I learned that a car with no insurance, no driver, and the e-brake engaged can still hit your car if a garbage truck hits it and sends it into your car. I learned that just thinking about something sweet that the kids did for me when they were six years old can make me cry. I learned that raising children who voluntarily and out of their own pockets go visit their grandparents is one of the most poignant joys of parenthood because despite everything you did wrong you and your spouse did something ever so right. I learned that nothing sits in the guilty comforts zone like air conditioning. I learned that I have sleep apnea, and with no medical I’m in for a lovely and expensive treat. I learned that every time your children take on adult attitudes and roles you get hit three times; once HEY YOU’RE OLD MOM, twice HEY I LEARNED THIS EARLIER THAN YOU DID and HEY I AM A SEPARATE HUMAN FROM YOU. I learned that whenever your kids do something stupid you still blame yourself and that doesn’t seem to let up with time. I learned that I’d rather fix than replace anything. I learned that if I don’t cook with love it doesn’t turn out, and I shouldn’t cook if I’m not feeling the love. Which is how I learned that I’m still a dilettante when it comes to restaurant scale food production.
Category: Health
lord love a duck
This happened mere blocks from my house. Further to which, there will be explosions in south Burnaby tonight, but that is because they are filming a movie.
Off tonight to see the Dandy Warhols play through my fave album of theirs.
Katie had her second last wisdom tooth out. It came out clean as a whistle; the hard one comes later. Right now she’s collapsed out on her bed; I went to fetch her from the dentist and she was maudlin in her gratitude. Note to self – never have a wisdom tooth pulled out when you’re hungover. Katie has been very abstemious of late but really decided to tie one on last night; I know why.
This next week she’ll have to be a very good girl indeed. We’re going to be icing cookies until the end of time, by the look of things.
The famed Scandinavian practice of wife carrying comes to Burnaby.
Do want. this is a tshirt, sfw.
Do want. And I thought I wanted a mass spectrometer, silly me.
Everytime I think the tories are going to do something good, it turns out to be fucking window dressing.
Jeff caught up to me on Life, and we are now watching it together. There is a thing called Netflix adultery… it’s best not to cross that line. We’re looking arond for something else to watch.
And now, some capybara lovin fer me mOm.
what a sh#tshow yesterday was…
after the morning, which was emotionally exhausting and frankly a new recent low point, I went into the shop to bake and wash dishes, and within minutes I was lying on the floor wondering what the fuck just happened.
I skidded on a piece of plastic on the floor, collided with the pizza oven, and then the sweet sweet floor rose up to meet me. I never hit my head or lost consciousness, so I was able to immediately diagnose that I’d dislocated my right shoulder. I got up from the floor walking like a zombie and shot through with pain, called Jeff, and he couldn’t come get me because he was having mobility issues of his own. I called 911 and waited. And waited. And waited. I was coping with levels of pain and disorientation that are right up there with giving birth unattended. I couldn’t control my breathing and I was sweating so hard I couldn’t see.
The boys from #2 firehouse came and attempted to administer oxygen, and tried to put my arm in a sling but I was screaming and crying a little too enthusiastically for that. The firemen were very kind. I did a lot of moaning and crying waiting for the ambulance. After a very very long wait for the ambulance (yesterday was a record day for the Emerg because of a lot of MVA’s roof falls tree falls and other crush injuries (the announcements for cleanup help in emerg got squawkier and squawkier while I was in MTU)) I finally dipped my beak in some blessed, blessed nitrous, which doesn’t kill pain as much as it prevents you from screaming about it.
After the eternity of a twenty minute ambo ride I was shoved against the wall in triage and Dr. Lim came within 5 minutes and said, “I don’t think it’s dislocated.” And I said, then why does it hurt like a mofo and I’m walking like a zombie??? He checked again and faster than it takes to describe it, the ball went back in the socket.
Then many hours of waiting for xrays and results, and then I was released with a referral to a bone doc, 6 T3s, movement instructions and a sling, since it turns out the shoulder is broken as well as formerly dislocated. Right shoulder OF COURSE.
