Doing the Productivity Dance (Not to be confused with the Reproductivity Dance)

Yeah, so today Chris and I arrived at the VA expecting to see our favorite perpetually late doctor and of course, because we're expecting a half hour delay, that's not what happens.

Digression Alert:

This reminds me of this week's visit to counseling services.  I told Chris before we went to see our relationship counselor that I always try to catch the receptionist before she can say what she always says,

"Who've you come to see?"

She says it every time and I can never open my mouth fast enough to tell her our counselor's name before she can ask.  I think of it as a demented game.  After we answer her question she repeats the name and her pronunciation makes me giggle.

So I tell Chris all this and he tells me how messed up I am to make fun of this woman and proceeds to imitate her with me and we do it the whole way there.  We walk in and the receptionist says,

"How can I help you?"

I almost cracked up and Chris, for some reason, was swinging his water bottle when she came into the room so as soon as she asked the question she almost ducked, then laughed and asked if he would please not bean her in the head.  Talk about not the response we expected.  We sat in the waiting room and giggled like little girls.

Digression End

Where the hell was I?

Ah yes, so I'm checking in at the counter, the clerk scans my card and says,

"OH... yeah..."

Uh-oh.

"Um, Dr. Ford's on vacation and we're supposed to cancel his clinic today but I didn't know that when I scheduled you yesterday."

Another clerk interrupts Ms. Severe Pink Eyeliner and asks,

"Are you Jennifer?"

Only to people who don't know me better.  "Yep."

"Holly said she'd see you.  Take a seat and I'll call her."

Who the hell is Holly?

Holly is another apparently another orthopedic doctor who exists in an alternate universe and I like that one much better.  She showed up, whisked us into her office, and immediately sent us off for a final set of x-rays.

"The last ones said you were healING, I want to see that you are HEALED."

After Radiology we went back and didn't even get to stand in line this time.  Holly explained the game plan: occupational therapy and follow up visits.  Damn skippy.

Down in occupational therapy I agreed to meet the kind OT after lunch.  Chris and I had a nice lunch, I dropped him off for work and I headed back to the VA.

I got gifts.  Two torture instruments and two gifts.  He asked questions and took a lot of notes, measured my grip and determined that I have half the strength in my right hand as my left.  This means I actually have less than 50% strength, because my right hand is dominant- it should be stronger than my left hand.  My side pinch (ability to turn a key) and my forward pinch (ability to write) are also lacking, but he was surprised at how strong the side pinch was.  (Well, it got old turning the car on with my left hand.)

He gave me three sets of exercises to do 2-3 times a day, 10 reps each.  The first is a continuous motion exercise done slowly to work on range of motion called the six pack.

I got the obligatory ball- I squeeze it in my hand like you would expect, but also pinch it for the key and writing pinches.  I also got a really high tech instrument of torture: a pencil.  You lay it across your palm just under your fingertips and try to grip it all the way down into a fist.

The gifts... I got a new wrist brace and orders to wear it at night :) but also the most wonderful glove ever.  It looked silly tea-time small, but fit... well, you know.  It was snug and all I could do (while he was off collecting paperwork or something) was look at that glove and coo.  It felt wonderful.  I wanted one for my left hand.  I'm supposed to wear the glove under the brace to help with the swelling and, in his words, because it will make my hand feel good.  I can't wait to wear it.  I'm not kidding.  I didn't want to take it off and he knew it.  He said he gives them to his arthritic patients and they all coo.

Isn't it awesome that I FINALLY got to go get some help?  Muy kudos to Holly and my wonderfully nice OT guy.  Special thanks to Dr. F for being on vacation.

Jesus, all that and there's still more.  I have to explain the title of the blog or else I'd have to change it, and I enjoy that title way too much.

So after all that I got home around 2:30, took the dogs to pee, and caught up on phone calls while I waited for the munchkin.  I made appointments for the dogs and me, did some research and checked on my imaginary farm.  Ant begged to stay put and play rather than join me on errands so I left him with his friend's dad.  I took the dogs up to Hidden Valley and walked the loop.  It was beautiful.

I came home, Ant found a place to spend the night, and I settled in with a quiche, chocolate milk, and my book for school.  I knocked an hour off my estimate and was also able to finish homework for the proposal class in half the time I allotted.  At 8:30 I decided I had accomplished enough.

Schoolwork resumes tomorrow and I feel utterly capable of catching up and zooming ahead.  Check in to see if I blog again this weekend or if I'm busy freaking out over what's not done.

Just because it's cute and it NEVER happens, here's Riley sharing her kennel with Solo.

Productivity ran out towards the end of the blog.

