Half a pill three times a day, for the first week.
So far:
My walking seems to have improved slightly--not discounting the placebo effect. I have, however, experienced drowsiness, mild vertigo and nausea, and severe loss of appetite. I don't need to lose weight, and I don't usually have any difficulty deciding on what to eat. Weird. Not a positive.
Oh, and Baclofen becomes its own monkey on one's back. Quitting "cold turkey" could lead to a coma--one among many problems.
Right now, I am hanging between the proverbial horns.
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![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) hoosier_red |
| 2008-07-04 18:41 |
| For lo, I have performed my duty as an American |
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And on this day that we celebrate as the natal day of our country, I did purchase a 14" tabletop grill which I placed upon the table on our balcony. And after putting my iPod in my pocket and my headphones on my ears, the better to listen to the most recent episode of We're Mean Because You're Stupid, I did fill the grill with mesquite-impregnated charcoal, making sure to arrange the charcoal into a pyramidal shape as the bag instructed, and doused it with lighter fluid, whereupon I struck a match and lit the coals.
And struck another match and lit the other side of the coals.
And decided that not enough of the coals were burning, so I sprinkled yet more lighter fluid upon the coals, well aware of the dangers yet yearning for thoroughly cooked grilled meat.
And after the third repetition of this the coals did finally ash nicely, and produce much smoke. And I glanced in concern at the sprinkler overhead, for I was grilling on our balcony because I did not feel like cooking on our garage apron and tromping up and down the stairs fifteen million times to check on the meat, for lo, I am lazy that way.
But it was not offended at the smoke, and so I did grill all-beef hotdogs, hamburgers made of grass-fed beef given to me by ma Capitaine, and organic chicken breasts over the hot coals. And we did feast upon the grilled meats, and potato salad, and cole slaw, and salt and pepper potato chips, and washed it all down with Diet Coke and Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream.
And we were replete, and somewhat burpy, in celebration of this natal day. Here endeth the lesson.
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| tapestry01 |
| 2008-07-04 13:55 |
| Homeland Security at Work |
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Public schools in Barnegat, New Jersey went into lockdown mode after local police received reports of a ninja running through nearby woods.
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2008/06/25/school_locked_down_after_ninja_sighted_in_woods/
I feel safer already. Happy Fourth of July, everybody!
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Both parent's and my lawn mowed, pizza dough is divided and resting before becoming discs of culinary goodness, I'm trying to get everything done so right after the pizzas are done I get a 5 minute shower and we head over to starstraf's house.
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| fireguarder |
| 2008-07-04 12:21 |
| Fireworks of a different sort |
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Every year our neighbors across the street throw a 3rd of July party, which I usually attend for at least a little while. I was intending to make a brief appearance after getting home from starstraf's, where I spent a very nice evening with her, Pooch, graydown, jamer_31 and his lovely girls. Didn't arrive back home until 11:30, and the party is normally still going on then. However, getting to our house proved difficult as there was a police car with lights on in the middle of the street. Partygoers appeared to be leaving in droves, and the hostess was standing in the street arguing with a police officer. B and I sat in the dark on our front steps for a while after I managed to get in the driveway, trying to see what the fuss was about, but we didn't learn much. We did notice that a couple of police cars were continuing to hang out, parked a few houses up from us.
So this morning, B went to dialysis while I slept in. When he got home, he asked if I'd been outside, which I hadn't, and he said that the police were still there. He said, in fact, that when he had left for dialysis in the wee hours of the morning, another house across the street from us - three houses to the north of our party neighbors - was surrounded with yellow tape. I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. The street is currently full of police cars, ambulances, and news media vehicles. http://tinyurl.com/6dddwl
Edit: A reporter from Fox 4 News just attempted to interview me. I declined. Yuck!
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The Black Velvet Purrmonster has a slightly thickened bladder, but he IS urinating properly. Since the ER vet didn't see crystals in the urine and a change in diet sets off his ocular herpes, his regular vet decided not to fiddle with his food (I explained what he was eating and the max amount of magnesium in it, and the vet agreed that it should be fine) and he's to finish out the regimen of Amoxycillin that the ER vet gave him. I'm going to buy a cat fountain to encourage him to drink as much as possible -- apart from that, I just need to keep an eye on him, give him his Amitryptilene every day and keep smearing the Healthy Bladder gel on his paws, and please Bast he should be okay.
