16 things that are hard to do in a cast

Hard to do with a cast

Pony tail 

Blow dry hair

Put on make up

Shift

Text while driving

Start the car

Carry anything 

Hook a bra 

Button jeans

Shave 

Squeeze toothpaste 

Chop veggies

Wash dishes

Shower

Light cigarette 

Type

Lessons in Rollerblading - As a Grown Woman

PART 1

I'm 38 years old. I'm a cancer survivor. I'm a mother. I'm a wife. I try to embrace new things to remind myself that life is short and we should never take a single moment for granted.

This is why it didn't strike me as off the charts crazy that yesterday the idea popped into my head that I should try rollerblading. For the first time. Ever.

I consulted a few websites and even called a friend to recruit another adventurist soul to join me. She said no thank you, however she had something I lacked...experience. She assured me blading was most likely easier to do  than old school roller skates, which gave me confidence. What about safety gear? She never used gear like that.

After 23 minutes of research, I climbed in my car, purse in hand to buy a pair of rollerblades.

When I arrived at the closest sporting goods department I know...AKA Wal-Mart...I was shocked to discover every rollerblade set they had, was THE SAME PRICE! Now how was I supposed to choose the "best" pair?

As it turned out, they only had one type in my size....size range actually. The fact they were adjustable sizes should have been a deterring factor for me. This must mean they are geared for broke parents of growing children...not a product for grown people. I apparently am NOT the target demographic for cheaply made rollerblades at Wal-Mart. I would soon see why.

Photos of OryCon 34 participants

I am sharing this link which showcases some of the great character costumes worn by OryCon 34 attendees which were taken by Inspired Media Photography.

My favorite was the young girl in an Apocalypse costume. She is shown in photos #7-10. Not only was her costume very creative, but she was a natural performer, who engaged the audience without hesitation during the judging of the masquerade ball.  (Perhaps her mom will see this post and comment with more about her darling daughter. I'm intensely curious about her incredible stage presence.)

Stages

I open the door.
Eight months
seems like Yesterday.
Yesterday is there for her too.

We both talk and laugh,
keenly aware of
the underlying tension
living there in the laughter of friends.

“Stage Three kidney failure,”
she adds casually, like we do,
“there are only Two more
after this.”

I listen as she recounts
the last Five years
to the stranger in the room
I smile and I cry.

Living and dying
reverberate
off these four walls
and these three hearts.

I’m so exquisitely
intertwined in
this minute
this moment

I am folded into her
deeply aware
of the powerful witness
I am honored to be

yesterday
and today.

For my friend, JC (not Jesus Christ! You know who you are!)
Thank you. November 17th 2012.


(I had to take a break from my OryCon lessons to post something about my day with a dear friend today)

Lessons from OryCon - from an outsider welcomed in - Part 4

We walked downstairs where I observed people of all ages, all shapes and sizes - enjoying the sights, conversation, and scheduled events of the convention. The stress and anxiety I felt before, melted away. 

Lesson Four: OryCon attendees are 100% comfortable with exactly who they are. They allow others to be exactly who they are as well. 

I was worried about not fitting in, which I quickly discovered was irrelevant entirely. Unlike other events, this wasn’t a judgement parade. It wasn’t a competition (well, it was but not in the bad way) to be “the best” anything. It was merely a venue to BE your best, authentic self. 

I discovered a brilliant and exciting thing called “Hospitality”. Not “hospitality” but “Hospitality” with a capital H. Dozens and dozens of volunteers provided food, beverages, and entertainment to registered attendees. It was like going to your friends house to celebrate (insert any fun summer holiday here), except it was friend after friend after friend. As my friend introduced me as a “first time” attendee, it seemed everyone wanted to ensure I was having a good time and checked in on me throughout the evening. Club music was plentiful and I was able to dance to my heart’s content. A rare thing as a wife, mom, and career woman. On the rare occasion I DO get to do dancing in my regular life, it’s usually stressful as people are in their own personal dance reality show, looking to win some internal competition against everyone else on the dance floor. 

Lesson Five: Just Dance. Everyone is here to have fun and no one gives two shits how you go about it on the dance floor! 

(click here for part 3) (click here for part 1)

 

Lessons from OryCon - from an outsider welcomed in - Part 3

We proceeded to take our bags to the room. You would think we were packed for more more than a quick weekend trip by the bags and luggage we hauled up the elevator and down the hall. As we settled into the room, it was only a few short minutes before the beds and closets were overflowing with our attire for the weekend. I learned my first lesson. 

Lesson one: OryCon is all about the costume changes! 

