MARLA'S RANTS ON THE NYC TRANSIT STRIKE 0F 2005!

Oh my F ' ing gawd! For my readers who don't know: I was living and working in Manhattan. I was laid off in October due to lack of work. Not a big deal, because the company is paying my health insurance through the end of March 2006. I from Boston, so I have been traveling back and forth between my place in Manhattan and my parent's house. I am in the slow process of moving back home after my surgery.

Well, as I had pre-admission testing on Tuesday at my hospital in NYC I was there for the start of the transit strike. I arrived back in NYC Monday afternoon hoping that the strike would not occur. I stayed up till midnight to find out that the transit workers were going on strike at 3 am!!

I will now explain my dealings with the ramifications of the strike on tuesday & wednesday, then I will rant!

Tuesday I had to be at the hospital at 7:30 am. I woke up at 5:30 am not knowing what to expect with the strike. I left my building at 6:30 am to attempt to get a cab. By 6:40 I was in a cab, and learning about the modified fare changes. Well, long story short this is what I learned:

To travel below 96th street (between 5am and 11 am) all cars and cabs need four people. The driver of the cab counts as one of the four.

When you enter a cab you are charged a flat $10 to travel within that zone. When and if you cross into another zone it is $5. So if you travel within three zones it is $20.


Okay no big deal I was happy to get a cab. It cost me $20 to get the hospital. Normally it is $12 and change prior to the tip. Well all the cabs are stopping and picking up additional passengers to follow that 4 person rule. Still not a big deal. By 7 am I was at the hospital. The ride takes about 20 minutes.

I left the hospital at 10:30, got a cab right away although traffic was horrid. I didn't get home till 2 hours later. My hospital is above 96 street. And when I enter the cab there are already 2 other passengers. The cab couldn't go below 96 street as it was before 11am without 3 passengers. The girl got into the cab at 9 am. The male passenger got into the cab at 10 am and I got into the cab at 10:30. Thank gawd we were all going below 96 street. At one point it took 30 minutes to go from 114 street to 110 street. Only 4 blocks!! No wonder it took that cab 2 hours to get me back to my place. OY VEY!!!!

Yesterday (wednesday) I was coming back to Boston on Greyhound. Such the drama. Fortunately I was smart enough to take the 7am bus instead of the 8am bus I normally take. I got up at 4:30 am, left my building at 5:30 am. Went to the ATM on the corner, was able to get a cab right away. Got to Port Authority without issue. The bus leaves at 7am.... normally the start of rush hour. We take the Lincoln tunnel in to jersey instead of driving uptown. We never would have gotten out of Manhattan. Once out of the tunnel, we hop on the garden state and drive towards the GW bridge, to get into the Bronx because that is how you go on 95. Gawd, it took 2 hours. One hour of which was waiting to get to and over the bridge. N ormally the whole thing would take 40 minutes.

Well I made it to Boston in one exhausted piece. The strike better be over when I go back to NYC on Wednesday.

7 miliion people without mass transit. In the middles of winter, so very very wrong. The strike is illegal under the Taylor law and they union broke the court ordered indjuction not to strike. Silly people, management and employees will all be fined, some employees will be fired and some management will go to jail. Silly people.

Drivers in NYC are dumb. They honk during gridlock even when the light is red. They block the intersections just because the have a green light.

I am done ranting. Hopefully it will be over soon. I think the union and mta are resuming talks today about getting the workers back to work and resuming contract negotiations. Thank gawd!

I am a loser!

I lost 4 lbs!!!! WAHOOO! Ok, so here is the deal. I am down about 9-10 out of the 20-25 lbs that my surgeon wants me to loose. They haven't told me that they need to reschedule the surgery again. Thank gawd!! Anyways, I am going next week to get weighed as my surgery is planned for Tuesday January 3. I am shootoing for an 8 lb loss this week. I just nee to keep busting my ass and everything will work out. I am getting soooo excited!!

Back in the land of Blog!!

So I took a break from my blog for a bit. That can be viewed as a good thing or a bad thing. I have gotten over my surgery being rescheduled. It really isn't that big of a deal. I have waited this long. I might as well wait a bit longer if it decreases my risk. All in all I am going to have this done. My feeling is if I could loose any amount of weight easily, I wouldn't have even considered gastric bypass. I just can't believe I have stayed the same weight for about 3 months.

