The Fire Escape Escapade

It dawned on me that I had a bit of excitement the other day that I neglected to share with you. Now you'll have a tidbit to smile about. I'm sure many of you can picture me in this situation.
I was walking around the block one evening (gotta get my exercise somehow) when a woman in a car that I walked by called to me. She asked if a certain girl was my neighbor, and I told her yes (she and her boyfriend live in the apt beside mine). I was then told that the girl had locked herself out of the apt and had gone to the bar just down the street to see if she could get help. So I went down and got her, and unlocked the outside door. Todd was inside, asleep, and hadn't heard the buzzer or us pounding on the door, so we headed into my apt and started banging on the wall and yelling. It was no use - he didn't hear a thing! So we then proceeded to open my window, climb up and out onto the fire escape, maneuver the screen out and slide their window open as far as we could get it. Not even that woke him up, and it took both of us poking our heads into their bedroom and calling for him to wake up. Needless to say, he was somewhat startled to sit up and see us poking our heads through the blinds. He did come open the door and let her in at that point and I continued on my walk.
At least now we have tested the fire escape and, for the record, it appears it will work just fine in the event of an emergency.

Census Training - My Soapbox of the Day

You never know when you'll learn something new! For instance, the last 3 days of Census training have been a lesson in how inefficient the government can be and how it really IS possible to learn nothing in almost 25 hrs of trying your level best to learn SOMETHING from a crew leader chosen by our amazing federal government! And did I mention that these past days supposedly 'equipped us' to count how many people are in our county? Seriously, if everyone doing our job had the training we did, I feel sorry for each of you. I guarantee mistakes WILL be made. So much for the budget being accurately distributed! There's NO way it'll be right. On top of that, I have only so much confidence in several of my fellow census takers. Some of the questions people were puzzling over were so simple I wanted to tell them if they couldn't figure it out, they were in the wrong job! Come on Americans, a little common sense would go a long ways!
I did have several classmates I enjoyed talking with. One was a retired US Marshal who also spent several years doing witness protection. Talk about some good stories. One gal had a great sense of humor and kept joking and inserting comments under her breath making me and the US Marshal laugh. The other guy I was sitting next to is a retired Shriner. I was unaware until now that there is really an organization whose only purpose is to go out and party every weekend of the year. This weekend they are going to NYC, but other weekends it could be anywhere in the country. (Hmmm...I'd guess being rich is a requirement.) He also had a good sense of humor, and between the four of us we made enough comments to get us through the day in a pretty good frame of mind. Of course, the coffee and chocolate espresso beans did their fair share as well. Ah...caffeine!
So next week the work begins. I am a Group Quarters Enumerator, which means I'll be going to hospitals, dorms, jails, and wherever else groups of people are living. It'll be interesting, and I'm actually looking forward to it.

TV/DVD Player? Maybe?

Yesterday a friend from the armory gave me a tv/dvd player. Just a wee bit later than he intended. I think of Dan as a brother, but I also have gotten to know many of his weaknesses in the years I've known him. One of which is that he is NEVER in a hurry, and often forgets things - for a LONG time. Which is why a couple of us have been giving him a hard time for telling me he'd bring the tv with him, oh, about a month ago. Ron and I both started teasing him the other day, and he shocked me (in a good way) when he went home on his lunch break to pick it up, and actually remembered to bring it in! So now it is sitting in the back of my car waiting for a couple macho guys to carry it in for me. At least I'm a step in the right direction!

Life Can Get Crazy In A Hurry

What a day! This afternoon Mark showed us some of the things he brought back from Iraq. We (Mark, JJoy, Zachary, and I) also played some Spades, which I am proud to say Zachary and I won. :) Not that ANY of us siblings are competitive at ALL. Seriously though, we had a lot of fun.

I am putting together a box to send to Seth in Afghanistan, so I made cookies this afternoon. In doing so I managed to set off the smoke alarm - not once, but every time I opened the oven door. I had to go get my neighbor, Todd, to come show me how to take care of it. After it went off many times I snagged my neighbor on the other side (also Todd)as he walked by and he came and unplugged the alarm for me. In and around the edges I managed to go for a walk with a friend, get the dishes done, and have a meeting with two ladies. After finishing the cookies I had to run to the store for some ingredients to do the rice krispie treats. Getting back from Bennington in time to watch 24 with my friends was tight timing, but I made it. So the krispie treats had to wait till after the show, but it's 11pm now and I'm done with them and ready for bed.

Ahh...Springtime!

