escape yourself and gravity

The CTS is acting up this week really badly, but only while at work. That's not surprising, since I have a full ergo setup at home. Trackball and ergo keyboard with a fully-adjustable keyboard tray. Here at work I have a keyboard tray, but that's all. The mouse I use is up on the desk, and I have to sit at a funny angle in my cubicle due to the way they arrange the computers.

Yesterday it got so bad I went to CVS on my lunch hour and bought a brace for the right wrist. I have custom-fitted ones at home, but I figure it doesn't hurt to have one to keep here at work. Well, today I'm wearing the brace on my right wrist and it's helped, but now my left wrist is bothering me like crazy. The Advil doesn't seem to be helping.

In completely unrelated news, I'm doing research on brain tumors for something I'm writing. I don't suppose anyone out there has medical or personal knowledge they want to share? Mostly I'm trying to find out how to describe how the patient feels after surgery and during recovery.

I think it needs to be Friday instead of Thursday. Anyone else with me on this?

So I need to ask questions of a police detective. I happen to know of a former police detective who is now a public defender (he was going to law school when he talked to my high school class, lo, these many years ago). I left him a voice mail explaining that I'm writing a novel that includes police procedure as well as FBI characters, and that I would love to pick his brain, if he has the time. I mentioned that he'd come to my high school class years ago, and that I'd remembered that visit. I gave him my cell phone number and my email address, and said I would completely understand if he was too busy, but that I would appreciate it if he could let me know.

Two days later and I have heard nothing.

Now...I am only 99% I have the right guy. I'm sure, given what I knew about him and knowing that his wife is in politics in my county (I just voted for her last week!), that he's still in the area. I know he's not a Detective in my county seat any more, and it makes sense that after being in law school he would be a lawyer.

But still, I am 99% certain I have the right guy. Furthermore, my last name is one that he should recognize, having gone to school with my dad, uncle, and a few second cousins, and just the fact that my cousins are very well known and active in this county.

So now I'm sitting here wondering if I should give it up as a bad job and try to find some random police detective who will let me do a job shadow and ask questions or something...or what.

It's sort of discouraging. I was working up to calling the FBI next if I got a good interview experience with him. (Of course, I'm thinking about calling the FBI anyway because I want to look into their civilian academy, but still.)