Poor weenie :(

Nope, this is not Woodstock (just another cute long haired weenie dog). I don't have any good quality recent photos of him. One day I swear I'm going to use my crappy camera instead of my iPhone... or I'll use J.D.'s when his memory card gets here ;) haha nah I'll use mine, charged it all weekend.

Anyways, tangent. What I'm going to talk about might get a little gross. I might hold back, we'll see how it goes....

Woodstock has been ill with a bladder infection for almost a week now. I feel so bad for the little guy, because every since I was 14, I've had at least one or two a year. WORST.FEELING.EVER.

He's only a little baby, and he really doesn't show much of an indicator of pain, but his urine samples came back positive of an infection and we've got him on twice-daily antibiotics. I was such a nervous wreck when we took him to the vet - they took blood and forced urine samples in the back and I could hear him screetching and crying. It was a disaster. When he wouldn't urinate, they asked me to keep him there for an hour or two, so they could force it and then test the sample. So I had to go home, upset as I've ever been before, madly cleaning all of my house. I'd make a terrible mother. I always fear the worst. I'd freak out all the time. But, at least my house would be spotless then, ha.

Anyways, I don't know if he's having relapses or if the medicine just takes a while to become fully effective, but he's been having problems with vomiting and other gross things you don't want to read about on my blog. He also hasn't been eating his food during this entire fiasco, so we've been giving him canned chow, it's the only thing he'll eat. Which brings me to believe that maybe his change in digestion is related to the abrupt switching of food???

I don't know, I just want my baby to be better. I'm going to take him back to the vet if this continues tonight. At the very least, I'm going to call the vet just to see if this is normal behavior or not. I might also get a second opinion.

Told you, overly concerned mommy. For the future, now I know that dachshunds are prone to UTIs, I read that it's good to serve your puppy a bowl of vitamin C each morning to help keep him from getting further infections. So maybe when he's off his meds I'll give him a small bowl of either cranberry or orange juice diulted with water. We can have breakfast at the same time in the mornings ;)

Just need to talk to the vet about it. Please keep your fingers crossed for my little puppy!!! I'm hoping when we have him fixed after he's six months old (next month, already!) this issue might resolve itself.

And if you missed it, check out my "three day weekend," (which only ended up being one free day) recap.

Don't worry, I'm safe

I had a fun day today. I'll share more deets later, but it concluded with me, J.D., my boss and three other coworkers eating frozen yogurt on the baseball field on campus because it was one of two "safe zones" after campus police received an anonymous call saying a bomb would detonate on campus later tonight.

We made it back safely, in case you're wondering. Also, they think the whole ordeal was a hoax.

And now back to the fun stuff (teaser):

On road travel

For the amount I've flown, I shouldn't be as afraid of planes as I am. Granted, I've never really been afraid of flying, my hands just get extra clammy on take-offs and landings and my heart beats heavily in my chest as of late.

Maybe that's due to the small 60-person carriers I was used to shuffling in on my way back and forth from the Bay Area/Santa Barbara (with its two gates) when I was in college. I swear during one flight on an abnormally windy day in San Jose, our pilot made an announcement over the PA system that he couldn't fight the wind on account of our plane being so small. So we literally were tossed around in the air, my stomach doing flip-flops the entire time.

Today was much of the same story. Let me explain myself a bit.

We flew out of Orange County, the John Wayne Airport, in one of the first flights of the day this morning (8 a.m.). The county of Orange has some interesting noise ordinances regarding the airport, since Los Angeles is the epitome of suburbia and urban sprawl, and per capita, is the most densely populated city in the United States. So with houses literally on the landing strip, John Wayne Airport (referred to as SNA from here on out) has reduced hours of operation. Furthermore, planes must take off at abnormally fast rates, almost like a sonic burst of energy, to create as little noise pollution as possible.

See SNA's explanation of this ordinance below:

"John Wayne Airport (SNA) is one of the busiest and most noise sensitive airports in the United States. The Airport is located in the center of Orange County, California with residential areas in close proximity. To mitigate potential noise impacts from aircraft operations and to enhance compatibility with surrounding communities, the Airport maintains some of the most stringent noise rules in the United States. The General Aviation Noise Ordinance (GANO) has been adopted by the County of Orange to regulate the hours of operation and the maximum permitted noise levels associated with general aviation operations."

