Well, I certainly have some catching up to do seeing as June 2015 was the last time I updated this thing. Whoops. Where to begin...
In the last few months of 2015 I decided it was time for a change - I needed to pull up roots and leave Pullman. I had been fighting the wanderlust for a couple of years by then, but it was time. So I made plans to quit my jobs in May, which was when my lease was up. I'll spare you the details of my exit. It was hard. Really really hard. I loved my jobs, I loved my friends, there were a lot of things that I loved about Pullman. But it was time.
Wanderlust is a really complicated sensation to explain to someone that doesn't experience it themselves. It transcends logic and reason. Some days it's a knot in my stomach that won't go away. Some days it's a feeling of panic that settles on my heart. Some days it's a subtle feeling that something isn't right. Some days it's an overwhelming urge to pack a bag and just drive away without a word.
When I think about settling some place for 10, 20, 30 years, I can't breathe. The need to explore, to adventure, to see the world, fills my soul and my brain. I know that most people who read this will not be able to fully grasp how a life of wandering, a life filled with new places and new faces, a life of uncertainty and taking risks, could so completely capture my imagination - just trust me: it does.
That's why I needed to leave my very comfortable life in Pullman. I had good jobs that I could stay in forever, I had family, I had friends. But I wasn't happy - my heart was on the wind, searching for a new home. It was time for the rest of me to follow.
Okay tangent over, back to the story...
I found a job near Federal Way and moved in with Darien and Chelsy. It was a really rough transition. The job turned out to be hell, and I missed certain persons so much it physically hurt. Darien and Chelsy decided to move back down to Vancouver if one of them could get a good job down here. Chelsy landed a job at the beginning of July and moved down first. Shortly thereafter I ended up quitting my job, and a couple of weeks later moved down as well; Darien followed a week later. I'm currently looking for a job, and I am pretty bored with not having a schedule or money to explore Portland.
So that's how I ended up down here in Vancouver, WA. Wasn't really in my plan, but hey, that's one of the most alluring parts of life to me - the unexpected paths I end up on.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Thursday, June 11, 2015
The *Not So* Merry Month Of May
Now if you know me, you know that I'm terribly optimistic, annoyingly cheerful, and reeeeeally stubborn. If you know these things, you also know that I am blunt and brutally honest. So when I say that this past month has been quite rough, pock-marked with periods of hell, you know that I'm not exaggerating. Many of you will have heard at least bits of this story from my mother or me or one of the very few people that were privileged enough to get to hear about this first-hand when it was all going down. So to catch everyone up, let me tell you a tale...
Let me preface this by saying that, as some people know, I had decided to participate in a half-ironman in August. So in mid-April I began training. 6 days a week, most days doing two training sessions a day. This decision fed into my stubbornness about some of this and also much of the angst I have been (and admittedly am still) going through.
Shortly after beginning training, I started having some weird sinus issues. I thought it odd, but crossed my fingers and attributed it to more dust in the air and maybe some new seasonal allergies. I was in the midst of training, I couldn't afford to get sick. So I decided I wasn't sick and just pressed on with my busy life. On May 4th I woke with a congested nose and dry mouth as usual, but now my throat was a little sore and my tonsils were a bit swollen. I hate hate hate going to the doctor, I would much rather let my body fight off whatever invaders dared enter my territory. However, precisely because I was in the midst of training, I couldn't afford to get really sick. So I took myself off to a walk-in clinic to get checked out.
The doctor checked me out. Not much to see at that point. Tonsils a little swollen, a little painful, a couple of white spots on them, but that was about it. I was alert, cheerful, just being proactive. He swabbed for strep, which came back negative. So he gave me my options - there was a small chance I had mono, but I had no symptoms to point to that besides the swollen tonsils. The more likely answer was just that I had a virus that would need to run it's course. We both were pretty sure it was the latter, and I didn't want to get a blood test because, on the off chance that it was mono, the doctor would order me to stop all activity for two weeks. As it was, since there weren't really any strong indicators towards mono, we could fairly safely assume it was some other nondescript virus and leave it at that.
Next day I woke up and my tonsils had ballooned up and were muuuuuuch more painful (around a level 7, with 10 being bad enough that I would have gone straight to the ER). Everything was swollen enough that my voice was changed - it sounded like I had a cold (though I had no drainage or congestion to speak of). I started downing ibuprofen and kept going - the ibuprofen didn't help the pain, but I know it is an anti-inflammatory so I kept taking it. I slept for roughly 11-12 hours that night, with the thought that a good night's rest would set it on a regression. Nope. Woke up the next day feeling even worse, and now my voice was sounding reeeally strange. I worked through the day with a pain level of about 8, still choking down the ibuprofen, but that was really the only solid anything that I was taking in. I hadn't eaten real food since Monday sometime - I had no appetite for it, and swallowing was waaay too painful to even consider it. I had a milkshake or two those two days, but that was it.
Late afternoon on day 2 I decided I needed something more because the ibuprofen was doing nothing for me and I wasn't getting any better. I called my doctor's office and left a message for my primary, letting her know that I was much worse than when I had come in on Monday. I didn't hear from her by the end of the workday, so I went home, slept fitfully for about 10 hours before waking up finally because of pain. My doctor's nurse called me back first thing the next morning saying that they had put in an order for a mono test, but that I didn't need to come in for an office visit just yet. I got the blood test within half an hour and got a call from the nurse again - I had tested positive for mono. Mono is a virus, so all you can do is treat the symptoms and wait it out. I took that day and the next off from ProFormance so I could rest during the day, but I knew I would need to work that Friday night and Saturday day (day 4 and 5) at Birch & Barley - it was WSU graduation weekend, so they needed all hands on deck.
The nurse told me to take ibuprofen (avoild Tylenol) and rest. When I informed her that I had been taking ibuprofen for 2 days already without any relief, she recommended I try Aleve instead. I was annoyed that they wouldn't give me anything for the pain or swelling, but I dutifully went and bought Aleve and then went home to rest. 6 hours later I called their office again and left a message that the Aleve wasn't working, I needed something else. When the nurse called me back shortly thereafter I was told to take ibuprofen and do a saltwater gargle. I informed the nurse that I had already done ibuprofen for 2 days without any changes in my symptoms or pain. Her response was that I should just try the pills and the gargle and I should see significant improvement; ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory and SHOULD help. I reiterated that it hadn't and she said again that it SHOULD. So I dutifully switched back to the ibuprofen and started gargling. My tonsils at this point were so swollen they were both touching my uvula, and I couldn't really see the back of my throat. At all.
