The write stuff

I always thought I was pretty comfortable with the idea of aging. We all do it, even if our culture tells us we shouldn't. But a few days ago it struck me that my Dad was turning 60 (he actually turned 60 yesterday) and to be honest I kinda freaked. You see, If my Dad is 60 and the average male in North America dies at the age of 70, that brings my dad closer to dying then I'm comfortable with. Granted he could die like anyone else at any time, but getting older is a really good reminder of its immenent arrival. Death is a funny thing in our culture. It's both flaunted in our media as entertainment and hidden from society as a whole in institutions which deal with such things (old folks homes, hospitals, hospices, etc). This leaves many of us with an inorganic and slightly confused perspective on death. My reaction to it is similar to my reaction to air flight. Yes, yes I know its safer than traveling by car, but does that make me any less anxious about flying? No. Similarl

So I received a rather disturbing notice under my door a few days ago. Apparently my apartment complex has seen a recent outbreak of the dreaded bed bug. Now the bed bug isn't exactly dangerous, just disgusting. They are little beatles about the size of an apple seed that live in dark hidden places in your home and come out at night to drink your blood. This wouldn't have been a problem like 20 years ago when DDT's nearly wiped every one of these suckers off the face of the Earth, but now they have come back with a vengeance. (For those who are squirming and having a hard time looking at the picture I attached I should note that I have not seen one of these suckers anywhere in my place and there is a chance I never will.) Thank goodness I'm a really good sleeper or else I wouldn't get a wink thinking of the possibility of bugs on, in, or near my bed.

I just had to put this one up on my blog All I could do when I first read this article is shake my head and think, "Really?" Is Obama considered extreme because he supports Universal Healthcare? Oh right I forgot that anyone who supports something like that suddenly shape shifts into a communist If I ever expected to see an American Presidents face plastered on this type of poster seriously it would be Bush's face, not Obama's.

Like many I am not a fan of pain. The whole idea of pain makes me uncomfortable partly because I don't like being in pain myself and partly because seeing others in pain makes me feel helpless. Everyone gets sick sometimes, but I find it difficult to write about my experiences because I want to find something funny or positive to put in each of my blogs, even the ones about difficult things, but I don't find much funny about pain. I have learned that it is best for me to attempt to process such things though, so I will do a brief recount of my last few weeks. The trouble started in late May with a simple cold. This cold wasn't remarkable in any way it just happened to weaken my immune system enought to make me easy prey for a much stronger virus. My first symptoms from this stronger virus started near the end of the first week of June and included high fever, severe chills, a painful headache, weakness, and sensitivity to touch. This remained the same for a few days and I