HELLO I AM BACK

typed for your pleasure on 13 September 2009, at 2.14 am

Sdtrk: ‘Falling for you’ by The Soundcarriers

Ah, good! It’s nice to be back, and nicer still to see that you lot haven’t set the place ablaze in my absence! Although I see our liquor cabinet’s been broken into, and all our absinthe is gone. That figures.

So what have I been doing during my Official Excuse for Not Writing Period? Well, attempting to take it easy, really. I caught up on a few Emails, which may not sound like anything significant, but anyone that knows me knows that my missives tends toward freight trains of paragraphs, with periodic months in between responses, so it was nice to polish some of those off and get them to their intended recipients. After having to reintroduce myself, that is. No, seriously. ‘Hi, remember me? You wrote me last year, and now I’m writing you back?’ *shaking head* Man.

Also, I contracted pleurisy! Which is a heresy. I got it from Morrissey! Alright, I’m done. But yes, I did indeed get it, which is frankly ridiculous, as far as I’m concerned. I mean, how Dickensian can you get? Although I did know two people that once contracted shingles, and one of my best friend’s past landlords apparently came down with gangrene, so I’m merely contributing to the Revival of Olde-Tyme Ailments and Maladies. Much to my chagrin.
The upper part of my lungs were somewhat sore for over a week, so I went in to my doctor’s office to be seen to. Unfortunately, my doctor was on holiday, the tosser, so I was shunted over to the other doctor that shares his office, whose curt manner left a little to be desired. She called for bloodwork, chest X-rays, and an EEG, which is the most activity I’ve ever experienced at my GP’s office — usually it’s just ‘stand on this scale, roll up your sleeve, breathe in, breathe out, here’s a script, GET OUT’. She did, however, prescribe me some Zithromax, and gave me an inhaler to use. Weeks later, I’m still making use of those, as I’m still fighting this sumbitch. Ergh.
Pleurisy, if you’re not familiar with it, in which case you should be grateful, is ‘an inflammation of the pleura, which is the moist, double-layered membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the rib cage,‘ as WebMD says. It’s usually caused by bacterial infection. Of course, that has me wondering where and how the hell I got infected, as I’m one of the neatest freaks in Christendom. In lieu of a definitive answer, I shall blame my workplace, as it’s never brought me anything good.

Actually, no, I take that back; work has brought me exactly one good thing! Well, ish. Since there’s now a ban on bringing in books — I refuse to comment on that, cos you already know what my answer would be — they gave out company-branded notebooks made from recycled paper. Each one came complete with a pen, and a cloth loop to hold said pen, which was actually kinda cool. As I’ve been arbitrarily herded over to a different section, I’m surrounded by coworkers that I’ve never seen before, which means they’ve never seen me before. I tend to hide and keep to myself when I’m there, if you can believe that. But on two separate occasions, I’ve had coworkers, upon viewing me scribbling in my company-approved notebook, ask me if I was writing poetry. Poetry? Also, there was one lass who’d asked me if I was writing raps. Raps‽ Do I look like a rappist??* Well, I suppose if that’s the only reference point for music that you possess… no, wait, that still doesn’t make any damned sense!
So since there’s a ban on reading, and a ban on using cellphones, I spend my workdays writing posts or letters, and being made aware of two things:
1) Paper slows me down, and
2) My handwriting is a collision of indecipherable glyphs. Huh.
*tears out sheet, wads it up*

Apparently, BBC America aired ‘Love me, love my Doll’ again on the 22nd of August. I recall that evening I was poking round my blog’s Dashboard and checking its stats, as per usual, when I’d noticed that at one point, there were like ten people looking at ‘Shouting etc etc’ simultaneously! As I’m always the last to know whenever the BBC America programme directors decide to trot that documentary out again, I was wondering what forum / site was linking to me and making disparaging comments and snide remarks this time. It was all good, as the kids say, though. It’ll just be nice once the National Geographic documentary airs, as it won’t be so… dated. And no, I don’t have a date for it yet; I could tell you were getting ready to ask.
Coincidentally enough, I was spotted, thanks to ‘Love me, love my Doll’, at one of the stores I frequent! As I was making my purchases, some random lass stopped me and said I looked familiar.
SOME LASS: ‘Were you on television?’
ME: ‘Perhaps I was!’
SOME LASS: ‘Yeah, you were on that documentary with the Dolls, weren’t you! I thought you looked familiar!’
ME: ‘Yeah, that was me. My partner and I have been together for about nine years.’
SOME LASS: ‘That was really… interesting. How much do they cost, $10,000?’
CLERK: ‘You were on TV? What kind of show was it?’
ME: ‘Noooo, they’re only about $7000! (to clerk) It was a show about artificial humans.’
CLERK (takes my wrist, squeezes it): ‘Are you real?’
followed by hearty chuckling from all parties involved. You’ll note how I didn’t answer the clerk’s question, though. *winks*

Finally, if you cast your gaze to the lefthand sidebar, just below that ‘Today’s Kanji’ widget that remains largely ignored, you’ll spot a new addition to that particular area: my Amazon.com wish list. It’s rather large; you can’t miss it. Compiled over the course of seven years of wishful thinking, it’s a great way to click on and shop for things that interest me that might well interest you. It’s also a great way to discover what I’d like for a gift, and to buy it for me! Cos really, when it comes down to it, I ain’t too proud to beg.

And that brings us, roughly, up to now. Expect more posts soon!
So how are you, then?

*I don’t call them ‘rappers’, I call them ‘rappists’, as rap rapes my ears. I’m fairly certain you’ll agree

Random similar posts, for more timewasting:

A four followed by five zeroes on August 13th, 2010

Well, what d'ya know on February 7th, 2005

12 have spoken to “HELLO I AM BACK”

  1. annie writes:

    glad you’re back and get better bud..we need you in tip top shape!

  2. Wolfgang writes:

    Ah do believe Ah have the vapors!
    Or is it the ague, or torpid liver, or perhaps bubonic plague? I’m sure it was brought on by dancing ’round the Maypole. You know, all of that devilish motion and unclene kyssinges that go on and stuff.
    Great to have you back, and take care of yourself!

  3. PBShelley writes:

    Welcome back! It’s good to see you back in action, for the most part anyway 😉
    Er, “for the most part” refers to the “action”, not the “good”!
    Now make sure to rest up and ease back into it easily, will you? Sidore-chan is there to mother you well, you know 😀

    Regards,
    PBS et le girls (or something)

  4. Veach writes:

    Never one to leave a connection-thread raveled, William Wordsworth died of Pleurisy.

    If your new cubical-neighbors (or the prior inhabitant of your current cubical) infected you nigh on the cusp of the swine flu re-emergence, maybe you can leverage that into some work-from-home-so-as-not-to-infect time.

  5. Jamie writes:

    Rappists? I love it! I’m stealing that.

  6. Euchre writes:

    Personally I’m an ABC kinda guy….

    BTW ABC means Anything But Country…

    😀

  7. Anonymous Realdoll Owner writes:

    Welcome back!! Good to see ya posting again!

  8. Davecat writes:

    Annie –
    Why thank you! But in tip-top shape for what, exactly? The 1979 Winter Olympics? Cos I’ve already won those. All of them. 🙂

    WG –
    Ha, torpid liver! That’s a new one! Well, an old one, actually. That’s another Obsolete Ailment dodged, much like scurvy, the pox, or dengue fever.

    Back in the halcyon daze of the vulne pro forum, which I’m sure you remember fondly, Zip Gun and I had often bandied about the idea of making an encyclopaedia of diseases of old. We, ah, kinda missed the boat on that ‘un.

    PBS –
    Shi-chan is doing a lovely job of therapist / encourager as of late! Well, moreso than usual. She won’t let my health go completely off the rails; after all, who would look after her? 🙂

    Veach –
    I’d read that about Wordsworth! Cos once I’d learned I had pleurisy, I of course ran to Wikipedia to find out who else famous had had it: Karl Marx, Gandhi, Benjamin Franklin, Ringo Starr, Wordsworth, and Simon Gallup of the Cure, aka the second best bass player in the world. Plus in the JD Salinger story ‘Raise high the roof beam, carpenters’, the narrator, Buddy Glass, had just been discharged from the Army after a bout with it at the beginning of the story.
    I am in good company! *cough cough*

    Jamie –
    That one’s free. 😉

    Euchre
    Contemporary country makes me want to rip my own ears off my head, but some — some — country from the Fifties and Sixties isn’t altogether bad. For instance, I like ‘Sixteen tons’, by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Johnny Cash, obviously, cos he’ll fuckin’ kill you with his bare hands otherwise. And you may call me a madman, but I think ‘Wichita lineman’ is an incredibly evocative song. Anything referred to as ‘an existential country song’ definitely gets my seal of approval…

    Ardeaux –
    Thanks! Do stay tuned more More Idle Ramblings from the Desk of Davecat, won’t you? 🙂

  9. Laura writes:

    Finally your return! I’ve been sitting in the fetal position, rocking, since you’ve been gone.

