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Ladycroft's Journal

ladycroft
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04/18/2007 12:26 #38939

whooping cough
Category: sick
I finally have an answer to my illness. My long and drawn out symptoms have been diagnosed. I freaking have whooping cough! Yah, it's a bitch. I've been sick since January. It was REALLY bad in the beginning, where I actually missed several days of work.

Let me share with you the 4 stages to this lovely virus.

1. Incubation, 2 to 3 weeks. No symptoms.

2. Prodrome. Runny nose, sneezing, mild fever, and a mild cough that progresses in intensity. You think you just have a cold until you realize 2 weeks have passed.

3. Paroxysms. The worst part of it all, lasting up to 6 weeks solid. I was not spared one of those 6. Characterized by spasms and coughing fits so severe you can't stop and you can't breathe, and sometimes to the point of making yourself puke. Mucus so thick and sticky you constantly gag on it. Yep, I had that, only we thought I had a stomach virus on top of a sinusitis.

4. Convalescence. Coughing that lasts another 4 weeks, though generally the severity lessens. Just when you thought it was all over, that you're finally well because you have 1 or 2 weeks with few symptoms...WHAM!

Episodes and spasms can continue to occur over the next several months, especially with a cold or over exertion. Hello! My name is unpaid graduate student who works too fucking much and doesn't sleep because she's up all night coughing and her lungs are so tired and her abs are beyond fatigued.

So there you have it. That's whooping cough. I only ever associated it with babies but guess what - you could be as lucky as an adult! Oh, and no, it's not contagious once you receive antibiotic treatment, which I did many, many weeks ago when I thought my head would explode from the pressure of sinusitis.

04/17/2007 16:45 #38930

orlando
Category: photos

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we had to leave at the ass crack of dawn, but what an amazing view from 30,000 feet

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this is where my tuition money went, paying for this resort hotel to go to this conference

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i didn't see the sun for 4 days due to interviews, but as soon as i had the opp, i snuck carey in and we slathered on that sunscreen

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because it was very bright and sunny!

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and jumped in this sublime aquatic environment

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or rather, slid into it using this way fun slide

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and flopping in awkwardly at the bottom

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we discovered the waterfall makes an excellent massager

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and then you float in suspended animation with your ears just below the water line so you can hear only your heartbeat

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i bid farewell to the few people i cared about

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and we checked into this stellar 'resort hostel' i found online

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a private paradise

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surrounded with lovely blooms

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in the evening hours we hit universal studios, where carey ran into jaws

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and i ran into the nascar team (yah, i know it's lame)

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and we both ran into 'imhotep' on the revenge of the mummy ride

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all i'm gonna say is it was hot, wet and exhilerating....this sign wasn't joking - and as carey suggested, it now hangs over my bed ;)

That's as good as any place to end for today. There are more but they'll have to wait. Ciao.

theecarey - 04/18/07 00:27
haha, I was smart enough to hang onto my sunglasses coming down the slide in that picture. How many times did I lose them in the water before then?

sweet pic of the palm tree and sky!

forgot all about the jaws attack ;)

when we going back ??!!
metalpeter - 04/17/07 18:13
Glad you had a good time. Oh nice pictures by the way also. Hey nothing wrong with posing with all the Drivers with coke. At least you ran into them instead of the other way around cause then you would be In a million Pieces :) . On a side Note I admit I'm a Pepsi Guy myself. But one thing I like about Coke is all the ads with glass bottles on TV. Even though I don't even know if they sell the glass Bottles in the US anymore they may not sure.

04/12/2007 17:10 #38863

3 pic picks for today
Category: photos
Yes, I'll eventually get to the rest of my Germany photos and Orlando. For now, here's my adorable nephew Ryan, one shot from Germany and a sun teaster from Florida. Ciao.

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leetee - 04/13/07 13:45
!. Cute kid.

2. If someone were to show me the pic and ask me where it was, i wouldn't say Germany. Even though i know it isn't and cannot be true, when i think of Germany, i think cites... not dirt and trees, or even parks. I wonder why that is.

