Possible Obsession?

A few years ago, while doing some research on the Sami people, I came across a website that sold handmade bracelets.  They are made in Sweden by Sami artisans and use reindeer leather and antlers, along with pewter coils--which the Sami developed hundreds of years ago.  The bracelets are of both traditional and modern design--some of the modern ones use Swarovski crystals, among other elements.  I tend to be more enamored of the traditional styles.  And I knew, very early on, that I wanted several of the bracelets.

The first bracelet that I got is probably the closest to traditional design that the website carries:

The second one I got still has a lot of traditional elements, but has a little bit of a modern feel:

The third one has more of a traditional look, but has an added color:

I was satisfied with having the three bracelets until I saw my fourth on the site a week or so ago:

This one has a silver cross medallion and a silver button, instead of antler.  It is quite plain and the leather is EXTREMELY soft.

All of the bracelets can be worn separately, but they also work very well together.

This picture helps show some of the details better.  They really are beautiful.

I'm not completely done buying bracelets.  I still have one more in mind and it will be much different from the rest.  It will have to be custom made for me and it will be two strips of leather--one red and one white--braided together with a pewter coil.  And of course, it will be the bracelet I will wear with my Red Wings jersey.  I'll post a picture when I get it.

Hopefully This Is New

I was so sure I posted about this, but I can't find it anywhere in this blog.  But, after putting up the post about dying, I had to add a couple of 'inappropriate things' that I have heard at wakes/funerals.

K had an identical twin brother who died less than a year after we married, as the result of a motorcycle accident.  (He was hit by a guy driving without a license or registration.)  We were in South Carolina and had to rush home for the funeral.  With the sadness of someone so young losing his life, much too much managed to be said in an inappropriate manner.  And before I start to bash anyone else, I will start with what *I* said!

K's boat was getting ready to set sail to the Mediterranean for a several month cruise, when we got the word of his brother's accident.  While he was on the cruise, I was going 'back home' to live so that I didn't have to be by myself in a place where I knew practically no one.  His brother did hang on for a few days before he died, and when we got the call, we decided that I would just move back home (early) when we went for the funeral.  He came home in the middle of the afternoon, after he was told of his brother's death, and we began the task of packing up the apartment.  After breaking our lease and getting packing boxes and tearing down the place, we got a few hours of sleep and were on the road around 4:00 AM.  And then we drove for 22 hours until we were in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, when we finally stopped and checked into a hotel for a few hours.  We got 'home' late that afternoon and K went for a nap, as he had done all of the driving.  He was supposed to go to the funeral home with the rest of the family, to make decisions, but he needed the sleep more.  And this is where I 'stepped in it.'  I made the phone call to K's mother to let her know that he wouldn't be able to meet them at the funeral home. And the words I used were this:  "K can't make it to the funeral home because HE IS SO DEAD!"  Yes, I said it.  If a hole would have opened up and swallowed me, I couldn't have been happier.  More than 20 years later, I mentioned this to K's oldest sister and she said nothing had ever been said about all this.  Whether she was trying to make me feel better or K's mom had been so distraught to have noticed, I'll never know.  So, I can't really blame anyone else for being inappropriate, because I've done my share, as well.

As I said in the 'dying' post, people say wrong things at very inappropriate times.  I understand that it has a lot to do with being nervous and not knowing the RIGHT thing to say, but some people need to keep talking, no matter WHAT they are saying.  And here we have remark number1:

Woman to K:  Wow!  I looked in that casket and it's just like seeing YOU in there!

And for remark number 2:

Woman to K:  I never could tell the two of you apart.  One of you was taller than the other, right?  I guess if he were standing here next to you, I'd be able to tell which is which, right?

Oh. Boy.  But, as I said, people get nervous and talk just to talk--and don't filter anything.   Maybe this is a lesson we all can learn from.

 

Buying Locally

With the economy the way it is, we are constantly being asked to support our local businesses.  As far as I can, I try to do this, but there are times that it really isn't possible or feasible.  Getting medications from a local pharmacy is something that we are--pretty much--banned from doing.  We CAN use a local pharmacy if we want to, but our insurance company won't pay its part beyond three months, and I have to pay my deductible every month instead of every three months like with the mail order pharmacy.  Going with the mail order pharmacy that the insurance company 'forces' us to use, is really a no brainer on our part--if we want to use our benefits to the fullest and spend less money, we go along with what is dictated.  And this has ALWAYS been a sore spot with me.

When I first began getting my medications by mail, I questioned the safety of the meds.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I was worried about whether I was getting the correct meds, just that I questioned the way they were stored and transported.  My meds (except for Enbrel) come by US Postal Service, so they are put on trucks--NOT refrigerated--and transported from great distances before they reach my mailbox.  It seems as if every place my meds come from are in the south--and I get meds all year long, from the coldest days in winter to the extremely hot days in summer.  In my mind, I can't feel that this is, in any way, good for the medications. While my local pharmacy may be getting medications by truck, they, at least, are getting MEDS and not all forms of junk mail at the same time.  I would think (hope) there are safeguards in place.

