Cha Cha's New Religion and Progress

It is now 1759 and we are home from the doctor's appointments at Northwestern. We parked at the parking garage at the northeast corner of Huron and St. Clair. We went to Cha Cha's doctor's appointment and the following lab work in the medical building/hospital at the southeast corner of Huron and St. Clair and ate at Elephant & Castle Pub and Restaurant on the southwest corner of Huron and St. Clair and then crossed the street to get back to the car. I wish I had known for the past month that that bar was right there; I would have gone there while Cha Cha was in her surgeries and procedures and stuff. They took my phone number so they could have called me when she was done. I would have been like one of those expectant fathers in the movies from the 50's other than the cell phone part. I would not really have done that but it would have been tempting a few times.

Today we met with Jill's new gastroenterologist. He worked with us off-and-on when we were at the hospital there. Just because it is easier to read things with a picture in your mind I will let you know we call him Bookman. You might remember Bookman from Seinfeld - he was the library cop. Is it a coincidence that Bookman works in a hospital now and it was the book Tropic of Cancer that he accused Jerry of keeping so youngsters couldn't experience the world of "pee-pees and wee-wees?" The doctor not only looks like Bookman he also is very good at what he does but has some rough-edges about him. Today he reminded Cha Cha of the new religion he told her she was supposed to practice because of her intestinal removal and splicing. She didn't recall that because she was in that twilight sleep or was drugged-up or something. He said she has to begin practicing Chewdaism (pronounced like Judaism but with "chew" in place of "Jew"). The practice of Chewdaism requires one to chew all of their food until it becomes liquid before swallowing it. I suppose it would be good if we all practiced Chewdaism. Overall it seems like the appointment went pretty well.

Another great thing about this place was that our appointment was scheduled for 1100 and they called us into the room at 1048; when the heck does that happen? Usually you arrive for a doctor's appointment on time and don't get called to go to the examination room until 30-40 minutes after your appointment time. We got called early and they were in the room with us about five minutes BEFORE the appointment was even supposed to begin. The only things I can say bad about having her doctors here is that we have to pay for parking and it is a hassle getting there. I would say those are pretty good trade-offs for getting the proper care and respect that you need and deserve.

Like Cha Cha needs this to deal with too

It was really nice that the hospital was on one corner, the parking garage where we parked was across the street and the restaurant we ate at was on another one of the four corners because Cha Cha was able to handle all of that without pain or losing her breath too badly.

Cha Cha told Bookman during the interview that she feels like she is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She was in a sort of a war over the past couple of months I guess. I was sad to hear that but I sort of feel like that too now that she mentioned it. Obviously she had the hardest part of this whole ordeal but it is really difficult to see someone you care for as much as I care for Jill and not feel the frustration and pain she feels.

Something I found amusing at the appointment today was when we went up to the 18th floor for Cha Cha's blood-work they gave her a pager. All of the people were sitting in one huge room. It was very comfortable. The room was broken-up into many areas that looked like about ten separate living rooms or ten Mike Douglas Show television sets with very cozy chairs and couches. When it was your turn to go get your blood drawn they would yell "pager number 1067." Why give you a pager if they are gonna yell the number? They yelled Jill's number but the pager never went off. Wouldn't a number on a plastic card like at Baskin-Robbins do just fine?

Another thing we found was that Jill has lost 25 pounds since this round of the ordeal began. BONUS for her!

We had a nice day together. We try to find the good in everything and good has come of this too. We have been very close for about 30 years but I believe this has brought us even closer. I hope we don't have to get any closer anytime soon though. Garrett Popcorn's Chicago Mix always makes for a good day too (none for Jill though). I am eating it now and the keyboard smells fabulous.

