The Birds and the Beasts

OK, so it's cold. Really cold. And as usual this time of year, my thoughts turn to daydreams of living in Florida.But I don't want to torture myself so I try not to think of it too much. The newscasters keep talking about how cold it is and also how important it is to bring the pets inside from the cold. And since the furnace is broken, "the cold" includes most parts of my house (though luckily, Heidi's furnace works so I don't have to worry about her and Isabelle). So to keep the pets and myself safe, Stella, Magnus and I are huddled in my bedroom, which I have turned into a makeshift apartment-within-an-apartment.

The furnace hasn't worked this entire heating season so far. Originally, I thought it was a problem with the thermostat, but after I got a very fancy new programmable thermostat and installed it, including pulling a new cable to replace the one that was made of what appeared to be the first electrical wire, ever, which of course led to buying another $50 "tool" to run said cable, it turns out that the thermostat wasn't the problem. Well, that seems OK to me, given that the thermostat is supposed to be able to save up to $150 a year from my energy bill (although does that include A/C? because if so, I'm down to probably $75 in savings, but whatever) - so even if it wasn't the problem, it will probably pay for itself in pretty short order. But what I learned today is that both of my furnaces (furni?) are something called a "millivolt" system. The upshot of such a system is that the pilot light provides the power for the thermostat (yeah, I don't understand how that works, either) meaning that, if the power goes out but the gas doesn't, I still have heat. Except when I don't have heat because the thing that takes the pilot light energy and converts it to electricity is broken. I guess it is pretty rare to have this kind of system, and I explained to him that this house is full of things that the professionals haven't ever seen before. Oh, and the guy isn't sure they can still get the part. AND, the brand-new programmable thermostat most likely won't work with this because the thermostat is for 24 volts and the power generated by the furnace is only 750 millivolts, or .75 volts. Not quite enough to run that thermostat. So, I'm not sure what's going to happen now, but for tonight, we are all bunked into this one room and I'm under the electric blanket and a down throw wearing my fleece pants and fleece robe and the pup and cat are curled up on soft warm things like pillows and towels which is how we've been ever since Furnace Man left.

Now. About that bird. That thing was in the room where I sleep when I'm at my dad's place. And what really upset me about it is that I didn't even see the thing for the first 3 nights I slept up there. A normal person in a normal room during a normal visit would have seen this thing immediately. But nothing about the room, the visit, or me are normal, so it wasn't until I reached under one of the side tables to grab something else that I noticed the bird. And it was way dead, and having to pick it up even with a wad of paper towels wrapped around my hand was sickening. I'm kind or retching about it right now. Blech.

To end on a high note, I would just like to say again that I am so thankful for my friends and family and ESPECIALLY for my amazing new job. I know, it's been almost a year. But I have been reminded so many times this month how wonderful the company is and the people are and even though it sounds ridiculously smarmy, I really feel loved and cared for there and I am so thankful that I managed to land there. Yay!! Oh, and tomorrow is "Ugly Christmas Pajama Day" at work. I don't have any Xmas PJs but I do have some Grinch slippers I may just bust out to be festive. Hee!

ewwwww

i had just about picked this up to toss in a bag of decorations when it occurred to me that it's a pretty crappy-looking decorative bird. and then i realized it's not decorative at all. so gross.
at least now the bird shit i found on the sheets makes sense...

Grumpy pants on today

it might give some indication of just how rural my surrounds are to
say there are NO wireless networks in my area. Not "no open networks,"
just "no networks." oy vey.
my dad is out of the hospital now. I went to the pharmacy to get my
dads meds and they werent able to get the medicare taken care of after
2 trips, so in despair I went to the video store to get some tv shows,
and even though the sign said 99c, the videos were actually $4.99
each. And that kills me because I could have borrowed the DVDs later
but I didnt because at 99c, they seemed like a real bargain now, and
then I got so excited to see the shows that I didnt want to not rent
them. Yeah. but the good part is that my dad is home, we got a
beautiful new day bed for my dad becuse hes been sleeping on the sofa
for a while now and i wanted something more supportive for him. So.
That's one thing I can claim as an accomplishment, anyway.

