Still with the ankles!

I have to say, the right ankle sprain is turning out not so bad.  On Tuesday, I was in a lot of pain, enough that I was on the verge of calling around to see if someone could take me to the hospital.  Instead, I had a nap (shut up, it's a totally appropriate response!), and that nap must have been magic, because when I woke up, the pain and the swelling had diminished. 

I still went to the doctor that evening, and he was not entirely sure it wasn't broken (apparently ankles can fracture without much swelling or bruising?  Well that's a fact my inner hypochondriac has stored away for future worry!) so he went me for X-rays.  They all came back normal, so now I just have to ... do that thing where I wait for it to get better.

So now I can limp quite handily, and don't do that thing where I go to stand up, but freeze for ages as I work up the guts to put weight on it.  Now I'm all, I'M WALKING, IT AIN'T NO THANG!  Because my feet like to screw with me, my left ankle is very sore today, but I think it's annoyed at having to bear all my weight. 

Today, because I'm going a bit stir crazy, I'm accompanying the flatmates to the newly-opened Top Shop.  I predict there'll be maybe half an hour of walking, and then I'm going to hole up in Villa and Hut with a book and a pomegranate chai.  But at least I'll be somewhere different!

Reading the comments

One of my particular vices at work is Reading the Comments.  Some people (my boss) would say that reading the news at all is a vice, given that I'm supposed to be working, but as far as I'm concerned, the only problem is the comments.  I'm trying to give up.  In the meantime, here are some of the people I've encountered lurking in the comments at The Age:

Anti-Zeitgeist Guy:  "Despite my demonstrated ability to navigate a mainstream press website and reach the entertainment pages, I have never heard of Lady Gaga/Twitter/Adele/JK Rowling, and moreover, my ignorance makes me a better person."

The Unionbuster:  "None of this would have happened if union membership was made illegal in the name of democracy."

Reds Under the Beds:  "This is all the fault of the godless Communists of [insert political party here]."  [A close relative of the Unionbuster, this person may actually be a time traveller from 1955.]

The Baby Boomer:  "Kids today are unbelievably selfish, the way they expect to have jobs that pay a living wage," or, alternatively, "When I left school I walked into a well-paying job and stayed in it for 40 years!  What's wrong with kids today that they can't do that?"

Generation X:  "This is all the fault of the Baby Boomers and Gen Y."

Gen Y:  "This is all the fault of the Baby Boomers and Gen X."

Identity Apolitical:  "If people didn't walk around being not white/not men/not straight, they wouldn't be subjected to racist/sexist/homophobic attacks!  It's easy -- just look at me!"

Abbott's Army:  [carbon tax] [refugees] [sexist tirade about Prime Minister] [classist remark about Prime Minister's accent] [something something Ju-LIAR]

Working Class Hero:  "Teachers/scientists/doctors/nurses/university lecturers/etc need to get REAL jobs and see what it's like in the REAL WORLD!"

Working Class Hero Redux:  "I have no knowledge of this issue beyond what I gleaned from skimming this article, but I work with my HANDS and am thus better qualified than anyone to provide a solution!"

The Victorian Astroturfer:  "As a teacher/nurse/librarian/etc, I work six hours a day and earn $80,000 a year.  And I could earn even more if it wasn't for the union!"

The Slightly Lost Astroturfer:  "All of these problems could be solved if everyone just voted for Ron Paul."

The Foreign Policy Expert:  "My reading of right-wing blogs makes me an expert on American politics!  [Insert Tea Party talking points/racist remark about Barack Obama here.]

The Foreign Policy Expert Redux:  "My reading of left-wing blogs makes me an expert on American politics!  [Insert classist remark about Republican voters here.]

Tough Love:  "Refugees, the poor, the disabled, these are the enemies of freedom.  For their own good they need to be separated from society and confined for their own good, while also not receiving any kind of government support whatsoever."

Sensible Point:  "I have a meaningful and non-extreme contribution to this discussion.  But good luck finding me!"