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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Wednesday Whining: Potomac Primaries Edition

Dems outvoted Reps by more than two to one! Statewide! Heck, across the whole fireplacing region!

Nearly three times the number of expected voters came out today - our precinct had to get more ballots! (They were expecting an 8% turnout and got 21.23%) They even ran out of stickers!

Holy shit, people! Virginia really might go blue this year! The Dems might win the White House!

This is amazingly exciting! WOOT!

My only minor whine is now I'm too excited to sleep.

And now, without further ado, I turn the mike over to you. What's your whining pleasure?

40 comments:

kathy a. said...

four-thirty a. m.
wide awake. what is with that?
will crash this p. m.

Anonymous said...

I have to blog this anonymously -- I just found out that my best friend is addicted to heroin. I'm so sad and frustrated for her. I want to rail and scream at her, but I also want to be supportive because I know if I DO rail and scream at her, she'll quietly drop me from her life. She has enough of that already -- it's probably what helped her on the path to addiction. I wish I could help.

Miranda said...

Liz, great news on the home front! I'm rationing my excitement this presidential cycle, but I think I little peeked through when I read your post.

Kathy A, I hope you are working from home today and can stumble over to the sofa when the need hits.

I'm kind of whine free for the moment. Yeah, I'm still sick of &&^%$ snow and I'm off to work with my exceptionally apathetic students who are starting to scare me as I contemplate their futures (bleak unless they emerge from their fog) and I have too much homework and too little time.

But.

My research proposal was approved for the semester. I have my topic, my data sources, and a mountain of literature. Now I just need to input it all into a spreadsheet. One really boring afternoon data entry, then I will be off to regress the heck out of it.

My spouse has been out of town this week (antiwhine to the infinity power) and he has been presented with a choice of two cities come May-- and one of them is by Dream School. While we are prepared to live far from one another, it will be better for the kids if we can be in the same place.

Plus, one of the dominant employers in the area has expressed interest in my application. They would be a great company to work for and pick up some very solid experience.

I don't want to get ahead of myself but I feel like all the work I have put into reinventing my life is starting to really pay off. Five years ago, I was so depressed, I couldn't get dressed more days than not.

Miranda said...

***hugs*** to anonymous. That is so hard to watch.

Sue said...

Hugs to anonymous.

Whine: It's 9:09 a.m. and my head already hurts. I'm at about 7 out of 10 on the old pain-o-meter. What happened to those days when I had four or five hours of barely-noticeable pain before it really set in?

I'm also getting zero sleep, so I hear ya kathya!

Depression meds are being adjusted as we speak, so that might explain the lack of sleep.

It's going to be a long day.

Anonymous said...

big hugs to sue and anonymous - it looks like it's going to be a long day for both of you.

i am determined to whine now because for the last couple of weeks i've put it off until evening only to pass out and go to bed early and miss the catharsis.

W1: i've been sick with a respiratory plague for 2.5 weeks. it went bacterial, i actually went to the doc and got antibiotics, i finished the course, and i'm STILL draining. what's up with that?

W2: my mother in law is coming to visit tonight and my house is a mess. i can't really complain about this because it was my idea to invite her today, but i HAD to have her over this week because of...

AW1 (laced with W): i'm pregnant (finally - Yay!) and we need to tell her in person. last time, we had a plan to tell her in person, but it fell through when she called us out for "acting suspicious" on the phone with her and the news eventually came out - on the phone. she has never EVER let us live it down that we didn't tell her in person. whatever. nothing's good enough for her, so i imagine this will fall short in some way i can't foresee. tune in next week when i tell you how.

W: respiratory plague + the first touches of morning sickness and exhaustion = teh suck. whatever. it could be worse. it could be snowing right now. inside. ;)

Anonymous said...

oh, i forgot to say - we have to tell her this week because if it gets back to her that certain people were told before she was ("non-essential" people like my boss or other non-family members), then she'll be pi$$ed for eternity.

JenR said...

Whine... still no baby. And now I have a cold. I wish I could say more, but that's really all I can think about.

Antiwhine (sort of)... I'm scheduled to be induced early next week. I'm hoping I don't make it that far, but at least there's an end in sight.

Jenevieve said...

Whine: Seriously, did I fall off the face of the earth or what?

Whine: Hosea no likely teh sleeps. Jeni no likely teh wakes. And ne'er the twain shall meet.

