My body, and the battles therein.

TMI POST! TMI POST! DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!

So, I went to the dentist yesterday, and have been told that I have an impacted wisdom tooth with an infection. Apparently it just doesn't fit in my mouth.

They will have to remove it, but that won't be for another few weeks, and I've been given antibiotics for it for now. I'm on Metronidazole, which has the scariest list of side-effects ever. Aside from the horrible things that can happen if you mix it with alcohol (duh), the leaflet warns you of:

• Unpleasant taste in the mouth and furred tongue
• Numbness, tingling, pain, or a feeling of weakness in the arms or legs
• Fits
• Drowsiness or dizziness
• Poor coordination or clumsiness
• Darkening of the urine
• Unexpected infections, mouth ulcers, bleeding gums
• Severe tiredness or bruising
• Vomiting, upset stomach or diarrhoea
• Itching, inflammation or swelling of the skin
• Jaundice
• Shock
• Confusion and hallucinations.

Some of these, I suspect I'll never know whether they're side effects or just my usual base line...

In fit of what I can only assume is solidarity, I started my period last night. I woke up and it was like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre - blood all down my legs and even on my toes.
Stupid damn body.

Recommendations.

Internet:
If you're at a loose end, I'd recommend checking out Jorge Garcia's blog.
(He plays Hurley in Lost, for those who don't know.)
I'm not a huge fan of the show - I lost interest in it about the end of Season 2 - but he's a funny guy, takes good photographs, and is an insanely talented pumpkin carver. What more could you want from a blog?

I'm sure I've touted it here before, but the BMI Project is really worth a look. I tend to revisit it when I feel that my half-buried eating disorders are kicking back in. Which means, duh, that's what's happening at the moment. I have been managing them relatively well over the last few years, although my self-image is terrible, but they're rearing their ugly little heads just now.
I suspect there're two factors contributing to this - 1) shortage of money means I have to think more about what to eat, therefore putting it first in my mind, and 2) my lower right wisdom tooth seems to be coming (further) in, making it a bit painful to eat. My sick little brain goes "Great! No eating = thinner!" *sigh*

ANYway...

Books:
I've been reading the Scavenger trilogy by K.J. Parker over the past three days. Whilst very good (if you like fantasy novels, which I do) it confuses the fuck out of me.
Is the protagonist a god? Is he the amnesiac? Or the monk? Or both? All three? Is his life a dream? Is the monk's life a dream? Is he a crow? Is he the general? Or the other general? Who knows? A lot of the 'scenes' are told more than once, with him seeming to be different people each time.
All those questions and more pop up in just the first book (they're not spoilers - it's all pretty straightforward in its confusingness).
It's a really good intellectual exercise, actually, and it's nice to read a fantasy novel that actually challenges the brain cells. I'm halfway through the second book, and I am looking forward to some answers soon. Pretty please?

Some more Australian stuff.

How has your weekend been? Good?

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As you might be able to tell, some of my weekend has been filled with less-than-stellarly-valuable pursuits (some might say. Not me, however). Such as looking at 50+ pages of cuteness on icanhascheeseburger, and reading through the entire archives of xkcd (this is still my favourite one, though). The Red Phone is a nifty little comic for those of a more liberal persuasion, too.

I had a date last night, too. I dressed up, Matt cooked, we watched a movie, we pretended not to be two people who've barely spent a day apart in nearly a decade... we both had a lot of fun.

Right, so.
Pictures of Australia.
I figured that you guys already know what went on, from reading Nettie's descriptions of it. So all you're getting from me are photographs and a few lines of text. It's the only way I can get through them all without imploding. Sorry about that.

Kangaroos! In the wild(ish)! At Mundaring Weir!

I think Matt was challenging this one in Perth to a fight...


The bell tower.


I adore this piece of Public Art. Oh, and there are people hanging out at it.


Matt with his incredible winnings from the casino...


...and the aftereffects of the casino night.


Nettie blends in at the sculpture park.


Fremantle has some lovely, and strangely Portugese, architecture.

Awesome, awesome name.


"People Alive"? Yeah, I'd bloody hope so...


Ok, for a bagpiper, this guy was pretty cool.


And that's all for this round. I promise (an actual promise, this time) to be back soon with pictures from the Pinnacles, the zoo, and the wildlife park. They're pretty good, I'm telling you!

Time for me to go, but I'll leave y'all with this picture, which is pretty much an illustration of my personal motto.

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