Wednesday Night -- Not for the Squeamish

Things are looking up. Doctor called tonight right when I got home from work. Had some good test results. I'd been a little worried about some possibly skewed test results.

Next I have to deal with a dental problem--a tooth has to go. I don't like getting teeth pulled--who would?--and it's a first molar. But it's loose and basically useless and is now causing pain. (The oral surgeon administers Valium before the procedure.) I'm afraid if I don't get this attended to ASAP, I'll get an abscess, which I've had before.

Two years ago, while we were vacationing in San Francisco, I woke up one morning with one side of my mouth swelled up to the size of a grapefruit. That day we were scheduled to take a really nice guided minibus tour of the local wine country (Napa and Sonoma Valleys). We went on the tour anyway, though I was basically out of commission and couldn't really enjoy it. After the tour, I went to a dentist next door to the Inn on Castro, where we were staying, and got prescriptions for an antibiotic and a pain killer (Vicodin). (Fortunately, this was toward the end of our vacation.) The Vicodin made me nauseated and I stopped taking it. The swelling went down, though, and a few days later I had a wisdom tooth and a 2nd molar extracted back in Miami. Now the first molar must go. Apparently the teeth in that particular region don't do well, for whatever reason.

In any case, all of my wisdom teeth have had to be extracted except for one (and they all grew in correctly). Maybe it's best to get them extracted right after they grow in. (A dentist once told me that.)

Lombard Street, San Francisco

Found this shot on the Internet. The street descends from Russian Hill, one of the steepest in the city. On last visit to SF, we trekked up the hill along Powell Street from Ghirardelli Square. I had to stop and rest every 10 seconds or so, it was so steep.

There are switchbacks for the cars and steps for the people. Coit Tower would be upper left atop Telegraph Hill. You can see Lombard Street ascending it.

News Flash: San Francisco is Gayest U.S. City

Doh! Who'da thunk it?! From Advocate Online:

A study that shows the percentage of people in the nation's largest cities identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual lists San Francisco on top with 15.4%, with Seattle coming in second with 12.9%. Atlanta was third with 12.8%, and Minneapolis fourth with 12.5%. Four of the top 10 cities were in California, while all but Boston and Atlanta were west of the Mississippi River.

The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, used census and other federal information to estimate the numbers.

The census data on same-sex couple households showed that between 2000 and 2005 the number reported increased by 30%. New Hampshire had the largest jump in same-sex couples, with 106% over the five years studied, with heartland states like Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, and Iowa also showing substantially increased numbers.

The findings do not show a sharp increase in the number of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in general. Instead, the study suggests, people are more willing to disclose their sexual orientation in government surveys.

More facts from Wikipedia:

San Francisco is a minority-majority city as non-Hispanic Whites make up less than 44% of the population. Asian Americans, principally Chinese, comprise nearly 31% of the population. Hispanics of any race make up just over 14% of the population. At less than 8% of the population, San Francisco has a lower concentration of African Americans than the United States as a whole. Few of San Francisco's residents have lived there their whole lives. Only 35% of its residents were born in California; 39% were born outside the United States.

San Francisco has the highest percentage of same-sex households of any American county, with the Bay Area having a higher concentration than any other metropolitan area. Gay men outnumber lesbians; it has been estimated that one in five males over the age of 15 is gay.

(The "City and County of San Francisco" occupies the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and measures approximately 7 by 7 miles, with a population of 739,426. By comparison, the City of Miami is slightly smaller in land (i.e., not including water) area and contains an estimated 379,724 inhabitants. With five boroughs (or counties), New York City has a population of over 8 million within an area of 321 square miles, making it the most densely populated major city in North America (with Manhattan being the most densely populated county in the U.S.). San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the U.S. [mostly from Wikipedia] [photo of Coit Tower courtesy of me])

Back to Blogging

I stopped blogging for a while (not that many people noticed). I used to blog under the name "Arch Creek", which has since been taken over (robotically, I suspect) by a gambling site. Ultimately they're the losers -- as you may know, President Bush recently banned internet gambling in the U.S. Meanwhile I'm back with the Arch Creek Blues.

("Arch Creek" is an old name for North Miami, where I live. The building I live in borders the geographical Arch Creek, which feeds into the Intracoastal Waterway. I guess the panoramic view of Miami Beach and the Intracoastal makes up for the recent 100% increase in our condo insurance, which upped the unit's monthly maintenance by 20%.)

Much has happened since I last blogged. B. was in the hospital for over a week at the beginning of July, being detoxed and rehabbed for a Xanax addiction. This drug is difficult (and dangerous) to get off of. Unbeknownst to his doctor, B. tried to quit cold-turkey and ended up having convulsions. I called 911 while he was having a seizure here at home, and the paramedics took him to the nearest hospital emergency room. The next day he was admitted at another hospital for treatment. (He also had a severely lacerated tongue, along with a bad bump on his forehead from hitting the tile floor here, both of which had healed nicely by the time he left the rehab.)

On a happier note, over Labor Day we spent a relaxing week in San Francisco and saw a lot of sights we didn't get to see last year. We also took a guided bus tour of Monterey and Carmel, with beautiful Pebble Beach nestled in between.