I Should be Packing

I've been a little enmeshed in school and work lately. I should be packing for an overnight business trip for which I have to leave at the crrrack tomorrow, but instead I am typing and surfing.

The stress levels are pretty high. As a matter of fact I can feel the cortisol pumping up my abdomen as I type. When I get like this, I usually whip out a MeMe or a list. This time, you get a list of what's been happening...

1. Remember this post when I talked about how I ended up with a fever after buying my car? Well the fever's still lingering. I have been tracking it for over a month now and almost every evening around 5-6 I carry a low grade fever (99-100) for a few hours. Oh, and guess what? My doctor (the one I like) has moved out of the county! WTF? So when I went in about my fever a few weeks ago, I saw one of the other partners in the practice. He appears to be a very competent doctor, but he is so incredibly short. Short people don't bother me, but this guy is wee. So wee, that even though I was sitting on the reclining table and he was standing next to me, I had to bend over so he could look in my ears. I am only 5'6". I go back next week with my fever diary and we go from there. It's not my thyroid or my hormone levels, so we don't know what it may be. My gut says that it's arthritis. I hope it's arthritis and not something else. We'll see.

2. School is wearing me down, man. I have a pretty hardcore class this summer - Curriculum Theories. The dude who teaches this course has a rigid timeline - critique due one week; reflection due the next. Each critique of the individual theory is approximately 20-25 pages long with at least 15 resources, and the reflections are between 6-8 pages. It sucks hard. This week I am on a bit of hiatus because my group presents (for 3 hours) about our selected theory - Phenomenological Curriculum Theory. ZZzzzzzzzzzzzz....

3. C has been an absolute terror to her mother over the last few months. It's ugly and we are struggling to keep an even keel. Lots of crisis intervention and spending more time with her than usual. C's a very big 11 1/2 year old (5'4" and 14olbs - size 10 women's shoe!), and she's pretty much taken the bully route with her mom. Now, her mom's no petite wilted flower, but the woman is still recuperating from a pretty nasty bout of thyroid cancer. C's mom is also a weak disciplinarian; a yeller who never follows through with groundings or punishments. We don't have these issues at our house because C has always known the layout of our family dynamics from the beginning: We are a team, but I am the captain. Period. I refuse to mediate between the two, so B gets stuck in that role (too much lately). We just have to wait and see how things pan out.

4. I have only had my new car for a month and it already has a scratch. I don't know how it happened, but I am pissed. B's car was vandalized Friday night and now he's missing a back window on the driver's side. I am pissed about that as well, but not for the same reason. The scratch I know I did not do; however, B should know better to leave an empty laptop case in the backseat. GRR.

5. My niece Evie (aka Chubs, who is no longer chubby) has really warmed up to me lately. Every time I see her we have a blast with her latest - shaking hands. She'll come up and say, "Hi Debbie. Watch you doin'?" or "Hi Debbie, I Evie, Friend." I also get really sweet snooches when we say goodbye.

6. I am quite happy about the new seasons of Hell's Kitchen and Top Chef. Let's just say that Gordon Ramsey and Tom Collichio can be added to my Sexy Ugly Boys list.

I just noticed the "Aren't I a badass?" chin grasp they both have going on.