Wanderings...

12:44 pm - Bring back the snakes...

Bhi machree Ohin trasna na farraige...
A long time ago, My heart came, From across the sea...

Happy St. Patrick's Day if you are celebrating, or in my case subdued reflection with a glass
of Jameson's.



Looking for the Druids to come out of the groves...

05:57 pm - Once more ...please....

I have not been on LJ very much lately. I have been so busy, that it was all I could do to check in on all of you. I tried commenting on various posts yesterday, and my computer/internet/whatever internet gods that provide access to LJ were not in my favor. I could not post, although I had a lot to say/add on friends' posts. How frustrating!
I hope I can post this, we will see what happens.
I was called for a background interview - polygraph test - psychological screening for the Police Department. I really felt all of your posivive thoughts for the other tests, I felt a sense of surrender, and that everything would be alright, my friends were with me. I ask for another positive thought, it doesn't matter when because this process should take several hours! Thanks!

wolfie

09:58 am - Just some Friday lols

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Are you kidding me?! (yes, they are) but I seek out cheerful people, I'm a cheer vampire- I feed off of the chronically happy.(because I can't seem to make 'happy' on my own). It's just getting harder and harder to find cheerful "victims" I mean people. Could Despondex be the reason why - damn those RX companies!

04:03 pm - Happy Dance

Well, looks like I passed my Police Entrance Exams, my 45 page application is in to Human Resources/Background Investigation Division. So, now I sits and waits...

06:32 am - Just a lolcat...

more animals

03:54 pm - Thank you

I really felt all of you with me this morning. It was a beautiful drive, I felt ready for the test. The written portion was a bit tricky, but I'll find out the results soon. I managed to pull off the maximum score (for my age) in the physical fitness portion of the test. Thanks again for all of the positive thoughts - I KNOW it helped!

01:30 pm - A little prayer, a positive thought, a small meditiation

Tomorrow morning I take my Police Officer exams. I feel very peaceful and quiet inside - I don't know if that is a good thing or not. Two hundred are slated to test. There have been two previous test dates to seat the Academy in June. Several hundred of us trying for approx. 10 slots. Maybe that's why I'm not so nervous.
What will be will be. I can try again for the next one if I have to.
I will try and do a bit of last minute studying - or maybe that will get me more apprehensive than I need to be right now. Oh, well - just think of me, and send me strength.

08:27 pm - Happy Birthday

Ginny! Have a Happy Birthday - or else!

11:39 am - Let's hear it for the Hounds

A quiet moment between friends...

It's been quite a while since a sight-hound placed in any major show. So, I'm ecstatic to announce that the Scottish Deerhound placed First in Group, and went on to try for Best in Show at Westminster. The Irish Wolfhound, Ch. Dun Myrica Speaker Of Eagle was pulled Second in Group!

Slan!
wolfie

12:42 pm - Fire and Floods

Calling out to our Australian Hens...are you all right?

09:51 am - The wisdom of Jefferson

"I sincerely believe... that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale." --Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor, 1816. ME 15:23

09:43 pm - I dunno, just like this song.

05:53 pm - A lack of words ...

