Audibly Awesome

Yesterday was exciting. It was exciting because I was trained in a new skill. Yes, that's right, there are people in this word who trust me with the well-being of their patients. Surprised?

My new skill is ear irrigation. This is for when people are too incompetent/oblivious/incapacitated and do not realize how much earwax has built up in their external auditory meatus (canal.) First, I was shown how to use an otoscope to visualize the tympanic membrane (eardrum.) The LPNs said I was a natural because I could find it on every ear in the training session. While doing this you peek around for wax.

If there is wax, the removal is quite simple. Using a small "syringe" (tiny tube) hooked up to what looks like your average spray bottle by a large bore catheter (thick long hose), you squirt warm water repeatedly into the meatus. If the cerumen (wax) is too compacted you may need to put a drop of soap in the ear to chill for 15-20 minutes first. This is an easy thing to do. And since I know how weird it feels, being used as a patient during training, I won't be surprised by patients' reactions. Cool!

Other happenings: I quest ever onward in my search of nachos. Last night we went to Cambridge Common (warning, music upon clicking link) between Harvard and Porter. An overall average experience with one horrific realization - their nachos do not come with sour cream. It must be ordered with guacamole on the side. GASP! Unacceptable. Luckily my palate was sated with some BerryLine afterward.

Personal realization: I dislike Woodchuck Cider. Strongbow is by far my favorite cider, served the way the Brits do - in a glass over ice.

This weekend I am embarking on an adventure. It's only up to Maine but that is out of state so hey, I'll take it! My ride is picking me up in an hour. I am packed and I have snacks. On the topic of snacks, I find the first thing I grab is often cheesy and crunchy. For years the obvious choice seemed to be Pirate's Booty. Ubiquitous, delicious, and the name made me giggle. However I soon came to realize that Pirate's Booty, like numerous other large, name brand companies, does not quite agree with my GI tract. I was lost! Distraught! Broken!

Then a man named Joe came to my rescue ... Trader Joe. He showed me a bag of cheesy crunchy twice as big, if not more, for half the price! Yes, I speak of Unburied Treasure. Yes, there is an unopened bag sitting behind me, as ready for this mini road trip as I am (3.5 hours.) And the flavor ... oh! If you hold any doubt over the viability of cheese dust as sustenance, look no further. Your questions have been answered.

Also I have chocolate covered raspberry sticks.

Later days

Snack Attack!

Yesterday I had a dilemma: I craved artichoke.

This was a dilemma because not only is it hotter than Hades in my kitchen, even without the oven on, but I had a limited window between getting home from work and arriving at a very swanky hotel bar for a good friend's (Emrah's) send-off party.

Hasty solution: I sidled into Trader Joe's on my walk home from work to procure a log of garlic & herb goat cheese and a can of artichoke hearts. At home I had a box of hazelnut Nut Thins. Ta da! A simple, tasty, no-cook dinner to be consumed while watching an episode of Cowboy Bebop and drying my hair.

(By the way, did you know that any two note fanfare, such as ta da, is called a tush? Well, according to a friend's father who teaches music at Phillips Academy, anyway.)

The bar that required me to actually do my hair and put on a nice dress and heels was Alibi, in Boston's Liberty Hotel. Very posh. I broke my 31 days of sobriety with a sidecar, which I have christened as "my drink." For the time being, anyway. Caught up with my friends, got to bed at a reasonable hour, still managed to 'feel' that one drink this morning. Ah, liver ... I'll try to be kind to you, not put too many toxins into our system.

Later days