As we wind down a very, very warm January it was nice to actually see a blizzard worthy of a North Dakota winter this weekend. Megan and Nico enjoyed the day off on Monday, and Andy was home with us for a change. This OB rotation hasn't been as bad as I feared, and in some aspects I even enjoy it. His call days are more often, but when he isn't on call he is home with us. That is a nice change. We see him for 2 days in a row, often during the week, rather than waiting 15 or 16 days for that to happen on his "weekend off." He does one more month of OB, and then is off to do something about cardiac care or critical care, or some other C word. I don't listen that carefully, I guess. The part I am excited about is that it is going to be a non-call month, so he will be home every night and every weekend. I'm not sure what we are going to do with him around so much!
In the beginning of the month Andy started the Biggest Loser with some of the other residents at his clinic. I'm proud to say that he has lost 24 pounds so far, and is doing very well and looking very well! I started the same time and have only lost 3. Apparently this is going to be a harder process than I thought!
I also started my new classes this semester. The study skill sections I am teaching are very different from each other, and that in itself is going to present a challenge. In one group I have students who were looking for extra credits or needed a class to fill in a general ed requirement. They need very little in the way of guidance, and it is a very laid back hour. The other group, however, is a much more needy bunch. For whatever reason, academics has not been a strong point for them, and it is my job to help them make the transition from how they are accustomed to doing things to how they need to do things in order to succeed. Given the time constraints on the class, I am not sure what I am going to be able to accomplish. At this point, I think if I can convince them that they need to be able to set priorities, make schedules, and take responsibility for their own lives - school and personal - then I will call that a success. I'm not sure how much beyond that I'll be able to take it. It would be nice if they walked out having stellar note-taking and reading skills, but I need to remind myself that with this group I need to rethink the skills they are coming in to the classroom with and build on those.
I am taking one class this semester. Dr. Leach, one of my favorite profs, teaches a class called Archaeological Lab methods. My deep affection for the good Doctor, as well as the subject matter, enticed me to take a class that is well beyond my comfort zone. First, I am not a lab person. I have known that since high school when every physic lab I did ended in epic failure. On top of my epic failure history, it is a rule in the lab that you must thoroughly wash your hands before every class and - hold on to your hats people - not put any lotion on after the washing. That in itself is enough to send my OCD into alarm mode. But for 2 weeks I have dutifully washed my hands and tried to ignore the little voice in my head and hands that is screaming for lotion. Finally, we spend most of our time in the lab sorting through small trays of shovels of dirt, looking for things that may have cultural significance. So I did through the dirt and look for artifacts and ecofacts, and in the process my hands get dirty. So not only do I have unlotioned hands, now they are dirty. It is a stressful, stressful 90 minutes! Other than that, I am enjoying the challenge of doing something that I am certainly NOT good at.
Tonight, Andy and I are looking forward to a pinochle battle with our neighbors. If you haven't learned the game, I must insist that you learn. It is good fun!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
The New Year
Greetings everyone, and welcome to the New Year! In early December, we said goodbye to "Big George," my maternal grandfather. While it is always sad, sometimes death is a blessing. I am hoping that is the last we will see of the grim reaper for a while.
After a great Christmas with Andy and the kids, I am slowly getting back in the routine. The kids go to school and Janelle's, I get work done, the kids come home, and I don't get any work done!
Andy has started his OB rotation. He gets to deliver babies for the next two months! So far he is enjoying it, and I have been enjoying it as well. I know that will change as his call schedule starts to increase this week, but I am appreciative of the time we've been able to spend together. Last night we did another candidate dinner. This time, rather than the Toasted Frog, we ended up at Sanders 1907, which used to be the best fine dining place in town. I think it has outlived its glory days. One of my pet peeves is restaurants that have huge TVs every four feet. I figured that since Sanders used to have a dress code, the TV issue was one I wouldn't have to worry about. I was wrong. As soon as you set foot in the front door, there is a giant TV hanging over the bar. Once we found our party, we were greeted by a rather inept waiter, who tried describing the specials but tripped over his words and used incorrect forms of plurals. Repeatedly. If you are going to work in fine dining, you'd better know your food. Then, he proceeded to leave work, go home, play video games, built a shed, and painted it before coming back to take our order for appetizers. He actually stuck around to bring the appetizers to our table, but failed to give any indication of what slabs of cheese were stuck to the fruit and cheese board, and also failed to explain the gloppy looking fruit type mass that was in two of the corners. We were on our own. A few moments later, he came back to demand our dinner orders, again tripping over the specials. We scrambled to make a decision, and then sat back to wait. And wait. And wait. Drink glasses were empty. The water was gone. And we waited some more. Evidently he forgot to build his treehouse when he went home earlier, so he decided to plant a tree, nurture it, wait for it to grow into a towering oak, and then build his tree house. And paint it. With two coats of paint.
Finally, he came back with our dinners. Two diners had pasta with the same white sauce. Both remarked that it was watery and flavorless. One had crab ravioli. While you could see the crab, there was no other indication it existed. The flavor was completely dominated by pepper.
