Sunday, May 21, 2006

Pseudocyesis

You may recall back in January when I wrote about the patient who came in claiming she was pregnant and in labor with triplets, but ended up not being pregnant at all (see the post here). Apparently there is a name for this condition, pseudocyesis. Well, the other day at work we had another similar situation. This one, however, wasn't quite so dramatic. The lady was escorted up from the lobby by the information desk attendant. She did not appear in any acute distress, but said that she was 6 months pregnant and had been feeling some contractions. Just looking at her you could tell something was off, but then we do get some patients that are actually crazy AND pregnant. The secretary went to get her signed in and came back with a funny look on her face. "She says her name is Diana Ross and that her doctor is Al Pacino." One of the nurses went in to see the patient and of course was unsuccessful in getting any fetal heart tones. Turns out the patient had recently been discharged from St. Elizabeth's, was taking Risperidone, and had made visits to several other area hospitals regarding her "pregnancy." What became of her I'm not exactly sure. We don't have a involuntary admission psych unit in our hospital, so we recommended that she go down to the ER to be evaluated by psychiatry. She refused and we had no reason to keep her, so she was sent on her way. Another one slips through the cracks.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Dagens Namn -- Vecka 20 (15 Maj - 21 Maj)

The name days for Week 20 (May 15 - May 21) are:

Monday, May 15 = Sofia, Sonja
Tuesday, May 16 = Ronald, Ronny
Wednesday, May 17 = Rebecka, Ruben
Thursday, May 18 = Erik
Friday, May 19 = Maj, Majken
Saturday, May 20 = Karolina, Carola
Sunday, May 21 = Konstantin, Conny

Monday, May 08, 2006

Sunday Night at the State Theatre

My sister and I went to the State Theatre last night. My friend's band, Full Minute of Mercury, was opening for 80s "legend" Eddie Money. I figured it would be a fun show and also thought it would be nice to go and support my friend and his band. Sadly we got there "late" and only got to see the last three songs in Full Minute's set. The State Theatre website had said the show started at 8pm, but apparently it actually started at 7:30pm. All the same, it was fun to see Full Minute perform on a big stage. Certain members of the band really like to move around in what I will call a very "spirited" fashion and small stages are just too cramped for them. Hopefully if the State Theatre gets enough good feedback, Full Minute will get to play there again.

The main act, Eddie Money, was quite interesting. The only two songs I could remember by him were, "Take Me Home Tonight" and "Two Tickets to Paradise." Admittedly, the former is pretty high up there on my list of great 80s songs. But now, the guy is in his late 50s now and has gone through many a rehab. He certainly looked at many points during the show as if he were about to have a heart attack. All the same, the music was catchy and he still has a great voice. Plus, he plays the saxophone, so that's pretty cool.

The most amusing part of the evening was the fact that the crazy dancing guy from the Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers concert was there. He was just doing his thing, not giving a damn (or noticing) that everyone was looking at him kind of funny.

Dagens Namn -- Vecka 19 (8 Maj - 14 Maj)

The name days for Week 19 (May 8th - May 14th) are:

Monday, May 8th = Åke
Tuesday, May 9th = Reidar, Reidun
Wednesday, May 10th = Esbjörn, Styrbjörn
Thursday, May 11th = Märta, Märit
Friday, May 12th = Charlotta, Lotta
Saturday, May 13th = Linnea, Linn
Sunday, May 14th = Halvard, Halvar

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Dagens Namn -- Vecka 18 (1 Maj - 7 Maj)

The name days for Week 18 (May 1 - May 7) are:

Monday, May 1 = Valborg
Tuesday, May 2 = Filip, Filippa
Wednesday, May 3 = John, Jane
Thursday, May 4 = Monika, Mona
Friday, May 5 = Gotthard, Erhard
Saturday, May 6 = Marit, Rita
Sunday, May 7 = Carina, Carita

Name Days

So, I feel like I've been really bad as of late about posting name days on a timely basis. I'm going to try something new and see if maybe it works better. Every Monday I will post the name days for the whole week. That way no one misses their name day hopefully!

Monday, May 01, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 1 Maj 2006

Today is your name day if your name is Valborg.

May 1st is a national holiday in Sweden. See this Wikipedia article about Walpurgis Night for a little history.

Dagens Namn -- 30 April 2006

Sunday was your name day if your name is Mariana.

Dagens Namn -- 29 April 2006

Saturday was your name day if your name is Tyko.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 28 April 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Tyra or Ture.

Dagens Namn -- 27 April 2006

Thursday was your name day if your name is Engelbrekt.

Dagens Namn -- 26 April 2006

Wednesday was your name day if your name is: Terese or Teresia.

Dagens Namn -- 25 April 2006

Tuesday was your name day if your name is Markus.

Dagens Namn -- 24 April 2006

Monday was your name if your name is Vega.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

My new favorite word

PULCHRITUDE (Noun)

1. Physical beauty
2. Attractive moral excellence

Etymology: Middle English pulcritude, from Latin pulchritudo, from pulcher, beautiful

Saturday Night at the Velvet Lounge

My sister and I went to a show at the Velvet Lounge last night. The place is basically a hole. If you want to go somewhere for the decor, don't got there. But it was dark, so you couldn't really tell. Plus the show was great, so who really cares? There were four bands in the line up.

First was Vote Quimby (official, myspace) out of Annapolis, a pop/punk/rock band with a side of stand-up. I saw them a while back in Baltimore and they were just as fun this time.

Second was The Dance Party (official, myspace) out of College Park, a powerpop/indie rock band whose lead singer's flamboyant style reminds me a little of Mick Jagger. They have a song about the Karate Kid. How cool is that?

Third was The Unlovables (official, myspace) out of New York, a pop/punk band whose songs and sound in general is just so spunky and energetic that you can't help but love them.

Fourth was the hosts Full Minute of Mercury (official, myspace), who I've definitely mentioned at least a few times before. Their performances are always energetic, action packed and entertaining. Last night was no different. They had the whole crowd jumping up and down so much that I almost feared that the floor might fall through. But luckily it didn't. That certainly would have put a little damper on the night.

All in all it was a great way to spend a Saturday night! I really enjoy going to see live music and if I didn't have such a hectic schedule I would definitely go see more shows. I'm going to have to work on that.

Dagens Namn -- 23 April 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Georg or Göran.

Dagens Namn -- 22 April 2006

Saturday was your name day if your name is: Allan or Glenn.

Dagens Namn -- 21 April 2006

Friday was your name day if your name is: Annika or Anneli.

Dagens Namn -- 20 April 2006

Thursday was your name day if your name is: Amalia or Amelia.

Dagens Namn -- 19 April 2006

Wednesday was your name day if your name is: Ola or Olaus.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 18 April 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Valdemar or Volmar.

Dagens Namn -- 17 April 2006

Monday was your name day if your name is: Elias or Elis.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 16 April 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Patricia or Patrik.

Dagens Namn -- 15 April 2006

Saturday was your name day if your name is: Olivia or Oliver.

Dagens Namn -- 14 April 2006

Friday was your name day if your name is Tibirtius.

Dagens Namn -- 13 April 2006

Thursday was your name day if your name is: Douglas or Arthur.

Dagens Namn -- 12 April 2006

Wednesday was your name day if your name is Liv.

Dagens Namn -- 11 April 2006

Tuesday was your name day if your name is: Ylva or Ulf.

Dagens Namn -- 10 April 2006

Monday was your name day if your name is: Ingvor or Ingvar.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 9 April 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Ottilia or Otto.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 8 April 2006

Today was your name day if your name is: Nadja or Tanja.

Dagens Namn -- 7 April 2006

Friday was your name if your name is: Irma or Irmelin.

Dagens Namn -- 6 April 2006

Thursday was your name day if your name is: Helmi or Vilhelm.

Dagens Namn -- 5 April 2006

Wednesday was your name day if your name: Irene or Irja.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Genetics

My ethics class today focused on th ethics involved with genetic testing. That topic is a little too deep to dive into on this blog, but I did learn a few interesting little tid bits in the lecture.

Why do certain potentially lethal genetic mutations persist in the population when, until quite recently, those who got the disease caused by the mutation perished before passing it on? To survive the ruthless culling of evolution, the mutation must provide some advantage. Two prime of examples of this are cystic fibrosis carriers and sickle cell anemia carriers. People with only one copy of the mutated gene which causes cystic fibrosis apparently gain protection from infection by the bacterium that cause typhoid and cholera. People with only one copy of the mutated gene that causes sickle cell anemia apparently gain protection from infection by the parasite that causes malaria. This explains why sickle cell anemia is so common in the African American population. Their ancestors came from an area of the world where malaria is prevalent.

Kind of interesting how things work, huh?

Kinda Neat

Check this out if you are into numbers.

