#mangy-mongrel

When you say "cover breast with foil", did you mean cover only the breast? Or the whole shebang? Also, I wouldn't be adverse to learning how to freeze roast chicken xD

Only the breast -- it’s a trick I learned from Alton Brown. White meat cooks faster than dark meat, which is why by the time the thighs are done the breast is usually a bit dry (the wings aren’t an issue since they’re thinner). If you cover the breast meat 2/3 of the way into the roast, it’ll cook slower, allowing the thighs to finish without the breast drying out. It doesn’t have to be a tight cover, just take a strip of foil and lay it over the breast, then press down lightly. 

I had no idea you were still recovering, sweetie. I'm glad to see you're doing better, but keep taking it easy as you heal. Do you have someone close to check up on you to see how you're doing? Do you have a follow-up appointment with your doctor? I know Dr. Deebs and Dr. Polka-dot are taking care of you! ^^! *gentle hug*

Oh yeah, I have friends who are checking in, and also coworkers. They know if I don’t show up and don’t call in that they need to check on me.

And I didn’t want to give anyone the impression that I’m not still under a doctor’s care! I had a check-in last week where I was cleared for everything except running and heavy machinery, and tomorrow I have a check-in to get cleared for running. “Heavy Machinery” usually means driving, for most people, and since I don’t drive that’s not as much of an issue. 

bonnie131313 replied to your post “Holy shit I am dying, you guys. This morning I was reading about...”

way back (possibly still) all the higher ups had to be able to walk into any McDonalds in their country and do any job in the place. When I was in High School I saw the guy in charge of every McDonalds in the northeast USA mop the lobby because a kid spilled a soda and the rest of us were busy. It was a horrible job but I was kind of impressed by that.

I’m pretty sure it’s still in effect, but I think for corporate particularly it’s not as, uh, strenuous as it used to be. It’s like “Okay, this week you’re going to spend an hour or two each day on the floor” kind of a deal. At least that’s my impression. 

amairawrites replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

I’ll be honest that I’m more curious about how the kitties have responded to your concussion than how you’ve dealt with it.

I don’t know that they’ve really changed behavior much, to be honest, perhaps because home is where I’ve changed behavior the least. When I’m at home I’m usually sitting quietly anyway. :D The first 2-3 days they were pretty clingy and concerned, like they clearly knew something was up, but after that they more or less reverted to normal behavior. We’ve spent more time on the bed, because the heating pad helped with my sore muscles from the fall, and they love the bed so they’re quite happy about that. But by and large, home life is not too altered. 

figtreeandvine replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

If you haven't already, go see a doctor again. Your word issues sound like a less severe form of my mother's aphasia--she had a stroke almost two years ago. She can speak grammatically but almost all nouns are gone--which makes actual speech...difficult. An MRI might help locate organic damage. Speech and/or physical therapy could also help.

They warned me that I might need therapy if the TBI was bad enough, but the checkup last week said that while it’s clear I’m still having issues, they’re fading about as rapidly as would be expected of someone of my age and general health. After tomorrow’s check-in I won’t have another for six-ish months unless I notice a decline or a stall in the healing, but I should be good to go. 

starkwest replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

I feel you on the words issue. I've learned not to talk much in public. I get strange looks or people filling in the words. The meds I have to take make word memory so hard. Image association and deep breath back tracking helps somewhat. Your description of 'six degrees' is spot on. Good luck. I hope it improves for you soon.

What’s so interesting is that it’s only an issue when I’m talking -- when I’m writing, occasionally I’ll mistype a word (”might” for “my” or “attendee” for “attendant”) but I at least have all of them at my command. When I try to connect brain to mouth, something just goes awry. It’s like having a word on the tip of your tongue, like it’s not a NEW sensation, it’s just a much more common one than normal.

mangy-mongrel replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

I would now like to put safety corners on all of your furniture

I mean, you’ve seen photos of my condo, it’s COVERED in pillows :D The doctors gave me a four page SUPER CONDESCENDING but understandably-so pamphlet about preventing tripping hazards in the home, and really “not to trip over my own goddamn feet” is what I need more than anything, sadly.

tehnakki replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

LAWL. Oh Sam. Welcome to the brain-fucked-up club! It sucks =) Personally I agree with the super blasé emotional acceptance of injury. I've made my mom and friends cry by how casual I am about my death but *shrug emoji* it just doesn't bug me.

Yeah, I would think I’m not traumatized because I don’t remember it, but the fall isn’t the scary part for people, it’s the fact that I don’t remember it. But it’s not like there’s a gap, per se, or a blank space. There’s just a seamless transition from “taking a cute picture of Polk” to “waking up and feeling dreadful”. It’s like how you don’t normally remember the moment of falling asleep, only that moment lasted an hour and a half. 

pinglederry replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

it’s weird reading about your word struggles bc that level of struggle is my regular adhd baseline. Was your concussion injury to the frontal lobe area?

