For Dummies

Okay, so I'm a bit sick right now. Haven't been feeling my Smurfy best for the past couple days. Not sick enough to stay home from work mind you (threw up, but no fever = usually not contagious to others), but sick enough where I feel pretty darn crummy by the time I get home from work.

On the other hand, not feeling well always has the advantage of slowing me down enough to catch up on my reading. Here's a list of what I have read or am currently reading as of late:

• THE LOW BLOOD SUGAR HANDBOOK by Edward and Patricia Krimmel
• HYPOGLYCEMIA THE CLASSIC HEALTHCARE HANDBOOK by Jeraldine Saunders and Dr. Harvey M. Ross
• THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF HYPOGLYCEMIA by Roberta Ruggiero (she's super nice--she sent me an e-mail not too long ago!)
  
• SUGAR SHOCK! How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life-- and How YouCan Get Back on Track by Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C, with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
• HYPOGLYCEMIA FOR DUMMIES by Cheryl Chow and James Chow, M.D.

Okay, I'm going to stop for a minute. That last book is by far the best in that list. I was very skeptical about the "For Dummies" series of books, but they are honestly fantastic (or at least the ones I've read so far have been!). They have good information and are written in a way that can usually make me laugh, or at least stay in a relatively good mood. This is important since most of the books I've gotten from them are about very "serious"/hard-to-deal-with subject matters (which some books make relatively depressing). In fact, the "For Dummies" book on Hypoglycemia is so good that's it's actually referenced in a couple of the other books on that reading list of mine!

I also have/read:

• BIPOLAR DISORDER FOR DUMMIES by Candida Fink and Joe Kraynak
  
• SPANISH FOR DUMMIES by Susana Wald
• SPANISH FOR DUMMIES AUDIO SET by Jessica Langemeier
  
• INTERMEDIATE SPANISH FOR DUMMIES by Gail Stein, M.A.
• STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR DUMMIES by Allen Elkin, Ph.D.
• BACK PAIN REMEDIES FOR DUMMIES by Michael S. Sinel, M.D. and William W. Deardorff, Ph.D.

Those last two came in the mail just earlier today. I read a few pages into each of them and so far they're both pretty good. I have high hopes.

Speaking of back pain, I treated myself to an early Christmas (maybe birthday?...since my family isn't exchanging Christmas gifts again this year) gift: A back massager for my chair. With heat!

As I write to you, I currently have a ThermaCare heat wrap on my back. Which is fantastic. But, I got to thinking: with all the money I spend on disposable heat packs, I may as well invest in something a tad more permanent. And, hey, bonus!--Maaaaaaaaassssssssssaaaaaaaaaage. I can't wait.

Ever since my back sprain last summer, my back hasn't quite been the same. I try to be vigilant about the exercises the Physical Therapists gave me, but it's hard. They're so time-consuming! But I try to at least do the twisty one for sure and maybe one or two of the other ones before I head off to work each day. But, lately, I've been having a lot of back pain in spite of things. So much so that it wakes me up at night. Hurts.

In other news, I'm working on a short black & white comic. It's going to be only about 4 or 5 pages long. It's "creepy." It may be for something or it may not. I don't know yet. But I'm having a lot of fun doing it and I'm sure that you'll get to see it either way. (Though don't expect it any time soon since they've increased my work hours and I don't have a lot of free time anymore...and what free time I do have, I'd rather spend with Ramiro).

Until next time...

--Lauren*

No Hablo Mucho Espanol

Hmmmm... So, not a whole lot has been going on lately. I've been getting a lot more hours at work (Del Taco). That's good, I suppose. I'll be happy on Pay Day.

I've been trying to learn Spanish. I was told straight-up that if I didn't speak Spanish that there was no chance of my being promoted or getting a raise.

Would I have this problem if I didn't live/work in Los Angeles?

Probably not.

But, I do. So I guess I've gotta deal with it.

This isn't just an issue with Del Taco. In the past, a few places have refused to hire me because I didn't speak Spanish.

It's very difficult. In the past, people have told me that it's "such an easy language," but I'm having a lot of trouble with it. Necesito ayuda! I've been trying to learn on my own with books and audio CDs and such. And, on a side note, did you know that the Merriam-Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary doesn't have the Spanish translation for the word "onion" (among other things)? That's something that I need to know to communicate with the cooks and Spanish-speaking customers at Del Taco. There's a great lack of food words in my books! Very frustrating.

The sad thing is, I actually kinda like learning new languages and writing. I loved learning IPA and Masonic code and such... But Spanish feels like it's being forced on me and that makes me a bit resentful. I actually do want to learn it, mainly to better understand my future in-laws (who're Mexican), but I'd like to learn it in a fun way and at my own pace. Not because, if I don't learn it, I won't be able to advance my "career."

Oh well.

If anyone has any tips on how to make it a bit easier for me to learn, please let me know.

In other news, Ramiro and I went to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum in Hollywood the other day and it was fantastic. The most fun that I've had at a museum in years!

That's all for now.

--Lauren*

Halloween & Such

This is sort of a companion piece to Ramiro's wonderful LiveJournal entry about Halloween weekend. (Mostly I just wanted to show off my EC comics too...). For more details about how I spent the weekend, you can just read his entry (it has lots of pics too!).

Halloween weekend was a blast. My "little brother," Vincent, was having a show with his band Corpse Candy on the 30th and I finally got to see them perform! It was very exciting (and LOUD) and I was very proud. :3
I went to the Corpse Candy show with Ramiro (who did their amazing album cover). We got to go to IHOP after the show. Scrumptious!

(I got my hair cut a few weeks ago by Jaz at VOUS Hair...)

One of the very best things about Halloween and Halloween weekend was going to House of Secrets and Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee. I love those places. Especially HoS (EBSM can honestly be a bit overwhelming). If you're in the area, you simply must stop by!

At House of Secrets, Ramiro was able to add to his collection of EC comics. I was very excited by this because I'm a huge fan too. Actually, my stack of comics used to be even larger than his but I ended up giving the bulk of my collection to Vincent (of Corpse Candy) when he was a small child (obviously warping him--in the best way!--for life).

Here's what I have left of my EC horror comics:(Those Tales From The Crypt TV show DVDs were fun to watch over the weekend, too!)

I also have a few EC oddities that aren't in the horror genre:(That's right, EC Piracy comics weren't just made up by Alan Moore. They're real!).

Halloween itself was very chillaxed. Lots of trick-or-treaters at my parents' house (over 50!) and Ramiro & I came over and helped carve pumpkins...

(You can click on that to make it bigger)

And that's pretty much it. Good times.

Oh, and for those of you who are interested, I got a note from Children's Hospital today saying that they received the money I donated. :)That's all for now.

Until next time...

--Lauren*