Tucson Teenager Standing Tall After Surgery
Here's a story about one of my internet friends. She's doing great!
Here's a story about one of my internet friends. She's doing great!
Friday, November 28, 2003
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Dare I do a review of online personals sites? Heck, why not? I've nothing else to ramble on about at the moment.
I'd stopped using them for a while, as the pickings seemed to have gotten a little stale. So I waited til I figured there was fresh stock. (yes, I know. But they never last as long as the stuff in the fridge, anyway!) In the past few weeks I've gone back to the few sites I'd posted ads on and attempted to reactivate them.
Please note the 'attempted'. It got bad enough that I was beginning to wonder if Divine Intervention was telling me not to bother. If it was, well, I was never very good at listening til the point was made with a heavy club.
The first site, dear old Yahoo Personals, still hasn't reviewed my ad. It's been two weeks. I've submitted it twice, even rewrote it. Nothing. So much for their claim to have it reviewed in 24 hours.
Second site, ChristianCafe, claims I never existed in their database. I did. I still have the emails from them with login information. They don' t help. You'd think that since that's where my sister met her husband, they'd be a little nicer to me . . .
Third site, Match, still has my ad, has it up and viewable, but from my end looks like it's just a demo. I have no idea what to do from there. I suppose send money. Naturally, it's what all of these sites want anyway.
Fourth site is the much touted eHarmony. You can post a complex profile for free, but to respond to anyone you have to shell out quite a bit. They still had my profile up, but at first didn't have any matches for me. This site is unusual in that you can't see anybody else's profile. They take the answers to your questions and 'match' you up with others in their database.
Even after paying, you have to go through a gauntlet of pre-formed question/answer segments before you actually get to talk whatever person they've matched you up with. By the time you reach the real person, there will be nothing left to talk about! The questions are designed to make you think, and I imagine the anonymity helps you be more yourself. In other words, you answer more truthfully to a computer than to another person you'd be trying to impress.
Why do I mess with online personals? I don't run across single guys my age in my daily life. I'm lucky if I see more than three people a day as it is. I'm not the type to hang out in bars or clubs. (and judging from what I've seen in the bars and clubs, I wouldn't want any of them following me home!) People throw all kinds of fits about these sites, but when I point out that my sister met her husband that way, they seem pretty surprised, then quiet down. Besides, I have a pretty good weeding-out system that so far has kept me out of trouble.
So now I'm seeing what kind of new trouble I can get myself into. I'm just not satisfied with the old trouble.
I'd stopped using them for a while, as the pickings seemed to have gotten a little stale. So I waited til I figured there was fresh stock. (yes, I know. But they never last as long as the stuff in the fridge, anyway!) In the past few weeks I've gone back to the few sites I'd posted ads on and attempted to reactivate them.
Please note the 'attempted'. It got bad enough that I was beginning to wonder if Divine Intervention was telling me not to bother. If it was, well, I was never very good at listening til the point was made with a heavy club.
The first site, dear old Yahoo Personals, still hasn't reviewed my ad. It's been two weeks. I've submitted it twice, even rewrote it. Nothing. So much for their claim to have it reviewed in 24 hours.
Second site, ChristianCafe, claims I never existed in their database. I did. I still have the emails from them with login information. They don' t help. You'd think that since that's where my sister met her husband, they'd be a little nicer to me . . .
Third site, Match, still has my ad, has it up and viewable, but from my end looks like it's just a demo. I have no idea what to do from there. I suppose send money. Naturally, it's what all of these sites want anyway.
Fourth site is the much touted eHarmony. You can post a complex profile for free, but to respond to anyone you have to shell out quite a bit. They still had my profile up, but at first didn't have any matches for me. This site is unusual in that you can't see anybody else's profile. They take the answers to your questions and 'match' you up with others in their database.
Even after paying, you have to go through a gauntlet of pre-formed question/answer segments before you actually get to talk whatever person they've matched you up with. By the time you reach the real person, there will be nothing left to talk about! The questions are designed to make you think, and I imagine the anonymity helps you be more yourself. In other words, you answer more truthfully to a computer than to another person you'd be trying to impress.
