Is it a bird? Ooh, a bird. Where?
Another open thread for personal stuff, continuing from here.
As usual for these threads: no trolls, no arguments, supportive comments only!
Posted on March 1, 2014, in off topic, open thread. Bookmark the permalink. 541 Comments.
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Another hit and run update from someone who mostly lurks: Not only are we not homeless, I’ve got contract work lined up, my partner is on EI so at least we have 1 stable source of income for the time being, we’ve moved to a place where we’re paying less than half of what we were at the previous rental, and we’re getting our debts under control.
2014 is looking up. Hopefully others can say the same.
So can someone help me find this experiment?
It was one where they had white people watch a video of a hands getting stabbed. When the hand was white, they flinched. When it was purple, they flinched. When it was a black person’s hand, they didn’t react.
I think I remember that one, auggziliary. I’ll see if my Googefu comes up with anything.
Here are a couple exploring the racial empathy gap:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3108582/
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0048546
Damsel, good to hear.
Oh, just in case people haven’t been following the old thread, it’s been pretty active last night/this mornig, so you may want to check out the latest comments there:
http://manboobz.com/2014/02/07/open-thread-for-personal-stuff-february-2014-edition/
Good to hear damselindetech, I hope it’s a good year.
I’m going to try to quit drinking. Not alcohol. Diet soda. As soon as my current case is finished. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that shit is so addictive. I drink 2-3 cans every day and get massive headaches if I go without. It isn’t the caffeine because coffee doesn’t get rid of the withdrawal headache. It’s some other chemical.
I quit smoking successfully 5 years ago but have never been able to kick the soda habit. Wish me luck!
On the upside, my crankiness will give me the necessary aggression to combat trolls that wonder into our lair.
Wander, not wonder.
weirwoodtreehugger, good luck with the desodafication process. It could still be lack of caffeine for the headaches, though. Housemate dumped his diet soda habit in favor of iced tea made at home to get his caffeine fix and was miserable for a while (his was a 2 liter per day habit) and one thing he found from research is that coffee and tea don’t have anywhere near as much caffeine as soda, especially the colas.
damselindetech, congrats and best wishes for continued good stuff!
Thanks very much, y’all.
weirwoodtreehugger – my wife had the exact same sort of addiction. The amount of diet Coke she’d go through in a day was frankly super gross. She doesn’t like any other types of pop, however, other than club soda (legit, straight-up club soda). One of the things she would do is to cut her diet Coke with club soda, but nowadays we just buy club soda instead and diet Coke is just a once-in-a-while treat. Your mileage may vary.
Preemptive brain bleach:
The fact that they did this in a continuous shot is pretty impressive IMO. That must have taken a lot of planning and practicing.
Well, hello. I have been reading for a while, but only posted a little.
I’m feeling quite chirpy, as the bone scan and CT scan results are in as of Friday and I don’t have any secondary tumours.
Now it’s just the chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and an oestrogen blocker for the rest of my life to look forward to.
I’ll be shaving my head soon – my hair is currently waist length – and am shopping for surprising wigs for when I don’t feel I can rock the Walter White/Heisenberg look.
Good luck, bluecat. Might I recommend some Jem & The Holograms-esque wigs?
Good luck, bluecat! What are you going to do with your hair? Sounds like you might have a long enough length that you could have a wig made of it!
I had a bright kelly green wig and a bubble gum pink one, and I can recommend at least one bright color for those days when you really need the lift.
Jem and the Holograms is a new one on me, Damsel – will google it in a mo. I’ve now got 2 synthetic wigs, one black and one shocking pink, both of a cut suitable for the kind of gal likely to do the shimmy and say “boo boo buh doo!” at any moment.
Gillyrose – that’s the plan. I actually own a Victorian-style hairpiece already that I made from my own hair combings a few years ago (it was astonishing how quickly I got enough!) I wear it when I do historic costume storytelling.
I was thinking of plaiting my cut off hair and sewing the plaits into a hairband that I could tuck inside hats or use in a medieval hairstyle – I’ve been booked to tell stories at a medieval fair in September and have been wondering what to wear!
Things are still shit for me, unfortunately. But I now actually have some money, so that is good.
But in good news… Really excited for the release of TitanFall this month. Played in the beta, and it was really great. And Oingo Boingo always cheer me up. :D
Sorry to hear about things, Breakfast Man but glad the financial situation is better. As my old mum used to say, money doesn’t make you happy but at least you can be miserable in comfort. Hope the rest improves soon.
