Facie’s Ramblings

Last week sucked. No other way to say it. It started off on Sunday morning with my making Texas chili (cooking is a rare event for me), and a couple hours later my hands felt as if they were on fire, thanks to my cutting jalapeno peppers (I guess it was a delayed effect). I tried several different things, including alcohol, lemon juice, and milk, multiple times. After several hours of intense pain, I think the apple cider vinegar finally did the trick; I was fortunately able to fall asleep to just slight heat in my hands. Lesson learned: wear gloves when cutting up hot peppers (note that hub is able to cut peppers with no ill effects). But that was just a warm up (not pun intended). My left heel continued to hurt with every step I took, and fortunately, because of the craptastic weather (another reason for my January hatred) and people cancelling their appointments, the podiatrist was able to see me Tuesday afternoon. The result of that $40 copay: plantar fasciitis. The doc gave my f...

Pittsburgh is not very pedestrian friendly. This, despite the following law: 3542. Right-of-way of pedestrians in crosswalks. (a) General rule. --When traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.   I cannot tell you how many times I have been at a crosswalk and have been ignored by cars zipping by. At one intersection near a park, there is actually a flashing light trumpeting that it is a state law that cars must yield for pedestrians. Still some drivers completely ignore that, and my daughter and I have have found ourselves waiting for long periods of time as well as coming close to being hit because we were not running across the street (I did not realize that part of the law was pedestrians had to sprint so as not to further inconvenience the drivers). Near ...

After my last gun-related post, you might think I would try for something more light-hearted. But, alas, you would be wrong. In the news around here lately have been a few somewhat-related subjects, at least to me. I have mentioned one topic before, the Western Psych shooting. Recently, things have come out that suggest the shooter was disturbed enough that something should have been done before the shooting ever occurred. Among other things, he went to UPMC Shadyside with a baseball bat twice in 10 days to threaten employees. But yet no one thought to call the police or refer him for a mental health evaluation. Did the employees just not take it seriously? Did it fall through the cracks? On the other hand, there are the oft-occurring-as-of-late bomb threat s on Pitt's campus, particularly at the Cathedral of Learning. Every time someone calls in or somewhere scrawls a threat, the police take action, which means everyone has to evacuate the building(s) while the building is ...

In honor of Sidney Crosby's second comeback from his concussion-recurrence symptoms, I thought I would share how I came to love hockey. I "discovered" hockey when I was a freshman at Penn State, from 1989 to 1990. Growing up 45 miles east of Pittsburgh, I certainly knew of the Pittsburgh Penguins, but they just weren't that good (in fact in the '80s, they were pretty bad), plus hockey was not exactly in vogue back then. The only player I had heard of was Mario Lemieux, but his greatest was not enough to get me interested in hockey prior to my going to college. But Penn State, on the other hand, had a great team in the Icers. They won many games by a touchdown or more, and they were just fun to watch. The sports complex was small, so you could easily see where the puck was at all times, the lack of which has turned off many a would-be fan. Because I was a poor college student, I could not afford to go to many games, so my sophomore year I smartly joined the Hoc...

I have a handful (well, maybe two handfuls) of things on my noodle, starting with a memorable Thanksgiving, so let's get right to it! Not sure which I will remember more about Thanksgiving day, my adult cousin's obscene t-shirt that he refused to remove for me or my three-year-old nephew trying to hit Jordan with a two-pound weight, but missing her and instead nailing his older brother in the head, which resulted in a trip to the ER . Good times! I wish my brothers and their families lived closer. I tend to be all about quantity since I typically see them only two or three times a year, and it gets crazy with so many people, including seven kids ages eight and under, in one small place. In one week I will be 40 . I still think I am okay with that. Ask me again next week at this time. Some people are idiots. I realize I did not say anything new there, but Black Friday tends to bring out the biggest morons and jag-offs in full force. Ugh. Speaking of jag-offs, while in I...

Today's question is brought to you by some (of whom I consider) stupid parents. Maybe I am just being overprotective, but these things, in general, seem like a bad idea. Agree or disagree? Letting kids ride a bike without a helmet A couple of kids in my neighborhood regularly ride their bikes helmet-less. I know "when we were kids" we did not do this, but the law states if you are under 12, you must wear a helmet when riding a bike. I don't know if it is parents (or kids) being lazy, feeling goofy, or not wanting to spend the money,  but when you consider the statistics and how much more expensive it will be to pay for a hospital visit, why not just do it? What is worse is for a week I watched a dad let his two kids, a girl who looked about 10 and a boy who was probably between 12 and 15, ride a motorbike without a helmet. Not only is it extremely dangerous, especially considering the boy was popping wheelies(!), but it is also illegal for an unlicensed motorbike...

