Couch 235: Home State Advantage

I am here for you.

Ex-hankster -shirred eggs - not coddled.

Thank you.

Somebody's being coddled!

For shir!

Ouch! I hope it isn't as bad as it sounds and isn't too painful.

Yikes. You made a wise choice in turning off the oil. Perhaps it's good that our mandoline has been siting in the cabinet unused since we got it as a wedding gift nearly 14 years ago (or maybe we got rid of it at one point/). I think there are gloves that you can use with it (though we don't have any).

Mandolines are great. I use mine regularly when I need thinly sliced vegetables (potato gratin, crispy onions or onion soup...).

As LT said, you can get cut resistant gloves, that's pretty much a must.

Ouch, @@. That sounds painful. I hope it heals quickly.

Also, I want to say that I truly hope that Info comes through re: the goodbye letter. I'm still really fighting against the "why am I not worthy of one" feelings but your JFK paraphrase is being a most helpful sword in that fight!

Knowing Info she will put in some of the cliched therapist dreck I don’t want in there. I am mentally prepared for that.

Do you all realize that this is my first proper therapist breakup? Before it’s always been one of the below:

1. I get angry for no good reason and leave (No. 1).
2. I run out of money (No. 2).
3. I was only in the area a limited time and that time ends (No. 3).
4. The therapist does or says something stupid/inappropriate and I leave (Piaf, Dr. Biker Chick, Cactus Woman).

I would have been ok with therapist dreck. I would have even been ok with as little as "You got this, Art. L" I just wanted something.

Oh well. I need to stop perseverating on this don't I.

I'm trying to figure out if ex-MC or ex-T would be considered a "proper therapist breakup." With ex-T, at the end of session, I just said, "Oh, yeah, I'm trying out this other T for a bit. I'll either come back to you in a month or two or, if I decide to stay with him, I'll come back for a termination session." [Morgan Freeman voice]: "She did not return for a termination session."

And with ex-MC, even though the writing was on the wall there in terms of our likely leaving due to the rupture, we still went a bit, though less frequently, for a few months. And that, also, was an end of session, "Yeah, I think we need to terminate." So in neither case did I/we have a termination session, per se.

I did terminate properly, I suppose, with a T I saw for about a year 15 years ago, though I had no attachment to her. It worked out nicely that I was switching to a job that was much further away and she was switching to a center that served a population that would not have included me. So like a mutual breakup, but no hard feelings.

Sometimes I wonder if people can use that stuff that stops bleeding in dogs if you accidentally cut the quick when trimming their nails. I have seen one product that seems similar intended for people, but wonder if it's the same thing. Too lazy to find out.

I'm not sure I could handle a parting letter from the therapist. Her grammar and spelling are kind of atrocious. Sometimes I wonder if she's accidentally turned spell check off on her phone.

I like the index card idea. I also like the 20/10 thing. Although I will reverse it to be 10/20. I've done something similar when I had schoolwork I really didn't want to do. Sometimes I'd find myself exceeding the working time because I was on a roll. Starting something I don't want to do is half the struggle. Maybe more.

We use styptic powder on our dog's nails when we accidentally cut the quick. Is that the same thing? It works but the whole thing is still very traumatic for all involved.

Good question--I think it's styptic powder? I have some and have used it for my guinea pigs (one has black nails in the back, so particularly challenging to cut without getting the quick--pretty sure I was more traumatized than Lexie when I nicked it the one time). I think you can also use baking powder for the same purpose.

I took the bandage off to clean my wound. It started bleeding again (I didn't realize how extensive the cut was and some of the adhesive on the bandage went over the cut), but also the cut is right over the knuckle, it's obviously going to scar, and I cannot bend my left thumb enough to grasp things securely.

At least I don't really need my left hand to sign much yet.

Maybe I should avoid knives and buy a mandoline.

Maybe you should go to urgent care? I went to one when a cat at a shelter did not appreciate my warm approach. I needed antibiotics.

Esp if you ever want to buy a mandolin.

I had never heard of a mandoline before, so had to google it. (By the way, Chrome doesn't even recognize it as a word, lol). It looks way too dangerous for a klutz like me.

that reminds me of my 16th birthday I think it was. I got a pocket knife (was a girl scout and wanted one for backpacking) and one of the first things i did with it was accidentally cut my index finger somehow, over the knuckle. I used a butterfly bandage and another bandage over it once I stopped the bleeding and never told anybody cuz I didn't want stitches. I still have the scar and I'm almost 60.

While watching the 2004 Presidential Election results (which did not go in my preferred direction), I was talking on the phone with my friend and cutting the ends off some stems off some flowers I'd bought for myself with kitchen shears. I very calmly said to my friend, "I need to go, because I just cut myself by accident and need to figure out if I have to go to the ER or not." I searched online for whether I needed to get stitches. Sounded like I did, but I wanted to watch election results and not sit in the ER. Still have a scar on my left middle finger from that.

That's what I meant - styptic powder. If you're regularly cutting the quick, you might want to get it done at the vet or groomer. Or using a dremel instead of clipping. It's basically like if you snipped off the tip of your finger instead of the nail. Very painful.

One of my dogs has whitish nails and the other has a mix of brown and whitish. I can see the quick in the whitish nails, but they thrash so much that I have to get it done at the vet.

@@, I've usually just used some liquid bandage in similar situations. It stings a bit but stops the bleeding. You have to put pressure on it to slow the bleeding then be quick.

I am not qualified to give medical advice though.

Styptic stings - I don't like using it on me or my pets. Particularly not my pets. I use an expensive blood clotting cloth for them that isn't adding in more discomfort than the cut already did.

I vaguely recall my father had a styptic pencil in his shaving kit.

RIP Dr. Johnny Fever.
70's and 80's sitcom stars are having a rough 2022

Mine too. I have one also. Its useful for weird zits sometimes.