While the candidate dutifully ate her salmon, I was unable to tell if it was enjoyable. She did drink a lot of water with it. I ordered Chicken Florentine, thinking that with the ingredients listed in the specials speech it really couldn't be messed up too badly. And it wasn't messed up too badly. It just had no flavor. No flavor at all. And very little texture. I can't even say it was like eating paste, because paste has flavor. This was so bland I cannot even come up with a comparison. At first I thought it was comparable to a slice of plain bread, but that has a rich flavor. Then I thought of tofu, but even tofu - plain and unadorned - seemed flavorful compared to this. How do you take chicken, spinach, bread crumbs, and cheese - all very flavorful ingredients - and end up with that awful, bland dish? I asked for a to-go box and brought mine home for my neighbor. Maybe she could coax some flavor out of it in the magic of her kitchen!
After dinner, glasses again sitting empty, our waiter brought us our dessert menus, then promptly left for his vacation in Amsterdam. I have no idea if he had a good time, as Andy and I left about 45 minutes later. He had yet to return. Maybe he was detained at customs trying to sneak his recreational items into the country.
Maybe I've been spoiled the last few months by the Toasted Frog, but when I am staring at a $40 entree, I shouldn't be wishing for a meal prepared by the public school system instead.
In other, slightly less critical news, the family is headed to Fargo for the weekend to frolick in the hotel pool and watch UND women's hockey. Andy is playing team doctor, so we are taking advantage of the free hotel and going with him. Friends of ours have a room at the same hotel tonight, so I am sure a good time will be had by all!
I hope all of you are well and that these cold months fly by!
After a great Christmas with Andy and the kids, I am slowly getting back in the routine. The kids go to school and Janelle's, I get work done, the kids come home, and I don't get any work done!
Andy has started his OB rotation. He gets to deliver babies for the next two months! So far he is enjoying it, and I have been enjoying it as well. I know that will change as his call schedule starts to increase this week, but I am appreciative of the time we've been able to spend together. Last night we did another candidate dinner. This time, rather than the Toasted Frog, we ended up at Sanders 1907, which used to be the best fine dining place in town. I think it has outlived its glory days. One of my pet peeves is restaurants that have huge TVs every four feet. I figured that since Sanders used to have a dress code, the TV issue was one I wouldn't have to worry about. I was wrong. As soon as you set foot in the front door, there is a giant TV hanging over the bar. Once we found our party, we were greeted by a rather inept waiter, who tried describing the specials but tripped over his words and used incorrect forms of plurals. Repeatedly. If you are going to work in fine dining, you'd better know your food. Then, he proceeded to leave work, go home, play video games, built a shed, and painted it before coming back to take our order for appetizers. He actually stuck around to bring the appetizers to our table, but failed to give any indication of what slabs of cheese were stuck to the fruit and cheese board, and also failed to explain the gloppy looking fruit type mass that was in two of the corners. We were on our own. A few moments later, he came back to demand our dinner orders, again tripping over the specials. We scrambled to make a decision, and then sat back to wait. And wait. And wait. Drink glasses were empty. The water was gone. And we waited some more. Evidently he forgot to build his treehouse when he went home earlier, so he decided to plant a tree, nurture it, wait for it to grow into a towering oak, and then build his tree house. And paint it. With two coats of paint.
Finally, he came back with our dinners. Two diners had pasta with the same white sauce. Both remarked that it was watery and flavorless. One had crab ravioli. While you could see the crab, there was no other indication it existed. The flavor was completely dominated by pepper.
While the candidate dutifully ate her salmon, I was unable to tell if it was enjoyable. She did drink a lot of water with it. I ordered Chicken Florentine, thinking that with the ingredients listed in the specials speech it really couldn't be messed up too badly. And it wasn't messed up too badly. It just had no flavor. No flavor at all. And very little texture. I can't even say it was like eating paste, because paste has flavor. This was so bland I cannot even come up with a comparison. At first I thought it was comparable to a slice of plain bread, but that has a rich flavor. Then I thought of tofu, but even tofu - plain and unadorned - seemed flavorful compared to this. How do you take chicken, spinach, bread crumbs, and cheese - all very flavorful ingredients - and end up with that awful, bland dish? I asked for a to-go box and brought mine home for my neighbor. Maybe she could coax some flavor out of it in the magic of her kitchen!
After dinner, glasses again sitting empty, our waiter brought us our dessert menus, then promptly left for his vacation in Amsterdam. I have no idea if he had a good time, as Andy and I left about 45 minutes later. He had yet to return. Maybe he was detained at customs trying to sneak his recreational items into the country.
Maybe I've been spoiled the last few months by the Toasted Frog, but when I am staring at a $40 entree, I shouldn't be wishing for a meal prepared by the public school system instead.
In other, slightly less critical news, the family is headed to Fargo for the weekend to frolick in the hotel pool and watch UND women's hockey. Andy is playing team doctor, so we are taking advantage of the free hotel and going with him. Friends of ours have a room at the same hotel tonight, so I am sure a good time will be had by all!
I hope all of you are well and that these cold months fly by!
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