work, and a baby girl

Back to work tomorrow.  Apart from the ulcer thing, it’s been great.  I’ve really enjoyed just having a week of leisure.  Not that I haven’t done stuff, we both have, but it’s been at our own pace.  Bliss.

At least work will be interesting to go back to.  I got a phone call earlier this week, asking if I’d be okay to fly to a regional area on Monday to sort an issue out.  Of course that was fine.  I’m being flown there and back in the one day, so it’s not an overnight stay.  This is reasonable, as I’m being flown up for the sole purpose of one meeting.  The manager didn’t feel he could handle the situation, so he’s paying for me to go there.  Intrastate flights in WA are incredibly expensive, so for the purpose of attending a single meeting, the manager will be shelling out around $1500 to get me there and back.  I’ve been briefed on the situation, and at this stage I’m wondering why the manager can’t deal with it and is prepared to fly me there.  There must be something that hasn’t been passed on to me.  I guess I’ll find out tomorrow morning when I’m picked up at the airport.  I better go practice my impassive face.

In other news, my friend M (L’s sister) had a baby girl, Z, on Friday morning (the 18th).  Awwww   Emergency caeserian, but both are well now.  I haven’t been in to see them as I thought I’d give M a bit of time to get used to motherhood.  I suspect she’ll need more than a few days, but hey, I shouldn’t assume.  I certainly can’t talk, my mothering instincts probably are limited to eating my young if I’m malnourished after the birth.

family and ulcer update

I’m really getting into the swing of this week off.  It’s the first time, in I can’t remember how long, when we haven’t had renos or travel on the agenda.  As a result, despite the inevitable Christmas shopping and calls from work, it has been very relaxing.  We tend to wake up around 8am, SO makes me a coffee, and we have something to eat.  I do a few housey things, maybe go shopping, then after lunch we have a nap together.  Then I usually crash for a few more hours while SO gets up and gets on the computer.  For dinner, we’ve been really naughty, and have been getting takeaway.  Tonight was pizza from the local pizza place, which is fantastic.

My brother came over last night.  He stayed for about an hour longer than he’d planned, as he was enjoying it so much, just kicking back and shooting the breeze with SO and me.  I gave him the pots and pans and silicone utensils, plus a couple of teatowels.  He was stoked, and favourably impressed with the utensils.  

It was funny, I was telling my brother last night about my stomach ulcer.  Anyhow, mid-morning today, my mum called, all worried.  The conversation went something like this:

Mum: Oh darling, A told me about your ulcer! I was so worried!

P: But I mentioned I had an ulcer on Saturday night, when we were all out at dinner together.

Mum:  You did, but I thought you meant a mouth ulcer!

I had a giggle over that.  Sure my pain threshold is pretty low, but it’s not quite that low.  Anyhow mum was concerned, but when I told her that the drugs were working really well and I feel fine now, she relaxed a bit.  She couldn’t talk for long but she did say that A was really happy with the cookware and utensils, so that was nice to hear.

I’ve been trying to get my blood test results from our local surgery.  I’ve been ringing up twice a day, just to be told ‘not in yet’.  Finally today the receptionist asked what the test was for, and I told her Helicobactor pylori.  Turns out they’re not usually ready for a whole week.  I guess at least I know now, right?

my friend L and her baby A

As you may have guessed from the title, I visited L and her little baby boy A this morning.  Firstly – he is adorable.  Absolutely adorable.  L, on the other hand, isn’t doing so well.  I actually got the full story as to what happened with her labour and subsequent to the birth for the first time today.

She laboured for 15 hours and didn’t dilate beyond 3cms, plus A’s heartrate was dropping, which was a concern.  Then L developed a temperature, so she ended up having an emergency caesarian.  When they pulled A out, he wasn’t breathing, so they rushed him off to intensive care.  This is fine, but L didn’t see him, and nobody told her or her husband what was going on….. for six hours.  For that whole time, they didn’t know if A was alive, dead, or somewhere in between.  So yes, the whole process was pretty traumatic for L, poor little thing.