SNA, note the cluster of houses and businesses just beyond the airport

Another aerial view of SNA and surrounding suburban areas

Well, today when we began to take off, we streaked through the sky in less than one minute. However, a pilot could not rationally continue at top speeds like that, because it makes for a very turbulent and jittery ride on a small 737 plane. So as soon as we hit the appropriate marker in the sky, I believe the pilot completely let off the gas. Instead of slowly decreasing down to our average speed, he just let go.

All of a sudden, looking out the window, I noticed we were going from rapidly ascending, to quickly descending in free fall. You know that annoying, adrenaline-induced feeling in the pit of your stomach when you drop in a rollercoaster? Well it felt like that, but much, much worse without the suspension to a track to guide our fall.

A billion thoughts ran through my mind at once, as our free fall hit close to the one-minute mark. I thought for sure we were crashing, my biggest fear in life. As soon as the sensation subsided, I unlocked my vice grip on the seat handles, noticing that my hands were abnormally sweaty. At this point, my breath caught up with me and my heart battered around in my chest, as I began to sort of hyperventillate.

Sitting next to me, our trainer, Kyle, let out a long, "WOAH." Seconds later confiding in me that he, too, feared we were all going to die in a matter of horrible seconds. Honestly, that was one of the WORST experiences of my life. Nervously joking, we both talked about the horrid sensation during the course of the next 15 minutes.

It is not without immense appreciation, that I say I'm glad to be back on solid ground for the next couple of weeks. I don't think we'll fly out again the remainder of the basketball season, unless we make the post-season tournament in Anaheim mid-March (spring break). I think that'll give me enough time to recover.

Just an idea....

I may have found a solution to my endless restlessness. Location-wise that is.

I may have found something that requires a big move and travel I'd like to do beginning in 2010. It's going to be a long, long process and journey and it might end up being something that's not for me.

Only time will tell.

Sorry for being too vague, I haven't quite made up my mind on this yet. When I do, you'll all be the second to know. Someone and I have a lot of talking/thinking/deciding before I decide where I'm going to be in the future.

I guess this is my hint:

LASIK, anyone?!

So I really thought I wanted LASIK surgery because my contacts are always irritating me and I get headaches from glasses after a full day. It's almost been 10 years that my vision has needed correction now and I'm super tired of it! I'd just like to wake up in the morning and see, and not have to fumble to the sink to take out my contacts from their case, clean them, put them in and hope they don't sting, then rinse out my eyes with drops before they finally fit in place. But that doesn't guarantee that mid-day they won't bother me.

Anyways, I thought I was over that. But then I made a call to an eye group and did a bunch of research on LASIK surgery and the procedure is really creeping me out.

If anyone has gone through this, please help me so I'm not so afraid of it..... I cringed and held my eyes just reading the following because I sometimes get sympathy pains when I read something like this. I think it'd be better if I just went into the surgery and then never actually knew what was coming..... I'm so scared!!

During Surgery
The surgery should take less than 30 minutes. You will lie on your back in a reclining chair in an exam room containing the laser system. The laser system includes a large machine with a microscope attached to it and a computer screen. (See the animation of the LASIK procedure.)

A numbing drop will be placed in your eye, the area around your eye will be cleaned, and an instrument called a lid speculum will be used to hold your eyelids open.

Your doctor may use a mechanical microkeratome (a blade device) to cut a flap in the cornea.

If a mechanical microkeratome is used, a ring will be placed on your eye and very high pressures will be applied to create suction to the cornea. Your vision will dim while the suction ring is on and you may feel the pressure and experience some discomfort during this part of the procedure. The microkeratome, a cutting instrument, is attached to the suction ring. Your doctor will use the blade of the microkeratome to cut a flap in your cornea. Microkeratome blades are meant to be used only once and then thrown out. The microkeratome and the suction ring are then removed.

Your doctor may use a laser keratome (a laser device), instead of a mechanical microkeratome, to cut a flap on the cornea.

