"Call for action" written by Libertad on estrip.org

03/23/11 11:07 - ID#53898

Call for action

Hey guys,

If you get a chance (it only takes a minute), please call your NYS Assembly Member today and ask them to fully fund the NYS Tobacco Control Program at 58.4 million. Please do so right away as they are voting on this withing the next 48 hours.

Working for the NYS Smokers' Quitline, I know how desperate people are in need of help quitting smoking. It is completely unfair that the government is taxing cigarettes at the levels they are while at the same time threatening to remove funding to help people quit.

Currently, for every dollar collected in taxes, less than a fraction of a penny is invested in smoking cessation. Tobacco dependence is a serious addiction and many people are unable to quit without support.

To find the number for your representative follow the link.

Thanks,

Libertad

P.S The NYS Smokers' Quitline helped me quit 4 years ago and I am still extremely greatful for their assistance. The money invested in these programs is not wasted.

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03/19/11 07:06 - ID#53873

Laundry nightmares turn to wet dreams

I can't wait to one day have my own washer and dryer. I'm so sick of sharing the machines in our building with these nasty people who just leave their stuff in the machines for as long as they want. It really grosses me out when I have to touch other peoples nasty underwear and clothes because they leave their stuff in them. I set a timer to remind myself that the cycle is done.

Besides that I have little tiny holes in a bunch of shirts which I think are because of the machines. I'm a long ways away from having my own washer and dryer but hopefully not too long. First I have to move to somewhere with hookups. Gotta have the hookups.

My ultimate dream is to have laundry in my actual living space. I also really love the new style washers and dryers that save energy and water, they are so seXXXy.

This is a real magnet that's on my fridge.

libertad writes at 10:05:48 03/27/11 - Comment #61498: I do. Wish I was like you and your brother who have never done laundry before, all I can say is it must be nice. I have done laundry since I was very young. For a long time I did my Dad's and brother's too.

I don't really hate laundry that much but I do hate having to share 3 machines with 60 units. This wouldn't be that bad if people didn't leave their clothes for long periods of time.

paul writes at 08:08:42 03/27/11 - Comment #61494: Wow, you have a lot of laundry hostility.

libertad writes at 07:50:49 03/27/11 - Comment #61492: It was the same freaking nasty ass from last week that left their clothes. I can tell, because when I had to move her clothes after I was absolutely sure that 30 minutes had passed since her cycle ended, she had the same ugly bras with skulls on them. This time I am really wanting to throw her clothes on the floor, or if she does come down to put it in the dryer I was thinking I could stop her dry cycle so her clothes are still wet when she comes to get them 3 hours later.

Mike says I shouldn't do it, but I really, really want to. Years ago I would have done a lot worse. I guess that after presenting a study on Karma Friday night I really should not do anything but I want this girl to suffer for messing up my night twice in a row.

I'm not going to do it, I hate you Mike. I'll just have faith that she is going to be reborn into some hideous lowly creature. hehehehehe!

libertad writes at 07:01:24 03/27/11 - Comment #61491: Yet again someone has left their clothes in the washing machine screwing everything up for me.

flacidness writes at 12:53:53 03/21/11 - Comment #61361: Double stacks are pretty sexy and cheap.

heidi writes at 10:23:32 03/20/11 - Comment #61358: I'm allergic to the fragrances of laundry detergent and my current place has no laundry facilities. The last place had the stuff in the basement but it was such a pain that I started using a wash-n-fold service. I take my whites and darks there on my way to class and pick them up on my way home. I take my delicates to my aunt's house - seems so silly to transport laundry that far, but the system seems to be working for me right now. I miss laundry facilities something awful - I like to do laundry more often than I do now.

tinypliny writes at 01:10:25 03/20/11 - Comment #61353: I don't really feel the need to wash my towels more than once a week... They are dried to a crisp in my flat in less than an hour. It's that dry. And it's not as if I track tonloads of dirt and sweat on them everyday. I use them just once after I shower. Seems wasteful to wash such big unwieldy pieces of fabric all the time...