3 hours later, getting close to end of business day, I was fed up. I called the office and left a message that I needed something else. I described how bad the swelling was yet again (I had been described all my symptoms and pain levels every time I talked with the nurse), making the point that swallowing was really painful and I wasn't able to really do anything but liquids. I got a call back - my doctor had put in a prescription for a corticosteroid: prednisone. Much dancing happened when I got that call. Finally I might get some help! I picked up the prescription and took the first pill that night. The steroid kicked in an hour and a half after I took it and I slept like a rock through the night - my pain was still at a 5-6, but that was so much better than where it had been. I rested most of the rest of the day, but around the middle of the day I could feel the steroid beginning to wear off. I went to work that night, but I was able to take to the second dose of steroids close to the beginning of my shift so I was only in level 8 pain for about an hour, then it dropped down to a 6. I looked at my tonsils that night - they looked ever so slightly less grotesquely swollen. As in, I thought that maybe they were pressing up on my uvula quite as much anymore. Yay, steroids working, I'll be better in no time!
If only...
This pattern continued over the weekend. The pain was only being cut to a 6-7 and the steroids were wearing off quicker with every dose. I continued choking down ibuprofen and doing the stupid saltwater gargle just so I could say that I had given it a fair shot. My tonsils had shrunk every so slightly more by Saturday afternoon. By Monday morning they were growing again, and everything in my neck area was swollen. I was not even drinking clear liquids at that point because it hurt so much to swallow. I called for a refill of the steroids, knowing my doctor wasn't in until the next day anyway. But I had one more dose of steroids to take so I should be covered. The next morning, all hell broke loose (essentially). I called the doctor's office first thing in the morning and asked for something for the pain to go with the steroids. I had had enough of this taking pills that weren't doing anything simply because they SHOULD be helping. Bullshit. I was in intense pain, had been for 8 days and I was done. I've given the OTC drugs a really really fair shot - now put me out of my misery.
The call I got back from the doctor ended with me in tears. The nurse told me the doctor would neither give me something for pain nor refill the steroids. The steroids were just supposed to be a short course to knock the swelling back. I described in explicit detail to her how back the swelling was, the fact that I wasn't even able to swallow clear liquids, that it took me two or three tries just to swallow my own saliva, that I couldn't sleep because of the pain, that I was snoring when I breathed through my nose, that talking hurt like like hell, everything. She checked with the doctor, but the response was still no. I practically hung up on her, on the verge of having a complete breakdown. I called my mom, not quite sobbing but pretty close to. I didn't know what to do, I was scared about how bad it was going to get, and I was breaking down from the pain.
She told me I needed to go somewhere, anywhere, else. Once I had calmed down a little I called the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) doctor and begged the receptionist for help. She told me to come down, they would work me in that morning. I went straight over, filled out the paperwork, and waited. Within 45 minutes they got me back. Now, I am me, and even though talking hurt like hell, I can't help but be chatty. So I was chatty chatty with the doctor, Dr. Goodrich. He took a peak in my mouth, but everything in my mouth was swollen he couldn't really tell what was going on. He told me that there was a chance I had a peritonsillar abscess, but with how clearly I was speaking he didn't really think I had that. People with peritonsillar abscesses usually can't really speak at all. But the only way he would know if it was that or just really bad mono was with a CT. He had his nurse get on the phone right away with my insurance to get it authorized - he was going to have me worked in at the imaging department.
As soon as the authorization went through they sent me down to the radiology department, where I was immediately taken back for the scan. The tech asked me questions about what I was coming for and everything, and again I was chatty chatty. He told me I would need to hang out in the CT room while the radiologist read the CT, as per usual. A few minutes later the tech returned and told me that the radiologist wouldn't let me leave until he had talked with Dr Goodrich on the phone - there was A LOT of swelling. So I waited again, and when the tech returned shortly thereafter I was told that Dr. Goodrich was waiting for me upstairs and that I was to go straight up.
Dr. Goodrich took me straight back to one of the rooms and told me again that there was a lot of swelling. The reason was that I had bilateral peritonsillar abscesses. Having one peritonsillar abscess is rare, much less having two of them. On top of that, in the doctor's own words, "one of them is humongous!". He offered to show me the CT, which of course I jumped at. The biggest one was 2.4cm by 2.6cm! That's huge! The other one was about half that size. He took me back to the procedure room, and we spent the next 10 minutes numbing the roof of my mouth and draining the abscesses. One of the most vile experiences of my life, hands down. But it's pretty gross, so I will spare you the details. You can ask me in person if you want the details.
When the first one popped, there was an immediate release of pressure and an immediate lessening of my pain. Not by a lot, but a when it's that bad, a little is a lot. He gave me prescriptions for liquid ibuprofen and liquid hydrocodone and sent me home to rest and with a recommendation to schedule a tonsillectomy. I took them as soon as I got home and spent the rest of the day (to my roommate's amusement) in a euphoric, loopy, pain-free daze, drifting in and out of consciousness. When I woke up the next day, it was a complete 180. I could swallow. My pain was around a 2. I could see my throat. My tonsils were already pulling away from my uvula. Everything just looked and felt not swollen. It was fabulous.
Within days I was feeling almost completely normal. My mouth was sore for a while, but that faded and I was happy and relatively happy. I was still pretty tired, and slept a lot, because I did still technically have mono. But compared with the hell I had been living in, it was pure bliss.
That's not the end of this tale either. Just over a week ago, on Tuesday, I woke up with swallowing hurting a little and my tonsils swollen a little bit more again. I felt like I had a fever, though I didn't technically have a fever, I just really didn't feel well at all. I left work early, and called my mom. Asked if she thought I was being paranoid for being afraid that the abscesses were recurring (which only happens in about 10-15% of cases). She said no, I was not being paranoid and should go back to Dr Goodrich. I went over, and they worked me in again. Turns out I was right! These abscesses are caused by an infection in the tonsils, so the only way to stop them from happening again is to having a tonsillectomy. Since I already had my surgery scheduled for the end of the month and didn't want to do it sooner if I didn't need to (though Dr Goodrich did offer to do the surgery that Friday..), he gave me a week-long course of antibiotics and steroids....with the understanding that if I get worse I have to go back in to see him and we will do surgery at the end of the day. O.O
So that puts me where I am at today. I finished the drugs a couple of days ago and I'm feeling right as rain again, so fingers crossed. My blasted mouth only has to make it two more weeks until my surgery date. Many of my plans hinge on the surgery not happening until it is scheduled, so by golly my tonsils will behave!
I'm feeling much better now, and I can look back and joke about a lot of it. I don't regret anything except that I didn't act sooner and get in to Dr Goodrich before the weekend. I should have, and I know I should have. But at the time, even though I knew my doctor was blowing me off and I was in serious trouble, I wanted her to be right that I just needed to wait it out. I really wanted it to be something that I would sleep off and be fine. And it took my mother telling a panicking me that I'm not crazy and that something was terribly wrong to finally accept what I already knew. It's funny how twice during this whole ordeal I needed to call my mom, not only because she's my mommy, but also because I needed her to tell me to do what I already I needed to do (I just didn't want to do it). Because both times I knew I needed to go to Dr Goodrich - I just was too stubborn to let myself accept the fact that I was in trouble.