Another friend of my friend, I’ll call her Lavois (not to protect the innocent, but because that’s her name and saying “friend” all the time is going to get confusing) arrived and the clothing options became even more abundant.

Lesson two: Attendees of OryCon enjoy sharing. 

Between my friend and Lavois, clothing and accessories were plentiful. I think they enjoyed accessorizing me as much as I enjoyed the fun of being “dressed up”. Another fun fact about my non-redneck self is that I am a breast cancer survivor. Diagnosed 3 years ago and only about 18 months out of active treatment my hair is just now to a length where I feel feminine again. During treatment, make-up was something I just didn’t have the energy nor inclination for. Therefore, being dressed, accessorized, and taking the luxury of powder, blush and lipstick felt wonderful.

Lesson Three: You are never too old for dress up! 

(click here for part 1) (Click here for part 2) (click here for part 4)

Lessons from OryCon - from an outsider welcomed in- Part 2

Arrival

I walked in to the hotel with my friend and and took a look around as we approached the check-in line. To my right, a normal hotel counter, with crisply dressed, young and vibrant hotel employees welcoming us in. To my left, I saw dozens of people young and older (not old, just older than some) milling about. I had made myself commit to being comfortable and secure - even IF I was out of my element. The mental commitment didn’t stick as we checked in. I had informed my friend of this before our arrival - even confiding in her that walking into the local high school with my kids still made me feel anxious. I have a theory that my high school student anxiety must be a combination of my lack of popularity as a teen myself and my personal insecurities of not graduating high school (hey, I got my GED, so that STILL doesn’t make me a red-neck!). It really pisses me off that as a grown adult I can’t walk into a high school and just feel confident. They are teen-agers for crying out loud! So, as I walked into the hotel lobby, that feeling of “not good enough” creeped up, irreverently ignoring my mental commitment to be confident in this new crowd of strangers.

(click here for part 1)   (click here for part 3) 

Lessons from OryCon - from an outsider welcomed in Part 1

OryCon 2012

Recently, I asked my best high school friend who lives in the Portland area if I could come visit for a long weekend. I’d never been to her new home and I’d decided some good girl time could be had while my husband was in the woods hunting the elusive 3 point bull Elk. They have to be elusive because in all the years I’ve known him I’ve never witnessed him coming home with meat. This year he promises to buy bacon on the way home just to be safe. I’m married to a man who hunts elusive elk. And elusive deer. And elusive grouse. And ducks on occasion. Ducks aren’t elusive apparently. He and his friends actually shoot and kill ducks. There are photos and duck pepperoni to prove it.

I mention these details to help give you a sense of who I am, who my family is and what sorts of things are “normal” to us. Hunting. Camping. Horseback riding (as if there is another kind of horse-anything-riding). Quads. Dogs. Bonfires and Barbeques (what we do, not a country song). Boating (not the cool speedboat with a water-ski attached, but more like floating around in an aluminum...well...boat..ish, depending on your definition of a boat). My husband owns a tractor, a riding lawnmower, a backpack blower, and a lot of other really expensive stuff you apparently need to maintain 10 acres in the country. I recently started hiking. I call it hiking. My son says what I’m doing is actually just slow walking since I’m doing it on hills more so than mountains. I informed him that if I put on actual hiking shoes, and I walk on something other than a paved mostly level path, its called hiking.

I am stopping short of calling ourselves red-necks. Afterall, we work in Seattle. We have long-ass commutes to white-collar jobs (my husband has a more blue Carhartt T-Shirt job, but according to Wiki his still counts as a white-collar job). I’m pretty sure that disqualifies us from being red-necks.

When I asked my friend about the long weekend visit, she informed me that was the weekend her and her husband would be attending OryCon in Portland. I was like, OryWhat? She sent me a link to a website. I didn’t do a deep dive on the site. I just looked at the registration cost. I decided it was affordable and since my friend would be there, I was in.

In the weeks leading up to the event, my friend tried to prepare me...in small baby steps. First, she informed me she had plenty of things available to share for me to wear. I didn’t know jeans, tennis shoes, and a comfortable top weren’t really going to suffice. Next, she sent me a text and said I needed to buy a corset to act as a base for all the clothes she would be providing. I’m 37 years old this year. I’ve never purchased a corset in my life. It’s not like I’m a puritan or anything. I just never saw the reason in buying something that...well, here’s what I know about corsets...A corset made Keira Knightley pass out and fall into the ocean in Pirates of the Caribbean. I guess they just never sounded practical, comfortable or fun to me. Trusting my friend, however, I set out to buy a corset. Fortunately, I have a friend who owns a lingerie store (Lovers Naughty or Nice in Monroe, WA). I was able to go to the store and try on corsets to my heart’s content. I can’t say the trying on made me any more “fond” of corsets. You can NOT put one of those on by yourself! I tried! I finally found a nice black, underwire corset with cute little rhinestone embellishments on the front that fit and was mostly comfortable. I tooked a picture in the mirror (classy, I know), sent it to my friend for approval and got the thumbs up. I. Was. Now. Officially. Ready. For. OryCon. or so I thought...

