My whine for the week is that I can't swim laps. Why not? you ask. Well, I'm so glad of a chance to tell you.
On Sunday, I stubbed my foot between my toes. It was right before bed, and I cursed a little and went to sleep. The inter-toe area was a little sore Monday morning, but nothing that a person couldn't ignore. Until I took off my shoe in the changing room at the pool in the afternoon. And once released from the leather that was holding my pinkie toe against its companion, my inter-toe area just plain throbbed. I investigated, and apparently I did not simply stub those toes, I actually managed to wrench my little toe far enough away from the rest of my foot to cause a small crevasse to open up. The water on the changing room floor is none too reassuring. This morning I smeared the crevasse with neosporin and hypericum-calendula ointment because why use one mode of western medicine when you can use two? I even wrapped both toes up in a couple of Z.'s peuple cat band-aids for good measure. But walking up and down stairs is a little on the ouchie side. And my office is on the third floor.
Anyone else out there read Apex Hides the Hurt? The part about the limp? No? Well, I wish I hadn't either.
Anti-whine: The store was named in the annual best-of list put out by Slick City-Name Magazine, and was featured prominently with a very nice photo, and a local TV news crew came by to film a spot to boot.
Whine: I had to go to my competitor to buy the dang magazine.
Okay--your turn! --Sheila
Standard anonymity/pseudonymity spiel here: Blogger allows anonymous commenting, but the Wednesday Whine does not--there is a small roaming herd of moderators patrolling for anonymous comments to delete, so if you have a whine you don't want to sign with your name (or with your olde familiar pseudonym), just make something up the one time so we don't feel honor-bound to take it down. Also, if you goof on pseudonymity, Blogger allows you to delete your own comment via the little trash can icon. Just copy the comment first to repost. The roaming herd of moderators will try to catch you if cry for help, but DIY is your speedier option.
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59 comments:
sheila -- OUCH! ouchie oochie ookie ouch!
whine: baby foster kitty went away for his special operation and adoption. we love the little guy.
whine: fireplacing hearing from hell, out of town. again. still -- i was here this time last year. details are completely unpublishable, but provoke comments from colleagues along the lines of, "they can't do that!" heh, we're breaking ground on new rungs of hell.
whine: i've run out of the good coffee, and will have to run on bad hotel coffee tomorrow. life really sucks.
antiwhines: my shuttle bus didn't run into a taxi, this week [even with the driver who managed that last week]. when the line to check luggage ran 5 times longer than normal, my flight was delayed, so i made the flight *and* my luggage arrived. and, i haven't developed any serious diseases yet, although some days i wish i would.
passing the virtual margaritas, and loads of chips and good guacamole.
Whine: well, it's really MM's whine. He has a bladder infection. Which makes me wince in sympathy. We filled him up on fluids all day, but it's obviously still there. Doctor's visit tomorrow.
Poor guy.
Anti-whine: I got to bring the fluids this week!
No whine for now, only an antiwhine...I WON IWONIWON!! My blog is going to be featured in the San Diego Reader!! I've never gotten paid for writing before and I am SO stoked!!!
My "Weird Wednesday" contest will be up shortly, if anyone would like to come over and visit =)
(as you were)
My left arm isn't working so well.
I often get shoulder pains (probably from nursing in bed) that go away in a couple of days with some advil. But in addition to that, my wrist is killing me. Like it feels like it should be broken, but I can't remember doing anything that would make it feel this way--and it's not purple or swollen or otherwise off-seeming. Except for the pain.
I am only changing diapers for one now (that's an antiwhine!), but said individual is very squirmy and difficult to diaper with two good hands--how the hell am I going to manage to diaper (carry, carseat buckle, etc) with only one?
Ouch, Sheila!
Whine: walked all over hades yesterday running errands. Almost passed out on the way home. Google Earth tells me my walk was about 4.2 miles. Still tired.
Whine: We watch really dumb videos in our antenatal classes.
Antiwhine: Matt's the snarkiest and funniest commentor ever during these videos. The other couples give us funny looks when we crack up while they're discussing perineal tearing or whatnot.
Antiwhine: we ordered some cloth nappies today!
Whine: Not the ones I wanted. Boo.
Whine: Why oh why do you need so much crap for one tiny being?
