Media-crity

The 8:20 104 was early AGAIN. Nate and I were running a little late after our wild night in the ER but we were still on time. We were 3/4ths of the way down the hill when we heard it approaching so we started running. We were just about at the intersection waving our arms as the bus was getting there. We started running faster, full on flailing like crazy people and he just pulled away. This happens at least once a week.

HOWEVER. Today, a reprieve. A cop was on roadwork detail and actually stepped out in front of the bus all official-like and forced the bus to stop, then stood there until we had crossed safely and boarded.

Score one for police details, I guess!

My building was in lockdown this morning
Originally uploaded by Flannfry.

So much so that this dude got trapped in the revolving door

Ugh. On Friday I got this lump behind my ear that I assumed was a zit. It was definitely not a swollen gland. I’ve had those and this feels way different. It was squishy, for one.

It got more and more painful and seemed to grow and shrink. At least it was on Friday and for a bit on Saturday. Then it stopped doing that and pushing my earlobe out.

Saturday night I barely slept because everytime I rolled over onto that side it’d hurt. By Sunday my entire ear hurt and the area was hot and throbbing. I was all set to get an emergency doctor’s appointment today and have it dealt with but then I started getting pain down my neck and into my shoulder.

I called the nurse line and they advised that I be seen in 6 hours. At that point it was after 11 which meant, you got it, ER time! It was a cyst and obviously infected and they don’t like to play around with diabetics, I know, so off I went for my 4th ER trip in 6 months. It was empty so we got in right away.

They injected lidocaine into it (that was the worst part, OWWWWWW THE BURNING, and it barely worked anyway) and cut it open to drain it. The PA who did it was really nice. He was explaining MRSA and superbugs to me so I mentioned taking micro and nursing school so we talked about that. He treated the whole drainage process like a lecture in class, which was funny and kept me entertained.

He drained and scraped and did all sorts of unspeakable things to it that make me cringe just thinking of them. Then he put a wick in there (gauze, to help it drain further and keep it cleaner) and taped and gauzed it up. I have a very attractive bandage on my face now. I have to go back today to get the wick removed.

I’d put the pain of the drainage at above infiltrated IVs and just below having my retinas burned away by lasers, simply because this was a lot quicker, I didn’t have to have a lens attached to my eye, and I had Nate in the room to hang onto.

The latest in neighborhood watch technology?
Originally uploaded by Flannfry.

scarecrows. Spotted on Boston St in Malden.

Disgraced former NJ governor Jim McGreevey claims his wife engaged in threesomes with former McGreevey driver/aide/special friend Teddy Pedersen. She is, of course, denying all of this.

I’m just waiting for John Rowland to finally reveal just what went on in that hot tub … on second thought, hold that one.

And in “I’m always somehow the last to know” news, my Dan stepped down as GM of MSNBC in October. Oh well, more Dan on the TV for me! He’s such an attention-whore and can’t stay away from giving his opinions to the camera (his new show, The Verdict, premiered tonight!) and that’s just the way I like him. I’m thrilled to be free of the worry that his “temporary” replacement show would find a new host and he’d disappear again, leaving me bereft and alone.

In other MSNBC primetime items, they have a pretty sweet line-up that’s making me wish I didn’t have other shows to watch or that I had Tivo and no job and didn’t mind being fat and out of shape. David Gregory, Hardball (bleh), Countdown with KEEEEIIIITTTH, DAAAAAAAAAAAAN, and then something they’re billing as a “special 10pm edition of Countdown.” They don’t specify if this will be new content or if it’ll be more of what they’ve been doing– rerunning the 8pm show. It’s more than likely the latter but I can hold out hope that it’s the former.

Also, in a Dan/Keith-related items, this never ever ever fails to make me giggle.

You know, like, how when Kitty picks you up in the Yukon after she and Tammy have just been out shopping and, like, you let Tammy get out before you get in cause, like, otherwise you’d be in her lap?

Same goes for the T. People get off before people get on.

Also, yes, everyone’s in such a hurry. That’s why it’s called rush hour.

Sincerely,

The girl who still has a train and a bus to get on before she gets home

Two things I noticed:

1. Why do people insist on holding onto their carts as they reach across the aisle to grab something, essentially creating a

My bus was 10 minutes late and it was BITTER COLD this morning, leading to …

Having to get on the first train that pulled in to Malden despite the people packed 6-deep, which was a mistake because …

The second to last car was out of service, meaning …

Not only did I not get a seat, due to the placement of hips and feet and arms of other passengers, I was in an S-shape until lunch, so it was unfortunate that …

The escalator was out of service at South Station.

