Cavia Porcellus...And Other Things

You guys...it has been a while and so much stuff has happened.

Jay and I have moved from our apartment at Pine Crest with Garret to an apartment at Lancaster Heights (probably about 2 miles away, maximum) with Nicole and Zach, a married couple, the former whom we know through Target. The move went really well with help from my dad who truly is The Man. If you haven't met him yet, just know that he IS The Man. All of us are settling into the awkward phase of getting used to living with one another. I remember going through that with Garret hardcore and now it's like I've adopted a stocky blonde brother.

The biggest adjustment is all of the pets. There is one pet for every human in the apartment. An affectionate cat, a hyperactive dog and two apathetic guinea pigs. Zoe, the cat, is just freaking adorable and she's really easy to live with. Henry, the beagle, requires us to be a bit more aware when it comes to closing closet doors and putting food and valuables down certain places but he's lovable enough. Both of them are interested in Murray and Theo but not enough to harm them, so that's good news. Zoe likes to stare at them a lot...like right now.

As for our two boys, they were separated with a piece of cardboard in their cage because of a slight altercation they had before we moved. Blood was involved. Not a lot but enough to cause worry. They were trying to gnaw through the cardboard ever since. Not to get AT each other, just out of curiosity. Today we really needed to clean out their cage (which is a pain in the ass when there ISN'T a flimsy barrier taped in the middle of the wire) so we took the opportunity to try and reintroduce them.

I was expecting a lot of mounting like last time but they just chattered angrily at one another and nipped a bit harder than they should have for having lived together for, like, six months. However, one more night of cardboard chewing and tape crinkling was going to drive us to insanity, so we came up with another barrier solution:



Those are two sides of those wire cube shelving units that no one likes to put together. Taped and zip-tied together and to the cage. I figured that this way they can SEE each other but they can't GET to each other. Phase one of reintroduction: complete.

I don't know what will happen if they can't get along. Worst case scenario: we have to give one of them away. The only other option is separate cages which we don't have the room for, but we we'll run blindly across that proverbial bridge when we get there.

We do so much for them. Would it KILL them to love us?!

Edit: Apparently while Jay was going in and out of consciousness today in between jobs, he saw Zoe with both of her paws in Theo's side of the cage, batting around in the air while the guinea pig sat in the corner eyeing her warily. She got discouraged, did the kitty equivalent of a sigh, and then tried the same thing on Murray's side. I'm not worried about her hurting them, I think she's just curious as to what the hell they are.

Potter-ing

We saw Harry Potter about a week ago. Probably more interesting things have happened in my life since then, but I promised a post containing what I thought of the film.

*SPOILERS START HERE*
It WAS excellent. When it began, it simply began. It didn't give you some big to-do about the Harry Potter 'verse. There was no time for that. There was a repeated shot of Voldemort getting the Elder Wand just as a reminder, Warner Bros logo, Harry Potter logo, and BOOM: Harry at Dobby's grave. Within the first minute, you're buckled in, ready for the last run of this brilliant ride.

The only problem I have with the beginning was how looooong it took and how much diiiialoooogue there was. I realize Griphook and Ollivander are old but good God how long does it take to tell Harry what he needs to know? I wonder if they felt they had to go slow to make sure the audience knew what was going on. If that was the case, r u srs? This is the EIGHTH film. If anyone in the audience is jumping in at this point, they don't deserve to know what's going on.

There were 2 other minor issues I had with the film. The entire time, I was counting horcruxes in my head. There were multiple points while watching where I went "Okay...the diary, the ring, the locket [and then from memory of the books] that cup-thing in the vault...[once we got there in the film] okay Ravenclaw's diadem aaaaaannnnnddd.......?" The end of the book totally escaped me.

And as Harry was going for the diadem he said something about how it was the last one. Well...of course it wasn't. They had 2 more to get and they didn't know what they were. Then they found out they were Nagini and Harry (the latter of which I totally called in the middle of reading the 6th book).

Other than those minor neural interruptions, I want to see the film again. I also want to read the book again, but have you SEEN that tome? It's too much for right now. My favorite moments in the theatre were closely related to audience reactions. Everyone cheered and clapped when Molly killed Bellatrix and the girl in front of me almost had a happy-seizure when Neville killed Nagini. It was pure fandom and I will miss it all.

I cried a few times, partly from reaction to the story and partly from how real these characters have been to me for so long. So when I lost Snape, when Neville became more than the bumbling kid, when two of my best friends finally got together...there was no way I couldn't react.

In conclusion, I just have one question regarding the entire movie saga: Where the hell was Charlie Weasley?!
*SPOILERS END HERE*

In non-Potter related news, one of my cooperating teachers is my mom's best friend from high school and thus a very close family friend. I will be teaching two sections of Oral Communication, World Literature & Composition and Sophomore Writing. ^_^ Internship, ho!

