Saturday, February 10, 2007

Zelda is too Scary for Me

At least that's what Alex says.

The last few days I've been playing about 45 minutes of Zelda after the kids get up, since I finally got past the infernal fishing stage that stalled me from advancing in the game. It's a bit of a trick that once you get, it's not a problem. But if you don't know the trick, it can make you very angry and make you throw stuff at cars, like blades of grass or bursts of carbon dioxide.

Anyway, the kids have been interested in it for the most part, having me in doggie form and then in Link form, except the character Link has been changed to my name, and my Horse's name is now Glue. Anyway, I'm going around as the dog and all that's cute and whatnot, and then as Link I get to swing at the giant plants and spiders and trolls, and that's all fine. But I came into one of the tunnels and there's this hugish spider, red, life-size in comparison to Link (well, quite a bit bigger I suppose), and a not very cartoonish. I slayed the bugger no problem yesterday, and all that was fine, but today I had to replay the level a bit, and Alex got a little flustered and held his face and said, "No spiders, Daddy. It's too scary for me! Game is too scary for me!" I told him it wasn't real but he didn't seem to hear me because he was turned the other way with his hands all over his head, so I did what a responsible parent would do.

I put on a kids show in the dining room so I could play a little longer in the living room.

Don't judge me. I'm terminally ill.

So, that one's out the window along with Call of Duty. It's funny, I'm not that much of a Zelda fan, not much of a fantasy, RPG, Strategy kind of gamer, but Zelda's alright. Enough action and enough interest to pull me through the text and puzzles, and most of the time the puzzles have relatively practical solutions, not like some asshole puzzle that the ancient people of Annoyingland concocted to prevent the Unchosen Ones from getting to. They just make you look at the problem, and then figure it out. Very sparse with clues. So, it's quite fun and I'm enjoying it a bit.

As for the kids, I did my part as Daddy today and played with the kids earlier. Got some footage I'd like to upload when I get the time, they were having fun playing with us this afternoon. Tomorrow we're going to take the kids to Uwajimaya to see some of the Chinese New Year celebrations, with the Lion Dance the kids should be pretty entertained. As for me, getting out of the house once in a while should be good for me. Get some activity with the Nikon and I should be on my way back to being a semi-normal human being.

Meet My Browser


So sometimes I use Firefox for specific tasks, like for Blogger, Gmail, and some other sites because some of the frills don't show up on Mac's Safari, which is a nice little browser. Well, one of the themes that Firefox has is a little fun, although I have to say it's probably too distracting to use on an everyday basis. It's crazy colorful and perhaps a bit too much to conduct any serious business. Like blogging about teeth.

Oh, Okay.

My wife had told me this earlier, but either because I was so hopped up on drugs or that I was dying of pain, it didn't register. But I guess the reason why there's been such a headache and the pain has been worse in one corner of my mouth is because the wisdom tooth in the lower right was actually so messed up it had grown into my jawline. So they essentially had to cut into the bone in my face to free up that tooth, and that's why the pain is causing the headaches.

Today it's doing better than the other mornings, still pain in minor touches, but I did go all night without any middle of the night doses of anything. Eating is still a pain - last night I had antibiotic pasta with antibiotic Diet coke, which all taste bitter and icky. Man, I want real food so bad. Like a big Subway sandwich.

Oh well, gotta do some serious work now. Fell behind all week.

Friday, February 9, 2007

My Pissy Rant

Yeah, this isn't a fun post, so if you're not in the mood for incessant whining with little merit, it's probably best to skip this post.

Well, the swelling has gone down a little, but not that much. I still have to adhere to the percocet (ran out of Vicodin) and 4 ibuprofen for the headache and toothache every 4 to 5 hours - problem is, the percocet tends to make me naueous and dizzy and fatigued, and I'd like to do without it but the headaches are quite unbearable. So I take it, and I feel like sleeping the whole day.

Went to the follow-up appointment today at the oral surgeon, and they didn't do much except repack the lower right side of my mouth, and refilled my Vicodin. I didn't get really anything looked at, just took out the painful pack and then shoved another in there, and now the whole day I've been tasting antiseptic, which is bitter and quite unsettling. It's like I have someone's old toothbrush in my mouth.

So I came back, in pain, drowsy, and tried to work on an old job. I did a wedding and sent it off, and she wanted the whole thing redone because I got the date and location wrong at the beginning of the video, and for some odd reason it tends to skip a bit too, which is odd. So I've been trying to reconnect the media but it's been freaking out on me. Relinking the wrong clips to the source material and whatnot, so it's been a freaking headache. I'm trying a cheat right now, see if that works without having to reauthor the DVD. We'll see.

The last 5 days of soup, instant noodles, and ice cream is getting on my nerves too. I see food ads and I'd kill to have a burger, some pasta, something substantial. The soft foods experience is driving me batty and annoyed. I'm going to try some stuffed pasta, see how that goes.

And yeah, I feel like a nap now, but I still gotta make sure the kids have dinner. My recovery time is no doubt longer than most people, but I'm ready for it to be over. I'm so out of it I can't work, but I can't relax because I'm on a lot of deadlines. Man, I need some relief soon.

The other thing that's annoyed me is hearing about the Chair of Comedy Central having to step down because of the whole Boston Teen Aqua Force Bomb scare. I think it's stupid and it's just a network trying to scapegoat someone in order to avoid legal action, because a bunch of people got excited at a LED display that was never ever made to resemble any type of bomb. It's atrocious. GNNNNAAAHHH I'm pissed.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Vlog about "Life" lessons in School

Da Pain, Boss! Da Pain!

Dude, the last two days were hellish.

