Whats the haps?

[Klyde Chroma]

I think I got 2000 back in taxes. Or 1600. I don't remember. I don't even know when that's coming. Or if it already has.

Gee golly I miss getting something back on taxes! As a self-employed tattoo artist, tax time means I pay out as opposed to collect. Luckily tax time also means frivalous spending in large amounts for most folk which translates to more tattoos. So all in all it balances out in the end.

In other news i discovered something pretty freakin' cool!! Well cool to me that is....

Amongst the myriad of digestion problems I have, sugars (oddly enough) rank as some of the least tolerable substances I can put in my gut. As such, for years I have been practically drinking liquid sweet n' low (only artificial sugar my gut seemed to handle). Well, last week I was musing over how poor my health has been and it occurred to me "gee klyde... you sure have aaaaa-lot of sweet n low... and aaaa-lot of people say its bad.... wonder what coal tar-based sweetener is doing to ya..."

Well guys I gotta say, with only a little under a week off the sweet n' low, cognition is substantially improved! I really was a non-believer in the whole "artificial sweeteners are the devil" stuff I occasionally ran into via health blogs and whatnot  but wow.... when I'm wrong, I'm wrong... I was WAY wrong on that one!

Truly, I feel so much better in my head without the sweet n' low its actually alarming. Really makes me wonder just how bad that stuff truly is or to what extent it is actually toxic.

Scary stuff I tell ya.... scary stuff.... and on that note....

Well....I AM an ego enhancement consultant....I can give you a run down of my current rates if you want
 
 

Well bytor ol' pal I would have taken you up on that. But it seems the sweet n low was the cause of my self loathing (yea, I was keeping it under the radar but I was pretty disgusted with myself and life for a little while now). In just under a week I'm totally stoked about being my disordered, obsessive-compulsive, neurotic self again!

Yes sir, between kicking the sweet n' low and Persona Innocent Sin this is shaping up to be a lovely week

[Bytor]

It really is amazing how different we can feel with changes. I am diabetic and have high blood pressure, been pretty much out of control until the last couple of years when I started monitoring it, paying attention to my diet and basically giving a damn. I just thought the crappy way I always felt was (somewhat) normal. Now I certainly know different. So good for you Klyde, gotta take care of yourself! After all, imagine what games might be like in 20 yrs, lol.

[Kevadu]

"Getting something back" on taxes just means that you were overpaying the rest of the year.  Essentially giving the government an interest-free loan.  It's not something to be envious of...

[Akanbe-]

What exactly are you in school studying for?  I don't know how Canada does things, but by your posts it seems like you're in school a lot longer than Americans.

Haha, I wish I could say a doctor because i'd be almost done by now.
I went to college for business/advertising (and graphic design), then I took a year to do a prep university course to help my grades (got straight As), now I'm in university studying engineering and advanced mathematics so I can become an aeronautical engineer art history because it's what I love.
7 years post-secondary!!!  I'm glad I didn't tell my highschool-self that's how long it would take...or she would have...become a stripper/waiter.

Yikes 7 years.  Does Canada handle student loans differently than the US?  Here, 7 years of post-secondary school would put people majorly in debt after they graduate unless it was something really cheap like a community college or you got in for cheap due to relatives working at the school.

I'm getting a kingly sum back for my taxes.

I haven't done mine yet, I'm curious how much I end up getting.  I changed it so I got more back on each paycheck with the expectation that my refund would be near zero.  Guess I'll find out soon.  Time is running out.

"Getting something back" on taxes just means that you were overpaying the rest of the year.  Essentially giving the government an interest-free loan.

This is exactly how I feel about it.  I already earned it so I want it when I earned it; not early next year.  I think most people just like it as a forced savings and it's like a guaranteed work bonus every year.

[Agent D.]

Self employed, so I owe money. A good chunck I'd wager too, as I made like 28k from one company alone, and probably another 15 or so off another company, plus numerous other jobs. Tax season always sucks for me.

[MeshGearFox]

"Getting something back" on taxes just means that you were overpaying the rest of the year.  Essentially giving the government an interest-free loan.  It's not something to be envious of...

I make more than enough money and the government could probably use it more than I could anyway, so more power to 'em.

Also I think most of the problems people attribute to aspartame (saccharine is not really used in diet soft drinks) are probably better attributed to chronic caffeinism or over consumption of potassium benzoate and sodium benzoate, or possibly benzene since both of those benzoates break down into benzene if soda isn't stored properly. And it generally isn't stored properly.

