I'm sorry about DH's job, Cashmere, but may he quickly find a position/company he likes better.

Congratulations, Tom! Job-five!

(Okay, if you never watched Scrubs that'll make no sense, but I keep wanting to say it anyway.)

JZ, Evo Psych Buffy Guy is very very sad. I hope his children shed his miserable attitude like snakeskin and molt into emotionally healthy humans.

I had a great-uncle who was almost certainly gay, but that's the only one I know of, or even suspect.

In other news, do you think it's a problem that when Noah drops shit attitude with me that I finish every sentence of my response to him with "Motherfucker" under my breath?

Only if he can hear it!

I am the only queer I know of in my family. My one cool cousin may be asexual, not sure. I don't know if she knows.

My father only has one out gay blood relative, so I suppose he just wasn't paying attention to his wife's family. M, who's getting married in December (uh, to a woman) has one lesbian and one bisexual sister, and her mother is bi too. My mother's sister is gay, and she married a gay man, and her daughter thought she was gay until she worked out the issue was that she was a he. So...back to straight. My mother's other sister has one gay daughter...well, .I swear she's gay and only sleeps with guys for appearances, but she's only recently admitted to me she sleeps with women (I'd keep tacking "or girlfriend?" onto any relationshippy (or not even relationshippy) statement to her)--she finally snapped a couple years ago).

And, really, there a lot of family whose business we're not all up into.

Roller derby looks like a ton of fun, but I'm pretty much certain that it would get a "hell no" from every one of my doctors and physical therapists.

I am too fat and out of shape for plain old roller skating, much less derby. And then there's my back. But damn if derby doesn't look like a hella good time.

Lisah, I just read up more on the neurostimulation. If you could indeed ask about it...I just got to the 6-8 weeks not lifting anything heavier than 5 lbs...the fuck?

I can't do that. I don't have the luxury of not coping for myself. That's my laptop back and forth from work, right there. Never mind the things I haven't thought about yet.

I found this:

Avoid twisting, bending, stretching, or lifting anything heavier than five pounds until the leads have healed in place. These movements may cause the leads to move and possibly cause an unpleasant sensation.

If the only adverse effect is an "unpleasant sensation," I suspect you're inured to unpleasant sensations.

That sounds like standard "we messed with your core" post-surgical instructions. Lisah's Bob can speak to it in experience, but I imagine after getting something foreign lodged in your buttcheek, not to mention spine, a good portion of those weeks, you aren't going to want that much exertion.

It is still major surgery, no matter how it's packaged. You will have part of your recovery where you cannot cope for yourself. And it will slowly ease. But I cannot imagine it is something you can just take a few days off work for. You'll probably need significant time completely off.

I'm talking out of my ass, but it's my ass contemplating having a battery implanted in it and I can't imagine sitting after a mere 2 weeks!

Lisah, I just read up more on the neurostimulation. If you could indeed ask about it...I just got to the 6-8 weeks not lifting anything heavier than 5 lbs...the fuck?

I will.

ita, I can ask my sister about the surgery if you'd like. Not sure she's had much experience with it but I am assuming she's had a few patients who have had it.

As for teh gay, I think I'm the gayest member of my family on both sides, and given I'm happily and monogamously married to a man, not that gay. But we have small families for the most part (other than the 12 children in my grandmother's family).

Lisah's Bob can speak to it in experience

Yeah, he had a 10 lb lifting restriction for quite a few months but that was because, after the major abdominal surgery, he could have given himself a massive hernia (which would have meant more surgery). It sucked, for sure, especially because he still traveled for work and had to ask for help lifting his bag into the overhead bin. But he didn't get a freaking hernia!