BethFromVA

You've got my best wishes! Have a FANTASTIC first day! And it's very spoiling to live so close to work. My prior job was literally a mile from my front door.

That's why I just need bubble wrap. Lots and LOTS of bubble wrap.

I find the sensation/pain very similar, yes, but the walking around with your arms up won't fix it. At least it doesn't for me.

If your doctor won't "allow" you to make the choice as to which surgery to get, I would be changing doctors. I have seen some here whose doctors were really pushing what they wanted to do on the patients, and I truly believe it is because RNY is much more expensive and they get more money for doing the operation. One poor lady here was going to do the RNY and then opted for the band, and her doctor got pissy with her and treated her with disdain after that. That, imo, is VERY wrong. Any good doctor should do no more than give you the pros and cons of all types of surgery and never push for one over the other.

I figure right now I'm safe to learn, what with all the extra padding and all. But while I was on Overstock looking to see if they had any skates, I found this: Hillbilly Large Skating Butt Pads from Overstock.com I thought it was a joke, but it seems not.

Y'know, that would have been fun, wouldn't it? I was afraid for any of us to hold any sort of electronics since we're all new at this. It hadda be fun for the neighbors, though, to see 40- and 50-somethings out there on roller blades like infants learning how to walk.

Okay. Cuz believe it or not, if they really ARE doing something well, I'd love to see it. I just don't at this point, whether it's by choice or otherwise. :biggrin:

Yeah, somehow we got skipped on the cash end. LOL I think if I really researched it, I could qualify for the Daughters of the Republic or some such thing. I would have to prove up some ancestry, but if I chose to do it, I think I would qualify. What I would like to find is how many of my ancestors served in the wars. I certainly found some that served in the Civil War, and that was interesting. It's really amazing what you can find there. Things you would never consider.

I tried rollerblading with ColoradoChick and her hubby tonight. My first time. It was hilarious! Skates don't fit me, so now I'm stuck. I bought them YEARS ago and never used them; so I don't know if they ever did fit and don't now because my feet have shrunk, or if I accidentally bought men's rollerblades in the first place.

We have a Rockefeller way back there, and there was also a Lizzie Borden-style murder that happened where they thought it was my ancestor who hatcheted his wife and kids, but later it was determined he was away at market and they eventually thought it was a drifter who came through town that did it.

Forgot to add, BJean -- do you know if you could find out family history through something like Ancestry.com? I know you can find out TONS of info there, especially from other distant family members who have done most of the legwork for you. I wasn't sure if it would be more convoluted due to the possibility that recordkeeping in Indian communities may not have existed very far back. But it might be worth a try. It's amazing what you can find out through Ancestry. I was able to trace my roots all the way back to the name of the ship my ancestors came over on in 1610. Once I got online and found THAT out, I found a very distant cousin who is in the Netherlands who has done much research on his end and further traced my heritage back to the early 1500s. It's VERY cool!!

I always wished I was Indian. I used to love reading about them when I was a kid and watching them on television. As a kid, I always wanted to be the Indian in cowboys-n-indians. Just like I don't understand the hatred of most groups, I never understood the hatred for Indians or Jews the most of all. These are people I have loved from afar and view as very strong people who have gone through many hardships. My ex used to say that his grandmother was full-blood Cherokee -- which would have made my daughter partial Cherokee -- but we found out that was just another of his many lies. :biggrin:

But that's the thing -- with the government involved, there is no "chance" you'll get screwed. If I had my druthers, I'd rather not get screwed at all. Not sure how to accomplish that, but there's got to be a better way than just these two options. Honest question: Which ones can you name, that run WELL, run EFFICIENTLY, and run either under or at budgeet and not three times more than anticipated? Obviously we disagree here. First of all, it was always the average Joe who ran this country -- who made it prosper, who employed the masses, and who was the backbone of this country. The government feels ENTITLED to THINK they run the country -- and sadly little by little (and in much larger chunks in the last few months) -- they have succeeded in whittling free enterprise and capitalism away from the masses. No, they are much, much worse. The boogey man was a figment of children's imaginations. This is all too real. But that is the problem -- too many me, me, me's and the government feeds off that and says they have something that will work for you. Now don't get me wrong, we all have a self-preservation about us where we want what's best for us, but sometimes that isn't the best choice overall for the system. I will end this all by saying it is my opinion, like I promised I would. :biggrin:

I'm trying to remember if maybe Ebony was off on Friday. I thought I remembered something about looking to Thursday being the end of her week or something. She's been quiet everywhere, even on FB.

No word from Ebony? :tongue:

So... it sounds as if either the insurance companies get more powerful OR the governmet (in relation to insurance) does. Either way, I think the people are screwed. :sad:

Yes, that's Texas for you. And she's quite a bit farther north than I was in Houston. You may want to experience it -- ONCE -- but to live with it for nine months, well... I imagine it's like what hell feels like. I used to say that our low at night (mid- to upper-90s) was higher than many people's highs during the day. Oh, and for Houston, ad 99 to 100 percent humidity to that. :sad:

"Come the raw prawn...?" Do I even want to know?? :sad:

Nah, not your bad. It's very hard to read sarcasm online, especially if you don't know the person. Now plain, much of what he does is sarcasm, so when he posts something somewhat serious but outlandish, I have to ask if he's for real just cuz... :sad:

As can I. And believe me, I have seen some really heated, personal stuff not get pulled. Certainly they would never pull your post(s) for voicing your opinion.

My mistake. I'm sorry. It's hard to follow sometimes on message boards, especially sarcasm.

Maybe... but AIG is insurance too, and look what happened to them. :sad:

I missed the Palin thing! That's too freakin' funny! :sad:

That is exactly the victim mentality I am talking about, Debbie. I don't mean to harp on it, but if you LET people tell you -- worse, CONVINCE you -- that you are less than, then they win. And I find that very sad. I'm not saying it for sure WASN'T racism. But even in a van, how far away can she get from you? And expecially because it was a van, how do you know it wasn't because it was tight? Am I playing devil's advocate? Sure. But unless you tell me she called you a racial epithet, even if she mumbled it under her breath, or said or did something (other than just move) to show that it was absolutely-without-a-doubt racial, my naive self chooses to look at the least innocuous situation. But sadly, Debbie, with what you said about yourself in this very post, I fear that you see yourself in a negative light and therefore feel that others do. From just reading your posts, I can tell you're a highly intelligent woman who I wish wouldn't let the bastards win. :sad: