Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Arthur and Kevin's Nellorat's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
2:59 pm	Ree-LAX-ing Yesterday was a bummer, but it seems my pain was because I overdid PT. I often do sets of 15 instead of the same number of sets of 10 of various exercises, and apparently this became a worse idea when I was given arm exercises using small dumb-bells instead of ones with a weighted bar (the separate weights do total to more). Also, I did a few range-of-motion exercises too far before the PT assistant stopped me: the previous time, I hadn't been ABLE to make my arm go that far, so the PT guy hadn't told me to limit how far I went. I also feel nauseated, perhaps because I have been more exploring the range of less healthy foods one can remain vegan while eating, and my oncoming menstrual period will show the effects of that. :-( I don't have my period, but I've been having queasy-coming-on feelings for a few days now. So today I decided to cancel work, and to cancel PT tomorrow so I can go to work a bit earlier & make up for today. I'm really happy with this decision! Lying around instead of writing on the board is making my shoulder happier, and I hope to get my period today--if not, at least I get to relax! Generally, I've become a very responsible person (as opposed to 20, 30 years ago), but I do get some satisfaction out of skiving off every once in a while. Today was a slow day, and I haven't called in sick in ages, so even the academy head was sanguine. Mood: Ree-LAXED, I said! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
9:09 am	Cisgendered I'm rather relieved that not only don't I mind being known as "cisgendered,"* I don't even feel any emotional difference. Yeah, it's not a category I chose, but I didn't choose "white," "over 50," or "perimenopausal" either. Pretty much the only self-label I have chosen is "fat" as opposed to "overweight" or "obese"--oh, and "nerd" rather than "geek," because I keep thinking of the circus and chicken heads. To some extent, I'm quite happy that this new awareness doesn't seem to necessitate that I really DO anything. I don't have to "educate myself" any further; I don't have to fight for anyone else's rights any more than I already do. I either use the term or just don't say anything--refraining from using less neutral terms--and that's all! I'm done! The difference is not that I have trans friends--which I do, but I also have friends who are PoC and am myself a feminist--but that the specific task seems so much EASIER! Call me lazy. *Cis="the same," from chemistry and geography; "cisgendered"=having the same gender I was declared when born. Mood: chipper; off to physical therapy, then a day at work (12 Comments |Comment on this)
8:59 am	Wombats! Thanks to fatfred, a page of fun facts about and pictures of wombats. Includes an actual photo of their nigh-famous square turds! As we say, "So L7 that even their scat is square!" Mood: wombat loving (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, July 6th, 2009
10:19 am	Based on womzilla's discussion of this tatooed guy, we had a conversation about his future. If he gets a calling to a certain career, which would be the worst and best? I think grief counselor would be a very unfortunate vocation; Womzilla added a waiter at Chuck E. Cheese. Coach for Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers might be bad, suggesting the dieting had gone too far. OTOH, he'd probably be very well received as a teacher in middle school, seen as much cooler than most adults. What do you think: best careers, worst careers? Mood: silly, inquisitive (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
9:23 am	Look Like a Zombie Thanks to porcinea, amazing pictures of a guy who is having himself tattooed to look like a semi-skeletal, living-dead guy. The later pics of his face are astounding. Mood: astounded (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
9:34 am	Dream Complaint Dear Subconscious, A few nights ago was bad enough. That guy and I broke up almost 30 years ago, and I have been happily married all that time, so please update your files and stop the dreams predicated on my wanting sex with him. Thanks. Even worse, especially since I didn't even get a chance to watch the documentaries on parasites that youngersib recommended yesterday, last night's dream was TOTALLY out of line. Enough said. Sincerely, Your Conscious and Meat-Vehicle Mood: awake (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
10:26 am	Dialogue, Exercise Equipment supergee: I got the ankle-weights you wanted, but I couldn't find the bar in 5 pounds, just 12 pounds. Nellorat: Oh, for the 5 pounds, I think you need to go to one of the Wimpsville stores. Supergee: Good! I think there's one of those right by my old prep school. Mood: peppy, ready for work (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, June 26th, 2009