Dagens Namn -- 4 April 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Marianne or Marlene.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Part II

I totally forgot to detail the most amusing part of the concert last night. There was this guy over in one corner who was doing some kind of strange interpretive Martha Graham modern dance thing. Arms failing around, jumps and spins. It was a quite the sight. Wish I had had my camera with for that one.

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers

You may recall a while back I posted about one of my favorite bands, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. Well, last night I went to their show at the State Theatre in Falls Church. It was a great show! Roger played at least five different guitars, drank at least four shots of tequilla, and sang for about an hour and a half. I got two CDs and a DVD for $22. If that's not a good deal, I don't know what is. Say what you want about "country" music, but these guys know how to rock! I didn't have a camera with last night, but here's a picture from the inside of one of the CDs I bought to show you what you missed if you weren't there.

Lady Terps

There has been so much coverage in the media lately of the Cinderella story of the George Mason men's basketball team. And rightfully so, because they played very well and went further than anyone would have expected them to. There is another local team, however, who also deserves some attention. The University of Maryland's Lady Terps beat UNC yesterday to make it to the finals of the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament. They will be playing Duke tomorrow for the first women's basketball title in school history. Way to go ladies!!

Erika Sunnegårdh

This weekend Swedish-American soprano Erika Sunnegårdh made her debut at the Met singing the title role in Beethoven's "Fidelio." Sunnegårdh was a virtual unknown in the opera world until she was "discovered" in 2004. Until that time she had been waiting tables, singing in recitals and churches, and perfecting her craft. She had been contracted by the Met to cover for Finnish soprano Karita Matilla in this run of "Fidelio," but until this weekend had never actually sung the role on stage. An article in the New York Times likened this turn of events to "the Yankees starting a pitcher who had done nothing more than toss batting practice, or the president appointing a beat cop as defense secretary." It further points out that renowned tenor Plácido Domingo who stepped in for Franco Corelli in 1968 to make his Met debut. In another New York Times article, Anthony Tommasini points out that Sunnegårdh's performance was not without flaws and "a fuller assessment will have to await her future appearances."

Brain Numbness, Orange Urine and False Labor

I worked Friday and Saturday nights this weekend and we had some wackos come in. On Friday night there was the patient whose chief complaint was, "My brain feels numb." She came into the hospital by ambulance. All her vital signs were fine and she didn't appear to have any problem with muscular and nervous system function. Her labs were all negative. Needless to say she got a psych consult.

Then there was the lady who came in at 1:00 am on Saturday night because her urine was supposedly orange. There are certain things that can turn your urine orange: beets, rhubarb, vitamin B, dehydration, rifampin (an antiobiotic), and pyridium (for bladder spasms with UTIs). She had not ingested any of these things. The urine sample she gave at the hospital looked remarkably clear and yellow (aka normal). Lab analysis also showed that it was completely normal. She got sent home.

You may recall my previous post about the woman who claimed to be pregnant with triplets, but wasn't actually pregnant at all. I was talking to one the residents who told me that this woman eventually got admitted to the psych unit, where she was trying for two days to push the babies out. Funny and at the same time very very sad.

Dagens Namn -- 3 April 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Nanna or Ferdinand.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 2 April 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Ingemund or Gudmund.

Dagens Namn -- 1 April 2006

Saturday was your name day if your name is: Hervor or Harald.

Dagens Namn -- 31 Mars 2006

Friday was your name day if your name is Ester.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 30 Mars 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Holger or Holmfrid.

Dagens Namn -- 29 Mars 2006

Wednesday was your name day if your name is: Jens or Jonas.

Dagens Namn -- 28 Mars 2006

Tuesday was your name day if your name is: Morgan or Malkom.

Dagens Namn -- 27 Mars 2006

Monday was your name day if your name is: Ralf or Rudolf.

Dagens Namn -- 26 Mars 2006

Sunday was your name day if your name is Emanuel.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

This is why...

1) You shouldn't smoke if you are a guy

2) You should immunize your children

3) I had a good time tonight

Dagens Namn -- 25 Mars 2006

There is no name for today.

Today is Marie Bebådelsedag (aka Annunciation), the day nine months before Christmas, when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to the Son of God.

Dagens Namn -- 24 Mars 2006

Friday was your name day if your name is: Gabriel or Rafael.

Dagens Namn -- 23 Mars 2006

Thursday was your name day if your name is: Gerd or Gerda.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Local.Live.Com

My co-worker, the other J, showed me this website the other day. It is kind of like Google Earth, but cooler. It has bird's eye views of many locations and allows you to look at them from all four cardinal directions. I was able to look at my apartment, my parent's house, and my grandmother's house in Minnesota. The pictures tend to be clearer than those from Google Earth. I think they are also more recent. For example, they reflect that my parents now have one red car and one beige car. The pictures from Google Earth still show two red cars in their driveway. It has been about four years since that was the case. Anyway, if you are bored and want something interesting to do, check out Local.Live.Com.

