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From feedback, both here and elsewhere, I think I have decided to go with part of the first quote. Still in French, but all in lower case. Something about that just feels right to me. So far, the location will be on my right flank. I almost feel as though this should be my first visible tattoo (the inside of a forearm). Alas, I am halted by fears (mostly job related). Now, I think I am down to mostly size and script. I still have twenty odd days to figure this out. |
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Vote
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Aug. 20th, 2009 @ 08:37 pm
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I need a vote from you guys - some feedback if you will. You just have to let me know which one you like more.
Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
(It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.)
Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé.
(You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.) |
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Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people you like and include me. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)" (They don't have to be accurate, per se. Just make sense. Try and get them close to accurate, if possible.)
Pick your artist:
The Andrews Sisters
Describe Yourself:
Pistol Packin' Mama
How do you feel:
I Wish I Had a Dime
Describe where you currently live:
East of the Rockies
If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Aurora
Your favorite form of transportation:
The Freedom Train
Your best friend is:
The Three Caballeros
What's the weather like:
Sing a Tropical Song
Favorite time of day:
Tulip Tulip Time
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Rumors are Flying
What is life to you:
Beer Barrel Polka
Your relationship:
Why Talk About Love?
Your fear:
Nice Work If You Can Get It
What is the best advice you have to give:
Straighten Up and Fly Right
Thought for the Day:
The Cock-Eyed Mayor Of Kaunakakai
How I would like to die:
Rum and Coca Cola
My soul's present condition:
I Can Dream, Can't I?
My motto:
Don't Fence Me In |
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Ridiculously and cruelly, much has changed from the last post. After four units of blood, Grandma's hemoglobin maintained around the 10ish mark. An upper GI provided no new information and the lower GI provided only fragmented information. We found the cause of the bleed (a small leak at the site of anastomosis [from her resection two decades ago]). It was discovered that she had contracted pneumonia, which is possibly when she spiked the fever back ICU.
An insane amount of bad things happened, but, I can't possibly recall them now. Then there are other things that I wish I couldn't remember... The run-down, though, is that the doctor is giving us four weeks. I really don't think that she is going to be with us that long. I feel as though she is already looking for her grandfather. She called him Ganty (his name was P.A. Gant). She kept saying, "I want Ganty. Please. Please. I want Ganty. Com'on..." It was like we were talking to a five-year old. Which is still a ridiculous concept to me since she came in with near full mental capacity. It has been a heartbreaking week and a half. Hospice will come in starting today.
I am helping Mom, currently, with the would-be obituary and the other arrangements, since her siblings have yet to help with anything. I really hope that my brother and I don't treat each other like this in thirty years...
It just feels like some cruel joke... I mean the woman who helped raise you and mold you into the person that you are today, the woman who lived with you for seventeen years, suddenly and unexpectedly falls into ruins and there is nothing that you can do except watch. There is something entirely sadistic about that. I have helped care for her for years, since her first stroke. I have known this time would come. Not quite like this. And not quite so soon... |
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Update
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Jul. 24th, 2009 @ 05:55 pm
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Grandma has received two more units of blood. It seems that the pain medication that the nurses were giving Grandma (first through IV, then through a drip) gave her a bad reaction. This morning, she asked me if we were in a house. When, I said no, she then asked why we were in the kitchen. I told her that she was in the ICU in the hospital. She accepted that for a short time before we reverted back to the same thing. Throughout the morning, she became increasingly agitated and belligerent. The nurses switched her pain medications, which allowed for Grandma to sleep most of the day...
After work, I went up to check on her. She has spiked a fever, and is currently on an IV drip with antibiotics. I watched her sleep for some time, making sure that she didn't fidget with her IVs (whenever she wakes up, even for a few seconds, she starts to pull at them).
