Bally

starshine_wd @ 2:37pm: Never heard back from my doctor yesterday so I headed up the ER around 6:30pm. I waited two hours in the waiting room with a mask on (mandatory for all waiting as a precaution because we do have cases of H1N1 in the area) before being seen. Of course, I was told there was nothing they could do but they DID give me drugs and the name of another doctor to call on Monday who might be able to get me in on Tuesday (the doctor himself isn't in on Mondays so I'm supposed to just call his office). I will say that everyone at the ER from person taking my info, right up to the doctor were very nice and sympathetic which was at least better than being treated like I was wasting their time. And I got Vicodan...which leads me to the question: How the hell does House pop those babies like candy and still remain standing? I got a 5 mg dose (with 500 mg of acetaminophen) and a half hour later, it knocked me on my ass (thankfully, not literally, cause that would have hurt). I then slept for 10 hours! And I only took one and my script says I can take one or two every six hours. Ummm...think I'll stick to one at bedtime, thank you very much.

Also, I'm babysitting today. No way around that one. Megan has to work and my husband had conference for EMS (Emergency Medical Services) to attend today. She's napping right now and I think it will be easier for me to take her shopping than hang around the house. At least then she's in a carriage and I'll be combining the sitting with the standing and what the hell, it's not like I don't hurt one way or the other, anyway. Maybe shopping will make me feel better.

cosmicavatar @ 7:06pm: Saddo Alert
I am currently watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer on TV. Complete with adverts. Why I do this when I have the entire bloody show on DVD is beyond me. Maybe I should get off my arse and put the DVD in myself. But I might miss something!

[doh]

In other news, watched Up today. LOVED IT. And yes, I cried at one point. Even H shed a quiet manly tear. But I was mostly grinning and giggling. Some of the sight gags and in-jokes were absolutely hilarious. And because the sign encouraged us to recycle our 3D glasses (in the handily-placed bin) instead of demanding we hand them in, we decided the best way to recycle them was to take them home and use them for every 3D feature we see at home from now on. By which I mean we walked out with them quite openly in our hands, and no-one challenged us or anything. And quite frankly, for twenty squids, I think we were quite entitled to take them with us. So there.

("Free shower curtain!")

H is playing in Wokingham tonight so I'm downing rather a lot of Wine and being geeky. As you do.

loki_nb @ 10:03am: Funny Aneurism Moment
I was playing InFamous this morning and had an odd moment. I had taken a side mission involving a poison vat atop a water tower, defended by bad guys. I defeated the mooks, then approached the tower, which was on top of an apartment building. As per the game's morality system, I was given a choice: use lightning to overload the tower from a distance, thus sparing myself from the poison, and causing the poison to flood the water tower (that's bad); or using a shockwave to explode the tank close-up, which aerates the poison, saves the water, but doses me fairly severely (that's good, I guess).

So I chose the second option. I got close, let off a shockwave & destroyed the tank. I was dosed with the poison, but in an unforseen consequence, the canister exploded, knocking me off the tower and the building. Mid-plummet-to-my-death, a legend appeared on the screen: 

"Congratulations! Your actions have made you slightly more Good."

Legend disappears. I continue falling. 

Splat.

I feel gooder already.

starshine_wd @ 2:30pm: Just called my doctor and told her office personnel that there was no way I could wait until next Thursday. I'm waiting to hear back. If I don't get an answer of "yes, we'll do something today", I'm going to the Emergency Room. I really want to be better before my trip for a multitude of reasons but just not being in pain NOW is the top of the list.

Amanda, tried the "donut", it doesn't help :-(

cosmicavatar @ 5:51pm: We All Fall Down
Having put on 5lb over the holiday (could have been worse), I have tried to be good this week and do a ten-minute workout (short but intensive) every night bar Monday, the weekly shop night. Doesn't sound like much, but it's better than zero minutes, which has been the norm for the majority of the last few months. H agrees! Yay! Of course, it's no help being distracted by t'internet on one's way to pick up one's exercise mat (I'm doing Vicious Pilates tonight), but I am going to do some, I promise. My obliques are still aching from Wednesday's VP, and I've been doing Tae-Bo Advanced in between, so lots of sweaty effort expended, I promise.