I arrived after midnight at my friends house on the day of the event. Having never been to her house before, I tip-toed into the place, everyone sleeping hoping I was in the right place. I crashed on the guest bed (a positive sign that I was indeed in the right house) till the appointed hour arrived. 

(Click here for part 2)

Dear Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, Wa

Peter Hutchinson - your letter regarding my concerns about my experience in your ER department is more insulting than the experience itself. Over the last 7 years I've dealt with a few bad experiences, but no one has ever been as rude & insulting as Dr. Peet was to me that night. 

In this small town, I don't have many emergency choices. "...his intention was to treat you with with respect, but..." Really? Apologies do not contain "but". "...in spite of our best intentions there is often some level of misunderstanding." Again, really? Then I would say this is a big RED FLAG for your hospital to truly consider how you communicate with patients. Medical care should not include "misunderstanding". 

I'm posting this on a public venue in hopes it'll get your attention. Clearly my phone call wasn't enough. You might consider including a way for people to reach the hospital on your website - other than just the phone. In that expensive new facility I'm sure someone, somewhere has an email.

The view from the vantage point of a 2 year old. Pretty interesting stuff actually. Abby took about 10 photos which you can see on my Picasa site.

This is what happens when you put GAS in a diesel truck. Ouch. $500 later we were back on the road!

Getting ready for a group photo at work to present a gift to our director who was moving to another department.

Hair

First runway casting (hair fashion show) and this is the look on her face when she got home. Better prepared next time - if nothing else it allowed us to go shopping and get some great pics.

Naked Coworkers

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

how do you talk to naked people? We have a new locker policy at work and its cause more and more people to use the shower/bathroom. I walked in the other day to go pee to a lady getting out of the shower. Naked of course. I politely averted my eyes and proceeded directly to the nearest open stall. As I was peeing (I can say that on here right, its not vulgar or anything I hope) I wondered if the new changes meant they now had shampoo in the showers. So I asked! Why not, right? Yea, I'm taking a pee but she was naked so whats it matter? From my stall I asked the naked lady, "Hey do they have shampoo in those showers now?" "Yea," she said "soap and conditioner too. Not very good conditioner but better than nothing." I agreed, zipped up my pants and proceeded directly to the sink (taking care to look straight ahead and not at the lady towling off). While I washed my hands, the lady asked me a question. I didn't hear her so I said "What?" still taking care not to look at her. She repeated herself but with the water running I still didn't hear. This is the moment I got uncomfortable. How do you carry on a conversation wtih a naked chick while you are dressed - I mean I didn't want to look at her to hear better and I didn't want to keep asking "what?" like a hard of hearing person. Thats when I thought - there needs to be a locker ettiqute guide or something! You guys should help me cause I'm new to this "you-just-want-to-go-to-the-bathroom-but-there-will-be-vaious-naked-coworkers-there" routine. Help?! 2:54 PM - 4 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

More historical blogs

Sunday, March 18, 2007

do you want fries with that? I'd like to order a new me please. I'd like to have no emotional attachment to food or clothes or money. I'd like to have a healthy body. No Vices. To know when to put my emotions in a box and leave them there. A little less compassion - it sometimes gets in the way. To make better choices in all matters. To have self confidence not tempered by insecurity. To be a better mom. To be a better wife. Hold the pickels - and no I don't want fries. 2:26 PM - 5 Comments - 7 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Historial Blog entries

I can't import my blog from myspace so I will just take a few of the important ones and post them here - starting with the most recent. Happy reviewing.

