2008

Archive for the year 2008

Thanksgiving at Cherry Creek

Posted on November 21, 2008 by Ching under Family, Flickr, Food and Drink.

Had dinner with Brian’s parents, grandparents, and their friend John last night at Cherry Creek. Here are some photos…

Grandma and grandpa Brubaker invited me to come to the annual Thanksgiving supper at Cherry Creek Health Care Center tonight. That is how I met Mr. Enoch. He was playing the piano while everyone ate. I found out that this is the second time that he has played piano for the residents of Cherry Creek.

Mr. Enoch, 92, played piano beautifully. Donna, my mother-in-law, chatted with his wife while he played. Mrs. Enoch told us that Mr. Enoch was mayor of Wichita in the late 60s.

I did some research and found this to be true. According to the City of Wichita’s web site, Mr. Enoch served as mayor from 1969 to 1970. He also served as city commissioner during the following periods: 1967-1968, 1968-1969, and 1970-1971.

[ NOTE: This is my first submission to the 100 Strangers project. ]

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Had Dinner with Jen at Hanna Today

Posted on November 18, 2008 by Ching under Family, Life, Toys, Videos.

I told Brian that Jen told me she had been doing really well with saving money and wanted to take me out to dinner. I was like, “Great. I don’t want to be responsible for her relapse back into irresponsibility.” After she told me everything that has been going on, I felt so bad that I was obligated to buy dinner. =P (Not that things are bad, she just has a lot of expenses and needs to save what she can.)

We went to Lucinda’s after dinner. I love that store! I got me a business card holder. I’d been wanting one for the last four years for a nice one, I finally just decided to buy one for myself. It cost twice as much as I really wanted to spend on one, but it is pretty and Brian didn’t seem to flinch when I told him the price so I guess it is okay. Anyway, I like it a lot and that’s what really matters.

P.S. The video above was taken at Hanna while I was showing Jen my Mini 9. I told her she needed to vlog. I think we will need to revive her old blog with videos and podcasts.

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My Productive Sick Day

Posted on November 18, 2008 by Ching under Family, Life.

[also known as the “Life is Too Short” blog post]

So I was really miserable on Sunday. My body felt like it was beat by a mallet all over. I was so miserable that I considered not eating. My stomach was like, I’m so hungry. But then my body was like, I’m so weak; blech; eating is for wimps.

I had to seriously think if it was worth getting up out of bed to fix myself something for dinner. You know what I realized? I will never ever starve to death — because I will feed myself even if it kills me. Yup, I’m a wimp.

You know how some people actually lose a lot of weight when they are sick? Not happening to me. I like to eat too much. And, I found out, my body is good at that self-preservation thing. =P

I knew I needed to rest up and go see the doc, but Brian insisted that I take the day off on Monday — so I did. I got up with my alarm, though. Went ahead and called in absent. Then I had to wait until it was 8:00 am to make an appointment with Dr. Thomas. The first available appointment was Tuesday at 10:20 am. I really wanted to get in that day, but you take what you can get. I went back to sleep after that.

A couple of hours later I got a call back from the doctor’s office. The lady said they had a cancellation and asked if I could come in at 3:10 pm. Of course, I could. The sooner, the better. After how miserably I felt on Sunday, I wanted to be medicated (officially medicated, that is, I’d been taking whatever I could find at home). I was thinking, how lucky am I? I set my alarm for noon and went back to bed. I was so out of it.

I felt much better on Monday than I did on Sunday, though. I was breathing a little better. Then again, I was also self-medicating. I had taken some left over Prometh VC with Codeine Barre. That stuff always makes me feel good. Well, it knocks me out so I forget how bad I’m feeling.

