Volume 12, Edition 2: Ankle Update

New York Happenings: Volume XII, Part Duex, ANKLE UPDATE


Hey everyone,

As I'm sure you've all been losing sleep over the status of my ankle injury, I wanted to relieve some of your worry with an update. I saw an orthopedist yesterday who was quite nice and attentive, and it turns out there is no gap between my tibia and fibula (which is a good thing!) That means no ligament rupture. Just a regular ankle sprain that was probably exacerbated by walking around so much. Do you think my insurance will cover cab rides? Cause I sure as hell can't and that's really the only way I could minimize my walking right now. But it is good news. It means no surgery and no more boot!! Acually he was ok with the boot but gave me an aircast instead (see pic above) so that I wouldn't have to lug that heavy boot around everywhere. Honestly, between that and my heavy rolley backpack w/ my anatomy and physiology books in it (3 of them!) I felt like the ghost of Christmas past...lugging my chains behind me. Ok, I can't take credit for that joke. A doctor friend of mine thought of it. But I thought it was quite clever. So there you have it. I will have 4 weeks of physical therapy starting next Friday (God only knows when I"ll fit in 2 appointments a week), and then I'll be as good as new...hopefully. So thanks for your worries, well-wishes and prayers. I am still in one piece!!

Since I have your attention, I have to give an another shameless advertisement for my blog w/ my friend Meredith...our bicoastal cultural comparison blog entitled Bicoastal Bosom Buddies. Mer has been MIA for a week or so for personal reasons but you can still read the NY updates from yours truly including an interesting story involving a man with a bloody eye on a Bronx bus. Lovely. The site is
http://bicoastalbosombuddies.blogspot.com/.

Hope you check it often!Hope all is well with all of you! Keep away from that crazy uneven concrete! Much love everyone and happy summer,
Lauren

Crazy New York

I was waiting for the bus last night for about 10-15 minutes and was quite annoyed it hadn't come. I hadn't had the best day: I went to see an asshole orthopedist who basically said nothing was wrong with me and as Scott says "made it sound like you were making it up" (see this article for some possible info why); then from E96th street, it took me over 2 hours to get to work (it should only take about 45 minutes) due to multiple train route changes (typical during summer construction) and because I got on the Bx32 going the wrong way, which I didnt realize until I had been on the bus for 15 minutes or so. I got to work with only 3 hours left and had to go directly to my 3.5 hour class. Needless to say, it was time to get home.I finally saw the Bx9 coming. It didn't make it through the stop light before my stop. I waited...(im)patiently, and finally the light turned green. The bus didn't move. Instead, it opened its doors and let someone off. (Picture multiple cars honking angrily at this point.) Finally, the bus pulled through the intersection and up to my stop. The driver put his hand out as to not let anyone on, and allowed people to get off. Sometimes drivers do this so people don't get too greedy and start to get on before others leave the bus. But this guy didn't put his hand down. Instead, he turned his head to the seat behind and across from him and asked a man sitting there (who's back was against the window I was looking at) if he needed medical attention. Medical attention?? This is where I come in!...I think starting to switch into future-emergency-room-nurse mode. The man must have said yes and the driver made an announcement to the other people on the bus that this was the last stop and they had to get off. Then I hear the guy with his back to the window say onto his cell phone "My eye is bleeding all over!" Sure enough, he turned around and there was blood running down his face from his eye. He had blood on his hand and his shirt. I'm thinking Direct pressure! I should tell him to put direct pressure on it! Not that it was even gushing...but I wanted to be involved! Soon, the guy started yelling at the other passengers who were exiting the bus "Quickly! Quickly!" I thought this was going to cause a fight as the last passenger in line to exit the bus was a buff, short short wearing jock type who just stared the guy down as he yelled directly into his face.Finally the last guy gets off the bus. All the passengers (and me) are crowded on the curb around the bus. (I was actually standing in the street as the bus was a few feet from the curb). The bleeding man steps up into the door way of the bus, a few feet above everyone, and starts yelling "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! I am the man! You are nothing!!" This guy is so adament that his spit actually hits me in the face as he's yelling. (Then I got smart enough to step up onto the curb like everyone else, and I dropped my hero fantasy. I wasn't going to get involved with this one!) All this time he is still on his cell phone, still bleeding. At one point he said something to the crowd like "I would die for all of you!" or something psychotic like that.Another Bx9 FINALLY pulled up behind the first bus and everyone hurried over to get a seat. The poor first bus driver was left alone with a possibly crazy or drugged-up man, though the driver seemed cool and collected as can be. I tried to listen to a lady who was telling the story of what happened but she was only speaking Spanish. Damn Spanish 6 didn't get me anywhere. Where are my Spanish skills when I need details like this?!? So I turned to the lady next to me and asked her what happened and all she said was "He got into a fight on the bus." How helpful and detail-oriented...NOT. But then I put it together. The person who got off the bus at the intersection before my stop must have been the other guy in the fight, and I would assume he was kicked off by driver. I was shaking my head in wonder when we were about to pull up to my stop where I get off to go to go on the subway into Manhattan. THEN 2 ladies walk directly in front of the bus I was on and when the driver honked, they flicked him off! Apparently it was disgruntled bus driver night because the bus driver yelled out the window at this "THIS IS THE FUCKING BUS!"...as in, why are you walking right in front of this vehicle when you're holding up dozens of people from getting home. Jerks. I told the driver I sympathized with him and all other drivers that night, and he mumbled for me to take care.Oh sigh, how New York amuses me. In other news, expect a blog from Mer soon. She's taken a brief leave of absence from blogging to deal with some not-so-fun personal stuff, but will return in great form ASAP! The "Eye"-Witness,~LB