If you haven't heard of peritonsillar abscesses before, take it from me - they're bad. Abscesses are never good, but these ones are particularly nasty. They develop mainly from untreated tonsillitis - the tissue surrounding the tonsils becomes infected and develops these abscesses. Their location is what makes them particularly worrisome. They are, literally, in your head, and if let go too long can infect important blood vessels, travel into your lungs and cause pneumonia, infect your jugular, etc. There's a good size list of the possible badness to come from these little spawns of Satan. You wanna know more, google them. They're nasty buggers.
One of the most annoying consequences of all this is that a) my birthday was in the midst of the 8-day hell, so it was a pretty crappy birthday as birthdays go, and b) I essentially lost all of the month of May. So I'm still playing catch up on seeing people, paying bills, getting useful life things accomplished on time. You get my drift.
On the upside, I beat my brother Darien for worst mono complications (people keep telling me that shouldn't have been a competition to begin with....), and I've become something of a legend at the ENT office (which tells you something of how bad it was right there!), so there's something come out of it..
All in all, it's been a month to beat many months - but I got quite the story out of it, and that's what life is about - collecting stories to weave into the tapestry of our lives.
Let me preface this by saying that, as some people know, I had decided to participate in a half-ironman in August. So in mid-April I began training. 6 days a week, most days doing two training sessions a day. This decision fed into my stubbornness about some of this and also much of the angst I have been (and admittedly am still) going through.
Shortly after beginning training, I started having some weird sinus issues. I thought it odd, but crossed my fingers and attributed it to more dust in the air and maybe some new seasonal allergies. I was in the midst of training, I couldn't afford to get sick. So I decided I wasn't sick and just pressed on with my busy life. On May 4th I woke with a congested nose and dry mouth as usual, but now my throat was a little sore and my tonsils were a bit swollen. I hate hate hate going to the doctor, I would much rather let my body fight off whatever invaders dared enter my territory. However, precisely because I was in the midst of training, I couldn't afford to get really sick. So I took myself off to a walk-in clinic to get checked out.
The doctor checked me out. Not much to see at that point. Tonsils a little swollen, a little painful, a couple of white spots on them, but that was about it. I was alert, cheerful, just being proactive. He swabbed for strep, which came back negative. So he gave me my options - there was a small chance I had mono, but I had no symptoms to point to that besides the swollen tonsils. The more likely answer was just that I had a virus that would need to run it's course. We both were pretty sure it was the latter, and I didn't want to get a blood test because, on the off chance that it was mono, the doctor would order me to stop all activity for two weeks. As it was, since there weren't really any strong indicators towards mono, we could fairly safely assume it was some other nondescript virus and leave it at that.
Next day I woke up and my tonsils had ballooned up and were muuuuuuch more painful (around a level 7, with 10 being bad enough that I would have gone straight to the ER). Everything was swollen enough that my voice was changed - it sounded like I had a cold (though I had no drainage or congestion to speak of). I started downing ibuprofen and kept going - the ibuprofen didn't help the pain, but I know it is an anti-inflammatory so I kept taking it. I slept for roughly 11-12 hours that night, with the thought that a good night's rest would set it on a regression. Nope. Woke up the next day feeling even worse, and now my voice was sounding reeeally strange. I worked through the day with a pain level of about 8, still choking down the ibuprofen, but that was really the only solid anything that I was taking in. I hadn't eaten real food since Monday sometime - I had no appetite for it, and swallowing was waaay too painful to even consider it. I had a milkshake or two those two days, but that was it.
Late afternoon on day 2 I decided I needed something more because the ibuprofen was doing nothing for me and I wasn't getting any better. I called my doctor's office and left a message for my primary, letting her know that I was much worse than when I had come in on Monday. I didn't hear from her by the end of the workday, so I went home, slept fitfully for about 10 hours before waking up finally because of pain. My doctor's nurse called me back first thing the next morning saying that they had put in an order for a mono test, but that I didn't need to come in for an office visit just yet. I got the blood test within half an hour and got a call from the nurse again - I had tested positive for mono. Mono is a virus, so all you can do is treat the symptoms and wait it out. I took that day and the next off from ProFormance so I could rest during the day, but I knew I would need to work that Friday night and Saturday day (day 4 and 5) at Birch & Barley - it was WSU graduation weekend, so they needed all hands on deck.
The nurse told me to take ibuprofen (avoild Tylenol) and rest. When I informed her that I had been taking ibuprofen for 2 days already without any relief, she recommended I try Aleve instead. I was annoyed that they wouldn't give me anything for the pain or swelling, but I dutifully went and bought Aleve and then went home to rest. 6 hours later I called their office again and left a message that the Aleve wasn't working, I needed something else. When the nurse called me back shortly thereafter I was told to take ibuprofen and do a saltwater gargle. I informed the nurse that I had already done ibuprofen for 2 days without any changes in my symptoms or pain. Her response was that I should just try the pills and the gargle and I should see significant improvement; ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory and SHOULD help. I reiterated that it hadn't and she said again that it SHOULD. So I dutifully switched back to the ibuprofen and started gargling. My tonsils at this point were so swollen they were both touching my uvula, and I couldn't really see the back of my throat. At all.
3 hours later, getting close to end of business day, I was fed up. I called the office and left a message that I needed something else. I described how bad the swelling was yet again (I had been described all my symptoms and pain levels every time I talked with the nurse), making the point that swallowing was really painful and I wasn't able to really do anything but liquids. I got a call back - my doctor had put in a prescription for a corticosteroid: prednisone. Much dancing happened when I got that call. Finally I might get some help! I picked up the prescription and took the first pill that night. The steroid kicked in an hour and a half after I took it and I slept like a rock through the night - my pain was still at a 5-6, but that was so much better than where it had been. I rested most of the rest of the day, but around the middle of the day I could feel the steroid beginning to wear off. I went to work that night, but I was able to take to the second dose of steroids close to the beginning of my shift so I was only in level 8 pain for about an hour, then it dropped down to a 6. I looked at my tonsils that night - they looked ever so slightly less grotesquely swollen. As in, I thought that maybe they were pressing up on my uvula quite as much anymore. Yay, steroids working, I'll be better in no time!
If only...
