Bananas

I have a problem. See, I do this thing where I like keeping snacks at hand, for when I end up staying late at the hospital or if I'm stuck in traffic or whatever, and it's no big deal to just leave it in there and forget it so that it's a nice surprise when needed the most. It has come in handy more times than not. Usually I just keep a granola bar or some nuts stashed in my bag and/or coat pocket, but more recently I've moved into the fruit market. I figured I would be more healthy, but the thing with fruit is that it's perishable. They don't last that long, and they have the squishable factor. I started with apples, strong, durable, but again, they didn't last that long. Oranges...shrivel up. I even did the mistake of putting a peach in bag one day. Now, mind you, I was planning on eating it that day, but the day passed and I somehow forgot about it. Fast forward 2 weeks later: I pull out a book and find the bottom of it wet and smelly like. I pull out the tie I threw in there that day to wear later and find it a mess.

Now, you would think I would learn my lesson from this, but no. After a meeting one day, I grab a pear and put it in my vest pocket to eat later, only I don't. It probably was a mistake to leave it in there or not take it out when I got home, but I figured I would eat it the next day, only, the next day was colder and I wore my coat instead of vest. Three weeks later, the next time I put on the vest, I have a nice mushy surprise waiting for me.

NOW you would think I would learn my lesson, but not yet. While working in the Peds ER, I noticed a smell. I couldn't find where it was coming from and forgot about it. The next day I noticed the smell and yet again I couldn't find it. Driving home, I smelt it again. I gave myself the sniff test, but it wasn't me. Figured it might be my labcoat. The next day, I pulled out a book, noticed a bit of stickyness to it and paid it no heed. The next day, I pulled out some papers and noticed some wetness and sticky and smelly. That managed to pique my interest and got me searching through my bag. After pulling out practically all my crap, I find a banana in there. Not just any banana, but a squished, black and smelly banana.

Apparently I seemed to have put a banana in my bag at some point, and managed to forget about it. I don't know how long that banana was in that bag, I don't know how it managed to get to the bottom of my bag and get squished and get all over my books and papers and turn them all brown and nasty. I need help.

The Year of the Bad

I have come to the conclusion that 2006 is the year of bad things happening to me (aren't I so vain?) I thought it would be the year of trying new or different things (which I have been doing and very proud of myself), but alas it is also the year of the evil eye. What am I talking about?

January
Well, it all started back in January. I wake up as usual at 4 in the morning to go to the hospital for some baby catching, and while I'm driving, I manage to slip on some black ice, swerve all out of control, drift towards oncoming traffic, then spin around a couple of times and smash in the front end of my lovely mazda (oh how I miss thee...). Well, at least I walked away unscathed from the event, with just my pride and feelings hurt ( I did NOT want to part with my baby, I became attached to it after all these years). Okay, fine, out with the old, in with the (semi)-new. Out of this bad event I manage to find a great deal on a 2005 Jeep Liberty. Yay! Congrats to me!

February
Ona health kick and doing well. I'm eating pretty good and working out every day. Then I wake up one day and do yoga, which I have been doing for a while now with no problem, only today, my back decides to mess with me and give out. Now I'm miserable and in pain all day trying to deal with whiny kids vomiting and diarrheaing all over the place and getting rings stuck on their fingers. Yet I manage to pull through, undauted. Then one week later, I wake up on a freezing morning, tea in hand, ready to brave the weather, ready for the kids. I start driving... and realize I have a flat tire!!! Not only that, my car jack is the worst possible jack in the world, and it takes me 2 and a half hours to change my tire in the freezing cold. Now, mind you, this is not the first time I have had to change a tire, and I am not an idiot (no matter what some people may think), but that morning, fate was against me. The jack wasn't cooperating with me, i couldn't use it with my gloves on, so I had to do it barehanded, my legs and feet are freezing (as is my behind), I can't feel my fingers anymore, snot is dripping down my nose, and my nice work pants now have grease stains all over them that I haven't been successful in washing out yet, AND my back still hurts.

In case you're keeping count, that's two in one month.

