Dead Men Tell No Tales

Save the Date: January 31, 2010

2009-11-24T22:52:30Z

Ya'll want to do this. Why?

Because I'm turnin' 35, and in honor of the occasion, I'm going to hold a White Trash Pot Luck.

You'll be sorrier'n a well digger's ass if you miss this party, I'm tellin' you now.

More details to follow!

Cowboy Up!

2009-11-20T00:03:56Z

Or in this case, me. Up with the sun. To go and get a tooth pulled.

This seems like a good idea on the surface. It's the tooth that blew up over SMF this year. It's the tooth that, unbeknownst to me, infected my entire jaw, and thus contributed to six months of me feeling like dung beetle dessert. It's the tooth that broke in half and had to be extracted whether I wanted it pulled or not.

I've never had a tooth pulled.

It sounded scary. It looked scary. And frankly, I've lost enough bits up to this day, I didn't care to lose my tooth. Having my teeth pulled (or fall out) is the stuff of NIGHTMARES for me. I think I woke up snuffling and begging not to go at least four times in the last week.

So. No good. Mom even offered to pay for it. So up I get, out I go, driven to said appointment by my sweet husband.

Traffic is not pretty. I get us off on the wrong exit. We still manage to make it to the appointment on time. Lucky me. They're a little busy, so I have to wait about 30 minutes before they can numb me up. They look at my chart. They ask, "Are you easy to numb up?" I say, "Not really. I sort of felt them drilling on the tooth I had filled here 3 weeks ago." There are blank, horrified stares. They do another check. Only used 1 vial of 'cain. Most people take 2. WHUPS.

They promise I won't feel it. Mind you, dentists are one of my great phobias. Needles are the other. Getting 'numbed up' is akin to me willingly submitting to having my toes chopped off. I sat through the first numbing session. 2 vials, as promised. 15 minutes later, the dentist comes in, prods and pokes, asks, "Can you feel that?" I shrug, "Yeah, some." He nods, "You'll feel some pressure. Say something if it's sharp feeling." "Okay," I promise.

Yeah. I felt that. "Hrm," he says, "No worries. We have a LOT of numbing agents. We'll get you numb."

Three more vials of 'cain later...it's not working. And he's beginning to worry that the original shots are losing their potence. "We have to do it now. I'll be quick." "Okay," I say very quietly, all the while praying it is relatively painless and quick.

It was neither.

The tooth shattered, broke into 2, and required a great deal of poking, prodding, and 'oopsing' on the part of the dentist. "This is a bad time to play hard to get," he chuckles at me. "But that's what your tooth is doing."

"Figures," I drawl softly...and then close my eyes and go back to gripping the seat like a fiend.

I think I only yelped once, and that's when he caught my lip on my teeth on the other side of my mouth. Pinched like an Irish grandmother in Mass, is what it did...but it was a different sort of pain to the sensation of having him yank, prod, grab, dig, and generally fight with the remains of my tooth.

"You have some remarkably unique shaped gums, my friend," he informs me. Then shows me the remains...great.

I have not one, not two, but THREE weird dental anomalies.

1) I have absolutely no over or underbite, and a uniquely shaped jaw, which might be why they have trouble numbing me, since my nerves aren't exactly where everyone else's are...or so he theorized.

2) I have very small, very widely spaced front teeth, a condition he gave me the name of, but at that point in time, I did not care.

3) The roots to my molars are just SCREWY weird.

I hit a negative genetic jackpot, I tell you.

I'm also very sore. He gave no pain meds. I look like a chipmunk even now, and my jaw hurts like someone hammered on it. Because they did.

"Great job of cowboying that," he chuckled as he patted me on the back on the way out. "I know that hurt. I'm sorry."

Gee. Thanks.

At least it's over, I thought to myself. Not quite so. The clot fell out within a few hours (and I hadn't DONE anything). So I call as instructed. He was sympathetic, but assured me that in complicated extractions, that there's about a 10% chance I'll get dry socket. He gave me a list of symptoms to look for, and said to remain sitting up as long as possible, and hope for the best.

So. Here I am. I'd LOVE a nap...but that ain't happening yet.

At least I survived.

For greymalkin

2009-11-19T09:06:40Z

Sauce

A little dab'll do ya!

