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] wirrrn.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 11:12 am (UTC)(link)

Hope your mom gets well soon.

I also love the original CLASH OF THE TITANS :icon: and I really enjoyed this one, especially the Medusa the Gorgon scene, which is just as OMG GET OUT creepy as the original's. Sam Worthington was rather wooden and uninspiring in it, and some of the interpretations of the legend were wonky (the two immortal gorgons, Stheno and Euryale, were nowhere to be seen, and AngryBlackPegasus was around beforehand, instead of springing from the severed neck of Medusa; Don't even get me started on the DjinnofWTF) but every time I wanted to nitpick over the shortcomings, the film brought out Nicholas Hoult as Eusebios as I lost all train of....damn. That man is *stunning*...

[identity profile] mamak11285.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 11:52 pm (UTC)(link)
the film brought out Nicholas Hoult as Eusebios as I lost all train of....damn. That man is *stunning*

Every time he was on screen I just sat there and internally yelled "HOT DAMN THAT BOY GREW UP NICE". It took me a few seconds to realize he was the boy in About A Boy.

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[identity profile] twigsandgrace.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 11:29 am (UTC)(link)
A guy I work with has a similar thing - basically, the cartiledge in his knee has moved all about, and now it's bone on bone. Thing is, he was told about it 8 years ago, and he's just been putting up with it. He needs to have surgery to remove the cartiledge and replace it with something else. The doctors say he's too young for a knee replacement (he's only 38 or so).
Another guy I know has a similar problem with his hip, and let it go until the leg bone (fibia? tibia? the thigh one) stopped rubbing on the hip/pelivs, and actually went right through it. He's in his mid-to-late 50's.
Both men are Australia plumbers. They're both crazy.

[identity profile] diddakoi.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 11:49 am (UTC)(link)
My aunt's getting her knee completely replaced in May. We're hoping it works, because she's been in a lot of pain for a year now. (From a car accident.) I like your mom's outlook on it.

Good luck with the driver's license! You can do it!

[identity profile] lotusbiosm.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 12:31 pm (UTC)(link)
My mother got a full knee replacement and she says it was the best thing she ever did. She recovered pretty quickly, but she was very diligent about her PT.

[identity profile] door.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 12:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Good luck with the driving stuff! Man, panic attacks blow. I wish you calmness and happiness. ;o)

[identity profile] mogumogu.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 01:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Owch. It's so infuriating when there's an injury and you just can't get it fixed for months because of some odd reason. That happened with my mom's tooth because its repair when it went kaput was considered cosmetic, so she couldn't eat or drink certain things for a long time. That titanium knee should already be in there by now.


I can't get over how Perseus has a buzz cut and square-shaped muscle armor. Where are his pretty Greek curls? ;_; Oh, and Medusa shouldn't have Angelina Jolie's face.

[identity profile] cleolinda.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:12 pm (UTC)(link)
You laugh, but she actually had Natalia Vodianova's. That surprised me a bit, when I checked the credits.

[identity profile] not-tragedi.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 01:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Best commentary during "Clash of the Titans":

(Perseus comes out of the Medusa's lair alone and Io is waiting for him with teary eyes)

ME: I have had a BITCH of a day.
FRIEND: Woman, make me a sammich!

[identity profile] mamak11285.livejournal.com 2010-04-05 12:01 am (UTC)(link)
My friend and I were making the dude next to us crack up. Especially when this happened:

Zeus: *standing with Perseus between the giant stone feet* Men will worship the feats you have done.
My friend: 'FEETS'! I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, ZEUS.

[identity profile] h4yleyg.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 01:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Re: driving - I wish you all the luck in the world with this. I'm currently re-learning after failing my test three times when I was 17 (I'm 23). Over here, with the bloody manual (stick) gears and driving with 7 million other people (I live in London, nice and congested) and the fact that unless you are very wealthy, there is a dearth of private open land to practise on, it's hella hard to learn to drive. And expensive, my god. So... it could be worse, I guess, is what I'm saying. Also, being a bit older definitely helped me - I don't panic nearly as much as I used to and I keep having to remember that I've done this before, I've been in a car lord knows how many times, I've driven on roads like these, it'll be fine. You'll be fine.