Volume 12: May 07 (1 Year Anniversary!!)

Happy June! May 30th marked my 1 year anniversary of moving the NY. Can you believe it!! 1 year ago, I left my loving parents (tearily) and got on a plane w/ a one-way ticket to NY. I was ditched by super-shuttle and shared a cab with a guy named Monte who lived in Washington Heights. And today, I am sitting in my comfortable job at the Bronx VAMC, about to start class for my nursing prereqs (in T minus 75 minutes) with a big ugly boot on my foot (the taller of the 2 in pic below):

"WHAT?!" You say. What is this horrid addition to Lauren's up and coming New York wardrobe?

Yes friends, I have sprained my ankle. Possibly pretty badly (so the podiatrist thinks). It all began like this:
Almost 3 weeks ago now, I was walking down 43rd around 9th and 10th (on my way to the stupid UPS headquarters for reasons I won't get into now but that involve a well-intentioned though idiotic neighbor) and all of a sudden my leg buckled under me and I started to fall over. Though I caught myself, I felt a distinct wave of pain in my foot/ankle because the outside of my foot had inverted and I think I actually stepped o n it with the top of my foot, as if the outside phelange had folder under the rest of my foot...if that makes any sense. I turned around to see what had caused my semi-embarassing-quasi-fall, and saw some concrete that had eroded (like if a weed had grown out of it) and was about 2-3 inches above the rest of the sidewalk. I had stepped directly on it and my ankle had "inverted" , etc. Boo, who can I sue? So I was limping around the next few days but just figured it was a strain or a sprain. I tried to get back to working out, which I had been doing 4-5 times a week since January/February. I've lost 10 pounds so you can imagine my dismay when week 1 went by, and then week 2, and my ankle still hurt when I used it too often, despite my efforts to ice, wrap, elevate, and down bottles of ibuprofen (ok...I had a few a day...pills, not bottles.) So I finally went to the podiatrist on Friday and low and behold there is a gap (called diastasis) between where my tibia and my fibula (the 2 shin bones) are supposed to over lap which is suspicious of a ruptured ligament ( high ankle sprain). Unfortunately in the state of New York, a podiatrist can't treat anything above a certain part of the ankle so I have to see an orthopedist tomorrow to find out if I really did rupture my ligament and what I'll need to do to fix it. Worst case scenario: Surgery. Sick. So keep your fingers crossed that the podiatrist was completely wrong and didn't know what she was talking about and gave me this silly boot for no reason at all.