I got up, showered, and got ready. I had a few hours to spare before my appointment so I took the opportunity to stop by Randy Cooper to get my Diversity Champions watch adjusted. We were told on Saturday when we were there that it would cost $7.50 (Belden’s was going to charge $10.00 so I was like Randy Cooper’s it is). The nice woman took the watch back to the jeweler and they adjusted it (just needed three links taken out) while I waited. She brought the watch back to me and when I asked about paying, she said not to worry about it. No charge. Wow, it really was shaping up to be one lucky day.

Then I still had time to spare so I stopped by Mom and Dad B’s. David was at work, but Donna was home. I hung out there for a little while until it was time to go to the doctor. I got winded going up and down the stairs a couple of times, but not nearly as bad as when I had to pick up OJ at Target on Sunday after dropping Brian off at the airport. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

I arrived at the doctor’s office at 3:08 pm and didn’t have too wait long. They called my name and put me in the Corvette room. Sat there and waited a bit longer this time. Dr. Thomas finally came. Brian insisted that I tell him everything that I’ve taken: two DayQuil, one NyQuil, and lot of that Prometh VC cough syrup stuff.

My fever from Sunday was gone, but I still had 99+ temperature. I was also still wheezing, but considerably less than on Sunday when I could hardly breathe at all. Anyway, doc gave me this inhaler stuff (which I had before when I had bronchitis) to help open up my lungs and put me on Azithromycin. I’d never been on Azithromycin before. Anyway, I like it because I only have to be on it for five days: two on the first day and then once a day for the next four days.

I’m not too fond of taking medicine (actually, you know when I’m feeling really bad because that’s the only time I take stuff — I refuse to take anything unless I absolutely have to) because they tend to get stuck in my throat and choke me. I despise tablets. Caplets and capsules are more tolerable, but I prefer the liquid stuff when available. I have a pill phobia that even extends to birth control pills, which are teeny tiny. I can’t handle pills at all. Anyway, I wonder if I’m getting a better handle on my pill phobia because I’m doing okay with my antibiotics right now. So far, so good at least.

Incidentally, I’m glad that Randy Cooper didn’t charge for getting my watch adjusted because I had to pay $30 for my Azithromycin. Whatever happened to $4 prescriptions? Ugh.

Speaking of, my prescription took 45 minutes to fill so I went and stopped by my parents’ house while I was waiting. I hadn’t seen them in months because of a falling out my mom and I had. It’s a long story. Anyway, it could have been the product of several things: [a] guilt — here I am wearing my Diversity Champions watch but I was being really prideful and stupid, [b] I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason and I took the 45-minute wait as a sign — I figured it was a sign from above that I should go see my mom and, finally, [c] life is too short to stay angry — I got to hang out with Jan on Veterans Day because Brian had to work (Viega doesn’t observe it) and she was telling me about stuff that she had gone through, which is kind of like what I was going through.

Long story short, I went over there and everything was fine. It was like they’d been waiting for me to come around all along. I felt like the prodigal child, except not so prodigal. At least, I don’t think so although I did throw kind of a temper tantrum. Brian said he is really proud of me for taking that step. He’d been trying to talk me into calling or seeing my parents all this time. People can be stubborn sometimes, though, and so was I. He said if he only knew that all it took was me getting sick, he would’ve gotten me sick sooner. =P

I don’t know if it was sickness or if the stars were aligned just right. Whatever it was, I’m glad. I feel like my lungs aren’t the only things getting better this week, but my heart as well. Now, I can be a true Diversity Champion.

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I Miss Him Already

Posted on November 16, 2008 by Ching under Life.

I dropped Brian off at the airport today. His flight hasn’t even left the ground and I miss him already. This is the first time in the ten years that we’ve been together that he won’t be around to take care of me while I’m sick. I guess I just have to suck it up.

Normally, he will go to the store for me while I lay in bed and rest. I will have to fend for myself this week (like when I stopped at Target to pick up some OJ on the way home). He will be gone for a full week and won’t be back until Saturday. I don’t know how I will survive. I will have to arrange my own doctor’s appointment and drive myself to the doctor’s office and everything. Ugh. I miss you so much, baby!