Thunder of Wade

I don’t take much time off and I hope the following two part series will help to illustrate why.

I work up this morning at about the same time I do on a regular day – except I didn’t feel regular. I felt like a facehugger had made out with me in my sleep and an alien was going to burst through some part of my body.

Anticipating trouble, I went downstairs only long enough to get a candle and a lighter. I figured the candle on it’s own would be useful since I don’t have a fan in the bathroom and if this was demonic indigestion, well, the candle might help there too.

What follows is so unspeakable that I won’t speak about it. I will, however, say that Thunder(cat) wandered in and then quickly ran back out. There are some things even my little furry warrior can’t handle.

When I was as stable as I expected to get, I took some pepto and got dressed for the day.

I pulled the car out of the garage and eyed the driveway as it warmed up. I have a front wheel drive car and last night’s snowmageddon (yes, it’s a real word) had covered the drive in several inches of doom.

I got Thunder into his cat carrier, covered up the front with a towel, and loaded him into the car. The vet is only a few minutes away from my house, but I had trouble just getting off my street. A neighbor helped shovel out my tires when I got stuck and Thunder and I were on our way.

Thunder(cat) didn’t seem to mind the carrier – but he hates car rides. He let out a series of plaintive wailing meows the entire way there and there was no consoling him. I got him in the vets office where he settled down a bit – though he did hiss at one of the cats that lived there and got too close to the carrier.

When we got him in the exam room, he didn’t want to come out of the carrier. The vet and I took the carrier apart and Thunder got an exam – and his teeth checked.

My cat has gingivitis.

While we talked about getting him in for a cleaning, the assistant came in to trim his claws.

When I say that “he didn’t care for that”, it would be in much the same way that Ohio State fans don’t care for Michigan.

Still, the vet praised him for being such a good cat. I held Thunder while the vet went to get the shots and then administered them. Thunder was reasonably calm about that – but it may be that he was just too stressed out to care. I got the carrier back together and paid the bill.

Just before I left I asked the vet if there was anything to the “pets sense when owners are hurt and try to help”. He implied that there was and I felt at once better about Thunder – and guilty because he had dental problems.

I got Thunder home and got stuck in the driveway. I got him inside and proceeded to Part Two of the day.

Yesterday I was invited to a birthday party for an 8 year old girl. I wasn’t feeling 100%, but figured I could put in appearance. And since I’d really don’t have much in common with 8 year girls, I brought paper. The first time someone mention valentines and hearts, I got out the stack of red paper I had and asked if anyone wanted to make paper hearts. The response was enthusiastic and we had most of the kids and several adults carefully following my instructions. In no time, we had a table covered in hearts. I had some veggies and cake – skipping the pizza (should have been a warning sign as to how bad off I really was), and then headed home.

Where I went directly to bed. The mild headache I got at the party ramped way up into a full on migraine. I was sensitive to light, ached all over, and got some massive chills – even though I was sweating under the covers.

At one point, Thunder(cat) hopped up on the bed and began to ardently lick my head.

Now for those of you that believe that pets can sense when their owners are sick and try to help care for them, let’s assume that Thunder knew I had a headache and was trying to make me feel better.

For the more skeptical, I’m guessing it was the only exposed area of me and I was too weak to fend him off – and he just likes licking things. Or he figured I was going to die and decided to get an early start on eating me.

Anyway, lets assume that he really did care about me and was trying to make me feel better.

I drank a lot of water and only got out of bed to pee. I did text Jim and asked him to bring me a chocolate shake. He did, I had a little of it, and it was enough to set me over the edge and make me throw up.

Now, if throwing up was an olympic sport I would not have gotten the gold. But, silver? Yep, I would have gotten the silver. Or at least bronze if the judges took away points for form.

I spit up a little blood when I was done – yeah, it was that bad – and the headache was finally broken. I sat on the bathroom floor and literally wept with relief. I drank more water and was finally able to go to sleep.

I got up around 9 today with a mild headache, a sore throat (hmmm… wonder how that happened?) and a frankly horrible taste in my mouth. I was also a little dizzy and apparently dehydrated – even with all the water I had. I had some fruit, did some laundry, and just pretty much loafed today with video games and cartoons. The horrible taste hasn’t gone away, but it’s far better than the visit from Captain Tripps I had yesterday. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to die, but if an angry newborn goddess of wisdom had chiseled her way out of my forehead, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

Hmmm… well, I guess I’m doing better. Managed to work a Stephen King reference and some Greek mythology into that last paragraph. Guess I’m on the mend.

