The Not Happy Thread

I get by.

 

I certainly hope they replace it! For free!

 

I was supposed to visit a friend who tried to cancel on me when I was already aboard the train because family unexpectedly came over. It was awkward and I left early to eat in town. The travel was out of the way for me and splurging on dinner didn't actually make me feel better. I don't think I'll attempt it again.

 

Not sure if this has been said before in its 364-page history, but I feel the fact that this thread's number of pages outranks the Happy Thread is worth a post in itself. (Although it's an imperfect index for several reasons,) I'm sad that the general trend is that we're unhappy as a community. But that's all quite meta, so...

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My posts on this forum are usually so long that I often wonder if people even read them, but I just can't help myself even when I try to edit them down.

 

Fuck those fucking fuckers.

 

Update: The fucking plumbers called in window guys to replace our front window. They showed up quickly and replaced the window in jig time. They were very professional and they get a 10 out of 10 from me. And the plumbers are going to cover their bill. So that's good. I suppose I should have put this post in the Happy thread, but it pertains to this so it's here.

 

Nope, Nope, Nope,Nope,Nope,Nope ALL OF THE NOPE!!!

So here I am watching The Amazing Doctor Pol and they show this segment where they de-horn a calf for a show contest. It's...every bit as gruesome as you imagine. They basically give them a local shot (so it can't feel anything) and FUCKING SNIP OFF THE FUCKING HORN!!!

Nope, nope. Not watching this piece of shit show anymore. >:[

 

Showing aside, it's a common management task on farms for Occupational Health & Safety (ETA: for farm workers and the cattle themselves). And as ugly as it is for calves, it's far worse if left until they're adult (when usually they're sawn off with obstetrical wire). As calves, the horns are basically distinct buds stuck onto the head, so to some extent it'd probably feel similar to snipping a large wart off. But as the cow ages, its sinuses extend to communicate with the inside of the horn. Meaning that when the horn is sawn off, it pisses blood everywhere and the cow is left with gaping holes in its head, which can fill with rainwater, flies, etc. Not something I'm proud to have ever been involved in, although at least my presence meant they got some sedation/pain relief...

Local anaesthesia should be standard for calf dehorning, and (assuming the right area is injected and they wait ~5min for the drug to "sink in"...) should prevent pain fairly well (they'll still be stressed by the handling, etc). However, it's an extra cost to the farmer, so I wonder what happens when there's no film crew present...

And of course it's entirely possible to just farm cattle breeds that naturally have no horns (or with some effort, breed the trait into your stock). So well done humanity/industry! This opinionated animal welfare rant definitely belongs in this thread.

Sorry for the details, Link the Writer That's one of my hot buttons. Based on your response to the TV show, maybe you're not talking to this piece of shit person anymore.

 

That's a lot of good information. You sound very knowledgeable. Coincidentally, I'm watching Dr Pol right now. It's a gross show but he seems to be a competent vet. There's a cow with a completely prolapsed uterus. That is gross. I'm waiting to see what he does about it.

Sadly, the cow is going to bleed out and there's nothing they can do.

 

Thanks, although it's (supposed to be) kinda my field... I've not heard of Dr Pol I'm afraid.

Uterus has some big arteries, so bleed-outs are a big risk (e.g. if the cow stands on it, so restraining the cow ASAP is probably the most important step). Judging how devitalised the tissue is is also necessary: you can't win them all, and it's often kinder not to try.

If you were interested in how it would have been treated assuming viable tissue: cow in "frog-leg" position, epidural, clean uterus as much as possible, reinvert through vulva to normal position (the hard part; wine bottle can help get extremities in place), oxytocin shot to kickstart the uterus shrinking to its non-pregnant size (prevents recurrence, and gets the cow cycling again which helps decontaminate), and a purse-string suture around the vulva to stop it slipping back out (the cringe-worthy bit).

Anyway, I should stop over elaborating. I must seem like a pompous arse.

 

Eh, sorry. I'm kinda in a huge rut, and my social skills are questionable at the best of times.

 

So it's more like

 

Aha. Now I know who to nobble for information if I run into problems with cattle in my stories!

 

So guess which idiotic, moronic dumbass forgot to save his draft after writing a somewhat long-ish scene before exiting out of the document?

<-- THIS DUMBASS!!

*ugh*

 

Did you misunderstand my thumps up emoticon?

 

Autosave!

And what software do you have that doesn't prompt you to save before exit, if you haven't already done so?

 

It was a case of me not paying attention worth crap. I write on MS Word, so it should tell you how horribly I failed to screw that up.

Ah well, all amended now. Just re-wrote it. Still, lesson learned!

Sifunkle might have thought you were being sarcastic with that thumbs-up emoticon.

 

Staying with my overly critical mother for a little while. Yesterday I took off my makeup before bed, and confided in her that my skin is such a mess right now that I feel completely down in the dumps about it. Adult acne is the pitts.

Then she points out that my under eye circles are worse than she's ever seen on me, and that combined with my skin problems, it looks like I've been doing hard drugs. Now she's "worried" about me.

Geeze, thanks Ma'. Anything else to hit me over the head with? Especially now that I have to convince you that I don't, in fact, use drugs?

Yeah, of course there is. I'm also stubborn, hard headed and think I know everything, simply because I don't want to put my son in a sport he's not interested in. Apparently, what extra curricular activity I choose for him at the ripe old age of seven will bear so much influence on his life that should I make a mistake, he'll end up living in a van down by the river. Better put him in football. The things he's actually interested in like theater and dance, or drum lessons will surely make him a gay, hardened criminal with a rockstar complex, damned to hell for all eternity.

Jesus. This is just not going to work out. Planning how I can escape within the next few days without it biting me in the ass severely.

 

Try giving up milk for a couple months and see if it improves your adult acne. The natural hormones in cows milk can cause acne in some people.

 

Brutal! Why cant they leave Awesome things awesome?

 

Today has been an unhappy day. I am in a situation where my guy leaves a lot for work. YAY for me, more writing time!! Although, today he isn't doing it right, sorry, the way I need him to communicate. Its affecting my mood and distracting me on this beautiful day where I would normally be upping my word count and taking down bad guys!
WTF?! Drink!

 

Back pain makes me unable to do exercise, makes me grumpy, depressed. It's been three days now. This week is going to be absurdly busy and I feel insecure about my appearance from the depression. Feeling ugly, like my "business casual" clothes will not be quality enough. I don't feel up to going to the store to get better clothes today because a) the back excuse, b) because I feel so ugly today that I will feel ashamed as soon as I get to the store.

Well it's called the unhappy thread so there you go.

 

It sounds like you are hitting middle age. Better put on the brakes now and nip it in the bud.

 

I ummed and ahhed a bit and concluded the brevity meant "That's nice dear," or something similarly dismissive. Shouldn't have tried to read tone into it, just my insecurities getting the better of my judgement.

@jannert - I'd be happy to consult on any ailing fiction-cattle you have Cows are cool.

@No-Name Slob - Not sure about football (American/gridiron?), theatre or dance, but drum lessons are great for kids. Teach far more coordination than sport, less of a learning curve than other instruments, great way to get rid of pent-up energy, and if they're inspired to get good, play in bands, write songs, etc, they need to learn discipline, subtlety, cooperation and creativity. The main caveat is to consider the effect a drum kit will have on your own sanity (there are workarounds).