pet peeves

Dear my patients:

Get off of your cell phones in my exam room! Do you have any IDEA how rude you're being !!?? Of course not, because all the signs in my office saying get off your cell phone clearly doesn't mean you.

No love,
ME

Power outages are not conducive to cleaning

G and I had a pretty relaxed weekend filled with college football and the NFL. G is playing fantasy football with a group of people at work so he's much more into the NFL than usual. (he's also 0-3 which he's VERY unhappy about) We went to a local Champps to watch the Buccs game Sunday and ran into a local ophthalmologist friend of mine.. so we sat with her and her friends. It's very rare to run into someone I know in Tampa so I played social.

Texas finally had a good week and played like a team in the top 10. They were playing Rice, I would have been very perturbed if they didn't look good this week. Conference play starts this week and it's BIG news around here with USF being in the Top 25 for the first time that I can remember. If it's happened before please correct me.

My Achilles isn't getting any better. I tried a slow jog on Saturday with the doggie and it just wasn't happening to it turned into a log walk. After much inter-web research (the series of tubes were good to me) I found out my insistence on wearing heels at work might be doing me in. Now I'm icing my foot and wearing flats only at work for the next month. NO running. I'm sticking to swimming for the next few weeks and the trainer thinks I can try the recumbent bike in two weeks or so, since I won't be putting any weight behind it. I ended up buying two pairs of flats and Sketchers so I can lay off the heels for awhile. They have the added bonus of being SUPER comfy , too.

Speaking of the trainer, she kicked my ass yesterday. Since I can't push off with my right leg she did an entire hour of core. It hurts to breathe today. Ow. I may be gimpy, but I'll have abs and arms of steel damn it !

The rest of my day off yesterday was spent running errands. (joy) My car battery died a week ago on my way to a friend's housewarming party, but fortunately the nice guys at Total Wine jump started my car so i could get home. For those of you not in Tampa, Total Wine is a wine mecca! They have 8-9 grocery sized aisles of wine along with alcohol and beer. I bought my friend a nice bottle of Patron to stock her new bar and found Shiner there for G and me. SHINER ! In Florida ! I was so happy. I made chips and guacamole and drank Shiner while watching my Texas game. It was like being back home with old friends.

The cherry on top of my day o' errands was my 615pm power outage. I was scrubbing my bathroom, which you all know I enjoy so much... and the power goes out. It goes out here all the time with all the storms we have, but this time it was off over an hour. By 720pm it was getting dark and I had no way to cook or see to do anything. I ended up spending the evening at a Hash buddy's house. Dinner, wine, and lots of doggie playing. (he has a dachshund/JRT mix) By 10pm I hoped against hope that my power had returned and headed home.

Now I'm back at work. It'll be a shorter day because I have a CE class tonight. It's a 2 hour lecture (with free dinner!) about cosmetic eyelid surgery. Something I know a little about, but it won't be my 100th lecture on it like the AMD lectures.

Being injured sucks

I really hate being injured. I'm all gung-ho to go running and I just can't. I'm not really sure how it happened, but I pulled something at the base of my right foot. (near the Achilles) I ran sprint intervals on Thursday and felt great. I rested Friday like I was supposed to. Then, Saturday, I tried to run with G after work. 1/4 of the way through the run I pulled up in pain and had to walk back home. It doesn't hurt to walk, but quick lateral movements and running HURTS! Now I have to swear off running for a week or so until I see how I'm feeling.

I sat out at kickball last night. Since it's finally cooled off (a little) I was able to take Tiger with me. We sat on the sidelines and watched together. One of the guys had imbibed in a few too many and literally face planted into first base. At least he got up laughing ! (and was safe) One of our other guys, I'm not sure how, separated his shoulder. Thankfully, one of our players is a military doc who put a sling on him and iced him down. He'll be heading to have it looked at today. I hope he's okay. I was very very worried about him last night he was white as a sheet.

In car news, apparently there are no Acuras available in our area for the price the online broker quoted us. The nearest ones are in Miami. We'd be all over going down there, it's only a three hour drive, but taking a brand spanking new car on a four hour drive right off the lot is not such a great idea. So we've decided to wait awhile on the purchasing of said new vehicle. Maybe in a few months they'll have some good deals on the '08s.

I also discovered last night that apparently eye docs like kickball. The white team we've been playing against has four ODs and 1 ophthalmologist. I knew of of the OMD and 1 OD, but had no idea they had three more. (apparently most of them were classmates) I got to know them over a beer last night and discovered most of us are all attending the same CE next wednesday. Now I have people to sit with! It's hard being in Florida around a bunch of docs you don't know because you didn't go to the local school. I don't have my UHCO girls to sit with.

Places to eat in Tampa

A few of you might remember a month or so ago I was asked by the Review of Optometry to write a review of local Tampa restaurants for the AAO meeting here next month.

Well, I worked hard putting together the list... so I thought I'd publish the list here. (since I'm not getting credit for the work I did ) To the friends who are coming into Tampa for the conference.. let me know where you want to eat !!


TAMPA RESTAURANTS


Channelside Area (next to convention center)

Tina's Tapas 615 Channelside Drive Ste 120 (813)514-8462
Get a few plates to share with friends and by all means get a pitcher of sangria! Choose to sit in the large round-room bar area or outside on the open patio.

