This is where I have been spending the mornings over the last three days. It is bigger than it looks. It is practically on the riverside. There is good news mostly, after having been in surgery, radiology, and so on. The doctor said the wound hadn't attacked any bones yet. So far, so good....
The odd building in brick in the picture on the left is the new synagogue. The old one was set afire and destroyed in the infamous Kristallnacht. Some of the bricks of the old one, were incorporated into the new one.
The buildings along the river are called Nuremburg style.... And yes it was a grey day....
Another view of them. The photos were taken from the eigth floor... And the weather has been absolutely miserable. We had to keep taking the crip busses. But the drivers are friendly.
Whelp, tomorrow is a horriday again....
Oooo... Someone's birfday!
My father, the Venerable one, is ninety-four today. I know it is still yesterday there, Dad, but it is two oh eight in the morning of the twenty-ninth here, so Happy Birfday. You are amazing. And here is a little something for you.... (I figured you are now adult enough not to be shocked... smile...)
Wishing you health, and contentment. And a smidgen of fun.
Herrgottsakramentnochamol... yup, bad day....
I had to get Peter to the ambulant surgery part of the health services building by 9 am. His remaining foot is so bad, I just couldn't look at it any more, and dressing it made me nearly retch. It's the gangrene smell, you know? I had washed all the floors yesterday while Couch Critter took him downtown.
Use Ajax antibacterial stuff for that and can recommend it. One product where the ads aren't lying. The doctor was surprised he hadn't caught a worse infection.
It took ALL of my persuasion to keep the appointment, he did not want to go. I was sorry I hadn't gone to Beate Uhse, a sex shop, and get a whip beforehand to get him into that wheelchair and get him out of the house. Beate Uhse founded a sex shop and mail order business after WWII and got disgustingly rich on it. (More power to her, she was never an exploiter, or prude...)
Now Health Dept. Central seemed to be a good solution to hospital for me. It IS somewhat bureaucratic, but he had an appointment. And that building, Preciousses, is HUGE. He said we needed to go to dermatology, which is on the fourth floor. Lines like in the unemployment office. Finally we get to the receptionist. Uh-uh....
He was scheduled on the 8th floor, the surgical wing. Swell, the handicapped elevators were full of healthy people who can walk and it took four calls to get up there. I was boiling by that point. BUT... there was a very nice lady who took interest in Peter's foot and gave him some tips about what the state hospital does with 'Unterdruck' to help increase blood flow, and it seems it is a machine that acts as if you had the pressure of being thirty meters under water and that seems to help healing. Increases blood flow in the small veins, I guess. So that was really nice of her. I liked the concern and willingness to help....
But once there, there weren't so many people, and the receptionist was nice and we didn't have to sit for more than a few minutes, and he was called in to one of the ambulant OP's.
And now comes the 'remarkable' part... She asked me if I were his 'accompanying person', and invited me in. And I said 'No, I will just wait...' And she was obviously surprised. I wouldn't have had a say in what they decided to do to him anyway. Have seen, and dressed the wound as best I could, and brought a book along, because I KNEW it was going to take a while. It was ferociously bad.
It took them two hours. First to clean it up. Then a surgeon came and cut off the dead skin around the open wound. The surgeon asked who had dressed the wound, and said I did a professional job. He wouldn't have said that if I had done what Peter had wanted.... hold scissors over a fire , and cut away the dead skin. And I said, 'Whoa! NO WAY!'
Whatever, the doctor cut into the raw flesh and hit something festering. And pus squirted out like the fountain in the City Park and just missed the doctor. (Am so glad I was out in the waiting room.)
It took over two hours and the nurse was so nice to come out after ninety minutes, and APOLOGISE that it was taking so long! (Are you listening, Annti?) I was perplexed, to say the least.... I KNEW it was gonna take long. I'm not an expert in these things, but one look, at that wound, and I KNEW....
So I had my book, Peter's actually, Music for Chameleons in German. (Truman Capote) I thought I had read it long ago, but I hadn't, as it turns out. And sort of tuned out, as I couldn't smoke there... Was fine with it. Preoccupying yourself with something is good.
I rolled him back home, cleaned the floors, ('Yay, AJAX!') And the doctor was amazed that he hadn't gotten a worse infection, btw... So I guess washing the floors every day prevented worse things... Made a fresh soup, and then came home.
So for all the people who go bonkers over the concept of socialised medicine.... you don't know whereof you speak.... Sure, you can get some lemons, just like anywhere else... But today... I was surprised at the politeness and courtesy, and efficiency of the people there. Sure, we pay for it in taxes... But that is the only tax I do NOT mind paying....
So think about it.
Just up from some horrible nightmares....
But Simon Cowell of Britain Has Talent just got so flipped off by a little girl, it cheered me up. I wonder if she is related to Annti.... I knew it would be fun when the kid said, 'Don't make me come DOWN there..' (to the jury panel...)
And the kids really were awful, btw....
I do not know when I have heard such good news...