Alright, it is 1947 now and I have some stuff to get done before I pass-out. Thanks a lot for stopping by for the second time today. You really are very important to me; I love that you care for Jill and me enough to keep up on our antics. I think you make me a better person too because I feel like I don't want to let you down either. You also make me more exciting because I have to do different things so I have something interesting to write about. You know, kind of like Ernest Hemmingway. I hope you have a great night. I have plenty of stuff to blog about tomorrow. Now you will have to sleep on the edge of your seat. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

The Medical Follow-Ups Begin/Continue

EXTRA blogs mean EXTRA repeat readers

I am happy that not as many people are reading my blog as were reading it a month ago. On November 18th 578 people read the blog and yesterday 97 of you read it. I wondered what the reason for the huge difference might be so I went back and looked at November 18th's blog. The first thing that stood-out was that was the day that Cha Cha went by ambulance from Rush Copley to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. So, that makes sense. After further investigating I discovered that I blogged four times that day also. So, if the same people read all four blogs from that day at separate times they most certainly would have counted as four separate page views each. So repeat business is good and sirens mean ratings - noted!

This was not done by design but we are headed back to Northwestern in an hour for one of Jill's follow-ups so I will probably have to wrap this up very soon and blog again later to let you know what we/they discover. I can test the theory of multiple blogs in one day this way. From our point-of-view she seems to be doing fairly well but they may see things differently, who knows? I know she still has a long way to go but she is headed in the right direction. One thing I know is that when we get there I will have t get her a wheelchair. That place is a city with medium shoulders within the City of Big Shoulders.

It is 0806 right now and we are planning to leave by 0830. I am 100% ready and Cha Cha is working on it. I have always been an early-riser and can get ready pretty quickly. That is probably why I am good in disasters - I hit the ground running. Surprisingly, I think we may get out of here close to 0830. I am usually incorrect in these situations, however.

Maybe I will be able to get my last punch on my card at that Greek restaurant at the hospital today. I wonder if Cha Cha wants Greek? If not, there will be LOTS AND LOTS of opportunities for that, unfortunately.
Okay,I am gonna end now and get the loose-ends tied-up to we can stay on schedule. The appointment isn't until 1100 so we have a little wiggle-room. But, we still do have to find the building (it is on the campus but not actually in the hospital) after we find a perking spot.

Have a great part of you day until I blog again. Then, you will have to come back later to have a great rest of your day. TTT Later Today...MITM (out) TA!

On My Signal Unleash BLOG!!!!! CAVEAT EMPTOR

Here's the way smart people wait in line

Last night Cha Cha and I went to the funeral visitation for Scott Stouffer that I talked about in yesterday's blog. The visitation started at 1500 and we arrived just shortly after 1500. I did not know Scott personally, he was our friend Bill's brother. He was apparently very popular and well-loved because the place was packed. I could tell by everything that was said, what I saw and by everyone there that he must have been a pretty great guy. We parked close as somebody was leaving when we got there so I did not have to drop Cha Cha at the door. We walked-in and got in line. The lady greeting people at the door told somebody else that it was about an hour-long line. I knew there was no way that Jill was going to be able to stand that long. She was a trooper and about a half-hour later we were close to the main room. There were some chairs up ahead so I told her to go sit down and when I reached her up there she could just get back in line with me. Jill saw Bill's wife, our friend Jen who also is a frequent visitor of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and they sat and visited with their war-stories and such until I reached them in line. Long story long, we made it to Bill and met his other brother, Steven (though it may be Stephen), and by the time we reached the end of the line Cha Cha was totally spent. I grabbed her hand and lead her to the front of the building where we came in; we had parked about four spots from the door. Normally I would have parked further so the older folks could take that spot but Cha Cha is only about 42% of where she should be so I parked closer for her. Anyway, with me in the lead, I blocked for her and opened a lane for her on the way to the end zone door. I would say, "pardon us" and people would kindly let us through. I would say "excuse me" and people would nicely step aside and let us pass. We had almost reached the front door and I, again, very pleasantly asked "pardon us" and some 40-45 year old lady said. "if it isn't too much trouble the exit is over there" and she pointed toward the back of the funeral home when we were only about six steps from being out the door. I said,"yes, it is too much trouble" and she immediately stepped-aside and we got out. Jill has often said that I sometimes have a look that cuts right through people. I think my eyes turn solid black or something. I am fairly certain that the look she speaks of was displayed on my face at this moment. Don't mess with me when Cha Cha be illin' beotch!