Jeni, you don't actually need all the crap, but I ended up with it anyway. Are you asking all your parent-friends for their used stuff? It will make them happy to loan it to you, I promise.
Sheila and OneTiredEma -- OUCH! to both of you. I hope for speedy healing for arms and toes and anything else in between.
I have a standard summer anti/whine:
Anti-whine: Had a pretty great vacation.
Whine: Past tense. Yeah.
Anti-whine: My Love decided to get out the long-neglected bread machine last night and make fresh brioche to be ready for breakfast this morning.
Whine: Any bread machine pixies out there or are you all purists? Why is the brioche brown all the way through? Is it because we set it up to run at 11:30 last night, instead of delaying it to cook right before we got up, thus leaving it sitting in the warm oven for too long? The alternative was leaving raw eggs and the other ingredients sitting uncooked for several hours.
Kathy a., sympathy on the bad coffee. And the never-ending horror of a hearing.
whine: I forgot to put out a coffee can for the contractors to put their cigarette butts in. My yard and driveway are not one big ashtray, you inconsiderate oafs. Guess I'll be picking the butts up again tonight.
anti-whine: They framed in the bathroom, the basement doorway, and the half wall beneath the window yesterday. Progress!
Whine. Blisters all over my feet. Suddenly none of my shoes fit or something?
Anti-whine: I can get away with wearing Tevas in the office when I don't have meetings.
Last night our kitchen renovation contractor asked if a photographer could come take photos of our kitchen TODAY. And we are trying to leave to drive 5 hours to a isolated cabin with my family (that is both a whine and an anti-whine). And get two dogs and a cat to the kennel. I don't have fireplacing time to make the kitchen look like no one actually COOKS or LIVES in it. (I'd love to see a magazine that features homes that look like people with lives live there...you know, bills piled up, magazines and books scattered, dishes in the sink, like that).
Madeline's right about asking for the used stuff--your friends will be happy to get that crap they can't get rid of it because it's perfectly usable out of their houses.
It's hard being an adult. It's hard having been a kid, especially a kid in a neglectful and abusive home. It's hard being a brother. It's hard being a father. It's hard being married. It's hard being a teacher. It's hard not being a teacher anymore. It's hard to eat (I've lost about 13 pounds this month, and I really can't afford to be losing weight. Soon I'll be attending doctor's visits with BB). It's hard to cook decent meals for my family when the idea of food sounds so unappetizing. It's hard, more like impossible, to sleep. It's hard to read--I'm stalled out halfway through HP7 and have managed to get through all of ten pages in the last week. It's hard to grade these last final exams. It's hard to think about moving on. It's hard to feel so stuck in the past. It's hard to be told that I am worse off than I thought I was. It's hard being depressed. It's hard to know what's the right thing to do about it. It's hard to be open and honest. It's hard not to be. It's hard to keep moving. It's hard to sit still. It's hard to realize that nothing is ever easy. It's hard not to wish for ridiculous, unhealthy things because they would make things easier. Everything is really, really hard.
((((( scriv )))))
((((Scriv))))
I'm sorry it's so hard right now. For what it's worth, we all love you. A lot. (((more hugs)))
((((Scriv))) I hope things start to look up!
(((scrivener)))
Yup, all those things are hard. Finishing up teaching and figuring out what you're doing next would be a huge thing to do all on its own. So would helping your brother and figuring out how your past affects you today. Doing both at the same time and keeping the kids and yourself fed and dressed and functioning? That's a lot to be dealing with. Hang in there.
A HUGE vote and lots of hugs for Scrivener. I am sorry it's so hard for you right now. As YT said,we do all love you whether you can feel it right now or not.
(((((scriv)))))
I'm so sorry.
Just do what you can to get by right now. Be good to yourself whenever you can. Hang on and it will improve eventually, hopefully soon.
Votes also for sheila and onetiredema (ouch!), kathy a and the hearing from hell redux, and turtlebella (I could never have magazine photographers in on a day's notice).
Another vote for Scrivener.
Minor whine: today we were supposed to leave for our 10th anniversary trip...but my husband the pastor has a funeral, so we can't leave till tonight.
And turtlebella and genevieve--I couldn't have a magazine photographer in my house on a MONTH'S notice. A few days advance warning wouldn't help at all!
