|
|
Monday, July 20th, 2009
| |
9:52 am - Move
|
I hate moving. I think this is kind of a given; most people hate moving. But I really hate moving. I guess I'm about %60 done. We got most of the major furniture done over the weekend, including my bed, couch, and dresser. I have a couple of chairs left, my desk, and some shelves. And a lot of other crap. Going through all my stuff to move it has left me with the conclusion that I have too much of it. I need to get rid of some of it. A lot of it. I'm not sure if I'll bother to try to sell it on ebay or craigslist or just try and donate it somewhere.
I'm tired and my back hurts. Ufff. This will all be over soon.
|
|
|
| Thursday, July 16th, 2009
| |
3:34 pm - Shows
|
I've been asked to be a part of a number of upcoming craft fairs. I'm not really sure what to do. I'd really like to do as many of them as possible--they're fun, I get to meet great new people, I get lots of compliments on my jewelry, and sometimes I make some money. At the very least, I always get exposure. The downsides are that they're exhausting and stressful, being THAT outgoing and social is difficult for me, and they cost money. What with the economy being so lousy lately, people aren't spending as much money on luxury items, and I'm just not sure I can afford to do any shows.
There are two in question right now.
Urban Stitch
Pros:
--Only costs $60 to vend ($40 vendors fee, $15 table rental, $5 to set up paypal to use credit cards)
--It's not a street fair, people have to pay to get in, so people will be ready to shop
--Free promotion
--There will be fresh kettle corn, drinks, DJs, and a mini-spa. These are things I would like to partake of.
Cons:
--This is the first year the event is being held, so it may not get many people
--There are going to be THREE FLOORS of vendors, which is a lot
--It's August 23rd, which is the day after my birthday, and I don't want to spend my birthday stressing about it
--It's in SF, which is kind of a long way to schlep
Feria Urbana
Pros:
--In Oakland, so it's not too far away
--It's a well-established craft fair, and thus will have a lot of visitors
--Small: only around 20 designers, so more exposure for me
Cons:
--Costs $100 to vend; I'm not sure I can make that much back
--I have to bring my own table (my table is incredibly heavy and clunky and hard to deal with)
--It's 10 AM to 3 P.M., which doesn't really seem like peak shopping hours to me
Anyways, I made this list to try to decide which one of these I'm going to do (if either) but now I'm more muddled than ever. What do you guys think? Should I do one? Both? Which? Why?
( Just so this post isn't all text, here's a picture of me hamming it up at my table at the last show )
|
|
|
| Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
| |
11:29 pm - Stubby squid
|
Stubbalicious.
|
|
|
| Saturday, July 11th, 2009
| |
2:17 pm - Breath test+stuff
|
This is for myself, mostly. The breath test was positive, as I was pretty sure it would be. I'm starting Flagyl again today. Two weeks. My bacteria are getting resistant. Bleeeh.
I've been having symptoms of gastric dumping, so I'm gonna try to make it to that emptying study in a few weeks.
My intestine has been hurting badly, last night, and today, and I'm needing pain killers.
|
|
|
| Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
| |
12:18 am - Health Stuffs
|
Today, is has been two weeks since my surgery. In general, things are better. Much, much better. There are ups and downs, but I'm trying to get by without painkillers. And mostly, I can. The malabsorption is also much better, and I'm able to eat properly again. I've been steady at 104 pounds for a few days now. This is exciting. Unfortunately, I still seem to be having pain that's somehow connected to my surgery, so I go back to the doctor later this week to investigate. It's been too long at this point for it to be normal.
I had another breath hydrogen test today. An explanation for newcomers and those who don't remember: since my intestine doesn't know how to move anymore, I often get bacterial overgrowths in my small intestine. It is not fun. So I get breath tests. I have to drink something called lactulose, which is eaten by bacteria and turned in hydrogen. I then have to breath into a bag every fifteen minutes for an hour and a half. They measure the amount of hydrogen in my breath, and if there's over a certain amount, I have an infection. The tests are kind of a drag, but they're not invasive or anything. I've had...five? Seven? of them. I'm not sure how many, but I've only had one that was negative.
