greyduck.net

Looking For Quacks In The Pavement

Category: Life

  • And this post makes… ten.

    You know I’m having a bad month when I can barely eke out ten posts from 1st to 31st. As it is, my son wrote most of the previous one… two weeks ago. Ouch. As anyone who knows me could tell you, I haven’t been doing so well lately, a time period defined as “since I lost my job last March.” You’d think that being employed for over six months would have given me the time and money needed to get back on my feet, but apparently you’d be wrong in my case. I’m sleeping poorly, getting sick more often, and generally have very little energy or enthusiasm. Even the things I could usually handle with grace and a smile are getting to me, such as getting thoroughly trounced in a game of Munchkin.

    That’s not to say I’m living in some kind of hell. Drama levels are generally down, my bills are paid, the basic necessities are covered. I enjoy the company of people who care about me, we share laughter fairly often, and nobody’s currently in what I would define as a serious crisis situation, nor are there any active feuds that I know of. Life could be so very much worse, indeed.

    And yet.

    I’m searching for something that will help lift my spirits again, without falling into the trap of thinking, “As soon as I find [whatever] then I’ll be happy!” That was always Mom’s problem, her persistent belief that there was something or someone Out There(tm) and all she had to do for her “happily ever after” was to find it or them. So, no, there is no wonderful fix-it-all waiting for me. (I’ve been fixed, thanks.)

    I’ll figure something out. Unlike some people, I don’t like wallowing in misery and I don’t like using pity ploys to gain attention. Hell, that’s why I’ve not been writing very much lately: You don’t want to read a continual string of depressing posts, and I don’t want to write them. See? I’m always thinking of you, my loyal and devoted readers. That’s what kind of a great guy I am.

    There are a few amusing things to write about and link to which I plan on getting posted over the next few days. I’ll even go so far to say that “I’m back, baby.”

    I know, I know. I’ve claimed to be “back” several times over the last few months. Time will tell, as usual…

  • Spud Rides The Floating Twinkies

    Apparently, part of my son’s evening activities yesterday included leaving the surface of the planet for a few minutes… here, I’ll let him tell you all about it:

    So, yes, I rode the OHSU tram. Both ways, in fact. Before I describe my acrophobia at the time, I must say that there was an amazing view of downtown Portland about halfway up the hill. Absolutely amazing.

    I must admit, however, that my fear of heights had kicked in long before we had even left the station on the ground. They must have anticipated my acrophobia long before, though, because there were many bars to hold onto on the way up. Four vertical ones in the “corners”, and two long horizontal ones running along the curved ends. So I had TWO bars to hold onto. Security at its finest.

    Enough about me. Anyway, we had ridden it during the night, so I got to see the brightened city from a bird’s-eye view, so to speak. I would love to ride it in the day, but I’d need to ask Steve, who works at OHSU and was gracious enough to give us the tour that night. That is, I think
    we need to be accompanied by someone who has an OHSU ID.

    So, one way or another, the tram ride was an incredibly interesting experience… overall. Only my fear of heights got in the way of my enjoyment.

    ~Spud

  • Some kind of new-age voodoo curse.

    Define funny:

    I leave work at 5pm and step onto the snowy streets of Hillsboro, Oregon with my little iRiver portable music player going and a jaunty spring in my step, and the second song I hear is Dada’s “Spinning My Wheels.”

    See, it’s funny because I don’t have any wheels, and because I watched a lot of wheels spinning in futility on the roadways and in the parking lots.

    (The first song? New Order’s “Guilt Is A Useless Emotion.” Make of this what you will.)

    And then there’s the advertisement I heard a couple of times on Friday:

    “Feel like curling up on the couch and watching a movie tonight? Go buy The Illusionist, coming out Tuesday on DVD.” Wait, what? Do they assume everyone’s got a blue, dimensionally transcendental police box stashed away so they can hop a few days into the future to make a shiny-disk purchase?

    Crazy, I tell you.

  • So far, this isn’t an improvement.

    Meet the new year, much like the old year, in which an increasing percentage of my time is spent miserable.

    I’ve suffered a head cold for an entire week, with no sign of improvement. Now, thanks to the variety of medications I’ve taken in a (mostly) vain attempt to not feel quite so lousy, I itch. All over. It’s a mild itch, but it travels. You know that itch which, when scratched, immediately moves to a different, random point elsewhere on your body? Yeah, that’s the itch.

