Shir, thank you so much for sharing bits of your experience with us. That photo is truly awe-inspiring. I hope this brings about some real change.

bonny, insent with a d'oh!!! Sorry for flaking. Sounds like you had a yummy and productive evening.

Pix! Don't DO that!

What she said!

Roomie and I went to Frenchman St. StW met us for a drink. It was good to see him for a bit, though his focus is pretty much all study all the time. The boards are TEN HOURS LONG. Nine hours of testing with an hour of breaks total. Madness. There's so much crazy shit about being a doctor.

The lawyers on the board feel his pain. The bar exam is similarly as sucky.

He's like, "Eh, I'm used to it. This is my fourth ten-hour exam." But once he's through this he's good for ten years.

Wow, I thought the GRE was bad?! I wasn't in labor, but I did take the damn thing with the flu and a 102 fever.

PRAXIS wasn't bad. 4 hours, I think.

(Can I just brag for a sec and say I got an effing 100% on the PRAXIS English Subject test, and a 99th percentile on the Verbal section of the GRE? I missed one damned question. It's been 16 years since the GRE and 6 since the PRAXIS and I will remember those scores till I die. I sucked ass on the Quantitative section of the GRE, though.)

Pix, what the... be careful. Some of us around here like you.

Shir, that is utterly amazing. I wonder what historians are going to say about this year hundreds of years from now, if the human race manages not to exterminate itself before then.

I can't remember exactly now but my architect sister in law had to take 7 exams over the space of 24 months or something like that. I think they were only half day tests. But the thing about her tests that got me was that they were only offered every so often and you had to pass all in a certain time period. SO if you failed one, you ended up having to cram them all in together.

My poor Taz seems to be suffering from his bladder issues again. We've gone through this so many times that we're doing a bit of wait and see- we've given him some medication to ease the discomfort (Amitriptyline HCL)and checking to see is his bladder is full/hard (indicates blockage.) He seems OK, more or less- just subdued and whenever he sees the litter box he HAS to go in there and try to pee. If it's not in his visual range, he doesn't tend to go there so much. Like, I think he slept through the night.

The last time this was an issue, he actually passed a bladder stone/crystal, which was great (as it negated the need for pretty hardcore surgery.) Since we've been through this a lot, we aren't inclined to run to the Emergency Pet ER, hopefully keeping an eye on things and bringing him to his regular vet tomorrow. Anyone have any thoughts/advice?

In better news, *I* slept through the night without coughing! And I can breath and stuff. I think I should still take it easy today which means skipping the Satchmo second line later this morning.

Nora, my big measure for Emergency Vet vs. waiting till Monday with Harvey is - is if there is any pee coming out. Even if it's just a few drops at a time, it's better than a complete blockage. I have been informed (by the person who told me when this was all new to me, "Oh, no, don't let the new receptionist tell you to make an appointment for tomorrow - call back and make her tell one of the veterinarians that your male cat is visiting the litter box every five minutes, they WILL fit you in today" and she was right) that with a complete blockage, it is only a matter of hours before it is too late. And since pain can be a reason on its own for an emergency trip, observe for signs of pain such as lethargy, reduced appetite, sleeping in unusual (for the cat's habits) places. All that to say, yes, I think Taz is perfectly fine to wait until office hours on Monday.

I have a couple questions for the Hivemind. First, the requirement to notify a supervisor within 24 hours of an injury at work, that's regular business days, right? As in, if something happens on Friday afternoon, calling the boss first thing Monday morning is sufficient, right? Second, I got hit in the nose on Friday hard enough to knock my glasses off, not hard enough to cause a nosebleed (there was a little blood the next time I blew my nose, but it did not flow) - the stiff neck I woke up with on Saturday morning, the was from the hit, right? Gentle neck stretches, a neck rub from Daniel, and sleeping with a rolled up towel under my neck, they only seem to help a little.

Sending ~ma to Taz, Nora. Don't have specific advice, but it sounds like WS has that covered.

WS, I dunno about the neck. I find my neck can hurt if I sleep on it wrong. One thing that can help, whatever the cause, is to gently stretch it and exercise the muscles a little. Lean over an exercise ball and do a few gentle head lifts, even just 5 or 10.

Kitty~ma, Taz

smishing bubblewrap through the tubes to Pix

smonster, I forget where I saw the original recipe for winter veg soup. I start with onions sauteed in olive oil, then add garlic, sautee, then add broth, then chopped veggies in the order of how long they take to cook. Potatoes, tomatillos, carrots & whatever else looks good. Fresh herbs, (usually dill) and stir a tiny bit of cream into each bowl before serving. Is that enough info?

edit: forgot to say shir: thanks for posting. It's all we have been talking about this morning so of course I forgot to mention it here.