Of course I could relate it to the film 'The Incredible Shrinking Woman' with Lily Tomlin, but believe me, that was about something else altogether. Although the Republican Harpies were very formidable the last eight years.....
But this is nice to hear....
Do NOT clap your hands, and the bad Tinkerbell finally fucking dies...
Sermon of the week, hey...
Jeebus, some people just don't know when to STOP!
I just had the nastiest, most mocking mail EVER in my fifteen years of being on-line. It refers to the post below.
But I didn't take it lying down. No, Preciousses. I can take criticism, and often have and do not blink an eye. I can take nastiness, and turn away. But being nasty, and ironic, and wanting to take you for a mark... then I lose patience.
So I just sent him to where the pepper grows verbally, as we say...
BUT, we had a live one on the bus today. Sort of missing a couple of cups in her cupboards. She was delightful. Had her English books out telling everyone she was doing her 'homework'. Because she is taking an English course at the Worker's Guild. And focused on a young African kid, who was cool and polite, but doing the Granite Face thing, and dying inside. I would guess he is about eighteen, and has the coolest hairstyle I have EVER seen. And this little dumpling made every pc faux pas you can ever think of, not knowingly. It was screamingly funny to me.
But also sad. Obviously she is so lonely, she was desperately looking for someone to talk to and hoped that taking an English course would help to make contact. I HATE it when someone makes you laugh inside like that, and make you feel guilty about it when you know they are so desperately trying to reach out. And she was trying so damned hard, it was painful. I would guess she was about fifty or thereabouts. Nondescript. Pleasant face... But I didn't want to stare and wonder in what parallel universe she is currently living in.
But the kid was nice to her.
Gawwd, riding the busses can drive you nuts.... maybe that is the reason.
Am sort of feeling like THIS today....
So ok, if I gives you a brace of coneys, will it keep its' Hands in its pocketses, Precioussss? gollum...
Just because I am of a certain age doesn't mean you can pretend to be honestly interested and then turn around and after winning a modicum of trust, suddenly want cash for services.
Tricksy, false, Preciousses... So you takes the coneys, and you goes away, all right? And don't you cooks them. Nawsty. And that is all I have to say on the subject.
Pam does it again....
And kudos to the place I grew up in, and am absolutely flabbergasted that the Union Leader would carry it. Did some sort of miracle occur, while I was sleeping? Am so proud of them, although I thought we lost the stubbornness to Vermont. Which made me sad.
And the UL suddenly turned from the ugliest face of any paper in America, and reported it?
Or what was in that food I had yesterday?
I must have dreamt it....
Here
What the sort of hell tree is outside Peter's kitchen?
I have never seen one before....
It reminds me of an alien invasion from outer space, or those B films in the Fifties....
Today is out to lunch day mentally in Graz. I have never seen so many crazies out and about, and on the busses! Give. Me. A. Break.
First this guy who had an odd sort of tourette's disease, and just had this stream of talking out loud. But like a robot. His synapses must have been travelling at warp speed, because it didn't make sense.... And all in monotone like a robot, hey. 'Condominium.... square meters, square meters... they do what you want with you.' And I thought, 'hokay, we have a LIVE one here!' But felt sorry for him, and everyone was watching out of the corners of their eyes....
Going home, I sat next to either a kid or an older Hobbit. Who did this unnerving subsonic humming thing. And whispering to itself. It was really creepy.
And then a last run to the supermarket for a couple of things, and a REAL Hobbit who barely reached my elbow went on a rampage about something or other, but it was wondrous to see.
So is this some sort of astrological constellation that drives people bonkers, or is that plant in the picture an alien, a la 'Little S'hop of Horrors' and invading us? If I flip out any time soon, send reinforcements!
And that is the word on Saturday....
Today, I really felt like this.....
I think I saw it at Scott's place a few days ago. But there are days..... I guess you just keep on going, even if it seems pointless.....
Some days....... I just don't know
Peter's foot. Man, I just don't know.... Yesterday I cleaned everything, and his foot went rampant. Leaked all over the place. It really bothered me to walk in this morning, and see it as if I weren't there yesterday.
So I had to re-bandage his foot. It is looking soooo bad. At least I don't gag on the smell any more. Which proves you can get used to anything. I guess.....
The CC (Couch Critter) took him downtown to the doctors, the pharmacy, the bank, and so on... So I did the floors all over again, changed the bedding, washed the dishes, took out the garbage... (Where the fuck does he get so much packaging, and things? Amazing.) And let CNN drive me crazy all the while, to distract me from the monotony, because I can't get it on my system at home.... We all know I HATE housework....
But one thing really got me going inside, and got my 1/4 Irish up. I may be somewhat scatterbrained, and a bit of a slob, but am a creature of habit. And there is one thing I KNOW... When I am through mopping up, I put the mop out on the right side of the balcony to dry. ALWAYS. Today it was on the left side. He can't get out there by himself because of the doorframe.
Which means? Someone was there yesterday. And I know damned fucking well who. Which got negated, but Maria M was there, I know it in my gut, that blood-sucking n'eer do well BITCH... Sorry, but am sure.