Why do I mess with online personals? I don't run across single guys my age in my daily life. I'm lucky if I see more than three people a day as it is. I'm not the type to hang out in bars or clubs. (and judging from what I've seen in the bars and clubs, I wouldn't want any of them following me home!) People throw all kinds of fits about these sites, but when I point out that my sister met her husband that way, they seem pretty surprised, then quiet down. Besides, I have a pretty good weeding-out system that so far has kept me out of trouble.
So now I'm seeing what kind of new trouble I can get myself into. I'm just not satisfied with the old trouble.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Sunday, November 16, 2003
Ahh, wonderful food. How I miss it.
Ok, ok, so it's not really THAT bad. I'm still discovering what I can and can't eat. I'm also trying to adjust to new foods.
I have 'no potato chips' on my list. Others have told me that I can eat them, just not Doritos. Which essentially means, no Tortilla Factory chips. (sob, whimper, hmmm, maybe if I soak them in their salsa long enough . . . ) I haven't felt much like trying chips yet. Maybe something softer, like Bugles or Goldfish crackers? No Combos, no kettle corn. *pout* Interestingly enough, the list tells me to enjoy milkshakes, ice cream and other such stuff as much as I want! Do they have some sort of deal with the dentist?
I can eat meatballs. I can eat McDonald's hamburgers (sans pickle) but not their fries. I can eat the smiley face fries, but I have to tear them apart. 'Crisper' fries I can eat. Not sure of the brand, but they're surprisingly soft.
I've discovered yogurt isn't nearly as bad as I thought. (especially Breyers!) I'm adjusting to mashed potatos. I never have been able to eat mac and cheese, and I don't plan on trying. I hate all soups with the exception of tomato.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are still a staple. (thank goodness!) I'm still having a bit of trouble with the crust, but it's getting easier. I can do grilled cheese sandwiches, but not in the pocket sandwich maker. Bread pizzas work well with the crust removed. My longstanding lunch diet of ham salad sandwiches seems to be out. It's a simple recipe of cream cheese, devilled ham, and relish, but the relish hurts, and it just doesn't taste right without it.
I believe I can eat chimichangas, since I could when I had my wisdom teeth pulled, but I haven't tested that theory yet. (don't get me started on the topic of teeth pulling!)
Dairy Queen is right across the street from my work. Of course, my favorite there is blizzards with lots of little crunchy bits in them. I'll just have to explore other menu items. My M&M tin sits empty on my desk. I ought to get the crispy M&Ms again, just to test. If not, they do melt in your mouth . . .
I have a box and a half left of the chocolate that Brian gave me for my birthday. I'm going to have it for a very long time unless I figure out something new to do with it. I can't bite into the pieces, and there's too much of each piece to let it melt in my mouth. There's plenty of it, I should just go out and make a bunch of new friends. "Hi there! Would you like a piece of chocolate?" That would be fun to do outside of a gym or a weight loss office.
I've found I can eat a lot of things with a knife and fork. It's the biting INTO foods that I have problems with. Even with a spoon, I've discovered that I always used my upper lip to remove whatever's on the spoon into my mouth. My upper lip now has to take a slight detour around a few metal brackets and wire to be of any use. I STILL have a horrible time trying to whistle! >:-( Straws are just annoying.
Mind you, all of this is two weeks into my wearing braces. I'm pretty sure things will get easier to chew as time passes. I'm now at a point where I don't need the wax, and I'm getting a little faster at the final brush/floss/rinse ritual. I suppose practice makes perfect, and I have only 29 and a half more months to get it right!
Ok, ok, so it's not really THAT bad. I'm still discovering what I can and can't eat. I'm also trying to adjust to new foods.
I have 'no potato chips' on my list. Others have told me that I can eat them, just not Doritos. Which essentially means, no Tortilla Factory chips. (sob, whimper, hmmm, maybe if I soak them in their salsa long enough . . . ) I haven't felt much like trying chips yet. Maybe something softer, like Bugles or Goldfish crackers? No Combos, no kettle corn. *pout* Interestingly enough, the list tells me to enjoy milkshakes, ice cream and other such stuff as much as I want! Do they have some sort of deal with the dentist?
