30 October, 2007
RIP, Fup
It is with tremendous sadness that I report that Fup, the beloved Store Cat at Powell's Books, has died. She was 19 years old.
I saw her around the store on several occasions, quietly surveying her domain. Her presence is one of the many things that made Powell's such a wonderful place to spend a cold, rainy (or even a sunny) day. And anyone who's read the Powell's Books Newsletter has followed her "adventures" for years (it's the part of the newsletter I always jumped to first)! I am absolutely gutted that she's gone, but am happy to know that she passed away in her "home" surrounded by her loved ones.
Rest sweetly, beautiful Fup. You are missed.
Labels: passages
~~ victoria on 10:01 PM ~~ 0 comments
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Daaaaaammmnnn!
That was a very long earthquake! I think we shook a good 20-25 seconds! It happened about five or ten minutes ago and USGS still doesn't have much in the way of stats on it other than it was centered down toward San Jose. Check that. Now it's looking like a 5.6 and I can't tell if it was on the Hayward or Calaveras fault. If it holds at 5.6, it still won't beat my record for the largest quake I've been in: That record belongs to the earthquake we had in Portland a few months before I moved down here. That was a 5.7 magnitude. And really? I don't WANT to break that record!
I also notice that there was a small quake just off the coast in the North Bay (that's bang on the San Andreas fault). And there's a few tiny aftershocks to this one.
Simon is sufficiently freaked out and is hiding under the covers. Billie is sticking close to me. And as for me, well my day was so shitty that this is about the best thing that came of it.
UPDATE: It's looking like there's a cluster of aftershocks--or just more smallish quakes--on the Calaveras fault, so I'll go out on a limb and say the main event was on that fault and not the Hayward (which is the one that's closest to where I live). I'm not sure if that makes me feel any better...
Labels: earthquake, eeek
~~ victoria on 8:23 PM ~~ 0 comments
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28 October, 2007
Simon Sunday: (Early) Happy Halloween!
Simon immediately bonded with the pumpkin, despite the fact that it is not made of chocolate or goat cheese. I'm not sure how he'll feel about it, post-surgery on Tuesday, when it will come back with a face. I also haven't reminded Simon about the impending doom of all those LOUD Small Humans coming to our door (and taking all "his" candy). He'll figure it out soon enough.
Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 7:23 PM ~~ 0 comments
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26 October, 2007
Oh, Give Me An F'in Break!
Miss England, Georgia Horsley, has been told by Miss World pageant officials to put on some weight because, as Ms. Horsley put it, "[pageant organizers want] their girls to be more voluptuous and womanly and curvy, you know, rather than the stick-thin, size-0 models that you see around." (Ms. Horsley is, for the record, a size 4.)
The thing is, she says she tends toward a more athletic, boyish build. To her credit, she's vowed to put on those extra inches by eating healthily (oily fish, nuts, avocado, etc.). So the obvious question is, what if those healthy fats go straight to her waist/thighs/chin/whatever?
"I'll obviously scrap the idea and I'll just accept the fact that I'm a naturally athletic build and can't do the curves." says, she.
Hey, here's a really radical idea: Why don't you just skip all that and just ACCEPT YOUR NATURAL BUILD and tell the pageant officials to GO FUCK THEMSELVES!
Labels: gah, in the news
~~ victoria on 6:56 PM ~~ 0 comments
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22 October, 2007
That's It! I'm Hiding The Hockey Stick!
~~ victoria on 12:21 PM ~~ 0 comments
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21 October, 2007
Simon Sunday: Nappus Interruptus
I was trying to get a shot of him while he was sleeping because, you know, I only have 1,763 adorable photos of Simon sleeping, but OMG he was so cute and I didn't have a photo of him sleeping with his whiskers QUITE THAT WAY! Needless to say, I woke him up while reaching for the camera. He was displeased.
Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 7:05 PM ~~ 0 comments
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If You'll Excuse Me, I Need To Get Back To My Stack, Now
| What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more. | |
| Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm | |
| Literate Good Citizen | |
| Book Snob | |
| Fad Reader | |
| Non-Reader | |
| What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz | |
~~ victoria on 8:25 AM ~~ 0 comments
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19 October, 2007
Please Please Please Let Me Study Abroad
Specifically, in the music department at Salford University in Manchester.
**le sigh**
Labels: in the news, rock 'n' roll, WANT
~~ victoria on 2:23 PM ~~ 0 comments
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18 October, 2007
This Makes Me Weep and Laugh
(For some reason YouTube is being all assy on my Mac, so if you're getting the endless loading spiral, just hit the play button and you should see the video.)
