We had 11 and a half inches of rain this past weekend, my drive way is a swamp and still not dry after 3 semi loads of sand. Hurry up sunshine I need to get some gravel down.

When was the last time you got 11 and a half inches?

I used to be awesome at writing papers, I'd sit down, grab a pencil, and write. Paper would be done in an hour or so, I'd type it out, edit, fix my mistakes and voila.

For some reason once I entered college it became a big deal. Now it takes me FOREVER to be able to even start a paper, and then I get all frozen up about it, I avoid them like the plague which usually means they turn out late, but once I actually get one written, even with deducted points I still get good grades.

It's frustrating as all get out to not be able to figure out why I can't do this properly anymore. It's like waking up and realizing you can't remember how to move your legs to get out of bed.

That's the roofies.

I hear ya. I'm a writer, for heaven's sake. You'd think that doing a research paper would be cake. It's not that much harder than writing articles, press releases, or whatnot, just sort of different. I have approximately eight of them to do this quarter, and the thought of what's looming ahead gives me a tummy full of flutters. :eek:

I can't get into details, but there is something I should do, it would be best for all. I was all ready to take the necessary steps when the time came up. Well its come up. And I can't I just can't. It'd be like purposely ripping out my own heart and stomping on it. I've started to, get part of the way through and its like I'm physically in pain. Agh! It ought to be such an easy decision to go through, and its just ridiculously hard. It'll happen whether I initiate it or not, I guess I'll just go through the pain later.

Ex-Lax might help.

Not even close.

Slipped on the stairs on Saturday. My left foot just slid out from under me and I slithered down the last four steps. No biggie, except that being in the pub, there was a locked door to crash into. I sat and heaved with pain for a while, then bumped back up the stairs on my bott. I retired to my room in distress, until I heard John come up to get some change and despatched him for a towel and ice.

Sunday, he took me to A&E. Hmmmm. I will defend state healthcare until it kills me, but London A&E has, is and always will be a miserable experience. Still, I got x-rays and painkillers and a ride in a wheelchair from a lovely porter, so it was worth 5 hours wait. Ahem.

All clear of course, I just bruise and swell easily and scare everyone with the inflatable look of my peripheries. So yesterday was resting, icing, compressing and elevating. Back to work today. Bloody hurts though - I feel like The Little Mermaid down one side.

Don't worry - I'll take a picture for you.

Bugger, Sundae, that's a shit way to spend a Sunday!

Hope you're all better soon m'dear. And yes, pics please!

Yeah, and I don't think John "came up to get change," either. He was lookin' to get lucky oncet again and gaze upon that garden of yourn.

Ouch! Sorry to hear about your fall. That picture in the other thread looks really painful.

Nah, it's Martin who's the cheeky monkey - John is a real gentleman, in every sense of the word.

Is John the guy I met? The one I borrowed a lighter from?

If so he seemed lovely.

Yes, I think it probably was.

He has been so good to me - not only letting me stay there but on times like the weekend when he fed Diz for me, brought me up a drink as well as ice for my foot and took me to and from the hospital, which would have been at least £15 each way in a taxi.

And the people who work in the kitchen left me the Broccoli and Stilton soup because I didn't get my usual pub meal (as I wasn't working) and they know I really like it. Had it for tea and for lunch today, nom nom nom.

I've been very lucky with the people I've met this year, I really have.

Oh dear, I hope you're feeling better.

Of course you have good friends. You are a giving and caring person, and deserve tenfold in return.

Ha - just said the same to you on the other thread :)

Great minds, my friend, great minds.

Eeesh, I better get to work. I'm running on full adrenaline right now!

Hitting up this thread again - trying to keep my moaning off the main board.

I'm just fed up of being in pain now.
Not big pain. Not important pain like other Dwellars have had to put up with,
And I do know there will be an end to this pain.

But I'm fed up with the swelling, the shuffling, the walking-on-knives feeling.
Gah.

And I have decided mothers are the most selfish people in the world - although I am aware there are exceptions - I met one this morning. Now I usually walk very quickly. And I am aware of my surroundings. If I see a woman coming along with a kid on a bike or scooter I will step into the road or cross to the other side - they take up the whole pavement, I am willing and able to move. Similarly if there are two mums with pushchairs, or a gaggle of small children, or an old person with a stick etc etc.

But when I am obviously limping. When I am using a garden wall for support. When I am obviously watching the ground for uneven pavement... Guess who has to stop to let them pass? Me. Still. It doesn't help that sod's law dictates we will pass at the precise point where someone has their bin out on the pavement, or there is a tree or a lamp-post, ie the narrow part. But why can't they look with their eyes and see that I'm shuffling along as fast as I can go, obviously in some pain (you don't limp unless it hurts to walk!) and just move to one side. I'm not asking for special treatment really, just some of the same courtesy I show to others when I am in rude health.

