet that would look gooooooood in your living room."
Now, by the way he exaggerated the word "good", I figured I was on some kind of hidden camera show like Oblivious.
I told him I actually thought it was gross, and I wouldn't be caught dead with that in my house.
He asked what I did need, and directed me to the bedroom sets. I told him I wanted one dresser/change table, but they didn't carry that.
Sometimes I think it would be fun to work sales, just for one day. I could sell some real ugly crap....like that dreaded couch that will haunt me in my dreams.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
STRIKE!!!!
It appears that talks between our Nurse's union and the Manitoba Government have stalled. As a matter of fact, they've stalled so badly, it it believed that the union might ask us to strike in the next few weeks.
I was in another profession the last time the nurses had a strike vote here, and I really don't remember much about that time. Now that this will directly affect me and my family, I'm more interested in the events taking place within the next two weeks.
There is already a "work to rule" order in effect, where members are encouraged not to work any extra shifts or overtime. The first people who will suffer from this is unfortunately the patients.
It will all start in the emergency room. From there, all elective surgeries will be cancelled. Aside form that, all hemodialysis patients will suffer. I hope for their sake (and ours) that it doesn't come to this.
When we hear about other essential services (firefighters, police, etc) getting decent raises, it should only include the nurses as well. What the government has offered won't even cover the cost of living.
I say boo to the government.
On a lighter note, I will be going to see my favorite comedian of all time - Emo Phillips tonight with Ali and a few other friends. His distinct style stage presence and dry sense of humor make him truly stand out. I need a beer, and a few laughs.
As you may have noticed in Ali's blog, I too have experienced all of the sympathy pregnancy symptoms. I can still squeeze into my Bomber jerseys, so I think I'll be okay.
Stay tuned.
I was in another profession the last time the nurses had a strike vote here, and I really don't remember much about that time. Now that this will directly affect me and my family, I'm more interested in the events taking place within the next two weeks.
There is already a "work to rule" order in effect, where members are encouraged not to work any extra shifts or overtime. The first people who will suffer from this is unfortunately the patients.
It will all start in the emergency room. From there, all elective surgeries will be cancelled. Aside form that, all hemodialysis patients will suffer. I hope for their sake (and ours) that it doesn't come to this.
When we hear about other essential services (firefighters, police, etc) getting decent raises, it should only include the nurses as well. What the government has offered won't even cover the cost of living.
I say boo to the government.
On a lighter note, I will be going to see my favorite comedian of all time - Emo Phillips tonight with Ali and a few other friends. His distinct style stage presence and dry sense of humor make him truly stand out. I need a beer, and a few laughs.
As you may have noticed in Ali's blog, I too have experienced all of the sympathy pregnancy symptoms. I can still squeeze into my Bomber jerseys, so I think I'll be okay.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Bumper stickers
Some bumper stickers make me laugh. Others make me roll my eyes. Some are controversial, others are offensive. I saw one the other day that made me think.
It said Health care before Olympics.
I never really put much thought into that, odd because I am in Health care, but this really does make sense to me. As you may or may not know, Canada is hosting the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler British Columbia.
There were a list of contenders, which was narrowed down to three. Canada "won" the priveledge to host them, then the mad dash began. There is the issue of building at least three new venues from the ground up. They need a new arena to host curling, a main staging area, and other various other buildings to host the athletes and the 25000 volunteers they need. That's right - 25000.
Ten times the amount of athletes they expect in B.C.
This doesn't even include the cost of the Olympics proposal, and the cost of naming the three cute, but expensive official mascots of the 2010 games.
If the Government was thinking, they would have stepped in and stopped the Olympics from coming here. How could they justify the millions of dollars being spent when we have emergency rooms closing, nursing and doctor shortages across Canada, and a tremendous lack of operating room time from coast to coast?
I'm obviously in favor of the whole Health care issue, but I could easily argue for Education, training and development for young Canadians, roads and highways, upgrading sewer and water systems, providing clean water to Northern communities, funding small buisnesses, and so on.
What I'm trying to say is, this money could have gone to people who actually need it.
What does hosting the Olympics really do anyway? It's basically the Olympic big wigs using the different countries as playing cards, just trying to "keep up with the Jones' " by playing host. In all honesty, we're a country that can't afford to host this party.
But it'll look good on T.V.!
That's my soapbox for the day.
It said Health care before Olympics.
I never really put much thought into that, odd because I am in Health care, but this really does make sense to me. As you may or may not know, Canada is hosting the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler British Columbia.
There were a list of contenders, which was narrowed down to three. Canada "won" the priveledge to host them, then the mad dash began. There is the issue of building at least three new venues from the ground up. They need a new arena to host curling, a main staging area, and other various other buildings to host the athletes and the 25000 volunteers they need. That's right - 25000.
Ten times the amount of athletes they expect in B.C.
This doesn't even include the cost of the Olympics proposal, and the cost of naming the three cute, but expensive official mascots of the 2010 games.