In other news, Scott got a job this summer working for Stephen Chaikelson, the head of the theater department at Columbia and a broadway producer. He's working doing lots of busy work type stuff but its in the industry that he loves so he is content. He gets to read new scripts, meet some theater-industry people, and hangout with some apparently friendly Canadians.

We have seen lots of great theater lately and will be hosting our 2nd annual Tony viewing party on Sunday after my last choir concert in which we'll perform Bach's B-Minor Mass (beautiful!! If you're in town, come see it; 6/10 at 2pm at Christ of St. Stephen's church on W69th at Broadway). Last year when we hosted this party, we had to rush to put all of our IKEA furniture together in about 4-5 days and in our rush, I put part of our IKEA coffee table on backwards so we couldnt' even use it. It was enjoyable though and I got compliemnts for making a mean taco. This year, we're thinking homemade pizza...and cheering for Coram Boy, Spring Awakening and Grey Gardens (the latter 2 have GREAT music which I highly reccomend).

Lastly, I'd like to introduce all of you to a new blog I am a part of called "Bicoastal Bosom Buddies ". It is a joint blog with my friend Meredith Cain-Nielson (my friend since we were about 3) who lived across the street from me on Ann Lane until she went to college in Cincinatti. I always thought Mer would end up in NY but low-and-behold, she is now living in LA (and staring in an Opera this month!) and I am in NY. So we are writing an experiment in comparitive pop culture and though we've been a bit slow in writing, keep checking back cause we plan on making it a big deal ( http://bicoastalbosombuddies.blogspot.com/) . :)

I hope all is well and if anything interesting becomes of this ankle injury, I'll keep you updated.

Love to you all,

Lauren

Volume 11: April 07

To my dearest friends and family,

Hello everyone! 11 months into New York living and things are going swell! I have basically moved into my new position as Research/Staff Assistant for the VISN3 MIRECC (I say basically because I am still training my replacement for my old position who happens to be a very nice girl from Buffalo, NY). I have registered for summer classes and am taking Physiology and Anatomy I and either Anthropological Perspectives of Men and Women or Physiology and Anatomy II. The first session begins no June 4th so wish me luck! Scott is rounding out his school year with style…stylized performances that is. I saw a night of Absurdism (Ionesco and Pinter) and a night of Commedia dell'arte (Moliere and Goldoni). Lots of hard work went into those performances and just about everyone was brilliant (especially my little Arlecchino [a character created for Scott, I swear!]).

Quite frankly my friends, I have been so busy the past month or so, I haven’t had anytime to worry about not enjoying New York, which in turn has made me like it! I made a trip home to see my family from April 18th-22nd and wish I got to see them more. While my mom says it’s all part of growing up, I sometimes feel a bit guilty living so far away from them. Though I suppose she’s right. And this is where my sweet heart is going to make it big (and we will get very very rich ;) ). So I know they understand. My dad is doing well considering the consequences, keeping his spirits up while struggling with fatigue which he is very unused to. He’s almost halfway done with chemo so keep him in your thoughts and prayers until the end of August. After that, no thoughts and prayers are needed. Jk. But you know what I’m saying.