So I can relax now. Phew!
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A friend sent me some gorgeous photos of Mars. I've put most of them behind a cut to save your friends' page. ( So make with the clicky )
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| robinbailey |
| 2008-07-04 02:20 |
| Waving to all my friends on shore... |
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Hi, everybody. It's been quite a while since I've come to Livejournal. All sorts of reasons for that, mostly lack of time for all the internet stuff I used to engage in. I had to come by, however, to collect an email address for a friend and thought I'd at least wave at my friends.
Many of you already know about Diana's stroke. That happened early morning, May 28th. She's recovering little by little. She's mobile, but moving slowly. No paralysis, just a total numbness in the left side of her body. That's getting better, though, and she has physical therapy twice a week. We can't say that this was a "light" stroke, but it could have been much worse.
I missed ConQuest this year. Only the second time that's happened. I went to Chicago, instead as part of Digital Simplistics' sales team to an event up there. Diana did attend. it was the first time she'd ever attended a convention alone. Not that she was alone - Selina Rosen and Lynn Stranathan promised to keep an eye on her. Diana had her stroke two days later. I accused them of breaking her. <g>
Two weeks ago, I took Ron to the ER and he spent two days under observation for some undiagnosed stomach ailment. Food poisoning was suspected, and he recovered pretty quickly. But it was very weird to have both him and Diana down at the same time.
I've gotten quite a bit of writing done in the mean time. Sold two stories in the last two weeks. Have another to finish before the end of next week, and still another to finish within the next month. God bless invite anthologies! In addition, I've made some small progress on a new novel. It's a mystery, this time. I want to try my hand at something totally new. I love writing short stories, but I really would like a new book on the shelves.
Speaking of books, I learned this week that Dark Horse Books will republish SWORDS AGAINST THE SHADOWLAND next March. This is my Fafhrd & Gray Mouser novel, originally published by White Wolf Books back in the 90s. The marketing department has just gotten to work on this and contacted my agent and myself for a bunch of information. -Nice- to be contacted by a marketing department for a change. We're also trying to determine if Dark Horse will want to continue with new Fafhrd & Gray Mouser novels. If we can reach acceptable terms, I'd love to do so.
I'm looking forward to the Campbell Conference next weekend. Perhaps I'll see some of you there. And at the end of the month, the Kansas City Science Fiction & Fantasy Society will celebrate its 38th anniversary with a public anime' festival. I expect to attend that.
I hope you're all doing well. Stay healthy.
Robin
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I think I need some time off. My mind does not seem to want to work. I think I'll take a few days down time and do nothing. I get tired just thinking about the last month. I have ...
- cleaned up the artwork files for Mythic Oracle
- completed the border and back design for Mythic Oracle
- created the art files for the 45 cards
- updated two websites, which involved adding over fifty different products
- completed 9 artworks
- half completed a tenth very large one
- created over 60 pages for Dreams of Magick
... and all of that's been on top of doing the usual mom thing too.
Yes! I need a break.
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Lawrence is still here, I am still here, my workshop is still tearing along. Went to the Blue Springs gym again this afternoon -- hard and not especially satisfying climbing, but I'm glad I did it anyway. Dinner at Vt. St. BBQ. I know this is not interesting: Being here is actually extremely interesting, but 12:30 after a long busy day and a couple of Bloody Marys is not the time to go into much depth. But at least you now know I am alive.
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Finished the tremor article today and got it sent off. Finished the agility toy article yesterday and sent that off. I feel as though I've gotten a couple of loads off my shoulder even though I have a bunch of articles to write. Still, having written two takes a bit of the headache away.