I also like the personal touch of shopping locally.  Not only do the people know you, but they quite possibly are your neighbors.  When I was getting my meds from our closest pharmacy, I would be greeted by name, asked how I was doing, and told everything I needed to know about what I was taking.  They were always willing to help before I even asked--and a lot of times problems were detected and solved before I was even aware of them.  Somehow, this just made me feel a bit safer than when I talk to a faceless voice over the phone.

Today, I got another dose of why I hate doing business the way I am forced to.  After nine weeks of not being on Enbrel, I have gotten the go-ahead to begin again.  Last night was my first injection and I only have one dose left, so I needed to call and schedule a shipment, which I did today.  While I probably should have done this last week, other times when I've tried to get more Enbrel when I had two or more doses on hand didn't go so smoothly, so I waited until I was down to my last dose.  First, I was told that they would have to call my doctor to get permission to restart my shipments, as they had been halted.  When I said that *I* was the one that halted them and explained my reason, the woman did agree it was a valid reason to not have to call my doctor.  But then, she said that my prescription had expired and they needed to call the doctor after all.  Now, I'm not sure if I made a mistake, if the pharmacy made a mistake, or if the doctor did, but I began using Enbrel in the month of May and if the doctor writes my prescription every April/May, then I should still have a couple of refills left.  I don't understand what happened, but you can be sure that if I was dealing locally, we could have figured it out.  To say I'm a bit upset is putting it mildly.

So, the pharmacy has to get in touch with the doctor to get a new prescription.  The doctor has to get back to the pharmacy and begin a new, valid prescription.  The pharmacy has to get back to me to schedule a shipment.  THEN, I have to wait for the delivery company to get my meds to me.  When I asked how long this will take, the woman said it will be a week to get the prescription validated, if the doctor gets back to them right away.  Excuse me?!?!?!?!?!?!  Telling her that I only had one dose of medication made her 'assure' me that they will put a 'rush' on this and, hopefully, get it all straightened out in less time.  I can pretty much guarantee that my local pharmacy would have had this straightened out in one day's time.  I'm REALLY not a happy camper tonight.

It's Inevitable For Everyone

Today's topic du jour?  Death.  But really, not in a morbid way.  And why has this topic been on my mind?  Well, The Mother called the other day to get my 'info' as they are updating their wills, etc.  Of course, this made me think about how my feelings about my own death have changed as I've gotten older.

First of all, I don't fear death.  This doesn't mean I WELCOME death or can't wait to die, I just don't fear dying like I did when I was younger.  If I was to die tomorrow, that would be fine with me.  The only thing I fear in terms of dying is to die a slow, painful death--THAT I fear.  But as for death itself, I am not afraid of the unknown because I am sure there is a better place for me when I'm done with this world.

Up until a few years ago, the thoughts of being an organ donor left me cold.  I have always admired anyone who would make the ultimate decision to leave their organs to people who could use them, but the thoughts of my body being hacked up and sent to the four corners of the earth wasn't appealing.  Now that I'm older, I am 100% committed to being an organ donor--provided there is anything on my sad-sack body that is still viable.  After I'm 'gone,' I will have no use for my body or any parts of it, so whoever can use them is welcome to have whatever.

I think one of the reasons why I'm not worried about what happens to my body when I die is the fact that I have decided to be cremated instead of buried.  This, also, was a decision that took some time for me to come to.  I just didn't like the thoughts of my body being burned up.  After thinking about where I would like to be planted for eternity--and not having an answer to that question--I decided to be cremated and have my ashes scattered, somewhere.  We have never been a family that goes to the cemetery to visit on a regular basis, so having a place where my family could go and 'talk' to me just isn't very important.  Besides, I just don't feel as if I need to have my own little piece of real estate for all time.

As for my funeral, I haven't changed my thoughts on that.  I want my closest family members to be able to say their good byes to me while I'm in my casket, but then I want the casket closed for the wake.  It has always bothered me to no end to hear what people say when they look at a body in a casket.

• "S/he looks so peaceful."  Yes, people look peaceful in their caskets because they are fricking DEAD--and have no worries anymore!
• "S/he looks like s/he's sleeping."  NO!  The person is DEAD and looks DEAD!!!
• "S/he looks so good."  Again, NO!  S/he is FRICKING DEAD!!!! Dead is dead and it doesn't look good.

Of course, that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to stupid things people say.  BUT, I would sit straight up in my coffin and deck someone if I had to 'hear' those sorts of things at my wake.  And I KNOW I would haunt the person who was less than kind to me in life, yet cried hysterically at my wake because 'it is so sad.'  HEY!  If you like/love me NOW and will be sad when I'm gone, let me know NOW and don't cause a scene at my wake/funeral!  If you haven't realized by now, I have very serious issues with funerals and mourners.  I have attended far too many funerals/wakes in my time and I have seen it all, so I have very strong opinions about what I do and don't want to happen at my funeral.

Coming to some decisions has really given me a sense of peace--just as we all should have when it comes to our final wishes.  And this, despite the uneasiness it causes to most people.

