Still recovering

It's post-op day 2 here. Mike has sutures, staples, dressings, meds, side effects, and a drain. But he's stronger and his facial nerve is intact (for which, we are most grateful.) Yesterday he felt like a "squashed slug." He said, with wonder, "I always thought that I would fear death more than illness. But right after the surgery, I thought, 'death has to be better than this...'" Mercifully, that feeling was brief.

A few things caught my eye while he was napping. New York Magazine has a terrifying article about teens popping prescription meds, including antidepressants, tranquilizers, and stimulants.
Older adults, meanwhile, are skimping on their meds because they can't afford them. They are also sharing meds with friends and family who can't afford (or run out of) meds. Sometimes when we need to switch meds, they ask, "Can I first use up the ones I already bought, and then try the new ones?" We are advised to inquire more closely about what exactly is happening to the pills we prescribe.
In caffeine news, it looks like caffeine withdrawal may be classified as a mental disorder. (We were proud that we had stopped drinking coffee, until we noticed that we had 5 teabags in our cup...)

I caught part of the first Bush-Kerry debate on a tiny TV, while finishing paperwork in my office. Kerry's voice was firm, deep, and you could follow it on a keyboard: notes descending, "That's wrong." "I think that's wrong." Bush's voice was higher pitched, with more pauses, more groping for words, and more repetition of phrases; no authoritative bass tones. The critics of "gender imagery" should be silenced for awhile.