Went to Ninja tonight now that we're having a Thursday night ninjitsu class and not Chi-kun. Two kids showed up -- one was the sempai's son. The kid was big. Really big. But not well trained. So, me taking him down and working with him was a good thing. I simply grin. How is it a middle aged woman who is not in the best of health and who needs to lose weight can throw around two kids who are half her age and easily have a foot or more in height over her? We'll leave you to ponder that.
Yeah, they think I'm a bad ass.
Tired -- I've written well over 500 words, even if it's not a novel. Tomorrow I will work on taxes, novels and the wolfsong stories. Geez, I thought getting through all the submissions were most of the battle. They're not.
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Pari went to Deanna Rose Farmstead with her speech camp today, got back at noon. After lunch and a bit of laundry work we went up to KC to bring Marz the bulk of the remaining sabbatical computer equipment. She got off work early, went to Sam's Club with us (yet another 100 lbs of flour waiting to be brought in from the van), we hit the new Lush store in Oak Park Mall and did dinner at Rain Tree, the overpriced animatronic filled restaurant. Pari and Kiyan loved it of course, except for a rather long wait for our simple order of a sampler platter (apparently there was a birthday party taking up much of the staff's time). We ended with a Volcano, a large and decadent dessert which the four of us decimated.
While at the mall I swung through the Disney store on a whim, got myself a yellow shirt with an old Disney magazine print on it, and got Pari a Little Mermaid shirt in women's small, which is a perfect nightgown on her. The only remaining event of note was me taking a walk about 1.5 miles to get the truck from the computer lot (Marz came home with me and we forgot to swing by for it) and taking it to Checkers for bagel ingredients. I could finish the prep work tonight, but to be honest I won't care until tomorrow.
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I recommend this movie heartily. It is fun, sweet, has enough drama and story line to keep you interested and I liked the ending.
on the other hand we were treated to the theatre house's 'commercials' which are 'hosted' by a debonair cat man. When they showed his girlfriend, Doc. P leaned over and said, 'shouldn't there be eight tit-holders in that (formalwear with bra) dress?????"
I had to put my head between my knees to keep from guffawing too loud....
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Dear Writer,
To say that I am intimidated to be editing your work does not even begin to sum up the situation. You are a Very High Profile writer, and I am a twenty-something kid, and yours is the first book I have been primary editor on--which you know. You are also famous and a big enough deal that you could get away with being an absolute terror.
All of this makes it all the more gratifying that you are kind, respectful, wonderfully easy to work with, terrifically responsive to feedback, mindful of deadlines, and generally a pleasure to work with. Thank you for making this editor a little less cranky.
You're pretty awesome.
Love,
Me
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I can haz red fruit tingles ... I is happy.
Hey moonvoice ...want one??
On another note ... when did my little boy suddenly become a man? Where did this 6ft tall blue-eyed young man suddenly spring from? When did the focus of our conversations suddenly turn to career path's, the pros and cons of doing a school-based traineeship, of going to university or college, and saving money for a first car and/or a new 'big' amplifier for his guitar so he can perform at highschool events?
I saw the changes. I knew they were coming.
But wow ... I'm suddenly hit by the realisation that I only have him for a few more years before he will fly away.
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| kalimeg |
| 2008-07-03 20:54 |
| Oh Dear! |
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Now Arabella is acting like something is wrong with her. Can hamsters have strokes? It's like she has hit old age overnight, walking haltingly and sort of ignoring food.
Whew!! OK, she just came out and snatched the piece of cantaloupe I put in her dish. For a bit I thought she was going to ignore it, and no hamster in good shape would do that.
Meanwhile I am running the dishwasher for the third time because the first two times things caught the sprayer arm and held it still. Grrr. It has sort of been One of Those Days.
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I was reading a history when I came across this:
The Wesleyan Missionary in 1838, at Mangungu, was under John Hobbs with his wife and daughter, Emma
May I say this is ever so wrong! I mean, his wife and daughter?
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Saw this on an commercial, it is real. (Dr. p doubted it)
Kitty underwater!
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People just to the south of us are setting off fireworks.
I'm glad it has been wet and we have a fire-resistant roof.
I haven't been home on the Fourth for a long time, I know we get home late at night and the streets in my neighborhood are full of fireworks' remains.
