Wow ...midway into July already.
I've started and stopped writing e-mails to friends a couple of times today, and I've started and stopped even leaving comments on blogs as well. I know that I'm isolating myself to a certain extent, and I really just don't know quite what to do about it, but then I also know that I *do* have some people that I can and HAVE talked to, and aside from "venting" a little bit ...there's nothing to offer me that I don't already know.
Maybe I just underestimate the value of "venting" and find it difficult to reach out so I don't feel quite as alone in things (despite knowing fully well that's exactly what I am). I guess I decided to compromise and simply write a blog.
I'm freaked out over some testing to be done next week. I had another fall a bit over a week ago; truth be told, I was drunk ...sloppy drunk. Part of me really wants to simply chalk the fall up to that, but my fall a couple of months ago down my stairs was while perfectly sober, and quite like while being drunk ...I have absolutely no idea how it happened. One minute my feet were under me, the next they weren't.
Shortly after I moved in, I cut myself on my left hand ...badly. If I hadn't watched it happen, I'd have never known I did it. I got ammonia in it while cleaning and felt nothing despite it swelling and getting really angry looking. I can feel the skin ...it isn't like it's numb or anything; just an utter absence of pain. I had been under the impression that it was only my left hand, but on my visit to the neurologist last week ...her exam showed that it was actually both hands and both feet that have a decreased sensation. I'm going in next week for a nerve conduction study.
My brother and a neighbor mentioned that it sounded a lot like multiple sclerosis, and I know that I've been tested (exhaustively, even) in the past for it. I would think surely I've read up on signs and symptoms of MS before, but when I started reading up on the weekend
...let's just say that a lot of the questions and tests at the neurologist suddenly took on a new light. Of the common symptoms, I have seven out of eight of the main ones and the eighth is questionable. I pee a lot, but then I drink LOTS of water so I've never seen anything weird about that part. I know my mental faculties are bad and getting worse every year; I've actually spent a little time agonizing over the possibility of early onset Alzheimer's or dementia. Turns out that's a symptom of MS as well. Part of me thinks I should have known that, but if I read it before I really don't remember it. In fact, when cataloging symptoms to the doctor, I almost could have been reading off the list of common symptoms.
fucking scary.
This shouldn't be a new thing for me ...in fact, since day one most of the doctors have suspected MS, but I've never met the criteria for diagnosing it, and now I'm just wondering/worrying about it all over again. It shouldn't be anything NEW, but it still is. It shouldn't be a worry, but it still is.
Truth be told, it might be a relief to finally be diagnosed with something tangible instead of the nebulous description I have now. I'll take MS over Alzheimer's any day of the week ...at least they have medications for MS.
It's the waiting though. The waiting for the test, and then the waiting for the results. It just sucks.
No fixes, no good advice except "try to keep my mind elsewhere."
...and maybe blog a little in a place where nobody will actually read it just vent it somewhere.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Friday, June 19, 2015
Is it 2015 already?
Wow, I was just looking at my last post and the date ...2012!
I seem to recall that this is my "original" blogspot blog; I actually have two others though. One is known to others who know me, so I'm a little reticent to post too much there about my current state of affairs. I have exactly one post on the other ...I seem to recall have an honest to goodness reason for creating a third one although I couldn't tell you what it might have been now.
A lot has changed in the meantime ...some for the good, some for the bad. Basically like every other person in the world.
In the last five years though ...I've lost my mother, my father, my ex-wife (or 8 year LTR if we are being literal) and numerous aunts and the last remaining uncle. I wasn't exceptionally close to all but one aunt, but the father, mother and ex-wife I suspect have been a lot harder on me than I want to admit; I'm still considering a little bit of grief counseling that the hospice company for my mother provides free of charge. I don't know exactly why I'm so apprehensive about it ...what I keep telling myself is that it's because the hospice is Christian based, and being an atheist is supposed to create some kind of conflict there. I know that's a pretty bullshit reason as far as "reasons" go ...in fact, I'd even go so far as to say it's just an excuse. The apprehension is very real though.
Another fun detail that I've discovered since that last post is that I have herpes. I can go back in my journals and pinpoint exactly when I contracted it and who I contracted it from. No joy in Muddville over that part.
There is absolutely no GOOD way to find out you have an STD that will be with you for life, but I think my own story was as close as you can come to it. My "friend" contacted me immediately when she got her own test back; she was responsible about informing me (as was I with the only other I had been with ...and she thankfully tested negative), and I bore no ill will at the time or after. I had known her for quite a few years and we had a lot of fun ...there were no illusions about other partners. We had been strictly "safe sex" for the first year and dispensed with the condoms after we got to know each other better. It was a case of "sometimes when you play, you have to pay the piper." I don't have to like how it worked out, but when I hear other stories from other heeps ...it seems like many carry around a lot of anger that I just don't really have. I do still have to live with it though.
The timing of finding out when I did resulted in a conflict that led to a host of other problems. The timing was such that I had already agreed to move in with my mother as her caregiver. I hadn't really intended to take a vow of celibacy or anything ...but it sort of worked out that way anyway (minus the vow). I haven't had sex in three years; Mom passed away last year ...I've recently moved to my current place of residence, which is beyond "comfortable" for a single dude. One of the benefits to being caregiver was that I was able to devote all my finances towards a ridiculous credit card debt, and after Mom passed, her estate was more than any of my siblings or I had imagined. The only "perk" that I received over the other siblings was my mother's car which since she had been unable to drive for some time; that detail wasn't exactly something anyone but one sibling thought anything of, but I'm not all that concerned. I was able to outright buy an older two bedroom town home condo and have it largely redone to my liking. The price was right, the neighborhood is exactly where I wanted to be and I have friends here already ...I have two cars (both paid off), no debt, and a sizable savings.
Financially, I'm in better shape than I've ever been in my life. A fresh start!
I'm also a 48 year old disabled guy with herpes, who happens to be an atheist in the Bible belt and may be having some issues with bottled up grief. Perhaps the reality of having herpes hasn't really had it's opportunity to surface before now either, but the options for dating again seem more than a little bleak even at the casual glance.
So maybe I'll try to use this blog a bit more while I figure things out. Maybe I'll have some interesting stuff to write about, and move past some issues that I seem to be having with trust and privacy.
But for now, I think I'll put together a bathroom cabinet.
