Colonoscopy Fun

So…… tomorrow I have to have a Colonoscopy. Woohoo! No, Katie Couric will not be there to film it. And yes, I am old. OLD. Just yesterday I was reminiscing about something that happened in college in 1987 – twenty years ago.

a) I’m reminiscing now? Great. People just love that.
b) I still think I’m a college student. I still have that “final in a class I forgot I signed up for and never attended” dream regularly. That counts, right?
c) TWENTY FRICKIN’ YEARS AGO? OMFG.

This is a follow-up thing from my diverticulitis problem back in May. It’s mainly a precaution to ensure I don’t have colon cancer or polyps. Both are unlikely, given my age, but they want to shine a light up there to be sure.

So today I’m not allowed to eat anything but non-red jello (something about the dye) and clear liquids, and tonight I have to “prep” for the procedure. Not going into details; use your imagination for that. As I was leaving the pharmacy this morning after filling the appropriate prescription, the guy actually said “have a good day!” and then remembered what drugs I had just purchased and giggled. Funny guy.

I was going to add a funny picture to this post, but I made the mistake of searching the word colonoscopy on google images. Don’t do that. Instead, I’ll provide you with the obligatory unicorn chaser:

Mandala Unicorn
Mandala Unicorn
2022-03-17 Update:
In 2007 I was 39. Yeah. That was 15 years ago. So I’ve been out of college for 35 years. Yikes.
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Bizarre Police Behavior at a Canadian Protest

UPDATE: Quebec police admit the three men in the video were indeed “undercover” officers; although the claim they were not there to instigate any violence. Wonder what that rock was for, then.
Police attend a very large Canadian protest against George Bush dressed as “protesters” to attempt to rile up the crowd so they can make mass arrests – dressed in black, with bandanas over their faces and carrying rocks. The actual protesters are labor union leaders (the guy talking to them is Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada) who all look like your grandpa though, and they object to these young men attempting to “infiltrate” their line (they stick out like a sore thumb), asking them to take off their masks and put down their rocks. Soon they catch on that the troublemakers are police and confront them, so the police quickly run into the uniformed police line and get “arrested.” But these guys weren’t among the four people arrested at the event, who were accounted for later. Security theater gets weirder all the time.

More about the protest – it’s surrounding the “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America” a partnership between the United States, Canada and Mexico, and many people in Canada believe that it’s designed to allow big business in America to abuse Canadian and Mexican natural and human resources at the expense of both of those countries.

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What To Read, What To Read

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So, I’m trying to pick out what books to take on our cruise next week. Because of course that’s the most important thing to pack; clothes can just be plucked from the basket and chucked into the suitcase willy nilly the day before we leave, but reading requires some actual planning.
(Now if this sounds like I have my priorities in the wrong place, let me point out to you that my lovely girlfriend is in the dining room perusing her library and doing the exact same thing right now, and neither of us has so much as cracked a suitcase.)
I have alot to choose from, and that’s taking some narrowing down. We’re only gone five days, so in all likelihood I will only need two books, but of course I’m taking three, because I need to have options. And I don’t want to lug around hardbacks, so that rules out lots of my books. I’ve read most all of the mass market paperbacks I own, so I’m looking through my trade paperbacks. I don’t want anything dark or grim or textbook-like, but I would be bored as hell by throw-away romance or dumb genre crap.
Here, so far, are the options I’ve narrowed down:
The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I bought this way back on another vacation – last year when we were in Chicago for the gay games. It has some great reviews and was a bestseller, which recommends it. It’s described as “scary” and a “thriller” which gives me pause, but it’s about authors and books, so it’s right up my alley. This one is definitely going.
The Power of Place
Winifred Gallagher
A non-fiction book “How our surroundings shape our thoughts, emotions and actions.” It’s an interesting subject, doesn’t sound brain-busting, and was reviewed well by several reliable reviewers, and described as “engrossing” and “richly textured and intriguing” so I think this going, too.
Hot-Wiring your Creative Process
by Curt Cloninger
I’ve been meaning to read a work-related book for sometime, and this one looks fun, stimulating and not brain-busting. I feel guilty that I’m only half-way through Transcending CSS Design, so I’m seriously thinking about taking this along, although the balance of two non-fiction books to only one fiction makes me think twice. I have a much easier time focusing and getting lost in fiction these days what with my recent ADD-like problem. (I blame the internets. And coffee.)
Birds of a Feather
Jacqueline Winspear
A mystery novel that’s received several awards and good reviews, so it’s exacly what I want. I picked it up at our workplace booksale (Penguin is one of our publishing companies). Unfortunately, it’s a sequel (the first was equally well reviewed). I really like the idea of a nice, non-pulpish mystery, and the cover and description are great, but I don’t know if this is one of those “They Must Be Read In Order” deals.
The Night Listener
by Armistead Maupin
Another bestseller, and I love Maupin. Even reading the cover, I’m not sure I understand the plot, but a reviewer mentioned “hitchcock” so it’s on the list. I’ll read more about it on Amazon before I decide.
The Geographer’s Library
by Jon Fasman
Another fiction, but it’s also about musty old books, which is lovely, but might be overkill. Probably not going.
So…. what do you think?

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