Last night was a bad night — I’m feeling rather battered and my face is sore. Where did they insert that endoscope again? Oh, right, there were some minor problems with anesthesia so I got manhandled a bit while unconscious. I’m feeling it. Bottom half is doing great, but the top half, back and face, were run through a mangler. The aches are already easing up, though, so I’m not worried about it.
I was also advised to go gently on meals, despite being ravenous. I was a good boy yesterday, so it was nothing but soup and toast. There are still strange rumblings and squelchy noises coming out of my guts, so that was a wise decision, but today I surrendered to my hunger and started the day with a mushroom omelette and giant cup of coffee. That should help.
Feeling better already, except…the university has begun its ominous slouch towards opening. Yesterday was the official opening convocation, which I missed for obvious reasons, but today begins with a two hour division meeting (we’re going to talk about budgets and assessment and other such minutiæ ; strangely, there is nothing on the agenda about the pandemic challenges we have to face), followed by a one hour biology discipline meeting, followed by me having to spend some time finishing the genetics lab cleanup so the next lab class can move in for the Fall.
Then I’d better get those class syllabi out to the students. I meet with my new advisees on Monday. They better be wearing masks!
So far, it looks like this school year is starting with an assumption of total normalcy, while ominous horror-movie music has begun rising in my head, and I just know we’re going to reach a crescendo with screeching violins next month. No way am I going to split up and go into the basement in the coming month.
The powers that be have decided that it is too dangerous to open the faculty parking lot next to our office building, so math faculty are expected to park and hike from a more remote lot. It’s not particularly far, but it’s exceedingly stupid and irksome. I intend to demonstrate I know how to move parking barriers when classes resume on Monday. We have mask and vaccination mandates for on-campus classes, but we also have petty administrative nuisances to deal with as well. In addition to arbitrary parking restrictions, the college’s print shop isn’t allowed to deliver instructional materials to individual departments. Instead of showing up in our faculty inboxes, materials have to be delivered to a single approved location where we all have to go fetch (and it’s not at print services). Some of the hoops we have to jump through beggar the imagination.
Have a nice semester, PZ.
I’ve had two colonoscopies so far in the Netherlands (colon cancer runs in the family) and I’ve chosen to have them without anesthesia. No issues with it, and 10 minutes after the procedure I can take the bicycle back home. You can also follow along with the procedure on the screen and see what they see and do. Is that not an option in the US? It’s not that painful at all, just uncomfortable when the blow in the air and go round the corners.
Here, PZ. Take this dodgy flashlight with weak batteries. It will keep you safe as you walk backwards into the garden shed.
That omelet looks delicious, but I’m surprised you didn’t ease back into normal eating as advised. (I don’t remember having any particular advice about eating last time. I am due again, so I’ll find out.)
I did ease in. Yesterday was one bowl of soup and a couple of slices of toast.
The mildly deranged penguin agrees, a spicy Thai Tom Yum soup — some versions of which contain MUSHROOMS! — with garlic cheese bread, and some grog
orand rum, does ease one back into a “normal” diet. (She does hope, however, the omelette wasn’t made from penguin eggs, despite “And fresh penguin eggs a treat” (audio, The Little Pot Stove, Nick Jones).)@Tappancs
I had a colonoscopy without anesthesia bc a doctor said it was no big deal and you could resume your day immediately afterwards. It was super uncomfortable and I would never do it again.
Might be due to different pain tolerances – although usually I’m pretty good about coping – but also different individual morphologies. Some people may require a more complicated / longer procedure than others.
My stomach was a bit painful for a couple of days after mine ,Had to spend half an hour in the recovery room ,with a nice of tea and a biscuit ,cookie to you Americans