I seem to recall that this is my "original" blogspot blog; I actually have two others though. One is known to others who know me, so I'm a little reticent to post too much there about my current state of affairs. I have exactly one post on the other ...I seem to recall have an honest to goodness reason for creating a third one although I couldn't tell you what it might have been now.
A lot has changed in the meantime ...some for the good, some for the bad. Basically like every other person in the world.
In the last five years though ...I've lost my mother, my father, my ex-wife (or 8 year LTR if we are being literal) and numerous aunts and the last remaining uncle. I wasn't exceptionally close to all but one aunt, but the father, mother and ex-wife I suspect have been a lot harder on me than I want to admit; I'm still considering a little bit of grief counseling that the hospice company for my mother provides free of charge. I don't know exactly why I'm so apprehensive about it ...what I keep telling myself is that it's because the hospice is Christian based, and being an atheist is supposed to create some kind of conflict there. I know that's a pretty bullshit reason as far as "reasons" go ...in fact, I'd even go so far as to say it's just an excuse. The apprehension is very real though.
Another fun detail that I've discovered since that last post is that I have herpes. I can go back in my journals and pinpoint exactly when I contracted it and who I contracted it from. No joy in Muddville over that part.
There is absolutely no GOOD way to find out you have an STD that will be with you for life, but I think my own story was as close as you can come to it. My "friend" contacted me immediately when she got her own test back; she was responsible about informing me (as was I with the only other I had been with ...and she thankfully tested negative), and I bore no ill will at the time or after. I had known her for quite a few years and we had a lot of fun ...there were no illusions about other partners. We had been strictly "safe sex" for the first year and dispensed with the condoms after we got to know each other better. It was a case of "sometimes when you play, you have to pay the piper." I don't have to like how it worked out, but when I hear other stories from other heeps ...it seems like many carry around a lot of anger that I just don't really have. I do still have to live with it though.
The timing of finding out when I did resulted in a conflict that led to a host of other problems. The timing was such that I had already agreed to move in with my mother as her caregiver. I hadn't really intended to take a vow of celibacy or anything ...but it sort of worked out that way anyway (minus the vow). I haven't had sex in three years; Mom passed away last year ...I've recently moved to my current place of residence, which is beyond "comfortable" for a single dude. One of the benefits to being caregiver was that I was able to devote all my finances towards a ridiculous credit card debt, and after Mom passed, her estate was more than any of my siblings or I had imagined. The only "perk" that I received over the other siblings was my mother's car which since she had been unable to drive for some time; that detail wasn't exactly something anyone but one sibling thought anything of, but I'm not all that concerned. I was able to outright buy an older two bedroom town home condo and have it largely redone to my liking. The price was right, the neighborhood is exactly where I wanted to be and I have friends here already ...I have two cars (both paid off), no debt, and a sizable savings.
Financially, I'm in better shape than I've ever been in my life. A fresh start!
I'm also a 48 year old disabled guy with herpes, who happens to be an atheist in the Bible belt and may be having some issues with bottled up grief. Perhaps the reality of having herpes hasn't really had it's opportunity to surface before now either, but the options for dating again seem more than a little bleak even at the casual glance.
So maybe I'll try to use this blog a bit more while I figure things out. Maybe I'll have some interesting stuff to write about, and move past some issues that I seem to be having with trust and privacy.
But for now, I think I'll put together a bathroom cabinet.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
I'm offended by your attempt to be inoffensive!
...and in retaliation for your inoffensiveness, I'm going to be as offensive as possible!
I found myself caught up in a bit of the hyperbole after this story was posted on a message forum I often frequent. I'm having to go back and edit now because the original poster changed from one link to another, but the original link was from here. The title really says it all: "School Forces Child to remove 'God' from Veterans Day poem: Separation of Church and State" (of course in great big letters with all caps and everything on the site); not sure why the original poster changed the link to the former when even the forum post title was from the latter ...since more facts have been coming out, the original hyperbolic articles have become significantly shorter for some reason though. The forum topic ran 14 freakin' pages before a moderator shut it down.
In a nutshell (the original and slightly less hyperbolic article by the local paper that started the whole shitstorm is here): West Marion Elementary school (in North Carolina) hosted some sort of school-sponsored Veteran's Day event, and a 6 year-old girl had written some kind of awesome poem in honor of her grandparents who served in Vietnam ...so they asked her to read it at the assembly. Problem was, it contained the lines "He prayed to God for wisdom, he prayed to God for peace" within, and some evil atheist secular progressive homosexual asshat with bad-breath (and possibly the bubonic plague) threatened to sue because he would be offended by hearing the word "god" or "prayer" recited in front of impressionable children.
Oh wait ...but as more facts came out (why in the world they waited until after Thanksgiving to release a story about a Veteran's day event escapes me, but we all know how sensationalism sells), there was no person complaining in the first place; in fact, the little girl was never even asked to recite it. They simply wanted to print it on the program-bulletin for the event (the details of who if anyone WAS to recite it is unclear, but you can bet if it were truly the 6-year-old girl, it would be the headline on every right-wing rag on the internet this morning). The school super remarked that he was concerned about the establishment clause in the printing of that phrase so he asked the principal, who simply suggested that it be changed to "He prayed for wisdom, he prayed for peace" if he was concerned, they signed off on it and probably didn't give two thoughts to it until the TRUE "offended party" reared their ugly head(s). It would appear that in this particular case, the feared "PC police" weren't the evil secular progressives after all, but rather ...the Christians (insert dramatic *gasp* here)!
When I first read the forum post ...honestly, I mostly just wanted to be a Devil's advocate since virtually every responding post was screams of outrage over the censorship. I didn't hear a single person defend the hyperbolic insinuation that with malice, the school blatantly and flagrantly censored the girl; some asked why it was such a big deal that "God" be in it in the first place, but virtually everyone (including myself) agreed that the girl should have been able to read it just like she'd written it. I wasn't bothered so much by what the article said so much as what it didn't say.
