30 September, 2007
I <3 Kelly!
Lemme borrow that top, betch! LOL!
Labels: HAHA
~~ victoria on 6:29 PM ~~ 0 comments
Simon Sunday: Holga-riffic!
This was actually a throw-away shot on one of my Holgas that I found when I was sorting through my Big Basket O'Crap. The Holga was still taped up which meant it still had film in it, so I killed off the last four shots. Somehow, I am really charmed by this shot.
Nothing much new going on with Nurse Simon. He's still helping me recover from my back injury. At the moment, he's glaring at the local squirrel, who is outside the window running up and down the tree, barking and chattering its running commentary on the state and quality of the nuts and leaves. Evidently, Simon was so exhausted from napping with me this morning that he needed another nap and now the squirrel has interrupted that. If he could reach far enough, I believe Simon would actually slap the squirrel.
Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 12:00 PM ~~ 0 comments
26 September, 2007
Tonight's Moonrise
The Harvest Moon rose over the Oakland Hills about ten minutes after I got off the ferry in Alameda. The foreground is the ship yards in Alameda.
Labels: extraordinaryness, ferry commuting
~~ victoria on 9:34 PM ~~ 0 comments
24 September, 2007
Just Like That
So about a month ago I was at a party at my friend's house and they finally cajoled me into playing along on their PlayStation karaoke. Someone beat me to Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", so I went with "Hungry Like The Wolf"* by Duran Duran. After the opening riff I was immediately transported back to junior year in high school when I listened to their first two albums about nine million times and here I am a flaming Durannie all over again! I've rediscovered how much I love the Rio album and how it absolutely drips with their Chic (one of the best R&B/Disco bands, ever) influence. I can't keep Rio off of the CD player and have had "New Religion" on repeat for two days!
(*BTW, I'll brag here and report that I tied for first place in the karaoke game. Yay me!)
Labels: music, waxing nostalgic, Why it is
~~ victoria on 9:09 PM ~~ 0 comments
Why I LOVE The Internets!
Today the Internets gave me my New Favourite Word: schadendouche!
(Courtesy of a comment on BoingBoing.)
~~ victoria on 8:03 PM ~~ 0 comments
23 September, 2007
Simon Sunday: Dr. Snugglebunny On The Case
I'm now going into my third week of back (and leg) pain issues. Last week I was virtually crippled with it: I missed work for three days and was effectively house-bound from Friday evening until I went to the acupuncturist on Tuesday. This level of pain--and its duration--is all new to me and has, at times, been terrifying for the cats. They're used to my Donald Duck temper tantrums, but did not know what to do when I'd shriek in agony just trying to sit on the toilet or get into or out of bed.
Last weekend it got to the point where they had to make adjustments to their own habits. I pretty much couldn't bend down to put their food dishes on the floor in their usual spots, so they started eating on higher surfaces: kitchen table for Simon, on top of my bed for Billie. They both had a bit of difficulty adjusting to this (especially since I always shoo Simon OFF of the table when it was time to feed them). Billie still pulls Diva spells where she really doesn't want to be bothered with jumping on the bed to eat, but eventually she will, if sometimes grudgingly.
The other adjustment they've made is not having their litter boxes scooped out quite as often as they're used to. On a good day, I can scoop once in the morning and once in the evening: most days they just get scooped once. The adjustment was made easier thanks to Gwen and Chad, who brought over a fresh bag of litter. I had managed to dump and clean one of the boxes and Chad volunteered to dump the second box, bless him, and he filled both boxes with new litter.
(I cannot even begin to express my gratitude for some amazing friends--near and far--who have volunteered to do shopping and other chores for me and insisting that I quit trying to be macho about getting things done around here. You all know who you are and you all completely, truly and utterly ROCK! Thank you!)
Besides making lifestyle adjustments, Billie and Simon have been first-rate caregivers, at least as much as wee beasties can be. The way they behave is a good barometer for how well I'm doing. I knew last Sunday night that I was in big trouble when Simon AND Billie slept in bed with me and never fought or even growled at each other (conversely, since I've become slightly more mobile and shriek less often, their "cease fire" has lifted and they're fighting more often). Simon has been doing everything he can to keep me comfortable when I'm in bed. He'll curl up on my "lap" when I'm laying on my back and he's been giving me neck and shoulder rubs until his little paws were worn out. He also brings me his toys when he thinks I need cheering up (though I can't get down to pick them up). Billie gives me lots of head and leg rubs of encouragement and greets me cheerily after I get out of bed (which takes me forever and requires a lot of cussing) in the morning.
