Someone Hugged Us

Oh God-- it was terrible.

Last Wednesday I met Matt on Boylston Street after I was done with the gym and he was done with classes. It was so cute-- if that romantic music that plays when people in movies meet up atop some rolling hill sprinkled abundantly with wildflowers could have burst out of the bar we were next to, it probably would have. We met with this wonderful "I'm so glad to see you and I couldn't wait another moment even though it was only two and a half hours" embrace that seemed to last forever.

Well, forever until some strange man embraced us, too.

Seriously-- this guy just came up to us, wrapped his arms around us, and held on. At first I thought it was some friend of Matt's from class... then I realized that he's not friends like that with anybody from school, so I prayed that it was one of his buddies from home who just happened to run into us on the streets of Boston... but alas, it was neither of these two more acceptable run-ins. It was, in fact, some weird guy in a denim coat without any front teeth.

When I realized what exactly was going on, all of the flower-coated-hills-and-romantic-movie-music stopped abruptly. There was a strange man hugging us. I pushed him off and, stunned speechless, gave him a dirty look. Matt just stood there, shocked. The guy's face clouded and he frowned, then said rather ashamedly "I'm sorry... I just... couldn't help myself." I think I made some kind of disgusted guttural grunt, and a second later, the guy was walking away, lost in the crowd. A few minutes later, Matt and I recovered and walked away towards the T for home, wondering aloud about what'd just occurred.

Sigh. People are so weird.

Like Joan Baez, But Different

How many phone calls does it take to remember your friend's birthday?

I must have called Kate five times today, in addition to sending her a card and a present a couple of days ago that she talked about a couple of times today, and not once during any of the first four telephone conversations did I remember what today was. But then on the fifth I remembered. I'm such a good friend.

Ok, that's it for now. I'm in Boston and had to pull myself away from this four-days-long lovefest to update, and I'm about to get some, and clearly that's more important than any of you Noodle fans. No offense or anything, but who cares if you're offended anyway by that last statement-- not me!!

Have a good week, everyone!

Someone Stole My Soup

Ok, I'm sure nobody stole it... but somebody definitely threw it away. It was matzo ball soup, homemade by yours truly, and there were three matzo balls and about a cup of my very own vegetable broth, frozen, sitting out next to my lunch box (see here for what I bring my lunch into work in) in a large Chinese food soup container on the table in the nurse's lounge at work. And I really wanted that soup... because I was having a really shitty day. The shittiest day at work I've had in months, actually. My patients were very sick, I hadn't had a chance to do ANY of my paperwork all day long... it was the first chance I had to eat anything or even have a drink of water (I hadn't even had a chance to take a pee break) since 6am and it was 3:15pm... and it was what I was looking forward to eating all morning long.

But when I finally had a chance to take my very first break of the day and I went into the lounge to retrieve my long-awaited lunch, it was gone.

I hate everyone.

Thankfully I'd also brought a bag of grapes, some noodles and a bag of microwave popcorn... but I wanted that soup! And it's not like I could go down to the cafeteria and buy something else to eat-- I stopped bringing money to work a couple weeks ago because when I did, all I bought were french fries and all I've been doing lately is getting fatter.

Sigh.

Anyway, today is a new day. I'm not at work, so it's a better day by default. I pumped up the tires on my bicycle and took a little ride around the neighborhood. And of course, I had some matzo ball soup. Yum.

I Miss My Bing Friends

I don't know if I've become a recluse, have settled into my work-gym-home-Boston routine too much, or what, but I've been terrible at keeping in touch with most of my Bing friends... especially those from The First Four Years.

Things have been changing little by little though, and even if I've been really bad at seeing people, I've been trying to catch up with them via email or the phone a bit more. That being said, Natty Jayne told me she had an interview in my neighborhood scheduled for today, and seeing as how I was off from work, I jumped on the opportunity to see my friend. Here are the results:




We met at a local diner and for 45 minutes had the best visit we've had in several years (albeit the only visit we've had in several years). She told me her upcoming schedule and I can't wait to make plans to go out to visit her soon! Hopefully I'll be able to see the rest of my friends who live out on Long Island, too. I miss you guys!

No Such Thing As Too Excited

[I wrote this a million years ago and now I'm not quite sure why I never posted it... but I know that you were really begging for it, you were just too embarrased to let me know. So here it is-- another late-ass post!!]

Really, I can't explain it. Now that I'm on a gym kick, all I can think about is the next time I can get there for a really good workout. It's like I'm some kind of addict seeking out my next fix. Unless I've been off from going to the gym for a couple of days because I'd just worked the weekend and it closes too early for me to get there after I leave the hospital and instead of working out, all I do is go home to sit around and eat and eat and eat... not like that ever happens though. Whatever. Shut up.

Anyway, right now I'm looking forward to time passing a little bit. I don't really enjoy wishing away time... and God and everyone else knows I could wait a couple of days before wanting to go back to work. I just can't wait for the next time I get to work out!

I have finally discovered the thigh machines. I asked one of the trainers for help in locating them the other day, and the girl pointed me to the appropriate location and showed me how to use them. You know the ones I'm talking about, right? They're the ones where you have to squeeze your thighs together or push them as far apart as they'll go. Yeah, that's right. They're the sex machines. Appropriately nicknamed because that's all it looks like you're practicing for when you're using them. Open your legs wide... now squeeze them shut... open wide, squeeze shut... open wide.... Well, you get the picture.