Say It Isn't So

Today I looked out the window and in the front yard of 'the crazy sheep lady's' house was a "FOR SALE by owner" sign.  OMG!  How will I ever know it is spring without the sheep doing their annual migration to the front yard after the snow goes?

(I can't believe I actually found a site that sells the sheep--and had a pic!  This is EXACTLY what the they look like.  I'm really thinking that I like these.)

Anyway, I can't believe the woman is selling the house already.  She is a retiree and hasn't lived here for more than 5 years.  She spent a lot of time and money upgrading the house--it was built as a Habitat for Humanity home--and it seems unusual to do so and then sell this soon after.  K suggested it might be a medical issue with her and that might be true.  However, she still looks as fit as ever, but you never know.  So, it looks as if we will be having new neighbors in the near future--and all I can hope for is that they fit in with the quietness of our street.

A Couple of Things

I got a package today.  While it wasn't unexpected--I placed the order several days ago--I had to chuckle to myself when I opened it.  I believe I have now, officially, joined the ranks of 'little old ladies.'  One of the items in the box was this:

What you have here is a pocket/telescoping back scratcher and I bought it to put in my suitcase so I never have to be without one.  Far too many times I find my back itches and I NEED something to take care of the itch, so a back scratcher comes in handy.  I have scratchers in almost every room of the house--next to the box of Kleenex--so that they are within reach at all times, but I never had a traveling one.  Until now.  And this just makes me feel SOOOOOOOOOO old to admit.  Do ALL little old ladies have back scratchers and boxes of Kleenex within reach at all times?  I think we might.  :D

**********

A few days ago, we had an item in the police logs that I forgot to save or post.  It dealt with a missing woman, in her 50s.  The police were called because her family couldn't find her for several hours.  When she was found, it was determined that she had spent her time at the local casino.  Mystery solved.

This story just tickled me because it raised so many questions.  First, I am assuming the woman had no medical issues that the family was concerned about:  Alzheimer's or other dementia, etc.  I wonder how long it took the family to figure out she was 'missing' and does she live alone?  Did the family just call on the phone or did they actually go to the house and look for her?  Does the woman have a history of going off on her own?  (I would think she doesn't do this often, or the family wouldn't have been so concerned.)

This is the kind of thing that would happen to me.  And it would be my KIDS rather than K that would call the police.  If I don't let my girls know that I am going out, they track me down in any way possible and let me know that it is not nice of me to leave the house without letting them know I'm going to be gone.  The problem with this is, I WILL call and say--for example--that I'm going shopping or out to eat with a friend.  The response is usually less than enthusiastic that I would bother them with such trivial news.  However, if one of them would happen to call when I was out--and I didn't enable call-forwarding or answer my cell phone--I would get a message that goes something like this:

Daughter:  WHERE ARE YOU?  You leave and don't tell anyone you're going!!!! What the heck--you NEVER leave the house!!!  I wanted to ask you something and you're gone!!!  Call me when you get this!!!

I cannot say how many times I have gotten that same message from my girls.  I guess I am supposed to be at their beck-and-call even though they've been away from home for so long.  It DOES make me feel loved, however.  :)

Making Donations

It's that time of year again when all of the organizations are out and about trying to get our money.  The 'season' seems to begin around the start of the school year, as so many school groups beg for money all school year long.    Yesterday, I got hit up for the second (third? fourth?) time this year.  While I really don't mind--and I always will give when a kid actually takes the time to come to my door and try to sell me something--there are times I just feel like handing over the money instead of 'buying' something I really don't need.

Just before school started, I was asked to buy a discount card from the football team.  This involved several businesses in our town giving discounts on goods and services when presented with the card.  While this isn't too bad of a deal, it turns out that the ONLY business I do regular business with is the hair salon where I get my hair done.  I could use the card there, but it is just taking money out of the hands of one of my very best friends, so I can't do that to her.  So, I'm left with a pretty useless, plastic card that will be thrown away when it expires.  I should have just handed over the ten dollar bill and told the kid to keep the card.

The Boy Scouts came calling at my door yesterday and I felt the need to pay them for some crappy popcorn.  Between the Boy and Girl Scouts, I'm very disappointed in how commercial they are becoming.  Much too much time is being spent on selling stuff that--let's face it--isn't all that tasty.  We had the popcorn a couple of years ago and I wasn't impressed.  The only thing going for it is the minuscule amount you pay for--there barely will be a one-time snack for one person in the can I paid $20 for, so I won't have that hanging around the house for too long.  And when was the last time you bought Girl Scout cookies?  Those things are getting smaller and less in a package, while the price is going up every year.  And they ARE NOT as good as they used to be.  But I still buy them and pay the money.

I had a few years where the money train had come to a complete halt here.  My girls were out of the house, so they weren't selling and there were no kids in the neighborhood coming door-to-door.  The guys that K works with had their kids moving on out of the house, so we weren't getting hit up through work.  The grandkids are home schooled, so there aren't any fund raisers through them, so I wasn't shelling out the big bucks like I had.  It was nice.  But now things are changing--the neighborhood is getting filled with school-aged kids again and so they are on the move once more.

