More poking and pictures

Well, it's another round of doctor's appointments for me. Yesterday, I saw my surgeon for a regular checkup, and she ordered a bone scan because of the back pain I've been having. Sunday, it was really bad. It was pretty stiff when I got up, so I tried some stretching and a bit of exercise, since movement seems to help it, but I guess I overdid it or something because I spent the rest of the day in bed or on the couch with the heating pad. It got better through the day Monday, and feels pretty good now, but I'm going to take it easy a couple more days at least so I don't reinjure it.

Then today I had my port flushed and a chest x-ray, both routine since I have a followup visit with my oncologist next Tuesday. My bone scan was scheduled for Thursday, so she would have seen the results by then, but I had to reschedule it today because my co-worker's wife started having contractions late this morning, and she's not due until next month. So we're not sure whether he'll be able to come in the rest of the week, and our new managing editor is going back to Iowa on Thursday to bring back a bunch of stuff, I guess so when his wife and kid (+1 on the way) move here there won't be so much stuff. That would have left just one person to put together the paper until awful close to deadline. So I got the scan rescheduled for next Wednesday. We'll still be short handed next week because my co-worker was scheduled to take the week off anyway, but it won't leave just one person on the desk.

It's time like these that prove we really need another copy editor/paginator (full time) on the desk. We've been told since May that the paper was going to hire someone, and it was offered to an intern we had this summer, but since then, about every time I've asked or been told something about that position, the story has changed. A couple months ago, we suddenly couldn't afford the position unless we got money from the parent company for the "youth publication" we have planned. Well, we got the money, but then it was about a month before anything new came about on the copy editor position. And now they're looking for someone who can do copy editing "a couple days a week" and report the rest of the time. Not sure I'm too happy with that arrangement.

And it's going to be hectic the rest of the year, probably, what with everyone who works (or can work) the desk on vacation one week or another -- except for me. I still have a couple days vacation left, but I'll probably just end up losing them. That usually happens every year, although much less so this year. I've never used all my time because I just never could afford to go anywhere or do anything, and just hanging around the house didn't sound like much of a vacation.

Anyway, enough griping. Things are much better this year than last, so I should be thankful. I mean, just for starters, my head stays a lot warmer with a full head of hair!