Good one, Bill

From the New York Times Politics Blog:

Before Mr. Obama's win on Saturday night, Mr. Clinton was at a polling place in Columbia, S.C., and was asked by a reporter, "What does it say about Barack Obama that it takes two of you to beat him?" referring to Mr. Clinton’s full-time campaigning for his wife.

Mr. Clinton laughed and replied, "That's bait too." (He had just responded to a question about Senator John Kerry by saying he would not take the bait.) He then added: "Jesse Jackson won in South Carolina twice, in '84 and '88, and he ran a good campaign. And Senator Obama is running a good campaign."

There is video of Mr. Clinton's response to that one question but not of the entire exchange with reporters. But Mike Memoli, a campaign reporter for MSNBC and the National Journal, wrote the most complete account of the exchange, and it contains no other reference to Mr. Jackson. Mr. Memoli said in an e-mail that no one had mentioned Mr. Jackson until that point.

So essentially Clinton said "Look, this other black guy didn't become the nominee, so it probably won't happen this time either. Put your support behind a white person instead!"

I mean, how else are you supposed to interpret that? Jackson wasn't mentioned until this point; the only reason I can think of to bring him up is because he was also a black candidate. Even if Bill wasn't intending to imply that Obama won't win because he's black, he's still being condescending: "You're doing a good job! Just like that other black guy!"

Sheesh. Can we just get past the race thing, please, and evaluate candidates based on the issues?

Let it shine

One of my coworkers, a guy I love dearly, recently received an award from the local branch of a regional religious group. During his acceptance speech he was talking about how he hopes to continue doing good work for the community, and he abruptly broke into song: "This Little Light". He only sang a few bars before the whole room joined in, singing and clapping, and when the verse was over everyone cheered.

I just wanted to mention that--it was neat. I can't imagine I would ever think of singing during a speech. (I'm not sure the people I would likely be giving a speech to would ever join in, either.)

Look at my new table OMG

I went shopping for clothes today. So obviously I came home with a table and a fake orchid ;>

It all started at Cato, where I actually did get some clothes. But when I went to Target on the recommendation of Lisa at work, I remembered why I never buy clothes at Target: the women's section and the maternity section are essentially the same, and I don't want to buy maternity clothes by mistake :P

But I did enjoy wheeling my cart through the furniture section, and it was there that I found my beautiful table and orchid, along with some mirrors, a shiny red tray, and a little lamp.

Okay, so I'm compulsive. But I love the way that bit of wall looks with that little table on it. So...finished. :)

It's a tragedy

Grieving Fan: Oh man! I remember exactly where I was the second I found out Heath Ledger died…

V: Fag.

I just want to know if they're going to show The Dark Knight with Ledger, or recast him, or what. (I'm actually a little afraid to see that movie...looks like it's going to be really dark)

Mr. Razumihin

I received this awesome spam at work:

I love it. You know Mr. Razumihin. Of course you do. He's not a bad fellow!

Inexplicable plastic

When I arrived at work this morning I discovered an old-school farming/shepherding operation on my desk.

It's actually not inexplicable; Mullis and Fichtel went to the dollar store last night. But it is certainly bizarre!

(I have to say, I'm rather fond of the pig.)

Not quite la vida loca, but I still have fun

In one of those chain reaction tidying up events that occur with me every so often, I started sorting the mail, then cleaning things off the dining room table, and before I knew it I was collecting the Christmas decorations and carting them off to the second bedroom. I haven't gotten them put away, of course; they're sitting on the bed. And the Christmas village is still on the bar table. But this is a big start!

While I was at it I got all the dishes into the dishwasher and started it. I also got my CPAP, mask, and tubing washed, and now I'm waiting for them to dry.