Antiwhine: You gys are still here! Yay!

Jenevieve said...

Shoot, my stupid spell checker fixed my broken grammar into less broken grammar, messing up my post! The "likely"s are supposed to be "likey"s. Hrmph.

Liz Miller said...

Kathy A, I hope you got some sleep and I ditto the hope that you can work from home and grab a nap.

Anonymous, I am really so very sorry. A friend of mine in high school got addicted to crack and it is very very very hard to watch. My only suggestion to counteract the powerlessness of watching is to contact an addiction professional and talk to them about some ways to be there for your friend through this.

Miranda, HOORAY on the shiny outlook!

Sue, so sorry about the headache.

Amy, YAY about the news and sorry about your MIL, she sounds like a high-maintenance piece of work.

JenR, looking forward to that bambino!

Whine (very minor): Ice. Lots and lots of ice.

-R- said...

My husband's car broke down on his way home last night. We just paid it off last month and were excited about a month without a car payment. But now fixing the car is going to cost more than a car payment would have. BOOOOOO. At least we don't have a car payment PLUS repair costs. But I will still whine about this.

Anonymous said...

OMG, did I just tell the internets i'm pregnant before i told my MIL? has i gots the pregnancy stoopids already?

:sigh: it's fine. by my definition (not hers, i'm sure) you all *are not* "non-essential". (see my earlier comment.)

@R: the fact you don't have a car payment this month does not strip you of the right to whine about a major repair.

Anonymous said...

Whiney whiney whine...

AW: As scheduled, I took my three year old to see her neuro to talk about the (maybe) seizures after waiting, you know, months for the appt.

W1: Oh yes, those ARE seizures and they are essentially eating her brain.(That's medical terminology for ya.) Bye bye what little function she gained last summer.

W2: Neuro felt Kid1 was too complicated for someone as unspecialized as a paediatric neurosurgeon and referred us, without meds or other intervention first, to a paediatric epileptologist, with a wait time of about 6 months.

Um, did I mention the brain eating?

Jen, I will send you some labour vibes if you have any magical appointment scheduling powers that you'd be willing to donate. :P Hope to be reading about a healthy new baby in the next WW.

Congrats, Amy.

Hugs for Sue, Anonymous, Kathy, Jeni, and anyone else missing teh sleeps!

Liz Miller said...

that mommy, WTF???? No meds? No intervention? Can't he at least get her put to the top of a list?

Sue said...

I'll echo that WTF re: no meds or intervention from a pediatric neurologist. Unbelievable!

Magpie said...

Amy: congrats and stick it to the MIL!

That Mommy: can you jump up and down for an earlier emergency appointment?

Anonymous: that sucks. hugs to you and your friend.

Whine = I'm hungry and it's pouring rain, buckets of rain, and I hate calling for delivery because I think it's mean to ask someone else to get wet on my behalf.

JenR said...

That Mommy ... the only thing that has ever worked for me is to call and start crying. Crying can sometimes get you in earlier. That, and ask to be put on their wait list in case someone cancels at the last minute.

Antropóloga said...

Shit, I accidentally just let one of my real life friends know about my blog. (Usually I sign out to comment on her blog so she doesn't know my address but I forgot this time.)

kathy a. said...

huge hugs to anonymous, that mommy, and sue. jenr, sending more quick baby vibes. yay, miranda! hi, jenevieve!

anonymous, that is so tough. you might want to try al-anon or narc-anon meetings [for family and friends of substance abusers], for the support and some insights. free and anonymous, and there are lots of meetings. [it is easier to find al-anon meetings, and most groups are welcoming of folks worried about a loved one involved with any substances.]

that mommy, call everyone and beg. your primary, the ped neuro, any friends who may have an in, the new doc's office. are there other docs in this specialty who might be farther away, but have an opening sooner? what about a teaching hospital? xoxoxo

Madeleine said...

valentines for school
cute but mom over thought it
kinkos. mucho bucks.

frack’d distributor
car retires soon – but not yet
expensive repair.

record breaking snow
car in shop, walk to swimming
february sucks.

Anonymous said...

Amy - congratulations! And since we seem to be traveling down this road together I have some exciting news for you. The morning sickness that is not only in the morning will go away soon than you think. I have high hopes that although the acid reflux will be slightly worse in week 10 you will no longer feel so utterly disgusted when you think about food.
That's my antiwhine this week: I am no longer disgusted when I think about food. Actually, I take that back. Desserts haven't bothered me at all. It's probably safer if I just stick to cake and chocolate for at least a few more weeks.

