Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Sick again

So, I'm sick again. Less than three months ago I had pneumonia. You know, the disease where you can't breathe. Where you walk up the stairs and you have to sit down because you're out of breath. The disease that put my dad in the hospital for a week and almost killed him. Ya. That disease.
I became aware I was sick again a little over a week ago, immediately following church. A fever. Light-headed. Tuesday evening the fever was still there (highs at 104 F), so we went to the doctor, who gave me a prescription for an antibiotic. Started taking it...one day, two days, three days, little change. No longer light-headed, but I started coughing a bit more. Four days, five days...still nothing. So I figure I have a bacteria that's tougher than the antibiotic (or at least resistant to it), or I have a virus. I found myself short of breath at times, and so worried that I again had pneumonia, and this time it was back for vengeance. So we went to the doctor's again(those of you who have health insurance--appreciate it). A different doctor saw us this time, and he insisted on a blood test, did some x-rays, and then showed us some of my blood data. Some of the numbers were not good...he had another test done, this time for mono. Positive. That's right. I have the kissing disease. At least I know what I have and how to deal with it, even if there is no treatment for it.
Why can't I get sick like a normal person? The cold? The flu? Something that doesn't last weeks and weeks?
So, in three months, I go through pneumonia, quit my job, move to Idaho, marry April, and get mono. I'm going to be out of it for a while. Maybe it's a good thing I haven't found a job yet.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Been a while

So, it's been a while since I've written.
I am now a married man. The long search is over; it was worth the length to find the right woman.
I never realized how important it is to show up to receptions. A number of people drove quite a distance to support us, and that means a lot. Even if it wasn't a long distance, it still was important to us.
For those who missed it, April looked stunning.
We spent about a week in Idaho Falls and Yellowstone, and then another week in Bryce Canyon/Zions. We spent another week setting up our new apartment in Idaho Falls, and then April started her internship. I'm still looking for work.
The principal at Bonneville High School told me he thought I had a job there...and then he gave it to someone else. So that was a bit of a disappointment. Also frustrating is the multiple phonecalls from Utah principals, wanting to interview me. Idaho schools don't seem interested (or are too far away to seriously consider). So I'm stressing out about finding a job.
Meanwhile, we're living on my savings. We have a couple more months before I really need to find work. If I don't find work as a teacher here, we might move in January, once April is done with her internship.
We went to a 4th of July parade with April's family; her sister lives on the parade route. I passed the time looking at the simple floats and making fun of spelling mistakes (which are always funniest when they're written up and displayed in enormous letters). My favorite were "heros" (not the sandwich--and displayed twice), and "patriatic". I told my brother-in-law about it, and he laughed at what he called "those Idaho hicks". Come on, people. If thousands of people are going to see your large, painted letters that take up most your float, at least use a spell-checker to make sure you don't look like an idiot.
Nice thing about the parade, though, was all the candy they threw out. And it was noticeably shorter than the last parade I went to in downtown Salt Lake. Short is always good.
I'm considering taking classes if I can't find a decent job. I'm two classes from being able to teach 8th grade science. I'm also thinking about getting started on a master's program for educational leadership.
I'll try to update here more often; I'm jobless, and we finally have internet access in the apartment, so check back for more frequent posts.