As usual, I’ve experienced a couple interesting things this month including the following:

For those of you who have never ridden on or seen a subway train, you’ll need to know that in between cars there is a space, where people can walk from one car to another. They’re not supposed to do this while the train is moving, but like most inconvenient rules in NY, that rule is broken quite often. So I was sitting in a subway car one day (why do so many strange things happen to me on the subway??) and saw a guy walk through my car and set down a few bags on the seat at the end. He proceeded to walk in between the cars and stop, turn to the side and from what I could tell, he urinated off the side of the train. The awkward thing is that the train stopped part-way through his business so he was sitting there peeing while people were staring straight at him from the platform. He didn’t seem to notice. He came back into the car where his bags were and rode the train as if nothing strange had happened. The most disturbing part of this story: there was no hand washing involved! EWW!! (I’ve become big on hand washing since moving to NY and using public transportation.) If you ever wonder why NY always smells like urine, there you have it.

Also, on Monday of this week, I went to a taping of The Late Show with David Letterman with my friend Ben (who kindly invited me along with him). Apparently because of our “dazzling smiles” and “charming personalities”, we received “audience upgrades” and got to sit in the 2nd row with a straight on shot of Dave at the desk. Crazy! (This is especially crazy because when we went up to get our tickets, the lady asked us if we watched the show often and I bluntly told her I rarely could stay up late enough to watch. *Shrug*. The guests were Ray Romano, an impressionist named Reggie Reg (who was pretty frickin funny) and Dennis Haysberg (the All State Insurance guy!). Man did I feel safe when he was there. The sad thing was that when the guests were on, I just kind of felt like I was watching TV, not like these famous people were right in front of me. Oh desensitization. How you plague us. The show airs THIS Friday night (that’s tomorrow night people), 5/4 (also my parents 34th wedding anniversary so you better call them before the show), so watch it if you want to see my national debut!

On a sadder note, I'd like to express my condolences to the family (and friends) of a high school classmate of mine at Hopkins, Josiah Danielson (and also a U of Mn student), who shockingly passed away earlier this week. The cause of death is unknown and quite tragic as Josiah was a super sweet kid with a big heart and who had a loving family from what I understand. Please send your thoughts and prayers to Joel and Lori Danielson and their family.

Finally, what I think you’ve ALL been waiting for, I will be sending a link to a gallery of mine from kodakgallery.com which includes photos of areas of my daily activity. I hope you enjoy the pictures (and the captions). By the way, you DO NOT need to register for an account in order to see these photos so feel free to look! (This website has been Alex-Bachnick-approved for copyright content ;) )

Love to everyone,

Lobo

Volume 10: March 07

New York Happenings: Volume X
The Springing of Spring…or something….


Hello to my lovely friends and family!
I must tell you, spring in New York City is a beautiful thing!! The fresh air (don’t mind the pollution), the budding trees (forget those mounds of garbage sitting underneath them), the Hudson River at sunset (look at the water but don’t touch or you may need a tetanus shot.) I actually am seriously enjoying the spring here! And things are looking up for me in a lot of ways! Last Friday, I was offered the position I was hoping for here at the VA! In an email I sent to some of you earlier this week, I explained my new position:

“The new job is a research assistant position with a different doctor. I will still continue to work with a psychologist I really like, Carlos Jackson, on a study (Stay-Switch), and I will work with him and the other Health Services Research & Development people (Drs Claire Henderson and Deb Kaymen) 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time I will work for an MD named Bruce Levine. He is a psychiatrist who specializes in clozapine (an antipsychotic medication that is really in class of its own), suicide and suicide prevention and focus groups. I will be doing some administrative and clerical stuff for him, as well as keeping up our department's website (www.visn3.mirecc.va.gov).….. I am already starting to feel some relief that I won't have to be involved in this horrible study much longer! “

Ok, so maybe my cut and paste job here is a little lazy. But that is how I am feeling today. In fact, the federal government has inspired my work ethic so much that I am sitting here emailing all of you in the middle of the work day. Go me. I will be moving up to my new office on Monday, April 9th. However, I unfortunately have to mind my current study until I am replaced and then train that person once they are hired. Soooooo things aren’t perfect yet, but soon they will be improved and I will be a much more relaxed person.

