Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tales

I had a two day work conference/training event/team building thing to go to up in San Francisco. The company was paying for hotel rooms for three days/two nights for everyone, but people who couldn't stay away that long (people with kids or pets or whatever) could travel back and forth instead.

I really, really didn't want to go to it. It'd be boring and long and lots of other reasons.

Since I can't leave my cat alone for three days, I elected to Uber back and forth each day.

I called my car, and for some reason it got canceled? I don't know if I canceled it by mistake or the driver did... he was right on the same road with me, then I got the popup window to rate the ride. Whatever. I ordered another Uber.

The second one was odd. I don't know if this had anything to do with anything, but he took almost five minutes to move at all, then he drove passed my road and way down the other way, stopping in a Starbucks (was he getting coffee? he could have turned around much sooner than that...). Anyway, he finally got to me and off we went.

A few minutes into the ride, and we got into an accident. We were going up a highway, so at normal highway speeds, and apparently there was an accident in front of us. Someone hit it, we hit them, someone (or two someones) hit us from behind. I was reading at the time, so I'm not completely sure what happened.

Luckily I had my seatbelt on. My Kindle went flying. (For much of the time, I was more worried about getting it back than anything else. It flew into the front seat somewhere, and I didn't want his car to be towed before I could find it.)

It took a long time standing on the side of the road for the cops to come (So Many Cops), then a few firetrucks, then some medics.

Thankfully one of the cops gave me a ride home (home-ish), because otherwise I'd be stuck there on the highway. He pulled over someone while I was in the back, and it was close enough to my apartment complex that I could walk, so I thanked him and left.

I never rode in the back of a cop car before! It was pretty interesting, so much to see. The cop was chatty as hell, too.

So anyway, once I got home, I went straight to my doctor. She was able to see me right away, sent me for X-rays, gave me painkillers. I'm not feeling too awful yet, but she said tomorrow I'm going to feel much worse. "Wish I would die" was her words to describe what my pain level will probably be.

So... I don't have to go to the conference today or tomorrow, but a darned high price for getting out of it. She said I'll probably be hurting bad for two full weeks, and perhaps beyond that.

Plus side: I could have been hurt a lot worse. It could have been my car. (Poor Uber driver!)

I haven't been sent a receipt from Uber yet, so I really hope they're not going to try to charge me for the trip.

I feel a little guilty for giving the driver one star, but man, the 'rate this ride' popup showed up on my phone while I was still standing on the side of the road. Maybe the accident wasn't his fault (I don't know), but I hit one star without thinking. Though I suppose if there's a reason to give one star, an accident is a good one...

It's funny to think what could have been. If that first Uber had showed up, I never would have gotten into an accident to begin with and this Uber driver would still have his car.

Edit: No issue on the being charged issue. They just sent me an email:

We received a message that you were involved in an accident on a recent trip. Your safety is deeply important to us and we wanted to check to see if you’re okay. We’re also following up with your driver.
Due to this experience, I’ve fully refunded your fare for this trip, which will apply to your original payment method in 3-5 business days. You'll also receive an updated receipt via email.

Ugh. It's 2 AM, I haven't slept a moment tonight, and I doubt that will change for the rest of the night. On Friday I pulled some muscle along/between my ribs. During the daytime it's painful but I can cope with it. The problem is that laying down makes the pain intense, which is hell on trying to sleep.

Dr. Google tells me that pulls of the muscles along the ribs are as painful as and treated the same way as broken ribs. They can take weeks to heal.

Because of my surgery, the only over the counter pain medicine I can use is Tylenol, which I think is about as effective as waving my hands in the air. I bet ibuprofen would be tons better (being an anti-inflammatory and all). Rules be damned, I'm going to get some tomorrow to use at night before I sleep. Tomorrow is going to be hell at work, and I have a lot of long, cold night left to go before it's time to go to work.

I wanted to give it a week before I went to the doctor (that seemed reasonable for a muscle pull). If the ibuprofen doesn't work, I'm going to go much sooner.

Ugh. So cold and tired and hurting. Going to bed should help all those things, but the moment I lay down, feels like multiple knives stabbing me. Just breathing hurts as well, but not that badly.

Ugh, darned body.

Edit: Going to see the doctor today. Ow ow ow.

Oh the joys of ingrown toenails. After having my toenail removed five or six times, my podiatrist decided we should remove it permanently. Unfortunately that's a bigger deal than just removing it -- actual surgery (outpatient). They have to cut into the bone itself to kill the nail bed so it won't grow back. Stitches after, all that. Fun.

