Lemon Shrimp Alfredo.

16. January 2010 by [JP].

Made this the other night, and it turned out pretty well, so I figured i’d post the recipe up.

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Always check your medications before taking them.

6. January 2010 by [JP].

Pill on the left is Trental. Pill on the right is Lopid.

I just got my lopid filled. I was about to take two of them (Twice the normal dose, as per my doctor, since i hadnt taken my morning one yet.)
The pills seemed a little smaller then usual, so I checked the stamps on drugs.com. Needless to say i was just a little surprised at the results.
Instead of 60 pills of lopid, i had 60 pills of Trental.
Trental is a powerful blood thinner in an extended release form.
Two pills of Trental would have been very very bad normally, and potentially deadly if I had cut myself or bruised myself.

Lesson here is simple.
If you take medication on a regular basis, become very familiar with the pills, including size, shape, and any markings the pills have. If you get pills that you think arent the same as usual, look them up to confirm. Best case scenario is that the pharmacy is using a new company, and the new pills are correct. Worse case is what happened to me, completely wrong pills were accidentally substituted for my normal prescription in a pharmacy error.

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Did you notice?

13. December 2009 by [JP].

I crossposted the first few entries from my online journal for the November journal writing month thing.

Then I got bored.

Meh. I do that. The bored part, that is.

Here are a few random things worth mentioning from the last two weeks:

I smell kinda citrusy.

Apparently, Axe makes a bodyspray/odorant in the lime flavor that I like as a body wash. Trying it. I duno if I want to smell THIS limey.
I’ll have to find a chick and get an opinion.

My mother has informed me she doesnt like my usual leathery spicy smell. Mostly after i drenched my brother in it.
It was an improvement. Normally, he’s drenched in teen-boy-sparkly body sprays that his retarded friends give him.

No, really, they’re retarded.

Well some of them.

Others are physically disabled, rather then mentally.

Um.
My life is currently boring.
I’m in Albuquerque.
I have cheddar bratwurst.
I rented “Catch me if you can” and “the taking of pelham 123″
I watched the first one.
I think i’m going to bed now, and i’ll watch the second one when i wake up.
I went to walmart.
I cleaned my bathroom.
I bought all the grape powerade zero they had.
Yeah.
My life is boring.
I had tuna mac and cheese for breakfast.
Yes, yes yes. I know. I’m a single guy living alone, what did you expect?
At least i didnt wash it down with beer.
Speaking of washing, i need to go wash the salt off the top of the jeep.
Someone knocked on my door when i poured a mouthful of sprinkles in my mouth… i hid the bowl in the couch.
I miss working EMS full time. I actually got excited for a minor trauma last night (Girl went off the road and hit a tree. She was ok, she walked to her dad’s house 1/2 mile away and called 911)
I need to check weather reports down in El Paso next week.
I have a strange craving for soft, warm, chocolate chip cookies.
With sprinkles.
I need to go brush my teeth now.
I’m getting annoyed that the check from the Denver company is STILL not here. I’m giving them till the end of the week, and i’ll have a corporate attorney send them a strongly worded letter, telling them i’ll haul their asses into court down here and make them pay a crapload of additional charges.
The lawyer has to pay their keep somehow, right?

Ha. My email worked. They claim that their end client was slow in paying them, however, my check should be processed/mailed, and i should get it soon.
Lets see how true that is.

Time to go wash the truck now.
I kinda want to go spend some time in the mountains, i may go do that now.
Wish i had someone to go with me though.

I spent most of my day flashing POS terminals at Arby’s.
Oh, and an hour at the CGC looking at a broken computer and doing some random things they needed.
Its a good thing its winter. I need to be wearing long sleeve shirts.
The xanhomas on my arm are really bad, especially on the right arm.
They’re even clustering up around the elbow, which really sucks, because imagine how much pressure you put on your elbow on a regular basis.

I’ve decided that i’m sick and tired of living with the pain.
No, not the emotional pain. I cant get rid of that with a pill.
However, the sheer amount of physical pain i’m in on a regular basis has gotten to be unbearable. Im fed up with laying in bed all night, trying to close my eyes, trying to breathe deeply, trying to ignore the overall soreness from head to toe, especially trying not to wince or cry out whenever i brush my elbow against something, or hit my knee on something.

I’m finally going to listen to my doctor, my dad, and my friends, who have said that I should start taking something when the pain is at its worst.

I refuse still to take the hard stuff that i have scripts for. No vicodin or percocets, because dispite the pain that i have, i refuse to take anything that addictive long term. I’m NOT getting hooked on pills. And I know, you cant get addicted if you’re using them for their intended purpose, but I refuse to take the chance.

I had my doctor write me a script for a less powerful, synthetic narcotic, and i’m trying to stick to the minimum dose, and not take it unless i absolutely need it.

The last two nights, not only did i take twice the dose that i should have, but the pain still broke thru it a few times… plus, with that high of a dose, theres other side effects… dizzyness, the feeling of being high, light headedness, anxiety, and i just couldnt sleep at all last night.

You know what I need, more then I need pain pills?

I need someone to scratch my back and put me to sleep, a warm body to curl up next to.

I found a webcomic i like.
I read A LOT of it last night, after taking pain pills, and it was pretty awesome.
It rather reminded me of my life.
I was hoping it was still awesome today before the meds, and it was.
I finished reading all of it thru the most recent one today, and now i want MOAR.
Its called Questionable Content

Its funny.

I lol’d.
The plan was to go to El Paso today.
I had one of my part timer employees cover the Children’s Grief Center job I had planned for monday, and left a message with the mail box lady to forward the check I was expecting.

I fell asleep last night around 2, and got up today around noon. Made food, watched an episode of COPS, then an episode of Emergency!. My joints were all swollen and painful, so I took a Motrin for the swelling, and a Tramadol for the pain, and lay down on the couch… and next thing I know, sirens were waking me up around 6 pm.
I could leave now, but i’d get in around 10 or 11, and I dont really want to drive during the night time, especially with the cold weather and the wind. I’ll leave tomorrow during the daytime, probably after 1pm, so I can grab the check if its there.

Speaking of checks, the Denver company said they generated the check on monday and mailed it, so it supposedly left with tuesday’s mail.
Denver to Albuquerque shouldnt have taken more then 3 days even at first class mail, so the fact that it wasnt there friday or saturday is making me rather mad at them still.
I’m not hurting for the money, the only bill i need to pay is my cell phone bill (And renew OD) and my regular check that should be here tomorrow will more then cover those, but i’m just annoyed that its taking this freaking long to get paid for work that i did just about 2 months ago.

Oh crap, need to charge my phone, 9% battery remaining. It was at 38% when i woke up, but i wasnt worried, since i was going to plug it in the car on the drive to El Paso. I think i packed my charger though, i need to look for it.

Edit: From the wind outside, i think i made the right choice in not driving back tonight. I checked the weather channel website, and its pretty windy the whole way down, and i hate driving in the wind, especially at night.

Edit2: I think its totally awesome how many of you have started reading Questionable Content now. I think its awesome, i’ve gone thru all the strips in the last few days. I highly recommend it.

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Apparently, i’m hard to shop for…

24. November 2009 by [JP].

Really?

No.

Especially when it comes to clothes.

I had someone tell me they cant figure out what to get me.

Um.

Seriously?

Its simple.

Since my wardrobe is pretty much alot of the same thing.

Lets review.

I. Shirts.
I wear T-shirts. Nearly all the time. T-shirts.
No pocket, normal collar, solid color, no logo. *(See important exception below)
Black. Dark blue. Black. Dark colors. Occasionally random bright colors like yellow, bright blue, and orange to change things up a bit.
Sometimes, long sleeve t-shirts of the same description.
When its colder, long sleeve henleys and sweaters that match the above requirements. 3 buttons max.
For work, Its a solid color polo shirt. Black. Blue. Orange. Grey/orange/yellow with the company logo.

II. Pants.
My pants fall under 3 very ridged catagories.
1. Work pants: Dickies brand. Work, Multi-pocket, Cargo. Black or Navy Blue. Period.
2. Not Work pants: Same as above, just occasionally other colors such as khaki, grey or tan may appear.
OR: Propper brand EMS pants. Black. I have 3 pairs, all of them from my EMS days, all of them well worn and very comfortable. With a nametag sewn on the butt above the pocket. (Its a tactical thing, dont ask)
3. Shorts: Dickies brand as well. Cargo or multi-pocket. Pretty much every color they make, including orange.

III. Exceptions.
1. Pretty much anything that Scottevest makes. Mostly because their clothes matches my requirements, and adds a crapload of pockets that arent too noticeable. And their shirts come in black. I’ll pretty much love anything with their logo. Except the women’s jackets and vest. They dont fit my figure.
2. T-shirts with snarky or sarcastic sayings or logos. This is when I need to dress casual.
3. When its cold, my two light jackets are both Scottevest brand. Hoodie and fleece pullover. I will never get another type.
4. When its really cold, my EMS flight jacket. Because its warm as heck. And looks cool. And its not black, so i dont look trendy.

So see. I’m easy to find clothes for. Go to Walmart and buy me t-shirts and work pants. Or spend some good money and get me something with a Scottevest label. Preferably in black.

The end.

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On the fourth day of journal ho month…

4. November 2009 by [JP].

So. My mother leaves junk in the front hallway. Dark colored junk in black trash bags. And then turns off the light.
So when I trip on it, damn near dislocate at least 3 joints, jam my right hand, and now my knee is twice the size it should be, its MY fault?
And i’m in trouble for “making so much noise and yelling” that i’m going to wake the kid? (who, mind you, is 30 feet away behind a closed door, and sleeps pretty damn soundly, usually.