Latest Update on Papa

He is doing well. I got a message from his friend who stayed overnight (so I could sleep in my own bed and come into the office today), and she said that he ate an entire meal last night, slept well (they put him on a CPAP, which he honestly should have had years ago), and that he had a big, busy morning today and was quite tired from all that. Also, they are talking about moving him out of ICU tomorrow and into a cardiac room, so that will be nice. I hope that he will be able to be released before Christmas. I know that he won’t want to be in the hospital over the holidays.

I am hoping I can make some arrangements with work so that I can have the next couple of weeks off to help get his house situated for him (we had been talking before he went into the hospital about doing some of that) and help him get re-adjusted. I guess the upshot of it being near the holidays is that things are generally pretty slow for me right now. No one wants to do much work on their directories that aren’t being printed until March or April when they could be whooping it up with egg nog and holiday cheer.

I am actually exhausted and I really want to just go back to bed, which is sad because the only things I’ve done today are shower, pack, and come in to the office about 45 minutes ago.

Being in the office is weird for me because I’m dreading that someone might come over and want to talk a bunch about what’s going on, and I just don’t want to talk about it any more right now. For one thing, it always starts me crying. For another, I’m just really tired. Some parts of being a grown-up are just crappy.

Thanks again to all of you for your calls, support, help, and prayers. I have the best group of friends any girl could ever want and I am so thankful for each and every one of you. Awww…

 

i am no expert

but i am pretty sure that this ISN'T the proper way to tape drywall seams and holes. yep, that's painter's tape and duct tape. other than self-appointed inspections of the hospital construction, i have been hanging out with dad and watching dvds of Dexter. dad is doing quite well now. they took him off the ventilator today, so he's been talking and he was even having a sprite when i ducked out for lunch. he was asking me about how my workshop setup is coming along and making plans for when we get home, so these are all positive signs. they said they wont start thinking about moving him out of ICU until tomorrow because they like to wait at least one day after they come off the vent. thanks to all for support, calls and prayers. i will get in touch with everyone in the next few days, i promise. :)

hospital updates

if you've known me for awhile, you know that i've had quite a few heartbreaking experiences with family members in the hospital. i'm trying to not reflect too much on those while i'm here with my dad. while his recovery is painfully slow, he is getting a little better each day. sadly, he was already pretty bad off with his heart problems so i'm not sure what his life will be like when he leaves the hospital, but for right now, we're just focusing on getting his breathing regulated so he can get off the vent. just so you can tell how his spirits are, they were talking about weaning him off the vent and he wrote this note: YOU DON'T NEED TO WEAN ME, I'M ALREADY A WEENIE. the fact that he's still cracking jokes and trying to kiss the nurses (the lady ones) goes a long way in keeping me calm. and the hot male nurse in the next room helps, too. :) thanks to all for support and well wishes. i
love you guys!

Boy Are My Arms Tired

Actually, all of me is tired, because we did a TON of work this weekend. But check out the results at Heidi's Blog.

Once again, mad props to Kelly for helping direct the faucet installation, Adam for completely ROCKING out on the cabinet installation (this guy is a genius!) and of course, Heidi, for sticking it out with no kitchen for all this time and helping all along the way. It is really satisfying to see the results now that we're in the "you-can-actually-see-the-work-that's-getting-done" phase. I'm hoping to have the floor tiled in the next 6 days. The holiday break should really help with getting that done.

Yay, PROGRESS!!

Once again, can I say how much the Wilkeys RAWK.