Monday, July 30, 2007 a new phone and Identity theft My husband made me buy a new cell phone. I know...I know my phone was shit but I don't like the NEW phones. I asked the guy "what phone do you have that is the closest to MY phone?" He took a look....hid a smile and said "none!!!" I don't need a cam phone. I don't need super tiny. I don't need 459 gigs of photo storage space on my phone. Isn't that why we have ...ahem COMPUTERS?! My husband made me choose one anyway. And here he is choosing ring tones for me- WHY? Because I have to be "synced" with my ring tone or I'll do what I did tonight when it rang....completely tune it out..."OH thats MY phone? I didn't realize...It's not the one I picked". I swear that getting a new phone is a 2 week long process...selecting it, buying it, setting up my background, ring tones and figuring out how to access my voice mail....*sigh* THIS is why I have had a 14 year old phone and dreaded walking into "Singular" or now the "NEW AT and T". While I was there I'm pretty sure "Damien" photo copied my debit card, ID and wrote down my "secret CSV code"....I'm not even trying to be funny here. You'll be reading about the ID Theft ring I busted next week. The guy WROTE DOWN MY 3 digit verification code off my debit card. C'mon...tell me that isn't suspicious!! I'll keep you posted. Oh...and we got a new hard drive "HandyCam" ...any one who's used one that can tell me how to get my videos online will earn a brownie point! One more thing...My friends have stopped leaving comments. Listen I write for you...not me...so here is a friendly public service announcement from Cindy...LEAVE A DAMN COMMENT SO I KNOW YOU READ THE BLOG AT LEAST. *composes herself* ok...Thank you. 11:13 PM - 5 Comments - 3 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Thursday, July 26, 2007 Communication people Current mood: frustrated I've had it happen before. I'm blissfully moving through life - enjoying what I think are blossing or growing friendships - then BLAM! That person drops off the face of the earth. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. All the while I'm thinking - what the hell just happened? Probably a misunderstanding - but when people don't speak up - be honest and communicate their feelings - well friendships die. Some people would rather go slinking off into the night instead of facing someone and speaking their mind. When this happens (which thankfully hasn't been the case so much recently as in the past) I am left to wonder, fill in the blanks, imagine what may or may not have gone wrong. Most of the time - when it finally gets brought up - my "imaginings" are not even right. Whatever the "thing" is - is usually a misunderstanding of something simple. Someone's assumption or interpretation over something trivial that gets blown out of proportion in their mind. *BIG SIGH* The world would be a better place if people just weren't afraid to speak their mind, share their views and feelings and SAY something when they feel uncomfortable or offended or WHATever it is to the person they feel they have been wronged by. Then LISTEN to what that person has to say in response. SIMPLE. EASY. NOT stressful. Can't we just all talk a little more? 1:19 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Monday, July 23, 2007 self diagnosis I'm suffering from informaiton overload. I have my medical degree - from webmd. Why do I feel the need to self-diagnosis my problems - figure out what they are BEFORE going to see a real Dr. ? Do I feel smarter? or does this speak to my fear of the Dr. saying "there is nothing wrong with you - go home and here is a bill...."? do you self diagnos? Google search after google search, narrowing down the possiblities. Flipping between Google and Yahoo and About. Once I thought I was going to die from Spinal Menengitis because my symptoms were similar! I didn't sleep that night for fear I wasn't going to wake up - sad...sooo very sad. 3:58 PM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Saturday, July 21, 2007 Costco Yesterday we went to Costco. I got a nice bonus at work (from working hard to get it!!) and I chose to get it in the form of Costco cards. While shopping I of course have to scope out the samples....Have you ever gotten a "bad tasting" sample? Some concoction or product that just doesn't belong in a store - ANY store? Yesterday I tried an artichoke dip - that tasted like shit on a cracker! It's bad for the sampler (me) but CAN YOU IMAGINE being the person behind THAT sample booth? To have to keep a straight face, tell people about the product -- luring them to try it - and then watch as they take a bite and the truth comes out? OH, this tastes like crap - Thanks! I wonder if the "sample" team has a morning meeting where the sample assignment are handed out - does the new girl get the shitty artichoke dip and the "favorite" ass-kiss employee get the cheesecake sample table? Do those sample giver-outers get "graded" on how many samples they give out or how much of that featured product gets sold? Can you get a full sized portion if you TIP the sample guy? See - aren't you glad you aren't in my brain 24/7? So thats my story today. I'm tired, crampy and bloated. I'm washing my NEW towels before tucking them neatly away. If you have some "weekend" engergy - send it my way. 8:28 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Friday, July 13, 2007 I hate Greyhound and other musings My daughter was supposed to depart on a bus at 6:15 p.m. We arrived at the bus depot at 5:45. At 7 the bus still had not arrived. I called the toll free number because I realized that she may miss the connecting but in Seattle. They told me she may miss it and would have to catch the next but at 6:45 a.m the next day!!! The bus arrived at 7:05. Two beligerent, creepy looking men gave the