Still Sick

Called in sick today... for Nanay duty. She's actually my Lola (grandmother), but we grew up calling our grandmothers "Nanay" (mother) because that's what we heard our parents call them.

Anyway, I'm too congested to handle the demands of a 92 year old woman who needs the heater to stay at 70 degrees all night and who needs to be repositioned three times before she's satisfied enough to close her eyes at 11:30p, to awaken at 2a to use the bathroom, then repositioned another three times, to awaken again at 5a to use the bathroom then insist on moving to her armchair in the living room, leaving me to try to reclaim sleep on the neighboring armchair or couch, but I have to be ready to possibly take her to the bathroom again at 7a.

I do this Monday, Tuesday and Friday nights. My mom does Wednesday & Thursday night. My aunt gets her every day during the day & early evenings, and dall day on weekends. She works graveyard so my mom and I split the evenings during the week. I get worn out & weary to the point of desperate frustration just in my three nights. I don't know how my aunt handles seven days a week. It is true that as people age, they revert to childish ways. My grandmother babbles when she speaks, and so slowly at that. She is stubborn, never heeding our warnings, and she believes she can still ambulate independently when she really can't. But I love her and I know she's not long for this earth, so I draw on every reserve of patience I have left to be there for her. What's a few hours sleep in exchange for no regrets?

Anyway, I've never called in sick for Nanay duty before, because it requires either my mom to replace me or my aunt to call in sick. I must've sounded awful on the phone today because my aunt didn't even hesitate and told me to stay home and rest.

I stayed up all night last night, not able to get comfortable. I can't sleep when I can hear myself wheezing. It's almost 1a and I'm watching Giada eating her way around Chicago on the Food Network, because again, I'm not close to being sleepy. I'm closer to being hungry than sleepy. Now it's Paula Dean, who cracks me up. I love her Southern accent. And she always manages to have some really handsome assistants.

I read a really good book today. "Love, Rosie" by Cecelia Ahern. The whole book is a collection of emails, letters and IM exchanges that spans more than 30 years in the live of Rosie and Alex, best friends since elementary. It's really quite clever and entertaining. They're two people who seem so right for each other, but the stars never seem to align for them. I enjoyed it greatly and now I'm curious to read Ahern's other books.

I've also been reading the Left Behind series, a fictional account of life after the Rapture. It's Christian fiction that mostly reads like a suspense/thriller, but even when you suspend your disbelief..or belief... to accept it as fiction, it still doesn't quite cut it. Yet I'm somewhat motivated to complete the series.

You ever feel so desperate for sleep you wanna cry?

But I'm hungry now. Damn you, Paula Dean!

Meet the Robinsons

I watched the screener for Meet the Robinsons this past Monday, and gotta tell you, if you watch it, make sure you go to a 3-D show. It's amazing!

I wasn't too hyped about wearing 3D glasses the whole time I was watching, but you soon forget you're wearing them because the 3-D effects were pretty damn cool. If you're motion sensitive, you may want to sit way in the back, then it's not too overwhelming.

The movie itself was entertaining. Even though I've seen the trailers a hundred times, when the T-rex said, "I've got a big head and little arms," I still laughed. Maybe because there is more to his bit part. What really got me though was the attention to detail, even down to the reflection of the characters on glass windows and anything shiny.

I never know when something is shown at a review screener if the general public gets to see it, too, but if you go to a 3-D showing, you may get to see a preview of a U2 concert in 3-D. If that's the future of concerts, I may never go to a live one again. It was that awesome. There was also an old Chip & Dale cartoon redone in 3-D and that certainly brought back memories. Kinda eased the old-timers into the new 3-D experience.

Ramblings of the Sick, Bored & Not Sleepy

Ugh. I hate being sick. I can't find my zinc tablets and I'm too lazy to go to the store for more. Gareth is sick, too, so I can't ask him to go to the store for me. My throat feels itchy, it hurts to swallow and my ears feel like you can land a plane in them. Yeah, my ears don't get plugged up when I'm sick, they feel like they're ..dilated..for lack of a better description. So..hmm..either you could land a plane in them or they're 'bout to give birth.

No, I'm not on any drugs right now. I'm trying to take a more homeopathic approach to my illness(es). I found honey with ground cinammon works on a sore throat real well, and it seems to keep my wheezing down. Simple colds can wreak havoc on my lungs. I can usually keep my asthma under control with Albuterol, Advair or Singulair, but even with insurance, Advair & Singulair are outrageously expensive. So I've been surviving on Albuterol for now. To my numerous medical professional friends, if you know of where I can score some Advair or Singulair samples, help a sister out. Kidding. Well, not really.

Like I said, I'm trying to take a more homeopathic approach and so I scoured the internet for asthma remedies. That's where I got the honey & cinnamon thing, which kinda works. Another suggestion was to boil 8-10 cloves of garlic in 1/2 cup of milk. The only instructions though were to take at night. Doesn't say if you drink just the milk or if you chug the garlic down, too. If it's the latter, then eeww. No thanks. Anyway, I ordered a couple of things from Native Remedies that I'm hoping might help. It's $45 in naturopathic stuff versus spending $300 on pharmaceuticals.

