Phil, How I Have Missed Thee September 16, 2006
Posted by Snow Monkey in Television, Travel.trackback
Tomorrow night, a new season of The Amazing Race begins.
TAR is the one reality TV show that I regularly watch. It’s also the one reality TV show in which ZGirl and I would like to participate. I wouldn’t even get jealous about ZGirl’s crush on host Phil Keoghan.
A few seasons back, one of my former students took part in the race. Sadly, she didn’t win.
This season is noteworthy in that it features two Asian American teams: Erwin and Godwin (two brothers) and Vipul and Arti (a married couple). On the one hand, good for CBS. On the other hand, the network took ten seasons to get there (I’m not even going to touch the racial/ethnic segregation on this season of Survivor; anyhow, I quit watching that show a long time ago).
Of course, part of the fun is reading Miss Ali’s recaps of the show at Television Without Pity. But there goes part of my workday.
This season takes place in Asia. I can’t wait.
The first stop tonight was Beijing—I was envious. Alas, Vipul and Arti got eliminated, though Erwin and Godwin didn’t.
I was pissed that the two groups I thought were cool got eliminated in the first episode. Can they do one season without hot chicks and jocks?
Hi. I just saw your post over on RQ – glad you left a link. I’ve had two valve replacement surgeries. The last time was 17 years ago – but my current valve is a mechanical St. Jude’s. I’m guessing you have a tissue valve – a hunch. I had a letter from my cardiologist saying pretty much what yours did. I really don’t think it mattered whether that letter came from my PCP or him – just that it stated the right things. My agency told me that they didn’t expect it to be a concern, so they didn’t even seek pre-approval from the CCAA – which they will sometimes do if they need guidance on a specific issue. There are no other “flag” issues in our dossier and the CCAA had no follow-up questions for me, I’m a Dec. LID, and we just recently cleared review. Granted, you never know what’s going to happen, but I think you’re fine. By the way, you need to check out Shelba’s blog – it’s linked on American Fam’s and Emma-bug’s which I see you have here. Michele has a mechanical valve and she’s in the process of adopting her 2nd child from China. Nice to meet you.
Thanks for all the information, Shelly. Your hunch is right: I actually had a double-valve surgery in which they replaced my aortic with my pulmonary and my pulmonary with a human donor valve. The surgery is called the Ross procedure; the logic behind it is that the best replacement for an aortic valve is a valve from the patient’s own heart, with the pulmonary being the best candidate (it takes less wear and tear, so a donor valve typically holds up well there). The only drawbacks: it does rob Peter to pay Paul (monkeying with two valves instead of one), and it’s a long, technically demanding surgery. Needless to say, every time I go for my checkup my cardiologist uses me as a human textbook for all of the interns and PAs (not that I mind).
I think that I’ve visisted Shelba’s blog, but I didn’t know that. I’ll check it out again…
Also, wanted to tell you about valvereplacement.com in case you aren’t already plugged in.