Shopping Spree

So since we've quit our jobs and have no income for the foreseeable future we decided it would be prudent to go on a shopping spree.

JL (my Sis) gave me a great gift for Christmas. It was season 3 of a Canadian television show. Since I've not seen a single episode of this family-proclaimed "great show" and I'm unable to bring myself to watch the third season of a show without seeing the first two I bought the first two online. They should arrive sometime next week.

Swell received, from the same Sis, Fraggle Rock Season 2. Swell, being sheltered - read locked in a closet - her whole life has not seen a single Fraggle Rock episode (it might be because she wasn't even in the US during Fraggle Rock's epic run but I prefer to think of it as her being a little slow in the head). Because of her self-imposed Fraggle Rock ignorance I had to order her Season 1 before I allow her to watch season 2. It should arrive sometime next week.

On our run from our arrival gate to our departure gate in Vancouver we had to make time to buy me a hoodie (imagine the word Canada written like the brand-name Puma, with the picture of the Puma replaced by a Moose - awesome, no?). We also had to make sure to buy Smarties, Coffee Crisp, and Aero bars.

Today, for some unknown reason, we went shopping and spent more money. We're not that bright.

We also put a flight from Tel Aviv to Cairo on hold and are considering spending the GNP of a small, underdeveloped country on a week-long Egyptian tour.

We are now accepting donations to finance our lavish lifestyle. If you can't donate now think of us in the future.

We're a little sad that our Christmas vacation is coming to a close. One more day and then it's back to Hotlanta (via Houston, via San Francisco) then a week of preparation and we're off to the great unknown.

We're still looking forward to it despite efforts to dissuade our excitement. As soon as I can sit quietly for a considerable length of time I think it would be beneficial to some of my family members if I write an essay on who I am and how I think. Distance clouds the observation of meaningful life changes and what seems evident to one-self is not quite so evident to others.

Cheers,

Christmas is over...

So it's a good thing our flight from Vancouver to Edmonton was delayed on the 23rd. It took us a full 2 hours to get from the Portland to Vancouver arrival gate, through customs/immigration, pick up our luggage and re-check it in, go back through security (what kind of stupid airport forces you to leave the secure area to move to another terminal which of course means you have to be re-checked?) and get to our departure gate. Our second flight was, as I said before, delayed by about an hour. We got to the gate just as they began boarding. Had the flight not been delayed we would not have made it.

Christmas was great this year. Seemed very relaxed. It was a good time with family. Took family pictures, opened gifts, ate, played games, ate, went on a sleigh ride and ate some more.

Swell survived a week in Edmonton without getting a virus which is great. She's been sick while in Edmonton for the last few years. Hopefully she stays well for the rest of the year.

It was an interesting trip back to Portland/Washougal. We flew back to Vancouver, BC and had a lot of time there to get from arrival gate to departure gate (arrive, long walk to US customs, talk to immigration guy, pick up bags, drop off bags, get re-screened, long walk to gate). While waiting for the flight to Portland I was spending the last of our Canadian money. I was behind some guy in line who was throwing a fit because a book he was trying to buy with US money was $11.50. His contention was that the book was labeled $7.99 US and that was what he should pay. Of course in reality the book costs $10.99 CDN. If you convert that price to US currency and add in taxes, etc. they were asking for $11.65 US. He was livid. "The book costs $7.99 US. You have to honour the price that is listed on the book." The woman at the store very calmly (and correctly) stated that the price in US funds does not account for the shipping and handling, etc. that occurs to get the book to Canada. The book costs $10.99 in Canada. If he chose to pay for it in US funds it would be $11.65. This made perfect sense to me. He got all mad and basically said that he WAS British and that he didn't put up with this crap. He would pay in British pounds but they had the nerve not to accept Pounds as a form of payment. It was an entertaining way to spend some of our waiting time.

