Okay, so it's not nearly as socially important as the civil rights movement but in my little world it means more than anyone could imagine.  I had the staples removed from the incision on Tuesday night...  and .... now  the dreaded pump and tube are gone! I hit 27ccs on Wednesday and couldn't wait to get it out, so I called the VON as soon as I got home from work and had it out by 7:30 Wednesday night.   So now the remains are about a 4 inch scar under my arm and a bullet hole like thing that continues to drain into a piece of gauze.  The amount going into the gauze has increased in the last couple of days but I don't care if I have to change the gauze every hour, that pump is not going back in.  I figure it's just the same thing as when the pump was in; so what's the difference in whether it's there or just leaking out through the skin.  I will keep an eye on it for signs of infection, however other than that, we are through with long term tubes (2 weeks is a long time, I don't care what people think).

On to other things....  It's the long weekend!  Funny how it doesn't mean the same thing as it did when you were in high school.  Then it was the beginning of party/camping season.  Now it just means that we get a day off work, which is not a bad thing; lol.  It's sunny/cloudy right now but I'm hoping that all the clouds leave.  They should; I'm not going camping.  Standing joke when I used to camp with my parents was that if we went on the May 24 weekend, it would rain all the way to Monday when it would clear up and be beautiful for the day you had to go home.  Not that I cared, I was 15-16 so rain never really spoiled my fun.  But this weekend, Marco and I would like to be able to go for a mini hike through Westminster Ponds.  Both of us have lived in this city for too long to never have seen the pond area.  I think that happens a lot for people who live somewhere for their entire lives.  They take for granted the things that tourists go to see.  Things like the art museum, the childrens museum, Storybook Gardens...  maybe we just figure that they will always be there.

It was sooooo good to see Annelieke last weekend.  I know we didn't do anything exciting but sometimes you don't realize how much you miss someone until you see them again.  It was good to see  my adopted daughter, Kristine and Mindy too.  Blogs are good, but sometimes we tend to censor what we put here because it is such a public forum and sometimes things are taken out of context or the wrong way.  Seeing people in person is so much better because they can tell you things, one on one, knowing that what they say is not going to fall on the wrong ears.  It's a trust issue.  I can't believe anyone would want everything that they think or do to be public knowledge.  I certainly don't envy celebrities in that manner.

Anyway, that's about it.  I'm going to Joanna's this afternoon to watch Amanda while Jo goes grocery shopping and then I think it's home for the weekend.  Nothing exciting planned, maybe a barbeque for Marco and I one night (ooooh a barbeque - how exciting!!!!  lol) but I think I'm just going to take it easy and see if I can get the bullet hole to heal up...  Will I ever stop leaking?  lol  I feel like the cartoon of the guy where he has all the bullet holes and drinks a glass of water and it starts leaking out of all the holes....  My followup with Dr. Engel is Friday, but I'm told it's just with him; not him and the oncologist (the Chemo doctor) but then again, plans change and nothing surprises me anymore where doctors are concerned...

That's about it..  Have a great long weekend kids!

except when it comes to individuals. I have none with myself, none with situations where waiting is involved. And the first part, about having patience with individuals; I have none with idiots.

so the drain, that in my perfect world would be out by last weekend, remains. I have to get down to 30ccs of output in a 24 hour period before they will remove it. I'm at 90. I figure that this unwanted, unloved device will be around for another week at least. I can't shower properly, I can't wash my hair properly - have you ever tried putting deodorant on with your fingertips cause you can't raise your arm properly because of all the stupid tape that is holding your skin in gathered sections? And tape - I have so little patience for tape. If I ever have to have so much as a bandaid after this is over, I think I'll get the liquid skin kind. Okay, rant is over now. Deep breath..

Joanna, Ryan, Marco and I are going to a wedding reception on Saturday night for a girl that Joanna went to high school with. She spent a lot of time at my house when we lived in Belmont and I can safely say is one of the nicest friends Joanna had when she was in high school. She had a bit of detour for a bit but is now married to someone she loves and I am incredibly proud to know her and her family.

Anneleike? what can I say about this one? I am SOOOOOOOOO happy that you are doing what you want to do and congrats on being called up so soon after graduation to work as a substitute. That should tell you what they thought of you. I can't wait to see you in person on the weekend. I already know that the sparkle in your eyes will have grown because of what you've accomplished.

I still love my job although it has presented certain "challenges" of late, but I try to remind myself that when you work in a place where there was no chain of command, or if there was it was loosely knit, and you try to implement a full blown hiarchy, there are bound to be growing pains and times where you should be questioning on what level decisions are made. And that it is your right to question a decision without fear of reprisal. And you know me - if there's something that's not clear or seems unfair to the peons running your company, I'll be in there questioning... lol maybe not one of my most endearing qualities, at least not to management. I'm sure past supervisors will attest to that... either way, it's work, it's not my life so it's really all good.

Amanda is growing like a weed and loves her new home. Rachel is working at East Park. They do pretty much everything so she may be either cooking your fries or serving your drink...She seems to like it. Joanna goes back to work soon so I may get the chance to watch Amanda more often which is okay with me. I can't start chemo til after the wound under my arm has healed, which can't do so til the stupid drain is removed which will be around September at the rate it's going... (oops sorry, I finished that rant - my bad lol )

Anyway, that's about it for today... later kids...