1. I'm on day 5 of this ever-so-pleasant stomach bug that seems to be going around. It doesn't seem to be going away, but there's nothing urgent care could do, either, so I press onwards.

2. I can't believe that we're in the midst of the holidays, and I feel completely unprepared. Holiday decorating this weekend, though, so perhaps that will help.

3. Plus, I'm in the cookie-swap (woo!) and two card exchanges, so huzzah.

4. My bunny makes all things, even stomach bugs, better. he snuggled me this morning. :)

I feel pretty good for someone who was hit by a truck.

OK, that was just to be dramatic but I really was hit by a truck. I was on my bicycle at the time. (This was about 2 weeks ago) The driver most likely didn't see me (I say 'most likely' because he/she didn't stop) and made a right turn into me. After a ride in an ambulance and a day at the Bellevue trauma unit, I'm left with a broken scapula, lots of bruises, and everyone telling me how lucky I am.

Those of you who weren't hit by a truck are a lot luckier, in my opinion.

It's only been a day or two that I can use my dominant (right) hand well enough to use my computer to post. I have a lawyer who specializes in bicycle accidents pursuing justice (who I found via the internet). They say in 8 months I be fully recovered!

That's bad, Obscure Reference, but yes, it could be so, so much worse. Glad you're going to recover.

Argh. Glad you made it!

I'm always impressed that people bike in the US. It is much safer here (NL) due to laws, etc etc.
But trucks going right are very dangerous here as well. Some firms have taken the step of painting on their trucks a warning to bikers to stay out of the blind spot. In Amsterdam they've started putting mirrors close to the traffice lights so that truck drivers watching for the light to change will see bikers.

Oh wow, so sorry to hear that, OR. City cycling has become a big issue in London recently, with half-a-dozen people killed within a few weeks. Most of the incidents involved trucks. So, although you probably don't feel lucky, you're alive to recover from this.

I'm suffering from bronchitis at the moment. I don't have a virus - I inhaled some woodsmoke from a stove that was smoking. I have a tendency to get lung problems - I've had bronchitis many times, pleurisy once and pneumonia a few times - so as soon as I got a face full of smoke I knew it'd lead to this.

It's annoying because I don't feel ill the way you do with a bronchial virus. But I'm hacking like a 40-a-day smoker. I'm so grateful I've never smoked, I'd be a prime candidate for COPD (which my mother, a lifelong smoker, died of, although they called it emphysema in those days).

But I've made honey, lemon & glycerine to drink, and tomorrow I'm hoping to be fit to go to the Geffrye Museum in Hoxton with a friend, and then for lunch at Bacchus (where they serve Yorkshire pudding with the Sunday roast that are the size of your head).

I'm part way through a process to diagnose WTF is going on with me medically. I have symptoms that are all over the place and have been in the hospital twice in the past 3 weeks. One of those times for 3 days, and the next for a week. They redacted their first diagnosis of endocarditis, and are now looking at autoimmune disorders ranging from Ankylosing spondylitis to lupus to other rare autoimmune things.

So yeah, I'm going through weird times.

OR, I am so sorry about "your" accident. Jerk hit-and-run guy needs a comeuppance.

Oh, and I'm banned, at least temporarily, from Tiny The Neighbor Cat, who comes to my house for snuggles. Despite my allergy, I love her, but she's not allowed in while they're figuring stuff out.

I am trying to get moving because I have Stuff To Do. I am embarking Tuesday on a Road Trip. Bought a van, going from Maine to Ohio 1st, to see family, then to Colorado to see my son, his wife, and her brother for Christmas. Will stay with them for a bit, then probably south to Arizona & New Mexico, then California and up the West Coast. I am doing Things I Always Wanted to Do, because what if I don't ever do them?

Did a ton of outdoor work and lugging things about yesterday, and my ass is dragging.