Though I get why you may want to wash your gym towels. Heh, I just don't have as much laundry as you do. I can probably really stretch everything I have and go without doing laundry for a whole month. :)

tinypliny writes at 01:05:08 03/20/11 - Comment #61352: Actually, I am not very grossed out by my building's common laundromat anymore. Maybe my threshold of tolerance has increased or maybe I have finally hit upon the oddest time to do laundry (2:00AM Fridays or Saturdays) when all the machines are free. Also, the person with the long blonde hair seems to have left the building. (e:tinypliny,40322)

libertad writes at 11:05:10 03/20/11 - Comment #61351: Someone moved my stuff once. I was really mad especially because he claimed that he was waiting there for 15 minutes. He may have been waiting there that long but it definitely was not 15 minutes after my cycle had ended, cause as usual I had set a timer.

The tough part is you never know when you see someone's clothes in the machine when they will be back. In this particular instance that sparked this post, the perpetrator still had not come to attend to their clothes after I had completely finished washing and drying my clothes. These people really put others in a very awkward position of having to decide whether or not to move someone else's dirty drawers.

I guess I do a lot of laundry each week. Every week I have 3 loads. I like to wash my sheets every week and I also use a lot of towels when I go to the gym. At home I use the same towel every day but when I shower at the gym I use a new towel each time. Quarters are always prized possessions for me. Not only do I need them for the machines but for the bus fare which is 1.75, so I always need 3 quarters 1 way or else have to lose .25 if I don't have the proper change.

metalpeter writes at 10:47:21 03/20/11 - Comment #61348: Mon-Friday I have a work uniform well many..... So that is just Sat and Sun or maybe Friday Night that I have Jeans and T-shirts and Hoodies or during the summer shorts for...... I just meant socks and underwear wise.... My Place they have Machines but you have to share it with who knows how many people.... Not saying that is gross but it kinda is..... Used to do clothes at my mothers every other weekend but with her using it and sis and niece using it trying to find a day when it is open is kinda tough........

jbeatty writes at 10:46:00 03/20/11 - Comment #61347: I was never comfortable moving peoples clothes for them either. I really don't miss saving quarters and waiting for an open machine all the time.

tinypliny writes at 10:19:22 03/20/11 - Comment #61345: Hold on... (e:metalpeter), did you just say that you never do laundry and keep buying the clothes you need?! What do you do with the unlaundered mass of clothes???!!

metalpeter writes at 09:53:06 03/20/11 - Comment #61340: (e:twisted)'s sounds awesome Wish I had one I can't tell you how long it has been since I've done clothes I just kinda keep buying stuff I need..... I kinda don't think you are supposed to move others clothes but what ever.... But also if you go to a public place and not one in your building you are supposed to stay their with them....Or maybe the people go Oh yeah he will move the clothes for us so we will be back in 3 hrs but it would freak me out if someone moved my stuff......

tinypliny writes at 12:24:37 03/20/11 - Comment #61336: They are really popular back home. In fact, it's hard to find a washer and dryer separately, because they are such a waste of space.

BTW. I love that laundry room. Look at all the sunlight... I don't think I have ever done laundry in such a cheerful room.

mike writes at 08:58:43 03/19/11 - Comment #61326: 90 % of men in Italy have never used a washing machine

paul writes at 08:00:39 03/19/11 - Comment #61325: (e:twisted) had this really awesome machine that was a washer and dryer in one. You just put it in and it came out clean and dry.

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03/16/11 07:52 - ID#53850

Wish me luck

I hardly ever do raffles but there was one at Roswell today for colon cancer and they had a lot of nice stuff. Instead of getting a sheet of tickets to put in various baskets I paid $5 for the drawing for the 42" TV. Chances seem better than winning the lottery and those TVs are expensive.

