this just in:

Remember the content thief?

I just got an email from the folks at Live Journal:

Thank you for your report. Upon investigation, we have permanently suspended this account for violations of the Terms of Service.

Cool!

Thank you, Live Journal!

hair's to you, Mrs Naranek!

Among the many suspected aggravators of my itchies and scratchies is my hair, because so many times I end up with my upper back/shoulders weltified, pretty much the area that my hair would have access to. It being summer and all, I decided to test my theory. I have been threatening to shave it all off, but figured that would make my round face even rounder! So I went for a "long angled bob with some layers".

Here are before and after shots of...

front

... did you know that if you're a friend of mine on FB, you can see the "front" pix w/o the smiley? :D And if you vaguely remember my doing a before/after post already, you're right! See: My head feels lighter... ... moving on...

side


back



Overall, it's not exactly what I wanted (that's not layered, is it?), but is definitely good enough for now; when it's time to refresh it in say 2 months' time, I'll see if I can get something like this instead (but with a drastic/pronounced angled-to-the-front bit). (probably should have had the front ending half an inch longer - oh well!).

Either way -- at least now the back of my neck and upper back/shoulders can breathe! We'll see if this translates into fewer hives back there.

should I be flattered? can those who've faced this pls weigh in?

It's finally happened to me.

I just found that one of my posts from Life After Work has been reproduced on someone else's blog! See MY POST, then see THE IMITATOR! Apart from a few words that have been changed/substituted (and very poorly), it's all mine!!

I intended to leave a comment calling the author out on this, and asking for an immediate takedown of the post. But I would need to get an OpenID or LiveJournal account first. Ugh.

I started to lodge a complaint with LiveJournal, but felt the default language/steps I am guided through to report intellectual property / copyright violation rather drastic so I canceled the process... and yet... this IS a case of copyright violation, isn't it?

What should I do, and how?
I remember reading of things like this happening to other bloggers, but am not up for perusing the 'net for solutions right now... so if you're among those who have had this happen to you, please weigh in.. your input is appreciated!

miserable

Sorry for the blog(s) silence... I'm battling my what seems to be kinda seasonal attack of the hives... We have yet to find ourselves an internist / main doc let alone an allergist, so I'm just using what worked in the past, but doesn't seem to be doing much right now, hence this post's title.

This was me about 2 weeks ago: just call me Lynne Dax??!*

* that's a ST:DS9 reference, in case you didn't get it

I have attacks on different parts of the body, depending on the phase of the moon or something. Occasionally I wake up with one finger or the other swollen such that I can't quite make a closed fist without discomfort. Or over the course of the day my belly, or back, or inner thighs, get covered in welts that of course get angry as I scratch at them...

.. I thought I had found a temporary solution: we all know that calamine lotion is the go-to anti-itch lotion, but I really didn't want to deal with the chalky flakiness. Then my sil introduced me to this clear anti-itch gel that functions like calamine lotion, but goes on clear. Its main active ingredient is 1% analgesic, so it gently numbs you just a wee bit... worked well for me when we were visiting with her last week. So well, that before heading back to Springfield, we got a bottle of the stuff for ourselves.

Turns out that there's generic, and then there's generic.

My sil had the Safeway brand generic (from Dominick's, if I'm not mistaken); we happened to drop by a Jewel-Osco and got their Equaline equivalent. The 'original' branded product is Caladryl Anti-Itch Lotion.

Guess who seems to be reacting to the Equaline product??!!

*sigh*

but again in an inconsistent manner... I slathered some on the instep of one foot and on a forearm but there wasn't a noticeable reaction... but for example this morning I slathered some on my belly and in the underwear region and omg you should see it now! Or rather, be glad I didn't snap a pic.

ugh