Jun. 15th, 2006

We had a wonderful time last night, although I'm now utterly exhausted, and feeling a bit overwhelmed by the world and all the random small things I need to do in the next few days as a result. I may not be very communicative today; multitasking is feeling a bit beyond my capabilities at the moment.

On the way out to Cedar Point we picked a random exit for food, and happened upon Crocker Park -- holy hell, is that place creepy! *shudder* It's like an outdoor mall where you can drive down the main paths. Nevertheless, we were hungry, so we had a quite tasty, although horrendously overpriced, dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Also? The decorating style inside the restaurant was some of the most hideously overdone frippery I've seen in years. It takes some kind of twisted talent to make design elements clash that dramatically and garishly. The Eye of Sauron lighting fixtures were amusing, though.

We chose an excellent day and time to wander around Cedar Point, though -- it was late enough in the afternoon we weren't frying in the sun even though the weather was completely clear, and since it was a weekday, there were almost no lines for any of the rides. I don't think I stood in line for more than one rotation of any of the rides. And it was fun and nostalgic to wander around with the family at a place we've been going since I was 4 or 5. I'm deeply amused by their new "thrill rating system" though. The carousel at the entrance is a "2 - moderate thrill ride". We spent most of the day trying to figure out what a 1 would be -- walking the fairway, perhaps? (we did finally find one in the Camp Snoopy kids section -- the choo-choo train) What I found silliest about it, though, was that every single coaster was a "5 - aggressive thrill ride". Yes. Because the Mine Ride should obviously have the same rating as the Millennium Force. We didn't do a lot of coaster riding; only the milder ones like the Mine Ride, Iron Dragon, and Disaster Transport (and Musicalchaos and I went on the Corkscrew), since Dad doesn't ride the more intense ones anymore, and no one else in the family is particularly into them. I was more interested in hanging out with the family that running from coaster to coaster, and I was trying to keep a headache under control, so it worked out fine and I had a great deal of fun on the other rides, but I have determined that I still love coasters, and I should get back there sometime with someone who's up for exploring them.

We got home about midnight, but I got some sleep in the car, and crashed within minutes of getting home, so I'm less beat than I was afraid I might be, but still in pretty rough shape.

Time to catch up on emails and LJ replies -- I'm behind.
My brother just posted an article about egregious malpractice at a clinic in AL (warning, even as brief as the article is, there's some seriously disturbing imagery involved)

These kinds of things upset me for so many reasons.

First of all, I believe everyone should be getting good, respectful, competent health care in general. And when that doesn't happen, it makes me angry.

Secondly, with the polarization around women's reproductive health care in the US, it's getting harder and harder to deal with problem situations -- sometimes it's "yeah, that provider/clinic/whatever kinda sucks, but it's better than not having one at all", sometimes it's about how to deal with medical concerns like trying to figure out what connection, if any, there might be between clostridium infections and mifepristone, and how to minimize risk, or how to deal with post-abortion counseling, or with the risks and side-effects of contraceptives, without everything we do being turned against us to try to take away our access.

The complexities of reality don't fit black and white politics well at all, and the problem is that if one side acknowledges complexities, and the other doesn't, the side with the better soundbites gets the political advantage.

Which is just totally fucked.

*headdesk*

It reminds me a lot of one of the conversations I have over and over again when I'm escorting. Several of the antis shout and carry signs about "abortion and the pill cause cancer". When patients ask about it I explain the whole debunked abortion/cancer thing, but the conversation gets more complex when it comes to the Pill. I talk about how it increases some risks, decreases others, how family history and risk factors have to play a major role in deciding whether it's right for you, how it's a complicated topic that they're oversimplifying for a political scare tactic.

But it's sure as hell easier to fit "Abortion and the Pill Cause Cancer" on a sign than it is to cover what I discuss, even informally and casually.
How sad is it that I'm worn to utter exhaustion by trying to keep up with my almost 60-year-old parents for three days? Right now I'm staying up to finish an Ebay bid that closes in 7 minutes, and it's going more slowly than I could possibly imagine. Argh! Need sleep!

4 minutes. The bid is for a set of clippers for Leroy; I've trimmed his fur down to a pretty short although uneven length, and to do better before I let my obsessive side get ahold of me and accidentally end up with a bald dog trying to "make it even", I figured I'd finally get around to buying a pair of clippers for the house.

Ah, good. Won it, although at a bit more than I'd hoped for. Sleep now.

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