(((Scrivener))) I'm sorry things are so damn hard right now.
Congrats, debangel!
Whine #1: Daycare drama, as elaborated on my blog, so I won't go into it here.
Whine #2: Comments for Wednesday Whining were shut down last week before Wednesday was over on the West Coast. So I'm whining that I didn't get a chance to commiserate and whine.
Ah, Scriv. Have I ever been there on the hard to move on from teaching thing. And the unhealthy wishful thinking thing. And the depressed thing. Hugs and sympathy.
--Sheila
Another hug for Scrivener.
Whine: My agent thinks I should change the name of the main character in my novel. Her name was also the title of the book, and that's really the problem -- another book has just been published with that exact same unusual name in the title. We're having a devil of a time coming up with an alternate title. Changing her name is a logical solution, and at some level I don't mind doing it.
And yet... I dunno. It's just the principle of the thing. I have changed this novel so much for this agent (who is like, a pretty hot shit agent, just so we're clear), that part of me just wants to dig my heels in and say, "NO! No more! No further!"
And yet, I don't actually care that much about this specific issue. In fact, the novel is so different from what it originally was that it almost seems inevitable that her name SHOULD change. A different book, about a different girl.
But I feel like I SHOULD care. Whatever happened to artistic integrity, author's intent? I do not, in fact, feel like I've lost either of those things, only that I SHOULD feel like I've lost them. IS there a line somewhere I won't cross? I think so. I know so. But how is it possible that we haven't crossed it yet, when so much has been changed?
It's very confusing. I should feel like a whore, but I don't. I felt this same cognitive dissonance about having sex before marriage, too, so maybe I should take a clue from that and just roll with it.
Antiwhine: This agent, absurdly, thinks I can write. I keep waiting for him to snap out of it.
((scrivener))
whine: won't be able to see the Red Sox this season, when I finally have been following baseball! Except if I pay alarming amounts of money for (knock wood) postseason tickets. I don't actually know how alarming the amounts will be, but I imagine they're in the sextuple digits, the way games have been selling...
Scriv, if you need a relaxing Scottish vacation, just head over this way. We have bunk beds, beer, and fried food!
Re: the baby crap, that's just the problem. Everyone is giving us their stuff (cool), but it doesn't actually fit in our flat (uncool). But I don't actually know what we'll use so I don't want to refuse things, at least not yet. Bah.
Just.so.tired. Can't type anymore...
Votes of substance to Scriv and kathy a.
Scriv, I'm so sorry that it's all so hard right now. We're wishing you easier times. And soon.
kathy a, I'm so so sorry about the hearing from hell. You've had so much crap in your life lately -- there HAS to be an end in sight soon.
Ouchie votes to Sheila, OneTiredEma, and Liz's MM. Get better, and i prescribe liberal applications of chocolate.
Trillwing -- the comments coming down early were my fault. Mea culpa. Last week's moderator was not able to close out the comments before hitting the hay, and I volunteered to do it. We thought that 1am Eastern time would give everyone time enough to whine. Obviously, we moderators need to discuss all of that. So sorry. We're all still trying to work out all the kinks. And Phantom made it look so effortless.
My anti-whines for this week:
* I went to dinner with my mother, and she made absolutely NO mention of either my weight, or what I was eating. This is what the professionals call "progress."
* I've been on a diet for 2 and a half weeks and I can see my toes without bending over. I had toes? Cool!
* Leaving in the morning for a mini vacation. Very excited.
* Got some good news on the work front. Things are looking up there.
Only one whine this week, and it's an 'old skool' variety whine. I had arranged a scrapbooking "playdate" with a friend for myself for today, and it seems it's fallen through. Bummer. It seems I'm doomed to be a shut-in this summer.
Taking a small cleaning and studying break (Did you know my bathroom is SPOTLESS? Really, you could eat off any surface in there. What final exams tomorrow?) to pass around some cheese quesadillas. It's all we are eating here today.
((Scrivener)) I don't really know you but I can so relate to depression and the aftereffects of a very dysfunctional family. I try not to write publicly about my troubles with them, but they quite often make me cry and make me feel very small and very stupid.
Whine: my "t" on my laptop keyboard is stuck. I have to really hit it hard.