In other news, it's the weekend (huzzah!) so I shall now do my exercise, eat and get Pished. Have a great one, kiddies.

starshine_wd @ 4:06pm: For the first time ever, I've filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Remember last month, when we were given wrong info as to where to pick up our bus for the After Dark Tour in DC? (See my entry for October 5th). I never did hear anything from them so this past Monday, I contacted them again. Today, I had a reply in my e-mail. All the reply was was an e-ticket for an After Dark Tour to be used before April 30th, 2010. That would have been helpful if they had sent it within two days of my original complaint, you know, while I was still there! There was no apology letter, no acknowledgment to my actual complaint, just an e-ticket. Sorry, no, that does not cut it. So a complaint has been filed and hopefully I will get my refund. The company did have an A- rating with the BBB so I'm hoping I'll have success.

On a more positive note: Back in September, I renewed my anti-virus. (See my entry for September 30th). I was billed twice and called to get it straightened out. I was supposed to get a refund within 5-7 days but still hadn't as of this past Monday so I called them again. (I was quite productive on Monday, apparently). Today, I had an e-mail saying my money would be credited to my checking account and when I checked my bank statement online, the money was back there. So Yay! for Trend Micro.

starshine_wd @ 8:16pm: I talked to my friend Paige tonight for the first time in about a year. It was nice to hear from her and we both bitched about hard it is sometimes to stay in touch with those we care about. I met Paige ten years ago when I worked for the company she still works for. Some of you readers might remember that job. I was fired in May of 2000, just in time for the Summer of Chat. Worked out well for me, in the long run and I found a great friend there as well. We're hoping to get together the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

My son, Zach, went for his physical today for the Army. He'll find out by Monday, the latest, if he can get Combat Medic as a job and if they'll offer it, he plans to sign the papers and enlist....active duty for six years, inactive for two. I'm not really happy about this but it's his life and his decision. [sigh]

cyril @ 12:53pm: I need to stop waffling about Skins music.
But it's so damn good!

Anyway. These are the 33 songs I eventually downloaded from Series 3.

Ashley Chambliss - A Little More Of You
Asobi Seksu - Lions And Tigers*
Asobi Seksu - Nefi + Girly*
Au Pairs - It's Obvious
Bon Iver - Woods
Born Ruffians - Little Garcons
David Holmes - Love Reign Over Me
Deerhunter - Twilight At Carbon Lake
Diskettes - Art
Dodos - Walking
Early Years - A Little More
Elbow - Mirrorball*
Electrelane - After The Call
Fat Segal - Diver Revive
Fat Segal - Lake Control
Felice Brothers - Frankie's Gun!
Glasvegas - It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry
Glen Campbell - All I Want Is You
Grouper - Heavy Water / I'd Rather Be Sleeping
High Places - Jump In
Lacrosse - You Can't Say No Forever
Lady Gaga - Brown Eyes
Little Boots - Meddle
Low - Breaker
Maps - When You Leave
Millionaires - A-L-C-O-H-O-L
Robert Wyatt - Just As You Are
Son Lux - Break
Sparklehorse - It's A Wonderful Life
Steely Dan - Do It Again
Susanna And The Magic Orchestra - Believer
Tujiko Noriko - White Film
Wilco - Radio Cure

(* - subsequently bought on CD)

Phew.

Anyway. I've hit a bit of a snag. The Series 1 and 2 DVDs seem oddly lacking in music (the much vaunted Standing In The Way Of Control from S1 is conspicuously absent), which may mean that I'm going to have to rewatch them on 4oD anyway to see if they ever actually had soundtracks in the first place. Still, apparently it's still doing better than the American versions, where they replaced all the songs with rubbish ones and cut most of the contentious scenes to ribbons (they were perfectly happy to show Cook and Effy going all out in a closet, but a subtle scene between Naomi and Emily got shredded)...

cosmicavatar @ 9:07pm: *sigh*
Too tired/busy to make a proper entry about the weekend yet, but I will. For the moment, suffice it to say I had a great time and am most grateful to Eileen for taking on the hostessing duties as I seriously wonder if I could have done it if I'd gone ahead with the original plan of having it at my house.