Mom instituted an "immediate family only" policy for visitation with Grandma, too. It seems that there was a random lady who came to see Grandma. A woman claiming to be Grandma's cousin was in her room the other day. The RN on duty pressed for more information, but when the woman didn't comply she was asked to leave. |
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So... Grandma was taken to the hospital through the emergency department around 2 in the morning yesterday. Upon evaluation, she was found to have a few different issues. One of which is a questionable compression fracture (located on one of her ribs). This may have been caused from her intense coughing from her last bout of pneumonia. Unfortunately, that is not the big concern. While in the emergency room, she received many blood tests, one of which was her CBC. Complete blood counts are a lovely thing, and are often ordered to get an idea of what is going on. Her CBC revealed a hemoglobin that was significantly below normal. Normal being somewhere in the 12 to 18 g/dL. Grandma's was 6.5 - which almost certainly points to a bleed. They started her on a blood transfusion and admitted her to the ICU. After two units of blood he hemoglobin raised to 8.1 - generally speaking, though, for every unit of blood, hemoglobin should raise two grams. They checked her hemoglobin again this morning, and the levels had fallen. This means another transfusion today, and much more testing to see what is causing the bleed, where it is, and what we can do to rectify this situation. Grandma is also NPO which is never good. Women in my family, we have a love affair with food. It is never a good situation when you come between us and food. I was able to feed Grandma last night, though. Not that Jello is a cure all for hunger, but at least it was something.
One thing that sucks about working in a medical field of any kind, knowing every awful situation that could arise... All my brain has been doing since yesterday was think about worst case scenarios. :(
Jul. 24th, 2009 @ 06:02 am
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| » Quick Blip |
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Well, Dad has surprised us all with the way he has embraced this diagnosis. Which is really good for everyone. I can't believe he went down to a 2,000 calorie diet. He is checking his sugar just like he should. He is doing marvelously. Which is really great - I told Dad that I would take him into my work if he didn't take care of himself to show him what would happen. I really am grateful that he sees this as a chance to take back his life. His goal is to be able to go without the medication. It will take some time, but what a fantabulous goal... Nutritional classes start for him next month.
Haha, so - I don't think I told you that the wedding stalker is out and about. He was finally released from jail, but he still has to make a court appearance. He is back down in Tennessee currently. He called Kim to apologize for everything, and at the end of the conversation asked about me. She told him to stay the hell away from me, and that he was the reason that I ended up leaving early. What the shit did I do that night to make him think these things in the slightest? I am telling you! This is why we don't wear make-up... or dresses...
Jul. 2nd, 2009 @ 04:48 am
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| » Albatross |
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So, a fair amount has happened recently. Definitely need to start with the good news. Fiddler on the Roof was absolutely amazing. Topol's performance was brilliant. Even better than the movie portrayal that he had given. It was an absolute honor to listen to him perform. We ate at Maggiano's after the show. Sara's parents had never been there before. We, of course, delight ourselves in the style that would land us in the third circle of Hell.
Sam Raimi has given us another hilarious work of gore and blood. Drag Me To Hell was as classic a piece as Army of Darkness was. A lot of that humor oozed into this work. If you were looking for B-rate horror, this one does not disappoint. Luckily, there were only the four of us when we went to see it... Since we were laughing audibly and cringing at the grossness of the gypsy's mouth.
My father had some routine bloodwork performed at the hospital yesterday. It seems his heart is not the only health issue that requires immediate attention. His blood glucose level is in the mid-300's. Not just his blood glucose level, but his FASTING blood glucose level. It is potentially devastating news. I don't think that my father will be able to control this with diet and exercise alone. Not to mention the fact that my father has been experiencing increasing irregularities with his heart. His heart was skipping every third to fourth beat at one point, but now is experiencing a pulse, on average, in the high 30's to low 40's. A pacemaker is certainly in his future. His stress test isn't until Monday. So, first we will have to deal with the diabetes.
It is somewhat unnerving helping to take care of your grandparents from the time that you are young, and then to see your parents' health failing them earlier than it should. It makes me want to rethink my moving to Chicago with my friends. I also don't want to stay because I don't want to be stuck here either. It seems ridiculous to move for selfish reasons, though.
Grandma has had her first fall since the move to the nursing home earlier this year. I know for a fact that there will be more days like this coming. And that is just a SHITASTIC idea...
Jun. 26th, 2009 @ 01:35 pm
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| » (No Subject) |
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Definitely broke down the other day and put the A/C on. So much for my plan on saving NIPSCO money by not turning it on until July...
