Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Complications
I have not been over to see my parents this week as of yet, but I have heard nearly every day from nurses and doctors about my mother. Today I tried to call the orthopedic surgeon because the day that was scheduled for me to take my mother back to have her stitches out (next Monday) is when I must be in class giving back drafts and discussing them with students. It is my official exam day. Also, I thought it would be impossible to take her there, given that she cannot sit up or put weight on her leg and her blood pressure is awful, very high.
The doctor's office insists that she must go in an ambulance, and I must either take off work or find someone else to accompany her, so I am trying desperately to find out what time the appointment is, since I cannot find the appointment sheet the hospital gave me and the nurse who left a message didn't tell me. In fact, both nurses and receptionists insisted my mother did NOT have an appointment that they could see at all. So I am now unsure of how this will be settled. First I must speak with nurses and physician's assistants who saw her today and ask their opinion whether that will be possible or wise or whether it may endanger her life. Then I can call the doctor back and pass along this information and find out what time the appointment is, and line up transportation and a caregiver to accompany her. Sigh.
The doctor's office insists that she must go in an ambulance, and I must either take off work or find someone else to accompany her, so I am trying desperately to find out what time the appointment is, since I cannot find the appointment sheet the hospital gave me and the nurse who left a message didn't tell me. In fact, both nurses and receptionists insisted my mother did NOT have an appointment that they could see at all. So I am now unsure of how this will be settled. First I must speak with nurses and physician's assistants who saw her today and ask their opinion whether that will be possible or wise or whether it may endanger her life. Then I can call the doctor back and pass along this information and find out what time the appointment is, and line up transportation and a caregiver to accompany her. Sigh.
Last Day of Class
Today was the last official day of class. Though I am meeting with them Monday and Weds. of next week, the class is officially over, except for the collecting of final papers, which I will do on Weds. Technically, the finals day is Monday, but they will not be ready since I did not get their drafts till today, and several didn't give me drafts today since they still refuse to go to UCI to do research, saying it is unfair that they have to leave campus in order to do their work.
Since it is impossible with most topics to rely totally on IVC's library and what is available online, there is nothing I can do about this. I told them the first day of class that they should count on having to do it, and on spending many many hours doing research. They never bothered to do it, so most of them are just barely scraping by, and a couple not even that.
I will be happy to leave this class behind me forever and never never teach this topic again.
Since it is impossible with most topics to rely totally on IVC's library and what is available online, there is nothing I can do about this. I told them the first day of class that they should count on having to do it, and on spending many many hours doing research. They never bothered to do it, so most of them are just barely scraping by, and a couple not even that.
I will be happy to leave this class behind me forever and never never teach this topic again.
Torahthon
On Tuesday the 18th, the synagogue will have a Torah festival in which the entire Torah will be presented by various members of the congregation, piece by piece, in 60 second portions, or parashot. I took up the challenge of presenting one of these pieces, and was assigned a dense block of text--Numbers 19.1-22.1. Here is what I will present on Tuesday:
Bookended by the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, Chukat provides a means of unlocking the Torah’s symbolic nexus. At this point in its journey through the wilderness, the community is smarting from its wounds, touched by death. The sacrifice of a flawless red cow provides "water of lustration" to purge the Israelites of their impurities. The color of the cow and its gender, linked to fertility, possess immense power. But how does this arcane ceremony connect with the death of Miriam that follows? Commentators have remarked on the lack of fanfare this death receives. We are told only that Miriam died at a place called Kadesh (Holy), and was buried there.
Miriam once acted as a kind of midwife to the Jewish people by setting her brother Moses adrift in the birth canal of the Nile. Here, her death, like the sacrifice of the flawless red cow, compensates for the community's misdeeds. The Christian notion that the death of a righteous person enables atonement has its roots here. Miriam dies in order to purify the community. The word "lustration" means not only "purification" but the act of census or taking stock. Miriam's death encourages the people to take stock of their actions and repent, an act of holiness echoing the name of Miriam's place of death.
Bookended by the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, Chukat provides a means of unlocking the Torah’s symbolic nexus. At this point in its journey through the wilderness, the community is smarting from its wounds, touched by death. The sacrifice of a flawless red cow provides "water of lustration" to purge the Israelites of their impurities. The color of the cow and its gender, linked to fertility, possess immense power. But how does this arcane ceremony connect with the death of Miriam that follows? Commentators have remarked on the lack of fanfare this death receives. We are told only that Miriam died at a place called Kadesh (Holy), and was buried there.
Miriam once acted as a kind of midwife to the Jewish people by setting her brother Moses adrift in the birth canal of the Nile. Here, her death, like the sacrifice of the flawless red cow, compensates for the community's misdeeds. The Christian notion that the death of a righteous person enables atonement has its roots here. Miriam dies in order to purify the community. The word "lustration" means not only "purification" but the act of census or taking stock. Miriam's death encourages the people to take stock of their actions and repent, an act of holiness echoing the name of Miriam's place of death.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A Strange Thing At the Door
Today, it is Tuesday, but nothing happened. No one called me with any urgent emergency. In fact, I discovered that my cell phone isn't working correctly and went off by itself, so maybe that's why. But for whatever reason, I went on to Torah group and had a nice evening for the first time in many weeks talking about a book of Deuteronomy.
It was about 9:10 PM when I came home, and I saw something that seemed to be tucked into the screen door. I couldn't tell what it was because the porch light long ago gave out and replacing the bulb doesn't help. So I reached out to take whatever it was into my hand, and it flapped crinkly black wings, whatever it was, and flew away, right out of my hands. I have no idea what it was, but I screamed, feeling I was holding a bat or a bird or a very large insect. I have no idea which. Or something supernatural, waiting for me there at the door.
It was about 9:10 PM when I came home, and I saw something that seemed to be tucked into the screen door. I couldn't tell what it was because the porch light long ago gave out and replacing the bulb doesn't help. So I reached out to take whatever it was into my hand, and it flapped crinkly black wings, whatever it was, and flew away, right out of my hands. I have no idea what it was, but I screamed, feeling I was holding a bat or a bird or a very large insect. I have no idea which. Or something supernatural, waiting for me there at the door.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Dueling Nurses
After looking at my mom for a while yesterday, seeing she couldn't get out of bed, sit up, or even keep her eyes open, I determined it was impossible for her to visit the doctor. Therefore, I called the office this morning and told them someone would have to go out to see her. The nurse practitioner with whom she had an appt. is going to go see her, and sent out a nurse in advance to check out the situation. Meanwhile, all kinds of home health nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists were already attending to her.
The nurses all say my mother's blood pressure is climbing steadily, and she is in immanent danger of a stroke. Frankly, I pray that if she has one, it won't do a halfway job, leaving her even more impaired than she is at present. How awful to have to pray for that!
The nurses all say my mother's blood pressure is climbing steadily, and she is in immanent danger of a stroke. Frankly, I pray that if she has one, it won't do a halfway job, leaving her even more impaired than she is at present. How awful to have to pray for that!
Thinking Twice
On Tuesday afternoon, my mother's doctor wants her to be seen at UCI Med. Ctr. for a followup appointment. At the time I made the appointment, last week, I thought things would improve, but instead, they may have worsened, since mom is still in bed, asleep all day, and unable to move as well as lacking totally in awareness of her condition. The idea of the driver getting her to UCI med ctr without re-injuring her leg is scary to me, even if I get one of the caregivers to go along with them. I don't know how much money to offer for that, either. So I called the Physician's asst. who works with my mom's doctor and asked for advice. I guess I will hear from her later.
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