Anti-whine: No papers or other projects due this week! And it keeps me from farting around on the internet too much.
Anti-whine: I have money coming to me from school in the next few days. Apparently, I won some award or stipend. The details are hazy but the cash is very welcome since I am not working this fall.
I'm not in charge around here anymore, but if I were, Scriv, you'd totally win. Doood. I'm sorry.
I'm just going to piggyback on Scriv's food-related whine right now. Day 3 of Teh Bad Cramps, which means that I haven't really eaten anything in 3 days, either. I'm not even hungry, which is a bad sign. But WTF is up with the cramps??? It hasn't been this bad since before I had kids. Whine.
Anti-whine: Baby Blue ate a tablespoon of squash at therapy today, thereby tripling her lifetime vegetable intake. Go team!
I forgot my vote for poor MM. Hope the doc can wipe out the infection sooner than soon!
Esperanza, yeah, a month's notice is about right. Or maybe too.
Whine: fireplacing migraine. I had one Monday and yesterday, and decided not to make an extra appt with the chiro yesterday afternoon b/c it was easing up. But it just came roaring back. And I have to meet with my boss today. Fireplace it.
(((((Scriv)))))
Whine: I'm no longer in the habit of working. I work so slowly, when I should be catching up from all the time I lost when I was on vacation.
Anti-whine: the prof I'm working with won't notice the fact that I've made little progress.
Whine: Uh, but that's part of the problem. My progress is pretty dependent on him, because he wants to read along with my (comps reading), and he doesn't want me reading so fast. But that means that I'm never going to finish, at this rate.
Anti-whines: On Monday, I leave for a week in the mountains. And, when I get back, I'll have a new computer and cable TV. Please don't mention how difficult it's going to be getting work done, considering those three factors.
((((Scriv))))
jenevieve, many things can double as other things. Dressers can be changing stations. You don't need a baby tub - people have done quite well with the kitchen sink or a dish tub. A playpen/portacrib isn't necessary unless you need a second place for naps - which in a small flat you probably don't. Bouncy seats are lifesavers, you can have them in the seat in the bathroom while you take a shower.
(((Scriv))) wanna come over for some fattening Italian food? It must work great for depression, too, b/c I still have a big butt and a sense of humor. Besides, if you continue to eat like a bird I will have to nominate you for the "Elevated Risk of Millet" award and then the pixies might draw and quarter me for the Extended Use of Awful Puns. Seriously, we all love you and are pulling for you =)
Whine: DH is driving me BANANAS, which wouldn't be so bad if ice cream, whipped cream, fudge sauce and peanuts were part of my diet. I think my HEAD is going to split, instead! We have SO much to do for our trip and he went out to dinner with a friend last night AND brought him back to the house, AND let him stay late, so that I had toddler duty all day and night long save for 15 minutes before her bedtime. And that was because I had to remind him to get her into PJs and to brush her teeth (his job). We had even talked about him not giving the whole evening to his friend, who we'd spent the whole of last weekend with and is moving out here next month to boot. And I got snapped at this morning that I don't have any call on his time. WTF??
And, he didn't seem very excited that I was going to be published for the first time, either. I know it's only $50 and a local publication and my little blog but I'm excited! I work on my writing every single night until about one in the morning so that maybe, someday, I'll have a book to my name, and he just doesn't believe in me. Rats.
Any of those cheese quesadillas left?? Sriv, you wanna split one with me?
Anti-whine: T-SHIRTS!!!! Wooohooo!
BIG anti-whine: Vacation (three whole weeks) starts Friday!!! NYC and Maine woo-hoo!!!!
Minor trivial whine: I'm in that "what else do I need to finish before I leave" mode, but I think my brain is already on vacation.
Votes and e-hugs to Scrivener and MM. Keep pounding the fluids.
Asinine trivial whine: we attended step-bro's wedding last weekend and the airline lost our luggage. So no sari for the wedding, no cocktail dress for the reception, no sundress for the day-after brunch. I managed to scrape by with ridiculously casual alternatives. Spouse had to beg, borrow, and steal to keep un-naked. But we made it through.
And of course, the digital camera was in the lost bag, so we have no pictures of our tragic fashion choices. (That should be an anti-whine, really.)
