and i'll keep kicking the crap till it's gone

[seventhe]

So I’ve been pretty stressed out lately. Rather than talk too much about the things stressing me, I’m going to talk about the good things that are happening because of all the stress, one by one.

• Snafubar played our first gig on Saturday night. We shared a show with Lithium and I thought it went really well overall. I was pleased with the way we sounded although as always you can critique these kinds of things until the sun goes down… but in the end, not only am I happy about it, I’m happy to have it over with. I didn’t have a lot of practice time in my week to begin with (and now with all the other stress it really wasn’t helping) and while I love playing it’s nice to have a little break. One stressor down. Congrats to Lithium too, you guys sounded awesome. :D


• FFEX, NGP, help_haiti: all assorted fandom projects with assorted due dates that are approximately NOW, or maybe YESTERDAY, if not LAST WEEK DUMBASS: but all of which will be done this week and I’m pleased as shit with things right now. Even if my contributions to FFEX have been “cheer wildly while coding people make my dreams come true” and “panic”… even then.


• Work has been insanely ungodly busy and while I'm trying to pull something good out of it for the list… I’m coming up blank. Right now I’m working on the largest single amount of polymer I’ve ever made for a request, times four requests. Plus a crapload of other studies and other smaller batches which are still my responsibility no matter what else lands in my lap. Due dates for one major project/study is mid-April; for another project/request, mid-May. So right now is crunch time. At least I’m busy, job security, etc. It isn’t helping the exhaustion but I guess it’s helping the days go by.


• Health-wise: I got the results back from a blood test I took a few weeks ago (seriously, people, I have had 8 appointments in the past 3 Fridays. I don’t even want to look at my medical bills yet). Apparently I am extremely vitamin deficient in a way that isn’t related to diet or sun exposure at all: good job, body, way to continue to fail at the things other people do correctly. XDD I’m lacking Bs and Ds, I guess: vitamin D you hear about a lot in the winter, but B12 is one that contributes to “normal brain function”. Ha ha ha. Funny. I wasn’t really sure why, because I buy my own groceries and cook for myself and eat lots of fruit and vegetables. But apparently this is the kind of thing that can just happen; my body just doesn’t absorb or process or hang onto this stuff correctly, apparently, sez the doc, and that’s that. YEY.
  The thing is, the symptoms (not just lethargy/lack of energy/exhaustion/sleep disorder, but depression, anxiety, irritability, mood-swings*) match the things I’ve been fighting, the things that have been getting worse. The revelation that the B-vitamins affect mental issues and brain function kind of just made it click for me. Hilariously, when I called my mother to tell her this, she revealed that a great-aunt of mine had once been hospitalized in a psych ward for symptoms that ended up being related to B-deficiency. Guess I’m glad we caught this now.
  So I am on a regimen of shots, weekly supervitamin gutpunches, and pill cocktails for a month; after that I have a delicious sampling of 8 pills I’ll take every day (not including the multi-vitamin I’m holding off on for now until this other shit gets stabilized) until I get re-tested in three months for APPROVE/DISAPPROVE. The reason I'm taking 8 pills / day is because the levels of daily vitamins I was prescribed by the doctor are 2-3x the largest size sold in any given pharmacy. Sweet.
  Honestly, this is better than the outcome I was expecting and stressing over (“Your thyroid is borked! You require surgery/serious meds”) and I’m hoping, hoping, hoping that some of my health issues will get their asses in line once I get myself and my internal systems re-balanced.


• In-between appointments this week, I wasted some time at a Borders which was going out of business and had discounts on their books. I bought myself a lovely illustrated book on Yoga; it’s hard to find a good book on yoga, because what I really want is a book about building vinyasas for myself, and I’m guessing the discount shelves aren’t the best place to find something that specific. But the book I have has a lot of awesome 360-degree photos of some of the main poses, and combinations to do for pain in certain areas of the body, which is pretty cool: I’m pleased, even if it doesn’t cover everything I was hoping it would. I also got a book on homemade spa treatments (which looks really awesome and fun; can’t wait to try it). And also: I found The deck of Tarot** cards for me. I’ve been looking for a new deck for a while, and who would’ve known the perfect deck lived in the Borders clearance bin? Ha: I should have, as my “inner self” is a cheapass. I haven’t gotten to do much with them yet because I’ve been so busy, but they are beautiful and awesome, the symbolism is fantastic (very faerie-based, beautiful yet with enough creepy to really please me), and this is the first deck since my last one that I have really felt intrigued by. Yoga and Tarot… rebalancing vitamin regimen… who senses a theme? Haha, self!


• My training plan is going as well as it can. I did my first two outdoor runs this weekend: one 5-miler, and one ~3-miler. My training plan basically has one long run per week, and as long as the temperature isn’t cold enough to trigger my asthma I really want to start doing the long run outdoors. However, I have to find a better road to run on! The path I picked on Friday was a really shit road for running. Anyway, my legs are still recovering from the shock of a real road, but I’m getting there. Training is slow, but I’m getting there.

Anyway, my commitment plate has been a little full, but this week – this week! – a lot of it should get better, and maybe I can get this stress-knot out of my neck and this anxiety out of my gut and this exhaustion out of my head. :) I’m looking forward to this weekend if nothing else! Engineering Bitches hit WineCon 2010. Heeeellllllllllls yeah.

