Update: Miscellaneous Stitchy and Stuff

Well how the hell is everyone? Things here are rolling along, same as usual.

Let me start with finally posting about my piece for the Gay For Eagles show.



The exhibition "will showcase new work and explore issues of war and peace, gender and sexuality." I chose to represent the fight for gay rights with the detonation of an atom bomb, hence the name of the piece, Social Detonation. I guess I simplify things too much, but I don't see how two same sex people getting married or having the same rights I have will really change my life. I think people are afraid of what is unfamiliar to them and some people just have this paranoid feeling that their health insurance premiums will go up if (OMG!) gay people are allowed to get married. Hate to break it to ya, but people who are chronically ill and young like me drive up your insurance. Straight, gay, transgendered, whatever. Can't we all just live our lives in peace?

So on the technical side of things, I have learned that stitching a lot of stitches together will warp your fabric. Thoughts on prevention? My lines are crooked and maybe that's because I didn't use a Q-snap frame and used a round hoop instead. I also learned that submitting for an art show does have some costs involved. There is the cost of materials to make your piece, framing it, commission fees, submission fees and then sending it along with return postage. Seems pretty obvious but not something I thought out entirely. Even so, I am still thrilled to death to be a part of it. I hope my work doesn't stand out because my work is still unrefined and amateur. It took about 30,000 stitches to make my big, gay bomb and I love every imperfect bit of it. :)

I also completed the dreaded sleep study on Monday afternoon. I checked in on Sunday evening and was ushered into what looked like a small motel room. There was a desk, a bed and chair with a tv mounted to the wall. I also had a private bathroom which was nice. A speaker and video camera were hung up on the ceiling which made me feel like I was starring in some weird sleep fetish video but oh well.

I went in looking half way normal and came out looking like hell. I had crusty goop in my hair (adding to the fetish movie feel), a rash on my face from the adhesive and wires and just generally looked scary. I'm going to share a camera photo with you. I tried to grin but it was just a grimace.

Isn't that hot? How anyone thinks I'm attractive, I have no idea.

Anyways, they told me to take my normal sleep medicine and then kept me up until about 11:30 PM, about an hour and a half after taking my meds. If you don't know about Ambien, you kind of have to go to sleep when it hits you good and hard. If you fight it, it just seems to be less effective, in my experience. So I was sitting there, feeling loopy and thinking in my head "don't say penis, don't say penis, don't say penis." (I didn't want to have a spell of Ambienisms with a total stranger so I started spewing about zombie books and movies.) So by the time I was able to lay down and go through their calibration (look up, look down, flex your leg, grind your teeth), I wasn't sleepy anymore.

I dozed on and off until about 2AM when the endo pain built up near my full bladder. I got them to unhook me so I could shuffle to the bathroom and then I took some pain medication and that finally put me to sleep. Of course I had to tell them about this and I got the LOOK. Like, way to fuck up our test with more medication, asshole. Sigh. So about 3AM I was asleep and then they woke me up at 6:00.

They made me lay down and try to nap every two hours. This time it was the day tech and he thought I should get up and wander around the clinic or sit at the desk all day. I told him I wasn't feeling well (pain + no sleep makes Bex feel like shit.) He finally sensed that he was in danger so he let it drop. After the fourth nap, I waited for the doctor to review my brain charts and then they let me go.

I'll never complain about sitting at home all day ever again!!!

It takes about two weeks for them to go through all the data and compile the results. The good news is that I didn't stop breathing in my sleep which means I don't have an apnea. No oxygen mask for me! Because really, do I need something to make me look even less sexy? :)

That's my general update for now. I'm mostly working on training our foster dog so we can find him a good home and then finishing up some other stitching projects. I'm consistently busy which is good!

Tschus!