bus driver a hard time because he wasn't the "north bound" bus...When they finally stopped I approached the driver and explained that my daughter needed to catch the bus in Seattle and would he make it. He was rude. VERY rude. "Get on the bus if you are going." I explained again my concern about my daughter being stuck in Seattle and asked if he thought they would make the connection. He said "I don't know. If you are going, get on" OMG. I haven't been so pissed of in such a short amount of time - HE was late and being a complete ASS to me - a mother just trying to ensure my daughter didn't get stranded. I said "lets go" and we got in the car to drive to Seattle in an attempt to reach the connection in time. We arrived in Seattle at 7:46 - the bus was due to have departed at 7:40 - I rushed to the front of the line of smelly tired looking would-be passengers to ask if the bus to Portland had yet departed...a man pointed and said "thats it and thats the driver behind you". With seconds to spare my daughter got on the bus with a very nice, kind and knowing driver who reassured me he would take care of her and make sure she got there safe. What a stressful few hours! I will NEVER EVER use the bus line again. I just talked to her - she has yet to arrive in Portland and her ticket shows they are supposed to depart from Portland right now - AFTER a 30 minute lay over. They are late - no question about it - I just hope she will be able to get some sleep before the 5:00 a.m. arrival. She will be soooo tired when she arrives. It was my first official work from home day - that was quiet a great experience. We went to run a few errands - and got stuck in a fatality crash in I5 and didn't get half of the errands done. So as of today we are kidless for a week! holy crap. I don't know what to do with myself already. It should be bed time. I'm going to work that way now. 11:45 PM - 3 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Sunday, July 08, 2007 Another 50th Birthday!! Our friend also turned 50 - on the 3rd and we hosted a party for her. Pics are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/cindywren/CindyAshbridge50thBirthday I think a great time was had by all - conversation ranged from waxing, to Caberets, to first dates and no butts!! My son is officially in Canada - as of yesterday - I miss him already - its so different when only one child is at home. I don't know WHAT I'll do when they are both gone for a week!! 9:03 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Thursday, July 05, 2007 Willie... Willie needs to retire. I enjoyed the concert and it was my 15 year old daughters first concert - I won't tell her I was 15 when I went to my first concert, but it wasn't with my folks!! Styx in Anchorage, AK right before I conceived her!!! It was hot and overpriced - at least the camping and concessions, but my friend drove all the way from Oregon to join us and that was great!! What is it about bowels that mean you don't take a crap while you are gone but the moment you step into your own house you gotta!~! Crazy!! I have a friend moving in this week who needs a temporary place to lay her head. That should be intersting....Work tommorow and then a weekend. Too bad I dont' have the day off!! 9:35 PM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Sunday, July 01, 2007 It worked! It was a pain in the a$$ but with the help of our friends we actually managed to SUPRISE Matt for his 50th birthday. Here are some pictures of the great birthday bash we had! This was yesterday - some of the photos are from today - his ACTUAL birthday day - we rode quads in the yard with friends, worked on the fence more for the horse, had a nice dinner with friends and I even managed to go horse back riding for a bit. http://picasaweb.google.com/cindywren/MattS50thBDay Short week with the 4th and the concert - will have to work hard to make up for the time off! :) 10:27 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Monday, June 25, 2007 I'm home I'm home tonight. Very glad to be back. Glad I went, but glad to be back too. To get off the plane and not be blasted with HOT desert air was a nice change. It was good to see my husband and the kids after a whole week being gone. Though this was more an emergency visit I did manage to get some time with my dear friend from grade school who lives in beatiful Prescott Arizona. I got to see more of the state on that one day then I thought I would. Plus my brother managed to drag his tired butt with me. While we didn't talk much, it was good to just BE with him for the day. It's good to talk to friends and see where life has lead us. She is happy and has a wonderful husband, new family and friends. I'm actually looking forward to going to work tomorrow if for no other reason but to make sure the world didn't fall apart without me! (EGO) I'll catch up more with everyone later. thanks for listening. 10:04 PM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 Arizona I woke up Monday to an email from my mom. I got on a plane at 5:00 p.m. to Arizona to see my brother and my mom. Some of you know the situation - I'll spare the details for the rest of you. Anyway - I'm really glad I'm here. I think (even though not everyone was happy to have me) that my being here is helpful. Or maybe its not - but I FEEL better. I haven't seen my mom in several years so the time with her is good. Its far from a vacation - and if anyone ever tells you its HOT in Arizona - believe them! It's 113 today and I think I'll melt at 115. Thank goodness for AC. 12:52 AM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Catie

I'm moving out

It's time. Its time to blog on Blogger instead of Myspace. I just hope my friends will follow me to stay updated. I'm also hoping I can "move" my blog from Myspace...its been a year afterall.