It's all blood and mucus

You've been warned.

My septum un-deviation surgery was last Wednesday and while it wasn't a big deal as far as these things go, it was kind of monumental for me.

My room-mate was my driver and we got to the hospital at the designated time in the morning. I got checked in and I was signing some papers the clerk at the desk asked what the stack of papers I had was all about. I told her it was paper for Origami and my room-mate told her that I'd make her something. So, in the short time before the nurse called me back, I quickly made her a small origami person. She was excited and I was glad someone at least was having a good day.

The nurse had me change into a gown - which was more like some kind of purple construction paper than actual cloth (it also included what looked like a place to attach a vacuum hose that no one really explained to me) - and I got to keep my underwear on. Yea! Though, frankly, with the intense draining of my dignity I think I would have been better off naked.

The anesthesiologist made some jokes with us and seemed pretty cool - though she did mock me a bit for not moving my hand where they had harpooned me with the needle. She put something in my IV as they wheeled me away and there was no count down or anything. I was all of the sudden out.

I woke up in recovery with a horribly sore throat - cranky, and freaked out. Which I remember telling someone though I don't remember much else. I woke up later feeling a little better but still having a rough go. I learned later that I was "combative" I first woke up.

I was dizzy for a while and tired, but by the afternoon I was ready to go home. I slept in the lazy-boy that first night.

My sister was in town on Thursday for a meeting and she stopped by to see me - which was cool. She brought some baby pictures and stayed for lunch. I had the first of my many milk shakes.

My MFR's mom and grandmother stopped by for a short visit to see how I was doing. They didn't stay long, but told me that I could call them whenever I needed anything.

So, it's been a lot of napping - which I'm normally no good at - a lot of blood and mucus in my tissues, a lot of saline up my nose and a lot of breathing though my mouth. Which keeps the sore throat cranking away.

I'm headed back to work tomorrow, for a 1/2 day at least, and I'll play it by ear. My doctor's appointment isn't until Thursday morning, so I'm going to take it easy. I've had no bruising and only a little swelling - but the marbles up my nose are apparently enough to wear me down. I'm going to play a little of a video game and then try to get to bed early.

I'll try and fill in some of the gaps in this post later - I'm sure I'm forgetting things.

Oh, I wrote an apology to the staff at the hospital for being combative. It wasn't my fault, but I still feel bad.

That's it for now - wish me luck at work tomorrow.

I passed my pre-testing

On Wednesday, one week before my septum un-deviation surgery, I went in to the hospital for pre-testing.

Which was a waste of time. I was told in advance that it would 30-45 minutes - it took 15.

The nurse practitioner took my temperature, my BP and pulse, listened to my heart (she seemed to have trouble finding that one), my lungs, and oddly enough, my stomach - which didn't make nearly enough noise for her.

She looked in my ears, down my throat, and rubbed the sides of my neck. I have expected her to kill a chicken and examine it's entrails to see if I was a good candidate for the surgery.

A little bit of paperwork, a few vague suggestions, and I was on my way. No idea how much my insurance is going to be charged for that little visit, but I'm guessing it's a lot.

In other news... my sister is coming to town - and campus - to meet with one of our higher-ups about how we do our accreditation. It's right after my surgery so I'll be at home and not the best company, but it will still be nice to see her - if only for a short time.

Finally, we had a meeting yesterday - actually a webinar - about our recent usability testing. I got some praise for my role, once they got the right name, and then got slammed. In the nicest way possible. I'm not taking it personally - it was my first time running a session and I was bound to screw it up a little bit.

The meeting wrapped up with a "discussion" about the terminology used on the site we were reviewing. The people in the department insisted on using the terms you could only know if you had already been taught about them. I was in the "either explain it or change it" camp - and we nearly came to blows over it. It was like they had a secret club and you had to be "initiated" before the site made any sense. It was irksome to a geek like me.

adventures in retail

I got a couple of gift cards to Barnes and Noble for my birthday and christmas and though we don't have any stores in the area, our campus bookstore is part of this chain. So, with two $25 cards in hand, I headed to the store in the student center.