8:40 am	Work Oddness I love my work, but I often say that had I begun teaching at the academy 20 or more years ago, right out of graduate school, the job would have driven me nuts. In general, last-minute changes are the order of the day. If someone cancels, the academy head will phone around for a replacement--which I like! However, the replacement might be tutored for a totally different topic: the ACT test instead of the SAT test, or even middle-school essay writing instead of either. When I begin to teach a new test, age, whatever, it IS a BFD to me. However, at this point, I've done so many things and am familiar with so many materials that it's no big thing. I wouldn't choose this approach, but I like rising to the challenge. However, I've always felt somewhat different with teaching a class, a group instead of one-on-one tutoring. For a number of reasons, I find it more effort and somewhat more stress to teach a class, and I like being prepared. Well--I HAVE MADE that distinction: I'm in the same situation with a group, and it's OK. Yesterday, I found out at 11:00 a.m. (when I got my schedule) that I was teaching a group in the afternoon. I should have asked, but I assumed it was weekly, as my other class, on Sundays, is. My e-mailed schedule for today includes a class. Is it the same group? Probably. I'll get to the office about 15 minutes early, find out then, and decide what materials to have photocopied. Another major aspect of work I had to get used to is that these academies add students throughout the term, even new students in the penultimate class (because they'll continue next term). I did a bad job at a Japanese-American class years and years ago because I didn't understand this and built a cumulative course on essay writing. With SAT, I think it's actually easier to accommodate this approach, since it's more coaching than imparting info, and some techniques do need to be emphasized again and again. Mood: waking up, PT before work (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
5:27 pm	Health: Poll re Exercise Today I had my first physical-therapy appointment, and I feel it went very well. As part of the session, I did 12 minutes on a recumbent exercycle. Wow! I've been trying to get into the habit of using the treadmill, but doing this--with no knee pain at all--made me realize how much part of my reason for not doing so is still having some pain. If we had room for both our treadmill and a recumbent exercycle in the basement in front of the TV, I think we'd be buying the cycle this week! As it is, I don't know--I like the whole-body movement of walking on the treadmill, and maybe strengthening from PT will make my knees not hurt. MAYBE we could fit both in the basement, but it would take a lot of moving things around, maybe including getting rid of one or more bookcases. So what do you think? Comments very welcome! I haven't spoken about this with womzilla yet, but I thought I'd ask here anyway. Poll #1419644 Exercise for Nellorat Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All Based on the facts in this entry & what I know of her, Nellorat should View Answers buy a recombent bike, get rid of the treadmill 4 (19.0%) buy a recombent bike, re-organize entire basement to make room for both 6 (28.6%) buy recumbent bike, keep treadmill in storage 6 (28.6%) go to gym for recumbent bike, not buy one 1 (4.8%) use treadmill judiciously, not buy recumbent bike 0 (0.0%) buy bike, throw both it and treadmill out the window (Voice of Binky answer) 1 (4.8%) other 3 (14.3%) (19 Comments |Comment on this)
11:08 am	Book Review: Medical Anthropologist on Ebola Barry S. Hewlett and Bonnie L. Hewlett, Ebola, culture, and Politics: The Anthropology of Emerging DiseaseThompson Wadsworth: 2008. I ordered this after a search on "ebola" at Barnes & Noble, and I'm very glad I did. Barry Hewlett is an anthropologist who was present in Uganda at a 2001 ebola outbreak, doing other kinds of fieldwork, and get sent as a medical anthropologist with a World Health Organization intervention in a 2003 outbreak in Congo. Bonnie, a nurse, was also sent to the second outbreak. The book is accessible: although small, it includes brief background on the histories of the various countries, the nature of the disease, and the anthropological methodology that was used in the studies. Yet if you know the information, you won't be bored.(There is also a bit of repetition within the book due to the structure in sections, but it's not enough to interfere much.) The investigations included interviews, questionnaires, and group discussions with care-givers, survivors of ebola, friends and families of victims, and the local people of all ages and both sexes. Barry Hewlett had to sell himself to WHO, but the book makes clear how invaluable a medical anthropologist can be. For instance, in one area, mostly men came to the seminars of using barrier protection, but mostly women did the nursing and funeral care: although WHO didn't know it, the information was not reaching those who needed it most. Children were most open to technological bio-medical models of disease and tended to share the information at home, so more education should be directed at children. Group hand-washing after a funeral helped prevent disease when bleach-water was used, a change which the people had no objection to. Most interestingly to me, all the groups the Hewletts worked with had their own cultural model of what to do during an epidemic, all of it necessary (isolation of the ill, tending the ill by those who had had the disease and survived or by the very old, quarantine of those who have been with the ill, restricted travel into and out of the village), not part of our models but helpful (harmony in interpersonal relationships stressed, belief that disharmony or lack of sharing made the epidemic worse), or neutral (prayers, magical objects). One main problem is that groups tended to shift into this model only after many deaths; but it is there for medical workers to refer to. Before being questioned by anthropologists, many local people were too embarrassed to talk about the cultural models of disease. As comes up in passing, the Hewletts are quite angry at journalists, for spreading fear of ebola more than genuine information. I have to say, as morbid as my tastes are, I think their point is excellent. This is an informative, well informed, well thought out, eminently sane and fascinating book. Mood: chatty, relaxing, happy (Comment on this)
