A dog who gets sick isn't fun

I figured I needed to update the blog this week, so this will be a quick one. Jen and I have been pretty busy the past few days. Rebekah is getting more and more active and now that the weather has cooled off (finally!) it will be nice to get her playing outside. She has been doing well with walking while holding Mommy or Daddy's hand and not running off. She is understanding so many words and can actually follow basic commands, like "can you bring daddy's shoe to him?". Soon enought we'll be having conversations and she'll be talking back. Oh I can't wait! Rebekah is still going to the "Little Gym" on Saturdays and she is actually starting to participate. It's good that she is getting exposure to other kids and some exercise at the same time. Most of the time though, all she wants to do is dance to the music. She dances all the time, any time she hears the music. It's really funny. Visualize a toddler shaking her shoulders and jumping up and down. Quite the sight.

Jen and are having to get the carpets cleaned. We have been resisting doing it because we're planning on putting in hardwood floors. However, this hasn't panned out yet and it's still in the "planning" stage. In other words, I don't know when (or even if) this will happen. So we broke down and are getting them cleaned this week. They haven't been cleaned in a long time. Here is the story that finally pushed us over the edge. Jen and I had just put Rebekah down to bed and we were sitting down in front of the TV for dinner. Dinner was ready and I had just laid it out on our coffee table (which actually lifts up so its more like an actual table). Then we hear a retching sound coming from the other side of the table. Well, lo and behold, Perrin, our 8 year old Beagle, is vomiting up the entire contents of his stomach onto the carpet around and underneath the coffee table. So I get up and throw Perrin outside (not literally, but it was close), only to have to clean up the vomitus all over the carpet. I didn't know a dog had this much stuff in his stomach. Perrin was fine; the carpet, on the other hand, was not. The throw-up was mucus-y and membranous and disgusting. It was sticking to the carpet and it did not want to be picked up even with the copious amount of paper towels I was using. After almost a whole roll of paper towels, the carpet was still stained a nasty brownish-red color. We cleaned it up as best we could with some spot remover, but it's just not enough. Now this entire time, you would think Jen would be helping me clean up, right? Wrong. She was so grossed out by it she refused to even get near it. She said the smell was making her nauseated and the sight and smell of the vomit reminded her too much of a patient who threw-up on her counter a few months ago. Yes, you read that right, ON her prescription counter. You'll have to ask her about that some time; it's a hilarious story. Needless to say the dogs will not be present while the carpets are being cleaned. So that's a long way to say this is why we are having the carpets cleaned. That and the months of wear and tear on the carpet.

We also went to the eye doctor the other day and I am going to see if I can get contacts. I'm kind of over glasses. Anyway, that's all for now.

Random quote from an actual patient chart this week: "Patient is a particularly average looking middle-aged woman." Does this mean she was so average looking, it beared mentioning? While it is an accurate description of the patient, it does seem kind of weird to write it in that manner. Also, it could be kind of wrong. Still funny, but maybe wrong.

Why I didn't like New Orleans or Uneasiness in the Big Easy

So Jen and I went to New Orleans this past weekend for a concert. Before I let you all in on how awesome the show was, I wanted to expound on the title. I have been to New Orleans (NO) only one other time before this weekend. That was after a hurricane last year (I don't remember which one it was) to perform service for the people there who had had their homes destroyed. Then, I didn't really pay all that much attention to my surroundings since I was there to do a job and not sight-see. Plus, I was in some suburb that wasn't all that devistated so I didn't get to see the city. So this time around I was much more in tune to what was going on around me and taking in all the "beauty" of the city. First, when we drove in all we could see were abandoned buildings, shanty towns, and garbage. In fact, we could smell the general funk through the car, even though I had the windows closed, and the recycle inside air was on. Yeah, that bad. It was even worse when we were walking around the city. Maybe I was super sensitive to the smells because I haven't lived in a city for so long, but Charleson, Mobile, or even Albany NEVER smelled that bad. I guess it could have been the swamps surrounding NO on all sides, but I have lived near those most my life and it didn't smell like that either.

So anyway, back to the general appearance of the city. While some parts did look OK (really nice apartments next to a hollowed out shell of a building), the majority was dirty. It looked like they still haven't fully recovered from Katrina 4 years ago. Now, don't get me wrong, I know how long it takes to rebuild after a hurricane. I did live in Florida for most of my life and lived through Andrew in 1992. Maybe I was just acutely aware of the fact that they are still rebuilding and I was looking for things to complain about. But this was all secondary to the general uneasiness I felt there. I don't know why; I can't really put my finger on it, but I didn't feel comfortable there. Maybe it was the dirtiness, or maybe the stories of crime, or maybe the smells, or maybe the outlandish drunkenness and depravity and general disregard for human decency on Bourbon St., or maybe the parking ticket I got after being there only 2 hours. I don't know. Maybe it was a combination of all these things, but I just didn't feel OK. Don't get me wrong, I slept fine, because our hotel was clean and neat and everything you expect from the Ritz-Carlton's cheaper, sister hotel. Well, except for the spot of fresh blood on the shower curtain. THAT wasn't cool. We even stayed only 1 block away from Bourbon St., but it was still nice. I have been to big cities and not felt this general unease. I am not knocking NO at all, it's just not for me. There didn't seem to be much to do other than drink and gamble. Neither of which I am a fan.

