I doubt this will matter...

FYI-

NMU screwed me pretty hard when they shut down my email and deleted me from the server. I lost a lot of filed emails and I'm feeling bitter about it. A warning would have been appreciated. A few days notice, perhaps? Whatever.

My new main address (for better or for worse) is nearly identical to the old university one. The Alumni Association claims life-long "free" email. It's just like the last, but you squeeze - alumni. - between the @ and the nmu

Does that make sense? Does it also make sense why I'm not just retyping my full address here? Good. Now send me mail!

Update & a Movie

First, the update...

Went South on Friday, for dinner and the bar. The bar was great, at first, as the owner ('s son?) was in a fab mood and kept giving us great beers to try. "We aren't selling this yet, but I'll just stick it in the cooler for ya and let the short guy know, okay?"; "This one's great - I only have a case -we aren't allowed to sell it yet- but you gotta try it"

We likely would have left about midnight had the door not opened for 5 GI alumni to come tromping through. The night turned into an akward reunion of two groups that didn't really hang out in HS. We talked, caught up, drank beer, and thankfully ended the night with only a "good to see you," and without the nasty "call me! we'll hang out!" that tends to rise up in the holiday season when coupled with enough alcohol.

The holiday was good, as most holidays are here. I have one of those families with just enough drama to make it damn fun, but not so much to land you in therapy Jan 2. As per tradition, I got drunk on the eve with delightfully lame drinks as the jell-o shots, Hot Damn and Apple Pucker. My cousins' kids have all aged dramatically since, what?, Thanksgiving? Dunno... it was disturbing though, for sure. The gifts were good, the food was good, the sleeping late was really good...

Then the Movie Review:

Mum got some new movies for her gifts. March of the Penguins (as good as they said it was, although the "making of" clip on the Extras menu was nearly a repeat of the film. Bummer.), a couple of titles I've forgotten, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Wow.

I remember that one getting really good reviews, but assumed it was because it had Pitt and Jolie in it, nothing more. I mean, there are certain people who just get great reviews no matter what, and these were only 2 such examples. But really? That was a damn funny film! The plot was simple, but well executed; the characters were likeable and relatable (in the home, anyway). It got silly when Jolie goes to work -seriously, that was a little too much, but the director didn't sit on that part long. For a movie that I would have expected to be drama, action, adventure, I laughed an awful lot.

Both thumbs up on this one. Get out and rent it and stop wasting time.

Laws and Regulations

My slow-simmering cold has finally come to a boil. Yum. So, mum gives me these off-brand cold pills that are huge and full of my favorite little chemical, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride. I took a pair last night, so my head wouldn't drain while I was trying to sleep. About 20 minutes after I took them I remembered, these things jazz you up. Damn. Four hours later, I was sad not to be sleeping.

So I took another pair this morning on my way to work. Wooo! I was *so* high! I had spontaneous numbness, couldn't read hardly anything, was super slow moving... it was great. Except, I was at work. I was gonna try and do paperwork or something easy, avoiding the potentially bad deal of talking to people on the phone. But then, the boss hollers over, Baby B--! {that's what he calls me. Great, eh? He knows my pop and bro, and, as the youngest, I get referred to as Baby B--. *sigh*}. "You look horrible! Are you sick?"

Thanks, buddy. I'm stoned, this psuedoephedrine stuff makes my eyes leak, so I look like I'm crying, and half my body is numb. How can I make that look good?

On the way, I drop into my local CVS to grab some familiar Sudafed, a delightful little red pill that may cause my head to fill with helium, but doesn't cause massive numbness. In the cold med aisle, there is a shelf of pills with phenylephrine, instead of psuedoephedrine. No biggie; I just slide over to the hanging cards and pick one for Sudafed and one for the CVS-brand cold pill. You have to take these to the pharmacist, as they are now a "controlled substance". I was carded, scrutinized, frowned at and told I could only have 48 pills at a time. {for those recently emerging from caves, there are a bunch of dickwads cooking meth in their basements/kitchens/bathrooms. In addition to Drano and other cleaning agents, cold meds with psuedoephedrine are used. Meth labs tend to be volatile (they explode), and meth itself isn't really all too gentle on the brain (did you see the ingredients? Drano, dude. Drano.). So, in order to reduce meth labs, They have created a law requiring cold meds be kept behind the counter.}

I asked the pharmacist about the difference between phenylephrine and psuedoephedrine. He, looking as stoned as I felt, didn't have much to offer. Doesn't use either one, suggested maybe cost, which was the same, and doubted they'd feel any different in the system. But why would he know? What does he look like, a person who deals with drugs all day? Sheesh.

oh.

Let's say, this does NOTHING to add to my strong dislike and distrust of pharmacists. They are NOT the friendly helpful people commercials make them out to be. Not anywhere close. They are rude, arrogant, huffy and judgemental. I say, give the medicines to the doctors and the nurses so you can get your meds immediately (more or less) after the Doc tells you that you need them. Cut out the middleman entirely.

Here's to the revolution! Down with pharmacists!!!

Readers' Poll

In response to a recent conversation, I pose the following question:

If you felt sick/unwell in a chronic (as in long-term, continuous, repeated) way and found an unsettling diagnosis, due to explorations on the internet, would you still see a doctor for confirmation?

Considering the consequences -lifelong medication, doctor fees, potentially being termed 'disabled', coming face-to-face with the unpleasant...

And the benefits -keeping something from getting worse, knowing it's the right diagnosis (not just what the internet had to offer), ending the uncomfortable/miserable/life-imparing symptoms...

I'm really curious what everyone's thoughts are on this, so please post. This is a respectful place, so, although not everyone might agree with you, we will all respect you and your opinions. Won't we??

Thanks.

What do you do?

40 oz (to get me through the day)

Hey. Guess what?

:) (: :) (:

I'm 24!

Note to self...

... find a way to get the brain and mouth working *together* ("in harmony", as they say). Preferably with the brain one step ahead of the mouth, and not the other way around.