Tomorrow we head back to our new home away from home Northwestern Memorial Hospital for one of the many, many follow-ups we have scheduled. I think we have spent much more time in Chicago than we have in DeKalb over the past couple of months. Maybe purchasing a time-share would be wise? As I wrote that I realized this will be the first time that Jill will ride with me to that hospital. I have driven there 15-20 times and I was always alone. The only time she rode with me to Chicago was when we went to see I Love Lucy last weekend. The two times Cha Cha went to Northwestern she rode in a Meat Wagon Limousine. Hopefully she will ride home with me tomorrow too: I really do not know why she would not.

Are You Not entertained?

I have heard that when care-givers are not needed as much as they were needed they experience some form of stress or anxiety. I think I may be going through that. I am not sure what it is or how to describe it but I guess it is kind of how you feel when your kids grow-up and don't rely on you so much. It is great that they are doing everything on their own and doing well but you feel kind of empty that you cannot or do not need to help so much anymore. It's a Catch-22. They are where you wanted them to be but you sort of wish that they still needed you as much as they did before. I would much rather Cha Cha feel better but I think I was built for disaster-mode. She still needs me quite a bit and probably will for a couple more weeks but here it is 0300 and I am blogging; that isn't normal. Well, maybe it is for me? When I am at work, and not on FMLA, I work from 2200 to 0600 so I guess this would be somewhere in the MIDDLE of my shift. Maybe my body is getting ready to be back on that crappy schedule. I also use more of that testosterone in my job so perhaps my mind knows to start building back-up that way?

When I woke-up I had an incredible urge to burn-off some testosterone. Not sure if that is a thing but right now that is a thing for me. I am going to watch Gladiator on Netflix while I finish writing this and see if that helps. If not I may have to watch Tombstone too. I am not normally a violent person, unless that fight-or-flight thing kicks in as a defense mechanism, but I need to get rid of some energy. I have an urge to go golfing (but it is winter here) or shooting or driving... Now that I think of it I believe the "competitive driving" I was doing back from Chicago most nights was therapy for me. Maybe I need to go to a gun range today? Maximus Decimus Meridius just uttered one of my favorite lines in this film, "on my signal unleash Hell!" That's how I feel only with "testosterone" instead of "Hell." Maybe I should go to Dave and Busters. They have one of those golf simulators and they have lots of shooting and sports games.There is also that K1 Speed indoor go-cart place right around the corner; I have been there and that is pretty cool. Maybe I should go to one of the casinos and play some poker? I have been playing a lot of poker on-line on my phone but it isn't the same. This blog has always been therapy for me too and maybe, just by writing, I will be better. Perhaps I just need to do a good work-out today. I will figure it out; I will be fine.

Cicero (Tommy Flanagan) just said, "Sometimes I get to do what I want to do. The other times I do what I have to." I have related to that line since I can remember. I know you relate to it too. It is 0413 now and I am going to sleep for a couple of hours and then finish writing this. This is one of the times when "I get to do what I want to do." It will seem like I am not even gone...

Sometimes you get EXACTLY what you order

It is now 0631 and I am awake again. I think once Fabio gets off to school I may sleep again until Cha Cha gets up for her day. She has been sleeping fairly well the last few days thankfully.

I still have lots of notes in my notebooks. I make notes for the blog and for the two or three novels I will probably never write all the time. Maybe I can combine the notes for the three books and make them into one story? I just read some of my notes from earlier this week and I have no idea what they mean. I wrote: "brightness w/total. darkness w/eyes closed."

I just saw that there is a group called Cards Against Humanity that offered a couple of great holiday gifts to be purchased through their website. They started with their game Cards Against Humanity. Turns out they are an action group trying to bring the continued craziness of Black Friday and the out-of-control Christmas consumerism to a halt. So, as they built the hype for their card game to a fever-pitch they removed it from purchase. Their website said, "To help you experience the ultimate savings on Cards Against Humanity this Black Friday, we've removed the game from our store, making it impossible to purchase." Now they are selling something called Bullshit by Cards Against Humanity on their on-line store. They sold 30,000 boxes of Bullshit on Black Friday alone. People received, via the U.S. Postal Service, exactly what they had ordered - a box of real cow poop. People wrote to them and said things like "I didn't read the fine print" and "I used my mom's credit card and she is going to kill me when she sees what a dumb-ass I am for buying real cow poop"... I love this! Their site also said "no refunds." Caveat Emptor - you may get exactly what you ordered!