The selection was not what I'd hoped for and decided to go online instead. Back at my office I visited the online version of the campus bookstore site and was underwhelmed at the selection again. I found a pair of shorts and a sticker for my car - with a total price of over $25 dollars. I entered the first card and then couldn't find a spot to enter another card or my credit card. Instead, the order got submitted - even though I hadn't paid enough. The shipping info said it would be delivered to the campus bookstore, so I figured that I would be contacted to sort things out.

A couple days later I got an email indicting a problem with my order. Which wasn't a surprise, I hadn't really paid for the items. I called the phone number on the email and was transfered to 5 different people before I got someone that knew what they were talking about. She indicated that yes, the system will let an order go through without sufficient payment. She asked for my credit card number to complete the order.

I suggested that since I'm on campus, we could just cancel the order and I could stop by in person. She said she would cancel it and I could pick up and pay for the items at the counter.

Shortly after that call, my room-mate called and said that someone from the bookstore called and said there was a problem with my on-line order. I thanked him for taking the message and explained I'd already called to sort things out.

After my swim, but before I got my lunch, I stopped by the bookstore and indicated that an online order was being held for me at the counter. They looked around a bit, then sent me downstairs to the online pickup area. I head downstairs, wait for a clerk and then explain what I'm doing there. They look though the records, can't find it, and send me back upstairs.

I go back upstairs to the counter and explain I've been sent back up. They call back downstairs and after a few minutes find the order sitting on the counter. Less than two feet from where the cashier was standing. I use my gift card and then cash to complete the transaction.

I was lucky to have been on campus to sort this out - it could have been much worse.

The shorts are cool and fit great, the sticker is pretty cool too. I think for my other gift card, I'm going to the main barnes and noble site and just get some books.

In other retail related news...

I don't listen to the radio much in my car, except when I'm stuck in traffic. And then I only listen to AM stations. It makes me appreciate how lucky I am to be in traffic than to be the kind of person that listens to AM radio all the time - and believes what they are being told. Yesterday, road construction prompted me to listen to a "doctor" that was promoting digestive health (i.e. over-eating cures) by - I think - "mud-packing emotional scars". This would align your Chi or something and make you not be fat. Or something. He also promoted a special formula for sale of 13 different types of pollen, specially blended to prompt genital health. Operators were, presumably, standing by. As his show ended and the traffic cleared, there were two separate announcements indicating that pretty much no one was willing to back him up on anything he had said.

On a final note of confusion, I went out to dinner with my room-mate and his sister. We had a coupon for one free entrée with the purchase of an appetizer and another entrée.

I usually get a "3 course meal" with appetizer, entrée and dessert. Which is not valid with the coupon.

He ordered green bean fries for me (which I was going to do myself as part of 3 courses) and another appetizer of mozzarella sticks.

The server left and I told my room-mate this might be a problem since the 3 course is usually ordered all at once.

The server came back to take our order and I asked if the previously ordered green beans could be shifted to my 3 courses. He said he would have to have his manager do it, but yes. I felt bad, but not as bad when the rest of the orders were taken. My room-mate's sister got an entrée and he then ordered pot-stickers. An appetizer - and thus not valid with the coupon. The server thought about it for a minute and said that if my order was not treated as the three courses -then it would count as one of the entrees.

So, everything worked out - and I made sure we tipped the server well for the trouble we caused.

getting caught up

A couple weeks ago, I did my Swim for Diabetes. This was a week after I'd done three miles in the pool and I wanted to try it again. The pool was nearly empty, not many people were participating that day. I did my three miles without any trouble. In fact, I think I could have gone farther. My count matched up with the the official's length count - which was a relief - and I got a pin for my efforts. I'm in the process of gathering the donations now.

Last weekend, I visited my family - and my brother-in-law's family - for my niece's dedication at church. We played some games and had a nice time. The drive was rough again - can't seem to get used to that - but it was worth the effort. My sister and brother-in-law are doing such an amazing job with my niece - it's really awesome to see them in action.

My room-mate's sister is coming in for a visit. She'll be staying a few days and may help him do some gardening if the weather clears. I suspect we'll go out to eat a few times in any case.

In video game news... I beat Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time. Good game - and the Chimp-o-matic weapon is a lot of fun. (turns your enemies into chimps)

It's pretty quiet here in the office today. One of my colleagues is on his honeymoon and two others are at a conference. Our student assistant is gone for the summer and it's just me and one other colleague today. Speaking of which, I need to check to see if he got my email.