The original complaint (and presumably the ones who went to the press with the story), were a school employee Chris Greene, Greene's father and one other resident, Esther Dollarhyde. From the original article:
That part alone is pretty telling when you consider the whole pesky 9th commandment thing; most of the original articles have been pretty heavily edited now to reflect the new information at least. It seems that just about everyone was caught up in the incorrect "recitation" aspect that turned out to be untrue; now it's more a matter of a school document rather than free speech. I developed a little bit of trouble with the whole thing after this little tidbit from Greene in the initial article:
While I would tend to agree that asking her to remove the word "God" would have been an infringement had she been asked to read it (it was probably even overstepping slightly to take it out even in the written form), but what I *do* have a problem with is why in the world Greene should think that the people who wrote the program were owed an apology instead of the girl whose rights were allegedly violated (?!). I have a sneaking suspicion that Greene may well be one of those planners, but that's just idle speculation on my part. When I see statements like this:
The crux of the entire conflict was answered in the follow-up article though, but as of yet I can't see that anyone else seems to be noticing what ought to be one of the more relevant parts of this entire fiasco:
For those who have trouble reading between the lines on this one ...THE SIX YEAR-OLD GIRL DIDN'T WRITE THE POEM!!! ...at least not without a shit-load of help from her family. Even if we skip over the fact that they knowingly allowed the lie about it being a public speaking engagement to propagate unchecked, the family STILL voiced no offense at it being edited (apparently the people who printed it were the ones with a problem). The initial mis-information is staggering though. In the original article the newspaper contacted a first amendment specialist, Ken Paulson, about the school's right to do what they did and he had this to say to the paper:
First of all, how in the name of Jesus, Mary and Joseph was the PREACHER disrespected by this?! I'd think if he had to feel disrespected, it ought to be about the fast and loose 9th commandment interpretations being applied in the matter. As far as the second half ...when he gets around to talking the other 29, 999 denominations (not to mention the +/-20% that don't buy it at all) into excepting which version and how to implement it, he can get back to us ...because we've always had babies having babies and drop-outs. Your politicization of your religion is the disgrace sir; thank you for putting it on public display though!
I'm sorry, the school may well have erred on the wrong side of this, but the true "PC police" in this matter aren't the "godless liberals" like me. If people insist on being offended by other people attempting to be less offensive then perhaps you need to remember that golden rule a little bit, because given the level of hostility towards what appears to be a non-existent offended person ...your perception of what you're receiving appears to be exactly what you're dishing out.
I found myself caught up in a bit of the hyperbole after this story was posted on a message forum I often frequent. I'm having to go back and edit now because the original poster changed from one link to another, but the original link was from here. The title really says it all: "School Forces Child to remove 'God' from Veterans Day poem: Separation of Church and State" (of course in great big letters with all caps and everything on the site); not sure why the original poster changed the link to the former when even the forum post title was from the latter ...since more facts have been coming out, the original hyperbolic articles have become significantly shorter for some reason though. The forum topic ran 14 freakin' pages before a moderator shut it down.
In a nutshell (the original and slightly less hyperbolic article by the local paper that started the whole shitstorm is here): West Marion Elementary school (in North Carolina) hosted some sort of school-sponsored Veteran's Day event, and a 6 year-old girl had written some kind of awesome poem in honor of her grandparents who served in Vietnam ...so they asked her to read it at the assembly. Problem was, it contained the lines "He prayed to God for wisdom, he prayed to God for peace" within, and some evil atheist secular progressive homosexual asshat with bad-breath (and possibly the bubonic plague) threatened to sue because he would be offended by hearing the word "god" or "prayer" recited in front of impressionable children.
Oh wait ...but as more facts came out (why in the world they waited until after Thanksgiving to release a story about a Veteran's day event escapes me, but we all know how sensationalism sells), there was no person complaining in the first place; in fact, the little girl was never even asked to recite it. They simply wanted to print it on the program-bulletin for the event (the details of who if anyone WAS to recite it is unclear, but you can bet if it were truly the 6-year-old girl, it would be the headline on every right-wing rag on the internet this morning). The school super remarked that he was concerned about the establishment clause in the printing of that phrase so he asked the principal, who simply suggested that it be changed to "He prayed for wisdom, he prayed for peace" if he was concerned, they signed off on it and probably didn't give two thoughts to it until the TRUE "offended party" reared their ugly head(s). It would appear that in this particular case, the feared "PC police" weren't the evil secular progressives after all, but rather ...the Christians (insert dramatic *gasp* here)!
When I first read the forum post ...honestly, I mostly just wanted to be a Devil's advocate since virtually every responding post was screams of outrage over the censorship. I didn't hear a single person defend the hyperbolic insinuation that with malice, the school blatantly and flagrantly censored the girl; some asked why it was such a big deal that "God" be in it in the first place, but virtually everyone (including myself) agreed that the girl should have been able to read it just like she'd written it. I wasn't bothered so much by what the article said so much as what it didn't say.
The original complaint (and presumably the ones who went to the press with the story), were a school employee Chris Greene, Greene's father and one other resident, Esther Dollarhyde. From the original article:
“On Nov. 8, 2012 West Marion held their annual Veterans Day program in the midst of a lot of drama,” Greene said. “We had one parent concerned with the use of the word God in this program. This parent did not want the word God mentioned anywhere in the program. When the demand from this person was heard, the rights of another stopped. It did so by hushing the voice of a six-year-old girl.”There was a followup article in the same local paper yesterday, and it seems to be overlooked that the "one parent" probably didn't even exist according to the statements given (or maybe they wasn't mentioned in fear of retaliation from the apparently rather large group that was being "persecuted" by him/her).
“There has been some misinformation out in the public, and I appreciate the chance to relate the truth and facts of this situation,” Kirkpatrick said to those present. “Upon returning from a medical leave, I was approached by staff to approve of a printed program for an upcoming assembly. The printed program included religious references, and I was concerned about it being distributed in the written program and read at a school-wide assembly.”
Kirkpatrick explained that after speaking with School Superintendent Dr. Gerri Martin about the program over the phone, it was decided that the religious writing should be modified in part. The program was then approved and the poem was printed on the program without reference to a specific deity.
That part alone is pretty telling when you consider the whole pesky 9th commandment thing; most of the original articles have been pretty heavily edited now to reflect the new information at least. It seems that just about everyone was caught up in the incorrect "recitation" aspect that turned out to be untrue; now it's more a matter of a school document rather than free speech. I developed a little bit of trouble with the whole thing after this little tidbit from Greene in the initial article:
“My question is this, when do the rights of one outweigh the rights of another? I believe that this little girl’s rights were violated and that those who worked so hard to prepare this program should receive an apology.”
