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[jodizzle]

Dear Harry, Seriously I want to read your book!  I do love kitties!  Tell me when you publish!  I will buy!  I WANT AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY! <3

Also guys I am 24 tomorrow!  Yay!  birthday means presents and cake and then Saturday means a birthday bbq during which it will RAIN AND RAIN.  But presents!

[Metope]

Oh hey Jens my plan was to spend today in cafes in Oslo as well, we should totally hang.

[Metope]

Double date!

(Nah that's fine, we'll see each other later anyway, maybe we could catch the train back together or something. Dunno how long I'll be in Oslo for though)

[Barmymoo]

I WILL BE IN OSLO TOMORROW.

WE SHOULD MEET UP.

[Metope]

OH HEY MAYBE WE SHOULD

[Barmymoo]

Dang you guys, the plan for tonight had been to wander round London until I was dropping from exhaustion (rather soon, since I'd be carrying three large bags) but I have discovered that I can get a bed in a youth hostel for £10. Doing that!

[Rizzo]

Also guys I am 24 tomorrow!  Yay!  birthday means presents and cake and then Saturday means a birthday bbq during which it will RAIN AND RAIN.  But presents!

Happy birthday from the future Jodie! I find it oh so bizarre that you're older than me!

[jodizzle]

Is it because am a TINY PERSON?

[Rizzo]

I suspect it's because you're Australian and everything about Australia is minerally deficient.

[The Seldom Killer]

Shredded my hand whilst fettling my bike last night and now the wound is a bit tingly and throbbing. Am I going to die of tetanus this Christmas or will a bit of Savalon sort it out. Place your bets now.

Also, why is there a star next to my username?

[Barmymoo]

It's a post count thing, kind of like a hotel rating system except it has nothing whatsoever to do with quality.

Guys, I am excite! I leave for London in half an hour and I'll be in Norway in 24 hours! I'm being optimistic about the state of the youth hostel I'm going to stay in, since I'll be staying there again when I get back - hopefully it will be better than the one we stayed in last Hogmanay (full of drunken men coming in at odd hours and sleeping in our beds) and the one I stayed in in Amsterdam (about 25 degrees even at night and full of noisy German girls). Eeeeeeeeee.

[Inlander]

Also, why is there a star next to my username?

The more active you are on the forum, the more overblown and grotesque the baubles adorning your profile become. It's your personal mark of shame. Just look at those ugly fuckin' things under my name.

Yo blogg,

One-way screws are fucking stupid. I mean, okay, I can see how in certain very particular circumstances somebody might appreciate the security of knowing that if anyone tries to unscrew the screws in their window lock it's going to be a real pain in the arse for them, but seriously. Plus, person who put the window locks on the house I'm renting, I'm pretty sure that by the time a burglar is inside the house it's probably too late, and all the one-way screws in the world aren't going to do a damn bit of good.

Plus when some previous tennant leaves the window in what's now my bedroom locked, and then loses the key, those stupid pointless one-way screws you put in really come to bite me in the arse.

Fortunately someone realised how dumb one-way screws are and invented screw extractors! If I wasn't so obstinate and had a bit more money I'd have a power drill and I could drill a hole for that little baby and then get it working its sweet magic and have those screws out in a jiffy. But as it is I've only got an old-fashioned hand-cranked drill, and let me tell you, hand-drilling a hole down the centre of a steel screw and then trying to work that screw extractor in also by hand is not a lot of fun. But that's all in the past, because I've done it now! And tonight I'm going to sleep with the window open for the first time since I moved into this house.

But really, it would've been just a whole lot easier if you hadn't put those stupid, useless, one-way screws in.

Oh, and your precious one-way screws don't work any more. Yeah, I messed those things up good and proper and there's not a screwdriver in the world that can be used on 'em now. So I hope you're happy with yourself.

[Lines]

I am housesitting for the rest of the month for my cousins who are going to India. Unfortunately their flight leaves today and it's snowing. A lot. I hope they can get to New York ok and don't miss their flight to Mumbai.

