Hey, everybody. I haven't posted for a while. I'm mostly hanging around on twitter these days. 140 characters fits my lifestyle better than a whole blog. Generally speaking, not much happens to talk about.
There have been some changes recently, though. Last week I saw the new GI after having a colonoscopy in early July. (Nothing dire, they just like to take a peek at the insides every once in a while to make sure there aren't any nasty surprises.) He reviewed all my files, and we discussed, and bottom line is that I'll be starting Humira as soon as we can get it approved by insurance. I've known this was coming for a while. I'm hopeful that the new med will mean an improvement in my health and quality of life. But I'm kind of dreading it, too. The last big med I was on was Remicade. It's an IV drug, which was no big deal. (I got over my discomfort with IVs after spending 2 weeks in the hospital five years ago.) Someone else does all the work. All the patient has to do is sit there and wait for it to finish dripping. Humira is a self-injection. I'm going to have to get over my squeamishness and learn to stick myself. It'll be an injector pen, like an epi-pen, so nowhere near as bad as it could be. But I'm kind of underwhelmed by the idea anyway.
The other new thing is a bit more positive. I went to the Y today and signed up for a membership. I'm *finally* going to start going to water arthritis classes again. The next class is Wednesday afternoon, so barring surprise!period (which wouldn't totally shock me-- my cycle has been running at about 25 days lately, but I'm hoping it will at least wait until the weekend), I hope to be back in the pool then.
Also, Troub hasn't been doing so well lately. He's not eating much, and when he does eat he pukes it back up about half the time. The vet thinks his allergy to his food has finally gotten to be too much. We switched to a different food, which helped for a while, but now he doesn't want to eat either brand. And he hasn't been getting his steroid, because the only way we could get it in him was to squirt it on his food. No eating, no steroid. Without the steroid it's become obvious that he has arthritis problems. I talked to the vet again this morning, and she wants me to significantly up his steroid dosage. Somehow. My brother is coming over shortly to see if he can get it in him. He likes my brother. He (the cat, not my brother) has been hiding, first in my parents' closet and then under my bed, since he spotted me with the syringe this morning. The really frustrating part is that he used to *love* his medicine. And then all the sudden he decided he didn't like it any more. (I get it from a special veterinary compounding pharmacy, and it's tuna flavored. We're going to refill in chicken flavor and see if he likes that any better.)
So that's all the scary, positive, frustrating news around here. At this rate, I'll have more news in another couple months. In the meantime, look for me on twitter. I'll be the one making smartass comments and retweeting stuff.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Bridegroom- It's Important, Y'all
Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (you might recognize her name as the producer of the TV show Designing Women) has turned to Kickstarter to try to finance a documentary on a pretty damn important subject.
Tom Bridegroom died in an accident last year. His family, who greeted his coming out with guns and violence, took his body and his things from his home in California and disappeared with them, back to Indiana. His partner, Shane, who he shared a mortgage and a business with, had no legal right to any information about what happened after the accident or the disposition of his property. He flew to Indiana for the funeral and was told that Tom's father and uncle planned to attack him if he showed up.
This is what can happen when the law prevents consenting adults in committed relationships from legally marrying each other. It's devastating. It's wrong. And it needs to stop. If you've got a couple extra bucks to donate toward getting this documentary made about Tom and Shane and the harm that these homophobic laws do, please consider it. Right now they have another $150,000 to raise, and 14 days to do it in. And please spread the word. This is a story that needs to be told.
Tom Bridegroom died in an accident last year. His family, who greeted his coming out with guns and violence, took his body and his things from his home in California and disappeared with them, back to Indiana. His partner, Shane, who he shared a mortgage and a business with, had no legal right to any information about what happened after the accident or the disposition of his property. He flew to Indiana for the funeral and was told that Tom's father and uncle planned to attack him if he showed up.
This is what can happen when the law prevents consenting adults in committed relationships from legally marrying each other. It's devastating. It's wrong. And it needs to stop. If you've got a couple extra bucks to donate toward getting this documentary made about Tom and Shane and the harm that these homophobic laws do, please consider it. Right now they have another $150,000 to raise, and 14 days to do it in. And please spread the word. This is a story that needs to be told.