Sounds awesome, bluecat! I love the idea of having falls made of my own hair!
Weirwoodtreehugger,
Oh my, yes diet soda is hard to quit! Orange Diet Rite and Diet Mt. Dew have their hooks in me. I have a friend who is quitting Sundrop because she’s trying to quit smoking and she knows that her ritual is Sundrop in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Best wishes. You can do it. :)
Kick that diet soda habit! Free yourself from sucralose!
Enh, I’ve been collapsed for the past six days now, and it suuuuucks. (Collapses are what we call it when suddenly I get hit with weakness, frailty, and have to use crutches or just not leave the apartment for a while.) I’ve been having them off and on for the past four years, and the doctors can never find anything wrong with me; last time I tried, the doctor broke it to me as gently as possible that she thought they were psychosomatic.
Sometimes, I truly hate being mentally ill. It means that I can’t just trust myself to be sick anymore, it’s always a double-guess over whether my brain is upset about something.
So, basically I’ve been trying to just wait it out, but it’s frustrating because the burnout is in art AND decision-making, meaning that most of my usual ways of coping are out of commission. I can’t do art, I can’t do tedious business tasks, I can’t exercise, I can’t even freakin’ CLEAN. There’s also the nagging fear that I DO have something physically wrong with me — starve-variant eating disorders can really fuck up your body, and so it’s not impossible I’ve done myself some kind of neurological damage or something that’s eluding notice.
I don’t know. It’s just really upsetting, especially since I’m having to get a new health team here in Ohio, and so don’t have a doctor or a shrink yet. And I hate having to try and figure out what the deal is when I feel like I’m missing half the information, and because it sounds like such an excuse.
Does anyone here live around the Austin area, or has family/friends there? The reason I ask is that I’m going to Austin Monday for an interview on Tuesday. I’m kind of apprehensive about the possibility of picking up and moving, plus it’s Texas, a very red state with a lot of idiocy coming out of it. I’ve heard Austin is a little more liberal. I don’t know a soul down there so I have no one to ask.
LBT, forgive me for being intrusive, but have you ever been tested for vitamins B and D deficiencies? The reason I ask is because B and D deficiencies can really knock you for a loop, with symptoms like: fatigue, body aches, depression, anxiety, hair loss, and weight problems (loss or gain).
Last year I started having all those symptoms but no one could figure it why since most of the usual lab tests came back within range. Then one of the doctors I used to know at a hospital I used to work at opened up practice and I went to see her. After hearing me talk about what was going on, she said it sounded like I had B and D deficiencies. Sure enough, my levels had bottomed out. I went on vitamin therapies and feel much better now.
Wishing better luck to all of you who could use a break from the bad stuff.
@theladyzombie, hellkell knows Austin! Hopefully she’ll be around.
I’ve been there twice. My impression is that it’s one of the better places to live in Texas … but it’s still Texas, a very conservative state. The first time I was there I had this hilarious Iranian taxi driver who had moved there from LA because rents were cheaper. He started out being very diplomatic about the city, but by the end of the ride he admitted that moving to Austin was “the worst fucking mistake I ever made.” In his case, a lot of what he hated was the anti-Arab sentiment that he faced constantly — even though he wasn’t an Arab, he was perceived as one and got a lot of shit for it.
theladyzombie: DON’T DO IT!!!! We’re moving back to Seattle in July. It’s a terrible place to be anything but white, Mr. HK is Filipino, but lord knows he gets asked what kind of Mexican he is, and there’s not a whole lot of other Asian people here. Austin is allegedly liberal, but I have heard some egregious racist shit, it’s still Texas.
The traffic is LA heinous, the rents/cost of living is skyrocketing, and let’s talk about heat. Do you like the feeling that you’re residing in Satan’s taint? If so, COME ON DOWN. If you want to pay hundreds of dollars a month in the summer to keep your ass from broiling alive, book that Y’all Haul.
You will need car because public transpo ain’t shit, and there’s hardly sidewalks outside downtown. Make sure you get the best car insurance you can, then pray the mofo who hits–it will happen–has it the first place.
Kiss whatever food you love that’s not Mexican or BBQ goodbye, because unless you drive to Houston for dinner, you ain’t gettin’ a decent version of it.
