Rotting on the inside?

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've posted something here. It's probably due to what I call my rotting on the inside that started about a year ago this time. I had neuro problems with my head that have been somewhat resolved but a load of crap has not been. I have had a team of Drs. - infectious disease, 2 neuro, internal, rheumatology, etc. and they can't figure it out so... I am headed to the Mayo clinic in MN. There are two good things that have come out of this: my asthma is the best it has ever been and I am losing weight easily. The latter is probably not a good thing but I'll take it.

I don't normally look like anything is medically wrong with me. As a matter of fact I don't even look my age. Most people think I am almost a decade younger which is fine by me.

The big shitty thing about this is I should have graduated from law school yesterday. I didn't because I had to take a leave of absence so many times due to illness. At this point I have no idea when I'll finish but my friend Erin who was lucky to graduate said that I was listed in the program as a Summer 2008 grad-duh!

Is my liiiiiiiight on?

Since April my life seems to be an episode of "House" but without Dr. House making a diagnosis. Viral meningitis, 12 days total in the hospital since mid-April, test after test after test, PICC line, daily trips to the infusion center, etc... I am beyond frustrated. I hope this new specialist can figure this crap out.
It would be nice to get this damn PICC line out so I can take a shower without having layers of GLAD press n' seal wrapped around my bicep.

For those who don't know what a PICC line is: http://www.cancerbackup.org.uk/Treatments/Chemotherapy/Linesports/PICCline

For those of you who have a choice of health insurance - get the insurance that will get you a private room. Oh-my-friggin-god - both extended hospital stays had me sharing a room. For one or two days no big deal. Anything beyond that is insane. My first "roommie" was so ancient looking she could have doubled for the Crypt Keeper. The other, had so many health problems that I hardly got any sleep because nurses were constantly in and out 24-7 taking care of her. I felt like I had nothing wrong with me compared to my "roomies" b/c I could walk to the bathroom without assistance and I knew how to use the Call button instead of annoyingly yelling "Nurse" constantly.

All of the hospital stays did have their humorous moments. During one of my ER trips there was this elderly woman with some type of dementia issue. She also seemed to be a hypochondriac/attention seeker which is not a good combo if you are her caretaker. This woman sounded like a cross between Stella from " A Street Car Named Desire" and Blanche from "The Golden Girls." There would be all of this commotion in the ER and every time there was a lull you'd hear her say in her Deep Southern best, "Is my liiight on?" She was like a wind up toy with limited expressions. It went from "Is my liiight on?" to "I can't ba-ree-uth (breathe)!" I didn't know the word breathe could be spoken with three syllables. She could breathe though - there was absolutely nothing wrong with her and it was her third trip to the ER that day. The nurses and Drs. in the ER had had it with her. Oh, and the other expression was, "Can somebody get me a Dr?" Mind you, imagine this being uttered non-stop every time there is a split second of a lull in the cacophony that is an ER, by a cross between Stella and Blanche, ad nauseum for a couple of hours.

My liiight is on but nobody's home.

Let's Get Organized

No. I'm not talking about unionization. I'm talking about my chaotic den. During my week off (yay exciting spring break) one of my projects is attempting to organize my den. Since my den is where I do all my work the disorganize state it was in was not helping. The problem now is I have made things even worse. I think if FEMA came here I would qualify for some federal disaster aid. I wish I knew where my web cam was (there's a hint as to how bad it is) because I would take a pic and post it.

Let me set the scene. . . It's a roughly 13X14 room and one of the longer walls is a wall to wall closet. Roughly one half of the packed closet's contents are now all over the floor. There are also half open/half empty boxes and crap all over the floor. I have basically decided what needs to go so far but the problem is - how the hell do I organize what I'm left with? Not only am I mathematically challenged, but I am not any good with organizing things like this.

It's snowing outside and so far there's about 2 inches. The hell with this! I think I'm going to go outside and make a snow angel.

Brain? What brain?

I had the opportunity to see MRI images of my brain. I actually was surprised to find that there was a brain hiding out within my skull. It was kind of creepy to look at and I found myself wondering that since my skull wasn't full of air or jello - why couldn't I remember the name of the street I lived on the other night? Duh!

I will see if I can post some of the images.

Counterfeiters Look Out

If you are selling counterfeit goods (fake coach bags, fake Rolex's, etc.) I will be looking for you.
Not really - well at least not yet. But there's a lot of money lost in counterfeit goods and I can't wait to bust some heads.

Happiness. . .

Happiness, originally uploaded by LykosAlpha.

is a piece of string and a mouse.

Whole Flat World

It has been quite some time since I've posted. I have been trapped in a well with that creepy bitch from the movie The Ring.

I'm just about 3/4ths through my 2nd year of law school. Strange, totally strange.
I have some serious thinking and research to do because I have no freaking idea where I want to work/take the bar exam.
Michigan?
Tennessee?
Guam?

NYC metro area is not even a possibility. Maybe after I have my Scrooge McDuck piles of money to swim through will I move back to the NYC metro area.

I love Michigan but I do not know what the market is for practicing copyright/trademark law in Michigan. I know I would have no problem with that in Tennessee but after being away from TN for about a year and a half I've come to realize that it isn't my first choice but I don't know what my first choice is.

I feel like a true nomad. Home for me literally is where I hang my hat. NY isn't home to me anymore. I haven't lived there for any length of time since 1989 really. NJ was just a place to live. TN, well, it was one long, bad trip.

Any suggestions?

Happy Thanksgiving?

My parents are coming to visit for FIVE whole days! Umm, what was I thinking?

Teaching An Old Dog A New Trick

There's just about a month left of law school and I've only missed 2 classes total. Not of the same class - I missed one day of classes which was 2 classes. That's a freakin' miracle for me. For those of you who know me from my undergrad days - if attendance wasn't taken in a class I was not there. I basically taught myself the work by cramming thru the textbooks and the few notes I had. If I did attend class I didn't do any work until right before an exam. Procrastination has been my game. Even in high school I didn't really do any work until right before an exam. I never had to really work hard academically my whole life. It worked out ok in high school b/c I was an A student but in college it caught up with me a bit but I did ok overall.

Fast forward now to law school. I have to attend pretty much every class b/c attendance is taken and by ABA rules you can't miss more than 4 classes. Also, you don't want to miss class b/c you might not know what the hell is going on. Oh, I almost forgot - you have to prepare for every damn class. This might not sound like a news flash for any of you who actually applied themselves academically but at my age, to have to basically rewire your study habits or lack thereof is nothing short of a miracle. I'm not totally out of the woods though. There's a lot more work I could have done so far that I haven't done yet. I should be reading for my contracts class but instead I'm writing this blog. It just completely drives me insane that I can't totally goof off when I want to. Having to adhere to a strict schedule is making me nuts. I'm slowly getting used to it but the avoidance dance I do every nite before I do my homework until I finally give in is such a ridiculous time waster but I can't help it.

All that time I made fun of my brother b/c he had to keep up with his homework while I just skimmed it and did just as well is biting me in the ass now. To try and become disciplined academically when you've never done that your whole life is worse than trying to teach an old dog new tricks. It's like trying to teach an old deaf and blind dog how to fetch.