Something ranting this way comes...

My bank has very few convenient branches, especially to my house. It's ok with me, because I really only need them for deposits(there's a free ATM around the corner from me), and there's one on my way to the train from work, so what the hell, right? Well, the big problem with the only convenient ATMs to me is that they almost always seem to be performing maintenance on them at the time I'm trying to make my deposit and hit the train so I can get home and relax after my long, probably angry day at work.

I should explain more.

My bank has a branch at the Chicago Board of Trade, which is geographically convenient as it is between the Quincy and LaSalle. What's funny about the CBOT is that most everyone who works there gets off work between 2:30 and 4, so there's undoubtedly a whole boatload of foot traffic going through and inevitably, some of those people are going to need to use my bank's ATMs. They have two there in the lobby, rather convenient, yes? However, they choose to perform some kind of maintenance that takes up 10 minutes of time on both ATMs simultaneously, effectively making banking at that particular branch, well, pretty much impossible.

So, I ask you, who the hell thought scheduling routine maintenance at the same time was a good idea? Does anyone else see things my way?

End of rant.

Why not start her off with a nice kiss?

Someone I read linked to this yesterday(forgive me for not giving you proper props), and I didn't quite get it.

Today, I read this, and think "oh... that's a nice idea."

Go here. Me, I'm probably going to the highest level: American Hero- "I pledge to have sex with a voter on Election night and to withhold sex from nonvoters for the next 4 years."

Maybe I'll take it a step further- I'll be a Real American Hero, and I'll withhold sex from anyone who votes for Bush for the next four years, regardless of the outcome.

I'm just crazy enough to do it, too.

The neverending story.

It's a complete lie whenever someone tells you that they've finished all their laundry. Just so you know. Unless, of course, they're blessed enough to have an in-unit machine and do their laundry naked. mmmmmmmmmm. Naked laundry. Much safer than naked cooking.

So, I did 5 fuckin' loads of laundry last night, only to discover that I have at least one more that I'd have to do to make my hamper empty. It's getting depressing. But I did wash all my whites- and have an ample amount of socks and white t-shirts to wear to physical therapy now. This is good news. Already, after all, I've been asked about the MS ride by another patient. What a wonderful thing. I wonder if she'll donate.

I had a good time doing pub quiz on Tuesday. I had a round that was a pretty big hit. I call it Dead or Canadian, after the game show Remote Control's old round from back in the 80's. The premise is simple. I give a clue, and the teams have to decide between two possibilities. Week 1 of pub quiz was "Fake Sumerian God referenced in the movie Ghostbusters or NHL player's last name." This week, I gave quotes that were either from George W. Bush or Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars movies.

It was hilarious. I'll have to come up with a way to put those online.

Bored, bored, bored.

It seems we're going to have a feast or famine week here in tech support. Right now I'm so bored I cleaned up my e-mail inbox.

Bored, bored, bored.

I found the birthday present I'm going to attempt, yet again, to order for my best friend today. Her 3-0 is coming up on the 9th. Hopefully it works. Usually, they're out of stock or backordered or whatever it is they do to make it not happen.

Now, I just have to find something for myself...

I love it when a plan comes together.

I will admit- without a hint of shame- that I was a HUGE fan of the A-Team when I was a kid, subsequently, I loved Col. Hannibal Smith(rest in peace), and thought he was such a badass.

Right now the birthday party plan seems to be coming together. We'll see. It's an easy sell, I'll admit, getting people to play with you when the deal is $20 all you can drink for 3 hours. So, if you're a Chicagoan, or planning on being here Saturday night and need someplace to drink your sorrows away and feel like celebrating another year in the life of Dave, well, head to the Globe. I'm getting there early so I can have a nice buzz going for when people get there, and so I can stash my secret supply of Gatorade, so my hangover isn't nearly as bearish.

Spend some time wasting time.

Pat has a plethora of quizzes up. Here's the ones I liked enough to spend time with:


Lawrence


What Office Space character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla





Which musician to die tragically are you?


