Day 44

Hard to believe Erica will be in the USA in a mere 44 days. The time is flying. If I thought I was going to get a bunch done or time would crawl, I was wrong. I can't even get to my scheduled hair appointments! My hair is longer and my roots darker than they have been in years.

First I want to comment on Erica's blog. For all those reading my intriguing blog on the internet, her blog for reference is http://www.ericastief.blogspot.com/.

1st- The shoes! I knew that Korean's probably think American's are very sloppy. It hasn't always been this way. Like I said it is like they are in a time warp. Remember that movie "Blast from the Past"? Erica is like Alicia's character and Brendan is the Korean people. Hum. . . weird, you know I have always thought Erica looks like Alicia! Anyway, the thing to learn here is that people do judge you by the way you appear- whether through physical appearance or actions. Some are judging in a way you can't imagine because it is so foriegn to us. But it is important to be aware of differences if you want to get ahead in the world and not offend anyone. Truly if 40+ married Korean men knew how offensive it was to hit on a 20 something single American girl, they should be ashamed. I suppose young Korean girls have gotten used to this behavior? Maybe the men wouldn't care- but they certainly seem to care about their own rules.

2nd- The E.R. scene. OMG, OMG, OMG. . . . . as a medical person I am appalled. Even before AIDS 40 years ago, I never saw blood on my own bed from someone else. If this is hospital standards- I would not want to sleep in a "love motel". Yuk! If Erica has to have surgery- she needs to come back or at least get to England! And "metal brain plate"?!!!! LOL at Erica! That would be important to ask- but I am not sure if in my 30 years as a nurse I have ever uttered the words "do you have a metal brain plate?" I guess I wrongly assume they would tell me if they have one:)

3rd- The carrying people out of bars like a fireman. Mmmmm. . . that is interesting. Maybe they all are practicing to be fireman. Imagine how hard that would be to do in the US. Most are not strong enough and most people are too big to throw over the shoulder.

4th- I am glad Erica has a nice boss. I think the healthy food is a good idea. I think too much fat can be hard to digest by the gallbladder, especially if a person is losing weight. That means that the body tries to break down fat to digest and break down fat to excrete. It is a lot of work and could cause pain.

Okay, now my experiences in "life". Gosh it has only been 2 weeks since I last posted! Wow. .

Around the time that I posted my blog, June 14, Kevin was trying to get back in town for his birthday. He had the travel experience from hell and ended up getting off the plane and taking a taxi back to Cliff's. He slept for 5 hours and then returned to the airport. After he got home we rarely saw him. Rick and I did take him out to Olive Garden for his birthday, and that was nice. He is supposed to be applying for jobs but is totally freaked out about walking in and putting himself on the line. He actually seems most worried about getting a job that he doesn't like. He goes back to his counselor on Tuesday and is supposed to have applied for 10 jobs or have a job. He might get lucky and get a job at Quisno's- the one place he has supposedly applied. We'll see. After reading a book about ADHD on my vacation, I realize that disappointment comes from high expectations. If you expect that a person with ADHD is going to follow through and be responsible on a consistant basis- you are going to be disappointed. There are times that they are and that give you hope that they can do it everytime and that is just not reality. The high expectations only frustrate you and the ADHD person and actually cause them to fail more due to the pressure. Everything is considered "pressure" to an ADHD person. They are on their own timetable. For some reason this helps me.

Rick and I went to a wedding June 16 of Rick's coworker. The bride was a fairy princess with a huge tuffed skirt dress. The reception was at the Arrowhead Stadium Club and it was very nice. I finally got to meet Rick's secretary. She is a bubbly little thing who looks like Meg Ryan. She reminds me of my Kimberly that I work with. Like Rick said, it is nice to have someone that "up" around the office.

The 21st, last Friday, I went out with the girls from the office to the Plaza. It was so much fun! Kimberly brought cards for everyone with a very nice writing in it about our friendship. Karen gave us some beautiful rocks and wrote a letter to go with it about our friendship. I brought NOTHING. Neither did Candy or Monica so I was in good company. I told them I would write them each a silly poem. We really are a "Sex in the City" group. We have someone in 20's, 30's, early 50's and later 50's. I was designated driver so I didn't drink that much. But then I had a little trouble leaving Kevin enough room in the garage. He teased me. . .but I think I was very tired. It was 12:30 a.m. and I was dying.

Monday, the 18th of June, Cliff came in town to interview for a job in Topeka. It sounded like an interview with difficult questions but sounded like he did great. They did offer him the job by the afternoon for a salary that long exceded his expectations of what they could offer. The only damper is that he has to find out what it wrong with his lungs before he officially accepts the job.

Which brings us to now. Wow, is waiting for a medical test results hard. In the back of both of our minds is the possibility that he could hear the dreaded "C" word tomorrow. To stay busy I am trying to get rid of all of his pack rat junk- but he has difficult parting with it. He has a little of Edna and LaVerne in him. "Someone might be able to use it." The bad thing is if HE would ever want to use it, I don't think he could find it.

There are lots of reasons I don't think he has cancer. First and foremost is that he is still fat- people with cancer lose weight. But he is having some concerning symptoms such as the reoccuring pneumonia, fevers, and fatigue. He really can't do much. Those are also the symptoms of chronic pneumonia or the histoplasmosis. Like he said, he may be told he doesn't have Cancer- but it is still something serious. If that is the case he will probably have to learn to take better care of himself. I think he could improve on his diet- there is nothing here to eat! Maybe some fruits and veggies or at least vitamins.

But anyway, pray for Cliff. He says he is ready to go if it is his time . . . .but I think my dad was right when he said Cliff is "hard to kill". I don't think it is his time, just as he is getting an opportunity to move back to Kansas. That would be some kind of twisted poetic justice. I think if he can quit riding the train, get away from the humidity, stay out of Law School (decrease his stress), and eat better he will remain healthier. Oh, well. . . who am I to say. We will have to deal with whatever we are confronted with tomorrow. We are going to a movie afterwards, regardless.