BTW - a woman carrying a toddler stopped to let me pass this morning. I gave her a big smile and a thank you. She was the exception, but a very welcome one.

Sorry - I've run out of painkillers and am working tonight in the pub and Diz wasn't around last night (so I am worried about him) and all that.

Good moaning, Sundae. It's a beautiful day.

(Have you had your foot X-rayed? Maybe something is broken.)

Seconded. In fact, all the recent posts (in the "upsetting" thread no less) are making me laugh. The cat stories, the dog afraid of "square things in general" -- just LOL!

Spent 5 hours in Accident & Emergency on Sunday (moaned about somewhere here) for x-rays, so I know it's just soft tissue damage, otherwise I wouldn't be walking on it.

Got some painkillers now. Still grumpy :)

Thank God for painkillers and the relief they bring!

But sorry you need them...Hope it feels better soon.

Tendons? Ligaments? They wont show up on an x-ray. And when you badly twist your ankle that is usually what is damaged - not bone.

Meh - they poked me about a bit, asking what hurt and what didn't, they seemed confident it was just bruising.
I'm wary of their advice that I should exercise it and use it normally though. They (who are "they"?) said that when I was hit by a car. I went back a week later, swollen up like a ballon and black as Newgate's knocker and they admitted I should have continued with R.I.C.E. until the swelling went down.

I'm sure this should have been the same, but I've got to work, sadly. It goes down overnight as I elevate both legs on a rolled up duvet. But it swells up during the day and when I work in the pub.

I promise on Saturday, apart from going to my new house, I will spend the day with my leg elevated until I go to work. And same Sunday until 13.00 and after 17.00. I'm sure that will knock it on the head.

Pocketknife is missing again. Sh*t. And good, since I remember seeing it last in the woods and not since then. Perhaps it is stuck in some pocket or some bag in my gear. Perhaps. Well, the lemonade here is I have some serious FAWET ahead of me in the name of finding my knife.

I've got a pocket knife (Swiss Army variety) that my Mom gave me the Christmas before we moved away from St. Louis (1987). It also has teeth marks on the plastic where my oldest chewed on it as a toddler.

I would be devastated if I lost that knife. Too many memories go along with it. And the thing is, I used to lose knives all the time. I guess it's important enough to me that I'm more aware of it's location.

you need to attach that bloomin' thing on a piece of elastic like toddler's mittens! One of those curly plastic keychains should do it -that's what I use for the kids' cellphones.

stupid friggen men

So came home night before last, went to log onto my beloved cellar, and to check what atrocities had occured in the orgy thread...I had no service. This was coming but I didn't realize it would be happening so soon! Our apts are switching providers and our new providers haven't set up yet. I've called a million (3 or 4) people about it by now! So, I don't know when I'll get it back up, for now I'll have to see ya'll only at school. Can't check the NSFW pics thats for sure! <3 and miss all!

Woke up this morning with heartburn again.

I've been on Omaprazole for 6 weeks and I took my last tablet on Friday. Today being Sunday it looks like I still need to be on them. Going to get an appointment tomorow and see what the Doctor says. He seemed to think that putting me on them for more than two weeks would give me body a chance to heal.

Once I move I will be changing my lifestyle anyway - I know it's not been healthy since I moved into the pub. And I know lifestyle changes do have an affect on GORD.

But in the meatime I am in a lot of pain. It's very debilitating and it's making me thoroughly miserable.

April and I are moving in with her mom next month.

Is this an acid/histamine blocking drug Sundae? If so, they are known to create dependency ie. you will experience painful withdrawal symptoms.

Doctors over here hand them out like candy... helps build their practice and gets them lots of free lunches - a win-win [/cynic]

Sorry Sys. . . Try to focus on the positives and watch that debt reduction. Things will work out for ya both in the end.

Prayers headed your way.

Spelled it wrong - it's Omeprazole. It's not for my allergy (which went down in the end) it's for heartburn. It's a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) and as far as I know there are no side effects to coming off it - except that the original problem resurfaces.

I didn't wake up with heartburn today, so I've held off making an appointment.

I found a lump in my breast. I am going to ignore the hell out of it. At least until I get the guidelines on my husbands at work health coverage for me. I just read that only 1 out of 5 lumps are cause for alarm. I have good odds here.

Aah! baaah! I don't even have a coverage card in yet, and already trouble.

:eek: I WAS LAID OFF TODAY! :eek:

If anyone needs Linux administration help about now...

Oh wtf?!? Holy shit. (making an exception for the no cuss rule)

Damn, I'm sorry UT!