This pattern continued over the weekend. The pain was only being cut to a 6-7 and the steroids were wearing off quicker with every dose. I continued choking down ibuprofen and doing the stupid saltwater gargle just so I could say that I had given it a fair shot. My tonsils had shrunk every so slightly more by Saturday afternoon. By Monday morning they were growing again, and everything in my neck area was swollen. I was not even drinking clear liquids at that point because it hurt so much to swallow. I called for a refill of the steroids, knowing my doctor wasn't in until the next day anyway. But I had one more dose of steroids to take so I should be covered. The next morning, all hell broke loose (essentially). I called the doctor's office first thing in the morning and asked for something for the pain to go with the steroids. I had had enough of this taking pills that weren't doing anything simply because they SHOULD be helping. Bullshit. I was in intense pain, had been for 8 days and I was done. I've given the OTC drugs a really really fair shot - now put me out of my misery.
The call I got back from the doctor ended with me in tears. The nurse told me the doctor would neither give me something for pain nor refill the steroids. The steroids were just supposed to be a short course to knock the swelling back. I described in explicit detail to her how back the swelling was, the fact that I wasn't even able to swallow clear liquids, that it took me two or three tries just to swallow my own saliva, that I couldn't sleep because of the pain, that I was snoring when I breathed through my nose, that talking hurt like like hell, everything. She checked with the doctor, but the response was still no. I practically hung up on her, on the verge of having a complete breakdown. I called my mom, not quite sobbing but pretty close to. I didn't know what to do, I was scared about how bad it was going to get, and I was breaking down from the pain.
She told me I needed to go somewhere, anywhere, else. Once I had calmed down a little I called the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) doctor and begged the receptionist for help. She told me to come down, they would work me in that morning. I went straight over, filled out the paperwork, and waited. Within 45 minutes they got me back. Now, I am me, and even though talking hurt like hell, I can't help but be chatty. So I was chatty chatty with the doctor, Dr. Goodrich. He took a peak in my mouth, but everything in my mouth was swollen he couldn't really tell what was going on. He told me that there was a chance I had a peritonsillar abscess, but with how clearly I was speaking he didn't really think I had that. People with peritonsillar abscesses usually can't really speak at all. But the only way he would know if it was that or just really bad mono was with a CT. He had his nurse get on the phone right away with my insurance to get it authorized - he was going to have me worked in at the imaging department.
As soon as the authorization went through they sent me down to the radiology department, where I was immediately taken back for the scan. The tech asked me questions about what I was coming for and everything, and again I was chatty chatty. He told me I would need to hang out in the CT room while the radiologist read the CT, as per usual. A few minutes later the tech returned and told me that the radiologist wouldn't let me leave until he had talked with Dr Goodrich on the phone - there was A LOT of swelling. So I waited again, and when the tech returned shortly thereafter I was told that Dr. Goodrich was waiting for me upstairs and that I was to go straight up.
Dr. Goodrich took me straight back to one of the rooms and told me again that there was a lot of swelling. The reason was that I had bilateral peritonsillar abscesses. Having one peritonsillar abscess is rare, much less having two of them. On top of that, in the doctor's own words, "one of them is humongous!". He offered to show me the CT, which of course I jumped at. The biggest one was 2.4cm by 2.6cm! That's huge! The other one was about half that size. He took me back to the procedure room, and we spent the next 10 minutes numbing the roof of my mouth and draining the abscesses. One of the most vile experiences of my life, hands down. But it's pretty gross, so I will spare you the details. You can ask me in person if you want the details.
When the first one popped, there was an immediate release of pressure and an immediate lessening of my pain. Not by a lot, but a when it's that bad, a little is a lot. He gave me prescriptions for liquid ibuprofen and liquid hydrocodone and sent me home to rest and with a recommendation to schedule a tonsillectomy. I took them as soon as I got home and spent the rest of the day (to my roommate's amusement) in a euphoric, loopy, pain-free daze, drifting in and out of consciousness. When I woke up the next day, it was a complete 180. I could swallow. My pain was around a 2. I could see my throat. My tonsils were already pulling away from my uvula. Everything just looked and felt not swollen. It was fabulous.
Within days I was feeling almost completely normal. My mouth was sore for a while, but that faded and I was happy and relatively happy. I was still pretty tired, and slept a lot, because I did still technically have mono. But compared with the hell I had been living in, it was pure bliss.
That's not the end of this tale either. Just over a week ago, on Tuesday, I woke up with swallowing hurting a little and my tonsils swollen a little bit more again. I felt like I had a fever, though I didn't technically have a fever, I just really didn't feel well at all. I left work early, and called my mom. Asked if she thought I was being paranoid for being afraid that the abscesses were recurring (which only happens in about 10-15% of cases). She said no, I was not being paranoid and should go back to Dr Goodrich. I went over, and they worked me in again. Turns out I was right! These abscesses are caused by an infection in the tonsils, so the only way to stop them from happening again is to having a tonsillectomy. Since I already had my surgery scheduled for the end of the month and didn't want to do it sooner if I didn't need to (though Dr Goodrich did offer to do the surgery that Friday..), he gave me a week-long course of antibiotics and steroids....with the understanding that if I get worse I have to go back in to see him and we will do surgery at the end of the day. O.O
So that puts me where I am at today. I finished the drugs a couple of days ago and I'm feeling right as rain again, so fingers crossed. My blasted mouth only has to make it two more weeks until my surgery date. Many of my plans hinge on the surgery not happening until it is scheduled, so by golly my tonsils will behave!
I'm feeling much better now, and I can look back and joke about a lot of it. I don't regret anything except that I didn't act sooner and get in to Dr Goodrich before the weekend. I should have, and I know I should have. But at the time, even though I knew my doctor was blowing me off and I was in serious trouble, I wanted her to be right that I just needed to wait it out. I really wanted it to be something that I would sleep off and be fine. And it took my mother telling a panicking me that I'm not crazy and that something was terribly wrong to finally accept what I already knew. It's funny how twice during this whole ordeal I needed to call my mom, not only because she's my mommy, but also because I needed her to tell me to do what I already I needed to do (I just didn't want to do it). Because both times I knew I needed to go to Dr Goodrich - I just was too stubborn to let myself accept the fact that I was in trouble.
If you haven't heard of peritonsillar abscesses before, take it from me - they're bad. Abscesses are never good, but these ones are particularly nasty. They develop mainly from untreated tonsillitis - the tissue surrounding the tonsils becomes infected and develops these abscesses. Their location is what makes them particularly worrisome. They are, literally, in your head, and if let go too long can infect important blood vessels, travel into your lungs and cause pneumonia, infect your jugular, etc. There's a good size list of the possible badness to come from these little spawns of Satan. You wanna know more, google them. They're nasty buggers.
One of the most annoying consequences of all this is that a) my birthday was in the midst of the 8-day hell, so it was a pretty crappy birthday as birthdays go, and b) I essentially lost all of the month of May. So I'm still playing catch up on seeing people, paying bills, getting useful life things accomplished on time. You get my drift.