Continued thanks for continuing to stop by; I really do appreciate you. I hope I brighten your day sometimes and make you think once in a while. It brightens my day and makes me have to think. I also appreciate your continued comments and support for Jill and her recovery. I will keep you updated until she is back to 100% or until she makes me stop; it's tough becoming an overnight overmonth celebrity but she is handling it in stride. Have a great Tuesday. TTTW (Wednesday)... MITM (out) TA!

A True 'It's a Wonderful Life" Story

It's a Wonderful Life - a  true story

I am still feeling like a new father. I sneak into the bedroom where Cha Cha is sleeping off-and-on all night long to make sure she is breathing. I really don't think there is fear of her breathing to stop but that's how I roll. I am very quiet so as not to awaken her; it helps that she is hard of hearing.

Today we are going to a visitation for the death of our good friend Bill's brother Scott. Scott had been battling for his life for quite awhile; he had cancer of his endocrine system. Cha Cha and I had gone to a benefit for Scott in the town where we were married (right across the street from the church actually) and it was very evident that Scott was very well-loved. Scott was a huge fan of the Hobbit / Bilbo Baggins movies and the family even had a huge campaign to convince Warner Brothers Pictures to let Scott and family have an advanced screening of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies before his death. They had watched all of the films in the series together. This installment of the series was scheduled to be released in December and Scott was not predicted to make it until December. WGN News in Chicago even went to battle for Scott and contacted Warner Brothers Pictures but Warner Brothers were jerks and said "no" and talked about how they get so many requests for things like this... Their exact (canned) response was," We at Warner Bros. Entertainment do our best to fulfill as many wishes as we can. Working with partners like Make A Wish Foundation, we grant wishes for children who have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses on a regular basis. Unfortunately, due to the volume of requests we receive, we are not able to grant individual requests." So, in short, if they do not get great, world-wide press coverage out of it they are not interested and they do not "do (their) best to fulfill as many wishes as (they) can...". Children make for better press than adults! The family even tried to contact the film's director, Peter Jackson, with no success. It was even posted on The Tolkein Society webpage (you can see the family's video about the campaign there too). I bet Scott, though wanting to see the film, felt the tremendous love of the people around him doing all of these great things for him against insurmountable odds just like the characters in the films. What a great way to leave this world. The film's release date is this week, December 17th, which means it will be showing tomorrow night at midnight.

Stories like that seem even more poignant this time of year for some reason. I suppose I am just a sentimental sap. I see that as a good thing! We all get wrapped-up in the hustle-bustle of our jobs and our daily lives and sometimes we get foggy as to what things really are (or should be) the most important. Cha Cha being sick has helped me refocus and Scott dying reinforces it even more. I know it seems like I have one of  those "everything is about me" things going on but, isn't that the case with all of us? How else can we see things except for by way they intertwine in our lives? Everything IS about me! And, everything IS about you! And we need to work to make things being about US! It's a Wonderful Life is on USA Network right now and I always get this way when I watch this film. I should watch it every day of the year. Clarence just said, "Strange isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole doesn't he?" Good timing Clarence. This is the color version - I prefer back and white. One thing I did notice more in the color version, however, is how much Ma Bailey changed from the married Ma Bailey to the Boarding House Ma Bailey. I still prefer the black and white version.

Well, I have to get to my Wonderful Life starting with cleaning the kitchen and carrying the plastic Christmas storage bins back down to the basement. There must be some easier way for me to get my wings. Besides, my eyes are all teared-up over this dumb old movie so I can't write much more anyay. Thank you for stopping-in today. I am happy that YOU are part of my Wonderful Life and that you give me a reason to continue to write. Because of Scott and Jill I am going to try to appreciate everything I can today; even the stupid stuff. You need to quit sweating the small stuff too! I know that is easy to say but I am going to try very hard to make that happen for me one day at a time. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

I Am Ebenezer Grinch - Lovechild!