While I would tend to agree that asking her to remove the word "God" would have been an infringement had she been asked to read it (it was probably even overstepping slightly to take it out even in the written form), but what I *do* have a problem with is why in the world Greene should think that the people who wrote the program were owed an apology instead of the girl whose rights were allegedly violated (?!). I have a sneaking suspicion that Greene may well be one of those planners, but that's just idle speculation on my part. When I see statements like this:
“Let me add here that those prayers worked, because he went on to serve two tours in Vietnam,” Greene said.and this:
“We need to keep in mind what was our country founded on,” stated Dollarhyde. “It was founded on God and Jesus Christ, and our veterans went out and fought for us so we would have a free country, but if we aren’t allowed to honor them the way that the children want to then America is getting lost.”As for the first: if a prayer for peace earned me two tours, I might want to start reconsidering my choice in deities (but I guess one out of two ain't bad ...and yes, I know they were probably talking about "inner" peace, but why mess up a good punchline?). The second has more issues than I'm going to touch on, but since just about every war including the American Revolution was fought against other Christians, I'm not so sure that it's a point to be proud of.
The crux of the entire conflict was answered in the follow-up article though, but as of yet I can't see that anyone else seems to be noticing what ought to be one of the more relevant parts of this entire fiasco:
To clarify how the poem came about, the mother of the little girl, Renata Crawley, with the support of her husband, Greg Crawley, spoke to the board and those at the meeting about their feelings concerning the incident.
During the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, Crawley explained that her daughter was assigned to write about her grandfathers -- who both served in the armed forces -- for the school’s Veterans Day program.
She stated that after her daughter was assigned to write the poem, the youngster became frustrated. To help ease some of that tension, Renata, along with the rest of the family, helped the young girl construct the poem.
“My daughter struggled writing about her grandfathers when writing this poem,” stated Renata. “She is 6 years old and does not know much about war or the armed forces.”
Crawley said the family worked together on the poem, with her 6-year-old daughter assisting with rhyming words to make the poem “her style.”
While creating the poem, the family decided to write about the little girl’s grandfather, Bud, who carried a prayer stone to Vietnam with him, which inspired the now controversial lines that would later be censored.
“He prayed to God for strength, he prayed to God for peace,” the poem was supposed to say.
For those who have trouble reading between the lines on this one ...THE SIX YEAR-OLD GIRL DIDN'T WRITE THE POEM!!! ...at least not without a shit-load of help from her family. Even if we skip over the fact that they knowingly allowed the lie about it being a public speaking engagement to propagate unchecked, the family STILL voiced no offense at it being edited (apparently the people who printed it were the ones with a problem). The initial mis-information is staggering though. In the original article the newspaper contacted a first amendment specialist, Ken Paulson, about the school's right to do what they did and he had this to say to the paper:
“Courts have consistently held up the rights for students to express themselves unless their speech is disruptive to the school,” stated Paulson. “When the little girl wrote the poem and included a reference to God she had every right to do that. The First Amendment protects all Americans. She had every right to mention God, (but) that dynamic changed when they asked her to read it at an assembly.” (emphasis mine)So even HE wasn't given the whole story. When I followed the specialist they consulted for that statement, even Mr. Paulson seemed slightly bewildered in his own statement:
Clearly the school was trying to avoid being sued, but its best bet was to let the young lady speak her mind. The likelihood of being successfully sued in this gray area was minimal; the likelihood of being decried as hostile to God and freedom of religion was pretty much guaranteed.I guess this is what happens when you don't get the whole story. I still chaff a bit over a statement by a minister at the meeting as recorded by the update:
“As a pastor, as a parent and as a man of God I am disappointed,” stated Manuel. “I am disrespected and it hurts me. What really hurts me, I understand the laws about church and state, but this is a child.” (emphasis mine)
Manuel went on to state that “maybe if we put God back in schools, maybe we won’t have the problems that we currently have, like babies having babies and kids laying out of school, this is a disgrace.”
First of all, how in the name of Jesus, Mary and Joseph was the PREACHER disrespected by this?! I'd think if he had to feel disrespected, it ought to be about the fast and loose 9th commandment interpretations being applied in the matter. As far as the second half ...when he gets around to talking the other 29, 999 denominations (not to mention the +/-20% that don't buy it at all) into excepting which version and how to implement it, he can get back to us ...because we've always had babies having babies and drop-outs. Your politicization of your religion is the disgrace sir; thank you for putting it on public display though!
I'm sorry, the school may well have erred on the wrong side of this, but the true "PC police" in this matter aren't the "godless liberals" like me. If people insist on being offended by other people attempting to be less offensive then perhaps you need to remember that golden rule a little bit, because given the level of hostility towards what appears to be a non-existent offended person ...your perception of what you're receiving appears to be exactly what you're dishing out.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Color me impressed
Interestingly enough, I DID get out and vote yesterday and the deciding factor was a robocall from the DNC Monday night. They reminded where the polling location was and asked to vote Democrat, but above all just VOTE!
So I did. This may be the only time I've ever actually listened to a robocall all the way through, much less actually been motivated by it...
I used the Dallas Morning News online voting guide to pick through my candidates yesterday morning ...I scrolled past name and party and based my vote solely on what they wrote about themselves; this is the same guide I've used since 2004. This is the first year I've had so few R's, and I certainly had a shit-load more "L's" than I've ever had in the past (talk about a herd of cat's though ...Libertarians are all over the fucking place; some awesome, some tin-foil hat wearing with platforms that read more like manifesto's); oh, and many more D's than usual as well. One thing I'll never be accused of is not paying attention to individual platform.
Through the last four cycles, I never rewarded a vote to anyone basing their campaigns on their dislike on the CiC; the vitriol towards Obama on the part of some of the candidates cost them a vote ...but after looking at the county website, it would appear that not a single one of my votes that weren't Republican meant much. Bummer ...when I lived in Dallas county, at least I felt like my vote counted for a bit more, but I'm hardly bitter about it. Reading through the candidates own words, I'm fairly certain that most people in this county probably vote a straight ticket because some of those "R's" sounded fucking crazy ...and the disclosed campaign dollars painted an even scarier picture.
So I did it and although I mostly call bullshit on the "if you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain" line of thought, I still think it's just lazy. I don't tend to be exceptionally vocal about politics ...with the exception of my two brothers, nearly all of my family and quite a few of my friends lean hard right Republican. The "wailing and gnashing of teeth" on Facebook this morning was somewhere in between satisfying and even a little scary. Same rhetoric as in 08 "OMG, we're a Communist country now!" a lot of genuine fear, a few less than sincere regards about wanting to move to another country, and a few truly despicable remarks basically saying that Democracy is only good when one side wins. There was even one patently racist remark that was (amazingly enough) called bullshit on by her own Republican friends.
