New Look

For those reading through bloglines, the blog has a new look. Take a peek and let me know what you think. The next step is to update the blog links. If you want to be added, leave me a comment or send me an e-mail. Unless your blog sucks more than mine, I'll give you a link.

One thing I realized tonight about my new car. It is the exact same car that Hiro and Ando rented on Heroes. Same color, same interior. I wonder if that was in my subconscious when I went to buy it?

My New Toy

This is my brand new, fresh off the truck, 2007 Nissan Versa. If it is possible to be in love with a car, I'm head over heels! Only difference is I have the lighter colored interior.

In The Quiet

Everyone is sleeping except me and my cat Ricci who is scratching at a flea that had the nerve to interrupt his midnight nap, which will be followed by his 1am nap, then the 2am nap and so on. I can hear the fan inside my laptop, the freezer humming nearby and, finally, what sounds like the Light Rail horn in the distance. Occasionally a car drives by but the street is never very busy inside the mobile home park. I think the new neighbors are vacuuming. Who the hell vacuums at midnight? Especially young single guys in their bachelor pad. Maybe there is a special visitor coming soon and they don't want anyone to know that they are slobs. Of course one of them could be obsessive compulsive but, since they finally stopped, I don't really care.

Ricci has now decided that he needs to bathe before going back to sleep. He's pretty fat so he only cleans a small area then continues with his nap. Punkin is pretending to be asleep nearby. She knows I'll be going to bed soon and she doesn't want to miss out on annoying me as I try to fall asleep.

The vacuuming is still going on next door. I guess he just moved to another room. I hate to tell him but, unless they replaced the carpet since the previous owner, he should just give it up. She had sloppiness down to an art form. It took a month for workers to make that place inhabitable and I don't remember seeing new carpet going in. Supposedly, she had money but she certainly didn't live like it.

I've been sitting in this chair too long, my ass is getting sore. But, the quiet is kind of nice and I feel like, if I move, it will all go away. Then again, I'm getting tired of that fucking vacuum cleaner interrupting my thoughts. I'll probably be hearing it in my dreams when I finally go to sleep which I think I'll do now.

My Last Day

It's my last day at the hospital and I am going to attempt to live blog it. What are they going to do, fire me?

5:51am - pulled into parking lot, 9 minutes early. That's 9 more minutes I could have slept.

5:55am - finally get out of car. See Miguel smoking in the parking garage. I've been here 5 years and that's the first time I've seen him smoke. Shows how much I pay attention to co-workers.

5:56am - punch in. I think this means I can leave 5 minutes early.

6:00am - turn pager on and officially open for business. Check box for morning EKG's and find it empty. Uh oh, this could be bad. It could be a sign of a busy day. Murphy's law, morning starts slow and by the end of the day you are pulling your hair out because of the craziness.

6:01am - pray to the gods that it is a quiet day!

6:10am - Go to ER to gather the EKG's that were done the night before. Damn, they were busy.

6:15am- back to department to catch up on paperwork. Check box, still no EKG's. Send up another silent prayer for a quiet day.

6:50am - paperwork is caught up. Now I wait for the coffee shop in the lobby to open. I've got 10 minutes. I think I'm going to live dangerously and go for caffeinated today!

7:17am - I have free coffee (with caffeine) and pastry. The day can officially begin.

7:56am - I just finished my first EKG of the day. Since we have all that patient confidentiality BS I can't talk about her but I don't think her husband is covered by that. The first thing I notice when I walk in the room is his San Francisco 49er jacket. I immediately offered my condolences, as I often do when meeting a 49er fan (Maura can attest to that). This led to a nice sports discussion and the revelation that he and his wife have been together for over 50 years. Hard to believe but there are still people out there who make it work. That is one thing I will miss, meeting couples who still obviously love each other after decades of marriage. Especially these two because if I were her, I would have dumped him the second I found out he was a 49er fan.

