tea, please

I'm self diagnosing myself with a sinus infection and post nasal drip, and trying to wrap my mind around how much it's going to suck if (when) one of these shows up when (if) I'm far far away from hot showers and microwaves and a comfy sofa to crash on all day long. The congestion and sore throat are unreal. I wonder if I could swing some sympathy antibiotics at the gyno this week while I'm there for my "oops sorry" pap smear...

Really?

So I mentioned in an edit that I'd called my doctor to double check on my labs, that they were in, waiting to be signed, that I was hoping my pap would come in sometime soon, yada yada yada. Well, I was subbing today and checked my phone at lunch time only to find a voicemail from my doctor's office. The message said to call them as soon as I could. This freaked me out a little seeing as how I'd already talked to them about my blood test results and they hadn't said anything about them being bad, and the only thing they hadn't gotten in was my pap. I was NOT about to be deferred for an abnormal one of those, no way no how. When I call back she lets me know that nothing is bad per se, just that they hadn't gotten enough cervical cells to actually complete the test. She apologized, saying they've had it happen before, but not in several years, that he's usually very thorough and gets a good sized sample, and that she felt really bad since she knows I'm waiting for the results to send to PC (at least she remembered, right?). Eff. Of course they can't get me in before Friday to redo the test, but the nurse promised it would be a ten minute appointment. I scheduled it for 8:30 am, but I also let her know that my insurance has since run out and I am worried about the cost of redoing it all. She assured me that I wouldn't be charged for the office visit, but that she wasn't sure about the lab part. Of all the times I've ever had this procedure done, the one time I'm waiting for the results... I really just have to laugh at this.

On another fun note, look what I just got: "This e-mail is a gentle reminder sent to you by the Peace Corps Office of Medical Services. As of October 5th, our office has not received your medical information," along with a handful of reminders of forms available online, required immunizations, and the fact that only 15% of applicants do it right the first time. Dammit, I will be in that 15%.

It's still the fourth

So I have about 9 minutes left to wish Happy Birthday to my friend Danielle :) I lived with this girl for three years after college and she was one of the best roommates I've had. We just went out with a group of friends to drink some beer and watch football, and I got to tell everyone about Peace Corps. They were all over it, asking questions, telling me other people who were in it, how awesome it sounds. It made me so sure of my decision to do this, not that I'd doubted it before, but I guess it just reinforced how I'd already felt. I'm excited because Danielle is on a short list of people who have expressed an interest in coming to see me where ever I may end up (we'll see if it actually happens, she's notorious for playing around on Expedia, creating vacations for herself and then never buying the ticket...) and her boyfriend, Blake, with whom I'm also good friends, said that he'd be all about coming to visit, too. Maybe if they BOTH want to, it'll really happen :)

a few things before you go...

I've started and deleted three entries in the last three days. I'm not feeling particularly prose-y, it turns out, so a bulleted list may just have to suffice.

• My health insurance ran out, and the next day I got sick. Figures.
• I got a letter saying I'm eligible for COBRA but it's $363.28 a month. Yea, right.
• I'm incredibly thankful for my monthly dinner dates with my friend Jess.
• I love this weather, but I am sad that summer is over.
• Go Gators
• This blog has readers on all continents except Antarctica. Come on, research station boredom!
• I feel a sense of camaraderie with other PC blog writers and I feel a little bit silly about this.
• Labs, please hurry. Edit: called my doctors office today, my blood work is in but the doctor has to sign off on it. He's out of the office until Thursday at which point he'll sign and they should be mailed. Pap isn't in yet, but I'm hoping for a Wednesday arrival.
• ... that may be it, I don't remember, I feel like crap :-/

Four months

Technically I have no idea how long I have left in the States, but that's part of the thrill, n'est pas? There is October, November, December, and January left to zip through until we stumble upon February, which is when I'm nominated to leave. Four is a crazy small number.

Another recipe: Rice pudding

3/4 uncooked white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
pat of butter
splash of vanilla

3/4 cup uncooked white rice, into a pan of 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Reduce to simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups milk & sugar. Cook over medium for 15-20 minutes until thick and creamy. Stir lots.
Add last 1/2 cup milk, temper the egg and then stir it in ("temper" means to add a little of the hot mixture to the egg to bring the temperature up before adding it to the whole pot. This prevents the egg from scrambling once it hits the hot mixture)
Stir constantly for two minutes then remove from heat
Stir in butter and splash of vanilla
Serve warm or cold with a dash of cinnamon :)



Next picture is my cat. Damn amazing camera makes it hard to get that grainy look in high ISO... this is at 4000. (For reference, film speed of 800 is usually pretty grainy) I have always loved really grainy B&W pictures, of cats and other things. Does the cat part make me nuts?