Flu Shot

Flu shot day. Have you gotten yours?

Red Bandage from Walgreens

~~~o0o~~~

On Injured List

I haven't been online much due to a shoulder injury. Not sure when regular posting will resume. I'll see a doctor next week, so I hope to know more then.

Feeling: in pain

~~~o0o~~~

Full of the Sick

I'm sick. Got a cold. Not as bad as colds can be, but annoying, with the cough that won't quit. I did get my flu shot at work as scheduled, because I didn't have a fever. At least, I hope I didn't have a fever that wasn't registering, because I'd hate to not have it work.

Meanwhile, to make up for not posting for a few days, I present... Jim's Pancakes. Found on Neatorama.

And I've decided to delete the Technorati tagging. It's a bit of a pain, and I don't think it's making a difference re: traffic on this blog.

Feeling: congested


~~~o0o~~~

Vacation Officially Over

Today's my last official day of vacation. I spent the morning getting my annual mammogram. All is well on that uh, front. Then I came home and cleaned. Ah, the joy that is my life.

Tomorrow is a federal holiday, so not a work day. Thursday, I return to the grind of the workplace.

To tide us over, some fun stuff. I think I need some of the geeky goodness showcased on this site. The Ctrl, Alt, and Del pillows are my favs. Found on The Presurfer.

Purses that look like book covers. Found on Boing Boing.

Feeling: tired

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: links

They're Mammatus!

These Mammatus clouds on Friday night here in NYC were the talk of the town. They apparently come after thunderstorms, but I've never seen them here before and we sure get a lot of thunderstorms. The clouds are magnificent. It looked like an alien planet outside.



In other news, I've been feeling pretty good the last 2 weeks, almost human, so I'm cautiously optimistic that the corner has been turned on the route to health. I can't say the same about my bones, but at this point, I'm happy. Work is... well, work. 'Nuff said.

A number of celebrities died recently, and I hate blogging about that unless I was a big fan of the person, because I don't like the whole media circus, and that's certainly true about Michael Jackson's death. He had enormous talent, a sad life, and I'm sorry to hear he died. That's it.

Feeling: chipper

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: clouds

Forgive Me, Blogosphere

I failed to blog, for days! I wish I had a good excuse, but it's just been more health issues. I had a CT scan of my abdomen yesterday and all looked fine. Which means, the doctor now has no idea what's causing the colitis symptoms to linger and is throwing all sorts of remedies at it in the hopes something will work. It's been frustrating and tiring. Stress at work isn't helping.

So, nothing exciting. Just more of the same old same old.

But I did get together with a couple of friends for picture-taking on Sunday. Here's one of the shots.



Feeling: blah

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: personal

I Have a Cold

Well, either a cold or allergies run amok. I'm so congested and I can't get this f'in child-proof bottle open. I'm waiting for hubby to come home from the ballgame, which went into extra innings. It really serves no purpose if the sick person can't access the damn meds. So, I'm sick and I'm frustrated and I'm annoyed.

Feeling: yucky

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: health

Health Update the Umpteenth

I'd taken today (well, Thursday) and Friday off for Passover, but ended up with a medical appointment today. Also, as of yesterday, feeling like crap again. So, new meds, more tests to come. It was a really beautiful day out and I didn't get to enjoy it. Started reading the new Minette Walters book I'd gotten while waiting at the drugstore for my new meds. Tired of feeling like crap. Seriously.

Feeling: blah

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: health

Ladies Who Lunch

A friend and I went to a French restaurant for lunch today. I was celebrating good news on my latest lab results. I'm still not all better, but the nasty bacteria has been beaten into submission. So I had a cheddar cheese omelette with amazing potatoes.



Feeling: pleased

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: lunch

Chocolicious Advertising

 

I couldn't resist taking a picture of these subway ads. There were others, for other "candy bars," but these two were the ones worthy of inclusion here at Cyber Chocolate.

Went to my gastroenterologist today and he's encouraged that I'm beating down this persistent bacteria of mine. I need to do another series of tests to check, but we're both encouraged, so that's good. He told me to resume normal eating so we can see how I do. So, a slice of pizza will be in my near future!

Feeling: hopeful

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: health

A Good Day

I'm not healthy yet, but I sure had a nice week. The hamburger and handful of fries from Friday and the slice of cheese from Saturday resulted in no harmful effects on my ailing gut, so that was nice.

Went to the matinee of Paul Taylor Dance Theater. They did 3 dances, one of which was a premiere, called Changes, set to songs sung by The Mamas and Papas. I really enjoyed it. The company has a couple of new faces and a couple who were new last year, but they've all gelled wonderfully, dancing like a fully experienced company. I also had a lovely conversation with a woman by herself sitting next to me. It was a nice, warm day of 60 degrees F. and the light rain couldn't ruin the day.

Meanwhile, I've become addicted to games on Facebook. There are the word games like Scramble (like Boggle) and Scrabble, but also Pet Society (an obsession for me), Dragon Wars (which I can't quite get into), and a Pirate Game (similar set up to Dragon Wars, but I'm having more luck with it). I've even chatted with someone I knew in high school, which has been really nice.

Feeling: Pretty good

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: dance

Long Week

It's so annoying. I have a decent day, followed by a not so decent day, followed by a day that's like a few weeks ago. Sometimes I wonder if there's actually any medicine in the pills I'm taking for all the good they're doing me. Clostridium is one nasty, persistent bacteria.

So, not much going on. I just don't like neglecting this blog, so I had to post something. Wish it could be more upbeat.

Feeling: feh

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: personal

Health Update

Doctor's visit today. Seems I get a little bit better, then backslide. So, more meds, another appointment in 2 weeks. I'm so tired of this. I'm mostly functional, but my intestines are still screwed up, which is very bothersome. It's been nearly 3 months now and I just want to feel like my old self again. Unfortunately, the "cure" isn't much of one and seems as problematic as the problem.

Don't feel much like blogging right now. Don't feel like doing much of anything right now. Will watch NCIS, The Mentalist, and Leverage, then news and David Letterman, then bedtime. Dentist tomorrow. At least getting my teeth cleaned isn't stressful.

Feeling: blah

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: personal

Meet My Pill

You can see I'm getting a bit desperate for topics here. I've been too tired to look for cool links and my health has been my main topic of interest lately.

This is Vincocin, aka vancromycin, the antibiotic I'm now taking. Today was better than yesterday, so that's one for the win column.

I worked the late shift today, so it was up at 6:30 am to take one of these pills. Then up again at 7:30 to take my thyroid pill. Then up at 8:30 am to get ready for work. And since I had to take one of these Vincocin pills at 12:30 am, I didn't get much sleep. It's been like that all week. But if it works, it'll be worth it.

Feeling: tired

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: health

Weekly Health Update

Lab results of the uh, samples, showed a nasty bacterial infection, but not the original infection. Oh, no, this is an infection you can get when you take antibiotics for another infection. The culprit is called Clostridium difficile and it thrives when you kill off the other bacteria in your colon with antibiotics, making the cure the cause. The whole thing is giving me a headache to think about, but I'm on another antibiotic now, one that kills the Clostridium difficile and nothing else. And it works kinda quickly because today I felt better than I have in over a week. So, here's hoping. It can recur, though, which makes it a particularly annoying bacteria. But maybe now I can get back to my life and fun stuff to blog about. :)


Feeling: somewhat better

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: health

Bad Blogger No Biscuit

I feel like this blog has become a health diary. I'm boring myself with this. And I missed blogging a few days here. It's weird, because I've always found something to blog about here, even while ignoring my other blogs, but this week, I blogged more elsewhere.

Some test results are back, confirming an inflamed colon. Still need other tests done, the icky sort of tests. You should thank me for not going into detail. The gist of this is that this is going to take time to heal, which is most annoying. At least I've lost weight. I hope once I can eat everything again, I manage to keep the weight off.

