It is All So Unnerving in Everyday Ramblings

Wow, such difficult news these days, non? The blow upon the bruise. I think not only of the suffering of those who die in this carnage, and their families but also of all those who have been injured and how their lives are altered for all time.

The disaffected appear to be gaining more power in terms of making others suffer as they suffer. I don’t know if that is actually true, or if it is the way these events are reported. It appears these types of mass killings happen in lots of places where we don’t hear as much coverage… Like say, a market in Iraq or the airport in Turkey.

We are all more connected than ever before. The ability to know what is happening as it happens in real time, no matter where… how new this is and how it changes us… Many of my students travel to France regularly so this tragedy in Nice hits close to home.

This overwhelming sense of chickens coming home to roost, in terms of policy decisions by our politicians both local and national, by the power of the gun lobby, by institutions with built in biases.

One tries to be thoughtful and think of what one can do to make a difference, both interpersonally and in terms of activism. Our church has not considered taking down the Black Lives Matter banner hanging prominently in front and I notice I have been hyper aware of contact with folks who may not look like me or my family this week. Thinking about the challenges they face and all that they have to do to function in this culture, that extra special effort they need to make to even garner basic respect.

On a personal level I am preparing for what will be the most difficult surgery in this sequence of surgeries next week. I saw my periodontist yesterday to sign consents and get the drugs ordered and talk about what to expect.

He is not sure exactly what he is going to be able to do until he gets into my jaw and looks at the bone. And he wasn’t sure yesterday if the guides were back from the lab and if the actual “technical stuff” he needs for the surgery will be on hand in time. This was kind of too much information as I hope with all my heart we will not need to reschedule and he can do it all in one shot so I can start to heal and get functionality back.

The fact that I work for the same institution and that he is primarily a scientist and an educator led to (a kind of not exactly informality but at least) a directness that was a bit disconcerting.

I am so grateful that Kes is available to get me home after the surgery and stay the night. Apparently I am going to have extensive swelling and bruising. Eek. I may need to find a sub for my first class after… all this will be revealed next week.

I read in an article this last weekend that prolonged use of antihistamines can increase appetite and cause weight gain. I take them almost all year round here. All that verdant green and abundant vegetation that makes this place so beautiful…

So I stopped taking them. And it is apparent, clearly apparent after five days why I do! The allergies are manageable when I am inside but you know I am not inside all the time as I walk at least 5 miles a day. Darn tradeoffs!

If, and this is only an if, with this and concentrating on foods that help me feel full and tracking everything I eat and.. if this works and over the rest of the summer I take off the majority of the weight I put on since February and the first surgery then I will start taking them again.

Otherwise I think my neti pot is going to become my bestest friend along with my dental floss… as I try to keep my immune system robust and my exposure minimized…

Can a bandana across the face be a fashion statement outside of dusty music festival grounds? I may need to find out… I have them in a bunch of pretty colors.