I've been dragging post-Thanksgiving. Having my family in town was great, but having guests always throws you off schedule, ya know? You ignore chores, grocery shopping, etc. And I haven't felt like exercising at all; hoping to force myself to get out and run today. Plus our office moved back to NY so we're still getting settled- our boxes haven't even arrived, which makes it kind of hard to work! Really need my scanner, notepads, pens, etc. We're losing another member of our staff in two weeks, so change change change is upon us! It'll be good, but I'm ready to feel settled!

Gah, OR! I hate how drivers won't yield the right of way in NY. I hope you get better soon .

Three days ago I got a strange text from my mother claiming that I'd called her (which I had not; I made it clear 10 years ago that I wanted nothing more to do with her). The next day she sent me an email from my father's account telling me he was in the hospital with a respiratory infection. This also happened last year when he was in Seattle at my brother's for Thanksgiving, but no one bothered to tell me until after he came home. When I first spoke to Daddy he was very short of breath, but he didn't want me to come home. Yesterday he was slightly better and had been moved to the PT floor. I just called the hospital and was told he wasn't there. No one answered when I called the house. I spoke to one of his nurses two days ago and told her that I would prefer that the hospital call me if something happened.

Stewie, I hope they can pin down what's going on with you pronto.

I've had a complete mental collapse these days, generally triggered by a guy at work who majorly fucked with my head but it's more than that. I've had to force myself to get out of bed these days because all I can think of is "motherfuck, I'm 44 years old, completely alone, the only guys who are attracted to me are manipulative assholes, my chances of having a kid and family are practically nil, I barely have enough money to do the things I want to do, my one nephew is being raised 3,000 miles away in a hippie commune, and my mother and sister generally demand emotional support, instead of offer it."

And then everyone tells me that I'm having first world problems, so then I feel guilty on top of the other feelings that I have.

Sorry to be so glum. Hopefully the good Christmas music will cheer me up.

Dealing with a herniated disk in my lower back for the last six months and am getting increasingly frustrated with it. So far three different drugs and physical therapy have basically basically done zero to help. Going for an epidural next week;if that doesn't work then surgery is the only option left.

My father is still at the hospital.

I hope everyone health problems are resolved soon.

I am just so freakin' tired thanks to kidlet (who has forced me to go back to sleep training), work (too much to do with too many meetings and I hate what I'm doing), and not going to bed at a decent hour (like 2 hours ago -- stupid stress symptom). On the plus side, I love my nook simple touch and want to marry it.

You guys. You guys. Much love to you and yours.

Melismata: those are not first world problems, they are human problems. *hugs*

Really, not so much is going on with me, and that's how I like it. We are all keeping on keeping on. Minor irritants here and there, and lately I've been checking myself because I don't know what's driving it, but I've been a bit of an ass to a couple of my friends, which I didn't really realise at the time, but a couple days later when I thought about it I was all like, wtf, self? So, trying to work on me.

Been watching movies quite a bit. Frances Ha tonight. Enjoyed that.

Those of you in the mecha card swap: some of you are getting our personal cards with the kiddo and suchlike, because I ran out of other ones!

Cold! Pics from the last 4 days:

Wed: High of 80
≡ Click to see image ≡

Thu: The ice cometh
≡ Click to see image ≡

Fri: BRRRR
≡ Click to see image ≡

Sat: Even taking the dog for a walk is hazardous
≡ Click to see image ≡

Glad to hear you're on the mend, Obscure Reference. I'm sure NYC is a whole different animal for bike riding, but geez, I can't imagine getting in the position where a truck would turn into me. Does NYC have a law that you have to use a bike lane if there's one there? (Was there even a bike lane involved?) Ack. Nevermind. Don't mean to give you the Spanish Inquisition. Just try to get better.

Melismata, those are definitely human problems and anyone that says otherwise is full of shit. Apart from the kid thing, I feel mostly the same, except not even manipulative arseholes (well, the female equivalent) are attracted to me.

Me? Yeah, same shit, different day, but life goes on. And on. And on.

I'm so sorry to hear about everyone's problems. There's so much pressure to be HAPPY all the time, yet life has crap in it sometimes.