The genuine FEAR from so many of them is pretty scary though. The accusations of such a negative campaign by Obama didn't really resonate with me. I've left the TV off for the last few months, but the few times I've had it on, the negative ads weren't by Obama here in the state of Texas. The bubble that people have been living in has really been pretty amazing; they've been listening only to the people repeating over and over how horrible Obama has been, and they just can't fathom how half the country can't SEE THAT IT'S TRUE!!! The only problem is ...well, that it just ISN'T true; he hasn't been stellar, but all the dire predictions being repeated are the same ones from '08, and they didn't happen then either. I ran across this article the other day that really cracked me up: “This is the most important election of all time!” (again)
I really hope that this cycle will at least be the beginning of the end for the religious right in politics. If anything else, at least it will finally not have rewarded the rantings of people repeating something untrue over and over hoping the repetition will somehow make it true.
I checked the results on my phone last night a few times while watching a bunch of DVR'ed stuff and fell asleep with Romney having a substantial lead. When I woke up around 10:30 and looked ...I about flew out of the chair to see Obama had already been declared the winner! I opened the laptop and turned on the TV to Fox news no less. I really REALLY dislike Fox, but I do have to give them credit for giving VERY evenhanded coverage (although "stunned disbelief" pops into my head as a descriptor of some of the expressions I saw). Romney was quite classy in his concession speech, Obama gave a nice acceptance speech. I didn't see it coming, but I gotta say I'm glad to see that it did!
I really hope that the tantrum of the last 4 years will be tiring and maybe both sides will start giving a little bit again. There's no more second term to worry about trying to prevent now and the hyper-partisan gridlock really doesn't serve a huge political purpose now aside from the 2014 & 2016 elections. I've said it again and again ...recovery was going to happen no matter who wins; I'm just glad Obama won't be scapegoated for the last 4 years. On the message boards, the conspiracy nuts are popping up left and right already.
I'm glad Romney didn't make it. I don't think he'd have been a bad president, but I'm still glad Obama won. I feel bad for many of my friends and family who so strongly think it's the end of the world, but hopefully the echo-chamber thinking will let up a little bit. Reality isn't always what you wish it was, but it's damned sure the one we're stuck with. I wish them the best and hope the sour grapes taste fades as soon as possible.
At least one can hope.
So I did. This may be the only time I've ever actually listened to a robocall all the way through, much less actually been motivated by it...
I used the Dallas Morning News online voting guide to pick through my candidates yesterday morning ...I scrolled past name and party and based my vote solely on what they wrote about themselves; this is the same guide I've used since 2004. This is the first year I've had so few R's, and I certainly had a shit-load more "L's" than I've ever had in the past (talk about a herd of cat's though ...Libertarians are all over the fucking place; some awesome, some tin-foil hat wearing with platforms that read more like manifesto's); oh, and many more D's than usual as well. One thing I'll never be accused of is not paying attention to individual platform.
Through the last four cycles, I never rewarded a vote to anyone basing their campaigns on their dislike on the CiC; the vitriol towards Obama on the part of some of the candidates cost them a vote ...but after looking at the county website, it would appear that not a single one of my votes that weren't Republican meant much. Bummer ...when I lived in Dallas county, at least I felt like my vote counted for a bit more, but I'm hardly bitter about it. Reading through the candidates own words, I'm fairly certain that most people in this county probably vote a straight ticket because some of those "R's" sounded fucking crazy ...and the disclosed campaign dollars painted an even scarier picture.
So I did it and although I mostly call bullshit on the "if you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain" line of thought, I still think it's just lazy. I don't tend to be exceptionally vocal about politics ...with the exception of my two brothers, nearly all of my family and quite a few of my friends lean hard right Republican. The "wailing and gnashing of teeth" on Facebook this morning was somewhere in between satisfying and even a little scary. Same rhetoric as in 08 "OMG, we're a Communist country now!" a lot of genuine fear, a few less than sincere regards about wanting to move to another country, and a few truly despicable remarks basically saying that Democracy is only good when one side wins. There was even one patently racist remark that was (amazingly enough) called bullshit on by her own Republican friends.
The genuine FEAR from so many of them is pretty scary though. The accusations of such a negative campaign by Obama didn't really resonate with me. I've left the TV off for the last few months, but the few times I've had it on, the negative ads weren't by Obama here in the state of Texas. The bubble that people have been living in has really been pretty amazing; they've been listening only to the people repeating over and over how horrible Obama has been, and they just can't fathom how half the country can't SEE THAT IT'S TRUE!!! The only problem is ...well, that it just ISN'T true; he hasn't been stellar, but all the dire predictions being repeated are the same ones from '08, and they didn't happen then either. I ran across this article the other day that really cracked me up: “This is the most important election of all time!” (again)
I really hope that this cycle will at least be the beginning of the end for the religious right in politics. If anything else, at least it will finally not have rewarded the rantings of people repeating something untrue over and over hoping the repetition will somehow make it true.
I checked the results on my phone last night a few times while watching a bunch of DVR'ed stuff and fell asleep with Romney having a substantial lead. When I woke up around 10:30 and looked ...I about flew out of the chair to see Obama had already been declared the winner! I opened the laptop and turned on the TV to Fox news no less. I really REALLY dislike Fox, but I do have to give them credit for giving VERY evenhanded coverage (although "stunned disbelief" pops into my head as a descriptor of some of the expressions I saw). Romney was quite classy in his concession speech, Obama gave a nice acceptance speech. I didn't see it coming, but I gotta say I'm glad to see that it did!
I really hope that the tantrum of the last 4 years will be tiring and maybe both sides will start giving a little bit again. There's no more second term to worry about trying to prevent now and the hyper-partisan gridlock really doesn't serve a huge political purpose now aside from the 2014 & 2016 elections. I've said it again and again ...recovery was going to happen no matter who wins; I'm just glad Obama won't be scapegoated for the last 4 years. On the message boards, the conspiracy nuts are popping up left and right already.
I'm glad Romney didn't make it. I don't think he'd have been a bad president, but I'm still glad Obama won. I feel bad for many of my friends and family who so strongly think it's the end of the world, but hopefully the echo-chamber thinking will let up a little bit. Reality isn't always what you wish it was, but it's damned sure the one we're stuck with. I wish them the best and hope the sour grapes taste fades as soon as possible.
At least one can hope.
Monday, November 5, 2012
pre-D-day
...and here we roll around to November. Time keeps rolling by and I'm still sitting here in mostly the same spot.
