Monday, April 25, 2011

Insert Witty Title Here (AKA I haven't gone to bed yet and it's 6:15am)

I really want to go to sleep.  Truly.  Seriously.  But I would have to wake up in 3.5 hours.  I don't think that's enough sleep.  I've checked the usual suspects.

  • It's not the full moon.  
  • Mercury isn't retrograde. 
  • I didn't drink tea or coffee after 5p. (Make that tea, as I didn't have any coffee today/yesterday.) 
  • There aren't any freaky noises coming from inside or outside the house. 
  • I'm not in the middle of a gripping novel that I can't put down. 
  • I'm not engrossed in any of my "Stories".


What the hell, man?!?

Maybe it's time to back away from the computer and close my eyes.  Then again, maybe I should just start up a pot of coffee now and hope for the best.  Either way, I think it's a crap shoot.

I know... I'll flip a coin.  If I was going to be incredibly geeky about this I'd get my camera and document the coin toss.  I am now, however, feeling that ambitious, so ya'll will have to trust me on this.  WAIT!  I can do this in an appropriately geeky fashion!  Here we go....

Heads I get into bed. Tails I stay up. I'm using a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel as they don't have any NYS quarters or Sacajawea's.

And... TOSS!  OK then.... bed time it is!  Sweet Dreams.



Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Home & space

We've been home just a week now.  The trip cross country was pretty amazing, and I need to write about it.  I'm not sure how I feel being home.  I miss my Faire Family on the road.  I missed my ITown family while we were gone.  It's a give-and-take.

I feel like there is so much to do and not really a lot of time to do it.  The next officially booked show is VARF at the end of May, but I'm looking for more gigs.  I'm always looking for more gigs. :grin:

I will say that it's pretty awesome to watch DB run around the house and have more room to stretch her legs than when we're living in the Winne. That's probably one of the things that's really hitting me right now. There's so much SPACE. A separate room to priv, to cook dinner, to relax, to sleep, to play... it's CRAZY how much room there is here. :grin:

This is a pretty short post as DB is ready for snuggles and bed time. Bye Bye, Everyone! (for now!)

Friday, April 1, 2011

The timing of things

Who is it that figures out when things should open and close. Is there some secret committee that makes these decrees? Can you picture a darkened boardroom filled with cloaked figures wearing very expensive shoes as they make the decisions that affect the rest of the populous?

McDonalds... they shall be open 24-7 across the country
CVS... they shall be open 10-8 on the east coast and 9-9 on the west coast
QT... they shall be open 6-12, but only on the west coast
Target Pharmacy... they shall be open M-F from 9-9 across the country, except near Phoenix AZ where every pharmacy, minus one, will close at 7p.  That lone pharmacy will close at 9p.

I am not kidding.  I have never heard of a Target Pharmacy closing at 7p during the week.  Where's the convenience? Where's the consumerism? Where's the Love? Where's the freaking complaint box?

This is relevant, because tonight I needed to go to a Target Pharmacy to pick up an emergency inhaler. I posted earlier about the coughing. Really, it's the post prior to this one.  If you missed it, you should read it. I'll make it simple, here's the link.  I called the Target Pharmacy closest to AZRF to double check that I could pick up a refill, and they said yes.  They had the medication in stock, it would take 30 minutes to fill, and would be available within 45 minutes of the call placed by my doctor.  Julie, the helpful person on the phone, assured me that I cold pick the inhaler up tonight. This was at 6:35pm. Don't you think it would have been more helpful if Julie said, "We close at 7pm, so you may not be able to pick your prescription up tonight.  If you need it tonight, you should call the Pharmacy in Gilbert." Moving along...

My doc called me at 6:45, I gave her the number, and she called me back 10 minutes later saying the pharmacy was closed. Was I sure this was an emergency? Did I really need the inhaler tonight?

Never mind that I'm coughing like a whooping crane with a 10-pack-a-day cigarette habit, how could the Pharmacy be closed?   I just talked to Julie!  I reasurred my doc that I really did need the inhaler and she said she'd call me back in 5.

I looked up and called 6 Target Pharmacies in 5 minutes.  I shit you not, every single one was closed except for the one in Gilbert.

