This is our weekly Chatterday! open thread. Use this open thread to talk amongst yourselves: feel free to share a link, have a vent, or spread some joy.
What have you been reading or watching lately (remembering spoiler warnings)? What are you proud of this week? What’s made your teeth itch? What’s going on in your part of the world?
Today’s chatterday backcloth comes via … me. I captured these bees on lavender flowers at a winery down South last year. (Click photo to embiggen – recommended!)
I had a good week actually. Took walks on institution grounds on my own again for the first time in several months (it’s not that I wasn’t allowed to, but I was too overwhelmed to do so). I also had a great experience at the gym last Wednesday, cause the therapist had a large trampoline which I could jump on. If you have sensory issues and can access a gym facility with a trampoline, I’d really recommend this (although maybe under some circumstances it can be overloading). Lastly, I am hoping that the new medication I started 1 1/2 weeks ago to help with sensory overreactivity/irritability, will help me. I can’t judge that yet after so little time, but I have some feeling that it helps me somewhat (and yay for no side effects!).
Spring Break is here baby! Which means that when my mom is home from work, I don’t have to get up.
I’m staying on campus until Sunday, because there’s a program Saturday night I want to check out.
I’ve been doing PT for the last few weeks and I have a question – how much has the STEP/Tenge/the electrical doohickey helped with pain?
At a blog devoted to mocking comics (not the hight of maturity), they used the R word this week.
I said “Please don’t use “r#tarded” like that. It takes away from readers’ enjoyment.
[a suggestion]In the “normal” version… whatever.”
The responses? You like Blazing Saddles, leave the internet, I’m doing a post called R#tarded.
http://www.dailycomicsreview.com/2010/03/old-hat.html
Why so rude about it? Could have just deleted my comment, but no, let’s make fun.
So I deleted the link from my comic blog (oh snap!) and will try not to read it again.
I wanted to put the badge after signing the pledge at the r word.com, but the badge never showed. Any ideas? Oh well, no both my blogs say, at the top, “This is an R Word free blog.”
It’s been a long week, but things are looking up! It’s the first time in a long time I’ve got to a Friday evening and not felt completely exhausted and rubbish. I’ve got some stuff planned this weekend I’m looking forward to.
Except then I started thinking about heteronormativity in talk about the HPV jab, and that upset me. I posted about it here:
href=”http://modusdopens.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/hpv-and-moral-stances-tm/
Lauredhel: that’s a great photo.
–IP
I have had a very long week. Stayed home three out of the five weekdays, first because I was hurting too much to go into the office, then because I was so exhausted from dealing with the pain. I got groceries delivered, and now I’m looking at my fridge and thinking, “Really? I bought that? Why?” I think the frozen gluten-free waffles are the most puzzling, but I’m not quite sure why I bought a 32 ounce bottle of lemon juice, either.
OK, imagine this. You’re a bus user. You know that bus routes are changing for spring break, but you’re not sure how the scheduled are changing. You log onto the bus system’s web site and read:
“Reduced Service for [university name] Spring Break. March 8-12, 2010. See Service Hours for details.”
So you go to the Service Hours page to see the schedules. And what do you see?
“During all University breaks, ‘reading days’ and holidays, Route 12 and Route 14 run on Reduced Service. Also Route 28 Does not run during University breaks and holidays. Call [city name] Transit Information for specific times and schedules at [phone number].”
People? This sort of thing is why you have a web site! >_<;;
Also, I seem to not be able to type emoticons correctly from my iPhone. Those eyes should be the other way round.
I’m going to be a huge downer here, but: I confessed my, well, biggest secret ever this week to some of my friends and a counsellor (my dad is hearing it Tuesday when he’s able to come down).
—————–TRIGGER WARNING—————–
I was molested by the husband of my mother’s BFF when I was in high school. The fact never passed my lips until yesterday, not to anyone. And now it has.
Yeah. I’m dealing. Ish. We’ll see how it goes, anyways. My friends are being wonderfully helpful and taking really good care of me when I need them to, so that helps. I told my dad I needed him to come down Tuesday for an appointment with the counsellor and he said yes immediately. He didn’t ask what it was about or why I wanted him there, or why I told him not to bring Mum, nothing. He just asked if I wanted to talk about it then, and when I said no, that was that, he’d be there Tuesday, call him if I needed him.
Thank god. So we’ll see how Tuesday goes now. Woo? :/
@Caitlin – congratulations on your bravery.
@Caitlin – wow. Best of luck, it seems like a big part has been done – saying it. You’ve got a good support system in real life, and sympathetic ears and eyes here.
Caitlyn, that’s real tough — you, I mean. You are tough. That’s a hard thing to do. Wishing you strength and ferocity and a good weekend.
.-= kaninchenzero´s last blog ..Re: Trust Me =-.