Keep It Together Man!

Jay and I are going to see Part 2 tonight with another couple (If you don't know what "Part 2" I'm talking about, you deserve a boot to the head. Go get on the Internet). I was just on /r/Harry Potter (the Harry Potter Reddit [I'm now a Reddit n00b]) and just reading all of the stuff about the new movie, seeing costumes and realizing that this is it got me kind of choked up.

And then I saw this:
Aw hell. I'm going to be an emotional wreck at this movie. Someone will need to remind me to bring a box of tissues, and that is no hyperbole. The last movie that I lost it at in the theatres was, oddly enough, District 9. Wasn't expecting to cry at that movie or indeed be moved by it at all, but there were at least 2 distinct moments where I sobbed openly. This was after about a year of being with Jay and he was utterly bewildered by my tears...and also slightly amused.

I plan on joining the ranks of bloggers who have been posting opinions and spoilers about the final film, perhaps tomorrow but it could be in a couple of days. I've been so preoccupied with everything that Harry Potter love kind of had to take a backseat.

But you better believe I will be wearing my Quidditch goggles tonight.

Chill

Warning: May contain information you can never un-know about my bowel movements.

Ever since high school, my stomach has been the center for my anxiety. I never throw up or get nauseous when I'm anxious. I sometimes have 30-minute sessions in the nearest bathroom, intensely embarrassed (especially if it was in a public space) which will, in turn, increase my anxiety and make my insides churn evermore. I'm sure it's brought on by some kind of food but I haven't narrowed down what it is yet.

In the last few years I've tried to find ways to cope with my irritable bowels, trying not to turn to medication (I was prescribed something a long time ago for IBS but the side-effects were not worth it). I become highly sensitive to everything that my senses take in when I get like this. I want to murder someone for saying "Hi!"...mere thoughts of future worries can send me over the edge into a wave of pain. I've come to realize that my mind is the perpetrator in all of this and I've been searching for ways to control its wrath. For now I'm satisfied with putting a towel over my head and pulling down on it whilst covering my ears to block out every sound save for my deep breathing while I wait for things to...pass...

A few months ago I found this great blog Rejuvenation Lounge. It's been very beneficial to me in controlling my irrelevant and unhelpful thoughts. I also got a cookbook in .PDF format full of foods that are good for the body and soul. Check it out, relax a moment. I've found great enjoyment in relaxation, but it takes great effort for me to get there.

Jay Update: Surgery was a success (as far as we can tell). He's in a lot of pain, post-op. Movement isn't so good for him. He can't bend forward very far and needs some help maneuvering from spot to spot, but we knew it would be this way for at least a week. The day when he doesn't need narcotics to control his pain is almost visible on the horizon.

Traditional Media

My computer got sick again. There was no choice but to wipe it completely and take better care of it this time...again. I swear I honestly don't know what happens to it that it becomes so infected so fast. It's NOT PORN!

Time away from my computer was interesting. I had no Internet and neither did Jay so I turned to books. However, I have no books at the apartment that I have not already read at least once. At my house I have an entire bookshelf with 5 shelves from ceiling to floor full of books...most of which I have also already read. I started re-reading "House of Leaves" by Mark Danielewski which is the most effed up book you could ever read. I actually don't recommend it if you have a fragile mind. It's not gory at all, just twisted and written in the most complex way ever: footnotes go on for pages and have seemingly nothing to do with the "main text" which is an analysis of a movie that doesn't exist in reality or in the universe of the book. Sometimes things are backwards or upside down. Later in the book, stuff is written in the corners and you have to really pay attention to the order you've been reading in. This is all in addition to the plot of the "film" which is dark to say the least.

So I turned to Facebook for friendly suggestions about what I should read next. There were definitely some in there that I've been wanting to check out, "The Hunger Games" being at the top of the list. Then I found this site, Good Reads which is pretty awesome. It gives books by specific genre. The only problem is that I don't know what kind of reading mood I'm in. Nothing sounds really good right now, though, aside from re-reading things I already know I like.

I've been invited to Google+ but I still can't sign up. They've exceeded capacity.

I'ma go watch all three Lion King movies spliced together in chronological order on YouTube. Have a good night.

Mr. Inguinality

I still haven't found a suitable or concrete purpose for this particular blog. I like having it, though, as a catch-all for stuff that doesn't go into the wedding blog.

As many of you know, Jay has been in and out of prompt cares, the emergency room and doctors' offices since last Sunday (the 12th). Remember a few months ago when he was having what I deemed a "spazzing liver"? Well on Sunday it all started fresh again, this time with a wave of nausea.