I slept about as well as could be expected and am now attempting to come to terms with what is going to be a longish and interesting recovery. The shop will have to be sold, I can’t do nothing for 6 weeks or however long this takes. I’ll know more on the 26th when I see the bone doc. I did advise that I have extensive numbness down that arm and that my two outside fingers are very tingly and weak; whether this presages really bad news for that nerve or is just my response to swelling who knows; Jeff advised me to be optimistic but not to lighten up about knowing what’s going on which I think is fine advice.
I am very glad I don’t live alone. I am super grateful to my church family, who have been souls of kindness.
Katie gave me a massage gift certificate
and I am cashing it in tonight. No sense not taking advantage of it, I am seriously messed up.
Ziva still be in the shop
So I’m riding my bike everywhere, including to and from work. I’m actually enjoying it and most of the riding is in subdivisions so there isn’t much traffic to deal with. I even did a shop at SaveOn with the bike!
Today I have an extremely long list and NO energy to deal with it. Also Beacon stuff keeps nibbling at me. “Nibbled to death, nibbled to death by mice” thank you Nate Bucklin.
Various parcels of news
I will probably have to stay late tonight as Bertha quit. (All the fridges have names.) The fridge ifrit will be coming by to take a look at her.
Katie is getting all kinds of blood work done as she has suddenly and very nastily acquired Persistent Daily Headache. If it really is that there’s nothing to be done, which has teh suck. Now we find out that whatever the optometrist found in her eye last week is such a BHD that she now has to go to an appointment at 2:20 this afternoon as they called with a cancellation. This is enough to freak both of us out, yech.
One more week of church! I have to get the financial deets over to Bareld tonight. I don’t know how easy that is going to be if I am in the shop minding the fridge ifrit.
Big News, small news, glad news, sad news
I put a deposit down on the cafe yesterday. So begins an enterprise.
The only thing I don’t understand about the rogue LAPD cop Christopher Dorner is not why he hasn’t been caught – he will be, and I cheerfully predict that he’ll go quietly and not die in a hail of gunfire – it’s why nobody’s bought the domain name yet.
My fellow board member Audrey has lost her mother. She was well into her nineties. Blind Lemming Chiffon, when we had dinner at Conflikt, said that until you’ve lost a parent you can’t understand what it’s like. That was also the same supper where he gave me the Ebay overview on what allows him to sell like a master, and where he recommended Searching for Sugar Man, one of the best and most astonishing music documentaries I have ever seen.
Jeff is having pie for breakfast. He’s a rebel.
I was thinking (as I had another crying bout thinking about John last night) about loss. I thought, “Ah, so selfish. It is not my love for him that hurts me. I will have that forever; I can’t stop loving him just because he’s dead. I’m sad because he loved me, and he’ll never stop me from falling off a mountain, or give me a lift on his motorcycle, or make me laugh, or sing with me, or feed me or lift my spirits or be a familiar face in a crowd of strangers ever again. And that is why I am sad. Not because someone I love died. It’s because someone who loved me died.”
I saw both of the kids yesterday, yay, and fed Rob and Keith as well as Jeff. I made pork schnitzel, taters, broccoli and carrots, and there was a tablecloth and pie and two kinds of ice cream, so it was rather festive, even without beer. I’ve gone off beer again. There is a medical condition which I’m too polite to whine about in public which improves by about 30% when I don’t drink beer, and it definitely hurts the insomnia when I drink beer. I just love beer and wish it wasn’t so mean to me.
It’s a fine axemurderer’s fog out there this morning.
Obviously I have a lot of work to do before Katie calls me for our trek up to City Hall, so I’ll get to it.
What the Grand Joculator brings us
1. Jeff says he’s paying too much money for rent. In Vancouver that is not true but he sure could pay less rent elsewhere in the province, someplace on the Island for example. He says he’s going to give me plenty of notice so I am very relaxed about this. Not having in house tech support would just about kill me, as would giving up the flat screen and cable and the PVR, but life is full of interesting times and changes. It definitely means I might end up with a different roommate though, and that raises the specter of a whole other series of maddening things; Jeff is/was the best roommate evar, as I believe I have stated a number of times. I can see his point though and we all have to take care of our own needs.