On the upside, I beat my brother Darien for worst mono complications (people keep telling me that shouldn't have been a competition to begin with....), and I've become something of a legend at the ENT office (which tells you something of how bad it was right there!), so there's something come out of it..
All in all, it's been a month to beat many months - but I got quite the story out of it, and that's what life is about - collecting stories to weave into the tapestry of our lives.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Busy Bee
I guess five months is a long time to go between blog posts. Whoops.
Much has happened since my last post.
-The relay I was preparing for - I ran. It was a blast. The first leg was the hardest because I got shin splints within the first 20 minutes. It took a long time to get those to ease up. But once they did, the rest of it was pretty fun. The other two legs were much easier, but I was definitely glad to be done with them when I finally finished. I was pretty gimpy for a few days afterwards, but sleep and food are wonderful healers.
-I decided months ago that I have too much free time on my hands that I wasn't using for anything productive. So I applied to the hospital to be a patient support volunteer. After a couple of months of waiting and then three months of training I'm finally officially a patient support volunteer. My main job will be a 3 hour shift in the emergency room each week. I will be available to sit with patients or family members during the frequently long periods of waiting. I'm basically there to be a companion and to do what the nursing staff don't have the luxury of doing - just be present and available. I won't start that until the beginning of January.
-In the beginning of November I decided I was tired of slowly paying off my debts. I began applying for a second job. Towards the end of November I accepted a job at a local restaurant here, Birch & Barley, as a hostess. I've worked that for the last few weekends now. It's definitely a steep learning curve. It's not a super complicated job, but there are lots of little details to learn by heart. The first couple of training days were pretty overwhelming, but now I'm starting to get my feet under me and it's becoming pretty fun. The staff are all hard workers, but they still manage to have fun.
So now I work around 50 hours a week, and pretty soon I will start volunteering an additional 3 hours a week. I'm certainly a busy girl these days, but it's not so bad. I'd rather be perhaps a little busier than preferred than sitting in front of my computer watching Netflix every free moment. Believe me, I have nothing against Netflix. I do love Netflix. I just think I would rather be doing something productive with my time. And the sooner I get my debt down, the sooner I will feel comfortable jumping continents.
Much has happened since my last post.
-The relay I was preparing for - I ran. It was a blast. The first leg was the hardest because I got shin splints within the first 20 minutes. It took a long time to get those to ease up. But once they did, the rest of it was pretty fun. The other two legs were much easier, but I was definitely glad to be done with them when I finally finished. I was pretty gimpy for a few days afterwards, but sleep and food are wonderful healers.
-I decided months ago that I have too much free time on my hands that I wasn't using for anything productive. So I applied to the hospital to be a patient support volunteer. After a couple of months of waiting and then three months of training I'm finally officially a patient support volunteer. My main job will be a 3 hour shift in the emergency room each week. I will be available to sit with patients or family members during the frequently long periods of waiting. I'm basically there to be a companion and to do what the nursing staff don't have the luxury of doing - just be present and available. I won't start that until the beginning of January.
-In the beginning of November I decided I was tired of slowly paying off my debts. I began applying for a second job. Towards the end of November I accepted a job at a local restaurant here, Birch & Barley, as a hostess. I've worked that for the last few weekends now. It's definitely a steep learning curve. It's not a super complicated job, but there are lots of little details to learn by heart. The first couple of training days were pretty overwhelming, but now I'm starting to get my feet under me and it's becoming pretty fun. The staff are all hard workers, but they still manage to have fun.
So now I work around 50 hours a week, and pretty soon I will start volunteering an additional 3 hours a week. I'm certainly a busy girl these days, but it's not so bad. I'd rather be perhaps a little busier than preferred than sitting in front of my computer watching Netflix every free moment. Believe me, I have nothing against Netflix. I do love Netflix. I just think I would rather be doing something productive with my time. And the sooner I get my debt down, the sooner I will feel comfortable jumping continents.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
The Eve Of The Big Day
Well, it's Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday. Why is this unusual? Well, tomorrow is finally my Ragnar relay!!! =D I'm probably equal parts excited and nervous for this. I'm still getting into doing big events, so my stomach does all sorts of jumping jacks just thinking about what's coming up. Just get me to the starting line, and I'll settle and be one cool cucumber, but until then....I guess I'll just be unable to stop moving. :)
On a completely different note, I've been thinking about a particular topic a lot lately so I thought I would share. People, especially within the Christian community, seem to have this phobia of emotional pain. I usually hear things like "guard your heart", "guard your mind", "be smart", etc. You get the picture. Now everything is coming from good intentions, I understand that. And you don't necessarily want to be flinging your affections around to any and everyone who you come in contact with. But does that mean that you should only pursue those relationships which will, a) be maintained for the rest of your life (theoretically), b) contain only good feelings, and c) be a "benefit" to you? I don't necessarily disagree with looking for relationships with people that have these qualities, but I also think it's unhealthy and snobby to completely stay away from any relationship which doesn't fit all these criteria.
To the first point - there are seasons for everything, including many relationships. You learn something from every relationship you enter into, whether that relationship lasts a week or ten years! I make friends very easily, as most of you know, and I work very hard to keep the ones that I really feel a connection with, but I'm also okay if a relationship just dies out. I'll pursue a relationship, even if I'm pretty sure it has a limited time frame, because every person you come in contact with shapes you.
Now to the second point.... good feelings. Now, I'll be the first person to say that of course you want a relationship that feels good! But, at the same time, can you honestly say that the times you have grown the most have been during happy times? I can't. Happy times do cause some change, but, at least for me, I have grown the most and learned some of the most important things during my WORST moments - sad, angry, disappointed, frustrated, you name it. So while I don't actively seek out relationships for the purpose of pushing me to my low points, I don't run away from them. Because they challenge me - they challenge me to be a better person, to contemplate what I believe, why I believe it, and to figure out what it means to be me. I don't know about you, but there are days when I feel like an enigma even to myself!
And now the last point - I don't believe that every relationship will be of the biggest benefit to you. But you may be needed by someone else to help them overcome a particular obstacle in their life. One-sided friendships are challenging, and you definitely need to be in a healthy place emotionally for it to not be a drain, but I believe sometimes we may need to be there for someone that we would never let be there for ourselves. And besides, just because you can't logically see the benefit to yourself out of a relationship, doesn't mean there isn't one!
