Today, I passed the PMP certification exam. I think I'd like to celebrate tomorrow night. Anyone interested in joining me?

Sinus and loose screw removal surgery went well. Only a little bit sore, and home again already.

However, I didn't think about the fact that I would be pretty limited in what I can eat, and that even a one night hospital stay can really wear you out. I have to cancel my planned seder for this week. I just can't handle it right now. Even though I have Friday off. I think I'm going to still be recuperating and sleeping!

So, no seder this year, but there are many years to come.

If I change the seder to Friday, April 14, still at 6:30 pm, would that change people's availablility? It turns out I have that day off from work, and it would be a heck of a lot easier for me to prepare a proper seder!

I've decided to make a seder for the second night of Pesach this year. I know that loch_nessie and ladyandromeda are doing this for the first night, so they probably aren't available for the second night, but anyone who is interested is welcome. Please let me know if you would like to come. The second seder, by the way, is on Thursday, April 13, 2006. Arrive by 6:30 for a 7 pm seder. Don't ask me how I'm going to manage to be home by that time!

Life has been busy, but in a good way!

I have been working rediculous hours at work, and though the amount of time I'm spending there isn't fun, the work itself is interesting, so I haven't felt the need to blow up quite yet... All signs point to this 60 hour a week schedule continuing through the end of June, after which I may be doing a bit of traveling for the training of our Sales force. That is fun, but tiring, too.

Over the weekend, I bought a brand new 2006 Ford Fusion V6 SEL in Titanium Green. I L-O-V-E it!

It turns out I have a screw loose. (But didn't we know that already?) It seems that one of the titanium screws from my brain surgery has got an infection around it, and it's right near my sinuses, and it's probably why I've been so miserably sick all winter. Dr. Constantino, the ENT involved with my brain surgery, is going to remove the offending screw and a part of the titanium plate on April 6, as well as doing some additional work to open up my sinus passages. It is not nearly as big a deal as the brain surgery was, of course, and I will be glad to be able to breathe normally again. I'll be in the hospital just one night, and only because I am coming from out-of-town. It should be pretty simple.

I'd like to start having Friday night Shabbat dinners at my house around 8 pm. Realistically, I should wait until after April 7, because I need to do some serious work on my kitchen if I'm going to have people over for a meal, and I just don't have much free time between now and when I'll be in the hospital. But consider this as an invitation if you are interested. Ness, I'll keep 'em super-kosher for you :)

I think, for now, that's it! Au revoir!

Yanked from many people...

http://kevan.org/johari?name=befers

Your Birthdate: September 5

You have many talents, and you are great at sharing those talents with others. Most people would be jealous of your clever intellect, but you're just too likeable to elicit jealousy. Progressive and original, you're usually thinking up cutting edge ideas. Quick witted and fast thinking, you have difficulty finding new challenges. Your strength: Your superhuman brainpower Your weakness: Your susceptibility to boredom Your power color: Tangerine Your power symbol: Ace Your power month: May

Apparently, illuminant_love and I have the exact same meanings to our birthdates... I wonder if it's because we are both born on the 5th of the month? I don't mind being the same as Carlie :)

1. Go here.
2. Pass it on.
( my answers )

I have this rediculous unfounded fear that my tumor is returning.

Makes no sense at all, but it's been distracting me terribly all day long.

How's that for a first post in 8 months? Blah!

Turkey, Turkey, Turkey, Turkey,
Turkey, Turkey, Turkey, Turkey,
Mushroom! Mushroom!

We have started a new community called sundaymorphosis to help us track our weekly progress towards our goals. Mine is to lose weight and become healthier. Please stop by and join us if you have a goal to meet, too!

My heart says:

Goodbye to personal freedoms
Goodbye to any kind of economic recovery
Goodbye to well-educated children
Goodbye to any international friends for America

But my head says that I can't give up the good fight. I must hold President Bush responsible for his initial pledge 4 years ago to be a uniter, and not a divider. I must force him to reconcile himself with the 49% of the nation who did not vote for him. I must continue to participate in the process, both locally and nationally. And in 4 more years, we will do this again, and hopefully achieve a different outcome.

I'm just hoping that none of those Supreme Court Justices retire or die.

I don't have to go to Boston for Proton Beam radiation!