If a laser keratome is used, the cornea is flattened with a clear plastic plate. Your vision will dim and you may feel the pressure and experience some discomfort during this part of the procedure. Laser energy is focused inside the cornea tissue, creating thousands of small bubbles of gas and water that expand and connect to separate the tissue underneath the cornea surface, creating a flap. The plate is then removed.

You will be able to see, but you will experience fluctuating degrees of blurred vision during the rest of the procedure. The doctor will then lift the flap and fold it back on its hinge, and dry the exposed tissue.

The laser will be positioned over your eye and you will be asked to stare at a light. This is not the laser used to remove tissue from the cornea. This light is to help you keep your eye fixed on one spot once the laser comes on. NOTE: If you cannot stare at a fixed object for at least 60 seconds, you may not be a good candidate for this surgery.

When your eye is in the correct position, your doctor will start the laser. At this point in the surgery, you may become aware of new sounds and smells. The pulse of the laser makes a ticking sound. As the laser removes corneal tissue, some people have reported a smell similar to burning hair. A computer controls the amount of laser energy delivered to your eye. Before the start of surgery, your doctor will have programmed the computer to vaporize a particular amount of tissue based on the measurements taken at your initial evaluation. After the pulses of laser energy vaporize the corneal tissue, the flap is put back into position.

A shield should be placed over your eye at the end of the procedure as protection, since no stitches are used to hold the flap in place. It is important for you to wear this shield to prevent you from rubbing your eye and putting pressure on your eye while you sleep, and to protect your eye from accidentally being hit or poked until the flap has healed.

After Surgery
Immediately after the procedure, your eye may burn, itch, or feel like there is something in it. You may experience some discomfort, or in some cases, mild pain and your doctor may suggest you take a mild pain reliever. Both your eyes may tear or water. Your vision will probably be hazy or blurry. You will instinctively want to rub your eye, but don't! Rubbing your eye could dislodge the flap, requiring further treatment. In addition, you may experience sensitivity to light, glare, starbursts or haloes around lights, or the whites of your eye may look red or bloodshot. These symptoms should improve considerably within the first few days after surgery. You should plan on taking a few days off from work until these symptoms subside. You should contact your doctor immediately and not wait for your scheduled visit, if you experience severe pain, or if your vision or other symptoms get worse instead of better.

Thanks for making me aware of this, Dane Cook

I hate to put a damper on everyone's night, but seriously, check out who lives around your area at:

Family Watch Dog

It's a good idea, I guess, to be aware of your surroundings. However, in my parents' neighborhood, there are hardly any registered offenders. But Stockton is quite a different story, my friends. It's kind of creepy, especially since one lives right around the corner from us.

Ummm, lesson of the day is, don't hang out in Stockton after dark?

Why a French woman is never wrong...

There is no justification. She is always right. No arguing, that's that.

So I believe that living here is really continuing to be more of a character-building experience than I had ever bargained for. The roommate situation still continues to deteriorate since we had a little spat on Thursday -- and by little I mean she yelled at me for 15 minutes, I took it and wasn't allowed a word in otherwise because she closed the door on me when she was done talking.

Today was a bit more of that long, drawn out problem. But at least I got in three words of self-defense. So what I'm learning from this is not tolerance or anything heart-warming and important like that. Nope, I'm learning that I'm never again going to live with someone I don't know prior to moving. Even if I have to live in some dumpy little place all by myself, I think it will be that much better.

The funny thing is that I keep thinking, "I wish I lived with someone normal." And I apologize for every French woman that reads this, but you guys are a little stubborn when you hold to an opinion ;-) I won't continue to generalize, but just say that I think we're going to butt heads more often in the future. So living at my house is again becoming a hostile environment.

But luckily I have family nearby and friends are coming soon, so I'll find lots of ways to distract myself or find excuses to be out of the house. And once this dang rain stops, I fully intend on going to the beach as much as possible!

Let's hope things get a little better. If not, then let's hope that my time continues to keep flying and not drag on! But one thing to look forward to: VACATION SOON!