Election day is tomorrow and I still haven't even made up my mind if I'm going to bother voting this year; I imagine that I will, but I'm pretty unenthusiastic about the whole thing since I'm in such a thoroughly red state and my vote counts for exactly zilch (especially in my new county). To be honest, I'm not convinced that Romney might not actually be a little better off on America as a whole than another 4 years of Obama. I support him, I think his overall platform is far superior to that of Romney ...but perhaps a single-term black president might not be so bad for a start since (at least here in Texas) what would have been considered tinfoil-hat wearing nuttery ten years ago is actually mainstream and an Obama win would likely throw gasoline on that fire. A Romney win would at least force people to step back and look at how fucking nutty they've let themselves become.
What's going to happen is going to happen no matter who wins. We have a pretty huge segment of the population that actually seems to think the world ended four years ago and the Democrats simply haven't noticed. THAT PERCEPTION is one of the main things keeping the economy from righting itself, and a Romney win would at least assuage that. If Obama wins again, I figure things will work out then as well ...a screaming tantrum can only last for so long. I'm simply dumbfounded that even though effectively nothing of what the far right predicted an Obama win in 2008 would lead to has actually happened, they still stubbornly cling to the fantasy that he's a closet terrorist and he only needs a second term for his nefarious plans to come to fruition. I don't think the tantrum can last another four years before it finally just implodes under the weight of it's own dire predictions that simply aren't happening.
Either way, I think recovery will happen (...or total collapse; I guess it could go either way). I sincerely doubt which side wins will make much difference in the long run. If Romney wins, it'll "prove" that Obama policies were a failure (even though they set a framework for what was going to happen regardless). If Obama wins, the recovery will only be because the Republicans were able to thwart his evil master plan. Whomever wins this go-round will probably win 2016.
I don't have a horse in the race concerning Roe v Wade; ethically I'm pro-life but realistically pro-choice. The only thing I know for sure is that if it ever gets reversed, it'll be the Democrats who do it; loss of that wedge-issue would be the death of the GOP. Women's rights are a non-issue; nothing's going to change no matter who wins.
Since I'm permanently disabled, I guess I'm one of the 47% of the "leeches" that the more hateful elements of the right-wing talk about. Ironic that it was my work that told me I didn't have any business working first, and it just took the gov't 5 years to agree with them. I DO have a horse in that race ...finding a job would probably be pretty easy with my knowledge and background; keeping it would be next to impossible. I tried for three years and was thanked for the effort by shafting me. Excuse me for having the first hand experience of Uncle Sam being more helpful than the private sector in that matter. Since there still wasn't any new funding in the programs to help out people like me under Obama, I can hardly sing praises to him on that front. Living in Texas, I can't fault him for it either though.
Foreign policy is mostly identical with the exception that Romney is slightly more likely to get us into another war. We'll get through that too.
I just know I'm ready for it to be over with.
Election day is tomorrow and I still haven't even made up my mind if I'm going to bother voting this year; I imagine that I will, but I'm pretty unenthusiastic about the whole thing since I'm in such a thoroughly red state and my vote counts for exactly zilch (especially in my new county). To be honest, I'm not convinced that Romney might not actually be a little better off on America as a whole than another 4 years of Obama. I support him, I think his overall platform is far superior to that of Romney ...but perhaps a single-term black president might not be so bad for a start since (at least here in Texas) what would have been considered tinfoil-hat wearing nuttery ten years ago is actually mainstream and an Obama win would likely throw gasoline on that fire. A Romney win would at least force people to step back and look at how fucking nutty they've let themselves become.
What's going to happen is going to happen no matter who wins. We have a pretty huge segment of the population that actually seems to think the world ended four years ago and the Democrats simply haven't noticed. THAT PERCEPTION is one of the main things keeping the economy from righting itself, and a Romney win would at least assuage that. If Obama wins again, I figure things will work out then as well ...a screaming tantrum can only last for so long. I'm simply dumbfounded that even though effectively nothing of what the far right predicted an Obama win in 2008 would lead to has actually happened, they still stubbornly cling to the fantasy that he's a closet terrorist and he only needs a second term for his nefarious plans to come to fruition. I don't think the tantrum can last another four years before it finally just implodes under the weight of it's own dire predictions that simply aren't happening.
Either way, I think recovery will happen (...or total collapse; I guess it could go either way). I sincerely doubt which side wins will make much difference in the long run. If Romney wins, it'll "prove" that Obama policies were a failure (even though they set a framework for what was going to happen regardless). If Obama wins, the recovery will only be because the Republicans were able to thwart his evil master plan. Whomever wins this go-round will probably win 2016.
I don't have a horse in the race concerning Roe v Wade; ethically I'm pro-life but realistically pro-choice. The only thing I know for sure is that if it ever gets reversed, it'll be the Democrats who do it; loss of that wedge-issue would be the death of the GOP. Women's rights are a non-issue; nothing's going to change no matter who wins.
Since I'm permanently disabled, I guess I'm one of the 47% of the "leeches" that the more hateful elements of the right-wing talk about. Ironic that it was my work that told me I didn't have any business working first, and it just took the gov't 5 years to agree with them. I DO have a horse in that race ...finding a job would probably be pretty easy with my knowledge and background; keeping it would be next to impossible. I tried for three years and was thanked for the effort by shafting me. Excuse me for having the first hand experience of Uncle Sam being more helpful than the private sector in that matter. Since there still wasn't any new funding in the programs to help out people like me under Obama, I can hardly sing praises to him on that front. Living in Texas, I can't fault him for it either though.
Foreign policy is mostly identical with the exception that Romney is slightly more likely to get us into another war. We'll get through that too.
I just know I'm ready for it to be over with.
Friday, September 7, 2012
where is it going?
Wow, so a whole fucking week into September and I barely even noticed August sneaking by on me.
So yeah, three months without a cigarette (plus a little), two months plus living at Mom's; neither are causing problems, but I still have a ways to go getting used to the latter. Either everything over the move and stuff has finally caught up with me, or maybe I'm coming down with something, but I've felt like hell most of the week.
Oh wow ...and as to my "Dizzydude" moniker, I guess it's probably worth mentioning a bit about my last doctor visit with a new neuro-otologist. First doctor ever to actually say the words (not even at the Mayo), but he said it: "You've suffered a brain injury somewhere down the line."