Not that you can't do this yourself...There was someone looking...I think this is your area? Or close mebbe?

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/sad/860922315.html

Sorry UT. I have been laid off a lot lately because of the disposable market, and the best thing I know to do is get right back up on the horse. Don't let this get you down.

This may be an asset and opportunity to move on. Just get out there asap and you might find that it was advantageous in the end. It sucks, I know....You are definitely hireable, and might find a better situation elsewhere.

Anyone of any worth would be pleased to have you on their team. I know this doesn't make up for how crappy you probably feel, so I'll wrap this up. I'll try to send some of my limited amount of good vibes your way. heh. :)

Sorry to hear that UT - you are definitely a marketable commodity and will assuredly land on your feet soon. Well wishes headed your way.

I'm sorry UT. :(

You will overcome.

And Cic? Get your damn ass to the doctor and get that checked out...please? Worry later about the damn cost. Don't make me kick your ass, k?

Oh, that bites, Toad! I am sorry to hear it. I may be able to help you find something remote from here. I will definitely ask around.

Shitballs.

Holy Jesus! That sucks, dude.

Watch for things to happen in the tip jar...

Hey Cic -- if you need a day to figure out the insurance, that's fine, but don't let it go much longer than a day or two. Really.

UT -- may the Force be with you. I hope you find a replacement gig just soon enough that the novelty of the unexpected vacation has juuuust worn off.

OH! UT!!!! Hang in there, cowboy. You're probably in shock right now----just one foot in front of the other, breath in, breath out. Prayers to you!

Cic--I'll kick your ass, too. Get it checked.

Aw, man! I'm really sorry, UT. Somebody needs a cunt-kicking.


For what it's worth, I've found Indeed.com to be the most efficient and thorough jobsearch engine by far.

Holy crap, UT, that sucks.

Can you busk? ;)

can you cut hair?

Seriously, UT, not cool. Was there any hint?

Holy poop, UT. You will overcome (as said above) but in the meanwhile it's a bu88er. In a week from now things'll look a whole lot rosier, trust me. Maybe even a couple of days will be enough to turn the picture inside out.
Brainstorm all your ideas - we're all rooting for you.
And Cic - get to a DOCTOR, NOW - even though the odds are on your side.

Ah Tony I'm really sorry to hear that.
All my thoughts & wishes are with you in hoping this is very temporary. Well, those that aren't with my brother who is in the same situation :(

Cic - get thee to a nunnery! Or a doctors, preferably. If you have something, then you already have it (if you get what I mean). If it's not a problem then why put yourself through worry. If it is a problem then for God's sake it needs to be sorted sooner rather than later. You're certainly not a coward.

In my bad news (don't even come close to the above) I need to give a stool sample. Doc wants to check me for H Pylori before going any further. I have never done one of these before. I can't even think of how to go about it. The idea is already making me retch. Any tips would be gratefully accepted - either by PM or perhaps in a Stool Sample thread, so no-one chokes on their Cap'n Crunch.

It's only a pea sized sample, but that doesn't help me with the grim logistics of actually... well enough said in this thread.

Just so you know - this is my little poop scoop.

Undertoad-- I'm sending as many good vibes as I can scare up.

Cic--there are places that do free or reduced price mammograms based in income level around here, there are likely to be some around you. Google "New Mexico free mammograms" and check out your local Planned Parenthood or Women's Centers. Something to think about if it's going to take awhile to get the insurance sorted out.

Laughing my *ass* off at the cute little poop scoop. Is that a tupperware product?

SG's right, Cicero...I felt infinitely better when I received the news from my recent butt probe that the polyps were non-cancerous, and I just need to keep an eye on it more frequently (that sounds pretty funny.)

Sending warm wishes to youse guyz!

Good vibes, UnderToad.

What can we do to help? Do you have a CV, geographical limits, whatever that will help guide the process?

I'm an experienced Linux admin in the Philly area. I should find new work in short order, where "short order" is about 4 months. That's my guess -- but the economy could have people jittery about new hires. And so the question is now whether I should take work doing whatever, i.e., installing Direct TV and stuff like that.

I apologize for my stupidity, but I don't know if that is the kind of work that can be done from another location or do you have to be on site.

System administration is generally local -- only because somebody has to locally install the things that let people work remotely.

Nowadays "integrated lights out" is all the rage -- things that let you *really* run a computer from anywhere on the Internet. At my previous job, we became remote sysadmins as much as possible, but there's a limit where somebody actually has to be on site -- to change out disk drives, diagnose hardware problems, that sort of thing.

Sys Adminnery can also get into being there to assist with PEBKAC/ID-Ten-T errors.