I honestly don’t know. From the sound of it my brain just got bounced around my skull; they only did the CT scan, so I don’t think they could tell which part was actively bruised. But it would make sense, I clearly fell face-forward, and most of the bruising and scrapes were on my forehead, left cheekbone, left ear, and the area just above my left ear. 

junker5 replied to your photo “Taking this photo is the last thing I remember doing on January 5th,...”

I know you probably don’t feel “lucky” but you really are. I love how you deal with things both realistically and with your patented Sam humor. I’m so glad you are recovering, and so sorry you had such a crazy scare! In January no less!

I do feel lucky in the sense that since it happened I’ve read about a couple of people who fell over while drunk or passed out while high, bashed their head on something, and bled out before they regained consciousness. Living alone does come with that kind of peril. But I also think, you know, I was lucky to survive it and the odds of it happening again are quite low, in theory, so my guardian angel probably isn’t done with me yet :D 

yee-jun replied to your post “Holy shit I am dying, you guys. This morning I was reading about...”

Oh Boy! What A Way To Advertise A Vacancy!

Now I need to know what positive small talk sounds like hahah

It’s super easy, it’s just finding something pleasant and commenting on it! Especially when you’re out somewhere having a good time. Like, in this case, I was asked to mildly inconvenience myself for someone else’s sake and because it wasn’t a huge deal I said it was fine. To assure the other person that I didn’t mind the inconvenience I remarked that it wouldn’t have happened if the event was less crowded, so it’s nice to see it so full, because it means it’s doing well, which means supporting small businesses AND having a good time vintage shopping. 

It’s kind of like...all bullshit that happens out in public, which is almost always a reason I’m talking to strangers anyway, generally happens because of factors other than “people being shitheads” so you find the factor and flip it to see the upside. Like I don’t love being stuck in traffic on Michigan Avenue, but if someone else on the bus gripes to me about it (and I don’t mind having a conversation) I’ll say, “Well, it’s because of the construction. It’s nice they’re looking after the roads finally, at least!” or I’ll agree that “I never take Michigan Avenue buses. The 146 is a lot nicer and you get to see it hang some really crazy turns as it diverts down State.” And then if the other person has any conversational acumen at all, you get to have a nice conversation about what your favorite bus is. 

earlgreyhaught replied to your photo “I know this isn't the conclusion I was meant to draw from this, but...”

@copperbadge you've ruined my life

kholden83 replied to your photo “I know this isn't the conclusion I was meant to draw from this, but...”

What? Sam that's ridiculous

One of the best parts of the Rey Is Yoda’s Daughter thesis is that it gets some great reactions :D 

Really I made it up to gently make fun of all the back-and-forth about whose daughter she could possibly be during the lead-up to The Last Jedi, because my patience for engaging with media that teases a huge mystery and then inevitably fails to deliver went out with the Eleventh Doctor (I was pleasantly surprised by TLJ’s treatment of Rey’s parentage question). The genius of the Vader reveal in the original series was that nobody knew or cared who Luke’s father was beyond what Obi Wan told him, so the surprise was Vader’s bomb drop itself, not that it was Vader. It wasn’t “this is new information” it was “this is unexpected information that has significantly altered everything.” A thrown grenade rather than a solved mystery.  

But also, like, you guys have responded appropriately, because it is a silly idea. Your response is proportionally fun. But if one insists that Rey could be Yoda’s daughter because we have no idea what a Yoda looks like in their youth or whether Yoda genes are recessive if they have sex with humans, and then you intimate one day Rey might look like Yoda, you really enrage a very specific subset of gatekeepy Star Wars fan that I love to enrage. (There’s also a subest of Star Wars fans who get super mad about the idea of Yoda fucking, and that’s a good time.)

(Hope you don’t mind me answering this publicly! It’s the kind of thing that helps people and starts conversations.) 

I actually don’t for credit cards, unfortunately. I have one “main” credit card with a super low interest rate that I use for large/emergency expenses and which I’m currently paying down my balance on (another 2-3 months and it’ll be back to zero after a financially intense summer/fall), so that’s a regular knowable expense; I also have one store card, Best Buy, where I’m making regular known payments because I bought the treadmill with 0% financing and I know what I have to pay monthly in order to pay off the balance before it starts charging interest. But I have a couple of other store cards where the balance fluctuates so much from month to month that I just have to monitor them -- Old Navy, for example, always ends the month at zero balance, but sometimes I don’t know how much I’m going to have to pay on it until the day before it’s due, because of purchases and returns and such. 

With most credit cards, you can set up on the credit card site to “pay full balance each month” where it goes into your bank and just takes out enough to get you to zero, but I don’t like that because if someone steals my card and runs up hundreds of dollars in charges without me knowing, or if I’m having a lean month and don’t want to pay the whole balance and I know there’s a return credit coming, then I’m boned if the whole balance comes out of my checking account. 

