Ideas and Stones

Tuesday, Apr. 18, 2006 - 1:45 a.m.

One of the most frequently asked questions in email is 'Where do you come up with your ideas?'

No, not a post office box in Schenectady like Harlan Ellison does.

I use the Internet.

First, I go to Google News.

If I scan the headlines there and nothing interests me, then I'll check over at the news site of the BBC.

Next, I'll go push the 'random' link over in Wikipedia, just to see if there's any interesting randomness.

Finally, if I really get stuck, I'll go to the other English-language news services and see if they have a 'news of the weird' section.

If I haven't come up with anything interesting by then, I will almost always confess. :-)

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I kind of had a quiet weekend over Easter, but it turns out there was a reason for it.

Last Thursday night, I had a gut wrenchingly bad wave of pain wash over the lower left portion of my torso. I thought I'd just overeaten, or overconsumed my allergy medication and inflamed my small intestine somehow so I cut back on my food and I decreased my allergy meds.

I hadn't felt anything that uncomfortable in many years, and I got really worried when on Saturday, it hurt to void my urine.

That concerned me enough that I looked up the symptoms of lower back pain and pain while urinating and GUESS what, kids?

According to my research -- and my call to the advice nurse at Kaiser -- it seems I was passing a kidney stone!

Holy SHIT that hurt! I'm fine now, having received ample amounts of cranberry juice, water, and lectures by my husband and my friends for my lax eating habits. And believe me, I AM LISTENING!

Fuck. I'd rather be delivered of twins through my nostrils than ever have kidney stones again.

I have had seven hours of sleep in three days due to pain and having to pass so much water

But now it's all better. I'm looking forward to relatively more normal sleep patterns.

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Okay, that's it. Have a good Tuesday!

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