[Aurian]

I qualify as disabled (legally deaf) so I am getting some taxes back. That will pay for for 1/3 of my hearing aids that need replacing next month.

On the subject of health, not feeling so great these days. I've been having random attacks of severe vomiting, and my doctor can't figure out why. I have been on a waiting list to see a specialist since October (Canada - where everyone gets health care if you don't mind waiting for it). Starting to feel a bit alarmed since I am now passing blood in addition to the vomiting. Still have another month to go. 

On the plus side, everyone thinks I look great for all the weight I've lost!  <_<  (I haven't really told anyone IRL).

[Dice]

Yikes 7 years.  Does Canada handle student loans differently than the US?  Here, 7 years of post-secondary school would put people majorly in debt after they graduate unless it was something really cheap like a community college or you got in for cheap due to relatives working at the school.

I don't know how to compare... though I've heard schooling in the States costs a ridiculous sum (I don't think Canada has a proper "ivy league"-like school to charge those kind of costs).  My family (bless 'em) and I have been pretty diligent about paying my way through school without help: College was over $3000 per year and University has been about $5000 per year (actually, I hear Quebec pays a lot less and still protests, clearly Ontarians are pussies; and back in the 1990's our fees were only around the $1000 mark!!!).
...but I'm really hoping to have the competitive edge with a diploma and degree (actually, after I graduate I'll proudly be the BEST EDUCATED person at my store!! )

Only in my last two years will I need to rely on government funding (ie; DEBT): We gotta pay interest 6 months *after* graduation.
How much is schooling in your neck of the woods?

I qualify as disabled (legally deaf) so I am getting some taxes back. That will pay for for 1/3 of my hearing aids that need replacing next month.

On the subject of health, not feeling so great these days. I've been having random attacks of severe vomiting, and my doctor can't figure out why. I have been on a waiting list to see a specialist since October (Canada - where everyone gets health care if you don't mind waiting for it). Starting to feel a bit alarmed since I am now passing blood in addition to the vomiting. Still have another month to go. 

On the plus side, everyone thinks I look great for all the weight I've lost!  <_<  (I haven't really told anyone IRL).

Golly Aurian, that sounds awful.  I remember feeling all thin after a fit of food poisoning, but feeling like my stomach was turning into a sailor's knot wasn't much compensation.
I hope evertthing works out better for ya.

[Annubis]

I hear Quebec pays a lot less and still protests, clearly Ontarians are pussies; and back in the 1990's our fees were only around the $1000 mark!!!).

I can answer that one. A year in uni is about 3000 but: we make less money overall, are taxed heavier and have less loans and funds to help.
Overall, ends up relatively the same unless you do like most people which is come here to study with your big non-Quebec wallet and then leave right away.

[Klyde Chroma]

I qualify as disabled (legally deaf) so I am getting some taxes back. That will pay for for 1/3 of my hearing aids that need replacing next month.

On the subject of health, not feeling so great these days. I've been having random attacks of severe vomiting, and my doctor can't figure out why. I have been on a waiting list to see a specialist since October (Canada - where everyone gets health care if you don't mind waiting for it). Starting to feel a bit alarmed since I am now passing blood in addition to the vomiting. Still have another month to go. 

On the plus side, everyone thinks I look great for all the weight I've lost!  <_<  (I haven't really told anyone IRL).

I feel your pain my friend... My health is pitiful and I too appear to be a medical mystery of sorts. I feel like a 60 year old most days more than I do anywhere near 27 years of age. Scratch that... I think most guys can still get it up at 60... maybe I'm closer to 75?

And being a recovered addict of opiates, most people who see all the weight I've lost over the last few years (bad gut issues) think I just relapsed. The sad fact of it is that while I was addicted I actually weighed about 50 pounds more then I do now.

The long and short of it is bad health can be pure hell. Something you can't even wrap your mind around until your experiencing it.  I wouldn't wish my gut issues on my worst enemy and as such I truly sympathize with your situation.

[Ashton]

I have been on a waiting list to see a specialist since October (Canada - where everyone gets health care if you don't mind waiting for it).

Yeah, that's the thing with healthcare ... make it private and nobody gets the care they need. Make it public and everyone has to wait months and months to see a doctor.

Have they given you any examinations for your stomach?

[Kevadu]

It's Sakura-con (Seattle's anime con) this weekend.  Being in Seattle I tend to go every year, but this year I'm on a panel.  The panel is called "Otaku 25 and Older" and it's just kind of a general discussion of life as an older otaku.  I've attended the panel before as an audience member and it was pretty fun, but now I get to bore people with my stories!  Well, hopefully not bore.