Anti-whine: bag showed up and was delivered to our hotel.
Whine: the day after we left.
Anti-whine: The in-laws claimed it and brought it to TX with them.
Whine: I don't live in TX.
Anti-whine: They're visiting in two weeks, so we'll get it back then.
But the big anti-whine is that this is really the biggest bother we've had all week. Knock wood, things must be looking up!!!
Stay tuned: with an influx of in-laws for the entire month of August, I should have more substantial whines later on.
Uh, I think I mistakenly assumed that everyone knew that onetiredema = Kate from onetiredema. Sorry about that.
Anti-whine: @dvil seems to have cleared up the dire wrist condition--but leaving me to wonder: WTFireplace?
Is this whine old skool? My cleaning lady returns tomorrow after a five-week absence. It will take me approximately four hours out of the next 15 (before she comes) to find my countertops, dresser, floor, etc., so she can actually clean.
ergh, kids!
Scrivener--the others said it first: we're cheering for you, so hang in there.
whine: I don't know what to do with my life. Go back to the familiar safety of my old gradaute program? Mix it up a little, and apply to law school? Chuck school altogether? I asked the Magic 8 ball what I should do, and its pronouncement? "Better not tell you now." Hmph.
anti-whine: trip to hometown next month.
whine: to take care of my mother following her mastectomy.
anti-whine. but still. hometown. favorite restaurants. quality time with parents (I got lucky with the parent lottery, thank God).
Oh, Scrivener. I'm sorry.
My antiwhine: Um. Pregnant. Pregnant? Pregnant!
I have no whines, despite my delightful Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, hormonal emotional outbursts, and a strong desire to just sleep through the next two months until I can worry a little less.
Uccellina!!! (whistles and stomping and very crossed fingers.)
SIL left voicemail on Hubs' work phone at 4:20 pm that "some of the family" was getting together at 5:30 pm at a restaurant to be with FIL & wife (my husband's mom has been dead since the month before #2-Son was born). Did SIL phone me at the house, too? Fireplace, no. Since Hubs does not actually work at his desk, he works at a computer in a secure area and picks up his messages mebbe twice a day. He got said message at 5:10 pm.
FIL and wife are in town for Niece-IL's wedding; will probably leave Sat. morning (wedding is Fri. night) and will be visiting FIL's siblings tomorrow and Friday days and therefore unavailable. The last time we got to see them was at FIL's younger sister's funeral. Time before that was Nephew-IL's wedding last summer. They only put in an appearance here in town once a year nevermind that this is where the whole bleepin' family is. And now SIL's refusal to make an extra phone call to the house means my children will not see their grandfather and "grandmother" except at the wedding reception, where they will be hungry and then bored and then tired (my kids, not my ILs).
Fireplace. I know my FIL really doesn't care much about his kids or grandkids but I wish he'd at least put in a little effort to fake it.
You know what? My feet hurt. For no good reason. That is a drag.
Mad love and virtual comfort calories to scriv and everybody having a crummy time right now.
Cheers for working diets and impending babies and all tha good stuff happening for us.
Oh Uccellina!!!!!
Whine: Camp told us today that they're taking the kids on a field trip tomorrow, and so need them there at 7:45 AM.
Anti-whine: Our carpool partner has agreed to pick D up.
Yay for Uccellina!
And here's a true whine of substance: the Weekly World News is closing its doors. How will I know what Elvis and Bat Boy are up to without "the paper"?
((((Scrivener))))
Woo-hoo to Uccellina!!!!
As for me: Whiiiiiiiiiine.
Uccellina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whine: My feet are so swollen with lovely heart-related edema I can't even get my flip-flops on. Which means I'm totally stuck in the house until the pee pills work. Could be days. It is painful, peeps, painful!
Whine: The entire week appeared to be a fight with Son about his Latin project and take home final. It almost came to blows.
AntiWhine: It is all done. Pericles report done. Helen of Troy translated. Teacher picked both up. The pressure is OFF.
AntiWhine: Daughter, who is the best 15 year old daughter in the world despite her inability to wash a freaking dish, bought me the CUTEST dress in Marshalls marked down to $15. Not only is she a good kid, she's a good shopper. I'll be keeping her.
