Ummm That Was Quick

GM declared bankruptcy, what, like Monday? Already, I have seen this commercial too many times to count.

Flip-Flop Weather and a Dreaded Trip

I love this weather. It is 90 degrees out there. Perfect flip-flop weather, and don't think I haven't been rocking the plastic and rubber shoes everywhere I go. I have this massive laundry basket full of them, stuffed in the back corner of the closet, and I have been dying to pull them out.

What else is going on in my world?
School is winding down. Next week is finals week, which I am not exactly excited over. But after burning the candle at both ends for some time now, I finally took a few days off of work. Keeping in mind that I am only obligated to 3 twelves a week, my cashing in some paid-time-off managed to get me off of work for almost 2 weeks. It still isn't a massive vacay. I still have this week left of class, then come back Monday and Tuesday of next week for those dreaded exams. All I know is that for the next 2 weeks, I do not have to do both school and work. Following that, I am off of school for 2 and a half weeks while we switch from Spring to Summer quarters, so then I will only have to do work and not school. Count 'em up! 4 1/2 weeks of one and not the other!

I can honestly say I need the break. For the past month, I have been working all night, then going straight to class the following morning, doing class all day then going straight into work all night. Then I---- you guessed it----head back to campus for a day of class. Finally on the third night, I get a little shut-eye. This is no exaggeration. This is my life. I was actually discussing this with one of the residents at work. He was commenting on my level of tiredness, knowing full well that I intend on heading to med school in a year or so, and said "Just wait until you get into med school!" When I told him I wasn't scared of a med school schedule and explained what I have been doing, his reply was this: "You are INSANE!"

Maybe so. Or maybe it is just determination. More and more people are rallying behind me. To them, I am the one who will make it to the other side. The politics of healthcare dictate that we are the grunts and doctors are the privileged. While I am in no way the poster child, to them I represent the notion that those of us without MD behind our name are still capable individuals. They can say, "Look! She was one of us and she was smart enough to become a doctor, so we can be too." This by no means represents everyone. I still encounter some crap-dishing from some coworkers who think my efforts are directed at proving I am better than they are. The fact that I want more out of my life is a personal assault on their choice of career. Of course this couldn't be farther from the truth. But for the most part, I pass people in the hall, and they will ask me how school is going. When I tell them it is going well, the statement is met with a pat on the back and a hearty "You Go, Girl!".

Part of the plan for my time off is to take John and Evan down to southern Kentucky to visit his family. I am a little nervous about going back there. I am not met by the same resistance I used to face. I've been around for the better part of a decade, and they have realized I am here to stay. But the time we spent living down there is now what I realize to be a different chapter of my life. A chapter full of welfare and stereotypes and North vs. South. I wasn't docile enough. To them, I was the Yankee wife John brought home, the one with the smart mouth who didn't realize a woman's place. While I never played along, I wasn't as out-there with my intentions of higher education and my drive for a career. Now, John and I have returned to my turf where I have adjusted to being myself again. Here, there is nothing wrong with a woman seeking achievement. But to make matters worse, John's sister is having a baby shower, full of church women, and I know it will provoke the inevitable questions about our intent for our family. To them, it will incomprehensible that I want to forgo having other children in order to pursue my education, that I focus on my career instead of perfecting my recipe for the perfect fried chicken. They will never understand that one child, my perfect little Evan, is more than I could ever want, and now that he is in grade school, it is time for me. They will look at me as if I have two heads, and whisper amongst themselves of the brazen woman who thinks she can have it all.

And John. They will, as always, compare John to his brother-in-law. The greatest thing one can aspire to be is an employee at the local electric company. It is not that there is anything wrong with the job.More like what is wrong with John that he wants to skip out on punching a clock in order to support his wife's ambitions? What kind of failure allows his wife to be the breadwinner? We deal with it everytime, and I know they mean well, but I cannot tolerate anyone criticizing my husband because he is helping me to realize my dream.

But nevertheless, we are going. And rude or not, I am taking my study materials and will have my nose in books the entire time. This will evoke the dreaded question: Didn't you already finish one degree? And I will tell them that I am back in school to be a doctor. God help me.

Anyhow...I am wasting too much time here on a computer. It is now time to take the kiddo out and let him get some sunshine while I study with my flip-flopped feet propped up, complete with the hot-pink polish on my toes that I whipped out especially for flip-flop season.

A Few Tidbits From Today's Lecture in Women's History

Equal Rights Amendment
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of sex.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article
This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

States that did not ratify the Equal Rights Amendment
Alabama
Illinois
Arizona
Louisiana
Arkansas
Mississippi
Florida
Missouri
Georgia
Nevada
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Utah
Virginia

1980: Jerry Falwell Condemns the ERA
"The Equal Rights Amendment strikes at the foundation of our entire social structure. If
passed, this amendment would accomplish exactly the opposite of its outward claims. By
mandating an absolute equality under the law, it will actually take away many of the
special rights women now enjoy. ERA is not merely a political issue, but a moral issue as
well. A definite violation of holy Scripture, ERA defies the mandate that 'the husband is
the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church' (Ep. 5:23). "


Is Jerry Falwell even alive now?? He can come stay at my house, then look me in the face and tell me that "the husband is the head of the wife". Are we morally corrupt because I want to be treated the same as a man? ( Yes, the same!) Put women in the draft. Make us register for selective service. I'll wield an M-16. Put us in office. We'll get things done. This whole issue sickens me, and I have to write a paper over why the ERA was never ratified. Great!

Butt Out, Obama.