So, the birthday went by fairly smoothly - which is always a plus... Plans were made for a summer skydive, plus Brigitte and I got a joint gift for our birthdays - a Chicago Fire game on the Miller Lite Party Deck. Soccer boys, friends, and free food and drink. I am pretty sure that it will be a glorious time. Hopefully we can get the second installment of our Pauper's Feast in before then.
As it turns out, my grandmother is turning into the nursing home Nazi. The other day, she ended up shoving an almost blind woman out of her way because she was going too slowly. To be fair, she was already in a wheelchair, so she didn't shove her to the ground, but seriously grandma? Who does that? She has turned into a lady with a mean streak the size of Texas, which is an incredible turn of events.
My cousins and other family in Germany seem to be doing so-so. I got an email from Petra yesterday. Onkel Willi is doing much better from his illness. However, Petra needs to have surgery, and is receiving consultation for it on Wednesday. As my German is getting fairly rusty, I was not sure of the translation, but I am pretty sure that she is having an outpatient procedure. Hopefully good news will come of it.
Tomorrow, I take my family in to see Topol in Fiddler on the Roof. I hear it is amazing, and I really hope they enjoy themselves. First, another round of racquetball today - the boys never learn!
Jun. 23rd, 2009 @ 06:33 am
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| » OMIGOD SO HOT! |
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I am pretty sure that I am melting as I type this, and that is why I can't get to sleep. So, maybe if I wear myself out on the interwebs, I can get back to sleep...
You guessed what this post was about, good job! Of course, the derby. So, you can always by-pass this post if need be. It was the Black v. White scrimmage/Championship Bout. The Windy City Rollers did something really cool for the scrimmage. They auctioned the chance to be a guest captain away for each team, with the proceeds going directly to the Help Tequila fund. Tequila Mockingbird was a member of The Fury. She suffered a severe spinal cord injury during a bout two years ago. She has some feeling back and is walking somewhat, but was paralyzed from the neck down. So, it is a really good cause. Anyways, the bottom two teams (The Fury and The Double Crossers) were basically lined up and hand chosen for this bout by the guest captains. This year it was The Dark Side vs. The White Zombies. Of course we chose to root for The Zombies because, well... not only were they zombies (for reals!), but they had almost all of our favorite players from those teams on it. Many of the girls changed their names. For The Dark Side there was Indy Sith instead of Indy Cent and a play of Anakin instead of Annie Arkie. For The Zombies there were names like Juanna Brains instead of Juanna Rumbel and Resident Eva over Eva Dead. Although a shortened bout, it was still a lot of fun, especially for some of the skaters who were doing tricks like "shooting the duck" or taking their zombie nature just a little too seriously. Like when Hoosier Mama tackled one of the jedis and began to eat brains! Or Peg Legs doing the zombie shuffle in the middle of the pack! It was still a sad occasion since Hoosier Mama is "85% sure" she will not return for another season. Peg Legs, Blossom Bruiso, Malice with Chains, and undoutedly a few more of our favorite girls will not return. :( And just in case you were wondering if jedis would survive the zombie apocolypse... they will not. They would be clobbered!
As the scrimmage team went back to the locker room to change, I was talking to my parents. My dad made a motion to me that I should look the other way. As I did, Hoosier Mama threw some of her clothing at us (a "blood soaked" shoulder pad) and said that she was going to change, but that she would be back in a few. :) In the meantime, we received an intermission from a band called The Polkaholics. It was entertaining.
We began the next match-up: The Hells Belles versus The Manic Attackers. We were rooting underdog - The Attackers. Because, really - who likes the Yankees? In this case, The Belles represent the Yankees. The Manic Attackers made their way to their very first championship game this year. In fact, the last two seasons, they were winless. It was brutal. It started off as a very close game. By the end of the period, one of the Hells Belles was thrown out for violations, but they were ahead by 30 or so points. We didn't lose hope. Half-way through the period, Hoosier Mama came over, beer in her Vitamin Water bottle, and sat with us for a while and chatted. This is where we learned that she will probably not return, that Blossom Bruiso used to play ice hockey in college, that they call Beth Amphetamine "Mr. Burns", that Anita Bier was her roommate, and other fun facts. She eventually went back to sit with her teammates for the evening.