Alternative Name Days

My co-worker, the other J, was disappointed that his name did not apppear on the Swedish name day calendar. I have found out, however, that apparently there is an alternate American/Canadian name day calendar. I will stick to the Swedish calendar (I am the SwedishNurse after all), but for those of you who want to have a name day and don't have a particularly Swedish name, please check out My Name Day.com.

By the way, Other J, your name day on the alternate calendar is July 12th!

Dagens Namn -- 22 Mars 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Kennet or Kent.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 21 Mars 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Bengt or Benny.

Dagens Namn -- 20 Mars 2006

Monday was your name day if your name is: Joakim or Kim.

Dagens Namn -- 19 Mars 2006

Sunday was your name day if your name is: Josef or Josefina.

Dagens Namn -- 18 Mars 2006

Saturday was your name day if your name is: Edvard or Eddie.

Dagens Namn -- 17 Mars 2006

Friday was your name day if your name is: Gertrude or Görel.

Dagen Namn - 16 Mars 2006

Thursday was your name day if your name is: Herbert or Gilbert.

My favorite Gilbert!

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 15 Mars 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Christel or Kristoffer.

Dagens Namn -- 14 Mars 2006

Tuesday was your name day if your name is: Maud or Matilda.

Dagens Namn -- 13 Mars 2006

Monday was your name day if your name is Greger.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Saturday night in Baltimore

I went to Fletcher's in Baltimore last night to see one of my favorite local bands, Full Minute of Mercury, play. They were great as always, but I was also glad to get to see two other new (to me) bands: Can't Hang and Vote Quimby. Can't Hang was kind of a mix of reggae, rock, and punk. I especially enjoyed the reggae bent to their sound. Vote Quimby was more straight up rock and I especially enjoyed their covers of songs from Footloose. Plus the song Famine and the Darth Vader mask were classic. All in all it was a great show. Both the on and off stage antics were truly entertaining. Follow the links below to check out the bands!

Full Minute of Mercury (official website, Myspace page)

Can't Hang (official website, Myspace page)

Vote Quimby (official website, Myspace page)

Dagens Namn -- 12 Mars 2006

Today is your name day if your name is Viktoria.

Sweden's Crown Princess is Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée. She was born July 14, 1977 and is also the
Duchess of Västergötland. In accordance with the 1979 Act of Succession, which entered into force on January 1, 1980, The Crown Princess Victoria is heir to the Swedish throne. The Crown Princess will be Sweden's first female Head of State within the Bernadotte Dynasty (1818 - present). In modern times Sweden has only had two Queen Regents, Kristina (1626 - 1689, 1632 - 1654) and Ulrika Eleonora (1688 - 1741, 1718 - 1720).




Dagens Namn -- 11 Mars 2006

Saturday was your name day if your name is: Edvin or Egon.

Dagens Namn -- 10 Mars 2006

Friday was your name day if your name is: Ada or Edla.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Random Acts of Kindness

I went to Starbucks today on my way home from clinical. When I walked in there was one woman in front of me in line and one guy came in right behind me. The woman ordered her drink and when they told her her total, she said she would pay with a gift card she had taken out. Then pointing to me and the guy behind me she added, "And I'll pay for their drinks too." The guy and I did a double take, not quite believing our good luck. We of course both thanked her profusely. She said that someone had been kind to her by giving her the gift card and she figured why not pass on the kindness!

Dagens Namn -- 9 Mars 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Torbjörn or Torleif.

Dagens Namn -- 8 Mars 2006

Wednesday was your name day if your name is Siv.

Dagens Namn -- 7 Mars 2006

Tuesday was your name day if your name is Camilla.

Dagens Namn -- 6 Mars 2006

Monday was your name day if your name is: Ebba or Ebbe.

Dagens Namn -- 5 Mars 2006

Sunday was your name day if your name is: Tove or Tora.

Dagens Namn -- 4 Mars 2006

Saturday was your name day if your name is: Adrian or Adriana.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Fifty Things About Me

1) I was born a week late and refused to turn my head in the right direction so I had to be delivered by c-section.

2) I have only ever had one pet. He was a goldfish and his name was Sven. I named him after my uncle.