Why is my President getting involved in affairs of private commerce? The last time I checked, my American brothers and sisters were still overseas in a war zone. Hey Obama! Get involved in that. That, after all, is your job. Even I am starting to get a little bit pissed, and other than being a staunch Republican, I don't usually get into politics. And I am a simple kind of girl. But I equate this to my going into work and saying "Nope, I am not going to see patients tonight because I have X, Y and Z to complete for school." But I don't do that, because I know what my job responsibilities are while I am on my emploter's dime. Obama never learned that lesson, apparently.

Is this what you wanted, America? Is this the "Change" you were looking for? The American public made a huge mistake.

Whatever

Hate My Life @ Yahoo! Video

Ummmm. Do you notice a trend? I post videos when I am too busy to write or when I have nothing to say.

Yesterday, at the gas station, as I was walking in to pay for my gas, some guy asked me if I would give him money for cigarettes. Not food. Not gas. Cigarettes! Beggars have gotten ballsy!

In the meantime, finals week is rapidly approaching, and because of the $1K electric bill, I have been working weeknights in addition to my weekend shifts. I don't think the black circles will disappear from under my eyes any time soon. I have literally been going about 48 hours between chances for even a little sleep. Go to school all day, then head straight into work, then get finished with work and go straight to school. I'm exhausted. And everyone says "Just wait until med school!" Seriously? By then, I will not be working 70-80 hours per week in addition to a full-time class schedule. I do not plan to do this to myself then. So med school? Not scared.

Good Tunage

I saw this and thought instantly of my son and of my mom.

Electric Nazis and the Landlord from Hell

I. Am. In. Hell. I have had to resort to 60-hour workweeks again in addition to my crazy school schedule because of bills. I am a sort of magnet for drama. The therapist I saw after my mother died once told me that I have the tendency to get bored because my mind is capable of handling a lot at one time, and so sometimes I dramatize a little to entertain myself without realizing it. Back then, I would have to stop myself from over-reacting to little bumps in the road. Well, that was years ago. I can assure you that with motherhood, marriage, my career, and my rather ambitious educational endeavors, I am not bored. Not me, my mind, my heart, my soul.....All of the parts of me are challenged on a daily basis. And yet still, drama. Drama, drama, drama. Here is the latest:

We moved in to the property where we now reside back in November of this past year, right? Well, we have had trouble since. Trouble with neighbors and the general functionality of the house in which we live.

My absolute fave incident had to be the day I had my wisdom teeth cut out. As our luck would have it, despite best-laid plans, about an hour after Evan was dropped off at school, the school called saying he was vomiting. Yuck. But I had to have the procedure done, and John had to be there. I arranged for the sick childcare at work so John could take me. But we had to go. So John picks up Evan while I am in the shower. John and Evan are in Evan's bedroom changing Evan into pj's while I am in the next room getting ready. Apparently, Evan started projectile vomiting all over his room, so John shouts for me to help. The next thing we know, the neighbor from upstairs comes downstairs and is banging on our door, raising hell that we "jolted" his wife awake. I tried to apologize and explain that our son was ill and John needed my help. Before I could finish, he started talking about our "dumbass kid". Oh. Oh no. I called the landlord then and there and told him that if he did not do something about them, we wanted out of our lease.
But as if that wasn't enough...

We get a bill in the mail last Monday. Electric. $163.89. We have been paying about $200 monthly since we moved in in November, which is a pretty substantial electric bill for an apartment. I figured it was a little cheaper because we haven't been using heat. Sweet. Until the next day, when we get another bill. For...wait for it...$1,029.96. Ummmmm. Seriously? No way. I immediately get on the horn to the powers that be at the electric company. I pay my bill every month, in full, before it is due. What in the hell could this possibly be about? Well, as it turns out, they claim to not have access to our meters, which are under lock and key. Who has the key? The landlord. I didn't even realize that they couldn't read the meters. I mean, if they can't, how did they read it when the electric was first turned on in our name in November? So something is not right here. We start talking to our neighbors and find out that the upstairs neighbors got a bill for over $2K, and the neighbors across the hall got one for $1600. The neighbors upstairs aren't married, and thus have different last names, and so their solution was to turn it off in his name and turn it on in hers. But John and I cannot do that. I had no choice but to pay the bill.

Thinking that part of this fiasco is the landlord's mistake, I call him and tell him about it. I explained that, for the first time since we moved in, my rent would have to be 1 week late because I had to pay this enormous bill since he failed to provide a key to the meter reader. In other words, dude, even though you messed up and jilted your tenants, I will pay the sucky bill, but in exchange, I need you to give me one week. Nope. He wants us out. Which is fine. I want out. I am tired of the noisy neighbors and the bugs that crawl through the gaping holes in the screens because we cannot use our non-working a/c and thus must leave the windows open. I'm tired of trashy neighbors stealing my towels from my dryer downstairs when I turn my head for a second.

But then we start really looking at our lease. Boy was I stupid. It appeared to be a standard lease, and the day I signed it, Evan was running around like a madman and I was just trying to get home. But it is anything but standard. This asshole actually has it in his lease that we are responsible for repairs to electrical, plumbing, appliances, and even the roof if it leaks. In other words we got hosed again. So now we are looking for a new place...again. But not before I got my digs in:

We were leaving the house. There is already a "For Rent" sign in the front yard because one of the units upstairs is empty. Well this young couple pulls up and asks if I know how many bedrooms the empty unit has. "Two," I say. "Two pieces of crap."
"Really? You don't like living here?" the guy asks.
" Well, my electric bill was over $1000 this month. I make really good money, and I cannot afford this piece of crap." I tell him. This is when John walks up and pipes up about the bugs and the neighbors and the lease he makes people sign. The couple wanted to know if we knew of anyplace else around here for rent. We directed them to a place around the corner that has 1 bedroom, which we would have rented if we didn't have a child. They thanked us for our honesty. I doubt they will even inquire about this apartment. I figure that was my good deed for the day. At lkeast I could save them, if not myself.