Friday, May 4, 2012
This is Why I am a Liberal
Yesterday someone that I internet-know posted with great excitement. A few months ago she wrote President Obama, and she received a letter back. She was over the moon at the time. And then she read the interview with the President in Rolling Stone magazine, and was thrilled to pieces all over again. Apparently, the President remembered her letter all these months later:
I'm not. I happen to believe that everyone deserves affordable medical coverage. Remember that old saw "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"? Well, this is our ounce of prevention. We make sure everyone has medical coverage. People stay healthy. They stay productive. You catch problems early, like my internet friend, and they get taken care of before there's a major, life altering problem. No one goes bankrupt trying to save their own lives, or the lives of family members. People get timely treatment, and disease outbreaks are stopped sooner. Other people having access to decent medical care is a benefit to us all. It's not a luxury item. It's a necessity.
I want policies that save lives, not endanger them. I want policies that ensure freedoms, not strip them away. I want policies that guarantee equality for all. After all, the Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." To deny equal treatment under the law is to betray the Declaration of Independence, one of the documents that we as Americans hold dear.
Policies that save lives, ensure freedom, and guarantee equality. Once again, we're talking ideals. On a personal level, these are policies that allow everyone access to affordable health care. They allow us to choose, with the help of our doctors, the medical options that are best for us, without interference. They allow loving couples to marry and adopt children, without regard to sexual orientation. They ensure that a woman, hired for the same position and doing the same work as a man, receives the same pay.
Policies affect people. If they're not affecting people in a positive way, they don't need to be our policies any more. "Government of the people, by the people, for the people." Not what benefits corporations or religions, but what benefits We the People.
That's why I'm a liberal. Because I'm sick of watching our politicians create laws that harm the general public, and refuse to pass laws that would help us. My name is Joan Q. Public, and I would like my government back now, please.
It must help to get a break, though, given how stressful and demanding the job is.Politics can seem pretty damn ephemeral sometimes. It's about ideas, philosophies, morals and ideals. But the outcome of all that arguing is actual policy that affects actual human beings. Human beings like my internet friend, who might be dying by degrees right now instead of cancer free. It's easy to say, "no way. It's too expensive. Not my money," when it's all just numbers on a page. But what do you say when it's your family, your child or your nephew or your niece who was saved by the provision of the Health Care Reform Act that allowed them to stay on their parents' insurance to age 26? Was it still too expensive then? Was it too much to pay when it was the cashier who rings up your groceries every Tuesday night? Or the guy who does such a good job with your lawn every week? The lady who teaches your child's preschool class. The courier driver who delivers your important business documents. All people who are unlikely to have employer sponsored medical insurance. All people who could potentially be under 26 and eligible to remain on their parents' insurance. Are you willing to look any of those people in the face and tell them that they don't deserve insurance coverage?
You generally don't hear in the press about what goes right, but you do hear it from the people who were impacted by it. I tell you, not a day passes where somewhere, somehow, I don't hear about something we've done that's really touched somebody directly. Somebody writes and says, "I'm 25 years old, and because of health care reform, I was able to stay on my parents' plan and ended up getting a checkup, and it turned out that I had a tumor and it was caught early, and I just want you to know that treatment is going well, and I really think this health care bill saved my life."
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/ready-for-the-fight-rolling-stone-interview-with-barack-obama-20120425#ixzz1tsxekT00
I'm not. I happen to believe that everyone deserves affordable medical coverage. Remember that old saw "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"? Well, this is our ounce of prevention. We make sure everyone has medical coverage. People stay healthy. They stay productive. You catch problems early, like my internet friend, and they get taken care of before there's a major, life altering problem. No one goes bankrupt trying to save their own lives, or the lives of family members. People get timely treatment, and disease outbreaks are stopped sooner. Other people having access to decent medical care is a benefit to us all. It's not a luxury item. It's a necessity.