Today's been pretty good, all in all. Work went well--I got some ads done, including one with animation, which was fun. I had lunch at Wendy's with Fichtel, and we didn't sit around blankly the whole time ;> After work I went with him and Mullis to Chick-fil-A. The conversation turned to Adam, who left awhile back to be a chief meteorologist on the west coast, and so I gave him a call right then and there. Unfortunately he had to be in a newscast in five minutes, so the conversation was short. In fact, Fichtel's side of the conversation with him went like this:

"Hello. Okay. Bye. Okay. Bye."

Other than that, noteworthy features of our dinner conversation included the discussion of farts, burping, railing against faceless corporations and the fact that Chick-fil-A's decor is like a motivational pamphlet, and Mullis' fabulous impressions of coworkers.

After that, Mullis and Fichtel headed off to record some music (I'm not sure I can explain the intricacies of this hobby of theirs--I'm just glad I can remember the name "Smies Lieser"--so that's good enough), and I headed home. Sean wanted Chinese food, so I was going to just pick some up at the drive-thru place near Food Lion, but Sean doesn't like that place, so I went to our standard people over on Bobby Jones instead and went inside and waited. (However, I mistakenly ordered sesame chicken instead of almond chicken...:P)

I brought that home and commenced with the cleaning-up detailed above.

Since then I've just been watching Detective Conan, reading Mullis' website, and trying to write this post. Sean just got home. I feel like maybe eating a bowl of cereal. I need to check and see if The Apparatus is dry. And after that...bed.

Tomorrow's Friday! And after work a bunch of us are going to Chili's. Rock on.

Snow!

Most of it fell while I was still working, and it had turned to rain by the time I took this picture, but it was still wonderful to see. I have really missed winter.

Unfortunately, there probably won't be any pretty snow or ice to look at in the morning.

I did it!

Okay, I guess getting up at 6:30 am was an anomaly, because it certainly didn't happen today. However, something very awesome happened instead.

I wore the CPAP all night!

I still woke up a couple times with a cough, and finally I put a cough drop in my mouth. After that I woke up one more time--at around 6 o'clock--and then passed out again until my alarm went off at 8.

The last time I woke up, I wondered if the CPAP was working properly, because I didn't feel overwhelmed at all by the air. I even checked all the tubing to make sure. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. I think I had just finally adjusted to how it felt over the course of the evening.

Rock on!

I'm not going to assume I'll be this successful tonight, because that would just be setting myself up for disappointment, but I do consider this a major step towards fully adjusting. I look forward to the nights when I wear the mask the whole time and don't wake up at all!

Good morning!

Last night I went to bed at around 10:30 or 11. I was able to fall asleep with the CPAP on. Once I woke up with a horrible tickle in the back of my throat that made me keep coughing. I turned the humidifier back down to 2 and that seemed to help, oddly. Another time I woke up and took the mask off, then I woke up again later and put it back on. Finally I woke up a third time with my throat really dry so I took it off for the rest of the night. Since I was half-asleep most of the time, I didn't check my clock, so I don't know how long I actually wore the mask last night.

I started to wake up around 6, and dozed until around 6:30, when I finally got up. I just didn't feel the need to be in bed anymore. This is remarkable because for the last week or so I have barely been able to get out of bed. Yesterday, for example, I stayed for as long as I possibly could--until 9:15, which is 15 minutes before I leave for work.

But today I didn't want to sleep anymore, so I got up and read my webcomics and checked out a couple of blogs. Then the sun was up enough that I thought I might take a walk outside, so I did.

It was about 35 degrees out, so I put on workout pants that I thought were warm enough, a shirt, and a sweater. I did not wear my gloves, though I should have, and I don't think I even own a hat anymore, so I went bareheaded.

As a result of being so underdressed (I'm not used to the cold anymore!), I wasn't able to stay out long, just 15 minutes. But I felt like I could have continued, so when I got back inside I hopped on my bike, which is propped up on a resistance stand in the second bedroom, and rode for ten minutes. As I rode I thought about ways I could get a TV into that room so I won't be bored stiff when I'm exercising.

It wasn't a huge workout, but it was enough to build up a sweat, and I feel pretty darn good.