Time to check on the laundry and maybe take a nap.

I got home a little bit ago, pulled in my garage, and shut the door. While it was closing, I happened to look up at the sky.

It’s a cold clear night here in Akron – clear enough to see the stars. I like living in a city with the hustle and bustle and all the people. But I do miss the stars. It’s kind of a rare thing to see a clear night sky in cloudy Akron, but we had one tonight.

Clear enough, anyway, to see my favorite constellation – Orion. My favorite because it’s so easy to find and identify. And because he has such an old story.

With all the light pollution, it’s tough to see the stars in the city. And easy to forget the majesty of them. We’re conditioned by necessity to not look right at the sun – but stars? We can stare at those. Stare, and wonder at our place in the universe.

The light from those stars travel an almost unimaginable distance from the vastness of space to us. And so many of them have already burned out before the light can even reach our eyes. Did they once shine on a world like ours? Were there creatures there that looked up at the sky and saw our sun as a distant star?

So, I took a moment in the quiet of the cold and dark to look up.

Just a moment.

Good night, Orion.

Yesterday, while on my way back to work from lunch, I was crossing a busy street. The lights are set to stop all traffic and let pedestrians cross all ways – including diagonally. Complicating matters was a truck parked in the road and a worker at a manhole with cones and a gate set up. This meant visibility wasn’t 100% and even with a walk signal, I was still careful as I stepped out into the road.

It was good that I did.

A woman in a car went right on through the light and realized what she had done when she already 1/2 through the intersection. I stopped to let her go and we made eye contact as raised her hand to her mouth, eyes wide in shock – then mouthed “I’m sorry” as she then went on past me. I then continued across the street.

Apparently, though, sorry didn’t quite cut it. Not only had she not noticed the red light, she also didn’t notice the police car that was parked at the truck near the road work. He noticed her, though, and quickly put on his siren and pulled out to go after her.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this. If I had been faster or paying less attention, I might have gotten hit. But, the police car was where it was to protect the worker – who was then left “unguarded”. So, kinda odd all the way around.
Today, I went to BK for lunch and while I was in line deciding what to eat, a guy came into the seating area. He didn’t approach the counter, instead, he yelled at a picture on the wall and smacked it with his glove before sitting down. I ordered my food, paid for it, and waited at the counter. The guy talked to himself for a moment before he went quiet. I got my food and went to leave when he called out to me. I acknowledged him and he asked me a question – but mumbled as he did so. I asked him to repeat it as I got closer and he repeated it more quietly and less clearly. I shook my head and asked again and he was even less clear. I finally figured that he was asking/demanding that I buy him some lunch.

While I like to help people, I also have a rule. It’s, in fact, my primary rule. “Don’t f*@# with crazy people” I’m not trained for it and I’m not good at it. And it sort of over-rode my general good nature.

I declined, politely, and headed on my way. Not really proud of my actions, but that’s the way it went. I should have set my impulse to bolt aside and given him $5 for lunch. I will try to do better next time.

From there I headed to my neighbor’s house to let out his dogs. The snow plows has been through and my low-to-the-ground car got stuck as I tried to pull into the driveway. I took my lunch in, let the dogs out, and ate while I tried to figure out what to do. I texted my boss to let him know what was up, then let dogs back in and bundled back up. I tried everything I knew of – which is not, admittedly, much. I’ve never been stuck before. I was able to rock it a bit just by pushing on the front of the car while it was in neutral, but just didn’t have enough mass behind me to back it up. I tried forward and reverse and just ended up packing more snow under the car. I grabbed my ice scraper and worked at digging out from under the car when a guy in a truck stopped and offered to help. We worked at for a bit and he tried to push it while I had it in reverse. Another guy in a truck pulled up and said he had a tow rope. We got that hooked up and in moments, my car was free. I thanked them both as they headed out to where ever they had been off to when the stopped to help me.

Back to work only a few minutes late and grateful to the strangers that helped.

So, nearly hit by a car, weirded out at Burger King, and had my stuck car rescued.

Last Sunday, while I was at a birthday party, I got the most awesome text message. The University was going to be closed for the next two days and I wouldn’t have to go into work. I was so excited that I went around showing everyone the text.

I ended up doing a little work anyway from home just to try and get ahead – but it was so nice to go at my own pace and not feel so rushed.

