Chicago: They paved a fetid swamp/and put up a parking lot

My wife is trying to talk me into going to a sleep clinic, but I'm super nervous about doing so.

I used to get so excited for hurricanes in eastern NC. So boring there otherwise.

Jon, there's nothing at all to be nervous about! It kind of sucks having wires taped all over you, but that's the worst of it.

Last night's study was to see how I did on a CPAP machine. They started it on level 4 of 10, and I was still snoring, so the tech cranked it up, and at 7 I stopped snoring. That's great, but seriously, fuck wearing a mask. It was the "smaller" mask that fit only over my nose, but it was still bulky, obtrusive, itchy, and really uncomfortable. I'm hoping my ENT follows through on his plan to get my insurance to pay for implants or/and surgery b/c I hate snoring, but a mask is not a sustainable solution!

Jeff, I would have gotten excited about hurricanes as a kid, too. Jenny gets upset when I say it, but I always used to want to ride one out. I still wouldn't mind holing up in a hurricane party. There is no way to deny that disasters are disasters, and it is not a denial of the disasterousness to say that for some people they also are or seem really stimulating. (Cf. Ed Norton's monologue at the beginning of Fight Club, which I'm sure some of you have thought independantally - when I'm on a plane that wobbles when landing, I both shit my pants and think "!!!!")

*independently

but a mask is not a sustainable solution

It is for my mother, who's been wearing one to sleep for about 10 years now.

Thanks for that Je55e, I really appreciate it. I'm willing to go if I think it will actually hep, but it is a bit of an intimidating process.

I would get excited for a hurricane too, tbh. I used to get really excited to watch when tornados were reported back when I was living in central Illinois. I ended up seeing three tornadoes on separate occasions that went right over our house.

jvc, do you think you have apnea?

W - I guess it will work. I dunno. I just can't imagine it being a long-term solution for me. I have some health issues, family history, and personality traits that make me feel really averse to being hooked up to machines. When I broke my skull, I was really agitated when people visited me b/c I don't like the look of tubes and machines. It's not rational, but I think it's valid in this case. I might have to be hooked to machines one day, but until then, I'm going to fight those pink robots. If it comes down to it, I will pay out of pocket for procedures.

I'm honestly not sure if I do, but it wouldn't surprise me to hear I did. My dad had it really bad and if I do have it, its a relatively minor case compared to him. But I do know that none of the traditional methods I've tried to stop snoring have worked and there is little consistency to it (i.e. its not like I always or solely snore when I sleep in a certain position, etc).

I have no idea what "I guess it will work" means. I think I meant to say "I'm glad it works for her" or something.

Jon, have you read about some treatments like soft palate pillar implants and ultrasonic ablution?

When Courtney had a studio apt., I would sleep over all the time, in her bed. We learned that I could intentionally stop my snoring sometimes, but I would not sleep well. If I was drunk, it wouldn't work, but if I was not, and I was snoring badly, she would order me to "do that thing" and it would work! I guess I just kept my throat tense while sleeping?

I usually can stop when I change my position, but trial and error has still not revealed that elusive "magic" position that I need to use. I've heard a little bit about those treatments, but starting to look into them more now.

Sorry to derail thread with snoring talk folks.

Haha my boss wrote this in an email to me

Please email me the whole kit and kabootle (phonetic) for review before filing.

She was close.

My parents and 86yo grandmother refuse to drive 40 minutes inland to my aunt's house despite the dire predictions and evacuation order for DE beaches. disapprovingmargesimsponface.jpg

Why won't they evacuate???

They're not right on the very beach, but they're close enough. I would evacuate the hell out of the place. Sheesh.

Courtney's sister is going from her home (smack dab right on the very beach) to the north side of Long Island. That's not the "evacuation" I would expect!

I DO NOT KNOW. My mom was ready to take my gmom, who goes to stay with my aunt one weekend ever month or two for a social visit, to my aunt's but my gmom refuses to go.

My stepfather is always going to be the guy sitting on a lawn chair on the roof of his flooded house waving a shotgun at rescue helicopters so he wouldn't leave if the Kraken were climbing out of the sea. But with my grandmother, I suspect she is being an ornery old woman and refuse to evacuate because somebody told her to.

Jesus H. Christ, a hurricane in NYC is weird enough, but I just saw this

via the JoeMyGod blog:

An MTA official speculated that heavy flooding "might drive millions of subway rats to seek higher ground." Oh, fantastic.

― incredibly middlebrow (Dr Morbius), Friday, August 26, 2011 9:12 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

Your father on the roof made me wonder if your parents will pull some crazy T Party antics in response to FEMA, etc. relief efforts.

They're a mile from the ocean and two blocks from the bay so yeah, close enough.

