The wurster, the better

August 28th was my brother Butch’s birthday and our 36th anniversary. Last week was my vacation week and so we got a chance to go down the shore to Margate to visit a grad student and her family who we were a mentor family for one of her classes. It was nice to get out of the house and do something different. We ate dinner at a restaurant that was next to the famous Lucy in Margate. Look it up to learn what it’s about.

We also got a chance to visit my Mom. We took Alicia to CHOP in Exton for an EEG and a heart monitor. She handled it well and we found out later that there was nothing unusual and the results were fine. We wanted to rule out possibilities of seizures, which this did for what they measured. Perhaps the next thing will be a 24-hour EEG. Who knows?

I finally got my Vista laptop to work with the BioExplorer we bought. I was feeling sort of frustrated when this wasn’t working. But with Bill’s help and getting a different codec (WinDVD), the program worked. I even did a session on my laptop. But then we couldn’t find the session data we saved. Vista does things differently than Windows. After I got home, I did find it in a Virtual Store folder. From reading the BioExplorer forum and others, people are definitely having trouble using Vista and BE.

So, now the next step with the biofeedback therapy is to read and get the other equipment we’ll need to proceed with home training/therapy.

We visited my Mom on Sunday and also saw my brother Ed and Sheryl. Then today, I went to see Ed to give him my old laptop and pick up one of his old computers. He was hoping to connect via wireless network as it was working for me at home. Unfortunately, we discovered that both of the wireless routers he had, were not working. So, he has to buy a new one.

I did some lawnwork after coming home and was exhausted. Tabitha was home getting some clothes and stuff to take back to Baltimore. We ate dinner together and chatted. It was nice. She just left for home and I’m here relaxing a little writing a post.

But now I hear my daughter crying and saying “I don’t want to” after getting out of the shower. Maria is trying to make sure she is ready for school by following the rules. I always have a problem with this tough love stuff. I know she is right in what she is doing but I just can’t handle all the emotional outpour of my daughter.

I was looking through some old documents on my computer and found this from back in 2002. I don’t know why I had it, but probably because I related it to my daughters. So, I decided to look it up on the internet and found it was from the Phantom of the Opera.

Think of me
Think of me fondly
When we’ve said goodbye
Remember me, once in a while,
Please promise me you’ll try

When you find, that once again you long
To take your heart back and be free
If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me

We never said our love was evergreen
Or as unchanging as the sea
But if you can still remember stop and think of me
Think of all the things we’ve shared and seen
Don’t think about the things which might have been
Think of me, think of me waking silent and resigned
Imagine me, trying too hard to put you from my mind
Recall those days, look back on all those times

Think of the things we’ll never do
There will never be a day when I won’t think of you

Crying and laughing, laughing and crying. What causes these emotions to be displayed? Why could someone be laughing at one moment and then be crying the next? What makes this even worse is the inability to tell you why you are crying or laughing. What can unlock the mind to tell us the reason? I’m guessing that it would really bother anyone who is confronted with this situation. And, it does, because it really pains me to see my daughter this way.

Well, it’s that time of the year when I do my first lawn mowing and trimming of our shrubbery. And, as has occurred for the past several years, I get poison ivy (or one of the poison xxx). I remember afterwards when I see the blisters appearing. This year it is worse and I will be going to the doctors today.

Update: I went to the doctor’s and got a prescription for prednisone. I’ll take it for 12 days, tapering off the dosage. I took one massive dose this morning and I feel a lot better. The doctor told me that the medication might make me feel like superman, but that I wasn’t supposed to jump off any buildings. (I also got some antibiotic cream for my arms which are infected – yellow ooze instead of the clear good ooze.)

On a happier note, we had a really nice birthday party yesterday. My brother Butch and his wife Joyce brought my Mom over and brought along their new puppy Dee. Annabelle and Dee had a great time. We got some pictures which will be on my new display site.

Maria’s Uncle Sal and Aunt Rosie brought Aunt Rose. Tabitha returned from her trip to DC and Luke came over. Maria’s sister Jeannie also came over. We had pizza, cheese steaks and hoagies. We had Moose Tracks ice cream and chocolate chip cream cake for dessert.

My daughter had her eighteenth birthday yesterday. She had a party at school on Friday and got a nice card from her classmates and a picture-poster, as well as a gift (a stuffed gorilla). Usually, she loves stuffed animals but lately hasn’t really cared for them except for Curious George. We took her riding on Saturday and then visited her Mom-mom for dinner. My Mom cooked us lasagna and had a salad and cheesecake for dessert. We all went out shopping and Alicia got a very pretty top and some other things from the dollar store (books and puzzles).

It was really nice walking around with my daughter while the rest of the family did their shopping. She needs to be able to do things at her own pace. She needs some control in her life. It would just be great if she could (or would) talk to us and tell us when she is tired or sad or happy or hungry. Laying down on the floor in the store is not really an appropriate way of saying “that’s it, let’s go home“. We understand her, but how do others view her and her actions. I wonder and I worry.

Today, we’ll try to do something special. Maybe we’ll go to the mall. Maybe we’ll have some ice cream. Maybe we’ll visits a relative. It looks like a great day with all the storms we’ve had over the past couple of days. We need the rain, but, at least for today, we have a break in the storm pattern (which are supposed to start again tonight).