2009-10-30T21:40:09Z

Well then. I suppose I should listen to my other half more, huh? I've been trying, believe it or not, but it's not been easy for me.

Researchers found that gratitude predicted better self-reported sleep quality, as well as duration of sleep, and less 'sleep latency' (the amount of time it takes to fall asleep after the lights have gone out) and daytime dysfunction. The relationship between gratitude and each of these variables was mediated by the thoughts people had before falling asleep: more positive before-sleep thoughts and less negative ones. All of these results were found to be unrelated to personality traits, including neuroticism, (which one might expect to affect sleep quality and ability to fall asleep). - Elizabeth Scott, MS

Source

RE: Flying Elephants

2009-10-26T12:12:34Z

Well, thanks to Caliban1227's almost encyclopedic knowledge of comic book styles (though I still agree, the comic book font looks like an IKEA sale sign...go figure), I was able to google 'Wonder Woman flying elephant' and be rewarded with an answer.

See, Zeus has put Achilles in charge of Paradise Island, and now there's a mysterious rash of pregnancies on the island. No one can figure out where the babies are coming from (my guess is the secret ingredient is peen, but hey, what do I know, I don't read comic books anymore). Apparently the ultra cool flying elephant is Achilles' pet/chariot all wrapped up into one.

On the upside, everyone knows how to get rid of Achilles! Me, I'd kick him in the heel REALLY hard and then keep the semi-bi-carmel elephant for a pet. He looks cute and cuddly.

That's just me, though.

Help me, Obi Wan Ki--

2009-10-26T04:21:30Z

Oh screw, that. Hey, greymalkin, where are you when I need you?

Are you there, caliban1227? It's me, Jim.

I want to know what in the holy name of hell THIS is:

The Ghost Game: Dead Gods

2009-10-25T03:32:03Z

I have to give it an over all 'go see', if you can get tickets!

The aerial acrobatics are worth the price of admission, and on a similar note:

1) I got stumped with a myth. Srsly. How often does THAT happen? As in didn't even recognize the names.
2) They have trivia. Which I did well at.
3) They have acrobatic bodies in skin tight clothing. This is also good.
4) The Attis, Syrinx, and Inanna segments were really well done, and I enjoyed them thoroughly.
5) Got to briefly speak to the directors (really, they're charming folks! And the female half was Brigit @ Sickle circa 1999....small friggin' world).
6) Got to fanboy @ the performer of Erishgikal.

That said, I can't leave well enough alone, and enjoy doing things like reworking plays in my head. And in this case, I would have altered it in the following manner:

1) The 'insane, tuneless piper' in the Wotan bit
2) Reordered the segments: Attis, Syrinx, Telepinu, Wotan, Coatlicue, Inanna.

H1N1

2009-10-25T03:13:26Z

The answer was: Yes, I DID have H1N1. I should also be well past the point of being able to infect anyone else, though it's possible that was NOT true last Saturday. My last fever was Saturday night.

So. Other than feeling like a cosmic truck's run my ass over, I'm on the mend.

I must say...my encounter with an epic disease was less than overwhelming.

Micro Cultural Tale: Death and the Pilgrim

2009-10-21T04:21:40Z

The Pilgrim overtook a strange traveler on the way to the great city. "Wither do you go, O Death?" asked the man in dread. "I go to slay a thousand." On his flight from the blighted city, the man overtook the same traveler, and chided him, "You said you went to slay a thousand, but I found ten thousand dead there!" "True, astute Pilgrim," said Death, "I slew a thousand with plague, and nine thousand died of fright."

Tested positive for H1N1 antibodies

2009-10-20T04:08:41Z

I do not know if I have a full blown active infection right now. Should know by Thursday.

If I've seen you in the past 7 days or so, there's a possibility that you've been exposed.

I'm terribly apologetic, but I go to college, and there are plenty of sick people there :P

It's also possible that the crud I had 3-4 weeks ago was the swine flu, and that this is just the regular flu taking advantage of my weakened immune system. :P

Crazy.

2009-10-16T20:00:02Z

That's what's being served up for brunch on Beacon Hill today.

He's soooooooooooo easy!

2009-09-28T01:16:00Z

I just made my husband nearly orgasmic. I offered to knit him a squid hat.