I have so many shout-outs and updates on prizes and general pics I need to post that I feel bad just posting with no pics. But really, I just want to say a couple of things. 1 - the Wilkeys are the bizz-omb. whatever that means. Second, after a couple of days of wood-cutting frustration, I think we'll be set tonight because Justin sent over his jigsaw to fill in for my jigsaw that I broke last night trying to get through the beast of a slab of wood that is the IKEA Numerar countertop**. So hopefully, tonight we'll finish cutting that and then install the sink and faucet and connect the plumbing. And I'm really hoping the plumbing will drain because Justin's suggestion about potential problems causing the upstairs sink to not drain makes me wonder if the downstairs drain will work after all. Pleh. Anyway, I'm glad Heidi's been posting progress pics because I've just been working and working to get this thing done and I've been too grumpy/tired to take and post pics. I love looking at them, though, so keep them coming, Heidi!


**If you googled "Numerar" "countertop" "cut" "blade" or "I'm going to shoot myself in the face now that I have a giant slab of counter and cant' actually cut it to size or cut a hole in it," and that's how you end up here, here is what I know.
1 - Numerar actually has a good face and a bad side. DO NOT mistake the two. You will know in one of 2 ways - either you will be looking at the good face thinking that both are the same, or you will flip it over and know right away that there really are a top and bottom. The bottom is uneven and has glue smears all over it, as well as a big ugly black IKEA stamp. Again, if you open the thing in such a way that you see the front side, you might not realise that there is a bad side lurking under there. And that comes into play when you start making cuts.
2 - I have read online both complaints that this stuff is a b*tch to cut and people saying it's not bad at all. Actually, both are true depending on your circumstances. I bought a new SKILSAW for the job, because it's not really a project until you have to buy a new tool. I tried cutting the counter with the 24T carbide blade that came with the saw. Bad idea. I bet that blade is just fine for cutting pine framing lumber, but for the glued-up 6/4" hardwood this countertop is made of, you are going to need something with a little more bawlz. And the one that worked for me is the Freud Diablo, 40T. I wavered a bit between it and the Freud Avanti, 40T, but in the end, I read a review that said the Diablo was a little beefier and that's what I wanted for this job. Turns out that was just the trick. That thing went through the countertop like butter. I felt like I was sawing through MDF - just smooth and even. I had a few binding spots that were my own fault for letting the saw drop - I'm still getting the hang of the weight of it - but otherwise the cut is smooth as glass. Now, they say you should cut bad-side-up with the circular saw and that's what I did. But I'm also going to tell you that the 40T gives you such a smooth cut that it probably won't matter which side is up. I didn't have any splintering or tear-out at all. I am actually in love with this blade, and honestly, it was so inexpensive, I'm going to go back and get one for my 10-inch saws, too. Yeah, I know, I sound like a commercial. But man, this thing is sweet. Oh, and I had been under the impression that a lower tooth count was better for cutting thick boards. But this 40T was excellent at it, so I guess I missed something in my reading or else they mean "lower" as in "not 200 teeth". Whatevs.

I have to give mad props to Naomi, Single Mom extraordinaire, whose blog I found while frantically searching for a way to cut this stuff. Seeing her cooktop cutout gave me the confidence that I could actually cut the thing without losing my mind or any fingers. Thanks, Naomi! (The kitchen looks great!)

Woefully amiss

I know, I know. I'm long overdue for SOME kind of update. But I just haven't been able to make the time to do it. Oy vey.

I'm going to refer you over to Heidi's blog for occasional updates on the kitchen project. It is pretty much taking over my life, which is part of the reason for the lack of updates of late.

Oh, and we are currently down to ZERO functioning kitchen sinks as the upstairs sink has become hopelessly clogged. That's a story in and of itself. ARGH.

Um.

This:


Was stolen from my yard this morning. Or possibly last night. Sometime between the hours of 8pm and 8am. Whatever. I mean, really. Who in the world steals an 8-foot sign that's nailed to 2- 2x4s and sunk into the ground? This entire time, I've expected to come out and find it kicked over, slashed, spray painted, or smeared with baby poop. But I honestly never expected to find it just stolen. The only trace they left was the 2x4 cross-brace you can't see in the pic. It was just lying there on the sidewalk like a metaphor for the honor and respect of the democratic process that says "when your candidate doesn't win, you suck it up and figure out what you can do to change things in 4 years".

