Sharing life's vicissitudes

[Ennis Del Mark]

Had some (very) minor surgery today and am fine, but in lots of pain.  When is that friggin' vicoprofen going to kick in? 

[Cally]

(((Mark))) Sorry about your pain - hope by now you're feeling a little better.

[CellarDweller115]

Mark, hope you are feeling better soon! 

[janjo]

First, Mark, hope you are feeling better soon.

Second, I think my ear is on the road to recovery.
It is still sore, but the surgeon said it would be, for about three weeks while everything heals.
The problem with  severe outer ear infections is that they don't get better until you can clean them using the microscope and the microsuction. It is not advisable to syringe an infected ear with water because it will make it much worse.
It can only be done by an ENT surgeon, and although it is a reasonably straightforward procedure, the whole getting of an NHS hospital appointment process has to be gone through.
That is, the GP writes to the surgeon, he/she consults their appointment book, then the hospital write back to you etc. so sometimes it can take quite a few weeks.
Although I had to pay to see someone privately it short circuited this whole process and was sorted out in an afternoon.
If I have further problems I will certainly use this private clinic again.

For emergencies, and for major operations like my knee replacement the NHS has proved to me to be superb, it is the more minor things where speed is of the essence that can sometimes cause problems.

Thank you all my lovely friends for your healing thoughts and good wishes.

[Sason]

Good news about your ear, Jess!

And I hope you're feeling better by now too, Mark!

[bentgyro]

I am artheritic and seem to be (in my mind) hobbling along nicely, thank you.
I am past retirement age but still go to work 5 days a week beause I feel I need a reason to roll out of bed and not keep reading all day.
I went shopping the other day and was returning my shopping cart, which I had to wrestle over a slight ledge, when a man came riding up
in his electric wheelchair, stopped, got off and helped me get the cart back in line, got back into his chair and left.
I am feeling a little depressed.

[Cally]

I had to laugh! ^^^^^

(My own joints seem to be getting creakier by the week  )

[CellarDweller115]

I am feeling a little depressed.

((hugs))

Sara, I'm hearing the occasionall creak and pop as well.  Oh joy!

[Cally]

And you're a mere child, Chuck!

[jack]

what she said chuck..

luckily most of the supermarkets and big box stores have the electric carts now.  the arthritis i can live with but the back issues are pretty serious and limit my standing and walking.  it is most annoying that were i to lie and say i needed a power chair inside my living quarters medicare would pay for it, but since i need it for time outside my home, they won't.

on the other hand, staying in bed and reading are more than motivation enough for me, so i retired at 62, like a cat with turpentine on his butt.  i has, as readers know, a lot harder time than i anticipated for a few years, but i stuck it out and finally made my way back to hawaii.  had my back not been as much of an impediment, i would be in costa rica, but i need the extra life support systems i have here in the states, like ada transport and the medicare/medicaid combo.

i have more life enhancing things to do, like figuring out how to exercise, and how to get healthier foods, but life is mostly good.

[suelyblu]

OK....no illness or sadness in my life at the moment (thank God) but I have a reeeal gripe. Something that really gets on my nerves. Hope this is the right thread. So here goes !

Why do manufacturers of shampoos, conditioners, hand creams, body creams and any other sort of creams and lotions.......use such tough plastic packaging ?? Some of these products are sooo expensive to buy.....we feel we ought to be able to squeeze every little last drop out of them....but after only a limited amount of use....you start needing  the strength of Arnie Schwarzenegger to be able to get these "bottles" to give up their goods !
Many times I have resorted to getting a sharp knife and cutting off the top of the plastic bottle to find
there was still several applications of whatever was still inside....but if I had taken notice of the fact that when I squeezed the container as hard as I could and nothing came out.....I would have thrown it away unnecessarily.Why post this today ?? I had this happen to me again today and once more I had to resort to the carving knife !!
There.....thats my moan for the day !

[Sason]

Suely, I always leave them standing upside down when they start to get hard-squeezable.
The lids are usually very tight, so there's no risk of leakage.
Depending on what kind of bottle it is, it may need some support from the wall or from other items.

Or, for shampoo and other things containing water, I dilute them a bit. Add some water and shake.
If the hole is very small and there's nothing to unscrew, the easiest way is to hold the bottle under a running tap, squeeze it, let go and let the vacum suck the water into the hole.

Ta-daaa!   

[suelyblu]

                                                                               ^^^^

Hi Sason !
I do tend to store my hair products upside down . Many of the bottles/containers are designed to stand  this way. The hair products  I use (Kerastase) are particularly thick and gloopy.....and expensive (!) and I believe have the toughest bottles out of them all !!! "Change your hair products " you say......."Never" I say !! 
I just can't see the necessity for such tough plastic being used on bathroom.....and beauty products...or anything else which is noncorrosive or likely to cause a major disaster !!!!

Thanks for you tips . 

[jack]

and now for a vicissitude of a different nature.  today was one of those increasingly rare, for a man of my age, firsts.  at nearly 70, i attended, in fact rode in,  a pride parade.  i rode in an open ish trolley with the folks from PFLAG and DIGNITY, a group especially for recovering catholics of the glbt persuasion.  we waved and shouted ALOHA and made the shaka sign the length of the parade, taking pictures of the spectators as they took pictures of us.

the parade's destination was kapi'olani park on the far edge of waikiki, where a fair of sorts was set up for us, vendors of all stripes were present.  i networked like crazy while making the circuit, watched some very amateur entertainment, and bought a very pricey pulled pork sandwich, which i devoured.  satiated in several respects i have returned home utterly fatigued.

a week long glbt film festival is to follow.  i hope to catch a couple films, 3 if i can time it right.

nap time...