To the women who sat behind us on the flight from E'town to Vancouver:

The Washington Capitals do NOT play in WA state. They play in Washington DC which is neither Seattle nor "near the mountains of Washington". Furthermore, if it took your sister 4 days to drive from Olympia to Edmonton it's not because it's sooo far away. It's because she drives 4 hours a day. I made it from Forest Grove, OR to Edmonton in a 1970 VW in 24 hours. That included a couple of sleep breaks on the side of the road.

It was a great Christmas and we're looking forward to an exciting new year.

The start of the second leg of our trip.

Whose bright idea was this? DO NOT TRAVEL on December 23 when Christmas falls on a Monday. It is busy.

The man at the checked baggage screening area will make you lift your 50 pound bags over a stack of other bags for no apparent reason. He could simply move the other bags as they were ON A WHEELED CART! You will have to do this despite having thrown out your bad back the day before filling said bags with gifts for ungrateful family.

There will be a crazy lady who holds up the line searching for who knows what in her purse (which was the size of Swell). She will then tell the ID/Boarding pass lady that "Christ is coming back", when the screening lady asks "when?" crazy lady will respond; "today". Glad I'm not on her flight.

You will use the self-check-in screen and learn that the perfect flight - the flight that Swell agonized about trying to find - the flight that cost a few more dollars than other choices - the flight that was to get you to E'Town at a good time - in fact a good enough time to go to Boston Pizza - is delayed. No, not the first flight. They've already delayed the connecting flight by almost an hour. Why? Dunno. How do they know to delay a flight that doesn't leave for 4 hours? Dunno.

Great day so far. At least they have free internet at PDX. Long live the Pacific North West.

Promised update to my Christmas list

I promised BL an update to the Christmas list that was posted at the other place.

As a great surprise to me my inlaws purchased the most expensive thing on my previous list - a second camera. This second camera will see much use but will be a second camera - i.e. I have needs for two cameras now.

Filters: UV filters (total three: 1 for 58 mm, 1 for 52 mm, 1 for 62 mm)
Neutral Density filters (total three - sizes as above)
Any other filters you can think of or that you are told are cool (NOT FOR THE 52 mm lens)

Eye cup for Canon Rebel 35 mm camera (I lost mine and was yelled at royally by jerky-jerk in Atlanta)

Extra battery(ies) for Canon Rebel XTi (Battery Model: NB-2LH)

External hard drive to back up photos onto (80GB or more)

Fish Eye Lens (or attachment for 52 mm or 58 mm lens)

CD case(s) - to carry our DVDs to our new home.

Hello Kitty Pens

I know this is real late but if you're a last minuter I hope the above are helpful.

Looking forward to being in E'town tomorrow.

Travel Update

We are still here in the Pacific Northwest. It is freezing here! So cold. I suppose it's not too bad leaving the abnormally hot weather in Atlanta to come to the abnormally cold weather in the northwest. What's a change of 45 degrees Fahrenheit between friends? (It was in the low 70's in Atlanta our last week there and is in the high 20's in the morning here). It better warm up in Edmonton or I'll have something to say. There is enough money floating around Alberta these days that I think they should buy some type of large heater to heat the province. Make it some type of man-made tropical area with a constant temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and a nice cool breeze. With the destruction of the environment in the oil sands how much more damage can changing the entire climate do?

We have changed our flight to Palestine back 5 days. We are leaving Atlanta on the 9th instead of the 4th. We are going to look into booking something into Egypt for the 12th to the 18th or 19th. I think we'll look into a flight and a tour group because I'm not keen on travelling around Egypt unaccompanied - but I'll buy a guide book today to see if my concerns are unfounded.

What are we going to do with our extra five days in Atlanta? Hopefully work. Swell will contact her boss today and ask if he can use her (and hopefully me). If he can't use me I may swallow my pride and ask if they can use me where I used to work. (Commercial optometry is like a drug - you can't get away from it even when you try.) We'll make some money and do a better job of packing/cleaning/etc.