Like I have done for the past EIGHT.

Heidi is 2-for-2

First, the Bengals win on Sunday, in honor of her birf-day, and now, the election of our 44^th president, Mr. Barack Obama, on her actual birthday.

With this kind of streak, I think she’s a keeper.

Happy belated b-day, Heidi!!

On the first day of voting...

I luuurve voting. It is probably the most exciting day of the every-other-year for me. And this year’s change to allow early voting in Ohio means that, for me, yesterday was voting day. YaY!! Now clearly, this was not the first day of voting. But I wanted to get you all in the frame of mind for this a little song I wrote about my ballot as an Independent voter. Sing to the tune of “The 12 Days of Christmas,” pick up at the 6 jumpers jumping (is that right? That doesn’t sound right.)

On my day of early voting,

The picks I made were these:

6 assorted Judges,

5 Dem-O-Craaaats,

4 Issue “yeses”

3 Repub-liii-cans,

2 Issue “nos”

And an Independent in a pear tree…

Thanks to you, Mr and Mrs Wilkey

Ahh, the Wilkeys have done it again. Right in the midst of the maddening plumbing challenge that was keeping Heidi from having any hot water, Jenn and Justin came over and Justin figured it out right away. I was going to try an alternative union method (compression fittings) because I was thinking I'd never get the line dry enough to sweat the copper. But Justin figured out what the problem was, drained the line, and then helped me solder everything together, including making the most ridiculous copper cut ever, only to have me notice that we didn't even need the piece he had just cut (sorry, Justin!). Then he showed me the simplest way to pipe the cold water into the kitchen, showed me how to tighten the seal on my compression fittings for under the sink, explained the proper use of teflon tape, and made sure that we don't have any leaks. Plus, he checked out the seal on the fridge and helped move a stack of 16' crown molding out of Heidi's apartment and into the basement. Pretty awesome for an evening's work!! Thanks again to the Wilkeys for helping out at a moment's notice.

And not to be outdone, after the Wilkeys departed, Heidi asked me to show her how to scrape wallpaper so she could work on the bathroom whenever she has time. We worked on it while we talked about our feelings and then I filled the bathroom with dust when I turned on the shop-vac to clean up the messy little paper crumbles. DOH!

I think Heidi's place is going to be fantastic when everything is done. I was thinking today that there have been some unexpected but wonderful consequences of her staying here which include that a) I am less lonely, 2) I am motivated to do something on the kitchen project every day, and another thing) um, did you see that OBAMA sign we erected? Day-ummm.

I love this

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I heard it on the radio today and didn’t think it was true. So awesome.

If you haven't seen this already

Check out what might actually be the greatest accomplishment of my entire life:

O-BAM-A!!!

Supersize Me.

You know, everyone thinks that guy who made the movie did it to point out the detrimental effects of our fast food nation. But I am personally convinced that his whole plan actually started with an obsession to win something at the Monopoly game. Because that’s how it has happened to me. Expect that, when you see me again, I will be a bloated, pasty version of my former bloated, pasty self. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner at McDonald’s doesn’t wear well on anyone. That’s all I’m saying.

So, this is how it's going to be.

Yesterday, Heidi and I decided we were going to go ahead and erect our GIANT OBAMA SIGN in the front yard. So we’re walking around the house to get materials and tools ready, and I hear this sound that reminds me of a faint dripping. And for whatever reason, I am hyper-panicked whenever I hear dripping because I assume it’s going to be the worst leak ever and I’ll open up the walls to find the whole house frame is rotting away, and so on.