The job better pay really fucking well is what I’m saying, and chances are it won’t really, because companies moving to TX is yet another way they can lowball you with the bogus COL stats.
Hellkell – I’m reminded of a quote attributed to Sam Houston – “If I owned Hell and all of Texas, I would live in Hell and rent out Texas.”
OT, but whatever: That is one awesome flying tuxedo kitty.
Also, congrats to all with good news…and good luck to all who need it!
My objective for 2014 is to secure a publication deal. I haven’t even bothered trying to do this in four years, when I spent six months contacting literary agents and ended up with nothing to show for it but seventy some-odd rejections, all but one of them a form letter. So I figure this time I’ve got a shot – I have a real-deal publication history, I have a manuscript that meets the industry standards in terms of things like length, and I have a story that’s definitely marketable.
So I’ve been at it for a month, and I’ve picked up fifteen rejections, every single one of them a form letter. I fucking love the publishing industry.
Andrew, good luck with it. I’ve been through the process a few times now (academic market) and it is never easy. If you don’t mind a piece of advice, I took a workshop on writing book prospectuses and it was the best money I ever spent in support of my writing. It helped me get past the idea that I was brilliant and just needed to explain my genius ideas to the world for them to throw money at me, and recognize that they are more like a resume you send out to publishers and seeing that you had the presence of mind to figure out (and have the humility to submit yourself to the process of) how to prepare one properly was one way they judge if you would be a worthwhile author to work with.
Durr, me no write clearly today. I blame it on Fitzy in the other thread!
But don’t worry about those form letters. Most of the best writers (and those with many published works to their name) have huge piles of them. Some people *cough* like me *cough* have whole binders full of them, including a few from the same person at the same publisher before eventually publishing with them!
Thanks! I’ll have to take that all into account if they offer me a position. Like I said, I have a lot of reservations about moving to Texas. I’m not surprised at the racism. I’m as white as can be but being around that would be infuriating. Sigh.
Don’t let my scathing review stop you, and if you have any questions, ask away.
Update on Magpie’s heart. I’m going to Sydney to have an “electrophysiology study and ablation”, which will fix the problem forever. Yay! 48 hours from now, I should be on the table.
My ex-husband very kindly agreed to come with me – I was nervous about being alone overnight afterwards, in case something went wrong. We travel down after work tomorrow, have the procedure on Tuesday, and if all goes well, travel back on Wednesday. If I have to stay at the hospital overnight we come back Thursday because the train leaves too early.
No problem, hellkell. If the offer is decent enough, I’ll probably take it. I’m kind of a recluse, so I tend not to go out and socialize too much. It’s just good to know what the city is like. I’d hope it wouldn’t be that much worse than the conservative, Midwestern city I live in now. But still, Texas, you know? :/
Hope nobody thinks I’m arrogant posting to everybody, and that nobody minds all the pics.
@Nova, I’m so sorry to hear how horrible things have been for you. And I’m extra glad to hear things are settling down a little bit now. Hope you and the furries will accept this hug (if you’d like it):
And this:
@damselindetech. Yay you, so glad things are looking up. This makes me smile:
@bluecat, things must have been really tough but I’m so glad the scan went well. I’m no use on the wig front I’m afraid. However, I can provide you with a bulldog in a wig:
And a medieval kitty:
http://i.imgur.com/zPljbNs.pngk
@BreakFastman
Sorry things aren’t going well.
Mr M played the beta, he says, and I quote “Titanfall is awesome, they absolutely nailed it.”
@LBT, mental illness sucks so much and I’m sorry things aren’t good at the moment.
I’d also add to what theladyzombie said and say, anaemia is also something to check for. Hope things pick up soon and that these make you smile:
@Andrew Johnston, good luck. :)
@Magpie
I’m so glad that this will solve the problem, although I’m sorry it’s scary.
It’ll be over before you know it, you’re awesome.
Best wishes for your upcoming procedure, Magpie.
Blue cat:
I’m so sorry you’ve been so ill and I know that the treatment isn’t pleasant either. I’m really happy that the scans didn’t show any secondaries, though!
I was diagnosed with cancer about three years ago and my treatment finished about twelve months ago and all the evidence so far is that it won’t be back. I hope it works out for you, too. Please let me know if there’s anything at all that I can do to help. A friendly person to talk to online can be helpful if your awake at 3am the night after chemotherapy. I speak from experience here.