3. SPF!!
museumchick - 04/13/07 10:48
Your nephew is a cutie. He has such beautiful blue eyes.
jenks - 04/12/07 17:48
Wait, is that Ryan, the younger of your nephews?? Tanya's baby? he's huge!! Or am I confused?

04/09/2007 16:53 #38821

home again
Category: potpourri
Just got back last night from a week in Orlando. I spent 4 days interviewing for jobs around the world and 4 days playing in the sunshine and universal studios.

Al Gore was the keynote speaker at my conference. I gotta tell you he's quite the comedian. I especially enjoyed his immitation of Bill. Esentially I got to see a live presentation of "An Inconvenient Truth". He's a very captivating public speaker and I took a lot of notes on his powerpoint slides. Err, I mean whatever the Apple version is. It's not like any of that information is new. We know we kill our planet. You can't go a single day without watching someone abuse it. Flicking their cigarette butts on the ground, trash on the streets, not recycling etc etc.

Then came the point when I literally jumped out of my seat in applause. Really, I can't say how many times I fume about the crap on tv. Not the shows, you can watch whatever you want to. The media however just kills me. We need to spend more time spreading knowledge about what MATTERS rather than the umptillionth time you turn on the news and hear the latest bullshit about custody battles for Anna Nicole's fatherless child. That's the truth.

I interviewed with so many places I can't even remember them all. My intentions were to be highly selective and I only scheduled 4. Next thing I know I'm booked back to back for 4 days! I had a few second round interviews on site, which is good news. I hope to receive some on campus interviews from a few places. Particularly the Qatar Foundation. That place sounds SO amazing and it's all brand new. It's my chance to jump right in with a dream job, working overseas, as well as sculpt and mold the very foundations of the program. My chance to create something from nothing, begin a new chapter in my legacy, begin my journey to my personal legend!

The best part is, Qatar is actually inviting their final choices for a campus interview. Can you imagine...traveling half way around the world for an interview! Simply amazing. Of course my enthusiasm is not shared by, oh I'd say 100% of the people I've talked to about this job. Everyone freaks out when I mention it. Or first has to ask, 'where is Qatar' and then freaks out. Should I mention this is THE wealthiest nation in the WORLD? 70% pristine beach coastline, adventure sports out the wazzoo, dessert, a successfull ex-pat community, and the opportunity to learn much more Arabic and learn from others.

I suppose this is where the anthropologist in me has always come forward. My pursuit of travel is not only for the adventure but for learning about the people, the culture, the customs. I like learning about that and sharing it with other people. The more we know about our differences, the more we learn how much we really are alike. When you can begin to do that, you can begin to break down the barriers of injustice and hate.

Gosh I have so much more to say but I need to pace myself. The rest of my Germany photos and Orlando photos will follow in the days ahead. Ciao.
theecarey - 04/10/07 12:21
u know i'm down to visiting Qatar! :)
imk2 - 04/10/07 08:21
wow! that is sooooo exciting! i'm totally jealous now. roswellpark has a satellite in new zealand, i wish i could somehow get myself over there. i cant wait to see what kind of offers you'll get. keep us informed.
zobar - 04/09/07 20:54
Our editor's last job was for the Qatar Foundation, before he got bored and moved back to Buffalo. I could ask him about it if you like.

- Z

03/29/2007 16:51 #38683

busting out the suit
Category: work
Interviews with:

Harvard
Cornell
Wellesley
Qatar Foundation
Niagara University
SUNY Brockport
SUNY Oswego

Let's hope a job comes from one of them!
carolinian - 03/29/07 21:28
Break a leg. Or possibly more of their body parts if they say no.
mike - 03/29/07 21:09
GOOD LUCK!!!
mrmike - 03/29/07 20:51
Nice lookin list -- best wishes for you being able to do the pickin'
deeglam - 03/29/07 20:07
wow! good luck!
jenks - 03/29/07 19:54
dur... I meant shabby
jenks - 03/29/07 19:54
Not too shappy a list. ;) congrats and good luck!!
metalpeter - 03/29/07 18:54
Good Luck with the job search and interviews.
mk - 03/29/07 18:23
Wow...good luck!!
chico - 03/29/07 17:03
go ladycroft!!!!!!! good luck, i know you'll knock em dead. don't forget to smile.

Qatar Foundation?