One of these days I ought to run through my Mayo Clinic observations and such, but one thing that was abundantly clear at the time was that I wasn't given the full spectrum of what was available. Not that I really think they would have come up with anything different if they had done more ...just that at that particular point in time, they didn't give it their all because I apparently wasn't giving things my own "all." When I read through the doctor transcripts, it was painfully obvious with two of the doctors since they remarked less about my actual condition and more about how I needed to quit drinking, smoking, and (this one kills me to this day) taking valium.
The valium part really hit hard, because I wasn't even complying with the frequency that the doctor who prescribed it told me to take it. Drinking and smoking ...yeah, those needed to go and have since gone; drinking is down to practically nothing for nearly three years, smoking on and off for the same amount of time. Valium usage goes up and down, but I seldom take it more than 2-3 times a week (and that's breaking the pills in half or quarters). It's the only fucking thing that WORKS even moderately well ...not a single treatment since day one has done anything (and anyone who has spent much time around me knows that I'm NOT "anxious" in the clinical "anti-anxiety" sense that the primary usage of the drug is reserved for). But the obvious thing when looking at a guy who drinks and smokes is that giving him another drug to be addicted to is probably a bad idea. In the spirit of the statement, they're probably correct overall.
Apparently the new doc could read the "sub-text" in the doctor notes as well though, and took a bit of interest in the fact that although I had quit all the vices that I had still held onto at the time of the initial Mayo visit, that my reasons for stopping them had absolutely nothing to do with any sorts of "bottom" or any other health-related reason except the mere "it just cost too much freaking money that was better spent elsewhere." The exception being smoking, but I had even quit that twice for more than six month stretches. Living with Mom, and Mom having cancer ...starting again just isn't going to happen and I gather the doc realized that as well.
Ah well ...life goes on, but my time on the laptop will not for now.
So yeah, three months without a cigarette (plus a little), two months plus living at Mom's; neither are causing problems, but I still have a ways to go getting used to the latter. Either everything over the move and stuff has finally caught up with me, or maybe I'm coming down with something, but I've felt like hell most of the week.
Oh wow ...and as to my "Dizzydude" moniker, I guess it's probably worth mentioning a bit about my last doctor visit with a new neuro-otologist. First doctor ever to actually say the words (not even at the Mayo), but he said it: "You've suffered a brain injury somewhere down the line."
One of these days I ought to run through my Mayo Clinic observations and such, but one thing that was abundantly clear at the time was that I wasn't given the full spectrum of what was available. Not that I really think they would have come up with anything different if they had done more ...just that at that particular point in time, they didn't give it their all because I apparently wasn't giving things my own "all." When I read through the doctor transcripts, it was painfully obvious with two of the doctors since they remarked less about my actual condition and more about how I needed to quit drinking, smoking, and (this one kills me to this day) taking valium.
The valium part really hit hard, because I wasn't even complying with the frequency that the doctor who prescribed it told me to take it. Drinking and smoking ...yeah, those needed to go and have since gone; drinking is down to practically nothing for nearly three years, smoking on and off for the same amount of time. Valium usage goes up and down, but I seldom take it more than 2-3 times a week (and that's breaking the pills in half or quarters). It's the only fucking thing that WORKS even moderately well ...not a single treatment since day one has done anything (and anyone who has spent much time around me knows that I'm NOT "anxious" in the clinical "anti-anxiety" sense that the primary usage of the drug is reserved for). But the obvious thing when looking at a guy who drinks and smokes is that giving him another drug to be addicted to is probably a bad idea. In the spirit of the statement, they're probably correct overall.
Apparently the new doc could read the "sub-text" in the doctor notes as well though, and took a bit of interest in the fact that although I had quit all the vices that I had still held onto at the time of the initial Mayo visit, that my reasons for stopping them had absolutely nothing to do with any sorts of "bottom" or any other health-related reason except the mere "it just cost too much freaking money that was better spent elsewhere." The exception being smoking, but I had even quit that twice for more than six month stretches. Living with Mom, and Mom having cancer ...starting again just isn't going to happen and I gather the doc realized that as well.
Ah well ...life goes on, but my time on the laptop will not for now.
Friday, July 6, 2012
beginning week six
I don't think there was really all that much doubt about "if" given the circumstances, but I've just completed five weeks without a smoke. For the most part, I think I'm "there" and once next week is out of the way, then it ought to be interesting to see what kind of new life develops. It just seems as though "being" a non-smoker will be a whole lot easier once my entire life has a bit of an overhaul. I was smoking when I moved into the last apartment and this one as well. It isn't exactly an option at my mother's place.
Last weekend gave me something interesting: yet another reason to be really glad that I'm getting out of here. The crazy lady next door came knockin' on the door Saturday night ...drunk again (of course) and as obnoxious as ever. It was pretty uncomfortable and a bit unnerving towards the end. My ex had been "that drunk" many a time, and I think I may have even gotten a drunk dial from her once or twice in that kind of shape. I don't mean to insinuate that it's remotely comfortable with my ex either, but at least I KNOW her though; the fucked-up lady next door who I barely even know coming over personally to subject me to that crap is way out of the realm of reason for me.
I didn't really even invite her in (in fact, I told her she needed to go home and lie down), but she staggered on in anyway and plopped down on the couch. Amazing thing about how a completely inebriated person operates under the assumption that they are both completely welcome and that other people have the ability to understand what's going on in their drunk little minds.
She creeped me out though ...kept going on about the new owners of the apartments (yep, we were bought out and the new folks aren't making a stellar first impression with much of anyone), about how her kids hate her, about me being an atheist and how at least SHE taught her kids about God (tha part isn't a drunk thing solely; I have WAY too many Christians assume that I know nothing about the religion without knowing a single thing about me, and very seldom do any of them have a clue when they're being offensive). She had a whole range of stuff she'd go through and then start all over again with the same stuff, the same statements, and all in a dialect of drunken-ese that was almost impossible to follow ...it was enough to bring PTSD about both my Dad's Alzheimer and my ex with her "crazy drunk stuff" as well. I tried numerous time to "hint" that she needed to leave, but she was either too dunk to pick up or just too stubborn (honestly, I'm not sure which ...she really did seem to think she was on some kind of mission or something).