I have an abundance of internet hugs here for you if you’d like them…
Pip
Good luck to all those needing it and congrats to all those with good news!
Mr K and I had a nice day out yesterday. I’d intended to go to the park and do heaps of knitting and he’d intended to use my leg as a pillow and snooze, like last time. But after about an hour my legs and back were getting stiff – bloody park benches! – so we headed to my favourite knitting shop instead. It’s a four-kilometre walk, which is the longest I’ve done in months. The knee was a bit sore by the end and is still today, but it’s really good to be able to do a long walk again.
I was a bit sorry to see that the shop Louis and Lady isn’t there anymore. Don’t know if they’ve moved or gone out of business. Not that I ever wanted to buy any of their stuff, it wasn’t my style at all, but the name, the name! :)
Andrew, what is your book about?
ladyzombie: One thing I forgot in my rant is allergies. You might not have them where you are, but you will have them here; if you do have them where you live, they will be ten times worse. There’s mold, elm, ash, oak, and the Queen Mother of them all, cedar. Cedar fever is a real, awful thing, and what makes it even worse is that you can go four years like I did and never have a problem, then BOOM! You are a sick, snotty, miserable mess until that shit blows away or gets rained on.
If I don’t take a Zyrtec every day, not only am I a sneezy mess daily, I will break out into a full-body itch. I know people who have been told by allergists that if they want to be allergy-free, move.
Healthy vibes and virtual fluffy snuggles to all! (I’m babysitting my aunt and uncle’s dog at the moment so I can offer love from an elderly kitty, two labradors and a miniature schnauzer.)
My poor mother has been diagnosed with cancer now. She started wheezing in the hospital, they found a mass above her lung, and now we’re waiting to hear back about radiotherapy. After the stroke she’s way too weak for chemo. Her mental state was bad enough as it is, and she’s a nervous wreck these days. She’s rapidly losing strength; part of it is probably oxygen deprivation and part of it is mental — she freaks out quite often about falling out of her chair or bed or whatever, so she’s becoming more and more immobile. She’s in a rest home where 99% of the staff are wonderful people, but she’s always trying to get me to take her home and claims she’ll be miraculously cured once she’s there.
I’m not coping too well — the house is a mess, blah blah blah — and sometimes feel like friends/family are judging me for it. I’d like to tell them they should fucking help out more if they think I’m doing it wrong but don’t want to antagonise anyone. I do have some great support but a lot of people don’t understand depression (which is pretty much my baseline state) and how it can compound situational stress and make you do stupid stupid things.
Oh well. You know how sometimes you know you need therapy but you just can’t face talking to yet another stranger about your most intimate thoughts? I’ve started seeing a personal trainer instead, and sometimes it seems the gym is the only thing keeping me going. The endorphin high is keeping me off recreational drugs and my trainer is good to talk to. I sometimes feel sad that I have to pay a guy $25 an hour to be my friend but I am getting some great muscles out of it!
To end on a pleasant note, my old cat Abby is following the precedent set by many before her, including my avatar Maggie, and becoming super cuddly in her old age. When I leave the dogs to sleep on their outside beds because it’s too hot, I wake up with a fluffy hot water bottle under the covers anyway. Now I just have to convince the dogs it’s not cool to bark hello at her and chase her. All they do when they catch her is sniff her bum and watch her run away so they’re probably trying to be friendly in their big dunderheaded way but she is not impressed. Wish it were easier to pack them all up and take them to visit Mum (that’s another thing I’m getting wrong, of course!)
@maggiesausage
Sorry to hear about your mother.
I just wanted to share this super important article for sex worker rights. In New Zealand sex work is decriminised. So sex workers have basic workplace rights. And this means they can’t be treated like shit. Yay human rights! http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/sex-worker-wins-harassment-case-5854800
That’s awesome. I wish most countries would follow that. In the states they’d flip out if that was even suggested.
Yay NZ!
I read ‘decriminised’ as ‘decriminied’ and wondered for a moment if it was the opposite of reintarnation.
Welp, I decorated my crutches with rainbows and flames. I figured if I’m going to be using them, I might as well try and make them like fashionable accessories rather than just heavy appliances that I have to lug around.
RE: theladyzombie
I don’t live there anymore, but I lived in Austin for nigh twenty years prior. I’d be happy to point you at cool things locally! Restaurants, theatres, stuff like that. Yes, it is racist as fuck, but there are queer and trans groups around and other stuff, depending on your tastes.
