Archive for April, 2005
April 28, 2005 at 10:39 pm · Filed under blather
This week has been almost too crazy for words. First, our phone was disconnected. Why? Because when we cancelled Vonage, and were assured that we didn’t need to do anything else, our transfer of service apparently went through anyway. Which means that a month later (Monday, to be exact), we lost our service and our phone number.
Several phone calls (using the cell, of course) later, we found out that we could only get our number back if we (1) signed up with Vonage again, (2) achieved a dial tone with them, and (3) transferred our service back to our regular phone company. Sorry, we’re not willing to do that. Four days without service is enough.
Naturally, Pete relies on the phone for his life coaching activities. Since he needed to be on a regular line for his Tuesday night teleclass, he went to the office and used our calling card. Peter and I went to pick him up and arrived early… and were flagged down by a woman who had run out of gas on the road we call the Beltline. She had climbed a fence to get to where we were. We took her to a gas station and back to her car. I’m making it sound much less complicated than it actually was, but suffice it to say we took our lives into our hands trying to get that gallon of gas into her tank.
Bizarre. But serendipitous. (Watch out, I’m trying to spell the big words here.) The dead phone…the class…the early arrival…meant that we were there to help someone in need. It was all quite surreal.
And my boss resigned today.
April 24, 2005 at 8:48 pm · Filed under moon (rachel)
A lot of other stuff happened this weekend, including Peter’s birthday (he’s 11) and a related visit to JM and Nichole’s for games, but today was a day for loud music, and lots of it. Pete offered up his voice (including a surprisingly effective rendition of “Back in Black”), and inspired me to get up to the mic for “I Love Rock and Roll.”
Yes, I guess it was kind of like karoke for parents.
One kid who must have been around 9 or 10 not only played guitar, he also got up and sang. We couldn’t believe how much confidence he had — and he wailed. I probably should have taken more pictures, because in 10 years when he’s on tour, they might be worth something.
April 21, 2005 at 10:29 pm · Filed under spiritual
So I went to see my psychiatrist on Monday, to check in with him after being back on the meds for two weeks. I continue to be amazed that the smallest possible dose works for me. Maybe it’s all in my head, you know? The placebo effect. Whatever.
One thing I did was ‘fess up to how poorly I had been doing up until the day I called him. When I first went off the meds, I only suffered physically… nausea, dizziness and all that. The slide downward happened so gradually that I was shocked when I realized just how much effort it was taking just to get through each day.
Why was I so clueless? Well, I wasn’t freaking out with anxiety, so I figured I was okay. I’ve become pretty adept at the behavior-modification thought-redirection stuff. Feeling dark and joyless threw me for a loop.
Anyway, being on the steroids turned out to be a good thing for me mentally. They do have a mood-boosting effect for many people, and I think that effect helped me hang in there while my regular meds kicked in. I’m sure that feeling physically better cheered me up a bit, too.
My doc pondered whether short-term steroids might be useful in psychiatry. (I had wondered the same thing.) He also gave me a bit of advice: “You might want to consider staying on the medication.”
Uh, yeah. *sheepish grin*
April 18, 2005 at 3:54 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
I’ve been knitting along with my Himalayan wool/silk, and I’m almost finished with my first skein of yarn. Yay! But I can’t help wondering what a Clapotis would be like with various other yarns. Like, say, bamboo. Specifically, bamboo yarn that I saw marked down 25 percent.
Maybe I need an assortment of Clapotises (Clapoti?).
April 16, 2005 at 9:19 am · Filed under blather
Yes, I’m much better. And I’ve been working on my Clapotis – I just started the straight section, and in eight rows I’ll be able to drop my first stitch. *joy*
I had a business meeting with my spiritual buddies yesterday. Theresa and I are going to be revamping a web site together. We have so many ideas, and we pretty much finish each other’s sentences. It’s going to rock. Oh, and the weather has been absolutely astonishing lately. The drive was fabulous.