I really want a new one. Mine is so dinky and it is old so I have to have that stupid converter box since I don't have cable. This is my second converter box and this one doesn't work properly so I only have like two channels.

I was surprised to see many of the gift baskets with liquor in them. It sort of made me laugh to see the liquor bottles in the hospital like that, they even had tequila. The raffle is going on for three days I think so you could still enter if you want, just don't go for the TV!

I am on a blogging roll....

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03/15/11 09:26 - ID#53840

How I got to Buffalo

My move to Buffalo was a very good decision. If I had stayed in Rochester I doubt that I would have faired very well. I was working at the Sutherland Group and living at my Dad's house after leaving an abusive relationship. Under pressure from my abusive boyfriend, I had purchased a brand new vehicle. I found myself trapped, in order to pay for the car, I couldn't afford to live on my own.

So I ended up crashing the car, totaling it (not on purpose). The car was gone and so was my ball and chain. My friend Mary had already moved to Buffalo and was living with her boyfriend Adam and they offered to have me move into their 2nd bedroom for a very low cost. They lived on Main Street, steps from the Amherst Street Rail Station. I could take a train to the local community college ECC and not need a new car, a new ball and chain.

I left Rochester, I left a lot of things, my family, my abusive ex, my past. It was refreshing but I had a very hard time. My past wasn't so easily left. Actually, it followed me. Shortly after arriving, the city of Rochester seized my bank account for unpaid parking tickets, of course from the ex. The only money I had in the account was enough to pay for the monthly bus pass I needed to get to school and work.

I have been in Buffalo for 11 years now, the longest I have ever been anywhere in my life. I am a Buffalonian more than I am anything else. I went to ECC City Campus, I transfered to Buffalo State and I have worked and contributed ever since I got here. It is here that I have found faith again, here in one of the most distressed cities in the US. I love Buffalo even when in the beginning I hated it.

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03/15/11 08:52 - ID#53837

4/16 River Clean Up

Cleanups
SAVE THE DATE â€“ APRIL 16th is the date for our Spring Clean-up 2011. Saturday, from 9-12.

â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”

For the past 15-20 years, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper has organized biannual (spring and fall) cleanups* along various local waterways to remove litter and other accumulated debris. Scajaquada Creek has always been one of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeperâ€™s largest cleanup sites. Continued attention to litter removal at the trash racks and along the banks of Scajaquada Creek from the trash rack in Delaware Park to the mouth is part of ongoing efforts by volunteer groups. Local citizens monitor the trash rack at Delaware Park and hold the City of Buffalo Department of Public Works accountable when need be. Over 500 volunteers joined Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper for the Fall 2010 Shoreline Cleanup at 34 sites around the Buffalo Niagara region. A fantastic effort for the Fall!

â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”

Please let me know if you want to clean up Squaw Island. I told them I would bring 0-5 people. They need people for multiple locations in our areas. It really is rewarding knowing you are preventing all the trash from going into the water ways.

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03/15/11 05:59 - ID#53834

My first kiss

I don't think much of my first kiss maybe because I didn't really like it. I think I was about 13 and it happened with my next door neighbor, Kelly. It was more something that had to be done rather than me wanting it. One day we got off the school bus and it happened in her driveway. I don't even remember who initiated it, I barely remember having a relationship with her or even how it ended. It's strange, I don't really remember a lot of things and it is maybe because I don't want to.

I'm sort of mad that my first kiss was like this. I suppose they are always awkward and often forced but I wish it was with a guy. It was very hard to deny who I was and to pretend to myself and to everyone else. It was just a very difficult time in my life filled with a lot of confusion. It didn't help that we lived in the country and I didn't really know what was normal until some time after I left. Why am I telling you all this?

P.S. I like the topic suggestions.

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03/12/11 09:42 - ID#53810

Sigh of relief

This is how close our family cottage came to flooding. The river (Susquehanna) crested late yesterday and is now going down. In the flood of 72 the water reached the top of the second floor! We are all relieved not to have to clean up the mess.