I realize that was a whole lot of thoughts, and I'm not sure how well I explained it, but it's been on my mind a lot lately. Emotional pain isn't fun, I'm not trying to sugarcoat it, but I don't think it should be avoided nearly as strenuously as many people tell me it should. It's okay to live, it's okay to experience heartbreak, it's really okay! You live, you learn, and you cry. Life is full of ups and downs. It seems like a lot people would prefer to stay right at the happy medium - gently rollings hills of emotions, but nothing too too high or too too low. Me? I'm more of a roller coaster fan. Give me huge ups, followed by huge downs. It's all part of really living a fully experienced life, in my book.
On a completely different note, I've been thinking about a particular topic a lot lately so I thought I would share. People, especially within the Christian community, seem to have this phobia of emotional pain. I usually hear things like "guard your heart", "guard your mind", "be smart", etc. You get the picture. Now everything is coming from good intentions, I understand that. And you don't necessarily want to be flinging your affections around to any and everyone who you come in contact with. But does that mean that you should only pursue those relationships which will, a) be maintained for the rest of your life (theoretically), b) contain only good feelings, and c) be a "benefit" to you? I don't necessarily disagree with looking for relationships with people that have these qualities, but I also think it's unhealthy and snobby to completely stay away from any relationship which doesn't fit all these criteria.
To the first point - there are seasons for everything, including many relationships. You learn something from every relationship you enter into, whether that relationship lasts a week or ten years! I make friends very easily, as most of you know, and I work very hard to keep the ones that I really feel a connection with, but I'm also okay if a relationship just dies out. I'll pursue a relationship, even if I'm pretty sure it has a limited time frame, because every person you come in contact with shapes you.
Now to the second point.... good feelings. Now, I'll be the first person to say that of course you want a relationship that feels good! But, at the same time, can you honestly say that the times you have grown the most have been during happy times? I can't. Happy times do cause some change, but, at least for me, I have grown the most and learned some of the most important things during my WORST moments - sad, angry, disappointed, frustrated, you name it. So while I don't actively seek out relationships for the purpose of pushing me to my low points, I don't run away from them. Because they challenge me - they challenge me to be a better person, to contemplate what I believe, why I believe it, and to figure out what it means to be me. I don't know about you, but there are days when I feel like an enigma even to myself!
And now the last point - I don't believe that every relationship will be of the biggest benefit to you. But you may be needed by someone else to help them overcome a particular obstacle in their life. One-sided friendships are challenging, and you definitely need to be in a healthy place emotionally for it to not be a drain, but I believe sometimes we may need to be there for someone that we would never let be there for ourselves. And besides, just because you can't logically see the benefit to yourself out of a relationship, doesn't mean there isn't one!
I realize that was a whole lot of thoughts, and I'm not sure how well I explained it, but it's been on my mind a lot lately. Emotional pain isn't fun, I'm not trying to sugarcoat it, but I don't think it should be avoided nearly as strenuously as many people tell me it should. It's okay to live, it's okay to experience heartbreak, it's really okay! You live, you learn, and you cry. Life is full of ups and downs. It seems like a lot people would prefer to stay right at the happy medium - gently rollings hills of emotions, but nothing too too high or too too low. Me? I'm more of a roller coaster fan. Give me huge ups, followed by huge downs. It's all part of really living a fully experienced life, in my book.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Life Without Internet
Life without internet is quite the experience, I am discovering. I haven't had internet in my house since the beginning of May. Now, I have access at work and at friend's houses, so it's not that I don't have any access, but still...
Dear Sarah got married, so I ended up moving into an apartment, alone for the summer until my roommate Gianna moves in in August. It's been very interesting learning to live by myself. For one, I discovered the joy of living by yourself in the morning. You can use the blender, blast music, stumble into your door and yell threats at it, all without the fear of waking up your roommate. On the other hand, I absolutely hate living alone in the evenings...especially without internet... It's so boring. Literally the only things to do at my apartment are read, cook, and write letters. That's it. And those don't take up nearly enough time to fill all my evenings. What this means is that I frequently end making desperate phone calls to all my friends. And I mean all of them. And if no one is free, then I throw a pity party. Not really, but you get the gist.
My relay race is coming up in a week. A week! Ah! I can hardly believe it's almost here already. I feel pretty ready for it - I know, mentally, that I'm ready for it. But I go back and forth between being really jazzed and panicking. Mostly jazzed, but still, sometimes I contemplate running 13.1 miles within 24 hours - I've never done that. Ever. I'm sure it'll be awesome, and crazy, and tiring, and completely fantastic. I just have to get over the anticipation. It'll be fine once I get there - I'll be cool as a cucumber. :)
One of the cool things about doing this run is that now running 13.1 miles seems totally achievable - which means that my dreams of a half-ironman are completely within my reach. Next year could be a very cool year if I can pull this off. Aaaaah! If I had told myself two years ago I would be seriously contemplating a half-ironman, I might have laughed at myself. My body is not naturally built for endurance activities. Short burst with lots of power, I got you covered, but plod along for...ever? Not my natural bent. But the awesome thing about our bodies is that they are totally trainable! With the right plan and the right gear, you can teach your body to do amazing things, things that you may have not thought possible before.
Speaking of half-ironmans, that brings me to a pet-peeve. I guess not really a pet-peeve, more like uncomfortable situations for myself. When I tell people I'm planning to do a half-ironman within 2 years, the most common reaction is some variant of "Wow! You're so awesome and talented!". While being very flattering and all, I'd rather you save that until AFTER I actually follow through and complete the triathlon. I mean, I am awesome, it's true, but I could talk from here to kingdom come about doing a half and never actually do it. Until I cross that finish line, I'm all talk. Once I actually start training and then physically go do it, then I can accept the praise with good grace. Until then, I just feel a little weird being considered cool just because I have plans to do this really cool thing. Maybe I'm weird, but it just makes me a little uncomfortable to accept that kind of praise when I haven't done anything yet.
Work is really busy. One therapist left at the end of June, another is leaving at the end of July, and we have two coming on beginning of August. Good gracious. And June set a record for number of new patients scheduling for that month. So everyone is really full, really busy, and I run with a smile and a sense of having 20 millions things that need doing. It's better than being bored, but still - I have a feeling this next month is going to be a long one.
Dear Sarah got married, so I ended up moving into an apartment, alone for the summer until my roommate Gianna moves in in August. It's been very interesting learning to live by myself. For one, I discovered the joy of living by yourself in the morning. You can use the blender, blast music, stumble into your door and yell threats at it, all without the fear of waking up your roommate. On the other hand, I absolutely hate living alone in the evenings...especially without internet... It's so boring. Literally the only things to do at my apartment are read, cook, and write letters. That's it. And those don't take up nearly enough time to fill all my evenings. What this means is that I frequently end making desperate phone calls to all my friends. And I mean all of them. And if no one is free, then I throw a pity party. Not really, but you get the gist.
