Saturday, July 30, 2011

VBS / Wisdom Teeth

This week was Vacation Bible School at the church. As usual, I went and helped out where I was needed. Most of the time Alex and I just hung out alone together in the back of the sanctuary. On Wednesday I had to go get a hair cut. Since I had to get my wisdom teeth out Friday, I was just going to stay at Mom's and skip going to Bible School on Thursday. Alex said I should come back to Dad's and go to VBS on Thursday so he wouldn't be bored. I obliged. He was able to put my mind to ease a bit about getting my wisdom teeth out since he had had it done several months ago.

My appointment was at 9 Friday morning so I stayed at Mom's Thursday night. I couldn't eat 6 hours before the surgery and I knew I wouldn't be able to eat much the next couple of days so I feasted Thursday night. Mom took me to a hot dog shoppe near here where I got a hot dog topped with chili and "loaded fries" as well as a root beer float.

When it came time for my appointment, they took me back into the room and hooked me up to a heart monitor. Then the doctor came in and started me on the IV sedation. Next thing I knew I was awake and Mom was in the room listening to the nurse give her instructions on what we should be doing the next few days and what to expect. So people come out of sedation and are a bit loopy (my brothers and Alex were both like this) but I came out really well and could walk fine on my own.

When we got back home, I changed the gauze in my mouth. Apart from in the car, I hadn't yet sat down because I was feeling alright. I walked into the kitchen where Mom was and pretty soon I started to feel really light headed and dizzy. Spots were appearing in front of my eyes and from past experiences I knew I was going to pass out. I told mom to get over to where I was and grabbed onto the counter. She barely got to me before I collapsed. Luckily she caught me and laid me down on the kitchen floor. She said my eyes were rolled back into my head so she closed them. Just a few seconds later I came to and asked what happened. She told me I passed out and that I should just stay down there for a little bit. I stayed on the floor about five minutes before I was ready to move into my comfy chair in the living room.

I stayed in that chair most of the day watching movies with mom. I changed the gauze every hour and took two rounds of four Advil tablets. The doctor also prescribed an antibiotic that I took twice. The pill got stuck in my throat the first time I tried to take it and I almost choked on it. Additionally the doctor prescribed Oxycodone for severe pain but I haven't had any yet. I also kept an ice pack on each side of my face periodically for 20 minutes to help reduce and swelling.

Alex texted me and asked how I was feeling and Dad checked in on me throughout the day.


Today I haven't had any major problems. No pain at all and little swelling. I'm still using ice packs and also warm salt water every hour. Compared to my brothers, I have done well with it all (except they never passed out). I'm getting quite bored at Mom's so I may go back to Dad's earlier than planned. I was fully expecting to be in bed most of the weekend. I'm still eating mostly jello, pudding, and I had some soup yesterday. I tried eating ravioli today but it was hard to eat without chewing in the back of my mouth even after cutting it up. So I think I'll stick to softer foods the rest of the weekend.

Hopefully things will continue to be better than expected.


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"Sky Battle"
Alexandre Desplat
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Tough Decisions

I had planned to make a post that was rather detailed but I kept putting it off and putting it off until now I'm forcing myself to write after midnight when I'm tired. So this may be briefer than I wanted, in which case I will bring you up to speed on what's happening with me and James. We'll see how long this is after I cover the important subject.


As some of you know, I have changed my mind multiple times about what I want my future career to be. I applied to school with the intent of being a police officer. Then before school started I changed to architect, but after the first day of classes I changed again to architectural drafter (to be fair, the former was a mistake I made when reading the titles of the programs). My problem is twofold: I have so many interests, and I cannot decide which I want to pursue further.

So, here we are. I am thinking about changing my major yet again. This time to Political Science.

Why?

Well, I have been into politics ever since the 2008 presidential election and enjoy it very much. I can certainly do and achieve more with a Political Science degree, especially if I go the entire way to a Ph.D., than I can with an Associates in Applied Science degree in Computer-Aided Drafting (not to mention pay will be considerably greater).

It has always been in my mind that I wanted to teach, following in the footsteps of my parents. With a Ph.D. I can become a professor at a university. Not only that, but there are MANY other career paths for Political Science majors that I may be interested in pursuing.

Should I choose to do this, I will have to change my major to General Studies and finish my final year at community college. Why change the major? So I can focus on the general courses I need to graduate from the university. That way I won't have to attend the university for four years, rather only two or three at the most (it all depends on how much I can get done in my final year at CC). Although Mom has suggested I finish my current major, then transfer and change majors. That way I have something to fall back on should I decide I do not wish to pursue Political Science after all (which wouldn't be surprising). Either way, after my final year at community college, I will transfer to a local university with the focus of graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science


Now, I have not made a final decision yet. Dad agrees I will have more options with a BA degree than with a AAS degree. But he hasn't given much more insight than that. Mom's advice I already stated above. I like to have as much advice as I can get before I make a decision such as this.


I am interested in what you have think, if you please.


Oh, and sorry for bad grammar and such. My eyes are heavy.