(no subject)

On my Launchcast station this morning:

"Listen Up" from Peter Himmelman's live album, wherein a fun throwaway rockabilly song is followed by a story about the end of an 11-year relationship, ending with the words "Sometimes love is horrifying"

followed by a cheesy song I can only think of as the Chinese equivalent of a solo single by a member of the Backstreet Boys

followed by the second movement of Prokofiev's first symphony.

That's a sequence I would never hear on any of my local radio stations unless a DJ were looking to get fired.

And now the Launch algorithm thinks I need to hear some Sammy Davis Jr. Gotta love it.

Actual stuff about my life to be posted later.

Yesterday's appointment, summarized

Do you know why you are here?
Here, sign this form and write today's date.
I won't tell you the date, that is part of my test.
You just gave the wrong answer.

So, tell me about your childhood.
How did you feel when your mother died?
When did your hair turn grey?
Have you ever colored it? Why or why not?
Why no makeup? Don't you use it?
What did you study in college? How long did you go?
What jobs have you had? Ah. And relationships? Oh.
Before you got sick, you'd read about your disease, yes? How many symptoms had you heard of before you got them? Oh? You got sick though you never heard of it before?
Are you sure?
Hmm. Maybe--
I'll give you three words: Door, green, Chicago.
Remember them and say them back to me.
What drugs do you take? Do you drink? Do you smoke? Do you love? Do you hurt? Do you eat enough?
Are you in pain now? How much? On a scale of one to ten--
Sit on that chair, maybe it will hurt you less.
What do you watch on TV? Do you ever watch the news?
Do you know who's our president?
Who's secretary of state?
Who was our last president? And the one before that?
Do you ever think about killing yourself?
And how serious were these thoughts? What did you do?
Are you a danger to yourself now? How can you be sure?
Do you get along with people? Do you talk to them often? Do you think they talk about you?
Did you ever get tested for--
or for--
or--
What were the words I gave you? Door, green, Chicago, good.
I think I've seen enough.

I think you tend to minimize your depression.
You're in more pain than you say you are.
Yes, you're sick and need some more tests--
But you could still be much happier, I think.
This drug might help, and this or this--if you find a way to get them.
I don't make the decisions, but I make a recommendation.
I hope they decide in your favor.

In the news

At yesterday's appointment, one news-related question the psychiatrist asked me was what George Dubya Bush is focusing on these days. I'm sure she was looking for an answer about promoting Middle East peace, but I said something instead about justifying the war with Iraq when no weapons of mass destruction have been found yet. I wonder what she thinks my answer says about my psyche?

In other news, Congress has passed the "partial birth" abortion ban. While this is the one form of abortion I'm sure I'm against, the fact that the bill doesn't include any kind of health exemption confirms my belief that the "pro-life" politicians don't give a damn about life.

In other other news, a big yellow spherical object has been seen glowing in the skies above the Washington, DC metropolitan region. Local residents are demanding to be told what this object is, what kind of danger it might pose, and also why the sky has blue patches instead of the usual unbroken grey. Local leaders have thus far been unable or unwilling to provide straight answers.