I can eat meatballs. I can eat McDonald's hamburgers (sans pickle) but not their fries. I can eat the smiley face fries, but I have to tear them apart. 'Crisper' fries I can eat. Not sure of the brand, but they're surprisingly soft.
I've discovered yogurt isn't nearly as bad as I thought. (especially Breyers!) I'm adjusting to mashed potatos. I never have been able to eat mac and cheese, and I don't plan on trying. I hate all soups with the exception of tomato.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are still a staple. (thank goodness!) I'm still having a bit of trouble with the crust, but it's getting easier. I can do grilled cheese sandwiches, but not in the pocket sandwich maker. Bread pizzas work well with the crust removed. My longstanding lunch diet of ham salad sandwiches seems to be out. It's a simple recipe of cream cheese, devilled ham, and relish, but the relish hurts, and it just doesn't taste right without it.
I believe I can eat chimichangas, since I could when I had my wisdom teeth pulled, but I haven't tested that theory yet. (don't get me started on the topic of teeth pulling!)
Dairy Queen is right across the street from my work. Of course, my favorite there is blizzards with lots of little crunchy bits in them. I'll just have to explore other menu items. My M&M tin sits empty on my desk. I ought to get the crispy M&Ms again, just to test. If not, they do melt in your mouth . . .
I have a box and a half left of the chocolate that Brian gave me for my birthday. I'm going to have it for a very long time unless I figure out something new to do with it. I can't bite into the pieces, and there's too much of each piece to let it melt in my mouth. There's plenty of it, I should just go out and make a bunch of new friends. "Hi there! Would you like a piece of chocolate?" That would be fun to do outside of a gym or a weight loss office.
I've found I can eat a lot of things with a knife and fork. It's the biting INTO foods that I have problems with. Even with a spoon, I've discovered that I always used my upper lip to remove whatever's on the spoon into my mouth. My upper lip now has to take a slight detour around a few metal brackets and wire to be of any use. I STILL have a horrible time trying to whistle! >:-( Straws are just annoying.
Mind you, all of this is two weeks into my wearing braces. I'm pretty sure things will get easier to chew as time passes. I'm now at a point where I don't need the wax, and I'm getting a little faster at the final brush/floss/rinse ritual. I suppose practice makes perfect, and I have only 29 and a half more months to get it right!
Thursday, November 06, 2003
I finally got curious and looked online for information about the National Night Out contest. Found it after about 10 seconds. Herndon, VA listed 20th out of 60 of their category for 2003. Am I disappointed? Maybe a little. Still, I enjoyed creating the video for the Police Department. I like how it turned out - not all of my editing ventures work the way I want them to!
Our cable has been out going on three days now. Ah, technology. No television, no Internet. It's rather nice to come to work!
In all fairness, I'm rather glad it's out. I've been getting a lot done (and making a huge mess!). My alternative projects? Stripping the paint and varnish off of the cubbyhole section that goes with my antique desk, and working on a dollhouse Christmas present for my cousins.
The cubbyhole is a bigger pain than most males I know. We bought a citrus based paint stripper in a spray can, vaguely thinking that it might be a little safer to work with. Considering the way I always end up covered in whatever I'm doing, it was a good intention. It comes out in a pink foam and smells like oranges. It also feels just as sticky. I worked on it outside on Tuesday. Have you ever tried to use an aerosol can wearing rubber gloves about three sizes too big? It doesn't work. Once I DID get the stuff from the can to the wood, I admit I did get impatient. The Can says to let it sit 30 minutes. I get bored after about 10, and I didn't want to leave it sitting alone outside where curious dogs, children, and that bizarre squirrel can get to it. Besides, by that point the paint's starting to bubble up, and it's rather hard to resist scraping it off. and did I mention messy? This little cubbyhole has 2 or 3 different colors of paint and layers of some type of varnish. The paint bubbles off in thin strips, while the varnish just loosens and gets whisked off in a thick goopy black mess.
