The one about the ultrasound November 9, 2004 ~ 9:37 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
The only one of my Flying Saucer morning glories that bloomed this year. And yes, this variety is really called Flying Saucer. It’s also the most Georgia O’Keefe looking photo I have in my collection. And any post about an ultrasound calls for a vagina-looking flower.
So I went to Methodist Hospital for the dreaded ultrasound last night. It wasn’t so bad. Rick has restored himself to the title of “Best Boyfriend Ever” because he took the train in from Manhattan to my house to get me, take me to the hospital (an unnecessary train trip for him, it was two stops back in the direction of Manhattan), and wait with me while they got me registered, while I was waiting to be called in, and while I was having my ultrasound, and then took me to dinner. Because he didn’t want me to be alone, in case there was bad news. I have to say it: how sweet was that?
As it turned out, there was no news. But I’m jumping ahead of myself. Experience this with me, via the internet. When I went in, they informed me I didn’t need a full bladder because it was a transvaginal ultrasound. (I’m confused as to why the receptionist told me I would need a full bladder when she saw the prescription that said transvaginal, but what the hell.) So I got to pee. And then the nurse brings out a wand that would make many people in the West Village happy and says that she’s going to insert it. She asks if I want to insert it. Uh, no. So then she gets out a condom for the wand, fills it with gel, ties it off somehow, and sticks it inside me. At this point I was thinking “Damn, I can’t remember the last time there was a condom in me. I liked it that way.” And then she proceeds to spend the next 10-15 minutes waving the thing around inside me and taking screen caps of whatever it was showing. I asked if she could tell if there was a cyst, and she said she wouldn’t be able to tell me. Becuase of “doctor/patient confidentiality”. WTF??? I have to come and get this thing shoved up in me, and you can’t tell me if I have a cyst? But no, she can’t. So now I have to wait till Wednesday or Thursday and call my doctor for the results. I guess on the bright side, at least this is waiting with a purpose. He has to examine the pictures and make sure everything is okay. Or not. But I will have an answer before the week is out, and it will be nice to have all the waiting over with.
Final thought on the experience, from my friend Kim L., who said, “the least they could do is make [the wand] vibrate a little.”
So the question of the day is… November 8, 2004 ~ 11:49 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Lake Welch, NY
Did you ever watch Little House on the Prairie and feel bad for Mr. Olson because his wife and daughter are such bitches? His son’s a moron, too, so life must suck for Mr. Olson. That’s all I’m saying. That, and “What the hell is the point of wearing a nightcap to bed?” Too much Little House for me, I guess.
Let’s see…Fallujah’s in the process of getting razed, Yasser Arafat is dying (if he’s not dead already), and according to Karl Rove, Bush wants to push through his gay marriage ban because “If we want to have a hopeful and decent society, we ought to aim for the ideal, and the ideal is that marriage ought to be, and should be, a union of a man and a woman.” I’m sorry, but I missed the part where the Goddess decided that Karl Rove should be allowed to dictate what was ideal in marriage and society. Did anyone get that on Tivo?
Saturday blah November 6, 2004 ~ 9:58 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Another happy fall picture…this one taken at the northernmost point in our jaunt two weeks ago, 150 miles north of New York City.
So I woke up at 4 this morning because my eye tore again. First time that’s happened in a few months, and just when I figured that shit was all over. It’s not pleasant. I was going to put the antibiotic gel in it right then, but it hurt to bad to open it. I fell asleep with a washcloth pressed to my eye - only a compress helped. I’ve spent the day putting antibiotic drops in every three hours. Woohoo.
However, when I went back to sleep, I dreamt that I got a theatre gig in the most idyllic fall spot ever, a town that had a lake, forest, and fields all around it. Rick and I liked it so much we bought a house there. Then Rick turned into Denis Leary’s character from Rescue Me and I met John Kerry and told him how bad I felt about the whole election. He told me it was okay. It was kinda cool being Denis Leary’s girlfriend, tho. He’s hot, especially in FDNY gear.
