It's been a while.

Since my one certain reader (Leigh) recently pointed out that I haven't posted in a while, I thought I'd do an update:

House buying operations are in full swing again. We had a little hiccup last week when our less than genius mortgage processor started asking my relatives for some rather sensitive information. This didn't go over well with my libertarian, advanced in years relatives. So I fired him and asked for his supervisor to handle things from now on. I believe he is still technically processing the loan, but I don't have to communicate with him anymore, so I'm pretty satisfied with that outcome. Now we're just two pieces of paper away from approval and only 2 weeks away from closing. SO FREAKING EXCITING!!!

Leigh has been feeling much better lately. She has also started seeing a doctor for long-term care, which is a minor miracle if you know her like I do. In addition, she's getting hooked on chiropractic adjustments thanks to a Groupon we both bought last week. I had my first adjustment last night and was pretty pleased with the dramatic crunching noise my neck made. I'm hoping after a short series my daily headaches will ease up and I'll have less lower back and shoulder stiffness. Luckily we are both insured this year (I'm better insured than I'd like to be, thanks to my being over-zealous during open enrollment at work. Oh well) so we might as well get as much care as we can, right?

Speaking of medical issues, I've started seeing an endocrinologist and have some results. As of yesterday my fasting lab results (without the influence of omega-3 supplements or a multivitamin) show that my triglycerides are around 1920 (500 is considered extremely high, so mine is considered "sludge blood") and my cholesterol is 486 (it should be under 200). This is very bad news, especially considering the lack of hamburgers and canned cheese in my diet. First order of business is to get me on pharmaceutical grade omega-3 supplements. Hopefully that will get my triglycerides down from the "sludge blood" range and closer to the "extreme" range. Second order of business is dietary changes: lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, minimal sugars, processed foods, or meat (at least for now). The goal is to get my numbers down, then see what I can have from time to time for quality of life. Third order of business will be the addition of other drug therapies to further reduce my cholesterol and increase my insulin sensitivity, but the doctor wants to see how one medication affects my numbers first. That seems reasonable. If these drugs don't do the trick I might ask to be put on the water pill as well to help me lose a few extra pounds (which can help your bloodwork look better) in addition to traditional weightloss methods.

The kitty and puppy are doing really well. Cannelle is up to 27 pounds now and is turning into a really beautiful doggy. She is loving and playful and enjoys puppy playdates with her canine friends. Juneau is getting used to Cannelle slowly but surely. When we move into the house I think both furry children will be happier in general.

That's about it for now. I will try to write about more interesting things, but it's just been so crazy lately that it's all I can do to get through my day with some measure of success.

Medical Update

A month and some change ago I went to the doctor for my annual visit. The NP took some blood and the results came back a bit.... odd... and scary also. My cholesterol levels were very high (imagine an extremely overweight middle-aged person who eats a lot of fast food) and my triglycerides were so high that my LDL cholesterol could not be accurrately read.

I can only imagine that this news would cause most people (including myself) to think: "Well, Fat Ass, eat better and exercise and your lab result won't be so scary."

The problem with this knee-jerk reaction is that I eat pretty darn healthy. When I do eat fast food (which is rare) I order a lower calorie option and tend to go for grilled, not fried. On a daily basis I tend to eat a lot of lean white meat, veggies, yogurt, fruit, whole grains, etc. I even do a lot of my own baking (using natural alternative sweeteners) so I know what's in my food. Needless to say, myself and my NP were perplexed, so I went to an endocronologist today.

Basically my specialist said I have metabolic syndrome, which essentially means I am genetically inclined to have high triglycerides and high cholesterol. This also means I have to avoid certain foods and take medication to control my numbers, probably for the rest of my life. Failure to do so will result in heart conditions, pancreatitis, cardiovascular disease, heart attack and basically and early death. The OTHER condition I have is an autoimmune disease called Hoshimoto's Thyroiditis, which basically means my body is breaking down my thyroid gland and my thyroid isn't producing the hormone T4. I can take a hormone supplement for this, but over time my thyroid will become less and less functional and will have to be monitored for the rest of my life.

