The Most Dangerous Game

Well, you will be happy to know that I have been successful in my giraffe hunt. It was quite an exciting adventure that resulted in a bidding war down to the very last seconds. Apparently, I so blindsided the loser of the battle that he felt the need to email me and question the worth of this item to me.

Apparently 7985eric doesn't read my blog.

Wolf!

Well, on this lovely autumn Sunday morning, LA-B and I enjoyed a breakfast of proverbial left over egg on our faces.

Let me explain starting with a bit of back story. I have high blood pressure. I've had it for years. YEARS. I was first diagnosed when I was 24 years old and in about the best shape I've ever been in. Not that I am either a giant porker or an emaciated anorexic, but it doesn't seem as it would matter either way. I have high blood pressure and no matter how much exercise or diet changes or meditation I do, it's still high.

When you are "in the family way" having high blood pressure means you are considered a "high risk." This gets you a special doctor and more ultrasounds than you ever could have imagined. Most of my "normal" pregnant friends had 3, maybe 4 ultrasounds over the course of 9 months. I had 3 ultrasounds over the course of the last week and a half. Really, I go to my high risk doc twice a week now and get an ultrasound each time.

In addition to bi-weekly video conferences with Pumpkin, I am also asked to track my blood pressure at least 3 times a day. I am happy to say that it's been really good throughout the entire gestation so far. But Saturday, things were different.

LA-B took the first reading around 10am when I first got out of bed. (Yes, I actually managed to sleep in!) It was higher than usual, but readings can change in moments, so we tried the other arm. Again high. We waited a few hours and tried again. High. This went on all day; a day in which I felt GREAT. Really. My back wasn't throbbing. I was well rested. It was a great day all around except for the high readings.

Around 5:00pm LA-B and I settled into the living room to watch game 3 of the Dodgers - vs- Mets playoff series. He took my BP and...high. We took it every 15 minutes for the next hour and it was higher each time. When it finally reached 152/104, LA-B called my doctor's service.

Within a few minutes, the good doc called back and asked us a bunch of questions. After hearing my answers, she said "you should go to the hospital. We should just go ahead and induce."

UM....ok.

The whirlwind of chaos spiraled throughout the house. This twister included calls and emails to EVERYONE letting them know that IT IS ON! About 2 hours after the doc told us to go, we finally got in the car and headed in to the hospital.

I was admitted to the women's pavilion and taken to a large room with 4 beds separated by curtains. The lovely nurse gave me a backless gown, asked me to change and then had me lay on the bed so she could get me all hooked up to the monitors. Immediately we could here Pumpkin's heart beat and new she was fine. Within a few seconds, we saw the readout on the fancy, bazillion dollar hospital issue blood pressure machine. Normal. Totally, completely, NORMAL.

Feeling kind of silly we spent the next 2 hours getting a NORMAL BP reading every 10 minutes until the nurse finally said "you are so out of here." And that was that.

I know I should feel relieved that everything is fine. I should be happy that my body wasn't hurting Pumpkin. But really, I just feel silly.

Oh well, false alarm messages went out and we go back to waiting. Tic Toc Tic Toc Tic Toc.

I guess you can't rush The Great Pumpkin.

Giraffe Hunting

I'm on a hunt of sorts, folks. A giraffe hunt.

When I was a wee one, my favorite toy was this Playskool wooden giraffe scooter. I guess it's a scooter. It doesn't have pedals, and it's not so much a wagon, but you do ride on it. So, I'll call it a scooter.

Anywhooooooo, I'm looking for one. Yes, I've been keeping an eye on ebay. But if anyone happens to see one at a yard sale, thrift store or laying around unloved in their attic, I would be happy to make it worth your while to send it to me so I can recreate my childhood for Pumpkin. That's healthy right?

Thanks.

UPDATE:
I'm bidding on one right now on Ebay which, oddly enough, was purchased at an estate sale in Knoxville! Keep your fingers crossed for me to "win."

(formerchild)STAR Sighting in Silverlake

I spent a lovely afternoon with the fabulous Rhachel yesterday which ended with us strolling around Silverlake poking our heads into all the fun and quirky shops full of tchotchkies. (wow, I spelled that right on the first try!)

Along the way we stopped in to Pull My Daisy to pet the shop mascot Bingo, and say hi to Rhachel's friend, and owner of the shop, Sara. We stepped outside so Sara could choke a smoke and share with us her list of questions she's been using to interview potential wedding dates for an upcoming friends' nuptials. As we chatted about the absurdity of a cash bar at the wedding Bingo ran up the sidewalk to say hi to a little girl who was walking with her mom. The pair stopped in front of the store to give Bingo some love and the mom exchanged pleasantries with Sara. I, sat with goofy grin on my face. Why? Because the mom was formerchildstar Quinn Cummings!