If the Government was thinking, they would have stepped in and stopped the Olympics from coming here. How could they justify the millions of dollars being spent when we have emergency rooms closing, nursing and doctor shortages across Canada, and a tremendous lack of operating room time from coast to coast?
I'm obviously in favor of the whole Health care issue, but I could easily argue for Education, training and development for young Canadians, roads and highways, upgrading sewer and water systems, providing clean water to Northern communities, funding small buisnesses, and so on.
What I'm trying to say is, this money could have gone to people who actually need it.
What does hosting the Olympics really do anyway? It's basically the Olympic big wigs using the different countries as playing cards, just trying to "keep up with the Jones' " by playing host. In all honesty, we're a country that can't afford to host this party.
But it'll look good on T.V.!
That's my soapbox for the day.
Friday, February 15, 2008
How men shop, and "grandparents"
Today I was driving all around the city, scouting out the stores for a cozy glider chair.
This will be a very important piece of equipment for the baby's room, as Alison and I plan on spending many hours in that chair, rocking our Butterbean to sleep.
I checked out four different stores. Not a big deal usually, but I was done checking these stores in about 20 minutes (including driving time).
I walked in, asked which way the chairs were, sat on a few, and got the heck out.
The worst culprit for spending excessive amounts of time in a store has to be my mom. She can spend upwards of three hours in Winners/Wal-Mart/Sears etc.
I guarantee I know where to find her. She first spend a good half hour looking at sheets. Of course, she finds sheets so soft I almost weep (600 thread count) but I can't be bothered with linens.
Next, she moves to the kids clothes. My two cousins are 13 and 11, and my mom is constantly buying them jackets, pj's, jeans and everything else for the school year. This gives me the sneaking suspicion that she is going to want to buy our baby a lot of stuff.
My dad is always on her case to but stuff for herself, but she is just to generous,, and has to buy for everyone else.
My dad on the other hand, just sits back and plays the role of driver. He goes all over the city, not saying a word, but you can read his body language that he is getting bored. This is the point where I usually offer to take him to the Blue Bomber store. His face lights up like a kid in a candy store, and we both tend to come out of there with a bag full of stuff all bearing our beloved "W" on it.
Right now, my parents are vacationing in Dominican Republic. They try to take two trips a year, one in February, and another in October. Of all the places they've gone to, they prefer Cuba the best.
The beaches are beautiful, the people are very friendly, and the music can't be beat.
Ali and I went to Cuba for our honeymoon, and I would love to go back there again.
My parents might decide to change their holiday plans around, as they are both very excited about being grandparents.
My dad is so excited, he actually booked Christmas off for this year. I think this is the first Christmas he will have off in about 7 years.
I can't wait to call them grandma and grandpa. It's a name they've both been waiting for.
This will be a very important piece of equipment for the baby's room, as Alison and I plan on spending many hours in that chair, rocking our Butterbean to sleep.
I checked out four different stores. Not a big deal usually, but I was done checking these stores in about 20 minutes (including driving time).
I walked in, asked which way the chairs were, sat on a few, and got the heck out.
The worst culprit for spending excessive amounts of time in a store has to be my mom. She can spend upwards of three hours in Winners/Wal-Mart/Sears etc.
I guarantee I know where to find her. She first spend a good half hour looking at sheets. Of course, she finds sheets so soft I almost weep (600 thread count) but I can't be bothered with linens.
Next, she moves to the kids clothes. My two cousins are 13 and 11, and my mom is constantly buying them jackets, pj's, jeans and everything else for the school year. This gives me the sneaking suspicion that she is going to want to buy our baby a lot of stuff.
My dad is always on her case to but stuff for herself, but she is just to generous,, and has to buy for everyone else.
My dad on the other hand, just sits back and plays the role of driver. He goes all over the city, not saying a word, but you can read his body language that he is getting bored. This is the point where I usually offer to take him to the Blue Bomber store. His face lights up like a kid in a candy store, and we both tend to come out of there with a bag full of stuff all bearing our beloved "W" on it.
Right now, my parents are vacationing in Dominican Republic. They try to take two trips a year, one in February, and another in October. Of all the places they've gone to, they prefer Cuba the best.
The beaches are beautiful, the people are very friendly, and the music can't be beat.
Ali and I went to Cuba for our honeymoon, and I would love to go back there again.
My parents might decide to change their holiday plans around, as they are both very excited about being grandparents.
My dad is so excited, he actually booked Christmas off for this year. I think this is the first Christmas he will have off in about 7 years.
I can't wait to call them grandma and grandpa. It's a name they've both been waiting for.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Weddings and catchy but bad songs
My best friend Mike was married this weekend. I was the Best man, and therefore did a speech in honour of him.
