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It’s a boy!
No, actually it’s my gallbladder. I’ve had such a crazy week. Monday, you’ll recall, was my first acupuncture session. It didn’t really have any immediately noticeable effect, I thought. Then Tuesday I had one of my worst days of stomach pain in the past two months. It grew and grew all day til Leanne finally sent me home (in the hailstorm) because I looked like I was going to barf. I went straight to my doctor and told him that the current plan of “bland diet” plus Nexium wasn’t working. He agreed. At this point, if it was actually a stomach issue I should’ve been getting better, and I’m not. So he took me off the Nexium and started the next round of tests. I got blood drawn to check for liver function and thyroid issues, and he recommended an ultrasound to check out the other organs that could be causing the gastritis. (Hence, the picture of my baby gallbladder.) I was in such pain I considered canceling the next acupuncture session; it obviously wasn’t doing me any good. But then something amazing happened Wednesday: I woke up feeling great. It wasn’t just that I wasn’t feeling any strong pain; it was that I actually had energy and felt happy all day long. You don’t realize how precious those days are until you have two months without one. And Wednesday was nearly as good! I really don’t know what to attribute it to. I haven’t changed my diet radically, and by all rights I should feel worse after stopping the Nexium. But I don’t. I even had an APPLE on Thursday (which I’d been shunning out of fear of the acidity) and I was fine. So I went into my second acupuncture session feeling skeptical but also more than a little hopeful. After telling her everything that had happened, I got back on the table for another round of five needles. Two in my elbows and one in the center of my belly, again, but also two more either side of my navel. (Looking down, my belly button appeared to have antennae. Take me to your leader.) Friday was the ultrasound and I’ll admit I was feeling some fear. What if he finds a tumor? In the end everything checked out okay, with one minor exception: there’s a dark spot on my right kidney, and the technician thought it might be the formation of a stone. OH, GREAT. (My pregnant sister just had one and sent me a long, excruciatingly detailed e-mail about the pain she had in passing it.) He recommends I have a CT scan to verify. So I’m a little torn here, actually. On one hand, I have a scheduled gastroscopy in three weeks to investigate the possibility of an ulcer. This is a seriously unpleasant procedure though, and my doctor’d been hoping something else would turn up so I could cancel. A kidney stone though? Would seriously suck. Maybe my magic acupuncture shaman can blast it with some chi or something…

I know there are only a few shows left, but if you are in Sydney you simply MUST go see Hedwig and the Angry Inch at at newtown. I went last night with the Snook, Amy, Andrew, and Morgan. It was AWESOME. I’d seen the movie a couple times and really liked it, and I didn’t think there was any way a small local production could live up to it. I was so wrong. Iota was absolutely incredible as Hedwig. Funny, sexy, tragic… and with legs to die for. I was so thrilled to hear my favorite song performed live. The whole time, though, I kept wondering when the actor playing Tommy was going to make his appearance. Needless to say, the climax of the stage show is a lot different to the one in the movie (and a lot more powerful). Even the Snook enjoyed it, and he hates musicals. I don’t think anyone can help being blown away by the Iota’s incredible energy and talent, sustained pretty much alone on stage for an hour and a half. GO SEE IT if you can!

Dude, if I still drank cola*, I’d totally want some Lordi Cola.

* I’m nine days free of the Diet Coke monkey! And I think I’ve finally broken the back of my addiction. I had some wicked headaches last week but that’s all over now. I don’t even have any cravings! So don’t bother shipping me any Lordi Cola, Jussi. 🙂

Okay, so supposedly you can watch footage of me and the Snook crossing the finish line at the City 2 Surf, but I can’t spot us anywhere in that crowd. Snookums was wearing a light blue shirt and I had a white sleeveless one with navy around the top, and we’re both wearing black shorts and red caps. I think they may have messed up the time on the videos and they’re showing the footage from our adjusted time as opposed to our real one.

Update: I found us! They did screw up the times. You can see us on this guy’s video. We’re visible on camera 1 and camera 2. We cross the line about ten seconds after it starts playing, just to the right (as you’re looking at it) of the central pillar. Snookums is also carrying a vest, if that helps you spot him. From camera 2 you can just see us raising our arms before we get to the line. You can also clearly see Snookums bopping through with all the energy in the world, whereas I pretty clearly collapse into a walk as soon as I’m over. 🙂

Update Again: Looks like they’ve fixed it! You can see us on our proper link now. (Although I noted that they did not publish my comment on the official City 2 Surf Blog where I called them out for the bug!)

Make your own zombie words here.

Check out this chart of cat tail positions and what they mean. Of course, this would be more helpful if our cat had more than half a tail.

What in the hail?
Dude, Sydney got hit by a mother of a hailstorm today. What’s more, I managed to be out in it! At first I couldn’t figure out why my footsteps were crunching as I waded through the alley behind the shop on my way home. Once I hit George Street, I could see the white pebbles starting to dot the sidewalk. Luckily I had my umbrella and I managed to get on a bus without serious injury. By the time we hit Town Hall, the roof of the bus was getting pummeled and the streets were starting to turn white. Driving to Central was actually really fun, watching the Sydneysiders huddled in doorways gawking at the hail. Weather as entertainment! Our bus driver was incredulous. “It looks like somewhere else!” he kept repeating. When we stopped at Central, he jumped out to grab a handful as if to convince himself it was real. Me, I sat huddled in my street grinning at their wonder. Most of these people have never seen snow, and this is as close as it gets in Sydney. It was actually piling up in drifts created by the cars splashing down the street. I found that if I squinted just right, I could pretend I was on the school bus coming home on a wretched Indiana February day. And suddenly I was so homesick it hurt. Strange what can bring it on, you know?

When I got home I went out into the backyard to take a few pictures. The flowerbeds got quite a dumping, as did the picnic table. Tracey‘s already got two nice shots up on Flickr, and other Sydneysiders are posting theirs as well. I especially like this one from Morgan. Ooh, and Mary-Helen‘s posted some too.

Stop the presses. We are actually getting knitting yarn made from corn! How insane is that? Well, really we’re just getting samples to see if we want to carry it, but I’m already in favor. CORN YARN. That blows my mind.

I’m supposed to give an interview this arvo at 3:00 with Nova 96.9’s Bianca Dye. I don’t know if it’ll air live though; the website says her show doesn’t start til 4. Will keep you posted…

Update: Just did the interview, which they’ve taped for the show. Will probably be a short one, just 60 seconds or so. She told me that her show was really “quick” and “punchy,” and it was suggested that I pretend I was addressing a bunch of 21-year-olds. So if I sound brain dead, that’s why.