Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

This fucking person:

Controversy Grows over Journal Article on Pain Treatment — Pain News Network

I just sent a strongly worded email to the University of Washington regarding Dr. Ballentyne's continued employment there.

Apparently Amie should "just learn to live with" the excruciating pain that results from having EDS. I'd like for Dr. Ballentyne to spend a week with her hips, ribs, vertebrae, knees, shoulders, etc. subluxing and dislocating without the slightest provocation and see if she changes her tune.

I am in NORTHERN BC, close to the Yukon border. It is -20* before the windchill.

My rental's battery is having trouble cranking over in the cold and even though there is a block heater on the car, there is no extension cord to actually plug the damned thing in.

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Originally Posted by TMB

I am in NORTHERN BC, close to the Yukon border. It is -20* before the windchill.

My rental's battery is having trouble cranking over in the cold and even though there is a block heater on the car, there is no extension cord to actually plug the damned thing in.

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What city?

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Originally Posted by dashDustin

What city?

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Today, Fort Nelson.

Back down the road to civilization (comparatively) tomorrow in FSJ.

Just finished the 3 day job painting our living room/partial kitchen. 6 walls. Being finished is good. The fact that I just painted it back to the color it was before I painted it last October is the cause for grump. If you wife/significant other ever narrows down a paint color choice to 2 and tells you to choose, DON'T DO IT, it's a trap. Make her choose.

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Originally Posted by kpomtb

Just finished the 3 day job painting our living room/partial kitchen. 6 walls. Being finished is good. The fact that I just painted it back to the color it was before I painted it last October is the cause for grump. If you wife/significant other ever narrows down a paint color choice to 2 and tells you to choose, DON'T DO IT, it's a trap. Make her choose.

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I feel your pain. Reminds me of the time we picked out a really lovely shade of brown for our dining room. Two days of painting, and the end result was a color that clashed with the wood floor. Like in a physically disturbing, temple-throbbing way. Two more days of painting asap...

wife and i were supposed to have a date 'weekend' this weekend since it was my birthday on Wednesday and the boys' schedule and homework is priority #1. it's kind of been noticed that we never really do anything. ever. unless it involve bikes and going to a race. that's good and all, but...i don't know. gets old. especially when for her it's training/ racing, and for me it's cruising and twiddling my thumbs. so 6 weeks or so ago we planned on this weekend to be our getaway.

a month ago she went to dr about her hip pain. that has blown up into hip, lower back, bulging discs, some abdominal muscle issues, etc. all of this right after passing ACE certification to teach aerobics. and to top it off, she's getting conflicting information from her dr and PT about whether she should be on the bike, because sitting for extended periods causes pain.

she was prescribed nerve blockers for the pain.

if you've never had the pleasure of being with someone on a nerve blocker, it's kind of crazy. it's like they're in a time warp. coherent and lucid, but moving and speaking at about half speed.

so anyway, this was supposed to be our weekend getaway...first time for us to do something since early August, which was our anniversary. And by "something" i mean, anything. even having dinner at a restaurant. us and the boys went to a little hotel designed for kids last weekend. the drive killed her. she had to pop the nerve blocker. this weekend would have been the same drive.

as such, it has bee nixed. hotel was booked at non-refundable rate. so instead i will be going up to Dallas solo and working instead. Good times.

And the icing on the cake - i arranged for some lights to be installed this weekend that she has been wanting since we bought the house...today after work actually. so that surprise will kind of be less surprising.

--edit--

to clarify, she has been in pain since well before June. but she decided to get checked out initially because of the ACE exam. then decided to get everything checked out since she was close to meeting her deductible for insurance. our medical bills for this month would be astronomical if it weren't for her insurance.

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Originally Posted by kpomtb

Just finished the 3 day job painting our living room/partial kitchen. 6 walls. Being finished is good. The fact that I just painted it back to the color it was before I painted it last October is the cause for grump. If you wife/significant other ever narrows down a paint color choice to 2 and tells you to choose, DON'T DO IT, it's a trap. Make her choose.

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Originally Posted by davids

I feel your pain. Reminds me of the time we picked out a really lovely shade of brown for our dining room. Two days of painting, and the end result was a color that clashed with the wood floor. Like in a physically disturbing, temple-throbbing way. Two more days of painting asap...

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As part of the kitchen re-do I have been re-finishing the kitchen suite.

Painted the chairs and the table got stripped, sanded and stained.

My wife had a clear vision of what colour she wanted the table, I went and picked up the small "sampler" tin of stain and did one of the leaves. it was perfect. Received the seal of approval.