Within the next few months, I figure I have the hockey kids, the band kids, the kids from the French club, and the Girl Scouts knocking on my door.  The only ones I'm really waiting for are the ones who will sell me the fudge-filled Easter eggs that a local candy company makes--and I don't know WHO sells those anymore as fund raisers.  But whoever comes selling the eggs will be surprised, because my order alone will fund their group for the next six months.

Frustration: UPDATED

Since Friday, our cable, internet, and phone has been wonky.  Everything keeps 'winking' off and on, sometimes for seconds, other times for minutes.  We have all three from the same company, so I am assuming that our high winds have wreaked havoc and are what is causing the problems.  But just in case it is something else, I have to 'make the phone call' today.  I HATE talking to customer support.  Whenever this problem is taken care of, I will post again.  On the other hand, I may try later today and see if things work out.  I'm leaving my options open.  :D

UPDATE:  I made the call and we 'fixed' our phone by rebooting the modem, but they still scheduled a service call.  When the guy came to the house, he said there was an amplifier that needed to be repaired/replaced and THAT is what was causing all of the problems.  Thing is, the person who reported this is an employee of the cable company and he lives just up the street--yet, he never reported the problem until Monday morning.  Maybe he was afraid he'd have to work on the weekend, so waited until his regular work day?  Anyway, problem solved--for now.  ;D

You CAN'T Make This Stuff Up

This did NOT happen here, but I found the story in our local newspaper.  I will put up the story with no comments--and you can come up with your own jokes.  ;)

NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP)--A 50-foot-long bridge in western Pennsylvania has been stolen, and its owners say they're baffled by the crime and have no idea who took it.

New Castle Development spokesman Gary Bruce said Friday that he "couldn't believe it when they told me it was gone."

A state police report says the 20-foot-wide span in North Beaver Township went missing between Sept. 27 and Wednesday. 

You can find a little more on this story here.

 

 

 

Just A 'Keeping In Touch' Post

One thing is really hurting my chance for being over-the-top happy today and that's the weather.  Now, most people are unhappy with rain/snow/sleet/cold/etc, but not me.  Noooooooooo. I'M not happy because it is October and the temp is close to 80*--and should continue to be this warm through the weekend.  I just want to get on with the fricking fall already--is that so wrong?  ;)  And we are doing a road trip this weekend, so that means I will be shopping in stores that have already turned their a/c off, so I will be sweating like a thoroughbred right after running a race--NOT a pretty picture, by any means.

In other news...

Today K and I celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary.  After this many years, we don't go all-out in celebrating, though.  I think we'll probably order pizza for dinner and then watch the Tigers and some hockey--a REALLY big night for us.  ;D  And it's not as if we are/feel so old, it's just that 'special' days aren't all that different from any others and this far into the marriage, we don't necessarily need to make big deals out of them.  That being said, K DOES do extra nice things on big days.  Today he gave me a beautiful matching necklace/earring set as a gift and he also brought flowers home.  I really did get one of the 'good ones' when I married him.

The NHL starts its new season tonight and the Wings begin theirs tomorrow night.  I should NOT be this happy.  ;)  While other people wait for Christmas, my biggest day/night of the year is when I finally get to watch hockey again after a very long off-season.  I'm warped, I know.

I have been playing around with my nookCOLOR and have been having far too much fun.  Finally, I got around to trying to load some DVDs onto it and I must say it is EASY!  Surprisingly, the picture is fantastic when seen on the nook and I'm amazed at how nice it is to watch something on a 7" screen.  Now, all I have to do is take the time to transfer some things onto the nook--it IS VERY time-consuming--and then I'll have movies/TV shows with me at all times.  I also found out that transferring music onto the thing was super-easy, as well, so I can always have music going while I read, if I want.  I am very much loving my rooted nook and can't wait for 2-3 years down the road when I get myself a full-time tablet.  (I am waiting a bit before getting a tablet because there just aren't that many options with Android right now.  I WILL NOT buy an iPad, so I will wait until things settle down and a clear front-runner is named in the Android market.  I'm thinking this will be an anniversary gift I get myself in a couple of years...)

With fall here, I'm looking to get back into some crafting.  I have been doing a bit of sewing now and then and need to get into it much more.  I have baby shower gifts to make--one of the babies is almost 4 months old already--and bridal shower gifts.  Of course, I ALWAYS have things I need to make for the grandkids.  Last night I made a reusable, cloth snack bag.  I think it will do very well for dry snacks--trail mix, pretzels, etc--and will be used a lot by the friend I made it for.  I used ripstop nylon to line the 'bag'--which is made out of cotton material--and put Velcro as the closer.  It came out pretty neat and is one of those things that I have to make for the granddarlings.  The original instructions called for using oilcloth as a liner, but I didn't have any in the house, so the ripstop was used as a replacement.  I think I'll be getting some oilcloth and trying that variation, too.  So little time to do so much.  ;)