Work tomorrow. Not looking forward to the routine of getting up at 6:20am again. At all. Thank goodness I only have to do it for a few weeks before my next chunk of annual leave...

starshine_wd @ 1:39pm: For the first time since the beginning of summer (at least), my DVR has NOTHING in queue. So, now I'm overwhelmed with DVD choices. There's a few movies that I've bought and not watched yet or Highlander: The Series or Firefly or Buffy or Angel or....you get the picture.

starshine_wd @ 6:07pm: Relaxing day today. Not much to report. I cleaned out my closet and that's about it.

starshine_wd @ 10:22pm: It was overcast all day today but not cold. Come evening, it was still somewhat warm, bits of sprinkles here and there but a perfect night for trick-or-treating. Of course, we had barely any kids tonight. It seems the other side of town is the "IT" spot for candy these days. Ah well, it was nice to sit outside and we even took a short ride on Pat's bike tonight. Now, I'm watching Buffy's "Halloween" and will follow it with "Fear Itself".

Also, Karlie was adorable in her butterfly costume and apparently got the hang of putting candy in her bucket pretty quick from what Megan told me.

starshine_wd @ 7:01pm: Went for my internal ultrasound today. Piece of cake. Made it totally worth not having to work. Results should be in some time next week.

Returned clothes to Kohl's and bought a little bit more (spent less than was returned). I've decided I need to start going back to the gym. I'm not fat but my stomach has no muscle tone and I hate it. Time to start working on the abs again. I blame my boys for being such big babies and totally stretching my stomach out.

cosmicavatar @ 7:08pm: I'm Sure I'll Be
Another lazy and unachieve-y day, although I have been getting myself psyched up for the weekend with some shopping and preparation for the weekend. Heehee. Also made some rather nice Parmesan and herb-crusted pork medallions for supper and am somewhat Pished. Looking forward to seeing some WDers tomorrow!

cyril @ 4:11pm: "In London, you are never more than five feet from a rat."
Ours is in the kitchen.

Yeah, we need to fix the downstairs bog.

starshine_wd @ 11:51pm: OH.MY.GOD.

I went shopping again after work tonight. The total was almost twice what I charged last week (although, I already paid that one off). I got 20% off so it wasn't quite as bad at that and I'm returning just under a third of what I bought so I'll get credit for that as well. I didn't get out of work until 7:30pm so by the time I got to the store and shopped and shopped and shopped, it was closing time before I knew it and I hadn't tried on a single thing. So, I bought it all, brought it home and as I said, am returning a good portion. Out of all the things I"m returning, I'm only exchanging two items for a different size. The other things either didn't fit right, were uncomfortable or were pretty much the same as what I kept only fit better. I also bought a pair of shoes and a pair of ankle boots because I needed more shoes after my shoe shopping a few weeks ago.

I also bought an umbrella. It's purple so I'm hoping my boys won't steal this one. Somehow, I think I'll still need to keep it hidden.

drummergirl @ 7:12pm: Argh!
I'm so behind!

I've got loads still to do before we leave in the morning. An early morning is in store, because of a few factors, so I am now off to bed.

See (some of!) you tomorrow. TOMORROW!!!!

cosmicavatar @ 8:00pm: What On Earth Am I Meant To Do
Probably not doing as much as I could, but hey. Here's what we've been up to so far while off work (our first proper bit of holiday since May).

( Read more... )

starshine_wd @ 7:04pm: Well, it seems my home remedies have worked so far. I had no sore throat today, although it was a little scratchy. Just to be safe, I came home and took some more garlic and Vit C....and Hot Damn...you know, just in case.

starshine_wd @ 7:03pm: Well, the beautiful, autumn weather had to change sometime, I suppose. Arriving with the clouds and showers is a sore throat and post-nasal drip. I'm also very, very tired. I've popped some garlic tablets and Vitamin C along with some Hot Damn Cinnamon Schnapps, hopefully the combo will help. On the positive side (because I really have been trying to find the positive to things), it's better to get a cold now than in three weeks when I'm leaving for California.

loki_nb @ 12:04am: Never Trust The House
I seem to have shifted in my medical habits. Well, less of a shift, more of a move in a straight line: from doctors to physiotherapists.

Now, I hadn't been to a physio before I got whiplash and needed a few visits. Since then I've been back 8 or so times for things such as headaches, back spasms, sore heel/achilles tendon, and more headaches. I usually go to the University Sports clinic, but I've been to one in Newtown as well.

