Friday, March 18, 2011

Cars, Cattens, Contagion, and Critique--I Sacrifice My Health To Bring Them All To You (My Benevolence Knows No Bounds)


Hello? Is this thing on?

Sigh. I apologize for the Overlong Hiatus, I really do, but Things happen, and in the intervening time, I have also broken one of my own Sacrosanct Edicts and--insert dire sounding music here--gotten sick.

I know.

It is beyond horrid. I have a sinus infection, an ear infection, a...well, TMI already. It is hideous. I am snotful and coughing and miserable and I BLAME RICK. The people at his offices keep on passing around this Vile Contagion, and he has brought it home to me. Probably he should have stayed at a hotel or something until it finally died out or whatever. Suffice it to say that I am annoyed and feeling much put-upon, no--victimized at this point.

I have had to abandon my job for two days, abandon weekend plans, and abandon this blog. I am, however, fighting through the pain to be with all of you and bring you some of the cerebral scrap being edged out by all the mucus in my head.

{*}Rick and I bought a Prius last weekend. He finally got rid of his truck, which was traumatic. It made sense for us now, though, since he no longer needs a truck for his job and gas prices are what they are. The boys cannot believe their father does not have a truck; he's always been a Truck Guy their whole lives. Sam, who once sold cars, was quick to point out that we are the Cliche Prius Owners. "You're over fifty, empty nesters, Democrats, and already own a hybrid. You, Mom, are near retirement and fixed income status. It was your destiny."

{*}Piper and Marlowe had their First Birthday on March 10th. This means that they are officially Not Kittens any more. I have a hard time with this because I have referred to them collectively as The Kittens since they came to live with us in May. Just like Sam and Jared, who are soon to be 23 and 26 respectively, will always be The Boys, Piper and Marlowe will be kittens to me. I am trying out the transitional term "The Cattens" for now. They could not possibly care any less, believe me, as long as I fill their dish at 6:30 AM and 5:30 PM. Has Piper lost any weight? I like to think so, but everyone else will say No. They have gotten more active--yes they have, Sam and Jared; you are not here all the time!--but Piper still has a flabknot and eats so fast that he gets hiccups after every meal.

{*}Interesting critique session during Creative Writing II the other day. A student had a line in his poem about algae squishing around his feet. Several students took issue with the tone of the line in relation to the rest of his poem. He defended it vociferously. I offered a criticism as well. He responded with, "Well, Mrs. D., if you ever in your life had been in a lake..." Okay. Again I am confronted with student perception of my image. I immediately stopped and took a survey:

Mrs. D.: Okay. Show of hands. How many of you doubt that I have ever been in a lake?
(in a class of 14, more than half raise their hands--probably 10)
Mrs. D.: WHAT? You are serious. Why on earth would you think that?
Poet: Oh, come on. Look at you. There is no way you're getting into a lake. I mean...
Angela: You already told us you don't know how to swim. And, that you don't like to go in the water.
Dylan: Yeah, and lakes have mud on the bottom, and sand. And you hate the beach.
Poet: Don't even try it.
Mrs. D.: Give me a break. All of you. You forget one thing. I was not born at the age of 51. I had a childhood, remember? I have been in lakes, plenty of them. Geeze. You remember the craziest stuff.

That's all for now. I am overcome with sludginess. I am spraying stuff up my nose, cramming stuff down my throat, blowing junk out of my head, and in general, feeling like this:
And, why do things always get worse at night? By 5:30 or so, I end up feeling more like this:

It is such a Tragedy.

12 comments:

  1. Misery. Get well soon and avoid the graveyard cough stage where green guck oozes out of every orifice.

    \not to mention the edges of a lake.

    Your spam filter word just came up as briss - sone misery, at least, that we have been spared.

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  2. Having just replaced my Prius headlights ($583 out the door, they have to take off the bumper "andyoumightaswellreplaceboth") Watch for flickering or any signs of headlight failure before 50K mi.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sillyak's comment about the price of replacing Prius headlights made me 1. forget what I was going to say, and 2., remember by 1966 bug, which got pretty darned good mileage, and where I could do most of the repairs myself. Well, no, not really. But I could change the oil, or con some crushing boy into doing more complicated things like pulling out the fender, headlight, windshield, etc. Sigh.

