Action Shot, lol

This is as close as you're gonna get to an action shot of me working. ;-) The Opti-Visor actually has built-in illumination, but the lights were goofing the photo up.

We're going to have a red-and-gold pair of earrings when all is said and done.

Bam! Bam! Whack!

Hammering the daylights out of my first handmade jump rings. Hey, who knew that wire art would be a way to let out frustrations? ;)-)

I Love the Science Channel

I really do love the Science Channel. Oh, if this channel had only existed when I was a kid. I'd never have moved from in front of the TV.

But besides the amazing learning that I'm able to do just by tuning in, I find that the Science Channel is helping me in other, unexpected ways.

They have a few programs that detail how different things are manufactured. Factory Made, How It's Made, and How Do They Do It are all different takes on the same concept. The latter show delves into other topics besides manufacturing and mass production; however, it's still explaining the process by which some complex tasks are accomplished.

And all of these shows seem to help with my creativity. When I watch things being made, I get inspired to create, too. As you can imagine, this has been extremely helpful to me now that I've decided to buckle down and pursue jewelry-making. This is especially true when How It's Made features an artisan who creates things by hand, like pottery or musical instruments. Watching that just makes me want to Make Things Immediately, and this is good. It's therapeutic, and it boosts my Etsy presence. Double win.

Productive Day

I got a bunch of things done this morning. First, I took better photos of the pendant I made yesterday, so I can post it on Etsy.

Then I took the quartz stone that I've been wearing for a year and a half, and re-set it in silver-plated wire. I made a companion set of quartz point earrings to go with it.

I wanted to create a set that's more in line with the work I'm doing NOW (as opposed to when I first started wire wrapping), so that I could always have a current example of the work I do for people to see. And I wanted the stone I've been wearing all this time, which I really like, to be a part of that set. Mission accomplished on both counts.

Now it's time to post my latest work on Etsy.

Oh, and I learned some interesting things last night, when looking at yet another handicraft site as a possible place to sell jewelry. I found a set of earrings that I thought was really great, and I thought, "I could make that." But it's NOT RIGHT to just steal other people's designs. So I did a little googling and discovered:
1. "Shaggy Loops" is the name of a generic chain maille technique, not something that specific artist originated.
2. Other artists have put beads on their shaggy loops handiwork, so if I do that, I'm not stealing this artist's original idea.
3. I can EASILY create items in the Shaggy Loop style, both earrings and something I really need to add to my line, bracelets.
4, This is actually the style of the piece of jewelry that's on my business card, so I will be able to make things that look like the Vistaprint generic image that I'm using on my card.

It's extremely important to me to stay on the correct side of the "learn techniques from other artists, but don't steal their ideas outright" line. If I create the ideas that have been going through my head since last night, though, I will NOT be stealing someone else's original idea, and therefore I will not be stealing money out of their pocket, either. This matters to me quite a lot. I'm an artist, not a thief. Anything I create is going to be MY OWN hard work, not the hard work of someone else.

Expect some basic chain maille style items to begin appearing on my site, as soon as my order of round gemstone beads comes in.

Breaking in the mandrels

Now that I've gotten the unused printer and scanner relocated, I was able to set up all my mandrels on the newly-cleared shelf.

Mandrels are shaping tools, meant for hammering metal. And my Christmas gift to myself was a neck mandrel, with which I will be able to create collar necklaces.

And oh, I have discovered that this is FUN. :-) I put together my first collar today. The only thing is, I am going to have to track down some harder wire in order to really do this properly. Aluminum wire, which was the thickest kind that I had on hand, looks great but it's soft, and unlike other metals, hammering doesn't seem to harden it much.

But enough technical details. The important thing is, I have discovered a whole new kind of jewelry that I will enjoy making. So today has been what I'd call a Good Day.

The studio setup continues

Today's studio work involved demystifying the spaghetti clump that was the power strip. Equipment that no longer is in use has been unplugged and removed.

Regrettably, that includes my first laptop. It has had disk crashes before, and I have always been able to revive it by loading the Windows XP CD. This last crash, however, has led to the machine just being shut off and neglected, as by then I had obtained a newer, non-crash-prone laptop.

I figured that with the renaissance of the computer room as a studio, perhaps I'd like to have a working computer in here. So I fired up the crashed laptop and popped in the Windows XP CD.

Nope. Nada. Dead. Deceased. Pinin' for the Fjords. It's SO crashed, it doesn't even recognize the CD drive. Whoa... now THAT'S a dead computer.

Oh, well. The deceased computer has now been removed from the desk, with many regrets. Thank you for your many years of faithful service, O Computer. If I need to compute while in the studio, I'll bring the iPad in, as I'm doing right now.

I've also set up a radio, a clock, and an environmental sound machine, and there are a couple of goalie pictures that have been in need of hanging for ages, that are going to go up on the wall behind me. Hockey and jewelry making, perfect together. At least, they are in MY world. Besides, they'll nicely match the handprints of Neil Little and Brian Boucher that are posted on the wall in FRONT of me. :) Especially since the two goalie pictures, both items obtained from the auction of the Spectrum's fixtures, are both game photos of Neil Little. If I'm making a space MINE, then putting up Spectrum memorabilia is most certainly the way to go.

I always did feel an affinity for the Spectrum, over and above the fact that my two favorite teams both played there. My very earliest memory involves my standing on the floor of the back seat of my Grandpop's car (this was the early 60s, in the decades before seat belts and car seats), looking at the girder framework of what would become the Spectrum. In the ensuing years, I did the math, and realized that I had to have been two years old when this took place. So when I say my earliest memories involve the Spectrum, I am quite literally telling the truth. As such, I had one extra reason to hate seeing that landmark pass into the mists of history.

But, back to positive thoughts. The one last big thing that needs to happen in here is that we need to find a new place to put the old printer and the old scanner. They're taking up desk space that I would like to use for my work. When I determine a good way to handle those things, and migrate them out of the room, it will be the last big step that needs to be taken, in my quest to studio-ize the room.

My Studio. Yep, I still like the sound of that. :-)

This is a test. If this email goes to Twitter, Facebook, AND my blog, then the experiment will be a success.

Update. Well, it went to the blog. Facebook and Twitter, not so much. One out of three is a start.

Mini the Meteorologist

LOL. You can always tell when it's cold outside. Mini will finish doing her wee chore, and then she will HAUL on that leash like a 6-lb sled dog, trying to go back in the house ASAP. Trying to explain to her that we can't go inside until I've picked up the you-know-what falls on deaf ears. She Who Is Wee does not like the cold. :-)

WHEWWWW! I have a brand new workspace!

I finally did it. I migrated all my jewelry-making equipment upstairs to the former computer room. Holy cow, that stuff is heavy, lol.

This involved moving some boxes of storage OUT of the computer room, so I could move my equipment/materials boxes IN, clear off the desk, and dub it My Studio forevermore.

I still have a few tiny items in the dining room, but it will be easy to carry them upstairs the next time I go.

My studio. I have a studio. :-) I like the sound of that.

Hey, I nearly forgot...

My business cards arrived a few days ago! Of course, they arrived the day AFTER I talked to my hairdresser and the lady in the handmade-goods shop about taking my jewelry on consignment, mumble grumble. But I have the cards NOW, so it will be no particular trouble for me to head back out to that neighborhood, cards in hand, and give them out to the people I'd like to sell my jewelry.

I am very glad that I had cards in time for Christmas Eve, so I could give them out to family members. And we have one more family gathering later in the week, at which I have every intention of giving out still more cards. :-) And ditto for the Misfit Toys' upcoming get-together. Gotta start with the family and friends, and then branch out from there.

I made four pendants and a pair of earrings this morning. I try to work daily, and I try to do it as soon as possible after breakfast, before my hands start hurting or my eyes start getting tired and unfocused. (Some aspects of middle age are a downright pain in the rump.) At least I have the Opti-Visor to help with magnifying and illuminating my work, so that counteracts eye fatigue. But unfortunately, the hand pain is another matter, and the only resolution for that is resting my hands. Since inactivity is incompatible with my goal of creating items daily, I have to work around the soreness by doing my creating early in the day.

On my to-do list: turn the former computer room upstairs into my workplace. The dining room table, with its glass top, is not a place that I want to be hammering wire on a metal mandrel. That's got "recipe for disaster" written all over it. But I fully intend to use those new mandrels; therefore, I will be spending some time setting up a hammer-friendly workspace elsewhere. Stay tuned.

Laughing My Rump Off...

Welcome Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and yours, from all of us here! :-)

Oh, by the way...

By the way, it seems like having sent those audio-file emails, and knowing that I'm "done" with that aspect of the situation that has made me sad, has really helped me LET GO of it and move forward. I'm still disappointed in the course of events, but I'm able to look at everything with new eyes and take a constructive outlook instead of a depressed one.

Here's the deal. I'm here. I haven't changed, and neither has my contact information. I'm not going to be hostile or rejecting to anybody, no matter who it is, if they should reach out to me in a peaceable fashion. I haven't been hostile OR rejecting yet, and I'm not about to start now. Whatever I've said or done so far has been accomplished in a civil fashion, and *my* side of all communications will remain that way. That is the only part of this situation that I have any command or control over, and I am going to be open, honest, fair, and non-toxic.

I'm pretty much a "what you see is what you get" person. I don't post my ENTIRE life's story on the internet, but what you see in this blog is as true as I can make it. If I say something happened, then it did. If I say I hold Opinion X, then that's where I stand. The same goes for my Twitter and Facebook posting -- if I write it, I mean it. And rest assured, I handle my face-to-face communications the same way. I will never tell someone an opinion that ISN'T what I think, nor describe an event that didn't take place.

And where I stand right now is disappointed in a recent sequence of events, but still wishing for the well-being of all involved. If they didn't matter to me, I wouldn't be disappointed; I would be apathetic instead. I am NOT apathetic about this issue, nor about any people involved.

But at least the disappointment isn't leading to depression anymore. I seem to have mostly processed that and moved foward in the direction of acceptance, the final stage of grief. That's progress.

Thank goodness THAT'S over with

I'm glad to say that my fasting bloodwork is now over with. It's a necessary evil that I strongly wish weren't necessary, but we're all in that age range now where we need to monitor our health more closely. I accept this, even if I don't necessarily LIKE it.