Since then, she’s had major problems breastfeeding, and just found out she’s got nipple thrush.  Who even knew such a thing existed?!  I certainly hadn’t ever heard of it, and I’m pretty medically literate.  So this is making it easy for poor little A to get nappy rash.  As well, his belly button hasn’t healed up, and a bit of intestine is poking through, so he has to have an operation to fix that.

L is exhausted.  Her place is a mess, as you’d expect, but she wanted me to sit and chat with her rather than do stuff, so I did.  I don’t think she’s depressed at this point, just worn out by everything.  Poor little love, I hope it gets easier.  I did tell her that I’m off all of this week so if she needs anything, or just some company, to let me know and I could come around.

While I was there her sister M dropped in.  M is due to be induced herself tomorrow, so the two bubs are going to be incredibly close in age, which is cute.  M’s looking well, she’s put on a bit of weight, but as I said to her she will probably drop it when she starts breastfeeding.  She did lots of holding and changing of A while I was there, getting in some practice I think for her little bub (who is a girl).

All very exciting times for my friends.  I hope they both go okay.  Just from what I saw today, motherhood is clearly both exhausting and stressful.

ulcer update

I managed to get a relatively early appointment with a doctor today at our local practice.  He wasn’t my normal, lovely GP, but the old guy they keep there to pick up the patient overflow.  By this stage, I didn’t care.  He seemed very perturbed that I thought I had an ulcer, and even more so when he found out I’d had one before.  After asking me a few questions,  he said, ‘Okay, here’s the deal: I’ll give you ulcer meds, if you get a blood test to confirm you actually do have Helicobactor pylori (the ulcer bug).’  Of course that was fine by me, so I agreed.  He was very concerned that I ‘appeared to have’ (his words) all the symptoms of an ulcer at my early age.  Apparently it’s incredibly rare to get ulcers in your 30s.  Who knew?!  Obviously not my gut, anyhow.

So I went along and got the blood test, and took the Somac (40mg) as soon as I got home.  I’ll find out for sure tomorrow whether I do actually have an ulcer or not.  The doctor did say that the meds he’d given me would only work for ulcers, and I already do feel much happier, so I’m really interested to see what the blood test shows. 

While I was out I also managed to pick up a cookware set and some silicone-covered utensils for my brother, A, who’s just bought his own place.  Of course, he doesn’t have a single thing, so he’s been the recipient (mainly from mum) of lots of stuff like sheets, towels, the whole bit.  I checked with him though and he didn’t have pots and pans, so I said I’d buy him a set.  They weren’t cheap, but they’re a reasonable brand (Wiltshire) plus they’re non-stick coated, which he wanted, so he should be happy with them.  The utensils are very cool, grey with apple-green accents.  I don’t know if A will like them, but I sure did.

blahblah

SO and I are having a week off work.  We’re not really sure what we’ll be doing, but we know it won’t involve getting up at 6am.  Woohoo!

During the week we had tenants leave one of our units, and new ones move in.  As per usual, this involved us doing a fair amount of cleaning and various other things, like changing linen, etc.  Other than being tired, it all went fairly smoothly, and the tenants are happily moved in.  The lease is three months, with a possibility of a three-month extension.

What else has happened? SO and I went out to dinner with my mum and J, and my brother A last night.  A will be in Japan for Christmas so this was our little celebration.  We were at a very swish restaurant and J very kindly picked up the tab.  It was a really good night, and the best part was, we were home before 930pm, as we went to the early seating.  I suspect I’ve developed an ulcer, so I was pretty uncomfortable, but as it wasn’t too late a night it was okay.