We paid for those days off by having a crazy busy rest of the week. Exhausting. My weekend was pretty busy too – I helped one of my friends get ready for some home improvement projects. My part was essentially helping move furniture around, but it was still a lot of work.

And then back to work this week for another crazy busy time. Yesterday, before we left, the rumor going around was that we would be closed today. I was really looking forward to a break – even though I would most likely have worked from home a bit anyway.

Last evening, went out to dinner with some friends. The cuisine was Indian and though I felt pretty safe with my meal – they tricked me. The wrap description didn’t list all the ingredient and though I avoid the tomatoes, I still got stuck with some peppers. At least, I think they were peppers. They kinda looked like imitation crab sticks – and they DID NOT taste like crab. I had a few accidental bites and burped pepper (i think)  most of the evening, but the company was fun and the server was… interesting. Interesting in that she was waaaay too excited about the hummus.

I woke up this morning and powered up my phone – and waited for the text. And… Awesome! I had a text from work. Except… we were open. Morning classes were canceled, but employees were directed to report to work at their regular times. I grumbled, got dressed, almost fell in the driveway and drove my car to work – sliding all the way.

Not a nice way to start the day.

I was swamped all day and in a bad mood. It got to the point where I found myself growling out loud. I stopped what I was doing and went outside without my coat to literally cool down. It didn’t help – I got bored before I really cooled down.

The day finally ended and I hit the pool.

And that eventually did the trick. Nothing like powering through the water with only the number of laps in my head. I got home, chilled out with the cat for a few, and played a video game – right up until the power went out. It was only out long enough to piss off my computer and make me reset all my clocks, but enough to get me to the kitchen for dinner.

I did a little reading and I’m really just trying to settle down.

If I dream about work, I’m writing it down on my time sheet.

So, I was in Walmart recently and had found a couple of things I wanted to buy. Not “needed to buy”, but “wanted” – an important distinction.

I went up to the checkout and stood in line. And waited. And waited. And, for a change of pace, waited some more. The cashier was going through a box and explaining to the person in line that the price for the whole box of items was equal to the amount of items in the box times the individual price of the item. Well, something less coherent than that. The person in line wasn’t getting it and none of us were going anywhere.

I jumped lines – something I don’t normally do since the odds are about the same when you look at the speed of the lines. It didn’t help, the next lane was just as bad. I tried one more, then stopped, set down my items in a cart of returns, and walked out.

It was the misery of the place that got to me. Nobody enjoyed being there – not the clerks, not the customers, and certainly not me. Convenient? Maybe. But at what cost? I’m debating on just being done with walmart – the world is miserable enough without me going there and adding to it.

In the annoyance catagory – rap music mixed in with pop and done for the sake of getting people who like rap music to listen to pop. Not in this group are B.O.B (with anyone), Chiddy Bang (with Olly Murs) and Will.I.Am (with Black Eyed Peas – also, he gets points for a super cool name). In this group, Lady Gaga and the idiots who ruined track five on ArtPop. Now, before you get all up in my grill, Lady Gaga is creative and weird and I respect that. For some reason, she decided to add a couple of guys to rap on one of her songs and it, frankly, ruins the middle of the CD. FYI to Lady Gaga: Do what you do and do it well – you are not a rapper and we don’t need you to be. Fortunately, I’m pretty fast with the “skip” on the CD player.

I listened to the album a few time last night while working on a project. I made some magic wands. Because… well… I saw a cool technique on the internet and wanted to try it out. And… well… I’m also creative and weird. Still got a ways to go, but they already look fun. And they’ll be a good addition to my armory.

And yes, I have an armory.

Finally, on the drive home from work, I was listening to one of the more upbeat Fiona Apple songs. Yes, she has few of them. I was stopped at a light and saw one of those “dancing” fan-powered tube figures in front of a building. For just a moment, they synced up and the figure was dancing to Fiona Apple. Brought a smile to my face.

I recently had a birthday and turned 41. It didn’t phase me much – I’m a firm believer that a chronological age is the least interesting part of a person… and the least relevant. Still, 41 is nothing to shake a stick at and it was nice for my family to come for a visit. We went out to dinner, painted some pottery, and played games.

My nieces were pretty cool and they enjoyed my #1 Thunder(cat). Though, the younger kept referring to him as “puppy”. My brother-in-law and I got scratched, but we deserved it and there were no hard feelings.

