I broke my tradition this year... instead of a vegan thanksgiving at my place, my family left for Scotland, and I spent the day with Mark's family in Andover. It was nice, but very different then what I am used to. Mark's mom loves everything PERFECT. The china dishware, the pre-sliced everything, it must look perfect. And she loves to spoil her children, which is probably the only thing about Mark's family that irks me from time to time, but I need to suck it up and deal with things that are not how I would do it. My mother gave me a nice little lecture about being a control freak in certain situations. She is so right, but it is funny, in some situations I can be irrational and weird about controlling things, yet other situations I am completely comfortable to sit back and let them happen as they might. I missed being in charge and cooking all the food myself, but I made some delicious eggplant boats (which no one else ate since Mark;s mom made enough food for 12 even though there was only 6 of us). I also made a chocolate banana pie, which was too banana-y at first, but with time really grew on me, and I loved it. Mark's mom also made me tofurky and there was a sweet potatoe dish and stuffed mushrooms that were vegan. It was very sweet of her.
I spent most of the non eating time talking with Mark's mom and his sister Jackie. Mark and his little brother (my age I think) and his dad spent their time drinking beer watching TV...so cliche.
The night before Thanksgiving was, well, kind of a shit show. I went out with Mark, his friend Josh, and his sister Jackie. We got WAY too drunk. I don't remember parts of the night. It is all a blur. And we all woke up with roaring hangovers. Not doing that again for awhile, but at least it was the first time I have done it since June I think.
I have spent most of the rest of my four day weekend studying for boards here and there. People keep telling me not to worry, and amazingly I am not worried (I take it in two weeks) but I will feel guilty if I am totally lazy and then don't do well, so I am going to study a moderate amount and then feel confident i will pass, which is all that matters.
I am on ambulatory now, good hours 8-5, but it is a two hour commute for me, so my days are still sickeningly long. But once I get through this rotation I am basically done! It is all elective time, except for my three week pathology rotation, which is known as the easiest rotation we have. And the more I ride around with dairy vets and visit farm after farm, and see the conditions, I am so fucking glad I am vegan.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
thanksgiving dilemma
Thank goodness my large animal medicine rotation is almost over. It has been rough. Plus I am dog sitting for Ryan all week while he is in Cali and I have not been home during daylight hours once in the last week. Ryan's dogs are very well behaved and nice, but my goodness, I never realized how much I hate living with dogs due to all the hair! I am SUCH a clean freak and I can barely handle all the cleaning I have to do! It doesn't help that Ryan NEVER cleans, but I am cleaning the futon cover and blankets twice a week, sweeping and vacuuming every third day, etc., and I can barely keep up. I just find dog hair gross and can't handle sitting on a futon with dog hair on it. I think if I have dogs they will either have to be small and not shed much or trained to stay off furniture (probably the first one there).
So my family is traveling to Scotland (without me of course since I am on clinics) for Thanksgiving. I used to hate thanksgiving since it is aka Turkey day, and centers around a slaughtered dead bird in the middle of a table. Except for the past three years I have hosted an all vegan thanksgiving for family and friends, and it has been a HUGE hit. This year, with my family traveling, I am not sure what to do. Of course, I have been invited enthusiastically to Mark's family's house. I was actually over at Mark's parents house twice in the last week for dinner and his mom keeps talking about all the great dishes she is making that I will love on thanksgiving even though I never officially said I was coming.
