Not truly notable news - sex, sexism and sports in reverse order

There were two articles released in the news today that are the kinds of articles that make you pause and ponder - what in the world is going on?!?

The first article covered an employer's guide to Euro Cup 2012. This is  basically an HR guide covering:

• how to handle an expected increase in absenteeism 
• what to do when you're given false medical certificates (something I have experiences with now)
• how to handle it when your employees come back from that extra, extra long lunch break drunk
• how to how to accomodate your employees' viewing hours by creating flexi-hours
• potential charges of sexism, nationalism or other discriminatory issues that may be raised by those uninterested in football (this I found a little sexist - I like football and watch more than some men I know... does this mean the flexi hours are only meant for male Euro Cup viewers?)
• what to do when your suit and tie guys engage in football hooliganism.
• how to handle the betting pool

The second was an article about a primary school principal who was just fired after his S&M porn star past came to light. What a doofus.

But that leads me to some statistics that may be more horrifying than interesting - ok, statistic singular. I don't think I'm jumping leaps and bounds if I say, generally speaking, that European women have a different attitude towards nudity, sex and sexuality than Americans (I'm going to lump UK in with America on this one). And this region of the world sex and sexuality are even less... taboo isn't the right word, more of a non-issue? I don't know what I'm looking for exactly but the approach is more relaxed. Anyway, here's that statistic - approximately (that's a strong start for a statistic, but...) approximately 20% of Czech women have appeared in pornographic material - or at least material that by more American standards would be viewed as pornographic. A number of ads that are printed here would violate American standards for commercial publication. But that's the percentage. I heard it from someone involved with research in the industry who is not prone to over-inflate his figures. That's pretty high.

And leads directly to the billboard we saw on the way to the airport this AM - picture this... dawn rising, a peaceful taxi drive on a highway surrounded by the lush green of a country-side landscape and a billboard appears.... it's a close-up on a business woman - no, not the woman, on her bust. She's wearing a suit - and... ok, wait, it's a suit jacket and a bra, a push-up bra. That's it. It's a giant billboard of some woman's boobs. And the tagline? Boost your business


Here's a link to an article I'd thought I'd linked to earlier but apparently hadn't. It doesn't showcase the billboard we saw today but it definitely will give you a taste for the more outlandish and overtly sexualized advertisements that are displayed here. 

Technically correct - not always the best choice

It's been a few months and I'm still dealing with the knee issue. Had my second appointment with the orthopedist today. Last week's was a treasure. He did a less than cursory (it is possible) interview and told me to take off my pants, walk around and then and lie down. I did. He started feeling around my knee and leg and then said he was going to give me a shot. I don't like needles and would prefer to avoid them unless absolutely necessary. So I asked what type of shot - I was already on medication and wanted to 1) make sure it wasn't duplicated, and 2) see if a pill could be substituted instead. He turned to me and said I didn't have to have it if I didn't want it, never mind. He was a bit snippy. I was uncomfortable and I still didn't know what he wanted to give me. I forgot that doctors here aren't used to as many questions. Then he told me not to walk, lose the brace, elevate my leg and keep ice on it. He sent me out to schedule another appointment.

Today was my follow up. He seemed in a slightly better mood. I got to keep my pants on. We were off to a good start. He felt around a bit and it hurt. He felt around some more and it hurt more. Then he told me that there's too much fluid  and he wants to test it. Here's the technically correct part that totally freaked me out - the way he said it. "I am going to puncture your knee."

Puncture in the same sentence as any body part will never sound good. You don't say 'I'm going to puncture my ears tomorrow', you say 'I'm going to pierce them.' You get blood drawn or you get a blood test you don't puncture your arteries. Dog bites leave puncture wounds, drug addicts have puncture marks, to test for meningitis our MS you get a lumbar puncture (yes, technically it refers to a region of the body but it's not such a body-part sounding word, lumbar, that is)... none of those are lovely sounding things. And it's not fun when you puncture your tire either.

Anyway, the use of the word puncture in relation to my knee freaked me out. But, it's going to happen - it just didn't happen today.

One more note - and actually, I really like this hospital, even though the staff often sends me to the wrong places and, unlike their advertisements, the nurses and intake people don't all speak English - I've gotten lost there a few times. With directions like "Follow the white line" it's totally understandable.

things to look forward to - or to skip

Pretty soon I will write a bit about...

DATING as a foreigner. FYI it can suck.

And that's not just my opinion. Details to follow when I'm in a less cynical mood :)

And, yes input is accepted. As are flowers and other romantic gestures.

(That input isn't to be your advice or views addressing my situation but rather it should be a sharing based upon your experiences dating as a foreigner.)

a little midnight anxiety

It's not keeping me up, I'm awake already, but my knee and potential surgery are kind of freaking me out right now. I'm starting to realize that I'll be here alone. And the hospitals here are clean but not friendly - 8 - 10 people per room, no dividing curtains, no sensitive caring nurses (nurses galore, just not sweet ones), I won't have any family around, I'm terrified of needles - and I have a very real and rather firmly entrenched fear of pain. Not just a dislike of pain, as is most common, but an actual fear of experiencing pain. After many years of a pain condition it's become ingrained in me - not knowing when it will stop increasing in intensity - being fearful that it won't; when, if ever, it will end; how to make it stop without screwing up my brain or the rest of my body... stuff like that. I'm realizing that this will be a very lonely and isolating experience. Right now I don't even know if I'll be having surgery in my "home" town or a few hours away - honestly, though, it won't matter when it comes to company. When I had major surgery in the US I was about an hour away from my house and the only person I saw was my husband. I was there for a week. I'll be in hospital for about a week here, too, but I'm no longer married so I can't count on that. And the hospital is in the outskirts of the city, in a rather isolated and difficult to reach location.  I honestly don't expect anyone will make it out there. The kid will already be back in the US so that's a no-go. Even if she weren't I wouldn't necessarily want her to come see me and stress out about stitches and tubes and stuff like that. Kids don't want to see their parents out of it. On the plus side, I will have competent care. I will be able to walk freely in a few months and I will be able to pay for it without having to worry about going in to debt. Maybe I'll get some new pajamas for the thing. You don't get much here, not even a real gown. When my friend broke his head and spent a week in the hospital he was in his underwear until I brought him some clothes - and the half dozen men in his room were either naked under the blankets or naked under the hospital gown - and let me tell you.... it's not just in the US that the gowns aren't made to fit. I believe that design flaw is global.

