.

Teeter totter

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:23:02 GMT

When the surgeon told me recovery would be a zigzag, not a straight line, I believed him but I don't think I accepted just how wild the swings would be. I'll have a couple of days where I feel normal except for some pain at the surgery site, and then I might go 5 days of feeling absolute crap-emotionally, physically, and intellectually. Then slowly build back up to feeling pretty good. That's been the last couple of weeks, in fact. I still have scabs on the wound and pain under the skin, so healing is happening but not finished.

Yesterday and today I'm feeling pretty good, and I've been wanting to work on my sewing. I worked on some planning when I first starting feeling better after surgery, and now I have the energy to do some harder work.

But not actually manipulating fabric and thread with my machine just yet. I've been working on tracing patterns and fitting them to my size and shape. This is an important step and one I've been working on learning to do better since I first made a blouse back when I was a teenager and then couldn't button it up the front because it didn't fit.

Because I'm fat I have trouble anyway--lots of patternmakers just don't make very good patterns for fat people. Some don't make any at all. The ones that do often make shapeless clothing or styles I don't like (I've had a lot of trouble finding a jacket pattern in a style I like). Then because of where I carry most of my fat (bust and abdomen) I'm also not a good match for some of the "plus-sized" patterns because they aren't cut for my body type even if they are my "size." I can never make a new garment "straight out of the envelope." (Most sewing patterns come printed on very thin tissue paper, carefully map-folded and stuffed into an envelope; others are overprinted onto a giant sheet folded and stapled into a magazine, then you trace off all the purple-lined or red-lined pieces to make the dress or skirt you want.) I have to compare measurements (mine to the pattern pieces) and usually need at minimum what's called an FBA - full bust adjustment - to any tops. Sometimes I need an inch or so more at the waistline (since I don't really have a waist, just a torso with a belly in the front), or half an inch less at the shoulders (I have slightly narrow shoulders compared to my other measurements). And Just because the designer wanted the hem of the top or skirt in a certain place doesn't mean that's where I want it! Sometimes I want more length, other times less; I know what length top looks the way I want, and where I want my skirts to end. I also add pockets to any skirts, pants, or dresses that don't have them.

So I trace. I have tracing paper, I unfold the pattern tissue or pull the paper out of the magazine, and I adjust as I trace. I might trace over the smaller size at the shoulder and then ease the line out to the larger size at the bustline, or the waist. I might trace the sides of a shirt longer so it's more of a tunic (using an architect's T-shaped straightedge to extend the lines). I might shorten a sleeve, or change the curve of a hem (I like shirts slightly shorter at the sides and longer in front and back, and I have a French curve ruler that helps me do that). I've lowered and raised necklines depending on what I need: work-appropriate versus party clothes (but it always has to cover the top of my industrial-strength bras). I might need to slice down a bodice from top to bottom and insert an extra wide piece of paper (you can't always get the extra room you need just by adding to the side seams).

Then I compare the traced, adjusted pattern pieces to either a similar piece of clothing I already have, or to myself--I might pin pieces together into a mock-up. Sometimes I go so far as to make the garment up in cheap fabric, either real muslin or an old sheet (I keep old, ripped sheets just for this use). I might need to make more adjustments to the pattern pieces. I write the changes right onto the traced pieces, and cut off some or tape on some paper so things fit better.

All this before I ever lay out the fabric, find my scissors, and start cutting! In the last couple of weeks I've traced two new patterns. One is a lightweight jacket and the other is a tunic. There's a dress pattern I'd like to trace, too; may work on that later today.

Later this week I go back to the surgeon for the post-operative check up on my left ear surgery, and a discussion about whether I need surgery on the other side. I'm voting yes. Despite feeling a lot better, I still have some symptoms that I think are attributable to the problems with my right ear. And on the specialized CAT scan, my right ear was actually in worse condition than the left--I chose to have the surgery on the left first because that's where I was having the most symptoms.

I'd rather have the surgery and be sure it's fixed. I don't want to find out a year from now, after working my way back to normal strength and stamina, that my right ear is messing things up still or again. Of course if the surgeon adamantly insists I don't need it, I won't have a second surgery--but that would only be because he thinks I'm as healed as I can get, and that would be great news.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/360179.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Trying to make sense out of senseless acts of violence

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:05:47 GMT

I read blogs that vary among the political possibilities. I read progressives, and liberals, and libertarians, and even a few conservatives. And I'm noticing a lot of bad argument on all sides. But because I'm a pro-abortion woman, today I'm starting with a particular claim by Glenn Reynolds, whose blog is Instapundit.com.

He posted here that he thought the president giving a speech about abortion to Planned Parenthood was bad timing in light of the Gosnell trial. (Gosnell is accused of various criminal acts involving an abortion clinic he ran.) I just don't see why somebody being justly tried on serious accusations of abuse of the law is a restriction on discussing or supporting legal use of that same law. This one person broke the law-what does that have to do with the people who observe the law? Should all abortion clinics be closed because somebody did it wrong, even though it's a perfectly legal medical procedure?

But other people on other issues do it, too. Every crime that includes a gun use becomes a platform for anti-gun-rights people to attack legal observers of the gun laws. I have a concealed handgun license, which I've always believed was at least partial proof that I was a law-abiding person. I went to the trouble of paying the fee, taking the class, being fingerprinted (like a criminal) and having my background checked. I carry a license with my photo and other information on it, even when I'm not exercising my right to concealed carry. I don't confuse it with a license to do just anything--it's a concealed handgun license, not a license to carry a knife or a rifle or a bomb. And there are laws (that I learned in the class) about appropriate use of a gun that restrict me even though I have a concealed handgun license.

Most of the people who commit crimes with guns aren't abiding by the gun laws in the first place, and then they use their illegally-acquired guns to commit other crimes. Changing the gun laws will not stop them-they're already breaking the laws we already have.

Hard cases make bad laws. There should be more reason for changing a law than that somebody broke it and then caused horrific injury and death. After all, THEY BROKE THE LAW ALREADY. Why wouldn't they just break whatever new law is passed?

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/359652.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

When I was 40

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 23:46:06 GMT

The gracious kalmn gave me the age of 40 to tell stories about myself.

I lived in:
A 1909 bungalow with 3 bedrooms, one bath, a basement, a large yard, and a semi-attached garage, in a former trolley suburb that had been absorbed and urbanized by the bigger city. The house had been badly (very badly) remodeled a few times and was apparently a rental for 30 or more years before I bought it when I was 29. So at that point I'd lived there 11 years, with both my children--although also at that point I'd divorced my first husband (with whom I bought the house), spent a few years dating madly, and married my second husband.

I drove:
I can't remember whether I'd had my 3rd car (a 1998 Ford Taurus) totaled out from under me at that point so I was either driving that or the 1989(?) Ford Festiva that belonged to my (second) husband.

I was in a relationship with:
My dear sinanju, who is still my primary and husband. We'd been married for three years and had worked out some big issues; I think we were doing pretty well that year.

I feared:
My children moving away from me to live with their dad-and sure enough, each of them did so for high school.

I worked at:
The same place I work now, as a legal secretary. In November of this year I will have worked here for 25 years.

I wanted to be:
Happy, creative, more social, and less afraid. I turned 40 just under 2 months before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and I was very afraid that the US was about to start a war like World War II. I have mostly achieved those goals, but it didn't happen as quickly as I wanted.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/359229.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

And now a bad day

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:30:04 GMT

I've been doing reasonably well recovering from surgery. The first few days I mostly slept! I'd wake up, eat something (pudding), take meds, and fall right back to sleep. Then the wakeful periods started lengthening and now I'm down to a couple of short naps a day. I've even taken some walks of a half hour or so, once or twice a day.

The best part is I don't seem to have much or any brain fog. I can think! I can read stories and follow them!

I still tire very quickly, not enough to sleep but just to have almost no energy. The surgeon said this was normal and it could take months to get back my stamina and energy.

I've been feeling pretty happy and accomplished, and so appreciative of how much better I feel.

Until today. Today I just want to cry and cry. I'm so tired. And I'm so done with having one thing after another happen in my life, so that all I ever do is recover. I've started project after project over the last few years: tried to go to school to learn math and maybe engineering; sewing and knitting; learning some programming; trying to find a new house to buy. Each time something came up that needed attention and money and used us up. Things just keep getting harder and harder, and we're worse off financially now than we were 10 years ago or 5 years ago.