2. The new Galapagos BBC 3D documentary from David Attenborough is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. Highly highly recommended. Don’t forget to watch the “making of” too.
3. Signed off on my taxes for the last 4 years. I should get a large amount of money back, but of course the feds will have to look at the returns before that happens. I remain sanguine.
4. Job hunting is interesting. I got a lead from my network of contacts, and it is wonderful that it happened BEFORE I started instituting the new job search parameters (working the network).
5. South Fraser Unitarian Congregation may get me as a speaker for Easter. I’d whip out my previously provided Jesus service. We shall see; I have not yet received a response.
6. The sun is out, and I walked around in it, and of course the world seems like a better place.
7. (link removed for safety) This. Oh, this.
8. I came up with a really cool idea for a science fiction story and forgot to write it down. It has something to do with old people and robots, and damn I’m mad – I have a pad downstairs for all the ideas I get while I’m watching tv and there are tons of them so far. Why, o why, blarp blergle. I could have just written it down. That’s what pen and paper FOR, SILLY APE.
9. Did I mention I am on the waitlist for the Translink busker program? If I’m still not working, I may do that to raise cash.
10. I’m going to have some of the roasted squash and roasted garlic soup for lunch and then back to the job hunt.
11. I’ve been sleeping downstairs and completely NOT HAVING ANY SCREENS in my sleeping room. As a consequence my back is much better.
12. WOWZERS. Great news for deaf people.
Keep breathing
I’ll be performing in church this Sunday. Feels good.
I gave blood yesterday. I do have a large bruise.
I had a good workshop today at WorkBC. I think the workshops are useful and that the workshop providers are doing a good job.
Duck Duck
A Christmas Duck not for eating.
Went to the job hut yesterday and I’ll see a career counselor today at 9. I know how to write a resume and get interviews but since I’m not finding employment I’m obviously doing something wrong. And when you’re doing something wrong, you have to stop doing it and get on the right track… you know, that stop digging advice.
O gosh the bean with bacon soup is amazing! There is lots of yummy food in the fridge right now.
It is snowing very steadily and the wind has picked up. V. glad I don’t have to cross a bridge today.
What would Jack Do and My Needle have gone off to the songbook compiler (Cindy!) for inclusion in the Conflikt 6 song book. Hard to believe that John was still alive for the first Conflikt. He sure brought the fun with him. And I think he would have enjoyed SG1, and every time I write a new song I can see him rocking with laughter or listening intently (or going meh) as the song required. I think also he would have approved of me finally practicing enough… speaking of which, another item on the to do list!
Paul gave me some coffee that he bought in Maui. I made it really strong, but I haven’t had any yet so I think I will follow Jeff’s example (he said I made it like espresso).
Paul’s mum dislocated her hip. Lois is with her now and Paul will be going later. I hope she can stand the idea of assisted living; I know she’s still sharp and fiercely independent but sometimes the flesh does not cooperate with the spirit.
Watched the documentary about Boubakar Traore called I’ll sing for you. Mali does not come across as a place I’d like to visit, although Dogon architecture kicks ass, and the guitar work (a Takamine!) is cherce. And too infrequent. At one point, with no commentary, there are a group of pictures shown about the ‘grin’ (shebeen) movement and there’s a line of people, including a woman with a huge shiner, and I’m thinking, oh great. I know, I can get downcast too easily.
The Dalai Lama’s book on interfaith dialogue is very interesting (Toward a True Kinship of Faiths). He says that a global religion is both impossible and undesirable because of cultural and linguistic divisions, but interfaith dialogue is crucial because of the underlying human drive towards religion (or the numinous, or the feeling that we are all part of one big family). Interfaith action enobles all religion. (Yeah, as long as we’re not hating on queers…. and women…. don’t think I’m not seeing the lacunae, but I’m trying to elevate the tone here.) He talks about his relationships with other faith leaders, and what a naive little monk he was in 1956, when he first got exposed to other religious practices. He spends a lot of time on India as the model of interfaith dialogue, which is interesting, because they really have been doing it longer than everyone else. He also talks about his understanding of the other major faith traditions and their similarities and differences… He also talks about how he wishes his English was better – he uses a translator for everything he writes in English. Anyway, recommended.