My kid seems to be a little accident prone. A couple of years ago, Jordan fell backwards into a register, thus necessitating a trip to Children's Hospital and subsequent rants about health care. Less than two months ago, she had the mystery injury at recess. Last night, while swimming (thanks to my mother-in-law we have a six-month pool membership at a nearby hotel), Jordan said to me, "Mommy, I think I chipped my tooth." This immediately caused flashbacks to when I was about 10 and chipped my front tooth while going backwards down a water slide (yes, that was a stupid thing to do, but technically I chipped my tooth as I was turning the right way, once I realized just how dumb I was being, so I was probably more stupid doing the right thing). Anyway, I walked over to Jordan, who was clutching her mouth and crying a bit by now. I asked her to open her mouth, upon which I discovered she no longer had her top front teeth. Eek! For a couple of seconds, I panicked, but the...

Late this afternoon, I arrived home from a three-day trip to Texas. This trip was not really for pleasure; unfortunately, my mother was recently hospitalized for a handful of things. Before she got out, my brothers decided that she would be better off, at least in the short-term future, living in Texas, where she could stay with my little brother and his family and have access to better medical care than what she was receiving in the small local hospital in her area. I went to Texas to spend some time with her and help her and my brother and his family in the best way I could. I am kind of numb about the whole ordeal. For over a week, I spent an insane number of hours on the phone talking to doctors, nurses, and many relatives and family members. I went back and forth to the hospital, a two-and-half-hour round trip, a few times. A car issue, still not resolved, further complicated matters. Nine years ago this weekend, I was riding in a truck with a friend en route to visit...

Jordan got hurt at recess on Friday. I got a call from the secretary, who said as much. When I asked if I should come to get her (I assumed that was why she was calling), B said probably not, but that Jordan was just scared and needed to be reassured. Part of me thought, if she is not that hurt that I don't need to get her, why must I make the 30-minute round trip just to give her a hug? But the secretary did use the word blood. I had had a busy morning, having spent almost two hours filling out an online application. For the record I have no idea how many years of experience I have with WordPerfect, mostly because I am pretty sure it has been years since I used that program. And I also had no idea how to answer my experience with PowerPoint. I have used it. I feel comfortable with it. But it is not as if I have spent X number of years creating programs. But I digress. So I show up at school, see my kid with a cold pack on her lip, crying. The teacher on duty (no nurse at a sma...

Unfortunately, that woman was me. Well, I guess is me. Still. And actually should be I, but that sounds akward. Regardless, me or I, I am definitely worse for the wear. Don't ask. But I will tell you, after I ramble a bit first. Today Brian and I took Jordan to her first-ever Bucco's game, as part of her b'day present. I like baseball just fine, and used to go to a game or two every year since I moved here, but a few years ago, we stopped. We hated to spend the money on such a crappy team on top of what we would have to pay for babysitting since Jordan, in our opinion, was too young to go. But this summer, we decided to throw the option out to her. Even with Chuck E Cheese on the table, she picked the baseball game. And we were both glad. Chuck E Cheese, although kind of fun, is also annoying. Plus I tend to get a little gamble-happy at some of the games, telling myself if I just play one more time, I will surely end up with a bunch of tokens (for a crappy ...

April is normally a month of hope. The first full month of spring. Typically Easter falls within it. We usually end up with at least a week or two of nice weather (one year we had a week in the 80s). People spend time outside. Baseball season starts (remember, no one starts with a losing record!). This April, however, and particularly over the next two weeks, I will be thinking about the one-year anniversary of some sad things that occurred within a seven-day period last year. The tragic death of Amy's (from Callapitter) children. I will be sending her good thoughts and vibes over the next few weeks. As difficult as this last year has been for her, I am surmising the anniversary will be trying in a different way. I am, however, glad to see that plans for the playground memorializing her children are coming together. If you are interested in donating, please go here. The slaying of three Pittsburgh police officers. Sadly, someone is killed almost every week in and around the ci...

That is what Brian's family is on. Grandpa (or Pap, as Brian calls him, or Pappy, as Jordan calls him) fell again while at the nursing home this past Friday and had bleeding in his brain. Since his health has been deteriorating, Grandma (I forget what Brian calls her; Jordan calls her GG) decided it would be best not to drill holes in his head/brain, knowing this 90ish man might not survive the surgery. So he is on pain medication but pretty much nothing else. The doctors said it could be a few hours or a few days before he passes away. Well, it has now been four days. So we wait. And wait. And I am thinking maybe Grandpa should have had the surgery. I realize he might not have lived through it, but is lying in a coma for days (or even a week or more) really much better? What if he would have been okay? Friday evening, Brian and I pondered what to tell Jordan. We were not sure if we should wait until he passed (notice how I am avoiding saying "death" or "dies"),...

