Drugs, Politics, Fuzzy Butts, and Bringing Her Home
This will be a Friday potpourri, I guess, since I'm a little scattered and avoiding doing real work. Bonus question: Where did people who are now in their late 40s or perhaps a little older first encounter the word "potpourri"? Answer at the bottom of the blog if I remember.
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Getting up is the worst. Probably the most common complaint (and diagnosis-inspiring symptom) of patients with a rotator cuff injury is trouble sleeping. I get that; rolling over onto a sore shoulder or sleepily reaching with the wrong arm to adjust a pillow can interrupt things. But mostly, for me, it's the mornings. Like a lot of people who discovered the word "potpourri" at the same time as I did, getting up in the morning can be an exercise in joint appreciation. Some things need a little time (and caffeine). So this is just more of the same, only sort of more. Fortunately I have my Voltaren, which usually works quickly, although today was a tough one considering I over-did it on the computer yesterday.
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Voltaren (diclofenac), by the way, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, like Advil or Aleve, only different. It's been around a long time and apparently has one of the lowest rates of side effects in the NSAID family. In the dosage I'm taking, it sticks around in the bloodstream for 6-8 hours, so a couple a day make life easier. I don't need narcotic pain medication, in other words, which would be problematic.
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I got my MRI report in the mail yesterday. It was interesting to read, and I found myself bouncing between optimism and pessimism. I just have to wait to talk with the surgeon in two weeks, but I want to know NOW (you think?). Trauma + relative youth + bone spurs = surgery, or seems to, but I wonder. Now would be a good time if it's necessary, but do I need a left arm all that much? Could it get better with therapy and exercise? I'll make up my mind approximately a hundred times between now and my appointment on November 9, and ultimately it really won't be my decision, but I'm heavy into denial right now.
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We've switched to voting by mail up here now, like Oregon, and while it's a little more convenient (and apparently increases turn-out) I think I'm going to miss the ol' booth come Nov. 7. Other than that, it's hard to get too worked up about this midterm election. Mostly I'll be curious to see what happens, whether the House and/or Senate will change hands, the spin from the White House if such a thing happens, what crazy thing Rick Santorum will say in his concession speech, etc. Here in Washington there's not a lot of excitement. Maria Cantwell will stay in the Senate and do whatever it is she does. Her opponent will stay rich. Not that Maria's not rich. Anyway.
If the House does go to the Democrats, and leadership voting goes as expected, Nancy Pelosi will become the first female Speaker of the House, and the closest any woman has gotten to the Presidency in our history, as odd as that sounds, being third in line, hopefully protecting the rest of us from Senate President Pro Tem Ted "the Internet is a series of tubes" Stevens.
Assuming this is the case, second bonus question: Who was the closest woman prior to that (don't say Hillary)? Answer at the bottom of the blog (same caveat about my memory).
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I'm not watching the Seahawks play this Sunday, and maybe not for a while. Must keep hope alive.
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I rarely go out to the movies anymore. Actually the $10 tickets don't faze me; the theaters these days are spectacular, with great seats, and in a sense we're getting (quality aside) a better deal that we did 30 years ago (stay away from the concession stand). It's just not a priority; rarely does something come out I have to see right away, as opposed to three months later on DVD, and while I love the theater experience it's just not something I do a lot. So when I notice a new film that I think I might like to see, I put it on my NetFlix list and one day it arrives in the mail.
So I watched "The Break-Up" last week. And I mean last week: It took me nearly that long to finish it, for reasons not related to its quality or lack thereof. And I enjoyed it. It was an interesting attempt to take a standard romantic comedy formula and tweak it a bit. The characters were fleshed out more than I'd expected, although more by the performances than the script. Not a great film but I liked it, and thought about it afterward. And Vince Vaughn is a watchable actor.
FYI: Despite the TV ads, Jennifer Aniston does not have a nude scene (I had to break this news to my son). In one scene she takes a naked jaunt through the hallway to try to provoke Vince, but it's all done ala "Austin Powers" with furniture, etc., blocking the important stuff. There is just one fuzzy, out-of-focus glimpse of something that might be her butt, or might be the butt of a body double. But a fuzzy butt is not the reason to see this, anyway.
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My in-laws mark their 60th wedding anniversary on Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving. Beth had this idea that there would be a big celebration, and that at least her mom would fly out to Texas for the event and the holiday. Which was talked about a bit earlier in the year, but then got sort of dropped. My mother-in-law says maybe they'll just by a new car, since they need one.
And of course there were schedules to think of, and the possibility that I will be postoperative and in dire need of some help getting dressed, bathing, etc., all of which a wife can do and a son can see as a reason to run away from home.
At any rate, Beth made plans to stay at home for Thanksgiving for this, so now there's no party and no mom and no Cameron, and she sounded sort of gloopy.
So she's coming home for her first Thanksgiving here in four years. Happy happy joy joy. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and Beth is my favorite daughter, so it all works out for me. And even if I'm temporarily one-armed, I can still baste a turkey and hug a young woman, and usually that's enough.
Bonus question #1: "Laugh-In"
Bonus question #2: Secretary of State Condi Rice since 2005 (fourth in line of succession), and Madeline Albright before her.
3:21:27 PM 
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