Gilbert is 28.5 miles away.  I drove an hour (round trip) because that was the only available & cost effective option. W.T.F.

The happy part of this story is that I was able to get my inhaler, and my breathing is less laboured.  I can take a full breath and not cough! Mind, I'm still coughing, but not as much thanks to the mucinexDM.  I am incredibly grateful that the Gilbert Target Pharmacy was open.  I'm incredibly grateful that my NY doctor called the refill in for me.  I'm incredibly grateful that my breathing is improving.

I am, however, still pissed at the boardroom of faceless decision makers. To them I say, "Fie! You are fools (and not the good kind with the silent E at the end)! You are miscreants who make others lives more difficult. You are PITA'S!!!!!"  I would say other things to these faceless decision makers, but my brain can't think of anything else witty to say.  I'm sure I'm also somewhat distracted by their lovely shoe-ware.  I do get distracted by the shiny things.

You know, I feel much better having gotten this off my chest.  I've only coughed a handful of times, too. That's Progress!

Love,
Mel

PS:  The SuperTarget is pretty snazzy.  Not only does it have all the regular Target stuff, but everything is laid out differently AND there's a supermarket area.  The best part of this, however, can be summed up in two words: Chobani Yogurt!  Yes, the elusive Chobani, that I crave and can find sometimes, but not every time, at Wal-Mart-o' Doom was there in full force.  They even had flavours I'd never seen before!  Lemon and Mango (two separate flavours).  Gotta take the good with the PITA'S with the yogurt, I guess.   G'night all!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

The plague - I haz it

I would just like to say that hacking my lungs out and having a fever suck. My hope is the fever will be gone by tomorrow, but this cough... this hacking, horrible, asthma-inducing, bronchial cough of doom sucks. It just sucks. Seriously, it sounds like I have a 10-pack-a-day cigarette habit.  Also, the coughing makes my head hurt in fantastic ways.  How fantastic? Well, my eyeballs feel like they're going to explode. Yeah.... good times.

OK.  Now that I've got that off my chest I'm going to have some more tea, heat up some wonton soup, and pack.

Love,
Mel

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Today

I was pregnant  two years ago.
My world was different, on the cusp of change.
At 12:57 pm my world shifted, and has never been the same. 

The words Happy Birth Day have taken on a whole new meaning for me. 

There is so much more laughter, love and music in my life all because of Her. 

Happy Birthday, My Shana Madela, My Joy, My Love.  

Friday, March 18, 2011

Today I remember

I'm supposed to be doing other things right now.  I should be showered, have the trash thrown out, and be nearly off-site for my errands so I can be back ON site by 1:00.  I'm not.  I'm sitting at the kitchen table, "How To Train Your Dragon" is playing, and I've just finished breakfast.  I've updated my twitter accounts.  I've updated my facebook.  I've cried. Now, I'm updating my blog.

Today is my Poppy's birthday.  I don't have any pictures handy or I'd post one right now.  Mom and Pop married when I was in the 3rd grade.  It was the second marriage for both of them.  My Pop adopted me when I was 34, 3 months before my Mom passed. Poppy and I were never really close before then.  Don't misunderstand me, I loved him.  Poppy just didn't always "get" me.  Truthfully, no one in my family really "got" me, but that's beside the point.  Pop and I had things in common, especially our love of music, but for so many reasons we just weren't close.  After Mom passed Pop withdrew from the world.  He kept everyone, friends and family, at arms length.  All the while he was struggling with a lot of things.  He never recovered from Mom's passing, and I think that escalated his health issues.  All of that changed in the 18 months before he passed.

It was clear that he had been struggling for a while, but things got to a point where someone needed to intervene.  I wish we had intervened sooner as it might have changed some things, but if wishes were horses we'd all be trampled by now.

The 18 months were hard.  I watched his mind fade.  I watched his health decline.  I tried to help him keep his feet in this reality, and after a few months he let me.  I wouldn't trade those months for anything.  As much as I miss him, the fact that he passed at home where he was comfortable, is the best thing that could have happened.  Believe what you will after the body dies, I have to believe that he's with our family.  He's reunited with my Mom, who was the love of his life. I can't be sad about that.