[october1983]

I got a job! Working for the Department of Health's correspondence team. The job appears fairly interesting and office seemed pretty fun. And it only a 30 minute bus ride away. Downside: I will be working for the fucking Tories. Oh well. It's only for three months in the first instance, although I'm pretty sure if I do well I can stretch that out a bit. Fuck yeah.

[Inlander]

Just tell yourself you're working for the Lib Dems instead. They're still in there, right?

[David_Dovey]

Nope, they were all ritually sacrificed/eaten alive. Turns out that was the plan the whole time. Whodathunkit?

[october1983]

I was going to make a post and then I realised I should probably be at least a little cautious. Facts:

1. There is only one Lib Dem minister in the Department of Health.
2. He voted for the rise in tuition fees.

[David_Dovey]

Facts:

1. You probably shouldn't let yr new employers know that you post here what with all the extremely strong anti-Tory talk that goes on
2. You DEFINITELY shouldn't let yr new employers know that you post here because the concept of a "Sex Furnace" would be too much for yr average Tory politician to resist and soon we'd be SURROUNDED by them (and bombarded with pictures of them in Nazi-themed BDSM costumes)

[nekowafer]

I must admit that I honestly have no idea what you guys are talking about. However,

(and bombarded with pictures of them in Nazi-themed BDSM costumes)

this intrigues me.

Also another ferret, Inky, is sick and holy shit this is going to be expensive. I do not need any more medical emergencies, thank you very much. She might need a transfusion if her platelet count doesn't get back up to where it should be. Her cagemate had to be put down not long ago and I think some of this is just depression - she's been looking for him and hiding in his favorite spots. Poor baby. Send good thoughts her way, she needs 'em.

[pwhodges]

Downside: I will be working for the fucking Tories.

 Not really; the civil service, which is quite  different, as any episode of Yes, Minister would show you.

[october1983]

This is true - I suppose I will be working for (or on behalf of?) some Tory MPs, but it's not quite the same.

[The Seldom Killer]

I must admit that I honestly have no idea what you guys are talking about. However,

(and bombarded with pictures of them in Nazi-themed BDSM costumes)

this intrigues me.

The Tories are renowned for their Nazi fuelled BDSM sex furnacery. Quite often makes the headlines. Which makes me wonder if they've got to Jeph with this recent forum name change. If Raven starts going all Mold of Yancy then prepare for a swift evacuation.

[Joseph]

Tuesday night I'm pretty sure I didn't get any sleep at all. Went to be late to begin with, and then spent the entire night tossing and turning and having weird dreams which were mostly about a radical new theory for how the brain manages to identify inanimate objects in one's visual field (it turns out that the frontal cortex is heavily involved, and that the verbal representations of these same inanimate objects are somewhere in the temporal lobes, and all sorts of other things which I was just making up in my sleep) Thankfully, when I finally got out of bed Wednesday morning, all my real neuroanatomy/cognitive science/neurophilosophy knowledge came back. Drank some coffee, ate a bagel, biked to school, and finished the exam in less than an hour, leaving plenty of time to go over and revise my answers. So hopefully I got an 'A'.

Then went to my girlfriend's house, because it was closer, and tried to have a nap, only to be interrupted by Victoria's insane roommate crying into the phone about how much I hate her and go out of my way to make her miserable (I'll just say this isn't true and hope you can all believe me on this point). So I quietly left the house. And then lots of reading, which is great. My last exam should be really straightforward, and isn't until Tuesday, so I'm able to take a break from studying for a bit.

And today, after my sleep deprived Tuesday night, I slept in until 2 pm. Feel way way way better than I did the day before, and have lots of great things planned with friends for the next little while. Whoo!

[Eris]

Shredded my hand whilst fettling my bike last night and now the wound is a bit tingly and throbbing. Am I going to die of tetanus this Christmas or will a bit of Savalon sort it out. Place your bets now.

If you shredded open your hand and left it overnight without without going and getting a tetanus shot and you are fine, then you will be fine.  My friend was telling me about how one of her friends got swooped by a magpie and left it a few days to go get it checked out and they said if she had tetanus she would have noticed within a few hours. When I burned my hand on a hotplate I left it maybe 5 hours, and I think the hospital gave me a tetanus shot just to be careful than because I would need it.


