THE GINCON CHRONICLES

Buttons

Most people would agree that buttons are a useful and necessary invention. They keep our clothes on. They probably have a long and fascinating history (fascinating to buttonologists, or buttoneers, or buttonmasters). A simple glance at the dictionary reveals many definitions and permutations of meaning for the word "button:"

button

\But"ton\, n. [OE. boton, botoun, F. bouton button, bud, prop. something pushing out, fr. bouter to push. See Butt an end.] 1. A knob; a small ball; a small, roundish mass.

2. A catch, of various forms and materials, used to fasten together the different parts of dress, by being attached to one part, and passing through a slit, called a buttonhole, in the other; -- used also for ornament.

3. A bud; a germ of a plant. --Shak.

4. A piece of wood or metal, usually flat and elongated, turning on a nail or screw, to fasten something, as a door.

5. A globule of metal remaining on an assay cupel or in a crucible, after fusion.

Button hook, a hook for catching a button and drawing it through a buttonhole, as in buttoning boots and gloves.

Button shell (Zo["o]l.), a small, univalve marine shell of the genus Rotella.

Button snakeroot. (Bot.) (a) The American composite genus Liatris, having rounded buttonlike heads of flowers. (b) An American umbelliferous plant with rigid, narrow leaves, and flowers in dense heads.

Button tree (Bot.), a genus of trees (Conocarpus), furnishing durable timber, mostly natives of the West Indies.

To hold by the button, to detain in conversation to weariness; to bore; to buttonhole.

(Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.)
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button

Aleppo boil \A*lep"po boil\, button \button\, or evil \evil\ . (Med.) A chronic skin affection terminating in an ulcer, most commonly of the face. It is endemic along the Mediterranean, and is probably due to a specific bacillus. Called also Aleppo ulcer,Biskara boil, Delhi boil, Oriental sore, etc.


Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Wow. I've never heard of some of those things. And of course the fact that "button" can be used as a verb. And I wonder if that's where buttons come from: they grow on trees!

There are many other kinds of buttons in this world: elevator buttons, all sorts of mechanical buttons, the button to launch nuclear missiles, the button that people know how to push that gets you where you live (as in, "she really pushes all of my buttons!"), and many buttons on our PCs (or Macs, as the case should be).

These latter buttons (aka "keys"--but that's getting into a whole different area) are the ones which have recently caused, and continue to cause, great frustration with regard to my BLOG. All it takes is one mis-placed keystroke, hitting the wrong button, and I lose my BLOG entry. Sometimes these posts have been lovingly slaved over, others great psychological revelations, others frivolous yet not replaceable.

As this has happened twice in the past week (one of the incidents a few minutes ago), I felt moved to vent my frustration that making a mistake with so small a thing, such a swift error, could have such disastrous consequences. But being the glutton for punishment that I am, I will try again to publish this post...(great intake of breath, tension mounting, expectations hanging in mid-air, she slowly moves her finger to the BUTTON...)!

Fun With I-Chat

Today Bri & I discovered the fun of using I-Chat (with microphones, of course, duh) instead of using the phone. What a cool thing. I don't know why it was so much more fun--other than the obvious fact that it's a lot easier to just lie in bed and talk with the computer in front of me and not have to hold a phone or even wear a headset which pinches my head)...but the enjoyment was due to something more subtle. I think maybe it just felt like we were home together, talking to each other from room to room, instead of being hundreds of miles apart. A sense of closeness, intimacy. And of course there are times when neither Bri nor I feel like using the phone, and this bypassed that problem altogether. Although when it comes to talking to my bunny, anything goes--as long as we can get to talk together! Click your heels together three times and say: There's nothing like bunnying. There's nothing like bunnying. :-)

Tonight I crashed. Every day I've been staying up much of the night, getting a big boost of energy late in the evening. Except tonight. The TV was on; Mommy wanted to see The Guardian and Judging Amy (and I hadn't even seen that particular episode of judging Amy!). But I crashed hard, and apparently snored right thru Amy and the news. Wow. I guess it's starting to catch up with me. Gotta keep goin' so I can make it home tomorrow. I can't wait to bunny in person!!! YAY!!!!!!

Stormy Weather

Well, it's official--the BlogMasters can't restore my huge Xmas psychological purge--oh well. Just the process of writing it was helpful at the time, so there's that--it's like those letters you write and don't send--but it would've been nice to have a record of it...

It's Monday and wouldn't you know it, I'm at Mommy's, due to return home tomorrow, and I have a migraine/vertigo/fever, one of those "stay in bed" things, yet still so much to do to help Mommy and then PACK! I just checked the Tuesday weather forecast for Saratoga and there's a Severe Weather Alert for a.m. freezing rain along the entire route I'd be driving, and they're predicting snow by 3 pm. Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something? But I SOOOOO want to be home with my bunny! It was fun Instant Messenging today. Almost like being there...well not quite...but lots of fun! I feel very pulled in different directions: I want to be here to help Mommy, but I SO want to be home with Brian. The weather may be the determining factor, Tuesday being the only BAD weather in sight! Phooey! I wanna go home! Waaaaah!

Loss

I'm literally in tears because I wrote for 2 hours about Christmas and my dysfunctional family and the deaths of my father and nephew, and the illness of my mother, and how my husband and I are (lovingly but with difficulty due to our disabilities) having to take up the slack left by my brother and his wife who refuse to have any contact with any of us despite cards, flowers, gifts, calls, and e-mails on our part. It's been over a year since Mike died. It's Christmas, when we always got together as a family, even after Dad's stroke. Last year was understandable, because Mike died less than a week before, and Bri and I had been in a nearly fatal car crash the same day and I was in the hospital for a month, while Brian was trying to move us into a new apartment in a retirement center.

