Subject? Don't need no stinking subject!

Near the card section, there is an endcap with Star Wars school supplies.   Dad and son walk past.  

Dad stops and says to son, "Do you want a Star Wars binder?" 
Son; "Naw." 
Dad; "Are you sure?  Last chance." 
Son; "Yeah.  I'm sure." 
(pause)
Dad; "Should I get myself a Star Wars binder?" 
Son; "Totally." 

And I didn't even pipe up that Target has in-binder folders and separators, so he could buy it and start keeping household records in it.  See, it would be a perfectly legitimate purchase. 


I made a kid cry.   See, someone who is a foster parent (via the Lesbian Duplex) mentioned that you have to turn things around to a kid's POV.  The example she used was urging a kid to hold mom's hand crossing the street so mom won't get lost.  


I've been using a version of this at Kohl's.  When I see a kid start to wander off, I tell them that parents get lost when you wander too far.   They usually turn around and go back.  
This one tyke had gone a bit farther than usual, but I remember the parent she came in with.  (Mom was white, but the kids were mixed-race.  That's why I remembered. :P )  

Anyway, when I told her "You shouldn't wander away from mom.  Moms get lost when you wander too far.  Did you know that?"  She had to stop and think over what I said. 
I swear you could see the wheels in her brain turning. Then she figured it out and started the sad eyes and turned down lip, "Mama!"  Sniffle.  "MAMA!"  

So I pointed out mama to her and she ran back and cried at mama a bit.   Really didn't mean to make her cry.  LOL.  

Another time, I told this to a pretty young tot.  She was maybe two.  While I tell her this, I'm looking around to see if I see any frantic adults.  But after a few minutes of me talking to her, her older brother(?) comes out of the lingerie section and freezes on seeing me.  I ask, "Is she with you?"  He nods, grabs sister by one hand, and hurries off with a backward look to make sure I haven't turned into Baba Yaga and started chasing them. 

So good to see I can still scare the crap outta' kids.  

I need caps!

According to the dentist, I have been grinding my teeth.   I had no idea until I saw the pictures of my teeth.  He says it's stress related.  (Raising parents is hard.)  It will be about $2000 to get three caps on three teeth that I've fractured.  Sigh.   I really don't have that much money.  

Need to post pictures of my art stuff on Craig's List, I guess. 

Anyway....

So some a--holes ruined some middle school kids' day....

So I was listening to Beyond Bows and Arrows on KNON. (89.3) I didn't catch the name of the guest, but he's one of the chaperones for American Horse School (which is a middle school) on the Pine Ridge Reservation.  As a reward for academic performance, the kids get to go on field trips. 
One of field trips was a trip to see a hockey game in Rapid City. 

Some men in a corporate box started throwing beer and racial slurs at these middle school kids.  The kids got upset, of course.   But according to the guest on BB&A, some of these kids had nightmares, and are now afraid to leave the rez.   Which is just not right, grown men intimidating small kids. Some of these kids are young enough that they still believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy. 

Links!

From NPR
http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2015/02/09/383835807/authorities-probe-alleged-hate-crime-against-native-american-kids

http://competenetwork.com/native-american-children-abused-at-sporting-event/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TclhpbG43gI#sthash.1gFCFOeU.dpuf

If you wish to send the kids letters and/or cards of support and encouragement, you can send them to
American Horse School
P.O. Box 660
Allen  S.D. 57714
.
Only one person was found and he was charged with a misdemeanor.  So now there is also a 'push' to have the investigation reopened as a hate crime, which would have stiffer penalties.  I don't have any links where one would write for that.  

The only thing I could think to tell these kids would be about how these men have a body part so small they compensate by insulting others.   But I figure that's not the sort of thing you tell to an 9 year old or whatever. 

Went to the doc Monday

So, update on the asthma front.

Last Tuesday, (10/21) when my ProAir went completely nutso on me (or was it my body going completely nutso on the ProAir?) I wrote down the times I used Mom's blood pressure cuff, along with the blood pressure and heart rate readings.

So the doc listened to my lungs (way more than last time) and they (the nurse) took my oxygen saturation reading twice. (I should have asked what it was.) But I have a new temporary inhaler, Advair, and two prescriptions, one for a new rescue inhaler and the other for 5 day pack of steroids. Again! I'm tired of steroids.

(Okay, so I do breathe better when I'm on them, but they make me hungry all the time. Last time I managed to avoid gaining any weight by buying those steamer bags of frozen green beans and snacked on those all day. I actually lost weight!)

And I had just gotten my ProAir and Qvar refilled on Friday (10/17). Now I have one unused Qvar and one slightly used ProAir. Wondering if he'll put me back on Qvar after I'm done with the Advair? I've read the insert on the Advair. It's meant to be temporary, long term use can lead to worsening of asthma. Eek.