How is everyone else!


* Uh, I guess this is the part where I mention that I’ve been going through a lot of these symptoms lately and having some health and mental health issues…? Heh.
** I like the Tarot as a meditation/therapy/interesting-way-of-looking-at-things tool, much like I like horoscopes. Do I think there is a spirit in the cards (or the stars) telling my fortune? No. Do I believe someone like me (who fails at emotional analysis anyway) can use Tarot methods to better understand who they are, how they feel about situations and what they want to do? Yup. Do I like pretty cards with gorgeous illustrations? Also yes. :P

Comments

[yukie]

Huzzah huzzah for vitaminfailWTF!

I'm D-deficient, which is annoying - I mean, the vitamins that people with my condition usually fail with are the fat soluble ones (A,D,E,K) and for some reason EVERYTHING IS FINE EXCEPT D which does a lovely little ween-kick to my mood a bunch XD SO now I'm on a study that's supposed to help with that.

Vitamins are such arbitrary jerks.

And oh man WORD on the running + cold + touchy lungs = no thx. I am SO glad it's warmed up enough that I can go speedwalky again (sometimes running annoys my knees so I speedwalk carrying weights). I have a cold weather mask that makes me look like a small faily ninja but even that doesn't fix everything. I'm starting slow but as I get better I'm going to increase distance.

Yee!

[seventhe]

Vitamins are crapheads! I am displeased with them at the moment!

Working out in the cold requires a dedication I seriously lack 9 times out of 10. urghhhhh. I do like the idea of your ninja mask though! My ears got really really cold on my run. :/

[yukie]

My dad got my ninja mask from a running store. He got one for himself too as he has an occasionally-irritable nose and likes to run in every condition ever unless it's floody rain or hail. XD;

And ruggdffgsrjs vitamins. I shake my fist at them so much.

[crankyoldman]

WHY ARE WE NOT DRUNK YET.

ALSO: I PURCHASED ONE RED, ONE WHITE, AND ONE ROSE BECAUSE I COULDN'T MAKE UP MY MIND.

[yukie]

... Damn, I don't have booze, I can't be drunk in Canadian solidarity. D8 WOE

...wtf why did i not watch your damn journal yet WHAT AM I ON.

[seventhe]

!!!!!!!!!!! SO EXCITED. HOORAY FOR WINE!

My parents apparently went to the store to prepare and... overdid themselves. Severely.

[crankyoldman]

HA HA AMAZING.

[shanaqui]

I should get back to taking vitamins. My prescription medication makes some funky imbalances in what I can absorb/excrete/whatever.

Yay for trying to think of the good stuff. ♥

[seventhe]

<3 <3

I was just about to start taking a multivitamin, too... ha ha ha.

[whitemage]

&hearts

Ffffff, the vitamin thing. *hugs* Yeah, I hear you, that's part of my anemia. =/ Damnable the things that nutrients can do to our neurology.

Wish you the best, and lost of wanton drunken fun.

[jennyclarinet.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the gig is over too! Yesterday was a tough day for me b/c I had to teach a lot after 5-6 hours of sleep/fighting a cold. Still exhausted. Now I can get back to my regular life. And taxes. :P

I didn't know about your vitamin issues-very interesting. Glad you caught it before winding up in the loony bin! ;) I've been dealing with my lower back issues (which I think playing the drums aggravates-d'oh). I had x-rays done last week, and I'm about to find out what the chiropractor finds in them.

Good luck with work!

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

Eeek, x-rays! I hope your back is okay! ♥ Mine is still bothering me a little but I've had so much other doctor-y stuff that it's been easy enough to ignore. I think we need to save up and go for massages!

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

Maaaaaaaaaaaan do not remind me about aaaaaaaaage XDDDD

I play drums! And sing a little; they want me to sing more but I don't think I'm that good XD I love the name Snafubar. We started throwing the phrase around at work (we all work together) and it just stuck :)

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the gig! Getting ready to perform is stressful and a lot of work, but the energy that comes from a good performance is like nothing else.

I agree with you exactly about the tarot and horoscopes: although I've never really had any mystical experiences around them, they can be a really great way to look at myself, an issue, or (especially in the case of astrology) the way I relate to other people from a different angle. The pretty pictures are a nice bonus, too. :)

[drakonlily.livejournal.com]

Vitamin B makes your pee highlighter yellow!! :D :D :D

[safety-caesars.livejournal.com]

YOUR THYROID IS BORKED!! Haahhaahha. I mean. That was just funny XDD

Maybe you just need to huff more kittens.

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

OBVIOUS SOLUTION. *GOES TO FIND PORTER*

[astrangerenters.livejournal.com]

WE ARE BOTH vitamin DEFICIENT!!!! But it's okay, we'll both get better!!

Also. My prompts for ff_exchange are EPIC and I can barely contain how excited I will be to get ANY of them written, hahahaha.

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

HOLY CRAP, I just read them and I know I shouldn't say anything about how I'm reading all the prompts that are coming in and squeeing, but I totally am, and I kind of want to "lose" all of your prompts so that I can write them as a backup.

I mean what.

They are AWESOME.