Thankfully, acupuncture seems to be helping, though it's tiny bit by tiny bit. It's been incredibly frustrating having my life stop and nearly being unable to take care of myself--and the furkids--at all. I've been lucky to have help available (even if I am too humiliated to ask anyone to wash my knickers for me) and to have had the best Feline Care in the world. If only I could teach Billie and Simon to shave my legs for me...
A co-worker and I talked about prioritizing caring for myself last week and he asked me, "gee you think your body's trying to tell you something?"
"Yep." I replied. "Message received!" I'm going to make some big changes to my life: I don't want my family to ever have to endure a month like this one, ever again.
Labels: back pain, Billie, cats, friendship, furkids, gratitude, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 3:37 PM ~~ 0 comments
WANT!
Really really want!
~~ victoria on 1:51 PM ~~ 0 comments
16 September, 2007
Simon Sunday: In My Dreemz...
It's been a long and hellish week and I decided that this photo of Simon needed to be made a LOL Cat.
That is all.
Labels: cats, furkids, LOL Cats, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 1:00 PM ~~ 0 comments
15 September, 2007
The One Where It Takes Me Ten Minutes Just To Put My Underwear On
Looking around my cubicle Tuesday, I was growing dismayed with the somewhat chaotic state of the folders that I had inherited. So, attempting to bring order to my workspace, I started sorting and organizing boxes and buckets of files. At one point I felt a slight twinge in my lower back but it wasn't much and, though I took it easy walking back to the Ferry Building, I mostly forgot all about it. I came home and fed the cats: I stayed in the bedroom with Billie and had a quick lie down while she ate her supper. Everything was just dandy until I tried to get up. Muscles spasmed, a nerve became pinched and I suddenly could only wash my hands and brush my teeth by kneeling in front of the bathroom sink.
(Those were the Good Old Days...)
I woke up in pain later that night and had trouble going back to sleep. Around 4:30 a.m. Simon finally came and snuggled around my head, purring. That relaxed me enough that I finally slept. I "snoozed" the alarm and went in to work an hour late (I would have called in sick but had a meeting and, well, it's a week where I really had to be at the office). I asked a co-worker who teaches yoga what asanas I might try to unlink my back and she suggested a couple of easier, more gentle ones to try. I hobbled my way through work, modifying my cubicle so that I could type and write standing up (sitting was rather out of the question at that point). I came home that night and realized that I had forgotten to stop and pick up ibuprofen. I figured, though, that between the yoga and relaxation and icing my back, I should be all right. After all, that's worked in the past and these incidents always started clearing up after a day or so.
A little after 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning I awoke to a back that was shrieking with agony. I tried the yoga asanas. I tried ice. I tried massaging. Nothing helped. At 3:15 a.m. I was finally so desperate that I put my green polar fleece jacket on over my oversized pink flower pyjama bottoms, put on my glasses and grabbed my keys and went to the 24-hour Wallgreens for some ibuprofen. As I got to my corner, I seriously considered heading over to the ER, hoping that maybe I could get a prescription for a muscle relaxer (which I had never taken in my life). I decided that Wallgreens was closer and faster and, since I hate medicating and rarely do it anyway, a small handful of ibuprofen might take the edge off of the pain enough that I'd be able to function. Then, as I turned onto Otis, an evil thought crept in about how nice it must be for those people who have boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses who would go to Wallgreens for them. I've worked hard to not indulge myself in such pity parties lately, but this one had the positive effect of getting my mind off of how fucking much my back was hurting. I pulled into the lot, shuffled inside the store and got two bottles of Wall-uprofen (they had a buy one get one free sale), a bottle of Vitamin Water and, miraculously, remembered to pick up a pack of toilet paper (I had been forgetting to do that for almost a week). I stifled a scream as I got back into the car (have you ever tried getting in and out of a car with mostly cloth seats?), opened the Vitamin Water, opened one of the bottles of ibuprofen and took four of them before starting the car.
Unable to sleep and somewhat delirious, I took this photo and, because there was nothing better to do, posted it on my Flickr stream:
(My thanks to those who posted kind comments on the photo, BTW...)