::shakes head::

Why I love Prince Nuada from Hellboy II

2009-09-27T05:25:16Z

A note from work

2009-09-18T22:58:43Z

Back at work after being sick for several days. I've definitely overdone it. And this client's constant pacing and talking to himself is driving me insane. Also, I am not a baby sitter.

I have the death

2009-09-14T17:10:34Z

Oh god. I just crawled out to go to work, after getting up and then going back to bed. I feel like I've been run over by a steamshovel, then scooped up and put into a cement mixer.

This is what I get for being social all weekend. *ded of teh krud*.

The Niffler

2009-09-13T13:29:33Z

The Niffler is a British beast. They are fluffy, black, and long snouted.

They have a predilection for anything glittery and shiny, which makes them wonderful for locating anything metallic or shimmery, but they might bite if a person is wearing any jewellery, so BE CAREFUL.

Nifflers are often kept by goblins to burrow deep into the earth for treasure.

Though the niffler is gentle and affectionate, it can be destructive to belongings and should never be kept in a house. Or Headmaster's office. Ask Dolores Umbridge.

They live in lairs up to twenty feet below ground and produce six to eight young in a litter.

Squirrel Takes Noms!

2009-08-06T02:37:43Z

Meme

2009-07-31T05:51:25Z

Your result for Test yourself: What alignment are you?...

True Neutral

You are The Druid; True Neutral.

You scored 59% Lawful and 61% Good, which makes you True Neutral.

Chaotic-Lawful is the ethical scale, on which you scored 59%, where 0% is utter chaos and 100% is total cosmos.

This Lawful scale doesn't necessarily judge how committed to the system you are, even though one could guess so from the name since the system usually holds the law, but instead it means how sorted internally you are, and how likely it is for you to choose cosmos over chaos.

You are neutral, and are as such an individual who either doesn't mind one over the other of chaos and stillness, or can go both ways depending on how you feel. You don't necessarily follow laws that blindly, and you don't act too randomly.

The Evil-Good scale is quite easily figured out, being the morale scale, and on this you scored 61%, where 0% is totally evil and 100% is completely good.

Now, evil here on this scale doesn't necessarily mean you're out to make people suffer. It means ego-centering and glorification of one's ego. You, as neutral, don’t make your actions based on a selfless vs selfish basis, but rather what you have judged to be the right thing to do for other reasons.

A farmer whose primary overriding concern is to feed his family is of this alignment. Most animals, lacking the capacity for moral judgement, are of this alignment. Some neutral characters, rather than feeling undecided, are committed to a balance between the alignments. They may see good, evil, law and chaos as simply prejudices and dangerous extremes.

Take Test yourself: What alignment are you? at HelloQuizzy

Day #16: Water still wet, fire still hot

2009-07-21T22:11:39Z

Researchers have published yet another study!

And in it, we're told these following items:

# Cites study that finds men view cars as extensions of themselves
# Professor: Men can compartmentalize thoughts, women assimilate many feelings
# Men tend to be more aggressive, says Einstein College of Medicine in New York City

Um. Yeah. Thanks.

Anyway. Had biology, chemistry, AND another stress test at the gym today.

Something had to give. It was the gym. I'm still going to exercise...but no more personal trainer. I feel sort of like a heel, but I over committed. AGAIN.

In other news, my husband has developed two girlfriends. O_o.

Oh yes, and a biology test AND a chemistry test on the same day makes the Captain anxious.

Day #9: Knitting in Chem Lab

2009-07-14T16:35:29Z

With instructor approval no less.

Day #8: This IS my happy face

2009-07-14T00:57:47Z

Gah. I've come to the sad conclusion that I can no longer skimp on sleep. The problem is, that means I have to cut out my social life. This is patently UNFAIR. The problem is, that the less sleep I get, the more pissy I am. The pissier I am, no one wants to be around me. The less people are around me the even MORE pissy I get, and need to be around people, but see the above statement.

I am so utterly daunted at the idea of even TRYING to go and see a midnight premier of Harry Potter. The idea of getting less than 5 hours of sleep actually fills me with a dread like panic, because I'm non functional with less than that, and I've been AVERAGING less than 4 since oh...a month before solstice.