    So not only has my throat been sore (in the “ow, it hurts to swallow” sort of way) for an entire week, not only have I been coughing and sniffling all that time, but now I’m afraid to take anything for it because I don’t know what medication (or combinations thereof) gave me the allergic reaction. Outstanding. And since I’m such a trooper, I’ve shown up at work without fail each day during this ordeal. (I burned too many sick days in the last few months for my comfort, so of course now I’m even more miserable than I was when I took those days. Go figure.)

    As you might expect, what with the pain of swallowing waking me up all through the night coupled with an urge to itch one spot or another on my skin, I didn’t sleep well last night. It’s not like I get a whole lot of sleep normally, so this is just adding injury to insult.

    I suppose the good news is that I might be able to afford a new mattress soon. Of course, the last time I made plans of that nature I lost my job…

  • Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his grey duck.

    Happy 2007, everybody. I know, I sort of left things hanging around here for the last few days of 2006 but when you get right down to it, there wasn’t much to say. I don’t want to look back on that particular run of twelve months. Not that it was all bad. Some of it was quite good. However, long stretches of it were absolutely dreadful. So, good riddance.

    And now for something completely silly. At one of my favorite website stops I found an amusing new toy. I plugged in a specific (and perhaps unsurprising) sequence of letters and what follows are many of the results. Please note that I’ve taken a bit of liberty with the formatting, using the two separate words or my Internet nickname form depending on which amuses me more. (It’s all about my amusement, dammit.) Can you name the movies?

    • I know this sounds crazy, but ever since yesterday on the road, I’ve been seeing this grey duck.
    • Why don’t you come up sometime and see GreyDuck?
    • We’ll always have GreyDuck.
    • Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a grey duck.
    • You had me at ‘grey duck’.
    • I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old grey duck for dinner.
    • I always say a kiss on the hand might feel very good, but a grey duck lasts forever.
    • You can’t handle the grey duck!
    • Love means never having to say you’re GreyDuck.
    • We can’t stop here. This is grey duck country.
    • Gort! Klaatu barada GreyDuck!
    • It is too late, my grey duck is in your veins.
    • That grey duck is the pure, physical manifestation of Sadako’s hatred.
    • There is a grey duck coming. Are you sure you’re on the right side?
    • I am the author. You are the grey duck. I outrank you!
    • I feel the need – the need for GreyDuck!
    • Soylent Green is GreyDuck!
    • I love the smell of grey duck in the morning.
    • Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to grey duck.
    • I say we take off and nuke the entire grey duck from orbit.
    • If you build it, GreyDuck will come.
    • Hasta la vista, GreyDuck.
    • I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little grey duck, too!

    I love that last one! After all, I am “the little grey duck.” Ha!

  • I can see why this didn’t happen a week ago.

    Of course. Last weekend I had precisely two activities to really worry about: A date with Lil’ on Friday night and playing Santa (or at least Gift Delivery Man) for my kids Monday morning. (There was a holiday party here at the house on Saturday, but I didn’t have to worry about that, see?)

    My plans for today and the days to come, as of yesterday evening, looked a little something like this: Thursday after work, visit rugrats. Friday evening, dine with Lil’. Saturday, visit rugrats again and also go help The Imperial Princess of Cute with some computer problems she’s having. Sunday, maybe, go visit folks for New Year’s Eve.

    Through all of last night, however, I struggled with a sore throat. You know how it is when it hurts to swallow? That’s the time your mouth decides to produce endless saliva, of course. And then the coughing started, and the stuffy head, and the fever, and the whole NyQuil commercial litany through the course of the day.

    Yes, I’ll be taking The Green Death shortly. Thanks for asking.

    No kidlet visiting tonight. No date tomorrow, though in a weird sort of way that worked out well for Lil’ and Geoffrey. (I wholeheartedly approve of things working out well for those two, mind you!) Saturday is… up in the air. I’m hoping to kick this thing soon enough to be functional by then, but I can’t make any guarantees, especially since I’m also determined to make it to work tomorrow. I’ve been home sick from work too many times on this job already, for the short time I’ve been there. Argh. Maybe this illness is the dying affliction of a lousy year, and a sign that it’s going to get better after this year/cold is through.

    Then again, I’ve had my faith in the prospect of an improved new year trampled over and over, so I’m not getting my hopes up…

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