I may be their lovechild 

I am feeling a little blue today; I guess Elvis would approve of that this time of year. Jill is becoming discouraged and sad because she is not recovering as quickly as she had hoped to. Compared to a couple of weeks ago she is fantastic but, she was on morphine and some even stronger stuff then, so she didn't care so much. She is frustrated that she cannot even walk up and down the stairs without being out of breath. That's what I am here for! Maybe we need to get one of those lift chairs for the staircase installed. I could blog while I ride upstairs. There are times when I am at the store or somewhere and she needs something and she does not want to or cannot wait. I am concerned that the Christmas thing is going to make her even more disheartened. I am not sure what we are doing for Christmas this year but whether we go to her brother's house and my parents' house or they come here it will be too stressful for her. I will wait a bit before I figure out what to do but I may have to be the one to be the Ebenezer Grinch. That is still about nine/ten days away and maybe she will be well enough to handle the holiday by then? Candy canes crossed!

We watched Scrooged last night on Netflix. It is not a very good film but, as far as holiday films go, it isn't that bad. I lower the bar for holiday movies for some reason. There are some really bad Christmas movies. I used to think Scrooged was pretty good but I think I have seen quite a few more movies since 1988.Maybe the messages of love and kindness and redemption and rebirth make them a bit more tolerable?

I am thinking about making coconut macaroons for Christmas. Many times I have made lots of different kinds of cookies but, in retrospect, that seems pretty stupid. It seems like the mess never ends. I think if I focus on one it may not be so bad. Then, I can be known for the MATTcaroons. I just came up with a great name for them - "Say Brainless, Don't You know Where Coconuts Come From Macaroons." I already make pretty delicious guacamole. Maybe I could open a restaurant serving just weird-named foods. I could serve: macaroons, guacamole, spotted dick, bangers and mash, headcheese, wieners, welsh rarebit... Most of the weird-sounding foods are English foods. Thank goodness for Christmas so we have our independence from these weird food names in America.

I am embarrassed to tell you that I am watching Bad Grandpa on Netflix right now. I am even more embarrassed to say that I have laughed at least 1000 times. I am not really embarrassed by that. I thought Jackass was dumb but I have laughed so hard during this movie that I have had tears running down my cheeks. I realize it is a Jackass film and, of course, Philip John "PF" Clapp, Jr. aka Johnny Knoxville stars in it but the ten-year-old boy inside me wants what it wants. It is actually a film (sort of) with a lot of pranks perpetrated by a young boy and his "grandpa" intertwined. The end credits show where they let the people in on the fact that they had been punked. I dare you to watch it an not laugh! I know several people who would not laugh.

My heaven would have an elevator or, at least, an escalator

Since we saw the film Heaven Is For Real we have been looking for a church to start going to that is similar to the one that Todd Burpo (Greg Kinnear) was pastor of in the movie. Maybe a brush with death does that to people just like in films? Jill thinks/thought she had found one up in Roscoe, Illinois but we are not so sure now. Their stance on homosexuals may not fit our criteria. We feel that churches should love ALL people equally and this one is a bit on the borderline, just like they are on the borderline between Wisconsin and Illinois, on that issue. I don't want to be in a heaven that does not give ALL of my friends the opportunity to join me. I would rather not go at all if that is the case because that would not be heaven in my eyes. Maybe this is how people start their own churches huh?

Okay, I have blabbed-on long enough. Please continue to keep Jill in your thoughts; she still has a long way to go. I think we have one of our many, many follow-ups this week. Then I will be able to let you know a professional's opinion though I am certain I have a much better sense of where she is and where she needs to be. I hope you have a great day. You mean a lot to both Cha Cha and I and you will always be welcome in our heaven. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

No Chachkies for Cha Cha Please!

 I would loved to have seen Houdini here

Last night was Cha Cha's first night out since getting out of the hospital about six days ago. We went to dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy and then went on to Bank of America Theater to see I Love Lucy On Stage. When we got to dinner I dropped Cha Cha at the door and went and parked the car. We had a nice dinner (and we still have left-overs in the fridge now); everything was fantastic. Now that neither of us drink any longer the bill was a lot less than it has been in the past - BONUS!!!! Then we headed toward Chicago for the show. There was a lot of traffic headed into the city so it took longer than usual to get there. The show time was 1930 and we hit Monroe Street at about 1917. I dropped Cha Cha at the door of the theater and went around the block to park the car. When I exited the parking garage I was directly across the street from the theater but the one-way streets made that take about eight minutes. When I got to the theater they told me that it was "one minute until curtain" when the show was to start. Those two Coke Zero's I had at Maggiano's made a quick pit stop mandatory. By the time I returned to the lobby the doors to the theater were closed and I got to watch the beginning of the show on a television screen in the lobby. After about five minutes I was told that I could go to my seat. There was a seat open, my seat, between Cha Cha and a very large woman (at least 500 pounds). I squeezed into my seat and kept waiting for intermission so Cha Cha and I could move to a couple of seats in the nearly empty row in front of us. There was never any intermission so I stayed crumpled in my seat for the entire show. Even with all of that craziness and me not liking the I Love Lucy television show I liked this show and had a great time. I could not believe how beautiful the theater was inside and how small it was.