I went and picked up the larger can, and set to staining the table. Too light something was wrong. More coats of stain, not getting dark enough. Brought the table in from the garage, figured it would set better inside and I could deal with massaging the colour. One more coat, still wrong.

Got the sander out, took another couple of passes across the table and restained the top with the stain from the sampler can. Perfect match!

Both cans have the same label and are, according to the Varathane people< the same colour. Except they aren't. So I have one leaf left to do, hope there is enough stain in the little can. The table will end up having dark top and lighter base, which actually looks good but I have no idea what colour stain is on the table top.

Another visit to neurosurgeon today. Went over a long list of issues. Two and a half hours of poking, prodding, MRI evaluation, discussion. Amie is scheduled for another surgery on March 21st. He is going to address everything from C2 to C7 in one fell swoop with some remarkably bad ass techniques. I'm not sure this is even a grump. Its going to be an ordeal but there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. This much I know - the goalposts keep moving.

In my mid 40s and have avoided Twitter and Facebook entirely. My wife keeps a facebook account in her maiden name to keep up with families and friends.

Now I need both for grad school. Yes, it is a mostly an asynchronous online program but there will be some group work. WTF!!!!!

I DO NOT want to deal with Facebook and twitter. I simply do not have the time or desire to learn on a daily basis how every ones life is more interesting than mine.

initially wifey was told that her benefits were confirmed by the hospital, and that physical therapy (first 30 visits) were covered by insurance. so she's been going 3 times a week for her hip and back. all of her stuff is done via Scott and White, who seems to have their ducks in a row.

she checked her account last night to see where she stood on paying off her shoulder surgery.

SURPRISE!

$3500 in physical therapy bills. each visit is costing us $600. each minute of the hour she's in there chit chatting has cost us $10. insurance picks up once deductible and max out of pocket is met, which is something like $4000. her monthly premium is $350.

i was talking to a friend of mine, who recently had his 2nd child...his wife just got her degree in psychology. i'm not sure what his deductibles are, but his monthly insurance payment for his whole family is $106, and that's up $50 from last year. his wife won't get a job because then they lose the $$$ benefits that they're currently getting. i've helped support him as much as i can when i can. well, not him, but his kid. i don't know how i feel about that now.

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Originally Posted by NYCfixie

every ones life is more interesting than mine.

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hell, i get that looking at picture threads here.

Company holiday party is tonight.

Office manager sent out an email yesterday... "wear your ugliest holiday sweater"

So I waltzed in this AM rocking a Dale of Norway sweater that hasn't seen the outside of a closet since the late 90s.

Literally no one else heeded the call.

Much pointing and laughing.

Campai mofos, point and laugh all you want, but I win this thing by default.

See you at the bar.

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Originally Posted by TTX1

Company holiday party is tonight.

Office manager sent out an email yesterday... "wear your ugliest holiday sweater"

So I waltzed in this AM rocking a Dale of Norway sweater that hasn't seen the outside of a closet since the late 90s.

Literally no one else heeded the call.

Much pointing and laughing.

Campai mofos, point and laugh all you want, but I win this thing by default.

See you at the bar.

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I went to an ugly sweater party last weekend. Totally assumed nobody would actually follow through. I was the only person there NOT wearing some kind of awesome, hideous sweater.

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Originally Posted by Matthew Strongin

I went to an ugly sweater party last weekend. Totally assumed nobody would actually follow through. I was the only person there NOT wearing some kind of awesome, hideous sweater.

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Who has a sweater collection in Miami that's more than one? If I had only one it wouldn't be ugly.

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Originally Posted by Jonathan

Who has a sweater collection in Miami that's more than one? If I had only one it wouldn't be ugly.

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My guess is they all bought sweaters for the occasion. I have two. One navy v-neck and one gray crew-neck. It was also 80 degrees so everyone was much less comfortable than I was.

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Originally Posted by Matthew Strongin

My guess is they all bought sweaters for the occasion. I have two. One navy v-neck and one gray crew-neck. It was also 80 degrees so everyone was much less comfortable than I was.

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Just convert one to a sleeveless sweater vest and then wear your arm UV covers. Peekaboo delts are all the rage.

I have a final in a half hour and no one in my class actually knows where it is.

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Originally Posted by Jonathan

Who has a sweater collection in Miami that's more than one? If I had only one it wouldn't be ugly.

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My mother. The only person to move to FLA because it is hot and humid.

They told her she must run her A/C at least once a day or she will get mold in her condo. She turns on the A/C and then goes out for a walk. Shuts it off when she comes back.

lying CEO's who leave a trail of ruined lives while chasing an extra dollar or two in profit.