Monday was a huge pain in the ass. Politics in the lab had me pulling out my hair. (Long story short: The Head of our department has left for a better job. Another researcher, Dr. B, wanted the DH’s stuff. I filled out the paper work for the equipment to be transferred to my boss – a collaborator with DH. Our department moved to another floor, Dr. B reported the equipment we took as stolen. Asshat.) Then that night, Mouse_Spouse stubbed his toe very badly. He refused to go to a doctor, so we iced the toe and kept him off of it.
Tuesday morning, Mouse_Spouse’s foot was still hurting, and he still didn’t want to see the doctor – I think the toe is broken. The weather matched my mood – grey and nasty. Last night, the basement flooded. Now we know why there were so many cracks in the floor there. I’m glad we just rent this place.
This morning, Mouse_Spouse toe remains sore and swollen, and he remains stubborn. We were tired from a late night of totting water out of the basement, and very short with each other. (I’ve been asking – maybe nagging – him to see the doc. It’s been a long time since he’s had a physical or check-up.) On my phone was a message from the OB’s nurse – she wants me to call back. Last week I had some blood drawn for prenatal screening. It seems to soon to be getting results back. Did they find something? Ohshitohshitohshit. I’ve been trying to get the nurse on the phone, but she’s busy right now.
I wonder if we having any glasses to spare - I’d like to smash something that makes a nice, satisfying sound.
Smashing small electronics can provide great satisfaction. If you can get your hands on one, I suggest a medium-sized “boom box”. Yard sale season is just getting started, so a decent and inexpensive boom box should not be hard to find if you don’t already have one. Insert batteries, select a station with good reception (or pop in a tape/CD), lift high and SMASH! Some people might tell you that you don’t need the batteries, or that it needen’t be on, or that plugging it in is ok. I say: no, no and no. Music is an essential element of the event, because ceasing the music provides an extra (and much-needed) element of satisfaction (plus it hath charms to soothe the savage breast). And plugging it in is not optimal because the cord will undoubtedly impede the flight trajectory and impact speed of your radio and decrease crucial impact velocity.
Finally, you may be tempted to throw the radio at a wall, or through a window. I may be accused of being a purist here, but I’d like to advise you to resist those urges, and smash your radio on the floor only. The reason is two-fold: greater damage to the radio, and lesser collateral damage.
Talked to the OB nurse. The prenatal screening was normal. phew (My first pregnancy. I work with radiation and toxic chemicals and I’m unsure of my family history. Makes me very paranoid.)
That’s good news. The missus and I have two chillins, and are officially done expanding our family. I remember how nerve-wracking those early days were. Hang in there.
Thank you very much. I keep trying to be level-headed, but somedays I fail spectacularly. Today, I’m taking a break from work. That will help a lot. (If Dr. B wants to accuse me of theft, he can come to my house and tell me and my former college football-playing, current caber-tossing husband.) Maybe I’ll go see GrindHouse. . .
You can go to a local gun range, rent a ‘house’ gun and squeeze off a few rounds; it’s a wonderful catharsis. Surely you have a list of people you’d like to picture at the end of the range, no?
Empty the ice tray, head into the bathroom and have at it.
Fire it as hard and fast as possible, into the tub/shower from across the room.
Much crashing and noise will result. (Bigger ice cubes = bigger noise!)
Tons o’ destruction - zero clean up. I cannot recommend this highly enough!
And ice is cheap, by the bag, at the variety story too!
ever seen those karate demonstrations where they break boards WITH the grain… I was unimpressed until I saw a guy break a board by just flicking his finger against it…
You have to move beyond the urge to breaking something, and just smash the fking Sit out of something… Once you understand this ideology, you will be able to resolve your stress by just snapping a toothpick… its not what you smash, or why you smash, it the style in which you do it…
Sometimes I think that this is why we always forget to get rid of little league baseball bats and why appliances break. (Hey, it has to go out to the curb anyway & the town doesn’t much care about how many pieces its in.)
Me, I dig out an old Ab-roller, play some music, & do sit-ups until I shriek in pain. Then I wait a few minutes and do it again. Its substritution of one kind of pain for another, the second having some limited positive effects on my body & health. I’m not sure if this is something anyone should do while pregnant though.
Well, I wasn’t out to complement Mr. Tarantino. I never knew someone could actually look like Shaggy from Scooby Doo until I saw him on the SciFi channel.
Watching his CGI(?) man bits dissolve while shuffling after Rose McGowan made work stress, blood draws, a grumpy spouse and basement flooding seem very minor.
The nice thing about the movie is that I got revenge for Mouse_Spouse’s recent movie picks: BeerFest, The Covenent, Ghost Rider and Pathfinder.
I’m not condoning nor condemning it, but if you decide to take Nawth Chucka’s suggestion, contact me rather than renting one - I’ve an assortment to fit most every mood.
Head for the hills, quite meditation 'round a campfire can’t be beat.
Are you actually IN a lab with radioactive material and the various chemicals? I know you’re in an academic setting, but every single job I’ve had and heard of made it mandatory for women to leave the lab environment as soon as a pregnancy was known or even suspected. It just isn’t worth the risk, especially in the first trimester, where very small doses can be teratogenic.
Check your university’s health and safety policy (talk to HR if you have to) and get out of there. It just isn’t safe… your paranoia is totally justified!
I made my pregnancy “official” to the University a couple of months ago and stopped working with radiation. I do wear a “belly badge” that monitors how much exposure the Mouseling has had. (Maybe I’ll put it in a baby book - it’s unique!) Some of our research uses immunosuppressants and veterinary anesthesia; there isn’t a lot of information on the tetratogenic effects of these substances.
I try to stay away from anything risky, but we moved last month and we’re still settling in. Sometimes I stumble onto things.
“What the hell is in this bottle?”
“Oh, that’s Substance X. We’ve had it a long time. It’s illegal now because it’s carcinogenic.”
Just fucking great. Let’s hope wearing gloves is enough.
I’ve given up on unpacking and been wading through the administrative paperwork. Hence, a lot of posting because I’m bored.
I’m glad to hear it… I’d hate to think you’re being forced to keep handling this stuff, despite the risks! We have 2/3 Julie’s out of the lab due to pregnancy at the moment, and they aren’t even technically allowed in (but they do, because there isn’t any other reasonable means of getting the records and lab books they need to do their office jobs). We have an imaginary line by the supervisor’s office that they just don’t cross! No radiation in our lab, though… just solvents and reagents for pharmaceutical QC testing… not much risk if you aren’t standing over the stuff and inhaling it
I needed to smash something the other day due to a horrible-no-good day (AND a fight with my mom!)… I had nothing to smash, so I cleaned the kitchen instead. Oddly therapeutic.
Sweeping up the bits was tough, but worth it.
I never knew someone could actually look like Shaggy from Scooby Doo until I saw him on the SciFi channel.