8:22am - Just got my first piece of cake for the day. Everyone here knows about my love of all things butter creme so I expect more before the day is out. This one is homemade with chocolate frosting made by Rock, the hottest male nurse in the hospital. His muscles alone make him hotter than McSteamy and McDreamy combined and damn, he makes a good cake.

9:06am - That's 2 EKG's for the day. I've mostly been visiting with co-workers and rubbing it in that this is my last day. I'm evil but it's so much fun! and seriously, today is all about me.....right?

10:28am - No I haven't been busy, just finished my third EKG. I've been visiting with people and making smart ass comments in an attempt to get fired so I can go home early. Basically my motto for the day is "What are they going to do, fire me?" Go right ahead and do it so I can go home and watch General Hospital.

1:15pm - Still not busy. I've done 7 EKG's. The hospital bought pizza for the entire hospital staff so I was hanging out with the Respiratory Therapists waiting for the pizza. Soon I will be eating a cupcake that has about 2 or 3 inches of butter creme frosting on it, my going away gift from my manager. She knows me so well.

1:50pm - Had a little rush there, I did 2 EKG's in a row. I'm starting to feel like I'm at work which isn't really what I had in mind for my last day. And where is my cupcake, dammit!

2:33pm - Crap! The doctor showed up to read the EKG's from the last 24 hours. I'm actually going to have to work. I have to type up his reports and make copies, do filing. And I still don't have my cupcake! I'm gonna need the sugar rush to make it through the rest of the day.

5:20pm/5:45pm - I still haven't been that busy but the stupid fracking computer went down so I couldn't update until now and I know you've all been waiting to find out if I finally got my cupcake. The answer is yes and it was very yummy. Really all I have left to do is a little filing then, at 6:30pm, I can get the hell out of Dodge. I'd really like to say "Fuck it" and leave the filing for my soon to be ex co-worker but she knows where I live so I shouldn't piss her off.

National Freedom Day

According to the calendar I saw today, tomorrow is "National Freedom Day". I'm not sure exactly what that means, I guess I'm supposed to appreciate the fact that I can play poker online in the comfort of my own home......wait a minute.....Actually this post has nothing to do with poker, the UIGEA or Neteller. For me, tomorrow is the start of a new type of freedom.

Tomorrow at 6:30pm PST, I will be walking out of the hospital I've worked at for the past five years and not going back. Yes, tomorrow is my last day of 12 hour torture as an EKG Technician. No more early mornings. No more sweaty boobs and hairy chests. No more doctors acting like they are gods while they treat their patients like crap. No more evil co-worker from hell.

After tomorrow I will be working from home. Sleeping in, staying up late, as long as my work gets done, I can set my own schedule. How fraking cool is that??

So Far, I Like It

My first week on my new work schedule went well. For those not paying attention, I'm working 2 twelve hour shifts at the hospital per week leaving me with 5 days off. Not really off, but with no commute, as my other job I can do from home or anywhere else with wireless access. 12 hours is a little much on my still bruised knee but one of the advantages to working in a hospital is an unlimited supply of ice packs.

Poker has sucked this week. If you are going to enter Al's Blogger Dead Pool, I would be a sure bet right now to be the first blogger to lose my bankroll. It won't hurt my feelings if you decide to put me on your list and I will be honest about being broke so you will get full credit.

Speaking of Dead Pool's, I am taking part in F-Train's pool. It is totally morbid but I actually subscribe to celebrity death beeper and CNN sends me an e-mail whenever someone important dies, so morbid is evidently my thing. For those who want to follow along at home, here is my list:
1. Sid Caesar
2. Dick Clark
3. Tony Curtis
4. Farrah Fawcett
5. Annette Funicello
6. Estelle Getty
7. Zsa Zsa Gabor
8. Charlton Heston
9. Meat Loaf
10. Ricardo Montalbon
11. Harry Morgan
12. Nancy Reagan
13. Keith Richards
14. Nicole Richie
15. Roy Scheider

I realize Fidel Castro is a given and I should have included him, but it just seemed too easy. There were so many choices and selecting just 15 was tough but I'm happy with my list and I think I have a couple of dark horses that may just pay off.