You are Spaceballs!
You have a strange obsession with odd furry
creatures and you need to pick your helmet up
when drinking coffee. You can go from suck to
blow in a matter of seconds, but you're really
just looking for a good time in a winnebago.


Which Mel Brooks Movie Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


You are Psychic!


What's Your Magic Power?
brought to you by Quizilla


You are a Bavarian.


What's your Inner European?
brought to you by Quizilla

Of course, I've never looked that cute- even in lederhosen.

I am such a pig.

My Healthy Choice wasn't nearly enough food to sate my hunger today(not a surprise, really), so when co-worker B announced he was going to Subway, well I couldn't resist getting a 12" tuna on wheat.

Sadly, I also couldn't resist eating the whole damn thing, hence the title.

Back in the day(say before I turned 23 or so) I had no problem with weight. I was skinny. Damn skinny. When I graduated high school, I weighed 135 pounds soaking wet(see this post for a picture from that era, and to vote for haircut of the Dave). Now a days, what with the high cholesterol, and the fact that I weigh 195 pounds, well, I have to watch what I eat. I miss the good old days, where I could sit down and eat an entire large pizza and not have to think about the consequences to my waist. Or where runs to Taco Bell with my friends meant a 10 pack for each of us. Or going to Burger King and eating 2 chicken sandwiches and 2 orders of onion rings.

Gone are the good old days. Time to move on.

I don't mean to brag.

Damn. It seems I have a lot of spare time today... hence the silly blogging today.

Anyways, Wild Sound helped me learn about N.A.D.D., and I don't mean to brag, but here's the degree to which I multitask:

Currently running on my computer:
1) MS Outlook, where I am monitoring my account, as well as the tech desk's
2) The Lind-Waldock website, logged onto our error account.
3) Mozilla with tabs open for (a) my Lycos and (b) Gmail accounts, (c) Wild Sound, (d) shopping for neckties, and (e) Blogger.com.
4) www.hpfun.com, so I can play my recent addiction, online snooker.
5) Online snooker game.
6) Simulated trading database program.
7) Order Express(the backbone program for online trading).
8 and 9) IM windows to two friends, actively chatting.

Well, I might not be king of the geeks, but I'm definitely a sufferer of N.A.D.D. we should start having meetings.

If you hear this sound, head to the nearest exit.

[click-click.... rattatattatattatattatattatattatattatattatattatattatatta!]

That means I've gone postal.

Today is a weird day. It was super slow for my first hour and change, basically until I wrote the title to my previous post, then the shit was launched into the AC.

Well, enough on that.

I was in a good mood this morning, for reasons unbeknownst to me- I'm going to try to hang on to that- we'll see. As of right now, I'm looking forward to my birthday party on Saturday, which, if I'm not mistaken, will be occuring simultaneously with a certain redheaded friend of mine's in Boston. It's too bad we won't have webcams so we can wish each other birthday happiness at the appropriate times videoface to videoface.

That would be sweet.

What a difference a day makes.

Never mind. I spoke too soon.

We're getting slammed.

My precious...

few minutes left at work today... oh wait, there's nothing precious about being at work today.

[Read: get me the f*ck out of here.]

Scratch that.

[Read: get me the fuck out of here.]

I need a very tall, potent drink. I need it now.

New saying:
The only way I could get out of here faster today is if my desk chair had an ejector seat.

It's true.

If only I used my powers for good.

I am using all my faculties to completely piss off brokers today. Not intentionally, mind you, but I'm doing a damn good job of it.

It is good to be the king.

How strange life can be.

I'm walking home from pub quiz last night(I call it walking- most folks call it hobbling) and I see a car that looks like it's going to parallel park in the spot I'm approaching, and for some reason, I look directly at the license plate. A small process goes on in the back of my head, and then I realize- it's my friend T, and he's offering to give me a ride home.

Instead of going back to my house, though, we went to my local watering hole, and had a drink with the owner and just plain relaxed for a minute. It was nice- and I like surprises like that- they're always welcome.