I also found out this week that I was accepted to Lehman College, a City University of New York school that is about a mile or so away from the VA. So I will begin taking some evening, and possibly weekend, classes there hopefully this summer, but definitely this fall. My prereqs will consist of (for sure) chemistry, anatomy and physiology (x 2), microbiology, life-span psychology, nutrition and (possibly) organic chemistry and anthropology. Thrilling I know. I am really looking forward anatomy and physiology actually. I think I will be quite good at it. I hope to have completed my prereqs by next May, and will begin applying to a couple nursing schools this winter, though if I don’t get in right away, I will continue to take prereqs so I can apply to other programs.

Now I must report 2 observations/incidences that have happened since we last chatted:
1) Another old lady budged in front of me in line. This time it was at the bank. One minute, I’m staring at the back of the head of a young, 20-something girl, and the next minute some old lady with grey hair and pink pants has edged her way in front of me. I wasn’t even at the back of the line! What is that?? I didn’t say anything however. I find it’s better to hold your tongue, especially in the Bronx.
2) New Yorkers seem to think that the world is the garbage can. I reported last month that people often just throw things on the ground instead of making it over to a garbage can. This month, I actually saw a guy eating candies that were individually wrapped on the subway, and each time the subway stopped and the door opened, he would throw his little wrapper straight out of the door onto the platform. You’re kidding me right?
In other news, Scott has been auditioning for summer theater programs and we are hopeful that he will land something this summer. However, if he doesn’t, I won’t be TOO disappointed if he has to stay in the city this summer (*wink*), despite his night owl tendencies. Oh yes, and I actually had a small solo part (the alto solo) in Regina Coeli (Mozart) at my choir concert this month. This was a big step considering last month my director asked “Who’s Lauren?” …and wasn’t kidding. I was not amused. Also, Erin and Steve are planning a move back to Minnesota in April! We are very happy for them. I think this will be great step that offers some more opportunity for them both. I never understood how they could live so close to cows anyways. Silly Wisconsin.

Anyways, after another novel from me, I am sure you are all ready to get back to your own lives, which you should keep me updated on! If you’re getting this email, you are missed! Also for you Minnesotans out there, I will be home from the evening of Wednesday, April 18th to Sunday, April 22nd. Book your times now as supplies are limited. Much love to you all. The semi-New-Yorker,

Lauren
*MWA!

Volume 9: February 07

Dearest friends,
(Be prepared...this email is a bit long-winded (which my friend Craig told me my updates tend to be. Psh, WHATEVER...))

First of all, a cockroach update. After an obnoxious week of cleaning out ALL of our cabinets and cleaning all of our dishes, setting up bait traps and killing 20-30 baby cockroaches a day, we finally thought we had gotten rid of them. We were seeing 1-2 a day. However, I went to take a shower 2 consecutive mornings and found 1 HUGE cockroach (quarter size, huge to me) and 1 HUGE water bug in the shower as I was about to step in. ICK! To make matters worse, in the past couple days we have seen a return of the dreaded roaches though not quite as bad as the first time. We continue to kill as many as we can! (Apparently we can never be buddhist monks because we wish the death of all these bugs!)

Moving on...So now I understand why adults complain about wanting to be kids again. Being an adult is HARD! And being an adult in NYC, even harder! I find myself missing the comforts of Minneapolis (cars, parking spaces, few homeless people asking you for money, nice people, AFFORDABLE HOUSING). However, as I am committed to my boyfriend of 3 1/2 years (as of tomorrow), and I know his work will need to be here (silly actors), I am determined to stick it out until I have mastered NYC. This may take some more time, but it will happen.

