Hi All,
Thought I'd give a little update in the thrilling saga known as "Kristen's Life". Okay, so it's not so thrilling. But here it is anyway.
On the work front, as you may remember, the general manager of my restaurant has been out since Feb 10th. They finally figured out what was wrong with him, a condition known as meniere's disease. Basically, fluid builds up in the inner ear causing the balance issues and vertigo. He had surgury on it last week, and so far things are good. He will
Thinking out loud.
How do you know when it's time to face the facts so that you can begin to accept it and hopefully move on? Should you ever try to come to terms with what has been lost, or should you never accept them with the idea that if you don't, you might still be able to recover the loss? What I mean is, if for example you lost the ability to use your hand, is there a time when you should just accept that its never coming back so you can stop spending energy and time on something ho
I have worked for a casual dining restaurant for 13 years now. Thought I'd share a few amusimg stories from when I was a server.
We have an entree that is cooked and served in a buttered parchment bag. I always offer to open the bag for the guest when I served it. This guest declined. I checked on them periodically, but I hadn't noticed until I went to remove their plates that the gentleman had eaten his bag too! I didn't want to embarrass him, so I didn't say anything, besides, everyone
Do you have my Christmas spirit, and if so, can I have some back? I keep trying to get in the mood, but it's not working.
Absolutly every aspect of it seems like a hassle: putting up the tree (okay, it's more about taking it down), buying presents for people when I have no idea WHO I am buying for let alone what they want, finding the time to buy the unknown gifts, driving the 3.5 hours to SIL's to "celebrate", taking the dog to the kennel, wrapping gifts, work...it just goes on and on.
I need to borrow the phrase from my chat room partner-in-crime, "I hate them all". Because today, I do.
Last Thursday morning we had an appointment scheduled for an evaluation for Patrick to get a Saeboflex. We were mistakenly set up for a PT session, and the therapist we needed to see was subsiquently not there. "They" rescheduled it and gave us $5 in McDonalds gift certs for our inconvinience.
A little later that afternoon, "they" found a clot in Patrick's calf while trying to det
Well, I haven't gotten a chance to actually speak to my mom yet, but she left me a voice message telling me the results. She was not the $10,000 winner of the Build a better burger contest, but she did say she was enjoying the trip.
All 10 contestants got to stay at the Sutter Home (the sponsor) Bed and Breakfast for two nights, and she and my step dad are spending an additional 2 nights in San Francisco doing their own thing since they have never been.
I went to the http://buildabette
Why do I only blog (99% of the time) the things that are bothering me? I must seem like a total mess...I really need to start blogging some of the ups...
Anyway, in keeping with tradition, here is the latest news to get me in a tizzy.
Patrick came home with an updated therapy schedule effective tomorrow. The therapists have reduced his therapy from 4-5 days of OT,PT, ST a week to 3 days a week. Not only are they reducing the sessions per week, but OT & PT are being reduced every se
I have been questioning today, how do you know when to it's time to stop saying "no" and when to start letting him try again? What I am thinking about is, when Patrick was released from the rehab center, I was given "recommendations" of what Patrick should and shouldn't do. For instance, he shouldn't shave with a razor, he shouldn't walk up and down stairs unattended, he needs to use a cane, he needs to wear this leg brace, he shouldn't use the stove or the oven. They did tell me to let him do t
It has been a long time since I have had any time off from work- especially considering I get 5 weeks per year- and I finally get to start a vacation at the end of this week. I have been trying to decide what is the best thing to do with this time off, and I am having a hard time working out.
We had been thinking about taking 2 days and going to Colorado Springs and doing the tourist things there. It will still be pretty expensive though, and part of me says I should just stay home and sav
The wedding went off WITH a hitch (and a glitch), but it did happen nontheless. The wedding was at 1pm and we arrived at the church about 20 minutes early. We took our seats the in pew with the rest of the family that had already arrived, and soon we had a few relatives squeezing their way to the end where we were sitting to say hi. Meanwhile, there was a pianist and two different (folk music-style) soloists who took turns playing and singing to us. At 1pm, we noticed the pianist kept looking at
I want to pack my sh*t and leave right now. I want to take my husband...I guess the 13 year old can tag along too . I live in a town with no relatives within an hour and a half's drive, and no real friends. The friends Patrick had pre-stroke have pretty much disappeared, I guess seeing him this way is probably uncomfortable for them. Most people our age deal with parents and grandparents having a stroke, not a peer or spouse. I don't think they know how to relate. Patrick was the guy who consta
If you have ever worked in a restaurant, you are probably aware, they are a drama factory. It's been so long since I've worked in the real world that I don't know if all work places are like this- but restaurants are notorious for it. Alot of it is fueled because restaurant workers are also notorious for their after-work social life. (ok, a big majority like to party together, and they can be pretty wild at times.) Friendships and relationships form, and some fall apart.