I keep telling myself that the bad stuff is temporary and the good stuff is permanent. But even when the bad stuff is temporary, it's so much of the time that the good stuff gets lost and forgotten.

So probably tomorrow I won't feel this despair, this frustration and this desire to just give up even trying to make things better. I can make it until tomorrow. But today is awfully hard.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/358938.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

I am a sad sack.

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:27:37 GMT

Apparently being in recovery from surgery does not give you magic immunity to the chest cold that has been going around, because I have a sore throat and have been coughing up stuff like mad. DRAT. At least the vicodin I take for the ear surgery pain helps minimize the coughing, too.

The surgery recovery is going well. I can chew, a little (nothing like steak or raw vegetables!), and I've been walking around the apartment a lot. Maybe tomorrow I'll get dressed and try going outside for a walk. The wound is starting to scab and heal, sometimes it even itches (no, I don't scratch it). I do tire very easily, just as the surgeon warned.

I don't like how my head looks. The hair is not exactly shaved over the wound but it's cut very short, and my face and head are still a little swollen. I've been looking around online for how to tie "modest" scarves, mostly at Muslim and Christian sites and some chemo sites, and I think when I have enoug energy to shop I will look for some scarves at the stores that match my work clothing.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/358883.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

reader, I lived

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 00:39:00 GMT

So believe it or not I am already home from surgery, which is pretty exciting. I have a large shaved area on my left skull with a big wound stitched up, and my left ear is plugged (no hearing on that side). I sleep a lot and eat a little (only soft foods-the muscles that operate the jaw were cut open on that side and I can't open my mouth very far nor chew anything. I've been eating soup and ice cream and juice.

I'm also definitely walking better, with very little dizziness. The whole left side of my head is pretty swollen and I sometimes have a headache, but the meds are taking care of it pretty well. I am usually up for about an hour, eating and walking, then sleeping for a couple of hours.

The surgeon did say that when they opened me up and moved away the brain, there were a great deal more holes in the bone than they expected, so I have a large area that is patched and full recovery may take longer than expected.

That's it for now--I was actually released from the hospital less than 48 hours after surgery, which is pretty cool. My husband and Twoson are taking good care of me.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/358475.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

I have had surgery

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:11:50 GMT

Slept well last night. Surgeon removed bandage this morning. I walked-with a walker-and ate jello and ice cream.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/358164.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Tales best left untold

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:11:25 GMT

I got a voicemail message today from a member of my family of origin. This person has wronged me multiple times in the past, asked me to aid zir, and generally ignored me when I asked for help. The phone message started off with "I heard you are having surgery, I hope that goes well" and then segued into multiple stories about how zie had been doing. Nary another word about me or whether zie could help or what I might want in the situation.

At first I started composing a long, angry response about how zie owed me an apology and ... and then I thought, "I don't want to give this space in my head." I really don't. So I'm not giving it space in my head, except to notice that I'm doing well at taking care of myself in this area.

Surgery tomorrow.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/357997.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Weeks, leaks, and punctures

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:09:51 GMT

Last weekend I had a really good visit with my LDR. The weather in the Bay Area was beautiful; we spent part of one day at Filoli, and that was a particularly good day in that I had a lot of energy and managed to walk around to all the parts I wanted to see.

I'm at one week till surgery, so today was blood draw day and also allergy shots day, 3 punctures total. The blood draw is necessary because I didn't pass my pre-op physical: on the blood panel, my potassium was too low. I've been taking extra potassium for a week so probably will pass this time. Everything else checked out just fine, and this morning at the allergy shot clinic I did terrific on lung volume, my highest ever.

Before the surgery I still have a pre-op appointment with the surgeon and a pre-op phone call from the hospital to get through; I have a list of questions for each. I also have a form to finish and submit for short-term disability through my union. The disability pay is bupkes but importantly it will preserve my health insurance, which otherwise requires at least 80 paid hours per calendar month for eligibility.

I still have moments of general anxiety (that is, I'm not worried about a specific thing, I'm just afraid of the surgery), usually when I'm tired.

I've got things set up at work for a temp, and asked a co-worker to water my 15 plants.

Can you suggest anything else that might make my recovery easier?