Jill wants me to make sure everybody know that she liked the show "okay" and doesn't to start getting I Love Lucy gifts and chachkies. Please keep me out of hot water and DO NOT give Cha Cha I Love Lucy stuff. If you do don't be surprised or offended to see it at Goodwill, the Salvation Army or in a garage sale within a week.

"Or, In This Case, JUST Like Calling Family"

What I did learn from last night is that Cha Cha is still quite a bit away from being 100%. I would say she is about 42% at best at this point. I bought the tickets when she was in the hospital the first time and, at the time, had no idea this would turn as badly as it did. I guess we will have to wait a little longer to celebrate life again. I have to reassess my at-home care program. Last night she did not sleep well' she said she woke-up every hour. We will probably start walking a little bit around the turn-about a very little bit a couple of times a day (not sure when we will begin this - hopefully before it snows). We are not a parade so please no cheering and do not expect us to throw candy. Seriously, this At Home Care will be AT HOME!

Yesterday Jill was sitting in a chair in the living room and Jeff jumped-up on her and landed with his paws right into the incision area of her stomach. You would have thought Jeff was Jason Voorhees. He will not be doing that again. As a back-up Cha Cha will be sitting with a large pillow grading her abdomen.

So far this morning (and it is not even 0915 yet) I have received four phone calls from mystery numbers. Area codes: 301, 252, 765 and 888. Nobody leaves messages. I have a bad feeling that we have made some kind of list because of this whole hospital/medical... thing. The one bill that we received appears to have been paid in full by insurance already so are these just vultures of some type? I really do not want to call these numbers back if they cannot even leave messages. Area code 301 is Washington DC / Maryland area. 252 is Kitty Hawk, North Carolina area, 765 is Indianapolis area, 888 is not assigned a geographical area (it appears to be similar to an 800 number). I tried a lot of the reverse-call sites and the many I tried are all scams that have great visual software to look  very James Bond / MI-6 high-tech and then they want you to pay to get a phone number.

Makes sense for predatory telemarketers to be from Kitty Hawk

Did you know that it is very difficult to find any information about the actual Kitty Hawk (the bird)? Thanks Wright Brothers!

I am excited that I still have half of my Caprese Chicken and asparagus from last night in the refrigerator. Before eating it I will have to get rid of this stuffed-up nose. And, I have to empty the dishwasher and start another load of laundry first. And pick-up the dry cleaning (Jill's blanket that she took to the hospital with her).

Have a great day. I appreciate you stopping-by and Cha Cha appreciated you continuing to be concerned about her. I hope you have a great Saturday. I have to spend the day figuring-out what I want for Christmas. My parents do not accept that I really do not want or need anything. Can they make these telemarketing vultures stop calling? That is what I want. And for Cha Cha to be well again. Those are all I want Clarence! TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Nobody Says Catawamous Anymore - WE LIVE IT right now!

Luckily I didn't need to use a flash because that would have drawn attention to me

I forgot to mention that when we were in the hospital Cha Cha had to walk around the halls regularly (the walking part I did mention). I am not really sure why they make them walk but I imagine it is for many reasons: blood circulation, exercise, sense of purpose, to make sure they can get around at home... The last couple of days when I would walk around the 12th floor with Cha Cha there were several people walking at the same time. Previously it had just been she and I. As we would pass other people we'd see them walking very slowly kind of shuffling their feet. I realized it was like we were extras in The Walking Dead. Most of the people were leaning on their wheeled IV trees and they were wearing the loose gowns that were partially tied and all catawampus (there's another word that spell-check doesn't know). Their hair was all messed-up. Some had hair sticking out to the sides. Some had their hair sticking straight up in the air... They were sort of dragging and shuffling their feet because they were so weak. Their faces were all contorted in different ways. Some were in obvious pain, some appeared very tired or drugged-up... Almost all of them had a look in their eyes like they were near death or half asleep or just back from the dead or wishing they were dead. Cha Cha broke character and laughed when we discussed it. Zombies don't laugh - there is nothing funny about being a zombie I am guessing.

