Pischina: diary of a grown woman

2004-03-28 - 9:04 p.m.

So ya know, Buffy can't go 30 days without maiming herself, we've already established that, but this time she had to go to the hospital. I took one look at her thumb, grabbed a pillow case and wrapped it around as tight as I could since it was gushing blood, and got the phone book.

"I don't want stitches!" she yelled.

"Well you're going to get some," I told her ("And quite a lot of them," I was thinking in my head).

She wanted to make some homemade frenchfries and was cutting up a potato with a serrated steak knife, it slipped and sliced her entire thumb open, top to bottom, and a piece off the middle even. She has no health insurance because her father canceled it, remember? And it was 5:30pm on a Sunday, so no clinics are open. Straight to Kaiser Hospital we went. $125 just for registration, I'll have to borrow that money from my boss tomorrow. I'm sure we'll get a bill for more in the mail. The great part is I get to give the Ex a copy of the bill and he has to pay me half.

Buffy barely shed a tear. She's a trouper, I told the doctor. The doctor said I have a very calming voice and that was why Buffy is always so calm when hurting herself. I think she's just used to it.

Anyway, she's okay now. Ten stitches, thumb all wrapped up, and she's been calling all her friends and telling them her story.

So now on to the little quiz I was going to do before the hospital trip. Borrowed from Mocksie:

Where were you when...:

When Mt. St. Helens blew (05/18/1980)

I was about 13 years old, and I don't remember where I was when I first heard about it, but my best friend Annie had just moved to Washington and I was worried about her. My mom let me call her. She told me the ash was EVERYWHERE, like 6 inches covering the entire world (of her 13 year old life). She even sent me a little capsule of the ash but I have no idea what happened to it.

When the space shuttle Challenger exploded (01/28/1986)

I was sleeping in my room at my parent's house (19 years old). The EX (my boyfriend at the time) called and woke me up, told me to turn on the TV. His step-dad worked on the shuttle, and he had watched it. I spent the entire day watching it on the news over and over again. I was devastated because the teacher had been on board - it wasn't like just untouchable god-like astronauts, but someone *real*, a teacher like my mom. This may have been the first time the news had a very real effect on me.

When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (10/07/1989)

I was 22 and working on the top floor (13th floor) of the Bank America building in downtown San Jose. I was supposed to be in the elevator down at that moment but had stayed to get a Federal Express package ready to mail. I was in the hallway with a wall of law books next to me as the building started swaying back and forth. My boss the millionaire asshole was in a doorway talking to me, but ran and hid under his desk, leaving me holding on in the hallway. My regular office was all windows, so I was lucky I was in the hallway, I just thought it was a regular earthquake and that it felt worse because of the tall building. Then we had to climb down the 13 flights of stairs which seemed to take forever. It wasn't until I was in the car stuck in traffic listening to all the news reports that I realized how bad it was, then driving home and seeing just devastation... it was unreal. Like stepping into a movie. I also knew my husband had to cross the Bay Bridge to get home, and I was worried about him and my cats in our 3rd story apartment. Everyone was fine but it was quite an adventure. A horrible adventure I would never want to repeat.

When the Berlin Wall fell (11/07/1989)

I think it was November 8th in the USA when we heard it on the news, I was turning 23 that day (the 8th) and thought it was cool that it was on my birthday.

When the Gulf War began (01/16/1991)

I was staying home with my new baby Spike. He had been born in August 1990 and we were sending troops over since the week before he was born. In my hormonal state, I cried almost non-stop those first six months. I couldn't stand thinking of all those mothers sending their sons away.

When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (06/17/1994)

We were living in the mountains. We were hanging out in the garage watching basketball and talking with friends when it happened. From that point on our TV stayed on throughout the trial - there wasn't much happening in the mountains, I was fascinated. I can also tell you about when the verdict was read. The EX and I were living back in San Jose by then, we drove the kids to preschool, got a package of donuts and brought them back home so we could have a celebration while watching the "guilty verdict" read. I remember dropping our chocolate donuts as they read the verdict. We were just dumbstruck.

When the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed(19/4/1995)

I don't remember much about that. I mean, I remember it and I remember watching it on the news all day, but I don't remember many details.

When Princess Di was killed (09/4/1997)

I had just been told by my boyfriend Sean, who was going to a barbeque, that I should go home and clean my house since my kids were at their dad's. He was going to the barbeque by himself and sent me home to clean my house. I was driving home furious and devastated, crying, and I heard the news on the car radio. I cried even harder and I was never even a fan. Sean goes down in history as the biggest asshole I ever went out with, and that means he tops the crackhead boyfriend who burned down my house.

When the shooting at Columbine occured (04/25/1999)

I also don't remember many details about this, but I did watch a lot of it on the news. It's hard to watch stuff like that when you have kids.

When Bush was first announced President (11/07/2000)

I had just started my blog that day (I don't know if the archives of my current blog go back that far) but those were my first posts, just waiting for the results. And waiting and waiting and waiting...

When terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center (09/11/2001)

I wrote about it at the time. I was at home and had just woken up. I think my entry describes that morning very well.

When Columbia disintegrated during re-entry over Texas. (02/01/2003)

I know I was on the computer, and I don't remember if I saw the news online or on the TV by the desk. I was wondering why they were replaying Challenger footage, then realized it was a NEW news item. It was sort of surreal to live through again.

Okay, that's the end of the quiz. I know some of those dates aren't correct, I changed the Princess Di one myself because I knew it was wrong. Just don't blame me if more are wrong, I just copied it, okay?
:-)

I have to go get Buffy some Tylenol now.