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Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Wednesday Whining: Happy Anniversary to Us Edition

A year ago, a group of whiners raged raged against the dying of the light. We did not go gentle into that good night and thus this incarnation of Wednesday Whining was born.

We intended to keep it simple:

Each week, a volunteer moderator will be the primary host of the
celebration, in charge of setup and cleanup. A Wednesday Whining thread will be
posted on Tuesday night. Whining will end Thursday morning and comments will be
closed. There will be a brief concluding post on Thursday, awarding limited
prizes only: [1] Style; [2] Old School; and [3] "Elevated Risk of Mullet."

but somehow, we just couldn't.

Phantom, I know I speak for all of us here when I say that the first award is still yours. We are lonely for dat. I miss you enormously and I think of you all the fireplacing time. I am grateful that you allowed us to continue in this space and I, for one, have had a wonderful time* as occasional host and have the greatest respect for you for having done it Every! Week! for so long.
Let the whining commence!

*edited to put the link I had intended to put here instead of the one I had already put elsewhere.

29 comments:

kathy a. said...

beautiful tribute, liz! and a standing ovation, plus ice cream for life, to the fabulous phantom scribbler.

kathy a. said...

ok, on to the whines.

1. fireplacing heat.

2. flying someplace even more fireplacing hot tomorrow.

3. because mom's back in the fireplacing hospital. she went in for breathing problems, but now it sounds abdominal. wtf?

antiwhines: ze internets. and A/C in ze hotel. and, uh, daughter says she will clean the cat boxes.

sheesh. too bad my stash of frozen GS cookies is gone, because now would be a good time to pass them around.

esperanza said...

Happy Anniversary to us! And I miss Phantom, too. WW has gotten me through many a week over the past couple of years.

AW: Baboo has now set a personal record of being oxygen-free (well, supplemental oxygen-free) for 12 days! Previous record was 10, in the NICU. We are allowing ourselves to hope that the end is in sight.

AW: it has finally rained here. (Sorry, kathy a)

W: Baboo and I are going on a road trip next week (5 hrs) to see grandparents. I cannot stop fretting over what to take, how we're going to cope with the car ride, etc. A minor whine, all in all.

And I know it's not cool to post another pixie's whine, but our friend Sue could use some extra love this week.

Anonymous said...

AW: I bought a new car!

W: I bought the wrong car, (really? who does that??) and then had to take my husband back with me (I'm so irritated that I couldn't do that part myself) and get them to let me get rid of the car and get another one.

AW: I have a new car!!

Elizabeth said...

Anti-whine: Had a great hike with my friend (in spite of rain, wasps, and general klutziness) and didn't get sick.

Whine: Having trouble being motivated to get back to work.

Whine: Program I applied for promised they'd have answers by yesterday -- I just called and they say they'll be deciding in the next day or so.

Sue said...

I miss me some Phantom too Liz - nice tribute.

thanks esperanza - you're right. I could use some extra lovin' this week.

I was admitted to hospital on Friday night, driven by the Crisis Care Limo (Ok, it's an SUV, but still...)

Anti-whine: Almost immediate care with gravol and the beloved morphine (the ONLY thing that really gets rid of my head pain)

Whine: Then they had to deal with "the rest of the problem" which meant five days of hospitalists, psych docs, other psych docs and lots of very good concerned nurses.

Whine: The only bed, even though I was voluntary, was in the locked ward. I was there for two nights. People throw chairs in there.

Anti-whine: The nurses told me at least twenty times a day that they were doing everything possible to get me over to the "other side" (which means the unlocked ward)

Whine: I am only now thinking of a gazillion snappy retorts about going to the "other side".

Anti-whine: The whole thing was a neurochemical perfect storm related to the topamax I had started and which I have now stopped entirely.

So it's over. I'm home. I feel tired but safe and better.

Magpie said...

AW: we are FINALLY getting bookshelves built-in so that i can unpack the many boxes of books that have been in the cellar for FOUR years.