There was a brief intermission before the start of the next period. The Helles Belles tried to squash The Attackers, but they kept getting penalties after penalties. Two more girls were ejected from the game. The Attackers took advantage of the full penalty box and came back with a vengence. It was incredible to watch. It became, once again, an incredibly close game... Just single points apart. Eventually, The Attackers stepped up. And with the last jam of the game, Malice with Chains secured the lead and brought her team to victory. There was mucho celebration! :)
We also learned of a cool place in Chi-town that we should check out, especially since I have the chance of getting 20% off my next purchase until 8/30/09. :) Delicious! But super expensive. Which is why we would have to use the coupon. EDIT: I forgot to mention the name of this place, which is Bleeding Heart Bakery. Delicioso!
Jun. 21st, 2009 @ 02:30 am
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| » Bout The Last |
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As most of you have probably figured out, we have taken ill to a sickness known as Derby Junky-ism. I am pretty sure that we will never recover. Today, I set off to buy skates and gear. I intend on trying out for the Windy City Rollers at some point. Maybe as soon as this fall, but definitely next spring. We have to see how much skating we can get in. Anyways, on with the story.
We started our trek into Chicago like any other - playing the movie game, and me spilling water all over myself. We arrive in Chi-town with time to kill, so we head over to the McDonald's in the theater district. From the second floor, we discover that there is something going on in the Daley Plaza. We decide to investigate. We go over to discover that it is the Turkish Festival (All Things Turkish, as its tagline). After we meander for some time, we decided to head back towards the Borders to see what they have to offer. I found the most incredible version of the book Lamb by Christopher Moore. It literally looks like a bible (gold edged pages, leather bound, the red page saver - it was brilliant). So, of course, I had to buy it. It is decided that we should go over to the UIC Pavillion for the bout, so a cab we flag down. I ask if they can take five people - not thinking that three of them are boys. Anthony goes to the front of the cab; four of us pile into the back. I am literally sitting mostly on Sara's lap at this point. There is so much body mass in the back seat, we can't even get the cab doors closed the first few tries. Regardless for our well-being, we make it to the UIC pavillion in one piece.
After buying tickets and staking the place out, we are let into the pavillion. We grab seats right behind where some of the girls sit (in fact, where we sat last time, only closer). Sara and I go exploring. We head up to the Fan Zone and grab information about becoming a roller derby girl (as they were having an information session at the half-time of this bout). Tina Flay is the one who talks with us for a while about it. Sweet girl! :) Plus, she remembers the bachlorette party from the last bout - AWESOME! We made an impression. Then, the bout begins...
It was the Hells Belles vs. The Manic Attackers and The Fury vs. The Double Crossers. The Hells Belles, of course, being the undefeated team; The Fury being the one who has yet to win a game. At the end of the first period the Helles Belles were winning against The Manic Attackers by some 40 points! But not without injury here, as well. Varla Vendetta, from The Belles, definitely broke her nose during the match-up, but still skated in a jam in the second period. The Fury and the The Double Crossers first period was somewhat methodical and slow-going. Almost every jam would gain a point or two, and that would be it. By the end of the first period, it was a close game. Half-time took Sara and I up to the information session. We were early, so we watched the final minute of the game from our bird's eye view. And we saw Sassy Squash go down - and hard. Every player was on bended knee for an extended period of time. It was a serious blow to her leg and the team. After the information session, Sara and I were heading back to our seats for the bout when we were stopped by Flash Hottie, one of the Haymarket Rioters, who was saying "Fresh meat!" Sara asked her one question about practices. This opened a flood gate of questions from me about what we could expect on any given try out date. She gave us amazing pointers and practice tips for us to make us better players and look like studs out skating. Now we just have to replicate. :) We head back out seats, and we were sitting behind The Double Crossers while the first match-up for the evening was underway again. We grabbed the attention of Hoosier Mama, saying that we loved her, and she threw a fry at us. Eh, we will accept that. The Manic Attackers came back with a fury. Including one jam that earned 19 points. Sara and I cheered them on, because BAH-JESUS that was a damn good jam. Hoosier Mama looked at us, shook her head, and kneel crawled over to our gate. She explained that it was bad for her team if The Manics won. We simply explained that it was a damn good go. As the point gap decreased, Hoosier Mama got more and more worried. Then, The Attackers took the lead, and never let go. It was emotional for The Double Crossers, especially Hoosier Mama, who has been contemplating retirement. :( The girls switched stadium sides, and the next game continued. It was still a close match-up, but it was vicious. Girls were flying, and dying. It was incredible. Each girl was exhausted. The pack sometimes being faster than the team jammers! In the end of this close match-up, The Fury edged The Double Crossers by 6 points...
