March 2, 2016

fans of chicago (the band) a question.

i was a big fan early on. crazy high school girl fan. catholic high school. i started to burn out at about 8 or 9. plus i had a kid, and.....

so, my kid the drummer listens to the classic rock station. and turns out he is a big fan. so i download the 1st 3, which i havent heard in forever, but remember every word.

and i kinda knew they were still around, but was still a little shocked to see XXX. rly?

so my question for fandom- which ones are really worth listening to? i'm not going to live long enough to listen to all 30+however more there are.
i am iffy about live albums. usually the hits are not my favorites.

anybody seen them live lately?

March 1, 2016

a fun local article w map of donors in chicago.

took me a second to figure out that they were mapping number of donors and not dollars of contributions. but fun.

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160301/rogers-park/is-your-hood-feeling-bern-or-with-hillary-dem-contributions-mapped?utm_source=Chicago&utm_campaign=a31c1c507e-Mailchimp-CHI&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4061d3bea7-a31c1c507e-174081213

February 28, 2016

guess i forgot to post this- biff the therapy dog.

so, i have been doing a little hospice volunteering. when i had my interview w the agency, one of the questions they ask is- what special things would you bring to this job?
i had 2 things. one, since i was specifically interested in pediatric cases (tho on the inpatient unit, there are often kids) was a big toy collection that i was interested in sharing.
but the other was- i have this big dog.
biff is 90 lbs of patient, loving english bulldog. everyone who gets to know him is convinced that he especially loves and connects with them.
in order to bring him to the hospital, he had to be certified with therapy dogs international. we passed the test in january, and recently got his full credentials. i was a little unsure of just how desirable the agency found this. that is until i got an email from my "boss" asking when i was going to bring him in.
then saturday i was a part of a new volunteer orientation. i asked if i should bring him, but didnt get a reply, so i didnt. the boss was disappointed that i hadnt brought him.
i asked him if there was someone in particular i was supposed to check with when i signed up for a shift. he said "they all know"

so, next time i will bring him along. i am only worried that i will be chopped liver when i dont bring him thereafter.

eta that he is the first k9 volunteer for the agency, and lots of folks are excited about it.

February 23, 2016

opinions on modern stucco?

so, after a successful divorce, i find myself w some money to invest. as luck would have it, my sister and her hubs have made a midlife career change, and are flipping houses. they are paying a fortune for short term money, so i agreed to do a little venture capital lending w them. i feel that this is very safe, as the worst thing that could happen is that i end up getting a rental property.
anyway, i sort of got the bug from them. the house across the alley from me was recently foreclosed on. so, guess who the new owner is. yes, tis i.

it is a little frame single family in need of quite a bit of repair. i intend to keep it as a rental property.
one thing it needs is replacement of the old shingle siding. one of my partners in this venture tells me that it is getting to be the thing out in the burbs here to replace siding w stucco.
the old siding comes down, walls are foamed, then they put up stucco.
this would fit in very nicely in the hood, where old fire codes discouraged clapboard. about 1/3 of frame houses around here are stucco.

i know the old stuff is a pain in the ass, especially here in the snow belt. but the new stuff is supposed to be pretty well improved, w fiberglass meshes and fiber and all.
anyone have any experience/opinions on this?

February 14, 2016

fuck valentines day. who's with me?

for 30+ years, v-day was a special anniversary for hubs and me. we met on feb 6, and admitted we were in love on v-day.
it all became a burden as the years went by. on a few of those v-days, we were deeply in crisis, and trying to make the best of it. those days are seared in my brain.

i am a free woman now. i wouldnt complain about having someone who wanted to take my out tonight and lie to me. but i am just as happy to say fuck this day and all the stupid expectations that it brings.

February 13, 2016

anyone here do burning man?

how would you describe the experience?

think i might be too old to have fun there. (61, a little creaky) have some friends who do it, tho, and giving it some thought.
trying to get in a few good yucks before i get any older.

February 3, 2016

cross posted from health

Onetime party drug hailed as miracle for treating severe depression

It was November 2012 when Dennis Hartman, a Seattle business executive, managed to pull himself out of bed, force himself to shower for the first time in days and board a plane that would carry him across the country to a clinical trial at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda.

After a lifetime of profound depression, 25 years of therapy and cycling through 18 antidepressants and mood stabilizers, Hartman, then 46, had settled on a date and a plan to end it all. The clinical trial would be his last attempt at salvation.

For 40 minutes, he sat in a hospital room as an IV drip delivered ketamine through his system. Several more hours passed before it occurred to him that all his thoughts of suicide had evaporated.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-one-time-party-drug-is-helping-people-with-deep-depression/2016/02/01/d3e73862-b490-11e5-a76a-0b5145e8679a_story.html