Grille 29 615 Channelside Drive (813)221-2929
An upscale steak/bistro restaurant. I've only been here once and wasn't very impressed, but it could deserve another try. The only time I ate here was off a fixed menu (bleh) Dark, simple furniture and friendly waiters.

Margarita Mamas 615 Channelside Drive (813) 228-7300
Don't get the food here. Get a drink at the bar on the large second floor balcony and enjoy watching the boats on the water. A large Friday night hook-up spot for 20 somethings, so get there fairly early if you want to relax or you'll be surrounded by the throngs.


A short trolley ride from Channelside to Ybor City gets you to:

Samurai Blue 1600 E 8th Ave Ste C208 Ybor City, FL (813) 242-6688
Sushi and sake bar a trolley ride away from the convention center. 40 ft faulted ceilings with a separate bar each for sushi and sake.

Green Iguana Bar and Grill 1708 E 7th Ave Ybor City, FL (813) 248-9555
Yes, it's a bar, but they serve the BEST hamburgers in town!! (Trust me on this one) Go for lunch, dinner time and later in Ybor is for the college bar crowd.

Acropolis Greek Taverna 1833 E 7th Ave (813) 242-4545
The best greek food in town !! Get the Acropolis salad if you want something large enough for three meals. The waiters are friendly U of Tampa students, mostly. Around dinner time they dance to greek music and throw napkins (instead of smashing plates) Enjoy a glass of real Greek wine and a plate of tzatziki sauce with pita bread.


South Howard (the SoHo District) A 3 minute car ride of the convention center/ downtown

717 South 717 S. Howard (813) 250-1661
Wonderful food in a trendy setting. A see and be seen bar crowd. The menu covers a little bit of everything: steak, chicken, miso and sake catch of the day. This place also features outstanding service.

Ciccio and Tonys 1015 S Howard Ave (813) 251-8406
California cuisine. They'll do almost anything to order including a special "low carb" menu. Sparse furniture, friendly staff, a cool blue hue over the room and constant sports over the bar. The menu is HUGE and everyone in your party will find something they like.


The Lime 915 S Howard (813) 868-5463
Mexcian food in a sports bar atmosphere.

** THE SPLURGE**** Berns Steakhouse 1208 S Howard (813) 251- 2421
This place is a Tampa institution ! Cherrywood booths and red walls give Bern's an almost bordello-esque feel. The staff is flawless. They feature one of the largest wine lists in the country if not the world. After your gorgeous steak dinner, head upstairs to Berns' dessert room. Do NOT pass this up. 62 items on the dessert menu in a room with 50 booths which are converted wine barrels. Also features 40 pages of dessert wine.


*** The gourmet choice*** Fly Bar and Restaurant 1201 N Franklin St. (813) 275-5000
Try the Frites Two Ways and sweet potato soup. The rooftop bar is popular for Friday happy hour. A very creative menu, comfortable metallic decor, and a great wine list. enjoy!

Shocking.. I know

New Ride

Since G's car is almost 13 years old we spent Sunday test driving new cars. We'd narrowed it down to four models: Nissan Altima, VW Jetta or Passat, and Acura TSX.

Now, of the dealers the Nissan guy was by and far the best sales guy. Knew the most about his car, was friendly, and actually respected our time.

The VW guy was REALLY nice, but didn't seem to know the car as well. I think he just needed polish.

The Acura salesman was a COMPLETE tool. Didn't even introduce himself, didn't acknowledge that "your wife" was even in the room, and when we were test driving didn't say one WORD to orient us to the car or sell the car to us. We were in and out of the dealership in less than 20 minutes. Maybe he took one look at us and thought we couldn't afford the car, who knows. Regardless that's not his call to make.

The unfortunate part, we liked the TSX the best. After a LOT of research on the internet we're looking at purchasing our car through an online broker. You can get the same dealer rebates without paying dealer commission so you actually pay dealer invoice or less than dealer invoice. This keeps a-hole Acura dealer/sales guy from making any money off of us.

Now comes the hard part, fighting over what color to get. I like royal blue metallic, G likes red. We put those in as first and second choices.. we'll see what comes up.

Thank god for adjustable straps!

I got my bridesmaid's dress for Marquise's wedding today. I tried it on over my work out clothes and I have to say THANK GOD the straps are adjustable cuz they're WAY too long. It would have been me, on the beach, next to my friend, flashing the world. No one wants that on their wedding day, seriously. So, thank god for adjustable straps.

My area rug for the living room finally arrived ! It breaks up the hardwood nicely. G and I like it so much we're getting a second bigger one for the walking area between the living room the front foyer.


I'm trying to be a better blogger, I really am.

In other non-house related news: G got a promotion! He found out about a week ago and has been very excited ever since. Basically, it means he's now getting paid for the job he's been doing for the last two years. (plus a nifty bonus check)

This week at work has been really REALLY slow, so I can't even tell y'all about any cool patients I've seen.

I can comment on how I can't BELIEVE the Buccs kept Chris Simms on the roster. Although, I know I'm not going to get to see my Young/Simms match up in October since Simms is FOURTH string!! Lord. Oh well, just cross your fingers that Young doesn't get injured. (jessica is probably the only one still reading this paragraph.. Hi Jess!)