There are two things I loathe about getting this bloodwork done, and fortunately, I've found a resolution for one of them.

For starters, I loathe needles. Unfortunately, there's no solution for THAT except to just groan and bear it. Fortunately, it doesn't hurt much, so I just acknowledge, "Yes, I am dealing with phobia issues regarding needles" and just go through with having it done anyway.

The other thing is that, because there's a urinalysis being done as well, I have to provide a sample. At first, I used to have to hold it in from the time I got up until the time I got to the doctor's office. Oh, how I hated that, because of course I'd end up hitting every freaking red light and taking forever to find a parking place, delaying the time when I could finally get into the doctor's office and get some relief from that "gotta go" feeling. I'm glad to say that there IS a solution for that. I now get a sterile cup in advance, to take home until such time as I'm getting the test done. So now, I can take care of providing that sample when I get up, and I don't have to be stuck driving to the doctor's office in a state of discomfort and misery. I give them my full sample cup and get an empty replacement at the same time, for my NEXT test that will happen in a few months' time.

So I'm glad to say that my necessary-evil experience has been taken care of for the next few months. Now if I can just find a way to do this without getting stuck by a needle...

One more day spent mourning. Now, on to a new approach.

I tried. I really tried not to let the sadness come back, and I really tried to push it away when it showed up. But unfortunately, copying those audio files to my hard drive meant that I had to hear them. And hearing them did trigger another round of sadness. I've come to the conclusion that I need to treat this exactly like what it is. Grief. This is a round of grieving, even though this person, unlike the FIVE family members we lost during the course of 2012, is still alive. There is a sense of loss as I reconcile the person I thought I was dealing with -- the person I'm grieving for, frankly -- with my new comprehension of people and situations as they currently stand.

So yesterday, I dealt with grief. After this brutal year, if there's one thing I have experience with, it's dealing with grief. I wound up just letting it happen and acknowledging to myself, "Yes, I'm hurt and disappointed."

Today, I'm going to do what I started out yesterday trying to do. Focus on the good parts of the past. Kind of like celebrating the life of a person who has been lost. I'm going to tune in to those Fezziwig parties, things like trips to the AC boardwalk (back before the casinos), and the numerous good things that made up the happy memories. Nothing can take those away from me. The present cannot sully the past. The only reason why the present IS so disappointing is because it compares so unfavorably to the things that came before it.

But I've spent my time being sad and acknowledging loss. I'm not going to dwell on it anymore. Obsessing on sadness is not going to fix or change anything. Fortunately, there is no reason for me to re-sadden myself by hearing those audio files again. They're downloaded, they're emailed, and unless something changes, there is no need for me to play them back again anytime soon. And I think I will have an easier time turning my thoughts toward positive things now, because I can acknowledge to myself, "I've processed this sadness already. Time to focus on happier memories." And there are lots of those, because those Fezziwig days really did rock. Those were some good times.

Well, THAT'S done

Well, THAT decidedly onerous task has been accomplished. In order to get a couple of audio files to the person who needed to hear them, I had to get them onto my computer so I could attach them to an email. I just completed that task.

Unfortunately, those steps involved actually HEARING those audio clips again, and that made me feel sad all over again. So I am working through those emotions. I have decided that for every sad thought that crosses my mind, I will intentionally direct my thoughts to recall a happy memory instead. The unhappy present does not erase the happy past.

So for every "If they be like to die, let them do so at once and decrease the surplus population" memory from the recent past, I will deliberately turn my mind to thoughts of the happy past and Mr. Fezziwig's parties instead. Like the Christmas Eve parties we used to have, where the whole family gathered together and "Santa" would hand out everyone's presents. When I was really young, Santa was Uncle Pat, but I was too young then to pay attention to who else was (and wasn't) in the room, lol. In later years, someone else took over that role. By then, I knew the score, but I thoroughly enjoyed it all anyway.

Nothing, nothing, nothing can take away the good times of the past. No one can steal those things from us. They might try to stand between us and having any MORE good times like those, but they can't ever take away the memories and experiences we already have.

Ordered business cards

I've been devoting a lot of time lately to my Etsy shop. Ever since one of my part-time jobs cut back hours in September, I've been making wire-wrapped jewelry in earnest and selling it on Etsy. You can check out Handcrafted Jewelry by Donna and see what's been posted so far. I've been making and posting items on a very regular basis, including eleven items in the past three days. Stop on by!

Been a rough few weeks

I posted a few weeks ago about some serious sadness and disappointment that I was experiencing.

Unfortunately, time has not lessened that feeling. To the point where on Sunday and Monday, I woke up with a migraine. Stress, unfortunately, is my most prominent trigger.

I know exactly what has to happen in order to put the brakes on this symptom. I am not going to let migraines become a regular part of my life. I need to remind myself of a few things. First, I can't change what other people do. I can only control my own behavior. Second, I choose not to give in to hate or bearing grudges. That solves absolutely nothing. If the other party wants to be peaceable, I will be open to that.

But beyond that, I really do have to release the things that are going on internally. Let. It. Go. Two headaches in two days are a big red flag that I need to handle these feelings in a different way. I can't alter the external factors, but I can work on the internal ones.

The Critter Wars, lol

Poor Mini the Wee, lol. She got a bit of a comeuppance last night. Captain (18-lb round orange kitty) was on the sofa next to me, and sometimes Mini (6-lb Chihuahua) gets jealous. So she stood in front of the sofa and glared. Then, she started voicing her displeasure. "Rrrr. Rar. RAR AR AR."

Captain glared at her. Last time he looked at her that way, as she barked at him, she got a bop on the head. So I tried to distract her. "Mini. Leave your brother alone." No dice. She was a Chihuahua on a mission. AR AR AR.

Captain jumped down to glare in her face. She was undeterred: AR AR AR. So Captain boxed her ears a few times. BAP BAP BAP. Mini stopped barking, with a bewildered look on her face. The caption for her facial expression should have been, "What just happened here?" She's not used to being stood up to.

Then she started walking away. I picked her up. "See, I told you to leave your brother alone. Just ignore him." I gave her a skritch on the ears, but then also gave Captain a skritch. He was brave to stand his ground. He used to run away from the dog (who's about 1/3 his size).

Today, Mini's stance was, "What orange cat? I don't see any orange cat."

Pets. Sometimes I'm the Meowmy. Sometimes I'm the referee.

Prrrrt.

Captain the Round: "PRRRRT... PRRRRRRT... PrrrrRrRrRrRRRRRT."

Finally, I look up to see what Mr. Orange Kitty is doing. He's stalking his tail, with a PRRRT every time he tries to pounce on it. But the tail kept getting away from him. That sneaky tail. But I'm sure he'll catch it eventually. :)

Stupid Criminal Tricks: Teen boasts about bank robbery on YouTube

It's been a while since we have updated the Stupid Criminal Tricks category on here. But we've found something that qualifies stupendously well to be labeled with this heading.

But before we cover that, let's have a few words of advice that are worth remembering.

One, don't rob banks. It's both a crime and a sin. These things are bad.

Two, don't rob banks. You have a very low probability of getting away with the crime. I read a while back that something like 85% of bank robbers are caught. Plus, see Item One.

Three, if you are determined to ignore the first two items, DON'T BRAG ABOUT IT ONLINE. Also DON'T POST VIDEOS WAVING YOUR STOLEN MONEY AROUND. These are things that will pretty much *guarantee* that you're going to end up in with those 85% of failed bank robbers. Also, see Items One and Two.

OK, so having covered that, here is the story of someone who paid no mind to any of those three items of advice. Or you can watch the self-incriminating video below, where she shows the drugs and paraphernalia she stole from a car and admits to stealing a car, along with everything referenced above.

Oh, and in the few minutes of video I've watched so far, all the cue cards have been BACKWARD. So either she's shooting the video in a mirror, or she's raising them up so the front, not the back, is facing her. I couldn't help but think of the "This is your brain on drugs" commercial.

Unsurprisingly, she was arrested on the day the video was posted. Gee, I wonder why. See Items, One, Two, and Three.

Took my MacBook Air to the Apple Store. It'll be back in about a week. I also left my Etsy shop URL open on the browser of an iPad Mini. :-)

Thank you, God that we didn't hit that deer. A huge buck just ran in front of my friends' van.

Ugh. Sticker shock. It's my own fault for not being as cautious as I could've been. I'll pay for the repair, but I'm not happy with myself.

So the way to get a HUMAN BEING when you want to talk to the Apple Store is to repeatedly say SPECIALIST to the automated prompt. So noted.

Son of a beeswax. Damaged MacBook Air screen = repair appointment with Genius Bar. Kicking myself that it fell. Darned force of gravity. ;-)

I have two favorite Richard Bach quoes.

I have two favorite Richard Bach quotes. This is one of them.

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.

Maybe it's time that I read Illusions again. I'm thinking that I'm somewhat overdue for a refresh on that score. Perhaps I'd manage my disappointment better with an outlook that's more in line with the philosophy of my favorite author.

Because right now, all I want to do is disconnect from the world. And from the things that can neither be un-said, un-heard, un-seen, un-read, un-discussed, nor un-realized. I can't do any of those things. Nor can I disconnect. But I wish I could. The world today looks different to me than it did four days ago. And I'm not liking this new version of The Truth at all. Not one bit.

Still the same

I'm not feeling any better today than yesterday, or really, I should say "than the entire weekend". It's a level of insight into human nature that I could cheerfully have lived without. I gave Mark a rundown of what's happening, so he's at least up to speed on what's going on. Thank God he's a stable, and stabilizing influence. Which is good, because no amount of venting will get this out of my system.

"Keep Calm and Carry On" isnt working.

You know, I really do try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I'm still trying to, even while multiple other people are up in arms over the situation in question. But those other people have made some pretty salient points, in the course of trying to convince me that I should also be up in arms. Even if I haven't gotten entirely on board with the "up in arms" process yet, I did hear everyone out and they were speaking from the heart. Even so, everyone appears to at least be starting out by communicating in a level-headed manner. That's progress. Here's praying everything STAYS level-headed and on the level. But cripes, I'm upset. My family is small enough. We don't need a rift to make it any smaller. :-(

Good thing he's cute...