    Still. Prius seems like a great car. I wanted one, but they were a bit out of our price range at the time that we were looking.

    So sorry you're sick. Illness sucks.

    I remember being shocked that my mom knew how to swing (on a swing set). She was horrified, because she loved swinging so much as a child that she still dreamed of it sometimes. Funny how we all have lives before we get to be 30, 40, 50, etc.

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  4. Awe, I hope you feel better soon!
    And let met just vote:
    Nance has never been in a lake ;)

    ~Nina

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  5. Nina--You are ridiculous. I grew up practically on the shore of Lake Erie. My grandparents had a cabin on a reservoir in Ashland County. Rick and I used to go to Findley State Park in the summer while we were dating. I used to be in the water all the time. Hey, I was even in the lake as recently as 2007. So there. You're just drawn into The Myth.

    J.@jj--We got a great trade-in value for Rick's truck. Unbelievable deal all around.They just really were motivated to sell to us, and we were ready to walk if the deal wasn't right. Re: your mom swinging on the swings. I can remember my mother shocking my brother by racing him and also swinging a mean wiffle ball bat.

    Sillyak--Ok, I will. So many cars have quirks like these, where you have to replace more than you bargain for. My son had the outside mirror on his 2003 Focus broken--in order to fix it, the door has to come out and some bigass mechanism inside has to be replaced. It's like 600$. He just took a tube of gorilla glue and stuck that sucker back on. Done. We're really happy with both of the cars.

    Mary G--Thanks. I am on a monster antibiotic--4 days now--but I still have this ringing/roaring in my ear. It's terrible. And that med. is just wringing me out. No green graveyard stuff to report (I guess that's good), but I still feel lousy. AND WE'VE HAD TEMPS IN THE 60S THAT I CANNOT ENJOY! Where is the justice?

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  6. My understanding was that the person who gets you sick either "Gets it with a kill shot (sideways gun and all)" or "Gets shot in the face with a poop gun".

    So that makes you now a widow or the wife of grumpy and smelly man.

    My condolences.

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  7. Mikey G.8:50 PM

    California is calling your name. Even if just for a vacation. Ditch the family and the students and come out when you get a chance. You know we'd have fun.

    My word verification is sesslyho. I feel like it should be an unspecific insult. "Piper, stop being such a sesslyho and go walk off some of those pounds on the dreadmill instead of licking yourself inappropriately!"

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  8. Anonymous9:28 AM

    Nance, hope your better.
    Rick, an "F"in PRIUS!
    Was his Man Card is suspended?

    So.Maryland

    ReplyDelete
  9. So. MD--Still feeling just crappy. Sigh. Rick loves his Prius. I'll let him discuss any "Man Card" issues with you. But let me just say this: anyone whose Manliness is tied up in his vehicle gets an "F" in self-actualization, and that's just for starters.

    Mikey G.--Trust me, I keep thinking about CA. Esp. when my NY pen pal just headed out to Napa for a 2-week vacation. I have less than 60 Woody Allen Days left (days I have to show up) this year. But who's counting...?

    J.--Oh boy. I forget that some of my More Colourful Expressions will always make it home. And, in your case, IN STEREO. LOL. But feel free to co-opt them.

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  10. Hi Nance,

    Did Dickens see this picture of Marlowe and Piper and sit right down and write" The Tales of Two Kitties?"

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  11. The cats' rears have me laughing! Wide Load Ahead!!
    Hope you're feeling much better by now. This cold/virus/Cause for Alarm by the CDC has been a rough one. And, at my place everyone keeps coming to work. Generous sharers they are.
    As for age assumptions, I find myself more and more sounding like the dad in That 70's Show and thinking, "You dumbass." It's only a matter of time before my frontal lobe filter goes...

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  12. dbso--I'm feeling better now,but my ear is still plugged up. SO ANNOYING. I have no idea what to do about that, and my doctor's office is such an F'ing nightmare that I have decided to never go back. The search is on for a new Medical Professional. Can't take the stress anymore. Re: The Filter--The only thing keeping mine in place is the paycheck. LOL.

    Nancy--Hee hee. I find them inspiring, anyway!

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