Did you ever see the movie Outbreak? Yeah...the one with the monkey that apparently also played Marcel on Friends. (Whoa, look at me with the 90's references)! I can't help but keep thinking of that movie all the time in the past few days with all of this "swine flu" nonsense. That's right, I called it nonsense! The freaking thing responds to available treatments (i.e. Tamiflu, which I can personally advocate as effective against the regular flu), and we're over here talking about closing down and canceling events that have been planned all year.
It would be unpleasant if a lot of us here got sick all at the same time, but as I read in an op-ed piece in the NY Times (thanks Lanester), there are more people who will probably die from "official ineptitude" surrounding this outbreak than will die from infection. Judging from actions and reactions I've witnessed thus far, that definitely seems plausible.
Anyway, I just wanted to express my concern for people acting especially foolish right now. Panic never solves anything, don't you know. :-)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
April
I always thought that Eliot got it wrong...February is the cruelest month, or maybe October (at least in my personal experience). But I learned this year that April is probably truly the cruelest month. Beyond the fact that the weather has been crazy this April, school kids are unruly (racial incidents at local colleges -- and note that most of the worst school shootings in US history took place in April), and more bad things have happened in my own life (relative to my previous post) to punish me for declaring 2009 a good year. Not that I really believe that some higher force is punishing me for optimism, but it sure appears that way when I consider recent events.
Number one bad thing is that my grandmother unexpectedly died last Monday, just 6 months after my grandfather passed (not so unexpectedly). She was 83, which isn't young, but isn't really that old either when you think about life expectancy these days (or read the obituaries in the paper where most of the deceased were like 93 or 101, for example). I miss her a lot because she was like my second mom...she was my mom's mom and they were extremely close (they even shared a birthday), and she was just always there. She took care of me and brother a lot when we were pups because we lived across the street and our parents worked through the summers (unlike her, the lunch lady at my elementary school who would bring me my cheese sandwich when I forgot it or give me a little jar of honey on chicken nuggets day because the school didn't provide any sauce other than ketchup...hahaha). She took us to Mt. Gretna and to parks all over the county to feed ducks and go on sliding boards, and she couldn't hold back laughter when we back-talked (unlike Mom). Her sense of humor was always sharp, and she never felt the need to censor what she thought of anything. She left strange messages on the answering machine and always cleared her throat before talking when you did answer a call from her (which became a family joke). Everyone thought she was getting foggier as the years progressed, but I knew she was just losing her hearing and didn't want anyone to make her get a hearing aid. She never complained about health problems (probably because she thought other people whined too much about being sick)...she was selfless and really didn't tolerate fuss over anything.
And now she's gone. She hadn't wanted to pick a tombstone for my grandfather, but finally did just a couple of weeks ago...and now we had to call and have them add her name and dates, too. She passed just two days before what would have been my grandpa's 90th birthday. It just all seems so strange.
And we've been cleaning the house now -- getting things in order for an eventual sale. She never threw anything out (and had only just begun to sort through my grandpa's things); there is a dresser drawer filled with tiny hotel shampoos and soaps and lotions (some probably from as far back as the 1970's)...and about 10 or so brand new, still packaged toothbrushes. And I can't forget the boxes just filled with lots of smaller boxes, or the three bedrooms plus the attic with all the closets and bureaus packed full of clothing (much of it new...some of it still with tags on). We've adopted her cat and I've taken all of her orchids and other plants home. There's just so much yet left to do.
So yeah, April...not really my favorite month. I guess I never shouldn't trust good ol' T.S.
Number one bad thing is that my grandmother unexpectedly died last Monday, just 6 months after my grandfather passed (not so unexpectedly). She was 83, which isn't young, but isn't really that old either when you think about life expectancy these days (or read the obituaries in the paper where most of the deceased were like 93 or 101, for example). I miss her a lot because she was like my second mom...she was my mom's mom and they were extremely close (they even shared a birthday), and she was just always there. She took care of me and brother a lot when we were pups because we lived across the street and our parents worked through the summers (unlike her, the lunch lady at my elementary school who would bring me my cheese sandwich when I forgot it or give me a little jar of honey on chicken nuggets day because the school didn't provide any sauce other than ketchup...hahaha). She took us to Mt. Gretna and to parks all over the county to feed ducks and go on sliding boards, and she couldn't hold back laughter when we back-talked (unlike Mom). Her sense of humor was always sharp, and she never felt the need to censor what she thought of anything. She left strange messages on the answering machine and always cleared her throat before talking when you did answer a call from her (which became a family joke). Everyone thought she was getting foggier as the years progressed, but I knew she was just losing her hearing and didn't want anyone to make her get a hearing aid. She never complained about health problems (probably because she thought other people whined too much about being sick)...she was selfless and really didn't tolerate fuss over anything.