So, it's good to have a safe and caring place to vent. Bunnyland is here and there's such a good group of people inside that I'm amazed at times how special this place is.

As for me, it's my saddest time of year: December 24th marks 8 years since losing my soulmate. It weighs on me every day and especially so this time of year.

To all out there: know that you have value in this world, even when you cannot feel it, and warmth and hugs are available from this special place on the internet.

I'm kind of surprised that, this close to Christmas, I haven't yet fallen into my usual Holiday Dark Depression™. I'm sure it'll hit eventually, though, since I haven't yet ventured out to find a gift for my wife. Interacting with the crowds, the over-the-top waste and consumerism, and spending money I don't feel entitled to spend is what eventually sends me over the edge into that black pit.

I wish I could enjoy the holidays the way my wife does, but I never have, even as a kid. My normal year-round depression takes a dive at Christmas. It's just gotten worse for me with age.

Goodness gracious, OR! I hope you recover quickly. And *whuffles* for all those who are struggling. This is just a suckassed time of year.

I'm currently at work and it's snowing and expected to ice later today. Ugh. The absolute earliest I can leave is once the courier shows up (around 1130-12). But if I want to take a half day and not spend any vacation, I can't leave until 230. And I've only got 3 ciders at home, so I'd prolly want to swing by the liquor store before heading home.

Also, I haven't done any chores this week so I'm out of clean shirts to wear to work, so I'm really thinking about skeedaddling early so I can run a load of laundry. (And the dishwasher since I'm out of forks.)

I'm going on a women's retreat next weekend, but one of my sisters texted me this morning saying that she's pissed off at another sister and is thinking about not going to the retreat. Ugh.

I visit my homie on Monday and I hope that I can smooth that relationship over because she's been upset with me because I've been really busy since she's moved to Bmore. (She also doesn't have a job and no other friends down here except for me and her boyfriend.)

My aunt is in the hospital and they're not sure if she's going to bounce back from the broken hip surgery she had. (She made it through the surgery fine, but has basically stopped eating because her throat hurts. She's already lost 10% of her body weight. And she didn't have it to lose.)

I'm not making enough progress on my silver bra that I need to have finished ASAP. And I'm not sleeping nearly as much as I would like/need. I got home after midnight last night (due to a dancer party). My cuticles are seriously torn up.

Ugh, I want to go home, but I have to finish a bunch of office work before I can do that.

Sick as a dog. Bah. Some creeping crud has taken up residence at the base of my throat and is threatening to turn into a nasty chest cold. Colds seem to go right to my chest these days.

I stayed home from work today, but I'd like to try to go in tomorrow. We'll see. It doesn't help that the weather's turned cold and nasty.

We also really need to trade in our old modem for the new one before it stops working in a week. Since I'm home, I thought I'd drive Jon, who's off today, over to the RCN office, since it's a pain by train. Now I just have to somehow get off the couch. I need some more tea. Meh.

Oh hai bunnies!

OR that is TERRIBLE - heal quickly and please don't think you're alone. There is a movement afoot to revise traffic laws to provide more rational rulings and penalties to drivers who injure / kill cyclists and peds, because as it stands now the last (too many) instances the legal stance is that it's generally acceptable to murder a cyclist or pedestrian with a car if you just claim you "didn't see them". As I understand it, it's because of how our laws are structured in criminal litigation and how these cases are litigated; judges and juries (who are primarily only drivers and tend to project more empathy towards the driver as a result, thus are generally not truly as impartial as one could hope in these cases) won't convict for a vehicular homicide ruling (which is about the only option) as it's a felony with disastrous implications to the convicted party, and there's really very little to offer in precedents between a slap on the wrist and a felony with mandatory prison time. The best hope is to pursue a wrongful-death claim as a civil suit instead. An even longer ranty rant about the US judicial system is redacted here, but rest assured there are plenty of activists and lawyers all over the country who are really, really pissed off about the fact that because of this it's become de facto ok to maim and kill cyclists on our roadways as long as you can frame it as unintentional, EVEN IF YOU ARE DUI AND/OR FLEE THE SCENE. Smarter people than me are working on this at all levels, so hopefully progress can be made. My ultimate hope is that people who harm other road users regardless of intent can ultimately be sentenced as incompetent drivers to the tune of a combination of fines, community service / house arrest and revoked driving privileges in a meaningful way that is enforceable. Not a big fan of Big Brother-esque means but this right here is a good argument for requiring licensing / competency to drive to be tied to smart ignition systems in cars that would refuse to start for incompetent drivers (whether too drunk or too many points or caught texting or whatever).