3) I have only been a patient in the hospital three times. The first time was when I was born. The second time was when I fell off the jungle gym and had to get stitches in my chin. The third time was when my dad accidentally slammed my finger in the car door. The second and third times were both when I was in second grade.

4) I hate walking over grates in the street or sidewalk. I almost always walk around them unless they absolutely can’t be avoided.

5) I think that toilet paper should come over the top of the roll. If I am at someone’s house and their toilet paper comes from underneath the roll, I will change it around to the “right” way.

6) My ancestry is half Swedish, one-quarter Norwegian, and one-quarter Slovak.

7) My favorite flower is the tulip.

8) I hate bananas. Sometimes even the smell of them makes me want to throw up.

9) I like to mix Coke and Orange Fanta together.

10) I like to dip my french fries in mayonnaise.

11) I prefer dark chocolate over milk or white chocolate and I don’t like chocolate with fruit flavors (e.g., orange or raspberry).

12) I’m not a big coffee drinker, but I normally drink two mugs of tea with milk and Splenda in the morning.

13) My family and I lived in The Hague for three years when I was in high school. I haven’t been back since we moved back to the US almost ten years ago and that makes me sad.

14) I have traveled to the following countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, England, Ireland, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Kenya, Australia, and Canada.

15) I have been to nineteen of the fifty states, although some of them only for a few hours.

16) I took piano lessons for ten years when I was in elementary, middle, and high school.

17) I took horseback riding lessons for three years when I was in high school. My favorite horse was named Mr. X.

18) I can speak, read, and/or write in all of the following languages (although to varying degrees): English, Swedish, German, Dutch.

19) My mom was born and raised in Sweden. She only came to the US in 1974.

20) My paternal grandfather used to be a traveling salesman. I have this old keychain that was an “extra” he used to give to his customers. It says, “It will pay you to remember – [his name].” Looking at it makes me happy.

21) My favorite colors are red and blue.

22) I have met one American president, George Bush Sr.

23) I much prefer white wine to red wine.

24) I love collecting nice china. My favorite part of my china collection is my Rörstrand teacups and saucers. They are blue and the pattern is called Swedish Grace.

25) I have held a koala bear and I have the pictures to prove it.

26) When I was little my dad and I used to make up stories about a girl named Goofus Roofus. My favorite one was about when she dug a hole in her backyard all the way to China.

27) I have a mental aversion to Chinese food, but I have no problems eating Thai or Vietnamese food.

28) I have one sister. She is four years, eight months, and nine days younger than me. She has naturally red hair.

29) Both my paternal great grandfathers were named George.

30) I always face my bills.

31) I hate make left turns when driving. I avoid them if at all possible.

32) I have been a registered nurse for four and a half years. I have licenses to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia, but through the compact agreement I can actually practice in twenty-one states.

33) My paternal grandparents had eight grandchildren, all of them girls.

34) I am left handed and even to this day hold scissors the wrong way.

35) I had the chicken pox when I was in second grade. I have three pox scars: one on my left forearm, one at the base of my nose, and one slightly above my upper lip.

36) I like my apples and grapes to be of the green variety, as opposed to the red variety.

37) I still have one doll from when I was little. His name is Smelly Pelle.

38) I love doing family history research. I could sit and look at census records and ship manifests on microfilm for hours.

39) I don’t really like gold jewelry. I much prefer silver, platinum or white gold.

40) Both my hands are double jointed. I can make them look really disgusting or so people tell me.

41) I am a total snob about Christmas decorations and I think colored Christmas lights are incredibly tacky.

42) When I was very young I forgot how to speak English for a few days and could only speak Swedish. Boy was that frustrating since my babysitter only spoke English.

43) I get to watch babies being born for a living. It is amazing every time. It never gets old.

44) I prefer Coke over Pepsi. I beat the Pepsi challenge once. You can TOTALLY tell the difference.

45) I got my first walkman when I was in first or second grade. The two tapes I got with it were “Madonna” by Madonna and “Whitney Houston” by Whitney Houston. I still have both tapes.

46) The embroidered curtains that hang in my dining room were made by my great grandmother. I think that they are gorgeous.

47) My favorite mixed drink is the Grape Crush.

48) My favorite food is potatoes. I will eat them prepared in almost any fashion.

49) I always eat the European way, with my fork in one hand and my knife in the other hand the whole time. It drives me crazy how many Americans cut up all their food first and then eat only with their fork.

50) One of my favorite books as a child was “Andrew Henry’s Meadow” by Doris Burn. A couple of years ago my dad found me a used copy. I read it all the time now.

Dagens Namn -- 3 Mars 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Gunvor or Gunborg.

GRATTIS PÅ NAMNSDAGEN MORMOR!!!

Dagens Namn -- 2 Mars 2006

Thursday was your name day if your name is: Ernst or Erna.

Dagens Namn -- 1 Mars 2006

Wednesday was your name day if your name is: Albin or Elvira.

Dagens Namn -- 28 Februari 2006

Tuesday was your name day if your name is Maria.

Monday, February 27, 2006

Sveriges Hjältar (Sweden's Heroes)





Dagens Namn -- 27 Februari 2006

Today is your name day if your name is Lage.

Dagens Namn -- 26 Februari 2006

Sunday was your name day if your name is: Torgny or Torkel.

Dagens Namn -- 25 Februari 2006

Saturday was your name day if your name is: Sigvard or Sivert.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 24 Februari 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Mats or Matias.

Dagens Namn -- 23 Februari 2006

Thursday was your name day if your name is: Torun or Torsten.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Greta Garbo

Why oh why have I not seen this ultra-cool stamp until now?

Ask Amy

The following Ask Amy column was published in the Washington Post on Monday (Style Section, page C12). It is hard to believe that people are so incredibly naive.

Dear Amy:

My husband and I have lived in our quiet suburban Denver neighborhood for six years.

About two years ago two young gay men moved in across the street. They've taken the ugliest, most run-down property in the neighborhood and remodeled and transformed it into the pride of the street.

When it snows, they shovel out my car and are friendly, yet they mostly keep to themselves.

Last month I went out to retrieve my newspaper and watched them kiss each other goodbye and embrace as they each left for work.

I was appalled that they would do something like that in plain view of everyone.

I was so disturbed that I spoke to my pastor. He encouraged me to draft a letter telling them how much we appreciate their help but asking them to refrain from that behavior in our neighborhood.

I did so and asked a few of our neighbors to sign it.

Since I delivered it, I've not been able to get them to even engage me in conversation.

I offer greetings but they've chosen to ignore me.

They have made it so uncomfortable for the other neighbors and me by not even acknowledging our presence.

How would you suggest we open communications with them and explain to them that we value their contributions to the neighborhood but will not tolerate watching unnatural and disturbing behavior.

Wondering

You're lucky that these gentlemen merely choose to ignore you.

Your neighbors could respond to your hospitality by hosting weekly outdoor "gay pride" barbecues and inviting all of their friends to enjoy life on our quiet suburban street.

I can hold out hope that they will choose to do this, but I'm spiteful in that way. Your neighbors sound much more kind.

In your original petition to these men, you basically stated that while you value them when they are raising the standard on your street and shoveling your driveway, you loathe them for being who they are.

The only way to open communication with your neighbors would be to start by apologizing to them for engaging your other neighbors in your campaign. Because you don't sound likely to apologize, you are just going to have to tolerate being ignored.

Dagens Namn -- 22 Februari 2006

Today is your name day if your name is Pia.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Dagens Namn -- 21 Februari 2006

Today is your name day if your name is Hilding.

Dagens Namn -- 20 Februari 2006

Monday was your name day if your name is Vivianne.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Ocular Myokymia

So, for the past few days, my right upper eyelid has been randomly twitching. No other problems with that eye or with my left eye. Apparently this condition is called ocular myokymia. It's an involuntary, continuous muscle contraction, and it can last anywhere from several seconds or hours to days. Most often it is caused by lack of sleep, too much caffeine or increased stress. Certainly someone who has work or school six days a week wouldn't have any problems with that. Of course the only recommended treatment is to increase sleep, decrease caffeine, and decrease stress. Supposedly gently massaging my eyelid will also help. We'll see how that goes. I'll keep you updated.

Dagens Namn -- 19 Februari 2006

Today is your name day if your name is: Ella or Gabriella.

Dagens Namn -- 18 Februari 2006

Saturday was your name day if your name is: Fritiof or Frida.

Dagens Namn -- 17 Februari 2006

Friday was your name day if your name is: Alexandra or Sandra.

Charles Arthur

Congratulations to my friend/coworker Lindsay and her husband Mike on the birth of their son Charles Arthur ("Charlie"). He was born on February 16th at 11:55 am, weighing 8 lbs 0.8 oz and measuring 20 3/4 inches long. His Apgar scores were 9 at 1 minute and 9 at 5 minutes. I was privileged to be there when he was born and I have to say he is pretty darn cute.