So, we're done with training, which means I'll be returning to my regularly scheduled blogging. More later.

Fun things and more fun things.

I'm back at my apartment after watching my Vikings beat the local football team, and rather happy with the results.

I've been thinking about this story all day:

Last night my friend M called me up and invited me to his house for a party. I went, and as we were sitting in his room playing guitar and drinking beer. His friend P comes in the room and says "holy shit! You have a bidet! How far up does the water go?"

"It'll almost touch the ceiling," my friend M responded. Of course, being a few drinks into the party and of course, being crazy idiots, a scientific experiment was in the works. This is when I stood up and went to the door to the bathroom. I got there just in time to see P turn the bidet on full blast, and see the water hit the ceiling easily, and splash all over the room. It was hilarious. I laughed really really hard.

Just had to share. Beware of bidets.

Back from therapy land.

My new PT is really good- very nice. The facility is wonderful, too. They keep the TV on all day- something that makes the exercises go by.

So, when I walked in I was able to bend my knee to an 88 degree angle. Before I left, I was up to 95 degrees. Not bad for one session. Let's hope this keeps up.

The hair of the Dave that bit you.

Good morning, all.

I finally finished adding enough photos to make a vote possible, or to make a possible string about what haircut y'all like best. I set it up as a vote. There are 11 pictures, ranging in ages from 2 to 29, to choose from. Go here to check out the pictures. When you vote(in comments, of course), choose between one of the following haircuts:

The Bowl cut
The Long Hair
The Bob
The Bald

Now, I'm hoping that because I see all these unique visitors, but that I only see comments coming from about 8 people or so, that those who have not left a comment feel free to participate and keep making comments. That's my little spiel about how I 'd like more comments on the ol' blog.

Anyways. I've got PT in 30 minutes, and I've still got to shower. Funny thing about this morning is XRT's Flashback is the year 1992. Funny how that works.

Oh, and happy Yom Kippur to those who are celebrating.

Speaking of odd phone calls.

Or: This one's for Cynthia.

My roommate just called my cell phone. From Oktoberfest in Munich.

Why?

Because a tent full of drunken people were singing "Country Roads" By John Denver.

I just had to share.

What's wrong with the world.

Don't worry- I'm not going to do some lenghty, preachy dissertation on what I think the global situation is like. I am, however, and as usual, going to bitch about my callers today.

Usually, my Fridays are spent staving off boredom and playing games, as we're usually not terribly busy. Today, however, all the fuckin' weirdos are crawling out from under their respective mousepads to ask incredibly stupid questions or discuss, at length, the color of their belly-button lint(ordinarily a very engaging discussion I enjoy having with my friends, but rarely, if ever, with strangers).

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. If I didn't shave it off daily, I would be pulling out my hair right now.

I could think of an example or two...

of states in the US that would have liked to have not had elections held in the 2000 election. Thanks to D. Rum for putting the idea in my head. You're a peach.

For fun, see if you can guess which states I would have excluded from the 2000 electoral college...

mopundow

I spent more than an hour yesterday at the Illinois Chapter of the National MS Society, being interviewed for their quarterly newsletter, and picking up supplies to hand out at my pub quizzes.

As I've mentioned a hundred times before, I am treated like a minor celebrity at their offices. I can't really complain- they appreciate what I've done in my short 8 month career fundraising for them, and they let me know. Most of the folks there know me on sight and I'm guessing, after I'm in the bulletin, that I'll get even more face recognition. It's fun for me, I think, and definitely like a shot of B-12 in the ego, which I try(albeit poorly) to keep in check.

The article will have a picture and everything, probably just the one that I used for last year's website, but still something.

Anyways. I'm off for my last day of training on our new program we're supposed to start supporting. More later, if time permits.

Two weeks in.

It's been two weeks since my surgery- and I'm feeling pretty good. Still rather swollen and not quite walking right, but I'm hoping to be more normal in the next week or so.

We're still doing training around here- we've got a new program to learn so we can support it- I'm going to complain, because it's more money for me.

