Author: curiousreadings

Random Pics- What’s going on at Casa de Wellman lately?

~ curiousreadings

 

In short, enjoying the long weekend.

Rick started printing us a 3d Catan board.. only 10 pieces and some painting to go!

We tried some new games, Dragonwood and Unstable Unicorns (the last one is Carla Morrow’s fault, honestly). Both are great sit down and have some fun with cards games.

With fall coming on, I also got some repotting of plants done- including the random purple basil that popped up in the yard a couple weeks ago. Also moved the honeysuckle to see if it’ll benefit more from morning sun than evening sun. And one sad little rose that got nibbled down to the stem by the Bastardly Bunnies of El Cajon Court.

Santa Fe Ren Faire is in two weeks, so there was some chainmail work, too.

But what 3 day weekend would be complete without some puppage time? So we did some of that, too.5fdc254d-d359-4572-8bbf-e4e74ccdc087

You WILL throw my hedgie. You WILL.

Actual conversation (near) Casa de Wellman (with special guest star)

~ curiousreadings

Setting- in the car, listening to what I thought was Toto’s Africa on the local hits station

Ang- Weezer covered Africa?

Me- The fuck? I was sitting here going since when does 104 play oldies.

Rick- Apparently since Weezer did Africa.

Me, turning to look over my shoulder, sees noseprints from Ang’s dog Sunni, then turning back again- Rick, what the fuck? Did you lick the windows?

Rick- gives me the Rick look

Me- Geeze, man, we try to take you out in public and everything, and there you are licking up the windows.

General laughter

Me- I’m going to pay for that later aren’t I?

Rick and Ang in unison- Yup.

Random Ramble- Chaos, rawr.

~ curiousreadings

So.. I haven’t been keeping this as up to date as I’d like to. I’m going through a huge time of personal change and upheaval, which is apparently sparking all kinds of creativity on a lot of levels I don’t typically see. It’s kind of like my brain doesn’t shut down anymore, it just keeps kicking into higher and higher gears. Sounds great, but it’s a bitch for my sleep cycle.

Why Ari, what is it you’re doing?

So glad you asked, nonexistent prompter! I’m consuming under 1200 calories a day, still off soda and booze, 30 minutes of recorded activity, 60 minutes of hard cardio, 60 minutes of movement meditation a day. I’m down a tshirt size and feeling pretty good about hitting the necessary goal to cough up a kidney by the time we get through all the initial stuff.

Because that’s not enough change, I’ve found a bunch of our processes I can streamline and automate (that’s sexy in datageekspeak, trust me).

The domicile is getting a needed facelift (more on that as it concludes- I have a whole post for the dining room we never really used as a dining room turning into the Den of Geek).

In short, I’m changing, my world is changing, and that’s… well, awesome, but also freakin scary as hell. And tiring as hell.

So today was really a great day- because it proved that in the middle of all this chaos in my life, the constant is the people that believe in me and support me. That want to show me how much they appreciate me to the point of devising elaborate schemes to be sure that I’m super surprised. Like repeatedly.

While I cherish and value that recognition, I find what brought me to tears is the realization that no matter how much is changing in my world and how violently different things can seem, I’ve got people who care enough to trick me. Twice.

Finding my people took a very long time. Having their (kind of knowing, but not the whole shape of things) support means the world to me.

 

Random Rant- My stove only needs to cook stuff

~ curiousreadings

So… thanks to some good folks in my world, the last harvest gold appliance has been ejected from Casa de Wellman. It’s glorious.. stainless steely looking stuff everywhere! The only remnant of the 70’s in my kitchen are the formica counters, which are only still there cause the idea of ripping out the cabinets and counters and paying for new ones makes me weak in the knees. My mother innocently suggested that we get Home De(s)pot to replace them, after which I reminded her of the Saga of the Flooring. So yeah, counters are going to be a hot minute.

Now, replacing the dishwasher was traumatic because I learned that when it is done doing the voodoo it does, it sings to me.