As a manager I am
Even the the full moon, no crack, my raging hormones and going back to work after my "vacation"(went by too quick, and I am thoroughly convinced I could be perfectly happy never working another day, but such is not my fate) Patrick had a good week.
I will start with the crack. He ate my crack and I was not at all happy about it. Crack is the name Patrick gave the candy I made last summer. I made it for a family function and he told everyone I brought crack because it is so addictive.Now ev
My husband, Patrick, must have been an elephant in a previous life. Not only is he republican, but he has an incredible memory.
If we were driving around his old stomping grounds, he would point to a house and tell me who use to live there, and with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face, a little anicdote about a related adventure he had had there.
It didn't really matter if I knew the person he was referring to or not, or if he had told me the story the last ten times we went
I decided to call Patrick's parents, give them an "update" on tomorrow's plan, and ask his dad about the conversation with the professor.
He mentioned that he initially had concerns about Patrick becoming dependent on a speaking device or slowing his speech progress. After reading studies and literature about the different devices used, he understood the purpose of them for Patrick. He also had always believed that knowing Patrick, it would not be in his nature to use a device to replace
We have a manager at work who has been with the company about 5 months, three months as a manager trainee, two as a manager. He has about 15-20 yeas experience as a restaurant manager. I think he might come up missing soon and I will have to plea the 5th.
He is an "old school' manager who does not care what the crew thinks or feels, speaks to them in a way to intimidate them, has a 'it's my way or the highway' mentality and is generally out to get my hosts, who average the age of 17. 17 ye
Hi guys,
You may or may not have noticed, but I haven't been blogging or replying as much as normal lately. I still have been reading posts and blogs though! I Breeze in- I breeze out.
Things have been pretty busy with me- where to start.
1)Work- my General Manager is STILL OUT (since Feb 10th), so there is definately an element of "who's in charge" here. No matter who is "acting GM", there is still that element of not being able to really have the
respect that that title holds fr
We have been looking forward to this coming weekend for a while now. Patrick's cousin is getting married Saturday and we have been planning to go for some time now. I am glad it's finally upon us!
He is close to his cousin, as cousins go. She almost feels like a 5th sister in Patrick's family. She has had alot of very serious medical challanges herself in the last few years, and it's really good to see a day of joy come her way. I met her fiance while Patrick was in the hospital, and they s
I have been trying to decide whether or not to blog about this, because I know what I saw can hit close to home with many of our members here. The thing is, it has been like a shadow of sadness on me since it happened Tuesday, and I hope by blogging it, I can let it go.
I realize that I have been putting in more time at work (I just started going back full time) and the extra day of work happenes to have started at the same time school starts (which ALWAYS means we are short staffed for a
makes Kristen a dull girl.
I haven't been able to be here much lately, and even when I do make it, I only have a few minutes. Thought I'd better blog an update on the work situation, so here it is.
My GM is still out, and will be out the rest of the month. If you recall, his last day of actual work was Feb. 10th. He apparently has a sinus infection that won't go away and may have to have surgery later this month. The infection is causing vertigo, and amusingly enough, his wife tells us
It has been a while since my last blog, so I figured it was time to add a new one. I always think I should wait to blog until something interesting happens or I have something useful to say, but since that rarely happens, I thought I'd just go for it.
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We have been out here in Colorado for almost two months. Patrick and I are really liking the climate and surroundings. I have not missed Illinois at all. Our son, who will be starting his first year of high school soon, is not ready t
I have said it before, but I will say it again; For me, music is the soul of life. It helps a reserved person like myself release emotions that sometimes I push down. Without music...well... I just don't think I could survive.
I had always been moved by this song, but when Patrick had the stroke, it echoed through my brain. When I knew I needed to cry-but the tears wouldn't come- all I had to do was listen to this song and the tears fell like rain. It was bittersweet relief.
I put a l
This blog is long and about the murder of my friend. I have chosen to publish it in order to own the event as part of my life, an event I had buried after the "in your face" media sensation ended. I apologize if this seems in any way inappropriate, this is not my intention.
I've been psychoanalyzing the life altering events of my life quite a bit in the last few weeks. Many of the events I can pin point exactly how the event changed me. Others, I am not sure exactly HOW I changed, I just k
Well, I know longer feel restless. I finally got some cleaning done around the house, and that for the moment seems to have filled the void.
Now I realize few people enjoy housework (but there are a few sick and twisted one who do), and let me tell you, I don't either. The day-to-day cleaning was always Patrick's territory before the stroke. Deep cleaning, organization, and "downsizing" have always been mine. I finally inherited my Grandma Darrah's "if you aren't using it, get rid of it" ge
It has been an interesting week. Not all good, not all bad. Guess I'll start with Sunday and work my way through.
Last Sunday- While I am at work my son calls me to tell me he's fallen off his skateboard and feels sick and is having trouble seeing. I left work (thankfully there was another manager on duty) and took him to the ER to check for a concussion. This is my second trip to this ER in two weeks, the last one was for me when I had a dental emergency and gave myself a panic attack at 2