(h/t to Shakesville)
~~ victoria on 7:41 PM ~~ 0 comments
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14 October, 2007
Simon Sunday: We Can Has Relijun?!?
I'm probably very late to the pew on this one, but I stumbled upon the LOLCat Bible Translation Project earlier this week. It is somewhat disturbing and so hilarious that Billie thought I had hurt my back again, I was laughing so hard. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best thing to ever be put on the internets.
I has an excerpt. Let me show you:
"1. And if pplz thinkz of steelin mah cheezburger, is wtf n00b, I is gonna PWNED u lolz.
2: And if sumone toucheded teh smelleh stuff he is smelly and no get cheezburger.
3: And if he toucheded sumone who no shower he becomes stinky, lyke omg srysly.
4: And if he sez he is steelin bucket he also no get cheezburger, kthx.
5: If he stealz mah cheezburger he has to sez so, MAH STEELIN CHEEZBURGER: LET ME SHOW YOU THEM.
6: And he has to bring Ceiling Cat a largeder cheezburger.
7: If he cantz bring largeder mebbe 2 medium size cheezburger, is ok, srysly.
8: And he shallz brings them to Ceiling Cats d00d and sez "O hai, I bringz you cheezburger, dont PWNED me! Kthx."
9: Then Ceiling Cat will eat cheezburger, n sumtimes mebbe he share, lolz.
10: And if they give Ceiling Cat second Cheezburger and he sez, omg cant eat no moar, so is ok, kthx. "
I may have to have Simon and Billie start up a LOLCat Bible Study group. Srsly.
Labels: Billie, cats, furkids, HAHA, LOL Cats, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 4:54 PM ~~ 0 comments
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12 October, 2007
My Flickr Friends
They are Teh Awesome!
That is all.
Labels: flickr, friendship, gratitude
~~ victoria on 7:26 AM ~~ 0 comments
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07 October, 2007
Oh Goody! She's On About Her Damn Back Again!
(Hey friends, this is a long post and I don't know why I'm compelled to post the whole story but I am. Read it if you want, but if you don't want the whole saga, then I invite you to skip down to today's Simon Sunday post. K'thxbye!)
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I really thought I'd have nothing new to post about my back problems after last weekend. I went for another acupuncture treatment last Tuesday and felt better than I had in several weeks.
And then...
I wake up Wednesday morning. The back/hip/leg is stiff and a little sore, but that's been The New Normal so I didn't worry too much about it, even if it was disappointing because I had felt so much better before I went to bed. I went through the morning ablutions, gave the cats some breakfast and went into the bedroom to finish my Chinese herb tea and get dressed while Billie ate her breakfast on my bed. I bent down to put my underwear on when something went horribly, horribly wrong. I don't know if a disc slipped or what exactly happened: All I know is that I was suddenly in the most horrific pain I have ever experienced in my life and I couldn't walk. I was trying so hard not to panic but it was a full-speed freight train coming right at me. I tried to stretch gently and nearly collapsed: I tried to walk it off but I could hardly move. I flopped myself onto the bed thinking that maybe if I just rested it for a few minutes it would be okay and I could get dressed and take the later boat in to work (how fucking sick is that?).
If I moved, even a hair's width, my right side shrieked in agony. I don't know how I did it, but I got up and, with the aid of my Swiffer broom stick (that I had been using as a cane), grabbed an old dress out of the closet and threw it over me, got to the back door and unlocked it so my friend S could get in, put the rest of Simon's breakfast in his dish and got my mobile phone before collapsing on the bed and, very gingerly and painfully, slithering under the covers. I left messages with the acupuncturist (her office was closed Wednesday but I didn't realize that at first) and the receptionist at my office (she said she never got my message, though I distinctly remember hearing her voice mail greeting and leaving a very gasping, panic-stricken message). I shivered under the covers for another hour or two before calling S (got her voice mail) and G (who, thank my stars, picked up). G came over (she has a spare key) and helped me with the cats and brought me water, made sure I was alright and told me to call if I needed a ride to the doctor or anything.