In the 60's all week, and I'm loving it! I'm attempting to get back in shape, so I've been out walking every day. After not being able to exercise or do much of anything since surgery, I'm thoroughly enjoying my freedom. My doctor is so happy with my progress that I can now lift up to 10lbs (though my therapist isn't too sure about going from 0 to 10lbs all at once). Of course, if it gets worse again I lose that privilege, but for now, I'll take what I can get. :)
I hope to get some pictures up soon. Due to the fact that I can't upload pictures via my blackberry phone (or at least I don't know how), and I don't have internet at my apartment, and therefore I've been using my phone to post things, I've neglected the photos. Soon, though. And then there will be a bunch, I'm sure.

St. Patrick's Day

I don't understand why all the excitement about this day. I mean, this area may have a lot of Irish people, but seriously, the ENTIRE town participates! Today was gorgeous, so I went out for a walk and saw everything from green hair to green shoes to green faces! I wasn't wearing green, because it simply doesn't matter to me in the slightest, but I don't think I saw anyone else NOT wearing at least several green articles of clothing. Kids and adults alike spent the day showing off their costumes, eating corned beef and cabbage, and drinking a LOT of green beer in the bars as they partied with their friends. I just don't see the importance of it. But apparently I'm missing something, because EVERYONE else does. The crazy thing is, I'm pretty sure that unlike many of the revelers, I'm actually part Irish!

Wow! Wow! And Wow Again!

At my therapy appointment my therapist told me I'm ahead of schedule with my range of motion, but not to get my hopes up about my post-op appt this afternoon because my orthopedic surgeon is a stickler about his protocols and she'd never had him give the ok for moving ahead faster than the protocol said to. Since I was offered a part time job with a coffee shop, I was going to ask him if I could have permission to work if I didn't lift much with that arm. Jis instructions were that I couldn't start using even 1lb weights for another 2 weeks, and no more than 5lbs for another 6 weeks. So I knew he probably wouldn't go for it.
Amazingly, when he came in, checked my range of motion, and did his post-op routine, he told me he was thrilled with my progress. When I asked about work, he thought for a second and then said "I don't see why not!" He proceeded to tell me he was also going to place my weight restrictions at 10lbs instead of 0-5lbs! I was, and still am, in shock. It's about as unlike him as you can get!
I will be looking into that job more later today, since I'm still weighing the pros and cons. But God is definitely on the throne and working out his plans.

Is It Springtime?

Well, our weather has improved - finally! Yesterday made it up to 54 degrees, or a little more. I was thrilled and immediately headed out to find my favorite place by the river. However, I'd forgotten that place was further up into the mountain, so when I arrived I had no place to park - the snow berms were to high. Also, the river was frozen over. Maybe I got a little too excited a little too early. Soon, though. Very soon, I hope.

What a Weekend!

Talk about a lot happening in a few days! Where to start?
Thursday I had a treatment in Rutland. All my favorite nurses were working, and within a few minutes all had come by to say hi. Jim is in charge, Cathy was the nurse assigned to me, and Chuck is another who was on the other side of the room. She tries to bring me a couple books from the nurses library each time I'm there.
As the treatment was finishing up almost 5hrs later I received a call from my orthopedic surgeon giving me the good news that I can remove the sling for the most part and I can start driving again! It's been 5 weeks since surgery, and my therapist says I'm making excellent progress with my range of motion.
An hour after that phone call another came in from a coffee shop I had applied to several weeks ago. They wanted to do an interview the next day! So Friday morning I was preparing to head out to that when I got another call letting me know I made it to the next level of the interview process at a bank 20 min away.
The interview went very well, and I think I'd really enjoy working there.
The whole thing is a reminder that God's timing is perfect. Even if I don't get the job it's awesome to realize that though financially things are difficult, I didn't have to worry about taking time off from work for the surgery or recovery time, and there's no denying that to hear about 2 job possibilities within a day of the news of recovery is a God thing.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon with relatives, and actually had more energy for the entire day than I've had in the two years since the accident. We took the kids down to collect sap from the maple trees on my aunt and uncle's land. 4 buckets full of sap taken back up to the barn to start boiling it down into syrup. We also spent some time with the goats they have - two of which were 1 day old. Very small, and the kids loved holding them. Some time messing around in the hay in the loft, and then it was time to get going.
An hour later I was at a Sportsman banquet at our church. Many people attended, and everyone had a great time. This morning I had 6 girls in Sunday School 'creating' pictures with noodles, rice, beans, and spaghetti. After the service we had a 'job fair' of ministry opportunities.
All in all, it's been an interesting few days. Can't wait to see what this week has in store.

The Joys of a Blackberry

I've come to the conclusion that I am one of the electronically challenged. I've become one of those with a blackberry. The problem is, I can't figure out how it works! I've even gone so far as to read the manual - every word. I'm slowly understanding more, but for some reason there are certain things that I just can't figure out! Still, I do like being able to get online any time, and unlimited texting IS handy. I even have access to TV on the phone! (Though that's one of those things I haven't figured out yet. :)