We go up to the Fan Zone to talk to some of the players. While the boys were occupied, Sara and I met Val Capone of The Manic Attackers. She saw my shirt and said that she was sorry that my team had lost, but that it was great that The Fury won a game for the season. I agreed and told her that she, too, had an amazing game. Sara noticed her Star Wars tattoos. She had an imperial one an a shoulder and a rebel one on the other. She said that her forces were balanced this way, and they were symbols of the angel and the devil on her shoulders. She threw out her hand for a handshake and asked for our names. I match her grip (which is something that I don't think happens very often), and she asked why I wasn't skating. That made me feel really, really good! :) I ask if she would be willing to take pictures with us, and she does so with enthusiasm and then part ways. We then spot our favorite roller girl. We walk up to her, and she spots us and hang her head for her defeat. She chats with us for some time talking to us about why this defeat was so hard and other randomness. She had remembered Sara and the other bachlorette girls, too. I asked her if there were any tips or advice that she could give to us. She showed us some moves to practice on, and offered herself to us. She says that she doesn't really make it out Valpo-way often (even though her brother lives out here - she called him "a ho-bag" in front of us), but that if we would like, she would practice with us and knock us around. I almost fell on the floor then. HELLS YES! :) Who wouldn't want to get their asses handed to them by her? We take pictures with her and Blossom Bruiso, and then go to part ways. I offer a hand for a handshake (not knowing really how close you can get to them), and she throws my hand to the side, and then gives me a big ol' hug. While hugging me, she says that she is all sweaty, and then shakes into it. She goes through the rounds of hugging our little crowd, when she gets to my brother. She does the half look over her shoulder to Sara when she goes in for her hug with him, and then cuddles into him. She proceeds to call my brother "a big teddy bear." We thank her and leave to find a cab.
Of which there were none? Which by the by, while we were looking for a cab we saw some of the derby girls including Beth Amphetamine ride their bikes to towards the after party bar after jamming for an hour! An incredible athlete! Holy shitake, Batman! We decided to hoof it a while up Van Buren, hoping to find a cab. We eventually do, and make our way to the train station back from an incredible night of derbying. And you wonder why I am attracted to it?
May. 31st, 2009 @ 05:41 am
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| » Freakin' gorgeous day! |
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Five Questions from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) adustierstar
1. What are your top 3 favorite movies ever? (I was going to ask for ONE, but I thought that was cruel)
Top three favorite movies of ever is still pretty cruel for someone like me! ;) First and foremost I am going to have to go with The Passion of Joan of Arc. You, of course, are familiar with this movie. It was an unbelievable piece of work when it was put together! The lead was amazing, truly ahead of her time when she made it. Cinematography, the director of photography, everything came together. It is still one of the few movies that makes me cry consistently. You can truly feel like you are in the pit with her. Tremendous movie. Secondly, I will go with Run Lola Run. If there is one movie that I can point to and say it has influenced me in x-number of ways, this would be the one. This is a movie that was literally written for Potente, and you can see why. She is the stand-out performance in the time-bending (one of my favorite genres) movie. And you can see it reflected in many other works including the pilot of Alias. As for the third movie, this is going to be a tricky one... it has to be a James Dean movie, you see... And while this will probably not be my most popular choice, it is still indeed mine to make - Rebel Without a Cause. The most iconic role Dean was able to play. This was truly an extrodinary movie to make in that age, and Warner Bros. knew it, too! They started the filming in black and white. Once they knew what it would come to mean a few weeks into the shooting, they switched to Technicolor (which of course meant that everything had to be re-shot). This was also one of the first few movies to target the teenagers at that time. The Wild One being the only other one I can think of. While I love the other Dean films, this one is always near my heart.
