Month: April 2015

Dr. appt.

I took Edda to her 11 year old check-up appointment.  We’ve been going to the same practice since we’ve moved to the DC area.  I was recommended this practice by another Rett mom and it’s close to the house, but we never see the doctor who was recommended.  The primary pediatrician seems to have a rotating staff of doctors who stay about a year, so we see a new doctor every year.  Why do I go to a practice where I see a new doctor every year?  Because I can get an appointment on the same day, I never wait and I just want the vaccinations, flu shots and strep tests and ear infection checks. Anything more serious, I know to take them to a specialist.  We regularly go a full year between visits (thank goodness, knock on wood).  

And now, because Edda is so healthy and I’m not worried about her health, it’s a way for us to teach someone about Rett Syndrome.  I know now how important it is to really have a chance to do a hands-on physical assessment on unusual cases and it’s nice Edda gets to teach a new doctor who has never had a chance to do a full assessment on a Rett girl.  We sat for about an hour talking about pediatric development, platelet, PT, PTT, INR values, seizures.  She taught me a few things about puberty in girls (I haven’t taken peds yet, soon!).  When she did her assessment, I told her to measure the head circumference because that’s the interesting physical assessment on Edda.  We talked about our philosophical approach to testing.  She was pressing me to take Edda to a number of specialists, I was arguing against it.  Even though I am training to be in the medical field, I like to do fewer tests. Especially if the test result will result in no new course of action.

Edda got a tetenus shot for her troubles.

******

Then we took her to school, where she smiled a huge smile and went to hug Ms. Maureen…

Fish sticks.

Jeremy is out of town.  Again.  I know, I kind of promised him that I wouldn’t make such a big deal about him traveling, but I’m going to make a big deal on this particular trip because he is WITHIN COMMUTING DISTANCE OF THE HOUSE.  He’s in Virginia on a work retreat.  I think they are toasting marshmallows by a campfire and singing Pete Seeger songs together.  Whaaaa?

Because he’s gone, we are reduced to fish sticks.  Which is fine, everyone delights in fish sticks.  Especially when you make the special sauce that is 1:1 ketchup to mayo.

Napping.

On the last day of Spring Break, Edda and I spent the afternoon napping together.  When Edda sleeps, all the tension in her body relaxes and she doesn’t have the awake-rigidness that makes it hard for her to bend or turn.  When she sleeps, she can curl her body around mine.  When she sleeps, I can curl my body around her.  She is going to middle school next year.  I don’t want her to grow up.

Stuck in Japan.

Lol. Flight got cancelled so looks like we are spending one more evening in Japan. Here’s a photo of a 747-full of irate people ready to yell at some very poor, poor customer service reps who – no doubt – had to roused from their homes to come to the (now closed) airport. 

Since there’s nothing for me to do, I’m writing this blog post. 🙂 But, the woman sitting across from me is in a major bitch-fest mood right now. The kid to the left of me is watching a minecraft video on his iPad. I am reminded of Vince. 
Tokyo has mostly been a food/shopping trip. We’ve had some very fun, crazy and expensive meals here. We’ve had three sushi meals – Sushi Dai, Harutaka and Masa.  

Sushi Dai was the best value and a fun atmosphere, but it had the downside of being in the tsukiji fish market and required a 2.25 hour wait for a $40 meal.  I believe I found my new favorite cut of sushi – semi fatty tuna. OMG. 
Harutaka was your traditional, stuffy sushi bar. Very old school. Lawrence felt like he was being judged. 
The last one was Masa, which Lawrence’s cousin, Richard, loves to go to. He’s a fun inventive guy and  we blew thru no less than 25 rounds of omakase. Also, he’s very accommodating to foreigners and allows photos to be taken (some places do not). Also, he’s served us some stuff that I have never tried before – things like the connecting tissue between the shell and meaty part of very large large scallops. This was a dish. 
Here is a photo of his prepping o-toro, the fattiest slice of tuna. He cuts it very thinly and serves three slices layered with wasabi. This is because having one continuos piece of o-toro, is too much fat for the palette, so hence, the layering. 

Clear Piles of Mulch & Fence Out Deer

Finally, the piles of mulch on our driveway were gone.  The mulch was there for almost a whole year.  Our next door neighbor was gracefully enough not to complaint.  It came from the trees of our rental property nearby.  While moving it, even our visiting couple friends helped.

I have also finished erecting circular wire fences for Mom’s young trees individually.  Mom has about ~12 of them. Without fencing, the deer will get them first.

Too bid, I have already shipped my iPAD to U Street two weeks ago.  Or, otherwise, we can have some pictures to show.

Cherry blossoms.

I took the whole day off and spent time downtown looking at the cherry blossoms around the tidal basin.

Edda had a fantastic time.

It was cloudy and just a bit chiller than we would have liked, but it meant that the crowds were manageable and the photos were fantastic.

The cherry blossoms are really beautiful.  We walked and looked at the monuments too.

We ended up in Georgetown afterwards.  We were debating at the beginning of the day if Edda would make it the whole day and she did!  Walked probably a mile and smiled most of the time.  And because of her, we were able to park easily and quickly in the heart of all the action.

Wed.

Vince, Julia and Katherine went downtown today to the Smithsonian.  I stayed home and finished our taxes!  Here’s Edda helping me figure out what deductions I can take for child care.  Hmmm.  There is a bit of chocolate on my lip from an Easter egg, I should have probably given some to Edda.

Moving On

Tomorrow is my last day with Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at Oak Ridge, TN.  It is about time to move on after 14 months tenure. Particularly, I look forward to traveling with Rena to China, Alaska and Huntington Beach, CA to see our immediate family members vacationing there.  Also, look forward to finishing our addition at U Street and basement master bedroom at Sheets Farms.

Looking back to our (myself and Rena) ~12 years as a consulting pair working on the same project, doing exactly the same things, checking each other’s work, it has been a worth-while experience. Better pay with more pocket money, less responsibility, more freedom without long term commitments and above all, live and work together and, in the mean time, visit many places and locales.

I probably will look for another short time job during the Summer time and this probably will be my last one 🙂