Friday, June 06, 2003

There are quite a few authors that I love to read. Pearl S. Buck, Francis Hodgeson Burnett, Joseph Heller, George Orwell, C.S. Lewis, A.A.Milne, and John Steinbeck. I've probably read more of Steinbeck's novels than any of the other authors. And right now, when I'm taking a study break, I'm reading either Perelandra, the second in C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy and Steinbeck's East of Eden. There's huge difference in my interest level between these two and it basically comes down to the fact that Steinbeck is much easier to read. But the odd thing is that Out of the Silent Planet, the 1st in the space trilogy, was very captivating but there was more suspense because even though I knew it was a trilogy I guess I got lost in the adventure of the story. Perelandra hasn't quite captivated me yet because it's all imagery right now. So that's why I started to read East of Eden. I thought I had read it cause it was on my shelf but I think I bought it last summer and never got the chance to read it before school started up. It's pretty good and captivating. I hope it ends better than the Grapes of Wrath. I really didn't care for the way that novel ended. The most hilarious writer is Joseph Heller. I LOVE Catch-22! It's so hilarious! Some parts remind me of the who's on first sketch of Abbot and Costello. Closing Time, the sequel to Catch-22 isn't as funny but has the same type of humor. It's a look back on what happened from the time Catch-22 took place and when the soldiers are in their later years (50+). I think Perelandra (Lewis' interplanetary name for Venus; Earth is Thulcandra...silent planet because demonic spirits are in charge of earth and no communication can come from our planet) should get interesting soon and since it is a trilogy and this one reads as a recount of a trip, I know the guy lives so knowing he isn't going to die is going to make any encounter with death less important. I wonder if he dies in the 3rd book...
~me~ at 11:18 PM

Monday, June 02, 2003

Well, there was a thunderstorm tonight. You know what that means...the river has formed in my street yet again! And it may be storming all week long. Greeeaaattt... What else...I found the clear PDA protectors I've been searching for at Radio Shack. The fellowes and belkin brands are both matte and have a slight frosty appearance and are both at least $15. Radioshack...$10. I also finally turned in the cracked ice tups cup to get my replacement but apparently chewed up sticks are not covered under that lifetime warranty plan. Oh well...at $0.10 each, I think I can handle 40 cents and we get to keep a momento of our childhood. I think since there are 5 sticks that are messed up (i only need 4 to complete the set), we (meaning mom or I) can use a stick in albums for each of us kids plus her family one as a fun little thing for summer pictures when we were younger. There probably exists in the stash of photos (I've seen the boxes) pictures of us eating popsicles using these tupperware ice tups. I was kind of hoping that the replacement sticks would be the mickey mouse ones but they don't sell those as replacements since there's that disney trademark they have to pay. OH well...
~me~ at 11:06 PM

Sunday, June 01, 2003

What to do...okay, so my neighbor, the poster child for COPD and smokers worldwide, continues to share with me her view of her health problems and how it relates to her ability to do certain things, like swimming. And while there is this deep urge to tell her that yes, people can indeed be overly sensitive/allergic to cigarette smoke (like me) and that it doesn't matter if you blow cigarette smoke above the heads of your grandchildren because sitting in the smoking section alone causes damage to their young lungs. But at the same time, I find it educational to learn about all these beliefs since I don't smoke but will need to do anti-smoking education with patients. Learning about these delusions will probably help me understand why patients with severe COPD continue to smoke. I call them lost causes and really see attempting to get them to quit useless and a waste of both of our time but I'm required to do it, if anything for my legal safety since they can never say I never told them they could die of lung cancer if they don't smoke. They tell us that you can't tell teens that smoking will cause lung cancer and expect that to have an affect on their decision to smoke because lung cancer, from a young person's perspective, is an old person disease or at least will only occur after years of smoking and being young, they can always trick themselves into believing that they'll quit long before that becomes a possibility. So we should say that smoking affects their sex drive because young people care more about that. So what do I use to educate my 70 year old smoker of 50 years who has lung cancer, COPD, doesn't give a lick about sex (or at least isn't obsessed about it), and still smokes? See...lost cause. Many of them continue to smoke because if they have cancer or are close to the end of their life, why quit now...Defeatist attitude but try to education or convince that person to quit. Meanwhile, I feel anthracotic pigment building up everytime I go outside to study and the smokers of the complex choose to sit at the next table to mine to smoke. I'm too polite to start hacking away (I save that for close family and friends and complete strangers) to send a clue.
~me~ at 12:05 PM