My nerves and muscles in right leg were so ground up that any trip to the bathroom or to the kitchen to get the ice pack left me shaking violently by the time I got back to my bed and it would take me several minutes of flopping (there was no strength in the leg to hold me up to even sit on the bed) slithering, moaning and screaming before I was under the covers again. Simon stayed next to me in bed: Billie stayed in the living room, but I could hear her pitter-pattering feet in the hallway and occasionally she'd meow softly until I answered her. I made an appointment at Kaiser for Thursday afternoon. I spoke to the acupuncturist: She thought she might try to come to my apartment to give me a treatment but she couldn't (not that I could have got to the door to let her in, anyway). She thought I should get a chiropractic adjustment. On one of my herculean efforts to get to the bathroom and back, I detoured to my desk for the blue post-it note pad with the name and phone number of S's chiropractor. I checked in at the office (that's when I was told that the receptionist didn't get my voice mail) and said I was done for the next couple of days, probably the rest of the week but that I'd keep checking in. At that point I was exhausted and my mobile phone battery was running low. I phoned G's a while later and spoke to C who said he or G would stop by in the evening. I managed to find a "least uncomfortable" position and slept fitfully for a couple of hours.
C came over and brought me my ice pack, mobile phone charger and hooked up my old iBook and the Airport Base station so I could at least check in online and then served the cats' food. I think he was on his way to something else and I felt bad that I kept him for so long. I got hold of S a couple of hours later and she said she would be over in the morning (she lives across the back yard from me) to help with the cats and would take me to Kaiser. I hardly slept at all and was exhausted when I had to get up to use the bathroom in the morning. I had it in my head that I HAD to feed the furkids myself so I tried to, though it ended up with me in tears, shaking violently and barely making it back to bed. S came over about an hour later and got the cats fresh water, scooped the litter box (I hated, but hated asking G and S to do that chore for me!) and brought me more water and the bottle of Rescue Remedy she found by the kitchen sink. She said she'd be back in a few hours to take me to my Dr. appointment at Kaiser. I rested as long as I could and I made an appointment with her chiropractor for Friday morning.
I got up again to try to get myself together for the appointment, my wallet, check book, glasses, mobile phone, etc. I collapsed on the bed again for another hour or so before I heard S's footsteps in the back garden. SHIT! I realized I still didn't have underwear on! S came in and I told her my dilemma. She said she needed to pull the car around and she'd get me in a few minutes. So I took out a pair that looked the least challenging to get on and fumbled around--in a great deal of pain--getting them on after about the fifth try. When I stood up, I realized I had put them on wrong. At that point I really didn't give a shit anymore. I pulled my messy matted hair back, put my glasses on and hobbled out front to wait for S. She parked along the street and I very slowly slid into her car but could not reach over to close the door. S needed to run back up to her place for her ID which gave me time by myself to try to settle into the seat. I so did not want to moan and groan the whole trip so I gripped the handle over the door and did deep breathing exercises while I waited for her to return. Once we were underway, she turned on the seat warmer. I don't know why or how, but somehow between the great lumbar support in Subarus and the seat warmer, my back and hip eased and I was actually able to walk (well, limp) through the parking lot and across the street to the medical building.
I had avoided going to Kaiser for the back problems because all I expected was I'd get a cursory look-over, answer a couple of questions and be sent home with a bottle of pills. I underestimated them. After the doctor showed up 15 minutes late (by which time I was in great pain again) I got a cursory look-over, answered a couple of questions, got sent to the lab for a blood test and urine test (she thought, because I had a slight fever, I might have a bladder infection--in fact the blood test she ordered looks like one that is ordered to look at kidney function too--Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot???) and sent me home with THREE bottles of pills (Vicodin, which did nothing, Flexeril, which actually did help but really made me drowsy, and prescription ibuprofen). Whoop-dee-flippin'-doo!
S brought me home and I took a couple of Vicodin which, as I said, did nothing at all. I checked in at the office but had to cut my call short because I was getting very uncomfortable again. I took a Flexeril and went back to bed. The muscle relaxer actually eased the discomfort and I managed to sleep for a couple of hours before getting up to feed the cats. Yes, I was able to actually get up and feed my cats! By myself! (Simon was probably the most relieved by this as he was freaked out by all of the people he didn't know coming into his house and making him hide under the bed.) I lay on the bed while Billie ate and checked in on my regular Web sites for a while. I decided what I really needed was sleep and took another Flexeril before going to bed (at 7:00 pm!). I woke up around 3:00 a.m. feeling sore again, so I got up and took one last Flexeril so I could get some rest. The pill worked, but Simon decided to be Freaky Boy and get into everything knowing there wasn't much I could do to stop him. I reached over and got the blue post-it note pad and the pen I had put on my bed stand and made a shopping list for when S took me to the chiropractor: a heating pad and can of compressed air (the sound stops Simon in his tracks).