I have two pampered cats and one pampered Chihuahua. When they're naughty, they get called "hairy" and told, "It's a good thing you're cute!"

Well, we had one of those moments this afternoon. I went to meet friends for lunch, and gave a pat to all three critters in turn before leaving. Fast-forward a few hours; when I came home, I saw Captain (kitty) and Mini (Chihuahua), but no Stanley. Mark hadn't seen Stanley either. My cats are both indoor-only cats, so even though Stanley has a name tag, I started worrying about whether he'd sneaked out of the house. I looked all over the house for him. Upstairs, in the basement, on the first floor. Behind all the furniture. I called him repeatedly. No dice.

Then it dawned on me to look IN the sofa. We have a couch and a love seat, both of which have recliners at both ends. Therefore, we can't look UNDER the couch visually, as the bottom of the recliners reach nearly all the way to the floor. But it's possible to look under the sofa in a TACTILE manner by sticking an arm down the narrow gap between the seats, where the backs of adjacent seats meet adjacent seat cushions,

I inserted my arm down into said gap. And felt one surprised little cat, who gave me a "Prrr!" and started sniffing my hand.

"Stanley, you hairy cat! What are you doing in there? You worried your Meowmy half to death."

Good thing he's cute. :-)

Life with Critters

I'm checking my email while sitting in my normal workspace at one end the sofa. (I have a TV tray where my computer normally lives.) Stanley's on the back of the sofa. Mini is sitting next to me.

Captain decided to jump up on the other end of the sofa. Mini the Jealous ran the length of the sofa to glare in his face. Captain just stood there and glared back. They stood nose-to-nose. I reached over and hauled Mini all the way back toward where I'm sitting, as she protested with a big tough RRRRRRRR. I think that's Chihuahua-speak for "You're lucky Mom is intervening." I told her not to stare at her brother. To which she peeked over in Captain's direction and gave a muffled "rrrrrrrr" under her breath. Wise-aleck dog.

Now, Stanley's dozing on the back of the sofa. Captain's dozing on the other end of the sofa. Mini's dozing next to me. Peace reigns. :-)

OMG, A UFO...

Oh, wait, that's just the SUN. Which hasn't been seen in nine days, in these parts.

That TV ad showing kids unwrapping gifts, with Christmas stockings and holiday decor, is on TOO SOON. It's only Halloween!

Things that go BUMP in the night

From the dining room: whump bump bump rolllllll

Me: I don't know what you cats are doing in there, but CUT IT OUT!

[two cats come trotting out of the dining room, with innocent faces]

Me: [gets up to investigate]

Gee, how about that. My measuring tape is all the way in the far corner, on the floor. I wonder how that happened, since SURELY those innocent-faced cats weren't on the dining room table, which is off-limits to kitties...

Good thing they're both cute...

Mark is working from home today. Thank God his boss saw reason. We're smack in the middle of Hurricane Sandy's projected route.

LOL... At the Tactile Carnival, w/games for deaf-blind players. One lady aimed a ball at a Velcro target & her guide dog tried to fetch it.

The groom's parents are from Italy and dance superbly. They know tons of set dance steps. I prefer that to the random improv dances we do.

AVG keeps giving warnings about sites it blocked. So I'm virus scanning my whole PC. If there is nasty stuff in the cache, it needs to go.

WOO HOO... the ear wraps I made, and sold earlier this week, have arrived at their destination. I got delivery confirmation from the USPS.

Etsy store and more

Between Craigslist and Etsy, I managed to make my first sale last week. I have made a point of doing at least one thing daily with regards to my handmade jewelry. Either I have made something, listed something, or both. I have also discovered the eBay has changed their fee structure for the better. The first 50 listings in a given month are free. (Their fee for sold items is painful, but hey -- at least I don't have to pay for UNSOLD items.) So that is an avenue I might have to explore more fully. I am determined to replace the lost income from my reduced part-time-job workload.

Doing some reinventing of myself. What else is new?

One of my part-time jobs was diminished last week. I am not amused. I am not going to sit around and mope. I spent last week busting my tail trying to set up an Etsy store where I can sell wire-wrapped jewelry. (The link will be added to the left-hand side of the page when I get a few moments.) I spent time photographing the items that I already had available, uploading images, writing text, etc. I set, and achieved, the goal of doing something significant for the Etsy setup every day of the week. Persistence paid off, when I made my first sale yesterday! Today, I ran to the craft store (as the jewelry boxes I have on hand were too small for this item), and proceeded to stock up on some larger boxes and a bunch of other stuff. Then I got packing material at a nearby Staples, went home and prepped the item for shipping, and went right to the Post Office... only to realize that they were closed because it's Columbus Day. Dagnab it. Well, my item will be sent out tomorrow, then. Fortunately, the other reason for my trip, the gym, is only a short distance from the Post Office. So I went there and used the treadmill... and toward the end of my 30 minutes, started to feel pretty awful. It was then that I realized that in all my errand-running, I'd never actually stopped to eat lunch. No wonder I felt dreadful. So I tweaked the settings of the treadmill a little bit (dropped the incline to zero and reduced speed by 0.5 MPH) and finished my workout. I plan to spend my unexpected free time on making things for Etsy, going back to the gym, and taking an online programming class. I'm NOT going to spend it sulking over the reduction of my workload.

Son of a bee sting. I forgot the post office is closed for Columbus Day. I'll ship my item tomorrow. At least my other errand is nearby.

RIP Phantom :-(

Karla texted me earlier today. "We spent all morning at the vet, saying goodbye to Phantom."

Phantom was their 12-year-old black Lab, who was a big bundle of happy. But in recent months, she was starting to slow down dramatically. Until then, the only real indicator of her age was the white fur on her muzzle.

She leaves behind her human mom and dad, and her two kitty brothers, one of whom utterly idolized her and was inseparable from her. I don't know how he's going to handle this turn of events. He didn't even like it when she went out in the yard for a potty break.

I will miss my doggie niece. :-(

21st century

I love the mobile deposit feature on this bank app. One of my employers doesn't do direct deposit. This is the next best thing.

On ice 5 26 10 14 16 28. Now timeout Albany. 21.1 seconds left.

Goalie is pulled in the final minute timeout, Phantoms with 51.9 seconds left.

SCOOOOORE! On our 43d SOG! 5-3 Albany. The McGinn from Couturier and Manning.

Halfway through the third and no goalie change for the Phantoms. I guess Hovinen is in for the whole game...?

After a period of looking at our 6'7" goalie Hovinen, Albany's average-height goalie Wedgewood seems tiny.

At the end of the second period, the score is Albany 5, Phantoms 2. SOG: Albany 17, Phantoms 31.

Beans. 5-2 Albany. 2:16 left in the second period.

HEEEE shoots and scores! :-) 25 Ford. 4-2 Albany.

Albany's #9 Whitney is so much shorter than our goalie, he could practically skate through his 5-hole, lol.

Freaking Devils get one early in the second. 4-1 Albany. Hovinen has been our goalie so far.

Stuck in standing room of the SRO crowd @ Phantoms game. Which started at 2 pm on a weekday. Why'd Comcast sell the team again? GRRRRR

Due South moment: I subscribed to a site called The Daily Otter. :-)

Captain and Stanley have got a case of The Zoomies. They just went thundering into the dining room, turned around, and came barreling back into the living room. Stanley wound up his run with a sailing leap onto the sofa. Captain kept going and made a flying jump onto the kitty perch in the front window.

If my father-in-law hadn't passed a few weeks ago, today would've been my in-laws' 65th anniversary.

Work Inbox Zero FTW!

Using Dragon to dictate work items. Forgot It was on and baby-talked to the cat. It went right into the document. DELETE DELETE DELETE...

Crazy critters...

Captain likes to sit next to me on the sofa when I work on my laptop. Mini the Wee decided that his proximity to me meant he was getting more attention than she was. So she stood on her hind legs against the sofa, making her just barely as tall as the sofa cushion, and barked at him. "AR AR AR AR!"

In response, Captain gave her a Kitty Glare of Death and bopped her head. So Mini dropped down to all fours, putting herself out of reach of the bopping paw, and resumed barking. "AR AR AR AR!"

After I stopped laughing, I picked the dog up and put her on the other side of me. That way, they could BOTH sit next to me on the sofa, and everyone was happy.

Experimenting with new iOS Do Not Disturb feature. When on, it sends calls to voicemail and blocks all notification sounds. It works great!

iPhone: updated to iOS 6! All is well. :-)

Replay of Flyers/Bruins 2010 Game 7. When the game was being played live, Mark and I yelled so loudly when the Flyers got the GWG, the cats and dog all jumped a foot in the air.

This pizza shop on the boardwalk is blasting Italian-language pop music. I know it's not Spanish, because I can understand some of it.

Drat it. I totally forgot to bring any casino rewards cards. Forgot all about 'em till we arrived in AC. I hate when I do things like that.

Ya know what's cool? The Rockapella channel on Pandora. You're welcome. :-)

More Progress. And Time Budgeting.

Captain always parks his fuzzy self next to me on the sofa when I am logged in to work. Actually, he parks himself next to me on the sofa whether I'm working or surfing for recreation, lol.

We had some additional progress with him and Mini this afternoon. I picked up She Who Is Wee and sat her tiny self right next to the cat, between Captain and me. Captain wasn't too sure about this arrangement at first, but I started skritching him and he decided it was OK to have the dog right next to him. Mini, meanwhile, didn't care WHERE Captain was, as long as she was being doted on. We stayed like this for a minute or two before I got up and took Mini for her evening walk. Only when I picked her up did I realize that she'd been sitting right on top of Captain's tail the whole time. And nobody grumped or glared at anybody else. Progress. :-)

And as for time budgeting... there's a hockey discussion board I normally like to frequent. They have some other forums that fall under the same main umbrella, including forums for other sports, one for politics, and one for miscellaneous discussions. I generally studiously avoid political forums, because on the internet, they tend to turn into toxic wastelands, and I really don't need to degrade my day with toxins.

