Ze Amber for Canada discussion thread.

[AmigaDragon]

i just know from personal experience that while doctors in the US will wtf the need for an x-ray TB check for immigration, it's been requested of me more than once.

You've immigrated more than once (TB check for immigration)?

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Now playing on Winamp: Morten Lauridsen - O magnum mysterium (Classical Minnesota Public Radio)
via FoxyTunes

[icarus]

applying for a visa is basicly a slightly less hectic 'temporary immigration' for some countries, so yes, i have. four times

once for japan as a student, twice as a teacher (you need to renew visas) and now once for australia for grad school.

and superluser, bronchitis doesn't have 'strains' it has 'how bad are you coughing?'
it's not fatal. unless you get pneumonia and don't treat that, but then, that's a completely different illness. so again. bronchitis = not fatal.

maybe if you had AIDS. but for amber? certainly not fatal.

[superluser]

and superluser, bronchitis doesn't have 'strains' it has 'how bad are you coughing?'
it's not fatal. unless you get pneumonia and don't treat that, but then, that's a completely different illness. so again. bronchitis = not fatal.

Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi.  The ulterior cause is not always the same.  The Merck Manual lists no fewer than 10 causes of bronchitis, including coronavirus (presumably the one that causes SARS) and several species of pneumonia (I should note that Chlamydia pneumoniae is not the STD).  So yes, pneumonia can cause bronchitis, and it's the same illness.

If it's caused by rhinovirus, you're probably OK.  If it's caused by Bordetella pertussis, you've got whooping cough, and the prognosis is much less optimistic.

Of course, Amber's been vaccinated for that, I'm sure, so it's not that.

Interestingly, the Merck Manual says that ``Nearly all patients require only symptomatic treatment, such as acetaminophen and hydration,'' so you're right, there.  Most reasonably healthy people shouldn't have any trouble with bronchitis, assuming that it's a mundane sort (which I don't think I disagreed with, anyway).

[icarus]

i'm confused. are you TRYING to make amber get nervous about what's likely an extremely minor symptom of a lingering cold?

[superluser]

i'm confused. are you TRYING to make amber get nervous about what's likely an extremely minor symptom of a lingering cold?

Sorry, no.  Just trying to give a realistic assessment.  It does no one any good to claim that a disorder that is usually minor but can potentially be serious is never serious.

My brother's a doctor, and I'll be seeing him tomorrow (well, today, now), so I can ask him for a(n informal) professional opinion.

EDIT: Judging from what Merck is saying, it doesn't even sound like bronchitis.  It's just a persistent cough, right?  The symptoms of bronchitis include other things like shortness of breath or tightness in the chest, as well as symptoms of upper respiratory infection.  If you're not experiencing any of that, it's probably just a cough.

[icarus]

i'm starting to see why you have that massive negative karma number. how on earth is telling someone who says "i hope my cough isn't bronchitis! i hope i'm healthy enough for citizenship!" that "ITS A FATAL ILLNESS, YOU MUST TREAT IT OR YOU WILL DIE. YOU WILL DIE, COUGHING PERSON" in any way appropriate?

seriously just
what
seriously

[Jairus]

Geez... Amber... your day just totally sucked.

Please, take the week. Take a break. You deserve it. Hell, you need it. We'll still be here.


The sketch was cute, BTW.

[superluser]

i'm starting to see why you have that massive negative karma number. how on earth is telling someone who says "i hope my cough isn't bronchitis! i hope i'm healthy enough for citizenship!" that "ITS A FATAL ILLNESS, YOU MUST TREAT IT OR YOU WILL DIE. YOU WILL DIE, COUGHING PERSON" in any way appropriate?

Which I've never said, just to be clear.

I do apologise if I've been in any way offensive, but I don't feel it's appropriate to tell someone that a medical condition which is usually harmless but occasionally not that it is always harmless.  What happens, then, when more serious symptoms develop, and she dismisses them because you've told her it's always harmless?

I suppose I'm a little biased in this regard.  I once had someone tell me that a medical event was nothing.  Turns out that that medical event was a seizure and I had epilepsy, which I'm told is pretty serious.

At any rate, I've said my peace.  The symptoms sound benign, and Amber's a pretty smart person, and I'm sure she knows that if symptoms start to get worse, it's time to think about going to a doctor.

Let's see if we can't get this thread back on track.