Today, starting my 9th month in NYC, I have some suggestions for all those New Yorkers out there. God knows if I actually commented on these things to New Yorkers I'd either get a blank stares, a mouthful of obcenities or a smack in the face. But you guys are more understanding, so here goes:
#1) Headphones (ear buds, etc) were made so that I DON"T have to listen to your stupid music on the train. Please keep in mind that people who are unaware of this fact are the ones that listen to the obnoxious rap, whiney R&B, and upbeat latino music. While everyone is allowed to have their own musical tastes, I do not want to listen to yours!! Also, its great if you invested in one of those phones that plays music. However, again, I do not want to hear it. (These people don't even bother wearing headphones. They just play their loud music from their cell phone for everyone else in the train to hear.) Annoying.Note: I received a wonderful suggestion in one of my public health classes at the U of Mn last year. If you want to make a killing in the stock market, start investing in the companies that make hearing aids, cause God knows that my generation and the ones to follow have done so much damage to their auditory receptors with ear buds and headphones that the hearing aide business will be booming in about 15-20 years. Keep it in mind!

#2) Learn how to correctly dispose of your garbage. Anyone who has visited New York knows that the city is a little bit dirty. Anyone who visits the Bronx can tell you it's a lot bit dirty. I have observed many many people tossing their wrappers, soda bottles, etc, on the ground, into the gutter in the street, etc, when there is a trash can no more than 20 feet away. I even saw one woman walking in Manhattan with a plastic container full of salad. Apparently she decided she was finished because she proceeded to just put the plastic container down in the middle of the sidewalk, midstride, and keep walking as if she hadn't just performed the laziest act I've ever seen. Ridiculous. Don't complain about how dirty the city is if you're contributing to its filth.

#3) Learn some customer service skills. I'm sorry if you don't like your job. I hope some day you get one that you like. But in the meantime, you're not going to move up in the world if you talk to me in a bored, sometimes monotone voice, don't say thank you, and barely pay attention to me while ringing up my purchases. This is especially true at drug stores such as Duane Reade and grocery stores, like the Gristedes near us. I miss the nice people at Lunds and Byerlys who ask you how you're doing and make small talk! Everytime I walk into a Star Bucks in NY, where the customer service is actually very good 90% of the time, I get a wave of relief. I think someone needs to either teach some classes to the masses out here, or some managers need to start getting rid of the workers with bad attitudes. HMPH!

February proved a difficult month for me, if you can't tell by my cynical tone in this update. I seem to be under a lot of stress. I'm still adjusting to this new city (which I would guess is one of the most difficult in the world); the year I decide to leave my home of 22 years, one of my loved-ones becomes ill and I can't be there to help out in any way; I live in a studio apartment with my boyfriend and while it's super nice to live with him, its horribly difficult to only have 1 room and a bathroom, especially with our different schedules. While I have to go to bed by around 11 each night, Scott stays up until 2 or 3 doing homework, checking his email, watching TV, etc. He has become much more considerate of this in recent months. However, I can't always ask him to go in the bathroom if he needs a light to read! I feel horrible!

The most stressful thing in my life right now however is my work situation. While in ways I enjoy this position much more than I enjoyed my position at Mount Sinai, I have come to despise the people I work for (e.g. my boss, an MD and the senior research coordinator who happens to be his cousin). I could go on and on about them, but I will just sum it up by saying that they are horribly passive aggressive, seemingly gang up on you when you do (or don't) do anything wrong, are unable to take blame for anything that is their fault and often blame me for things I had no control over, and are not understanding when I make mistakes (which I am bound to do as I am human and I am the first person to run this particular study at this location). They are off-site, and I have had to figure out all the logistics of this study on my own, with very little support from them because they just plain can't help me from where they are. I have gotten crap from the director of my program here because no one showed me how to do things and I was left to my own devices. Needless to say, I am fed up. I refuse to work for people who don't appreciate and/or acknowledge my hard work (I have enrolled more people in this study than anyone else has before), and seem to comment only on the things I screw up. SO, I am looking to take the Research Assistant/ Staff Assistant position of a friend of mine who left the VA. It would be wthin the same department but I'd be working for a different person, wouldn't be working on this VERY difficult study, and would make a little bit more money with the opportunity to make much more money in about a year. Problem is that I work for the federal government and things work VERY SLOWLY here. I've talked to the Dr who is in charge of this position and he says my taking it over is a definite possibility. But I am playing the waiting game right now until he speaks the the administrator in my department about what the job is going to be like as they are switching it up a bit. And here I sit, with my anxious tendencies, my nerves gnawing at my stomach every day that I work for those jerky people. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers in this area. I am very hopeful that a change will take place, hopefully sooner rather than later.