So. I hear this sound so I stop what I’m doing, stand very still and listen hard. And it gradually dawns on me that this is less of a dripping sound and more of a ticking sound, like a ticking clock. Now this area of the house is full of construction materials and trash and all kinds of tools and things, so it’s hard to figure out where such a sound would be coming from anyway, so at this point, I’m convinced that it’s something in the walls, or in the basement, that will surely cause the house to collapse. And now I’m going to switch to “screenplay” mode for the rest of the story.

Me: Hey, come over here for a sec…

Heidi (walking over to me and telling me something): What? I was…

Me: SHHH! Listen!

Heidi (listens)

Me: Do you hear that??

Heidi: What, the washer?

Me: No, it sounds, it sounds like a clock, ticking. Do you hear it??!?

Heidi (looks at me for a looong second)

Me (face completely twisted up in confusion and worry, because of course the ticking is a time bomb)

Heidi: Oh! OOHH! I threw a clock away!!

Me: What? What?

Heidi: I threw the clock away because it stopped ticking. I guess it started again.

Hee! This is exactly the kind of ridiculous conversation we have pretty much anytime we get together. I hope Heidi posts her pics of the BIG OBAMA SIGN soon, so you all can enjoy it as much as we do.

Now, for something completely different: Monday Updates

1 – Stella is fine. It turns out she got into a fight and got a cat bite. They gave her some antibiotics and painkillers at the vet’s office, plus they sent home a little vial of pink liquid that looks like Pepto-Bismol but is actually some antibiotic/painkiller combo. I have to pull it out with a syringe (no needle!) and then shoot it into her little mouth, and it splatters around every time. I mean, if they were going to come up with all this stuff, it seems like they could have made it chicken or turkey or shrimp flavored while they were at it. Oh well. She has to go back to the vet on Friday to get some shots that I didn’t even know she needed. Did you all know that you have to get them updates for their various shots every year or so? I had no idea of that.

2 – My foot is doing better but I still have 5 days until my next appointment with the doctor. Also, it occurred to me that I might not be psychologically ready to get out of the boot. I mean, on the one hand (foot?), I am tired of lugging the boot around and only wearing my tenni-runners because they are the only shoe with a thick enough sole to match the boot (and it’s not actually thick enough, but it’s the closest thing I have). But on the other hand (foot?), I am nervous that if I take the boot off and go back to my normal life, I might re-break the bone. I am pretty clumsy, and I have a lot going on right now where I could end up dropping something heavy on the foot, which might also break it. So, I’m a little concerned about that.

3 – The working kid did a good job on Saturday and I hope he wants to come back. I actually ran out of things for him to do because I didn’t manage to get the plywood I needed to start the cabinet installation. Oh, and I paid him $8/hour, so thank you all for your survey responses. However, there are some things I don’t feel comfortable having him help with, and I’m not sure when (or if) he’ll be back again. From you, kind readers, I could use any and all kinds of help at just about any time to get the kitchen finished. Heidi is also going to help but she has a LOT going on right now, so if any of you can come over on a weeknight or on the weekend, please let me know. There’s plenty to be done, but the jobs that I really need help with are as follows:

        Installing wall paneling and cabinets (I think the kid might be able to help with this)

        Re-routing of plumbing line to the new sink location

        Extending the electrical line for the dishwasher to the new dishwasher location

        Installation of the actual tile

        Countertop installation

So, please let me know if you can help at any time. There are lots of other things to do like painting and cleaning and other less-burly types of things. And I will feed you dinner (that Heidi will cook, because you really don’t want to eat anything I cook!)

blueis the new brown

from the looks of it, it is the new light brown and the sometime-replacement for dark brown. i mean, look at all those blues. i'm aware this might also be a left_wing conspiracy at play.