I have mentioned how the neighborhood dogs come to the house on a regular basis to beg me for treats.  The dog from across the street is a daily visitor.  The poor thing is getting up in years and every day I notice how old he is looking.  He is getting more and more 'pigeon-toed' as time goes on and his joints really seem to bother him when the weather 'turns.'  I hate to say it, but I don't think he will be with us for much longer.  To top it all off, his face is getting that 'old dog' look--the fur is turning whiter and whiter.  He still is happy and smiles whenever I give him his treat--he will be missed when he is gone.  (However, I will NOT miss him using our yard as a toilet...)  Here is (as K calls him) my boyfriend:

After he got through his 'puppy' years--which lasted until he was almost three--he became one of the nicest, sweetest dogs I have ever been fortunate enough to know.  But, I really don't know how many more winters he'll be able to last.

This Should Have Been Done Sooner

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who has been concerned about me.  And yes, I am doing fine--knock on wood.  It has really been a busy time, so I didn't get this posted earlier, as I should have.  The Youngest and her husband were here for the weekend--they came in on Thursday night--so that he could participate in his first half-marathon.  While he didn't do very well, he also didn't come in last--he was more in the bottom of the middle of the pack--but I give him so much credit for actually FINISHING.  I wouldn't be able to do a quarter mile before saying "The hell with this!" and going home.  :D

Now back to the afterwards of the vaccination.  I have given myself four milestones that I feel I have to pass before I think I'm pretty much past any side-effects.  My first milestone was the 24-hour mark.  I figured if I could make it through that long without an allergic reaction, then it probably wasn't going to happen.  My next one is at the one-week mark, followed by the 2-week.  My final is going to be 4 weeks and I think I'm pretty safe after that.  (Of course, are we ever completely 'safe' when something is introduced into the body?  But, that is beside the point.)  I see my dermatologist after the 3-week mark, so we will discuss my going back on Enbrel--which should happen after 4 weeks.

A couple of days after getting the injection, I would up with an injection site reaction.  My arm got a rather large red, warm area to it.  This is not something that would be unexpected with me--after 2+ years of using Enbrel, I STILL get a reaction at the injection site.  The redness finally went away on Saturday and I can barely see where the color was anymore.  I also got a tremendous itchy feeling in the area, but that, too, is pretty much gone.  So far, that is the extent of my side-effects.  And I feel as if I can breathe a bit easier with each day that I am symptom-free.

Every day further from when I got the injection is a bit easier for me emotionally.  As I haven't kicked-off (yet), I am feeling a bit more confident that I won't because of this vaccination.  And I am actually feeling a bit more confident and pleased with my doctor.  I was very much thinking that I was going to have to find a new PCP after last January, but I am slowly beginning to change my mind.  While the woman is EXTREMELY CONSERVATIVE in terms of medical advice, that isn't always a bad thing.  And I do give her a lot of credit to come and talk to me for 30 minutes--unscheduled--before I got the vaccination.  She really didn't need to take the time to do it.  And I feel as if she talked WITH me much more than she did in January.  In January I felt as if she was talking down to me a bit too much, but last week we had more of a discussion.  Of course, it wasn't exactly a meeting of equals, but she seemed to treat me a bit more like someone with intelligence than she did in January.  (All of this could very well have been a perception problem on my part, too, so I'm not completely blaming her.)  As of right now, I'm leaning toward keeping this doctor and seeing if we can work things out.  It's looking good right now.

A Hard Day

To say that Tuesday was trying, is putting it mildly.  I finally went to get my shingles vaccination and it definitely didn't go the way I had planned.

I was under the impression that my PCP was on-board with me getting the vaccine after being off of Enbrel for 4+ weeks.  This was discussed with the PA last week and Tuesday was the first day I had a chance to go in and get 'shot.'  I mentioned to the nurse the problems I had had in trying to get info on all of this and she left the room and came back with the doctor.  We wound up talking for almost 30 minutes about what I was about to do.  Without coming right out and saying it, I don't believe the doctor was happy with me getting the vaccine.  By the time the injection HAD to be done--there is a time limit as to how long the stuff can be left out of the freezer--I was so confused and teary that I couldn't make an intelligent decision.  As it turned out, I finally said, "Just do it!" and got my vaccination.  And then I came home, hoping I didn't make a very, very big mistake with my health.

Part of my problem was the fact that I was tired--I didn't get nearly enough sleep before I went to the doctor's office.  And the doctor came down pretty hard on me--and I finally figured out why:  she REALLY doesn't like Enbrel.  As it turns out, she had a patient die as a result of using Enbrel.  (I'm wondering just how much cause and effect there can ACTUALLY be attributed.)  Anyway, we went round-and-round and I got more and more confused as we talked.  I had the injection and then had to sit at the office for 30 minutes to make sure I had no ill-effects.  And when I was released, it was with the warning to call if 'anything unusual' happened to me--but with no time-frame.  By the time I got home, I was pretty close to having a panic attack because I was so sure I was about to die!  (Yeah, overly dramatic.)

