Kevin's Watch

I'm relieved... I finally transfered out of an independent study physics class into an ind. AP History class that is totally more my style (and more useful for me in college). Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.

Also, my Accounting teacher reminds me of Cho!

Groggy. I think this coffee is decaf. Bleurgh.

Oi. Algebra is the most boring class in the history of.... school. But hey, at least we're getting a real teacher this Tuesday, rather that the evil retired sub...... *does the It's Raining Men dance* In other news, I've had three different boys call me and ask me out this morning. Must've been a fun party last night. (I vaguely remember sitting in someone's lap, but I'm not really sure. Might've been the other way around.) Heh...

Schnuckette

Turi Shepherd wrote:Oi. Algebra is the most boring class in the history of.... school.

Be glad it's Algebra and not Calculus... and PAY ATTENTION because it's really freakin hard later on when you've been just learning things for the test and promptly forgetting them. Math tends to build on prior knowledge, imagine that.

My older son ran out of advanced classes to take this year as a high school senior. So he's having to take a couple of independent studies as well, Claire. He's taking AP second year chemistry as an IP, and an IP study of architecture, since he took all of the available architecture and CAD classes. He'll have his hands full this year, as he is also taking AP American government, AP calculus, and physics. He decided to take British lit rather than AP English, though, so hopefully he'll enjoy that class. Their first read is Hamlet.

I've been spending the last few days in very deep thought.

On Tuesday I am going to have to hand in the forms as a volunteer to head down south for Katrina disaster relief.

I do not want to do it. It is my son's senior year in high school, and I do not want to miss my last chances to see him play soccer and wrestle. I do not want to miss his visits to the colleges that are high on his interest list this fall. If he goes away to school, this will probably be the last year he lives at home, and I want to be here, too.

I do not want to miss my younger son wrestling in a national championship this November.

My husband insisted that I use the last bit of money from my father's estate for myself, since I gave most of it away, and I have bought all sorts of concert tickets with it, as music is one of the great passions of my life -- everything from Green Day to U2 to Sonny Rollins and the Vienna Philharmonic. I want to hear those concerts.

I am afraid to go. I have bad allergies and asthma. I am afraid I will get sick.

But I cannot see such suffering, knowing it is not so far away (it was bad enough seeing it on the other side of the world with the tidal waves) and do nothing. If I did not volunteer to go, I would be untrue to myself.

I do not know if they will deploy me. They might head me off right away, as my department chief must approve it, and we are short handed and have been for months due to a federal hiring freeze. They might not need any pharmacy personnel down there. Since I have no first aid or Red Cross training, I might not have enough skills to be worth taking. But I have no personal choice but to offer.

So, while waiting to hear whether or not I will be deployed I will be spending the next few days/weeks as much time as I can with my sons, with my friends. For awhile at least, every day I spend in my home, every night I spend under a real roof in my own bed (as opposed to a government issued barracks tent), every bit of music I can listen to, every flower I can plant in my yard, every second of time I can spend with my children, every meal I can eat with my friends -- all of those will be great gifts to me, and I plan to enjoy all of them to the greatest extent I can.

I am sure I will be dropping in from time to time, and I will certainly let all of you know whether or not I am going to be deployed. But right now, my priorities are going to spending every minute I can with my children and friends, so I don't think I'll be around as much as usual until I know what the next few months are going to hold for me.

I love all of you --

Go duchy GO! more hugs:

The Leper Fairy wrote:I'm relieved... I finally transfered out of an independent study physics class into an ind. AP History class that is totally more my style (and more useful for me in college). Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.

Also, my Accounting teacher reminds me of Cho!

Woot!!

Maybe it is my sister Cha??

Well, I had bad news last night.

Remember my cousin Lee who died this summer?

His youngest daughter (age 9) had argued with him the morning of his death and told him, "I hate you."

She was devastated by her dad's death, thinking he died believing she hated him.

Everyone assured her that her dad KNEW she didn't mean it, and that kids just say things like that sometimes....

But, she couldn't wrap her mind around it, and has been suffering horribly.

Thursday night she cut her wrists. She survived, thank God, and is now in the psychiatric hospital, where I hope she is hooked up with the grief counseling she needs so desperately.

Sigh.

There's always something.

Duchess, I am so proud of you. I am going to contact the "Minnesota Mission" people to see about housing a refuge or two. I'm a little scared as I have lived on my own for so long that I don't know how well I will respond to sharing everything I have with a stranger/strangers.