Blog Thread, my local pigeon is being really noisy today. Ben and I have taken to talking back to it, but it doesn't seem to work.

[Scrambled Egg Machine]

Holy shit, I'm not dead. This is actually a big deal.

I'm 19, fixing to be twenty. Two months ago, I had a stroke. No fooling. The doctors call it an Internal Jugular thrombosis. I have a two inch long clot in my left jugular, right near my ear. This has caused a pressure build-up in my head, which led my eyeglass prescription changing. That's how we figured this whole thing out, after I had this inexplicable migraine 2.5 months ago. I spent four days in the Methodist hospital in Houston. I now have to take blood thinners, for the next four months. I'm delicate now, too. I bleed easily, and bruise spectacularly. I have to wear a little medical bracelet in case I'm in a wreck or something. But hey, at least it's not a tumor like they thought it was. This is even weirder.

Oh yeah, I also got a cat. I named him Otto. Community college is going well. I miss "real" university though. Not much else to say, really. I wonder what I've missed.

[pwhodges]

Being not dead is great, as I found after my heart attack (and previous deadly things).  Blood thinners suck, though (apart from making you not dead); I keep finding myself bleeding on things with no idea how I nicked myself or anything.

[Scrambled Egg Machine]

Yeah, pretty much this. Also, I'm really really tired of imaging technology in general. MRI, CT, whatever, no more. And don't even get me started on angiograms. I hope everybody is doing fine here, though. It's been a while.

[pwhodges]

When you're facing the great unknown, as I thought I might be, an angiogram on the spot is wonderful!

For nearly fifteen years (1972-85) I earned my living developing imaging programs (Gamma Cameras/PET scanning, including some of the very first 3-D scanning programs).  One year 12 out of 13 Gamma Camera computers sold in the UK were mine, and I subsequently sold some in the USA and Japan.

[Scrambled Egg Machine]

Are you being serious? I can't quite tell. In any case, I was walking funny for a week. But then again, you had more reason to be worried. Y'know, what with an actual problem.
Jeez, now I feel like a whiner.

[nekowafer]

Holy crap I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL.

I'm 25, and just had a pulmonary embolism - clot in my lung. It was from my birth control. I'm on blood thinners now, anywhere from 6 months to a year. I've only had 1 CT scan, a doppler study (ultrasound of the legs), and several x-rays, but I'm in for more. CT scan this Saturday, ultrasound of the lady bits in a week or two, and PET/CT scan in February. They found something that could possibly be lymphoma, and then I might have an enlarged spleen, and I definitely have PCOS, which can't be treated because hormones are out of the question due to the clot.

Thankfully, I work for a radiology company - so free scans for me. But I really hate the contrast goo, and I really hate IVs, and I really hate needles, and hospital gowns, and it all just sucks.

[pwhodges]

Are you being serious?

Entirely; but I suppose there must be some difference in how it is done.  In my case, the ambulance took me round the corner (I live right behind the hospital) to the cardiac trauma unit, after giving me aspirin and radioing an ECG ahead.  So they already knew which artery the problem was in.  I was semi-conscious - enough to sign the form after they told me the mortality rate for the procedure was 1% (argh!).  They popped 12 (12!) tablets of clopidogrel into me, put me on the table, and used a local anaesthetic to slip a catheter into my wrist*.  They guided it to near the cardiac artery (asking me to move sometimes to make it easier) and then released contrast through it to confirm the diagnosis - which I could also see on the screen. Then they moved it to the point of the obstruction, introduced the balloon with the stent on it, and inflated it to expand the artery where it was occluded, leaving the stent to hold it open.  Although conscious throughout, I felt nothing whatsoever during the entire procedure.  I was on the ward barely an hour after my wife had dialled the emergency number, and apparently already looking healthier than I had for a couple of months (though we hadn't realised before).  I still go cold at the thought of the balloon bursting...

