April Awesome

[Jaglavak]

Its a lovely sunny breezy afternoon and I'm going to enjoy it with a nice easy bike ride.

[D_Fenestrator]

That’s the best plan I’ve heard in months! 😁👍🏻

[picunurse]

Next Tuesday is Hubby's birthday. He can't have cake or ice cream. His room is small and he's in protective isolation, so an IRL party is out of the question.
So, I'm making big poster board collages with pictures of his friends and family.
I'm taking cupcakes to the nurses

[Dragonlady]

This whole thing has been so hard. I can't even imagine.

[picunurse]

Originally Posted by picunurse

Next Tuesday is Hubby's birthday. He can't have cake or ice cream. His room is small and he's in protective isolation, so an IRL party is out of the question.
So, I'm making big poster board collages with pictures of his friends and family.
I'm taking cupcakes to the nurses

He's back on the ventilator. He's awake, but he had some trouble breathing with just the tracheostomy with humidified air.

[Dragonlady]

I can't imagine how frightening it must be to be dependent on a ventilator.
I'm sorry he's having such a hard time.

[teela brown]

I am very sorry you and he are having to go through this, picunurse.

How is hubby dealing with not being able to drink? If I remember correctly, he was a heavy drinker before being hospitalized.

[FairyChatMom]

It's Happy Homemaker Day!! I'm going to dust and vacuum and mop floors and scrub both bathrooms... OK, not exactly my idea of fun, but when it's done, the house will be all clean and I can just sit and admire the dust-free surfaces.

And if it warms a tad more, I can get out in the yard and continue prepping it for summer. Not to sound hateful, but before MIL died, I couldn't do much yard work since she really couldn't be left alone very long. Now, my time is my time. I'd forgotten what that was like.

[picunurse]

Originally Posted by teela brown

I am very sorry you and he are having to go through this, picunurse.

How is hubby dealing with not being able to drink? If I remember correctly, he was a heavy drinker before being hospitalized.

He hasn't said anything, well indicated, he can't talk. (Don't let TV fool ya, you can't talk with a tracheostomy with a ventilator.)
My last couple visits he's been short tempered, like he is when he drinks. I don't think he's on any meds that can cause that.
Today was his birthday. I took a big poster board with pictures of friends and family. He wouldn't look at it. The nurses came in and sang Happy Birthday, he sang along, but didn't thank them. He wouldn't look at the cards either.

[FairyChatMom]

We arrived safely in Pigeon Forge. The kids went immediately for the pool, then crashed early at bedtime. Spousal unit and our daughter will take his parents' ashes to Cades Cove tomorrow while I wrangle the grandspawn. Dunno what else the day will hold. I'm just glad we're out of the car.

Several fun adventures planned for the rest of the week - fun for the kids, that is. 😉

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by FairyChatMom

Several fun adventures planned for the rest of the week - fun for the kids, that is. 😉

As some wise man ass once said: "You can't help getting old, but you can stay childish, forever."

Fun for the kids is fun for the old-farts, as long as they go into it with a childish attitude.

[Jaglavak]

And comfortable shoes.

[Scuba Ben]

Originally Posted by C2H5OH

As some wise man ass once said: "You can't help getting old, but you can stay childish, forever."

Fun for the kids is fun for the old-farts, as long as they go into it with a childish attitude.

Case in point: We got the kids Nerf-compatible belt-fed blasters for their afikomen gifts. And accessory vests. And face masks. And gear for us too. AND we have oversize Tinkertoy-type building toys. Yesterday we had a whole-family massive Nerf battle.

[FairyChatMom]

Home again - huzzah!

The grandspawn had a great time. Apart from the hotel pool, which they occupied every evening, they saw a couple of bears in the park, splashed around in a mountain stream, rode a tram and a ski lift up Ober Mountain, did a lot of climbing in a really nice public park, toured the Bush's Beans museum across the street from the factory, did gem mining and fed some goats, had old-timey photos taken, and probably other stuff that I've forgotten. Not a bad way to spend spring break when you're a first-grader and a pre-K kid.

We got home around 6 yesterday, after a loooooooong drive with too much stupid traffic, but sleeping in my own bed was bliss!