Uh-oh for Stella-doe

So, when I got home yesterday, Stella was waiting for me on the porch as she usually is. But, as she started coming down the steps, something just didn't look...right. When she got to the pavement, I realised she was limping. Sure enough, something is wrong with her left foot or leg. She's been hobbling around on it ever since then. I thought I'd give it a day to see if maybe she just cut her paw or something, but when I got home tonight, she was still limping. So. I guess we're going to be taking her to the vet to see what we can find out about this. In the meantime, she is recuperating in her room, which to the rest of us, is known as the Guest Room. Poor Stella.

Oh, it has also occurred to me the she might be faking it because she's seen all the attention I've been getting with my broken foot. Kitteh see, kitteh do.

Just general updates

Couple of things going on:

1)      I will be having the first of what will (hopefully) be two “tena-guests” coming to stay in the downstairs apartment, starting this weekend. I say “tena-guest” because they are friends, but they will also be paying me rent. I think this will be good, because it is a specific and concrete timeframe for completion of the ridiculous kitchen project, and also, it will be nice to have a little money coming in from the “tena” part of the tena-guests. Plus it will be nice to have neighbors who are also friends.

2)      As a result of the new specific and concrete timeframe, I need to get the kitchen project finished. And last night, CNKelly and Izzo came over to help with just that. I have to give mad, MAD props to Kelly for the help she gave me, because it was the particularly hideous task of sanding the drywall seams. And the thing is, I wasn’t super careful when I put the drywall mud on, because at that time, I was fully expecting that I would be the one sanding. But then the broken foot thing happened, and I couldn’t  go up on the ladder (actually, shouldn’t, I can climb stairs just fine now but something about going up and down the steps of the ladder seems like a bad idea) to finish the job. So that is what Kelly did for me last night. And that is about as good a friend as you can get – someone who will come sand your drywall – but also, Kelly is great for a lot of other reasons, like being incredibly funny, pretty, witty, and bright…you get the idea. And also for the time she brought me crutches and Skyline. Somehow, she knows exactly the right thing at the right time, and that is cool. So, she did a wonderful job sanding and after she left, I swept the walls and ceiling with a broom to knock the rest of the dust off, and probably Wednesday I will start the priming. I have a paint stick so I will be able to do the priming by myself. And then I’m going to have to ask for someone to come help do the painting, because I want to paint the ceiling white and I’m thinking of red for the walls. Now that I’ve decided that I’ll probably be living in this house for the rest of my life because I will never be able to sell it, I think red is fine for the kitchen. And just to clarify, my long-term goal for keeping or selling the house is to make it a single-family, so eventually the downstairs kitchen will be mine again. I realized when I typed that just how ridiculous I actually am as a person. Oy.

3)      Did you cast your vote (on the left side of the page) for how much I should pay this kid on Saturday? I need to know because I need to get some cash for him.

Survey Says?

Please note the survey I have added on the left of the blog. I have made arrangements for a kid to come work at my house on Saturday and, if all goes well, I plan to have him come over regularly.

He is 15, hasn't had a job yet, doesn't know how to do any around-the-house work yet, and is a co-worker's kid.

Based on all the above parameters, how much an hour should I pay this kid? I'm thinking to start out at a rate, and if he keeps working for me on Saturdays, to pay him a little more after certain amounts of time. Please put your vote in for what you think I should pay. I don't want to be a cheapskate but I don't want to overpay either.

Raise the Roof

On my house, if you would. Anyone? Anyone? It’s been confirmed that I need a new roof, which I’ve actually suspected for a while, but thanks to Windstorm 2008, the timeline has been accelerated by a good 6 months or so.

I really don’t want to tap my savings or take out a loan for this (pbbbbttthhh), and what with missing my $900 a month tenants, I’m pretty much tapped these days, so right now, today, I’m asking the universe to send me Tennessee Ave and New York Ave so I can collect a cool $5 K from my good friends at McDonald’s and Monopoly. That won’t pay for the whole roof, but I don’t need a full $10 K and I don’t want to be greedy.

Dear Universe,

Please see note above.

Thanks a lot!