Anonymous - I totally feel for you and your friend. Good luck with the hard decisions you will have to make.

Jenr - Do you think you might still be pregnant when I'm due? Maybe we can just get a group rate?

Madeleine said...

Anonymous, I'm so sorry. I hope you find the right balance of helpful and supportive and trustworthy. Without using up your own reserves of energy.

Jeni, the first likely is still accurate, at least. So sorry.

Jenr's baby! Hellooooo! Time to get going!

I nominate Eva for the Golden Ooooops award. (My workaround for that problem: two different browsers so the cookies stay separate.)

Amy, my sympathy on your MIL. Drama queens, eeesh. Who needs 'em? But congrats on having the good news to share. We promise not to tell her before you can.

My office often lets "non-essential" personnel leave early before holidays or during snow storms. Apparently there was some fussing about how everyone is really "essential" so now they say "non-emergency," at least for the snow storms.

kathy a. said...

omg, amy! i forgot to congratulate you on your excellent news!!

chocolate for diane!

and a style vote for madeleine.

Anonymous said...

congrats to Amy!! And my weekly vote for Sue and the Headache of ongoing doom.

Antiwhine is that the wee baboo is sleeping more at night.

Whine/Antiwhine is that grandma went back home this week. Missing the extra hands, loving my life back.

Madeleine said...

Ah, esperanza, you have discovered the bittersweet nature of the grandparental visit. Love it when they come, love it when they leave.

Anonymous said...

Thanks to all for the advice and good wishes about my friend. I might look into some online research, but it would quickly get back to her if I attended meetings, and I really don't want to run the risk of having her shut me out.

I'm so worried for her. Things are SO BAD for her right now that I can understand how she turned to a crutch like drugs, but at the same time I want to slap her silly at the same time for falling for it.

Heather said...

Hello all...

I'm a Weds. Whining virgin, lol. But I love Liz and well, here I am.

My whine is more of a scream - I feel like life in general is too effin' much right now. :insert long, primal scream: I'm in grad school, work FT, dd has SID, ds is starting to concern me with ADHD like behaviors, and dh got a puppy last month after a long talk about how this would be HIS puppy and puppies are a lot of work and I simply cannot take more on right now. And with every steamy pile of shit I clean in the morning, I grit my teeth and say, "Whose idea was this again?"

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh

Heather said...

Oh, yes, forgot to add...Monday dd came home with a note to parents from the principal about a PhD student seeking research subjects. Her dissertation's premise? Pitocin inductions = ADHD. Well, per above whine, and copious convo's with our OT, ADHD, SID, OCD, Tourrettes, Autism/Asperger's etc, are all showing similarities in the sensory processing realm, and guess what? Pitocin full steam ahead with both labors. Scary stuff, man.

kathy a. said...

how would it get back, anonymous? the "anonymous" part of these groups is very serious -- it is considered the foundation of the whole deal.

that said, i forgot that there are also online groups. overwhelming amounts of research, of course -- but talking with a variety of others who are struggling the same way you are is very helpful.

kathy a. said...

welcome, ramblin' red! holy shit, you have a plateful. sounds like an award-worthy whine on the first visit! xoxo

Sue said...

Oops. I forgot to say congrats to Amy!!

And a hurry-on-up to jenr's little one!

Votes for ramblin' red. Wow. I've not heard of that connection before.

Susan Anne MacKenna said...

Helooooo Pixies. First, Anonymous and That Mommy... hugs and support. That's about all I have.

For the last three weeks of my life, I have been writing a HUGE proposal for work - seriously, brand-maker. We had to revise it over the weekend and submit it today.

I made a pdf of the WRONG FREAKING FILE which was sent to the client, and it has a few glaring type-os in it.

I'm beside myself. I just figured this out, and the entire file is on my machine in the office, completely inaccessible to me unless I went into the office to fix it. Mr. Mac isn't here, so this has to wait until tomorrow. F&$K!

The upside is that I do work in an amazingly supportive and positive group, so I don't think they will be horribly upset.... I hope. But I have let them all down, and we've all worked so hard, and I screwed it up. I'm seriously on the verge of tears, and I can't even let loose because I've got my two kids to finish taking care of tonight (Little Miss S is watching her nightly Teletubbies right now).