As I said, I was pretty tired, so I took a nap and after waking up, I'm less stressed over what I did.  There are risks with whatever we do when it comes to our health.  Even treatments that have been around for decades--vaccinations, etc--have the possibility of causing life-threatening side-effects.  And, as I cannot UNdo what I did, I have to live with whatever consequences MIGHT happen.  I'm just hoping that there will be NO side-effects.

What Do YOU Do?

Once again, someone on Facebook put a rumor as their status update.  This one is about Facebook beginning to charge a fee for anyone who wants to continue using it, etc, etc, etc.  This rumor has been going around for quite a few years and is completely false.  (However, that being said, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it became a pay-for-use site in the future.  Just my opinion.)  Every couple of weeks or so, one of my 'friends' will post something like this--something that is 100% false and can be proved as such by taking a quick trip to snopes.com for verification.  This type of activity used to be done by email and I would get them in my inbox regularly.  I would then point the one who sent the rumor to the proper site on the internet and let them know they were spreading false rumors. I don't get very many of those emails anymore--I think I got my message across.  With email, I was able to keep my 'chastisement' as a private affair--and the only people subjected to these rumors were the ones who got emails from the sender.  However, Facebook is much more public and I would hesitate to embarrass someone by telling them they were wrong in front of the whole world.  I realize I could just send a private message, but I don't want to embarrass anyone, even privately.

So, the questions come:  What do YOU do in a situation such as this?  Do you correct the person or wait to see if someone else does it first?  Does it matter if the person is close to you or merely an acquaintance?  I wouldn't hesitate to take one of my kids 'to the woodshed,' because they both know enough to check these things out first.  However, if a 'friend' that I have never even seen or talked to in real life does this, I don't have the nerve to correct them.  I KNOW that several people (those who sent emails in the past) have felt as if I was trying to prove my 'superior' intelligence or trying to belittle them in some way--which is/was NEVER my intent!  I don't know how to broach this subject without having it seem as if I think the other person isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.  Suggestions?

Questioning, Again

A few days ago, the Red Wings and Flyers played an exhibition game.  The score was tied at the end of overtime, so it moved into a shootout.  During the shootout, someone threw a banana peel on the ice.  Anyone with even a slight awareness of hockey knows that things are thrown on the ice all of the time--octopi, hats, rubber rats, slabs of beef, etc.  Now, other than the NHL powers-that-be, things thrown on the ice are pretty well tolerated by everyone--until the banana peel incident.  And why was this different?  The player on the ice at the time was the only black player for either team.  And someone decided this was a racist incident--which it probably was.  And the (hockey) world exploded for several days.

While I would never argue that racially motivated acts are okay, I do have some very serious concerns about this entire affair.  First of all, this game was a pre-season game.  That in itself meant that not a whole lot of people were watching it.  There was no audio or video broadcast of this game--other than to an area in and around Philadelphia.  So, the fans in the arena and the (relatively) small viewing audience were the only people who actually saw this happen.  And I question how many people saw this, even if they were at the game--several players were questioned about this later and they weren't aware of what happened until they were told. But, someone DID see this and ran with the story.  I don't know where it first appeared--Twitter, a news story, a blog--but someone made a story out of this.  And once it was out there, it became fodder for opinion pieces, blogs, newscasts, Twitter, Facebook, etc, etc, etc.  This was reported and talked about ad nauseum for several days.

As I said, I would never advocate for a racially motivated act.  I also don't believe society is benefitted by sweeping unpleasant topics/acts under the rug, BUT...  And there is the problem.  The person responsible for this was never found, so we really don't know what his motivation for throwing the peel was.  I'm NOT saying there wasn't a racial element to this, but I'm saying that the assclown who did this probably had a bigger reason for his actions:  PUBLICITY.*  And he got his share of publicity.  This is pretty much the only thing that was 'talked' about for several days.

Now, we come to my question.  Is this something that should have been ignored?  This could have flamed out very quickly, because of the small amount of people who saw what happened.  Actually, it would barely have been a spark if it hadn't been reported.  Have we become a society so politically correct that we have to 'make a big deal' out of everything, even if the intention was nowhere close to what others perceived?  We are finding in all areas of our lives where huge stories are (manufactured?) from small, insignificant incidents--from politics to our personal lives--and it doesn't seem to help do much more than inflame.  I do have to wonder who is benefitting from this--other than the 24-hour news sources and the assclowns who want publicity.



*I realize that I am publicizing this just as much as everyone else did, but I don't reach a big audience, so I don't think my little blog matters.  ;)

Men Are Perplexing

It is obvious that God, after he made Man, saw that he could do a bit better--and then he decided to create Woman.  And just so we wouldn't get too full of ourselves, he made sure that we would NEVER understand men and why they do the things they do.  I was confronted with this, yet again.

The new TV season has just begun.  This means that there are new shows being aired for the first time and there are new episodes of returning programs.  Also, football season is underway, so that means anyone can watch a game at any time of the day or night for the next few months.  And to top it all off, the comedian Jeff Dunham--who is probably The Husband's favorite--had his newest special air on Comedy Central last night.  My husband, who I don't understand at all, watched none of these.  Instead, he watched, for the 3,462 time, a rerun of Lord of the Rings.  On network TV.  With commercials and edits.