The solution I came up with was to just list every card as a monthly expense in my budgeting spreadsheet, so that I can go down the list and check them off -- if there’s no balance, great, they get a 0 in the “amount paid” column. But if there is a balance I can enter how much I want to pay on it in the “amount paid” column and find out if that’s going to be an issue of any kind. This presupposes you have a budget spreadsheet, however, which not everyone has. (Which is ok! Some people can’t work that way, others have to have it, it’s down to personal preference.) 

Sam, Michael Sheen is going to find this. And read it. It's going to get real inceptiony real quickly.

I love that everyone in Good Omens fandom who wants to threaten me knows that the biggest threat is just to be like “WE WILL TELL MICHAEL SHEEN WHERE U LIVE.” 

swords-n-spindles replied to your post “Crowley is pretty and all, but have you ever heard of...”

Never thought I'd get misty eyes over the mention of banana daiquiris

I won’t lie, I did a little bit myself. I’m old enough to remember making a mental note, If I ever run into Terry Pratchett, buy him a banana daiquiri.

mangy-mongrel mentioned you on a post “Crowley is pretty and all, but have you ever heard of...”

@copperbadge As always I'm torn between "Sam no!" and "Sam yes!"

WELCOME TO MY LIFE. 

rsfcommonplace replied to your post “Crowley is pretty and all, but have you ever heard of...”

I laughed so loud at argyle socks I think I actually woke up my upstairs neighbor.

You laugh but I’m pretty sure I’m gonna have to buy like 12 pairs of argyle socks to get in the good graces of my new employer. 

ilacatz replied to your post “Crowley is pretty and all, but have you ever heard of...”

Why must you be such a consistent exception to my personal rule that no good comes from reading rpf?

Given it's the Post Office, and in Chicago in December, if they wanna stay chill by growing their own pot back there *I* for one say let 'em have at.

annechen-melo replied to your post “The Loop post office on Dearborn – technically it’s on Clark, but you...”

Someone has registered that post office as their residence and is planning to use it as a greenhouse come 1 Jan 20.

mangy-mongrel replied to your post “The Loop post office on Dearborn – technically it’s on Clark, but you...”

Or weed, possibly

GUYS I WAS TRYNA BE DISCREET :D 

geekgirl76 replied to your post “isabellaofjerusalem replied to your post “I just woke up from a...”

If they continue to not show interest in the hammock, a small blanket or a towel may tempt them. I knit one out of macrame cord for the cat enclosure and its Sarah's favourite place in the world, and doesnt leave it if at all possible. But only of her cushion is in it.

Yeah, I think I’m going to put some fleece on the hammock. They don’t like pillows and the “unsteady” feeling of the hammock may be part of that, but Polk is fine with the little wood bridge, so she should be ok with the hammock. She may just need something familiar on it. 

eimearkuopio replied to your post “isabellaofjerusalem replied to your post “I just woke up from a...”

Honestly the "fun" flavours are disgusting to me anyway but I'm happy with my standard coke in general

Yeah, I like trying the new flavors but I’ll stick with Diet Coke for the most part. The new “twisted” flavors were fun in theory but I don’t want SPICY SODA. 

col1999 replied to your photo “Dearborn's newest game involves waiting until I walk past the cat...”

I have this mental Image of Dearborn actually picking up some small change, but not being able to get her paw back into the camper because her fist is too big. So, thanks for that smile on a Monday morning :)

Hot and sour soup or a good chicken and sausage gumbo are my go-tos.

My mother does swear by hot and sour soup, and I don’t disagree, but I was in a “want something crunchy” mood :D 

mangy-mongrel replied to your post “I know I’m a supertaster and a White Dude™ but is there anything...”

I have a friend who eats commercial wasabi from the tube when he's experiencing sinus issues. I also second someone else's hot and sour soup idea. And possibly raise them with mala hotpot (except I haven't had a cold since mala hotpot entered my life)

See, regarding the wasabi, like...the thing is that that’s not enjoyable as well as helpful. It’s not only about clearing the sinuses -- you gotta like what you’re eating too! I don’t normally go in for spicy chicken, but at least it was crunchy and fried in addition to being painfully hot :D 

janedrewfinally replied to your post “I know I’m a supertaster and a White Dude™ but is there anything...”

Since I am In Chicago this week, I now ponder whether I am near the spicy fried chicken (also: SO MANY CHRISTMAS LIGHTS WOW)

As you can see, IT’S THE ONLY LIGHT WE GET. :D 

Harold’s Chicken Shack is a local chain so they’re dotted all over Chicago -- you should be within reasonable distance of one. I’m pretty sure at least some of them deliver, too. 

memprime replied to your post “I know I’m a supertaster and a White Dude™ but is there anything...”

Did you go to the one on Wabash?!