Change of Major...Maybe

I know, it's the eleventh hour of my undergrad degree, but I'm contemplating changing my major. Not because I'm not interested in sociology and government anymore... I definitely am! It's just that I am not so sure about the perception perpetuated by my current degree plan. Right now, I'm working on my Bachelor's of General Studies (B.G.S.) degree with concentrations in sociology and government. However, some colleges don't recognize such degrees (which is important if you are planning - as I am - to go back to school for a Master's); some non-accredited colleges offer similar degrees; and some people misinterpret what exactly that IS. I'm facing the possibility of my degree not being taken as seriously as a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or a Bachelor's of Science (B.S.) would be. So, I e-mailed the sociology department chair on Monday to ask to see what I could do to fulfill the requirements of a B.S. in Sociology (if you know me, you KNOW how appropriate it would be for me to get a B.S. degree.... LOL!). I'm thinking with hard work (and a few granted variances on what sociology classes are required for the major), I should be able to have it wrapped up by Spring or Summer of 2009. If that's the case, I'll be switching my degree plan to go for it. I'll get a B.S. in Sociology with a minor in Government instead. Seeing as how I'm not sure exactly how long it will be before I go back for my Master's and then my Ph.D., I think in the mean time (if so compelled) I would be more able to secure a sociology-related position with a B.S. than with just a B.G.S.

So, what do you guys think? Am I prolonging things too much, or am I on the right track here? Comments and your thoughts on this would be much appreciated!

Jamie is much better now...

...but Rachel has the bug, and I think I'm starting to come down with it. However, true to my word, tonight I am taking Jamie to Build-a-Bear workshop and to see the IMAX version of "Spiderwick". We are celebrating the fact that he has had no fever for the last 36 hours, and only has congestion and a deep cough left from his scary (to me) bout of sickness. We are also celebrating the fact that I have the day off work tomorrow for Good Friday. Rachel, however, has the full-blown bug, so if you all could send some prayers her way, it would be appreciated.

Love you all, and Happy Easter!

Dang! Poor Kid!

Jamie's spring break got off to a bang of a bad sort this year. Friday, he was fine and dandy - went to soccer practice, played with his friend Josh until 9 p.m., and was generally having a grand time. Saturday morning, Jamie woke up with a fever of 102.1. Despite alternating between Tylenol and Ibuprofen, his fever continued all day, spiking up to 105.9 at 11:00 p.m. Saturday night. Poor kid was burning up with fever so bad he was shaking and couldn't stop. I called the NurseWise hotline, and was told to immediately take Jamie to the ER, "Do not pass go, Do not collect $200" as the nurse said.

So we get to the ER, fill out the paperwork, then wait for a nurse to call us to triage. After an hour waiting just to see a nurse, they finally called us back to have his temperature taken and blood pressure checked. His pulse was extremely fast and thready, his blood pressure was too high for a 10 year old and the poor kid was having trouble breathing. His fever, however, had gone down slightly to 104.7. The nurse gave him a triple dose of Tylenol to help bring his fever down faster, then told us to wait for a doctor to see us. Another two hours goes by before we're called to see a doctor. By this time, Jamie's temperature has gone down to only 103.4. They immediately took Jamie off for x-rays, then brought him back and hooked him up to an IV and took a bunch of blood for tests. At this point, his fever had dropped to 102.

After another hour and a half (and three popsicles kindly provided by an awesome ER nurse), they came back and said it was a cold. Excuse me? Since when do colds cause fevers hot enough to boil your brain cells? Apparently, now they do. There's even strains of colds that can kill you. Ugh! The particular strain of cold Jamie has can also morph into pneumonia, which, as Jamie's doctor informed me yesterday, it has. So, poor kid is home sick with pneumonia on his spring break.