So, I was talking about my excitement with Craig. In our conversation, you can tell just how much he enjoys my enthusiasm for exercise:

Me: Want to know something scary?
Craig: Clearly.
Me: I'm looking forward to tomorrow...not because I want to go to work, but because I can't wait to get back to the gym!
Craig: Ew, fuck you! You disgust me!
Me: I know! Today I asked "Didi" what machines would help me work out my inner thighs, and the exercises felt painfully great, so I can't wait to go do them again. I know you're supposed to wait a day in between, so tomorrow I'm going to do arms which I skipped today. And then watch out on Wednesday because it's going to be all about the thighs!
Craig: I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.
Me: Ew. You're way grosser than I am. Wait... was that in reaction to what I just said?
Craig: Yes!
Me: Oh.

Heh. Whatever. He's just jealous.

My Dentist Is So Dumb

It's true-- I used to go to this really cute little dental office in Hawthorne. Working there was a husband and wife team of dentists, their mother(in-law) as a receptionist, and a really great team of hygeinists. I used to go to the husband, who is gentle and kind, and who specializes in pediatric dentistry. What could be better?

But now, since I have different dental insurance (read: any dental insurance as opposed to none), I have to go to this other dental office in White Plains... and let me tell you, it's nuts there. I had an appointment for an exam a week and a half ago to take X-rays and basically for the dentist to figure out where I am as far as cavities and tooth decay. When I got there, I waited for a long time, then finally they called me into the office. A technician took about a thousand X-rays of my mouth, then told me to go back to the waiting room, and I dutifully returned. Then five minutes later, they called me back in, stuck me in another room and let me sit there waiting for the dentist to come in. Ten minutes later he waltzed into the little exam room, mask over his face, asked how I was without looking at me or listening to my response, and launched into a description of the dental work I would need to have taken care of for my cavities in the upcoming weeks. Then he said goodbye and told me I could leave. When I went to the desk to make appointments, I said to the clerk, "By the way-- who was that? He didn't even introduce himself." She shrugged her shoulders and told me who he was, made my appointments for me, and sent me on my way.

So anyway, then I went back there on Thursday for a cleaning and an apparent placement of a cap on one of my teeth. They took me right away for the cleaning, but the entire time it was going on, the hygeinist kept talking about how it was so much harder to be a dental against than a nurse, and how the education was so much more arduous, and how that even someone who has gone through dental school has to take all new classes if they want to be a hygeinist because it's so prestigious and blah blah blah. I wanted to punch the guy in the face, it was so annoying. But then again, he was the guy chipping away at my mouth with that terrible giant fish hook thing... so I thought better of that.

Whatever though. When I was done getting the cleaning, I went into another exam room to see the dentist. This time it was a different dentist, though this one didn't introduce himself to me either. He told me he was going to put a cap on my tooth and asked me to point to where I was having tooth pain. When I asked if I'd still be able to wear my retainer and about the exact location of the cavity, he told me that no, I would not be able to wear the retainer since that was the tooth that was going to get the cap... but that I didn't have to worry since I didn't have any cavities. I was so confused. I asked him why I needed my teeth drilled and filed down if I didn't have any decay and he was like... um...

Ugh. So I refused the cap, stating that I didn't want to have anything drastic done with my teeth until I actually had a problem, and that if there was no decay, I didn't want any drilling. So he got pissed off that I took up his time for nothing and told me I could go.

I hate this. I don't believe that I don't have any cavities, but I don't know what to do about it. One dentist says I do, another says I don't. These guys don't have any idea what they're doing. I want to go back to my old dentist and get good care again. Grrr.

I'm Too Young For This

Last December I went to the gynecologist for an annual checkup. She informed me that I had high blood pressure, which I'd secretly been ignoring but had kind of known about for the past year. So she started me on a diuretic (which I thought I was too young for but decided to take anyway since I'm not in the mood to have chronic hypertension and all of the health issues that can arise secondary to it) and told me to see my primary care physician soon. Then my lab results came back and it was discovered that I have ridiculously high cholesterol... So I really needed to see my PCP sooner than later. I called her office a month ago, made an appointment for today, and have just now returned home.

I also went to the dentist today for the first time in two years (I know, I'm awful at keeping up with my oral hygiene) and found out some other stuff that I'd been fearing lately-- that I have a ton of cavities, need a cap or a crown or something for one of my teeth, and need to have one of my wisdom teeth taken out by an oral surgeon. Ugh.

But anyway, back to the doctor. So she took my blood pressure and it was in fact high despite the diuretic I've been taking (though I didn't take it this morning for whatever reason). Then she did an EKG which came out slightly abnormal (I always knew I wasn't really normal) and decided I needed an echocardiogram with doppler to see, just to be sure, if something wasn't the matter with my heart. "And given your family history," she said, "why don't we throw in a renal ultrasound and have you see a nephrologist in, say, a month. And see me again in two weeks to see how a different diuretic handles your blood pressure."

So I have an appointment with the dental hygienist and the dentist for a cleaning and some work on Thursday, then over the next two weeks I have appointments for my cardiovascular and renal diagnostic tests, and I made an appointment with my PCP for a month from now since it was too hard for me to schedule it for two weeks from now. And when I go to work tomorrow I will pick up my prescription for the different diuretic as well as ask one of the nephrologists who works on my floor if she'll take me on as a new patient.

Sheesh. I really am a high maintenance type of girl.