Unfortunately, the miscellaneous forum, which I usually like to visit, has devolved into being the place where everyone wants to discuss politics. If I had thirty topics listed on my screen, at least half of them were political in nature. I think I'm just going to give that site a miss for a while. I just don't need the drama. It's a shame, because normally they're a place that I LIKE visiting. Not right now, though. Not for the past few weeks, either. I only have so much time in a day, since I have to do mundane things like eat, sleep, and work, so I'm certainly not going to spend my free time somewhere that I don't enjoy being, not in person and not online.

An interesting workday

Due to having car trouble, Mark worked from home yesterday and today. I have three part-time jobs: one work-from-home job, and two jobs that require me to be working from on site.

So we had two unusual situations arise as a result of this. First, our normal routine is for Mark to come in the door after work and find me working away on the computer. But yesterday, MARK was the one working on his computer when *I* arrived home from one of the on-site jobs.

Today, we had the work-from-home duet. Mark worked diligently all day on his computer, on the dining room table, while I did MY work in the living room. Thank goodness someone created the ability to have more than one device online at a time.

Mark's car is now back from the car doctor, so he will be able to have a normal workday tomorrow, from his workplace. The Critters will have to make do with having just Meowmy working at home, instead of both of us. ;-)

More Progress

More progress. Mini and Captain weren't just on the love seat simultaneously. Captain was on the back, Mini was on the seat, and it was on the SAME half of the loveseat, not opposite ends. :-)

9/11

Looked up calories burned by Sign Language interpreting. Got results from 150-170 calories per hour. :-)

Post-treadmill water time. I always have a bottle of water before, during, and after the treadmill. I hate overheating/getting dehydrated.

Progress

When Mark and I came home, I noticed that Captain and Mini, who occasionally still try to jostle one another for primacy in the "pecking order", were both asleep on the loveseat.

Yes, it was opposite ends of the loveseat. Yes, Captain was up on the back of the seat, while Mini was on the seat itself.

But just the fact that they were curled up on the same piece of furniture, and clearly sleeping peacefully (until Mark's and my arrival awoke them), without my being there as referee, is a sign of progress.

When they both sit with me on the sofa (Captain on my left, Mini on my right) as I work, I take a FURminator (anti-shedding comb) and alternately comb one, then the other, repeatedly with the same comb, without cleaning it of fur for several cycles of this combing marathon.That way, I can put each critter's scent onto the other one. It seems to be working. :-)

I love the automated power outage reporting system. They were able to tell me the outage affects 2261 customers and should be back @ 3:20am.

Power failure. Unplugging computer equipment in the event of a power surge upon restart.

Please REPORT any spam supposedly from me

I just got a message from a Facebook friend. Someone is using my name, but NOT my Yahoo address, to send out spams.

I changed some passwords, even though it doesn't appear that anything was sent out directly from MY account in any way.

I have reported the offending address to Yahoo. I do have a Yahoo email address, but it's not the one that sent the spam.

Long story short: DO NOT click on any spammy-looking links that are allegedly from me, even if the email bears my name. DO please forward the email to me, and report it to Yahoo.

Man, I really hate spammers. Fargin' bastages.

Holy cow. It's been teeming all day, and right now it looks like a monsoon out there. We have flood warnings galore online & my NOAA radio.

Surprise -- I am working today. That's OK. I have critters on the sofa with me and Internet radio, so I'm good.

Working and listening to the song "Tuesday Afternoon", *on* a Tuesday afternoon. :-)

Skyped with Betty. The hurricane appears to not be an issue there. The sun is out there. Now, back to working and Radio Manilow-ing.

Post-walk recuperation: "fitness" water, Radio Manilow, and checking email FTW. :-)

Radio Manilow plus treadmill equals win/win.

Never Stop Learning

I have got two major personal self-education projects that I am working on. One involves taking some online courses so that I can create accessible iOS (iPhone/iPad) apps. The other one is something that I became able to do last week, as the result of finding a VERY reasonably-priced braille notetaker device on eBay. To be fair, the first thing I did when I saw this Extremely Inexpensive Device (by comparison to its price from the manufacturer) was post about it to a deaf-blind techies mailing list I belong to. But there were no takers -- no one contacted me for additional information, and no one jumped onto eBay to track it down and bid on it in their own right.

So, with hours remaining on the auction, I put in a bid and wound up being the only bidder. That's how I came into possession of a PacMate QX400 with a 20-cell braille display. Refurbished versions of this item from the manufacturer, Freedom Scientific, cost about $1800 more than the closing price of that eBay auction, to give you an idea of what kind of saving we're talking about.

This is a used item and it's an older model of device, which is part of the reason WHY its price was low. But about 99% of it works just fine, and the VERY few glitches I've found so far are simple to work around. I can't get online with it yet, though, but I'm getting some advice on that from a PacMate mailing list I joined.

Anyuway, the long and short of it is that my second self-education project involves learning computer braille, which has some differences from the braille that appears on paper. If I intend to become an assistive tech trainer at some future time, then I am going to have to know this information. And I'm taking it one step farther. I created a text file, containing the text from this news article and then proofread it... tactilely. Yes, I am not satisfied with just being able to read braille visually. I feel like if I am going to really know a tactile alphabet, then I am going to have to have at least a passing familiarity with what it feels like. So I typed the article into a text file, muted the voice (which would have read the file contents aloud to me), and painstakingly went through the article letter by letter.

I know there are legit training courses for blind people who are learning to read braille, and there are exercise drills that, should I figure out how to track them down online, would make my life TONS easier. But I decided that proofreading a short article was still a valid form of practice, and guess what? I was able to identify some typos I made, via this method of proofreading. In fact, I found ALL of the three mistakes I'd inadverdently introduced into the document. I'm certainly nowhere near ready to run out and read War and Peace in a tactile fashion. Not even close. Not even CLOSE to being close. But I still feel like I've accomplished something by bringing some significant brand-new information into my brain. It's information that will help me, should I venture into the field of assistive technology, but beyond that, it's supporting my desire to Never Stop Learning.

Exercise earbuds in place. Chilly Towel on neck. IT'S ON! Treadmill time!

Two self-education projects ongoing. One, learning computer Braille. The other, learning to write iOS apps. Working on the latter goal now.

Well, we have survived a brutal week

Well, we did it. We survived a three-funeral week, including two funerals where Mark and I were among the next-of-kin. I never want to see another week like this again in the entire history of the universe. God forbid. In fact, I'll even include LAST week in the "never want to experience this again" declaration, because it was during the previous week that Mr. R., Aunt Rita, and Mark's dad were all in dreadfully failing health, leading us all to understand that their passing was imminent. But I'm glad that my friend J got to see his dad, and we got to see Aunt Rita and Mark's dad, in the days immediately prior to their passing. J saw his dad hours before he died, and we got to visit Aunt Rita and my in-laws within 2 or 3 days of their passing, at a time when it was obvious that their health was failing but right before everything started to go into crisis mode. I feel shell-shocked after this week, though. Three funerals in five days is a lot. Mark's Dad had military honors at his funeral, which were well-deserved as he was a WWII veteran and had fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Because of that battle, he never spent another Christmas without remembering the one that he spent being shot at by enemy solders. He earned a Purple Heart during that battle, as well. So his casket was draped with a flag, which was ritually folded and presented to his widow after Taps was played by a bugler. I had tears streaming when the officer knelt and presented the flag to my mother-in-law, with thanks from a grateful nation. At least I got to meet my niece's two newborns yesterday. They are a beautiful reminder that life goes on.

So now you know why I haven't posted

As you can see by the obituaries, it's been a really terrible time for both sides of our family. But in a way, the Lord was merciful to both Aunt Rita and Mark's dad to take them both, once their health had failed terribly. Aunt Rita was in the final stages of pancreatic cancer, where pain was beginning to appear, and Mark's dad had suffered a series of debilitating strokes in the past month, the last of which left him barely conscious. So I understand that having them with us longer would have been a case of extending suffering, and of course we wouldn't want that. I'm just sad that their respective illnesses happened at all. and it's unfortunate that we lost them within days of one another. What a week. Aunt Rita and my friend JR's dad passed away within three hours of one another. Then, on Tuesday morning, I was at his dad's funeral in Allentown and a few minutes before the 10:30 service was about to start, my phone (in silent mode) vibrated. The caller ID said Mark's name. Knowing that Mark was aware that I was AT a funeral, the fact that he called me anyway instead of waiting didn't bode well at all. I was right. He was letting me know that his dad had passed at about 9 AM. So Aunt Rita, Mr. R., and Mark's dad all passed within three days of one another. I'm starting to wonder if that old wives' tale about deaths happening in 3s has some merit. Fortunately, that same tale also tells us that BIRTHS come in 3s. And that is also the case. My nephew's wife had a baby girl in about the 3rd week of July, and at the very end of July, my niece had twins, a boy and a girl. Thank God for the new life in our family. It will help us focus on the OTHER end of the circle of life, its beginning. But right now, we are dealing with our losses, as best we can.

Mark's dad

LAWRENCE ADAM MOMORELLA, 90, died peacefully in his home on Aug. 7, 2012, his loving wife of 65 years, Lydia "Lee" Momorella (nee D'Isidoro), by his side. Born on January 29, 1922, in Chester PA. Larry spent most of his 90 years in Willow Grove PA. He attended Upper Moreland High School, and played on their football team. He is a veteran of World War II, and served in the US Army, from 1942 to 1945. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was a tank Crewman in Company D 41st Tank Battalion in the 11th Armored Division under General George S. Patton, receiving a Purple Heart Medal.

Larry and his older brother Jim, owned and operated "Jim's Market" for more than 20 years.

He is also survived by his children, Lawrence Momorella (Judith), Anne Stieber (Francis) and Mark Momorella (Donna); his 5 grandchildren and his 5 great grandchildren. He was preceded in the death by his beloved grandson, Luke Momorella. Relatives and friends are invited to his Viewing on Saturday, August 11, 2012, from 9 to 10 A.M., at JOHN J. BRYERS FUNERAL HOME INC., 406 N. Easton Rd., Willow Grove PA 19090. Funeral Mass to follow at 10:30 A.M., at St. David RC Church, 316 N Easton Rd., Willow Grove PA 19090. Interment in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions would be appreciated to St. David Church, which he attended and loved for his entire life.

USA and CAN women's soccer teams are conspiring to give me a HEART ATTACK. Good grief.