W: husband is losing his mind. the carpenters failed to properly seal the room in which they were sanding the bondo and there was dust ALL OVER the house and he lost his shit. i mean, really. it was just the straw that broke the camel's back, but dust? dust?

AW: i made an appointment for him to see a shrink next week.

AW: we are getting bookcases!!!

Elizabeth said...

((Sue))

Magpie, congrats on the bookshelves. You'll be so happy to have them.

Madeleine said...

Hugs to Sue, I'm so sorry you went through that. And sorry that the Topomax won't be an option. Home and safe are good, good, good.

More hugs to kathy a, if you are reading us on the road. I hope the mystery resolves quickly.

Liz Miller said...

I haaaaave to cleeeaaan my baaaaathroooom. Snivel, snivel, whine, grump.

esperanza said...

now I have a whiny whine. I have been making polite phone calls (that are getting progressively less polite) for SIX weeks to get a referral for the Sweet Baboo to go for a second opinion. The receivers of the referral say they haven't gotten it. The senders of the referral say they "will take care of it this afternoon." For SIX weeks. I'm not sure what else to do. And now I'm crying at the office, when I really need to be working. And I'm tired.

Madeleine said...

esperanza, that is definitely work for the cluestick posse. Oy! Polite is overrated.

Madeleine said...

Snuggly Girl went to sleep-away camp last week for the first time! She had a blast. We had a nice week of flexible scheduling, though My Love complained that the house was too quiet without the munchkin.

So what's the whine?

I was prepared for lots of laundry to come home. (I even did our laundry the day before to clear the decks.) I was prepared to have no idea what was clean and what was not. (I knew I'd wash everything.) My Love had the brilliant inspiration while loading the duffles into the trunk that they were all sandy and should not be unpacked except in the basement laundry room. (Too bad I got tempted and opened them and dumped sand in the tiled hallway.)

But somehow, despite all that, I was not prepared for two duffles full of damp, sandy, urine-scented clothes and bedding. Even the stuff that was folded-unworn was wet, sandy, and smelly. Apparently she was "too busy" to get to the bathroom on time . . . on repeated occasions. And then shoved everything pell-mell into the bags.

Anti-whine: the invention of the washing machine. Five loads and just over 24 hours later, everything was clean and dry. And folded and put away within about 40 hours, because the cleaning woman was coming. (Bonus anti-whine: last traces of sand in hallway are gone.)

Super-double anti-whine: for the first time in ages, I accidentally followed my own rule (more honored in the breach) that Thou Shalt Not Cook with Red Sauce Immediately After Paying Someone to Clean the House.

Madeleine said...

One additional whine:
SG's daycamp this week ends at 4 pm, at the school around the corner. I wanted to take her to the local pool for a swim afterwards tomorrow, and maybe invite a friend along. I called to check the schedule, and the open swim is closed from 4:30 to 5:30. Yeah. Exactly when I want to go.

Sigh.

KLee said...

Many many hugs to Sue. I'm SO sorry that you are still dealing with the daily pain, but having to endure the hospital stay on top of it just makes things SO much worse for you. Maybe the one good thing that will come of it is that you'll get good care when you need it.

Esperanza, have you been keeping track of when you've called the doc's office? If you have any kind of documentation (times, dates, people you've spoken with) I would send a letter to the practice which would also be CC'd to the head honcho. That would probably get the ball rolling. I did this once with a very NASTY bill collector, and the company pretty much fell all over themselves trying to make it right.

My whine for this week is that I'm old. My daughter -- my baby! -- started her period. I was not really prepared for this, especially since she freaks out every time I say the word "uterus." Oy.

Andy said...

My cat has been discovered. I've got until the end of the month to move or get rid of him. Gyah.

Anonymous said...