The pills did take the edge off enough that I was able to lie down for a little while before the alarm went off, though I never did go back to sleep. By the time I made it to work, I was exhausted and still in incredible pain. My game plan was to the input only for the stuff that HAD to be in by Friday and then take the next ferry back to Alameda. Well, it went slowly and I only ended up leaving an hour early. Actually, I had planned all week to be on the 4:10 ferry on Thursday because I was going to SFlickr that night. However, considering I hadn't slept since 2:00 a.m. and the state of my back, there was no way I was in any shape to drive across the bridge and socialize. I was bitterly disappointed at missing the SFlickr meet up; the one thing I had been looking forward to all week...I still want to cry, I'm so upset about that.
Between the ibuprofen and a rearrangement of my body pillow (doubled over and placed under my knees so I slept only on my back), I managed to get a full night's sleep. Friday it was back to the office to finalize the data I had put in and then start on the less time-critical stuff. My back was actually quite a bit worse, but at least I had slept so I managed the best I could. Every move hurt. It was all I could do to shower and get dressed. Have you ever tried getting dressed WHEN YOU CAN'T FUCKING BEND IN ANY DIRECTION? I nearly abandoned the underwear and went commando. Interestingly enough, the only thing that seems to not bother my back is walking, though it's much slower going lately and I've taken nearly everything out of my backpack to lighten the load.
And then there's the cats. Mind you, they've been very good at trying to nurse me back to health. Simon is constantly giving me shoulder rubs and he'll actually lie on my stomach to help straighten out my spine. Billie gives me leg rubs for encouragement. But everything I have to do to care for them requires bending, squatting, and crawling around on the floor. Friday morning I dropped Billie's dish, scattering a few kibbles outside of it and eliciting a dirty look from her. She ate her food anyway, then promptly horked it all back up. Which meant being on the floor to clean up that mess. I'm always spilling their water, trying to replace the water dish and am always begging Simon to move out of the way so I can pour his kibble into his dish. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON DEALING WITH THE LITTER BOXES!
So that brings us to now, nearly 10:00 p.m. Saturday night. I'm still in an unbelievable amount of pain: I managed to write this post because I found one particular way to position myself in the chair where I'm not in constant shrieking agony and I ain't moving unless I absolutely have to. I still have trouble showering and dressing. This afternoon, after my shower, I stood in the doorway to my bedroom, holding my underwear and sobbing because I had spent ten minutes trying to get them on and could not. Once I was finally "dressed", I ended up watching most of Bread and Tulips (a very sweet Italian movie) standing up because I couldn't find any way to sit that wasn't excruciating. This is the closest I've come to not being able to take care of myself and it is terrifying and depressing all at the same time (which probably isn't going to help me in recovering from this).
At this point, I'm going to see if there's any way I can see my acupuncturist or find a chiropractor that uses ultrasound therapy (that used to help). But I'm also hoping that it will respond to a couple of days of rest. I'm not sure I can take much more of this. Physically, I'm beyond my breaking point, and emotionally...I'm pretty damn close.
Labels: back pain, cats, domesticity, furkids, gah, JesusBloodyChrist
~~ victoria on 10:17 PM ~~ 0 comments
11 September, 2007
Actually, I'm Totally Craving Guacamole Right Now
Alternate Title: Give ME a $100,000* Federal Grant, Instead of These Bozos, So I Can Sit On My Ass In My Apartment Eating Chocolate For A Year And Tell The World That It's Mighty Tasty But Not Really Addicting
*I don't know how much grant money these guys got for this story, but $100k sounds good enough for the task. But, seriously folks, there's all kinds of money out there for stuff like this. I need to get some of it!
Labels: in the news
~~ victoria on 4:57 PM ~~ 0 comments
10 September, 2007
Two Things
1: Enough with all the talk about Britney Spears' "paunch" already! Maybe her performance at the MTV VMA left much to be desired, but, seriously, how many of you people ripping her for having a tummy would look ripped after having TWO BABIES?
(UPDATE: OK I've finally seen the photos from the VMAs. SHE'S NOT FAT!!! Anyone who says she is really needs to get therapy.)