For three days, I have to keep the same bandage on. That's a challenge, as in the first hour I bled through it. Luckily I had planned to work from home yesterday, so I was able to keep it elevated the whole day, which helps a lot with the pain. It does make showering a challenge though. This morning I stuck my foot in a plastic bag, rubber banded it around my ankle, and kept my foot on the edge of the tub. Not the best solution, especially since I had to wash my hair facing the shower head, but better than no shower or washing in the sink.

With all the bleeding, I'm worried about taking the bandage off on Thursday, but she used nonstick bandages so hopefully it won't be too painful. A week after (on Monday) I have to go see her again, I assume to have the stitches removed.

Hopefully, once this heals up, it will be the end of this toe issue. I try not to think about having nine other toes that could act up in just the same way...

Yesterday was also my first day back to work after my vacation. Worst First Day Back Ever. :P

I really need to make a post about my weight loss surgery. I missed posting about it on the one year anniversary (approaching 13 months now), I just never feel like writing about it.

What a way to spend a day off from work. Was pretty sure I had an infection in my toe (I keep getting ingrown toenails), so went to the walk in clinic. He sent me off to the podiatry department. The same toe that had the nail reduced by 50% six months ago now has another big chunk gone. There's only like 25% left of it. Since I was going through all the pain of removal anyway, I kinda wish they had taken the whole thing.

It is, quite literally, a bloody mess at the moment. I'll resist going into details beyond that.

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Informatzia by Catherine Keegan (loupnoir)
Rating: 4/liked (1-5/hated-loved)



I've been waiting for this book for so long. :) How hard is it to not bug the author when they're right there on your LJ friends list? It was really great to see all the characters again!

In a way, you could say this book series was Harry Potter fanfic with the serial numbers filed off, but that's not really the case. The Durmstrang Chronicles (written by this author and what the Informatzia trilogy was based on) was always pretty stand-alone. It had no canon Harry Potter characters (Lupin had a walk-in role in one of the stories, but that's it). The whole world was so wonderfully dark and mature. So it's more like Informatzia is two steps removed from Harry Potter.

The main character of Informatzia is an animagus werewolf, but neither that nor magic were the focus of this story. It was more a tale of spies and the Russian culture.

While I love the main character, I found myself wishing to be able to see so much more of this world. The few glimpses of the "magic cops" (special members of the FBI) made them seem so interesting! And the few mentions of Rose Jones (main character of Durmstrang Chronicles) made me itch to have her show up in the story.

Not so totally unrelated, I named one of my Flight Rising dragons Rose Jones.


Ahem! Anyway, I quite enjoyed the book! I can't wait until the third one. :)

Currently reading: Survey Ship by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I've had it on my Kindle for a while, well before all the rape/abuse stuff around her and her husband came out. I feel a little icky reading it; I hadn't even originally realized it was by her (the covers on the Kindle are so small, all I can generally see is the title).

With all the IC talk about cultists, it's somewhat ironic that now everyone is going to think I'm one RL.

I came home from work, my cat was on her cat post wanting love, so I scooped her up as I've done many times before. But, as sometimes happens, she freaked out over something she had previously been fine with. I now have a pitchfork-shaped bloody clawed mess across the front of my throat. c.c If it's anything like the clawing she did to my leg, it's going to be a week of scabbed over mess before it heals up and fades. It's in the shape of a pitchfork.

I swear that I'm not a devil worshiper.

Maybe I can claim it's shaped like a chicken footprint instead. I'm not sure if that's actually better or not.

At least I'm not a teenager. If people saw a teenager with a three-pronged injury on their throat, I'm sure the first assumption would be that they did it on purpose.

My leg mauling was actually kind of interesting. It looked like I had been attacked by a small lion. The jagged cuts were interesting to see, the patterns claws can make.

Dear Ellie: Let's keep these things in out of sight places, okay? If you have to do it at all? Love, me

Literally. Darned California sun. Darned being white as a ghost. It takes me ten minutes to drive to work. Ten. And in that time my arm gets burned bright red, sunburned to the point of it hurting. In ten minutes. This is not just an early summer thing, it happens to me spring-to-fall.

Note to self: Take the sunblock off desk, put in car.

Ow ow, my poor arm.

And related(?). The end of the world has been rescheduled. Harold Camping now says end is coming October 21st. I really hope he gets no news coverage this time...

Deathwing death: 6

Poor mini-Keen. Nearly every day he gets killed by that darned dragon. Someone pointed out that it's likely his guild name: <DAGRON TASK FORCE>

Stupid Deathwing, taking things personally.