Saturday, May 29, 2010

NO PROBLEM!!!!

Almost every time I say "thank you" to someone these days, I get back "No problem."  "Not a problem."  "Nada problem."  "No problemo."  What in the heck does that mean?  I'll be helped as long as it's not a "problem", no effort has to be exerted on my behalf, I don't interrupt the person's texting or whatever?  When did people stop saying "you're welcome"?  "You're welcome" really means something.  Someone was happy to help me.  Someone felt good about giving me a hand up.  Someone thought I was worth the time and effort.  All "no problem" means is that I wasn't considered at all as a human being.  It means that I wasn't a blip on the radar.  It means that I was so insignificant that someone wouldn't have helped me if it had been a disturbance in the force.  Thanks for nothing.

If I thank you for doing something for me, please give me the courtesy of a "you're welcome."  Act like what you did for me was important.  Act like I exist.  Give me an acknowledgment.

Thank you........and you're welcome. 

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Welcome to My Week

I'm coming to you tonight from my room in the Lodge at the lovely General Butler State Park in Carrollton, KY.  I just had a tasty dinner at Taco Bell.  This TB is absolutely the best TB that I have ever been to.  The people who take your order and make your food are unbelievable friendly, and the food is terrific.  These folks know how to load a taco supreme and how to overload nachos.  Yum!  So much for my diet (as if I've been following it anyway).

I would have made a picture of my food for the blog tonight, but someone forgot to bring my camera.  Since I drove down here alone, that would be me.  Oh well.

What a week it's been.  I caught a rock in my car windshield.  It made a nice 7-inch crack that increased by about 2 more inches as I drove to work this morning.  The nice man from Ryan's All Glass came to my office and popped in a new windshield.  Thanks!

And I learned today for sure that I am a victim of identity fraud.  Warning:  I'm about to call someone a very bad name in capital letters.  Some ASSWIPE in Chicago got hold of my debit card number and helped him or herself to 2 pairs of Nikes ($164.00 total) and then had lunch on me at Subway ($18.77).  How this person could purchase these things without actually having my debit card to swipe is a mystery to me.  Nevertheless, this jerk yanked close to $200.00 out of my checking account.  I am not a happy camper.  I had to cancel my debit card.  The credit union put a block on my debit card number.  I have to wait until next week for a new debit card.  And then I get to fill out 3 forms (one for each fraudulent transaction) to dispute the transactions and, hopefully, get my money back.

I hope whoever absconded with my hard-earned money gets the worst case of crotch rot in recorded history and has to pee out the navel.

Wow, that was incredibly satisfying.

When I get back home on Sunday, I will be changing every sign-on ID and every password everywhere that I have.  I will also be setting up a new personal e-mail address and getting that out to my family and friends.  And from now on, I will not use my debit card for online purchases.  I will use just my one and only credit card.  At least it's not tied to my checking account and I'm only liable for the first $50.00.

A hard lesson to learn, but at least it was a $200.00 lesson instead of a $2000.00 one.

Be careful out there!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Say What??!

I saw a news headline this week that I never dreamed of seeing in my lifetime.

Man Admits to Vomit Assault at Phillies Game

Are you kidding me?  What is going on in this country?  People are going to Hell in a handbasket!  Allegedly, this 21-year-old guy was pissed off at fellow fans (a man and his 11-year-old daughter) and decided to puke on them.  How do you decide to do something like that?  I mean, is this a pattern with this man?  Do we have to be afraid of serial pukers now?  Had he done this before or did he just think it up out of the blue?  "Hey, I'm mad at this guy and his kid.  I think I'll just spew my stinky, ol' stomach bile all over them."  I'm really concerned about someone who can come up with something as gross as that.  Not only did he do it, he also told his friend over his cell phone that he was going to do it.  Did his friend try to talk him out of it?  Obviously, the guy had to be drunk.  If he were sober, then I'd REALLY be worried!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Cool Pictures

Our backyard is an animal sanctuary. If we just had a bluebird, it would be Snow White's backyard. We feed sunflower chips to the birds and we toss peanuts for all the other critters. Here is a picture of one of the rabbits eating a peanut. This rabbit runs right up to me to get his treat. The other pictures are of something I had never seen before until today....an albino squirrel. I couldn't believe how close he let me get to him. I think he was so hungry that he focused more on the peanuts than on me. You can see a peanut between his little squirrel paws. Enjoy!








Thursday, May 13, 2010

And Away We Go

I lost 5 pounds.  Then I found it again.  Sigh.

I am a "stress eater."  Maybe a full-blown "emotional eater."  I'm sad, I eat.  I'm angry, I eat.  I'm depressed, I eat.  I'm happy, I eat.  I get arrested, I eat.  Not that that's happened.  But if I were, I would.

