meara, it sounds like at least part of your sinuses have an enclosed pocket of well...

How annoying. I recommend humidity.

Malfunctioning blackberry:

[link]

The instructor showed his gratitude for the loan of the trash can by leaving it sitting in the street, a good meter from the curb.

The only plus to Andi's story? I was able to grab the handle of the trash can as I drove in, and dragged it along up to the house.

The other one? still at the curb, thank you very much.

HNY all!

I'm starting 2011 in bed with a nasty headache that I'm pretty sure is allergy related. We are still at ND's mom's house, and I'm panicking a but about the 49 final exams and four papers I have to grade before I can finalize my semester one grades. I'm back to work on Monday so time is of the essence. I've been working several hours a day all week in the hopes I wouldn't be in this situation, but apparently I didn't space it out enough. Sigh.

We brought Kaylee with us and she has been so wound up that she's driving everyone crazy. This is not helping matters.

Anyway, enough whining. It will all get done, and I have much to be thankful for. Most importantly, ND is healthy, and we have surrounded ourselves with dear friends who are like family to us. We are both working and able to pay the bills, and our first wedding anniversary is on Wednesday. I can't believe we were in Hawaii a year ago! Thanks to all of you for being our blinvisible support network that got us through a tumultuous 2010.

Hope your headaches pass soon, Pix. Congrats on health, and especially on the anniversary!

by fireworks that sounded too close for comfort

I had those too. And WOOOOO boys somewhere. Hate them. The woooo boys. Well, I don't love the fireworks because they make both cats low and puffy, but those I get. Wooooo boys? NSM.

humans love symbolism, metaphors and rituals

We really do. We look for patterns and greater meaning. It's just what our brains do.

The only plus to Andi's story? I was able to grab the handle of the trash can as I drove in, and dragged it along up to the house.

Okay, the start of the story was annoying (on their parts) but it has a fantastic finish.

I'm starting 2011 in bed with a nasty headache that I'm pretty sure is allergy related.

Have you tried the usual tricks? I am so sorry you feel ick. I hope you feel better and finish grading soon.

Now to download all my pics, catch up on Yuletide, and be annoyed by this cold. I no longer have the "OMG I was in an airplane and my ear hasn't popped" feeling, but there's still pressure and when I move my head around I feel like there's water in there. WTF? Anyone help?

I'd love to offer advice, but every single thing I tried when I had my severe ear problems Jan-April was completely the wrong thing to do. I tried every person's idea at one or another and they either didn't work or made it much, much worse. I'd suggest going to an ENT, meara, because when I finally saw an actual ENT she was able to really go in and vacuum the fluid out and I was like a new person. I am sorry you're going through this. Welcome back home though!

Yeah, thanks java--I figured you might know. :) I figure everything is closed til Monday, but if I'm still feeling like this then I'll call the doc. I keep hoping the sudafed will magically fix things.

We had a large group of very excited kids setting off fireworks at midnight in the street directly in front of our house. We recognized out neighbor's kid and we wondered if he was home and knew his 14-year-old was outside with a big group. We were ready to get worried, but exactly at 12:15, the dad came out, and all the kids carefully picked up every bit of the trash and happily filed into the house. Made me happy for them and for our neighborhood.

Scrappy, it's always a delight to see good parenting in action, isn't it?