Logged on, working from home on two different devices, plus Viggle Trivia is running on a third device. Technology FTW.

Aunt Rita

Rita L. Campitelli, 86, of Brigantine passed away on Saturday August 4, 2012. Rita was born in Philadelphia. She was a member of the Brigantine Elks, Brigantine Lions Club and Catholic Daughters of America. Rita was a founding member and held many positions at the Brigantine Sons of Italy Pat Campitelli Lodge and she was the Sunshine Girl and senior representative of the Brigantine Republican Club. Rita was a member of the Brigantine Historical Society and the Saint Leo’s Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order.

Rita was the beloved wife of the late Patrick A. Campitelli. She is survived by her son Joseph Campitelli and his wife Christine, her brother Joseph Gabriel, his wife Jeannie, and her nieces Donna, Maryanne, and Michele. Rita is also survived by her great niece Mary and great nephew Connell.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend Rita’s Life Celebration and viewing on Friday, August 10, 2012 from 9:15 to 10:40am at St Thomas Church, 8th Street and Brigantine Ave., Brigantine. Elks Service 10:40am. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11am. Entombment at Holy Cross Cemetery Mausoleum, Mays Landing.

To share your fondest memory of Rita please visit www.lifecelebration.com. The family requests in lieu of flowers to please make donations in Rita’s memory to the Brigantine Sons of Italy Scholarship Fund, PO Box 113, Brigantine, NJ 08203. Family services by Keates-Plum Funeral Home Brigantine.

I want a reset button on this day.

Today has not gotten off to an auspicious start. I want to go back to bed and start it over.

My dad called with an update on my aunt. She had started pain medication earlier in the week, because whenever she had to move, her bones hurt. At least she wasn't in pain as long as she lay still.

But now, hospice has stopped her insulin. We are probably looking at losing her within the week. :-(

I really hate this. But maybe this is God's way of ensuring that she doesn't hang on until major pain begins. It's really a shame, though. I can't believe how rapidly this disease has progressed. It has t even been four months since the diagnosis.

So I called Mark to let him know, and then JFM, who told me that our close friend JR's dad is nearing the end, as well, and probably will pass today. ARGH.

Like I said, this day desperately needs a reset button. We're looking at a multi-bereavement week coming up.

Working via phone and I ternet with the engineer who helped build the braille device for my friend with neuropathy.

The latest

Mini has been having some digestive issues over the past few days, causing her to make mistakes in the house. I'm trying to get her back on track by walking her more frequently (like, every hour yesterday evening in the attempt to get her to go outside) and when no one is home, crating her instead of giving her the run of the house. We'll see if we can get her wee innards to get back on their regular schedule via that route. Poor munchkin pup.

My father-in-law has been moved to a short-term rehab facility. I'm a little amazed that there is talk of sending him home at the end of this stint, as I'm not convinced that's an entirely appropriate solution. He can't even get out of bed without falling (as he has demonstrated repeatedly, and as recently as yesterday). However, the death panels known as the insurance companies most likely will refuse to pay for inpatient treatment any longer than they absolutely must, so the next step is probably going to be getting a hospital bed in the house and arranging for 24-hour attendant coverage (instead of the daytime-only coverage they have now). I have emailed my sister-in-law, asking what Mark and I can do to help make these things go more smoothly. We live an hour away, so we can't do things that require an immediate presence at the house, but surely we can do SOMEthing to shoulder our share of the duties here. It's not like we live in another time zone, for goodness sakes. I just want to make sure that when we do something, it's going to be an action that is both wanted and needed, rather than some well-meant but unnecessary gesture.

Looking at the (marginally, at best!) bright side, though, Mark has told me repeatedly that his dad wants to die at home, not in the hospital. So I suppose sending him home, rather than keeping him as an inpatient, will increase the odds that his wishes will be met. I hate to think about that aspect of this situation, but we do have to consider the larger picture. The combination of three hospitalizations, pneumonia, and two rehab stints since the first week of July is not an indicator of robust health in a nonagenarian. Anyone who is not in rampant denial can see what direction this situation is going. :-( We are just going to have to keep track of his health situation and seek treatment accordingly if new symptoms appear. And maybe he CAN stay at home, instead of be hospitalized, if the right level of support is in place.

Radio Manilow playing. Tiny dog on lap. Working from home. It's all good. :-)

Back to reality

Well, it was a nice trip to New England last week -- one during which I was too busy out doing things to write any posts about it. But I'm thinking about writing some posts retroactively.

More to the point, I was able to de-stress enough to come back here and not feel like my head was about to explode. There's been so much happening so quickly, between the bereavements (three) and the illnesses (two) in the family, I barely knew which end was up.

And, of course, no sooner did I come back, than the process continued. Make that three illnesses. My aunt's condition is stable, fortunately. But the cousin who is taking care of my aunt has now visited a specialist for symptoms of his own. And my father-in-law has been moved from the rehab facility, to which he'd been transferred while I was on vacation, back into the hospital (his third hospitalization since this month began). I'm particularly disappointed and concerned over this last development, because he had been gaining some ground while in rehab and had improved to the point where he was walking with a walker. Now he is back to being bedridden, which tells me that he's probably going to have to work to regain all the progress he had made previously.

We visited him in the hospital yesterday, along with my mother-in-law. Sometimes hospital visits cause patients to become disoriented. That's the case here. He's having some issues with being an inpatient, as he keeps wanting things that aren't allowed yet (like drinking fluid when there are restrictions on his oral intake, going to the necessary instead of using a bedpan, or sitting in a chair instead of sitting up in bed). The three of us tried to defuse the issue as best we could yesterday, but we couldn't resolve the entire situation and we did eventually have to go home. It's hard to witness someone feeling so out-of-sorts, particularly when even knowing what is going on is not enough to resolve the problem.

I am working hard to not build up to ridiculous levels of stress again. Turning into a walking migraine is not going to help anybody, nor will it solve anything. But life needs to cooperate and stop sending issues for a while. I'm TRYING. I may be only partially succeeding, but I'm trying.

My father-in-law is back in the hospital today (from the rehab facility where he was recovering from a stroke), due to severe nausea.

Dear loiterers in the parking lot: that business closed hours ago. I have three words for you. Nine, One, One. Three more: See, You, Later.

Setting up my computer to print via the new FiOS network. I also downloaded the FiOS app so I can change channels and DVR shows w/iDevices.

NHL fans should know the reference when I say we're passing Exit 16W of the New Jersey Turnpike. Flyers fans will growl at the reference. ;)

There's the "Welcome to New York" sign, so we've passed through Connecticut.

Well, the good news is, the delay appears to have been roadwork. But why have TWO cop cars on hand for that? Hmm.

My habit of whistling the music I'm listening to most likely won't go over well on this bus ride home. I'll spare everyone my renditions.

The reason we needed new buses is that our original driver cut himself badly enough, while removing the bad tire, that he needs stitches.

Bolt sent TWO semi-full buses to cram us onto. I hope we fit.

Hello from the truck stop in Willngton, CT, where we are awaiting the repair of our bus's flat tire. I hope they're able to fix it quickly!

OK, we have arrived at the truck stop.

Heading to a Truck Stop, where we hope to have the deflated tire repaired. Our arrival in Boston will be delayed.

We might be at this rest stop a tad longer. One of the tires on the bus is low. Waiting for HQ to advise. No biggie. I'll just drink coffee.

Generic Imitrex is $40 for SIX doses. Jiminy H. Cricket! Are pharma companies on CRACK? I guess it's better than the name brand price: $70.

Now, the *really* important stuff

There's a solid reason why my fuse today finally burned out on my doctor's office staff. First of all, as I said, they do have a lengthy history of handling incoming calls and refill requests like this. Look through this blog, which goes back nine years, and you'll see I'm not kidding. The most recent iteration of this was as recent as last May.

But there are far more important things going on than my worrying about my aching head. As I posted recently, my father-in-law is back in the hospital. This morning, when I saw Mark's family at the memorial service for his uncle -- the third time since April that the family has convened because of a bereavement -- I learned that they did an MRI of my father-in-law's head today because there is some suspicion that he has had a stroke. He is having issues with swallowing, and he can't walk at all nor get out of bed without falling. Those are some huge red flags, in my book, and so I think they're right to pursue the possibility that the reason for these symptoms is a stroke.

I don't know how long it will take for them to analyze the MRI results and provide answers. But once the doctors come back with some concrete results, and offer a treatment plan, Mark and his siblings might have to sit down and discuss what the best options are for both parents. My mother-in-law uses a wheelchair already. If they BOTH can't walk, that's going to signal a need for changes in the existing routine.

We visited him in the hospital, after the memorial service for his brother. What a shame he had to miss that. :-( To my great relief, he was very placid and happy. He likes the place, he likes the food, he likes the people there. That's a great improvement over when he was first admitted and all he wanted to do was go home.

Still... multiple bereavements in the family within weeks of each other, plus my aunt's cancer going from being diagnosed to needing hospice within six weeks... this is where my headaches are coming from, and this is why I went into Rant Mode over the prescription. I finally had enough.

Now that I've gotten that steam out of my system, though, I'm going to make a point of not breathing flame on anybody else. I am staunchly determined not to turn into Dragon Lady over this.

Spitting nails

Those of you who know me, know I am normally a low-key person who tries to be patient and not raise my voice when I'm on the phone or requesting a service.

Well, I just sent a scathing fax to my doctor's office. The fact that it's entirely out of character for me to breathe flame on them should be, I hope, sufficient for them to sit up and take note.

I have been trying to get my migraine script refilled since FRIDAY. It's now TUESDAY. I called them at 4:40 PM to follow up on the TWO (2) faxes I've sent this week, since my pharmacy had no record of the refill being called in.

The moment the phone rang, I got, "Please hold" and put on hold. For fifteen minutes. Finally I called back at 4:55, only to discover that their "the office is closed" recording was ALREADY turned on! It's not an answering machine -- it just recites office hours and hangs up.

OK, now I have steam coming out my ears. Steam. I opened up the fax app on my iPhone, which allows for one free fax page per day, and wrote:

WHY did you put me on hole from 4:40 PM until 4:55 PM, then when I redialed, you already had the answering machine on five minutes early? IF your office is open till 5, do not shut off the phones WHILE YOU HAVE A CALL ON HOLD.