I am fine and busy, and mr. lfr and I had a grand old time dancing around in our underpants in 4°F ambient air temps at a couple of cyclocross races this weekend, to the tune of my best results all year. The entire Colorado bike racing system is getting geared up for Cyclocross Nationals in Boulder next month, and I am ridiculously amped. If you enjoy (Dutch? Flemish? idk they both kinda sound like drunken German toddlers to me...) here's Sven Nys putting on a "here is how you ride a fucking bicycle, mate" clinic for his competition in the last lap of a Belgian 'cross race this past weekend. He's the guy in the white underpants. Skip to 05:00 for the real exciting bits, altho it's all worthwhile watching.

Here's a gentle hug and whuffles to all our under-the-weather bunnies. I would make gluehwein and / or chicken soup for all of you if I could.

Oh, wow, hugs to everyone. I'm doing surprisingly well for this time of year. The area around me looked just like Dookickies, snow and ice everywhere, but otherwise life has been ok. I like the Christmas season, so I think that helps. January/Feb will really tell the tale on my SAD.

lfr, on Sunday I nearly hit a cyclist who, quite deliberately, ran a red light and shot out of a street right in front of my car. I had to slam on the brakes and he was outraged and gave me the finger when I blasted the horn at him. He came within a whisker of ending up as a stain on the road. I was driving at just under the 30mph limit. If I'd been going a whisker faster, I'd have hit him. He wasn't wearing a helmet either.

So I'm in favour of all road users - cyclists included - having to be competent, licensed and accountable. Even if this douche had been pulled over by the police for his recklessness, all he needed to do was to give a false name and address and there's nothing the police could do. Cyclists in the UK are totally unaccountable for their actions, unlike drivers.

One of the only bonuses I can see for all the CCTV and traffic light cameras we have in this country is that if I'd hit this cyclist, it would have been recorded on several cameras and I'd have been exonerated from any blame.

Daddy's back from the hospital but he still needs to use a walker.

I told my cousin in Israel that Daddy was short of breath and couldn't talk for long, but I don't know if she passed this on to her uncle( also a cousin). He and another cousin both called Daddy at the hospital and he was a bit annoyed.

Hugs to everyone who needs them. Bad shit is always bad, but it always seems (at least to me) worse when it's in the winter or near the holidays.

I'm doing well; my part-time temporary job working for the county got extended at least through March, and they've made noises that there might be more work for me after that, too, so we'll see. My private practice is a bit sparse this month -- everyone doing holiday things -- so I'm grateful for the extra income, plus I really like my supervisors there.

Trying to stay pretty low-key for the holiday season, and it's working pretty well. I am going to go get a tree tomorrow, and I've been enjoying seeing all the holiday lights go up around town.

I bought myself a really pretty bouquet on Friday, as a reward for cleaning the house. Mostly purple and yellow, with roses and sunflowers and big purple flowers I can't identify but that smell good. It makes me happy to see it on the table.

Up and down. I've been heavily buffeted by family holiday politics for days and it still isn't resolved. OTOH I came home to a surprise giftie that there was no way I was going to wait for Christmas to open, and I'm glad I didn't. It was a day-changer.

Up and down here too, but that's normal for this time of year (beginning of winter + holidays). At least I'm not sick anymore.