I want policies that save lives, not endanger them. I want policies that ensure freedoms, not strip them away. I want policies that guarantee equality for all. After all, the Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." To deny equal treatment under the law is to betray the Declaration of Independence, one of the documents that we as Americans hold dear.
Policies that save lives, ensure freedom, and guarantee equality. Once again, we're talking ideals. On a personal level, these are policies that allow everyone access to affordable health care. They allow us to choose, with the help of our doctors, the medical options that are best for us, without interference. They allow loving couples to marry and adopt children, without regard to sexual orientation. They ensure that a woman, hired for the same position and doing the same work as a man, receives the same pay.
Policies affect people. If they're not affecting people in a positive way, they don't need to be our policies any more. "Government of the people, by the people, for the people." Not what benefits corporations or religions, but what benefits We the People.
That's why I'm a liberal. Because I'm sick of watching our politicians create laws that harm the general public, and refuse to pass laws that would help us. My name is Joan Q. Public, and I would like my government back now, please.
Friday, April 20, 2012
24 Hour Read-A-Thon
Doesn't that sound delicious? Twenty-four hours of nothing but reading books, any books you want. That's pretty much my idea of heaven. I just heard about this a few minutes ago, so I haven't had time to make elaborate plans or anything. (There are people on twitter who are baking right now, so that they have special snacks for the read-a-thon. Baking!) But here is a selection of possible books for tomorrow's word orgy:
Obviously, I'm not going to get all these read in 24 hours. In fact, I may wake up tomorrow and pick something entirely different to read. But these are at least a start.
If you want to sign up for the read-a-thon, too, you can do that here.
Oh, happy day. Books!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Embrace the Rainbow, Baby!
I can't believe I haven't mentioned this here yet, but I have a new project. Since late February or so I've been a moderator at a website called Embrace the Rainbow. Our mission is to educate the public, especially the m/m romance community, about the issues faced by trans*/genderqueer/questioning individuals. You should check it out. We haven't been around long, but there's good information there and lots more good stuff to come.
The thing I suggest you check right away is this post. Not only is it my first post on the site, but it's also a big, multi-author giveaway! It was nerve-wracking and also kind of fun to contact all those authors and ask them to participate. Everyone was great about it, though, and as you can see there are a lot of books up for grabs. You've only got until midnight EDT tonight (Wednesday) to enter though, so you'd better do it fast!
I'll keep this short so you can go check the site. I'm working on my RT post, and I'll probably put that one up tomorrow.
The thing I suggest you check right away is this post. Not only is it my first post on the site, but it's also a big, multi-author giveaway! It was nerve-wracking and also kind of fun to contact all those authors and ask them to participate. Everyone was great about it, though, and as you can see there are a lot of books up for grabs. You've only got until midnight EDT tonight (Wednesday) to enter though, so you'd better do it fast!
I'll keep this short so you can go check the site. I'm working on my RT post, and I'll probably put that one up tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Big Day
It's been a long day, and let me tell you-- I am TIRED.
First, I went to the doctor. She's going to give me one more round of antibiotics, this time a different one, to see if whatever is going on in my left boob clears up. If not, she's sending me to a specialized breast surgeon. She seems to be leaning away from infection and more toward inflammatory something or other going on in there. With the Crohn's and the inflammatory joint stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if I've developed some weird, auto-immune breast issue. I asked if that was a possibility, and she didn't deny it. But she wasn't aware of any auto-immune diseases that affect the breast. (Neither am I, but since there are about a million auto-immune diseases out there, it's not surprising that there's one I'm unfamiliar with.) The impression I got from her was that she's concerned, if this antibiotic doesn't work, that it might be inflammatory breast cancer. That's pretty aggressive, and not something you want to get. I asked if it was possible for the mammogram to come out clear and still have inflammatory breast cancer. She said it is, if it's just inflammatory, and there's no lump. So kind of waiting it out. If RT weren't next week, I'd probably go ahead and go to the surgeon to get it checked out instead of trying this third round of antibiotics. But at least with RT coming up, I've got something to focus on other than ol' lefty.