This past week, one of my nieces turned 4. There was cake and presents and a very happy birthday girl dressed as Strawberry Shortcake. It was a nice visit, but then there was a drive home.

It’s usually about 3 hours from my sister’s house – but this time it was nearly 5 hours. There was massive snow, terrible road conditions, and some of the very worst driver’s the state of Ohio has produced. Home safe and sound, but I was wiped out and my hand hurt from clenching the wheel.

In other news, I’m signed up for the polar bear jump again this year and I’m guessing the water temp will be somewhere around -100 degrees. That’s the downside of having done this before – I know what to expect. Still, looking forward to it – should be quite an adventure. And I might have recruited one of my friends to go along and jump too.

It feels like it’s been 3 months since I first got this cold and it’s taken a turn for the annoying. Now I’ve got a sore throat and some almost golden mucus. So, I’ve got that going for me. I think I need to finally go to the doctor – maybe sometime this week.

I finished mile 215 in the pool before the break. This past week I finally got back in the water and did some laps. I didn’t break any records, but my form was excellent and I’m glad I got started again.

So, that’s the numbers for now.

This morning, I headed back to the dentist to get one of my wisdom teeth removed. I was pretty apprehensive about the whole thing and the consent form I had to sign – full of… well.. DOOOOM! – didn’t help matters. I tried to stay calm and folded some paper while I waiting.

The dentist came in shortly thereafter and used a needle the size of… well, I don’t really know, I had my eyes closed. It hurt like crazy.

When he was done with the shots he asked if I was nervous. I told him I was and he said, “Me too”

I guess that was supposed to make me feel better.

Once I was numb, he came back in and pulled the tooth. Took maybe a minute or so and then it was done.  A little anti-climactic They packed the area with gauze and sent me on my way.

I got home okay and took some ibuprofen – I’m still bleeding a bit and it hurts, but not like I thought it would.

I played some video games for a bit and now I’m thinking about taking a nap. Which is odd in and of itself – not much of a napper.

So, I’m officially 50% less wise than I was this morning. Later today I’m going to run with scissors, pick a fight with my cat, and email my passwords to everyone I know.

We starting hearing rumors at work yesterday around 1 that we were going to be closing early and before too long got the confirmation that 2:00 was the official closing time.

I headed out at 2 in my front wheel drive car through the unplowed streets, while jamming to the best of Marilyn Manson. Because Akron!

This morning, as usual, my phone was one of the last things I grab on my way out the door. I had powered it up, put on my coat, and was outside and locking the door when it chimed.

The university was closed.

For a moment, I stood there, confused. Closed? Really? Two days in a row? It didn’t even seem that bad out. And for a moment, I considered going in anyway. I was already dressed and out the door – ready to start the day.

Instead, because I’m not an idiot, I unlocked the door and went back inside. I fixed some tea and tried to explain why I was still there to a very confused Thunder(cat) – but he didn’t get it. Or, I’m guessing, care.

So, another day of computer games and hot tea. I’ll log in and check my email at some point, but it should be a quiet day.

I’ve had quite a bit of time off for the winter break and have been very unproductive. I had vague plans of doing work around the house and some somewhat concrete plans to work on my website. I did a little on the site – mostly learning some new code – but even that didn’t really take off.

Spent some time on the road visiting my family for Christmas. It was good to see everyone – and my nieces are growing like crazy. I got some cool gifts and – more importantly – gave some pretty cool gifts too. This year, I made ornaments, wreaths, and earrings. Lots of work, but I think everyone enjoyed them. I also made some Buddhist prayer beads – 108 of them – out of wood beads covered in polymer clay. Huge project, but I think it turned out well.

I spent new year’s with friends, but had to cut thing short. The cold that has been hanging on for basically forever really got me down last night. Haven’t really done much this break except play video games and drink tea – which is not a terrible way to spend time off.

It hasn’t been all fun, though. I’ve been keeping up with the email sent into the general webmaster account for UA. Even though the campus is closed, it’s still important to make some kind of contact with people – though I usually can’t do much other than route the message.

Finally, I’m starting off 2014 by getting a tooth pulled. A recent trip to the dentist shows that one of my wisdom teeth has a cavity and needs to be removed. So, that’s happening this Saturday morning. I was told to eat beforehand since I won’t be able to eat for a while after that. They were a little… brusque about it – kind of a big deal for me since it’s the first tooth I’ve had pulled. No real idea what to expect.

So, one more day of relaxing and then it’s back to work tomorrow.

Happy New Year