When I finally got up around 10, I started cleaning house a bit. Got a fair amount of that done, including cleaning the nastiness off the stove top. Doesn’t sound like much, but it was. And then I found The Thornbirds on the Hallmark Channel and have been watching that for the past 9 hours. I love this mini-series. I was so disappointed when I found out Richard Chamberlain is gay.
Other than that, not much going on. I went to the grocery store for supplies (beer, milk, pretzels, C2, and ziploc bags - I was running low on them) and have basically been watching TV all day. Now I need to start working on this Hemingway stuff for the program insert I’m writing. I was supposed to start writing it this morning, but that didn’t happen. Or maybe I’ll just play Sims. And stick some more drops in my eye. Yeaaah.
Life goes on November 5, 2004 ~ 1:47 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Lake Welch, NY
As promised, we move on to some happy pictures of fall leaves. This was taken near where Rick and I went camping with the girls this summer. Just as beautiful in the fall as it was in the summer.
I just got off the phone with the pre-registration people at Methodist Hospital, where I’ll be tortured subjected to enjoying my lovely transvaginal ultrasound to check for an ovarian cyst on Monday. Amazingly enough, what I spent forty-five minutes trying to get accomplished at the hospital two weeks ago (was it two weeks ago?) I just took care of in under five minutes on the phone. Oh, the irony. So, I’m pre-registered, I just have to show up Monday evening and pick up my paperwork from ROP, and then I can go have cold gel smeared on my stomach and an ultrasound wand stuffed up my nether regions. I can’t wait.
Did I mention that I have to drink a liter of some liquid prior to this? Seems like they can’t get a good picture of what’s going on in there if I don’t. I think I remember this from my last one…having to pee while someone was pressing down on my bladder area. Hated it.
Oh, and I loved Bush’s attempt at unity. He’s willing to work with all those who share his vision. Which means that those of us who don’t want a trillion dollar defecit, who don’t want to have to invest in the stock market with our Social Security, who don’t want all the enemies we’ve made in the past four years to keep multiplying, etc., will be left behind. “If you’re not with me, you’re against me.” I wish someone would point out to him that the world cannot be viewed in black and white. I mean, really, look at the picture of the tree above. If the tree couldn’t figure out what color it wants to be and it’s just a tree, how can people think that the world is so simple?
One New Yorker’s View of the World November 4, 2004 ~ 10:22 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedThis is a long post, so hang in. I think it’s worth it, otherwise I wouldn’t have spent so much time writing it and fighting with Blogger to post it.
First: Thank you, Arlen Specter, for the first time in my life. I grew up despising you, but yesterday you warned Bush against nominating judges “who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v. Wade.” I still don’t like you that much, Arlene (not a typo on my part, read the Warren Commission Report and you’ll see that’s how his name appeared in it), but as a woman I thank you for standing up, at least a little, for my rights.
Now, the Main Event:
An open letter to George W. Bush:
Mr. Bush,
I voted for John Kerry this past Tuesday. I voted for him because I believed in what he was saying. His views were similar to mine. Looking at the popular vote numbers, I’d say his views were similar to most people, or at least more similar than yours. Now, a little over half the country shares your views. But you have to govern all of us, not just that half. Maybe you’re unsure as to how to do this. Well, as just one representative of the Kerry half, here is what I want from the next term of your Presidency:
I want you to respect my rights and those of others. This means not amending the Constitution to limit the rights of anyone. That’s not what that document was written for. It was written to protect our rights, not deny them to certain groups because you’re not one of them and don’t understand them. I live in New York City, a place that accepts gays, lesbians, and transgenders for who they are, not what their sexual preferences are. I want the rest of the country to see that we’re not just “godless New Yorkers†for doing so, we’re human beings accepting other human beings.