[EmilyG]

There's a store near me that sells great chocolate from a local factory around Easter. I've already gotten and consumed some of said chocolate. Yum!

[picunurse]

Yea! Hubby understood everything I told him today. He was able to write some questions.
Also, his doctor dropped by while I was there. He thinks the initial diagnosis was wrong and the other hospital missed something. They are going to do a new workup starting from scratch.

[FairyChatMom]

Today I donned shorts. I expect the weather to stay mild enough that I won't have to change into long pants. Ah, spring...

[JackieLikesVariety]

I was in shorts weeks ago...then back in everything including a winter parka...and back again.

more times than I could count!

[Solfy]

Our weather seems to have turned the corner that spring was just around. : fingers crossed :

Funny moment at work: made my usual reference to including some “black helicopters” in the slide deck for management to cut. This is a movie production trope - prospective budgets would include a line item for a scene using black helicopters. Management would of course cut them as being too expensive. In reality there was never any plan to use black helicopters, they were just put there to make managers feel effective.

Realized I now work in a gig where black helicopters are a thing. Will need a new euphemism.

[FairyChatMom]

Originally Posted by Solfy

they were just put there to make managers feel effective.

This brought to mind my tour of duty in the Pentagon back in the early 80s. Our group was responsible for composing replies to the media and politicians when they asked about the various aircraft programs we dealt with. There was one rear admiral in the approval chain who, without fail, added or removed commas whether it made sense or not. Those of us at the bottom of the food chain knew it was his way of making himself feel like a contributor or something. And in those days, the secretary would have to print multiple carbons every time a piece of paper came to her for typing or correcting. I can't imagine how much this silly-ass commas cost.

I'm willing to bet that guy was never promoted again. No clue how he got where he did in the first place. I still chuckle to remember him.

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by FairyChatMom

No clue how he got where he did in the first place.

People tend to rise to their level of incompetence. As long as they are competent, they get promoted. Once they reach a level at which they are incompetent, that's where the promotions end, but they get to stay in the office they were promoted to, and displayed their incompetence.

It's called the "Peter Principle".

[Scuba Ben]

The Fire Chief has been invited to drop the puck at this year's police vs. firefighter ice hockey game!

I have to teach him how to balance on ice skates real fast. The game is next month.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by C2H5OH

People tend to rise to their level of incompetence. As long as they are competent, they get promoted. Once they reach a level at which they are incompetent, that's where the promotions end, but they get to stay in the office they were promoted to, and displayed their incompetence.

It's called the "Peter Principle".

Though sometimes with the right connections, they can promote a few ranks higher than their competency. I knew an Ensign that made Lt JG and he had already exceeded his competence at Ensign, but it turned out he was an Admiral's son. Probably got his appointment and help graduating by being said Admiral's son as he was really not cut out to be an officer. Hell, he would have made a poor Petty Officer. Well, maybe a boatswain.

[Jaglavak]

Originally Posted by Scuba Ben

I have to teach him how to balance on ice skates real fast. The game is next month.

I suppose crampons are right out.

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by What Exit?

... Well, maybe a boatswain.

Hey, why are you pissin' on the 'deckapes'? They never pissed in your Cheerios. As far as you know.

[Scuba Ben]

Originally Posted by C2H5OH

Hey, why are you pissin' on the 'deckapes'? They never pissed in your Cheerios. As far as you know.

The BMs would never do that. The CSs, though, you've got to be good to them for this very reason.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by C2H5OH

Hey, why are you pissin' on the 'deckapes'? They never pissed in your Cheerios. As far as you know.

Do you know how little a boatswain does on a carrier? Basically just scrape/paint/mop. Now on the USS Constitution, one of the most important rates. Also BM was literally the rate with the lowest ASVAB qualification. Not really a joke at all.

Originally Posted by Scuba Ben

The BMs would never do that. The CSs, though, you've got to be good to them for this very reason.

I was usually on good terms with Supply. It was a good idea. The Bake Shop & Butcher Shop especially liked me for having gotten very good at maintaining their equipment when I was in Power Shop. But several of my D&D friends were in Supply, having contacts in S9 helped whenever I was the Supply PO for E-Div.