• On Life and Love

    My Alien Baby

    Bet you never thought you’d read “my” and “baby” in the same sentence unless a plant or a cat was involved, huh? Well, this ain’t a baby I want, either. Content warning: below the cut is medical and biological talk, including descriptions of physical pain (but no pictures). Also, NSFW language, which honestly shouldn’t be a surprise around here. If you don’t want to read all this unpleasant stuff, here’s the short version: I’m having a hysterectomy on October 10, and this is a welcome event.

  • On Life and Love

    Feeling Better… With Holes in My Shoulder

    Shoulder surgery happened on June 13 (a little over five weeks ago). This whole process has been… fascinating. The surgical morning itself had that weird fast-slow sensation to it: it felt like the waiting was forever, and then suddenly I was getting wheeled back and drawn on and poked and suddenly I was waking up and couldn’t breathe and coughing and then waiting… again. In one of the waiting phases, I did an awesomely helpful meditation with PUUC‘s Rev Robin. I went into surgery nice and calm, and everyone was pleased and surprised at my cheery demeanor afterwards. Aside from occasional whining, my mood remains pretty cheerful, despite some miscommunications…

  • On Life and Love

    Shoulder Diagnosis and (Pending) Fix

    I got an MRI with contrast last Friday afternoon. That process was quite unpleasant–I’d thought the contrast might be issued intravenously, but, alas, it was not. I had a shot into my shoulder socket. Friday night was rough, because the contrast caused serious swelling in the socket. It took until Saturday afternoon for me to get the swelling back under control with my measly, widely-spaced ibuprofen doses. I saw Dr. H for the results Monday morning, and there’s evidence of shoulder impingement from the shape of my acromial bone, plus some fraying (and possible tear) in the anterior area of my labrum. I got referred to Dr. H’s favorite shoulder…

  • On Life and Love

    Wednesday Weekly Winkage

    Not, of course, limited to Wednesdays. Today just happens to be one. …Barely. I shall open with a video of Nayna, my belly dance instructor, from a couple of months ago: I’m somewhere off to the left, wishing I’d brought my own camera. This was after class, so I don’t feel bad about watching my instructor dance instead of dancing myself. Posie Gets Cozy: Well, Things Fell Apart – Sadness.”For six days, as we waited for the results of the DNA test, we loved her with our whole hearts…” 10 things the iPhone Siri will help you get instead of an abortion | The Raw Story – “Ask in New…