Not that that's what drives me.

More later.

Gabba gabba hey: Chipping away at my 15 minutes.

Today, in case you read it, you would have seen a picture of your humble narrator in the Red Eye(child paper of the Chicago Tribune), talking about what influence the Ramones had on rock and roll.

Tomorrow, I'm being interviewed for the MS Society of Illinois' Quarterly Journal.

Also, in case you're wondering, the sun moved into Libra, and if you believe in it, well, you can probably see why everything's coming up Milhouse.

I think number 6 is my favorite.

Check out this silly fun list. I think I'll start using number 6 in my daily conversations with our clients. Just to see how far I can go with it, of course. It's a sociological experiment.

In other news, RIP Russ Meyer.

Pat cracks me up.

This post's comments are hilarious. I like the idea of a debate over what length my hair looked best at. So, I'm going to dig through some old photos tonight and put together a little collage so those of you who haven't known me IRL for that long(if at all, for most of my readers) can get to see the amazing changes my hair went through from say, when Pat met me, back in the spring of 1992, to now, some 12 years and change later. You'd have to keep in mind, dear reader that back then, I had hair down to the middle of my back, when straightened(naturally curly hair bites). Around about 21 or 22, I decided to cut my hair in some kind of a bob(I think that's what it was called), which was probably ill advised for the naturally curly hair. Then I moved back to Chicago, grew my hair long again, and then went for the most drastic cut on the advice of my best friend, and sat down in the chair for this conversation:

Stylist: So, what would you like done? Quick trim?
Me: Nah. I'm looking for more of a radical change. Something David Duchovny or Noah Wylie-esque.
Stylist: Why is it that all the men with long hair want me to cut it short? You have such lovely hair!
Me: Well, if we don't do it now, I'm gonna chicken out.
Clippers: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZUuuuuuuuuuuuuump!

I shocked my friends, family, and co-workers with that one. Oddly, I almost immediately started dating a woman who said to me that it was the haircut that really did it for her.

Ah, the power of hair.

So, I'll work on getting those online later on. For now, today we're going to train like it's 1999.

Quick break.

First off, let me try to avoid getting all Dixie Chicks on Rep. Hastert. I'll just call him a jackass.

Second off, it's time to say farewell to Itchy, Seepy, Righty and Lefty. They're gone off to the great beyond. I'm now officially (re)starting physical therapy, this time about 2 blocks from my house.

Lite blogging this week.

I'm getting some training, so I'll be intermittent to say the least.

More nightblogging(deserves a quite night) will happen.

More interesting developments from Chicagoland

Last night I would up watching a Hank Williams Tribute band at my local watering hole, and as a special twist of fate, gave metromix a quote about how I feel the Ramones affected rock. Check out the Red Eye on Wednesday to see if I actually make the paper.

In other news: I CAN WALK!

Ok, it's not really sound walking, but I'm getting around without crutches. This may be pushing myself too much, so I'll be using the crutches for those extended walking bits, but around the house, I'm gonna keep trying!

This is awesome!

da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Rant Man!

It may just be the dangerously low blood sugar talking, but in my humble and somewhat experienced opinion, the worst two personality characteristics to mix are stupidity and anal retentiveness(note: no hyphen).

My day today has been consumed with idiots, asshat apprentices, and tin foil hat wearing motherfuckers. Most recently I talked to a guy who didn't understand why we didn't have software to tell if a customer accidentally enters an order as a buy or a see. Hm. That's why we have confirmation screens and on-line trading agreements- because if you're not going to check your own work, or accept any of the responsiblities of your own life, then you are an idiot and we don't want to be responsible for your actions.

Then there's the guy who said to me "oh! By address bar, you mean this big entry thing where I put the web address! Wow, do I feel stupid!"

Ok. The rant kinda petered out- mostly because I've been dealing with more and more stupidity since I started writing it.

I need a drink. Who's buying?

My new hero.

I just finished reading this article about a woman who lost her son in the Iraq Debacle heckling the first lady at a speech in Pennsylvania. Read through the entire article and ask yourself at the end 'how can she be charged with defiant trespass when she had a ticket to attend said speech?'