Andy - first let me say that I totally get that your whine is way, way worse than mine. But.... it totally reminded me of the Worst! Thing! Ever!
My next door neighbor got rid of her dog! It was the greatest dog ever. For Real. Black Lab puppy that was just the nicest, happiest, most gentle dog ever. But the real reason this sucks so bad is that my two year old LOVED this dog. Half of her day was spent running around saying, "I'm Jersey. Will you pet Jersey? Look! I'm running like Jersey!" She even has played fetch (with real sticks, and yes she brings them back in her mouth) impersonating Jersey with my mom. My neighbor decided that she just wasn't home enough to take care of the dog and before you even ask - No. There is no way I could handle a dog. So is it completely ridiculous that I am mourning on my toddler's behalf for a dog that wasn't even mine?

Andy - can you get someone to take your cat for a month or so and then quietly move him back in?

Esperanza - is it too out of the way for you to go to the dr's office to pick up the referral? I know my old pediatrician had a strick policy of not coming to the office for it, but if you just showed up and stated that you were absolutely going to wait for it I bet they would give it to you. It's a lot harder for people to ignore someone that is in front of them. And usually, harder for them to be mean.

Sue said...

Sorry for all the pixie whines this weeks folks - all award worthy, particularly the cat discovery whine. That's just wrong dude.

As if being in lock up wasn't a bad enough way to begin the week, I saw my family doc today. Against the advice of every specialist I've seen, he's cutting me off of ALL my pain meds as of this month. He's giving me three weeks to wean off everthing.

All of this is to prove that his diagnosis of Chronic Daily Headache is correct and the headache specialist who says I have Migraine without Aura is wrong.

Ya. I love being a human guinea pig in agony. It's going to be a blast.

Now if I could just stop crying, the day would be perfect.

Oh, and it's my husbands birthday and I was in hospital and therefore have no gift for him.

Whine: Yes, there's more. I have a bitchy troll on my blog who is telling me that my blog is too self-absorbed. Hey bitch - my blog, my content. Don't like, don't read it.

I just didn't need her today ya know?

Anonymous said...

Cheer Cheer for Phantom.

Oh Sue--wow, that's terrible. The locked ward? But glad to hear that it seems to have ended pretty well. Just not being in the locked ward sounds like a good ending, but less pain, even better.

Whine: My son's day camp (through the local rec dept, very cheap, 3/week, 2 hours a time. They have 18 kids and 4 bubbly teachers) didn't call me to say they were having water games today. So we show up in shorts and everyone else is in suits. The teacher with the notebook said--oh, we must not have had your number to call you last night. BUT-someone from camp called us Monday to say camp was canceled due to rain.

Not to mention--you've had my child in your care for 3 weeks and you didn't notice you didn't have my number? What if he broke his arm?

And of course, I filled out a form listing every possible way to contact me, my husband and my parents.

I refrained from chiding/yelling/ condescending. Because she's the woman who told me to bring snack on the 25th oh June and when I did said--oh, no, you're on the schedule for next Wednesday. But camp was closed the week after for 4th of July. So I doubted she told me the 2nd...

And she wasn't very nice about it and I wasn't as nice as I could be I called her on the date mix up and asked that they have his snack on a day he is definitely at camp, as he was so excited about it. I wasn't mean, but I was annoyed. It's a calendar. I had one in front of me when I asked you on what date you wanted me to bring the snack.

Today, when I wrote our phone number on her sheet, I noticed the snack list on the opposite page--where the 25th next to my son's name had been scribbled out.

I love WW for whines of substance and style. I do, but having a place to unload this whine is fabulous. I decided to be extra stupid polite to her today. I went home, got my son's swim shorts after assuring them he could start the slip 'n slide in his clothes. I brought him his suit, reapplied the sunscreen, left him a towel. And a cheery wave.

And I am trying to push the whine out into this forum and get over it. But I'm not quite there.

Thank you for all of our fabulous moderators.

Gary said...

Anti-Whine: All the moderators who have kept this weekly Brigadoon going so faithfully.

Whine: School doesn't start until August 20th.

Anti-Whine: On August 20th, I get to put my 2 boys, Socko and Punch, on the bus to school, and will have the hours of 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM all to myself, 5 days/week.