The good news is there are drug therapies to help me maintain good health. The bad news is that part of maintaining my health will include some very careful meal planning and food restrictions. Some foods I cannot have are:

• White flour (bleached/enriched)- I already mostly eat whole wheat, but I need to completely cut out breads, pastas, crackers, white rice, and snacks that are not made with whole wheat or whole grains.


• Refined sugars- ALL OF THEM. This is tough because most foods have added sugar. Obviously this means no white sugar, but it might also mean no brown sugar (not sure). This is a problem for me because I LOVE Nutella and chocolate in general. I suppose I could eat mostly dark chocolate, which has much lower sugar levels, but it still sucks big time.


• Fats- anything "partially hydrogenated," animal fats, trans fats, saturated fats, coconut and palm oils.


• Alcohol- drinking can cause your triglyceride levels to spike. My doctor says I should cut out wine altogether because it spikes blood levels and contains empty calories. Fair enough, but I don't think I can live forever without wine (or chocolate, for that matter). The good news is that all online sources indicate that cutting out alcohol is a great way to reduce triglycerides to normal levels. After achieving normal levels a person could occassionally indulge.

I'm basically getting the sense that the United States is a nation filled with triglycerides, so I'm not sure how successful I will be at making dietary changes that have a measurable effect on my bloodwork. The good news is I can rely on drug therapy for my most dramatic changes, but the bad news is this will likely marginalize any improvements, possibly effecting my overall health and lifespan.

Thank God It's Wednesday...

...because tomorrow's Thursday and then it's Friday. I'm exhausted today! Yesterday evening I played soccer mom, filling in for a friend who is studying for the Bar Exams. Her 5 year old son hung out at our apartment for about 2 hours then I took him to his 20:00 soccer game. First of all, who in the world thought it was a good idea to have 5 year olds playing soccer so late in the evening?! I could tell he was winding down from his day and not really wanting to play, but he stuck it out till the end. I was tired too after working, stressing about Cannelle, and being unsure about how to adapt my schedule to his soccer schedule. So basically I forgot to eat dinner until nearly 22:00 and wasn't in bed till 23:00. So unhealthy!

This morning I'm wiped out and Cannelle's schedule is all off too. It turns out she doesn't like wet grass and refuses to use the bathroom when it's raining. This is something I can train around, but I can't do that in the 10 minutes I have for her basic needs in the morning. This evening I'll start by making sure she goes (even if I have to stand on the lawn for an hour) and then I'll make sure she gets plenty of exercise. I've also read that taking a dog swimming helps because they no longer feel weird about being wet, so I'll have to try that too. Anyway, this is just another thing to learn in this process.

In other news, Leigh and I have been talking about our schedules for the coming year. I have another year working as a law clerk and she will be in the same job next year. Unfortunately Leigh has more than maxed out her time off, so she's not going anywhere until Christmas and then she'll still be maxed out (thanks to companies everywhere deciding that people should use earned personal time to attend to things like deaths in the family- not cool) for a few months afterwards. On the other hand, I've been earning time off since last August and have only taken roughly 12 days or so for vacation, bereavement and sick days. Plus my job is pretty flexible (I can make up days on a Saturday if needed), so right now I still have 5 days left and I'll earn another 12 before we go back East for Christmas.

This long explanation is to outline why Leigh thinks I should go on a trip next year without her. Assuming we don't have any major unforseen expenses, I'm thinking I'll go to Europe for 2 weeks to visit some friends, see some new cities and spend a few days at Taizé. This is a far better idea than going to Asia by myself, partly because I want to share that with Leigh and partly because the places I plan to visit in Europe are very safe for solo travelers. In Asia I'd want a friend to help me keep an eye on my bags and my wallet. Europe isnt' free of theft, of course, but I'll blend in easily and I've already experienced the culture, so I can essentially hit the ground running. Bottom line: my odds for a successful solo trip are 1,000X better in Europe than in Asia. We still want to visit Southeast Asia, but that can wait a few years when we're both able to take the time off rather than it being something we've forced to happen.

