Wednesday, May 31, 2006

ETC: Random Wednesdays

Some miscellaneous posting to match my miscellaneous mood these days:
  • Does anyone know a magical cure for one of those headaches you wake up with after a night of sleeping with your neck at the wrong angle after practising drunken sumo wrestling with a bunch of your meaner, heavier friends? You know, those headaches that don't seem to respond to coffee or over-the-counter pain relief? I always read or hear about these cures when I don't have a headache, and of course I don't bother to commit them to memory because at the time I'm planning never to have a headache again.
  • I was going to mention that it's my (and, coincidentally, also Rusty's) wedding anniversary today, but I just realized that we got the date wrong, and it was actually yesterday. (Don't worry. This is not a bad relationship omen. We've been getting this wrong for fourteen crankily blissful years.) I was going to borrow a page from Wing Chun and Glark's book and use Wing's "if our marriage were a kid" simile: If our marriage were a kid, it'd have snuck its first beer by now.
  • I haven't forgotten about the Worst Date Ever contest, and I may even announce a winner one of these days. I was re-reading some of the entries over the weekend and dear god, people, you've been on some doozies.
  • Speaking of contests, I think Chapters has finally become aware of the sucking void that is the customer reviews section of their product pages. They're having a contest in which everyone who writes a customer book review is automatically entered to win a $1000 gift card. That's a lotta dimp!
  • I'm looking for a bracelet. A red bracelet, to be specific. As a survivor of the fashion colour wars of the 1980s -- from pastels to primaries to neons -- I find myself now wearing a lot of navy, khaki, grey, and other non-colours. But I'd be willing to dip a toe back in the colour pool if the right red bracelet were to come along. I like these, but I have the feeling that felted wool and summertime are not two great tastes that taste great together. Any tips? I tend to buy hand-made jewelry rather than mass-produced stuff. And I like to define my style (if the word "style" can be applied extremely loosely here) as "rock 'n' roll soccer mom." Is that picky enough for you? You're welcome.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you really justify the costs of those bracelets, anyway?
Yowch.
Do you know how many bags of gummy worms that costs?

More than enough.

Marina said...

This site--http://www.etsy.com--has a lot of handmade jewelry and other handmade things. It's still in beta, but a friend of a friend sells stuff there, and it seems pretty cool.

Oh, and hi. I've been reading your blog for awhile, and I think it's super cool. :)

Anonymous said...

Try to sleep with your neck at a natural angle. Aleeve may help too. :)

Anonymous said...

I get crazy crick-in-the neck headaches from sleeping funny and the only, only, only thing that ever works is to go back to sleep for a while - BUT without a pillow.

Instead, I use a rolled-up towel, rolled to exactly the size of the space made by my head, neck, and shoulder while lying on the affected side, with just a little extra towel in there to add some pressure to the muscle, thereby "massaging" it while I sleep. It works while lying on my back too, if it's the back of my neck that's killing me.

I'm a pro with these headaches and the towel-nap usually works. Well, that and a shitload of ibuprofen.

Doppelsis said...

Happy Anniversary!!! I am impressed you remembered at all this year.

As for jewelery - I'll get your Doppelniece to make one for you. Watch for it in the mail.
P.S I lost your regular email address.

Tammy said...

OH MY GOD! My sister has finally posted a comment on my blog! This truly is a day of celebration.

Everyone, be very, very quiet... any sudden movements >>such as THIS!<< and we could startle her away. Heheh.

Thanks for the props and the link, Marina. I'm meticulously going through the entire Etsy catalogue even as we speak. If I end up getting a bracelet from there, I'll let you borrow it on Friday nights.

Cap'n, you can rest assured that the gummy worm budget is being guarded around the clock by a team of armed security experts.

And thanks, everyone, for the headache sympathy and tips. So far, I've tried a nap and ibuprofen washed down with a mango-OJ-and-raspberry-Stoli cocktail. Not much luck yet, but I'm willing to keep experimenting until the bottle is empty.

Anonymous said...

Well, "until the bottle is empty" sounds like a good strategy, but if you can't get back to sleep in a better position (also has worked for me), try applying heat and/or ice. It's a muscle thing, right?

Better yet, having taken drugs and -- well -- liquid drugs, get a heating pad or handtowel soaked in HOT water, folded in ziploc baggie (squeeze it out well. Really), lie down in a comfy position, & listen to some mellow music or something. (And have you eaten yet today? The mango OJ doesn't count.)

Headache veteran here. And formerly anonymously random reader.

Anonymous said...

This is going to sound very annoying and "Californian" but I think the only thing that's going to help that kind of headache is a good session of yoga. It'll throw your spine back into alignment and relieve the pain in your head. But... it is yoga, and thinking about doing yoga kind of gives me a head ache, so I'll totally understand if you don't try it.

Anonymous said...

Also ... are you possibly dehydrated? It's the last thing I think of when I get a headache ... but a few tall glasses of water is what usually works when ibuprofen and shiatsu massages don't.

Kaijsa said...

Ooh, I love etsy. I've spent too much money there these past couple of weeks. That said, when I need something specific, I usually just make it myself. I'm envisioning stringing together some really chunky red beads (maybe vintage).

My headaches usually respond to massive quantities of water and a hearty meal. Good luck.

Em said...

Headaches: A lot of water to drink and pull a Corey Hart and wear your sunglasses at night. Inside, too, if you're in a brightly lit area.

Bracelets: I tend to make my own. With bona-fide gulf Island hemp and beads bought at street fair from people that smell like BC's biggest export. So West Coast cliche it hurts. They're really easy to make. I can do straight or curly, and I'm inordinately proud of that.

Marriage: If my marriage were a kid, I'd've had an abortion because I'm too damn young and I'd probably fumble around and drop it on its soft little skull anyhow.

Alice said...

Marina, thanks for the etsy.com link! I've already bought two things off it. This may be dangerous!

Doppelsis said...

All of you are feeding into her "it's all about me" complex. She's bad enough now she thinks that all of you care about her. Doppelganger is just going to be even more impossible to live with. Thanks. My advice is to stop staying up til 3 in the morning and go to sleep or maybe you're getting old and you need a stronger eyewear prescription. Dare I say bifocals with a lovely old lady chain so that you don't lose them?

Tammy said...

CAN'T YOU SEE THAT MY BLOG IS JUST A PATHETIC CRY FOR HELP?

Where's the love, I ask you... where's the love?

Anonymous said...

Clearly, the love has been mis-shelved between The Robber Bride and National Velvet, which is why you should never shelve things unless you're perfectly sober.