[Turnsky]

would you two (icarus & superluser) give it a rest already? bronchitis sucks royally, it's a lung infection, really. i speak from experience. Sounds to me that she's just exhausted, as long as phlegm doesn't start bouncing around her lungs like shrapnel, she's fine. From what i can tell,  she got a chill from all that cold air, she's stressed out, and she's tired from all that walking, and she needs a good night's sleep, and perhaps some hot soup & hot chocolate.

edit: seems you've already have... >.>

[Amber Williams]

Geez... Amber... your day just totally sucked.

Please, take the week. Take a break. You deserve it. Hell, you need it. We'll still be here.


The sketch was cute, BTW.

It definately wasn't my best of days.  And truth be told, I had actual better sketches done and planned for this update.  But that whole issue with the sketchbook getting doused and partially ruined....go on...guess which part in particular got ruined?  Aw yeah.

The two sketches I did were done right after I got back because I was just too drained and tired to redraw anything else.  It was one of those evenings that originally was going to be just about 3-4 hours from 6-9 but ended up having me outside in the snow from about 11PM to 2AM.

As for the cough I have...it isn't really a cough in the sense I am coughing anything up. Its more a "every so often I make a *coof* noise" as my chest feels a bit off. Maybe it's a symptom of something more serious, maybe its just a lingering cough that I havent been able to shake due to stress. I will probably find out at the doctors regardless and right now I am just too tired to care.  I have hit more or less an emotional "blah" state where even though I am still worried about things...it's affecting me more in a "I want to take a nap...for 5 hours." way.

At this point, I think the best gift I can get for Christmas is just to be allowed to sleep through it.

[Caswin]

On the off chance that one, you read this while it's still relevant, and two, I have anything worth adding...

At this point, I think the best gift I can get for Christmas is just to be allowed to sleep through it.

The Christmas spirit doesn't have to be confined to a calendar day.  If it's reached the point where that's the best thing that could happen to you, then nobody in their right mind - especially not anyone with any respect for the spirit of the season - has any right to take that away.

Festivities can come later.  I'm sure you don't need to be told this, but if you need to sleep, sleep.

[Reese Tora]

Amber, I don't think you ahve anything to worry about/

If This guy can get citizenship, I think you'll have no problem.  I mean, he's got no visible source of income, gives away millions every year despite that, and is known for watching people while they sleep.

[Turnsky]

Amber, I don't think you ahve anything to worry about/

If This guy can get citizenship, I think you'll have no problem.  I mean, he's got no visible source of income, gives away millions every year despite that, and is known for watching people while they sleep.

you forgot the numerous breaking and entering allegations. 

[Emerauld Drathmir]

Merry Christmas Amber. 

I feel your pain in regards to this holiday this year...and the jinx with sketchbooks.  My only saving grace is that my glass pen wasn't present.  I must remember in future to lightboard my sketches before inking, as India Ink makes a wretched mess with original line art.

I hope the doctors up there treat you better than the ones here in NWIN have been treating yours truly. 

Chin up, the year is almost up, and you have a TON of people cheering for you.

I hope the saccharine sweetness of the festivities don't drown you too much.

I hope you feel better soon.

Emerauld, who's dreading the multiple drives to holiday festivities today.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Amber,

If your apartment is at all damp, it's possible that mould allergies are also giving you grief. I know I didn't realise just how much I was sleeping with when living at my parent's house until well after I left to live in another city entirely...

In hindsight, it's pretty damn obvious, but something you might want to consider is if there are any damp corners, or places where there's a lot of water - mopping the windows every morning is a big hint, for example.

In which case, a dehumidifier is likely to help somewhat, as well as the vacuum.


Just my 2 bits...

[Gamma]

True enough Llearch.
My father complains of more coughs inside our house then outside when he's working hard in the yard. Doesn't make much sense unless there is something wrong with the air in the house.
Our place isn't damp but it might just be really dry, the AC or the heater is on 24/7 down here.
Not much dust either considering the place is only a few years old and vacuumed regularly.

[Naldru]

It may sound weird, but I've heard some people say that it helps if you open one window a little.  The argument was that if the home is too well insulated, the lack of air exchange with the outside can cause some contaminants to build to a high level.

Don't worry too much about the deadline approaching.  My experience with government agencies is that they will generally be lenient on deadlines as long as they feel that you are making a best effort towards getting the paperwork done.

Of course, I realize that not worrying is like trying not to think of an elephant.  (Normally, one doesn't think much about elephants.  But if you are told not to think about elephants, it becomes difficult to think of anything except elephants.)

[AmigaDragon]

Yeah, don't worry, think about cute fuzzy drunk pink elephants.

[Caswin]

How were the tacos?

[Naldru]

Amber might not feel like having the tacos until she hears more word from the immigration party.  When she gets good news, she can really chow down. 