IF I get to go to Europe, I've decided to fly into Vienna or Prague because I've been wanting to visit both cities for a while now. I'll spend a few nights there visiting the surrounding areas, then fly to Munich. If possible, I'd like to visit a friend living near Munich, but if she's not available to host me I will probably just make other arrangements. Then I'll take the train to Strasbourg to see that city for 2 days or so (since I've decided I'd love to move there for biz school, I should probably visit, right? Right!). Then I'll take the trian to Taizé and study with the monks for 4 or 5 days, over a weekend, before taking the train to Geneva and visiting a friend who lives there for probably 2 nights. I will fly home from Geneva. The flight will cost about $1,000 roundtrip and subsequent travel costs will be under $200. Food costs will be minimal because I will buy street and grocery food mostly. Lodging will be mostly free because I will stay with friends or find couchsurfing hosts. Presents will probably cost a little bit because I'll want to bring home gifts from Taizé, chocolate, wine, and some odds and ends for the new house plus some Christmas gifts.

However, IF I get to go to Europe I'll likely be sacrificing my new bicycle (they cost about the same amount). AND, if my medical bills are too high or something happens while moving into the new house then all bets are off. The bottom line is that I have a rather long checklist of things I need and want to do, all of which cost money, and this trip and my bicycle are tied for last place on that list. However, with some focus, some patience, and some faith I think Leigh and I can accomplish everything we set our minds to.

Life with Cannelle, Juneau, Leigh, and the new house

A lot has been happening the past few weeks. Leigh and I returned home from our sudden and sad trip to the East Coast, floundered a bit while settling back into life and are now starting to make sense. When we first got home from the East Coast Leigh became very ill and took a few days off from work. Honestly, the timing was pretty OK because she needed the days off anyway to have some alone time and process what had just happened. I've been a little out of sorts myself, mostly just due to traveling and being uncertain about some things at work. On top of all of that I've been dealing with the house purchase almost by myself, not because Leigh doesn't want to help but because I've been the point person on this and then had to keep things going while Leigh attended to her family.

In short, it's been a long couple of weeks.

Then I adopted a puppy. Probably not the best timing, but you can't plan for these things unless you want to buy a bred dog, which I'm totally against doing for my own family. I've always adopted pets and have typically had very good experiences. Aside from one or two, all of my pets have been well-behaved and loyal. Those who weren't found themselves living at my dad's house where they have lots of space to be their anti-social selves without destroying my apartment. Anyway, Cannelle is a doll so far. She's smart and well-behaved, save for a few puppy moments. I'm eager to get her into obedience classes so I don't do accidentlaly reinforce bad behavoirs while she's still really young, but I think she should get her next round of shots first.

Juneau Cat has been a real champ about this. At first she was pretty upset and found hiding places to get some personal space. It's only been 3 days and already she's learning to share living space with the puppy, puffing up and hissing when Cannelle gets too close. There haven't been any chases, fights or vindictive bathroom "accidents" yet though, which I find nothing short of amazing. Dividing the apartment into "Cat" and "Puppy" areas for 2 days seems to have done the trick. Now we have Cannelle in a sectioned off "puppy safe area" during the day so that Juneau can roam free and Cannelle can play and have access to her bed, food, and puppy pads.

The house purchasing process is nearly complete! As of this morning we only need to provide one more document before we can officially schedule the closing! This is so exciting! We are ready to move now (but we're not packed), but it'll be about 30 days before we can actually get out of apartment. Good things come to those who wait, right?

Bonjour Cannelle

Today was crazy!!! A co-worker let me know about a litter of chesapeake bay retriever/yellow lab mix puppies. I contacted the owner and let her know I was interested. I then started the tedious process of talking Leigh in to letting me have a puppy, seeing as we're moving into our new house soon and will have a yard. Eventually she gave in, after I promised to walk and feed the puppy and to love it and to make sure that our kitty Juneau still feels loved.

Then Leigh found another litter on Craigslist- black lab/German shepherd mix. I called about these puppies too, thinking the breeds might be better and the dog might be a little bit smaller. The owner of this litter said he could meet me at 5pm in Big Lake, a small town on the other side of Wasilla (about an hour away). After an 60 miles of driving, including being stuck in roadwork traffic for an extra 20 minutes or so, I arrived at the address in Big Lake to find the owner not there and a message from his toothless girlfriend that all the female puppies were already sold. Seriously!?!?!