And with that, I am off for tonight.

Welcome 2007!!!

Thank the gods it is finally 2007! 2006 probably wasn't my worst year ever but it was pretty damn close, at least top 3. My poker game was a great metaphor for my life in general, up and down with me seeing the down more often than I would have liked. I'm hoping the last trip to Vegas will be the turning point for both my game and my life as the highs far outweighed the lows on that trip (and those who were there know about the lows so that is saying a lot).

And that is the last I will be saying about 2006, it's gone, good riddance!

In 2007 I am looking forward to transitioning out of my job at the hospital and into the job I am doing from home for an awesome start-up. This job will also allow me travel if I want as I can work from anywhere with a wireless connection. If I can get my finances in order, I may make some appearances at some of the smaller, non-Vegas, blogger events. Plus I will probably visit my family in Maine a little more often, especially since Jet Blue now flies to Portland.

I am also hoping my poker game improves over the next year. Like I said, Vegas in December was a good start, but I want to see more consistency in my results throughout the year. So far, I've been playing a lot of HORSE on FT and I have been winning more than losing, however I have a lot of holes to plug up before that winning will mean anything. Seriously, if I leave the table with 25 cents more than I started with I consider it a win so the fact that I have been winning isn't a big deal...yet.

And that is pretty much it. No resolutions, just a lot of hope for a better year! May your year be filled with happiness and good health!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy Holidays!!!!

I will be at work for 8 long hours tomorrow. My proposal to kick all the patients out of the hospital so I could have the day off, wasn't accepted so I will be sitting in my department playing poker on my laptop and eating tons of junkfood that I will steal from the other suckers who have to work as well.


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

The Knee Report

There is no damage to any tendons or ligaments in my knee. It is just very badly bruised under the kneecap and will take a few months to feel "normal" again. The doctor took away by knee brace and crutches and told me to go back to work. I tried to get an hour restriction out of him but he said to go to work and see what happens. So, I go back tomorrow for a 5 hour shift. Basically, it is going to hurt but I can't do any damage by walking on it. I just have to suck it up and go for it. The real test will be the hockey game on Thursday night as my seats are in the 14th row of the upper bowl. Lots of stairs and they are all concrete. We've seen how well I do with those. Wish me luck!!

The Ugly Pt. 2

When we last left this tale of woe, I had just flown through the air and landed with a thud on the concrete below. The first thing Maura asked was if I was okay. I said a rather weak no and she then asked me what hurt. I think I may have said everything but it's kind of fuzzy. Maura didn't want me to move but the concrete was cold and I needed to evaluate the damage so I rolled over and, from there, managed to get up on a nearby bench. A passer-by, who must have witnessed my great aerial demonstration, went to get security and I sat in semi-shock trying to decide what hurt the most.

It only took a few seconds to realize that something was wrong with my knee. It was the first part of me to hit the concrete and it hit hard. I also saw blood on my left hand and the ring finger on my right didn't feel good either. I was lucky though, I didn't hit my head and all my Ethel M candy was intact.

Security arrives and it was decided that calling the paramedics would be the best option. In the meantime, they got a wheelchair and took me to the nearest employee break room. Imagine my surprise to see Dove and Ghirardelli chocolate on the table in the Ethel M factory. They said something about Ethel M being affiliated with them but I wasn't buying it.

Once the EMT's arrived things got really interesting. I've got to say, Las Vegas has some HOT paramedics. They asked if I wanted something for pain, which is like asking Al if he wants a SoCo, um....yeah, pain killers would be good. It became a competition between 2 paramedics to see you could start the IV first. Ryan may have won but he left me with one hell of a bruise. Anyway, the morphine hit me quick and I was soon on a stretcher and in an ambulance for the bumpiest, roughest ride of my entire life. I think the driver hit every bump between the chocolate factory and the nearest hospital, which was a good 10 minutes away.

