Year: 2008

Well, just in case all you non-football types are wondering how the family NFL pick’em pool is going here it is. I must say it was pretty bitter for me to come in second 3 weeks in a row. Last week was a bad week for me too. Erg. We’ll try better this week. I think I have a good set of picks. 🙂

In other fantasy news, I’m in 3 other fantasy leagues at the moment. In order of personal priority: 1 paid, 1 grudge match with a couple friends, and 1 non-paid.

I’m totally winning the grudge match. Yea! I’m sorta mid-pack in my paid league, and i’m dead last in the non-paid. 0-4. it’s so bitter, I’m scoring a lot of points, but they’ve all been pretty close loses. I’m the only one totally defeated in that league. It blows. I better win this week damnit.

George Bush is one of the best students of Deng Xiaoping. Why? Because we are practicing not capitalism but “Capitalism with American Characteristics” now, vs. that China is now practicing not socialism but “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics”.

They are now the number one capitalist country in the world and we are becoming the number on socialist country in the whole universe. We (to make us feel good), the government, own everything, on this continent. They have the most corrupt officials and we have the most greedy CEOs & representatives to match theirs, one by one.

Yet, 83% of their people think their country is in the right direction while we have only 23% think so. Not funny at all.

October is Rett Syndrome Awareness Month – and we are very aware of Rett Syndrome, that is for sure.

Consider donating to the Rett Syndrome Research Trust. RSRT is funding a project in which all FDA approved drugs are screened for efficacy in treating Rett Syndrome, for $168 dollars, you can sponsor the screening of one drug. Sponsor a Drug today! We only need 3000 donations of $168 dollars to screen all 3000 compounds.

Onward!

I’m sorry I have been quiet. It’s been busy in many ways, both good and bad. I have been diligently trying to shake a gloomy mood I’ve been in for the past month. From my past experience, I fall into a real depression about once every 5 years, and it’s not been 5 years since the last one, so I’m a little more stubborn about not letting this bad mood go out of control. It takes some effort, going out and seeing people and laughing is usually the best remedy, but it is hard work – getting out of the house.

Today is the end of the fiscal year at work – and I think perhaps for the whole federal government. I just passed my one year mark at work and I’m still loving it and learning more everyday (both legally and scientifically). It’s a fun time! I love learning about flame retardants! I mostly work with polymer compositions with flame retardants. Bisphenol-A? Phosphate flame retardants? Everything you have ever heard of to cause cancer that comes mixed in plastic? Yeah, I read those patents.

I, like everyone else in America, am crazy with the election/banking meltdown/financial crisis and the SNL sketches. Jeremy comes home everyday with new tales of what they are doing on the Hill. I’m on assignment from IRSF to talk with Congressmen about the funding earmark, but I haven’t made any phone calls and I don’t think I will for a little while because they are all crazy busy with shoring up the global economy which I must admit just might take priority to funding basic genetic research at this particular moment in time.

AND SOMEONE TODAY STOLE MY BIKE FROM THE METRO STOP! No not the BMX bike, I bought a cheap bike from a neighbor and I didn’t much care for it at first because it was a little too big and it had 10,000 shock absorbers, but now that it has been removed from my life, I’ve decided it was my favorite bike ever. Now I’m stuck taking the bus to work. Sigh.

Several weeks ago, I went to see my dermatologist to get an abnormal growth in my left armpit removed. He removed it and sent to the lab for biopsy. It was benign and the procedure was covered by my insurance companies.

Two weeks later, I found more growth with similar characteristics, not only in my two armpits but also on both sides of my neck. I went back to see my doctor today. He told me that the 1st time it was covered by my insurance but not this time because it was positively identified as skin tags (acrochordons) and no insurance company would cover its removal (i.e., classified as cosmetic surgery). I have to pay myself for armpit and neck both and it will cost me $400.00 each. And it will take two trips to his office to do it.

The doctor suggested to do nothing or do the armpits first – where it has three big ones. The fourth big one (biggest) was very irritating and I pulled it out myself with my bare hand the other day and it only bled a little bit. By doing nothing I have to pay my office visit out of my own pocket anyway which may cost ~$100.00 (?) already. The big ones in my armpits I can deal them later. I can pull or cut them out myself. Why not? This time, I am prepared and have more experience of doing it. Therefore, I told my doctor to do my neck first because there were a lot of them and with no big ones that I can pull or cut out myself. Mom was laughing at me after hearing my reasoning.

After the doctor removed about 20+ of them on my neck, he told me he had time to removed the ones in my armpit also. Guess what, I prepare to remove those three big ones myself while saving $400.00. My intention is to do myself on skin tags later on if it is possible. I think just to have a knife or scissor ready with some home sanitation procedure and close my eyes …

Stay tune 🙂

Tonight I went to the local library to the first of a series of seminars given by the local agencies that service the community of people with disabilities. It was mainly an introduction and overview of the services and programs provided to Maryland citizens over the course of their lifetime. I don’t often spend much time thinking about what Edda will do or where Edda will be once she’s 21 and has aged out of the school system, but I was surrounded by parents of kids who are graduating from high school trying to navigate adulthood.

There were some frustrations, figuring out how to apply for appropriate day programs, how to get medical insurance coverange once the child has turned 18, how to secure expenses for vans/home modifications.

I’ve been working this past week on how to get funding for an adaptive van and a lift for the stairs. I do not need this right now, I think Edda will need them in a year or two, but I think there is no funding from the state for these kinds of environmental modifications. My guess is that beyond the cost of a regular minivan, the truly adaptive minivan will cost another 30K and then the chair lift, maybe 15K.

Sometimes I wish I could peek in on Edda’s life when she’s 20 or 40 to know that somehow we will make it to that point in one piece, to know that she will have found her place in the world and that she is happy.

Trying to lose weight. If you care to join me: extrapounds.com. I can message you about what my username/handle is.

Ruth, a friend of ours from the Los Feliz area of LA, came to visit us this weekend. She came via NYC from which she bought us yummy breads/cookies/croissants.

We have not used this grill/griddle in a long time, but we are loving it this weekend. Pancakes for breakfast Saturday and Sunday!