My dilemma...I love Mark's family. Seriously. If I refer to all boyfriend's families as the in laws, I have to say that Mark's in laws are the first family I really get along with and feel completely comfortable with. I used to dread seeing Shawn's family and would try to come up with excuses as to why I couldn't visit them, and Zach's mom threatened to kill me in high school for dating her son, and Brian's parents were pot heads...not too many amazing in laws there. But when Mark asks me if I want to go to dinner at his parents house I am actually sad if I am busy and can't go. So of course I don't want to disappoint them an not show for thanksgiving. Plus Mark's older brother is vegetarian so they are quite good at cooking vegan dishes. But I hate supporting a holiday with a dead bird in the middle of the table. It makes me sick to my stomach. I am sure Mark's mom would cook a ton of vegan things, and she wouldn't care if I brought my own tofurky and vegan mashed potatoes and gravy (although I am sure Mark, his dad, and his brother would make fun of me for it). Still, there is something about participating in a holiday I have kind of protested by hosting cruelty free for three years now. I think of Thanksgiving as MY holiday. I am sure if Mark and I were living together I would ask both my and his family if I could host the holiday and have people over for the vegan feast. But right now I need some advice: should I go to thanksgiving and suck it up with mark's family, bringing my own meal, or should I stay home and relax, or even work at school and make $10 an hour in the radiology department, not supporting the killing of millions of innocent turkeys?
P.S. I got my hair cut and it looks amazing.
So my family is traveling to Scotland (without me of course since I am on clinics) for Thanksgiving. I used to hate thanksgiving since it is aka Turkey day, and centers around a slaughtered dead bird in the middle of a table. Except for the past three years I have hosted an all vegan thanksgiving for family and friends, and it has been a HUGE hit. This year, with my family traveling, I am not sure what to do. Of course, I have been invited enthusiastically to Mark's family's house. I was actually over at Mark's parents house twice in the last week for dinner and his mom keeps talking about all the great dishes she is making that I will love on thanksgiving even though I never officially said I was coming.
My dilemma...I love Mark's family. Seriously. If I refer to all boyfriend's families as the in laws, I have to say that Mark's in laws are the first family I really get along with and feel completely comfortable with. I used to dread seeing Shawn's family and would try to come up with excuses as to why I couldn't visit them, and Zach's mom threatened to kill me in high school for dating her son, and Brian's parents were pot heads...not too many amazing in laws there. But when Mark asks me if I want to go to dinner at his parents house I am actually sad if I am busy and can't go. So of course I don't want to disappoint them an not show for thanksgiving. Plus Mark's older brother is vegetarian so they are quite good at cooking vegan dishes. But I hate supporting a holiday with a dead bird in the middle of the table. It makes me sick to my stomach. I am sure Mark's mom would cook a ton of vegan things, and she wouldn't care if I brought my own tofurky and vegan mashed potatoes and gravy (although I am sure Mark, his dad, and his brother would make fun of me for it). Still, there is something about participating in a holiday I have kind of protested by hosting cruelty free for three years now. I think of Thanksgiving as MY holiday. I am sure if Mark and I were living together I would ask both my and his family if I could host the holiday and have people over for the vegan feast. But right now I need some advice: should I go to thanksgiving and suck it up with mark's family, bringing my own meal, or should I stay home and relax, or even work at school and make $10 an hour in the radiology department, not supporting the killing of millions of innocent turkeys?
P.S. I got my hair cut and it looks amazing.
Monday, November 10, 2008
on the mend
wow, last week almost killed me...seriously...
it all started halloween night. I was driving home from work and got a horrible migraine. I ended up at mark's trying to sleep at 6pm, but I was in such pain, and got a fever. I took a shower, but ended up nearly passing out and just curled up on the floor of the shower until Mark came to help me out. It was pathetic. I didn't want to dissappoint mark, so we went to a halloween party with jeanne-marie, but I only made it about an hour before I started changing colors.
Saturday I still felt like shit, and Mark again had to help me from the floor of my shower this time as I nearly collapsed. I was having hot and cold flashes, fever, and nausea. I slept all afternoon. Once I woke up I felt better, and made the terrible mistake of trying to go to the boston vegetarian food festival with Mark. It was fun, we only made it for the last 30 minutes. But then Mark wanted to walk around Back Bay, so I said I would give it a try. I was in the apple store with him when I started turning green again. I nearly passed out, and Mark and I made it home in time for me to curl up moaning in bed.