I sure as hell want to know.

Only in America.

He says it about 14 times in this little video. Check it out. I'm not sure what I make of it.

In other, more positive news

We're a week past my third knee surgery, and all seems to be well. Swelling has gone down to the point that I'm starting to see my kneecap again. It is a joyous occasion. Seepy(see the map here) has stopped seeping, so I think I'll have to rename him.

And everyone should read this.

I might do something substantial later on. Stay tuned.

and then there was one

RIP Johnny Ramone.

Stuff I was going to talk about before my day started off craptacularly.

Last night's pub quiz at the Globe was fun- at least, I had fun. There were about 20 people there, so I raised just over $100. The really fun part was as I was correcting the last round, the power went out. Not just in the bar, either, but the entire grid including my house was out. It was fun, in the way that temporary power outages are fun- the meet your neighbors and drink the beer before it gets warm type thing. Fortunately, by the time I got home, power had been restored, so all was well. Except that the vicodin I took to avoid pain while I slept was kicking in hardcore, and I slipped on the stairs to my apartment. No damage done, though. I'm rather protective of my new knee, after all.

Just now a funny thing happened. I was resting my noninjured leg on the power cord to my speakers and knocked it out. I guess I won't be hearing anything for a while.

It's amusing to me, for some reason.

Bad mojo, part II

Part one was eaten by the blob of cyberspace. Let's try this again:

I took a cab to work this morning, because I really didn't feel like navigating the bus system, and hell, for $12.50, I'll take the convenience.

Anyways, bad mojo goes out to the cab that didn't pick me up, despite his for hire light being on and no one else being in the cab, the fucker waved me off and shook his head no. I'm on crutches, people. I can't walk. This guy, this asshole waved me off.

I could be wrong, but my understanding of the situation is that by city ordinance, taxi drivers are required to pick up fares when hailed- and it's not like this guy didn't see me. He made eye contact.

So, I lodged a complaint with the city. And as soon as I find out what company he works for, I'm going to lodge a complaint there. Nobody, but nobody fucks with me like that. Especially shitty cab drivers.

Day 5

It's day 5 with the newly scoped knee. I'm in a fair amount of pain. I'm again trying to resist taking painkillers so that I may go to work tomorrow with a clear head. Not to mention that I'm going absolutely apeshit climbing the walls here. That was how my conversation went with my boss yesterday. He thinks I should take it easy, and I am, but thanks to growing up a sugar addict in the 1970's I have no attention span nor can I sit still for extended periods of time.

Another thing that's coming out of this is that I'm completely addicted to Jello. Fortunately, Jen has been kind enough to come over and make me some every day. She's a trooper, that one, and deserves my thanks and the thanks of my friends who she's making the workload easier on. she even went as far as to do a couple loads of laundry for me yesterday, then came over and made Jello and did the dishes.

That's all for now- just know that the swelling is down, Seepy is seeping less, and I'm looking forward to hosting pub quiz tonight- hopefully I'll raise some decent money and people will have fun. Chicagoland readers- see you at the Globe.

Fun with pictures.

I managed to put a practical guide to my right knee up online. Check it here. It includes the 4 named sutures as well other notable features of my knee.

Essentially, after popping yet another vicodin(pain is back, and it's bad) and watching an afternoon full of hockey movies, I need to do something completely silly.

Hope you enjoyed it.

At least I can say I fought the good fight.

I made it to about 5 minutes ago without taking any vicodin. I'm guessing that getting up and moving around the house wasn't the greatest idea as far as keeping the pain away, so it's actually my fault for pushing it.

My bad. Lesson learned.

I'm heading to the couch to watch a movie and probably sleep a bit.

Day 4

It's been four days since I was under the knife, and I have to say that I'm feeling pretty good. I'm not back at work or anything(maybe tomorrow), but I've managed to stave off taking more Vicodin- although it is never more than an arm's reach away. I won't lie- there is a lot of pain, but it's pain I can manage without drugs, which I wholeheartedly welcome, as I was getting a little tired of being in a constant narcotic haze.