The guy organizing the panel wants to record it and put it on youtube or something so maybe I'll share it here if that actually happens...

[GrimReality]

Oh, god, don't get me started on health issues. Fibromyalgia, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, degenerative discs in my spine, IBS, Tinnitus, Tendonitis. UGH. It DOES make you feel 40 years older than you really are. This is a competition NO ONE wants to win.  Still, I get along as best I can. I have to. *half-hearted fist bump to others with health issues*

Finally warming up around here. 48 and sunny today! Very nice. My garden is coming alive. Color explosion is imminent. My therapy for above ailments.

[Wild Armor]

I was accepted recently to the University of New Hampshire's Master in Music studies program. I'm very excited about this and can't wait to hear back from them with additional information.

Video Game Music is definitely on my plate for writing/studying about. Working on a Grandia (first game) paper right now in regards to...well, you'll find out eventually.

Congrats! It's a giant pain in the ass to get academics listening to new ideas in new fields, but people just have to keep pushing (with topics like VGM) and eventually they'll gain traction.

Thanks for the congratulations Taelus! You know, at first I though the same thing, that it was going to be a long journey in trying to get instructors and other people to get to listen to video game music and take it seriously, but the only extensive part of it was learning the history of music to use as my foundation and reference whenever I wrote or talk about music/game music. That's why I took the music history path in my degree, so as to encounter as many composers, pieces, genres, movements in music as possible. With keeping an open mind with music and encountering as many genres, people, and composers as possible, it was easy to talk to other people (Instructors, classmates, colleges, non-music students, really anyone [even my parents!])  about a genre of music they like and slip in talk of video game music in the mix. The beauty of video game music is that not only is it a genre in itself, but acts as a host of any known genre imaginable to man (who knows, maybe there's a genre that's coming out as I write this that will find itself in a video game later on). But yeah, there's my spiel on video game music.

[Desert Walker]

So, I was at the post office today and decided to look at the cork-board to see what kind of weird and random crap was stuck up; it was the usual stuff: The reincarnation of Pancho Lama (Yes, I just combined Pancho Villa and Dalai Lama >.>) wants you to join the 'spiritual' war against the gringos; an ACCEPT JESUS OR GO TO HELL ad from Church of God's Eternal Kindness; lost dog (well, fortunately, there wasn't a lost pet ad this time), etc, etc. and I saw a new one:  It was something like Patriots of Southwest Texas advertising a seminar titled something to the effect of 'Surviving in the New Socialist America' and the ad described how the speaker was a Pole born in 'Hitler times' (whatever that is) who had lived under the Soviet Union and was going to talk about the rhetoric used then vs what's used now and how it's similar, how to find jobs, how to umm.....be scared of any politician with a hyphen and a D behind their name I guess was the take home point. Said the first seminar was free and then you could pay for the series. I was amused.  I think my favorite part was 'Born in Hitler times'.  I'm sort of half-seriously considering going to the first seminar (free) for entertainment value but I'm also half-seriously worried that they'll think I'm a Stalinist spy or something because I have long hair.

RE: medical problems.  Yeah, they're a bitch.  Unidentified problems with my wrists (the specialist thought it might be carpal tunnel, then decided it wasn't and after some research told me to leave Texas so I could 'find a smarter doctor'), in addition I have fibromyalgia that for some reason affects areas which make walking a painful task (let's not go into the exact details), exercise is nearly impossible because I can't find shoes that fit and have to wear crocs--not technically a medical issue, but it weighs into them--my metabolism is three times slower than the norms so I really need a near vegetarian diet to help keep my weight down if I can't exercise BUT I have food allergies to most every vegetable and fruit I've tried that crop up if I eat them regularly, even if I try different combinations.  Oh, and I have extremely severe airborne allergies (though I now have Xolair injections that help a lot with those) that used to lead to me needing to carry Alavert pills around everywhere.  I would go through a box of seventy in three or four days because my throat would swell up so often.  As of now I'm okay with day to day stuff but the allergies prevent me from getting any new clothes because of a reaction to a chemical or dye on most that won't wash out.  It also makes getting and reading used books a bitch sometimes.    What frustrates me is that as a result of the allergies I'm stuck with band t-shirts and jeans that I've had for years until it gets better.  I want FIREFLY T-SHIRTS AND JEANS DAMN IT.  And some nice dress shirts and such.  And a suit and fedora.  And now I'm reaching meshgearfox level rambling so I'll be quiet.