2. What is your one most favorite musical?
Again, just mean... I am a fan of the classic musicals, On the Town and the like. Of course there are songs that outrank others, but that was not the question here. The one muscial that I always return to, know every line to, know every myth, legend, and truth behind is The Wizard of Oz. Mom used to pop this in almost every rainy day. We would sing and bounce to it. Next time you have the pleasure of seeing it with my mother, just watch her feet the whole time. Never do they stay still. That excitment was passed to me. It is truly a remarkable piece of film-making, too. Could you imagine going to the show and seeing a movie that literally changed right before your eyes? The change from black and white into color was so evolutionary that it literally transported you from your seat it Anywhere, USA to the land of Oz. It will never matter how many times I see this, it will probably always be my favorite. Plus there is that little known musical that also comes from the Oz tale that I adore.
3. How did you decide on naming your purple truck Agnes?
I really enjoy strong female names. And the two trucks that I have had somehow just struck me as female in character. Most of them come across as uber-masculine, but mine have been ladies. Lenore being the first. Special. It also helps that as a teenager I was horribly obsessed with Poe, so Lenore has kinda been a name in the back of my head since forever. When I finally became aware that I was getting another truck, I instantly started to think about new names. I felt that she was a "farm girl" and the purple also helped. I needed a name that was beefy and wouldn't take any schtick. Literally the only name that ever popped into my head was Agnes. I suppose it was just meant to be.
4. What's one skill you wish you had?
I broke this one down into a two-parter, because I can. Physically and mentally. Physically, I really wish that I could be more of a grease-monkey. I wish I knew my way around an engine more and that I could tinker and build something extraordinary. I want to be the chick working on the car in the front of my house. Mentally, I wish that I weren't so socially awkward at times. Not knowing what to say or how to act. I blame my INTJ-ness, of course. But, it doesn't change the fact that some things I just don't get, and hate doing just for the sake of doing them (e.g., "small-talk," "the dating rituals," etc.).
5. Who is your least favorite celebrity - someone you would punch in the face if they turned up and introduced themselves?
There are soooo many celebrity people that I hate and would totally punch in the face if they turned up. I will choose, however, Criss Angel. To quote Supernatural... "What a doucebag!"
Meme rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying anything random, like your favorite lyric to your current favorite song. Or your favorite kind of sandwich. Something random. Whatever you like.
2. I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. You update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be asked, you will ask them five questions.
Feb. 10th, 2009 @ 11:01 am
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| » Momma and the Faith-healing Godlovers |
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I am going to begin this post with a disclaimer - I am going to continuously use the phrase "godlovers," I do not mean you any harm with it. This phrase I have picked up from one of my friends, and can't seem to get it out of my head, especially for this story (mostly because it is very accurate). And also, you will begin to understand why I do not every want to go to Wal-Mart with my mother ever, ever again.
So, it all happens on Friday. My mother wants to take me with her on a little adventure across god's green earth to see what we can see on some random objects that my brother and Sara are going to need when they move (e.g., plates, furniture, odds-and-ends really). It was my impression from my mother that we were going to go to Goodwill and Salvation Army on this venture. However, we began our trip going to the doctor's office, picking up some "trial prescriptions." Since we are on this side of town, mom suggests that we start our trip at Wal-Mart. I start to protest a little bit while driving saying that we can't pick out plates, because it is my belief that Sara already has a picture in her mind of pattern and whatnot of plate that she wants for regular use. We park on the side while we try to reach her on the phone. Of course, we couldn't reach her. There would be no story if we had... Alas, we give up and go inside "just to look and get an idea."
