May 2, 2004

    Happy May, everybody!  And happy return to my website for me.  I have been neglecting this little spot on the internet lately, because life has been... complicated... lately.  And don't we all just love complicated?  However, I've decided that a complicated life is really know excuse for keeping the world informed.  Especially when the real reason behind my inconsistent updating has been a new-found love of, and subsequent devotion to, strategy games.  Fortunately, I think I've worked that one out of my system.

    So, I've been sick, sick, and sick again.  I'm still an intern, and still, technically a college student, although I hope to resolve the latter issue soon.  The whole sick thing has cut into my internship hours, plus my supervisor seems to have an active business travel schedule, leaving me without reason to make an appearance at the office.  I haven't been in contact with Karina in a couple of months, but she did mysteriously give me an A for the internship class.  Someday soon, I intend to contact her and ask her what she meant by that.  I really should resolve these issues, so I can move on to job hunting, shouldn't I?

    I've recently spent more time and money than I care to contemplate at Kaiser, but it has been totally worth it.  For all of it's flaws, Kaiser has some serious good points.  As many of you know, the general care is slow, generic, and drug-happy, but the specialty care is excellent--it's all about getting a specialist.  For instance, I finally took the time to get into their asthma clinic, and now I have such good maintenance drugs that I hardly ever use my rescue inhaler any more.  And, even though I have never met my 'regular' doctor, whom I recently selected via the internet (based solely on her picture), I have three--count them! three!--gynecologists.  Collectively, I refer to them as my 'pit crew', and they know the workings of my reproductive system inside and out.  They know, for example (or at least heavily suspect) that my ovaries are polycystic, and that that means that my body gets all messed up producing  hormones, and reacts weirdly to things like food, and weight gain.  Soon, through a series of carefully timed ultrasounds (I get same-day appointments, because I have a pit crew) they will know exactly when I ovulate.  Cool--in a freaky 1984 kind of way.  All that and strep throat too.

    And in the back ground, I have this Mother who keeps trying to sell us her house.  Sort of.  The deal is that my parents want to downsize to a condo or something.  Lower maintenance, but still with at least a little back yard, and single story.  And they want to use the profit from their house to help us buy a house--possible theirs.  All of which would be a lot easier if I had a job job.  But, as my Mother keeps telling me, interest rates are going up, and it's time to do this.  So, we seriously have to meet with some people who know what they are doing, and soon.  We need to figure out how to finagle this deal, and what kind of place my parents could end up in.  And we have to figure out if we could stand living in Concord--specifically, if Shorn could stand a Concord to Fremont commute.  Alternately,  Shorn has been wanting to change jobs, maybe go back to school, so we would just have to figure out how we could manage to have him do that.  And, if we ever end up working out the issues of my polycystic ovaries, and getting the best kid science can buy, we want to have one of us (preferably me) stay home with that kid at least most of the time.  All of which adds up to a very... complicated life.

    But, that's what it's all about, I guess.  Just like those pesky strategy games.  Once you've got the infrastructure established, you go looking for more exciting things to keep you up at night.  All in the name of progress.