Love,

-Erin

For Rachel

I'm not crazy about the song, but Brit-brit looks HOTT in

her new video

That Project Heidi Mentioned

Heidi and I have been talking about this for at least a year but perhaps longer, but we are both very busy, very popular, and very low on attention span, so it's taken a long time for us to get it together. And, truth be told, it probably wouldn't have come together now save for the current election season. There's just so much society to comment on right now, and I actually prefer to keep this blog more about the personal, funny, and fun stuff as much as possible. Plus, the co-authoring option is great. We hope you will stop by, bring a cup of coffee or a shot of whiskey, and share your own observations and opinions with us. So without further ado, the formal unveiling of our new brainchild:

http://socialist-commentator.blogspot.com/
Social Commentary by a Socialist and a Commentator

FW: I wrote a joke

From: [Name Withheld]
To: Erin Blackford
Subject: I wrote a joke

 

 

The 2 scariest words in America are not “Wall Street.”

 

 

They’re “President Palin.”

 

 

 

 

This artist's work

Is sublime:

http://little-people.blogspot.com/

I’m not just saying that because I love miniatures.

crushing my cynicism

i volunteered for about 45 minutes last night at one of the obama campaign locations. in addition to all the inspiring signs created by kids, i was amazed at the numbe of young people there. not just college kids, but high-schoolers and even a kid making calls with me who is TWELVE years old. when i asked him his age, he said, "12, but i'll be 13 soon, if that matters". um, if a kid who can't even vote for 5 more years can get out and make phone calls to support a candidate, then we should all consider what we can do to make a difference. regardless of who you support, there's something about getting involved that i had really forgotten about since i gave up all the rallying and protesting i did in my college years. it was inspiring to spend even a little time in the midst of that kind of energy again.

crushing blow

It is particularly crushing because the Physical Therapist said I am doing really well with my range of motion and the x-ray tech said that now, you can't even tell from my gait that I have a boot on (which one of my co-workers also pointed out yesterday). So, I came in to the office expecting to get an order to start wearing my gym shoe a little longer each day. And while the doctor actually said that I'm healing normally, and exactly as he expected I should be, he wants me to "keep doing the exact same thing for the next THREE. WEEKS."

This is seriously driving me insane. I know I could just say "screw it" and do what I want to do, but I am actually quite nervous about breaking it again at this point. So I'd rather play it safe, but I am so ready to start wearing a regular shoe again and just be able to walk normally. Particularly when I'm on my feet a lot, my back starts to hurt because the left foot is higher than the right foot, so I get out of alignment and then I have a backache on the right side of my body.

I have a picture of my x-ray from yesterday. You can see that I really did break that mutha.


I know there are tons of things I can find to do while resting, but it's hard to find stuff to do while my leg is resting and elevated. And keeping it elevated is what's keeping it from swelling. So, yeah, by the time I get done with this whole ordeal, I am going to be quite the couch potatoe.

I'm trying to not get overly excited...

…but I just came back from Physical Therapy and the lady said that I might be able to start weaning out of this boot today. I have to go back over there at 4:00 to get some x-rays of my foot and then the doc will decide if I can start the weaning process - whatever that means.

I have to say that I feel much better now about all the lying around doing nothing I’ve been doing lately, because she also said I had done a great job of taking care of the foot and that a lot of people have extensive swelling and soreness around the foot when they break the metatarsal. This really makes up for all the forced inactivity of the past several weeks.

Something funny that happened is that, when she had her little measuring stick and wanted to see how much I could point and flex my foot, she did the left foot, then she said, “I want to do the right foot to see how they compare” and then when I pointed my right foot, she kind of jumped back and I thought I had kicked her in the face or something, so I apologized, and she said “no, I was just surprised at how flexible you are. Are you a dancer?” which of course, made me laugh, because most dancers, I daresay all dancers, do not have quite such a portly look as I have. But, I am flexible and strong, as I have been told by many people who watch people bend or stretch or lift for their living, for example, yoga instructor, horseback riding instructor, physical therapists, and the couple of trainers I’ve worked with at various points in my life.