Recently, I've been getting soreness in both my elbows after doing things like playing drums, shaking martinis, and when I curl my arm under my pillow. It happened off and on for about for months until last Wednesday, when I woke up in the middle of the night and had had enough.

I went to the doctor at Broadway Clinic. Called ahead. Booked an appointment for 9:45 (I started work at 10:30). Sat in the waiting room until 10:55. I get into the room and the doc (who is not one of the usual people I see) immediately (and I mean before I even say what's wrong) starts lecturing me that I need immunization for Whooping Cough (after a serious of relationship questions that I answered with no idea as to what they were for). He then moves on to what I was prescribed last time I was there 9-10 months ago: Cafergot, which is a migraine medication. This was prescribed after 39-straight-day headache (the doctor then had said it probably wouldn't work, or stop the pain in any way, but I should take two, and then two more each half hour it didn't work). I told him I took one dose, and the 60 Mg of caffeine (that's a 6-pack of coca-cola) in each pill had me bouncing off the walls, so I stopped. He then typed "Allergic to cafergot" into my file *facepalm*. He then prints out 3 pages of migraine advice sheets and a migraine diary for me. He then turns to me and asks why I'm there.

"It's my arms, actually." I almost felt bad to see his face drop. Oh, and the migraine? Cured by one physio appointment.

Anyway, I explained I first started noticing after mixing drinks on Fridays (which got a glary look) and after playing drums (which got a confused look). He feels my arms, notes a "tightness" in my biceps, then asks if I "lift weights". I explain that yes, I go to the gym, but it doesn't bother me at or after the gym. He then says "Well, it's probably a contrasting muscle cramp. Your triceps are too weak compared to your bicep." I look at my two-pipe-cleaner arms. "Really? I do roughly the same amount of weight with biceps and triceps."

"Oh yes, you should be doing two to three times the weight with your triceps than with your biceps."

Ummm, okay. Never heard THAT before.

He also cheerfully informs me that it's not arthritis, so he won't send me for bloodwork. He also says a bunch of others things it's not, confusing the issue. He writes a recommendation for a physio (which is A) sealed in an envelop, so I can't see who or where the physio is located and B) the outside of the envelope is a RANDWICK address. No thank you) but then adds that I shouldn't get a physio unless I get an x-ray.

Anywho, he sends me out to pay with an armload of paper and no real explanation for the arm-thing. Bothered, I then go right across the street to the University Sports Physio clinic.

I book in for 12:30, show up at 12:30 on the dot, and am not sitting for more than 30 seconds before they're ready. Meet Chris, the physio, and describe what happened. He starts check out my arms while I'm talking, getting his own idea of how far I can turn, where it hurts, etc. I explain the doc's idea, which he describes as "Fair enough, I mean, you shouldn't be doing too much more with your bicep, but yeah. Clearly it's your nerves."He explains that it's the nerves in my shoulder- and elbow-sides of my tricep that are being stretched in a wrong way and are causing me pain in complaint. He gives me a list of gliding stretches to do (and demonstrates them) and suggests I improve my posture at work to relieve some of the pressure. Then comes the shoulder and tricep massage that was agony, and left me bruised but pain-free afterward.

And here's my point (he said, two pages in): I prefer physios to doctors because they actually DO something. They'll hear you out, have a look, give their opinion, then in a hands-on-way, sort you out. It'll hurt, sure, but you'll be better for it. That's more than I can say for just about any doctor I've been to with the exception of one, who was an acupressurist/acupuncturist, who was a great doctor because he ALSO actually did actual things.

This is being exacerbated by Tanja and my watching the first 8 episodes of the first season of House. I like it, but it points out how doctors (even highly trained good-looking specialist doctors) are just best-guessing. House is constantly kvetching about how an ER Doctor or a GP would prescribe or diagnose the wrong (and usually the worst thing) they could. I believe it. I actually had a normally good doctor attempt to diagnose me with asthma because my breathing was raspy while I had a cold. Admittedly, I had taken a Codril earlier and was feeling better, so made my breathing sound worse than it was, but still. The guy spent 10 minutes trying to convince me to get checked for asthma.