A few hours after a crazy guy shot about a dozen women and killed three of them in a gym, I thought of how what he did affects so many people in many different ways. The injured woman may never get over the emotional trauma of getting shot. Some will probably endure nightmares and require counseling, which could affect their jobs and personal lives. Some may have physical injuries that take months to heal. This too could affect their livelihoods. What if one of them worked at a minimum wage job and had little or no health care? Many family members and friends who knew and loved those women will also be affected. It may take some of them years to get over this. The kid who lost his mother may very well think about this daily for the rest of his life. Think of the parent who has to bury her daughter. The health of perhaps hundreds of LA Fitness gym goers may also be in jeopardy. Some may never be able to work out again, for fear of a repeat occurrence. I am guessing some at the very leas...

If you follow the local (Pittsburgh) news, then you probably know that Steeler James Harrison's pit bull bit his toddler son, the mother of the child, and another person. The son appears to have had the worst of it, having spent about a week in the hospital. Apparently this two-year-old dog had never been aggressive before, but something in this young child's cry set the dog off. I have a pit bull, who, according to our vet, may actually be a pit bull-shar pei mix (who knew). Sadie has been with us since July 1, 2002, when I brought her home, with a little help from my friend Amy (whom we refer to as Aunt Amy, although Ame refers to herself as Aunt Mimi), from the Human Society. As some friends know, my plan was to get a dog or have a child. Not both. When we adopted Sadie, I told Brian that was it, no child (clearly, I changed my mind several months later). When I first saw Sadie, it was practically love at first sight. I thought she was cute, and then I moved down the row of ...

As I posted in January, Jordan had an unfortunate run-in with a register lever, resulting in a trip to Children's and two staples in her head. Because Brian has crappy, high-deductible insurance, we were prepared to pay about 1k in fees. So you can imagine my joy two weeks ago when we received an EOB (explanation of benefits) that said of the $586 someone decided it cost, we owed about $230. Unfortunately that joy has since turned to anger; today we received another EOB for the same incident, except this one cost over $1,100, for which we owe about $585. Let me break it down for you: First EOB--Univ Pgh Physicians Medical: $210 Surgery: $376 Second EOB--Children's Hospital Outpatient: $749 Outpatient: $353 Combined EOB total: $1,688 (this does not include the $55 for Jordan's ped to remove the staples) I am hoping, almost praying, there is some type of mistake. Why did we receive two separate EOBs, and why is one for Children's and one for Univ Pgh Physicians? The firs...

But, alas, two of them made it into Jordan's head this afternoon, following an incident for which the details are nebulous. Typically on Wednesdays, my day off, Jordan watches TV while I take a nice, long shower. This morning she was playing with her dolls in her room, so I let that continue, against my better judgement as she was getting frustrated trying to turn a mat into hammock. When I had finished and was putting on my various creams and lotions, she told me that she figured out how to make a hammock in the living room. Had I been clothed, perhaps I would have followed her, to see how she proposed to do this. But just a minute or two later, she was crying, saying she hit her head. Jordan gets hurt. A lot. Sadly, she has my coordination and grace (I have none and little). I hugged her as she was crying, but did not think much of it. Brian, who was home, thank God, happened to notice the back of her hair was wet, and discovered she was bleeding. Then I got scared. Fortunately, ...

I either tripped on or missed the last step yesterday morning before going to work. I immediately cried out in pain and fell to the floor. Jordan's reaction? "Daddy better take me to school." It reminded me of when Brian and I were playing (and I use that term loosely for me) tennis on the 4th of July back in '99. I simply stepped funny on my ankle, yet it swelled up to the size of a grapefruit, and I was on crutches and in a soft ankle cast for a few weeks. Even though I have little tolerance for pain, I like to think I am tough, plus I hate medication or seeking treatment, so I decided to soldier on. Unfortunately, walking around the South Side for lunch and not putting ice on my ankle until about 4 p.m. yesterday did nothing to help it (neither did Mike spilling half a Dr. Pepper on me, for that matter). Currently, my ankle has swelled to perhaps only the size of a plum, and it hurts just mildly. But as my post title suggests, I will be fine by kickoff tomorrow. Ah...