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03/07/11 08:06 - ID#53780

My gut is shrinking

If I start going to the spinning classes 2x's a week it should be gone by the time I go to Florida at the end of April at the rate it has shrunk already.

The one thing that might get in the way of my work out routine and my life in general is my wrist. I started getting dull pain in the right wrist about 6 months ago. My right wrist is my dominant and I believe it is related to repetitive actions and working on the computer. It freaked me out a bit and I started taking glucosamine. So far I have taken a 100 of them and the pain has been on and off since then. Now the pain is on and I am recently out of glucosamine and am not sure if it is worth continuing. From what I understand glucosamine really can't harm you but the scientific data is inconclusive as to whether it really helps with joints or not.

I definitely need some help in ergonomics at work and at home. I'm pretty sure the first thing I need to start with is the mouse. Not sure what I should do really. I question going to a doctor for this particular thing because I'm not really sure what they can do for me. Does anybody have any suggestions as to what to do? Any kind of advice about ergonomic mice or whatever? I don't know if it is carpel tunnel or if it is the beginning of arthritis or what.

libertad writes at 06:41:13 03/08/11 - Comment #61098: Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I appreciate it very much.

tinypliny writes at 07:56:44 03/08/11 - Comment #61086: I am not sure that glucasamine has successfully been cleared by clinical trials especially for the indication you seem to taking it for. Please be careful. Most of the time, non-drug routes are several times more effective than popping a pill and I know that you definitely know that.

tinypliny writes at 07:53:17 03/08/11 - Comment #61085: You could try a tablet and a stylus as a mouse replacement. It's like using a pen (that does not involve lateral pressure on the wrist joint) for mouse activities. I absolutely LOVE my tablet and stylus because it has completely eliminated the shooting wrist pains I used to have earlier. However (e:Jim) did not seem to like it so much, so it depends on what you prefer, really.

Ergonomic placement of keyboards is also an extremely important point. The keyboard should be placed so that it's at a slightly lower level than your elbow joint. This is so that your forearm can slope naturally towards the keyboard in a "drapey" fashion without any muscle tension anywhere.

Also, it is important to remember that RSI is not altogether computer-related. If you use the lateral wrist movement with pressure all the time (for eg. cleaning, scrubbing, knitting, other small-range repetitive movements), your carpal tunnel will bear the stress and shear. It's a good exercise to make a count of all the activities that are small-range repetitive and see how you can modify them with ergonomic solutions - like using long-handled cleaning implements to shift the fulcrum away from your wrist or knitting with a ton of breaks and thicker needles...

paul writes at 10:15:14 03/07/11 - Comment #61079: ...and congrats on the gut shrinking ;)

paul writes at 10:14:32 03/07/11 - Comment #61078: They have special keyboard that should be massive help with this. (e:jim) has one. I used to have wrist problems a long time ago, they went away a lot once I started typing with both hands and more fingers. The one thing that still bothers me is push ups. I have to do them gripping two hand weights instead of palm flat down.

heidi writes at 08:19:15 03/07/11 - Comment #61077: I've had that twingey wrist problem before - I can usually make it go away by immobilizing my wrist(s) while I sleep so that the tissue can heal. I've been using skater wrist guards, although I'm guessing that any drug store would have cheap braces. I'm always shocked at how quickly it clears up with just immobilization.

I also try to improve the general ergonomics of my workspace - 90 degrees at the elbow, 90 degrees at the knee, mouse close by, etc. Here's a text-heavy Cornell guide :::link::: and mouse tips in particular :::link:::

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02/26/11 11:05 - ID#53741

Creep Center Market

Mike and I went to the Clarence Center Flea Market today. Here is a bit of the creepy.

Still have the post mortem photos for sale. I'm sort of surprised nobody snagged those yet. I'm not sure I would buy those for $35 for the entire set even though I sort of want to see the rest of them.