There's a whole wiki page about bereavement in the Jewish faith.  One of the things we do is light a yahrtzeit candle.

Yahrtzeit, יאָרצײַט, means "Time (of) Year" in Yiddish.[13] (Alternative spellings include yortsayt (using the YIVO standard Yiddish orthography), Yohr Tzeit,yahrzeit, and yartzeit.) The word is also used by non-Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews, and refers to the anniversary of the day of death of a relative. Yahrtzeit literally means "time of [one] year".

My family has always been a little different.  Rather than only light the yahrtzeit on the anniversary of the death, my family chose to also light the yahrtzeit on the person's birthday.  My Mom and Gram always said they did that so they could remember the person's life rather than focus on the day that person had passed.

Today I'm going to light a yahrtzeit for my Pop. Tonight I'm going to eat Chinese food and drink bloody mary's in his honour.  I will say the Mourner's Kaddish, and I will remember him.  I will remember him teaching me how to count 16th notes at the dinner table.  I will remember his office, full of pipes and eyeballs.  I will remember his love of jazz and big band music.  I will remember how he threw handfuls of mashed potatoes on our dinner plates once, but never again.  I will remember his love of musicals.  I will remember everything I can, all the while relating these stories to my daughter. I miss my Pop, but he's really not gone as long as I can remember him.

Love you, Poppy.  You, the Biggest Shanie, will be remembered today by me and my daughter, who is the Littlest Shanie.


 
Yisgadal v'yiskadash sh'mei rabbaw (Cong. Amein).
May His great Name grow exalted and sanctified (Cong. Amen.)

B'allmaw dee v'raw chir'usei
in the world that He created as He willed.

v'yamlich malchusei,b'chayeichon, uv'yomeichon,
May He give reign to His kingship in your lifetimes and in your days,

uv'chayei d'chol beis yisroel,
and in the lifetimes of the entire Family of Israel,
 
ba'agawlaw u'vizman kawriv, v'imru: Amein.
swiftly and soon. Now respond: Amen.
 
(Cong: Amein. Y'hei sh'mei rabbaw m'vawrach l'allam u'l'allmei allmayaw)
(Cong Amen. May His great Name be blessed forever and ever.)

Y'hei sh'mei rabbaw m'vawrach l'allam u'l'allmei allmayaw.
May His great Name be blessed forever and ever.

Yis'bawrach, v'yishtabach, v'yispaw'ar, v'yisromam, v'yis'nasei,
Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled,
   
v'yis'hadar, v'yis'aleh, v'yis'halawl sh'mei d'kudshaw b'rich hu
mighty, upraised, and lauded be the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He

(Cong. b'rich hu).
(Cong. Blessed is He)

L'aylaw min kol birchawsaw v'shirawsaw,
beyond any blessing and song,
 
tush'b'chawsaw v'nechemawsaw, da'ami'rawn b'all'maw, v'imru: Amein
praise and consolation that are uttered in the world. Now respond: Amen.

(Cong. Amein).
(Cong. Amen).

Y'hei shlawmaw rabbaw min sh'mayaw,v'chayim
May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and life
 
awleinu v'al kol yisroel, v'imru: Amein
upon us and upon all Israel. Now respond: Amen.

(Cong. Amein).
(Cong. Amen).

Oseh shawlom bim'ro'mawv, hu ya'aseh shawlom,
He Who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace,
 
awleinu v'al kol yisroel v'imru: Amein
upon us and upon all Israel. Now respond: Amen.

(Cong. Amein).
(Cong. Amen).

Thursday, March 10, 2011

A quickie!

Just a quick post as DB finishes up her afternoon nap.

I have purple shamrocks blooming in my house.  Purple.  Shamrocks.  I ADORE Purple Shamrocks.  I realize it may not be easy to SEE the purple against the maroon curtain, but trust me the shamrocks are purple.


I have a St. Pat's Gig!
I'll be playing with Eddie Jeff Cahill and others at The Firehouse for St. Pats. More details as I get them!

Apparently it's time to wake DB up from her nap.  Why do I know this?  Because Lyric always jumps on the bed to lick the child when nap time is over. WTF?

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