I have been trying to get my MIGRAINE MEDS refilled SINCE FRIDAY. It is now Tuesday and it's still not done. WHY? I asked repeatedly for this to e done as a rush order. I have been faxing since July 6 so there should be multiple hard copies on hand.

I am leaving for a trip at 6:30 Thursday morning. I deliberately asked six entire days in advance to avoid this problem and have meds in my possession while traveling.

Please refill my Imitrex on Wednesday, 7/11.

Please refill my Imitrex on Wednesday, 7/11.

Please refill my Imitrex on Wednesday, 7/11.

Please refill my Imitrex on Wednesday, 7/11.

[name]
[date of birth]
[pharmacy contact info]

Of course, as they are CLOSED on Wednesdays, I realize that my hope of having them even see this message, let alone act on it, before my trip is somewhere between slim and none. Closer to NONE. But I sent it anyway.

I thought that having a long talk with my doctor, at my last appointment in May, would have really clued him in to the fact that it takes multiple attempts to get a prescription refilled. It's precisely why I have taken to faxing in the first place. They deliberately tie up the phones so people can't get through, by leaving people on hold infinitely, and then if it's near the end of the day they do what they just did to me: block the phones with MY call that was on hold, and then let my on-hold call just die of old age without picking it back up.

I like my DOCTOR. I do. Seriously. But I hate, hate, hate dealing with the office staff on the phone. It's not like I expect a refill to be in the pharmacy's hands within thirty seconds after I place a call; that would be ridiculous. But I don't think it's unreasonable for requests I made on FRIDAY and MONDAY to have been called in by TUESDAY. Doubly so when I asked in both faxes for them to rush this refill as I really do need it.

So, having vented my spleen via fax, I decided to go forward with a plan B. I called the pharmacy myself, explained my situation, and asked if they had an emergency ration that they could provide, in the absence of a refill. No, they can't do that with Imitrex. But they CAN *page* the doctor.

"Good. Please do that. Page the doctor."

So I might get my refill in time for that trip. I hope.

It's funny. When I had that long talk with the doc in May, he was describing how it's hard for an independent family doctor to thrive financially, compared to the doctors who are affiliated with a hospital in some way. But when an independent doc's office staff repeatedly drops the ball on important messages, no flipping wonder patients become willing to migrate to new treatment providers. I really don't want to do that in this case, because I honestly LIKE my DOCTOR. It's the red tape I can't stand. And if you go through this blog, you'll see this by FAR not the first time I've vented about these issues here. Look at May 7 and May 8 from this very year for the previous iteration of "why can't I get my meds on time". It's just the first time I ever vented TO THE OFFICE STAFF.

UPDATE: Well, somebody sure said something. That was fast. I got a call from the office staff, so they either saw the steam emanating from their fax machine as a result of my note, or else the pharmacy paging the doctor made HIM talk to them on the spot. They just called in my refill.

Thank God. At least I can go on my trip and not worry that my head is going to feel like there's an axe imbedded in it. And if you've never had a migraine, then give thanks that you have no clue what I'm talking about. Trust me on that one.

And it still looks like I'll be having yet another word with the doctor during my next appointment, a few months from now. Something's gotta give. I can't keep going through these battles every time I need a refill of something.

Shoot. Mark's dad is back in the hospital. I was hoping that wouldn't happen. I guess he'll miss his brother's memorial service tomorrow. :(

Oh, for Pete's sake...

Ya know...

As if my cousin didn't have enough on his plate, as he cares for my very-ill aunt, I just got a spam email from his account. So some miserable wretch spammer apparently cracked his password. The freaking people who hijack email accounts really need to fall off a freaking cliff, and then when they land, let their computers land on top of them.

I emailed him right away to let him know what's going on. He'll have to check his outgoing mail to make sure there isn't a whole string of nonsense going out of his account, and he'll have to change his password.

He is the last person who should have to be dealing with this kind of nonsense. He has enough to do. Hospice is bringing in a hospital bed, and the existing (giant!) regular bed has to be disassembled and moved to the garage.

Dumb pain in the rump spammers. I wish their computers would liquefy.

Not what I wanted to see happen

On Facebook, instead of referencing Aunt Rita by name when discussing her illness, I've been saying "my relative" for the past few months. Well, evidently, over the past couple days I slipped and said "aunt" when referencing the start of hospice care.

I got a FB message from a cousin of mine this morning. Cousin R's grandfather and my grandfather were first cousins, so I'm not sure what particular ordinal number to assign to that. Second? Third? Whatever. He's my cousin. I leave it at that.

But I digress. His message was along the lines of, "I saw your post. Which aunt?"

Uh-oh. That told me that in all the confusion, he might not be aware of the most recent events that have been going on. It's understandable, as we're talking about a health condition that has deteriorated very rapidly in just a few weeks' time. Five weeks ago, we were all celebrating her feast day in Philadelphia, and now she can't even sit up from a lying-down position without assistance.

Well, the last thing I wanted to do was deliver bad news via an email or a Facebook message, so I called on the phone instead. And unfortunately, I had to break a lot of bad news via that call. Most of the bad changes have happened in the past few weeks, and he wasn't aware that things had deteriorated this far, this quickly. But maybe it was God's providence that my cousin saw that post and it said "aunt", because otherwise, he might not have been apprised of the situation until even more downturns took place.

It's perfectly understandable that my aunt's son has been so preoccupied with taking care of her, he hasn't called every last branch of the family yet. Between working full-time and caring for his mother, he probably hardly knows which way is up right now. So at least now the necessary information, sad though it is, has been disseminated a bit farther than before. That's one chore that's been taken off my cousin J's shoulders. I hope Cousin R can help spread the word, as I haven't got the phone numbers to anyone else from his branch of the family; I've only got his phone number.

Argh, though. That wasn't how I was expecting to start this day.

Mark's dad is home from the hospital, so that's good news. Thank God for big favors.

OK, one more good news item

OK, one other positive thing happened on Friday, though it's dwarfed by the importance of what's happening with the PEOPLE in my life. Nonetheless, we need to count our blessings whenever/wherever we find them, so here I am announcing that the piece of tech I invested in arrived today.

I want to learn to write apps for iOS (iPhone and iPad, in other words). Specifically, I want to write ACCESSIBLE apps that will be useful to the people I know. In order to do that, I need some training. I have 15 years of background in IT, especially on the programmer/analyst side, so I know my way around writing code. However, what I need to learn (and in the case of C, refresh my memory on) the languages that are used to write iOS apps.

So I enrolled in two online courses (a two-for-one deal)... only to discover, after I started watching the videos, that I needed a Mac in order to do some of the work. Moreover, Apple has not released a SDK (developer's kit) for Windows, so if I'm going to be writing iOS apps, I need to use a Mac.

So, what to do? New Macs are way out of my price range at this time. So hello, eBay. I found an early version of the Macbook Air that I could afford. It hasn't got some of the improvements and features that the newer Macbook Airs have; I know this because I was making use of my cousin's MBA when the rest of the family was in the treatment room with Aunt Rita at the specialist's office in May. The room was tiny, and couldn't fit the doctor, several interns, my aunt, my parents, my cousin, and me. So I was elected to wait in the waiting room with everyone's belongings. My cousin let me use his computer while I waited, and it happened to be a newer-model 13" Macbook Air. But I'll do without the extra bells and whistles of the newer models because, as I said, my wallet has limited impact these days. I have to balance need with rationality.

Anyway, my machine arrived on Friday, so I spent some time setting it up with Xcode, so I can start creating those C programs.

Oh, for mercy's sake. Really? MORE issues?

Aye yi freaking yi.

The good news is, my parents went to see my aunt today and she was mentally 100% herself. That's outstanding. She is, however, still extremely weak and can't get up on her own. She can't sit up from a lying-down position and most likely can't walk. Hospice workers will be on hand from now on.

And the bad news? My 90-year-old father-in-law is in the hospital with pneumonia. My sister-in-law called Mark at work today (never a good sign, as she normally waits until evening when we're both home to call us). Dad fell out of bed twice last night. They took him to the hospital, and discovered he has pneumonia in one lung. Mark said they admitted him "as a precaution", but I'm not sure how much of a precaution it is when there's pneumonia present. I think at that point they have a perfectly good reason to treat the person as an inpatient.

So, we'll see where all these things lead us.

I faxed my doctor's office to have them refill my migraine prescription, for the first time in a few years. Stress is my one known migraine trigger, and I've been getting various levels of headache lately. I only have one dose of Imitrex left, and I want to get it in the house sooner, rather than later. A person can only take so much of this.

A little old Spanish-speaking lady keeps leaving voicemail on my Skype number. I called back but she can't understand me.

Still working on wrapping my mind around today

I'm still wrapping my mind around the events of the day. Disappointments from yesterday will have to be set aside and dealt with some other time. If they even NEED to be dealt with, that is... it's entirely possible that the most constructive thing I can do is just let that other stuff drop. That's how I'm inclined to handle it, anyway. I need my energy to deal with much larger issues. Everything else is getting filed under "Don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff."

Hospice. I am actually in favor of this step, largely because I feel like we have reached the point where it will be beneficial to have a trained person on hand for as much of the day as possible. Plus, it's not news to the family that the best thing to do is engage in palliative care. Heck, we've known *that* since the MRI results came back in April. It's not easy to accept, but we all know it's the truth. At least we don't have to deal with anybody walking around with false hopes, or acting like seeking hospice care is a form of giving up. It's not. What it IS, is doing the right thing.

Still, it's emotionally painful to realize that we are most likely looking at a short time frame, rather than a long one. Even knowing in advance that this is a fast-moving disease, it's still a little surprising that we've reached this point after only three months. Wait, I take that back -- it's not EVEN three months yet, not until later this month. Wow. Geesh, that was fast. No wonder the specialist in May said to her that she should eat whatever she likes (even though she's diabetic). Maybe he was well aware that she might as well not postpone or turn down enjoyment.

I keep consoling myself with the fact that there is no pain. Lethargy, yes; weakness, yes. But no pain. The presence of pain would make this infinitely harder to deal with.