Since it's a cubbyhole, I have lots of little compartments I have to spray in (evenly, ha!) then attempt to scrape everything out. It got dark before I managed to finish, and I still need to go over some places a second time. It's going to be a long process.
As for the dollhouse, I've been making progress! I finished the roof except for the area around the chimney. I have two rooms of wallpaper ready to be attached to the walls. I have three rooms of flooring and have figured out how to finish off the ceilings. I have the living room walls painted, but need to figure out how to lighten it up. I have the new divider wall for the fourth room. What's left to do? Brighten up the outside of the house, finish off the attic, the bathroom and a child's bedroom. Who knows? If the cable stays out I may have it finished by the weekend!
In all fairness, I'm rather glad it's out. I've been getting a lot done (and making a huge mess!). My alternative projects? Stripping the paint and varnish off of the cubbyhole section that goes with my antique desk, and working on a dollhouse Christmas present for my cousins.
The cubbyhole is a bigger pain than most males I know. We bought a citrus based paint stripper in a spray can, vaguely thinking that it might be a little safer to work with. Considering the way I always end up covered in whatever I'm doing, it was a good intention. It comes out in a pink foam and smells like oranges. It also feels just as sticky. I worked on it outside on Tuesday. Have you ever tried to use an aerosol can wearing rubber gloves about three sizes too big? It doesn't work. Once I DID get the stuff from the can to the wood, I admit I did get impatient. The Can says to let it sit 30 minutes. I get bored after about 10, and I didn't want to leave it sitting alone outside where curious dogs, children, and that bizarre squirrel can get to it. Besides, by that point the paint's starting to bubble up, and it's rather hard to resist scraping it off. and did I mention messy? This little cubbyhole has 2 or 3 different colors of paint and layers of some type of varnish. The paint bubbles off in thin strips, while the varnish just loosens and gets whisked off in a thick goopy black mess.
Since it's a cubbyhole, I have lots of little compartments I have to spray in (evenly, ha!) then attempt to scrape everything out. It got dark before I managed to finish, and I still need to go over some places a second time. It's going to be a long process.
As for the dollhouse, I've been making progress! I finished the roof except for the area around the chimney. I have two rooms of wallpaper ready to be attached to the walls. I have three rooms of flooring and have figured out how to finish off the ceilings. I have the living room walls painted, but need to figure out how to lighten it up. I have the new divider wall for the fourth room. What's left to do? Brighten up the outside of the house, finish off the attic, the bathroom and a child's bedroom. Who knows? If the cable stays out I may have it finished by the weekend!
Saturday, November 01, 2003
Welcome to the All About My Braces blog. (I can't help it, it's the highlight of my month. Yes, it's sad, I know.)
Today's feature: I've discovered I can't whistle!
Now, whistling isn't a constant thing I do, but it's merely the fact that I can't that I keep wanting to try. Mostly I whistle at work, when Harvey's there. He starts it, so naturally I just whistle along with whatever song he's whistling. (Generally it's Puttin' on the Ritz.)
I just haven't figured out how to rearrange my lips over the new hardware yet. Once I do I'll be fine. Although I'll probably break something.
The keep telling me how miserable I'll feel with them on for the next few days. It just feels weird. My sinuses are hurting more than my teeth! Maybe once they get the brackets on in the back it'll be more uncomfortable?
Today's feature: I've discovered I can't whistle!
Now, whistling isn't a constant thing I do, but it's merely the fact that I can't that I keep wanting to try. Mostly I whistle at work, when Harvey's there. He starts it, so naturally I just whistle along with whatever song he's whistling. (Generally it's Puttin' on the Ritz.)
I just haven't figured out how to rearrange my lips over the new hardware yet. Once I do I'll be fine. Although I'll probably break something.
The keep telling me how miserable I'll feel with them on for the next few days. It just feels weird. My sinuses are hurting more than my teeth! Maybe once they get the brackets on in the back it'll be more uncomfortable?