    I’m pissed that I always miss it when BBCA airs ‘Love Me, Love My Doll’. I check the guide compulsively for it.
    Maybe better luck next time.

  10. Davecat writes:

    *takes your hand, pets it* ssshh, there there, it’s okay.

    I kinda get the impression that BBC America will be showing that for the next three hundred years. Like I say, one day, when I’m in my dotage, I’ll be flipping through channels on my Super HD HoloTelly, and I’ll catch a few moments of ‘Love me, love my Doll’, and I’ll call out to Shi-chan ver. 3.5, ‘Sweetie, we’re on telly again!’ She’ll be in the kitchen, puréeing some eel sushi for me, and she’ll offhandedly respond ‘*ding* That’s nice, darling’.
    It’s True! 🙂

  11. altairm writes:

    Although this post is old, it’s one of my favorites. It’s a bit more personal and humorous. I would say, during this short time I have roamed through this blog, you get quite a bit of news. :o) Great job because I know it was your aim – it’s very informative.

    Anyways, *here I am drifting* on to the real reason I came to comment. Out of TLC and BBC’s documentary, BBC was by far, my favorite (“favourite” as Dave would have it, I’m sure :o) ) TLC definitely knew how to approach their viewers to command their attention, I’ll give them credit for that.

    However, for those like me, I have a habit of zeroing in and reading in between the lines to get a better sense of what’s being said and reading their “true” emotions. So, when you watch a show that wants to pound dramaticism into your skull, it’s a turn off. 😉 Plus it’s distracting to say the least. hehe

    The scab picking along with Davecat and Sidore was grotesque in and of itself, by the way.

    hehe *oh man..* to sit and watch clear liquid ooze out of her inflamed wounds, while waiting for Dave and Sidore to come back on took all of my might.

    Honestly, it just felt like the two shows were competing against each other. I dunno… my train of thought drifted towards them (TLC) wanting to hit the high note of who was more extraordinary.

    *Meh* who knows, but that was what turned me off never-the-less. Any-hoo…

    BBC was exactly that, a great documentary piece. I think if anyone ever wanted to know what Dave was really trying to give vs. what the producers were trying to make the show out to be for their ratings, BBC is the way to go. Of, course I definitely could have had the show be on solely Davecat and Sidore. Haha then it would have been perfect!

  12. Davecat writes:

    altairm —
    Good to see you commenting on stuff again! (Yes, I still owe you an Email.) You’re one of the few readers that I know of that’s actually reading my older posts, which is fantastic — you’re not restricting yourself to the front page. Well done! *thumbs up*

    Yeah, ‘Guys and Dolls was indeed less sensationalist than our ‘My Strange Addiction’ segment, but there’s problems I had with it as well; the main one being the omission of my explanation I was currently living with my parents. Long story short, it was due to an Organik lass that claimed to be my best friend. Maybe one day I’ll finish that series! Errm.

    Really, the best way for us (‘us’ being the iDollator community) to get our point across in a straightforward and non-ratings-focussed manner, would be for someone to do a dedicated documentary on us: one that would detail the myriad kinds of iDollators that exist, from those who are intrigued by Dolls yet don’t yet have one, to Doll owners who don’t give their affictitious females personalities and just use them as photo models or sex toys, to people such as myself who love their Synthetik companions as much as we would an Organik one. Focussing solely on Sidore and myself wouldn’t show the diversity there is in our community. But a documentary that covers the history of Dutch wives, the many companies that make them, and the assorted people in our world would be the best method to disseminate information, really…

    And yeah, the Missus and I apologise to the entire Northern Hemisphere, for having to be subjected to Scabbers McCuttenstein. As previously mentioned, there’s no cable here at Deafening silence Plus, so we had to wait until our DVD arrived, which meant that, thankfully, we could zoom past the Scabrous Bride bits when they occurred. Thank Odhinn for that. 😛

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