Week 6: I am Jeremy, and Jeremy means me!

I'm sure I was going to go with another title, but then, of course, I read the first chapter of The Hobbit, and there seemed to be no other choice. This week I had surgery, watched two dumb movies and one excellent episode of Star Trek, and picked up a book. I was going to pick up some music but I think I lost my list.

I can't remember how old I was, but it couldn't have been more than 11. I'd say maybe even 10. Wicked cold, head and chest and just feeling completely miserable, and nothing was helping. It was winter, so it was dark out, but I don't remember how late it was. Nan was making a pot of tea, and she offered me a cup to shake off the feeling of total icy crap. Now as you know, to a 10 year old, tea is nonsense, bitter brown ridiculousbeverage consumed by adults because they don't understand sugar. There comes a point in life, though, where if someone offers to smack you in the face with a hockey puck, you'll do it if they promise it'll cure your sick. Tea was, comparatively, a no-brainer.

So we sat down with her homely little tea biscuits, and she still makes them kind of sad and lumpy-shaped because there's no pan so they're like cylinders that just gave up partway through. I tried one with a bit of butter and it had this kind of scorched taste on the bottom where it blackens a bit and gets tough. The flavor was mild but sharp, sort of a very dry-tasting thing that made you thankful for the butter. You'd never eat too many of these things. And then she poured the tea. Sitting huddled under a blanket, with this misshapen piece of homemade biscuit, I took a sip and VOOM I felt the warmth just run through me.

That feeling? That right there? Sitting in a kitchen with your grandmother on a cold winter night, huddled under a blanket and then VOOM that warmth shooting right through you, that's how the first chapter of The Hobbit made me feel. Voom.

Surgery was a thing. My left leg is still throbbing. Whatever the hell the accident did to it, the doctors weren't satisfied with trying to do it with the usual plates or screws or whatever, so they're getting something custom done. In the meantime, my right leg's been done and they patched up some other stuff. I hurt all over. I itch all over, but I think that's the new painkiller they gave me. Point is, I'm now part metal. Tada!

This was a really gray week in Nova Scotia. Or at least here. The hurricane came and went whenever, but the week was just gray skies, high humidity and moisture, and a whole lot of suck. We got fruit flies, which led to my becoming Jeremy the God of Death. Apple cider vinegar, plastic cup, drop of soap, saranwrap, holes, however much XP and tada! A new magic item, the Unbearable Temptation. Cool trick - the little morons fly right for the holes, figure out a way in, get stuck trying to figure out how to escape and eventually drown in the mix at the bottom. I don't know why it works, just that it does. Nan's always right.

A couple of readers donated this week, which again is very lovely of you but you don't need to do that.You did, though, and I'm very thankful, it made a gross week a lot nicer all around. Still haven't figured out how to get the pictures off my phone, but apparently I don't need to - the same guy who donated the god-burrito emailed to say that THE BURRITO PLACE posted a picture of it. Guess they were impressed, too. Here it is: I actually ate all of this thing

So yeah. God-burrito guy knows I got his donation and it was much appreciated. Here are the other donor messages from the week, which I like to smile about and share. :D

• Loving the blog, keep it up

• Splurge!

• Totally worth it.

• Found your blog, love your blog, least I can do

• this is for ice cream and to say thanks for the entertainment - you are such a terrific writer!

• Get well

Really want to get back on track this week; I was derailed hard by the surgery this week. Music still needs to happen, and I want more Star Trek. It's been excellent these last couple of episodes. I've decided, and I hope I have the willpower, to limit myself to just one new chapter of The Hobbit per day. That's gonna suck.

Speaking of willpower, I'm glad I told the doctor no oxycodeine. They have me on this other stuff, hydrocodiene, which is really really good stuff but makes me itch like hell. Still, I remember all the crap that was in the papers growing up about oxy abuse in Cape Breton. Tons of that was going on there. I don't ever want to deal with something that addictive. I've tried to be sparing with this stuff since they said it can get the same way, but the pain is actually surprisingly intense and my left leg in particular is just hell when I try a smaller dose. Hoping that gets itself gone really soon; not enjoying any of that.

Life's been generally pleasant, though, barring Fun With Doctors. The Big Lebowski is still, I think, just not my kind of movie. I'll put it on the same list as Usual Suspects of "come back again some other time, it's like leftovers." Bill & Ted was just straightforwardly stupid, but so very sincerely so that it was hilarious. I don't know that it's a genre I want to stick with, but someday I might catch the sequel if it appears on the list. Regardless, I like that my pop culture knowledge is more cohesive for having seen those two movies, so at the very least it's a step forward that way. I'm going to have to look up or get help with some of the excellent new words from The Hobbit as I go - I just love how they look, like "flummoxed" which is great and makes me smile. Tonight I think we're getting back into movies, and that should be pretty good. :D

Also I didn't know Lacy was on RPGnet! That's funny. Makes sense though, I suppose. Anyway, I've got to go deal with some healthy type food now, so I'm going to sign off on this one folks. Looking forward to a MOST EXCELLENT week seven. :D