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/357867.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Teaching sex ed includes consent

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:43:16 GMT

Creating materials and training for teachers to use to teach consent culture instead of rape culture is the focus of this fundraising effort. The creator will offer the materials free to teachers. If you can't donate, boost the signal please!

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/357550.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Elementary and dear Watson

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 14:45:32 GMT

I watch the tv series Elementary, in which Sherlock Holmes is a recovering addict in New York City and Joan Watson (played by Lucy Liu) is a former doctor who was hired to be his "sober companion," that is, the person who helps him keep off drugs by being with him almost all the time and demanding random drug tests and supporting non-addict behaviors. And so I am promoting this entry right here, which is an excellent discussion of Joan Watson as a character, and especially when you read the comments, which point out how great she is as a portrayal of an Asian American woman without stereotypical problematic behaviors.

Go forth and read!

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/357149.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Help, my phone is emasculating me!

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:39:18 GMT

According to Sergey Brin, all that standing around rubbing your phone isn't manly. The jokes just write themselves here.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/356678.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

The 2013 Oscar Awards host

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:30:25 GMT

Great article by Spencer Kornhaber at The Atlantic about Seth McFarlane's performance as host of the 2013 Oscar Awards broadcast.

The fight over what's OK and what's not OK in comedy is deeply worn out, but it's a fight MacFarlane asked us again to have—almost explicitly, with that Captain Kirk shtick serving as a trolling prebuttal to the tsk-tsking media—on one of pop-culture's biggest nights.

It shouldn't be hard to come up with a sensible position on this. Everything, including punchlines about the Jews cutting non-Jews out of Hollywood, snickers about women faking the flu to lose weight, and cracks that there's no need to try to understand what Salma Hayek's saying because she's so hot, is "OK." It's a free country, etc. But that doesn't mean those jokes aren't hurtful, obvious, or dumb. It doesn't mean they don't make the world a worse place. Humor, after all, can be an incredible weapon for social progress, but it can also be regressive: The more we pass off old stereotypes, rooted in hate, as normal—as MacFarlane did again and again last night—the longer those stereotypes, and their ability to harm people, will be in place.

I found Mr. McFarlane offensive but more importantly boring. I don't remember laughing at any of his bits, and he didn't even do a good job of introducing the presenters--and those are the two main jobs of the Oscars host, comedy and introductions. I turned off the broadcast about 90 minutes in; I can always find out who won and what the best parts were by reading social media the next day.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/356451.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Repairs

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:27:10 GMT

I am pleased to report that the moderate to severe vertigo I have been experiencing since late October has been diagnosed! The three-word-name for this is superior canal dehiscence, and I have it in both ears. That is, both my ears have missing or thinned bone in the superior canal, which helps with balance and other important things.

I am even more pleased (and a little frightened) to report that there is also a treatment, and it is surgery to repair the bones. Yes, someone is finally going to open up my head and take a look at my brain--only incident to moving it out of the way to get to my ear works. There will be two surgeries, one on each side, and they must be separated by two to three months for healing. The first surgery is scheduled for early April.

The surgery includes covering the hole they make in my skull with metal mesh, so I will have fun going through airport security for the rest of my life.

There will be more physical therapy before, between, and after the surgeries, but there is an excellent chance I will have a complete recovery, and that is pretty exciting. The next six months may be hard, but I will make it through and get well eventually.

I am scared of the surgery, I am scared about recovery (nausea/pain/inability to take care of myself/not enough care from others), and I am scared about the money (even with my really good insurance I will be paying a lot out of pocket, plus I don't have enough sick or vacation days to cover both surgeries, 2 to 4 days in the hospital, plus 2 weeks of recovery each time). But I am imagining a day, maybe a year from now or so, when I have forgotten the pain of the surgery and the exhaustion, brain fog, and near-constant sense of movement and nausea from the vertigo, because I am well. And that's encouraging.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/356167.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:43:20 GMT

Note to self: don't challenge other people's identity. Remember other people's identity may be tied up in subjects you enjoy analyzing. Many people do not enjoy picking apart their identity and analyzing it, even though you do.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/355855.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

How the world has changed

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:26:55 GMT

When my daughter-in-law sends me art from my 6-year-old grandson, and instead of craft paper and glue and glitter, it's a stop-motion Lego video with sound effects...oh how the world has changed!

