Pneumonia

Wikipedia definition:
Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung.[1] Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolar inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid. (The alveoli are microscopic air-filled sacs in the lungs responsible for absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere.) Pneumonia can result from a variety of causes, including infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, and chemical or physical injury to the lungs. Its cause may also be officially described as idiopathic—that is, unknown—when infectious causes have been excluded.

Typical symptoms associated with pneumonia include cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty in breathing. Diagnostic tools include x-rays and examination of the sputum. Treatment depends on the cause of pneumonia; bacterial pneumonia is treated with antibiotics. Pneumonia is a common illness which occurs in all age groups, and is a leading cause of death among the elderly and people who are chronically and terminally ill. Vaccines to prevent certain types of pneumonia are available. The prognosis depends on the type of pneumonia, the appropriate treatment, any complications, and the person's underlying health.

We took my dad to the hospital yesterday. Chest x-rays confirm bilateral pneumonia. They're also administering more tests as the days go on to look for additional issues. Hopefully nothing else will come up. Thus far I have been very unsatisfied with the care he has been given, primarily due to the lack of communication between hospital staff, "our computers are down." This is not an answer.
Yes, I came out here to take care of my dad. I found out he was sick Saturday night and flew out Sunday morning.
I'm still evaluating my feelings on the whole thing. There is much to feel. Waves of emotions pass through me. Spending time with him I've been writing a lot of things down about this experience, from humor he tries to share with his stoic nurses to my feelings to medications and circumstance. I may post some of this soon. Reading about the illness is scaring me, so I'll leave for now.
More to come.

I want bangs...

Which kind do you like better? They do seem sort of similar, but I'm open to suggestions.
(I've enabled open comments so anyone can comment now. :-) )

Jennifer Aniston

Molly Sims

Charlize Theron

Eva Mendez

Hillary Duff

Jennifer Garner

Jessica Alba

Thanks!

Childhood Faves...

Something reminded me of the good 'ol times today. I was inspired to create a list of all the things I loved as a kid in the 80's. I may have gotten carried away, but you get the idea. 80's kids all got that email, "You know you grew up in the 80's if...". This email included things like:
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf
29. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence
54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - > YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME
55. You just sang those words to yourself
Whoever came up with this email is awesome!

In no particular order are some of my favorite things from [primarily] the 80's...
Please feel free to add your faves to the list. Enjoy!

Toys:
dirt, trees, Pogo Balls, Strawberry Shortcake, Care bears, My Little Pony, Popples, Rainbow Bright, Barbies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Transformers, Jellies, Garbage Pail Kids, GI Joe, Glow Worms, Hello Kitty, Pound Puppies, Packman, Roller Racers, Slip and Slide

Movies:

Pretty Woman, Mary Poppins (1964), Top Gun, Star Wars, Star Trek, Real Genius, Goonies, Dirty Dancing, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Splash, Willow, Beetlejuice, Blade Runner, Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueler's Day Off, Gremlins, The Dark Crystal, Never Ending Story (1st one - thanks Tai!), Flight of the Navigator, Labyrinth, Say Anything, Indiana Jones - all of them, Back to the Future - all of them, Ghost Busters, E.T., Karate Kid, Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

TV shows:
The A Team, ALF, Airwolf, Fraggle Rock, Night Rider, Punky Brewster, MacGyver, Babysitters Club, Smurfs, Saved by the Bell, Cheers, Growing Pains, Who's the Boss?, Mork and Mindy, Three's Company, Wonder Years

my truck

...is so beautiful! But it's too tall for the car wash and parking structures around the area! Can you believe that!? I have a story that goes with this.
I think my truck grew, in the space of a month. Seriously.

One day I fit under the parking structure at the airport, and then the next time I went through I did not fit under the same sign. This happened twice, only the second time it happened, it was in anther structure and was very bad.

Due to the height of the shell I ALWAYS look very closely before I go under anything. I strain out my window to look above me while maneuvering between the poles. This particular day I got under the first height requirement sign just fine. So I comfortably proceeded toward the next sign and found myself listening to the screech of my roof against the damn sign that posted the SAME height as the first one. Very upset, I had nowhere to go. Thankfully, and strangely, I was able to get through the rest of the parking structure, albeit with very high blood pressure. To top it off, the "gate" I had to go under when I paid on the way out, scratched my truck again. I didn't bother to scream at the top of my lungs to the attendant because I knew she didn't care.
It was a rough day.

order of events:

1. pull into airport parking structure safe and sound
2. pull under sign at downtown strucure fine. 3. pull under second SAME MEASUREMENT sign and scratch the truck 4. manage to get through structure fine 5. scratch shell AGAIN leaving under exit arm
6. pull up to airport parking structure sign and do not fit.

I don't get it. It doesn't make SENSE!

In the Beginning

...there was light.

Now and then I get this flash of insight that goes as fast as it has come. I struggle to hang on to it yet it vanishes with every other thought, idea, memory... So I've broken down and started a blog. Cliche here and cliche there, randomness abounds ~ Here we go!

Have you ever seen the shadow of a bee before it flew past you? Yeah, scary.

I've been feeling a bit pressured at work lately - to not work so hard. It's a strange feeling, but I'm not heeding the pressure, especially since I'm not done with my 6-month probation period. I actually love what I do, yet I'm surrounded by people who do not like what they do and think that my working hard makes them look bad - or maybe feel bad. I don't know, but it gets old hearing about how they think I should work. The upside is that I'm encouraged to take time off and I have lots of freedom with my schedule.

Aside from the pressure to not care so much about what I do, I'm loving the benefits of the job! A few weeks ago I volunteered for the first Clinton Global Initiative University and spent the last day of the conference working in the lower 9th ward. I met Bill Clinton and took a picture with Brad Pitt... sort of. I also met James Carville and a ton of students from across the country that have made commitments to better their community, city, school, nation or the world. http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=1853&srcid=1399
Please also see http://www.peaceinfocus.org/ ; This nonprofit was founded by a good friend of mine from college who has traveled the world and knows first-hand that youth of conflicted areas need special attention and creative healing outlets. The Peace in Focus commitment was recognized at the conference in the Human Rights and Peace workshop; view the video of this on the CGIU web page.
I also got to see Barak Obama speak on campus - 5th row, center. I've been to the inaugural season of the Green Wave Baseball team at the brand new Turchin Stadium. Unfortunately I missed Samantha Power and Salman Rushdie, but next week I'll see Anderson Cooper. I'm going to a 4 day Professional Development seminar in Atlanta in July. We're hosting the International Research Conference in Service Learning and Community Engagement in October. I found out I'll be in charge of 20 courses in the fall compared to my current 8!

Outside of work I've been to Mardi Gras, French Quarter Festival, Superdome events, crawfish boils, swamp tour, river parades, Bourbon St. too many times to count, climbed the N.O. International and Lakefront airport towers, V to the 10th, and so many other things!

This city is coming back with a vengeance! It's so amazing to see the power this catastrophe has released within the citizens of New Orleans! Their sense of belonging is empowering (bumper sticker: "New Orleans - Proud to swim home!") and their self-recovery effort miles ahead of where "people" thought they would be! Thankfully, there are tons of national events happening here and there is still some attention on the devastation. But not enough. Not enough.

On a lighter note, I absolutely adore Rachel Ray. I come home and watch her show after work now and then and almost every time I love the recipes. Who else would come up with the name "That's Shallota Flavor Spaghetti"? Yummo!

I'm tired of my couch. See ya next time!