the story so far...

'The story so far' is actually the title of a Flogging Molly song, which I am thinking about because I get to go see them in chicago next month.  They do a really fun show, so I'm pretty excited.  The ticket was only $35, but there is the serious downside of having to drive to chicago...   Oh well.  Its been around eight months since I was last there, so I guess I can tolerate it.  Its not that I dislike Chicago itself, I just really dislike the drive.  I have never had a trip there that didn't involve stop and go traffic, even on a saturday evening, and even on a thursday a little past midnight.  

Anyway.  I had my abdominal ultrasound, which showed nothing unusual, and my EGD, which showed only a 'slight abnormality at the z-line.'  The z-line is where your stomach and esophagus meet.  I'm guessing whatever abnormality they saw was merely a result of all the puking, rather than being the cause of all the puking.  But of course they had to take biopsies, which don't hurt but do make swallowing pretty uncomfortable for a few days.  And I had some trouble recovering from the versed (a drug they give you to make it so you don't remember unpleasant things happening to you, it tends to make people sleepy).  It made me really sleepy for two days after the procedure.  So, a crappy experience all around, and not really helpful in establishing a diagnosis, other than to rule some things out.  The nausea and puking haven't magically cleared up either, so I'm feeling a little grumpy about all this, but I've got another appointment in the GI clinic next week, so we'll see what happens next.  In the meantime, I've lost 15-20 lbs (not sure what my starting weight was) so there is an upside, but its not really what you can call 'healthy' weight loss.  

Also on an upside, I got to staple someone's scalp back together and also stitch someone's cheek up the other night in the ER, so that was fun.  I also got to help with a trauma; luckily my trauma shears were in my pocket, though on the downside, I got puke on my white coat, so now it needs washed.  Badly.  Its okay though, because its about due for another two-hour soak in a bucket of oxyclean anyway.  (White is so hard to keep clean! And hard to keep white, rather than grey...)

Also an upside, it almost warm outside!!!!   Its only been up in the 40's, but I'll take it.  Besides, anyone who survived a winter in rexburg knows that 40 degrees is a whole lot warmer in the spring than it is in the fall.  

I was also playing with my new digital converter box for my old school TV, and found out that there are a gazillion more channels available digitally than there are analog.  Who knew?  Not that I have time to watch TV anyway, but its nice to know I've got all those options.  

I haven't killed my roommate yet, but I am looking in to moving.  

I did my taxes the other day; both the federal and state governments get to give me money.  Isn't that nice of them?

  

 

And finally, another random 

picture.  This is me at Devil's 

Lake, the only spot in 

Wisconsin with decent rock 

climbing, where we went on 

our ward campout/hike in

2007.  It was really beautiful,

and quite a hike, since we 

started out at the same level

as the valley floor and 

climbed up not one but two 

ridges, one of which being 

where this picture was 

taken.