BUT I JUST REALIZED WE HAVE NO SATELLITE TV ANYMORE! Woe is me.

Out of the dirty south... and none too soon.

So I'm sitting at my in laws in Washougal, WA happy to be out of Atlanta. It was a very interesting last day in the south. Eye opening to say the least.

N. and I were waiting to cross a street to go back to our car on Saturday morning before work. A car stopped at a stop sign but we were hesitant to cross just in case he didn't see us. (Having been hit by a car in the past it isn't an experience I'd like to replicate.)

The car did, in fact, stay stopped so that we could cross the street. As we were crossing an older "gentleman" said: "You never know if they are going to stop do you?"

I responded: "It's like taking your life into your hands."

Poor man must have been partially deaf because he heard: "Brother, I, too am a member of the KKK and share your racist beliefs. Let us now have a conversation extolling racist thoughts." because he proceeded to say: "Black people especially don't stop...."

As he was saying this my chin hit the pavement but he continued. I, being startled, didn't really catch the rest of his diatribe but Swell swears the end of his sentence was: "They'll run you over - it's like black redemption. Have a nice day."

I don't know why he decided it appropriate to say such things but the worst part of it was when Swell was relaying the story to someone they were in complete agreement with the old man. She couldn't even finish the story due to the: "Amens" and "Preach it's" coming from the person's lips. Apparently - and this is news to me - black people in Atlanta all desire to run over as many white people as they can.

Now I could have just said: "Wow that was weird!" and moved on with my day but upon my arrival at work I was met with some shocking news. Swell and I sent a very nice woman - a hard worker and a kind person - over to talk to the owner of an optical business about a new job.

She had her interview with this guy Friday Night. The gist of the interview (aside from the illegal questions of "How many children do you have?" and "What are you going to do about your kids if you're working?") was that this woman was "too black" to be at this particular store. It wasn't specifically stated that way but she was told that she would have to change the way she speaks (she speaks with a southern accent) and that it would probably be a better fit for her at another store where the "rappers and gang bangers" shop.

Maybe I could chalk that up to simply a misunderstanding but that same day Swell related a story about a fellow who came into a place that had a sign indicating "help wanted". He asked about the job and was told to submit a resume for consideration. A few hours later another fellow came in and asked about the same job. Fellow 1 had yet to submit his resume and had not been interviewed. Fellow 2 was told the job had been filled. Fellow 1 - white, fellow 2 - not so much. What is wrong with people?

Being Canadian I remember when living in Canada thinking that race relations in the US is blown out of proportion. That things couldn't possibly be so bad that their needed to be things like affirmative action, and public debates on race relations. I guess my time in the South (see previous post at old blog about the great race "discussion" in one of my classes) has shown me that racism is alive and well and that I have no clue what minorities go through in their day-to-day lives. I can't wait to move to a place where people are civilized and look past skin colour/religion/etc.

Saturday was an AWESOME last day of work. I told at least 2 people to never come back to the company I work for because they won't receive the care they deserve there. I also made a woman so very angry! I love making people angry.

Woman: "I have a 3:30 pm appointment."
Staff member: "Ummm... it's 4:40 pm now."
Woman: "I'm late."
Staff: "O.K. fill out this paper work..."

Woman: "Will I get my glasses today?"
Me/Staff member 2: "It depends on your prescription/what you pick/etc but probably shouldn't be a problem."
Woman: "Because if I can't get it today I'll just go to Lenscrafters. I am going out of town tomorrow."
Me: "Left this a little late didn't you."
Woman: "Well I just got back in town..."
Me: "O.k. You can go to Lenscrafters. You could also get your exam here and take your prescription there if we can't do it today."

Me in waiting area to another patient: "Alright Ms. Smith are you done with your paperwork?"

Ms. Smith: "Yes"
Woman: "I'm done with mine too."
Me: "Ummm... o.k. Ms. Smith will be going first because she has an appointment."
Woman: "I have an appointment too."
Me: "At 3:30."
Woman: "Harrumph"

I finish with Ms. Smith and take the woman back for her exam.