Atleast I didn't gain weight. I was able to stop rapidly gaining. So that is an indirectly a plus. Once, I have the surgery it won't matter that my surgery date was originally postponed. All that will matter is that I will have had it done.

I go on Tuesday for another fun filled day of pre-admission testing. Gotta love peeing in a cup and getting blood drawn. Such a pain in my large ass. I have no veins. You can't draw blood from my right arm and to make it even better I had chemotherapy when I was 9 and my veins are basically shot now from it. OH, and I hate needles. I would rather pee in a cup every single day for the rest of my life, then get blood drawn. So, far no medical professional has accepted that offer.

Last time I went to pre- admission testing I got a 95% on my test. On Tuesday I will get a 100% because I now know the correct answer. Too bad that don't let you keep the test, I want to put it on my parent's refridgerator! I am such a baby with stuff like that. I will 26 in Feb. and I want to put my test on the fridge! Oh well!

I just hope I have lost some weight or they will postpone my surgery again. OY VEY!!! Wish me luck & please send me loose weight happy vibes!! :) I am going to bed and dream about the weight loss fairy!

Rescheduled Surgery For Moi

So my surgery has been rescheduled. Tuesday January 3, 2006 is the new day. I went for pre-admission/ pre-op testing last Tuesday. I haven't lost enough weight. So that is why my surgery is being postponed. All is good though. it really isn't a big deal. In the words of Emril, it's time to kick it up a notch.

F ' ing Pissed

So I went to the hospital today for all my pre-admission pre-op testing. So much to do. There was a refresher with the nurese practioner and the nutrtionist. In addition, there was weigh-in, bloodwork, anesthia talk, meet with a nurse, ekg and a chest xray. Oh, yeah we had a to tke a test. I scored a 95 out of 100. KICKASS!!

However, did I loose 20 lbs. Nope!!! I stayed the same. I have stayed the same for 2 months. Don't get me wrong, this is good. This is far better then gaining. But, now I don't know if they will postpone my surgery. I started crying when I saw the scale. I spoke to the nutrtionist. She is going to talk to my surgeon. Gawd, what am I gonna do. I can't loose 20 lbs in 13 days. I feel completely f 'cked. I feel like crying again. Please keep youir fingers crossed for me!! i want this more than anything. I just hope it works out. I have worked to hard for this. I am not giving up!!!

The good news, I don't feel like eating. That is a total positive. 6 months ago, I would've eaten over this. But, I have come to far to revert to old behavior.

My Theme Song

Everyone needs a theme song. This is mine.

Who can turn the world on with her smile?
Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?
Well it's you girl, and you should know it
With each glance and every little movement you show it

Love is all around, no need to waste it
You can have a town, why don't you take it
You're gonna make it after all
You're gonna make it after all

How will you make it on your own?
This world is awfully big, girl this time you're all alone
But it's time you started living
It's time you let someone else do some giving

Love is all around, no need to waste it
You can have a town, why don't you take it
You're gonna make it after all
You're gonna make it after al

Artist: ("Love is All Around" by Paul Williams) Lyrics
Song: Mary Tyler Moore Show Lyrics

Emotional Basketcase

So I have completely lost it. Those of you that know me are questioning if I had to begin with. However, I really lost it now. I have become an emotional wreck. I am totally excited about my upcoming surgery. But, in addition to being excited I am also experiencing every possible emotion.

I am scared, nervous, sad, excited, happy, optimistic, etc. I know I will be fine. I have had surgery before, so that doesn’t scare me. I have been through chemo & radiation. I feel that there is nothing worse than chemo. (That is my personal motto.) I was so sick. Toxins were being pumped into my body. Gastric Bypass is a personal choice. It was not forced upon me in any
way. Therefore, it is already set up to be more positive than chemo.

I am scared because I have been heavy for so long, will I be able to be thinner marla? How does one be a thin person? Will I still be me? I guess I will learn as time goes by. It just seems alittle scary. But, I know I will be successful. I have always loved a good challenge. And, I am always successful with challenging things. It just feels so overwhelming. Time to go make Crystal Light Lemonade. Life is better when drinking lemonade.

Quotes that get me through:

“nothing is worse than chemo.” Personal motto

“… forget regret or life is yours to miss. No other road no other way no day but today.” –Cast of Rent

“…and nobody in all of oz, no wizard that there is or was is ever gonna bring me down.”
Idina Menzel as Elphaba in Wicked