Today we shall be discussing my favorite male superhero, inspired by this 30 Day DC Meme going around, but not following it.
This is a tough one. I grew up with Batman as my #1 hero, male-wise. But as I’ve grown older and studied ethics and begun to understand more about how the world works, I’ve seen the flaw in Batman’s methods. I’ve also had the obligatory crush on Dick Grayson since I was six years old, but again, his methods are almost identical to those of his mentor. Tim Wayne is another favourite (I know, I know, I’m a Batfam gal, what can I say?), for his brains and the fact that he’s a geek just like the rest of us. But as far as fighting crime goes, their methods are all too similar.
However, Jason Todd is the next step up, in my opinion. Allow me to paraphrase, because I shouldn’t have to explain this. Sure he went psycho and wanted Batman dead and he’s known for his temporary bouts of insanity, but he also understands what one has to do in order to successfully stem the flow of crime, and that means making real examples out of people and taking the criminal world by the throat. Following @Jason_Todd on Twitter has helped this JTodd love, as well. After Jason, it’s Dick, Tim, then Batman. Then Blue Beetle is in there at the end somewhere. I’m also a Hal Jordan fan, but like I said, I’ll always be a Batgeek above all.
So, comic geekery aside, I’ll do a personal update as well. We could probably play a drinking game here. Take a drink every time you read “spinal”.
If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve been clued in on the goings-on of my spinal cord. Basically, a week and a half ago (Wednesday), I went in to have a steroid epidural to treat chronic pain from two herniated disks in my lower back. In the process of giving the injection, my doctor nicked and punctured the sheath surrounding my spinal cord. Which, I’m sure you can imagine, is not good at all. I started leaking spinal fluid, which led to spinal headaches caused from a change in pressure in my (you guessed it) spinal cord. These headaches are pretty sucktastic, and it feels like my forehead is about to explode, but they can be stifled by laying completely horizontal, so this is what I did for two days.
On Friday, we went in to have a blood patch done on the leak to stop the pain as I had a vacation planned over the weekend. It was all kinds of painful and unpleasant and ick, but it seemed to have stopped the leak completely and instantly. So on Saturday morning I drove down to Destin, Florida, with my family (On the way I read Nightwing:Year One, Batgirl: Year One, and Batman: Year One; all great, also played “Half-Life”). I spent the weekend reading comics on the beach (even once playing “Half-Life” on the beach) and basically chilling out after the stress and unpleasantness of the previous week. I also acquired a brilliantly red and ridiculously painful sunburn across the backs of my legs and my shoulders and upper back from laying on the back of a boat for an hour, but that’s beside the point.
I came back home on Wednesday with my grandparents so I could have a few quiet days to myself at the house. This was where things started getting not-fun again. I started getting a spinal headache when we made a quick stop in Alabama, but I lay down and tried to forget about it. It didn’t get bad again until the next day, ironically on the way to my follow-up doctor appointment. The problem here was that I was now completely on my own, driving around town. The appointment, as it turns out, was made at their other office though they didn’t bother telling me this, so I had to reschedule. I finally got back home and spent the day staying horizontal again. And this has been my past couple of days.
So far I’ve watched “Justice League: A New Frontier”, “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths”, “Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero”, “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker”, two Jeff Dunham specials, a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie when my best friend of ten years came over, and a few TV shows on Netflix Instant Play. Currently I’m watching “The Dark Knight”. Because that’s really all I can do when I’m not able to move my head/neck/etc. So I’m keeping myself entertained, which is good. But I’m also more than ready to get this over with. Tomorrow one of my good friends from school who is currently doing an internship in Atlanta is coming over to “babysit” me for a few hours.
Without my friends in the area and my followers and friends on Twitter and elsewhere online, I can honestly say this experience would have been much more unpleasant. You guys have put up with my complaints of boredom and pain, and have given me all kinds of encouragement and sent positive thoughts and prayers my way constantly. I thank every single one of you who has been there for me these past several days. You are all a blessing to me that I really don’t deserve.
So there’s my update, and with any luck I’ll remember to keep up with the 30 Day Meme (ha, doubtful). I also had a great idea for a blog (at least I’m fairly certain it was great), but I completely forgot what it was before writing it down.
Thanks, readers and friends.
- B
Feel better!