Woman: "I need glasses. I saw an ophthalmologist on Wednesday and he said I have dry eyes. He gave me drops X and Y and said it will take at least a month for me to start getting better."
Me: "Ok." I start her exam and soon realize that even with the best glasses I can find she can't see very well at all. So I stop trying to do a prescription and look at the health of her eyes. They look terrible.
Me: "We're not going to be able to find a prescription today because your eyes are very dry. You need to continue to use the drops your doctor prescribed and when you're doing better we can get you a glasses prescription."
Woman: "So what's my prescription."
Me for the next 5 minutes: "We can't do a glasses prescription today. Your eyes are very unhealthy. If I were to give you a prescription today it would just be me making up numbers. You wouldn't be happy with the glasses and I wouldn't be happy giving you that prescription."

Woman eventually leaves the exam room and I start to get my next patient. As I'm seating him woman comes back. So when do I get my glasses prescription.

I continue to educate her again about her eyes not being healthy and that my prescription would just be a guess, etc. etc.

She says: "Well I don't think I should have to pay then."
Me: "Oh. You're not going to pay for the eye exam today you'll just pay for an office visit."
Woman: "I'm not getting a prescription?"
Me: "Sigh... no."
Woman: "Well I don't think that's fair. I should get something in writing."
I proceed to write the following on a piece of paper

Diagnosis: Keratitis Sicca [that means dry eyes]. Plan: follow Ophthalmologists instructions and return to clinic upon resolution.

That allowed me to go and see my next patient. She continued to complain to the staff about everything but paid. 30 minutes later she phoned and asked to talk to me - reason, she doesn't feel she should need to pay to see me if all I did was tell her what the ophthalmologist told her. I refused to talk to her for two reasons: 1) If you talk to me YOU PAY ME! 2) It was after 6 pm and I NO LONGER WORK THERE!

AND I NEVER WILL AGAIN!

I'm going all gung-ho with the post today (and I'm not even going to talk about how drinking soy milk apparently makes you gay - people are so stupid.). I'm not a manly man or anything like that. I don't hunt, drink, fish and all that jazz. I know nothing about cars but today, today was a sad day.

I saw it again. I miss it so much. I opened the door to it just to smell it. Tomorrow I'm going to sit in it and pretend to drive it. I read all the stickers on it again. I had tears in my eyes.

I love you 1970 VW Bus that I haven't been able to drive in 2.5 years. I haven't forgotten you. I'll fix you one day. You were good to me (unlike your cousin 1971 VW Bus that drove into a moose and allowed me to be covered in moose blood/feces/fur for hours and hours). We will hang out again when I move back to the NW.

What do we do?

A sad day in our household today - we had to give up our satellite box this morning. Due to the way the billing cycle falls our satellite service would end while we were away for Christmas. We were leasing the receiver so they demanded it back. We had to leave it with the condo manager this morning. We only have regular TV now - like poor folk. A sad, sad day.

Swell was told by multiple patients over the last few weeks how much they will miss her. How they want her to contact them if she ever practices in the ATL again so they can see her. She was even hugged by some of them.

Me - let's just say that patients won't miss me. I won't miss them either. Took yet another person out of contact lenses today for abusing them (and one yesterday) - yelled at plenty more over the past few weeks. Had more people express their dismay for having to actually pay me (a whopping $29!). Had 4 patients scheduled for 3 o'clock today. Four full exams. I don't know how I can see four people at the same time - good thing one of them didn't show up. Three at once I can do.

We're partying at work tomorrow - the staff because I'm leaving and they'll be happy to be rid of me. Not really, they like me. 75% of the people I work with are looking for new jobs. One had an interview today, another last week. Resumes are being copied on our photo-copier like nobody's business. Not a great work environment.