Sunday I slept most of the day yet again, only getting some of my errands done. But Sunday night was when the horrible diarrhea started.
Monday started my large animal medicine rotation, which is a bitch. I felt better every morning, but after 4 hours of wrestling horses and running around like a maniac, I would ache all over and want to die. My fever throughout the week kept coming and going, and Monday I developed a horrible cough. The doctors at school let me leave early at 3pm on Monday when I turned green and ran out to vomit during rounds.
This illness continued...every morning I felt better, but by noon I felt horrible, and by 8pm when I got home every night I had a fever over 101 and disgusting, profuse, watery diarrhea.
Finally Saturday I broke down. I just started crying to Iva at school that I couldn't keep going and that I had not consumed more then 600 calories a day once and the diarrhea was uncontrollable and I wanted to die...blah blah blah...I convinced the doctors at school to let me go to the ER.
Good thing I did. My electrolytes were screwed up, I was dehydrated and need IV fluids and electrolyte supplements and anti-diarrheal meds, plus little did I know I had rip roaring pneumonia. I guess my lungs looked like shit all over but in my lower left lung lobe they were starting to condense and almost form an abscess in my lungs. Boy, I am SO glad I went to the hospital. And I got a two days doctors note to stay home from school.
Now, after two days of rest and medications, I finally, for the first time in 10 days, do not ache all over. I am so glad I got the time off, hopefully it doesn't effect my grade, but man, this rotation nearly killed me earlier this week!
it all started halloween night. I was driving home from work and got a horrible migraine. I ended up at mark's trying to sleep at 6pm, but I was in such pain, and got a fever. I took a shower, but ended up nearly passing out and just curled up on the floor of the shower until Mark came to help me out. It was pathetic. I didn't want to dissappoint mark, so we went to a halloween party with jeanne-marie, but I only made it about an hour before I started changing colors.
Saturday I still felt like shit, and Mark again had to help me from the floor of my shower this time as I nearly collapsed. I was having hot and cold flashes, fever, and nausea. I slept all afternoon. Once I woke up I felt better, and made the terrible mistake of trying to go to the boston vegetarian food festival with Mark. It was fun, we only made it for the last 30 minutes. But then Mark wanted to walk around Back Bay, so I said I would give it a try. I was in the apple store with him when I started turning green again. I nearly passed out, and Mark and I made it home in time for me to curl up moaning in bed.
Sunday I slept most of the day yet again, only getting some of my errands done. But Sunday night was when the horrible diarrhea started.
Monday started my large animal medicine rotation, which is a bitch. I felt better every morning, but after 4 hours of wrestling horses and running around like a maniac, I would ache all over and want to die. My fever throughout the week kept coming and going, and Monday I developed a horrible cough. The doctors at school let me leave early at 3pm on Monday when I turned green and ran out to vomit during rounds.
This illness continued...every morning I felt better, but by noon I felt horrible, and by 8pm when I got home every night I had a fever over 101 and disgusting, profuse, watery diarrhea.
Finally Saturday I broke down. I just started crying to Iva at school that I couldn't keep going and that I had not consumed more then 600 calories a day once and the diarrhea was uncontrollable and I wanted to die...blah blah blah...I convinced the doctors at school to let me go to the ER.
Good thing I did. My electrolytes were screwed up, I was dehydrated and need IV fluids and electrolyte supplements and anti-diarrheal meds, plus little did I know I had rip roaring pneumonia. I guess my lungs looked like shit all over but in my lower left lung lobe they were starting to condense and almost form an abscess in my lungs. Boy, I am SO glad I went to the hospital. And I got a two days doctors note to stay home from school.
Now, after two days of rest and medications, I finally, for the first time in 10 days, do not ache all over. I am so glad I got the time off, hopefully it doesn't effect my grade, but man, this rotation nearly killed me earlier this week!
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