I got back to my car, in Toothless-Can't-Keep-Appointment-Hicks-R-Us, Alaska, and contacted the owner of the retriever litter. She said I could stop by on the way home and meet the last girl puppy she had and discuss the needs of a larger breed dog. 40 minutes later I was meeting the cutest brown puppy in the world. The owner of the litter showed me the yard space she was used to and told me a lot about raising a dog from puppy-hood and I got to meet the puppy's parents. 30 minutes later I had written a check to cover her shots so far and we were on our way home!

We named her Cannelle, French for cinnamon, because it's a cute name and she is brown. She's a sweet girl, fairly quiet, and very well behaved. She is already responding to "sit" and is slowly learning her name.

Here's the other thing: she's HUGE! Today she turned 10 weeks old and is already over 20 pounds. She's going to be a very big doggie.

Look at that face!

We're so excited to have her, but also a little bit out of our element. We wandered around PetSmart for an hour trying to find what we needed to make her feel at home. I think we're set for now, but this will definitely be a learning process! I see "Puppies for Dummies" being added to our reading lists very soon!

Swedish v. English: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Millenium Trilogy needs no introduction. I started reading the first installation when my grandmother gave me her copy. I devoured it in a weekend. Then I bought the second book, finished it in a few days, and had to wait for the third book to become available in paperback. In the end I couldn't wait for it, so I bought a used hardcover copy and didn't even come up for air before I'd finished it. These books aren't classic literature, but they do speak to important social issues, they're gritty, the characters are interesting and mysterious, and the settings of the story are fascinating to me (a traveler who has never been to Scandinavia or Eastern Europe).

Needless to say, I was excited to learn the books had been made into movies, in Swedish no less! This spoke to my love of languages, especially since I have rarely had the opportunity to hear Swedish spoken. I thought the movies were pretty great. The characters were depicted well and the screenplay made a thorough attempt to fit all important aspects of the story into a reasonable amount of screen time. Of course, I had my complaints, but in all I enjoyed the movies very much after having read the books.



In particular, I loved Noomi Rapace as Salander. She took on this roll with gusto. The on-screen Salander wasn't pretty or charming or easy to like, but she was true to the written character. At times I found her downright frightening. Basically, Rapace took on this roll as a character actor, not a filmstar darling. Michael Nyvquist was an obvious choice for Blomkvist because he IS Sweden's leading man. About 10 years ago he played an abusive husband in Tillsammans (Together). At that time he was pretty cute. Now he's a bit older and smidge portly, but I can see why he'd be chosen for this role. Anyway, I thought the actors did a great job bringing this story to light, disturbing scenes and all, and I enjoyed the films particularly because they were in Swedish.

This Christmas an American/Hollywood version of the first installation is being released. Last weekend I went to see "X-men: First Class" and saw a preview for TGWTDT. Everything in me wanted to boycott this "remake." It's not in Swedish, I heard a rumor the actors would be faking Swedish accents, and why remake something that was just completed?! Then I saw the preview.

The new movie looks fucking awesome. Daniel Craig will play Blomkvist and, let's face it, he's sexy. A relative newcomer, Roony mara, is playing Salander. Of the big name choices, I'm glad this role is going to someone less well-known. Hopefully the lack of preconceived notions about a leading lady will allow Mara to really embody the role like Rapace did.

I've also read that the American version isn't meant to be a remake of the Swedish version. The Swedish version literally put the book on screen. Supposedly the American version is going to take a different approach, so that both versions will be valid in their own rights. In the end the Swedish version will always have something the American version can't: authenticity of language and culture.

Now I just hope the movie is just as gritty as the books were and doesn't gloss over the message of the story or take away from the important details that give life to the backdrop of the story- Stockholm and rural Sweden and the social and legal system of that country. Bottom line: I plan to see this movie in the theater this Christmas. Hopefully I can enjoy the American version for what it has to offer without taking away from my enjoyment of the Swedish version.