Arriving at a hospital in an ambulance will not get you seen any quicker unless you are near death. At least not in Las Vegas. I was wheeled straight through the ER and into the waiting room where I was triaged and left to wait. Since I was on Morphine I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open but I vaguely recall Maura showing up and eventually being moved into the ER. Once there, I got to sit in a hallway with other patients who were waiting to be seen by the doctor. So much for patient privacy and this was supposed to be the quieter hospital. My business became the business of those around me and I was not too pleased. I work in a hospital and patient privacy is stressed ad naseum so, to me, this was very unprofessional. Of course I was so doped up on Morphine I didn't exactly object.

A doctor finally made her way by my part of the hallway, spent 20 seconds looking at my hand and knee, then ordered the x-rays. I saw her twice more after that for less then 10 seconds and I was released. All-in-all I was at the hospital for 4 or 5 hours to see a doctor for less than 5 minutes. They didn't even clean the blood off my hand.

The verdict was that nothing was broken but I should have an MRI on the knee and not walk on it. Thanks, like the shooting pain every time I tried to bend it didn't clue me in to that fact.

I see the knee doctor on Tuesday to find out the extent of the damage and how much longer I will be sitting at home on my ass. I'm hoping to be out at least through the holidays, and that is looking like a sure thing right now, but I don't want it to be too serious as I'm already getting bored.

Lastly, if it hadn't been for Maura, I wouldn't have gotten through this. She changed our plane reservations, took care of the car rental, made sure I had pain killers to take and waited on me as much as possible. She also called my dad and my work to fill them in on what was happening. I owe her a big thank you, as well as a few Vicodin.

Up next: The good and the bad parts of the trip.

Trip Report: The Ugly, Pt. 1

Everyone who went on the blogger trip last weekend already knows about the good (tournament) and the bad (wallet) portions of my trip. However, only the few who were in the "girly chat" the other night are aware of "the ugly".

Maura and I had decided when we made our plane reservations to stay until Tuesday the 12th to have a day to decompress before heading back to the "real world". Our plans for the day included chocolate, testing Grubby's slot machines at Green Valley Ranch, and getting some fresh air while looking at some pretty Red Rocks. Well, we almost made it through the first stop.

We drove out the the Ethel M chocolate factory. I can't go to Vegas and not come home with some Satin Cremes, it's impossible. Since we had a car and needed to use up more of the gas, we headed for the birth place of the luscious chocolate instead of one of the many stores in the strip area. Besides, it was on the way to Green Valley Ranch, our next stop.

After getting our free samples and making our purchases we decided to take a stroll through the Cactus Garden. I hear it is beautiful at night as they have it all lit up for the holidays. During the day, it's still neat to check out but it was a bit dreary and overcast. Maybe that should have been a hint to stay away!

While wandering through the garden we decided to head left down a little path of stairs. There was nothing ominous or scary about them but, if this had been an episode of "Lost In Space" the robot would have been yelling "Danger, danger Will Robinson". Me, I would have ignored the damn piece of tin and descended the stairs out of spite. Instead I started down while chatting. Obviously, multi-tasking was not the way to go on this particular set of stairs.

Things were looking good as I descended the first step without a problem. Suddenly, my feet took on a life of their own and I started to fall. I struggled to regain my balance and reached for something to keep me upright. Unfortunately the rail was not within my arm span. I flew forward, over the last couple of stairs and landed, knee and hands first, on the hard concrete below. Imagine if you will, the human cannonball at the circus, mis-firing. I'm fairly certain that is what I looked like. Maura will have to verify. Upon landing, I looked like I was making a snow angel, only I decided to fall forward into the snow instead of backward. If only there had been snow underneath to break my fall. Concrete hurts!

Next up: Part 2, Morphine, sweet Morphine!

