whaaa happened?

i'm not one for making New Year's resolutions because i usually think that if there's something to resolve, and it's important enough, why wait for a special date to tell you when to do that? of course, this being said, i told myself that i'd try to complain less. it usually doesn't improve a bad situation and most often just annoys people who have to listen to my complaining.

now, this being said, i'm going to complain. i think this one is legit, though.

i returned to work yesterday after a lengthy break spent in Monterey. yes, we were sick most of the time, but at least we were sick together. that sounds incredibly cheesy, but i've come to really appreciate any time i can spend with them. anyhow, i got back into the swing of things at work and then ran down to the bookstore to pick up the new lab lappy (!). i wasn't going to take my cell phone with me - i never need it during the day, but i figured it couldn't hurt in case my mom had to relay some news about how my dad was doing. it started to rain when i was in the bookstore, so i hopped to the shuttle stop so lappy wouldn't get wet on my way back to lab. while waiting for the shuttle, lo and behold, my phone rang! it was a good family friend and as soon as i answered she handed her phone to my mom. oh, great, mom's at the waiting room of the ER in monterey. apparently she had "pre-stroke" symptoms and saw her doctor, who sent her up to ER right away. my mom said she was fine, especially with our friend by her side, but wanted me to come home to make sure my dad was taking care of his cold and staying in bed.

enough said. i was home in about 90 minutes to check on my dad, then up to the hospital to see my mom. she was in an ER bed (waiting for a regular bed) for about 5 hours total. Bob Loblaw, i got her some food (since the hospital was not competent enough to do so) and then was back home by 8:30. she called about an hour later to tell us that she was in a room, and that tests would be done the next morning (today).

took my dad to his appointment, and good news #1 came - lungs sound good! the doctor ordered a chest xray just in case, and that came back looking great. his illness is most likely viral in nature, but he'll go back next week because the doctor wants to follow up.

went to the hospital, waited with my mom after she had all of her tests done. we just had to wait for the doctor to tell us the results. she felt good, looked tired but reasonably good, given the circumstances. went back home around 4:00 at her insistence (to check on dad, run errands, etc) and then headed back to the hospital at 6. her doctor came around 7 with good news #2 - no evidence of a stroke. all of the tests came back mostly negative. some teeny tiny blood vessels in her brain that looked "clogged", but nothing to worry about too much. they'll monitor her bp much more closely now, but the best news was that i had her home by 8:00 and my parents were able to see each other.

phew.

i'm back in santa cruz now, ready to get some things done.

1) sleep
2) stop worrying
3) repeat 1-2 many times
4) play with lappy
5) oh yeah, go to work tomorrow. and play with lappy there.