I want Roe v. Wade to be upheld. Not because I consider abortions a form of birth control, because I don’t. But because I think women should have a right to choose based on their own predicaments. I don’t legislate what you do with your body, and wouldn’t even if I had the power to do so. Please don’t presume to do so with mine.
I want you to protect this country’s national resources, like Teddy Roosevelt (a great Republican) meant to when he set up the National Parks System and Reserves. That means not drilling for oil in Alaska, or logging in protected forests. These resources are all we have to leave our children and the generations after us. We have to think of the generations yet to come, and work on developing new forms of energy that will ensure they get a world in better shape than the one we inherited from our forefathers.
I want the unified country you and John Kerry spoke about yesterday. I respect the religious beliefs of others, but I don’t believe they have a place in the governing of the country. Neither did the Founding Fathers. They wrote separation of church and state into the Constitution. Many of our ancestors fled the religious persecution in their homelands to come here and start again in a tolerant land. Don’t betray that hope.
I want our soldiers to come home, instead of being called up for re-deployment number three, and being informed that there will be re-deployments four and five in store for them. They’ve fought a long hard war, and deserve thanks and a homecoming for it, not a back door draft.
I want you to work on peace in the Middle East. This has been our traditional role in the world, and I would like a return to being known as peacekeepers rather than warhawks. Besides, the Iraqi war has made us a lot of enemies in that part of the world, and it would be foolish to go to war with all of them. It has the possibility of becoming another Vietnam, if it hasn’t already. I know you hate that term, but think of it. A war we can’t end because more enemies keep popping up and they know the terrain better and have sympathizers who shelter them…common sense tells you that’s not a good idea. The alternative is to make peace.
I want us to pay more attention to other places that could be trouble, like North Korea, instead of focusing solely on the Middle East. Work with other countries to control nuclear production. We can’t go this alone.
I want the United States to pay more attention to what is going on in parts of the globe that are not so potentially profitable for us. Like Africa. Genocide is happening there, and we don’t seem to be doing a lot about it. People are dying in an AIDS pandemic, and we seem to be ignoring them. I know we’ve sent token amounts of aid, but really, can’t we do more? Like it or not, the world is a small place now. We owe it to ourselves and everyone else to take care of the world. There’s practically a giant “Start Here†sign hanging over Africa, what more do you need?
This letter has gone on long enough, but basically, Mr. Bush, what I’m asking for is this. That you live up to the promises you made in your victory speech yesterday; that you listen to the concerns of your constituents, even if they don’t agree with you on every issue. As President, your job is to represent all of us, and do what’s best for this nation, not just one interest group or another. Please do your job well. We’re depending on you.
Sincerely,
Julie
I’m Numb November 3, 2004 ~ 11:44 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedI’ve been schooled, as Sloth says. I learned last night that people my age and younger don’t believe voting is their civic duty, as I do. I learned that they are complacent and don’t think about the people who died and were tortured to give them the right to vote. I learned that they really believe that freedom is free and that the rights they have are guaranteed. I wish that were so.
I’m numb right now. I feel physically ill. I want to curl up in a ball somewhere and cry, I want to get rip-roaring drunk, I want to run around screaming and shaking people, especially young voters and say “What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn’t you vote?”. I want to move someplace where the decisions that are bound to be made by the United States government in the next four years won’t affect me. Unfortunately, I can’t, because we’re globally connected. What the US does will affect everyone on this planet. I can’t go around shaking people unless I want to get beaten up or worse. I’m at work until 5, so I can’t give myself the luxury of crying or drinking (although I suspect there will be a great deal of both when I go home tonight).
What I can do is this. I can go on. I can do my best to pull myself together, make it through the day, and make it through the next four years. Because in a country where the White House, Congress, and soon to be Supreme Court will be controlled by Republicans, I don’t have elected officials who will speak for me. That means that I (and all the rest of you who are dissatisfied with the way this election turned out), will have to use my own voice to speak out. And I intend to make my voice heard. I’m not going to let this setback stop me. I hope you don’t, either.
