Domestic Geek

Current mood: sick
In addition to the sore neck and back, I'm now sick. Yay. I was bitten by several mosquitos the other day, so I'm sure that probably has something to do with it. I hope they weren't infected with West Nile or anything. LOL My mouth broke out in cancre (sp?) sores and I'm achy, coughy and sneezy (sounds like three of Snow White's dwarves!). The other possibility is Marcus brought it home from work. He said some guys there were ill. All I know is, I'm staying home here to rest. No need making this worse or sharing it with others. What sucks is I had planned on going out to try out my new camera. I finally decided on a Canon PowerShot A75. The final selling point on that as opposed to the Nikon I was considering is that you can change out the lenses. Apparently there is a telephoto lens and a wide angle lens that you can buy separately.

I'm just noticing that the floaters I have in my left eye have shifted. They used to be in my lower field of vision, now they're right in the middle of it. Weird.

Well, the insurance lady from the other company is sending me a release form so I can get a $1000 check for the accident. It's the only way I can see getting to a doctor. Then Marcus and I can sign the papers that get me onto his insurance at work and I'll have the money for the $500 deductable and a couple of months premiums. It'll be 10 weeks on Friday since the accident. I'm really tired of the pain and the lack of mobility. I've gain 11 pounds and lost most of my muscle tone in my abdomen since the crash. It sucks.

I love the layouts the Moxie Girls did for halloween this year, expecially Joelle's. I want to know how to do the alternating post colors. I'm sure it's some php or javascript thing to pull in different css class names, but since I'm know just enough about programming to get me in trouble, I can't code it. I'll have to poke around on the Internet when I get better and see if I can find someone who has done it or something similar that I can hack around with. I tried to see how Joelle had done it, but she's smart and has encrypted her code, so you can't see what she's done if you view the source. I also want to know how to do that. Not so much for my own site, but if I ever get good enough at this to actually do it for a living, it might be a handy piece of info.

I made some really good stuffed peppers for dinner last night. For once the peppers that came into work were large, green and not moldy or squishy. Perfect for stuffed peppers. I offered to pay for some, but the manager (for once not being an @ssh0le) let me just take some. Maybe going off on him the other morning about how frustrating my whole life has been lately including all the nonsense going on in that store (not getting paid, no room to work, etc) had some kind of effect on him. We'll see how long this lasts.

OK, that's all for now. My bed is calling.

Current mood: contemplative
Today is my 38th birthday!

After reading a post at Laura's site, I got to thinking about how I have never posted about what it's like having my birthday fall on 9/11.

You know, I still get people who say things like, "So how's it feel to be born on that day?" when they find out my birthday is Sept. 11. I still don't really know how to answer that question.

For the most part, it's fine. It was my birthday before the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks. Granted, that actual birthday sucked ass. I certainly didn't feel like celebrating while I was glued to the TV in shock. But every tragic event in the world has somebody born on that day. Horrible things happen all over the world every day. It just so happens that something really terrible happened on a day that happened to be my birthday.

I don't usually have a big celebration on my birthday. My friend Mike's birthday is on the 5th, so we usually have a small gathering somewhere in the middle. On the actual day, Marcus and I will go out to dinner.

Anyway, my life goes on. It has to. I can't stop celebrating my birthday because some terrorist nut jobs decided to take out their anger on our country and several thousand innocent victims. If I feel guilty for celebrating my life just because there are others that no longer can, the terrorists won.

As for the 9/11 Remembrance, I still bawled during the moment of silence this morning, recalling the horror I felt three years ago. I cried for those that lost loved ones. I have my flag out today in observance of Patriot's day. I do worry that we're becoming too complacent as a country. The horror of 9/11/2001 will unfold in this country again. It's just a matter of time. Unfortunately, it will be someone's birthday.

