Strange Day, Stranger People

First was the quake. I was sitting at the dining room table, filling out a form or something, when it hit. It did not last long, and it was more of a ‘roller’ than a ‘jolter’. Still, The Sisters sat up and took notice, and this wood building was a ‘creaking’. I went to a doorway, just in case. You never know, I have seen them start small and build. Being pretty experienced in quakes, it immediately occurred to me that it was not centered here in San Diego, and I thought ‘boy, if this originated in LA, it must have been a biggie; but I keep forgetting that Mariner's Coves Apartments sit on a slab of concrete and under that is sandy fill. A few minutes later, I left the safety of the doorway and tuned to CNN for more info.

My current IP (of 2 months) was doing a bit of shopping for me at the time of the quake. Right after that, she called me about something; did I want this or that? Well her cell went out. I tried to call her back and I got some kind of message that the line was not available, try my call later.

Within a few minutes, the front door opened, she set my just purchased stuff just inside the door, leaving the door open a crack. I thought she had gone back to her car for something. I started putting stuff away. And, you know what? She never came back, called, or anything. (She has been kind of flaky the last week, saying she had lost her car keys and couldn’t get into her car for several days – I didn’t believe it, I can almost always tell when they are getting ready to quit.)

After a few minutes, I closed and locked the front door. I do not know if the quake scared her, or if she thought I had hung up on her or what. Why do so many IP’s seem to have personality problems? Now I need a new IP and will have to do without until I find one…

Half-Birthday 2008

Today is my Half-Birthday.

And I did nothing to celebrate! I am definitely in the middle of a flare, and am counting the days till my Rhumy appointment (one week). On top of which, I have a lot of 'other' stuff going on. So I'm lucky to get the coffee made and The Sisters and Big Boy fed. My 'to do' pile is almost as big as my desk, it can really pile up...

For those of you who don't know, a Half-Birthday is the equivalent of being born on 'Festivas'! A Half-Birthday is for those poor folk (like moi!) who were born within the month AFTER Christmas! Being born at such a time, when everyone is broke and hung-over, from THE major christian holiday of the year, is tantamount to NOT having a birthday! There are no parties, big gifts, a day at the circus for us! Nope, we are lucky to get a piece a cake with a candle in it and a verbal 'Happy Birthday', and that in a half-hearted manner.

So sometime in my late twenties, I saw, read, heard SOMEWHERE about half-birthdays! From then on, I've celebrated my half-birthday on July 28. And let me tell ya, there have been some damn fine parties and celebrations! Needless to say, as I've gotten older (and clean & sober), the celebrations have toned down considerably!

Even though it's now a party of one, I still celebrate my half-birthday. Of course, I never expect half-birthday presents - however, feel free to use that PayPal Button!

Musings

I don't really feel like 'blogging' today. But here I am, at the computer, with a few extra mintues to spare. So, what's going though my mind right now...

-The weird, overcast, coolish, muggy weather (from Mexico's hurricanes)
-Should I write my 'memoirs' in blog form or standard or some other as yet unthought of form
-Been 'working' a poem in my head for a couple of weeks, it's not ready yet
-Trying to smoke less, trying to eat less (why bother living???) And how does trying not to do those things affect my creativity? Health may not be worth it!
-Next crochet project
-When will I get another Where's George Hit
-Being very broke (it's the end of the month)
-I'm feeling lonely (I'm ALWAYS alone, seldom lonely)
-Really MUST get down to hard-core time management, soon
-Wondering what my kids & grandkids are doing right now
-It's almost dinner time and gabapentin
-How different would my life be if I could afford my OWN wheelchair van?
-Ditto a condo?
-Or if I were a petite blonde or at least not an 'ugly' person?
-Why don't 'blog readers' make comments?

Grandson Michael

My Grandson Michael is twenty today. I have no idea where he is, how he is, or what he is doing.

I would have liked to have seen him this week, invited him over for a 'birthday' dinner, but I have no way to do so.

I haven't seen him for about two years; when I stopped by his mother's apartment to leave a note on her door and he was there, tall and blonde, and looking like a man.

I can only take solice in the fact that he (they? all of the family?) know where I live and my phone number.

Another small 'life' sadness...

Medium Sized Petghan

This is my first of this size, approx. 25" x 25", which the Snuggles Project http://www.snugglesproject.org/ calls a 'Medium'. It's for a friend's dauchshund.

I don't think I'd want to do one larger than this! This one took almost all of 2 skiens (14 oz. total ?) of Red Hart SuperSaver (two shades of green - you can't tell in these pictures; I need a real digital camera, this cell phone just doesn't do it! Especially as I LOVE colors so much!). And a lot of time!

I used two strands of the SuperSaver at once and a N Hook. Started with a chain of 40 + 2 to turn. Then did solid hdc until it was the 'right' size. I edged it with a single strand of the darker green, 3 rows of sc.

Though I've done many 'petghans', none of this proportion, I still find every crochet project a 'learning experience'!

Time

"So many men, so little time", said May West.

In my life, it's 'So many docs, so little time'. And now with RSD, I've added even more. Sigh...

Cystoscopy Negative!

Still one more Cysto, and both the physical exam and the cytology were negative. Yes!!!

I wish I'd kept track of how many of these I've had (I know I've had 4 TURB's), since I was diagnosed with G1T3 Bladder Cancer. Since I STILL have one every 6 - 8 months, and early on it was every 2 - 3 months, I can say I've been through this proceedure a LOT.

Still, it beats a same day biopsy! Or worse...

After all, "Patients with T1G3 bladder tumours who are treated conservatively are at life-long risk of having a muscle-invasive tumour and dying from bladder cancer." ( http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120699915/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 )