And so now I'm like broke... until Friday. Sigh...

And my blood pressure readings from 10/21 just in case anyone's interested....

Took ProAir at 1:30 pm
1:40 pm BP 170/124  pulse 58
2:35 pm BP 128/90    pulse 83
3:10 pm BP 137/75    pulse 65

Two teapots that I made....

Now thinking of selling the turquoise teapot... but I'm not sure what I would charge for it. Any suggestions?

I wouldn't mind also selling the tree teapot. But there's one little problem with it. The lid won't come off. I used an iron oxide and I thought I had not gotten any on where the pot and lid meet. But obviously there was some meltage. Maybe next time I'll fire the lid and the pot separately. (Yes, I'm making another.) If I sold this one, it would be a cut rate price, simply because it's become a decorative doorstop now.

Fun with my ProAir inhaler

Not really. 

Okay, so it was like Thursday (I think) when I was driving from one card account to another.  When I got to other card account, I noticed that my ProAir inhaler had been lying in the sunny spot.  The ac was on in the car, and I wasn't sure if had been over heated or not. 

I puffed on my inhaler.  Then for about an hour, I felt terrible.  My heart rate seemed off, and my breathing seemed more difficult. 

Okay, so I just assumed that it got overheated, and the medication inside was damaged.  I had a couple days until the prescription refilled automatically, so I just did without until then. 

Well, I took my new ProAir inhaler just before leaving for work.  I never made it to work.  I felt terrible again.  My mom has a blood pressure cuff, so I used it.  Blood pressure was 170/124 and heart rate was 58. 

I called my mom's nurse.  She said that's a common side effect of ProAir and I should lie down for an hour after taking it so I don't faint.  (So definitely no driving.)   She thinks my body's reacting to it because I've gotten used to it. 

I checked the paper insert and it mentions heart palpitations and fast heart beat.  I called the doctor's office and made an appointment for Monday.  (I don't even have my new schedule yet.)   I might call the office and see if they have anything open Thursday.  Nothing was open Friday. 

It's just annoying, and now I don't want to use the ProAir anymore.  And I just got the cutest little carrying holder for it too.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/205259587/reserved-for-be-inhaler-holder-custom

The ProAir inhaler has this 'butt' that the other inhalers shown don't.  So I shipped BeaG an empty inhaler case so she could make a custom one for me.  Isn't it cute? 
 
Anyway....

So this happened at the pain management clinic

Has anyone had something like this happen to them? 

 

My mom had an appointment at the pain management clinic.  After getting my mom's wheelchair set in a spot where she is not in the way, I pulled out my sketchbook and started sketching. 

 

I chose a couple, man and woman, because they were conversing with each other, and I always like attempting to show folks interacting.  I drew him first because I had a better line of sight on him.  I finished a quick sketch of him, not a detailed one, and started sketching the woman. 

 

He got up and came over to see what I was doing.  When he saw that I had sketched him, he got extremely upset, and started saying that I had to right to sketch him, and what gave me that right?  I tore the  page out of my sketchbook, and attempted to hand it to him.  He got even more upset, and wanted me to erase it.  So I erased the page and showed it to him. 

 

Did this shut him up?  No it did not.  He kept going on and on and ON  about what right did I think I had to sketch him.   He claimed it was illegal for me to sketch him.   Some guy in the corner got mad.  He said he didn't see anything wrong me sketching people, and he took a picture of the man with his cell phone.  Noisy guy did not like that at all.  So Corner Guy and Noisy Guy started arguing.  (Meanwhile I just wanted to melt into the floor.)

Some guy from the pain management office came out and told everyone to pipe down.  I put away my sketchbook at office guy's request. 

 

After office guy went back, Noisy guy and Corner Guy kept their grumbling at each other to a low growl. 

 

After Noisy Guy left, people started to talk a bit more.  Noisy guy had talked to one of the other clients.  He was from New York originally and had to come down here.   So someone thought maybe he was in the Witness Protection Program.  Someone else wondered if he was wanted by law enforcement.  Someone else suggested he needed his meds. 

 

So, thoughts?  

One idea did occur to me.  This was an older black man.  I was wondering if he was defensive because, well, y'know black people have been taken advantage of.  I could have seen artists using black people as subjects in the Jim Crow era, and not paying them very much, or not at all.  Meanwhile, they'd sell the painting for a good sum. 

Anyway... I'm posting this, and then I'm going to my best to forget about it so it doesn't keep steaming me.

I'm just curious if anyone else has had someone really object to being sketched, and how you have handled the situation. 


I've never had anyone get upset when they notice I'm sketching them, and they usually make a comment on whether it looks like them or not. Most folks either don't notice or don't care. 

I've had folks I'm pretty sure knew that they were being sketched, but obviously didn't care.



Anyway,...