Monkey Madness

Hi, all - Mike and I have been in Tampa and Atlanta, only returning yesterday. I will post some photos and some stories in the next day or so, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a great skit from "The State" that Mike and I often quote. We quote it even more since I received this awesome peeler for Christmas.

Enjoy :-)

A Night at the Nasher

Last night was Duke's Arts & Sciences Holiday Party at the Nasher Museum. Lauren graciously invited me as her date. Here's the photo proof of our lovely evening. Enjoy! DISCLAIMER: NO ART WAS HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THESE PHOTOS

Some holiday pictures

Here are a few pics from 2007 holiday parties - Lauren and I are off to yet another one this evening at the Nasher Museum, so I am sure there will be more pics to come!!!

A trip to the Doctor

At my last dentist visit, my doctor spied something strange on my panoramic X-Ray. He said my right sinus looked like it had a polyp. He recommended I travel to an Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor and have it checked out. I didn't like the sound of having a polyp in my face, so I made an appointment to get it checked out. Last Friday, I had my meet-up with the Dr at Duke. Wow, that was an experience.

I have never been to an ENT doctor, so you can say I was slightly surprised when the first act of procedure was to shoot a numbing agent up my nose. Why on earth did they need to numb my nose? What were they going to do to me?

After letting the numbing take effect, Dr. Jackass came in the room with his Indian resident. Dr. Jackass mispronounced Indian doctor's name at least twice - was correct at least twice by Indian doctor - and barely acknowledged that he had addressed her completely incorrect. Anyway, this guy must have missed bedside manner day in med school. He proceeded to say my dentist was an idiot and that there was no polyp on my sinus. He then jammed a camera up my right nostril and down my throat (I nearly fainted at this point - really. I was seeing little colors, getting all sweaty and very very woozy. Thanks to relaxation and some self-hypnotism techniques I learned a few years ago, I kept conscious.) Then he said the three words anyone loves to hear at the doctor. "That looks bad. " A few sentences later he popped out with the one word that can beat out the first three - cancer.

WHAT? This is the second time I have had this happen at Duke. Something strange happens to me, and the doctor starts to prepare me for cancer. Is that REALLY necessary??? Anyway, folks, if you are worried, I am guessing I do NOT have cancer. My left tonsil is abnormally large, and I have had recurring problems since I was a kid with my tonsils. Well, evidently my left one decided to get big at some point and stay that way. Dr. Jackass doesn't like the way it looks, and he thinks I need to have my tonsils pulled out of my throat.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about adult tonsillectomy:
Tonsillectomy in adults is more painful than in children, although each patient will have a different experience. In adults it can be extremely painful often referred to as more painful than child birth. Post-operative recovery can take from 10 up to 20 days, during which narcotic analgesics are typically prescribed.

Worse than childbirth???? Oh goodness. And 10-20 days recovery means at least one week off work, and possibly two. Normally this would be great, except I am at a new job where I had to sweet talk to get the week of Christmas off. I DO NOT want to have this surgery.

So, I'm going to get a second opinion. I'm going to make an appointment with a non - Dr. Jackass, and I will see what he or she has to say. If they say I should do it, I just may have to go through with the procedure. I'll keep you updated on that.

In the meantime though, I got a cool little toy at the doctor - a nose flushing kit!!! You know that in many parts of Asia, flushing your nose is as routine as brushing your teeth? I also learned at the doctor that I have very tiny nasal passages were also hindered by a rather deviated septum. He said that by practicing nasal irrigation, it will help me feel better. So, I'm working on making it part of my routine. Sounds weird, but so far it's helping. Aren't you glad you know that about me????

Now I just have to write it...

I learned today that my new project proposal has been approved. I successfully registered for my final semester of graduate school - WOO HOO! I'm not posting the new proposal for a bit, as I do not want to jinx this success. If you guys want to read it, I will post it - but I don't want to bore my readership to death :-)

How to be Happy - a Step by Step Guide

Well, not exactly - but today at work, we had our annual health and wellness fair. Besides all the cool freebies (bags, snacks, first aid supplies, etc), there was a booth for our mental health provider. They had a flier on the table entitled: Tips on Keys to Happiness. I thought the 8 tips were pretty nice questions to ask yourself. We're nearing the end of the year - are you happy? Do you want to be happier in 2008? These may be some good things to keep in mind (my comments are in parenthesis and are completely unofficial guides to happiness courtesy of ME):

"Happiness is the result of our living according to a set of values, being content with ourselves and our place in life, and having the ability to overcome significant life problems. The following are some of the habits of 'truly successful' people.

Those who have learned how to make themselves happy:

1. View life as a challenge and change as an opportunity.
2. Have a deep sense of commitment to what is important to them.
3. Feel empowered to the extent that they can at least influence every situation.
4. Deal with problems directly and creatively.
5. Nurture supportive relationships and surround themselves with positive people.
6. Maintain a sense of balance by taking time for all areas of life.
7. Live a higher sense of purpose by standing for something important to them."