LBT, forgive me for being intrusive, but have you ever been tested for vitamins B and D deficiencies?
Yup. They’ve taken my blood a hojillion times, and apparently nothing is amiss. I had a D deficiency, but that was common in Boston in winter, and I’m pretty sure I don’t have one now. Also, I’m taking vitamins daily. I haven’t had my blood taken in a while, but seeing the number of times they’ve checked it, I don’t have high hopes.
Then again, my body must be fuckin’ impenetrable or something. Back in college, I was yellow and downright emaciated, and my blood claimed I was fine then too, which is how I got away with being so starvy for so long — the doctors kept seeing me as fine! I don’t know what the fuck my problem is, but apparently I’m just a medical black box or something.
RE: opheliamonarch
@LBT, mental illness sucks so much and I’m sorry things aren’t good at the moment.
Enh, things are better now than they’ve been in years. I think that’s part of why I’m so… disappointed. I really hoped once I had stable housing and wasn’t scared all the time that I wouldn’t do this anymore. I mean, if it’s all in my head, surely once the stress is gone, the collapses will stop too, right? Except apparently not.
Shorter dad on the phone today: “I’m sorry I act crazy all the time and get angry for not being able to talk to you on the phone. I’m always going to be like this even when all three of you are in your 60s. I will always worry and care about you.”
@bluecat
I totally understand the hair issue. I have alopecia areata. Wigs are great! The ones I looked at were over a thousand bucks and I couldn’t afford. I highly recommend using your real hair. You can still curl it and such. Good luck and much love.
@breakfastman
I haven’t read the prior thread but I hope you are doing better. Unfortunately, money is necessary. Oh, and I love Oingo Boingo! Thx for the vid!
AFAIK the component in diet soda is like nutrasweet and it’s a carcinogen. When it first came out in the 80’s we tried feeding it to our golden retriever. She turned her nose up at it and so my parents never had it in the house. It was our ‘test’. lol
@LBT: it sounds like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. That’s a real medical issue. It’s not in your head at all. The problem is nobody knows why or how it starts. Sometimes, as in my case, it began with a spinal injury.
@maggie
many hugs 4u and your mum
To clarify: “crazy” was his word choice, not mine.
“I’m sorry I act crazy all the time and get angry for not being able to talk to you on the phone. I’m always going to be like this even when all three of you are in your 60s. I will always worry and care about you.”
Translation: “I’m sorry I hurt you all the goddamn time, but I’m never going to stop, no matter how old you get, because this is what I consider an expression of care: threatening to hurt you, threatening to hurt your family members, stalking you across the country. This is what I will do. Forever.”
my personal update:
Things are good. I have fibromyalgia and CFS for many years since I fell 30 feet down a rock face on a mountain bike. Injured my internal organs, spine. lost feelling in legs. nerve damage. 3 surgeries.
last year has been horrible since it’s a degenerative condition. then i had my accident abt. 3 weeks ago. which is here. http://mancheeze.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/had-a-major-accident-taking-a-small-leave/
I called home care (in Canada we have this for ppl with acute and long term injuries). The last 3 weeks have been tough. Ppl in and out of my place, nurses, workers, physio.
I’m finally accepting the fact I need help cuz I’m incredibly independent. Still dealing w/ it mentally but ppl who come in to help are wonderful. Took my first little walk yesterday in high heel sandals (physio recommended it, long story) hurt SO BAD when i got home. will start going 2 aquatic therapy.
Very glad I live in Canada b/c I’m a citizen of both USA and Can. I can’t imagine having these probs in the States.
I’m adding koala cuddles to cloudiah’s bucket for everyone who needs them.
Hugs and/or kind thoughts to everyone who needs/wants them.
Re decriminalisation of sex work in NZ, I wished it had gone further and been legalised. I view sex work as another occupation, so workers should have all the protections available to them.
In the vein of side-notes of cool stuff,I have a baby orchid. One of the Phal x Milt has decided to bud out on an old raceme. Odds it’s a clone of the parent, but it’s possible for such buds to revert to one of the parents.
When it’s got some solid pseudobulbs I’ll plant it.
That is a perfect description of the area and exactly why I left. I’m actually closer to Portland now, though I’m still in California – prefer it in every way imaginable. It’s not perfect (public transport is only slightly less awful) but the air’s cleaner, the food’s better, and so are the people.