The effin appliance sings to me.

Is it a stereo?

No, it is not. It is a damned dishwasher and all I want is quiet.

Knowing that this is my outlook on appliances, you can imagine how thrilled I was when I found that the damned stove also sings at me.

And it has an app I can install so it can talk to my phone.

Fuck. Me. Running.

Is it too much to ask to get a stove that just cooks food? I don’t need it to tell me when it’s hot or when it’s done or have long involved conversations with my phone about what is Ari’s deal anyway.

I don’t want a refrigerator I can check the contents of from space. It also does not need to turn clear to show me the contents if I tap the fuckin door. Or order me more groceries from Amazon.

You know what all this fancy shit is? It’s more shit to get reliant on, so when it breaks, you feel like you OMG HAVE TO HAVE A NEW ONE THAT DOES ALL THE THINGS.

It’s alright, Stovey McStoverson. I know you’re reading this. I know you’re already planning on how to overthrow my benevolent dictatorship and rule the kitchen. I’m wise to your little game, sir.

And it won’t work. I’m putting things in when I want to put them in, not when you decide you’re preheated. And I’ll figure out when things are done by using the damn nose that tunes in to everyfreakinthing on the planet.

And once I find your soundboard and speaker, it’s over, Stovey.

Stoves. Shouldn’t. Sing.

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Stovey lying in wait.

Random Ramble- Diet stuff that’s safe to eat… and the stuff that the FDA should really reclassify, like yesterday.

~ curiousreadings

Thought I’d share along what works and what doesn’t… I’m currently trying to stick to 1200 calories and under a day with an hour of hard cardio and another 30 minutes of light activity.

  1. Sweet n Salty Angie’s Boom Chicka Pop- 140 calories for 2 cups, and OMG what a 2 cups it is. Think of it as a grown up’s Cracker Jacks, without the peanuts, and without such a heavy hand on the sugar. Honestly, out of all the stuff I’ve tried so far, this is far and away my favorite. I found it hiding out in the organic/healthy food section of my local supermarket, and picked it up with extreme trepidation that quickly turned to “Oh hell yes!” It’s earned a place on my snack shelf forevermore.  Grade- A+
  2. Brownie Brittle– I love brownies. I mean love love love love… so when I found this on the shelf next to the popcorn with peanut butter chips in it, I figured I had a winner. Let me tell you, I was as wrong as this product is… it goes under the heading of scientists being so caught up in if they could that they forgot to ask if they should. Yes, the flavor is there, but it’s sickeningly sweet, and the texture (which is vaguely potato chip-ish) completely kills it. Unless you’re so jonesing for chocolate that you can’t take it anymore (and if that’s the case, I’m going to point you to the two Special K entries), I’m going to say don’t do it! Grade- D
  3. Special K Double Chocolate Meal Bars– Stuffed with protein and all that, this quickly became my go to when I needed some food and didn’t have time to mess with putting something more substantial together. It’s kind of a chocolate dipped granola bar- just make sure you get them fresh. The ones that have been on the shelf awhile get really hard and less edible. Grade- B
  4. Special K Fruit & Nut Snack Bars– It’s exactly what it says- if you need a little pick me up midafternoon, this almost subs in for a candy bar, and I’ve never had one that was on a shelf for so long that it got staleish. Grade- A
  5. Jimmy Dean’s Delights Sausage, Egg, Cheese Croissant– It may be intended for breakfast, but 90 seconds in the microwave and it works just as well for lunch. If you overnuke it, the eggs are going to get slightly rubbery, so be careful about that. But definitely foodish. Grade B

 

List of things I’ve given up in this quest-

Drinks that aren’t iced tea or water, barring my morning low calorie RockStar (so that means soda, alcohol, etc), laying around like a bum on my day off, and putting things in my mouth before I know how many calories they are.