Yesterday I defied all medical advice and left the apartment for the first time in 75 hours- I went with friend A to the Globe for dinner, sat down, realized that it was too loud and left. We hit up my local Chinese place for some food and came back to the pad to watch a movie, only to find that my roommate was doing pretty much the exact same thing. I wound up sitting up on the front porch for a bit, just happy to be outside. It was wonderful.

J and I named each suture, by the way. We're crazy like that. Either that, or the vicodin was wearing off on her. Their names are: Itchy, Seepy, Lefty and Righty. I'll post a picture later on, which will be gross, when I get around to changing the bandages again.

More later.

I sure am ready for some football.

I'm bored. Bored to tears. And, because I had some blood seeping from my wounds yesterday, my caretaker isn't allowing me to move too much, so I'm pretty well under house arrest.

Fortunately, I've got some football to watch, so I should be able to amuse myself for a few hours. I just wish it weren't so damn nice outside, because I really want to go out and play.

Day 2

Today I changed the bandages for my sutures. I was rather shocked to learn that instead of just three, I had actually four sutures- something I wasn't really expecting.

The really good news is I finally got to take a shower, so I smell remarkably better. I also shaved, which was becoming extremely necessary.

More pictures will be posted later, but I have to warn you, that they're going to get more and more graphic, so consider yourself warned. J, although a wonderful caretaker, gets a little squeamish around blood(read: very squeamish), so she avoided looking. I managed to snap a pic or two.

I'm just happy I got to bathe, honestly. I feel so much better.

Pictures!!!!

Check here for pictures from my surgery and from my recovery last night. There's nothing particularly gross in there, but I will say that it's not necessarily for the weak stomached.

Because I don't believe there was an offical report, I will say that while the doctor was in there, they found a cyst on my ACL, and cut it out Everything went really well, and I'm in full swing for a nice recovery. Of course, I'm typing all this while tripping out on Vicodin, so we'll just have to see what happens.

Thanks again to all my well-wishers.

They're very refreshing!

The irony of ironies award for the day goes to my friend B, for making a joke about coming to watch my surgery today and bringing Junior Mints.

The 11 pm episode of Seinfeld was, of course, the one where Jerry and Kramer observe a surgery and throw a Junior Mint into somone.

I had to share.

We CAN fix him. We have the technology...

*ahem*
Due to being as high as a busload of 70s sitcom stars on Vicodin, I will be guest blogging in the voice of Logan's Dave. Let's try this out....

So this guy calls into the tech desk, his keyboard doesn't work. I being the responsible help-desker ask what he was doing when this started happening.
His reply?
"Well, I did spill part of my Double Latte into it....could THAT be the problem?
"No sir, it's worse than that. Your problem is intense stupidity."

....Hey, that WAS fun!

But to all those wondering the status of our favorite Chicago curmudgeon, never fear he is very well (as previously mentioned, strung out on 500mg of Hydrocodone goodness!) presently watching the Simpsons and giggling while petting his couch and anything that comes near him.

Pictures of the exciting surgery will be up soon!!!

T minus 2 hours 58 minutes

Do you know where Dave is?

Well, right now I'm at home, relaxing and doing a last load of laundry, so I have pretty much everything ready to go. I'm going to do some paperwork in a few minutes, then I'm leaving about 10:25 to get down to the surgicenter.

Thanks to everyone who's called, e-mailed, commented, et cetera. I appreciate your well-wishes and encouragement!

T minus 6 hours, 41 minutes.

Being that I am a creature of habit, it should be no surprise to anyone that I'm awake- a full hour before my alarm, but still at my usually scheduled time.

The house is still a mess. I never got around to cleaning the kitchen, and I'm afraid to do so with the surgery looming. I didn't get laundry done. I feel horribly unprepared.

So, I'm going to once over the kitchen, do a couple loads of quick laundry, then I'm going to go have outpatient surgery. Sounds like a full morning, doesn't it?