Also, weird that in the UK it's a Driving LicenCe, and in the US it's a Driver's LicenSe. Crazy spelling differences!
celestinenox: (Default)

[personal profile] celestinenox 2010-04-04 01:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Eh, Sam Worthington just doesn't do it for me. It's like someone said about Avatar... why invent a billion-dollar way to make digital people have OMGs LIFELIKE EXPRESSIONS and then use the most expressionless actor as a base. :/

[identity profile] stormarrow.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 01:53 pm (UTC)(link)
I loved Clash so so much. It was just so much fun to watch and laugh at all the badness- and I love Sam. I disagree he was oatmeal though lol.

[identity profile] crumpeteer.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
You know I really didn't start loving Sam until I saw him interviewed? I think my attraction to him has more to do with the fact I want to hang out with him than anything else.

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[identity profile] chulacabra.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Forgive me if these points have been covered already:

I switched from Firefox to Google Chrome after having similar problems and it works like a dream. It doesn't have all the functionality that Firefox has, but I don't use Firefox extensions anyway, so for me it didn't matter. And Chrome is so so so much faster and less buggy. It's worth at least trying to see if you like it better. I suggested it on another message board I frequent and of the ten people who made the switch, only one went back to Firefox.

On the driving deal, I grew up in New York and didn't get my driver's license until I was 31. It wasn't until I went to graduate school in a place that absolutely required a car that I was forced to get it. And it terrified me, but I'm so glad I bit the bullet. The day-to-day reality of driving turned out to be far less scary than all my angsting about it. I still don't love driving and do it as little as possible (I live in Los Angeles and have managed to organize my life so I walk to work) but it's good to have the option.

On the knee surgery, everyone I know who has had it was super happy with the outcome. So I'm sure your mom will feel the same way, despite the long recovery. Good luck to her!

[identity profile] laurelwoodsong.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 03:12 pm (UTC)(link)
First- Can't wait for SLOD.

Second-on your mom's knee replacement, I just read in the jan 2010 edition of Good Housekeeping that for bone on bone knee replacements, sounds like what your mom has, there are a few places around the country that inject your own stem cells into your knee and they generally grow back the cartilage. The knee injection is painful and it takes awhile to heal, but there's no surgery involved, though I don't know the success rate. If she's not going to get it for a few months though, it sounds like a good thing to check out.

And the phone on your camera seems like it's a white balance issue-I have a samsung impression and I can change it based on the type of lighting (fluorescent, incandescent, cloudy, whatever) so maybe there's a setting on yours that can change it too? That way, no random blue wash.

Good luck!

[identity profile] constancedh.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 05:07 pm (UTC)(link)
I used firefox too for about two years but it was awful with the last updates. There was a hideous memory leak and it froze up and wouldn't show the menus (basically the same problems you're having) and in the end I switched to Google Chrome and am much happier.

We thought our computer was completely shot but as soon as we uninstalled every firefox component it acted like it was brand new because it actually STARTED WORKING PROPERLY.

[identity profile] lexicomane.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 05:54 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm having that problem in Firefox too. The more pressing problem that's started because of the recent update, though, is that it frequently starts with only some or none of the extensions available. The add-ons window says that they're enabled, but they're not, and restarting Firefox doesn't help.

Oh yes, and sometimes the search bar (for Google and Wikipedia and stuff) just stops working. I think this is the most problems I've ever had with a Firefox update.

[identity profile] amaz0n-princess.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 05:58 pm (UTC)(link)
If you can get A THING out of it, I think we would all be in your debt. :)

As for your mother, I'm sorry to hear that. :(

Do you have plans for a new camera soon?

I only ask because woot.com has seemed to have one about once a week for the last few weeks at CRAZY cheap prices.

[identity profile] dives.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 06:13 pm (UTC)(link)
I saw Clash of the Titans last night for my birthday and it basically felt like a collection of boss battles put on film. Also, bloody hell, Sam Worthington is THE most unbelievably boring actor I have ever seen in my life. Quite literally every other person in the film from Nicholas Hoult on down to crazy priest man was more interesting than him. I don't understand the appeal at all.

[identity profile] dragondances.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 06:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Yay, cyborg relatives! My grandmother got both of her knees replaced years ago (after multiple surgeries to try and fix it and a couple years of living on various temporary injection therapies she finally got the "bone on bone" diagnosis too). It's been really awesome for her, so I hope the same goes for your mom! The only downside is that whenever she flies, she sets off the metal detectors has to submit to a pat-down. They give you a little medical card that says you have metal parts, but they're easy to fake so the TSA never takes your word for it.