Full details can be found on my web page:

1. Visit http://www.TheStatus.com/
   
2. Click on Visit a Patient Page
   
3. Use Last Name Finn and Password april8
   

And now, back to my regularly scheduled life :)

Brain surgery and 7 days in the hospital, not including anesthesia and surgeons' fees: $60,312.20

Estimated Insurance Coverage: $17,416.44

Actual Insurance Coverage: $77,728.64

Being over and done with brain surgery with absolutely no side effects: Priceless

I just can't get over the fact that the insurance company paid more than they were billed. They must have sent payment for other charges, too, that aren't on this particular statement. And the hospital expected them to pay less than a third of what was billed. Wow.

So Thursday afternoon, I get a call from Dr. Sen's assistant Maria. She tells me that she's getting together my films and reports to send to Dr. Liebsch. I say, "You mean they haven't been sent yet?" And she tells me that they will go out that day and Dr. Liebsch should have them by Monday. Argh! So basically I have a whole wasted week behind me, but at least it is behind me. Here's hoping that I hear something Monday evening :)

In other news, I've been doing well with my pledge to do some exercise every day. Tuesday, I walked briefly with Rob. Wednesday I skipped, but I made up for it on Thursday by walking in the mall with Liz and then going to dance class. Yesterday Rob and I went to the driving range again. I'm not nearly as sore today as I was last time. That's good!

My left ear is hurting. I hope I'm not getting an ear infection. That would suck.

[Cross-posted to cake_decorating]

So as you may know, I've been taking cake decorating classes. Here's a cake I made for my dad for Father's Day.

( Pictures )

For those of you who may not have heard, I went to what I had hoped was the final visit in this brain tumor saga of mine this past Tuesday. While there, Dr. Sen looked at my recent MRI scans and said they looked quite excellent, as clean as we could hope them to be. However, to decide about sending me for radiation in Boston, he wants to consult with Dr. Liebsch, the radiation oncologist in Boston. I don't resent this consultation at all, but I had called a few weeks before my appointment to see if I should get an extra set of films to send to Dr. Liebsch. I was told it wasn't necessary. Ah well, what's a few more days? Hopefully I will know something definite in the next day or two.

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have to have radiation for two big reasons. First, since Dr. Sen removed the bone that the tumor was growing from, I'm hoping there's not really anything there to radiate. Second, if we use radiation now, it's gone from our bag of tricks for the future should this tumor come back. Once you have proton beam, you can't have it again. Too much radiation for one person in a lifetime. So maybe we'll decide to wait to see what happens.

If I don't go for radiation, I will just follow-up with Dr. Sen annually with MRIs to keep an eye on the area and make sure the little bugger isn't coming back. I need to find out the statistics on that happening.

Dr. Constantino, the ENT, was also pleased with my progress and thinks the insides of my nose are healing nicely. I will have a follow-up appointment with him in 6 months. Even though the radiologist who read my MRI thought I had chronic sinusitis, Dr. C. assures me that the inflammation is just from the surgery and will eventually go away.

I must call St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and get a copy of my complete medical records and itemized bill of all charges. According to their patient's Bill of Rights, I am entitled to these things and I want them not only for my own records, but just as a matter of curiosity. I am desperately curious to know how much this whole brain surgery thing costs.

And P.S. I still haven't gone back to work because I need to know if I am going to Boston or not first. I'm a very anxious girl...

Perhaps I am tempting fate by writing this the evening before my MRI, but a significant part of me feels as if I have cheated the system. I am certianly not complaining about the ease with which I have sailed through my brain surgery and recovery. But so many people I have met and read about who have had brain surgery, tumors, etc., have had it much worse than I have. And my surgery was supposed to be one of the riskiest of them all.

We found my tumor early enough for me to have the luxury of doing extensive research.

I had no symptoms before my surgery.

The surgery itself went faster than expected.

The surgeon thinks he was able to remove all of the tumor.

My recovery in the hospital was swift and relatively pain free.

My time with my parents and at my own house has been a breeze.

I've had no symptoms post-surgery, either.

I have no visible scars from the surgery.

The fact that I even had brain surgery at all is very surreal to me. I hardly believe it, even when I read the surgical report. And yet, my life has been on hold for nearly a year because of this. I am so completely ready to move on. I am going to cry a lot if they tell me I have to go to Boston for 9 weeks.