Saturday, November 29, 2008

Mish-Mash

Thanksgiving was a success! BIL3 was the cook, which was a surprise! He did mighty well, too! Kept the women out of the kitchen, too! The two nieces never shut up the entire night. They haven't seen each other since August, so it was non-stop. Throw in N1's former college roomie who joined us, and it was a true cackle-fest!

Dad forced himself to come too, at great personal discomfort. I got a clearer picture of what/how he feels. He's sore, he's tired, and a bit week. His main discomfort comes from the fluids that he's retaining. His doctor estimates about 10 pounds of fluid in each leg. Having endured that when I had my leg injury 2 summers ago, I'm fully aware of that pain. And the fluids have swollen him up as high as his belly. To be as delicate as I can--his scrotum is almost the size of a basketball. Hence the problems with walking/sitting/sleeping. No place for "things" to go. Diuretics are the obvious answer, however that will send his blood pressure plummeting. And since it's almost corpse-like already, that's not an option. So he'll just have to wait it out. And it's not going to be a quick process. But he's feeling good, and the heart problem seems to be behaving. It was a good Thanksgiving.
Not a good Thanksgiving for all. It's a sad commentary on our society when a mob, anxious for Christmas specials, will trample a man to death. That was the Wal-Mart on Long Island. Then there's the two left dead at a Toys 'R' Us in California, both of whom shot each other when their "women" got into a fistfight. Sometimes it's just embarrassing to be a human...
On a cheerier note--football playoffs continue on Saturday!! The University of Montana Grizzlies will be hosting the Texas State Bobcats. Griz/Cats #2! The Griz are expected to win rather handily (though it's the playoffs--who knows?). Once again I'll be wearing my Griz slippers and eating a turkey sandwich for the afternoon!

The Carroll College Saints got some odd news on Tuesday. Their opponent this weekend, Northwestern Oklahoma State, forfeited their game. Apparently, 3 NWOSU players dropped some classes that put them below the 12-credit requirement to play. As soon as their administration found out, they contacted the NAIA and forfeited the game. An odd situation that finds the Saints with a bye for the week, and a semi-final game next week. Certainly not the way one would want to go on, but the week off will definitely help with the late season injuries!
This is my final chance for relaxation for a couple of weeks. From now until the 16th, I'll be involved in rehearsals, performances, set-ups, tear-downs, or any combination of those. Including a triple-header on the 13th! It's easily my busiest time of year, but it's also the most rewarding. I just have to remind myself of that during the two weeks! Blog surfing will be cut back quite a bit, but I hope to keep some sort of routine...
Started Black Friday on an ominous note. I received a late afternoon call on Wednesday, asking if I could make it to a Symphony staff meeting on Friday morning. With the vice-president of the Board. This, of course, could not possibly be a good thing. As we met this morning, before he arrived, there was a general uneasy feeling among all the staff. I wasn't the only one worried. Well, the announcement was that there would be a change-up in the administration of the Symphony. There was some discussion of finances and fundraising in these tough economic times, but no mention of staff cuts (even after being asked that question point-blank!). As with most non-profits, there's some rocky roads ahead of us, and it ain't ice cream. Hopefully we'll come through it alright...

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