I'll take you through the events in an abridged version:

Sunday: Get home from El Paso, throw up in apartment yard.

Monday: OSF prompt care to assess the damage, multiple wheelchair rides, CT scan that showed nothing, blood panel that showed nothing (after I called them to find out the results...they said they would call us...whatever).

Tuesday: Follow-up appointment with Nurse Practitioner who was ready to diagnose it as "A serious viral infection." To which I replied "Is there any way we can know for sure so this doesn't happen again in four months?" He is prescribed Vicodin for pain and Zofran for nausea. She takes a urine sample that comes back normal and sends us to OSF for another blood panel (that, again, came back normal)

Tuesday at 10 pm: After watching Muppet Treasure Island, Jay's pain shoots from his right side to his left and radiates all sorts of fun places (think down from the abdominal area). Emergency room time! We get there around 10:30 with him leaning on me to stabilize himself, going white with pain. I'm sure everyone in the waiting room thought he had been shot, which was kind of cool, given the circumstances. We don't see the doctor until around 12:30 a.m., who pokes Jay in those "fun places" I mentioned and deduces that he has a hernia (a breach in his abdominal wall by some organ poking out of it). Jay gets a shot of a wonderful painkiller and is prescribed 600 mg of Ibuprofen for further pain management. We get home at around 2:00 in the morning.

Wednesday: I call the hospital to find out his blood came back normal. Again. What a surprise.

Thursday: I had to work, but Jay's mom (who had been with us most of the week so far, bless her) took him to another follow-up appointment with a surgeon who said Jay definitely had a hernia. They did another CT scan and a third blood panel (both of which were normal) and I believe a stool sample.

Friday: I call the doctor at home on accident (it was the only number I saw) to ask him what we do now. He said he would have his office call us on Monday.

Saturday: Waiting

Sunday: Waiting

Monday: We call his office several times, speak to his receptionist and his nurse. His nurse tells us that he does not have a hernia, based on his CT scan, which confuses the hell out of us. She calls us back a bit later after speaking with the doctor and she says that Jay does have a hernia, but they think it has to be something else to be causing the amount of pain it is (Jay: "I mean...I felt like he was calling me a pussy, saying that I shouldn't be in this much pain").

So now, we are out of Vicodin, but Jay can eat solid foods now, thank God. You know that Snickers commercial with Aretha Franklin in the backseat of the car, they give her a Snickers and she turns into their friend again? That's what Jay gets like when he's hungry, and he had been hungry for a whole week on a diet of clear liquids, applesauce and Jell-O.

Tomorrow he's going to see some digestive disease consultants. I'm not a doctor, but I'm sure he hasn't contracted a digestive disease. I think he has a hernia, they need to cut him open, fix it and let him get better. And we're frustrated and confused about why they won't just do that.

One last upset: I know that doctors are busy. They have a lot of patients and hospitals have certain procedures they have to follow. But come on! Two CT scans and three blood panels to get no results every time?! Not only that but we had to get in touch with them to find this out?! Shit, I'll do the surgery! Gimme a scalpel and some mesh, let's get this done.

((Cross-Posted at Holy Matrimony!))

Second Class

So It's 12:20 in the afternoon on a Sunday. I'm sitting here in the shirt and shorts I slept in, haven't showered since 2 nights ago and Jay is in Lincoln working for Kraft (after coming home from working in Bloomington already). Bein' lazy around here just makes me feel like a douchebag.

I saw X-Men: First Class on Friday night with Jay and our friend Michael. Now, the thing you need to know about seeing comic-based films with Jay is that he will be more than happy to tell you what was accurate or inaccurate about them. However, he will only do so if you ask him what he thought about it (which everyone likes to do because he is our resident Comic Book Guy). So I got to see the movie, enjoy it as a separate entity from the other films and what little X-Men background I have (which is mostly from the films) and then afterwards in the theatre, lobby and parking lot, I drilled him for the lowdown on what was right and wrong.

It's like seeing two movies for the price of one, almost, because I then formulate what would have happened if Hank McCoy hadn't turned blue and furry in this movie (because he really shouldn't have if Hollywood wants to stick to their own canon).

On a scale of 1 to 5, I'll give it a 3.5. I wasn't blown away by the film. The thing I enjoyed most was anything James McAvoy said and...ummm...nope, that's pretty much it. He pretty much made that movie for me. Michael's Fassbender's young Magneto was very well done from an acting standpoint, I have to say. Watching the man before the "dorky-looking helmet" go through his own turmoils before deciding on which path to take as a mutant and a minority was great in rounding out Magneto as a baddie.

Kevin Bacon just threw me for a loop. I enjoy Kevin Bacon, but all I need him to do for me is dance. Say nothing and dance. Or do this commercial