Random thoughts in my frazzled brain

One more day until I go back to school! (And start using more French)

So that gives me some time to reflect on what I've been doing this vacation :) Here's an excerpt from my mass email, because honestly I don't know how to encapsulate five days in the Loire Valley:

As for my vacation, I just got back from five fabulous days of wine-tasting and castle-touring in the Loire Valley, in the city of Tours. The weather was very cold and chilly, but it's a nice break from the sun-drenched weeks we've been having here on the Riviera! I was finally able to use my large coat and scarves. But once I returned back to Antibes, I sadly put them back in my closet where they've been hiding since I unpacked a little over a month ago. And the castles themselves were all so amazingly intricate, large and beautiful.

The first day I visited Chenonceau, the Clos de Lucé (where Leonardo da Vinci lived out the final days of his life after an invitation from King François... which I think is what the movie "Ever After" is all about) and the château at Amboise, where we tasted very delicious regional Chinon wines. For the second day of castle-visiting we saw Chambord and Cheverny -- which inspired the castle in the Belgium Tin-Tin comics! I guess I could blab all I want about these places, but you really need to see them for yourselves. I did get a little camera-happy and took over 400 pictures.... but just in case, here's the site I'm keeping all of my pictures from France/European travels:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mmoyal85

The first two albums are from this weekend. On the train back, we had a two-hour stop in Paris, so I was able to get a few shots in of the Gare de Lyon (train station), the river Seine, and of course the most famous church on that river -- the Nôtre Dame. We didn't have enough time to get super close or go inside, so most of my pictures are of some neat little park and the long-distance view of Nôtre Dame.

It was all very breath-taking and beautiful. Look at the pictures, I just finished putting up captions under most of them.

But now that I'm back, I'm here afraid of my roommate again. I don't think I've written much about her, but she's super intense and psycho. So after letting me drive her to the train station last week, she's now accusing me of having broken her car. Luckily, she's not saying I need to pay or anything, but I have this disgusting feeling that she's going to give me the bill once her car comes back, functional. Pray for me that DOESN'T happen. But yeah, that's the story of my life here. I use something (old and already broken before) and it works fine, but once Karina uses it, it's suddenly broken beyond function. And she conveniently doesn't remember that she took her car to the shop two weeks ago anyways. So now I'm spending more of my time away from the apartment or locked up in the privacy of my own room. It's a weird, hostile feeling, but hopefully it'll die down very soon.

And finally, my dad has an interview today with a company based in Geneva! I really hope he gets the job, because he'd be over here beginning next week until May. That means my mom would come visit more, and I could have something to do on the weekends! I think his company would pay for travel so that would be AMAZING. Plus I'm beginning to get a little bit homesick now that I've been here for my longest stay ever.

Although this weekend our family friend invited me over to a large luncheon at his house. So on Sunday I'm leaving first thing in the morning to catch a train to Toulon so that I may go visit Jean-Claude, Patrick and Yvonne -- my 98 year old great-aunt! I can't wait for that :)

Weight/exercise tracker, 06/11/07:
Weighing in at 60 kilos today :(, hiked 2.8 miles and did 75 sit-ups.

I'm freaking out!!!

View from my bedroom at night, if you're curious...

Ok, this afternoon it was 18 degrees (which, I remember from HS physics, thanks Ms. Lewis! can be converted to Farenheit by multiplying the number, 18, by 9/5, let's just say 2 = 36 so far... and then adding 32, but because I already rounded up earlier, let's say 30 = 66 degrees Farenheit). And it was fairly muggy and humid, as I noticed the first day I stepped off the airplane.

Because of the nice weather, Sarah and I were finally able to find a beach and since it's now October, it's mainly only locals.

Getting to my point -- THE WEATHER HERE IS NUTS!

It's still equally humid close to midnight, but the sky is now pouring down torrential rain. An hour ago, I heard my upstairs neighbors making a whole bunch of noise and I wasn't sure what furniture they were moving or throwing out...

Now I realize those terrible sounds were not moving noises, but thunder ripping throughout the atmosphere. And the entire apartment keeps lighting up as lightning bolts through the sky every 20-or so minutes. I guess I'm not going to sleep tonight. Now ambulence sirens are piercing the momentarily-silent night and the baby next door is beginning to wail.

This just goes to show that the hills of Antibes can be equally as exciting as the downtown area.

And since I'm not getting any sleep, I've posted some of my 100+ photos from the past seven days:
http://community.webshots.com/user/mmoyal85