I’m glad February is over now, myself. Not for the usual reasons (like Valentine’s Day making me feel lonelier than usual) but something more heart-breaking: one of the two cats I adopted some months back died. She wasn’t a very healthy (even had her tested and…nothing came up, it was weird) and I did my best to take care of her. Part of me knew she wasn’t going to live long, but she was a real sweetheart and made for good company. Curling up next to me when playing games or holding her while I was watching something at my computer, she was also really friendly with my neighbors. I didn’t have her as long as I have my previous pets – but I already miss her a lot. Even though she made messes on the carpet constantly and kept scratching up my legs to try jumping on me. The night before, she was just acting under the weather – which wasn’t unusual – and found her stiff the next morning right next to my door.
Her sister, who is the complete opposite in terms of health, is also lonely without a playmate around and is spending more time outside. I’m thinking of adopting another cat – but I’m not sure if she’ll like that (though she’s friendly with my neighbor’s polydactyl orange tabby – I call him “Mr. Hemingway”). She’s at least more receptive as far as cuddling goes, which she hasn’t been in the past.
Sorry about your kitty, saintnick.
I’m leaving more hugs in the barrel for anyone who needs one.
I love you Nick, and you know if there’s anything you need,just ask, you know where to find me. I will grab a hug from Cloudiah’s bottomless barrel for myself, just because staying semisober is harder than expected.
@emilygoddess,
I think you should know that while I was watching that SPCA video, my kitty Sekhmet (a rescue) came up and started power-cuddling me.
saintnick, I’m so sorry your kitty died. Adding to the hugs, and I’d say yes, get another as companion for her sister.
Ally – seconding LBT: the dirtbag’s saying “I’m always going to do this, I’m going to pursue you all even if I manage to give myself an unlikely extra forty years to do it in, so you’d better all obey me in every thought and action if you want to minimise the beatings and mind games … even though that obedience won’t make a jot of difference.”
It’s just another of his threats. Fuck him. Stick to talking to the family who do care about you, Ally. The ones who don’t have demonstrated themselves unfit to be your relatives. They’re just acting as barriers between you and the chance to be who you are and have family-by-choice, aka friends.
Sorry about your kitty, Saintnick. That’s really hard. Thanks for what you did for her in the time she had.
From below: It’s just that I can’t even FIND Greek yogurt these days that’s not low-fat or no-fat.
you will need 1 large strainer & some coffee filters. put strainer over a bowl, put coffee filter in strainer. fill with regular yoghurt. put coffee filter on top. drain a few hours for “greek-style”, or longer for a thicker, almost “cream cheese spread”. great on bagels
I am in my own personal hell because I slipped in the ice and broke my ankle right before New Year’s and I am, for unknown reasons, enormously resistant to pain killers. I haven’t had a pain-free waking moment since, they’ve switched me from oxycodone to hydrocodone, and nothing, nada, zero, zip, zilch, I am in constant pain. If this damn thing doesn’t heal soon I will do something drastic.
amandajane
Have you been able to consult a specialist anaesthetist? Anaesthetists who consult with patients directly for pain management are much less common than those who deal primarily with surgeons and ICU facilities but they are around and they can be very good. If it’s that bad there should be procedures available to block (some of) the nerves as well as or instead of other drugs/procedures to numb and/or paralyse the area. It might mean a long period of immobility but you need something. I know feet and ankles are notoriously bad for this sort of thing but sports medicine specialists and pain management clinics have some experience in this area.
LBT
You might get a benefit of the kind some people talk about with grief. It never goes away, but the serious episodes of deep distress get further and further apart as time goes on. So you might not be able to get a steady reduction of such feelings and problems, but you could find the gaps between episodes get longer as you accumulate more time in a better environment.
But it will take months rather than weeks for you to notice such a change. So you can have some sliver of hope even while the problems are overwhelming you.
Big barrels o’ hugs – noncontact as needed – for both of you.
@ David: Glad to be here. It was rough, but… what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I learned a lot from the situation and did make some positive changes, although I can think of a million better ways for it to have happened. But, it’s over and I’m glad for it.
@ Argenti: Great to see you! My internet usage and phone calls were so closely watched that I couldn’t do anything without getting a bunch of crap about it. I’d get a bunch of crap if I did absolutely nothing, so… we’re all just happy to be safe and ok right now. The fuzz balls are normally pretty ok with it, although it’s a huge adjustment.
