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[Carl-E]

Definitely.  The more old stuff is underneath, he less even the last layer will be! 

[Welu]

An old online friend who just faded out of existence a couple years ago has added me on Facebook. She's been chatting to me on the site we first met and says she'll be online more and I'm looking forward to talking to her again. She's popped up a couple times but then disappeared for months again. Work and life getting in the way, she says.

Of course the problem, because there has to be one, is it was her who introduced me to my ex and she was part of a circle of friends that I wormed my way into but things didn't go well and looking back, I can see things were always a bit off, at least when it came to me. I think she's still friendly with one of them but the way they and I left things wasn't on the best terms, even though I tried to gently reopen civility but our correspondence just faded. I guess we can just not talk about those people or incidents depending on her current relationships with those guys but even her just being around reminds me of to when I was at one of my worst periods. In terms of depression, social anxiety and just plain embarrassing shit I did out of being a dumbass teen.
I'm looking forward to catching up but I have to say I'm feeling a big Elephant In The Room each time I talk to her, even though right now we're just talking about what video games we're playing. I don't know how she feels or if she's even thinking of the past and I don't want to bring it up for fear of reminding her. I also don't want to cut her out just because I'm getting that familiar anxiety knot in my stomach when I reply to a comment.

[Patrick]

Record's out as a free download before physical release! seiorjgiodmeriogocfjgiujuiorh SO HAPPY TO BE PUTTING IT OUT :3

[negative creep]

Downloaded it. Now I only need to find out how to play mp3s on this machine...

[Barmymoo]

Welu, if this happened a while ago then she might not even be thinking about it - people change, and she's probably changed as much as you have. The fact that she's reconnected with you is a good sign. If you really need to clear the air you could bring up the subject of how you wish things had ended better with those people, and acknowledge that you did things which were not what you'd do now. Otherwise, why not just assume that she puts less importance on the past than you do, and enjoy being friends with her again?

[Welu]

Welu, if this happened a while ago then she might not even be thinking about it - people change, and she's probably changed as much as you have. The fact that she's reconnected with you is a good sign. If you really need to clear the air you could bring up the subject of how you wish things had ended better with those people, and acknowledge that you did things which were not what you'd do now. Otherwise, why not just assume that she puts less importance on the past than you do, and enjoy being friends with her again?

Gonna stick with the light conversations and see how things go. If she mentions those people I'll take your advice about what to say. Thanks for the advice.

[Patrick]

Ah well, got a bartending job soon, will shoot you a few <insert currency here> then,cause this is good.

Aw shit you guys, thanks. But wait til we have the CDs before you decide to shoot us some bux! I'd hate for you to spend money on something we're giving away for free when the CD's $10.

[bainidhe_dub]

I went to the Small Press Expo today. I got totally overwhelmed by all the people, hovered awkwardly near Yuko Ota's booth for a little while, met and got a drawing from Danielle Corsetto, bought QC charms from Cristi while Jeph was at lunch, bought some chubby bird prints off Mike Mitchell, and then had absolutely nothing to say when I met Jeph so I just asked for a drawing of Faye and then we went home. I would say, overall, it was medium successful, but I was definitely ready to cry at one point early on.

Oh wait never mind, just spent like 10 minutes crying.

[pwhodges]

I just spent over two days with neither phone service nor working Internet, even in hotels. This was longer being completely disconnected than I've experienced for a number of years, even in India or Nepal. I am getting something of a feel for the sheer size of the USA, and have also had temperatures ranging from 110F/43C (Yuma, in Colorado Desert) to 40F/4C (Bryce Canyon at night).

[Redball]

Hope you'll find time to describe the trip further. And I chuckled at the "had temperatures of" and glad you survived both extremes. It may be an Americanism, but to "have a temperature" means a higher than normal body temperature, although the article is usually present. The geography made it perfectly clear, of course.

[dr. nervioso]

This week just might be the death of me

Mon: Day with the most class time. I have two tests. And I need to buy a certain kind of calculator for chemistry
Tues: One class, but I have an appointment with the counseling center. And I am considering doing a phone bank with the university democrats
Wed: Student Senate approval. I am dressing up in business professional. And I am pretty certain I got in, but who knows.
Thurs: My birthday. Club meeting. And my friend says she wants to have dinner with me then too
Fri: Parents are coming. Homecoming planning committee too. And possibly a parade if I can fit it in there

[Pilchard123]

"A certain kind of calculator"? What does it need to do that a decent scientific one can't?

[Carl-E]

It needs to be a decent scientific one. 

But more than likely, the instructor wants uniformity so they can just give the instructions once, or on a handout, without having to show each individual student where the exponential button is on their individual calculator...

