karina jean

yay, the appt. went very well! of course, I had to rouse myself from the most peaceful 20 minutes of sleep all night (achieved by taking a percocet after getting up at 7:45 to pee) to get sponge-bathed and out the door and up to the doctors. That’s ok, though, because I’m not allowed to wear the immobilizer anymore. YIKES. well, he said “if you go somewhere dangerous, like the giants game this weekend, wear it. but otherwise, don’t.” YIKES! I had a little meltdown getting back into the car because I’m so nervous about stepping out sans my full-leg brace that includes 3 metal strips (what I like to call the boning on my leg corset). I was nervous to bend my leg enough to get it into the front seat, and I was nervous that it would hurt to keep it bent for so long. happily, it was just fine. but I was so overwrought that I cried a little! I laughed hysterically and said “what does a PA do, anyway! who is HE to tell me not to use the immobilizer! what if I NEED it?”

After spending some time crutching around my apartment I’m doing pretty good, though. I’m about to venture down to the drugstore to pick up my new prescription of non-narcotics. That’s right, y’all, I am supposed to stop taking narcotics. Because they have lots of hidden side effects besides putting me to sleep soundly: they also CONSTIPATE you. it’s absolutely true.

So I’m supposed to start physical therapy any day now, the doctors office is going to call me back with details. And then I will need to go back to work, sadly, on Monday. Le Sigh. I will need to borrow a car or get the camper van running prior to that, and figure if I”ll be able to sit still and drive for 30 min. 2-ways each day. Oh, the excitement never ends!

don’t worry, I have more gruesome photos from today. Nice bruising, a couple of incisions. the PA couldn’ t tell me the tendon’s name, but he did say that I could probably track it down by getting my chart from the hospital and calling the tendon supply company. I think going to that level of effort might be excessively creepy, and not weird-charming like talking about the donor tendon has been here-to-fore.

Thursday I had my knee surgery, and by all laymen’s accounts I’m doing marvelously well. you may or may not know that I’ve lost my ACL – old frisbee accident, don’t you know [how unglamorous!] so I’ve had it replaced with an allograft. If anything goes wrong I can blame it on the other guy, and I’m going ot press my doctor tomorrow for this fellow’s name. Everything so far seems to be going as planned, with the only hitch me falling down and hurting my shoulders the night after general anesthesia. I passed out, you see, while I was on the can, and was lodged between the toilet and the wall. I pulled something muscular while pulling myself out. and perhaps I’ve left my sense of propriety and shame down there too, because I don’t know that I should be posting this to the internets, much less telling my colleagues at work about it (um, check.)

Tomorrow is the doctors follow-up visit and I’ll hopefully get a rehabilitation schedule and a timeframe for return to work. though I’m quite happy not being at work. ahem. I need to get off the narcotics and into physical therapy. I also need to borrow an automatic transmission as my poor manual transmission won’t be much help to me now. And as I’ve left my camera cord at work, I need to get a card reader the better to upload embarrassing and grotesque photos to the internets for illustration of snappy blog entries.

And all that said, this is the first blog post written from my at home-cable internets. how thrilling! the power of the W3 is at my fingertips!

here’s the big news: I’m having knee surgery on thursday. Apparently, I don’t have an ACL in my left leg! so I’ll get a donor from a cadaver (early payback for my mom’s donation of her body to science!) and will take thursday and friday and most of next week off. Daddy-o will come pick me up after the surgery on thursday, and whisk me home to the land of stocked larders and cable tv. I am getting a prescription for narcotics in the mail, so I should be just fine. And next week I’ll come home and have my internets installed and sit and knit and go to the doctors and try not to have to drive. Theoretically, I don’t have to, because my town has such a great main street. Also theoretically, I’ll be able to use the NJ Transit Trip Planner to plot my moves. Apparently I can take 2 buses to the doctors office in Paramus. You know, if it comes to that.

See, my car is a stick shift and my clutch leg is being operated upon. so I won’t be able to drive my own car for a month+, estimated time. I’m hoping to swap cars with someone locally, and if that doesn’t work there’s the kind offer of Mariss to borrow the pittsburgh civic, and if that’s not feasible there’s always driving the camper van. so all I really need to figure out is: should I do short term disability? how likely is it that I’ll be able to work 40 hour weeks from home ? should I take the train to mahwah and have someone pick me up? apparently, that option is WAY easier (and cheaper!) than traveling to edison for work.