I was feeling sore and icky when I got up but I was absolutely determined to not take any more medication before I saw the chiropractor. S came to collect me (I not only had underwear on, but it was on the right way this time! Thank You, Flexeril!) and we were off. The ass-warming seats worked their magic again on the way to the chiropractor, though I had a bit of difficulty hobbling in. The chiropractor visit was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the Kaiser visit. Oh My Stars! She explained a little bit about the way the spine and nervous system work together, then, explaining the function of every set of nerves along the spine, took a detailed health history. Then we went back for x-rays (which Kaiser did NOT do). She analyzed the images and gave me a treatment. Her specialty is the NUCCA technique, which isn't the snappy/cracky/poppy adjustment we tend to associate with chiropractors. NUCCA concentrates on the top vertebrae where the base of the skull meets the spinal column. Essentially, it's getting my head on straight! As I lay there while she applied pressure below/behind my ear, I was a bit skeptical. But I did feel a little better afterward, I had to admit. She took a second set of x-rays to see if the adjustment realigned the Atlas area but we didn't have time to look at them before her next appointment. I certainly wasn't up dancing a polka, but I was feeling a bit better. I made an appointment for Saturday and bought S lunch to thank her for helping me.
I was feeling a little achy in the evening, so I took one of the prescription ibuprofen before I went to bed. Unlike the Vicodin, these actually seemed to smooth the edge off of the pain (with a little help from the heating pad). I was a little bummed about that because I really wanted to detox all of the drugs out of my system, but I also needed to rest. As I lay in bed trying to relax myself to go to sleep, I realized that I had stopped using the old Swiffer broom stick to prop me up. Simon curled up next to me and sighed.
Saturday morning I felt better than I have in a month! I was still stiff and kind of sore, especially in the hip and along the back of my leg, but I felt like I might be able to do a bit more than just function. I got over to Rockridge way early for my appointment with the chiropractor (aw heck, let's just call her Dr. Doyle), so I took a walk around the block. My hip and leg were getting more sore so I stopped in at the store/coffee house next door and got an iced jasmine tea. The guy at the counter referred to Dr. Doyle as the "neighbourhood miracle worker" and said that a few times a year she'll charge patients half-price for treatments and then donate all her proceeds for the day to a charity like breast cancer research, which made me like her even more. I had time so I took another walk around the block, simply because I could (painful thought it was). I went in for my appointment and noticed she was a few minutes behind schedule which is no problem because her regular appointments are short. As she finished with the guy before me, the guy scheduled after me shuffled in. He looked like he was really uncomfortable so I offered to let him switch with me, which he thanked me for but declined. Dr. Doyle and I talked about the second set of x-rays, which showed that I was slightly back in alignment and then she measured my hip and leg alignment and noted that they were off again. She did the adjustment and as we were settling the bill, I saw her fliers for an event later in the month where new patients pay 1/2 price if they bring in groceries to help feed the poor. So, if you're in the East Bay and are looking for a chiropractor without the violent snap and crackle of other chiropractors, let me know and I'll send you the flyer.
Anyway, I felt even better after the treatment, good enough to toodle through Trader Joe's for a few things. I needed to take an ibuprofen this morning and the hip and leg still get tired pretty quickly, but I am amazed that I'm able to sit nearly pain-free and stand up without a painful "hitch" and can do things more easily like clean litter boxes and vacuum the floor. I don't feel so good about having spent over $800 on getting my back fixed, but am thankful that most of that will be reimbursed. I'm thankful to my Internet Friends who, even if they couldn't come over to help (being across the country or in Europe and all that), sent me loads of good wishes and healing vibes. I am also thankful beyond description for friends like S, G & C, who have now seen me at my most crippled and helpless; a state I never, EVER wanted anyone to ever have to see me in. They are my heroes. I do wonder, sometimes, if I'll ever be able to stand up and not have to think about standing up. Or leaning down. Or walking.
And now I really, really, truly hope that this is the LAST post about my damn back!
Labels: back pain, Billie, friendship, furkids, gratitude, JesusBloodyChrist, Simon
~~ victoria on 6:49 PM ~~ 1 comments
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Simon Sunday: More Classic Simon
I really haven't been up for taking/posting new photos lately for reasons which I'll go into in another post.
In the meantime, enjoy this classic, gently-used, photo of His Supreme Cuteness as he admires one of his First Christmas presents.
Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 3:59 PM ~~ 0 comments
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