They are worried about their boat. Took all my filial deference not to respond with "Fuck your boat!"

xp Great Goggins I will fucking disown them I sweartogod. Not really but it will make Christmas fucking suck.

Don't click on the "Rats" thread to see how big those NYC rats will be when they take to the streets. Straight up mutant Infinite Jest shit.

http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2009/6/14/128895016543511512.jpg

Me, too, Arnold. Me, too.

he wouldn't leave if the Kraken were climbing out of the sea

loled

I still wouldn't mind holing up in a hurricane party.
Did this several times during my 4 years in coastal NC. Also, in a related matter, we found an old roll of film that was supposed to have expired in 2000. It was exposed, just not developed. So he took it to be developed yesterday.

We didn't know if it was mine or his, and I will admit that I was nervous about it. What was on that roll of film? Was it something I didn't really want to see/remember? I hoped it was his.

It was mine. The pictures were from before I knew him, 13 years ago. I was 23!

On this roll of film were pictures of a slumber party I don't remember, with people I don't remember. I'm in there, so I know it happened. It's totally bizarre to see 90s photos that have been laying undeveloped for 13 years.

The reason I mention it is that I was afraid that they were pictures of various seedy hurricane parties I have attended, or who knows what, but it was an innocent totally unremembered pajama party instead.

oh, a pajama party and tons of pictures of my very handsome dead dog

in the bathtub

(when he was alive, duh)

LOL!

That's great, A. I would love to find undeveloped film lying around!

I've got a shoe box full of 8mm camcorder tapes from the late '90s that I really want to look at. Known contents: Sex, drugs, my nephew, road trips. I'm really curious to see what else there is!

I feel really well-rested today. I guess it's likely the CPAP that helped that happen.

Man, shit sucks around this office lately. So much subterfuge and bullshit. I can't wait till October 31, when the contingent of assholes has left the building. Then I can finally poop.

I get to take advantage of my summer hours today. Any outdoor drinking planned?

I'd love to, but I can't take off until 6.

i don't know if anyone other than me is out early today.

when we lived in williamsburg, sarah and i bought some super-8 cameras and film and shot a short horror movie (the cartridges only hold like 2 1/2 minutes of film) but we were too lazy/cheap to get it developed so we just move it everywhere with us without knowing how our movie turned out. i wonder if we still have it.

Not for me. I'm working all day long. Our other office gets summer hours b/c most of their support staff is hourly. I'm "salaried" in that I am guaranteed a certain amount regardless of hours, but I still get overtime.

Speaking of my workplace, if anyone knows of someone looking for a job, I know of a law firm that will be hiring secretary. I would say legal secretary, but I'm pretty sure they're going to fuck it up and take any random asshole. It won't be an ideal workplace, but it won't be terrible.

I would just say fuck them, but a couple people I respect are going to be working at the new place, so I would sort of like to help them find somebody decent.

Not a great sentence from the head of forecasting for the Weather Channel.

Hurricane Irene poses an extraordinary threat and is one that no one has yet experienced from North Carolina to the mid_Atlantic to the Northeast to New England.

next friday is my last day of summer hours so everyone should call in sick that day so we can have an afternoon hang-out sesh

though i guess lots of people might get out early anyways for the holiday weekend

These things called summer hours are so interesting.

This is my first summer ever to experience them, I love it.

yeah this is my first job with summer hours.

What is the rationale behind summer hours? I get it for jobs at a school where things are super slow during the summer, but not really for non-seasonal jobs.

I think it ends up more of an employee perk than anything else. We don't actually end up working any less hours though, just longer days Monday through Thursday in order to get Friday afternoons off.

R gets them because the holiday time is busy busy busy so no one gets time off for like 3 weeks or something.

we were too lazy/cheap to get it developed so we just move it everywhere with us without knowing
same for this roll of film, and then when d found it again, he got the roll of film surprise developed
i was braced for the worst, but it turned out to be even weirder than i thought. canine glamour shots + me at a late 90s adult slumber party i don't remember AT ALL.

next friday is my last day of summer hours so everyone should call in sick that day so we can have an afternoon hang-out sesh

Furlough day for me!

That'll be my last summer hours day also last Friday before I have another human being to take care of.

Hooray! Do you have a name for the little one yet?

We've got it narrowed down to two, at this point we are waiting to meet him before deciding which. According a site I just looked at we are thinking either the 86th or 396th most popular boy's name of 2010.

According "to"

Ooh.

Fwiw, the first name is slightly (though not much) less popular in Illinois. Not sure about the second, since state rankings only go to 100.

We really didn't take popularity into account with these names, just ones we've really liked for a long time. It does help that they aren't super popular though.