* Most people get it in the groin, which would have been a lot less dignified (as if I should care) - I suppose it depends which artery they're going for.

But then again, you had more reason to be worried.

Sounds to me like you had a problem too.

[Allybee]

What on earth is the deal with the room-mate?

I can't envisage a situation whereby that would have a reasonable explanation.

To be fair, I'm very good friends with my roommate and I don't think her boyfriend particularly likes me. But I'm really nice to him anyways cause I figure it doesn't really matter...

[Scrambled Egg Machine]

Yeah, from my groin to my neck. They weren't exactly gentle, so the bruising was astounding. They used a general anesthetic, which was the best I felt for that whole week. The contrast they injected felt really hot, and they ended up just leaving the clot there. Too complicated an area to mess with.
Interestingly enough, I never felt in fear of my life. I was annoyed, because all this was too weird to be real. Denial, I guess. Oh, and they shaved my groin, to top it all off. They made ginger jokes.
Oh yeah, for a while they thought it was cancer too, so they ultrasounded my balls. That was a really great week.

[nekowafer]

Ugh I'm glad I never had one of those. I guess the CT scan pointed out the problem easily enough. I almost had to get a biopsy right then and there, though, on the possible lymphoma in my chest. I can only imagine the bruising from that. Just the bruises from my IVs were terrible enough, yuck.

[Rizzo]

Holy fuck you guys have had it rough! When I had brain surgery they shaved a tiny patch of my scalp, drugged me up and then I woke up with a severe headache and was out a week later. Still picking scabs off my scalp 6 weeks later though, I suspect the scar sits right on an oil duct and it keeps oooozing. Gross.

[Eris]

Yeah, I had major back surgery and they had me up and walking as soon as I was out of intensive care and I was out of hospital in a week. This is after I went into anaphylactic shock and had to be resuscitated.

On the blood clot/ brain issue deal, I really should get my brain scanned. It's just so expensivvvvvve. That money could be spend on clothes or something I actually want! Stupid brain.

[tania]

just finished my first semester of my MA! the amount of coursework really, truly almost killed me but i'm pretty confident i actually did alright in everything. i have a great teaching assistant position for next semester, as well as a stellar supervisor. my friends are phenomenal people and i don't know what i would do without them. i am an awesome person and my life could not be going any better right now. i am pretty drunk.
life is just the best, the best thing.

[Jimor]

It's really good to hear that all the big changes you made in your life are paying off!

[Patrick]

Turns out my uncle's going on chemo again. It's not a thing of "Let's get rid of this fucking thing" so much as a "Well it has spread to your liver and your lungs and basically you are fucked, so enjoy the time this gives you."

Atop that, my mom's eye is painful and has been swelling for some time. And so she is in D.C. right now getting it checked out. And now she's stressing super hard because they don't know what it is but didn't exactly give her much confidence in a positive outcome, so I gather, and so my blood pressure is off all charts.

Open mic sucked tonight. Lukas and I kicked ass as usual, but we couldn't record tonight. Christ, that's two weeks in a row. We're going to try to record tomorrow morning before he has to leave and go home.

Lindsay and I are still in contact with each other. It makes things awkward, and I have become uncomfortable around her. I get nervous just like the first time we met. And I just wish we'd never broken up. I'm still not over her, she's clearly still not over something (either me or what happened when we broke up), and we both have to put a lot of effort into not being affectionate like we used to. I just don't know what to do anymore. I still want her back desperately, but I don't have the go-ahead. I'm obsessing over this shit, last night I couldn't even sleep.

Everything, things from big to small, is going wrong today.

[Edith]

That sucks, Jens.

After reading LOTS of blogs and information about adoption, I've pretty much changed my mind. As a single woman who doesn't own (or want to own) a home, and without tons of savings, I'm not really a very good candidate. Also, the more I read about it, the more it feels a lot like buying a baby. I'm sure I could give a child a good home...but that leads me to my new plan.

I don't want to adopt...I want to be a foster parent.