Yes, I think I have a stomach ulcer.  The pain started on Friday morning and it’s been constant ever since.  I’m hoping I can get in to see the doctor tomorrow, as it’s really cramping my style, and I know that they can just give a course of antibiotics and it’ll be fine.  (I’ve had one before so I know the drill.)  The constant pain is making me very grumpy too, and it’s also preventing me from doing stuff, as it’s just so uncomfortable.  Still, it’s easily fixed.  I just need to see the quack.

the festive season

SO and I get along extremely well.  But there is one area in which we tread a fine line, as do most couples – family interactions.  This is something that shifts and moves over time, constantly altering and changing.  Even after six years together, it’s something we still negotiate between ourselves.

The key issue is this: SO gets along extremely well with his dad, who is gorgeous.  His stepmum is also lovely, but it’s his dad that SO is connected with.  SO also doesn’t have many good or close friends, so his dad is also a mate.  As a result, they enjoy spending time together.  This is fine, and doesn’t worry me, except for one thing: SO won’t go and visit his dad, without me being present.  This gives me the shits.

I get along okay with my mum, but I certainly don’t regard her as a friend, and I don’t choose to spend time with her as such.  I’ll go and visit her, but I try to minimise my contact with her, as she’s incredibly draining to be with, and generally fairly demanding in a lot of different ways.  When I visit mum, I don’t take SO.  It’s easier that way,  both for me and for him, obviously.  Also, as she has a dog, SO’s allergies are set off as soon as he steps in her house, which of course makes him miserable.

So we tend to end up in a situation where we spend at least one night a week at SO’s dad’s house for dinner, while I see my mother alone about once a month.  While I’m fond of SO’s folks, once a week is overkill for me.  However, SO resents the fact that I am not prepared to spend my spare time with his folks.  He thinks it’s unreasonable.  At the same time, he avoids my family as much as humanly possible.

So yes, there is constant negotiation and movement around what is ‘reasonable’ in terms of family interaction.  It’s something we still haven’t clearly defined in a way that can be set in concrete, so to speak.  And of course, this time of year is bad for this stuff.  Not only is it Christmas, where we have obligations to both sides of the family, but it’s also my birthday at the end of the month.  This means everyone wants to see me on the same day, when usually by then I’m all peopled out.  I tend to dread it, for that reason.  It would be so much easier if my birthday was at a different time of year.

Oh well, I shouldn’t complain.  I’m lucky to have family that care about me, I realise that.  It’s just sometimes I’m so much happier by myself.  Alone definitely does not equal lonely.

saturday

Hmmm. I suspect I may be fighting off a bug.  All I’ve done today is sleep, pretty much.  Got woken up at 7:30am, asleep by 10:30am.  Woke up at 1pm, asleep by 4pm.  Woke up tonight and it was nearly 8:30pm.  Now, I’ve always loved my sleep, but even that is out of hand.  Still, it is the weekend, and if I don’t do much I suppose it’s not a crime, especially if I do fight off getting sick.  It would be great to know that my poor little immune system is making a comeback.

I had another appt with my pdoc, Dr W, this week.  As usual he was lovely.  He asked how the buspirone was going, and I told him I’m taking about 5×10mg tablets a week at the moment.  However the new reporting arrangements starting next week will put my anxiety to the test.  At this point he said he fully expects me to be taking 3×10mg tablets a day (aka the maximum dosage).  I laughed, then realised he wasn’t joking.  Sigh.

thank god for perspective

As you may have guessed from recent posts, I deal with issues that arise at my work.  Fixing problems, resolving grievances, whatever you want to call it.  I guess I’m Ms Fixit, which is fine by me.

Contrary to what you may think, I actually do enjoy my job.  I get asked a lot, ‘How on earth can you do this job all day?!’  There are two answers to this.  I usually give the first, as it’s more friendly:

1. If somebody comes to me with a problem, it’s not just me listening to you about the problem; I have the authority (most of the time) to go ahead and do whatever is needful to fix it for you.  Therefore, I’m not just a listener; I can actually change things for the better.  This makes people happy (or at least, happier than they were).