Current mood: angry
I'VE HAD IT! This whole medical/legal/insurance system in this country is stupid, out of control and I'm sick of it. I pay over $100 a month for WHAT? Nothing, apparently. The insurance company for the guy that hit us two months ago says they will assume all costs for my neck injury. Great, right? No. Problem #1: They can't be billed by the doctor. I have to pay first to be treated and they'll reimburse me. Or I could settle for some arbitrary amount (they're offering $1000) and hope that covers it. If it is more serious, tough. You took the check. Problem #2: I have NO MONEY, therefore, I can't go see a doctor because Problem#3: I can't find a doctor willing to bill me other than the emergency room where I already owe money. Problem #4: Attorneys won't touch this seeing as how I haven't been seen by a doctor yet and can't prove this injury is the result of said accident and the insurance company is willing to cover it.

However this turns out, I'm screwed. All because I don't work for a company that provides affordable health insurance or I don't have money in my bank. I'm so disgusted with how lawyers, insurance companies, doctors and the government has gotten health care in this country so damn screwed up. It's a wonder there are any healthy people out there at all.

All I know is that I want to stop hurting and I want to get on with my life. Is that so wrong?

ATTENTION FRIENDS AND FAMILY:
This may be a tacky request, but hear me out. If you were planning on getting me a birthday present, I'd really like Apple Store gift certificates. I'd like to get my own digital camera. Thanks!

Current mood: defeatist
I'm really feeling down again. My neck constantly hurts. It's a continuous ache that ibuprofin can't subdue anymore. I can't go to a doctor (I have to figure out how to pay the $650 worth of bills outstanding for my thumb before they end up on my credit report). The insurance agent for the dude that hit us is on vacation until the 27th. I have a tooth that's acting up really bad. I can't spend more than a few minutes in front of a computer. I can't concentrate because all I can think about is how I'm holding my neck and why is it not getting any better. I'm depressed. All I want to do is sleep.

My weekend trip to Colorado Springs kind of sucked. I wanted to swim in the hotel pool, but it was raining when we checked in and the pool opened the next morning after check out time. The scrapbooking store I really wanted to visit, Creative Impressions, is gone. So is one that I frequented on Academy Blvd. Nina and I were going to have lunch at Beau Jo's Pizza, but they're gone as well. The farmer's market I liked to go to didn't really have any interesting vendors. The peaches I bought are still hard. I didn't get to enjoy any time up on top of Pikes Peak like I wanted. Nina didn't clear taking the baby with her doctor like I asked her to and babies under 3 months aren't allowed up the highway because their lungs aren't developed enough yet. We had to drop her off at a Starbucks in Woodland Park while I drove up to pick up the boys alone. They had reached the top just as I paid the toll. I got to drive the last few miles in a blinding hail storm. They were evacuting the mountain and at the last mile marker, a patrol man asked me to turn around. He let me continue when I told him I was picking up hikers. I had to put the car in 4-wheel drive to get started again. The storm cloud I was in was so thick that I could barely see the road. My nerves were shot so bad I asked Mike if he could drive down. Of course, it started clearing as we made the way back down. What a wasted trip. I should've just stayed home or maybe hit the scrapbook expo that was up in Fort Collins. Oh, well. I didn't need to spend the money, anyway, right? I'm not doing this again next year. Marcus said he and Mike can ride the cog railroad down.

I'm not doing well in school, either. I just have no motivation. I am so burned out right now that it's not even funny. I know I'm not doing my best and it is starting to concern me that I don't really care that I'm not trying. If my classes had more than just me and Chrissy, I would probably take a leave of absence. When I took the leave that last time, it helped immensely.

Oh, and my dumbass owner forgot to pay me. The deposit wasn't put into my account on Friday and when I went in this morning, there was no pay stub in the drawer. I went home and checked and still no deposit. When I called the manager, I found out I'm not the only one who didn't get paid. There's supposed to be a check there for me tomorrow. Must be nice to be such an airhead and still get through life. Ass.