I also have to have another gastric emptying test later this month, but I really REALLY don't want to go. First of all, my parents will be out of town, so I have no one to drive me. This doesn't seem like a big deal, except it's all the way in the city, and the test lasts four hours, and there's a follow-up with the NP later in the afternoon. So if I take public transit, it's going to have to be an all-day ordeal. Also, I have to eat eggs. I hate eggs. I really don't want to go. I may chicken out and reschedule.
I still haven't done the 24-hour urine thing for the nephrologist. I haven't seen that guy in ages.
It's upsetting to me that my body is so high-maintenance. Even when I am doing so much better than I was before, now that I am relatively healthy, I still need tests, tests, tests, all the time. I will need them forever. I don't like that.
My gut is misbehaving badly right now. I may have to take a painkiller. I'm in a rare mood where I just want someone to take care of me. I'm usually EXTREMELY resistant to letting people help me out, even a little, much to the chagrin of my friends and family. But right now, things are bad and I'm unhappy and a little scared and I'd like someone to hold me and help me with my Octreotide injection. Then I want a promise that it'll be alright, that this ordeal will be over soon, even if it's a lie. I just want that.
|
|
|
| Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
| |
1:35 pm - Moving
|
|
A found a new place to live. It's kinda far away from campus, but it's nice, and almost as big as my current place. There's a backyard for Ray and a patio. Now I just have to move. Ugh.
|
|
|
| Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
| |
3:15 pm - Matching earrings
|
|
| Monday, June 29th, 2009
| |
7:20 pm - Fused topaz bracelet
|
This is what I spent my morning and early afternoon on. It's all torched, shaped, fused, and hammered by me. Fused fine silver, white topaz.
I'm way too excited about this. I don't think my poor photography can properly capture its beauty.
( But I took a million pictures anyway )
|
|
|
| Saturday, June 27th, 2009
| |
8:26 pm - Good news
|
I got my thesis back from my instructor on Wednesday. I got a %95, which gets me an A in the class. Also? My instructor thinks I should look into publishing.
It hasn't really hit me yet. But, I'm happy. I enjoy science.
current mood:  pleased
|
|
|
| Thursday, June 25th, 2009
| |
12:52 pm - Saturday craft sale
|
For those of you who are in the area, I'm going to be participating in a craft show on Saturday at Knit one one, 3360 Adeline St. in Berkeley. I'll be there from 10-4.
( Flier )
The fact that I am prominently featured on the flier is very very exciting to me. I really hope this show goes well, I didn't make much at my last one at all, and by god, do I ever need the money.
I realize this is short notice, but, I'd really love it if people could stop by, even just to say hi. I often get bored at these.
|
|
|
| Sunday, June 21st, 2009
| |
10:13 pm - Done.
|
Well, I just submitted my thesis. I feel...something. Accomplished? Relieved? Dissapointment? I feel like simultaneously cheering and crying.
This new icon is a Queen Bombus vosnesenskii I caught sleeping on an Eryngium one afternoon last summer. I think it's appropriate for a thesis-related post. But there probably won't be many of those from now on.
What next?
|
|
|
| Thursday, June 18th, 2009
| |
11:39 pm - I am so close to being done.
|
|
Well. Not really. I don't think I'll ever be happy with it, to be honest, but I'm tired of revising it. And I can't think straight. I've head a headache for three days straight now. I just typed "refising" for "revising." I'm that mentally exhausted.
|
|
|
| Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
| |
2:03 pm - Manta Ray
|
|
| |
9:07 am - Bits and Tids
|
These are all things I feel deserve separate posts--long, thoughtful posts. But I'm short on time and energy, so I will have to make it quick.
1. I've been working pretty hard on my thesis; thus, my absence from livejournal. It's due on Monday. I'm exhausted. I'm ready for it to be done, but, at the same time, I want to keep working on it and improving it forever. I don't think I will ever be truly satisfied with it though.
2. I'm worried about the Iranian people. There's so much courage over there. I hope for revolution and I hope for their safety.
3. I can't believe I didn't post anything about Dr. Tiller's death. Shocking, upsetting, totally horrifying, but not especially surprising coming from the terrorist wing of the pro-life movement. I'm not sure what else to say that hasn't already been said more eloquently by other people. I think ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) eyelid put it best when she pointed out that, despite their claims that life is sacred, pro-lifers have a very active terrorist component to their movement and a long history of intimidation, violence, and murder. Dr. Tiller was murdered because he saved women's lives. That is not indicative of respect for life.