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/355839.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

State of the snippy

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 04:16:02 GMT

I haven't been posting much about myself because for a few months I was on hold, doing only basic maintenance, while waiting to see an ENT who specializes in vestibular disorders including vertigo. I finally saw him the second week in January.

He was great. Calm, spent the first 15 or 20 minutes asking open-ended questions and letting me say anything I needed about how I've been feeling, then did a basic exam and started talking. I must admit I zoned a bit at the three multi-syllabic Latin terms for the possible diagnoses, and although he offered to write them out I turned him down. He ordered a bunch more tests, including a hearing exam, a CAT scan of my head, and some other visual and auditory tests. He also suggested I get out of the glasses I was wearing--more specifically, the progressive lenses I use to correct my nearsighted and astygmatic vision while also giving me correction at computer work distance and reading/handwork distance. He suggested single vision glasses (one for distance, one or more for close work) or maybe contacts plus drug-store quality reading glasses.

I was able to do one round of testing immediately after seeing the doctor because another patient had canceled. That afternoon I scheduled an eye exam and went on to get a pair of distance vision glasses made, and also got contacts plus reading glasses. The contacts are working out well, although switching everything around is not yet routine.

After a couple of weeks, but before I finished the schedule of tests, I got a call from his office to start physical therapy. I started PT two weeks ago. You might be asking yourself what does PT have to do with vertigo?

Part of vertigo is balance problems, and at the first PT appointment, I worked on walking differently so I was less likely to fall. It also turns out that improving circulation in the head, neck, and shoulders can affect the inner ear. I've been doing gentle stretches of some muscles, and isometric exercises to strengthen other muscles, and I am actually experiencing brief moments with no vertigo, as well as a general (if minor) reduction in overall vertigo during the day. It's still episodic: I still have really bad vertigo sometimes, but it doesn't usually last more than an hour or two and then I go back to only having mild to moderate symptoms (with the drugs). I'm still taking meclizine three times a day to minimize nausea and dizziness, and when it wears off I definitely have more vertigo.

I'm also having less brain fog, and less of that nonspecific "feeling of impending doom" (both of which the ENT confirmed were normal symptoms of whatever I have). Even so, about once a week I have a really bad couple of hours where I just want to curl up and die, give up on even trying to get better, because I'm so tired and overwhelmed with all the changes. New glasses, contacts, going to PT twice a week, all the appointments for the tests and the eye exam, plus work and home. I'm still mostly unable to read or knit or do any other kind of creative or pleasure pastimes other than (1) listening to books on my iPod and (2) watching TV.

I have to keep reminding myself that the ENT also said he expects me to make a full recovery. He didn't say how long it would take, or what (other than the PT I'm already doing) the treatment would entail. I see him again in a few weeks and will ask those questions.

In the meantime I could really use some kind words and some encouragement.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/355513.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

A rash of mass shootings

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:25:40 GMT

Not really. Despite the recent Mother Jones report, according to James Alan Fox, over the past 35 years the US has averaged just under 20 mass shootings (defined as shootings with 4 or more victims) per year. In that article, an interview conducted by Megan McArdle (one of my favorite writers on economics and other national news), Mr. Fox also says mass killers don't "just snap."

Mass murderers are extraordinarily ordinary.

Most mass killers kill people they know, with a clear-cut motive. They typically plan their crimes in advance, often weeks or months in advance. They are calm, deliberate and determined to get justice for what they perceive to be unfair treatment.

The idea that they suddenly snap actually makes little sense. They snap and just so happen to have 2 AK-47's and 2000 rounds of ammunition around for just such an occasion? Hardly.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/355154.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

A month of letterwriting is upon us!

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:56:28 GMT

I am participating in the 2013 Month of Letters, which begins today. Please let me know if you want a letter, and if you don't want to put your mailing address in a comment, you can email it to my Month of Letters address, lettermo2013@yahoo.com.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/354816.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

The more you know

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:02:26 GMT

I saw elseNet a really well-written response, defending us women and girl nerds/geeks/fans from yet another attack by a man claiming we were fakes, only in it for the egoboo of having men admire us, etc. So I clicked through and watched the original video, which is below.