You Know Who You Are

I just wish I knew your identity. Anyway, whoever you are, you know what you did and I thank you very much. If you are at the blogger gathering this weekend please identify yourself so I can buy you a drink to say thanks. I don't know what I did to deserve it but thanks, again.

I Apologize in Advance

I just marked everything as "read" in Bloglines, on purpose. Usually I do it accidentally, a mis-click of the mouse, but I was so overwhelmed with the number of posts I made the decision to start over. So, when I see you this weekend and you start talking about stuff you have posted on your blog, don't be surprised if you are met with a blank stare. With a couple of exceptions, I have no clue what has been going on with anyone in the past two or so months. At least I won't be at a loss for topics of conversation.

See you in Vegas!

I Need Friends

I have jumped on the MySpace bandwagon and created a profile. Now I need friends. So far I have Joanada and 2 other requests out. Please help a girl out and be my friend!

http://www.myspace.com/aprilinca

God that sounded fucking pathetic.

No Excuses

"The Wave should only be done at slow sporting events, like Baseball."

This is something I wrote in my little notebook last night as I watched the Wave move it's way around HP Pavilion during the Sharks hockey game. The last thing I want at a hockey game is people jumping up in front of me while my favorite player is taking a shot on net. Even though it started during a stoppage in play, it continued after the puck was dropped and I was not pleased. Fucking tourists!

Speaking of tourists, I will once again be making the trek to Vegas for the December blogging event. Check raising drunk cowboys brings such joy to my life, I really can't wait. I will be rooming with Hella Shelly along with Maura, who some may remember from my first blogger trip. It is also looking like a special guest will be making an appearance as well. For now I am keeping the identity under wraps just to annoy the crap out of the other attendees.

I finally got to meet my nephew a few weeks ago and I have to say, I almost reconsidered my decision to not have children. Then I came to my senses and kicked a two year old. Whew, that was a close call. Seriously, he is about the sweetest child I have ever met. Then again, he's only 8 months old and can't talk back yet. Once they start talking, it goes down hill fast. Evidently there are some decent photos of me holding the kid. Maybe I'll post one at some point.

Thank You, Thank You Very Much

I walked for Asthma research almost 3 weeks ago. I meant to update and thank everyone before now but, life has had other things in mind. Nothing bad, just busy. I just want to thank everyone who donated to the American Lung Association. I was able to raise over $600 for Asthma research and that was near the top out of everyone involved in the walk.

The day was cold and overcast but we had a good time. I finished the 5K in about an hour, which, considering I never exercise, is pretty damn good. So here is the final list of all those I need to thank:

Chilly
My April Twin
Easycure and Easycure's mom
Bobby Bracelet
Mr. Speaker
StB
Donkey Puncher
CJ
Gracie

If I forgot anyone, please leave me a comment and I'll add you to the list. I tried to keep track but I get distracted easily. Again, I thank you all. I really appreciate the support and my whole team thanks you!

Chilly is the grand prize winner. He gets to rename my blog for a week. I'll send you an e-mail so we can work out the when.

THANKS!!!!

Long Overdue

Things have been crazy, as always with me, and in all the craziness I forgot to mention my new sponsor (no, not the AA kind). Basically, it was discovered that I do have a price so I'd like to welcome the fine folks from Tightpoker.com to my blog. I hope they don't live to regret this decision when they realize how much my blog truly sucks!

Also long overdue has been any talk about poker on this blog. I haven't played a lot since the Vegas trip as I was in a bad down turn that continued throughout the trip. I seriously couldn't win if my life depended on it and I decided when I got home to take a little break. I ended up playing a bit over the last couple of weeks and I must say, not a damn thing has changed. I still can't win. Actually that is not entirely true. I get ahead and continue to play only to give back my profits and then some. I guess I just don't know when to stop. It happened in Vegas as well. At one point I had doubled my buy-in but I was having so much fun, I kept on playing. By the end of the night I had about $6 left.

