Let's have a marriage. Let's have a marriage license.

Today I visited the county tax collector's office, which doubles as the "marriage license (and) domestic partner registration" office. It was exciting yet a little sad. Exciting and happy for me, of course. It's been said that people getting married are among the most selfish breeds, and I can see the logic in that, even if I don't fully agree.
But sad because that was the very same office that, a year or two ago, gave hundreds or thousands of same-sex couples their marriage licenses. Not domestic partner registrations, mind you, but the real thing.
And now, that privilege is reserved for people like me. And I was the only one there. A far cry from the joyous lines that wrapped around the block back before the man told them to stop their runaway gay licensing.
I'd like to think that my joy doesn't preclude yours. But it would be nice to see a little more joy all around.

The Chair

I had no idea it would be so hard to get people up and down stairs.
Our wedding is going to be on the third floor of a historic building (read: no elevator). And a few folks, due to age or illness, don't do stairs.
I wanted to get a chair we could sit them in to carry them up and down when they need to go to the second floor(where the bathroom is). But the medical supply people think I'm crazy, that no such thing exists.
Well, I'm not; it does. And here's a photo:
It's just that it's only available to fire departments and emergency personnel. And it's about $600. Seems a little odd you can't rent something like this. I'm sure I'm not the first person who's wanted to get someone out of a building.
In RLS news, I'm up to two Gabapentin pills and I'm still not getting to sleep. I only upped the dose last night, and that kind of soon before bed. I'll try it earlier and see what happens.

The all-seeing doughnut

So the X-ray thing turned out to be a CAT scan. I walked in expecting to see your standard X-ray setup (whatever that is) and instead saw a technician and a CAT scan machine. The machine looked like some giant spaceship, complete with the fake-looking buttons and displays, in the shape of a doughnut. The technician looked like a less-freaky Angelina Jolie. I had to lie on my stomach with my chin balanced in a little tray, while the whole bed moved in and out of the doughnut. It was actually kind of soothing, except for the pressure on my gritted teeth, which hurt my jaw.
Nothing scary going on in my head, just some sinus swelling, it turns out. I could have told them that. Now make it stop!
In my next installment: even more fun with medical equipment. Stay tuned!

Your pharmaceutical digest

After a long battle with myself, I think I'll finally start taking more of the Gabapentin. The single pill doesn't do the trick anymore, I guess. So maybe 1 1/2? It's hard to split a capsule, so I've been pulling it apart and eating the bitter powder inside.
It hasn't been a good sleep week. That, and the weird ear problem I have won't go away. I guess it isn't infected, but it is ringing like crazy. And still giving me a weird tunnel effect. Oh well. They'll x-ray it tomorrow. Looking for BBs that might have lodged there? Who knows.
A note to makers of dolls: Don't make them so lifelike. Children have great imaginations, and will take the crudest doll for a real-life companion. And, more importantly, I won't get out of the pool without my glasses and, seeing the crumpled form of a baby doll against the wall on the pool deck, think it's the crumpled form of a real baby. Just consider that.

Can't resist the gnome

Okay, so I had a horrible night last night. Blame it on beer, blame it on staying up during the weekend, or whatever. But I don't want to talk about that. I want to see more of the gnome I ran into on the trail!

Me and the gnome

So I went hiking on this creepy trail on Saturday. With some abandoned shopping carts, discarded pants, and plenty of transient hideouts. And a couple guys who said "nice camera" and eyed it the entire time I walked past. It's not really a nice camera.
But it was all worth it to encounter this real live gnome coming out of the forest to bring me good luck:

Shaky legs syndrome?

So I had a friend visiting from Michigan. And I had to explain that I have a bed upstairs where I can shake my legs:
"Why do you have to shake your legs?"
"I just lie there and, when I'm really relaxed and about to fall asleep, I just have to move my legs."
"That's weird. [Pause] Does it have a name? Shaky Legs Syndrome or something."
"Pretty much. They actually call it restless legs syndrome, which is almost as dumb."
"Do they have anything you can take for that? Herbal stuff or ... "
"Yeah. I've tried all that. There's a Parkinson's drug you can take, but it doesn't work for me."
"How long have you had this?"
"Oh, since I was a little kid."
Silence.
So if anyone wants to contribute a respectable-sounding name for this, I'm all ears.

Mango Tango wallwaker

I woke up downstairs this morning, meaning I must have spent the whole night there. Not that I was really functioning enough to realize that. I literally walk into walls when I wake up. I blame the Gabapentin, but it's really not so bad.
In other news, the kitchen seems to be complete, but for some very minor touchup work. And the great unveiling of the masking tape and dropcloths.

Weddings on the cheap

So the place we're having our wedding booked two weddings in the same spot. And the venue asked us if we could move to another spot. So we went out yesterday to scope the alternate outdoor sites -- mostly greens on a "pitch & putt" golf course (somewhere between mini golf and maxi golf, I guess).
The exchange we were hoping for was that they'd pay for a few of our rooms at the hotel and all the appetizers. But we didn't like any of the alternate sites.
They bought us a beer for at least coming out. And before we finished it, we decided we could just have the wedding inside, where the reception is. For the same deal, of course. We'll see if they bite.
In leg news, it's been a few days without a good sleep. I'm hesitant to increase the dose of Gabapentin, because I don't want to be increasing it the rest of my life.

Out of the woods

Just back from a car-camping extravaganza in the vicinity of Mount Adams. Completely beautiful and fun too.
I can't say I slept much the first night. It wasn't the legs so much as the drinking and sleeping in a tent without a real pillow. But it was no roughing at all. Thanks to friends, we had a two-burner gas stove, a Weber grill, and no fewer than five French presses. Thanks, friends.
And, despite it being a combined bachelor/bachelorette party, there were no strippers. Although I did sneak one skinny dip in the lake. I'll post photos when I finish painting the kitchen and taking care of some wedding details. Oh wait. That won't be for a while.

Leaving the week behind

I'll take full responsibility for my lack of sleep. Drugged or not, if I don't go to bed before midnight, I don't get enough rest. Not rocket science, but there just isn't enough time to do everything. Last night, I had to fill out my job review -- basically bragging about the past year so I can get a raise. And work out some details on the rehearsal dinner before our wedding. The kitchen in disarray doesn't help my state of mind either.
For the good news, we're having a group campout in lieu of bachelor/bachelorette parties this weekend. Sitting around a fire and drinking, mostly. Fun fun.

Would someone get that phone?

My ears right now are giving me what cheap 3-D glasses do for your eyes -- a slightly different input from each that gives you a headache. On the good side, I just got back from an ear, nose and throat doctor who demonstrated the different snorting techniques for the two types of nasal spray he gave me. Multiply that by about 15 patients per day and you've got enough nasal steroid to bike a tough mountain stage in the Tour de France.
So sad.
Anyway, last night was a good sleeper, though I'm wondering how rested I am. It is nice to wake up in the same bed as P. Now I just want to wake up refreshed and in the same bed. I guess that's what the weekend is for.

A word from Dr. Sleep

Actually, not many words from Dr. Sleep. I had an appointment yesterday, which was basically him nodding and saying that he's glad I sleep more often than I used to. So I went home to wait for the bill to arrive.
The timing was a little odd. I actually had been sleeping better on the Neurontin/Gabapentin until the night before. I was actually pretty exhausted from not sleeping when I saw him. And last night was pretty bad too.
But Sunday I took a nap, making me not as tired at bedtime. And Monday night we were priming the kitchen and breathing in some toxic crap. Even more painting fun coming tonight. Soon, our kitchen will be a Mango Tango Beans fiesta. And, um, I can sleep.