I was pretty sure I found a dentist I could go to, so I just figured I’d schedule an appointment and go in. Turns out they only take Medicaid patients who are under 21. I’m so sick of stupid rules like that. That one probably has to do with the damn HMOs my state instituted that kick in after you turn 21. So I guess I’ve got phone calls to make. *sigh* If all else fails, the clinic I go to operates a dental office, but they don’t have one at the branch in town and I’d have to go to the suburbs.
That’s nothing really, though. It’s damn hard to find an ob/gyn (I can’t even find just a gynecologist who takes Medicaid) for anything but pregnancies. Anything! I thought I had a serious condition that required surgery thanks to a doctor bringing up something vague and irrelevant that showed up on an ultrasound. I found one place that would take me, but they had an on site surgery center that wouldn’t, so they insisted I call offices around a certain hospital, except I already tried that. I got stuck seeing a really awful guy in the suburbs. *shudders*
I’m just bloody tired of this. Either take Medicaid or don’t. Quit instituting stupid discriminatory rules like that.
I’m gearing up for an interview for a graduate program. It is next Tuesday. I’m a bit nervous, but also excited, because I really, really want to get in. The program is in art therapy and there are not many such programs in the US.
I’m also trying to juggled my final classes. I’m making a series of sculptures about my disabilities, running an art group for teens and taking a class on professional artistic practices. And I just had to write my own obituary to ‘clarify what my life goals are.’ It was weird.
Caitlin, I admire your bravery in telling people about being molested. Good luck and I hope you get the support you need.
I seem destined to remain unable to do much lately. Finally recovering some from fibro crash, cold, and lower back pain and went to brush my teeth today when my middle back pain flared up. I just don’t even know. One of these days I will be able to take a shower and make phone calls and take a walk and such again. I just hope it’s not too far off in the future…
Caitlin – good for you! Please be very very good to yourself as you go through this phase of healing.
@ Astrid—I am going to have to try the trampoline thing! This sounds intriguing.
@ Caitlin—Much love and gentle hugs if they are wanted. That is huge and I am very proud of you!
@KJ—Good luck! I will keep my fingers crossed.
I just got in from an eight hour tattooing session, so I am going to go flop (gingerly) over in the bed now! And then pass out.
i HEART trampolines. i wish i had a big backyard with one. bouncing while looking up at the stars!
I have a new menstrual cup, now with 50% more capacity! (Seriously. The first thing I did was compare it to my older ones.) I am now ready for life outside the bathroom! 😀
Trampolines are the best.
We had a cheap second hand one that died one day when my sister’s friends were jumping on it – thankfully, only the trampoline was hurt.
I miss it on nice days, I’d love to lay down and let the sun warm me and just relax.
I miss it.
@ Codeman38: I agree. It sucks when websites don’t provide the info you need. Not everyone is good with phones you know and why else do they have a website?
@ Caitlin: I’m proud of you. I’m sending virtual comfort your way and hugs if you want them.
Everyone, thank you for the hugs (definitely wanted <3) and thoughts and everything. This might sound odd since I don't know any of you in real life, but it does mean a lot to me.
I'll let you know how things go next week – everything is sort of stalled out for now since a) it's the weekend and b) my next appointment is Tuesday with my dad and Mary (the counsellor).
Again, thank you. So much. <3<3<3<3
In happy news, I walked to Walgreens today! (Okay, my motivation was a craving for chips. But I still did it!)
And I went to watch a documentary on campus about Islam, it was short, but there was a lot of introductory speaking. I got too uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to miss any part of the film, so I found a place to stand and directed people to the bathroom.
[Othering language redacted according to our Comments Policy.]
To clarify, I’m not saying both of those situations are completely analogous; the latter one just sprung to mind because unlike this, which is a minor inconvenience since I’ve got my tooth patched up temporarily, that was a terrifying experience and certain levels of it just didn’t make any sense, such as that surgery center thing. I guess poor women just aren’t supposed to need surgery or something. It’s not that pregnant women don’t need a safety net, it’s just that they’re not the only women who do and addressing just that but no other serious conditions really isn’t a great system. It’s similar to the dentist thing in that it also likely sprung about due to Medicaid in my state being set up in a crappy way. Medicaid for pregnant women is a separate plan and thus it seems most ob/gyns will take that and not other plans so other women wind up out of luck. So, yes, it’s a busted system and I didn’t do a great job explaining it.
Getting fed up with the pain issue. I’m being told again that it’s probably just anxiety. There’s an extent to which I’m willing to believe that since most of it’s probably linked to muscle tension and the worst of it did start up after a specific incident but I just don’t think it’s magically going to go away. I mean, before the dentist stuff, I can’t say I’ve been that stressed for a long time, so I just don’t see why it would be sticking around. Grr. So, really, I need some actual help besides “Just calm down!” especially since I’ve been on antidepressants for a year.
I’m kind of hoping something shows up on MRI but I’m not really holding my breath at this point. :/
In case anyone’s wondering why comments are closed on some of my posts: I need a comment holiday, so I’m taking one.