Visited the vampires today en famille
Paul, Katie and I went to give blood today, and then Paul stood us to supper at Gino’s. The lamb was so succulent it and I am not lying brought tears to my eyes. Then I thought about my blood pressure today (highest so far to my recollection) and I knew that I would have to abjure such injuriously greasy food.
Sigh.
Keith, lunch, Homeland, laundry
I love Showtime’s Homeland so so so much. Just watched S2E2 and all three of us yelled “Holy s@@t!” as the credits rolled. Keith said, “I did NOT see that coming” and is just now catching up on the most recent Castle. Time to close the laptop and go back to folding lawwwwnnnndray.
Keith took me to lunch at Hi Dozo, the dear one. My prescription has IMPROVED. That’s crazy, but that’s middle age. My eyeballs are healthy. I will post a picture….
Gangnam style
Despite the fact that it is really dumb – I LOVE GANGNAM STYLE. Here’s a picture from a Korean temple showing its genesis.
Yesterday I passed the first tests to get hired by a well reputed local employer. Big big shout out to Tanya for helping me out.
Today, eyeballs will be crunched as I attempt to update my prescription.
RIP Herbert Lom
Died in bed at 95 in London. May his memory be blessed with laughter and tears.
Stupid bill re recriminalizing abortion did not pass; the Minister responsible for the Status of Women should be escorted from the Commons in the electoral equivalent of chains.
Although the title and the illo are THOUGHTLESSLY hyperbolic, this is a good article about privilege. 2020 says Hugo Schwyzer turned out to be rillllly problematic, but I’m leaving this here as evidence of progress, and it’s amazing given the drubbing he took that this writing is still available
I have a very heavy day of appointments and church related work in front of me.
VCon starts, I’m not going. All I will do is spend stupid amounts of money on clothes. Hilariously, RobW called me last night to complain about the Vcon website; this does not bode well for how good the con will be.
Paul and Katie and I had a lovely walk in Deer Lake Park on Wednesday; we saw a dozen frogs, a juvenile eagle, a Douglas squirrel and possibly a baby bunny, who did not linger to make our acquaintance. I got some video of the frogs but it’s basically a streak heading for the rushes. I also got a pic of the Douglas squirrel but not at very high resolution, even though the little guy POSED in TWO SEPARATE POSES for me. We also picked up a hawk feather, which I stuck in Margot’s fur when I got home and resulted in a couple of charming pictures, one of which I posted to twitter. 2020 says that was a flicker feather, not a hawk feather, no kidding.
I’m going to ask Jeff to help me figure out how to post pics directly to my blog through WordPress, although possibly not today.
After many months of being okay, my temperature regulation at night has gone off the rails. I have acceptably ordinary physiological reasons for this but waking up poaching in my own bed a couple of times a night is harshing my mellow. This too shall pass.
Yet another sports figure is being accused of sexual and physical abuse of youngsters in his care. The way it’s being reported in the press is quite bizarre. I guess we’ll let the courts sort it out; the reporter had more than half a dozen affidavits detailing misconduct in hand before writing the story, and while we all know that there are false abuse allegations, it’s not the way to bet, especially since we’re talking about a Catholic residential school for falsely imprisoned young aboriginals.
Raincoaster just tweeted that an alarm went off close to her and a stern voice is speaking in German. Helluva way to get woken up, unless of course she was already awake. She and I trade tweets in the middle of the night fairly often.
What’s up on facebook: 18 billion reposts from reddit, mine among them, and people commenting about the things that make them upset – relatives dying abruptly in car accidents leaving young children, angst about how this is the first time her only child is out with the non-custodial parent on a football game day, the fact that 27 million people globally live in slavery, and me attempting to get a copy of (this poster). 2020 says it was something cool by Matt Danger but now it’s gone.
Good news for breast cancer detection.
This new tech complements xray mammography.