4. Evan has moved back up to Napa for his summer job. I don't know if I mentioned that or not. I will still get to see him most weekends. I miss him.
5. As of one week ago, I have had Ray for two years. I can't believe it! He has blossomed so much in his time with me. The other day I was at my parents house and he was lying on the floor, so I went and sat next to him so he could put his head in my lap. I rubbed his ears and he put his paw on my knee and licked my hand. And he looked so, so happy. I love him so much. I am so glad I am able to bring some joy into his life; he has brought so much into mine.
6. Six weeks post-op today. The stimulator is still causing a few problems, muscle spasms and such. But...it's working. I saw Eve on Friday for my first Enterra check-up and we turned the stimulator up to five. I thought it was at five before, but, I guess it wasn't. Since then, I have only had to use painkillers once and have only thrown up twice. And I'm still eating more, although I've lost another pound. Eve thinks I'm having malabsorption issues, but, she also thinks those will improve with the rest of my symptoms. I can't believe I am getting better. Being able to eat more than a few bites at a time, being able to eat without being in horrendous amounts of pain..it's amazing. I wish I had gotten Enterra a long time ago. I feel so lucky. I feel like I don't deserve this. But I am so grateful and so thankful. I could get used to this. As Eve was quick to remind me, this is not a cure, just a treatment, and I will still have bad days, but hopefully, they'll be few and far between instead of every day. And I know the odds are very likely that I'll get worse someday. But that day is not today. And I am thankful for today.
7. Octreotide shipment delayed again. I'm currently out of medication. Blaaaugh.
|
|
|
| Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
| |
1:39 am
|
Evan has moved back up north for his summer job.
It's only been three days. I'm already ridiculously lonely. My body aches for love.
current mood:  lonely
|
|
|
| Sunday, June 7th, 2009
| |
10:40 pm - Puns are bad
|
Here is a snippet of a conversation I had with my best friend today.
Me: And then BABY MANTA RAYS!!!
Kevin: No, I hate manta rays.
Me: What?! Why?
Kevin: One attacked me. And then, one attacked Steve Irwin. So they're bad.
Me: But, those were sting rays. Not manta rays.
Kevin: They're all the same.
Me: You're ray-cist.
|
|
|
| Friday, May 29th, 2009
| |
11:10 am - UP!
|
|
| Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
| |
1:46 am - Another update
|
Today, I was hardly nauseous at all. I even got quite hungry. Twice. I had lunch, and then, a few hours later, I got hungry again, and ate a whole croissant as a snack.
The pain has been pretty bad today. The only reason I didn't take a painkiller was because I'm enjoying being off of them so much that I couldn't quite bring myself to. But being able to eat without feeling horribly ill again is really nice. It's nice to be able to enjoy food again. The implant is definitely working.
Also, we ran a handheld metal detector over my tummy today and it beeped very loudly. That was pretty amusing.
ETA: Well, I, did my Octreotide, which made me hungry, so I ate, and my intestine exploded. Probably a nine on the pain scale? Anyways, took a Dilaudid a half an hour ago. My poor gut. Oh well.
|
|
|
| Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
| |
11:33 am
|
God fucking damn it, it is NOT OKAY. I am going on a rage here, my grammar is going to be off, but I don't care, this is just INTOLERABLE. HOW DARE THEY say that one kind of love is better than another kind. HOW DARE THEY. How dare they say that one kind of love is deserving of legal protection and recognition, while another is not. How can we expect this to be a country of freedom and equality when we disrespect so many of our citizens? AND WHY THE FUCK is it anyone's business but their own who people marry?
People are gearing up for more fighting, and I hope we get one, but...they're talking about putting measures on the ballot in 2010 or 2012. But what will happen to the people who need to be married before then? What about the man whose husband isn't allowed to visit him in the hospital when he's dying because they're not legally married? And what about the mother who doesn't get custody of her kids because she's a lesbian?
I am disgusted. I can't believe the stupidity of the Supreme court. This is injustice and it is not okay.
current mood: pissed
|
|
|
| |
11:27 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
sad