I'm going to try to keep this up all week. Also, since I'm taking my lunch today, I might see about a brief walk during my break as well.

For now, breakfast, then shower, then lunch-packing. Whee!

Bodycount

I borrowed the four-issue TMNT Bodycount series from a guy at work a few weeks ago, and just got around to reading it today.

Was there a point to this?

It seems like creators think they have to legitimize things they enjoyed when they were younger by making them "dark". Why do they feel this is necessary?

Then again, I guess the turtles started out "dark". But this is "dark" for the sake of "dark". There's no reason for it other than to make the turtles more badass, to distance them from the cartoon.

The only character development we got was in book 4 when Raphael sees Casey get shot and suddenly doesn't think guns are quite so cool. But even then he doesn't really seem to be in character--he starts crying immediately, for example. I don't think Raph is all talk; I don't think he's the type to bawl like that. Regardless of the fact that he's a teenager.

The series is supposed to be funny, in a macabre way, and it's full of homages to Hong Kong action flicks, but ultimately there was nothing there that moved me. Did I expect more out of it than I should have?

Final thought: for a story about a ninja turtle, Raph didn't get as much face-time as I would have expected. But I guess that's a good thing, because the artist sure made everybody ugly.

7 Random Things

I've been tagged by Kayo of Osaka Life! It's the 7 Random Things one. As usual, I refuse to call this a "meme".

I did one called 8 Random Things once, but it looks like I didn't tag anyone when I was done babbling about myself. I'll try not to make that mistake this time ;>

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person's blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

So, here are seven random and/or weird facts about me.

1. I like to put my hair in my mouth. I don't chew it or suck on it, I just hold it between my lips and then blow it out (and continue twirling it with my fingers). I didn't realize it until I searched my archives for the word "twirl", but I have mentioned this before ;P

2. I used to take my wedding rings off when I was at home due to my fingers getting uncomfortable, but that hasn't been the case for quite some time now. In fact, I can't remember the last time I took them off other than right before my shower or going to bed. I guess I got used to them!

3. I call my car Gnat, Bug, and Egg. I have also referred to it as The Pimpmobile, but I doubt anyone would agree that that is fitting. My old car had a name, but I could never remember it, and I still can't! (My bicycle, however, is named Yuuri, aka The Maou.)

4. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

5. I cemented my role as "one of the guys" at work the other day, but I'm not going to tell you how.

6. When I was a kid, I liked to fling a pencil down eraser first onto a flat surface and then catch it on its way back up. While doing this one time, I stabbed the pencil into the middle of my hand. I know, it's unbelievable that that could happen, right? :>

7. Also when I was a kid, I tried to get out of learning things that would have been easy for me to learn because I was lazy. Example: tying my shoes. "Why can't I just have all-Velcro shoes?" I would protest.

Okay, it's taggin' time.

Brooke, Wes, Jered, Chuck, Heather, Miklos, aaaaaaand...okay, I'm going to do it, I'm going to commit blog suicide and tag V. At best, she'll ignore me, and at worst, she'll make fun of me publicly.

Adjustments

I finally got my CPAP on Thursday. I'd been feeling bad all week and it was the worst that day; I felt dull and tired and dizzy. I was eager to get going with the CPAP so I could start feeling better again, like everyone said would happen. So that night I set it up on my nightstand and used it for the first time.

It was not a very successful first night. Every time I finally started to drop off into sleep, my mouth filled with air...so I woke up immediately. It got very frustrating, and after about 45 minutes of that I gave up on the CPAP, turned it off and took off the mask.

The next day at work, though, I felt great. I had energy like you wouldn't believe and I was dancing around and singing to people. I don't know if it was psychosomatic or if 45 minutes of getting lots of air while resting really made that much of a difference. (Another factor is that my doctor had me go back down on some of my heart medicine to get rid of the dizziness. That might be the main reason I felt so much better.)