But it's a parody. And the responses I've seen don't seem to recognize that. In fact I know the actor-he went to primary school with my younger son, and I see him at the local SF/F convention every year. He's playing a role-he has better social skills than that character, and he dresses better.

It's not like it's hard to tell it's a parody, either. It's from Season 3 of Portlandia, a comedy show on IFC that parodies the hipster memes around Portland, Oregon, which is my town. In other words, it's a comedy skit from that show.

That doesn't lessen the importance of responding to the accusations that women and girls who like comic books, or gaming, or anything else considered nerdy or geeky. But still! This is humor! These people actually get it!

And I want to say hi to R_____, the star of the skit. Congratulations! You were hilarious!

http://youtu.be/Ir3v5yDk9Ws

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/354742.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Moving away from Livejournal

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 17:00:03 GMT

I've been slowly moving away from use of Livejournal over the last few years. First it was changes to the service that I didn't like. Then there were a couple of outages that lasted more than a few minutes--some lasted days. Other people stopped posting (don't know whether they moved to other platforms or just stopped). Some of my reading list died, and I grieved them. I tried other services. Some of them went away (deadjournal) and some were very different from LJ but I found I liked them (twitter, tumblr). And this one, Dreamwidth, became not just a replacement for LJ but an expansion of it, a service that values user experience and continues to improve my experience of using it.

Livejournal has been bouncing up and down again a lot over the last few weeks. In its defense some will claim it's not LJ's fault, there must be a denial of service attack or other outside interference. But LJ is a commercial business now, and has been for a very long time--I don't feel any personal loyalty or obligation to grant it slack. The fact that it has become unusable so much of the time means it's a source of frustration instead of pleasure in my life. And so I'm moving further away.

Some people only blog on LJ and I will continue to try to read them on a regular basis there. Some people have a much more active following on LJ and therefore comment discussions on their LJ version are more interesting, and I'll watch for that. But I'm paring down my LJ reading list to only people I can't find anywhere else, so that when I do look at LJ, if it's even available each time, I'll have a shorter list to look through and might manage it before another service outage.

I'll be taking journals off my reading/sharing list ("friends list" as LJ calls it) over the next few weeks. Old journals that haven't posted in a while, people I can find on another service, and RSS feeds I can read by going directly to the site instead (my bookmarks list will grow) will be trimmed.

Be sure to comment if you have a low-activity journal but want to stay connected on LJ. Otherwise find me at one or more of the following places I drop my thoughts:

snippy.dreamwidth.org (personal essays)

gelasticjew.blogspot.com (politics, philosophy, random links I found interesting)

gelasticjew on twitter.com (observations on my daily commute, plus re-tweets of people I want to think about)

gelasticjew on tumblr.com (some feminism, some fandom stuff about popular culture)

Hope to see you around the 'nets.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/354336.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Letter writing

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 19:28:31 GMT

I have written more than a few letters of thanks and condolence in my time, and I enjoy it. In February 2013 I want to participate in the Month of Letters, which involves sending a letter (for a loose definition of letter) to someone through the mail every day in the month of February.

Would you like to receive a letter from me? I need your name and mailing address; if you're not comfortable putting it in a comment or a direct message, you can email it to me (lettermo2013) at web email provider yahoo.com.

If you want to sign up for the Month of Letters, I would be glad to receive letters, too! Let me know where to send you my mailing address.

This entry was originally posted at http://snippy.dreamwidth.org/354239.html, where there are comments. Please comment there.

Aftermath

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 19:34:17 GMT

It's now two days since the mass murder at Clackamas Town Center, a mall in Happy Valley, Oregon. The horrible crime was at the top of the news cycle for at least a day, despite the actual event being mostly over inside of an hour. But the consequences still aren't over.

Of course the people who lost a loved one will need months or years to recover. The young woman who was injured and survived has a recovery path. And the people who fled and hid in fear for their lives may well have emotional reactions to deal with. But that's not all by any means.

All the people in the mall who did the smart thing and abandoned their shopping bags, purses, cell phones, and even their cars, want to reclaim their belongings. The Clackamas County sheriff's office had to come up with an organized way to let them identify their stuff and take it home. What did the sheriff's office do? It closed a transit center, a multi-story parking structure that was inside the perimeter of the mall parking lot. It's a great idea: this space can easily be secured against thieves, it can be guarded by just a few deputies, and it is easy for claimants to find and make their case to claim their stuff.