Inside we start to take pictures and get an idea of what we could get them. We begin to price things for pots and pans, microwave, some smaller furniture. We eventually make it to the clock aisle. We happen to spot the cutest kitchen clock ever. We mull over it for literally a minute when we are approached from the east. A shortish women and a taller man pushing a shopping cart and carrying a cane. Excuse me, they say, but we are on a sort of treasure hunt, and you happen to be looking at clocks which is on my list... She shows us the list so as to ease our serial killer thoughts. Do you happen to fit any of these areas? She makes us look at the list. There were a few names left on one part of the list, but we didn't fit those descriptions. Then she took us down the list to areas of pain. Knee happened to be mentioned, so I looked at mom and said what about knee? I am pretty sure that my mother had daggers behind those eyes. The lady asked about Mom's condition and asked if they could pray for her (as this was a religious treasure hunt). Mom, thinking they would say a prayer at a mass, said okay. Little did she know...
The lady gets on Mom's right side and asks if it is okay to put her hand on her knee. Mom reluctantly says okay. Let me hold those for you, I say to Mom - and I back the hell out of dodge. On a normal day at Wal-Mart, every few seconds there are people who pass the aisles. Let me be the first to say there was nobody that passed our one aisle. Not one. It was as if we were meant to be left alone for this amount of time. I stand at the end of the aisle, keeping my distance from the scene in front of me, and keeping my peepers peeled for anything happening away from us. I see another joyful couple to my left with treasure hunting papers. But, they scurried away towards the bedding aisles. I look back at mother who is as still as death. The lady who is "healing" mother's knee begins to almost seize every few seconds while she prays. I can hear her saying things like "in Jesus' name." When she was done praying, she asks my mother if she feels any differently, insisting that some people feel warmth when this happens to them and others don't feel anything. Mom says that there is no way to test it as she didn't have any pain at that moment. They begin to leave. Before they do, though, they just wanted to tell my mother that she was god's treasure and that she had been chosen and that he loves her.
They leave and we linger in the clock aisle for a few more minutes, avoiding what has happened. We pick up the clocks that we wanted and I tell my mother that we are leaving that minute. I am almost running down the side aisle and Mother, trying to keep up, tells me to get back there. That she wanted to walk with me. But, I knew my safety was better staying away from Mom in case the faith-healing godlovers came back, and because my mother was probably going to sacrifice me for throwing her to the wolves back there. I tell my mother that we could probably do the self-checkout since we don't have a lot and we don't have to weigh/look-up anything. I choose the shortest aisle (let this fact be known). I am standing in that lane, while my mother chooses the lane next to mine. What was she thinking. I literally walk over to my mother from the right lane to hers, and then it happens. A separate couple approaches us.
They see our reactions and ask if we have already been approached. We say that we have indeed. This seemed to encourage them more. The black lady looks at Mom and says, "I just know that you are my treasure. I just know it." She begins to ask Mom a series of simple questions like her name and what they were praying for. When my mom said her knee the other lady said "oh my god." They both start to smile and become overjoyed with this information. The black lady asks my mother which knee it was. When my mother told her she restated that she just knew that my mother was her treasure. "I could feel it in my knee. I could feel the pain. And I knew that I was looking for you because I saw the red collar and the jeans. Here, I even wrote it down. Look." She showed my mother the paper. Sure as shit she had these things written down. Whether they were looking from afar or this church employs psychics, I am still not sure. I was keeping an eye out to begin with, and these people I did not see. So they couldn't have seen us. They just wanted Mom to know that she was a treasure and that god had chosen her and "godwilling" the next time she stood up she wouldn't feel any pain in her knee. We leave immediately after this for another store, but we didn't want to risk running into the crazies anymore. We went home after Bed, Bath and Beyond. I separated from my mother at this point because I was supposed to hang out with May that night.
Later on that night, I checked my cell phone. I had a missed call from my mother. I called her back and found out to both of our surprises that she didn't have knee pain from any of her activities that evening. Standing and sitting, going up stairs and down, kneeling on the floor and getting up... All things that would cause her enormous pain. Hell just the other week Mom's legs and locked up and stopped functioning from sitting in the dentist's chair. We shrugged it off thinking that "oh the power of suggestion" and all that. Mom still has no pain. It is the weirdest thing. You don't just fix medical things like that with this. It just doesn't happen. So, I am waiting for the day that the pain does come back, but I am glad for Mother's sake that she has had this long of a reprieve.
Feb. 1st, 2009 @ 06:14 am
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