[AmigaDragon]

Trying to figure out where my ex-step brother from my moms previous marraige is is like me trying to find religion in a bag of Fritos.

Hey, some people think they find religion in all kinds of weird places. They'll see a shape in a stain, vegetable shape, chip shape or something and imagine it looks like something divinely relevant (Jesus, Mary, Elvis, Buddha, whatever) and make a big deal out of it.
Me? I'd say "hmm, that's interesting", show whoever's nearby, maybe take a picture of it, then paint over the stain, eat the chip, throw the weirdly shaped chunk of wood in the fireplace, whatever...

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Now playing on Winamp: Antonin Dvorak - Terzetto (Classical Minnesota Public Radio)
via FoxyTunes

[Caswin]

I would at least hold on to it, if only (though not necessarily only) as a curiosity.  But that's just me.

I did once see the likeness of the Grim Reaper in a set of watercolors.  Somebody else went out of their way to wipe it out before I could do anything to preserve it.

Incidentally, 1,500 posts.  Land o' Goshen, what happened to my life?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Incidentally, 1,500 posts.  Land o' Goshen, what happened to my life?

What happened to mine?

[LionHeart]

What is this "life" you speak of?

[Mao]

http://sourceforge.net/projects/life/  ?

[superluser]

Incidentally, 1,500 posts.  Land o' Goshen, what happened to my life?

What happened to mine?

A lot of people are going nuts over a forum which has 1090 topics, 2264 posts, 1 user, but I'll bet a few of us can rival that.  Well, I know that many of us top the postcount, but the topic count remains pretty impressive.

What is this "life" you speak of?

Philosophers, for example, argue that they are very much concerned with the problems posed by real life. Like, for instance, "what do we mean by real?", and "how can we reach an empirical definition of life?", and so on.

One definition of life, albeit not a particularly useful one, might run something like this: "Life is that property which a being will lose as a result of falling out of a cold and mysterious cave thirteen miles above ground level."

This is not a useful definition, - because it could equally well refer to the subject's glasses if he happens to be wearing them, and 'B' - because it fails to take into account the possibility that the subject might happen to fall onto, say, the back of an extremely large passing bird. The first of these flaws is due to sloppy thinking, but the second is understandable, because the mere idea is quite clearly, utterly ludicrous.

[Lisky]

Dear Amber
I hope all is well with the snow, well, and everything else (good luck to you)... we've gotten around a foot here since class started back up yesterday... i'm taking it as a sign that i should move to another state (or country) for med school...  As for driving in the snow it could be worse, we Michiganders are infamous drivers, having a tendency to ignore horrible weather conditions, rather than taking appropriate precautions and slowing down... a perfect example would be quoting my friend in the animal science department (she had to drive like 10 miles through the mess while it was being plowed today) "dude, someone was driving 85 miles an hour through this blizzard, you couldn't see the road 100 feet in front of you, but ya know what, weather be damned, he was gonna make it to work on time"
Hopefully all works out for you... anyways good luck on everything, and i hope all is well

(as a side note, are you aware that you can get a degree in riding horses, and furthermore, it's an employable skill.... The hell?!  )

[Mao]

Y'know.  It always amuses me to hear folks complaining about winter here in Canada.  Especially since compared to some of the ones we had when I was a kid.. this one hasn't been that bad.  I think my favorite one had the snowbanks up on to the roof of my parents house.  We had to check the front door every hour to dig it out that weekend and at least twice a day had to go up on the roof and shovel the snow off so that the roof wouldn't be damaged from the weight of the stuff.  Good times.

Makes ya' wonder if Amber and Mason wouldn't have been better off back in the US. XD

[AmigaDragon]

Does US immigration make it any easier for Canadians moving south than Canadian immigration does for Americans moving north?

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Now playing on Winamp: Al Green - L-O-V-E (Love) (The Lion's Share - KWKAT)
via FoxyTunes

[Valynth]

Y'know.  It always amuses me to hear folks complaining about winter here in Canada.  Especially since compared to some of the ones we had when I was a kid.. this one hasn't been that bad.  I think my favorite one had the snowbanks up on to the roof of my parents house.  We had to check the front door every hour to dig it out that weekend and at least twice a day had to go up on the roof and shovel the snow off so that the roof wouldn't be damaged from the weight of the stuff.  Good times.

Makes ya' wonder if Amber and Mason wouldn't have been better off back in the US. XD

Don't worry, global warming will turn canada into a tropical paradise any day now...

*tosses "An Inconvient Truth" onto a fire and warms his hands to it*