To clear up some confusion. I did leave my camera with the rude camera dude. I went to pick it up today. (He said it would be done on Friday.) I showed up and said to the lady: "Lady I'm here to pick up my camera."

Lady: "Did you receive a call to say it was done?"

Me: Thinking: "Crap" saying: "Ummmm.... Noooo. I want it if its done or not."

Lady: "Ok." She goes to the back and says to rude dude: "He wants it if its done or not."

Rude dude looks over at me pulls lady aside and says something I couldn't hear.

Lady waltzes over with my camera and says: "It's not done".

I grab my camera and say: "Thank you".

DON'T GO TO JACK'S CAMERA IN DECATUR, GA!!!

As I wrote the above I wanted to ensure I got the name of the shop right - I did. I knew I got it right because the first result that came up in google was... of course... a complaint.

A Change in Plans

Only two more days of work left! For those of you following along at home I thought I'd outline our itinerary for the next month.

We depart Atlanta for Portland, OR on December 16 - this Sunday morning! We plan on visiting friends and family before leaving for Edmonton on December 23. Normal Christmas festivities will follow our arrival in Edmonton. Normal festivities for my family involve opening presents on Christmas day for 4 hours and then eating a large meal, followed by two days of fun and games. Good times and times we look forward to every year. We sure miss our families and need to move closer soon.

Following our trip to Edmonton its back to Portland (from Dec. 28 until Jan. 1)

We arrive back in Atlanta in the early evening of January 1 (via San Francisco and Houston - terrible flights but CHEAP!)

Our current intention is to depart Atlanta for Tel Aviv on January 4 (we don't arrive until very early on Jan. 6). I say current intention because I received an interesting email today. Due to the plethora of feasts falling in early January the start of school has been postponed from January 13 to January 20. We were given the option of postponing our arrival - with any fees for the ticket change to be covered by the University or to go at the same time. We have a big decision to make. I lean toward going at the same time to have a week to sight see (perhaps go to Egypt?) but it would be nice to have a few extra days in Atlanta to more thoroughly prepare for 6 months away from our home.

Swell is very upset by the recent email because - and this will tell you a lot about her - she is upset because we weren't invited to the feasts. Always thinking about food that girl.

As I think about it the delay in the start of school is actually a very good thing. N very may well swell up as she usually does this time of the year and it will be good to be able to postpone our departure if she needs - in her words; "gets" - to participate in one of the HAE trials she is signed up for. Gives us time to get her better if need be.

What would you folks do? Go at the same time? Go later? (Not go is not a choice mother.)

I heart Jury Duty

I am so thankful that I didn't get picked for the trials! Any other normal week it would have actually been kind of fun to be a juror, but not this (my last day off until our trip to WA). It was just 3 hours of sitting in a cold room, listening to my iPod, hearing judges' speeches (trying to be funny - they were a little) and watching a movie on how to be a juror. It wasn't a bad experience, but I forgot to bring a book... For any of you getting summons in the future, remember to bring a book. And snacks. One guy had his laptop...I was jealous. Anyways, I'm happy I didn't get picked! Oh, but this means I must clean the house and have no excuse to make M. do it tomorrow! :( Oh well.

N.

People and why I hate them.

I wouldn't say I'm a photographer. I would say that I enjoy photography though. I don't go out on Sunday afternoons to take pictures, I don't have a dark room, I don't read photography magazines. I love taking pictures when we're on our trips, I love seeing the results. I have one camera and two lenses. I'm not part of the photography fraternity.

On a few pictures on a few rolls of pictures taken on our Romania/Italy trip there was a small hair on the developed pictures.

I took my camera in to get cleaned today. About 10 days ago I took it in to be cleaned and the store owner (a Mum and Pop shop) said he wouldn't clean it until I brought some pictures with me to show him what (where?) the problem was. As he was telling me he wouldn't clean my camera without seeing pictures he was telling me how filthy my camera is and how much it needed to be cleaned. I didn't quite follow why he wouldn't clean it at that point but I didn't ask questions.