I'm researching the average duration of hospice care. My family clearly needs to be prepared for things to happen sooner, not later. :-(

Chocolate: the OTC antidepressant. In the form of a Special-K Protein Meal Bar and WhoNu Oreo-clone cookies. At least it's healthy that way.

And the hits just keep coming. It's time for hospice to be called for my relative. Do please keep the prayers and good thoughts coming.

By the way...

If, perchance, you say something hurtful to me (or something that you suspect is going to be hurtful, but you choose to say it anyway), and my response is nothing at all -- not one syllable, not even a glare -- it's not because I'm reacting well to it. Absolutely Zero Reaction is a red flag that you've done some internal damage.

What a disappointing night. Never saw it coming. Live and learn.

I won't be creating the opportunity for a repeat of how I feel right now. If I do, it'll be my own fault if I get hurt a second time. Like the proverb says, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

That old left-out feeling is back

The world is full of imprecations that we should "Dance, even if no one else is watching." There is no shortage of affirmations and inspirational posters urging us all to be ourselves, no matter what.

I've followed that dictum throughout my life. As a result, throughout my life, I've run into situations where people just don't "get it". They have no idea what to make of it when I decide to Be Myself, because my perspective on things is from, shall we say, a unique angle that not everyone immediately perceives. Sometimes, I feel like a piece of modern art, with people walking around looking and saying to one another, "What on earth is that supposed to be?"

I'm used to getting that reaction from strangers and acquaintances. It doesn't change what I'm doing one bit. Some of them wander off, some of them stay on the periphery, and some of them take an interest, and stick around to join the inner circle. And one thing is guaranteed: when you're unique, some of the individuals who stick around will have their own interesting point of view to share.

But it's kind of disappointing to get a "What is that supposed to be?" response from the people I thought were closer to me, and knew me better. I got that treatment from an unexpected source today. So even my inner circle doesn't always get it. So noted. I won't make the same mistake twice. Being hurt once is sufficient.

Well, whatever. I'm still going to dance even if no one is watching. Or even if people are telling me to get off the stage. Or even if people choose to walk out of the theater rather than watch. When it's MY theater and MY stage, if I choose to dance, I will. Feel free to stick around and see the show or not, as you choose. But if you miss something interesting later because you walked out now, that's not my fault.

Jaromir Jagr signed with the Dallas Stars. Drat! I really liked him in Philly, especially on Giroux's line.

WHY did I forget to put on sunblock? I have a sun allergy. Now I'm itching like a fiend. GRRRR. I hate making dumb mistakes.

Home from visiting my friend, and catching up on email. We're crossing our fingers that my friend will be discharged tomorrow, KNOCK WOOD.

My friend is out of catheterization. Thank God! They fixed what they could. Now he needs a new room b/c the one he's in is SWELTERING hot.

If you get a chance, please send some prayers and positive thoughts for a friend of mine getting a heart catheterization today. Thanks!

Yay FiOS! My hubby will be elated to know it will reach this neighborhood this month.

Caught a 1998 movie about a comet hitting Earth. The CGI tsunami leveled the CGI Twin Towers. Who knew they'd really fall 3 years later? :-(

The Stages of Grief

It has already started.

Aunt Rita's Birthday

On Friday, Aunt Rita. It was her 86th birthday. She liked seeing everyone. That's the good news.

The bad news is that the disease is sapping her strength terribly. All she really wants to do is sleep. My cousin Maryann (who is a nurse) said it's possible that her body is starting to shut down.

She gave my mom and me a very large amount of clothes that don't fit her anymore, because she has lost so much weight. She's down to 100 pounds.

She was a trooper, though, and managed to get up both to eat dinner with everyone, and (after a rest) dessert with all of us, too. My cousin Joe made enough ravioli to feed half the island. Aunt Rita ate soup instead -- her lady friends are very sweet about bringing her care packages of soup they make. The rest of us had ravioli, in some cases multiple helpings, plus everyone got sent home with doggie bags. (But sorry, Mini, those ravs are getting fed to the hoomins in the house.)

My parents gave her a new set of PJs. I gave her several things from the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine's gift shop. I think she liked the statue a lot. I got it for her because I realized that even though she's very devoted to her patron saint, she didn't have a St. Rita statue that I knew of.

Plus, it's hard to think of an appropriate gift for someone who is in this state of health. But her faith is as devout as ever, so I figured that presents that are connected to that would be something she could still appreciate.

It was so hard to see her like this. There has been noticeable deterioration in the past couple weeks... and my parents and I were distressed over her state of health two weeks ago! Now, two-weeks-ago's state of health would look like improvement. :-(

At least she's not in pain, thank God. As hard as it is to see her losing weight and becoming progressively weaker, if she were suffering, too, it would be infinitely worse.

OK, I'm done ranting. Pardon my venting. I guess I'm still de-stressing after seeing my aunt looking so weakened. I've never seen her look like this before.

Moreover, when I came home, and went on Facebook to decompress, what did I see but additional bad news coming from another direction entirely. One of my former fellow Phantoms Season Ticket Holders, who we'll call D.N., was diagnosed with cancer in 2010. I have always felt a particular connection with her battle, and have rooted for her extra-hard to beat the disease, because she got her bad diagnosis on the same day I got a good one. Back before we knew for sure that my health troubles were caused by a giant fibroid, they sent me for a CA-125 blood test: that's the test that helps diagnose ovarian cancer. The same day I got my GOOD news, that there was no cancer, D.N. posted to Facebook that HER doctors had diagnosed her with lung cancer. So I've always been cognizant of the fact that although I had dodged a giant bullet, there are a whole lot of other bullets flying around, and many people are not so lucky as I.

Months later, when D.N. was pronounced cancer-free, everyone celebrated the news. But unfortunately, last night, I saw her post that in one of her followup exams, they have found a mass in her brain. If I were to make a list of things I never wanted to see happen in a billion years, that post would be on it.

So, when you're sending your prayers and positive thoughts out for people, please remember both my aunt and also D.N. .

I really hate, loathe, and despise cancer, especially right now. LOATHE. Every form of it needs to be stamped off the face of the earth. I'd stamp it out myself if I could.

Amazon has started their own local email deals a la Groupon. They chose to start sending me listings... for Dallas, TX. Too bad I'm in PA!

Earning Viggle points by the minute. Literally. When I check into shows, I get one point per minute. I love this app.

My car is Not Happy

On Sunday afternoon, we had a deaf-blind event in West Chester, so of course I went. About ten days ago, I had been hesitant to drive my car that distance with JFM and JR, but Mark added some oil to my car a few days ago and it was running better. So I felt OK about going to West Chester this time around.

However, from the moment I parked in the church parking lot upon my arrival, I realized something was wrong. A thin cloud of white smoke was emanating from my engine. Ohhhh, crud. Not what I wanted to see. I called Mark, who was at home and planning to paint the railing outside the house. He thought maybe I needed some water or coolant added to the car. However, it's not safe to do so when the engine is still hot, so the car needed to be left to cool off. I had no idea where to add water to the car, having never had to do so before, so I figured the best thing I could do was just go in to the deaf-blind event and interpret. I was sure that SOMEone in the place would know how to add water to a car, and they could show me what to do. Sure enough, I was able to find a couple of other interpreters who knew what to do. So when the event was over, two hours later, we all went out to have a look at my car. Surprise -- the reservoir was full of coolant, so that wasn't the problem. I talked to Mark again, and we agreed that I'd call AAA, have the car towed to our mechanic, and Mark would meet the tow truck and me there.

But then my deaf-blind friend JEJ and his mom came over, with another one of the interpreters, to see how I was doing with the car. They said they were going to visit with the interpreter, who lived only ten minutes away, and they invited me to follow them there in my car. That way, when I called AAA, I'd be calling from a place where there were people around, instead of from the middle of an empty church parking lot. I agreed to do that.

That ten-minute drive didn't cause any more smoke to appear, but there was a terrible burnt-rubber smell, so it was clear something was still wrong with the car. So we all went inside and I called AAA from there. I also got to meet the interpreters roommates and his four adorable cats. They were all very friendly, sweet kitties, so I was glad to engage in a little bit of Cute Face Therapy while I waited. AAA sends text message updates now, so I knew when to go back outside and wait for the truck to arrive. I rode in the flatbed truck as we transported the car back to Philly. Mark met us at the mechanic's and we put my car keys along with a note into the mechanic's mailbox. We figured the mechanic would figure out what was going on when he saw the car, keys, and note on Monday morning.

Well, the good news is, I finally know WHY the oil light is always lighting up, even soon after oil has been added to the car. The bad news is, it's a stupendously expensive fix that just isn't worth doing for a fifteen-year-old car. Even the mechanic recommended against it, and he would've stood to make money from doing the repair work.

Fortunately, there is one alternative to fixing the problem. It involves checking the oil every few days, adding it as needed, and making sure to add it before a long trip (such as, say, a trip to the shore.)

Honestly, color me Not Happy about this. What really needs to happen is I need a newer car, one that's not slowly going senile on me. But I'm not in a position to make that happen any time soon, so I guess my new routine involves checking oil and adding it regularly.

I'm home. Mark met us at the mechanic's. We left the car keys and a note describing the symptoms in the mechanic's mail slot.

Aaaargh... Smoke coming out of my car. Either someone here will assist me putting water in the car, or I'll be calling AAA later. Fanabla.

Yay, the job I feared I was being downsized from just sent me a contract, so I'm working for another year! Thank you, God. I like that job.

Work inbox = 0. Yay! Unfortunately, this came at the expense of neglecting my personal inbox all week, to the the tune of 568 new messages.

Summer is here, literally AND figuratively. It's the first day of Summer, and the temperature's 96. Boo. I prefer the coolness of last week:

Bahaha! BIG grin! My iPhone is playing music in shuffle mode. Dave Schultz's "Penalty Box" came on. LOL, I forgot I had that on my phone.

The tough part of having pets

I took JR and JFM to the vet with their cat again this morning. Her balance is still impaired, and she hadn't been eating or eliminating for a couple of days. (Though clearly, the latter was the direct result of the former.) These were the same symptoms that were ongoing last Wednesday when she had her previous vet visit.