Nice response, isn’t it? Friendly.  I am here to fix YOUR problems, oh yes.  Ms Fixit, that’s me.

Answer number 2 is less customer-focused, but it’s also the truth:

2.  Listening to your problems makes mine look like peanuts in comparison.  Sure, I have a debilitating mental illness that will probably be chronic, and a mother who is less than perfect.  But I’m not crying over a thoughtless Secret Santa gift.  This job reminds me again and again that I do have a sense of humour, and perhaps more importantly, a sense of perspective.  I also get fairly continual reinforcement that my social skills are reasonably okay.  Of course, this could be something to do with the issues that people bring to me to sort out, and that these people typically have the socialisation of a dandruff-covered rodent.

I am genuinely concerned about people’s welfare.  Even the most trivial of issues means something to the person who brought it to me, otherwise they wouldn’t have bothered.  But I also get plenty of laughs from it, and a healthy sense of what really matters.

various happenings

Lots has been going on.  Most importantly, my friend L and her husband had a baby boy last Monday!  I didn’t find out until Thursday morning, when L’s sister M sent me an email with some pictures.  L had an emergency caesarian, but apparently it went okay.  The baby is adorable, at least according to the pictures.  I wanted to go and visit, but L’s having problems with breastfeeding, so I said I’d wait until things have settled down a bit.

I managed to have a minor prang on the weekend.  Long story short, I backed into SO’s dad’s trailer.  Yay me.  I spent the rest of the afternoon alternately crying and sleeping.  Hey, crying is tiring.  Fortunately SO assures me he still loves me.  There isn’t any damage to the trailer, and the car is still relatively okay (and definitely fine to drive) which is good.  It definitely put a blight on the weekend though.

In work news, I had somebody come to see me today to complain about a senior manager taking credit for their work.  They have the sent email and everything, which had their own work attached to it.  The doc that went up to the head of the organisation had someone else’s name on it, and that’s the version on file.  This person is really upset, needless to say.  What I can do about it, I don’t know.

work

It’s not often that I talk about work.  This is for a number of reasons.  Firstly, I work for an organisation which would have a conniption if it was discovered I outlined my work life on the internet.  Second, as the person who deals with internal complaints, the majority of my stuff is highly confidential.  Thirdly, if I ever decide to murder my boss and hide the evidence, I don’t want this blog contradicting my version of events.

Today, however, deserves a post.  Today was incredibly full on, and incredibly dispiriting.

I had training.  Not training I was participating in; this is training I developed specifically for the organisation, and am in the process of delivering to all 1,300 employees, including regional staff.  I wasn’t delivering it today, but I was supervising my junior colleague while she delivered it.  I also got to answer the tough questions, which was fine, and that was one of the reasons I was there.  However I’ve always found training incredibly tiring, I think because I’m your standard introvert type, and today was no different, even though I wasn’t actually doing the delivery myself.

In addition, I had two meetings which bookended the training – one was an hour long, the other an hour and a half.  There were tears, threats, swearing, you name it.  At one point one person looked at me and asked tearfully, ‘Will I lose my job over this?’  No, no you won’t.  The last person who got sacked from my organisation had a criminal conviction for drugs.  Not possession, though.  Dealing.  So no, you’re not going to lose your job.

Following this, I went back to my office, only to hear that my boss is considering releasing names of people who’ve raised complaints in the last year to the senior management team.  Ummm……I can’t think of a single reason why this would need to happen.  Breach of confidentiality, anybody?  Unfortunately, witchhunts aren’t limited to happening in Salem in the 17th century.  They occur daily in corporate Australia, I can assure you.  And that’s without the benefit of knowing the names of people who’ve raised grievances.  I’ve always known my boss has the moral compass of a decomposing dog turd, but this really takes the cake.

Sometimes I hate the organisation I work for.  Today is one of those days.  And I suspect that tomorrow will be another one.

Thank god for Buspar™, that’s all I can say.