One Week

To start, for anyone who wants to know, the songs in my previous entry were…

1. "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" Paul Simon

2. "Runaway" Linkin Park (go Mandy!)

3. "Something" The Beatles (again, go Mandy!)

4. "I’m Not Okay" My Chemical Romance

5.  "Into the Ocean" Blue October

6. "Extraordinary" Mandy Moore

7. "Here’s to You" Diffuser

8. "No Rain" Blind Melon

9. "Fidelity" Regina Spektor

10. "99 Red Balloons" (Goldfinger version)

Only two days of work until I set out for South Carolina and Alan’s graduation. The plan right now is for Lisa to pick me up on Tuesday night and we’ll leave straight from Waterbury on Wednesday morning. She’s working until 9 that night, so I’ll have plenty of time to get home and finish packing. Actually, I’m mostly finished anyway. All I need to add are the little everyday things that I still need like my toothbrush and my flat iron. Gina stopped by yesterday afternoon so I could show her where everything is and give her the key. I’ll still write everything down for her, but at least now she doesn’t have to wonder what gray cooler my note is referring to.

The last week at work has been pretty uneventful. Thursday was really mellow, which made me very happy. Between a nice little group of kids and the snow falling gently outside the window, I just felt really good.

Of course, pretty uneventful is not the same thing as completely uneventful. On Friday afternoon while some of the kids were finishing snack, Abby and Ava had already finished and were playing. Abby was about halfway across the room when she turned back to face Ava and I noticed something rather odd. There was blood coming out of her ear. I’m not a medical professional or anything, but I’m pretty sure that’s not supposed to happen. I grabbed Abby and a pair of gloves (universal precautions and all that) and told Gina to call Kim. Kim came in and the first thing she asked me was if I was sure it was coming from her ear and not a scratch. Again, not a medical professional, but I am pretty clear on a few things. One, if her ear has been injured badly enough for the blood to be running down her neck and onto her shirt, she definitely would have screamed. Two, I know what a scratch looks like. Three, it looks nothing like blood pooling up and leaking out of her ear canal. So Kim called Mom and Mom called Dad, who came and got her. She has tubes in her ears because of frequent ear infections. Now, I know that if a kid with tubes does get an ear infection, there will be drainage. But shouldn’t drainage be more pus-like? I mean, this wasn’t thin, watered down, pus with blood in. It was blood. And that just can’t be good. I really hope she’s all right.

It’s funny, but Gina told me that when she saw the look on my face, she knew it had to be something bad, because she thinks that of the two of us, I’m more likely to stay calm in a crisis. If I was rattled enough for her to tell I was rattled, it had to be bad. It’s funny because I always feel the very opposite of calm in situations like that, although I was calm enough at that point since Abby clearly wasn’t in any pain. I guess I’m just slow to show how freaked out about something I really am. I suppose it amounts to the same thing.

Moving on to less gruesome incidents, I got what is probably the last letter I’ll from Alan while he’s still at Ft. Jackson. Apparently the drill sergeants had the opportunity to nominate two trainees for promotions based on their performance over the course of the cycle and Alan is one of them. Yay! If he gets it (fingers crossed) he’ll be a Private First Class. It seems like he can’t start any kind of new job without getting promoted within a few months. Hehehe!

I’ve been very good about going to the gym this week. I went every morning Monday through Thursday. I didn’t go Friday because the snow the day before had turned the roads into skating rinks. I think the guy at the desk every morning likes me. He always says good morning and tells me to have a great day when I leave. I know that’s his job, but he always makes sure I make eye contact with him and can’t ignore him. He also told me to have a good workout and called me by name the last time I was there, which I’ve never heard any of the front desk people do for anyone.

Friday night I met Lisette and Erin at the mall. We did a little shopping and went to see "When in Rome." It was cute. Not great, but funny. While we were in Torrid, the cashier told me I looked really familiar and asked where I was from. Turns out to be Jennifer Bullock. I went to school with her from about fifth grade on, when we were actually in the same class.  And I guess it was just that run into people kind of weekend, because I saw Danielle (assistant director at work who is temporarily at the Bethel center while their director is on maternity leave) while I was at Old Navy looking for a decent pair of jeans. And really, why can’t I find a decent pair of jeans. I love the ones I have. I want more of them, but in a smaller size. Of course, Lane Bryant has a crap selection of denim all of a sudden and I need jeans specifically for a curvy figure, so it impossible to find any that fit anywhere else. The jeans I do find are 1. not long enough, 2. too small through the hips, 3. too big in the waist, or 4. not suitably flared at the ankle. It’s depressing, especially since I wanted to be able to show off to Alan in something that actually fit. My jeans right now are so big that I don’t have to unbutton them to take them off. I’d love to order a couple pairs from Eddie Bauer, but they won’t get here in time, so I’m stuck in my old baggy jeans. Then again, maybe it’s a good thing. If I just keep wearing these I can wait to buy new ones until I’m down another size or two. I really hope I’ll be back to a "reasonable" size by the time Alan is done with AIT. That give me until June. That gives me 4 months. Think I can do it?

I still really want a clove cigarette. I’m also thinking about another tattoo. Actually, I’m thinking about two more tattoos. I know that when I have kids, I want to get a heart for each child, probably on my lower back or ankle. I’d also like to get something on the inside of my wrist. I’m leaning towards a sun, but still considering.

~Liz