See, I can't sleep here in the summer. The days are so long, my body refuses to shut off and let me sleep. Pair that with an insomniac husband whom I want to spend every possible moment with, and it means I'm not sleeping. Then add the stress of school...and you guessed it. I'm still not sleeping.

There has got to be SOME answer to all of this, and I'm sure it will come to me. Sometime after Samhain, when my sleep schedule goes back to 'normal' for the winter.

Sad captain is sad right now...and sleep deprived.

I hate getting older...because even as recently as 2005, I could go 3-4 days with 1-2 hours of sleep, but my body just said NEIN to that idea about 2006, and life has not been the same. Guh.

Hey, look, my own incoherent, sleep-dep inspired raving/rambling while I panic over not being able to go to the movies (which is a two edged thing for me anyway). See, I HATE crowds. I love premiers. I love Harry Potter. I hate high strung uberfans. I want to go to the movie with my hubby and friend(s). I also want to do well in class the next day, which will be a lab, and thus is VERY important because it's only a 6 week session instead of 12. AND I have to work Friday, AND I have 4+ hours on the bus getting to school, then to work, then home. So naps are really sort of out of the question. And I'm paranoid about not missing any school Getting good grades is paramount to my success in school...and it makes me feel like a 6 year old who has chicken pox on the day of their birthday.

I wanna have a little tantrum. And then a nap. And then some icecream, which won't make it any better, but will still be icecream.

Grrr.

Also, I left my phone at home today, and that has NOT made today any easier, I tell ya.

The captain's stress level just hit 11 back there somewhere, and is looking to see if he can eke out 12. :P

Day #7: Homework sucks

2009-07-12T15:00:56Z

I found myself here at 6am, SCREAMING at my Chemistry homework. Not because I have trouble with Chemistry. I have trouble with inconsistant notation and significant figures. Yeah, I suck. I don't care. I finally got it puzzled out, but not because I really understood. I just kept plugging in logical looking numbers until the pip went green. Heh. Conditioning at its finest. I'll go see if there's a tutor available in the library on Monday.

I am now staring at the Biology homework...which is suffering from my professor's English skills or lack thereof. Don't get me wrong; she SPEAKS very good English (She's from Rhodes, grew up in various parts of Italy, has a delicious accent and a wicked sense of humor). Her written English skills, however, leave a lot to be desired. I think the bigger problem is that she wants to use all the bells and whistles available in Microsoft Word...and you know. Unless you're a copy editor, you should probably back away, and leave the fancy stuff alone.

Now I'm exhausted. Maybe I'll go take a nap while I wait to see if she meant for me to give a one word, yes/no answer to a question, or actually answer the question in the form of an essay, because it could be either, given the question was nested in a formatted list, but didn't make sense compared to all the other items in the list. Go figger.

Day #6: Step One: Completed

2009-07-12T04:18:22Z

Okay, so the tiller was a good idea. There is no WAY we would have been able to dig all of that up by hand. The problem was that the ground underneath was so full of construction debris it was impossible to dig up properly. So.

Plan B will go into effect.

I am, however, toasty, and sore as all hell.

And now I need to go do homework.

Day #5: Wherein this is the 4th time I've tried to post this

2009-07-11T00:15:30Z

GRRR! Stupid laptop keeps deleting my entire post when I hit backspace instead of backspacing. Goddammed hotkeys.

Well, today was definitely better than yesterday, so I cannot complain. Well, I could but I would sound ungrateful, which I am not.

Was finally able to get my biology book from the bookstore...that took an act of god and/or congress...and then some, but I now have all of my school supplies.

Got the only high school kid in biology for my lab partner...he's a bit like talking to a football helmet without the padding, if you know what I mean.

Bossman would like me to start doing some telecommuting to get some of the electronic filing done around the office; no problem there. Heh. He aslo referred to my time at work as 'value added'... Well, I don't see why not!

Anyhow, that's about it. Things are calming down. I start my personal training in the gym on Tuesday. Going to go in early on Monday to walk on the treadmill a bit anyway.

And those are my academic plans. That, and homework on the weekend. Boooo. :P

Day #4.9583333 - Hey photopagan!

2009-07-10T06:20:55Z

You need one of these!