MRI awkwardness :)

Today I had two appointments at Homolka, the hospital that's working with me and my knee. The first was my first physical therapy appointment. The lady was lovely, however, unfortunately, there had been a bit of miscommunication with my doctor. Weeks ago he gave me some pills and told me to take them if it hurt. I took that to mean... here are some pills that you can take if it hurts.

I was wrong. He meant take them. They were, and I was aware, anti-inflammatory. 

When I met with the lady today she looked me over and said I was still too swollen. SEVEN WEEKS AFTER THE FACT my knee was still too swollen so start PT! She was as surprised as I was, especially since in her mind I was supposed to have been taking those darn pills. She asked me about them and I explained he said take them if it hurts and while it was uncomfortable it wasn't hurting so I didn't take them. (If you know me you know I've had major pain problems and bad experiences with prescribed pain meds and try to avoid them when I can - but do take them when I need to). 

She couldn't do anything for me today so she sent me on my way pretty early. Too early, actually, as I had a few hours to kill before my MRI.

Let's skip all the in between stuff and jump to the MRI. If you go to Homolka for an MRI you should know it's not in the main building. It's downstairs, outside and around the back of another building down a little hill. I knew, based on past experiences, that the recepionists, while well meaning, don't always send you to the right place, so I got there very, very early. As in... hours early. And I was sent to the wrong location. Fortunately a very kind man escorted me through the maze,down and through the doctor's passages rather than the patients'. 

Once I was called in for my exam things took a Czech turn. Modesty, compared to the US, is non-existent. There aren't robes or gowns or drapes. Be prepared to strip down and walk around in your underwear, climbing on and off machines, so make sure you're dressed appropriately. I was, fortunately. I was cool with it until he asked me to take off my "breasts". My first reaction was to say sorry, but they're real, but instead I said OK and took off my bra - which was kind of ridiculous on the one hand as only my legs went in the machine and the metal bits of my bra weren't going to be affected, but was actually reasonable once I remembered how powerful those things are.

They're LOUD. As in ridiculous ear damaging loud. I had earplugs in and my ears still hurt - in fact, one still does now. Despite the volume the machine goes through different rather rhythmic phases. I've had a number of MRIs  in the US; in the past my head and torso have been scanned - I've been given headphones and some music and just chilled out. Today, there was nothing going on. So I fell asleep. The rhythm of the machine put me to sleep - I think having my knee firmly encased in some comfortable foamy thing helped as it was the first time it was comfortable laying down in ... seven weeks.

Anyway, I slept. For a while. I was in there for about 40 minutes +/- and I think I was asleep for most of it. Up until just before the end. And why not till the end? Over the volume of that monstrous machine and the WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP CHIGA CHIGA CHIGA CHIGA WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP CHIGA CHIGA CHIGA CHIGA  - over that earsplitting sound, I woke myself up snoring.

Five and a half weeks on & the first week of finals

I"m still on crutches. Yesterday I had my review and thought I'd be relieved of at least one if not both, or, minimally, at least the orthosis. Nope. No progress noted in the big scheme. I'm getting some mobility back but I'm still numb from the knee down and quite weak. Next real evaluation set for June 4 - MRI and PT both take place on the 28th but nothing will come of that until the 4th. My  hands hurt at the thought of walking down the street. I"ll be really happy when this is over. Since I don't have a car I either have to walk somewhere or pay for a taxi.  I'm becoming a bit of a hermit.

This has been a frustrating week. I've been trying to implement some positive changes for the students and the most flack I'm getting is from them! It's really hard to fight for something when the most resistance comes from those who will benefit.

The kid has her photo exhibit today and she's sick. Finals started two days ago. They finish up on Tuesday. I'm hoping that things will be more settled next week. I think there might be a certain level of anxiety in the air that seems to be contagious - almost every one I've come in to contact with this week has been a bit out of sorts. And the weather's crazy too.

This weekend is the start of the Beer Festival  - this year it's in my part of the city. There's also an interesting art salon in the gallery down the street. I don't know if I'll make it to either but it's nice to know there are options. And we're having lunch with our Bulgarian family this weekend - our friend just graduated from AUBG and is in town visiting family and celebrating - I'm really grateful we get to be a part of that celebration :)

3 weeks later

Had a check up at the hospital today. This one also cost only 30kc and included x-rays and a new knee brace. That was the good news.

There is no further update on my knee - I've got to go back in 3 weeks to check-in, a week later I have my MRI and 2 weeks later I'll review my results with the orthopedist.  That is the neutral news.

The frustrating bit - I'm still on crutches and I will be for a while longer.

Whatever. It's temporary. Frustrating cause it's incredibly inconvenient and my arms and hands hurt, but it's temporary. Hopefully this will all be resolved before graduation.