So, why should this bother me?  It bothers me because we own the entire Lord of the Rings collection.  Actually, we own TWO SETS of the Lord of the Rings.  Instead of getting up from the couch, going to the DVD shelf, taking a DVD and putting it in the player, and watching it in all of its uninterrupted glory, my husband watched it on network TV.  And he didn't even watch it in high definition!

I will never understand men.

Overly Critical, I Suppose

The FLOTUS decided her cause for the duration of Barack's reign is childhood obesity.  One of the things that went into effect because of her is the new 'food pyramid,' or "MyPlate."  While I don't get why this cost so much money to put into effect--somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million--there are a lot of people who like the change.  (I think it was a waste of money, but that is for another time.)  Along with MyPlate, there is a campaign going on called Let's Move!  This is an attempt to get children to be more physical in order to burn more calories.  Not a bad idea, as even I will admit that kids just don't burn off the calories like they used to.  While I don't agree that there has to be a campaign for this, some people do.  As far as I'm concerned, parents should just turn off the TVs, computers, DVD players, etc, and kick the kids outside for some 'play time.'  That, after all, was what we did.  And very rarely did you ever see obese kids--even though there WERE a few that enjoyed a bit too many sweets and were, at the most, 'pudgy.'  I think most of us found the pounds creeping on when we got a bit older and lost that 'play time'--you know, around the time we figured we were 'too cool' to run around outside like the kids we were.  ;)  It seems a shame that so much taxpayer money has to be spent on such things that are common sense, but I guess there is much more frivolous waste of money than this.

As part of the Let's Move! campaign, several PSAs have been filmed and are being shown on TV.  One of them bothers me--A LOT.

Okay, so I understand what they were trying for here, but it just seems like classic bullying behavior on the mother's part--you know, the kind of stuff that comes out of sibling interaction.  This is the exact kind of thing I did to The Brother when he was young--as I'm sure most of us did to younger siblings.  This video just left a really bad taste in my mouth.

Not Surprising

I ordered a new bed for our cat.  It was delivered today.

After spitting on it, she went here to sleep:

:D

Playing The Waiting Game

I am not a patient person--never have been.  Waiting makes me testy and I tend to put my life on hold while I wait.  And that is one of the reasons why I have been MIA here.  My wait has been going on since before Labor Day.

My very good friend came down with shingles last winter.  She still is suffering from the side effects.  Thankfully, there is a vaccine for this and the recommended age to get it has been lowered from 60 to 50.  Of course, insurance companies aren't paying for this yet, but J said she would pay four times the amount it costs ($250) just so she wouldn't get shingles again.  K's doctor strongly suggested that he gets this--and with K's kidney problems, he definitely needs to watch his overall health closely--so we started doing research and making phone calls to see what we need to do to make this happen.  Other than making sure we could pay for this, K was good to go whenever he wanted.  For me, it was another story.

Being on Enbrel, I knew I couldn't get the shingles vaccine, as it is a live-virus vaccine.  Also, GETTING shingles while on Enbrel is not a good idea--there is the possibility for some extremely serious side-effects.  I knew I didn't want to get shingles, so I had to find out what I needed to do to make this happen for me.  There was next to no info that I could find on the interwebs--other than 'do NOT get a live-virus vaccine while on Enbrel.' So, my first call had to go to my dermatologist's office to find out how long I had to be off of Enbrel in order to get this vaccine.  I needed to know how many days/weeks/months after my last injection was a safe amount of time for me to get the shot and then I had to know how many days/weeks/months AFTER before I could go back on Enbrel.  This call took place a week and a half before my appointment at the internist's office--plenty of time for me to get the info needed so that the internist and I could plan my course of action.  At least you would think so.  The call-back from the dermatologist's office never happened, so I went to my appointment completely unprepared.  NOT. HAPPY.

As soon as my appointment was done, I marched up to the dermatologist's office to see if I could get any answers from them.  As it turned out, they weren't getting very much info themselves.  The closest anyone would come to answering their questions was a drug rep said that 3weeks before and after should be okay.  With that small amount of info in hand, I decided to make a couple of calls of my own.

My Enbrel is handled by a specialty pharmacy, so I called to see what they had to say about all of this.  The pharmacist said he is hearing that patients are abstaining from Enbrel from 2-4 weeks on both sides of the vaccination.  So, the 3 weeks that the dermatologist was told is in that time frame.  I then called Amgen, the company that makes the drug--WHY I didn't do this first is beyond me--just to see what they had to say.  I was NOT impressed or happy.  The recommendation?  'Every case is different and every patient needs to talk to his/her own doctor and plan a course of action designed specifically for him/her.'  Big fricking whoop.  So, it was back on the phone, this time to my internist to see how we are going to proceed.  I made the phone call last week Tuesday.  I still have not heard back.

