Journal Entries
personal savior
Posted Sep 21, 2005
our housekeeper had to visit her family, so the mother of the student who lives with us came from another city, with a car full of fresh fruit, vegetables and pre-made meals. she is sleeping in the downstairs guestroom, so now i have 2 nights of good sleep and sleeping in in the morning behind me, am working on finishing the translation project, even made a trip today to get references for the translators forword.
and she really made it in time. dad has been coughing since yesterday after noon, and running a high fever today. she's been handling 3 different meal requirements, washing dishes, bathing my mom, washing her clothes - and complaining that she hasn't enough to do.
*sniff* i'm feeling so relieved that i just want to break down and cry *sniff*
and i'm getting hugs every hour on the hour 
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Latest reply: Sep 21, 2005
weird
Posted Sep 3, 2005
mom is going to the hospital tomorrow for the pre-op blood check etc. she will have her hip-joint-replacement operation on monday. i'm going to stay with her during the day for a week, i insisted on doing so because this is the only way i will be able to get any work done.
if i stay at home, it will be expected that i supervise the worker repairing the roof, do all the shopping, answer the phone, be company for my dad so he won't feel alone, and answer to questions like "why aren't you with your mother, you unfeeling child?" (from the extended family and friends) and "why can't you organize the household as *I* like it?" (from my dear brother). *sigh* welcome to my life
but i'm taking my laptop with me to the hospital, and i should be able to work 4-6 hours a day on different projects - which is a 5.5 hours average more than i have been able to do these past 4 month.
i really need a vacation from real life to get on with my work 
weird
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Latest reply: Sep 3, 2005
*headdesk*
Posted Jul 28, 2005
about a week ago, i called the electrician to remove the extra phone line from my flat to downstairs "because i'm moving upstairs now"...
two hours later i tried to get online - "no phone signal" 
it took two days to get my study ready, then i waited another 2 days for the student living with us to have some time to carry the pc upstairs and put it together, ended up doing it myself and let him just check out if the cables are correct, then i couldn't get online, changed the cable, waited another day for the electrician to come and fix the phone line in the study.
of course, during this week all phone numbers in tehran have changed to 8 digits, except the digital internet lines, which took me most of another day to find out because nobody had mentioned it to me
on the bright side, the flat is finished. FINALLY.
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Latest reply: Jul 28, 2005
Mom's vacation
Posted Jul 18, 2005
Dad is fine. He is still rather weak, but healthwise he is better than he was 3 months ago. on the other hand, mom has worn herself down so much that she can only walk on two crutches. she needs rest so badly that dad wanted to send her to the hospital for a week. but she wouldn't get any rest there either, so we reached a compromise. she is going to visit our gp and get non-dangerous relaxers and sleeping pills. then she is going to sleep for at least a week, with hot bathes, massages with anit-inflamatory gels and snacks on the balcony or room service when she is awake. which, if it is only the three of us and the housekeeper, should be ok, because dad is going to take care of himself and answer the telephone, and i'll have "spoil mommy" duty.
but...
somebody has to break to bro that starting saturday he has to
a) have breakfast in his own flat, without early morning news programs, because even *knowing* that he is coming downstairs will wake mom up and stress her out
b) make his own dinner or at least tell the housekeeper what he wants in advance instead of sitting around and waiting to be served
c)forget about monopolizing the tv/satelite receiver in mom's bedroom in the evenings just because dad is watching something bro doesn't like. *sigh* my tv and receiver should be set up again by then, but mom says that bro has enough money in the bank and should shut up already and buy his own tv and receiver.
d) do his own laundry, including hanging them to dry and iron them. and preferably do them with my washing machine which is not next to mom's bedromm
e) take his guests upstairs straight away and not expect us to service them
f) stuff his whining, complaining and sulking where the sun doesn't shine
i slept in the tv-room last night because the guest room was too hot and stuffy, and he complained loud enough to wake me up, just because he couldn't get at the samowar. mom told him to shut up, this is her house, and she says where people can or cannot sleep.
on the bright side, mom is already cheered up by the prospect of her "vacation", and is ploanning on scented candles, oils and bathes with salts, and fresh night gowns and a nice robe for sitting in the balcony.
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Latest reply: Jul 18, 2005
and the winnah is...
Posted Jun 25, 2005
*warning: the following journal entry is about the bodily functions of a bedridden patient. Might be offensive to some*
I wanted to give updates on how the renovation is going (perfect but expensive), how things stand with my brother (lets just NOT talk about it, shall we?) (do we have a smiley?) but this is something I HAVE to talk about now…
About two weeks ago Dad went to bed again. Shoulder fine, heart fine, we finally got a doctor in who diagnosed a severe spasm in one of the abdominal muscles, which means he can just about turn and sit/lie in the bed, but any attempt to even sit upright is futile – the muscle can't support the upper body weight. Meanwhile, we got a physiotherapist in who exercises dad's arms and legs so the muscles won't atrophy more. (and I'm taking advantage to get more therapy for my wrist. It's no contest – I scream the loudest). Over the past couple of days we tried to get dad to use a "walker", but it was after the therapy sessions, he was tired, we only figured out that he can't lift the walker but somebody has to pull it for him.
So, over the past few weeks (and I have moved downstairs for the renovations) I got used to fetch and carry. Tea and food is fine, dentures were more wiggy (I don't want to even THINK about my parents having dentures!). and there are the other bodily functions. The, erm, fluid ones. Fetching the receptacle, take it back and wash it out. Ewww! And for some reason he is more comfortable with me doing it, rather than bro (when he is home). And of course we don't want to have mom running around. So…
But… no bowel movement. For two weeks…
So, last night he took a laxative. And another one this morning. And about one hour ago he called me and said he needed to go – somewhere. So I got the carpets out of the way, helped him up and pulled the walker to the bathroom, where, thank god, mom took over. After five minutes he complained that nothing is happening, and we got him back to the bed. Only five minutes later he needed to go again – because the walk had finally loosened his bowels. So, up again, really fast, and then he is RUNNING, with me running backwards pulling the walker and barely keeping up.
He stayed in the bathroom for about half an hour this time, and afterwards mom had to change all of his clothes, and I made him tea with nabat (crystallized sugar, good for stomach ache, cramps and low blood pressure), and now my baby is sleeping- with a smile.
It might not seem funny to others, but this escapade is proof that he is mending. So I can't stop grinning. Sue me!
Discuss this Journal entry [5]
Latest reply: Jun 25, 2005
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