h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Lil, I'm sorry to hear about that scary vision problem. I've never had a colored version like that. Here, let me get the fire going again. Unfortunately, the notes for my paper are nearly 100% electronic. Not much joy or point in tossing those out.

*dave produces a cylinder of aluminum with a wooden handle, packs some newspaper into the bottom, sets it in the grill, and then pours charcoal to the top o the cylinder. He then lights the newspaper in the bottom*

Lentilla, that description of the wrinkled retina sounds exactly like what I have. I've had it for a very long time. The lines just float in my vision. I can control where they are by moving my eye, and/or blinking. Is it a threat? Is there anything I should do? It doesn't bother me, but I'd like to prevent it from getting worse.

Teuchter - that's awful news. I'm very sorry to hear that Mr. T was treated awfully at work, and after you and your family had to make accomodations for the job in the first place! As far as the son is concerned, I can only relate my experience. Before I went to college, there were strict rules about when I had to be home. I lost the use of my car when I broke them. After I was away at college, those rules were gone, as long as I was considerate towards my dad (ie not loud late at night).

Make sure you don't spend too much time staring unblinking at the less good screen (and even the better screen) today even though you feel fine

Irony of ironies. Been joking all week about calling in sick today because we are supposed to be busier than we have been the last month or so. I woke up this morning feeling completely aweful, go figure. I have requested that my supervisor send me home ASAP.

And people say that self-hypnosis doesn't work!

>> I didn't know you could have migraine symptoms without disabling pain!

Neither did I, but it seems you can.

I am ploughing my way through my paperwork. I do *hate* doing this, so much more than I can say. Still, if I can get every envelope opened, and everything dealt with and filed, it will ba an achievement, I suppose.

B

Well, I've opened all the post, dealt with some of it, binned most of it, filed a whole chunk of it, and stacked the rest for dealing with later.

In fairness to myself a couple of fairly easy days of phoning British Gas, sorting out the business filing, and crap like that, will get me up to date.

But I really hate this. Too much month at the end of the money. I was born to have staff!

Where are those lottery tickets?

B

Which lottery tickets are those, the winning ones If I find them I'll think about sending them your way

I'd had a lengthy reply, and then I screwed something up...

At any rate, I get visions similar to that every week or so Lil, and have since I was a kid. I never really thought much about it.

Speaking of eyesight, my vision has really gone downhill quickly in the wake of my loosing my glasses a month or so ago. I no longer want to drive at all at night due to the fuzziness of things. It's a good thing I will get vision ins starting next month.

I suffer from migraines as well, although luckily I have had only one this year, when on average I've gotten six to seven a year for the past 10 years. 99% of the time I wake up with one, so I don't regularly experience all the visual symptoms, but on two occasions I have seen electric blue auras around everything, tunnel vision with television snow-like reception in my peripheral vision, and bright white flashing lights in the center of my vision. Within 30 minutes I was in intense pain. The pain from the migraine, for me, is only relieved when I finally vomit--anywhere from two to seven hours later. Then I pass out and wake up the following day, feeling like I'm totally hungover. I'm really not on my feet and hale and hearty for another 24 hours on top of that.

In any case, if it happens again I would say a visit to your optomotrist or physician is in order, Lil.

See you all next week. Me and MC are off to go to the WOMAD world music festival. I'll try and remember to bring tales of music from all over the world made by people you've never heard of!

Enjoy Phil, and have too much fun!

Teutcher, I have to be honest that I think my ex might feel quite like you do. I quit my job and moved to one of the most expensive places in the US to live to go to grad school, and although I've not had a thought about quitting grad school, it was a huge shift for him. Just don't start drinking like he did!

First off, did the lawyer say there was some sort of legal recourse? It sounds like something fishy is going on there, particularly if they've been foisting off the older workers who make more in favor of younger, cheaper labor...are there age discrimination laws in the UK?

We don't as yet have age discrimination legislation in Europe but it may eventually happen.
I haven't touched a drop for over a week

Something called a Compromise Agreement is currently being worked on and should be thrashed out soon I hope. The employer did not want to go down the Constructive Dismissal route any more than Mr T did. There will be a pension of some sort - so we won't have to worry about putting food on the table - but even with my salary, unless another job comes along PDQ we won't be able to afford to stay here and worry that the house won't sell.

Having uprooted our son once, 4 yrs ago, we're reluctant to do so again. He's only just beginning to settle.