And that one hurt, Preciousses.
I just give up, they do what they do.....
But yes, it is hurtful.....
Whatever, we went over to Ganesha, the Indian restaurant, and pigged out on their buffet special. It was sunny and nice. And I brought him back home with the crip bus. This one wasn't hydraulic, but they have a ramp set into the floor in the middle, and the driver lets it down, and was nice. Going back home, there was such a pretty couple...
Middle East somewhere, and 'in-Lurv'. Holding hands, deep looks in the eyes, smiles, and they weren't even young. It was lovely to see. It was sort of, 'See? We aren't so 'different'....'
As long as you bother to LOOK....
But most of us just keep on passing by and looking away....
Joe finds the coolest things....
this from the dreaded idjit Andrew Sullivan, who is so pompous, I cannot stand him, so I never go there. The remarkable thing about this clip is that all the dancers are deaf. It is so pretty, and fascinatingly perfect.... enjoy.
Oooo... Hillary! Super put down.
I think she's going to be very good as Sec State.... fun to watch.
With h/t to Bill in Exile
This is absolutely cool....
With thanks to Joe.My.God for posting it. And you might want to pay him a visit and find out why an actor ends up paying gay alimony because his wife left him for a woman.... Now, that is a weird twist to things....
Why I love Pam Spaulding.....
She dares to go where most people on the internets don't dare. She DARES to show what hurt comes to families when transgender people get murdered and aren't even an 'adult'.
It isn't a decision, and it is hurtful, and for a long time, I couldn't wrap my mind around it.
But the video shows how people can be so hurt....
It should stop. Now.
Here
I seem to have a green-eyed cat in my house....WTF?
The couch critter has gotten weird lately. Insinuates himself in what I want to do, or read, or listen to on the Internets. For instance....
'You going out with that shirt?' It has a stain on it. Wear something else.'
I have to laugh about it, but it gets worse. I am often up in the middle of the night, and surf, or work on the blog.... And can turn the tone down on my earphones, and listen to Rachel Maddow, or Keith Olberman, but he always wakes up, and starts it up.... 'Why are you listening to that toilet brush, she is going to ruin you!' Which usually cracks me up, and makes me laugh.
But... a couple of days ago, someone from Berlin contacted me. He is interesting, funny, and I enjoy the communication, and like him. Wonder of wonders, he seems to like me.... Now, people from Berlin are special to me. I was surprised, flattered, and more than curious about him. He's just a few years younger than me, btw, and was surprising, all in all....
And I ruminated about getting a Ryan Air ticket, and visiting there. It is so long since I was last in that amazing city.
Couch critter? Green-eyed cat, hey.... 'You CANNOT go out there, he will half kill you! And I am going to go out there and punch out his lights.'
Can we say 'posessive'? What in the world is THAT about, I ask you... Coming from a guy who ONLY has vaginas on the brain, and where he can dip his thing next.... What is this ABOUT?
I was more than taken aback. (No, not literally...)
For someone who hates Amis, and gays, this does not make sense, Preciousses....
I'm too tired to figure it out.
But I LIKE that person in Berlin, and nothing will stop me.
It just surprised me, and I thought, 'WHAT the hell is this about.....?'
People can be so fucking weird. W. is nice, very nice. But suddenly going all protective on me all of a sudden is unnerving. Annti is also 'protective', but even she wouldn't go so far. She would just give me some useful advice.
I just do not get it. For me, W. is just a friend, and am glad if I can help. But he keeps insinuating himself into what I do daily, and it gets unnerving. I wouldn't DARE touch him in any way. Ever. So it is odd to me. If he has a problem with that, he can talk to me, but I will still do what I wish to do.
And Berlin guy? I like him.
I do not know how much yet, but I like him....
Green-eyed cats, are something else, hey.
And more silliness.... with a serious background....
The NOM video against gay marriage called 'A Gathering Storm' has engendered a mass uprising in hilarity and parodies.... My favorite was recently on the Steven Colbert show, and I nearly wet myself. But this one was funny as well. Have fun with it..... My favorite line was 'Tney are going to turn tampons into rocketships.' Cracked me up. That we are gonna eat Baby Jeebus came in a very close second... for me at least.
Time for some silliness.... NSFW
Also via Joe.My.God OMG. Europeans. How bloody decadent. But then, didn't that whole thing start with those 'bad' US guys, The Chippendales? Which mutated into 'The Full Monty' in Britain, and now the otherwise staid Swedes. The US is a bad influence, I tell you, really 'bad'.... And oh yes, what they are holding is Wasabrot. Swedish crackers, only big.... Ooooo.....
Since we are on the subject of bullys....
We get this via Pam.... What the hell is wrong with the school people over there? I guess that is what comes of thirty years of belligerent bible-banging idjits imposing their own drum beat on everyone else. Please check the videos although they may break your heart. And then get angry, and take some action.
And Matthew Shepard's mother calls you to action. Via Joe.My.God