I love food.  I love Indian food, Mediterranean food, Ethiopian food, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, a good ol' American hamburger, peanut butter sandwiches.  Cheetos!  OMG, Cheetos.  "How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach."  (Have I mentioned that my B.A. in English was a concentration in literature and writing?)  Cheetos and chocolate!  They're like booze.  I haven't had a good, stiff drink in 24 years (can you say "Hello, my name is Debby, and I'm an alcoholic"?), but I still want a Screwdriver or a Harvey Wallbanger every day.  I'm afraid that I'm addicted to food just like I'm addicted to rot gut, or is it rock gut (anyway, that's booze, in case you're younger than 30).

I don't think of food as just something that fuels my body.  Food is an offering on the altar of "Let's Make Debby Feel Really, Really Good."  I lo-o--ov-ve food.  Especially anything that's pre-packaged and not good for you.  The worse it is for you, the better it tastes.  God help me, I'm a slave to nachos and cheese.  I'm pathetic.

Never mind that I'm on three--yes, three!--high blood pressure medications.  That I have extremely painful and fatiguing fibromyalgia.  That hypertension is the BIG killer in my family.  That obesity is one of the risk factors for the wretched Alzheimer's disease that decimated Mom.  You'd think that would scare the pants right off of me.  But no.  I can handle it.  Give me a hot dog and onion rings and I'll be fine.

It's been a hard week.  Mother's Day just made me sad.  This coming Wednesday would be my sister's birthday if she were still alive.  That made me sadder.  And then I got hit with all this medical crap.  Trifecta!  I've had nachos and cheese, a big Snickers, a cinnamon melt and hash browns from McDonald's, and so much more.  This has just got to stop.

So.  Five pounds down and five pounds back up.  Not good.  But today I've done better.  A whole grain bagel for breakfast.  A veggie salad, hummus, pita bread, and an orange for lunch.  Yakiniku for dinner.  That's a Japanese meal.  Steamed broccoli/carrots/snow peas (no butter or seasonings, just plain), about 3 ounces of stir-fried beef that has been marinated in garlic and cooked with scallions, and a half cup of rice.  Unfortunately, all the restaurant has is white rice, but I only ate enough to keep my GERD from stalking me during the night.  It's only one day of sensible eating, but it's a start.

I did myself a big favor today.  I logged today's meals into my nutrition log on Spark People.  This is where I will be accountable every day for my meals, snacks, exercise, life goals, and more.  I learned about this site from my friend Bev.  She also gave me a copy of "The Spark" book.  She is one of my supportive friends who are helping me to literally save my life.  I wholeheartedly recommend the web site and the book.  I've only done the nutrition log so far.  (Today was my first day using the site.)  But I'll catch up with the rest as I go along.  Little steps.  One day at a time.  That's what will keep me going.

So why was the bee flying with his legs crossed?  He couldn't find a Bee Pee station! :-)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

It Never Stops

I have been having such a pity party for myself this afternoon.  It got so bad, I went shopping and spent $125.00 at Target.  But not on frivolous things.  At least I held it together a little bit.

Take a look at my arms.  I can assure you that the picture does not do them justice.  They're actually a bit worse.


I had the CT scan yesterday morning.  Drank the gut-crud (which I can still taste, by the way).  Then the phlebotomist, bless her heart, tried to find a workable vein for the IV.  Could I have inherited my Dad's great veins?  Of course not.  I got Mom's veins.  They dwell way deep inside my body parts and hide behind Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility.  When the left arm wouldn't cooperate, the blood lady got an ultrasound machine to find a vein that would work in my right arm.  It was deep.  Really deep.  That needle went into my arm at least two full inches.  You can see where the needles went into the arms.  Creepy, huh?  They hurt like the dickens.  Those bruises and the two lumps that come with them are very, very tender.

The result of the test was that I have diverticulosis.  Before you get all excited, that's not a diagnosis for whatever is causing the problems.  That's just something that turned up on the side.  We still don't know what's causing the anemia, the high SED rate, and the low red cell count.  So now I get to visit with a Hematologist next Wednesday.  My doctor discussed my problems and lab/test results with him, to which he said, "She better come see me."  I can't wait.  The last time I saw a Hematologist, I ended up having a bone marrow extraction and that was extremely painful.

As my friend Matt says:  Happy, happy, joy, joy.

It seems that this blog is becoming a whining health journal instead of a writing and weight loss aid.  So I'm not blogging about all this health stuff anymore until I either have a diagnosis or all the doctors finally give up and leave me alone.  I'm so disappointed with not finding out anything yet, it's really starting to depress me.  I'm losing my sense of humor.  I don't need that.

So tomorrow after work, I'm going to see "Iron Man 2" and eat a fat load of nachos and cheese and drink Diet Pepsi.  :-)  That ought to cheer me up!

Friday, May 7, 2010

I'm Writing as Fast as I Can and Other Flights of Fancy

My partner in crime (who totally dislikes being called my partner in crime, so let me start over)....