Mr T is well qualified - BSc, Masters + 3 professional qualifications + bags of experience. The only downside is that he's worked himself into a fairly specialised area of engineering/construction. We've got a firm of head-hunters onto the case. Suppose it's a sign of getting older but the guy from this firm who phoned earlier sounds abut 14 yrs old!

Anyhoo - I'm very aware that even with our current travails, we're still a lot better off than many people in the world.

Big for Caerwynn who listened to me wittering on for several hours at Wisley and is a very good friend to talk to.

Caerwynn:
So, it took you twenty years to knit an arran sweater?

B4igetbacktomyXstitching

Lentilla, my husband went through bouts of depression after each of his heart surgeries. Hang in there. It will lift.

Teuchter, I don't know why things always seem to happen at once. You certainly have a lot on your plate right now. Wish I had something more profound to say than that this too will pass, but that's all I can think of right now.

I have a heads up for American salonistas. If you have an account with US Bank, you need to know that an e-mail scam is going around. They even have co-opted the US Bank logo to make it look official. If you get an e-mail telling you that your account has been blocked because it has been accessed by parties involved with money laundering, illegal drugs, terrorism and various Federal Tital 18 violations, do not go to the link and provide the requested account identification information. Forward the e-mail to [email protected].

I assume that they will move on to other banks as well.

I had acupuncture about 20 years ago. I went six or seven times. The acupuncturist told me that it wouldn't completely eliminate my pain because it was caused by ruptured discs but it would make me healthier so I could 'cope' with the chronic pain better. And surprisingly, I did feel better for several months afterwards and had greater flexibility. When I decided to go back, the guy had moved out of town.

Shortly after that, I enrolled in a pain study at the UT Health Sciences Center where they were trying to evaluate the use of TENS machines. That did absolutely nothing for me.

Back to irritating commercials. Know what bugs me? When they take a song that I like and play it during a commercial that I hate. It spoils the enjoyment of the song when I hear it later in other circumstances because then I think about the dumb commercial. Case in point - the male enhancement commercial that plays "We are the Champions."

>> unless another job comes along PDQ we won't be able to afford to stay here and worry that the house won't sell.

It might be worth finding out what kind of rental income you would get for the house. The simplest thing is to rent un-furnished, and although the rental agencies charge a wedge and a half, they vet their clients more thoroughly than mortgage lenders do. Well some do. Renting privately often results in rent arrears, but renting through a reputable agency rarely does.

This is not to say that you *should* rent out the house, but it might be worth considering it as an option and knowing what is involved would certainly give you a feeling of more options.

>> Mr T is well qualified - BSc, Masters + 3 professional qualifications + bags of experience.

Sounds like ideal consultant material to me! Its tough, (don't I know), but you never know what the network will turn up.

Here, have a because you sound a lot less than before.



I've done as much paperwork as I was going to do today, and also the final cut of the spreadsheet for the money the former PL owes me in back rent etc for the Stepson. To be honest, that was probably what was winding me up so much. I have had a relationship turn sour over money issues before, and this one, in the past though it now is, is still too important to me to foul it up now. I like my friends, you see.

Ben

Damn, that was meant to be a for Teuchter. It makes no sence as it stands.



And let us know how it all goes. One of the lovely things about the atelier is the way you guys have seen me through the trials and considerable tribulations of last year and this, how MR has shared the unfolding saga of her ex, and how we are all interested in things like Marv's knees.

B

>> the male enhancement commercial that plays "We are the Champions."

It could be worse: "Deeper and Down" by Status Quo, perhaps. What others?

B

Just when I think I've heard it all, the telephone rings again.

Remember the lady who wanted to know if we check out cake pans? And the woman who came in to pick up her plastic bin for recyclables and was astonished when we told her she had to get those from the trash company? And the woman who wanted to borrow a magnifying glass so she could check the leg of a mosquito she had swatted to see if it had been banded by the city as a carrier of West Nile virus? And the man who called and asked me the color of his dog? Couldn't get any sillier, right?

We just had a phone call from a man who wanted to know if we had a full-sized articulated skeleton he could check out. My clerk told him no. So he asked her if we had any skeletons at all.

Teuchter

Reading all those postings about eyeproblems and migraine I suddenly felt migraine lurking around. I guess I should leave the pc for some time and close my eyes or something.