In other news, one of my best friends from the time I was 3 got engaged over New Years to her lovely boyfriend (now fiance) on a carriage ride in central park. So sweet! :) Jodie Flaherty and Brian Murray will be getting married in the June of 2008 and I can't wait for another Flaherty wedding to take place. Congrats you two! Also, my sister and her lovely husband sold their house in Monroe, Wisconsin (as of yesterday) after months of difficulty getting someone to buy it in their remote town. (This was quite surprising to me as their house is ADORABLE! Just far away from a lot of things). My dad started chemo this past Monday (2/26) and thankfully seems to be doing well so far. Please also keep him in your thoughts and prayers that the next 6 months will go as smoothly as this first session of chemo has. Finally, as this novel length update is coming to a close, I would love some words of encouragement from those of you who have been in my position (e.g. my Aunt Janie who moved to Chicago when she was younger and says I remind her of herself from those days). I know things will be ok. I have a wonderfully understanding boyfriend who even is letting my rearrange our apartment in a way that will be most homey to me so I can feel more settled. I am super excited. (I love planning.) So, I think March will be better. Looking to make a few changes, and can't wait for Spring in NYC.

Love to all,

Lauren

p.s. I encourage all of you to go online and look up Narcissistic Personality Disorder...this is the epitomy of my boss.

Volume 8: January 07

Dear friends,

Just when I thought I had gotten so used to New York that I had nothing new to write to you about, I was proven wrong. To get you up to speed on our window situation, so this story will make more sense to you, I'll let you know that Scott and I bought some new drapes last month. We have blinds on our windows but they're white and tons of light still gets in, so we bought some drapes to go over them and they've been oh so helpful in the sleep department! However, Scott was finding it difficult to get out of bed in the AM because it was so dark, so I told him I'd open the drapes in the morning to let in the natural light. This was quite helpful for him.....

So it all began last Wednesday I believe. I was finishing a bowl of Kix, and in a hurry as I usually am in the morning. I walked over with my bowl to open the drapes for Scott, and God only knows what happened next, but the rod that holds the drapes came crashing down directly onto my bowl of Kix...Kix and milk are EVERYWHERE! On the drape, on the blinds, on the couch, on the floor, on my clothes. Plus there are little Kix rolling around all over the place. And I was actually on schedule that morning to get to work on time before that happened...so much to my chagrin, I had to wipe up my mess before I left for work.....moving on.......Last night I didn't get to sleep until about 12am for various reasons, and I woke up at about 2 to use the bathroom, which is quite common for me. Scott was just getting ready for bed, so I did my thing, got back in bed, and got all annoyed when he asked me to turn the lights on for him so he could see his way to bed and get his phone plugged in, etc For some reason, Scott goes over to the sink on his way to bed and yells out "Cockroach!" Now...I've gotten used to the occasional cockroach (remember when I cried after I killed my first one? Yeah, I'm past that stage. I just want to rid the world of those little bastards!).....but then Scott yells "2 cockroaches.....3 cockroaches....4 cockroaches....5 cockroaches...10 cockroaches! OH MY GOD! WE'RE INFESTED!!!" There I am, laying in bed, just flinching every time he says he's found another one, and then he's freaking out, I yell at him to get the raid, and then we're in for a 2 hour raid spraying, drawer emptying, cockroach killing, dish cleaning, garbage emptying nightmare. Quite frankly, it was a night from hell....and honestly, Scott is the only person I would want to go through that with! I know someday we'll look back and laugh...and I hope you're laughing now, because I'm sure its quite humorous to anyone it didn't happen to. However...it was creepy...gross...and thats not even the end of it........so due to the excess of Raid we sprayed in our Apt, we're practically high off of cockroach poison, and we crack open our window and turn on all our fans to try to get the smell out. I even sat by the window, trying to breath fresh air because the smell of raid was beginning to make me nauseated. Finally, around 4am, we had done all we could do, killed all the ones we saw (most of them were babies, but in a way, that's even grosser because that means they were probably just born recently, BLECH!), had dishes soaking in the sink, and I closed the window (the one which only has 1 drape on it right now because the other one is being washed this evening because it got some milk splashed on it in the Kix incident). I started lifting up the blinds to lock the window, and what happens? You guessed it.....the entire set of blinds just falls off the window onto the floor! We had only half the window covered by the drape, and the other half looking out into the street from our first floor apartment. I was ready to cry. But we're able to get the blinds back up despite the fact that half of one of the slots the rod goes into is broken off. Oy vey.

