Friday, July 28, 2006

Tackling the world?!?! Part Deux

I’m taking just a few minutes for a mental health break and to vent. This week has just been horrible! UGH!! I am so looking forward to 4:30 PM. I feel like my nerves are frazzled, and that I’d just like to go home and get under the covers and stay there for a few days. I know by body is all out of wack because of the steroids, and the fact that I am on my cycle this week is not adding to my delightful personality this week. (HA!) I’m just hoping there are better days around the corner. [This is day 6 of 14! HELP!]

The weather here in Indiana isn’t helping either. My asthma (or whatever you call my breathing issue) is flaring back up, and I think it’s just the pressure and humidity in the air or something. I just can’t catch a good breath right now, and it doesn’t help that I’m strung out on meds and already a bit jittery. I’ve had several moments of panic. I try not to think about it, but it’s kinda hard to ignore when something inside your body is triggering a message to your brain that you aren’t getting enough air. [GULP!!]

At work, this is one of those weeks where everyone wants stuff RIGHT THIS MINUTE, or they make every project sound like an emergency, and the truth is that it’s not. It never is, and that’s annoying! Normally, I can swallow it without too much of a fuss, but there is just something about this week. I feel deeply cantankerous. I’ve caught myself biting my lips A LOT more than usual this week instead of speaking what instantly pops into my head.

But hey, I haven’t lost my sense of humor. Thanks goodness for laugher! Believe me, I’m laughing just to keep my head above water. It helps. My co-workers have been very supportive—making me laugh at my drama, asking me daily if I still feel like I work with a bunch of idiots [just for the record, I never said I worked with a bunch of idiots…I just told them what my dr. told me about his experience on steroids], taking me to lunch and cheering me up, etc. I have a lot to be thankful for. I’ve got blessings all around me. It’s just sometimes hard to see them when you are passed out on the floor… AHEM!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I’m scheduling one in beginning right now!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Tackling the world?!?!

Remember that sinus infection I got after my oral surgery back in mid- April? Well, I still have the same symptoms. My surgeon finally gave me a referral and I had my first visit with a specialist last week. Thus I’m on steroids for 2 weeks. I’m on day 4. 10 more to go! WOOHOO!!

As a warning for me since it has been a couple of years since I had taken drugs like this, my doctor relayed his recent experience with steroids. He was on the 14-day regimen as well, and the entire period was a frustration for him. He was convinced that he was working with an office full of idiots. No one else was doing his or her job correctly, and he started contemplating some major office changes. On Day 10, he came into his office to find a box of tampons in a sweet little gift bag. Apparently, his crankiness had been highly noted by his fellow staff, and they wanted to light-heartedly point it out to him before it was too late!

Well, I told my cohorts here in the office his story, and warned them that my moods and behavior might be a bit off for a few days. I didn’t want to use the pills as an excuse, but Boy, I wasn’t kidding! On Monday (day 2), I was hot all day. I mean I don’t quite know what hot flashes feel like, but I was sure I was having one. I was perspiring here at my desk as I was typing away on my computer. I wasn’t even up and moving around, and yet, my hair was damp with sweat! Nice mental picture, I know! Then yesterday (day 3) was better in the temperature regard (i.e. I wasn’t burning up any more), but I started to feel like nothing was working like it should. It seemed like my laptop and every printer in the building was giving me problems. And today (day 4), none of my software is cooperating, and even the simplest things seem to be taking twice as long to get done. Just minutes ago, I caught myself debating with a colleague. We were both saying the same thing, and I didn’t catch on until the end. We had a good laugh about it, but it has woken me up!

I’m going to try to become aware of the shifts in my mood and take a deep breath before resolving to tackle the world these next two weeks! HA!!

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Where has the summer gone?

I can’t believe that it has been nearly a month since I last posted anything. I mean July is nearly over, people!! Ahhhh, but wait, this means that I am getting ever closer to my vacation time. WOOHOO!!

In September, I’m going on a week-long trip with my parents to the Upper Peninsula (or U.P.) in Michigan. I am so excited. We’re renting a cabin in Paradise, Michigan. Don’tcha just love it! I’m going to PARADISE!! OK, so it’s not quite the resort villa you may be imagining. I’ve stayed in a nearby cabin before, and this one sounds the same. It’s a small cabin in the woods on an inland lake, but there is an indoor shower with hot water and an indoor toilet. And believe me, these are luxury items in comparison to camping out in a tent or trailer, and so it’s a huge deal to me! Of course, this doesn’t mean that I won’t still have my share of run-ins with nature despite my best efforts to rid the world of spiders, but c’est la vie. I’m cursed with Spidar—my coined phrase for the ability to spot a spider rather quickly upon entry in a room, on a hike, on my car, etc. It’s just my every day reality. I've lived with this gift, if you will, for years!

However, my true delight about this trip is to have this time with my parents on my own. It’s just going to be the 3 of us exploring. We’re going to be visiting some of my childhood haunts—places like Baraga, Lake of the Clouds, the Porcupine Mountains, etc. I can’t wait to re-visit these places as an adult now and maybe get one of those cinnamon rolls as big as a plate! [Barbara: You know what I’m talking about!] There will also be trips to some of my family’s favorite spots that we ALWAYS hit on a trip to the U.P.—Tahquamenon Falls, the Soo Locks, Whitefish Point, Mackinac Island, etc. These things just don’t grow old. There is always something new to see!

On this trip, we will also be going to visit new sites as well—places I haven’t been to before. My Mom and I love lighthouses, and so we’re going to look up some new ones; and my Dad has a book on Michigan waterfalls, and so we’re going discover more of those, too. I am equally excited about the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore cruise that we are going to take. My parents have gone out on this boat cruise before, but I haven’t been before.

Yes, I just can’t wait to be up there in the U.P. –ever-armed with my camera and ready to see the world. OK, so the U.P. isn’t quite “the world,” but it is a special place to me. I’ve still got time to see the rest of the globe…think baby steps here!

Well, I should probably start packing…only 45 days to go! WOOHOO!!