March
So February hit hard. One might think I would be in the clear for March or at least get hit lightly. Well, no such luck. I thought I was going strong, I hadn't gotten sick yet amidst all the diseased infants, but no, it was just waiting for me, lulling me into a false sense of security, waiting to pounce at just the right time. It started gradually, a sore throat for a few days, stuffy nose a few days after that, then the body aches came one morning. I was still determined not to let it get the best of me, but then one morning, standing around for morning report, I started feeling weird, not right. Then BAM! I started feeling faint and had to sit on the floor so I wouldn't pass out. Mind you, this is in the middle of the hallway, and all these residents are standing around reporting on their patients, and does anyone bother to see what's wrong with this kid that's decided to sit in the middle of them reporting? NO!!!! Okay, fine, I feel better, let me stand up again. Two minutes later, it happens again and back on the floor I go. I break out in a sweat (seriously, I'm DRENCHED). Finally they finish and one of the residents comes up to me and is like," you don't look so well, why don't you go sit down for a minute." Gee, thanks for coming to my rescue all concerned like and what not people. Hey, aren't we in a hospital? Are we not supposed to help those needing help, the infirmed, the needy? HELLO!!! MAN DOWN PEOPLE, MAN DOWN!!!! USE THOSE POWERS OF OBSERVATION YOU'VE BEEN TAUGHT TO USE AND HELP THOSE IN NEED!!!! Come on now people. So great, I'm home in bed for two day, feeling off, and it's been two days now and I'm still feeling flu-ish.


So that's my story people. I'm convinced 2006 is not the year for me. Vain, self-centered you say? Whatever! I should really reconsider getting on a plane at the end of the month, flying might not be the best idea...

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My mom makes the most amazing baklava that everyone goes crazy over, and Anita (my roomie) loves to bake, both being a bad combination for me. Anita finally got the recipe from my mom, which involves making the sinfully sweet syrup, making the nuts, preparing the phyllo dough, etc. Now keep in mind that this is being translated from Arabic to English. My mom tells me the nut combination is equal parts almonds, walnuts, and filberts. Hence me and Anita embark on finding the ingredients to make the baklava. Got the ingredients to make the syrup (check), find the right phyllo dough (check), get the almonds (check), get the walnuts (check)... but where to find the filberts? Now mind you, I've never heard of filbert nuts, but figure I'm just ignorant and everyone knows what they are, but we keep looking for these filbert nuts everywhere and can't find them.

Many supermarkets were searched, but to no avail. It got so bad that Anita even went ahead and made a tray using just the almonds and walnuts, but that didn't seem to work out so well. It got to the point that Anita almost gave up on the whole baklava making, until one fateful day when we're with Tracy (the wonder chef), and we recounted to her our dilemma, which she then kindly informs us that the hazelnut is part of the filbert family.

Needless to say, we were both speechless. Do you know how many times we passed hazelnuts everywhere we went? I call my mom and ask her why she didn't tell me that filbert nuts were simply known as hazelnuts, and she was as surprised as I was. Apparently at the mid east grocer and amongst fellow foreigners, they all refer to hazelnuts as filberts. Foreigners are funny. So in any case, we go to get some filberts/hazelnuts, and lo and behold what do we find at the same supermarket we scourged for filberts to begin with?

Me shleepy....

Kids are tiring. It's the end of the week, I've been following kids being sick all week, and I have no energy. Vomiting and diarrhea can really take it out of you (literally I guess). That's all I've been seeing though, is 1-2 year olds puking and crapping, refusing to eat, getting sick, blah blah blah blah blah. And now I have no energy or motivation to do anything, especially since I have to go in tomorrow because I'm on call (on a Saturday...WOO HOO!!!), and so is Anita. So how do we spend our one free Friday night? Partying on the town? Going wild and crazy? Nope, we've been permanently affixed on our respective couches, eating chicken fingers and fries and watching TiVo'ed episodes of Lost and bad tennybopper tv on The N. What kind of bad tv you ask? check out the website http://www.the-n.com/, where you can see which N guy is your dream date or what's your inner hair color. Yes, I need help. Sleep, and help.