My life partner, Ginger, just stopped by to say that she read my last blog again and "it's a week old".  Evidently, I'm not putting things out here quickly enough to suit her.  Isn't that sweet?  She just can't wait to read my next pearls of wisdom.  Not that she's biased or anything. :-)

So.  Got that last set of test results back and, once again, the results are more tests!  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I dropped by the outpatient center last Thursday for the chest x-ray.  I've talked with Dr. Evil and/or her assistant twice this week.  Dr. Evil has talked with at least one colleague, maybe more, and I will be having a CT scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis Monday morning at 10:30.  I have to drink a bottle of gut-crud at 9:30 that morning and then another bottle at 10:00.  Then I get the old IV hooked in and we take some pictures.  Can't wait to see what comes out of this one.  Really can't wait to see what comes out of me after drinking all that gut-crud.

We're headed downtown to the CSO tomorrow night to hear a Tchaikovsky piano piece and several compositions by Wagner.  Or, as I like to say it, "VA-A-A-AG-G-G-G-GN-E-R" in a big deep voice that sounds like I've watched way too many Dracula movies.  I adore the CSO and especially Tchaikovsky and anything involving a piano, but "VA-A-A-AG-G-G-G-GN-E-R" puts me to sleep.  I'd much rather be at the Dilly Deli in Mariemont tomorrow night enjoying the song stylings of the group Diamond Blue over a cheese and hummus tray.  If you need something to do tomorrow night, Diamond Blue is performing from 7:30 until 10:30.  And the Dilly Deli's food is fantastic.  Here's the link for Diamond Blue.  http://www.diamondblue.net/  And here's the link for the Dilly Deli.   http://www.dillydeli.com/             

If you're looking for me on Facebook, I'm not there anymore.  It wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be.  I know there are ways to block things that some people post and what not, but I don't want to have to do all that.  I love reading about places I've never been to and things I don't know.  I love hearing other peoples' opinions about politics and other topics.  I really like it when other people are open to my opinions and can discuss issues without being all emotional and "you're so wrong" about it (thanks, Debbie, I really enjoyed our talks).  But some people profess to be okay with other people having a different opinion, but they only honor that when the other person's feeling is the same as their own.  The first time you disagree with someone, you get the big LIBERAL label in capital letters like it's a big pile of dog poop and you just stepped in it.  There's the name calling.  There's the hate spewing all over the place.  God help you if you're not a Christian, Bible loving, conservative person because then you're not really an American patriot and you don't love our country.  Yes, someone really did say that.  It reminds me of one of my favorite things written by Anne Lamott: "You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do."  It's a good thing this person didn't know I'm gay, too, or she would have probably run me out of town on a rail.  So rather than jump through all the hoops of messing with the privacy settings, I quit.  It was just easier.

So for anyone following this blog, let me just put myself out here so that there are no surprises, and then you can decide if you want to keep reading.
  1. I'm a short person.  If you have something against short people, go read something else.
  2. I'm fat.  If you have something against fat people, go read something else.
  3. I'm gay.  Big surprise there.  If you have a problem with that, all I can say is that at least I'm not a pedophile priest.
  4. I'm neither Democrat or Republican.  I'm somewhere in the middle.  I'm a fiscal conservative.  I like my freedoms.  I don't like people mixing religion into my freedoms.  If you have a problem with that, it's not my problem.
  5. I'm not all worked up about illegal immigrants in our country.  If I lived in Mexico or Nicaragua or Iraq; if I were so poor I only had dirt to feed to my children; if my family were stuck in the middle of a war-torn country, you can bet your ass that I would be getting my loved ones to America where it's safer and where I could get them food.  And I sure as hell wouldn't waste a moment's time sitting around for 5 years waiting for the proper documentation.  Having said that, I hope that our government grants citizenship to all immigrants who are already here working hard and paying taxes.  Then our government needs to work out a way to make sure that anyone entering our country enters it legally.  And do it without shooting anyone at our borders.
  6. I'm also not worked up about people speaking Spanish/Mexican in America.  It wouldn't hurt us all to learn another language.  The rest of the world accommodates us by having English signs, etc., in their countries.  Why are we so arrogant that we can't do the same?  If you have young children now, you better hope that they become fluent in Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, or something, because most jobs of the future will call for knowledge of another language.  School children in other countries learn several languages.  We need to catch up.
  7. Keep our religions out of our government.  And keep our government out of our religions.  I don't want religious leaders influencing our elected officials.  And I don't want government officials telling our churches what to do.  It's called "separation of Church and state" for a reason.
  8. Yes, I believe in God.  I just don't believe in your God when you think He's telling you that your way is the only way and that your way is the right way and every other way is wrong.  God is smarter than that, and more compassionate, too.  I'm very afraid of the things that some people will do in the name of God.
  9. And the next time someone spits out that old tired argument of "the Pilgrims came over here so that they could worship God", I'm going to scream.  No.  The Pilgrims did not come here so that they could worship God.  They came here for freedom of religion, for the right to worship as they chose....or not.  It's just so convenient how people leave out the "or not" part.  Well, I'm putting it back in.
Yeah, the Facebook crap got to me.  Really pissed me off.  So I dropped it and now I'm a kinder, gentler person (although I'm sure it didn't sound like it just now).

Oh yeah, one more thing.

Skyline is better than Gold Star.