AntiWhine: Blogathon went swimmingly, I made over my goal (miraculous) and raised over $500 for Children's Hospital. I'm so proud.
AntiWhine: Son blogged for blogathon and his posts are pretty damn funny. They're now in my July archives if you want some entertainment.
Whine: We're going to Canobie Lake on Sat and I have no bathing suit. My old one is so disgusting I tossed it, and I can't find a new one I'd be seen in. It is NOT a good show, believe me. Very scary.
Antiwhine: applied for two new blogging gigs this week. Haven't heard from either, but the fact that new jobs are popping up that are not Mommyblogs is very exciting.
AntiWhine: This just in: doing a freelance consulting job for a friend in Atlanta who is paying me decent $$ to help her start and maintain a corporate blog. She's not a blogger so we're starting from the ground up. On an hourly rate. :-) That's she's not paying, her employer is. :-)
AntiWhine: Am starting to design another friend's web site. She's started a Kitchen and Bath redo company and wants a nice professional looking site.
It's been a totally good week except for the Latin trauma!
VOtes to OneTiredEma from another tired Ema. HOpe that arm improves. Sounds like you might have some rotator cuff issues.
Madeleine, brioche isn't a bread machine bread. It needs to be in a steamier environment and it needs to be able to spread out with a lot more 'edges'. Make the dough in the machine and then bake it as directed by recipe in steamy oven.
Huge Hugs to scrivener. I know, I get it, I know you should be able to have lollypops and chocolate and wine. I wish I could help. If you need time off and want a Boston vacation, come see me and I'll promise to feed you delish food not by Rachael Ray and let you talk your little heart out.
And I vote Scriv as the winner.
Huge Yahoos to Ucelina. You go girl! So happy for you. And my ovaries were once described after a failed IVF as the size of grapefruits. Youch! It hurts. Lay low and read some good trashy mags for a few days.
Me again.
Whine: MM had a nuclear meltdown.
Antiwhine: Core has re-cooled and is resting comfortably.
Yay Uccellina!
Uccellina!!!!!!Yay!!!!!!
Ok, how clueless am I? Looks like the Weekly World News was not only old news, but has already won a whining award last week. Grrr...
My whines: My mother drives across the 35W bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed today, and she was only NOT on it at around the wrong time because she was taking my niece to the airport an hour earlier.
So, besides the expected freak-outs about AN INTERSTATE BRIDGE COLLAPSING and my mother narrowly avoiding being in the wrong place at the wrong time (which is a whine with its anti-whine built right in), there is the fact that my mother called to tell me to turn on the news to see the scenes of doom just BEFORE bedtime.
As Gemma so wisely put it as we lay down to sleep, "Mommy, now that I've seen that bridge in the river, I'm going to be really nervous going across bridges."
Me too, honey. Good Lord, Me Too.
Jody, you're giving me flashbacks to the summer I had to drive the SF Bay Bridge all the fireplacing time--only a couple years after parts of *it* had collapsed. Harrowing.
Yeah, that does wrap the whine and anti-whine together nicely.
ucellina, what great news!
hugs and condolances to all those sore and unhappy feet out there.
jody, that bridge thing is awful. so glad your mom wasn't there.
The convenience store where I purchase my fountain drink refill every day on the way to work is experiencing technical difficulties with their fountain drink machine. They claim that it works, but the abomination they serve me is quite clearly devoid of any carbonation and tastes strongly of Diet Coke syrup.
Today I tried a different store. They charged me twice as much, and their concoction tasted devoid of any syrup. I strongly desire a fountain drink that is not an insult to the hallowed history of soda pop.
andy is working on a lifetime achievement award in the old skool division, in my opinion.
Woohoo, Uccellina!! I was waiting to send you that Sicilian birdy nursery rhyme until you had some good news =) Now I just have to figure out how to spell in Sicilian!
Whine: I am wide awake, and have to be up in three hours. Poor planning on my part.
Antiwhine: Up late packing for trip to see awesome SIL and niecelets.
Whine: I faint like a goat in high altitude.
Antiwhine: Swooning is so retro-Southern belle charming...right?
Hugs and dark-chocolate covered pretzels for all insomniac pixies! I actually saved so for you!
Uccellina!!!!! YEAH!!!!!
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