My relay race is coming up in a week. A week! Ah! I can hardly believe it's almost here already. I feel pretty ready for it - I know, mentally, that I'm ready for it. But I go back and forth between being really jazzed and panicking. Mostly jazzed, but still, sometimes I contemplate running 13.1 miles within 24 hours - I've never done that. Ever. I'm sure it'll be awesome, and crazy, and tiring, and completely fantastic. I just have to get over the anticipation. It'll be fine once I get there - I'll be cool as a cucumber. :)
One of the cool things about doing this run is that now running 13.1 miles seems totally achievable - which means that my dreams of a half-ironman are completely within my reach. Next year could be a very cool year if I can pull this off. Aaaaah! If I had told myself two years ago I would be seriously contemplating a half-ironman, I might have laughed at myself. My body is not naturally built for endurance activities. Short burst with lots of power, I got you covered, but plod along for...ever? Not my natural bent. But the awesome thing about our bodies is that they are totally trainable! With the right plan and the right gear, you can teach your body to do amazing things, things that you may have not thought possible before.
Speaking of half-ironmans, that brings me to a pet-peeve. I guess not really a pet-peeve, more like uncomfortable situations for myself. When I tell people I'm planning to do a half-ironman within 2 years, the most common reaction is some variant of "Wow! You're so awesome and talented!". While being very flattering and all, I'd rather you save that until AFTER I actually follow through and complete the triathlon. I mean, I am awesome, it's true, but I could talk from here to kingdom come about doing a half and never actually do it. Until I cross that finish line, I'm all talk. Once I actually start training and then physically go do it, then I can accept the praise with good grace. Until then, I just feel a little weird being considered cool just because I have plans to do this really cool thing. Maybe I'm weird, but it just makes me a little uncomfortable to accept that kind of praise when I haven't done anything yet.
Work is really busy. One therapist left at the end of June, another is leaving at the end of July, and we have two coming on beginning of August. Good gracious. And June set a record for number of new patients scheduling for that month. So everyone is really full, really busy, and I run with a smile and a sense of having 20 millions things that need doing. It's better than being bored, but still - I have a feeling this next month is going to be a long one.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Distracted Focus
The saying goes that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Well, this March hasn't been much to write home about. It's been very inconsistent weather-wise, that's for sure, but not too bad. Warm enough to not need a jacket most days, even warm and sunny on some days - I've done two bike rides to Moscow this month!! =D I've really missed biking. It will take some re-adjustment to get back into biking shape, but I will get there. I'm so excited for sun and warmth!
A couple months ago I registered for a 200-mile overnight relay run. O.O I still haven't figured out what possessed me to do that, but I did, so now I've got to deal with it. There will be twelve of us on the team, and we each take three legs. My legs really aren't bad at all, but for a non-runner like me, well, they seem a little bit intimidating. However, I just keep reminding myself that if I want to a half-ironman, I need to be able to run a half-marathon AFTER swimming a mile AND biking 56 miles. Sooo....I really need to suck it up and get moving. Despite the intimidation factor, I'm really excited for this relay. I think it is going to be awesome, tiring, thrilling, satisfying, encouraging, and exhausting. I will probably nap for a full day when I finish. But it will be so worth it! And we run along the water for a lot of it, so it will probably be pretty. Hopefully I don't get lost...
I'm planning to move into Sarah's next month. Eek! I feel like time has really flown by. I've barely wrapped my mind around it being February, and March is almost over already! I still need to purge my things....I'll get to that. There's always tomorrow, right? ... Until there isn't. Oh well. I will get settled over there sometime, somehow.
I joined a book club recently, which has been fun. It's started me reading some books that I wouldn't have bothered with otherwise. They are good books, they just don't capture my attention right away, which is usually what a book has to do to get me to actually take the time to read it. But this just adds to the number of books I'm currently reading. ..hehe.. My co-workers make fun of me because I can pretty much bring a new book to work every day of the week. I just tell them that, as with many things in my life, I have be distracted enough to focus. I know, I know, it doesn't make sense to most people, but it's just how my brain works. For instance, in college, I could only study effectively at a coffee shop. Put me in my house or a library, really anywhere quiet, and I would be waaaaay too distracted to even know what I was supposed to be doing. Put me somewhere noisy like a cafe or coffee shop and I will zoom through my homework. Writing a paper? I needed to have a movie playing in the background. Not music; a movie. So anyway, with books, I'm always reading two or more. Right now I'm only readying three, but I will be rectifying that shortly. :)
If you have any recommendations for really good books please comment! I am hungry for new literature. I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes, really my biggest pet peeve I can think of off the top of my head is that the writing style is excellent. I mean, they don't have use ten syllable words in every sentence, but...think of anything that sounds more intelligent than Twilight. :P
A couple months ago I registered for a 200-mile overnight relay run. O.O I still haven't figured out what possessed me to do that, but I did, so now I've got to deal with it. There will be twelve of us on the team, and we each take three legs. My legs really aren't bad at all, but for a non-runner like me, well, they seem a little bit intimidating. However, I just keep reminding myself that if I want to a half-ironman, I need to be able to run a half-marathon AFTER swimming a mile AND biking 56 miles. Sooo....I really need to suck it up and get moving. Despite the intimidation factor, I'm really excited for this relay. I think it is going to be awesome, tiring, thrilling, satisfying, encouraging, and exhausting. I will probably nap for a full day when I finish. But it will be so worth it! And we run along the water for a lot of it, so it will probably be pretty. Hopefully I don't get lost...
I'm planning to move into Sarah's next month. Eek! I feel like time has really flown by. I've barely wrapped my mind around it being February, and March is almost over already! I still need to purge my things....I'll get to that. There's always tomorrow, right? ... Until there isn't. Oh well. I will get settled over there sometime, somehow.
I joined a book club recently, which has been fun. It's started me reading some books that I wouldn't have bothered with otherwise. They are good books, they just don't capture my attention right away, which is usually what a book has to do to get me to actually take the time to read it. But this just adds to the number of books I'm currently reading. ..hehe.. My co-workers make fun of me because I can pretty much bring a new book to work every day of the week. I just tell them that, as with many things in my life, I have be distracted enough to focus. I know, I know, it doesn't make sense to most people, but it's just how my brain works. For instance, in college, I could only study effectively at a coffee shop. Put me in my house or a library, really anywhere quiet, and I would be waaaaay too distracted to even know what I was supposed to be doing. Put me somewhere noisy like a cafe or coffee shop and I will zoom through my homework. Writing a paper? I needed to have a movie playing in the background. Not music; a movie. So anyway, with books, I'm always reading two or more. Right now I'm only readying three, but I will be rectifying that shortly. :)
If you have any recommendations for really good books please comment! I am hungry for new literature. I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes, really my biggest pet peeve I can think of off the top of my head is that the writing style is excellent. I mean, they don't have use ten syllable words in every sentence, but...think of anything that sounds more intelligent than Twilight. :P
Saturday, January 18, 2014
New Year, New Ideas
I just realized I haven't written anything since August. Whoops. I started a few times, but never finished. Ah well. That's how life goes sometimes, right?