Ugh. Some mornings I miss driving to work. That is, until I get to walk through the warm tunnel and not across the arctic tundra of the state lot in Hartford.

I had about 7 blog posts written in my head throughout the day but now all I can think is this:

Please please please please PLEASE give October Road a 3rd season. It’s growing in its fanbase and critical praise. It’s not exciting like Lost, it doesn’t have the troweled-on sex appeal of Lipstick Jungle, but it’s found its own little niche. Watching it is like going to the local bar or coffeeshop with your childhood friends and catching up every week. It has a place in today’s world of reality garbage (wtf is “My Dad is Better Than Your Dad”?), the sexual exploits of middle-aged botox queens, and endless “talent” competitions. Let it keep it.

Also, to the writers, find a place for Bill Bellamy. He did ask Nick where to find an apartment in the Ridge. Make that a reality.

Siiiiiigh.

Since moving to Boston in September I have been terribly homesick for the familiarity of Hartford. I lived within 1-2 miles my entire 7 years there. I went to the same pharmacy, the same grocery store(s), the same mall, the same park, the same movie theatre. It was comforting. It was home. I knew 4 different ways to get everywhere and I felt comfortable driving every one of them.

I have greatly benefitted from the larger “world” Boston has to offer, yes, but I still felt like a stranger in a foreign country far from home.

Until I expanded my blog world. Thanks to the hyperlocalism of sites like Universal Hub, I’m making this city my own, too. I’m recognizing more than just town and neighborhood names when I catch the evening news. I hope this continues.

I know, all my Hartford friends are shaking their heads right now.

Now I have to get myself into bed. Stupid time change. I love the extra daylight but it’s a pain to adjust to.

Hey, it’s another Saturday afternoon guest starring the MBTA police!

So today I was walking across the skybridge from the gym to the T station when I heard a kid screaming bloody murder. The kind of ear-piercing shrieking and screaming that makes dogs cower in fear. I could see a bit of commotion at the other end and as I got closer I heard a woman yelling “HELP! Stop! Call the police!” The man passed me at that point, holding the kid in a splayed sort of way while she kicked and fussed and screamed and cried. He wasn’t running, just walking purposefully and not making eye contact.

I got to the other end and the woman there was near-hysterical yelling “STOP! You’re hurting her! Please! Let her rest!” I looked out the window and saw the police pulling up and the lady started jumping up and down waving her arms so I asked her if she was okay and if she needed anything.

She tells me that this man has obviously kidnapped the little girl and won’t someone please stop him? At this point a crowd is gathering and the cops go running by into the skybridge. I asked her what happened and she said that they got off the train and the little girl came up the steps, then said she wanted to sit down and rest. He picked her up and started walking away when she started screaming and crying and he was holding her much too tightly.

She also informed us that he looked just like a predator with thick black glasses and a pointy nose. Plus he was very tanned and the girl was very pale. So he had obviously kidnapped her.

Uhhhhh … huh. Obviously.

At that point, we were all taking a few steps back, not wanting to be involved in this rapidly developing mess. Then some people came walking out of the skybridge and told us that the cops had caught up with the guy. The girl is his and she has “a disease” that causes her to go into hysterics and he was just trying to get her home.

I left at that point.

I’m all about erring on the side of caution, and something did seem odd about her screaming when I passed them, but that lady is exactly why you shouldn’t quit your job to watch SVU and Dateline back-to-back-to-back.

I don’t think I’m going out on Saturdays anymore.

It’s spring!
Originally uploaded by Flannfry.

Spotted shilling for the New England Flower Show outside South Station

There are a dozen service trains directly behind this one
Originally uploaded by Flannfry.

Some days i imagine heaven to look like this

Spotted outside the Wellington BSC tonight
Originally uploaded by Flannfry.

No time for parking! Biceps shrinking by the second!

Memo to commuters: when your heels are fully over the door track YOU CAN’T FIT ON THE TRAIN. No one wants to hear the remix of the doors closing warning tone.

Look, I know that sometimes it can seem like 3 days between trains but it’s Downtown Crossing at rush hour. I think something will be along soon. I know I enjoyed such luxuries on my trip as being able to get a seat, see my own shoes, and travel in the “no elbows in my ear” section.

Evenings like this, there’s one orange line conductor I wish worked more. One evening she got fed up and yelled “If you don’t get back BEHIND the YELLOW LINE you WILL be DRAGGED BY THE TRAIN!” Some people just need tough love.