So. The moral of the story is, 1) even if you are portly, you can still be strong and flexible, 2) even if you have to sit around doing nothing for several torturous weeks, you might find that it was the best thing for you at the time, and 3) don’t eff with me, because I am not only strong enough to kick your ass, but also flexible enough to kick you in the face.

More politics but this is more humorous (or sad)

As an addendum to a comment I made recently on the Rogue Historian's blog,

This. Is scary.

ETA: Bri-Bri, this is for you.

something weird

i am not too shabby with a pencil and paper,so long as it's drawing and not accounting we're talking about.

but i really struggle with faces.and in particular, eyes. so i decided, while my foot is healing and i'm not allowed to climb up and down the ladder, i will practice my drawlings. so here is day 1 of practicing on eyes. now,what is weird and/or interesting is that i can draw from a drawing, which is what you see on the upper left of the pae here. but from my imagination, well, things start to fall apart. so how do i get better at drawing from imagination? because i want to eventually start working (freelancing) as an illustrator, and the whole thing they do is make images from imagination.

also, you might all know this about me already, but i am more convinced every day that i have ADD. turns out that even people who do well in school or get a graduate degree can still have ADD. i'll probably talk more about this later, if i don't forget. pleh.

Now that Jenn's blog is all privatized**

I would like to share this roughly paraphrased bit of phone conversation that occurred between CNKelly and I, yesterday. Note, we were both chuckling the entire time so picture that in your mind.

CNK: Um, did you see this weiner dog thing on Jenn’s blog?

Me: Yeah, how ridiculous and awesome is that? They are wearing hot dog buns and running down the street.

CNK: Seriously, how did they [The Wilkeys] even get started in this?

Me: IDK, they did it last year and as I recall, Frank didn’t even finish the race but he stole someone else’s bacon.

CNK: I mean, this is so ridiculous, who even comes up with this stuff?

Me: IDK, but the Wilkeys are taking the Weiner dog World of Racing by storm. Oh, there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.

…both of us laughing hysterically, each in our own cubes at our respective workplaces

It’s official, BTW: my “new” cube neighbors have pointed out that I LOL a lot. As in, all the time. As in, what is so funny, please share kind of moments. And I have to say, it’s almost always because of things like this that are just aspects of life that make me giggle. Even though I do like to complain, I really enjoy life and all the funny-ness it has to offer.

**Names are no longer changed to protect the identities of those involved.

Highly Recommended Listening

Particularly for the intellectual types among the readership of this blog (that’s all of you, right?):

Michael Rips – Lost in Translation

A high school student attempts to pass an Ionesco play off as his own. Michael Rips is a fifth-generation Nebraska native. A graduate of Oxford University, he served as a law clerk to a Supreme Court justice and continues to practice criminal litigation. He is the author of The Face of a Naked Lady and Pasquale's Nose. Music by Chris Webb

It’s currently available (FREE!) in the iTunes store under Podcasts>Audio Podcasts>Performing Arts>The Moth Podcast

I wish the iTunes store had a way to link right to the podcast or at least the store. If anyone knows how to do that, please leave a note in the comments.

Awesome Public Folder Post

This gem was in one of our public Outlook folders today. Out. Standing.

 

(A typewriter was located in the office, BTW. Who knew we would even still have one?)

 

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From: Tonya
Posted At: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 10:11 AM
Posted To: Business
Subject: Typewriter
 

Does anyone still have a typewriter around the office?

 

A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with a set of "keys" that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. For much of the 20th century, typewriters were indispensable tools in business offices and for many professional writers. By the end of the 1980s, word processor applications on personal computers had largely replaced the tasks previously accomplished with typewriters. Typewriters, however, remain popular in the developing world and among some niche markets.

For you younger employees, it looks like this …