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5x7 watercolor
I will probably be ebaying the original with a reserve price later in the week, after the holiday. In the meantime it is available from me for $130.
I really do enjoy doing paintings like this. I had already decided to do a kimono series when vestaka posted her koi mermaid. I thought, oh no now I can't do one, but she said I had to :)
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Today's email brought me a query for admission to our graduate program, including a request for information about financial aid: I'm interested in participating in a graduate assistance ship.
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Dear friends, I have finished writing my thesis and need someone experienced to proofread it for me.
Thank you.
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| tapestry01 |
| 2008-07-03 10:01 |
| Possible Darwin Award Candidate |
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Oregon man spending 4th of July flying balloon-powered lawn chair.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080703/ap_on_fe_st/flying_lawn_chair;_ylt=Ajpo_ryh5bsuN_n.tQeL6PXtiBIF
Favorite quote: "There's a little stress on the way down..."
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Help us, Cory Doctorow Kenobi! You and the EFF are our only hope!
(Great. Now everyone's going to know how many times I watched that video of Celine Dion and Anastacia duetting on AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long.")
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| jimmy_hollaman |
| 2008-07-03 08:07 |
| lets just say when you are having a depressive episode... |
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When you have nothing to do and your just kind of doing mindless stuff at work you have time for the mind to run. And run. and run... i need to figure out a way to stop the negative thoughts from taking over and setting up a town ship. i am working on it. i promise the next entry will be a happier one...
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| nkcmike |
| 2008-07-03 06:07 |
| I'm taking a class |
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As I write this, I'm about an hour from leaving for the 2nd day of a two-day class: Advanced InDesign. It's being done by an area community college.
I'm taking it at my employer's behest. They like continuing training. That's good.
The course description suggested having taken the "fundamentals" class or having equivalent experience. I haven't taken the fundamentals class, but have been using InDesign since about the day it came out back in 2000. I am learning some things about the program I didn't know. I've even learned a couple of things that I can put to use. But, for the most part, I could TEACH this course.
One nice benefit of the class: attendees can purchase the entire Adobe CS3 Master Collection for the student price of $600 (or so the teacher said). I'll pass. Don't need another copy. But that is a damned good deal given that the full retail price is about $2,500.
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| hoosier_red |
| 2008-07-03 02:15 |
| Well, at least I now know where the Vet ER is... |
| Public |
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| da boyz |
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Late last night, JJ started throwing up. Now, for him the return of half-digested cat food is a perfectly normal event, so I didn't think anything of it until I heard him do it again. And again. And again, and again, until all he was getting up was foam. He finally drank some water, ate some kitty grass and some treats, and everything seemed okay so we all went to bed. This morning I found a pile of hork, but as I said this is nothing unusual for him, so I cleaned it up, petted him and went into work.
Unfortunately when I got home from work this evening, he was throwing up again. Okay, thinks I, this is not normal behavior for him, plus he's hotter than usual and very listless. Something Is Wrong.
So I hit the Yellow Pages and find the local Vet ER, which turns out to be right up the road from us on Custer. I called and talked to a nurse; when I described his symptoms, she agreed that Something Was Wrong and told me to bring him in. Sick or not, he was not going downstairs and into the car without a fight, so I swathed him in a towel, popped him into his carrier and off we went.
The vet ER is mabe a year or so old, and is really gorgeous -- I've been in doctors' offices that didn't look as nice. After the nurse took all our details, we were shown into an exam room, and a few minutes later Dr. Bow came in, introduced herself to JJ (who was having none of it) and together we slid him out of his carrier. After I gave her a precis of the last 24 hours she checked his eyes and mouth, listened to his heart and tummy, then felt his bladder. "Wow, this is swollen," she said. "It's the size of a small apple. When's the last time you saw him urinate?"
I had to admit that I didn't know, but that I did find a puddle of urine under the mat in front of the litter box, which is a VERY unusual occurrence for our boys. She manipulated his bladder some more, then went to fetch a litter tray to see if he would climb in it and pee.