Tuesday will be four weeks since I last gave myself an injection and I don't know how much longer it will be before I am in a full-blown psoriasis flare.  So far, my skin isn't reacting too much to the absence of Enbrel. I am finding some stiffness in my joints that could possibly be the beginnings of arthritis, but I'm not going to jump to any conclusions.  Right now I just want to get this over with so I can get back to my life--and the sooner the better.  When I finally get the go-ahead for this vaccination, I'm hoping there will actually be vaccine available--shortages have been occurring.  I'm really, really hoping all of this can be resolved in the 8-week time frame I had in mind when I first started considering this.  'Cause I REALLY don't play the waiting game well, at all.


***My update on this story can be found here.

Make Your Own Title

They say 'a picture is worth a thousand words.'  I only took one picture at the Renaissance Fair this year.  The husband called this 'Pretty in Pink.'

Yes, that IS a male...

Public Restrooms

A bear may sh*t in the woods, but this is one woman who won't.  I also won't use outhouses, rarely use Port-A-Potties, and am very selective as to what public restrooms I use.  I became overly familiar with a wide variety of public facilities when my oldest was a child. She would RUN to the restroom whenever we walked in the door of a place--even if she just went before we left the house three minutes earlier.  There wasn't a restroom/facility that we didn't go into in the three-county area--for some reason she had a fascination for them.  Anyway, I saw more than my share and I certainly know which ones to avoid and which ones are fine for me to use.

***To completely get away from the point of this post, I MUST mention this.  There now is an app for your mobile phone that lets you find people who will allow you to use their bathrooms for a fee.  This is for those people who don't want to use public restrooms--and for people who are so desperate for money that they will let strangers come into their houses and use their most private rooms to do God knows what in them.  I CANNOT comprehend this, as I wish I had a second bathroom in this house just so I wouldn't have to share with my husband!  There ain't no way on God's green earth that I will let total strangers come into my house to use my 'throne!'  I. Don't. Get. It.  If you must read more, you can go here and here.  I get a great amount of pleasure in reporting that I couldn't find one person who thought this was a good idea--and most find this creepy and very, very dangerous.***

Now that we have traveled a bit, I have a greater variety of restrooms to like or dislike.  For the most part, McDonald's aren't too bad--but I usually go there in the morning or around lunchtime.  I don't have a clue as to how bad they may be in the evening.  Barnes & Noble facilities are more than adequate and decently clean.  I am very impressed with the restroom at the World Market store that we frequent--they even have taken a stab at decorating with some of the stuff from the store.  I have never seen it in a shambles and it comes the closet as any restroom to my bathroom in terms of cleanliness.  I'm very impressed with casino restrooms--both in Vegas and locally.  (Although, I DID get lost in a restroom in the Venetian casino in Vegas--I got turned around and had to ask directions to get out again.  Yes, I have problems.)  And, for the most part, I haven't been in a Sam's Club restroom that isn't taken care of very, very well.

The Sam's Club we usually go to just did a major re-model of the restrooms a year ago.  They put all new stalls and sinks, floors, counter tops, toilets, etc, etc.  The only thing I have a problem with is the fact that they used stainless steel for the stall walls--TRY and keep those looking good without spending hours a day cleaning them.  But they did a great job and everything works well.  I'm real pleased with the self-flushing toilets, but am less so with the automatic faucets--for some reason or other, I can't get those to work for me any more frequently than 50% of the time.  However, I am ECSTATIC over the Dyson hand dryers.

If you have never seen/used one of these, you have no idea what you are missing.  First, you place your hands straight down into this dryer.  Then the air comes on and blows your hands dry.  But, the WAY the air blows on your hands is a lot of fun.  While it doesn't FEEL as if it is strong, when you look at your hands, the skin looks just like those pictures of astronauts' faces when they are getting belted by strong g-force.  It's as if your skin is almost liquid itself, the way the air manipulates it.  I usually use this restroom JUST so I can wash my hands and use the dryer.  (Yes, I know that is off the wall, but these dryers are FUN!  :D)  I'd have one in my own home but 1) I don't know if they sell them for home usage and 2) I probably couldn't afford one even if they WOULD sell one to me.

Whenever I use a public restroom, I will use the handicapped/family stall if available and there aren't a lot of people needing to use the facilities.  I find it so much easier to have the space and the toilets are higher up, which is so much easier on my knees.  (I'm getting old and experiencing the family 'knee trouble.')  If you don't go into the family stalls, you might not have seen the 'seats' that are on the walls for babies.

These are where you strap your child in so that you can 'go' without worry.  While I'm sure busy mothers love these, I find them a bit creepy.  The seats are much too far away from the toilets, so that if the baby isn't strapped in perfectly, a person couldn't just reach over if s/he starts to slip.  And it looks too much like you're hanging your kid on the wall.  I just get creeped out by these things.

I have spent much too much time lately thinking about public facilities, but with our impending trip to the Renaissance Fair, I know I will have to use a Port-A-Potty if needed.    I just hope that if I really have to use one, I don't need it more than once.  I think I'm having a panic attack already.