johncomic

1) in the course of my sleep apnea research, i ran across mention [and spams galore] of a thing called the "Sleep Angel". my fantasies were dashed when i learned that it is in fact not an altruistic nubile, but rather a glorified chin strap. it appears to be based on two principles:

- if you use one of those nose-tube machines for sleep apnea, it does you no good if your mouth opens and you start breathing thru that instead -- in which case you either wear a full nose-and-mouth mask or wear the Sleep Angel to hold your jaw closed while you sleep [ta-da!]

- in order for your throat to relax enough for obstructive sleep apnea to occur, your jaw has to be open. so hold it shut and it'll keep your airway taut and clear... and what better way to hold it shut than the Sleep Angel?! [ta-da!]

well, they want sixty bucks for the frickin thing... so those who know me will not be surprised to learn that i opted to go to a dollar store and pick up one of those stretchy cloth wraparound sports bandage thingies with the little metal clips instead... and i have begun using that to tie my face shut at night, to see if there's any truth to this concept

[and if you think i look like a total wiener with that thing on my head, you could not be more right...]

ive also read that lying down (esp. on your back) encourages s.a. to happen... so ive been sleeping sitting up on the couch, with the sports bandage wrapped round my head

there's been some trial and error... ive pulled it off during the night once or twice, and once i had it so tight that i couldnt sleep till i adjusted it... but gradually im getting better at gauging how tight to put it and exactly where and all that... and to be honest, im beginning to notice some mild improvement in my nights. on those nights when im able to get a decent amount of sleep, i wake up actually feeling like i slept [for me, this is new]. yesterday morning i actually felt energetic! [for about ten minutes... till i got to the office] :P

i still have to get the final test results from the sleep lab... and they may well prescribe one of those nose-tubes for me [i sorta hope they do, it sounds like it really works]... but in the meantime at least im trying to do something constructive about my situation and actually getting somewhere, in a modest sorta fashion... so right now i feel like "go me"

2) my current car is the first one i ever owned that had a tapedeck, so i went tape mad the first year or so... but gradually the radio/tapedeck died... sort of

i mean, once in a while you can turn the radio on, and for some reason itll come on... for anywhere from 5 seconds to 5 minutes... and then suddenly go silent... [and trying to stick in a tape while the radio is playing will silence everything immediately]... but then you can go weeks, months, where you turn it on and you get nuthin... i cant for the life of me figure why it will work some days and not others, what makes it start or stop...

but yesterday i tried the radio (like i do every few days, just to see) and it worked... for like half an hour, all the way to the office! not wanting to jinx it, i left it switched on when i parked the car and just shut it off with the key. after work when i started it up, the radio came on again! and stayed on all the way home! [that hasnt happened in over a year...] ... and then this morning when i started the car the radio came on again!!!

god i so much love having music in the car... i have missed it so bad... i am milking this time for all its worth and just groovin

[and before anyone gets after me, we have plenty other things need fixing more than the radio does... its a luxury, no matter how much my heart cries otherwise... if it was twenty bucks or something to get fixed then fine, but repairing anything in a car always ends up costing hundreds, so nuh-uh sorry...]