[identity profile] firegatka007.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 06:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Computer: AVG caused major problems on my computer to the point where I had to restore it, remove all traces of the software and get new software. I went with Kaspersky, its a large program and takes alot of RAM when running the scans (though my computer is old, so Lizzie should be able to handle it just fine) but its the best investment I've made and my friends in the computer industry swear by it. Also because its not that well known its relatively cheaper than the bigger companies (I'm looking at you Norton). I've used it now for 2 years and no complaints!

Knee: My mom just had a total knee replacement a month ago and its tough. Like the coming home from the hospital, the 'she can't really move' for a while, the physical therapy, its tough. My advice: if you're going to be her primary homecare person, schedule some Cleo time everyday. We love our moms, for sure. But it gets tough.

Also kudos to the driving school suggestion up above. Its required in my state and its the only way I learned how to drive. (parents weren't helpful)

Good luck with everything Cleo, I'm sending good vibes your way!

[identity profile] firegatka007.livejournal.com 2010-04-06 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
Also, if your mom can tolerate it, she can try doing some stretching and strengthening for her legs. It will help a lot in the recovery if her muscles are used to working hard. If she can't tolerate being weight-bearing, then some basic stretches are good too. Anything will help.

And during recovery, we learned it is better to be drugged up and out of pain (thus able to tolerate more physical therapy) than to be in pain and not able to sleep/rest/etc.

Again, Good luck!

[identity profile] randombastary.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
I quoted you about Sam's oatmeal here (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-40558-Modesto-Movie-Examiner~y2010m4d4-Clash-of-the-Titans-doesnt-live-up-to-its-potential).

[identity profile] cleolinda.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 07:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Hee, awesome.

[identity profile] fallen-soprano.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, Cleo, many positive vibes to you and your mother in these coming months. I, too, haven't a license, and I'll be learning this summer just like you. I'm in my early twenties, and really there's no pressure, the only reason why kids are able to get their licenses as young as they do (at 14, thank you very much) is because of the Agriculture up here in Alberta, Canada. I wish you could ease into it, but you said in a response that you've got some strategies to get around town in a resonable manner. That's all you can do. I wish you luck, Cleo!

[identity profile] fallen-soprano.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, and something I forgot to say in my OP, if you get the chance to see How to Train Your Dragon, do so. It's fantastic, with lots of humour for both the kiddles and the adults.

[identity profile] angelene.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 10:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'll get a bionic knee and it won't hurt anymore!"

She's not wrong. I mean, that's the expected goal, and total joint replacement implants are pretty fantastic these days, at least as far as lower limbs go.

She should probably be warned that knee replacement implants can hurt like bloody bitches from Hell for the first few months -- at least, that's what a, say, good 50% of our patients experience. (I work in a physical rehab clinic). But when the pain stops, it stops. It's very inter-individuals variable, but the average outcome is great.
Edited 2010-04-04 22:35 (UTC)

[identity profile] bad-habit.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
I wish your mom the best of luck and health and hope she gets to be futuristic soon. (: (And as a 27-year-old with constant knee problems it heartens me to read about all the successful knee operations.)

I've been learning to drive for.. oh gods, almost ten years now. That is to say, I CAN drive, I have just been putting of taking the test. And then having to re-learn things. I didn't even realise it had been that long. I think I should brave it and just take the stupid test (and uh... practice a lot beforehand. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten a lot). We're all rooting for you! (:

And comparing Clash of the Titans with Troy... well, I'll just have to go and see it now! I laughed SO MUCH at Troy...

[identity profile] drpeprfan.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Returning to comment again, because I just saw Clash of the Titans. Ohmygosh. I loved it, in all its ridiculous glory. But then again, I love movies like The Neverending Story and Dragonheart. Fiennes and Neeson hammed the crap out of Zeus and Hades. Worthington is oatmeal, yes, but boy is he sexy oatmeal. I kind of thought of the extent of Orlando Bloom's acting as Will Turner in Pirates when I thought of Worthington's acting. He was just so broody and srs all the time.

I only really laughed out loud at Charon (my best friend and I chanted "part of the crew, part of the ship!" whenever he was on screen), but there was much stifled giggling at most of it. It was like epic crack.

[identity profile] beag-beran.livejournal.com 2010-04-05 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
Firefox did exactly the same thing to me, I thought it was just me! Hopefully they're fixing it...

[identity profile] sapphire-etoile.livejournal.com 2010-04-05 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
Try being a Greek archaeologist watching that movie. It was painful and I face-palmed all through it.

Hope everything goes well with your mom, and I'm sure you'll be able to drive. :-)

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