Friday, June 19th, 2009
10:25 am	Health DIABETES: On the positive side, I have cut my dosage by 1/2 a glyburide pill in the evening and all seems well! When just skipping it was too much (fasting c. 145), womzilla asked me if I could cut it in half. I hadn't even thought of that! It's not time-release, and it is even scored for dividing! Today's fasting was 100--which I'm happy with, as with a fasting of 80 I was getting too cursed many hypos. (FYI, normal people always run 80-120.) ARTHWRONGUS: On the negative side, all the writing I've been doing for LJ and no session with YogaJane this week (she's teaching for a week in Florida) means an unhappy shoulder/arm. On the positive side, I have insurance-approved three-sessions/week physical therapy on the shoulder for four weeks, starting Monday. Woo hoo! Mood: ready for breakfast, alert, a bit cranky (Comment on this)
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
1:18 pm	Virtual Habitat Renewal; Straubian News I just decreased my e-mail in-box by hundreds of messages, either saving to the right folder or deleting! 1109 messages still remain in my in-box, but that's around normal. Although I have never really regretted getting rid of a book, I usually manage to delete 1 to 3 messages per purge that I wish I hadn't. In this case, I accidentally deleted the e-mail in which Peter Straub sent me the ms. of the shorter version of his forthcoming novel. (The long version will be published by an independent press as The Skylark, while the short version will be the main publication as The Dark Matter. I am very curious to see where the cuts are & what remained.) I just e-mailed him back, admitting to being a doofus. However, I'm still happy overall. Mood: proud, accomplished, waking up on a dreary day (Comment on this)
12:25 pm	Diabetic Control/Arthwrongus--see you in the HAES Community I urge anyone interested to check out this entry by me in haes about diabetic control. Also news of some progress towards physical therapy for my shoulder-induced problems. Also, the moderator of that group recently asked what people there want and seems open to perhaps a wider definition of suitable discussion on the group. I used an lj-cut tag for the food discussion, in case it was triggering. Talk of deliberate weight-loss is still prohibited there, and that makes sense to me. Thanks for everyone's comments on my LJ. If I deal with that more myself--if I decide to make weight-loss a personal goal in ANY sense--I'll talk about it in my LJ. Right now, though, my glucometer will be my measure and limit anyway. I went hypo last night despite deliberately eating cereal/fruit/soy milk, and I think I may try doing without my p.m. dose of glyburide (my GP suggested that as one option if hypos kept up). Being between good dosages is like being between clothing sizes, you know--you try to get it right, but you're annoyed no matter what. If I can keep good control on the lower dose, that alone will keep me busy for a while! Anyone who commented on my LJ about wanting to discuss health in a non-weight-related context, I urge you to post on haes. Far from JUST for fat people, too: lintilla, you can encourage me about exercise & I can encourage you about good food! Mood: sluggish and awakening very slowly, centered and positive about life (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
5:59 pm	Recently One of My Anthems The fn is my change to fit my life. It's a joyous song that answers its own questions: we should ALL have all of this, because we ALL deserve it. "Passionate Kisses" Sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter Written by Lucinda Williams Is it too much to ask? I want a comfortable bed that won't hurt my back, Food to fill me up, And warm clothes and all that stuff-- Shouldn't I have this? Shouldn't I have this? Shouldn't I have all of this, and Passionate kisses Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh Passionate kisses from you? Is it too much to demand? I want a full house and a rock and roll band,* Pens that won't run out of ink, And cool quiet and time to think. Shouldn't I have this? Shouldn't I have this? Shouldn't I have all of this, and Passionate kisses Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh Passionate kisses from you? Do I want too much? Am I going overboard to want that touch? I shout it out to the night: "Give me what I deserve, 'cause it's my right." Shouldn't I have this (shouldn't I)? Shouldn't I have this (shouldn't I)? Shouldn't I have all of this, and Passionate kisses Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh Passionate kisses from you? * Is this too much, do you say? I want a good job, praise and good pay, (2 Comments |Comment on this)