Example:

Zoidberg: “What is it this time?”
Fry: “Well, my pipe hurts a little.”
Zoidberg: “That’s normal. NEXT!”

So yeah. It’s physio for me. Unless I have a cold/asthma.

drummergirl @ 6:53pm: Holy crap.
You guys, tomorrow morning we're going to see a mortgage adviser. How am I even old enough for this?

(BTW: I will be 25 in a week. ONE WEEK!)

cassylee @ 11:43am: I've made Gizmo's life a living hell
For those who didn't catch my facebook status: I brought home a new cat yesterday. Well, I meant to bring home a cat, but I brought home a kitten instead. I'm not sure how I went from idling talking about maybe it was time to actually doing it - but I suspect my mother & her friends who work at volunteer cat shelters are to blame for giving me the push from thinking to doing.

Mom went with me on Sunday to the Seal Beach Animal Care Center where I spent four hours dithering between a dozen different cats who were all lovely, and then I went into the room where the older kittens (the teenagers according to the volunteer) were & I fell in love with a little Siamese girl named Cannoli. If it hadn't been Cannoli, I probably would have gone with Crackerjack, an all-black female who loved to lick fingers. But the shelter has a policy of not adopting out black cats in the two weeks before Halloween unless someone there personally knows the adopter & can vouch for them, and I also thought Crackerjack might be a little too rambunctious for Gizmo and me.

Anyhow, Gizmo is still hoping that this is all some horrific nightmare that he'll awake from at any moment, but I think eventually he'll come to love our new addition as much as I do. Only problem is I really don't like the name the shelter gave her - I noticed this morning that I've not used her name once - I just keep calling her 'girl'. So I need a new name... any and all suggestions are welcome as so far the only thing I've come up with is Gadget (to go along with my Gizmo) which I'm not sure fits....

Oh, and if I did it right, my profile pic is temporarily 4C (Cat currently called Cannoli).

eta: oops, guess I should look at my entries after I post them....

starshine_wd @ 1:00pm: Looks like it's going to be another beautiful autumn day today. Forecast for Halloween is cloudy/showers but still not to cold. That's still five days away so I'm not to concerned right now.

Yesterday, my s-i-l had a "tea and soup" party. All the woman in the family were invited, including Megan and me. Megan had to work and I cooked up an excuse that I was going somewhere with my mother. Now, if they'd had a daiquiri and margarita party I would have been there. As my daughter pointed out, most of the woman in my husband's family are boring. They tend to be right wing which leaves out any type of political discussions and very traditional in their views which means I have to constantly watch how I word things and what I say. I really didn't want to spend my day off having to do that and be bored as well. Unfortunately, my f-i-l and b-i-l came over to help take and old t.v. antennae off our roof. We never used it but it was there when we bought the house and it's starting to bend. My husband was concerned that if we got a bad storm this winter with high winds it would rip off the roof. Except, it made it impossible to pretend I wasn't there and that my mom had picked me up so I actually had to leave which defeated my staying home and just knitting and watching t.v. [sigh]. I had a nice visit with my mom after all.

starshine_wd @ 7:35pm: My sister Darlene called me this past Friday while my husband and I had just gotten to the restaurant. It was a quick conversation. Basically, she asked if I had a deck of tarot cards she could borrow for a Halloween party she was going to the next day. I told her I did, she asked what time I would get home from work the next day and I told between 1pm and 1:30pm. She said she'd be at my house around then. I got home from work and had to dig through my closet. Please, realize that closet is jam packed and I had a ton of stuff to pull out before I could get to the box the tarot cards were in. Then I put everything back in the closet. A little after 2pm, she still hadn't shown up so I called her. She then informed me that she didn't need them after all and "what are your plans for today"? I was not a happy camper but I knew if I spoke up then I would say something I would regret so I just replied that I was going to take a nap and I got the off the phone very abruptly. [sigh] She knows I nap on Saturday afternoons and I couldn't believe she wouldn't have at least texted me that she didn't need the cards. The fact that I spent about 30 minutes finding them and then putting stuff back in my closet for nothing didn't help. [sigh]

On a more positive note: Today was a perfect autumn day. It was warm in the sun and a slight breeze and the little bit of a breeze. I could go for more days like this.