Not sure the neighbor appreciates

Only one cup of coffee in me, and I can give Robert a run for his money on the lower notes...

The unexpected diet plan.

It started Monday afternoon. Not a "sore throat", really - no rough, scratchy, burning. It just hurt to swallow - like the muscles hurt. Tuesday, I took Tylenol all day, because it really hurt to swallow. But only to swallow - I was otherwise fine, no fever, able to eat, etc. Just a wee bit of swelling, only on one side.

Sometime in the night, the gloves came off, until I found myself getting up repeatedly to spit - because even saliva didn't want to go down - before finally launching out of bed at 5:15, feeling like even my windpipe was going to close. I showered, dropped off the laundry, and tried to eat breakfast. For future reference, if you are having swallowing issues... you really cannot swallow Asiago cheese bagel, I don't care how much butter to liquifey it with. I went and picked up the laundry, dragged it home, and scooted off to work, including a pit stop for a milkshake.

Have I mentioned I don't do well with dairy?

It's just as well - all I could taste was sugar and it hurt too bad to even try pulling it through the straw. For lunch, I spent way too much for a small container of cream of broccoli soup, only to feel like I had broccoli stuck in my throat for the rest of the afternoon. I mostly spent the day at my desk, whimpering piteously and trying to stay conscious, until it was time to go see the lovely people at my doctor's office. The test for strep throat showed a "faint positive" - they could have sent it to the lab for confirmation, but it wouldn't have changed the treatment plan. Picked up antibiotics and more Tylenol on the way home, along with soup, ginger ale, and such.

I tried over-cooked mac and cheese for dinner - a combination of comfort food and high mushability. The swelling has reached the point that I can no longer open my mouth all the way, and my upper and lower teeth have become misaligned to the degree that excludes chewing. So I aimed for smooshie food. I missed, ending up with a stomach ache that rivals the ache in my lower jaw. Maybe I'll get it right tomorrow night.

I do need to get a new thermometer. Despite mine's insistence that I was safely just below "normal", by the time I got to the doctor's office I was over 99 - unusual for me. I've somehow managed to nod off at least twice in the typing of this post. And I might be delerious, as I seem to have discovered a song by Lady Gaga that I actually like. [I'm blaming you, Mr. Underwood!] Might be time for bed...

Too much to ask?

Dear Oster Toaster People [Say it out loud - it's fun.]

While it's perfectly lovely that that my shiny new toaster has a retractable cord "for safety"... and you went so far as to tell me - in three languages, no less! - "When toasting two slices of bread, place one slice in the center of each bread slot.  When toasting one slice of bread, place the slice in the center of either bread slot."... would it have killed you to mention that that cord has to be extended at least to some degree before said toaster will actually work?

Bah. Idjits.

I know what I saw.

I've said before that I believe places can be "haunted" - still burdened with an imprint of something/one from the past, for whatever reason. And one of these days, I'll get around  to describing the experiences that have led me and others to believe there is a... "something" in my life, of supernatural origin. [I call it a ghost because that's just easier to say/explain.] But I don't believe that "disembodied spirits" are common as the media would have us believe - especially at this time of year. Nor do I go looking for them - or even expect them; I've trooped through many cemeteries, the only living soul in sight, and only once ever felt anything remotely "off". For all I know, I've trod right through a ghost, busy futzing with my camera - but more than likely, I've not done or been near any such thing.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday dawned unnaturally warm [yay!] and nasty grey/damp [not-so-yay]. I had to be somewhere at 10:00, after which I had a bunch of things I needed to get done around the apartment, so, despite the grey, I decided to at least cruise around a bit to see if there was anything worth photographing. On a hunch, I decided to check out this path that I photographed almost exactly a year earlier, and the difference was pretty amazing.



I didn't stay long, and didn't follow the path any further, in part because there was someone sitting on the bench to the left, smoking a cigarette. I figured that, having chosen to sit there, tucked away from the world, they must have really wanted privacy. In fact, I felt a little guilty taking the shots that I did, and didn't want them to think I was spying on them or otherwise being rude, even though I could barely see them.  Due to where I was standing, the position of the lamppost, and the untamed plant life this year, the bench was partially blocked; all I could see was their lap and their hand/arm occasionally raising and lowering a cigarette. So I shot a couple quick frames and left.

So, imagine my surprise a couple hours later, when I opened the files for editing and found that bench was only slightly blocked... and empty:

It didn't make sense - something had been blocking my view of that bench. And I'd swear on any book you like that I saw someone sitting there, smoking a cigarette. But when the shutter opened and closed, whoever it was had gone. But where? Left? I'd have easily seen them walking down the path. Right? They'd have walked right toward me. Forward? A fence, followed immediately by Bass River. Back? Dense, unmanageable undergrowth. No, whoever I saw didn't just suddenly get up and walk away. No, it's as if - despite what I saw - there was never anyone there.

I remember the gym, too...

The brain's a funny thing. On any given day, it's pretty much a crap shoot if I can remember what I had for lunch the day before. I buy creamer for my coffee every week and use it every day, but if I fail to put it on the list, I'm likely to forget to buy it. But the things I do remember befuddle and amuse me...

Tonight, while I made a quick trip to the store, the radio played a song that was popular when I was in school, a few eons back. And while it was played at every school dance I ever attended, I can honestly say that I haven't heard it in at least 15 or 16 years. But I not only knew - instantly, from the opening bars - what song it was, I could recall every single word of it.  Weird, unnerving... but fun, and still a great song, even after all these years:

[you know you're curious]

[That said, I could have skipped the song playing when I came out of the store, the one that nearly reduced me to a blubbering mass. Ah, well.]

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!, originally uploaded by Ryan Wolf.

"I'll have the usual..."

"I'll have the usual...", originally uploaded by Ryan Wolf.

I walked into the diner for the first time in half a decade, and everything was the same: the decor, the waitresses... even my order.