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A priest walks into a garden. He steps on a hoe.

3. November 2009 by [JP].

Yeah, that was the best i can do.

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Then you a dumb ho.

2. November 2009 by [JP].

The title, from one of Jeff Dunham’s routines.

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NoMoJo is a Ho.

1. November 2009 by [JP].

Right. Because of the whole “blog every damn day in november because you’re an internet sheep” thing.

I’m going to cross-post all (most) of my stuff here. Read the rest of this entry »

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A few quick updates.

18. October 2009 by [JP].

I’m in El Paso with family now.
Zach and I went to the canyon so he could see some cactus. He’s in a cactus phase at the moment. He can even identify like 5 or 6 types.
I’m definitely post-symptomatic… i have the stupid bumps on my elbows and knees. Probably a good indicator that my med level has to get changed again, since i didnt actually crash, and i’ve been mostly remembering to take it… i think.
I’ve got an overwhelming update to grab a burger and a drink and head out to the desert, duno if i’ll ask anyone to come or not.
Got a site survey tomorrow AM in Cruces for Care Media, then going to Starbucks with Julia and her girlfriend, then headed back to Albuquerque.
Going to be a quick trip home only. Have some paperwork to do, got to pick up a crapload of police reports from the last few years for my (and my parents) lawyer to go thru. Also need to check up on someone, but thats for a later entry.
Coming back to El Paso wed night.
Family is driving to Odessa on Thursday.
My sister is playing in Odessa saturday, so we’re meeting her up there and coming back Sat night.
I’ll probably end up driving both ways, because nobody else can seem to handle long distance driving, and if my dad isnt driving, he’ll sleep thru it, and generally not be himself.
Plus i LIKE long distance driving.
Plus I can pick where we stop.
Like every small town DQ between here and there for a chili dog. (and ice cream for Zachy)
And, thats about it for now.

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Search and Rescue

4. October 2009 by [JP].

Went on a Search and Rescue yesterday. It was originally planned for the entire weekend, but that got changed.
Originally, it was supposed to be informal, by the family of the missing subject, but none of them showed up. However, since the state police decided to try one more day with the professionals, we went up anyway. I ended up sticking around the command center and getting to observe their ICS most of the day.. First thing they had me do was drive the jeep about 2 miles up the road to the peak with the radio tower, and see which cell phone service I could make a functional call on. Turns out my nextel worked the best, and my t-mobile was functional, none of the verizon phones the state had worked well at all… came back to base, and my nextel was still good, so it was used as required.

No luck at all, and the state officially suspended the search. Now its purely a criminal investigation. The guy has been missing for over 3 weeks now. There was a MAJOR storm 3 days after he went missing, and theres almost no chance he survived the storm.
We had a K9 team from Colorado assisting our in-state people. We had about 4 scent dogs on scene, and they were alerting in the same area that they were alerting before, however, no precise fix.
The main theory is, that in the storm, he tried to find shelter under something, and probably died of exposure, but his body is probably well hidden, and very likely been scavanged by animals, so we’re just not finding anything. The secondary theory was that he died in the open, and the animals quickly stripped his body, and theres nothing left for the dogs to fix on.
Of course, theres always the possibility that he’s not out there at all, that he left on his own… theres information to back that up, and the state police are considering it an option.

Its my understanding that the family has hope still that he’s out there, but they’re clinging onto nothingness. They’re asking the goverment to send a heat sensing helicopter, but thats worthless. Theres no heat to detect, if he’s out there. Theres no possibility at all that he’s still alive, if the storm didnt get him, then someone with no survival experiance could not possibly survive this long out in those extreme conditions.
They thought last week that since the dogs were picking up scent, theres a possibility… i dont think that they understand that the dogs being used are cadaver dogs, and any scent they’re alerting on is coming from a dead, decaying body.

Most of my afternoon was spent playing fetch with one of the dogs. He LOVES fetch… when his team was coming in, he trotted into command with a stick in his mouth… 15 minutes before his team got there. He would just drop it in front of anyone around and give puppy dog eyes until you threw it.

My neck was sunburned, and so was my scalp… i guess i didnt realize how short my hair was. good thing I was wearing a hat during the afternoon. I had put sunblock on my arms and hands, but forgot my neck.
Dispite the fact that i was over 11,000 feet, i was in a t-shirt during most of it. It was about 70 degrees in the sun, and about 40 in the shade.

I’m pretty impressed overall by how well NM does SAR. Unlike what i’m used to back home, its coordinated at the state level up here. Dispite the fact that I know the family criticized the handling of this case, i saw nothing but complete professionalism and dedication from the volunteers, some of them being up on this mission for the 3rd or 4th time.
I’m very satisfied that all was done to locate this particular subject.

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