Anyway, because of my imminent crutching around, I cleaned up my apartment. Yes! it’s brilliant. not totally cleaned or unpacked, but it looks GOOD. I even started to hang things on the walls! and I feel so great about slowly getting everything in order. I can’t wait to have a dinner party and serve ridiculously elaborate dishes and lots of dessert. I still have to paint my bedroom and sort out all the boxes in there, and find homes for all of my craft stuff (naturally) but it is coming along, coming along.

well, I didn’t get everything done that I wanted to. but I did make a big dent!

* paint at least one room, either hall or bedroom. Bedroom would be better, but hall would be faster. sigh.I finished the hall way! yay. it looks awesome. I took a photo, but won’t be able to post until tomorrow.
* clean the living room. Could absolutely complete this task if I painted my bedroom. Argh, priorities! Um, not so much. I did put SOME things away, but generally I just moved things around.
* mail some stuff to some special people. not so much again. but tomorrow, for real! at least by wednesday!
* go to the library and return/pick up things. yeeeah. see also above.
* drive plants and things to michelle’s house on long island. visit. Done! I had a lovely time with michelle and her family, they are beautiful and kind people.
* pre-drive, make a yummy chocolate cake (or two). I didn’t do this, but I did bring cupcakes to long island. it’s the thought that counts, right?
* finish off then bathroom, kitchen, and closet lists. This will involve shelving and wood cutting. hop to. Also, make a BIG dent on the hall list. HA HA HA! not so much. but I plan to take the wood cutting to albany with me this weekend, so hopefully it will be a piece of cake to knock out after thanksgiving.
* make stuffed squash for the company thanksgiving feast on monday. Did this after I got home from long island. the squashes came out brilliant, even though stop and shop doesn’t carry hazelnuts, apparently, so I had to use almonds instead. I’m in the feasting office today waiting for lunch to be served up, and I can’ t wait. I love potlucks. they’re so fun, I love getting lots of little bits of different kinds of food for the eating. LOVE IT.

I need to get cracking on my poor apartment this weekend. Luckily, I have some lists to help me out. So this is what I REALLY want to do this weekend:

* paint at least one room, either hall or bedroom. Bedroom would be better, but hall would be faster. sigh.
* clean the living room. Could absolutely complete this task if I painted my bedroom. Argh, priorities!
* mail some stuff to some special people.
* go to the library and return/pick up things.
* drive plants and things to michelle’s house on long island. visit.
* pre-drive, make a yummy chocolate cake (or two).
* finish off then bathroom, kitchen, and closet lists. This will involve shelving and wood cutting. hop to. Also, make a BIG dent on the hall list.


* make stuffed squash for the company thanksgiving feast on monday.

um… is that IT? gosh. you know, I am really not LOOKING FORWARD to this level of effort, but I do know that if I get the living room clean and something painted and start to hang up things like the shelf that’s been on my bathroom floor since May, well, I’ll be in a better place. Especially with the hectic holiday season coming up. Besides, I told myself I couldn’t open my NEW SPINNING WHEEL until the living room is clean! So I’d better!

oh, yes. We had a lovely time at mariss’ 30th birthday party. almost as much time as the birthday boy, I hope! I have some poor pictures here, and koray was the unofficial photodocumenter with photographs here.

pittsburgh was brilliant this weekend: it was wooing me back there. it was warm and leafy, and the colors were spectacular, and I still remember how to get places, and my CMU and nonCMU friends were warm and (in some cases really above and beyond) welcoming and happy and fun. Oh, Pittsburgh, you ARE the best place ever.

so the PE on friday went quite well. Also in the going well category: studying on thursday, going to crown heights to stay with a friend who sweetly said yes when I invited myself over and then made me dinner and served me wine and then tea and then a brownie sundae, the car service from her house to pratt in the morning, and getting to the test on time and calmly.