I feel like I am accomplishing a lot.  Today I crossed out the last two items on my to-do list... and then added four more BUT I did pretty damn good this week, thank you very much.  Of course, Tracy and Dad are wondering where the hell I've been.  Busy.  I've been busy.

Today I figured out roughly how long it should take me to do all the homework and studying I need to do this weekend.  What I came up with was 18 hours or, in more manageable terms, 6 hours a day tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday.  That will be interesting, but I think that gives me a good framework.  I usually do a half hour of studying, half hour of chores.  My counselor laughed at this because she remembers being thrilled to go fold laundry- anything is better than studying.

Speaking of laundry, I may go do that this weekend.  There isn't much, which would be nice, and Ant did his own laundry at the laundry room here.  We don't go there because they get enough of our money, but Ant is crafty.  He firmly believes that if he does his own laundry here, he won't have to carry ours upstairs. I see his logic, but good luck convincing Daddy...

I finally wore my new $7 purple shoes today.  I couldn't figure out what they would go with and I worried that they would hurt my feet but good news!  They are so cute they go with everything.  I have decided it so.  And they fit nicely and are so comfy.  I love.  Make me happy.

I took the boys to the used book bag sale last weekend and their interest lasted all of thirty seconds.  I picked out several items for Ant and a few for me, including this book called something like Everything About Life You Were Never Taught or something like that.  I thought it would be filled with useful information like how to bait a fishhook and how to string a guitar and how to find water in the desert and what to do if the pilot dies, but instead it's filled with a bunch of generalized foo-foo ca-ca about embracing life and loving yourself and blah blah blah.  YOOS-less.  Oh well, I might have spent twenty cents on it.  I got Ant a magazine on pugs, his favorite kind of dog, and a book on skateboarding tricks.

Last night I woke up and my hand hurt so bad I wanted to cry.  Lately I have had to wear the wrist brace at night or my hand is in awful pain or totally numb.  Today I made an appointment to go back to the orthopedic guy at the VA.

"Let's see," said the clerk.  "First available is... tomorrow at 10.  If you can't make that I have... May."

Hmm.  I'll take tomorrow, please.

Overdue

It's cold in here, I have to REDO homework from a week ago, I can't find my coupon book, and I really want to eat dinner now.

On the other hand, I did a group presentation today that went very well.  I think I told you that I volunteered to go first so I could get it out of the way?  Well

Jesus.  What is it that I'm always saying to Ant?

"Never leave the kitchen while you're cooking."

Oh yeah.  Well, it will be brown rice.  Textured brown rice.

So Jennyway, my job was to research the author's life and while my part was a LOT less formal than my group members, the teacher complimented me.  Woo hoo!  And now its done.  Not even a month into the spring semester and that project is done.  Go me.

My New Year's resolution to read one non school-related book per month is grinding to a halt- I am busy reading school stuff.  Poo.

My first art history exam is on Monday and I AM UNPREPARED!  GAAAGGHHH!

I was just reviewing my syllabus for the turdy proposal writing class and saw that the teacher scheduled class on the President's Day holiday.  Ha ha.

Oh and in more smarty pants news, I stayed late on Monday in the book making class to set up the three lines of type in the last typography exercise.  Everyone else ran out as soon as the teacher said to start cleaning up but I couldn't resist trying to get ahead.  He said it was fine and even left me there to finish.  I was only sacrificing break time so I chugged along until I set the whole thing.  I put it all away when I was done and checked the clock on my way out.  11:47.  I was leaving two minutes late.  All that and a bag of chips.  (I wish.  Chips sound good.)

So between getting ahead (probably not that impressive) and doing well on my presentation I'm feeling like I could just swat the stars down if I so desired.  But I just spent a half hour on the phone answering questions and setting up an intake at UNR's Psychological Service Center.  They have this "Mindfulness-Based Program for Chronic Anxiety and Worry" and the flier sounds like they created this program for me.  It is "an eight-week workshop based upon Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, or MBSR."  There is too much for me to describe here but the goal is to learn to "respond wisely, instead of automatically, to whatever life throws our way."  I had to answer questions and explain why I thought I would be a good candidate for this workshop and as a result of listing my issues, put myself into a less secure state than I had been in when I got home.

My biggest concern about this workshop was not whether it would work, but if it would work with my schedule.  It starts in March on Thursday nights.  I can do it- and I think I should.  Maybe I think I don't have enough to do.  :D

I got an e-mail about this new group starting at the counseling center where Chris and I go- it's for "non-traditional" students, "those students who are returning to school after an absence of several years or more, transitioning from community college, juggling school & family responsibilities, sometimes quite a bit older (over 25) or otherwise finding themselves not quite the “typical” college student and perhaps able to benefit from connecting with other students dealing with similar issues."

Hmm, good idea.  I would love to go but I'm too busy juggling school & family responsibilities.