On top of it all, I forgot to buy valentines today at the store, so LMS will have them for school tomorrow. Worst. Mommy. Ever.

WAH!

kathy a. said...

work and valentine votes for DMD.

Elizabeth said...

Hugs to anonymous and that mommy.

Whine is that I had an all day team meeting where we tried to figure out our priorities for the next year. And as far as I can tell, I'm the only one who was willing to suggest that the things I work on might not be the team's top priorities.

Unknown said...

Hugs to Anonymous. Wish I could give you more than just hugs.

That Mommy, you need to kick some butt to get your daughter in earlier. That wait is INSANE. Maybe you need to travel to a different area to find better healthcare. Try other childrens' hospitals.

Congrats to Amy. May you have 9 months of peaceful gestation.

Whine: the snot is back. I swear, my nose manufactures stuff that could be used in Star Trek episodes as alien plant life.

Whine: Meetings, bloody meetings. Let's discuss this kid. Let's discuss that kid. Let's not resolve anything. Let's make followup meetings.

Antiwhine: Son started getting all those college brochures this week. It's exciting for me, but he hasn't even bothered to look at them yet. COLLEGE! I wish I were going.

Whine: Plumbing is so screwed up I spend my day plunging, and landlady calls to complain that I call the plumber too often. It's costing her money. Um, it's driving me NUTS not to be able to poop without fear of blocking the damn toilets.

Whine: cleaning lady's car is broken, thus my house is a sty.

And that's about it for this week, people.

debangel said...

Is there some kind of a "Last-Minute Charlie" award? It's 2:15 a.m. and I should be sleeping but am avoiding the temptation to shove my 300 thread count-covered pillow down my DH's ungrateful maw.

Oh man, if he ever sees this..! But tonight I made a new recipe for baked chicken that used REAL BUTTER like he has to have, even though he is, I hate to admit it, obese. His reaction? "I don't care for the chicken. I don't like baked chicken, I've told you that several times." I try to cook the "real" food that he likes because it's the only thing I do that he ever appreciates. He can spot low-fat substitutions a mile off. And I avoid so many recipes because he "doesn't care for" their ingredients. I'm a SAHM and don't get much positive feedback on anything except my superior (according to everyone else) cooking skills. I know he'd be ecstatic if I cooked him lasagna and spaghetti carbonara every night but he is so overweight that it just wouldn't be cool of me to do. Plus I just lost 60 lbs several months ago and don't want them back! Anyway he ended up telling me not to cook for him anymore, I obviously was only doing it out of duty and he'd fend for himself from now on. This, after I got all kinds of cool stuff to make for his Valentine's Day dinner =( I ended up leaving the house to take a walk after only one bite (dudes, the chicken was melting-off-the-bone scrumptious. It's the Pioneer Woman Cooks recipe.) because I was crying too hard to eat.

OK, too long of a whine, but it's the middle of the night and my brain is snoozing! I have no chocolate b/c of Lent, but I can offer chocolate Lab mix puppy kisses from my good buddy Baci ;)

Madeleine said...

Oh, debangel. Hugs and hugs. It stinks to work on a meal, trying to please someone, and have them not like it. And it stinks that you feel like none of what you do at home is appreciated.

Ramblin' red: I do have a basic faith in science, and of course the study might need doing to see if there is a connection, but I'm skeptical. Huge numbers of women use pitocin. I did. Don't blame yourself and your labor experience for your children's situations. That way madness lies.

DMD: Damn, I hate when I do that. Grrrr. Hope you can sub in the right file before too many people see it.

My whine update: child woke up sick at 5:30 am. My Love was up and dealt with her, but now I have sick-child-missing-Valentine's-party at home with me for the day.

I am overstressing about the schedule implications. Really it doesn't matter a huge amount. Let it go . . .

February still sucks.

Sue said...

Late late whine: The woman in our church who bitched me out a few weeks ago has (of course she has) written a sh*t-gram to our Board. Why, oh why, do church people think it's okay to behave like spoiled toddlers who don't get their own way.

No, scratch that, just about every toddler I know behaves better than this woman has. Honestly, they do not pay me enough to deal with this nonsense.

Anonymous said...

debangel - I totally empathize! I hate it when I cook something for my husband and he doesn't like it. But if they don't like a Pioneer Woman recipe it is clearly a reflection of them and not you.