[dr. nervioso]

It has to be a TI-30 model. There are several variations, the cheapest one is around 15 bucks.

And I think what Carl-E says explains the main reason why

[Pilchard123]

Why didn't I think of that? I got plenty wound up when I had to explain to only one or two classmates how to do stuff with their calculators.

[LTK]

My mom dug through me and my sister's high school stuff in the closet. She found a Casio FX 82, a TI-30, a TI-83 and a TI-84. The graphing calculators can come in handy, but I told her the Casio and lower-end TI were basically worthless and that nobody would buy them this time of year.

Every single time I say that, someone turns up and buys them anyway. And here you are, dr. nervioso.

Anyway, if you have a smartphone, you can install a TI-83 emulator that does everything a TI-30 does, and more. Or you can forego the TI thing entirely and install a scientific calculator that's more touchscreen-friendly. Still, it's a lot more fiddly than a real calculator, having to rely on a touchscreen and all, and you won't be allowed to use it in exams, so you're probably better off getting a TI-30 second-hand. From me, five dollars, not including shipping. 

[Carl-E]

Hell, they're only about $10 - $12 new...

[Zingoleb]

Thing are weird for me right now.

I've decided to move in with my partner in Seattle given that the last job opportunity I was offered in Olympia has also fallen through. Of course, some seriously heavy stuff has come forward at about the same time - dissociative identity disorder-type stuff. It might well be something else altogether, 'cause, y'know, self-diagnosis isn't the best way to go about these things, but I am so fucking thankful for having someone who loves me and is helping me through everything and is actually familiar with this on top of everything else. Of course, this just means I have to get into therapy a lot sooner than later, because this is making it hard to function. I haven't really left the house in days.

I wish I had normal problems. 

We've been talking about things and she wants me to move in (well, done) and start working on my disability case here in Seattle rather than Olympia...which means going back there and getting the rest of my stuff and moving it all here, which is something I dread. I don't have a particular reason to dread doing this, it's just the thought of going back pinging all of the anxieties.

This is kind of whingy but to be honest I am really happy right now, like, happier than I've ever been. But I'm not sure where I'm going from here.

[nekowafer]

Good old self-diagnosis. Always fun.

I personally think that you shouldn't worry about where you're going from here - move in, get the help you need, and figure it out then.

[Zingoleb]

oh, wait, other issue compounding things: my partner loses her income and (corporate) housing at the end of November!

[pwhodges]

Now in Las Vegas. As far as I can see it is designed to have as little appeal to me as is possible. So that means lots of time to rest after the last frenetic week. Tomorrow we have a helicopter outing over the Hoover Dam, then going on to land on the floor of the Grand Canyon for a picnic meal with champaign.

[Akima]

Now in Las Vegas.

I travelled to Las Vegas a couple of times for work*, and it is a horrible place. It's a combination of:


*Did you know that the second-largest manufacturer of gaming-machines in the world is Australian? That Australia has roughly ten machines per head of population, which is something like five times as many as in the USA? That over a third of the "action" goes the the state governments that regulate the industry? It is basically a tax on people who are bad at maths.

[jwhouk]

Vegas is a nice place to visit on occasion, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Stay away from Koval Lane after dark, Mr. Hodges.

Of course, who am I to talk - my brother-in-law lives in Vegas, works as a regional manager for the Sbarro chain (last I looked).

[pwhodges]

A five-hour tour of Las Vegas has not improved the image I already had of it.

[BeoPuppy]

And it looks so glitzy on CSI ...

Dreams: Crushed.

[Carl-E]

Mission accomplished! 

[nobo]

I know some of you already know from our facebook announcement - but I'M GOING TO BE A DAD! Due date March 20th 2013. Currently 14 weeks in, baby is currently lemon sized according to my app. Wife isn't showing yet, so it hasn't quite sunk in, but, you know

[Redball]

Awesome, and congratulations! And it will sink in.

[Lines]

Yay! Congratulations!

[nobo]

Thank you I'm sure it will. I think once we learn the gender (6 more weeks), and start buying stuff, it will become very real.

[Barmymoo]

Congratulations! And I am fairly sure it doesn't sink in properly until you've changed your first nappy

I'm sat in Indianapolis airport waiting for my flight, which has been delayed by an hour. I had my knees patted down at security (apparently my skirt moved in the freaky arms-in-the-air scanner) and then they searched my carryon bag because it "looked dense" in the bag scanner, probably because it contains 40lbs of textbooks. Anyway everyone was friendly and pleasant and I'm through without problems. All the delay means is that I don't have as many hours to sit in Newark airport, which is not really a difficulty.