Wendy rocks.

Wendy is the wonderful, kind samaritan who just sent me a gift certificate so I could buy myself a movie or book while I recover. She kicks all forms of ass and has a very warm spot in my heart.

Love ya, too kiddo.

Virtual Friday[now I'm [really] pissed off]

I had written about how today is a virtual Friday, and how I was disappointed to learn that my surgery time had been bumped back to noon, screwing up my caretaking schedule as well as making me have to fast for 12 hours before I go under- things not terribly popular with your humble narrator.

Now, after I wrote the whole damn thing, it was eaten by the internet. This is my fourth attempt at posting this entry.

So, I'm going to be mad about that. For a few minutes. Then, I remember that it's not that huge a deal, and that I should remain calm.

It's such a nice day.

And we're all stuck inside. Even the kids are back in school.

I don't think anyone has ever liked the day after Labor Day. Me, I know I don't. I'm in no mood to be at work. None.

Whether it's fortunate or not has yet to be determined, but I have a virtual Friday tomorrow. It is, of course, followed by a very real surgery on Thursday. J will be guest blogging after I get home- should be interesting.

And then depression set in.

My new diet consisting of food that food eats is getting me down. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I voluntarily ate Boca Burgers. I avoided all the chicken, hamburgers, steaks and hot dogs. I stuck to the boca, the salad J and I made, and the corn I brought.

But it was a good time, don't get me wrong... I really miss those guys from school, and I haven't seend some of them in ages, so it was good. We're planning a poker night at my house soon- probably a couple weeks after my surgery.

The good news of the day is that the rearrangement of the apartment is almost complete. Now I'm down to cleaning and throwing out some stuff. I've also completed 5 of 7 rounds for my pub quiz for tomorrow, which will take place at 8pm here.

So, as you can see, things are looking up.

Blogging training session.

I'm teaching new blogger and very close friend J how to add links and a blogroll and statistics to her blog page, which is here.

That's all for now.

Busy day.

I've been working all day on getting this apartment rearranged before I have the big ol' surgery on Thursday. So far, I'm making a dent.

I'm taking a nice break, though, so I can go to a barbeque and relax a bit.

Yee. Haa.

Holeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee shit!

My co-worker was reading through the comments on this fark.com post, when he came across this picture:

Watch the video here.
Posted by Hello

In case you haven't already seen it- read the commenter's name.

I haven't laughed so hard in a while.

Another bit of wisdom from the same thread:

2004-09-03 08:54:14 AM SpectroBoy

Dear President Bush,

We, the residents of New York, promise that if Crawford, Texas is ever the sight of a horrible slaughter of innocent humans we will NOT come and throw a party and PR stunt there. Unlike you, we feel that putting on a part and a show on a mass grave is in poor taste.

Please take your brownshirts and go the f*ck home.

PS: Please stop trying to convince us Iraw had anything to do with 9-11. They didn't. Our intelligence was wrong. The war was a mistake. Just be a man and own up to the mistake. Stop trying to trick us in to thinking it wasn;t a mistake. Asshat.

Thank you, SpectroBoy!

In the case of a sudden drop in pressure...

So, either it's the pills, or the fact that they took the reading before I went to work instead of after, but my BP dropped to 138/90. That's quite a drop, if you ask me, and it was even mentioned to me while I was there.

I just wolved down my breakfast when my co-worker asked if I wanted Subway. So, I've ordered up a heart-healthy sandwich. I'm starving!

More later, once my blood-sugar levels balance out.

At home and already hungry.

It's about the time I get to work, and I'm up, of course. Me sleep in? That's unpossible!

I'm having my fasting blood drawn in 2 hours. I'm about ready to implode now, so this could get worse and worse. At least I get to ask if I really need to get that BP cuff. Seems like we're going pharmacutical on lowering the ol cholesterol. Oh well. I'm going to go do my excercises and lament my day.

The results are in. [UPDATED]

My cholesterol is high.

That's the answer.