And now she's gone. She hadn't wanted to pick a tombstone for my grandfather, but finally did just a couple of weeks ago...and now we had to call and have them add her name and dates, too. She passed just two days before what would have been my grandpa's 90th birthday. It just all seems so strange.
And we've been cleaning the house now -- getting things in order for an eventual sale. She never threw anything out (and had only just begun to sort through my grandpa's things); there is a dresser drawer filled with tiny hotel shampoos and soaps and lotions (some probably from as far back as the 1970's)...and about 10 or so brand new, still packaged toothbrushes. And I can't forget the boxes just filled with lots of smaller boxes, or the three bedrooms plus the attic with all the closets and bureaus packed full of clothing (much of it new...some of it still with tags on). We've adopted her cat and I've taken all of her orchids and other plants home. There's just so much yet left to do.
So yeah, April...not really my favorite month. I guess I never shouldn't trust good ol' T.S.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Miscellany.
Well, I fought the urge to post whilst stuffing envelopes all week last week, but I just can't help myself from writing a little today to make it appear to people outside my office that I'm working. For some reason, I can't seem to find any big (or small) projects today beyond putting really old papers in one of the filing cabinets under my care (= BORING), though I do have that nagging feeling that I'm neglecting something important. Oh well -- as I wait for the terror of realization to set in, I think I should probably exercise my writing skills.
So, I was looking back over previous posts and wondering if I sort of damned myself with that one about 2009 being a good year. Bad/crappy stuff keeps happening to me and those around me: joblessness, relative sicknesses/deaths, car damage, illnesses/aches & pains. So much for general optimism, I guess. Relating to myself, I've been thinking about making a doctor's appointment to talk about hypothyroidism. I just feel so run-down and fatigued most of the time (along with some other symptoms I don't care to elaborate on here). I'm nervous to make and attend doctor's appointments, though. I just really despise sitting in stuffy gross waiting rooms and then talking to people I don't really trust. And, if I'm going to talk about a thyroid problem, blood will inevitably have to be taken, which adds substantially to the fear factor. If I could start feeling better, though -- I assume the risk of passing out with a needle in my arm is worth it. I'm just such a wuss when it comes to health and body stuff. I am amazed by surgeons and nurses who can dig around in people's insides and not have a panic attack. Hell, I can't even eat tomatoes because they look somewhat like insides when sliced up. Seriously. Ew.
Well, I guess I really don't have anything profound or even vaguely interesting to say. I ate too much food at Easter dinners yesterday, and am suffering the consequences today. I am planning to help Karyn do her taxes tonight. I have a bunch of junk I want to sell on Ebay, and started a crazy campaign of spring cleaning last night. I think I'm just ready for warm weather to finally show up and stay around for awhile. Enough of this 54 degrees in the day and 29 at night crap.
Okay...enough grexing. Time to go do some more filing...or something.
So, I was looking back over previous posts and wondering if I sort of damned myself with that one about 2009 being a good year. Bad/crappy stuff keeps happening to me and those around me: joblessness, relative sicknesses/deaths, car damage, illnesses/aches & pains. So much for general optimism, I guess. Relating to myself, I've been thinking about making a doctor's appointment to talk about hypothyroidism. I just feel so run-down and fatigued most of the time (along with some other symptoms I don't care to elaborate on here). I'm nervous to make and attend doctor's appointments, though. I just really despise sitting in stuffy gross waiting rooms and then talking to people I don't really trust. And, if I'm going to talk about a thyroid problem, blood will inevitably have to be taken, which adds substantially to the fear factor. If I could start feeling better, though -- I assume the risk of passing out with a needle in my arm is worth it. I'm just such a wuss when it comes to health and body stuff. I am amazed by surgeons and nurses who can dig around in people's insides and not have a panic attack. Hell, I can't even eat tomatoes because they look somewhat like insides when sliced up. Seriously. Ew.
Well, I guess I really don't have anything profound or even vaguely interesting to say. I ate too much food at Easter dinners yesterday, and am suffering the consequences today. I am planning to help Karyn do her taxes tonight. I have a bunch of junk I want to sell on Ebay, and started a crazy campaign of spring cleaning last night. I think I'm just ready for warm weather to finally show up and stay around for awhile. Enough of this 54 degrees in the day and 29 at night crap.
Okay...enough grexing. Time to go do some more filing...or something.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)