I haven't been really, really sick in a while. Zinc and B12 have been helpful this winter. But I probably over did it earlier this week, laughing my head off at my cousin's shower Saturday, playing frisbee in the park with Gareth on Sunday and then working on the yard on Monday, then catching a screener of "Meet the Robinsons" Monday night. Then my grandmother's been waking up at 3 a.m. and refusing to go back to sleep. I take her out to her armchair in the living room and I try to get comfortable in the armchair next to her. Two nights in a row we did this. I have to be a light sleeper when I'm with her, which I'm used to, but an armchair is not conducive to sleep, light or not. So, yeah. I'm a bit rundown right now.

I have two nights to recuperate, so here I am at 8:30p on a Wednesday night, in bed and do you think I'm sleepy? Nope. I just watched the whole first season of The Loop. Funny, clever but not sleep-inducing which I need TV shows I watch in bed to be. I'm tempted to crack open Book 6 of the Left Behind series that I've been plowing through. I am curious to find out who assasinates the Antichrist, but I have a feeling, since it's a pretty easy read, I'll be starting Book 7 by 9:30p.

Gareth is happily snoring beside me. And, really, I am very tired and I wish I could join him. But my mind doesnt want to turn off. Not that I feel like I have a lot on my mind. I'm even spacing out as I type. There are dogs running on the ad at the top of this page that says "My dog Red has run away, catch him for a reward!" and I get hypnotized trying to keep track of the red dog. It's almost as annoying as that ad for the smileys where out of the blue someone's yelling, "Hello!?" which never fails to scare the shit out of me.

Hey, isn't it results shows for American Idol and Dancing with the Stars tonight? Can't find the remote. Oh, well.

Gareth woke up, and now he's watching The Loop episodes that he missed when he fell asleep. Still funny, clever. Still not sleep-inducing. Lost will be on soon. Knowing me, that's when I'll fall asleep. Gareth just read my blog and said, "Aww, honey, you can ask me to go to the store if you need something. Doesn't mean, I'll go, but you can always ask."

Yawning now. That's good, right?

Coupledom

Bridal showers are such happy occasions. Last night was my cousin's bridal shower and it was a hoot. The first half was ladies only and then the men came after 3p. We played silly games and had great food and then it was a good time to just chill with other couples. That's when I realized, with my cousin getting married, my circle of cousins & friends that I've hung out with since junior high and up would now all be hitched.

I make friends slowly, but once we're friends, we're friends for life. Even if we lose touch and never see each other again, I will always remember them as a friend. But I have a group of friends I consider my "inner circle" and they are my three best friends from high school, very good friends from college years and my cousins. No one gets booted out of my inner circle even if we haven't been "actively" friends in a while, because the bond remains regardless. They are my friends not only because we share some interests and get along well, but during tahe course of our friendship, we've entrusted each other with secrets or supported each other during life changing experiences.

With Grace getting married, my inner circle will be its own Coupledom since all will be married or semi-permanently partnered. Since this is my inner circle, I see myself the hub that connects these couples, and while some of them may not be in each other's inner circle, they all know each other and I can see them comparing their marriage or partnerships. I do this myself, and I know how others may find their own relationship lacking or succeeding more in certain areas than other(s). Some find this a challenge, and work on their relationships to equal or surpass what they see as ideal. Some find satisfaction and settle in their happiness. This isn't a new phenomena exclusive to couples, we did it as singles and as naturally as women look at an outfit and wonder why it looks better on someone else.

So, no, it's not a perfect coupledom, and I know of at least a couple of partnerships that are struggling to keep it together. You know how nothing's permanent, there are no guarantees in life, yada-yada. But with Grace's upcoming wedding, I feel like my inner circle is reaching an apex of sorts. Though we'll continue forward from that point on, with more life changing experiences and momentous occasions, I can see looking back at this moment in time as when the coupledom of my inner circle was at its most complete, if not most perfect.

I mean...

I Mean....
Got this from Tracy, one of my favorite bloggers and an online AOL buddy from way back when (ManilaManila & PinoyPinay chat rooms. Man. Those were the days.) This was funny. You should try it with your name. I was going to post it as a bulletin, but I have a lot of young nieces and nephews on my friends list. Besides, it's not quite accurate (I don't drink at all because I'm such a light weight), but there's definitely a theme here, huh? Hurray for E's and I's. But Tracy's got more profound streams of consciousness on her blog: www.wongton.com

i mean

G : You never let people tell you what to do.
E : Great in bed
N: .You like to drink ALOT.
E : Great in bed
V : You are not judgemental.
I : Great in bed.
E : Great in bed
V : You are not judgemental.
E : Great in bed
---------------------------

A : you like to drink.
B : You like people.
C : You are really silly.
D : one in a million.
F : You are dead sexy
E : Great in bed
G : You never let people tell you what to do.
H : You have a very good personality,looks and a very good kisser
I : Great in bed.
J : People Adore you
K : You're wild and crazy.
L : Unbelievably great in bed.
M : best kisser ever
N: .You like to drink ALOT.
O: awesome kisser.
P : You are popular with all types of people.
Q : You are a hypocrite.
R : Fuckin Crazy.
S : Easy to fall in love with.
T : .You're loyal to those you love
U : You are really silly.
V : You are not judgemental.
W : You are very broad minded.
X : You never let people tell you what to do.
Y : best boy/girl friend any one can ask for.
Z : Always ready.