to describe how I feel right now a few hours after my massage.  I feel like I've been hit with a Mack Truck. I understand this is somewhat normal, as it was a deep tissue/medical massage. I'm freezing and can't seem to get warm. The neck portion felt great,  the lower back tender, and then he got to places in my butt, legs and thighs that were very sensitive, points that I never knew existed. These areas apparently have a lot to do with the leg pain/numbness I've been experiencing.
I really liked my Therapist. We spoke for a long time about all of the problem areas and he formulated a game plan for the session.  I can honestly say I felt completely at ease and was not nervous about it at all. It seems once I make up my mind about something I'm truly at peace with it - it just takes me a while to get to that point. He said we had a lot of "work" to do. I can honestly say that maybe 10 minutes of the massage felt "relaxing" the rest really was work.  We conversed the entire time, largely because we have quite a bit in common and share similar cultural backgrounds - I punctuated the banter with "whoa, and owies".  I'm glad I did, because I bet I would be feeling like I've been hit by a Mack truck AND a dump truck.  I feel like I just want to wrap up in a cocoon and recover. I know this is normal after one of these, and I'll feel the benefits in a day or so. I just need to give it time. 
I'm feeling guilty about going and spending the time and money, but that's just me - I need to get over stuff like that. I'm getting better at it. I'm to the point of getting my hair cut every two/three months, it used to be once a year.  I've even taken a few yoga classes, it's included in my gym membership - but never took advantage of it, because there were other things I needed to be doing. You know, important stuff like washing dog nose prints off of the windows. I'm hearing more and more that if we don't take care of ourselves, we aren't much good for our families. When we lived in Louisiana I would hear, "When momma ain't happy, ain't no one happy!"  I'm really getting it now. Do something for yourself tonight, (other than matching socks or washing the floors), because you deserve it.

04:51 pm - I will no longer be a massage virgin.

I went and scheduled a massage today.  I'll have it tomorrow afternoon, I shouldn't be able to talk myself out of it in 24 hours. I'm actually looking forward to it - because my back and legs hurt so much, I'm willing to do anything to find some relief. I go back and see my spine specialist on the 12 of FEB, it seems like forever and a day to wait. Right now I'm holding back tears, and I trying to remember if I have any left-over pain medication from last summer...the STRONG kind. I think I have one pill left.
If I don't then maybe a shot of Jameson...
Thanks friends for all of your great feed-back on my previous massage post, send positive thoughts my way tomorrow! 
I'll fill you in on "my first time". It could be absolutely hilarious!

01:22 pm - 1-20-09 The End of an Error.

I will always remember the sight of Executive 1 lifting off, away from the Capitol Rotunda, getting smaller and smaller until it was only just a speck on the horizon.
I will always remember the joy I felt in my heart. I'm so very happy 43 is gone.

The President's Inaugural Address was amazing.  I just don't have the words to express the way I feel right now.

03:10 pm - I don't normally cuss - but, oh, FRICK!

Today I learned the definition of "Winterize". 
This morning I noticed that the cold water tap was running, but there wasn't any warm water. So, what do I do, I google the damn thing. I learned that hot water pipes tend to freeze before cold water pipes. I dripped the cold water faucet instead of having both hot and cold drip over-night.  I blame this lack of preparedness on the Army,  of course. I've always been stationed in Louisiana, Georgia, and North Carolina, and other places that don't see extreme cold temperatures.  Last year  it was a mild winter here in Virginia, and well , I wasn't ready for it. 

This morning I decided to go to the gym with my son, get a workout in, use the showers at the facility, and hopefully by that time I would have running hot water at home.  Like manna from heaven, the hot water would just be there once I got home.
Nope. I hit the internet again. I check the frigging water heater and things seem to be OK.  (I'm terrified of pilot lights ever since I had a flame-out ; I saw nothing but an orange ball of flame, and my eyelashes were gone. ) Thank God, the heater seems to be on. The pipes leading out of the heater seem warm to the touch.  Now I have to back-track.  The lines under the kitchen sink were really cold to the touch, so...I cleaned the crap out from under the sink, and decided there were enough cleaning products, sponges, and dust rags to keep the pipes from freezing, but I still sat under the sink with a blow dryer to the copper pipes.  On to the crawl-space.

It was surprisingly mild under the house, but the  pipes felt really cold.  Of course the light bulb under there was blown too, but there was enough daylight to find my way around, under, and in between pipes, and miles of high speed internet cable.  I drag a space heater and a 20 feet of extension cord into the crawl-space.  I put the heater in front of some metal pipes, and let 'er rip.  I keep checking on the prognosis - not a drip of water from the warm side.  Again, under the house, move the space heater, need more extension cord, crawl back out, crawl back in, plug it in, blow circuit, main panel isn't tripped in garage, crawl under house, re-set main GFI, test circuit, get better extension cord, go under house, get space heater working again. Feel a draft, go find insulation, cut insulation to cover up exterior vents, grab duct tape, crawl under house, ignore the multitude of black widow nests in crawl-space (they are all dead now, right?) , cover vents with insulation, hear freaky noise...doggone cats followed me under the house - get one cat out, the other...well, at least I know where it is.  Frigging A!  My knees hurt. I'm getting too old for this crap.