But all of the pathos, the feelings, the anger, the sorrow, was in that entry. And because I pushed the wrong button, as far as I know (I wrote for help but doubt they can recover it), it's gone.

And so this is Christmas....

// posted by Gini @ 12/25/2003 04:56:00 AM

Loss Redux

(NOTE: These are out of order, no matter what the time stamp says; I wrote the above post first, and this one afterward!) OK, now I'm getting mad. I wrote a short post to speak to my utter frustration and sense of deep loss over the disappearance of my 2-hour-long chronicle of Christmas and our family over the past 2 years, and I'm almost positive I posted it correctly, and it says it was posted, but it still gives the date of my 2nd post, in mid-December, and my latest tiny post documenting my tears over the previous post's loss, seems to also be lost. Loss, loss, loss, loss, loss, loss, loss. That kind of sums up the past year+.

So tomorrow Mommy and I will be staying in her apartment and eating re-heated, overcooked Christmas dinner out of styrofoam. There should be a law against that, don't you think? Plus the presents she ordered for me haven't arrived, probably because she cheaped out on the shipping option (now, now, don't take this night out on her, remember, you love her dearly!).

I'm just feeling REALLY bad now. If these posts don't get into my BLOG I'm going to have to quit. That was a LOT of psychological work lost.

And so this is Christmas...

Peace on Earth and Red Alert.

A Day in the Life

It's technically Tuesday although I feel like it was a very full day. Why? I don't know...was awakened by Bri who was on his way out to do errands with his mom, at maybe around 2 or 3pm? Not enough sleep...but no nap today! Talked to Mommy--she sounded much better and had a very active day herself. She walked a lot with her therapist, put the dishes in the dishwasher, and still her back is better-YAY! I wrote on all her cards so she can have a supply for when she needs a boost; I'll take them down since it's only a week away--AAARRRGGGHHH! Much to do! Bri and I watched Sandra, Lill, Jon, and Darrah on the CBS (cbs.com) Morning Show (taped of course!), and a little of the hubbub surrounding Saddam Hussein's capture. After calling Mommy, had dinner in the LR for a change of scene, watched an amazing documentary about CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). There was a kid who reminded me so much of Mike, who got CFS--totally bedridden and on a feeding tube--his junior year of high school at--no kidding--Kingswood-Oxford in West Hartford (where Mike went to HS). They showed him being taken on a stretcher by ambulance and wheeled up to get his diploma at graduation. It was very moving, and made me feel sad thinking of Mike. Bri ordered a VHS copy of the documentary "I Remember Me" at Amazon.com.

Then he was in the mood to take some pictures, so he got the digital camera out, and he and I both took some photos--it was really FUN! I'm going to have some real fun cropping and editing some of the photos...and I put up our altar again...it didn't feel right to have it all jumbled up in a box. Then I got crazed and decided I had to know whether the batteries we ordered were going to fit in the scooter. Then I got more crazed and wanted to find out if I could remove the harness and carrying handle from the old battery and put it on the new one--and I did it, after copious perspiration and heavy breathing (no, not that kind). Will have to do the other one tomorrow so we can charge up the batteries/make sure all's working ok.

Speaking of which, I need to follow up on some business: that guy who sold us the broken scooter that's too small for me NEVER called me back last week! I have to get our $1700 back!!!! And I have to deal with Miles Kimball (online catalogue) who got Mommy's monogram scrambled up...we'll see what they will do about that...

So I'd better get to it--a long night on the computer ahead (or should I say morning)...hard to believe it's 27 degrees in Hartford and 2 degrees here...although not really, they got @ 7 inches of snow and we got nearly 20! Thank goodness for John, the plow guy--hafta remember to talk to Tom. Can you tell my mind is reeling? The only thing that'll help is to start getting some stuff done. And hey, I'm so glad my first BLOG post came thru! Now I just hafta figure out how to do the links and recommended websites...

'Til tomorrow--or later today--whatever--

And So It Begins...

Welcome to my BLOG. I don't know what form it will take, where it will lead, whether I shall control or merely follow the ideas, thoughts, emotions, memories, and ruminations which arise. My therapist suggested keeping a journal. This is as close as I'll probably get to that...although I tend to start out with good intentions then slowly run out of steam (and entries). We shall see...

Another late night (early a.m.). In the middle of a nor'easter (blizzard). Missed the Final 3-hour Survivor Episodes and Reunion--forgot! Dementia sets in...or at least short-term memory loss; I had it on my calendar, but didn't look. Oh well, found a good running account that some dear person typed in as the show was on, so feel almost as if I saw it...except for the faces and expressions. Gonna look at the last 30 some minutes I recorded before turning in. I hope Brian will stop blaming himself--I forgot too! And, after all, it's only TV. And it's over, done, kaput! I did write to CBS and beg them to rerun the show due to the football game and the possible power outages from the storm--maybe they'll put out a special video or DVD for people who missed it? Doubtful, but now I feel as though I did the best I could to do something (other than email Laura and call/email Sakula). Now its in the hands of fate...

Oh, and how awful did Saddam Hussein (sp?) look? I know he's said to have done despicable things, etc., but it was hard not to feel sorry for this man who was living in a little box underground for who knows how long. I can't help but wonder what this will mean to the political climate, the elections, and the anti-war movement...

See? Here I said I was going to bed soon...here I go...maybe after a little snack, too...this is how I stay up until daylight!