The PE is structured into a “breadth” morning session and a “depth” afternoon session. the morning covered all kinds of civil engineering: transportation, structures, geotechnical, water resources, and environmental. I think the morning went pretty good, but y’all know me, I am WAY better at breadth than I am at depth! lunch was fun with two college friends, and then the afternoon went absolutely swimmingly for me, if I can compare my experience to the fellow next to me who kept cursing under his breath! A friend pointed out that if I don’t do well I can claim inhospitable testing conditions because seriously, this kid was turning the air blue. So, I didn’t feel like swearing, I didn’t run out of time really, and I only guessed absolutely out right on a few questions. The other ones I either knew straight out or was able to make up science for them. My units always worked out. Mostly the answers I got very closely matched the multiple choices, and if they didn’t they weren’t off by orders of magnitude or anything. I was happy to find that the afternoon questions were less heavily geared towards waste water treatment (i.e., not like my practice exam), and more towards other environmental things that I know better.

And after the test I had a quick bite with my college friend, picked matt up from work, and drove down to see gabulon who also took the test and was also feeling pretty good about it.

Now, I have to reserve my judgement on my actual performance until I find out from the testing board if I passed, though, because I have had MANY tests in the past where I thought I did just fine, and in reality, I wasn’t even able to comprehend how difficult and multifaceted the test was. But at least I didn’t run out of time, and I didn’t freak out or start to cry, and I didn’t have to guess on a lot of things. So, in general, YAY. it’s over. DOUBLE YAY.

So, this last week? has been primo busy.

1. Office move. I am now working out of our new, bright, shiny, pristine, no, PRISTINE, Edison office. I was at work last friday until 11PM packing my things and trying to clear off my plate, I had a bunch of files and reports that I didn’t want to move with, and had to review or send to people, so it was a good (though LATE NIGHT) opportunity to get some outstanding things done.

2. PE test. It’s next friday, 10/28. I am stressed, concerned, worried, and also, frustrated that I have to use a vacation day to sit for an excruciating, non-fun professional exam that will allow my company to bill me out at a higher rate. Something about a personal investment as well, but heck, I guess that’s what I was considering my $850 review course fee. I envision a brain fever coming over me, and having to stay out of work to nurture my noggin.

3. PE test. Also, because this PE test is so big, there’s another item. I NEED TO STUDY MORE. heck, I need to study! truth be told I only started studying last week. Sure, I went to a spendy review course but I don’t know if that counts as studying. I have to get cracking. I do NOT want to take this twice, no-sir-ee-bob. fo’shizzle.

4. Home Life. I am tired all the time. so tired. Also, I am getting home primo late and not having time to do much more than read a little, eat ice cream for dinner (it’s ok, right, b/c I’m not actually eating dinner too. sure.), and go to sleep. The heat has come on in my apartment and it hisses in my bedroom. I turned the radiator mostly off, but it seems like it only comes on around 6AM, when I mostly should be getting up anyway. The first night it hissed, stopped, hissed, stopped, and I woke up kind of happily, because I thought it was a piece of experimental music that I’d heard the day before playing on the radio. not so much, so the next time it woke me up I wasn’t as cheerful.

5. Experimental Music. Speaking of music, I got an MRI on monday. The different sounds the machine makes as it magnetizes you are so wild. People have told me it’s white sound and they fall asleep, but I was fascinated. Especially when a ray gun sound came in. The different cadences and beats coupled with the weird mechanical tonalities really made me wish I were an experimental music composer and I could write an MRI suite, or something. I don’t know when my doctor will look at the MRI, or when I’ll get surgery of some sort. But hopefully soon.

6. Matt and I went to sheep and wool, and he bought me my birthday present: a spinning wheel! it won’t come until sometime in November. More to follow, for sure. we also bought a whole lot of lamb for eating. yum.

7. Week before I got a call saying my hybrid was in! and then I got another call saying WAIT! don’t come to albany! it’s not in! it won’t be in until MID-DECEMBER! So, I am totally not getting the civic, though I still want to drive it – I need to get a new car in November b/c my car is so rusty and holey (but not in a Godly manner) that it will most probably not pass inspection, and it has to by the end of November for me to continue driving it. THEREFORE, I will get an insight, for realz. As soon as, you know, I Take The PE Exam.

and there you have it. 7 things, 7 days I didn’t update, nearly the same, no?

suffice it to say, I’m not as blue. Tuesday night I had a series of epiphanies involoving aspects of my life that were blue blue blue. With the magical powers of good friends, the ability to recognize silver linings, and the knowledge that no matter how tough work is, at least I don’t dread heading to the office… all is good. YAY.