I'm now drinking a beer, hoping the pipes don't burst, checking my home-owners insurance policy.  I have fiberglass in my lungs, black widow webs on my clothes, and a good beer buzz....next year I'll be ready!
Oh, and one last thing....FUCK! There, I said it and boy does it feel good!

09:31 am - Massage Anyone?

I could use you input about any massage experiences you might have had. I REALLY need to start getting them to help with the multitude of health issues I have. My Physical Therapist has been after me for months to start going - but, I just can't seem to bring myself to do it.  I am close though, I went and picked up an information packet from a massage therapy place close by.
My mother-in-law was nice enough to book a "couples  appointment"  for us when we went to Montana 8 years aho as part of a Christmas present.  My husband ended up taking his grandmother, because I couldn't bring myself to go.
I have a very hard time being touched. I can do reflexology for hours, I can touch others, in fact it relaxes me to give a massage. Just, don't touch me. My father-in-law is a "shoulder rubber", he will come up from behind and grab the shoulders and go to town, people literally melt when he does this for them. I cringe, it hurts, I'll feel that pain for the rest of the day. 
I tend to recoil from touch, even from my husband and son. I know this makes me sound like a very cold, un-caring person, but it's true. I can't stand to have my husband put his arm on my back, or shoulders. My son will reach out and grab me for a hug, and I'll have to do a "spot check in my head" for a few seconds. Take in the information that he wants a hug, some contact, and then relay to my head, this is OK, hug him back. Damn you, hug him back right now!
I've had chronic pain issues for quite a while. Doctors diagnosed fibromyalgia 12 years ago. The doctor suggested warm stone massage, so I wouldn't have to deal with the "touching aspect" so much. I've been trying to take good care of myself, and I know the fare-ups have been farther and farther apart. I can't remember my last one. When I did have one, a small breeze would blow over me, and my skin would hurt. If my skin hurts, how could I possibly have a massage?!  I have a feeling that the chronic pain is a symptom of a larger systemic problem. Unresolved issues, emotional baggage carried around for years, it's become a survival tool. Push it away, pull it down deep, keep going...but the body isn't letting me do that anymore. I'm afraid to let go of my survival tool.  How will I keep going?
My lower back is a mess. Surgery helped. But I still wake up in pain, and go to bed in pain. I  have 2 herniated discs down there, and two more in my neck. My physical therapist says that regular massage will help keep the trigger points I have at bay, reducing flare-ups. We hope to keep strengthening the area to avoid a fusion surgery. I really don't want to go through that again. So, I need a massage, and probably a good psychotherapist too.  
I was wondering about your experiences with massage, the good, bad and ugly. Maybe it will be that final kick-in-the-pants I need to book an appointment.  Thanks.

11:26 am - I just had to post this. Looking forward to the 20th...

Happy New Year!
 

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet
known to science. The new element, Governmentium (symbol=Gv), has one
neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy
neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are
surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be
detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into
contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would
normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to
complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2 to 6 years. It does not decay, but
instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant
neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact,
Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each
reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that
Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration.

This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass. When catalyzed
with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium (symbol=Ad), an element
that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium, since it has half as
many peons but twice as many morons.

07:18 am - Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday cheesemoopsie 

From the Hen House

07:04 am - Five quotes

I stole this from Ginny.reallyginnyf 
As seen on </a></font></b></a>randomposting  's LJ:

1. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

2. Go there, and find the first five quotes that speak to you, for one reason or another, and post them in your LJ, if you're so inclined.

G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936)

Wilson Mizner (1876 - 1933)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), Les Miserables

Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)

Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC)