cleolinda: (pallas cat - intrigued)
cleolinda ([personal profile] cleolinda) wrote2010-04-03 09:29 pm

WE DO NOT SPEAK OF IT

So let's talk about the last few days:

Lizzie is being fussy, and I can't figure out why. Mostly I'm having problems with Firefox, which did put out a new version recently. I'll try to right-click for some reason, and the menu will try to come up, but I'll only see a bit of an outline, I can't really get to any of the choices. The same with the drop-down menus. But it's weird--I'll restart Firefox, clear the cache and all, and everything will be fine... but then, ten minutes later, I start having right-click problems again. I ran an AVG virus scan; nothing. I tried to run an error check on the hard drive itself; computer told me "recently installed software" was preventing that from running. I don't really know what to do. That, and TweetDeck sometimes freezes when I try to open it--other times it doesn't. I can't figure out what caused the initial problem was, but I'm afraid it's going to have some kind of domino effect. And the computer not being able to run an error check makes me really uneasy. Part of me want to know what the hell the problem is, and part of me is afraid to ask.

Also, my digital camera died. It's not the batteries. It's just dead. I do have the camera in my phone, I guess, but it doesn't focus well and sometimes colors come out weird (the pictures from April Fool's Day were taken in golden sunlight, and apparently my phone saw the need to put on a blue filter for no reason. Well, we did name it the iBella, I suppose that's why). I'm trying to get back to The Secret Life of Dolls, but some pictures are just going to be impossible because the camera's not good enough. We'll play it by ear.

More importantly, my mother's going to have her entire knee replaced. Turns out she didn't actually twist it at all--she had an x-ray, and the cartilage has just completely disintegrated (the phrase "bone on bone" was used, and I threw a full-body shudder). She's 57, but she's got "the knees of a 70-year-old." (Bad knees run in our family, and she's had problems--and surgery--before.) She was upset initially, but then brightened up: "I'll get a bionic knee and it won't hurt anymore!" Bless. So she's hobbling around in a brace now, on mild painkillers, until she can have the surgery--which might be months from now, because she will absolutely be off work for six weeks, and if it doesn't heal up right, she could be out for up to three months. She'd get paid for the first six weeks, but nothing after that. And she won't be able to drive at all, not for the first few weeks at least. I think she's going to try to have it in late June/early July, so I'm going to see if I can work through my panic attacks and get my driver's license by then. It sounds stupid, but--I know how to physically operate a car. I don't have to learn to drive; I have to learn to be able to drive, if that makes any sense. It's scary, but honestly, this might be the only way to make myself do it--having a concrete need to make it happen.

Meanwhile, tons of fun things on Tumblr. I had another Victorian/Goth day, and will probably have another one on Monday, then Mostly Stuff That Is Purple; for the weekend, we're going with flowers/pink/generally springtime. (I just look at what I've got in my drafts folder and try to grab 8-10 at a time that have some similarity. I just take an hour now and then, go browsing at various sites, throw some new drafts into the pile, and pick and choose later. Right now, I've got about 120 saved.)

Have answered two or three more Formspring questions--I try to keep chipping away at that backlog (54 unanswered, 422 answered. Yes, that means I have answered more than four hundred questions).

Also, we went and saw Clash of the Titans on Friday--here's how much Mom loves the original: we went to the first show on the first day it opened. She loved it. I thought it was the stupidest movie I've seen since Troy, which is to say: AWESOME. Oh my God. There is no scene that Ralph Fiennes is in that is not hilarious; Gemma Arterton is gorgeous (I hear Tonner has licenses for both this AND Prince of Persia, which I guess means they're going to have not one but two dolls of her); and Sam Worthington is like oatmeal. Boring, muscular oatmeal. SERIOUS oatmeal. VERY SERIOUS. As a heart attack, this oatmeal. I just really can't say anymore, though, because I'm trying to see if I can get A Thing out of it. I make no promises.



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[identity profile] xerinmichellex.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
*sending good vibes for your mother's surgery*

My grandmother had both her hips replaced within a year of each other. One of them was, as you put it, bone-on-bone, but to the point where the socket had been shaved into a point. The doctors were amazed she could walk.

[identity profile] astaria51.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
Thinking good thoughts for your mom, and for you (especially re working on panic attacks, not fun D:)

The drafts thing is a great idea for tumblr! I'm a slow poster and I think that'd be a better way to do it.

[identity profile] cleolinda.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, every day I go and pick 8-10 posts for the day, and I put them into a queue that only posts once an hour, and that takes care of the whole day.

[identity profile] ipomoea.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:31 am (UTC)(link)
Tonner is making Gemma Arterton dolls? DON'T TELL ME THIS!!!! They're going to be so pretty and I'm going to want one.

[identity profile] cleolinda.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
I suspect the Prince of Persia one will have better outfits than the Clash of the Titans one. Hm. Maybe they'll make an Andromeda with the first dress she shows up in, that would be pretty. Arterton was Io, and she had fairly simple wrappy stuff, except for this one pimped-out one-shoulder grey muppet throw she was wearing at one point. I don't even know.
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[personal profile] lorax 2010-04-04 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
My mom had both her knees replaced at the same time. The people at rehab thought she was NUTS, but she just wanted it over with.

Rehab was a bitch (But my mom was also pretty heavy at the time, which made it harder), but she has two new bionic knees now, and feels about a million times better and is much happier and pain free, so tell your mom that the long term is definitely worth it, and good luck to her!

[identity profile] kels.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
'll try to right-click for some reason, and the menu will try to come up, but I'll only see a bit of an outline, I can't really get to any of the choices. The same with the drop-down menus.

OH MY GOD. I have been having the EXACT same problem since I downloaded the newest version of Firefox! I thought it was just my computer! Wow. If you ever figure out how to fix it, please let me know!

driving GAH!

[identity profile] suzeclues12.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
I have been driving since I was 13 (don't ask).

HOWEVER, I had to drive a standard shift (which I hadn't done for 5 years), on an unfamiliar car in Germany (windy, hilly roads - gah!), by myself after I had not driven for about 3 years at all (because buses are awesome over there), and during which I ABSOLUATE HAD.

This is what I learned: drive like an old lady (ssssllllloooowwwww) in the right-hand lane (for quick escapes) and when you are faced with a situation you cannot handle (going forward from a stopped position at a stop sign on a hill), turn on your hazard/emergency blinkers/lights, wave everyone behind you around, and once they are all past you, take your time and go forward at your own speed (even if it takes 3 cycles of the light before you get to go onward). Also, turn on your hazard/emergency lights

You will not be popular to your other

[identity profile] cleopatra18.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
I also feel you about the driving. I got my permit when I was 16. I'll be 30 this year, so, that's going on 14 years of no committed teacher and a general fear of driving.

PART ii

[identity profile] suzeclues12.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
Sorry - accidentally posted too soon.

If you panic for any reason, pull over to as far to the right as you can, hugging the curb, and hit your hazards. It will take you forever to get where you need to, and you will not be popular among your fellow drivers, but you get where you need to.

On the trip back home, it will go easier... but you can do it.

Also - empty school parking lots on weekends for practice are good (make sure they are empty!).

Good luck!

[identity profile] manasseh.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
More importantly, my mother's going to have her entire knee replaced. Turns out she didn't actually twist it at all--she had an x-ray, and the cartilage has just completely disintegrated (the phrase "bone on bone" was used, and I threw a full-body shudder).

That is the exact reason my mom had her knee replaced last year. Good luck to your mom.

[identity profile] rufinia.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
Like I said on twitter, my dad has his knee replaced last summer, and he is SO MUCH HAPPIER now. It was dicey the first couple of weeks (more for my mom and sister than me, since I live in Boston and they are in Minnesota), because he wasn't on a high enough dose of pain meds and he was trying to tough it out. He eventually learned that one heals better without pain.

Also, the other thing that made life better was having a recliner to help elevate his knee properly.

And the scar is wicked awesome.

[identity profile] ali-jayne.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
I wish your mom luck with the knee surgery. :)

And I just have to say that I love what you link on your Tumblr - I just bought the kitty locket you linked the other day, and it's lovely. :D

[identity profile] soulforophelia.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 04:23 am (UTC)(link)
Bad knees run in my family as well. I'm 23 and have horrible knees, my cousin had knee surgery by the time she was 19, and my grandfather has had knee replacement surgery.

However! My grandfather isn't the healthiest of men (he is 83) but when he had the knee surgery it took him awhile to heal up and walk normally again but it didn't take him long. Seeing that your mother is MUCH younger than my grandfather I doubt it would take her very long to be up and moving like normal again. So no worries!

And in fact, my grandfather loves his fake knee much more then he enjoyed the real one. He also sets off all sorts of alarms when he goes through airports. Hahaha

[identity profile] redcoast.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
I really hope and believe that you will find that getting a driver's license isn't as bad as you're dreading. If that makes any sense.

[identity profile] staticage.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, geez. I hope everything ends up well for your mom (and your computer, too)! Haha, I'm 16 and I am just. Downright terrified of driving, even though I've completed online driver's ed okay. I don't understand/am envious of how so many people can handle doing that every day without the same anxiety I have about it.
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[personal profile] gorgeousnerd 2010-04-04 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
Good luck on your driving! I thought I'd chime in as one of the "never driven" people: I minorly crashed my first time behind the wheel, and had panic attacks every time after. I'm twenty-four, and I've only had a permit a couple times. My older sister also doesn't drive.

[identity profile] drpeprfan.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
I too was deathly afraid of driving, and it took me three tries to get my license, but I finally did it at age 20. The freeway was the worst, and I had to take it to get to school (there was my concrete need). The first many times on it were all "ohgodohgodI'mgoingtodieHUGETRUCKSAHHH", but eventually I got used to it. It sounds easy, but it really wasn't. I had to see over and over that it wasn't some horrible scary thing to drive. One thing I learned in my anxiety group was that your "reacting brain" (the primitive section of your brain that's in charge of fight-or-flight and is responsible for those annoying panicky feelings) learns danger quickly and safety slowly, so you just have to slowly adapt to it while telling yourself the facts to counter the fear. I really hated it, but the motto in the group was "feel the fear, and do it anyway" since the desire is escape and avoid. I'm still really anxious about other things in life, but I'm glad to say that driving is one major fear in my life that I've managed to overcome. Granted, I still get freaked out by merging/other crazy drivers, but I know that odds are I'm not in crucial danger very time I get into my car and I keep telling myself that. Oops, long comment, and sorry if that was nerve-hitting or involved information you already knew, but what I mean to say is that I know exactly how you feel.

As for Clash of the Titans, I'm SO excited to see it. I watched the original a week ago in preparation and I'm incredibly ready for hilarious campy goodness.

[identity profile] pern-dragon.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
Re: your mum and the bionic knee... My mum (who was in her 60s already at the time) had her knee replaced (this after tearing the meniscus on one knee, having surgery to fix it, tearing the meniscus in the other knee, having surgery to fix IT, and then tearing the meniscus in the FIRST knee AGAIN, so then we convinced her to just get a bionic knee) and it's been awesome. Best thing she could have done, and I wish she had done it sooner before having so many problems. So good vibes to your mum for getting her bionic knee, and here's hoping it'll be at least as awesome for her as it was for my mum. :)

Re: getting your license... I hear ya. I had a phobia of driving and went through at least three learner's permits (I just let them expire) after passing driver's ed in high school. I finally went to counseling and did exposure therapy to get over myself and drive. I had to get a license b/c I was about to graduate, get married, and move into the burbs where I wouldn't be within walking distance or public transportation of anything, and I had to work as well as my husband. So, I got my license (finally) at 21 y.o. right before we got married and moved. I'm 35 now and I can barely remember what it was like to feel that phobia. I think that "having a concrete need to make it happen" is an extremely pertinent thing when it comes to being able to make yourself get over things like my phobia. Here's hoping you successfully get through it without panic attacks!

Re: Lizzie's ailment... Sorry, darlin. Wish I knew anything about computer stuff. I feel your dread, though, as I've been in that place with my computer acting wonky for no readily apparent reason. Makes me very grateful for my recent Mac Mini acquisition, which will hopefully help keep me from getting into that position as quickly again. LOL

[identity profile] oohasparklie.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
Re: Clash of the Titans: I have not despised a movie this much since Van Helsing. They sucked all the life, fun, and STORY out of the original and left us with a boring, typical, swords and sandals movie. I'm so so so disappointed. I'm surprised to hear your mom liked it if she loved the original.

[identity profile] syrenssong.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 05:52 am (UTC)(link)
Oh GODS I LOVED Clash of the Titans. It was just so much fun. And Liam Neeson was amazingly hot as Zeus. ::laugh:: I did see it in 3D, and it was kind of crap. The group I went with saw it in 3D because one of my friends wanted the kraken up in his grill. I was disappointed. The only time that it really went majorly 3D was when someone threw something. So there was no kraken up in anyone's grill. Which was sad.

[identity profile] discogravy.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php malwarebytes' antimalware product will help out w/ scanning etc.

good luck on driving/anxiety.

[identity profile] cosette-esk.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 06:27 am (UTC)(link)
I've had the same problem with firefox recently. It only happened to me once though. It did that same thing of only showing the outline and then when I tried to close it it didn't work so I had to go into task manager to close it. I don't think there's anything wrong with your computer itself though.
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[identity profile] junebugged.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 07:03 am (UTC)(link)
Hey... I was having so many problems with my firefox that I cursed it up down and sideways and cautiously downloaded Chrome. It's been about two weeks and I can say that I'm digging it. It doesn't have all of the same apps that Firefox had, and they're not in the same places, but so far, everything is tolerable and a hell of a lot faster and glitch-freer than Firefox.

I've heard good and bad things about TweetDeck. I love my Brizzly (Brizzly.com), though it has a hiccup every once in a while. But I like it loads more than the Twitter website.

Honestly, I hate technology, because technology hates me. We have relations simply because in this day and age it's a necessity, but it never seems to be a happy union between us.

I really hope your mom's surgery goes well and she can finally get a knee that doesn't hurt her so much.

[identity profile] shu-shu-sleeps.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 08:22 am (UTC)(link)
I saw Clash of the Titans in 2D today - and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sam Worthington has a 'greek' accent straight out of Marrickville (that's a suburb in Sydney were there is a large greek population - thing is they all sound completely Australian - with a flat east coast aussie drawl). It was a good popcorn movie, just like the Saturday matinee monster movies of old. Was it just me of did anyone else think they had cut stuff out - the movie seemed 'trimmed down' to me.

[identity profile] achmo.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 09:24 am (UTC)(link)
I was having very similar problems with Firefox. Freezing, getting stuck, pages taking forever to load... And then I'd restart Firefox, and it would get better for a short while, and then blah again. Even re-installing didn't help. I think Firefox just got too big and cumbersome over time.

So I installed Chrome. And what blew my mind wasn't that it didn't crash (though "not crashing" *is* a nice browser feature...) but the fact that *each and every site* downloads that much faster. I got used to Firefox's general slowness and it felt normal. Until I used Chrome.

I know changing a browser is a big step, and I'm not a Google fan in general, but to me it made a huge difference. And there are themes and add-ons and stuff (embarrassingly, my biggest obstacle was losing my favorite Firefox theme. Noooo Red Cats I can't let go nooooo. But I did). Maybe just give it a try?

[identity profile] r-a-black.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 10:38 am (UTC)(link)
Hey cool, from the look of the comments it's really not so rare to have driving issues. I got my license as soon as I could (it took me three tries) but I didn't drive at all for a year after, and it's not really until now that I'm actually getting into the habit. My husband's been helping me on it, "Just drive us to the store and I'll drive back." My goal is to eventually be able to take half the driving on road trips, because we take those often and he's always so exhausted by the end.

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