I'm Back...It's Been So Long....

Well, what can I say? So much has happened. I have joined the ranks of the nations gainfully employed, albeit in a field that has nothing to do with medicine. But, with major employers announcing lay-offs daily, I am lucky to have anything at all. The hospital that I was hoping to get a job with, just announced 500 lay-offs, so that went out the door. I did have an interview there, but the position was given to an internal candidate..surprise, surprise. I was told there may be another position opening soon, however, that was before they announced the layoffs.

Now that I have some extra income, I have been playing tennis and taking Krav Maga lessons. I didn't realize how much I truly missed tennis. I used to be really good and participated in tournaments. I hadn't played in over a year and a half. Now that I am back on the courts, it's going to be hard to ever get me off again! I just love it so much, so I am extremely content to have the opportunity to play again. Krav Maga is Israeli self-defense. Krav Maga is used by the FBI, CIA, INS and several law enforcement agencies. It is very intense. Not only do you get a great workout, but you are learning to defend yourself also. It's not for the weak. I've had a few bruises already and have been extremely sore. I haven't felt those muscles in a long time! Maybe my next post will be about Krav Maga....

The Italian is still in Italy, but we are hoping he can make it here by late spring/early summer. It's so hard to be away from him, but we speak on the phone as often as we can and email and text almost everyday. This global economic crisis isn't really helping things much, but we are both optimistic. This is the land of opportunity after all! See, it's all in the attitude, isn't it?

Portland has been in the news in the last few months. First we had the snow storm of the century, dumping almost 2 feet of snow. The city was completely shut down. No one knows how to drive in it, nor is the city equipped to handle it. I just had a chuckle because I have lived in two different states where 2 feet of snow is considered a light dusting. Then Portland was in the news because some nutjob was tired of living, decided to get himself a gun and go to the club district, which is like a mile away from my apartment, and randomly take out some people. The people he victimized were foreign exchange students. 2 died and several were gravely injured. The girl that was most severely injured was a foreign exchange student from Italy. Rome, to be exact. She was shot something like 11 times. Or was it 17?? I don't remember, but it is a miracle that she made it. Her parents came here and I believe are still here with her. It looks like she is going to ride out the school year here. Her family says they love Portland, and they realize it was completely random. I'm so glad that she made it, but I feel terrible for those kids that didn't.

I've also been on Facebook a lot. It's addicting!! I've connected with people I hadn't heard from in years. Are any of you on Facebook?

What's That I Feel?

I played tennis on a Saturday morning in early July with Alan, Pete and Rich. It had been about a month since I had played. The last time being my final lesson with Ollie back in Fargo. It felt good to be back on the court, especially knowing that I could still keep up with the guys. We played for about 2 and a half hours before finally calling it quits. We were all famished and decided to go to Piazza Italia (more on this place later!) for lunch.

After lunch, I went home, showered and got ready for the beerfest out at McMenamin's on Cornelius Pass road with my new tennis buddies. I had a blast. I met a lot of really cool people and it felt good to have a social life again. I have to admit, I'm not much of a beer consumer so I settled for McMenamin's own red wine. Not bad, not bad at all. I had the whole bottle to myself, since everyone else was tasting the many beers being sold. I've become somewhat of a legend because I finished my bottle of wine before the guys could get through one beer. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, but the wine was good and I was having a great time.

The next morning when I woke up, I felt something in my lower abdomen. Now, I had been feeling bloated every morning for the last two weeks, which was unusual, but this was different. I began to palpate my lower belly and I felt a lump, not hard but a lump no less. It felt liquidy, like a waterbed feels, ya know? At first I thought perhaps it was a gas bubble (silly, I know but not unusual for me...haha!) or maybe the bottle of wine I consumed the night before had some how lodged itself in my intestines (even more ridiculous, I know) but I honestly didn't know what to make of it. All I know is some uninvited guest had set up camp in my pelvic region. Great. Now what? I decided to ignore it for a couple of days in hopes that it would pass. Unfortunately, I'm not that lucky.

I decided to call some good friends of mine who happen to be Physicians and get their professional opinion. It was enough to get me over to the Urgent Care Clinic. Mamma Mia. What was happening inside of me??