It's actually a problem I've had since I started playing poker. I can't get myself up from the table no matter what. On-line or live it doesn't matter, I don't have the discipline to stop when the table changes or the cards go cold and I still have some money left. Any advice????

Still Around

Hello all! I am still alive but it's been crazy the past couple of weeks. Between health issues and work I haven't had time for anything else except sleep.

I still need donations for the Asthma walk that takes place in a couple of weeks so I am opening up my poker accounts for donations. If you haven't donated and are still interested you can make a transfer to April98 on either Full Tilt or Poker Stars. I would really, really appreciate the donations and there is still a chance to out donate Chilly for the right to rename my blog.

To Donate:
Transfer to April98 on Full Tilt or Poker Stars
or
Direct link to my donation page

THANKS!!!

Update!!!

Time for another 5K Asthma walk donation update.

First, there is a new leader. Chilly has edged out my twin and has a good chance of getting the opportunity to rename my blog for a week. I won't repeat what April said when I revealed this news to her but if I were you Chilly, I'd be watching my back.

Second, there is still time to make donations and to make an even bigger donation than Chilly to take the renaming rights away. I haven't reached my personal goal yet and my team still needs a lot of help with the team goal so please keep donating.

Direct link to my donation page

And now, thanks to everyone who has gotten off their ass and donated.

Chilly
My April Twin
Easycure and Easycure's mom
Bobby Bracelet
Mr. Speaker
StB
Donkey Puncher
CJ

Again, thanks for the donations and if you haven't donated yet PLEASE DONATE SOON!!!! PLEASE!!!!

Just A Few

I'm just going to take a few minutes and write whatever comes into my head....Consider yourself warned.

Steve Irwin's death was a shock to me. I really liked him and his show and my heart goes out to his family at this time. If that video footage ever makes it on the internet I hope the person responsible gets struck by lightning. No one needs to see it and it isn't how he would want to be remembered. He should be remembered for his conservation efforts, his educational programs, and as a husband, father, and son.

UPDATE: I found a couple of links I thought may be interesting. The first talks about the video and whether it should ever be released to the public. They pretty much agree with me but it is interesting reading.

The second link is the Animal Planet schedule of a couple of very good Steve Irwin shows. The first is The Crocodile Hunter - Steve's Story from 2000 and the second is Confessions of a Crocodile Hunter from 2004. Both tell the story of Steve's life through interviews with him, his family and his friends. I watched both the other night and found them to be very good as well as heart wrenching. If you get a chance check them out, they will be on all week.
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I finally saw Brokeback Mountain over the weekend. I was going to do a review but just take the opposite of what everyone in the media said about the film and you'll have my opinion. The worst part is that I will never get those two and a half hours back. There are more convincing gay love stories on the prison drama OZ.

My life is still crazy. I still have two jobs and health issues that won't go away. I see a new doctor next week and maybe I'll finally get answers. I haven't played much poker which is why you haven't seen much writing about it here. I've been playing other games and it's been a nice change. Hopefully I'll find my poker game again soon but for now I'm just going to limit my play until I feel I'm really ready to dive back in.

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Now for the 5K asthma walk update. Thanks to those who have donated thus far I am in the lead by a little over $100. I've called out my other team mates and told them they better get their ass in gear before I completely embarrass them. I couldn't do that without all of you but I still need your help.

Direct link to my donation page

The following people have donated money (If you're not on this list, what's your excuse?):
My April Twin
Easycure
Bobby Bracelet
Mr. Speaker
StB (I think)

and two other people whom I think are bloggers but can't identify be their real names. If you made a donation and aren't identified above please leave me a comment. Seriously I don't know that many real names and that's all I get in the notifications.

Also, twin is still in the lead for blog renaming rights. There are still 3 weeks left to make a bigger donation and steal the prize.

Again thanks for the support and keep spreading the word so I can continue to kick ass.