When you're writing a speech about someone you've known for so long, it is very easy to write plenty of material. After about two pages, my hand was cramped from writing so quickly, and I decided to cut it back a little. I wanted to avoid the inside jokes, and opted for the "from the heart" type of speech. He's like an older brother to me, so I thought it was fitting to try to make him cry....
The wedding was good. A nice ceremony, followed by a good sized reception. It was pretty neat to see both sides of the family mingle so well. Most weddings I have gone to keep the two sides seperated for most of the night, until the drinks get flowing. Luckily, the Groom's family are huggers.
I like to think that I have a good taste in music. Once in a while, there is that odd song that comes on the radio, and I want to punch out my own eardrums because they are so terrible. Since they are on all of the top 40 radio stations, they are played every ten minutes for the next 6 weeks. After a while, I give up trying to turn the station, because I'd likely get blindsided by Nickelback or Good Charlotte (both of whom I hate) so I leave it. I regret to admit that I slowly start to like the songs, and before you know it, I'm actually hoping to hear it. Let's get one thing straight though, it's usually not the entire song that I enjoy, it's a few lines, or the way the beat picks up halfway through a song. That's how I can justify liking that Paris Hilton song that came out a few years back.....it hurts me to type that.
Anyway, this week's choice stinker song the I've grown to like is Miley Cyrus "See you again".
Don't laugh, it won't be me downloading this song. I'll leave that to Ali, so I don't feel completely like a 13 year old girl. I'll just be sure to slip it into my other better music when I make my next CD.
There, now you know one of my best kept secrets. Please don't think less of me.....
When you're writing a speech about someone you've known for so long, it is very easy to write plenty of material. After about two pages, my hand was cramped from writing so quickly, and I decided to cut it back a little. I wanted to avoid the inside jokes, and opted for the "from the heart" type of speech. He's like an older brother to me, so I thought it was fitting to try to make him cry....
The wedding was good. A nice ceremony, followed by a good sized reception. It was pretty neat to see both sides of the family mingle so well. Most weddings I have gone to keep the two sides seperated for most of the night, until the drinks get flowing. Luckily, the Groom's family are huggers.
I like to think that I have a good taste in music. Once in a while, there is that odd song that comes on the radio, and I want to punch out my own eardrums because they are so terrible. Since they are on all of the top 40 radio stations, they are played every ten minutes for the next 6 weeks. After a while, I give up trying to turn the station, because I'd likely get blindsided by Nickelback or Good Charlotte (both of whom I hate) so I leave it. I regret to admit that I slowly start to like the songs, and before you know it, I'm actually hoping to hear it. Let's get one thing straight though, it's usually not the entire song that I enjoy, it's a few lines, or the way the beat picks up halfway through a song. That's how I can justify liking that Paris Hilton song that came out a few years back.....it hurts me to type that.
Anyway, this week's choice stinker song the I've grown to like is Miley Cyrus "See you again".
Don't laugh, it won't be me downloading this song. I'll leave that to Ali, so I don't feel completely like a 13 year old girl. I'll just be sure to slip it into my other better music when I make my next CD.
There, now you know one of my best kept secrets. Please don't think less of me.....
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Double digits
Today officially makes it 98 days to go until Butterbean is scheduled to grace us with their presence.
For the past few days, I've been able to see little kicks, and other squirmy movements. Poor Ali is the recepient of all of the bladder shots, and she makes me jump when we're lying there, and she suddenly goes "Oohh. That was a good one."
It really pisses me off when you try to keep a car clean, and scratch free. It seems the harder you try, the more determined people are to mess up your car.
First it was somebody denting the rear passenger door with something. Next, it was some a-holes throwing a box spring away into the dumpster. Of course, they hit the side of our car, and put an 8" creased dent down the door - again. At least it's the same door.
I've managed to injure my right heel/ankle again. The pain and swelling is nothing new to me, it just adds to my frustration about the whole back issue. I feel sorry for Ali, she's the one who has to hear me grumbling as I hobble around the house. As the ankle gets better, so does my mood.
I have some serious making up to do tonight.
Have a good day. Keep your fingers crossed that Bruce's repairs won't be too pricey...
For the past few days, I've been able to see little kicks, and other squirmy movements. Poor Ali is the recepient of all of the bladder shots, and she makes me jump when we're lying there, and she suddenly goes "Oohh. That was a good one."
It really pisses me off when you try to keep a car clean, and scratch free. It seems the harder you try, the more determined people are to mess up your car.
First it was somebody denting the rear passenger door with something. Next, it was some a-holes throwing a box spring away into the dumpster. Of course, they hit the side of our car, and put an 8" creased dent down the door - again. At least it's the same door.
I've managed to injure my right heel/ankle again. The pain and swelling is nothing new to me, it just adds to my frustration about the whole back issue. I feel sorry for Ali, she's the one who has to hear me grumbling as I hobble around the house. As the ankle gets better, so does my mood.
I have some serious making up to do tonight.
Have a good day. Keep your fingers crossed that Bruce's repairs won't be too pricey...
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