There was one of the ladies who worked in housekeeping at Northwestern Memorial Hospital who made me feel a lot less manly. I have seen lots of women with a hairy upper lip but that lady took the caterpillar cake. She must have had DNA from: Frank Zappa, Gene Shalit. Geraldo Rivera, Borat, Charlie Chaplain. Hulk Hogan, Rollie Fingers, Burt Reynolds, Richard Pryor, Sparky Lyle, Tom Selleck, Ned Flanders, Sonny Bono, Cheech Marin, Sam Elliot and Freddie Mercury all rolled-up right below her nose. I admired the fact that she didn't even try to shave it or tweeze it or cover it with make-up. Why do you suppose that it is frowned-upon for women to have hairy legs or facial hair? Yet another double-standard against women. I could get used to hairy women in time I think.

Taking care of hairy women at home? 

This at-home care business is rough. I cannot wait to go back to work so I can get some rest. I am considering carry-out food from here on out because all of the cooking is making me have to do the dishes two or three times a day. I am trying to do the Hugh Hefner wardrobe-look around the house so I don't have to do laundry as much as I do dishes. Tonight there may be a problem with the pajama thing since we are going to the I Love Lucy show. I have never been a Lucy fan so I could wear my pajamas and sleep there too as far as I am concerned. Jill Loves Lucy. I do not Love Lucy. I bought the tickets while were in the hospital early-on thinking it would be a short sickness/malady - I was wrong, as usual. I always found Lucy to be pretty annoying, truth be told. But, I love Cha Cha and Cha Cha loves Lucy so Lucy it is. I liked Fred Mertz and Ricky Ricardo. I am going to try to get a nap in before we go so I can stay awake during the show. I hope this will not be pushing Cha Cha too hard. Health comes first so, if we have to leave early or nor even go so be it. I will let you know if we have two free tickets available. They were pretty expensive so I would rather not eat them.

I am getting sicker and sicker all the time. I know I am not getting what Jill has, thank Blog, but all of the running-around over the past month with very little sleep and lots and lots of worry has really taken it's toll. I am just worn-down. Maybe we should have a big QUARANTINE sign out front. I will be fine; I am just whining. I feel better already just complaining.

I finally got to see Nebraska on Netflix last night while cleaning the kitchen. We got a new DVD/blu-ray player for the bedroom since Cha Cha will be laid-up for awhile but we don't have HD in the bedroom so we put the one from downstairs up there and the new one is down here. I didn't know you needed HD for blu-ray; I used to be so techie back in the day and now I am just a doddering MIDDLE-aged boob. The new player has a feature that lets us watch Netflix right from the player. We were already big Netflix watchers but now I don't have to hook the laptop up to the television anymore. I haven't tried yet but I wonder if I can get HBOgo on this thing too? I knew I would like Nebraska but Cha Cha thought it would be a downer. I would not say it was a downer. I would say it was kind of sweet actually. I didn't realize Will Forte and Bob Odenkirk were even in the film. So is Stacy Keach and Opie's dad Rance Howard. I recommend it highly. I will see if I can get Cha Cha to see it. Now I am watching Tombstone for the 457th time while I make Cha Cha's breakfast; I love this film. When I was young I always wondered why my dad liked westerns and military films so much. As I got older, and did the same, I think I have found that it is something that just happens when boys become men; right around 16 or 17 years old. It is by genetic-design I think.

Okay, I have blown enough gas for today already. Thank you for stopping-by. I normally have not written the blog on weekends but, until Cha Cha is back to normal, I will continue to blog on weekends too. Not to mention that I am sure you will be wondering how I Love Lucy Live On Stage was/is. I had better figure-out our game-plan for tonight here too. Have a great Friday and Frinight. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!