2: Regarding Kyla Ebbert, the young woman who was just about booted off of a Southwest Airlines flight for looking a little to hawt: WHAT THE FUCK DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE THAT SHE WORKS AT HOOTERS? Would it be as important if she worked at, say, Denny's? Or in some office somewhere?
For Frack's Sake!
Labels: gah, in the news, ranting, whatever
~~ victoria on 8:39 PM ~~ 0 comments
09 September, 2007
Simon Sunday: Because We Can
Once the essential chores were done this weekend, we spent much time napping and snuggling while I watched movies and read books. Goat cheese and yogurt were shared (not at the same time, blech!) and Simon has now realized that he can leap over the 30"x30" canvas that I had been using to keep him from bursting in on Billie while she ate her food.
It was a good weekend.
Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 9:06 PM ~~ 0 comments
08 September, 2007
Congratulations to Jane Kay!
Jane Kay, the environmental reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, was recently recognized as the top environmental beat reporter in the nation by the Society of Environmental Journalists.
In addition to being a very brilliant and gifted writer, Jane is my former neighbour in San Francisco! I used to kitty-sit for Chet and Isabel. Having been a "dog person" all my life (up to that point), I never realized how wonderful it was to hang out with kitties until Jane's furkids showed me that cats have amazing and diverse personalities!
Congratulations, Jane! It's a very richly deserved honour!
~~ victoria on 8:39 PM ~~ 0 comments
07 September, 2007
Come ON, Facebook!
Breastfeeding (or photos of) is not obscene! Breasts exist to provide nourishment to developing infants, full stop, end of story. If some people here cannot handle the image of a woman feeding her child, then they need to go away and come back when they've developed beyond the maturity of a 12-year old.
(once again, h/t to Shakesville)
Labels: gah
~~ victoria on 6:32 PM ~~ 0 comments
05 September, 2007
RIP Luciano Pavarotti
Damn. One of the greatest voices in my lifetime is silenced. He made opera so much more accessible to those of us who love music but weren't familiar with opera. Along with his beautiful tenor, he had such an infectious smile and seemed to have a really huge love of life.
I hope his suffering wasn't too great. My deepest condolences go to his family and all his fans.
Labels: in the news, music
~~ victoria on 10:03 PM ~~ 0 comments
Locking Up and Turning Out The Lights
(oooh, that heading sounds so dire!)
Once again, I was the last person in the office this evening (and, with more frequency, I'm the first person in the office in the mornings). I dragged myself into Starbucks on the way to the ferry because I really wanted an iced (decaf) Americano. Say what you want about snooty baristas and impatient cashiers, but I have always had great service from the Starbucks at...oh crap, I can't remember the street number but it's the 300 block of Market St. between Beale and Fremont (325?). Anyway, it was just after 7pm and the barista started making my drink and said it was the last drink of the day. I sort of felt bad that I might be keeping them, but I also saw other patrons sitting at a table, so I wasn't sure what time they closed. I made a comment about my fortunate timing and, smiling, the barista said, "hey, you deserve it!" When he handed me my drink, I tried to give him money for the coffee but he wouldn't take it. "We already closed the registers, so don't worry about it. That's what I meant when I said you deserve it!" I put the money in the tip jar instead and thanked him.
That, along with the pretty salmon-pink sunset, was a very nice reward after a long, looooooong day!
Labels: gratitude
~~ victoria on 9:46 PM ~~ 0 comments
Olbermann Knocks It Out of the Park Again
There's nothing I can add to this, really.
h/t to Shakesville, where you can find a like to the transcript and a great post on the same subject from William K. Wolfrum.
~~ victoria on 7:20 AM ~~ 0 comments
02 September, 2007
Simon Sunday: Playtime!
We re-discovered an old friend of Simon's recently: His Cat Dancer toy. One of his greatest joys in life is when he jumps on the bed and I whirl the Cat Dancer all across the bed and he chases it, finally subduing his "prey" by collapsing on top of it in a breathless heap. Once he catches his breath, he'll take it into the other room for a few minutes, and then bring it back to me for another round.
Unfortunately, a couple of days after we found it, we hit a bit of a heat wave and it's been too hot to play chasie with the Cat Dancer. But as soon as it cools off, we have a date, Simon, the Cat Dancer and me!
Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 8:50 PM ~~ 0 comments
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OTHER THINKERS:
"I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."
--Augusten Burroughs