In September I did the sprint triathlon. It was awesome. I had a blast, and I think I'm a little addicted to it now. I guess there are worse addictions than fitness out there. So I will be doing the sprint tri again next September, and my goal is to do a half-ironman either in 2015 or 2016. That thought is simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. For anyone who doesn't know, a sprint triathlon is roughly a 500-750m swim, a 12.5 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. A half-ironman, on the other hand, is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run (a half marathon). O.O......... I must be crazy. Really, really crazy. But that just sounds AWESOME to me. The sweat, the burn, the thoughts of "I can't do this, but I will!". It sounds like a blast. The other bonus is that if I can really get into triathlons, they are a great excuse to travel. There are triathlons all over the world. Um, yes please! International relations, here I come! :P Training for this first half will be painful, and trying, but once I do the first one, it's really more a matter of maintaining, not as much striving to achieve that level of fitness.
Christmas was whirlwind of family, friends, travel, and, well, Christmas day itself. But the week flew by and I ended up back here in Pullman to settle back into routine. It's weird when you feel like you need a vacation from your vacation, but by the end I was ready for normal. Normal workouts, normal food, normal hours (my fam kept me up until midnight or 1 o'clock every night...I turn into a pumpkin at 9 usually, so that was...interesting). The new year came in as it usually does, bringing new hopes and fears for the new year. I will be moving in with a dear friend come May, so that will be exciting. And it gives me a good excuse to purge my stuff. Mwahahaha.... I love purging. It's so refreshing to get rid of things! And then all my stuff fits better, which in turn makes it easier to organize, which in turn makes it easier to keep everything clean.
I don't have much of a "bucket list" for my life. There are certain things, life doing an Ironman and sky diving that I'm not sure how soon I'll have the chance to do those, but they are always on my radar. Other things I just take a year at a time. For example, this year I want to try snowshoeing, snowboarding, and kayaking. I will make life an exciting adventure if it's the last thing that I do!
I never followed up with what's going on with my wrist. I had one MRI, with dye injected into my wrist specifically to confirm or rule out a tear, which didn't show anything. So I was referred up to a specialist in Spokane, Dr. Horn. He ordered a second MRI, this time without dye. This one showed that I actually have a ganglion cyst hanging out in that particular part of my wrist. People get ganglion cysts all the time, especially in joints. I have one in the underside of that same wrist that I wouldn't have even known was there except for the MRI. But that one doesn't hurt. They usually don't. But this one does. My options are surgery or waiting it. It could go away randomly at any time, today or twelve years from now. No one knows. There isn't a rhyme or reason to when they go away by themselves. Now, I am not a particularly patient person, but surgery is still not something to jump into. So, with Dr. Horn's permission, I'm weight lifting again, using my wrist as much as I can stand, and trying to walk a fine line between abusing and simply using my wrist. I'm not always very successful. And my boss is being wonderful and working on it here and there - massagin, twisting, bending, stretching. I think all this might be helping, but we will see. I want this stupid thing gone, so if it doesn't shape up in the next few months, well...I'll go from there. But for now, it isn't hindering any activities anymore, so I can live with it.
I need to go running now. And I don't have much else to update you on. So I will leave you with this picture of Italy, to make you crave going there as much as I do. You're welcome :)
In September I did the sprint triathlon. It was awesome. I had a blast, and I think I'm a little addicted to it now. I guess there are worse addictions than fitness out there. So I will be doing the sprint tri again next September, and my goal is to do a half-ironman either in 2015 or 2016. That thought is simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. For anyone who doesn't know, a sprint triathlon is roughly a 500-750m swim, a 12.5 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. A half-ironman, on the other hand, is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run (a half marathon). O.O......... I must be crazy. Really, really crazy. But that just sounds AWESOME to me. The sweat, the burn, the thoughts of "I can't do this, but I will!". It sounds like a blast. The other bonus is that if I can really get into triathlons, they are a great excuse to travel. There are triathlons all over the world. Um, yes please! International relations, here I come! :P Training for this first half will be painful, and trying, but once I do the first one, it's really more a matter of maintaining, not as much striving to achieve that level of fitness.
Christmas was whirlwind of family, friends, travel, and, well, Christmas day itself. But the week flew by and I ended up back here in Pullman to settle back into routine. It's weird when you feel like you need a vacation from your vacation, but by the end I was ready for normal. Normal workouts, normal food, normal hours (my fam kept me up until midnight or 1 o'clock every night...I turn into a pumpkin at 9 usually, so that was...interesting). The new year came in as it usually does, bringing new hopes and fears for the new year. I will be moving in with a dear friend come May, so that will be exciting. And it gives me a good excuse to purge my stuff. Mwahahaha.... I love purging. It's so refreshing to get rid of things! And then all my stuff fits better, which in turn makes it easier to organize, which in turn makes it easier to keep everything clean.
I don't have much of a "bucket list" for my life. There are certain things, life doing an Ironman and sky diving that I'm not sure how soon I'll have the chance to do those, but they are always on my radar. Other things I just take a year at a time. For example, this year I want to try snowshoeing, snowboarding, and kayaking. I will make life an exciting adventure if it's the last thing that I do!
I never followed up with what's going on with my wrist. I had one MRI, with dye injected into my wrist specifically to confirm or rule out a tear, which didn't show anything. So I was referred up to a specialist in Spokane, Dr. Horn. He ordered a second MRI, this time without dye. This one showed that I actually have a ganglion cyst hanging out in that particular part of my wrist. People get ganglion cysts all the time, especially in joints. I have one in the underside of that same wrist that I wouldn't have even known was there except for the MRI. But that one doesn't hurt. They usually don't. But this one does. My options are surgery or waiting it. It could go away randomly at any time, today or twelve years from now. No one knows. There isn't a rhyme or reason to when they go away by themselves. Now, I am not a particularly patient person, but surgery is still not something to jump into. So, with Dr. Horn's permission, I'm weight lifting again, using my wrist as much as I can stand, and trying to walk a fine line between abusing and simply using my wrist. I'm not always very successful. And my boss is being wonderful and working on it here and there - massagin, twisting, bending, stretching. I think all this might be helping, but we will see. I want this stupid thing gone, so if it doesn't shape up in the next few months, well...I'll go from there. But for now, it isn't hindering any activities anymore, so I can live with it.
I need to go running now. And I don't have much else to update you on. So I will leave you with this picture of Italy, to make you crave going there as much as I do. You're welcome :)
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