The cat a couple months short of her 20th birthday, and the sub-q fluids, antibiotic and appetite stimulant weren't enough to take the symptoms away. Today, JR, JFM, and the vet are all in agreement that we are looking at palliative care, rather than seeking long-term solutions. Today, she got more fluids, a steroid, and special nutrient-dense a/d food to help her get the most possible "bang for her buck" from eating. They're going to try the a/d and human baby food.

I'm really hoping these steps help her start to turn the corner and see symptom relief. If not, the next vet visit might well be the time when she receives the Final Act of Mercy. JR and JFM are beside themselves, and I'm not far behind them. Auntie Donna wuvs her little kitty "niece". I know that a 19-year-old cat is approaching the day when she sets out for the Rainbow Bridge, but that doesn't mean anyone wants it to happen any time soon.

WOW, did the temperature go up since I was outside at lunchtime. I just walked the dog, and the "hazy, hot, and humid" weather is here. Boo.

I bless whoever designed my pharmacy's app, so that I can just scan my prescription bottles to get a refill. No signing in, no typing. A+++.

Working plus Radio Manilow = Winning.

Sigh. My friends are transitioning to palliative care for their elderly cat. :-( I hope they're able to provide her lots of quality time.

Lost my doggoned iPhone headset. &$@€%#¥. It must have fallen from my pocket. Shoot.

P.S. My work's internet portal is giving weird error messages again. Emails have been sent describing the issue. Freaking Gremlins.

OK. Got sidetracked by some errands with Mark (including one diversion). But I worked all day till that, and now I'm going back to work.

Smart Cars are cute. The front of the car looks like a smiley face. :-)

What an insane week.

What an insane week it was. Monday, my parents and I went to see my relative whom I've posted about before. Now I understand what she and her son refer to when she describes herself as being "confused". She has another UTI, and for the first time, my parents and I got to see her on what we could not possibly describe as "a good day". Unfortunately, any nurse visitations that she'd had set up before (once in the morning and once in the afternoon or evening, I'm not sure which) were cancelled when she was in the hospital last week, so those have to be reinstated.

This UTI issue makes it seem like there are two versions of my relative. When she's OK, those two nurse visits during the day are more than sufficient. But when there's a UTI, with its attendant symptoms that include disorientation, she might be better off with the kind of daily in-home aide that my in-laws have (and need). They have an aide who helps them out of bed in the morning, assists with daily care, cooks meals, and helps them go to bed at night. She might not be overly happy at the prospect of an all-day aide -- she wasn't even all that thrilled with the idea of the twice-daily nurse visitations -- but if these symptoms she's experiencing now are going to be a regular occurrence, then maybe it's something worth considering.

Tuesday and Friday, meanwhile, were days where I helped my friend JEJ and his mom with computer issues. For the first time in at least six years, he wanted to attempt to use the old braille display on his computer. This meant setting up his old Windows 98 machine, because there are no drivers for his many-years-old braille display that would allow it to work with the new Windows 7 computer. This is the first time in years that we've been able to see just how the neuropathy is affecting his ability to read braille, because he's been refusing to even try reading braille for so long. The answer is, with his 80-cell Window Eyes display, he can't feel anything because the refreshable braille display is too mushy. But with his even older 20-cell Alva display, he's feeling at least some of the braille because the display is crisper (more resistant to being pushed down).

We also hooked up the Tacticom, the giant single-cell braille device that he was able to use his entire hand to read when we were testing it out. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the Tacticom to respond at all when we connected it to the computer. Nada. So we have some emails out to everyone who worked on creating the device (all three of whom were out of town last week for varying reasons). I hope at least someone sees the emails and is able to respond during the coming week.

Wednesday, we rushed JR and JFM's elderly cat to the hospital when she showed signs of losing her equilibrium. She's now being treated for a persistent ear infection. Poor kitty -- she HATES going to the vet, and she was shedding fur in clouds due to the stress. (As the vet phrased it, "Under stress, we sweat. Cats shed.") I hope they can get this ear infection under control, because everything ELSE about the cat seems OK -- she's alert, aware, responsive, and is showing no sign of pain or discomfort.

On Thursday, JFM, JR and I went to the Jewish Museum here in Philly. Not only did we see a lot of interesting things, but I tried to file away as many ideas for our would-be Italian Museum. I'm not sure how many artifacts we have as yet, but according to MDP (whose brainchild the museum is), he has hundreds, possibly thousands, of photographs. MDP is also a walking encyclopedia of the history of Italians in Philadelphia and in America. I think that with just his knowledge and those photos, we would be able to create some viable displays; add artifacts into the mix and it would make for some very interesting things indeed. But that's quite a bit down the line.

Today, meanwhile, I have a bunch of work emails that have to get dealt with. It's the first time in three weeks that I've seen a decent number of emails come in, so I'm going to take full advantage of that fact.

Sleep is for the weak. ;-)

WOW. Those DSL issues we had last month were murder on my wireless internet. I actually used my entire 5 GB allotment by month-end. OUCH.

It's been a tough couple of months. Between the passing of Mark's cousin, the cancer diagnosis for my relative, and the untimely passing of my nephew, I want to just hit the reset button and go back to, say, March. I want a do-over for April through June.

It's gotten a bit tougher this week, with some entirely unexpected bad news coming from yet another direction. A 38-year-old woman, with whom I used to sing in the choir at my parish, passed away very suddenly over the weekend. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard that news. I went to the funeral yesterday morning. I feel genuinely sorry for her parents and her boyfriend. My family only just went through an unexpected loss a couple weeks ago, so I can empathize with them if they're feeling blindsided.

It puts things in perspective... I'm expecting to be downsized out of one of my part-time positions any day now. They haven't said anything outright, but I can see how things are going and I know there are people who've been there way longer than I have. I'm really ticked, because I genuinely like this job, but the economy is what it is. But I'd be far more upset by this if I hadn't just had a crash course in what a REAL problem is. Being downsized is a loss, but it doesn't compare to losing human beings. It doesn't compare to looking at your relative's MRI results and seeing words like "malignant" and "cancer" and "non-resectable". So I'm trying to keep my head on straight and forge ahead. In the meantime, I'm going to continue working my rump off at that part-time job until they tell me to do otherwise. Maybe they'll be able to find ways to get their own finances in order and not have to reduce staff.

Heck, I've already reinvented myself once, when I got downsized out of IT years ago. Now I might be downsized out of customer service... time for another session of reinventing myself, I guess.

Some lousy wretch tried to sign into my gmail acct. From BELGIUM. I suspect it's related to the LinkedIn password leak. Changing PWs now.

I am SO addicted to the Science Channel... :-)

HOORAY. The DSL lives. Mark was on the phone for eons, but the problem appears resolved. KNOCK WOOD.

Our freaking DSL is out of commission. @#*$&%+. Mark is on the phone with tech support, getting agita. Thank goodness for wireless internet.

Watching the NJD@LAK and voting for Giroux at http://ping.fm/CdDik

Watching political coverage on CNN. When the opposing sides insisted on TALKING OVER ONE OTHER, I realized it was time to switch to LAK/NJD.

Elaine, John, and I want to take Italian classes @ Filitalia. I'm willing to start with the beginner's class because I'm so rusty.

Yes, I can and will (and did) budget for Oreos in my total calorie intake for the day. :-)

My family suffered a terrible loss on Sunday night. My 25-year-old nephew died in an accident while ATVing. There was a sharp turn in the road at the end of a downhill grade, and he failed to negotiate the turn; he was ejected from the ATV and struck a tree. The official cause of death was blunt force trauma.

To describe everyone in the family as being terribly shaken by this loss is the understatement of the century. No one, no one, no one could have seen this coming. Luke was a careful, conscientious, and goal-oriented young man. His stepmom joked that they used to tease him for driving like an old lady. But even careful people can make a mistake. I suspect he wasn't familiar with that stretch of road, as he and his fiancee were vacationing in her grandmother's cabin in the mountains. If he'd been aware that the sharp curve was coming up, I'm sure he wouldn't have been going too fast. We're lucky that a neighbor happened to see him moving way too quickly on that road, and called state troopers. If he hadn't done that, it would have taken far longer to determine where he was when he didn't come back from ATVing.

So please send prayers and good thoughts my family's way. This has caused a great deal of heartbreak for everyone.

On Sunday, we had a family gathering at St. Rita's Church. They had a healing Mass as a part of their annual St. Rita Novena event (where they have prayer services on the nine days leading up to the Feast Day of St. Rita on the 22nd). My cousin Joe brought Aunt Rita there, my parents went, my cousin Maryann and her husband Vince went, and I went. Mark would've gone, but he had a prior commitment with the Knights of Columbus. If you ever have the opportunity to visit St. Rita of Cascia's church, do so. It's a beautiful, beautiful place. What's more, that Mass was amazing. Their choir is absolutely phenomenal. I was glad to see some of my friends at Mass, as well. JFM, John R., and Elaine were in attendance, and they all got to meet my Aunt, for whom they've all been praying. When Mass was over, we all went to dinner at the restaurant near my home. That was really nice -- we haven't had the opportunity to do that in forever. Tuesday was Mark's and my anniversary, so along with going to the feast day Mass at St. Rita's, we went to dinner at the Chart House. I hadn't eaten there since my 40th birthday, so it's been a while. WOW, is their food excellent. I threw calorie counts to the wind and split the chocolate lava cake with Mark. :-) And speaking of calorie counts... I've got calories on the brain, at the moment. I finally had my doctor's appointment and got my bloodwork results. First, the scale. They have replaced the ancient (and inaccurate by four pounds) scale with a new digital one. So I got my weight measured down to the last 0.1 lbs. I'm not as exasperated by the number as I thought I was going to be. I'm hardly tap-dancing for joy over it, but it could have been worse. The good news: I am NOT diabetic. However, if I have intentions of continuing to say that, then the unwanted pounds have got to go. And go they will. Back to the gym with me for my 30 minutes of cardio per day. I've gotten out of the habit of going, as I started working more. Well, now I'm going to take a chisel and WEDGE those 30 minutes of cardio into my day if I have to. Period. Also, it's back onto the calorie count for me. The combination of exercise/calorie count had me losing 1 lb per week, when I was doing it. It doesn't sound like much, but it adds up if you keep at it. I made progress before, and I'll be making it again. Period. My hard head won't tolerate any other result.