2:09 pm	Metadiscussion about LJ Discussion Grows My entry about what I find to be insidious ideas continues, with growing discussion, and has just been linked to in metafandom. Some interesting new topics have come up, including what is and is not a "safe space" in LJ and whether it is impolite to ask a question on LJ without having done an online search oneself first. Btw, those last two links are to specific comments: zvi_likes_tv told me during RaceFail how to link to individual comments, a simple but unknown-to-me skill I have always been grateful for since! Other comments elsewhere discuss some of the same things, but those are good places to read. Also, don't forget to click on "expand" if you want follow-ups and "parent" is you want the earlier comments that one is a reply to. So far, there is much, much more light than heat, and I'm glad to have written that open entry. I have gotten just a taste of "be careful what you wish for" when it comes to being linked to (or having people notified about the entry in other ways), and I may come to freeze or FL the post, but for now I'm much more pleased than not for the responses. In writing this much, I am indeed still watching my shoulder arthwrongus; tomorrow I see the orthopedist, and I have much hope that PT will help, because even the movements from YogaJane (her LJ name here, like it?) help a lot. Mood: harried but not unhappy (Comment on this)
Monday, June 15th, 2009
4:24 pm	Pleasure A great day off after a productive work week. Writing for LJ, sexy vampire sex, a post-coital nap, and then half-dozing to the sounds of thunder and rain. If my shoulder weren't iffy, it would be perfect--but then the gods might get jealous. And I do see my orthopedist on Wednesday. Mood: indulged (3 Comments |Comment on this)
12:03 pm	True Blood Nellorat: Oh! True Blood has started again! supergee: No more false blood. Nellorat: No--sexy vampire sex! You don't seem to understand the importance of sexy vampire sex. Supergee: Of course I do: it's keeping the publishing industry going. Nellorat: So, see! I was right. Sexy vampire sex. LATER: Nellorat: OOH GAWD THEY ARE SO HOT! Supergee: Vampires? Nellorat: The Vampire and Mary Sue. By the way, True Blood is my current favorite example of a dramatization that is better than the fiction. I bogged down in the middle of the second Sookie Stackhouse novel and will probably never return; in fact, we will probably get rid of the novels. Not only is the acting & filming better than the prose, but I love the characters that have been added, especially Tara. Mood: relaxicating (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 14th, 2009
11:21 pm	Today: Filthy Lucre, Exploding Lamp Today I got over 1K for the week's work; the hours have been slim, so it's been a long time. Joy! Today when I turned on my desk lamp, it exploded. Flames and everything! Not so much joy, but no damage to anything other than the lamp and shade, let alone injuries. Mood: MUST BED (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 13th, 2009
11:01 am	Pontypool, Further Thoughs Alas, I decided that as stunning a movie as Pontypool is in many ways, it doesn't support scrutiny of how the various elements fit together. The author of the novel and screenplay said in an interview that he deliberately limited the perspective to semi-informed people whose explanations may be partial or even erroneous. However, he could still have done that and thought out the events in a more coherent way.--as in The Sixth Sense. ( Complete Spoilers Or Perhaps Nonsense If You Haven't Seen the Film ) I still highly recommend the film, even with these issues. Comparison to Drag Me to Hell shows how cliche-ridden (and racist!) even reasonably good horror movies generally are; the freshness of Pontypool, as well as its emotional power, is astonishing. I just wish it had been assembled a bit less right-brain/associationally and a bit more left-brain/put together meticulously like pieces of a puzzle. ( Comparisons--Somewhat Spoilery ) Mood: awake, chipper; post-coital; happy (Comment on this)
12:23 am	Movie Review: Pontypool (No Spoilers) Wow. This 2009 independent film is now available in some theaters, apparently, and on Movies on Demand. If you're a horror fan who wants something very scary but out of the ordinary, with a philosophical approach, check it out. The less I say about what actually happens in the film, the better: it shows the beginning of a somewhat Romero-esque apocalypse (also in an odd way reminiscent of Stephen King's novel Cell), but the nature of the problem is probably not anything you were expecting. The film takes place entirely in a radio station in the eponymous small town in Ontario, Canada; three actors (two women and a man) carry almost all of the action. The visuals only get gory near the end, but the suspense and even fear through most of the film is anus-clenching. I'm not sure that all the data we get fit perfectly with the explanation--the earlier elements, many without explanations at first, do come together, but I didn't get that feeling of everything clicking perfectly as in The Sixth Sense. However, I wouldn't swear it DOESN'T all fit, either. And many of you on my LJ friends' list will enjoy a horror film that mentions Norman Mailer and Roland Barthes in passing, and shows a copy of Snow Crash casually lying on a desk in one scene. Moreover, for me it presented a huge synchronicity (a concept addressed in the voice-over that accompanies the credits): while writing and thinking about LJ and RaceFail, how could I not be ready for a film that, in part, emphasizes how much real power words have? Note: A little more spoileriffic than this, but not much, here's a great review. This review definitely dwells in spoiler country, but has excellent analysis. And this is an interesting interview with Tony Burgess, the author of the novel on which the movie is based, Pontypool Changes Everything. Mood: delectably scared, ready to read in bed, glad I can sleep in tomorrow (Comment on this)