I'm working my way through the list of foster care licensing agencies in my state so I can choose which one to work with. I've already ruled out several on account of I can't stand their websites. I also think I'll probably wait and think about this for about a year before I go for my certification - it's not really something I need to rush into. My age is not going to make any difference - lots of foster moms are in their 60s or older, and I'm not even 40 yet. Also, I want to start going to the Unitarian church beforehand, because I think having a faith community available is pretty important for a kid. As a non-Christian I'd feel pretty hypocritical going to a Christian church, but I think I can probably participate at the UU.

I had a long conversation with a foster kid yesterday, a girl I've known for half a year or so, who comes to my library. In November she lost an arm and her hair to cancer, and they found out about the cancer once she was already in foster care - she was there because her drunk mom beat her up pretty bad for not taking good enough care of her younger siblings. Her first foster mom then "gave her back" because she couldn't deal with the cancer and she's now in a second foster home, where she seems to be blossoming.

One of the nicest things about fostering is that the financial burden isn't on the foster parent, so you can concentrate on making sure the kid is getting the attention and affection that they need without having to worry about how you're going to manage to feed and clothe them. Although I think I'm probably well-off enough that I could do it anyway on my budget, it sure wouldn't hurt.

[benji]

Eidith, that is an awesome thing to consider doing. I've heard it can be very hard, but very rewarding at the same time. Also, it's cool that you're thinking about going to a UU church (I'm a soon to be UU Seminarian).

[Slick]

Edith fostering sounds like a great idea. I hope it works out for you!


bligoblago, I am done school for the term now. One of the cool things about going to school at a culinary institute is a rocking turkey dinner buffet for lunch on the last day of school. They also had a crêpe station for dessert which was good, but the culinary kids made the crêpes, and frankly they were a bit thick, but still tasty. Also their ice-cream had too much sugar in it so it didn't freeze right, but whatever, throw chantilly cream on that shit and it's all great. Flambéed apples and sour cherries with crêpes and ice-cream is a pretty great follow-up to turkey banquet considering it was all free (i.e. figured into our tuition in the budget of the school).
Ran into my pastry instructor on my way out, he asked how the banquet was and I commented on the slaw being bland and the crêpes being thick and he was like 'oh so you're all critics now?' and I was like 'well, I just like giving feedback'. I am a fan of feedback and it is a learning environment! I would tell those culinary kids their crêpes were too thick right to their faces because they were and they should know that because in a restaurant that would not fly if you're charging primo bucks for dessert. It's all about learning and I love thinking about and eating food.
Man have I mentioned how good this lifestyle is? Imagine your university career except much more delicious food everywhere. So good.

p.s. also I brought back a light rye loaf I made today and some Stollen I made on Wednesday and some cookies that other people made (they gave us christmas loot bags and I just asked to take home one of my loafs). I am writing lyrics about having bread and booze and being full and happy. Songs about frank simple life, hullo!

[Zingoleb]

So I didn't get the job. Despite getting 85 words a minute, high scores on my customer service and sales tests, and being completely flexible on hours, I was told I am not what they're looking for.

What.

So now I'm just back to looking for a job and hope I don't have to eat my shoe for dinner.

In other news, I met this really adorable little butch girl who's like 5 foot nothing and is always the big spoon. Keep in mind I'm 6'5. Fun times? Fun times!

[Lines]

Dude, you are waaaaay taller than I thought! I mean, I don't know what height I was thinking you were, but that is tall.

Also, that's kind of adorable to imagine.

[nekowafer]

That is definitely adorable to imagine.

[Graphite]

Edith, that sounds perfect.

[sean]

i was just complaining to a friend about how i was bored and he just linked me to questionable content
 

[JimmyJazz]

blah so my family's being evicted from our home  and my financial aid is cut and FUCK

my life is basically awful right now and I'm trying so hard not to off myself....blasting Ramones in my dormroom to try and stay somewhat cheerful

[BrittanyMarie]

well, that certainly puts my hair starting on fire tonight in perspective...

[pwhodges]

Wha Hae!  Snow dump!

Reasonably serious snow (in English terms, yea, yea) in just a few hours, and still coming.  Me likey.  Very inconvenient, of course.