But I feel guilty enjoying a dry, safe place when so many are suffering and I have room to spare.

Perhaps I can take in a single woman or two--or perhaps a couple of older children who've been separated from their parents for some reason.

Money is always tight with me, but I believe two or three can live as cheaply as one regarding food and utilities.

So, say a little prayer that a good match is possible.

Duchess and Cho

9!?! Hell, that's rough Cho. Best to you, and to Duchess too. May it all work out alright.

--A

duchess: my wife and are outside of Houston, so pm me and i'll send a phone number and address, that way you can get supplies, time off, whatever else you need.

Thanks, dennis. That is very sweet of the two of you.

It sounds like if my application is accepted, I will be sent to Biloxi, rather than Louisiana.

from my department chief's email:

staff interested in assisting with the
disaster should complete the proper form and discuss the matter with
their supervisor. We will assess if staffing permits deployment. It
appears that pharmacy staff are needed at VA hospitals to fill veteran
and other patient needs. In Biloxi, the VA is one of just two hospitals
open in the area, and the pharmacy is overwhelmed.

I should hopefully know more tomorrow. My friends at work are all pretty sure that my application will be turned down due to my asthma, but since they have begun flying jetloads of refugees up here now, perhaps they will let me go help at Camp Custer in Battle Creek, where they are landing the displaced people. My mold allergies won't go nuts on me there.

duchess,

Even volunteering is an enormous sacrifice. You are braver than I am. Good luck to you and the family, whatever ends up happening.

God bless you Duchy

If you do go to Biloxi, I will give you Russell's cell phone number...he's there right now working in a Red Cross shelter.

Furls Fire wrote:he's there right now working in a Red Cross shelter.

Naturally.

Take care, duchess, whatever you decide to do. Pretty heartbreaking stuff going on down there...

And yay for Furls, and her husband and the Red Cross! That's one of the few organizations that seems to have its act together during this crisis and is actually providing aid and comfort to those in need, according to what I've seen on the news.

I fell very grateful for everything I have. Donating baby clothes and food.

Well, I turned in my paperwork when I got to work this afternoon. Looks like I will have to wait a few days to know what will happen:

From my hospital's chief of police:

For those personnel who have volunteered for the disaster
response and put their names in the DEMPS data base, we have
not received any notice of deployment and will probably not
for the next week. When we do get notification, the Emergency
Management Personnel will contact me and I will send out
notifications. All transportation will be taken care of and
I have a deployment handbook and special instructions for
those that will be deployed.

Apparently, we will be sent someplace (if we are sent at all) in a group by bus for two weeks. We get our regular pay for those two weeks, and will be paid overtime for the hours we actually work at our host VA (right now there is great need in Biloxi, Little Rock, Shreveport, and Houston due to huge numbers of extra patients). For those two weeks we would work between 12-18 hours a day for 14 days straight. We would be housed and kept together as a group for our safety. Then we would be bussed home, and given a week off with pay to recover before returning to our usual work. I did not even know about the extra money until I had turned in my paperwork -- I had thought we would only get our straight pay. They will also be giving us a variety of immunizations, depending on where we would be heading. From my department alone, 6 people have turned in paperwork. Supposedly nearly every nurse on staff has also volunteered.

I guess my husband will be able to treat me to the romantic weekend he wanted to give me after all. We have a heavily wooded corner of our yard, as good as being up north. He wanted to pop up the camper and spend the weekend out there together, while still being able to spend some time with (and keep an eye on) the kids, who will be staying in the house. Also, the first of the concerts I bought tickets for this fall will be on Sunday -- Green Day, which will be my kids' first rock concert.

excellent choice on concert!

The kids are really really really looking forward to it.

Just an update -- they had wanted to try to deploy us as a group, but that might not be possible. They flew some of our police officers down to New Orleans last Sunday. Today a nurse who specializes in taking care of surgical patients was flown down to Louisiana. So it's going to daily waiting game for the rest of us. We don't know who will go, where, or when.

In the meantime I am taking time to enjoy some of my favorite things and people in the world. I've been listening to a ton of Beethoven and Johnny Coltrane.

Take some ear plugs to the concert. I took my daughter to see them in the spring and I still don't have full hearing in my right ear. Best wishes to you Duchess. I would be down there now if it wasn't for my RA.