I pick up my drugs after work, and have fasting blood work tomorrow. I'd avoid me at all costs tomorrow morning- I stand to be in an incredibly bad mood.

I start my medication tonight, too. I'm so excited.

The best part of everything: surgery is a go.

Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share.

So, yesterday was the stop-off at my GP's for my pre-surgery tests, which yielded something I was completely unprepared for. Apparently, I'm suffering from high blood pressure. Me. This has never been a problem for me. I mean never. I am genetically pre-disposed, thanks to my mother's side to very low blood pressure, and haven't had readings ever over 120/80. Usually, it's closer to 100/60.

Needless to say, I was a little freaked out, and spent a lot of time trying to figure out where such readings might have come from. I mean, I take care of myself, not great care, but pretty damn good care. I spent what, 5 months in training for the MS Ride, watching what I ate, drank, etc. so where did I go wrong?

My doctor says that I don't really have anything to worry about. We're running some extra blood tests to see if there is something extra wrong, but for the most part, he believes that it is elevated due to stress levels and poor eating habits. We'll see. He also tells me that he'll be able to get my BP down in time for surgery, which is a week away, and then after I recover, he wants talk again about keeping your humble narrator healthier. We'll see what happens.

So, on my way home, my upstairs neighbor was standing talking with another one of our neighbors, so I stopped to chat with them, and guess what? There already is a petition to have speed bumps installed on the streets surrounding our homes(here's the inspiration). So I proudly signed my name, and was thrilled to be a part of local politics. I also got to play with children, which made that paternal instinct of mine pop up again.

After that, I went to dinner with my friend T at Ginger's(don't worry, I had the heart-healthy steak with steamed vegetables and salad, and drank 3 glasses of water with lime and a voddy tonic, also with lime) then went home to mope about and do some research on the BP monitor I have to purchase.

So, that's where it's all at right now. I'm feeling a little better than I was last night, as far as my health is concerned. I'm sure I'll be better soon, that it was just a fluke.

More later.

Tests for consideration.

Via All Things Jen(nifer)(she lists the extended path of discovery), I found this test, and here's the results of my GWB Loyalty Quiz:

Your score is 0 on a scale of 1 to 10. You hate Bush with a writhing passion. You think he is an idiot, a liar, and a warmonger who has been a miserable failure as president. Nothing would give you greater pleasure than seeing him run out of the White House, except maybe seeing him dragged away in handcuffs.

And, because it's there, my results from the John Kerry Loyalty Quiz:

Your score is 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. You're leaning toward John Kerry, although you have some reservations about him. You believe he's presidential material, but wonder if he truly has what it takes to defeat President Bush. He's a bit uninspiring and makes you wince on occasion, but you're willing to suck it up and vote for him anyway.

My favorite question:

Q: What statement best describes your opinion of Kerry?

He's a highly qualified and promising candidate
He's an elitist liberal appeaser who must be stopped
He's a spineless flip-flopper who will get crushed in a landslide
He's inept and uninspiring but I'm voting for him anyway
He's not George W. Bush

Guess how I answered.

Mixed emotions.

Having acheived some measure of a folk hero status on the south side by once spitting beer at the Indian's bullpen, I do have to offer my thanks and congraduations for making the [evil] empire look like my softball team on a particularly drunken day:


Take me out to the ball game.

Posted by Hello

Priceless.

I'm surprised he didn't call me at work.

So, there's this guy in England, right, who got all pissed off at his ISP. Why? Because his daughter saw some porn on the internet. I can understand that, but pop-ups get there because of a reason: you, or someone using your computer, has gone to a site that has something in common with internet porn. It's true. That's why there's software out there to prevent companies from doing that.

It reminds me of the day where an irate customer called me up complaining that he was going to call his congressman because he had a pop-up for my company while he was accessing his account at a competitor's website.

My response, of course, was that he download a pop-up blocker.

*** NEWS FLASH ***

I was just again asked "there's a difference between 'O' and '0(zero)'?"

It may be early, but I need a drink.