It's an interesting way to assess what's going on for you, isn't it? Are you committed to something in life? A cause? Your family? Do you have good coping skills? Do you feel empowered? Something to think about folks.....it's your life, so go live it. Don't let it just happen to you - be a force to be reckoned with.

Coolest movie poster in a long long time???

The thanks on this one goes 100% to Becky - thank you for sending it to me!!!

Here I go again.....

... so I found out my proposal wasn't totally "approved" by the program for my final project. It was, but it wasn't. I have to submit a new statement of purpose, but my adviser and I agreed that rewriting the proposal was the way to go - I want to have a strong document in place when I start writing.

Therefore, I am going to dedicate my writing energies to that rather than to the blog. Will be back soon....

A different type of quiz

Thanks for this, Darrah!

I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments.. what is it?

1. Produce: tomato
2. Bakery: cheese danish
3. Meat: I'll just pocket the money ;-)
4. Frozen: red baron 4-cheese pizza
5. Dry goods: jasmine rice


Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what's in your bag?

(I assume I'm already wearing some clothes?)
1. black dress
2. white button down shirt
3. nice jeans


If I was to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?

1. No problem
2. sweet
3. awesome
4. cool
5. no way

So, what 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you probably wouldn't be in the best mood?

1. Eat a good lunch
2. Get at least 6 hours sleep
3. See Mike

You're driving down the road, and suddenly you're hit with this sense of road rage. What 3 factors probably contributed to it?

1. someone riding my bumper
2. someone with their turn signal on and no turn offs anywhere in sight
3. someone going more than 5 miles below the speed limit


Sweet, you just scored a whole afternoon to yourself. We're talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?

1. napping
2. shopping at the mall
3. cleaning house
4. getting the stuff to make an awesome meal
5. watching a sappy girl movie


We're going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it'll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?

1. Elephants

2. bats

3. the largest fish exhibit the zoo has


You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what are you deciding between?

1. I Love New York (hell yeah!)
2. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (he has to take me with him)
3. Good Eats (great choice, Darrah!)
4. 30 Rock (I wanna be Tina Fey!!!)

You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?

1. Vanilla
2. Chocolate
3. Strawberry

(They put them all in one package for a reason....)


Somebody stole your purse/wallet…in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?

1. A collection of theater ticket stubs in a Chicago ticketmaster envelope stuff behind my checkbook
2. a list of Mike's shoe and clothing sizes
3. my Burt's Bees chapstick
4. my green iPod mini
5. crushed up coupons for paper towels


You are at a job fair, and asked what areas you are interested in pursuing a career in. Let's pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 careers would be fun for you?

1. animal care
2. economist (I could help fix the world :p )
3. mathematician ( you would know lots of cool stuff)
4. trivia quiz writer


If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high school, and inform yourself of 4 things, what would you say?

1. Get in a routine of working out.
2. You won't always be able to eat like this - control your portion sizes!
3. Keep your pants on - sure, it's fun, but it comes with a lot of baggage.
4. Even if you fail, you really will learn from it and probably be thankful for the experience later.

Professor Warren Lerner 1929-2007

UPDATE: Obituary is posted here - http://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/fh/print.cfm?type=obituary&o_id=168174&fh_id=10877&s_id=8304E690667C8835085A916FA5260BF4

I just received word that one of my Professors in the MALS Program, Dr. Warren Lerner, passed away yesterday. Going to his class was always like going to "storytime." Professor Lerner would give a 2 hour lecture with no notes on the history of communism and tell it with such fervor that you would think he was actually there. The loss of Professor Lerner is saddening to the students of Duke University and the wider academic community. Peace to his family and friends. I received some info about his passing, and some excerpts are here.

"Warren was a pillar of the history and Slavic studies communities at Duke
and in the Triangle since he was first appointed at Duke in 1961. During
his four-and-a-half decades at Duke, Warren served as chair of the Duke
History Department and as a member of the Policy Committee of the Center for
Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies from its inception. In addition
to Warren's extraordinary contributions to the Department of History and
CSEEES, his years of teaching for the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies and
Focus programs and for the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies forever
changed the shape of those units, their faculties, and students.

An author of many notable books and articles on 20th century Soviet history,
Warren Lerner was a leading scholar and teacher who supervised dozens of
doctoral students, many of whom now teach at universities throughout North
America. To the thousands of undergraduate and graduate students he taught
during his long tenure at Duke, Warren was a gifted, generous, engaging
teacher.

For those of us who had the privilege to work with Warren Lerner, he is
simply irreplaceable. Warren was a generous and kind friend and colleague
to so many of us; his impact on our lives will never be forgotten. In the
dictionary, next to the word "mensch" you'll see a picture of Warren Lerner.
He will be sorely missed.

We invite anyone who would like to share their thoughts and remembrances of
Warren with us to send an email to mnewcity@duke.edu. We will post them on
our web site. "


From: Edna Andrews and Michael Newcity
Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies
Duke University