Back in the Saddle

We flew home on Sunday afternoon. First Charlotte to Phoenix (4 hours), then Phoenix to Anchorage (6 hours). Our flight from Phoenix to Anchorage was supposed to arrive around 12:30am on Monday morning. This would give me a fighting chance of going to work sometime on Monday. Instead we were delayed due to technical problems and did not arrive in Anchorage until 1:45am, arriving home closer to 2:30am. There was no way in Hell I was going to get home that late, after a 6 hour flight (and a 12 hour journey) and make it to work at any point during that same day!

Instead I took some Tylenol and hit the hay. I slept hard until about noon, then got up and tried to make sense of the past week. Leigh was still in a fog herself, having had a tough journey also and never having had the chance to really process her loss or everything that has changed since last Tuesday. We had a little breakfast, got dressed, ran a few errands, and eventually had a nice lunch and saw a matinee. It may seem like a wasted day, but we really needed to unwind. My only regret is that we did not use the time to clean our apartment, which always helps us to feel a little bit better. So this evening we're planning to make some sense of the piles of laundry and dishes in our apartment.

This morning we got up for work and were just having a terrible time getting ready. We almost threw in the towel on Tuesday as well, but I needed to get back to work and Leigh needed to start feeling normal again, even though it's going to take a lot of time to actually feel normal after such a loss. At one point I had a small breakdown. It was so stupid, but I'd planned to ride my bike to work but the tire was flat and my tire pump is broken. Little things like that can really set a person off in stressful times.

I just sat down and cried, realizing how things have gone wrong the past few weeks and how little I could do about it. I'm worried about my health, Leigh's health, Leigh's mental health, Leigh's family's healing process, the house we're buying (everything is fine but this process is so stressful!), Juneau Cat (who has decided to be a little shithead since we left her so suddenly last week), my lost summer of cycling and having fun, and our apartment being a huge mess. Not to mention that we still have to go about our business- work, errands, helping friends, hosting relatives coming to town, trying to get healthy, etc. When you're trying to do so much anyway and then suffer a loss or a setback, sometimes it can all be a bit too much.

So all we can do now is go to work and clean our apartment, try to eat better after a week of eating heavy food brought over by the neighbors, and try to do something fun and lighthearted every few days. We can start packing our apartment and focus on our tasks one day at a time. Maybe if we keep acting like everything is OK then eventually it really will be OK. At the very least, in 38 days we'll close on our house. This will provide us with a big, wonderful distraction while we work through everything else.

Anyway, I should start working on these files I've been neglecting since last week....

Memorial

On Tuesday morning Leigh wasn't feeling very well as we left for work. I told her to call me if she needed me to drive her home early. Around 9:30 she called me at work. I asked if she was sick and did she need to go home. "No," she said. "My dad died." He was found in his home, most likely having had a heart attack the night before. His death was completely unexpected.

I left my office immediately and picked Leigh up at work. We went home, we called family in Virginia and made a game plan. By 4:30 that afternoon we were on an eastbound flight. First Seattle, then Atlanta overnight, then finally Tri-cities Bristol. Leigh's brother and sister flew into Tri-cities as well, one from New York City and one from Las Vegas. Leigh's mom met us all there and we made our way to their childhood home.

The three children, her father's next of kin, spent the next few days making preparations for the memorial service and signing some legal documents. The family shifted between tears, breakdowns, laughing and telling stories. Being amongst them while they grieved such an unexpected loss made me realize their strength and ability to heal quickly with each other's help. An entire day was spent sorting through family photos and choosing some for the service that best described Leigh's father and his outlook on life. The result was a nice service where half the town stopped by to extend their condolences and tell a few stories about Leigh's father. She held up well through the whole process, sneaking off for a breath of fresh air from time to time or talking to me privately when she needed a break from the masses of people who came out to pay their respects.

Tonight my dad is meeting us to drive me to Charlotte for a flight back. Leigh is spending one more night with her family and then riding to Charlotte with her grandmother and sister. We'll fly back together, but wanted some time with our respective families while we are on the East Coast. I did not expect to see my father until Christmas, a year and a half between visits, so this is a rare opportunity for me. Leigh understood completely, especially considering her own loss. I think we better understand how delicate life, and the relationships we cherish during our lives, can be.