Between the sore gums, the swollen cheeks, and the very intense headaches that could've been migraines, I haven't had enough focus to work, to goof off, or to even relax. Most of the time I could just lay there so that I'd feel better, and then try to stay awake so that I wouldn't sleep so much.

My headaches have been really bad, including the one last night after I slept for about two hours. I woke up and there was this ring of pain, starting from my gum line and moving toward my ears, and then like a big band of pain that encased my head in pain. I was actually afraid that there was going to be some brain damage when I woke up the next morning because it was so intense. Either that or I'd lose certain knowledge about certain things - enough to bother me but not enough to be diagnosed as any real medical condition. Like I'd only remember 3 of the 4 Beatles. Or my inability to hear every 24th word that comes out of everyone's mouth. Or I couldn't see the color cyan. Or I'd develop some abstract fear of the artificial banana flavor, but will be perfectly fine with the fruit itself. Or whenever the word, "because" is mentioned, I'd just instinctively punch the first person within my reach. Something like that.

My cheeks have been something of a freak condition the last two days. I'd look down and I couldn't see my toes because of my cheeks. They look like Vito Corleone's cheeks after a bee attack. My words haven't been coming out right either. And I can't smile without wincing in pain.

But so far, the headaches have been the worst. After I took my Vicodin, 4 advils, and half of my Mom's migraine medication and about an hour of Conan, I actually had a restful sleep last night. I'm doing okay today so far, and I think it's all going to be okay. Of course, this means I have to go back to work.

Oh well.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Post-Op Taste

So yesterday I had the wonderful rite of passage of getting my wisdom teeth yanked - I rate it slightly below losing my virginity and my first birthday. Boy, if it was any more fun would've paid a professional videographer to have the experience recorded.

Anyway, I do feel like I'm a little late in the game - a lot of my friends and family have already gone through the wisdom tooth thing, so my story feels a little retreaded and slightly boring, but I may have bragging rights because I did manage to get all four of my wisdom teeth pulled - from all four corners of my mouth. So I have to eat like a paper shredder now, just right down the middle.

Yesterday my wife accompanied me to the oral surgeon, and after a bit of odd misunderstanding, we went ahead and I was sitting in the dentist's chair. I can't tell you what I wasn't looking forward to - the actual procedure or the insertion of the IV. But after a couple nodes were placed on me and a nitrous oxide nose mask was put over me, all I could do is imagine them taking Polaroids of me while I was out, making me pose in awkward and demeaning stances. Lucky for me, I have no reputation to uphold, so they couldn't really milk any extortions out of me.

The IV was fast and furious, one moment I was talking about how nervous I was, and the next moment someone was telling me to wake up. And then I was home. And then I slept a lot, having to wake up every once in a while to swap out the bloody gauze in my mouth for more gauze. I'm still tasting gauze today, as if it had become a part of me.

I slept most of last night as well, and today I feel a bit like a potato. More functional than yesterday, though not much. Taking Vicodin every few hours, and trying to avoid too many naps because my head feels like it's been kicked. My gums are swollen as well, and my concentration scattered. In fact, all the witty things I was going to say for this entry has been forgotten.

My wife was actually counting on my short term memory loss because I guess, yesterday she almost clocked me in the head with the car door. And we're not sure if I put my watch back on my wrist, because my wife said she didn't, and when I took it off before the IV yesterday, I put it in my pants pocket. Maybe the doctor gave me a hand.

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Eve of Oral Destruction, Sunshine

Yeah, I probably procrastinated a little more than I should have tonight. I could've had the videos out by tomorrow, but I chose instead to watch an inane amount of entertainment tonight, starting with Hello Kitty for the kids and then Little Miss Sunshine. I thought I'd try Hello Kitty since we did catch a couple clips on youtube and Zoe seems to really like it. And she did for the most part, until Kerropi's segments came about - then she was bored. Little Miss Sunshine was something I've been meaning to watch, but since my wife opted for something a little lighter, I thought it might fit the bill. And hell, I've got to watch at least one Oscar nominated film this year.

And the film was somewhat what I thought it would be, but a little different. It had less jokes and was darker in tone than I expected, but it pulled it all off really well without making you feel cheated or icky at the end. It was funny but not comical, dark but not depressing - it just kinda pushes you close to the edge but reels you back in without force. I think it's a great balance they achieved - I'd recommend it.

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So tomorrow morning I'm going to get some wisdom teeth yanked from my mouth, and I'm not entirely even sure if it's the right ones I'm thinking about. Based on my phone descriptions and x-rays, they arranged for them to be yanked without a real consultation, so I'm a little worried I might come to with wooden dentures, or steel grills, like Jaws. I think Brushed Metal would look nice. I'd certainly smile more if I looked like a refrigerator. I hate going to the dentist anyway, so the thought of an oral surgeon is just giving me a huge hard on, as you could imagine.

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I feel bad about Zoe today. She's had a couple wake-ups tonight and I think it's because I gave her a hard time today. She was making a bloody racket during naptime and I went in with a warning that Grandma was sleeping, and she needed to be quiet. I had to go in a couple times again with verbal warnings and then when I heard Alex, I went in and he told me that Zoe was eating a book. Well, not exactly eating it, but she was ripping up her Richard Scary book and throwing the pieces on the floor. This kinda got me pissed because it was a book I'd really wanted to get for them and had put off because it was on the pricey side. So I confiscated the book and gave her a swat, and told her that it wasn't nice to treat books like that.

Later on, she was reprimanded again because she started coloring on a video box - just really doing odd things that she knows she's not supposed to be doing. I don't know - she was fine the rest of the night, but I think she probably didn't have the best day ever, and I feel a little bad for being so heavy on the whole book thing. Sigh. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day for us. I know she won't be getting any flak from a half-conscious, toothless and drugged up Daddy.