Living Donor Champions or Dialing for Kidneys

~ curiousreadings

One of the more… I don’t know whether to call it ghoulish or gruesome or just plain disconcerting… portion of the seminar was when the grim German/Austrian accented social worker brought up ways to procure yourself a living donor kidney.

Every one of these examples was followed up by the holy grail – “And they got a kidney!”

  1. Discussions over holiday dinners
  2. Car decals
  3. Facebook pleas
  4. Networking within your church
  5. Taking out billboards

 

You remember the Tom Cruise role in Magnolia? Or if you’ve ever seen a really gifted MLM pitchman… this is what our dour social worker became for about ten minutes as she listed all these absolutely true stories of how people had hustled themselves up a kidney.

It was surreal in a way I’ll never be able to put fully into words, and I have to laugh about it, or I might cry.

So… what makes you decide to give up a literal body part?

~ curiousreadings

I’ve meandered back and forth on this, tell or don’t tell.. write or don’t write… and it was yesterday that made up my mind for me. I was thinking about how daunting the process could look from the outside, and how much I wished there was a no nonsense, no bullshit person who had been through it that I could talk to.

I’m on the path to being a living organ donor. I need to lose weight (no one had to directly tell me this, I already knew before yesterday’s very direct and pointed looks by the lecturer) and I need to go through what feels like a crapload of hoops (though I freely acknowledge that the recipient is going through a whole lot more and way more invasive ones).

There are no guarantees, I have no timelines at this point. I have done my research, days and weeks worth of it, and yesterday I attended the first orientation.

It was held in one of those overly bright auditoriums with a way too long PowerPoint (91 freakin slides), an overly cheerful nurse coordinator, and a dour social worker. Most of the other attendees had the perfectly blank faces of dolls, and one guy I could swear fell asleep during the two and a half hours we listened.

There are 100,000 people on the UNOS list for a kidney right now. It takes between four and six years to get a deceased donated kidney that will live for roughly ten years. A living donated kidney survives longer, for about fifteen. There are plenty of folks who beat the odds one way or another- I’m just passing on the numbers I was given. For a living donor, yes, it’s major surgery, with recovery time of 3 to 4 weeks with the recipient’s insurance covering costs. It can be done via a laparoscopic procedure, so minimal invasion and scarring.

This is an intensely personal and difficult decision. I’m not trying to tell anyone else how to make it, I’m only telling you how I made it- and I don’t feel particularly noble or whatever it is I’m guess I’m supposed to feel. The only word I have for what I’m feeling since yesterday is determined.

I was really young, probably too young, when events unfolded in such a way to bleakly demonstrate the difference between quality of life and quantity of life. Also, me being apparently ahead of the curve, I got to go through a midlife upheaval really quite early in the scheme of things.

Why do I bring this up? Well, for one, I became pretty firm in the belief that one has to exude all the kindness and joy and humor and care and love they can if one hopes to find it out in the world. And I believe that just surviving isn’t enough of a reason to stick around. We aren’t here to survive… we’re here to live.

If you spend enough time with folks who have dialysis as a part of their day to day lives- the difference is real clear real quick.

Stay tuned for next time- Living Donor Champions or Dialing for Kidneys!

 

 

Random Rant- This free speech you speak of… I don’t think it means what you think it means.

~ curiousreadings

I made the usual mistake of deciding today was watch a documentary day. The one I picked was about a guy who decided to go speak on a university campus about why we need to reinforce traditional (read pro straight marriage) values.

Clearly, there was a slant. But after thirty minutes of smash cuts between the earnest kids who think you ‘win’ by screaming profanity over someone else, the Room 101 scene from 1984, and various celebrities apologizing for stupid shit they’ve said, I really couldn’t stand to listen anymore.

Those kids truly thought they were being champions of free speech. They weren’t. If they truly embraced the concept, they’d be protecting the right of anyone to be heard, no matter how objectionable they found it. You want to protest it? Fantastic.. how about doing so in a constructive way? Set up outside the venue and assemble peacefully to talk about why you feel you’re living your best truth and being your best self with people who genuinely want to have a conversation.

