Anyone looking for me can now find me here.

I’ll still keep this blog around to archive my old posts. And I may yet use it for other things. But my main blogging has now moved, as well as my domain, www.ginnysthoughts.com, over to Live Journal.

Assalamu alaikum, I stayed at home from work today. I’m still a little sore, and not quite eating normally yet. And I just wasn’t feeling well. I had a good long nap, and I’m feeling somewhat better now. I’d just like my mouth back now, please! I’m getting too impatient, I want to eat real food again, etc., I want this wound to hurry up and heal, and not to have any kind of complications from it.

I’ve read that you shouldn’t put your tongue and/or fingers on or around the area where the tooth was removed. Which is kinda hard for a blind person. How do I know that it’s healing/clotting properly? Well, aside from asking my husband, and how does he know? What should we look for that should cause concern? And all I can say is that you know when your loved when your partner willingly looks at your mouth or other wound, when you ask them too, lol. And as I said, according to him, everything seems to look fine.

Anyway, Inshallah, the healing continues.

Assalamu alaikum, all, well, I got my tooth pulled this morning, and it really wasn’t that bad. I didn’t even have time to drag out the mp3 player. I think that they took more time waiting on the anesthesia to numb the area than they did to actually pull the tooth.

I’m glad to have it out, though I’m a bit sore, and it’s still bleeding a little. Which I think is kinda gross, the taste of blood is completely spoiling any appetite I might have had. And I don’t even want pepsi, some water would be fine, though I am not sure I even want that. I really just want to sleep, though I have to change the gauze every so often. And it’s hard to talk because I have gauze in my mouth.

But Alhamdulillah, the Verizon FiOS guy came to fix the TV in the computer room, so I do have TV to watch. At least in here. I didn’t want to go into the living room, as I like the futon in here better, if I want to relax.

Anyway, I’m not sure about work tomorrow, if I’m still seeing blood I’ll probably need to call the doctor back, and I’m just a bit uncomfortable, I kinda feel as though someone hit me in the face. And the swelling isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it’d be. I’m just really tired now, and I wish I could just sleep.

But Alhamdulillah. That is really all I can say. Please make dua / pray for me, that the healing process goes OK, and I don’t get that condition called “dry socket” that I keep hearing about.

Assalamu alaikum, this is coming from the Freedom Newspaper, which imho, I take any news coming from them with a grain of salt, or maybe I should say, a huge bar of salt, although, as much as I hate to admit it, a lot of the time, they end up being right, although they also publish tabloid-esque, sensational accounts of people’s private lives, as well. And while a lot of this kind of sensational journalism is in regard to members currently serving in Jammeh’s government, I still think that the standard should be upheld that people’s private lives, who they marry, divorce, etc., should be off limits. I think that the sign of a great leader, pbulication, etc., is not how they treat the people they like and agree with, but how they deal with those they don’t necessarily like and agree with. Because it’s all well and good to talk about democracy, and good governance, journalistic principles, etc., when you agree with the people you’re talking to. However, when you descend into backbiting, name-calling, mud-slinging, dirt-digging, etc., with those you don’t agree with, simply and only because you don’t agree with them, or you think that they’re wrong, and while at the same time you talk of how you stand for all of the laudable principles I just spoke of a few words back, that just seems hypocritical to me. And anyway, I’m digressing.

I only mentioned Freedom Newspaper’s, what I consider to be, a bit questionable journalistic ethic, to segway into an article they published this morning, entitled, “Breaking News:President Jammeh threatens to seize compounds of polygamous men!!!!”.

The gist of the story seems to be that polygamous men are lazy, spending time at the “bantaba” (which is rather like a public square, where men sit and chat and drink ataya), the stereotype is that the men sit and drink ataya all day, while their wives, and other women folk, slave all day, cooking, cleaning, tending crops, etc., and the men sit around trying to catch their next girlfriend/wife. And Jammeh, trying to be the saviour of all womenfolk in The Gambia, are going to save them from this, by going after polygamous men, and seizing their compounds if they’re found to be “lazy”. This is coming from the same man who said he’d divorce some wives and give them better husbands if their husbands were forcing them to support a party (anything but the APRC, ostensibly), that they didn’t want to support, or something like that. I’ll have to see if I can dig that article up, because that happened a few years ago.

I’m guessing that perhaps Jammeh has given up the “witch-hunting”, now that according to some sources, his own aunt has gotten caught up in the fray, and now that the international media has once again made Jammeh and The Gambia a world laughing-stock. So he has to come up with ever new and ingenious ways to oppress the Gambian people.

And I’m ever so tempted to say that these people need to fight, that they need to stand up for themselves, etc. But I stop, because it’s easy for me to say that, I’m not living in fear of my life. However, at the same time, you can’t just let people step on you either! I’ts really a hard one to call, though if you let people keep bullying you, it’ll keep getting worse and worse and worse, until you stand up to them.

Anyway, I hesitate in quoting or linking to anything from Freedom Newspaper, because I don’t think their articles are normally of good quality, as I said before, and I’m also not sure whether or not to believe them. Not only this, I have this nagging feeling that any time anyone gives Freedom any kind of credit, it’s kinda like the saying, you give someone an inch, they take a mile, and the next thing you know, they’ll be screaming headlines to the affect of “FREEDOM NEWSPAPER VINDICATED” or something to that affect.

The thing is, this has nothing to do, imho, with the misuse of polygamy, etc., I’m not even going there, though I do think that polygamy, in many places, is mis-practiced. However, for jammeh to personally get involved in the private lives of families and determine for himself that these men are “lazy”, obviouslly is a breach of privacy, as well as Gambian law and custom, etc. Not that that ever stopped jammeh before, but… I’m sure that like everything else, Jammeh will play around with this for a few weeks, until he gets tired, and then try something else.

Assalamu alaikum, all moon sighting sites that I check every month, have the start of Rabi’ At-Thani as being March 28, 2009, for the US, though this may differ in other parts of the world. This means that Rabi’ Al-Awwal, based on confirmed, verifiable sighting in North America, was only 29 days, Mashallah.

Rabi’ At-Thani Mubarak!

Portable Apps

Assalamu alaikum, I had my dental appointment today. The short story is that I have an infected wisdom tooth, which is pretty much what I thought it was anyway.

The long version is that I have to go and get it pulled next Thursday, after the antibiotics I’ve been given clear up the infection. And of course that scares me. But the lady who took my x-ray and the dentist seemed very understanding. I actually found myself in the awkward position of feeling that I needed to explain to the dentist that I was visually impaired, because he walked up, said hello faintly, and then seemed to stand there, waiting for me to say something. And I’d given my cane to my husband, as I didn’t bring Chloe with me, and my husband was in the waiting area, they wouldn’t allow him back where the dentist chairs were. I normally don’t take Chloe with me to the doctor, because it tends to upset her, and Abby was like that too. Because if I’m uncomfortable or upset, the dog, though well-behaved, tends to get that way too. Plus, if the dog does need to be controlled, it’s hard to give a leash correction or a command if you’re flat on your back on the examining table, or laid back in a dentist chair.

Anyway, the only thing I didn’t like so far was the fact that you are sitting with other people who are also having dental work done. There isn’t a lot of privacy. From what I could tell, there were rows of dentist charis facing each other, and I could hear the guy across from me also having his dental work done. It felt kinda funny to me. Though I’m not sure how normal that is for dental practices. The last time I was at a dentist was when I attended the school for the blind, and they had a dental clinic, and the dental office was off to the side of the waiting room. And that was like 15 or so years ago.

Anyway, at this point, though, the need to have this tooth removed, and the pain I’ve been in for the past few days, really outweighs that concern. I’ll have to wait and see how I feel about things once I’ve been there a few more times. And perhaps the more serious procedures like, say, tooth removal, are carried on in more private quarters. Along with that, I’ll have to ask my husband how things looked, perhaps my sense of the layout of the office isn’t correct.

Anyway, everyone seemed friendly and Alhamdulillah, my experience today was a good one. Though it was funny when we went to schedule my appointment to have my wisdom tooth removed, and my husband asked about an early morning appointment so I could go back to work later on that day. And the response of the receptionist to that was basically, “uh, no, she’s not going to be doing anything else that day”. Basically, no going back to work for me on Thursday, lol. Especially since my wisdom tooth is kinda sticking out of my gum, just the tip of it. The rest is just hanging out somewhere under the gum. Oh, boy… More for me to worry about and stress over. lol…

Developing Story: Ghana Govt Resolved to Unravel 44 Deaths in Gambia

Breaking News: President Jammeh’s Victims Speak Out- Gruesome Tales of Torture & Kidney Complications > The Gambia Echo > The Gambia Echo – Online Newspaper

Assalamu alaikum, forgetting for a minute that Jihad Unspun may or may not be a CIA front, this is really ironic. Especially since when I last visited the site, which was years and years ago, they seemed to be more pro-Taliban than the Taliban itself. There was another site/email list that reminded me of this, the Islamic News and Information Network. It was supposed to be “the real truth”, etc., about what was going on in the war in Afghanistan, at the time, and other items that the supposed “mainstream media” would not report, though after a while, that email list was disbanded. Jihad Unspun just didn’t seem right to me at the time, though what gave me qualms about the site, I couldn’t tell you right now, though I think it had something to do with their stories/reporting being so unbelievable, I just thought they were a bunch of kooks. And the name “jihad unspun”?, didn’t make sense to me. Of course, now that I’ve visited them, I’m probably on some secret watch list somewhere *smile*.

Anyway, I remember at the time looking for an alternative news source, other than what I was getting from the American media, and I can see where many people might fall for these sorts of sites, hungry for the unfiltered truth. However, ININ and Jihad Unspun seemed just as biased as CNN, MSNBC, or Fox.
Anyway, whatever the case, a presumably Muslim woman seems to be about to be beheaded by the Taliban, the supposed “true and real Muslims” by many, unless a ransom is not paid? Of course, these are the same people that say that it’s forbidden to educate girls (but isn’t seeking knowledge incumbent upon all Muslims male and female?)

Anyway, the Taliban, as a woman, is not the kind of “Islamic state” or the kind of “sharia” that I want to be under. Especially if girls like my step-daughter, for example, would risk getting acid thrown in her face for simply going to school. I’d like to know their Islamic justification for denying an education to girls? Where is the “daleel” for that?

Assalamu alaikum, well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I’ve not been to the dentist in years! Mostly because I’d not had good dental coverage (thanks to Medicaid cutting dental care for adults where I lived), and secondly because I was terribly afraid of going to the dentist. And I know that I’ve had to go, I’ve just been putting it off. Well, I can’t put it off any longer.

Friday night, I noticed pain in the back of my mouth, on the uper right hand side, right behind my last tooth. And I can feel what seems to be one of my wisdom teeth trying to come in, or if it’s not that, I’m not sure if my gums are receeding (my dad has that kind of periodontal condition, and I heard once that it’s hereditary). Whatever the case, I’m in an awful amount of pain, and I can barely open up my mouth to talk or eat or anything. So now I’m sitting here, knowing I have to go to the dentist, because my lymph nodes/glands are swollen on that side of my jaw and neck, and afraid because I have not heard good things about the dentist my dental hmo has assigned me too.

But at least I have dental coverage, and I guess however bad the dentist is, or however much whatever they’re going to do to me is going to hurt, I guess it’s my fault for neglecting this part of my health-care for years and years. But I have the feeling that I’m about to willingly go into a torture chamber. I’m afraid of whatever pain is going to be involved, and afraid of how I might react to it.

And now I feel bad that I took a couple days off work last week, just to have some time off and get some things done around the house. Now, I have to go into work tomorrow, and do exactly what I’m having trouble doing, talk. And I have to do it all day! From 9 to 6! Inshallah, I can get into the dentist soon. Inshallah, I’ll be able to make it through work tomorrow.

Does anyone know anything about Spring Lake Dental in Winter Haven? Does anyone have any ideas on how to deal with tooth/gum pain so I can function until I can be seen? If I start running a fever or otherwise showing signs of getting an infection, does anyone know where I can get emergency treatment? Is anyone as scared of the dentist as I am? I just feel like I’m being a baby about the whole thing.

Aged Out: A Murdered Foster Child’s Inopportune Freedom | theledger.com | The Ledger | Lakeland, FL

Assalamu alaikum so it seems that while Halifa Sallah has been freed, but it seems that new charges have been filed against him. Note the place in the charge sheet that refers to “challenging the government policy of screening witches … “. Uh, OK, what year are we in? 2009 or 1609…?

And you know, I was talking to a friend of mine, telling her about all of this nonsense going on in The Gambia, and her first question was “aren’t they Muslims”? Well, yes, most are, but as we all know, many Muslims also have cultural beliefs and practices that may not necessarily fall within the bounds of Islam.

Anyway, Muslim or not, this is silly. And that’s an understatement. My husband just came in the door, and I mentioned this latest development to him, quoting him the “challenging the government’s screening of witches” comment, and he just burst out laughing…

And it would be funny, if people’s lives weren’t at stake (2 people are known to have died as a result of the “witch hunts”). But this, along iwth Jammeh’s other well-documented eratic behavior, is unfortunately making The Gambia and its people a laughing-stock. And this makes me really sad.

challenge the government policy of screening witches

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