Exit poll results November 2, 2004 ~ 4:34 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedOkay, kids. I’m thinking about taking my laptop to Rick’s and blogging as the night progresses, but I might be too stressed for that. In the meantime, here are some exit poll results on two sites that they’re checking at the phone bank where my mom is currently calling from to get out the vote:
Check out those swing states, baby!!! *knocking wood frantically*
Okay, and everyone whose email address I had got these stories, but here are the election day stories I’ve heard so far:
When I went to my local polling place at 8:30 this morning, I was number 78 to vote for my district. There were 10 districts voting at this polling place, and all the other districts had lines at least ten people deep.
My mother went to vote this morning at 7:10. Normally when she goes to vote at that time, she’s only the third person to vote. This morning she had to wait in line for fifteen minutes to vote. This was in Pennsylvania, a battleground state.
My friend Eugene went to vote on the Upper West Side of Manhattan this morning. At 6:15 am, he was voter 100.
One of the DJs at the radio station I listen to waited in line for three hours this morning to vote in Manhattan. Our beloved Sloth waited two hours in Boston.
Mom has called 200 people so far today in the get out the vote phone bank and most of them have already voted! And she heard that one small town (Freedom, PA) near where I grew up had 1/3 of their eligible voters show up by noon.
This is history in the making, kids. Be a part of it! If you haven’t gone out to vote already, do so now. And if you can, either call everyone on your cell phone address book, or email everyone in your contacts and remind them to vote. It will only take a little bit of your time, and it’s so important!
Fingers crossed, y’all.
November 2 November 1, 2004 ~ 10:37 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedAlright, people. Get out there and
Bwaaahaaahaaa November 1, 2004 ~ 11:37 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Rick and me, Film Center Cafe, NYC, 9/29/04
I have no scary pictures uploaded from the parade yet, so this will have to suffice. I have no clue why the lights did that, since Lori was holding the camera perfectly still (or as still as she could after three beers). Yep, this is a picture from my mini-birthday celebration. Rick looks better, because he’s only had one beer in this picture. And he’s the cuter of the two of us in general. And I have this problem with keeping my eyes open while waiting for the flash to go off. But this one is a little bit better:
Maybe not.
So anyway, the parade last night. Jordana, her mom, Rick, and I met for dinner and drinks at the Chelsea Grill, which meant that I got to watch a bit of my Steelers pounding the crap out of the Patriots. We left at 7 to go out and join the miscreants. After spending a lot of time walking up and down to find a good vantage point, we decided there wasn’t one and went down to 14th Street to join the parade. I was the only one “in costume” (I was the Staten Island Ferry - I was wearing a tshirt that said Staten Island, a pair of wings, and a tiara), but Jordana put her scarf around her face and managed to look semi-Muslim (I spent the night calling her “Not Without My Daughter,” because with her jeans and jeans jacket she looked like Sally Fields in that movie). Rick went nuts and started skipping up and down the street doing ballet leaps and throwing handfuls of “fairy dust” (actually nothing) to the crowds. They would all go wild until the realized he wasn’t throwing anything. But he sure had fun. And Jordana’s mother just walked along the route with us snapping pictures of everything. I think she had a good time, too.
Best costumes we saw: a group dressed up as the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (the Scarecrow had a Bush mask on and a sign saying “If I only had a brain,” the Tin Man had a Cheney mask on and a sign that said “If I only had a heart,” and Dorothy’s stuffed dog Toto had a picture of Condoleeza Rice on its head), a pair of boobs (two giant garbage bags filled and painted pink with nipples on them), a fork and electrical socket (couple costumes were the rage this year), and too many gorgeous drag queens to count. I hope to get some pictures up tonight, but we’ll see how many turn out…my camer’s flash doesn’t go off as fast as I might like and the result are multicolored blurs. Artistic, but not really an accurate picture of the costumes.