He didn't; instead, he climbed up on the naugahyde-padded bench in the room. She reassured him that he could let go there if he wanted, and two seconds later a shallow puddle formed around him. Anyone who says that animals don't have emotions should have seen him; the poor baby was so humiliated, he literally turned and hid his face in the corner. We both had to reassure him that this was *good* and we weren't mad at him.
Dr. Bow took a closer look at the urine, then went off to fetch a syringe and sucked up a sample. Sure enough, there was blood in it -- as she put it, it wasn't the consistency of tomato juice, but it was definitely redder than it should be. She took it off to the lab and spun it down to look for crystals -- there were none on the slide, but that's no proof that there weren't any in there earlier. In any case it appears that he had some sort of a urethral blockage, a fairly common thing for male cats. Her manipulation seemed to clear it, and since there was just red and white cells in the urine (no crystals, pus or other bad things) she gave him a shot of antibiotics and some anti-nausea medicine, then gave me a bottle of amoxicillin that he will be taking for the next week. I also have strict instructions to watch his liquid intake and urination, and if it looks like he's straining or only getting a couple of drops out we're to bring him back in toot sweet for catheterization and a thorough cleanout of his bladder.
So he's home now, having had dinner, some snacks and a fresh bowl of filtered water. I also cleaned out the litter tray, scrubbed it down and refilled it with clean litter, and the moment it was back on the floor JJ climbed in and peed (not much, of course, because he'd already had a big ol' pee at the vet's office, but it was still good to see him using the box without hesitation or apparent problems). And I will be calling Banfield tomorrow to get a refill on his Amitryptiline, one way or the other -- apparently it's good at preventing UTIs and blockages in cats, and the fact that the scrip ran out about a week and a half ago and I haven't been able to get him in for a new checkup and scrip may explain today's issues.
Poor pookie. He's getting extra scritches and treats tonight.
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A dear friend took us to Winstead's and to see Wall*E tonight.
While at Winstead's someone of our party looked out and went, "Holy Shit, it's pouring!" It was still pouring when we finished, drove across the Plaza to the theater and parked. It started hailing as soon as we got parked (and found out that the nose of our car was in an open space...) and we got drenched walking across the street to the theater.*
Wall*E is a sweet movie, that's all I'm going to say. It's safe to take relative small children to (old enough to sit still and be quiet). And, at a dramatic moment in the action, actually a quite appropriate point (and after some booms outside), the power went off. The emergency lights were still on. I stepped out to the lobby and someone said it should come back on, with no loss of film time. As soon as I walked back into the theater to tell people, it came back on.
I might pay to watch it again or at least get the DVD.
It started raining again just as we stepped out of the car in our driveway and now it is pouring.
*it was about 88 when we went out at 6:15, it's 69 degrees now...
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Working on an article about tremors in dogs. If you have, or have had a dog with tremors, email me at margaretbonham [at] aol.com
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| kalimeg |
| 2008-07-02 19:25 |
| Hail is crashing -- |
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and rather loudly. Some good size stones are hitting the balcony. I think I will go down and look.
:)
* * * * * *
Yep. From peanut m&ms to golf balls. Biggest I've seen in person. I can see a chunk out the window that is bigger than a golf ball, and the stream in the street is creek sized. Ah well. Summer in Kansas.
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I'll admit that I was nervous about the prospect of finally editing other people's manuscripts. However, the more I'm exposed to other editors' abilities, the more I realize I have nothing to worry about.
Dear book content editor,
I'm the copyeditor for your author's manuscript. But I'm also a book content editor like yourself. I read the same Editor's Guide that you did. I know we follow the CMS and use the M-W dictionary. I haven't even left the preface, and I've seen egregious errors regarding commas in a series and unaccepted hyphenated spellings.
Yes, this is my job. But it's supposed to be yours, too.
No love,
Andi
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Since I posted a reminder about the current auction in my update, I just thought I had best write a quick note to let you all know that 'Queen of Hearts' sold through the 'Buy it Now' option. I'm a little stunned, but also very delighted. Even better, I know that my little queen is off to a new home with a wonderful person I who will treasure her.
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