When you scream to drown someone out, you rob them of their voice.

“I wholly disapprove of what you say—and will defend to the death your right to say it.”

I will try very hard to apply the Voltairean principle, as well as exercise my Carlinean right.

“The FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, decided all by itself that radio and television were the only two parts of American life not protected by the free speech provisions of the first amendment to the Constitution. I’d like to repeat that, because it sounds… vaguely important! The FCC—an appointed body, not elected, answerable only to the president—decided on its own that radio and television were the only two parts of American life not protected by the first amendment to the Constitution. Why did they decide that? Because they got a letter from a minister in Mississippi! A Reverend Donald Wildman in Mississippi heard something on the radio that he didn’t like. Well, Reverend, did anyone ever tell you there are two KNOBS on the radio? Two. Knobs. On the radio. Of course, I’m sure the reverend isn’t that comfortable with anything that has two knobs on it… But hey, reverend, there are two knobs on the radio! One of them turns the radio OFF, and the other one [slaps his head] CHANGES THE STATION! Imagine that, reverend, you can actually change the station! It’s called freedom of choice, and it’s one of the principles this country was founded upon. Look it up in the library, reverend, if you have any of them left when you’ve finished burning all the books.”

 

Random Rant- Please, by all that is holy, STOP DESTROYING MY CHILDHOOD, YOU GREEDY BITCHES… or, you know, stop redoing everything as live action/remakes, if you don’t mind

~ curiousreadings

It’s an overcast, slightly gloomy day here, so I did what I typically do and drug Rick off to the movies for a little escapism. We went to see Christopher Robin, and please, do not think for an instant that that wonderful, original movie inspired this rant. It was warm, well written, and filled with joy and thoughtfulness, Ewan McGregor earnestness wrapped in a Pooh bear, and I recommend it highly.

No, what’s inspiring this rant are all the previews and pre-show material that came before Christopher Robin. Live action Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast (which I purposefully avoided)- vapid, overly glittery reductions of classics that finally drove me to taking out my book and reading in disgust. Honestly, the straight to video Disney sequels struck me as less of an evil cash grab than this.. this.. glorification of princess culture to a new generation… feh!

And then.. the true evil arrived. Benadryl Cucamonga is dead to me, Dr. Strange and Sherlock notwithstanding. He has committed the foulest evil since Jim Carey put on the Grinch suit and gave us back the measels.

He’s voicing the new Grinch movie. A movie that explains the Grinch.

Fuck this, fuck off, fuck no.

There is only one Grinch on celluloid, and it was created by Chuck Jones. Anything else is a complete waste of time. We need a two hour movie about the Grinch’s motivations like we need three fucking Hobbit movies.

OH RIGHT THEY DID THAT ANYWAY TOO THE FUCKING GREEDY BITCHES.

/cough Where was I?

As I pointed out in another conversation, my options for coping are somewhat limited as a consumer. I can refuse to consume it, and I can speak and write of it scathingly.

Welcome to scathing. /rude Benadryl Cucamonga /rude estate of Seuss

Won’t someone please think of the children and just say no?

Writing stuff.. and a question

~ curiousreadings

Ideas for the new book are starting to tap me on the shoulder and remind me what time of year it is. Or, I guess more importantly, what time of year it is getting to be. There’s going to have to be some research done on this one, and no, I’m not going back to any previous stamping grounds. This’ll be a standalone, set here in Albuquerque. I don’t really know how to describe what kind of book I have in mind- kind of a picture of the who the city is to me, a little bit of a love letter to this unique place I’ve found myself where anything can (and does) happen.

So, onto the question.. if you’ve ever worked customer service and helped out someone who is mute, how did that go? Did getting a slip of paper make things awkward, or simpler?

Thanks in advance for anyone that’s able to help out- I can write from one perspective just fine, but in the time I worked retail it’s a situation I just never encountered.