So here I sit at work, exhausted because I didn't actually fall asleep until 5am because I was afraid Scott and I would die from the Raid fumes if we fell asleep. I am dreading going home because about half of our dishes are sitting, soaking in soapy water in the sink, and I'll have to clean them all. And I am really hoping to avoid the smell of Raid for the next couples decades, as I think it will make me nauseated from now on. End of story.

In other news, Scott auditioned Saturday morning for Santa Cruz Shakespeare, which is a summer Shakespeare festival in Santa Cruz, CA. He got called back on the spot! So I'm hopeful this will work out for him. This would get him some professional theater under his belt, and that would be wonderful for his resume. However, he doesn't want to get his hopes up because he knows how the industry works better than I and doesn't want to be let down if he doesn't get cast. But we're proud of him just for being called back. What a stud!

Work is going fine for me, despite the fact that I have 2 highly neurotic bosses (seriously...I have stories which can be shared another time), which really adds a damper to an otherwise nice position. However, it just lets me know that this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, and inspires me to keep my butt in gear on the road to nursing school (which I'll hopefully be starting in Summer or Fall of 08). I can't wait!

Scott and I have also discussed moving once he is done with school in the spring of 08. Manhattan is quite expensive, and I wouldn't mind being in a little bit more slow paced area. So we're going to look up in Riverdale, which is a nice little community in the northwest corner of the Bronx, right below Westchester county (which is like the suburbs of New York. Nice and expensive!) And we're also going to look in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as it is a up and coming little artsy area only a few subway stops from Manhattan. It really depends on where I get into school, and if Scott gets a NY or LA agent. Who knows. In 2 years, we could be headed for LA, though I think we'd prefer to stay on the east coast where things are quite so California. Who knows what the future has in store!!

I hope all is well for all of you. For those of you I saw over my trip home in December, it was great to see you!! And I will be back April 18th-22nd. Pencil me in your calenders! Also, thanks so much for all the well-wishes about my dad. He is scheduled to see the oncologist this week, so I'll keep those of you interested updated on how he's doing. So far, he's getting his good spirits back and feeling more normal (especially thanks to our family MD, Pam Cain who we love). Keep in touch you all! I love hearing from everyone and miss everyone dearly! Love from the city,

Lauren

p.s. One more thing I'd like to share is that one night after work as I was walking to the subway, some guy actually said "Hubba hubba" to me. He said this in a flattering way, yet I was in shock because I had just worked out at the "Bee-Fit Fitness Center" at the VA, was sweaty, and stuffed into my brown puffy winter jacket like a stuffed potato. But whatever. Apparently guys in the Bronx...or maybe NY in general, have lower standards. Or maybe they just like girls who look like sweaty potatoes. MUCH LOVE ALL!