I was told it could take six weeks to fully adjust to using a CPAP, so I wasn't discouraged by the first night's failure. In fact, the consultant at the place where I got the CPAP said I might have to start out only doing half an hour a day. I went to bed last night determined to leave it on as long as I possibly could, and to try to stop the air from filling my mouth...somehow.

I was somewhat successful in dealing with the air going into my mouth. I could kind of tell when it was going to happen, so I would just inhale a lot and then breathe it all out. I was awake when this happened, but not fully awake, which was an improvement.

This time, the problem was dryness. My CPAP came with a humidifier that is supposed to keep my nose and throat from drying out due to all the air blowing into it. I had it set to the average level, 2, but after awhile I woke up feeling awful because my mouth and throat were so dry. I kicked it up to 4 and tried once again to sleep, but the dryness never went away. I think I must have been opening my mouth while I was asleep, so that's something else I'm going to have to put my subconscious to work on.

Listen, subconscious: no letting air fill the mouth, and no opening the mouth. Behave!

My mouth was so uncomfortable that I had to stop the CPAP for that night, stick a cough drop in my mouth, and go to sleep normally. But I was pleased to find that I'd managed to wear it for two hours this time.

One thing I'm kind of concerned about is the redness on my face when I take the mask off, and the irritation I feel on my skin. I don't know if I'm allergic to the mask or if that's just what happens when there's a vacuum seal on your face. I'm hoping it's the latter. The redness goes away after hours of not wearing the mask. Hopefully things will continue this way as long as I keep the mask cleaned daily like I'm supposed to.

The CPAP requires a lot of maintenance. I have to refill the distilled water in the humidifier daily, and wash it out weekly. I have to wash and air-dry the mask daily, and the straps that hold it to my head weekly. And there's an air filter on the CPAP that has to be changed out every month or so--I have two of them so I can switch them out and then wash the dirty one. More little things to add to my routine, I suppose. It's hard for me to do things on a monthly basis, but hey, if I can remember to pay the rent, I guess I can also remember to change an air filter.

I don't remember the CPAP irritating my skin, or my mouth filling with air or drying out during my sleep study. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if it's just that I'm more relaxed at home, so I do things I wouldn't have done at the study, like relax my throat or let my mouth fall open. Regardless, the last two nights have been very irritating, and while dealing with the various issues I've thought that I don't want to have this hassle in my life. But it's important, and like any other irritation it has a time limit, and I don't have to worry about it the rest of the time...so I'm going to suck it up and deal with it.

I'm pretty sure the only reason I have sleep apnea is because I'm overweight, so if I can solve that problem I may not have to do this anymore. Yet another very good reason to be healthy.

Danger, Will Robinson!

Sorry, blog

Tonight on the phone Mom was telling me her morning routine, and she said that the first website she opens is pixelscribbles.com, "which the author herself never seems to visit lately".

Alas!

I do have some pictures I need to post, and I'm sure there are things I could be writing about...but I've just been sick for so long that all I tend to want to do when I'm at home is either watch DVDs or go to bed.

But don't worry; I'm sure I won't be able to keep from posting something new for long!

I found a new blog

Damon Cline writes a blog called Scuttlebiz about area businesses and the economy and such for the Augusta Chronicle. He usually focuses on one story and then ends the post with a few nuggets. This cracked me up:

I'll bet my left index finger (you can't have the right; it's my trigger finger) that Loco's Grill and Pub, the casual dining chain that closed last week after two years in operation, will be converted into Augusta's 213th Mexican restaurant. Mexican is the new Chinese.

Maybe you have to be a local to realize that this is hilarious because it's true? When Mom visited I took her to Acapulco's, the restaurant that replaced Fazoli's on Washington Road. They had a few microwaved Italian and "American" options, and were otherwise very much a Mexican restaurant, down to the free chips and salsa.

Damon's sharp and funny and seems to know his Augusta. Blogrolled!

(Edit: Apparently Acapulco's has closed, after about a two month run. Heh.)