I spent Monday and Tuesday of this week home with him, but came back to work today. I got Jamie's fever to come down and stay down under 100, so I felt confident coming to work and leaving him home alone. After all, I don't leave for work until 8:27 in the morning, I'm home for 45 minutes at noon, then Rachel gets home at 3:00 from school. Also, I'm only 2 blocks (and three minutes) from the house. Still, I feel really bad for him. He was supposed to have soccer camp this week (didn't happen), and now he has a really nasty cough, stuffed up nose, body aches, sore throat and a headache. If his fever stays broken for 24 hours, I think a trip to Build-a-Bear will be in order for the poor little booger.

Oh, and that nasty cold? Jamie gave it to Rachel. I just hope hers doesn't turn into pneumonia, too. So far (knock on wood), I have yet to be felled by this nasty bug. Let's hope it stays that way!

Quit Whining!

Okay, so to help myself get out of this foggy mental state in which I have been trapped, I decided to quit whining and give myself a list of things for which I am thankful. After all, I've been telling Jamie to "Quit whining!" a lot here lately; seems like I should take my own edicts to heart.

So - without further ado, my list of things for which I am grateful/thankful:

• I have a wonderful son. Yes, he occassionally annoys the piss out of me, but for the most part, I have a darn good kid! He cracks me up and swells my heart with love and pride a million times each day.
• In our currently-crapola economy, I have stable employment that, unless I screw up BIG TIME, will continue to provide me with a decent salary while many many many other people in this country don't have a job.
• I have a roof over my head, and food to cook and put on the table for my household. See above for why, in the current state of our country's finances, this is a big thing to be thankful for. (Did I mention the economy is full of suck-age right now?)
• I have a car to transport me all the places I need to go without fear that something will break in it at any given moment.
• I have a fluffy, silly dog who is perfectly content just by being next to me (or preferably - to him - on my lap!)
• Despite my mental fatigue, I am kicking a$$ in school. As of right now, my averages in Texas Government AND Constitutional Law are 100s! In Criminological Theory I have a more modest 94. Yay, me! LOL
• This is the most important one of all - I am loved. Jesus loves me, and my family loves me, some biological, some of the heart. But regardless, I am very very VERY thankful that I am loved and can love in return.

Okay, so, I've wrapped up my list of things for which I am thankful. I'm sure I'll think of more things later, but these are the biggies. Happy weekend to you all!

Physical, Emotional and Mental Fatigue

So, I haven't posted anything significant in quite a while. We're kind of going through a rough patch right now. For several weeks now, I've been in this physical, mental and emotional funk - I'm so tired it's all I can do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. But I'm not just physically tired; everything about me is tired. My brain is sluggish, my soul even feels sluggish. It's like my entire being is enveloped in a fog. I can't concentrate at work, can't concentrate on school work and deadlines - all I want to do is sleep. But, when I try to sleep, my brain is spinning so fast about so many different things that I can't sleep either. It's become a really vicious cycle. And, of course, the more tired I am, the more distractable I am, which means the less work I get done when I need to do it. Like I said, vicious cycle.

I have put a big priority, though, on concentrating on Jamie and making sure that he knows that he's Mommy's number 1 priority. I don't want him to feel like Momma isn't paying attention to him. I don't ever want him to feel like he isn't important to me. I don't want him to feel like Mom was there physically, but not mentally, for him. I remember what that feels like, and it's no fun. Another reason why I'm trying to show him how important he is, is that he's having trouble at school again. He's gone back to emotional outbursts at school, and saying things that quite frankly freak me out. And sometimes, I have to wonder, how do you tell the difference between "make-believe" play, or something else? Then I feel guilty for wondering what I'm wondering, which makes me even more emotionally, physically and mentally tired... Get my drift?

Anyway, I don't mean to dump a bunch of stuff on you guys (my loyal readers), but I just needed to get some thoughts out of my head and down on paper. I guess I feel a little like my blog is my own personal pensieve. If the thoughts are down on "paper" (of a sort), I guess my head feels a little less crowded.

Happy Tuesday to you all.

R.I.P.

Today is a sad, sad day. Rest in Peace, Mr. Gygax. And thank you for providing us with countless hours of entertainment over the years.