Speaking of astonishing, I am completely addicted to American Idol this season. Who would have guessed? I read all the news coverage and recaps, and I even visit the discussion boards at the AI site. After Constantine’s performance on Tuesday, Moon has developed a sudden interest in Queen. Which is cool, because I was a huge fan back in the day. I do think Con did Freddie justice, although I was delighted with Bo’s “Freebird” performance as well. I’d be happy to give my opinions about all the finalists, but I don’t want to reveal the full extent of my geekiness.
Only a few more weeks before our gym membership expires. I’m going to become an outdoor exerciser after that, but in the meantime I guess I’d better go hit the machines.
April 11, 2005 at 9:18 pm · Filed under spiritual
Moon, her friend Nicole and I spent the weekend at Aurora University in Williams Bay, attending the Everyday Goddess Conference. And it was pretty wonderful. Some of the highlights:
- Celia in concert
- learning bellydance moves with the girls
- hearing about the girls’ session with author/psychic Julie Tallard Johnson
- walking along the lake together
- lots of drumming by DevaNation and the Spiritual Journey Percussion Ensemble
- Moon telling me, “I didn’t know that middle aged and old people could be so cool.”
Consider me uplifted.
April 7, 2005 at 3:06 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
I’m almost midway through Banff (my first sweater), and I’ve started another wristband for Moon. I finished my first sock (no pictures yet, but I’ve tried it on and ohhhhh it’s comfy) but I need to buy more yarn before I can make its companion.
And the bobble-y pillow has been set aside for now. I actually might put off doing the Banff sleeves for a while, since I don’t have an urgent need for a big, bulky sweater. The yarn for Tempting is sitting in my closet. And it is tempting… I could actually wear it in this weather.
But there’s more. I’ve been looking for the right yarn for Clapotis, and I found it. Now if only I could stop looking at Knitty patterns… but wait! They just posted a new issue!
April 3, 2005 at 9:17 pm · Filed under family
Yeah, it was a beautiful weekend. I’m glad I was of a mind to enjoy it. (There are other pictures too.)
April 2, 2005 at 9:08 pm · Filed under fitness
Well, I’m already much better. I have also had a few reassuring talks with people who’ve been down the short-term steroid road. One of my neighbors told me that her energy level improved a lot the first day or two taking them. I can vouch for that.
Last night we all went to a Game Night at our church. It was awesome fun. And good for my busy busy mind.
This morning I took Moon to the area strings festival. Peter opted out, which was fine. Originally, we were planning to skip it completely and head up to the Dells for the day. We ended up deciding to just go for the afternoon — which meant the festival was an option again.
The Dells trip took place because Sisters #2-4 were there at a resort with their families. We hung out with them in the hotel room and went out to dinner. We also watched Nephew #2b so that the rest of the gang could go frolic in the waterpark without having to worry about a three-month old who wasn’t keen on going in the water.
It’s been a good weekend so far.
April 1, 2005 at 4:17 pm · Filed under fitness
Yesterday, after the 100th person came in to my office to comment on my hacking cough, I finally called my doctor. And got the nurse, who listened to my symptoms and wheezing, and said that the doctor would most likely recommend short-term steroid treatment. I’m not that sick, just coughing my guts out to the point where I can barely catch my breath. An infection is unlikely, yada yada. I already use an inhaler during the winter, for cold-induced asthma symptoms.
Of course, I immediately turned to my old friend the internet to read up on steroids. Appetite increase, check. Insomnia, check. Mood swings… uh, oh.
I freaked out, because I’ve been having enough mood swings on my own since discontinuing the OCD med. Not that I’d really acknowledged that fact, or let anyone else know that I was having any trouble. Basically my thought was: I don’t want it to get any worse. It was a big giant wake up call.
Long story short, I called my shrink doc and now I’m back on the OCD stuff along with the steroids. Today I’m 100% better than I was yesterday. I even had lunch with Carrie, and I sorely needed the girlfriend time. So it’s all good.
By the way, the steroids… it’s a 6-day course, starting with 6 pills the first day, 5 the second, etc. The little case they come in reminds me of birth control pills, for some reason. Huh.
