Freaks they be.
The door is locked
So their death's on me. \o?

Two of those baby daddy-long-legs in the same week, ugh. It always makes you wonder where they're coming from. And are there more of them? :O

First off, today is the last day to vote for this week's LJ Idol. My story is here, with a link to the poll at the bottom. Please read and vote for your favorites!

So, the score on yesterday's TODO list was,

Yes: Biking outside, fixing track stand flat, putting away Christmas ornaments, starting sewing work
No: Finishing sewing work, finishing clutter clean-up, calling Mom.

About 50%. Could be worse...

I mentioned yesterday that one of HalfshellHusband's incompetencies is changing bike tires/fixing flats without causing a pinch-flat. It's almost like a negative super-power for him, though he's gotten better. But it's only fair to mention one of my core incompetencies in return.

It's not swallowing exactly, apart from getting the occasional pill stuck in my throat. But it's swallowing-adjacent. Namely, the nexus of swallowing and breathing, and I fear this will only become worse as I get older. :O

Trying to drink on bike rides and forgetting that I don't need to (and really, really shouldn't) squeeze the water bottle, resulting in a burst of water into the lungs. And epic hacking to try to get it out.

Biting into something like yesterday's tangerine slice and having it squirt juice right into the back of my throat, and partway down the windpipe.

Getting distracted while sipping coffee or some other hot beverage, and inhaling it instead of swallowing it. No, really. /o\

Basically choking on my own spit because I've breathed in some of it for no particular reason. Sometimes while at the office, no less. Ulhhhhhhh...

Seriously. How have I survived this long? \o?

So, what are YOUR core incompetencies?

Dear Kaiser:

While I realize you may have decided that the lump in my chest is now most likely a cyst... I would prefer that you biopsy it first before slacking off on the follow-through.

Signed,

Eight Days Post-CT Scan And Still Waiting For Biopsy Appointment :(

Last Wednesday, as I was driving to work on I-80, an accident happened up ahead of me—and I was lucky not to be part of it.

I saw some weaving in the 10-12 cars up ahead, and then a silver vehicle suddenly came out of the pack, driving to the left toward the K-rail separating the sides of the freeway. I knew it would hit the divider, and I slowed down to be ready in case it bounced off the K-rail and back out into traffic in front of me. Instead, it struck and then skimmed up the divider, flipping over and then rolling a couple of times. It came to rest mostly inside that left shoulder area, without hitting any other cars. That was incredibly lucky for all of the other people out on the road, though I'm not sure the car's driver survived. Someone had pulled over to the side a little farther up, and was running back toward the crashed car. I hope she was a doctor or nurse or EMT, someone with trauma experience. A big rig stopped along the right shoulder, and the rest of us continued on, grateful not to have been hit.

I could not figure out how that had happened, as most people aren't driving drunk or playing speed games in the middle of a weekday morning. Someone at work suggested texting as a possibility, which is a maddening thought, but not unlikely.

I never figured out the whys or wherefors of any of it, because there was no news report of that accident whatsoever. I realize it was a single-car accident, but it was a pretty fierce one. No CHP or traffic reports on it, and nothing in TV news or the papers. Still feeling kind of obsessed about it.

The rest of the week was rainy but safe. I watched Chuck, S2 during garage-biking, read the 17 ballot measures and decided how to vote, withstood another all-night gathering of our son's gang of friends (only 3 guests this time, thank goodness), saw The Accountant with HalfshellHusband, and finished reading Lily And The Octopus. We liked The Accountant quite a bit—it was an interesting and unusual story, with an underlying thread regarding how trying to help your children survive may sometimes destroy them instead. The review in our paper was kind of "meh," mainly because of the violence, but it seemed to miss the point of the story. The Accountant was all of those things, all snarled together, as a result of his childhood and the choices his father made.

I hope everyone had a lovely Halloween! We had very few trick-or-treaters (and almost no tiny people), partly due to the deadness of the surrounding houses and I think also due to rain threatening to arrive around 7-8pm. Which it did, right around 7:50. :(