ophie's New Writeups

September 10, 2011 (personal)

2011-09-10T13:24:16Z

So yeah. 10 years. I can't even remember my password anymore. It still stings when Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" comes on the radio. Ever since Adam died, I've had a weird feeling that somehow it's his message to me. When it happened, I was broken up with my boyfriend, and Adam and I were both in a depressed state of mind. We'd chat on the net while watching the same shows (such as Natural History of the Chicken), meet up after work for a glass of wine, share dinner. We'd dance around the depression. He had told me he would probably kill himself, I told him to not ask me about the self-inflicted burns on my arm. I can't say there were feelings involved -- I think we were both too numb at the time to be anything but clinical friends.

It's weird how life works. As my social circle has grown, it came to include a police officer. I don't remember how it came up in conversation, but it turns out he was one of the officers in front of Adam's house that day. I remember hating those storm trooper dressed…

megaesophagus (thing)

2006-03-24T16:05:48Z

Megaesophagus

This writeup will deal with canine megaesophagus only.

Megaesophagus is a condition where the esophagus becomes paralyzed, enlarged and unable to propel food into the stomach. The most common symptom of megaesophagus is regurgitation (as opposed to vomiting; vomiting is an active process where the stomach forces food up, in regurgitation the food pretty much falls out of the animals esophagus when it lowers its head). The condition can be congenital, secondary to another condition, or can come about for no reason (idiopathic). Because the esophagus is paralyzed, dogs with this condition are susceptible to potentially fatal aspiration pneumonia due to inhaling food. Unless megaesophagus is secondary to another treatable condition, there is no cure.

Common Causes

In many cases megaesophagus is congenital and in those cases there is a possibility that the condition will improve over time. Congenital…

March 28, 2005 (idea)

2005-03-29T00:37:25Z

Getting hitched. This Friday. Seemed like a good day to do it. I picked up the marriage license today -- I was amazed I could do it without Craig there. This was the easiest wedding to plan ever -- I called our favourite restaurant, found out they'd cater at $28 bucks a head and booked a reservation for 18. Done. With many thanks to the Universal Life Church we'll have a friend do it right there during dinner. Perhaps between the soup and salad courses, or maybe over dessert. Sweet.

October 19, 2004 (idea)

2004-10-19T16:19:00Z

No, I'm not fled. Here's what's been up:

On May 28, 2004, I was in a bad car accident. My dear sweet Honda Del Sol was totalled. I was honking at the lady who hit me and my thumb got tangled in the steering wheel and was disclocated. I was hit from the drivers side, and though the air bags went off I didn't fly into them. I hit my head on the drivers side window frame then flew the other direction, knocking my glasses into the passenger footwell. When my head cleared a bit, I saw my arms were burned and my car was full of smoke, so I freaked out thinking it was on fire (but it was just airbag stuff). The door handle had broken, so I climbed out the window and straight into a puddle of automobile gut fluids. I then fell on my ass. All the blocked up traffic was actually honking at me to get out of the way -- I couldn't believe it -- so I stood up and flipped them all the bird, skating a bit in my oil-covered shoes. A lady who'd seen the accident came over and made me sit down until help…

Soy Wasabi Glaze (idea)

2003-08-22T13:33:29Z

This is a quick and simple sauce which really dresses up meat or fish. Serve this atop a seared rare tuna steak (mmmm!), grilled beef, or chicken. Snow peas make an excellent side dish.

1 stick unsalted butter
3 green onions, chopped coarsly.
3 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS (one small tube) prepared wasabi

In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, add all ingredients.
Stir constantly until the sauce is smooth and the butter is melted.

August 21, 2003 (idea)

2003-08-21T03:37:37Z

I study Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and kempo karate at a dojo in Germantown, Maryland. This evening we had Royce Gracie in to give belts and instruct us. Royce Gracie is probably the most famous sport fighter in the world today.

We went through many techniques; he would teach us a move, then the counter to it, then the counter to the counter. His manner of teaching was more than I'd experienced before. His ability to explain what he was doing as he was doing it made executing the moves seem simple. As we were working, he would circulate and show us the moves individually, allowing us to wrestle with him.

After two hours of practicing in this manner, we were made to spar. Several students were selected for belt testing (white, blue, purple, brown, black), and sparred with Royce Gracie. It was very exciting to watch.

After sparring, several students were given their new belts, and we took photos. I managed to have someone snap a (bad) picture…