In more positive news, I drove today for the first time in over a year. There was no real reason why I haven't driven in the last year. I just don't go anywhere much, and 90% of the time when I leave the house it's to go somewhere with my parents anyway. So I just don't drive. Plus, I don't own a car, so driving means taking Mom or Dad's car. It was really uncomfortable there for a while, although I was perfectly comfortable behind the wheel today. So yay!
After the doctor's office I went to Walmart to fill my prescription and get some last minute stuff for RT. I really wore myself out, but I had a good time! Check out this fabulous bag I got! (The Cherries among us will appreciate it.) And it was super cheap-- 88 cents! The next time this bag sees the light of day, it will be filled with goodies at RT.
The cozy won't protect it from any hard knocks, but hopefully it will keep the screen from getting all scratched up in my purse as it gets carted around next week. And I'll try to remember to take lots of pictures, so you get to see all the wonderful readers and writers I meet.
I think that's all the big news for right now. I have some other good stuff to talk about, and I'll try to get to that this week, before I leave for RT.
Lip Balm Flavor of the Day: Cat Pee
First, I went to the doctor. She's going to give me one more round of antibiotics, this time a different one, to see if whatever is going on in my left boob clears up. If not, she's sending me to a specialized breast surgeon. She seems to be leaning away from infection and more toward inflammatory something or other going on in there. With the Crohn's and the inflammatory joint stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if I've developed some weird, auto-immune breast issue. I asked if that was a possibility, and she didn't deny it. But she wasn't aware of any auto-immune diseases that affect the breast. (Neither am I, but since there are about a million auto-immune diseases out there, it's not surprising that there's one I'm unfamiliar with.) The impression I got from her was that she's concerned, if this antibiotic doesn't work, that it might be inflammatory breast cancer. That's pretty aggressive, and not something you want to get. I asked if it was possible for the mammogram to come out clear and still have inflammatory breast cancer. She said it is, if it's just inflammatory, and there's no lump. So kind of waiting it out. If RT weren't next week, I'd probably go ahead and go to the surgeon to get it checked out instead of trying this third round of antibiotics. But at least with RT coming up, I've got something to focus on other than ol' lefty.
In more positive news, I drove today for the first time in over a year. There was no real reason why I haven't driven in the last year. I just don't go anywhere much, and 90% of the time when I leave the house it's to go somewhere with my parents anyway. So I just don't drive. Plus, I don't own a car, so driving means taking Mom or Dad's car. It was really uncomfortable there for a while, although I was perfectly comfortable behind the wheel today. So yay!
After the doctor's office I went to Walmart to fill my prescription and get some last minute stuff for RT. I really wore myself out, but I had a good time! Check out this fabulous bag I got! (The Cherries among us will appreciate it.) And it was super cheap-- 88 cents! The next time this bag sees the light of day, it will be filled with goodies at RT.
And here is a picture of the little gadget cozy I knit this weekend to cover up my mp3 player/wifi/fake smart phone thingie. I'd take a picture of it with the gadget in it, but my gadget is my camera, so....
The cozy won't protect it from any hard knocks, but hopefully it will keep the screen from getting all scratched up in my purse as it gets carted around next week. And I'll try to remember to take lots of pictures, so you get to see all the wonderful readers and writers I meet.
I think that's all the big news for right now. I have some other good stuff to talk about, and I'll try to get to that this week, before I leave for RT.
Lip Balm Flavor of the Day: Cat Pee
Sunday, April 1, 2012
A Change Would Do You Good
So. I was looking around a couple weeks ago and realized that my "online presence" is pretty scattered. I regularly use about four different handles, which is kind of ridiculous. So now I'm consolidating. Everything else has been shifted to "fibrobabe", but I've been dragging my feet about the blog. I was able to get http://fibrobabe.blogspot.com/, and now I'm going to attempt to move all the old bektold stuff to the new blog. This may or may not be successful. My tech skills aren't exactly top notch. If something weird happens, nobody panic! I'll figure it out eventually. But in the meantime, feel free to send a few extra FGBVs my way!
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