I need some sleep. Badly. I got up at 7 am and was hired at a nightclub at 4 pm. My first shift was last night, 6 pm to 2:30. No breaks. Not that I’m complaining. I’m THRILLED to have a job!
I broke my front tooth again. So now it’s dental work to get it replaced. Until then, I have a smile straight out of a cartoon.
But on the other hand, I have a job and I’m studying stuff and have a second, part time job so I can work with that and afford it.
They updated the danish conversion scale for International Baccalaureate graduates to be more in keeping with the rest of the world, and my grade point average jumped up a truly hilarious amount (not that gpa’s matter as such for anyhting but an admissions standpoint, but this really is the kind of jump that is almost stupid, and just further makes me laugh at the idea of a standardized testing metrics)
So I’ve been thinking about applying / studying medicine and moving into psycotherapy further down the line. Or anything. Anything. I can pick damn near any subject at uni and not worry about getting in and I have no clue what to actually pick, or if I should at all, because why not just get a job and… argh.
The update didn’t fix my odd math grade, so I’m taking an exam sometime in June.
I am no longer sick with the flu, thus finishing my Annual VIral Update! After going blind in one eye, losing 7 kgs of body weight and no longer having a fever that meant I could boil eggs on my forehead, I’m now healthy-ish. If it all keeps as it normally does, I won’t have to worry about getting sick for another 10 months. Hurrah!
On the other hand I lost fucking 7 kgs of body weight christ I have no physical material and the slightest breeze can make me kind of gently hove and float in the air, like some wind tossed thing.
After a pause of four years I wrote a short story the other day.
It is difficult to put into words just how nice it feels to do something like that again.
Good fortune to anyone who needs it :)
@LBT: Sorry to hear you’re hurting. That sucks. I made a small donation on your website – to be used for something nice for you! As a thank you for when your comic made me feel better on a crappy day.
I’m not awake yet, so everyone I’m not directly replying to please make use of the fish tank next to the barrel of hugs, if you have rings or other clean shiny things puff will be happy to play with you!
Nova — blarg, monitored communication is ass, but you’re out now, and the furry ones are settling in, and you got a job! Good luck getting back on your feet!
LBT — I know I do it, and pecunium’s said service members do too — when you DON’T have to deal with the stress anymore is when the lack of it hits you as a weird thing. I’m not sure I can really explain it pre-coffee, but being able to collapse and not have the world end may be behind your current collapse, as illogical as that sounds.
AJ, I am so sorry about what happened! I’ve no suggestions, only hugs. :(
So, interesting new development.
Looks like RooshV got into a physical altercation in Poland and will be charged with assault:
http://www.rooshvforum.com/thread-33378.html
That is a thread kept up by his friends on his personal forum.
Looks like being a douche and a misogynist catches up with you…
RE: takshak
fill with regular yoghurt. put coffee filter on top. drain a few hours for “greek-style”
Does that make it more protein-y? Not gonna lie, main reason I eat Greek yogurt is it has more protein than the normal kind.
RE: mildlymagnificent
You might get a benefit of the kind some people talk about with grief.
Here’s hoping. Once my health insurance is entirely online, I’m also planning to hit up a neurologist. Like, if it’s indeed psychosomatic, I will happily take my lumps, but if there’s something else behind it, I want to know.
RE: Nova
I’m THRILLED to have a job!
Congratulations! That’s always a great feeling isn’t it, even if the job is hard.
RE: girlscientist
I made a small donation on your website – to be used for something nice for you! As a thank you for when your comic made me feel better on a crappy day.
Aw, thank you! I was wondering where that money came from! Thanks to you and a couple other little donations, this means I can post another story! Do any interest you? (This is directed to both you and all other folks on Manboobz who like my work.) Even without an LJ, you can just tell me your votes and I’ll put ‘em in myself.
RE: Argenti
being able to collapse and not have the world end may be behind your current collapse, as illogical as that sounds.
It wouldn’t surprise me, though the timing seems a little off for that kind of thing. At this point, though, just about anything sounds plausible. Now, if only the damn thing would go away! I live on the third floor and stairs are AWFUL to navigate on crutches.
Holy shit, vegan ice cream covered cake bon bons, it’s like a feminist paradise: http://naturalnoshing.wordpress.com/2011/07/02/ice-cream-cake-ball-bombes/