I would like to nominate Sue for the "Dear Universe: WTF?" award. I'm so sorry to hear the headache crap and all the associated medical follies are still going on.

Anonymous said...

I think Gary has nailed it with the award for Sue.

esperanza said...

Sue totally gets my votes.

Thanks for the advice and cluesticks. The sender reports that the fax was sent and confirmed. We'll check with the recipient tomorrow. It just got to me because I deal with doctors offices and insurance all the time and it gets old after a while.

kathy a. said...

oh, esperanza. how can they do that to the baboo?

domestic tranquility award to magpie, with a case of chocolate.

joys of camping award to madeleine. oy!

andy, that sucks. diane, that is the saddest story about your neighbor's dog.

hi, gary!

(((((( sue )))))))) cluesticks are too good for your troll and dr. competitive.

late-breaking anti-whine [i think] -- mom's docs are hopeful they can avoid surgery with the judicious use of nuclear laxatives. (wonder if they would consider off-label use for sue's bunch?)

hugs all around for all the pixies!

kathy a. said...

missed your update, esperanza -- yay!

Unknown said...

I am too exhausted to read all your whines. I will do it in the morning.

This week my whines are substantial.

I do not have enough money to cover my rent. Again. God, this recession is KILLING me. I'm about $800 short every single month.

I caught my darling son downloading pron videos. Red Handed. Then I went on his hard drive and found so much more. I swear, this child is clueless about hiding stuff. Either that or just too damn lazy.

One of my clients is so frustrating that I really almost slapped her in a meeting this week. She is a perfectly nice woman who will not put her kid in a school. Any school. Every program has something wrong with it. Meanwhile daughter has been our of school for 2 years. I finally told her that she's going to lose that kid to DSS if she didn't become more cooperative. She did not hear me. WHY do I do this work? I do not know.

Tonight I had to go to my BFF's house and guard her while she told her violent husband she had filed for divorce. Good times! It was terribly tense and I ended up with s nervous stomach and headache.

I also had to write a Stay Put letter to the school department, which was difficult and time consuming. But it's done. Not mailed, but done.

Finally got son's medication this week after 3 weeks without it. He's doing better with it.

Daughter is doing well in summer school and is acing her math class.

I'm down 75 lbs and nothing fits again. All the new clothes I bought this spring are too damn big. I need to have them all tailored.

And that's about it for this week. I'm off to bed. Love you guys.

Anonymous said...

My whine is a dishwashery one. My husband refuses to load or unload any kid dishes. The way we share the household chores puts kitchen clean up in his column, but his routine excuse is that he can only clean to a certain point because he gets stopped by the kid dishes. He claims he doesn't know where to put them or what to do with them, so he just stops and I end up cleaning the kitchen.

Our daughter turned four this June. It's not like he hasn't had time to figure it out or let me "teach" him (which I've offered and tried) - he just won't participate.

To be fair, when our preemie daughter was an infant, my standards for bottle washing were high, but now? Not so much, and he knows it.

Many hugs to Sue, Maraglit, Esperanza, and Andy. What a crappy week, to say the least.

Sue said...

Thanks to everyone for hugs and votes. Thanks Gary - good to hear from you. And yes - HUGE Anti-whines for the Brigadoon leaders this past year. You have all been awesome.

(((margalit)) I wish i could help. You've got such a lot on your plate of, well, overall crappiness.

Anti-whine: My in-laws are sending me Out West to see my son. They had some points to use up, and correctly assessed that a few days with my boy (ok, he's 26, but you get the idea) would do me some good. I leave on Saturday. Finally - some good news.

Madeleine said...

Sarah is rockin' the award for "I knew I was right but I'm sooooooo mature that I won't give you a wedgie. Nyah nyah nyah."

Sue, a trip to see your boy is a wonderful gift. Enjoy! (And shouldn't your two doctors be out back with a ruler deciding who wins, instead of putting you through agonizing experiments? Or could they at least talk on the phone?)

Sue said...

madeleine - exactly! We all know it's about the ruler anyway, so why get me involved at all?