Where’s Waldoette?

Actually, on the evils of corticosteroids. My first encounter with steroids was post surgical, last summer. The second was just these past four weeks or so. They have a deserved reputation for affecting mood, and for appetite enhancement. The mood swings for me are the worst. I have been nearly suicidal, I’ve been manic, I’ve…

My name is Salamander and I’m a quizaholic. [Greek chorus: “Hi, Salamander!”] I wrote “testaholic” there first, but that looked terribly wrong. I’m not sure how it started. I’m sure I could go back through my diary and find the first test I took. I might have even recorded the name of the quiz-dealer that…

I had a strange dream last night, all the stranger for the fact that I remembered it. I know why I had it. Yesterday was the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. And yesterday I was speaking to friends about playing favorites with children. The anniversary of the moon landing leaves me nostalgic….

There’s a new Vorkosigan coming out tomorrow. I’ve heard at least one rumor that a major character dies. For what it’s worth. As for me, it’ll give me something to do while recovering from hand surgery, scheduled Wednesday.

So much to do, so little time. Why do I let myself get backed up this way? Tonight I need to do several loads of laundry, go grocery shopping, sterilize a couple of bathrooms, and do a general clean up of the apartment. I have some mail on the stairs waiting to be attended to,…

Since my early twenties, I have been prey to a peculiar variety of migraine. Called “acephalgic migraines”, they involve no pain whatsoever, but result in diminished vision for a period of twenty minutes. Rarely, they can render me effectively blind for a short period of time, but more often they simply constrict the field of…