I live in LA. Seeing stars here is like seeing deer cross the road in rural parts of the northeast. It's no big deal. Or at least we like to pretend that it is. But, when I see someone who was a star back in the day when I lived no where near LA, I always get a little thrill. In this case, I know Rhachel was oblivious and I suspect Sara was as well. Not that I am a granny by any means, but I was really little when Quinn was in the limelight and Rhachel is about 8 years younger than me. So, she had no exposure to the little girl who was nominated for a Golden Globe and an academy Award for her performance as Marsha Mason's straight talking daughter in "The Goodbye Girl."

And she surely never waited with baited breath to watch the next episode of "Family" (not so much to be entertained by Quinn Cummings as Annie Cooper, the Lawrence's adopted daughter, but to see if Buddy played by Kristy McNichol would actually give it up and have sex with (gasp) Zack played by (sigh) Leif Garret.)

Anyway, there she was, Quinn Cummings, strolling along with her little daughter, petting Bingo and making my day.

Fly the friendly fire skies

This just struck me as funny.

I have a "frequent flyer" account with United Airlines. I know, I know, they are the WORST. But back when I used to work at Disney they had a deal and so all of my work travel was on United and I racked up a nice chunk. Anyway, I just received my monthly mileage update email. They tell me how many miles I have and then list a bunch of offers to increase my total.

This month included the following "enticing" destination.

Earn up to 10,000 bonus miles between the U.S. and Kuwait --
Fly one of our three weekly nonstops from Washington Dulles
to Kuwait City and earn up to 10,000 bonus miles.

So, if I fly into a war zone I can earn enough miles to get 1/4 of a free ticket? OOOOO sign me up!

300 million Pumpkin Fans Can't Be Wrong

It's amazing what you learn from just poking around looking for old friends!

I just came across the blog of a WONDERFUL old friend who is working toward a master's degree at University of Michigan's School of Information. According to The Info Maven, the 300 millionth American should be born this month. In fact, it's predicted that this golden child will be born on October 17th in Los Angeles.

You know what that means? There is a very good chance that the Great pumpkin could be that kid.

Check out Rebecca's post for the down and dirty deets and keep your fingers crossed for Pumpkin. I mean, surely being the 300 Millionth American has to have some perks.

Giant Sunglasses in The Rearview Mirror

I had a friend in highschool who wore big, giant sunglasses. That doesn't seem the slightest bit odd now. Those big "Jackie O" shades are all the rage now and everybody's wearing them. But back in the mid 80's it wasn't exactly popular. But she wore them. Or, at least in my memory she did. I think I have a picture of her wearing these big glasses while sitting at a folding card table with our friend Benji at a bake sale or car wash. So, that image sticks in my mind.

Now, this girl and I had a HUGE falling out. I have no real recollection as to the circumstances behind this falling out. But the impact is still there. She goes down in history as my one "enemy." We've all had friends come and go. We've all had fights with friends. But usually, you kiss and make up or move on and let bygones be bygones. With this chic, there was no doing either. I actually tried to apologize a year or so out of high school and my "sorry" was met with a beer bottle thrown against a brick wall and a dramatic monologue of "where were you when no one would sit with me at lunch?!?"

So, that was 20 years ago and we have moved way on and lost touch. She became an actress - an actual working actress who did soaps and some TV movies of the week. I became a TV producer. I recently learned that she lives in LA and actually teaches acting classes at a theatre that's across the street from a production company that I worked at for several years. How our paths never crossed at the Starbucks, I will never know.

But ever since I learned she was out here, I have had paranoid sightings of her in my rearview mirror. Just about every time I get in my car, I see a woman in my rearview mirror wearing giant dark sunglasses and I am convinced it is her. It's very strange. They obviously can't all be her - some are small Asian women, many are Hispanic, most are just random nondescript chics in big dark glasses. But I always wonder if it's her. And I always wonder what I would do if it really WAS her.

Would I slam on the breaks to get her attention? Would I speed up to get far far away from her? Or would I just keep driving and pretend it wasn't her at all?

until today, my answer would most likely be the third. But today, I got an email from another old friend - one whom I am happy to say I never fell out with. She had been googling long lost folks and came across some news that the girl in the big dark glasses was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Reading that news was like jumping into a blender. My emotions just spun and chopped and mixed all up. I have harbored hate for this girl for 20 years. But here she is living somewhere nearby me and she is going through this crappy thing and suddenly all that hate just went away and I just wanted to get in my car and start looking more closely at the girls in the rear view mirror.

I know there is nothing I can do for her. I think tracking her down and offering my condolences would do more harm than good. But maybe, just maybe letting go of that hate will send a little ripple into the atmosphere that might just do some good somehow.

Anyway, please think good thoughts for Amy when you read this. She's nothing if not a fighter but even The Champ can always use a little help now and then.