Battlestar Galactica managed to surprise me with one revelation tonight. The rest was rather predictable -- mutiny! -- but it was inevitable. As the series winds down, I can't wait to see who -- and how many -- will be left standing. I have some ideas how this might end, but as the show continually amazes me, I'm trying to not try to out-think the writers. Of course, the whole examination of power, authority, corruption, righteousness, political expediency, and all the other issues that cropped up over the past 4 years on the show seemed more relevant when Bush was in office. But still, much food for thought. It's not a show I see myself ever rewatching, but I'm so glad I've been watching it now.

Feeling: blah

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: health

Medical Update

Colonoscopy revealed an inflammation, which doctor says is better than the CT scan back in November. He gave me an anti-inflammatory to take instead of the anti-spasmodic, which wasn't doing a damned thing. Tissue samples were taken for testing, and I ... uh, need to collect other samples for testing, so until all those test results are in, the jury is still out, but today was the best I felt in over a week, and my brain was actually functioning, which was a nice change of pace. The last few days, due to dehydration due to the colitis and the prep for the colonoscopy, I felt I was thinking in slow motion. I managed to stay awake for most of it, watching on the monitor, which is always a bit trippy, but I guess I conked out near the end, because I don't know how I ended up back in the little recovery room. Maybe next time, I'll stay awake the entire time. This is my third colonoscopy -- and everyone over 50 should have at least one, because colon cancer is very treatable if found early as it's slow growing, but I digress -- and each time, I seem to stay awake longer.

So, I managed to see the actual inauguration on TV, which was wonderful. Our new president (I like saying that), gave a good speech, full of hope, yet reminding people there will be tough times ahead and we all need to do our part). Seeing the footage of all those people at the Mall in Washington DC, and in locations throughout NYC, and listening to interviews with people tearing up and saying they never thought they'd see this day was extremely moving. For one day, we came together as a nation. I hope that feeling lasts, even as reality sets in that our problems won't be fixed overnight.

Feeling: okay, sorta

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: health

Sucky Year So Far

Seriously, it's just continuing from 2008.

Still feel like utter crap. Having a colonoscopy on Monday, during which maybe the doc can figure out what the hell is wrong. The bacteria were killed by all the damn antibiotics I had, I've taken enough probiotics to populate a dozen or so colons, and I'm still unable to eat normally.

So, I've been catching up on reading (magazines, comics), playing online, and losing weight. Almost at my target weight. Should I ever get healthy again, and back to eating real food, I'm sure I'll put some of that back, but still, I haven't been this thin in years. Nice to fit into some old jeans again.

Feeling: crappy

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: health

Snippets

Still feeling like crap. Actually, feeling worse than I did 2 weeks ago. The doctor never got back to me today, so I'll try again tomorrow. The hardest part, aside from just plain feeling like crap, is that except for my Adora calcium supplements and a few M&Ms each day, I haven't been eating chocolate.

Meanwhile, no reason to not share some links and things. Quilters of South Carolina are fighting breast cancer with one-of-a-kind bras that are definitely not to be hidden under clothes. Found thanks to Chaos Theory.

Lists Galore is a blog for list lovers. 

If you're on Twitter, you might want to check out this round-up of free Twitter buttons on Blog U.

Feeling: crappy

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: links

One Step Forward Two Steps Back

I was starting to feel human again, so of course, that meant it was time for some backsliding. Felt like crap this entire weekend with no sign of letup. And I just spoke to the doctor on Friday -- when I was feeling a bit better. Maybe that jinxed it. It's nearly two months now and I'm really tired of feeling this way and being afraid to eat anything that isn't a cracker or slice of toast.

Then I had to pass on an eBay auction I was watching -- for a no-longer-being-sold vinyl Ugly Doll toy -- because the item I had up for auction sold for half of what I was hoping for.

I feel like crawling under the covers and sleeping until spring.

Feeling: crappy

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: miscellany