The mall parking lot is, as of this morning, still closed off by security. This means the transit center is unavailable for its usual purpose--it is the end of the line stop for one light rail line, and a transfer point for many bus lines. The light rail still goes to that stop (because it's where the train can change tracks/direction) but outbound (from downtown) passengers must get off at the previous stop, and anybody who normally boards the train at the Clackamas Town Center stop has to get to the next stop in and board there. Of course the bus you might take to do that can't follow the normal route to the mall transit center--the buses can't even get into the parking lot! So all the buses are following alternate routes, and there are temporary bus stops. All the drivers and all the commuters who normally use the transit center have to follow these alternate routes and temporary stops.

The mall is, of course, closed. It's still a crime scene and the police are still investigating. The many merchants and restaurants aren't making sales and therefore have no income. The employees, most of whom are probably hourly, aren't working--maybe their employers are paying them for the time off, but probably not. Any of them who are paid partly or wholly on commission aren't making sales that count towards their commissions.

The surrounding neighborhood is still being disturbed by helicopters and television news vans with giant satellite dishes on top, as well as the disrupted buses and temporary bus stops.

This was a tragedy without an infrastructure involvement, so at least there are no damaged buildings, roads, or bridges to be demolished and rebuilt.

This event is off the news but its effects aren't over yet. I live across the street from the mall and my younger son worked at a nearby store (and was trapped in the store on lockdown during the event) and I find the ongoing disruption interesting. All these effects are predictable, though in previous discussions of catastrophic events I don't remember any warnings about the aftermath. I wonder how much of the response was scripted.

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My work space

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 18:30:10 GMT

I've been with my current employers for almost 25 years. In that time the office has been in 4 different buildings. Currently I have the best workspace of my career, so that even though I don't like the location, I am very happy with my space.

My space is on the east side of the building, and is on the opposite side of the building from our suite's entrance (we have the whole floor). Here's my roughly u-shaped desk, which faces south:

You can see my monitor, phone, and some of my plants. :) Those windows against the back wall face east and although I haven't measured, I'm pretty sure the tops of those windows are at least 10 feet off the ground. Notice that the windows are arched, even though the framing and trim around them is rectangular! They also open. Here's a view looking more toward the windows:

In this photo you can see a red sleeve sticking out on the left-that's a narrow niche that has a bookcase and a coat hanger, as well as the rest of the width of that window.

And now for a daytime view:

Yes, the building across the street has horizontal orange stripes. It's also short enough that when I'm sitting at my desk, the upper part of the windows is all sky above that building.

You may be able to make out the following things on my desk: tea kettle, paper dolls (mini-me!), rocket ship magnets, a Tupperware 32-ounce cup, a timer, a fan, and the following potted plants: peace lily, christmas cactus, snake plant, aloe, jade. I have 16 plants right now, they don't all show in those views.

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Good and otherwise, lately

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 19:08:01 GMT

Good:
1. Saw Skyfall, liked it.
2. Cardiologist reports nothing worrisome on any of the tests over the last couple of months, follow up in a year. This is excellent news!
3. General health also good, according to annual physical.
4. Twoson working! Retail, part commission, doing well.
5. Enjoyed Thanksgiving with invited friends, food was excellent. Spouse and Twoson did all the work including cleanup.
6. CPAP use continuing well, and over the last 2 or 3 days have marked increase in daily energy, decrease in tired/sleepy feelings.
7. Feel very confident and respected about all my doctor/medical field interactions over the last 3 months.

Not so good:
1. Was sick with a doctor-diagnosed viral gastroenteritis for the 3 days before Thanksgiving. Ran a fever and everything. My doc says she's seeing a lot of reports of this particular bug in the geographic area.
2. Can't run my DnD game right now, or read much for pleasure, or do any other hobbies, because:

Truly difficult:
1. Still having some of the worst vertigo of my life. Hard to walk, hard to read or watch tv, can't drive, can't listen to music or loud noises (very disorienting). Have appointment with ENT specializing in vestibular disorders but can't get in until January (am on call list for cancellations). Also checked in with pulmonologist/sleep doctor in case there's something about the CPAP settings we might change to try to minimize the vertigo.

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