It was really nice to spend time with Jen away from the stress of home. We missed Rebekah, but it was really great to have Jen's parents come and watch her for us. It was good to reconnect and get some us time. The concert was great. We had amazing seats about 100 feet from the stage. Creed rocked the house and really made me remember why I like them so much. They started off with the song Bullets complete with pyrotechnics and fireworks. Of course they played all their hits (ending up with Higher as the last song of the encore), but I really enjoyed hearing the B-sides from their earlier albums (Faceless Man, Say I, Ode, Unforgiven). Scott Stapp does look a bit older, but Scott Phillips (drummer) was awesome as usual. Mark Tremonti (guitar) is always impressive, but it was something else to see him live. I have seen Creed a couple of times before and each time they get better. Their new CD isn't out yet, but I will be sure to pick it up when it does hit stores at the end of October. StainD was also really good. I have probably seen them over half a dozen times, and they were just as good now as they were back then. Again, I enjoyed their older stuff more than their singles on the radio, but on the whole it was a great show. The only down side was the people sitting in front of us had obviously been pre-gaming and were completely drunk. They were probably in their early 40's and looked only a little out of place. One lady even passed out completely before Creed even took the stage, then continued to sleep through the rest of the show. Our tickets weren't cheap, so I couldn't understand wasting all that money only to sleep. Like I said though, it was a good time.

Quick update on everything else: Rebekah is doing well and is learning more and more each day. My job and Jen's job are going well. Basically status quo around here.

Here is the disease state of the day: Delusions of parasitosis. Had a patient with that the other day in clinic. I love my job.

I'm back

Yes, I know it's been a while since I have written on here. I have been so busy and haven't had the energy or time to write. What have you been doing, you ask? Unfortunately not too much other than living life. Jen and I went to Portland, OR, had a blast, really enjoyed our time there without our Rebekah, and learned that Portland is apparently the strip club capital of the world. Yeah, I didn't believe it either, except I saw these establishments (from the outside obviously) and how numerous they are.

School has started back which means I am super busy again. I really enjoy my job (both teaching and clinic work), but it is quite tiring. The teaching part is not only rewarding, but also fun. The clinic part is also rewarding and can be even more fun, when the patients don't get up and storm out on you. Or maybe because they do that, it's fun. I don't know. The was a fire at my clinic during the night a few weeks back. Thankfully no one was injured and the only thing that was damaged was an entire wing of the clinic. Luckily not the wing where my office is. THAT would have sucked. So the clinic still smells vaguely of smoke which is an improvement over what it smelled like the first few days after the fire. Jen is working still as well. No changes there. She still likes where she works, but she wishes she could stay home with the toddler.

Speaking of the toddler, Rebekah is doing really well. She's running (usually head-long into things, or diving head first onto the floor), talking (well babbling, but her vocabulary is expanding every day and she can actually understand most of what we are saying to her now and can do some basic sign language (I mean VERY basic)), and generally being a 16 month old. She is full of vim and vigor and LOVES to get into things she's not supposed to. The other day I had given her my keys to play with and she decides it would be more fun to throw them into the dogs' water bowl. So, as I am getting up from hearing her do this, she starts to splash in the water as if it's a bath. Then, as I am running toward her, she decides to completely flip the dogs' bowl on her head, soaking her and the kitchen floor all at once. This happened all in slow motion to me and all you need to picture me saying is "Nooooooooooooo" while diving uselessly onto the kitchen floor. Needless to say she got a bath right away and I dried my keys off as best as I could, then put them in a small bag of rice to really get the moisture out of them. Normally keys are metal and this isn't an issue. So what if they get wet, right? The problem with my keys is that I have an electronic remote door opener for my car which I figured at this point was ruined. Thankfully, after a night in some rice, the remote still opens my door. She got her fluy shot this past weekend and she was a little trooper. Rebekah only cried once the needle was in her and then stopped right away. She was a very good girl. Then after the shot, we got to go to the Little Gym and have fun playing on the equipment, chasing bubbles, and playing with balls. She really likes going, but isn't so much into any kind of structure. So she basically plays the whole time with me doing all the activities by myself. It's OK. Hopefully, she will learn soon enough that having structure can be fun too. Then again, I am not one much for structure either (this is evident after knowing me for like 3 seconds), so this may be an ongoing problem.

Jen and I are going to see Creed (with opening act StainD) next weekend in New Orleans. It's oly 2.5 hours away and Jen's mom is coming down to babysit for us on Friday night through Sunday so we can spend some more quality time together. We'll probably see a movie on Friday and go to the church for some adult volleyball, then get up on Saturday and drive to New Orleans. Don't really know what we are going to do there, since we don't drink, but I'm sure we'll find something. We got a hotel in NO so we don't have to drive back after the concert. I am excited since I haven't seen Creed in a more than a few years and it's their reunion tour, so I'm sure it will rock. It's awesome of Jen's parents to come babysit for us, but I am sure they don't mind since they'll get to spend a lot of time with their granddaughter. Jen will like the concert, but I'm sure she'll miss Rebekah, as will I. We also have season tickets to Auburn Tigers football games, but we will only go to 2 games this year and sell the rest. I am excited since it looks like, so far at least, this will be a better season than last. But then again, we have only played 2 very weak teams. Next week it's West Virginia and we will see how they hold up.

Anyway, that's enough for now. Hopefully I will be posting more regularly so I don't have to write so much all at once! One more thing: Congrats to a couple of our Charleston friends and a couple of our NY friends on their pregnancies! (not together, each couple is having their own child, of course)

Quote for the week: "Being manic isn't fun; it's kind of like a medical emergency."