The sound of frustration

It sounds like Aarrgh.

I saw my doctor yesterday and he wrote on his pad that the problem "has resolved, recurrance will require excision." Only he didn't say "the problem". He named the problem and he called in "cellulitis". That's a scarry word cause I have that stuff all over my body. aarrgh

Last October I had a root canal on my upper front tooth. Sunday it started to hurt. Monday I noticed that it was loose. So yesterday (it was Tuesday, right) I called the dentist to have it checked out. She said, "Can you come tomorrow at 3 pm?" I said I could and have been living my morning with that feeling of quivering anxiety that I was going to the dentist this afternoon. At about 11 am I got a call from the dentist's office confirming my appointment for tomorrow at 3. "No," I said, "its today at 3." "Oh no," says the girl, "doctor is not even in today, we have you down for tomorrow at 3". Aarrgh.

When I left the doctor yesterday, there was a light on my dashboard that didn't go out. I had no idea what the little symbol on the light meant so when I got home I dug out my owner's manual and found out that the symbol stands for emmision system. I planned to call the dealer tomorrow and get that checked out but now I have the dentist tomorrow. Aarrgh.

No News

I was reminded this morning why I hate to watch the news. I left the TV on all night and woke up to the news this morning and they were discussing the Michael Jackson case. Evidently the Judge is going to make a ruling soon about whether or not the "prior bad acts" can be introduced as evidence to this jury. One of the bases for the decision is whether or not the facts of the prior acts are more compelling than the facts from this act. My interpretation of this is that the more likely it is that he did the prior acts, the less likely it is that this jury will be able to hear about them. How does that make sense.

Adding insult

Lately my knees and ankles have been competing for my attention pain-wise. Not in pairs mind you but individually. Now my left elbow has added itself to the mix. As if all these aches and pains were not enough to remind me of my age, I suffered the following insult.

You know how when you have something in your eye, like an eyelash etc. One of the defense mechanisms is to hold your upper eyelashes and pull the upper eyelid over the lower eyelid and the invading particle is removed. Last night I felt something in my left eye. Nothing dangerous, just irritable. So I tried the above maneuver and found out I can no longer do that. I have so much loose skin on my eyelid; I can’t get hold of my upper eyelash without a mirror. Aarrgh

two more days

Only two more days of winter and it looks like we are going to get snow for both of them. We got snow last night but only on the grassy parts. Our sidewalks and pavement have declared themselves a no snow zone from now on (I hope). Gretchen's temp job ends today and I miss her already.

The hole in my belly has dried up and scabbed over and I have stopped covering it with a band aid. But I haven't started wearing clothes all day yet. I haven't worn anything but a nightgown since last Sunday when we had our Show-and-Tell party up at the clubhouse. La Dolce Vita.

I have been checking airfares for my upcoming trips but I'm not ready to purchase yet. I hate the thought of going to Florida this year with only Monica and Rita. I keep hoping that by some miracle, after Kathy wins her election, her first order of business can be to take a vacation and come to Florida with me.

When I am watching a sporting event and the action gets very frantic, I sometimes have to change the channel for a few seconds and then come back to see how it played out. That's how I feel about Kathy's election. As soon as I think about it I try to put it out of my mind because I want it so badly for her that I can't stand to think of it going any other way.

Medical update

Erika was a year old when my Gall Bladder was removed. That was way before they could do that with a couple of pinpricks. So I have had this six inch long raised scar on my stomach for 40 odd years. I started to get sharp "surface" pains when I was pregnant with Adrienne and have been getting them on and off ever since. Mostly off.

The difference this time is that the scar tissue started to rupture and I went to the doctor about it. I went to Dr. Rosario who did my surgery two years ago. The first thing he did was probe the opening with a Q-tip (ouch) and determine that the fissure did not go all the way through. That was a good thing.

He predicted a couple of outcomes. A) It would heal by itself or B) the area would have to be excised. Since A was my personal preference, I did not delve further into B. I have filled a couple of prescriptions for anti-biotics (pills and cream) and Dr. Rosario will determine on 3/29 whether we have achieved A or should proceed to B.

More

When the ship docked in Valpariaso they put our luggage on a truck and delivered it to the airport. They put our bodies on tour busses for a city tour of Valpariaso and Santiago. The tour started at about 8:30 AM on Sunday morning. We drove up and down the downtown streets of Valpariaso and saw all the official and important buildings including the Parliament building. Valpariaso is not the capitol of the country but that's where they hold Parliament. Our guide said its because it works better that way. The president and upper house members live in Santiago.

We followed the road to Santiago passing through a very nice resort town which has new high-rise condominiums that sell for between 20,000 and 40,000 US dollars. I learned on this tour why Chili is such a long skinny country. The guide described Chili as an island with water on one side and the Andes Mountain range on the other. He said they have closer ties to the far east than they do with Argentina. He said Argentinians are snooty because their economy is very good right now. Every time Chili's economy starts going OK, they have a flood, fire or earthquake or military coup.

The tour included a ride up San Cristobal Hill. (Looked like a mountain to me.) The guide said, "The Hill has something for everyone. When you are a child you come with your grandparents. Its a place for family picnics and having fun. When you are a little older and you don't want to go to school, you come to the hill and try to hide so the police won't take you back home. And you have some fun. Then when you are a little older, you come with your sweetheart and you have some fun. When you get older yet, you come with your secretary and you have some fun. Then when you get older, you bring your grandchildren and the whole family can have some fun."

The tour ended about 5:00 PM at the airport where we claimed our luggage and got in line at the Delta check in counter. Unfortunately there was a sign on the counter that they would open at 7:30 PM (Our flight didn't leave until 10:40 PM) The Delta counter did open at about 7 and took care of a lot of disgruntled passengers.

My suitcase is open and I have put away about 6 things. Maybe not so much put away and brought to the rooms in which they live (or on the stairway up which they will go) I have unpacked the house and bell I bought in Argentina. The house is on the kitchen table until it decided to jump onto the wall. The suitcase is still pretty full. I intent to take out any dirty clothes and throw them downstairs today, that should make a dent.

I don't want to overextend myself. I have tapes to watch.