It's been a wonderful, busy, interesting summer and it might be hard to adjust to not being here any more. I am looking forwards to seeing my mum, and to starting back at university, but until term actually starts and I'm too busy to think, I anticipate stabs of homesickness for Fort Eed.

[Redball]

I anticipate stabs of homesickness for Fort Eed.

Ft. Eed, pop. 256k, may spend the rest of the summer decompressing. Maybe into the fall.

Anyway, have a good one! 

[Lines]

We shall miss you!

In other news, I have decided not to go to class today because I honestly just don't want to. Which means I can't pick up a prescription until tomorrow, but I honestly don't care. Today is just a very apathetic day, isn't it. I blame the weather and an unfortunate knitting accident from yesterday.

[Redball]

You dropped a stitch into ....?

[BeoPuppy]

Congratulations! And I am fairly sure it doesn't sink in properly until you've changed your first nappy
[...]

Meconium.

Don't Google.

Congratulations!

[Patrick]

Don't Google.

This warning never ever works for me

[BeoPuppy]

In that case: don't Google for images.

[Zingoleb]

I've already found out about meconium from Jeff Vogel. Also from him:

When the baby was crying on its first night, the nurse and I placed it on the changing table to check if the diaper was dirty. Not wanting to deal with the bother of rediapering if I removed the diaper and it was clean, I jammed my finger inside it without hesitation, not being sure what I would find.

It felt dry. Just to make sure, I ran my finger around inside for a little bit. Oddly, something stuck to my finger. Something gooey. I pulled my finger out. Attached to the tip was a round, translucent, pearly white wad of goo, about the size of a pea. I showed it to Mariann. She didn’t know what it was. I showed it to the nurse, who immediately said “Oh, that’s just a wad of mucus. It came out of the vagina.”

The wad of goo hung from my fingertip, stickily.

It was at this precise moment that my soul left my body.

[Carl-E]

My first daughter was 15 days late.  After 17 hours (!) of labor, an emergency caesarian was performed (she was 9 lbs, 12 oz).  With all the stress, she'd already had her first bowel movement. 

She came out covered in a mix of meconium and amniotic fluid. 



It was a very interesting color.  I have pics somewhere...

[BeoPuppy]

I'll take your word for it.

[Barmymoo]

Meconium doesn't really count as a diaper change, although obviously you need to clear it up. I don't need to google to know what it looks like, I'm an aspiring midwife! Carl's daughter was in a rather a dangerous situation there; meconium before birth can be a serious indicator (it can be ok, but it can also be fatal if the baby inhales it) .

[Omega Entity]

Rather depressing end to my housesitting stint I've had the past couple of days. One of the cats of the couple I was sitting for (the diabetic one) had been having issues the past few days, since starting a new bottle of insulin for him. He died within ten minutes of taking him to the vet. Poor old guy'd used up a lot of his nine lives in the past year - it seems this one was his last one.

[nobo]

If the kid comes out pooping, it will be just the first in a lifetime of poops. I think I'm prepared.

[Welu]

Thank you I'm sure it will. I think once we learn the gender (6 more weeks), and start buying stuff, it will become very real.

Careful about buying gendered stuff now! It's not 100%. A friend's sister after being told the sex bought all the pink stuff they could, painted the room pink, bought all the pink clothes, pink teddies, dolls, fairies, dresses, girly everything and I think you can guess where my story is going: She had a boy!
They decided this boy will love pink or tough shit. 

[Lines]

One of the cats of the couple I was sitting for (the diabetic one) had been having issues the past few days, since starting a new bottle of insulin for him. He died within ten minutes of taking him to the vet.

 

[pwhodges]

A hundred years ago, pink for boys and blue for girls was usual. You see a remnant of that in the pink shirts that smart men often wear.

[Carl-E]

We had the opportunity to know the gender, but forwent it (past tense of forgo?).  We decorated in bright yellows, reds and greens, and bought a lot of onesies.  After the birth, while everyone was recuperating, I got to go out and buy her first dress for the hospital photo. 

[Papersatan]

My mother didn't want to know my gender, the only reason it was even possible was that she was over 35 so they were testing me for birth defects.  My father found out though.  He was good and didn't tell her, but he did tell my grandmother who promptly started giving her pink blankets and dresses, ruining the surprise.

[Zingoleb]

Everyone in this thread is really conflating 'sex' and 'gender'.

[Omega Entity]

I think Zingo means that the sex of a child is that indicated by the genitalia, and that the gender is variable, regardless of genitalia. Or maybe I have it wrong. Guessing here.