Of course she eventually went just a little too far and I told her she needed to leave with no "hints" involved at all. She went back to my bathroom and then started screeching about her knee ...it was weird as fuck and I know she has some sort of knee injury, but I sincerely doubt that the fuss she was putting up had anything to do with it. It was probably some sort of weird "give me attention" thing; I would have thought an offer to help her back to her place would be welcome if she had actually hurt herself. I made the mistake of calling her "Marsha" one of the times I told her she needed to go and she wigged out in a MOST scary kind of way. The whole "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" probably would have been scary all by itself since it was coming from a virtual stranger, but the snarling rage thrown behind it removed any vestiges of desire to remain civil that I might have had.
I told her it was time to go, and she was outraged. The whole "You can't make me leave" over and over again had me thinking I was going to have to call the police to get her the hell out of here (the whole "how DARE you tell me to leave" was creepy, but nowhere near as menacing). Two other kind of scary statements were "do you think I'm dangerous or something?" was kind of scary (the way she said it), but the "I hope you get what you deserve" was the one that probably chilled me the most. I'm guessing that was her showing her Christian love regarding my atheism, but there's really just no explaining crazy. Given that last year when she introduced me to her daughter (I was just out walking the dog), the fact that the daughter said "You two take care of each other" led me to believe she probably had built up some sort of "relationship" in her head that we simply don't have if her daughter was making insinuations about our "taking care of each other" when I have actually gone out of my way to avoid the woman since her first drunken incident with me.
Sad to admit that I actually understand "that kind" of crazy, and have even been there (when I was much younger). I suspect that she's probably harmless, but that still doesn't mean I want a psycho for a next-door neighbor that I have to pretend to tolerate. I know from experience that the alcohol only amplifies the crazy too. Honestly, after making such a fool out of herself, she's more than likely is glad to have me leaving as well ...so she'll be able to pretend it was all about me being a jerk to her rather than the other way around (yeah, I understand crazy all right, and that's exactly how it works).
It was actually the dog that finally got her out. Not directly, but when I opened the door to show her where the exit was, I had to hook the leash on him. To which she said "Oh, are you taking him for a walk? ...I'll just wait here."
Yeah, she really said that.
I doubt she would have budged if not for him on the leash outside with me right along behind him ...hard to say and she was certainly screeching like a harpy nearly the whole time. I haven't seen her all week and since tomorrow is the big moving day, I'm hoping I'll be spared completely. I most certainly won't be missing that kind of thing.
Ah well, I guess it's about time to get moving and start packing up the kitchen. Hard to believe I will no longer live here by the next entry.
Last weekend gave me something interesting: yet another reason to be really glad that I'm getting out of here. The crazy lady next door came knockin' on the door Saturday night ...drunk again (of course) and as obnoxious as ever. It was pretty uncomfortable and a bit unnerving towards the end. My ex had been "that drunk" many a time, and I think I may have even gotten a drunk dial from her once or twice in that kind of shape. I don't mean to insinuate that it's remotely comfortable with my ex either, but at least I KNOW her though; the fucked-up lady next door who I barely even know coming over personally to subject me to that crap is way out of the realm of reason for me.
I didn't really even invite her in (in fact, I told her she needed to go home and lie down), but she staggered on in anyway and plopped down on the couch. Amazing thing about how a completely inebriated person operates under the assumption that they are both completely welcome and that other people have the ability to understand what's going on in their drunk little minds.
She creeped me out though ...kept going on about the new owners of the apartments (yep, we were bought out and the new folks aren't making a stellar first impression with much of anyone), about how her kids hate her, about me being an atheist and how at least SHE taught her kids about God (tha part isn't a drunk thing solely; I have WAY too many Christians assume that I know nothing about the religion without knowing a single thing about me, and very seldom do any of them have a clue when they're being offensive). She had a whole range of stuff she'd go through and then start all over again with the same stuff, the same statements, and all in a dialect of drunken-ese that was almost impossible to follow ...it was enough to bring PTSD about both my Dad's Alzheimer and my ex with her "crazy drunk stuff" as well. I tried numerous time to "hint" that she needed to leave, but she was either too dunk to pick up or just too stubborn (honestly, I'm not sure which ...she really did seem to think she was on some kind of mission or something).
Of course she eventually went just a little too far and I told her she needed to leave with no "hints" involved at all. She went back to my bathroom and then started screeching about her knee ...it was weird as fuck and I know she has some sort of knee injury, but I sincerely doubt that the fuss she was putting up had anything to do with it. It was probably some sort of weird "give me attention" thing; I would have thought an offer to help her back to her place would be welcome if she had actually hurt herself. I made the mistake of calling her "Marsha" one of the times I told her she needed to go and she wigged out in a MOST scary kind of way. The whole "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" probably would have been scary all by itself since it was coming from a virtual stranger, but the snarling rage thrown behind it removed any vestiges of desire to remain civil that I might have had.
I told her it was time to go, and she was outraged. The whole "You can't make me leave" over and over again had me thinking I was going to have to call the police to get her the hell out of here (the whole "how DARE you tell me to leave" was creepy, but nowhere near as menacing). Two other kind of scary statements were "do you think I'm dangerous or something?" was kind of scary (the way she said it), but the "I hope you get what you deserve" was the one that probably chilled me the most. I'm guessing that was her showing her Christian love regarding my atheism, but there's really just no explaining crazy. Given that last year when she introduced me to her daughter (I was just out walking the dog), the fact that the daughter said "You two take care of each other" led me to believe she probably had built up some sort of "relationship" in her head that we simply don't have if her daughter was making insinuations about our "taking care of each other" when I have actually gone out of my way to avoid the woman since her first drunken incident with me.
Sad to admit that I actually understand "that kind" of crazy, and have even been there (when I was much younger). I suspect that she's probably harmless, but that still doesn't mean I want a psycho for a next-door neighbor that I have to pretend to tolerate. I know from experience that the alcohol only amplifies the crazy too. Honestly, after making such a fool out of herself, she's more than likely is glad to have me leaving as well ...so she'll be able to pretend it was all about me being a jerk to her rather than the other way around (yeah, I understand crazy all right, and that's exactly how it works).
It was actually the dog that finally got her out. Not directly, but when I opened the door to show her where the exit was, I had to hook the leash on him. To which she said "Oh, are you taking him for a walk? ...I'll just wait here."
Yeah, she really said that.
I doubt she would have budged if not for him on the leash outside with me right along behind him ...hard to say and she was certainly screeching like a harpy nearly the whole time. I haven't seen her all week and since tomorrow is the big moving day, I'm hoping I'll be spared completely. I most certainly won't be missing that kind of thing.
Ah well, I guess it's about time to get moving and start packing up the kitchen. Hard to believe I will no longer live here by the next entry.
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