I brought the camera back to him today. Wonder of all wonders he looked at the pictures and said there is a hair in the camera - just like I told him last week. As he looks at the camera he gets all snooty and says this camera is filthy it really needs to be cleaned. (As you , the reader may recall, I took the camera in to get cleaned - apparently he has short-term memory loss.)

He then opens up the battery compartment and says: "You also need to change your batteries."
Me: "They're brand new."
Him: "They're cheap. You need to get high end batteries."

Him: "You really need to do some research. You shouldn't put your camera in the case like that. You need to dry the case on low and then put your camera back in in a plastic bag."
Me: "O.k."

Him: "Never buy this type of lens again."
Me: "I bought it because it was cheap and met my needs."
Him: "It's a terrible lens."

Him: "Where is the eye piece?"
Me: "Oh, I must have lost it."
Him: "Tsk, tsk. You can buy one from me. It's $15"
Me: "O.K."
Him: "It'll be done on Saturday."
Me: "Actually I think I'll just take it somewhere else."
Him: "Calm down. I'm easy to talk to."
Me: "Actually, no you're not. You haven't been every time I've come in here."
Him: "I'm just telling you how it is."

He could have said all that he said in a different way and I would have thanked him, felt good about myself and felt educated, instead he acted like an elitist photography expert who is bitter when "amateurs" have the nerve to own cameras and not know every little thing about them. Jerk.

More Tales from Work

As the slow transition from our old journal to this new blog continues I thought I'd post a couple of work stories.

I had an older male patient in the other day. I asked for his chief complaint.

He states: "My vision has been cloudy...errr... foggy for the past few weeks."

I state: "Ummmm... o.k. Can you please describe that a little bit more?"

"My vision seems foggy, like there is a cloud over my vision. It happens when I'm in the bathroom."

I was looking at the auto-refractor result (an estimate of his prescription) and noted that he had a lot of uncorrected refractive error so I asked: "Do you mean your vision is blurry."

He says, and I kid you not, he says - as he pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket - "LET ME SEE WHAT MY WIFE SAYS" as he reads her description of his problem off of her note. He proceeds to say: "Yep, cloudy and foggy."

O.k. You know you're whipped when you depend on your wife to describe your medical complaint and then ask me to talk to her on the phone to tell her what is going on with you.


Story 2:

Worker to me: "Doc, I had a patient yesterday who asked; 'Is he ever happy?' to which I responded; 'He's not feeling well today'. She responded by asking; 'Was he not feeling well last week either'."

Funniest thing ever.

Story 3:

Me to patient: "Why are you studying to be an optician?"

Patient: "I'm still trying to decide if I want to do the eight years necessary to become an optometrist."

Me: "Don't become an optometrist."

Story 4:

Patient to me: "Well you warmed up at the end there."

Indicating that I wasn't all happy and kind at the beginning of the exam.

Moral of the story: I hate my job and apparently everyone is well aware of it. Ha!

Sheepie

As if!

So I thought I'd write a story here because it could be potentially embarrassing to the patient it is about. I don't want her to stumble across it.

Patient: "I like to have contact lenses that I can sleep in because, well you know, as a 20 something woman I never know when I might not make it home and I don't want to have to carry solution around with me."

Me: I'm assuming you mean you might meet a man and go to his home and engage in some type of sleepover activity and thereby not be able to take your contact lenses out.

Patient: "giggle, giggle."

Me: Looking patient up and down thinking; "who are you fooling. We both know that you make it home - alone - every night".

Patient: "giggle, giggle."

Me: shudder, shudder.

Sheepie Sr.

The First of Many Posts

This will be where Swell and Sheepie discuss their adventures teaching optometry in a Middle Eastern Optometry college. The adventure will begin on Dec. 16 with a short trip across the US and Canada. Stay tuned for more and more updates as the adventure draws closer.

Sheepie