Cathryn (formerly catslash) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
remindmeofthe) wrote2007-08-24 10:44 pm
remindmeofthe) wrote2007-08-24 10:44 pm
(no subject)
Buffy: Was it sudden? Your mother?
Tara: No. Yes. It's always sudden.
I realized it's been a week since my last post, so I thought I'd post to let you all know that I'm still around and sane. I haven't collapsed into a grief-stricken catatonia or anything. I'm doing okay - lot going on to keep me busy, with the still newish job and all.
I saw my doctor last week to address some back problems I've had for years but haven't been too bad, until this job. The way I stand when I'm washing dishes or making pizza or a hundred other things is exactly the posture that makes it flare up, and it's aggravated so badly now that I have to stop working every now and then to bend over and try to stretch it out a little. He gave me some exercises to do to strengthen the muscles, so hopefully that will help.
We also discussed my ADD medication. I was taking Adderall, which has such a short life that I found myself occasionally taking a second dose to keep the effects through my nine-hour shifts. I have ADD, and the medication really helps to keep me focused. I thought about it and realized that even though I won't be working the long shifts during the semester, I'm going to have some long days on campus where a single dose just wouldn't cut it. I was thinking of perhaps altering my prescription to include a second smaller dose, but instead he put me on Adderall XR. It does what Adderall does, but it lasts hours longer, plus it doesn't hit my bloodstream like a quadruple espresso delivered by a Mack truck. (Seriously, that first hour or so after a dose? Exactly what you'd expect speed to be like. I do not miss it.) It's so much better than the regular Adderall. I'm really happy with it.
And then a few days later I got my hair cut into possibly the best cut I've ever had. It's just a simple chin-length layered bob, but it is insanely flattering and perfect for the type of hair I had. The stylist commented on how she didn't have to do any real styling because it fell right into place. Then I went home and dyed it auburn, which is also working really nicely. There will be photos when I can find the motivation to snap a million of them.
(Side note: I kept my hair black for about four years, from sixteen to twenty. No reason [read: it was not a wannabe goth phase] - I just liked it. Grandpa hated it. It wasn't natural. He always had something to say about it whenever he saw me, but I blew it off, because whatever, my hair. Once he even offered to give me a kelly green t-shirt of his if I would dye my hair that color. I suspect he'd like the auburn better, by which I mean he'd say, "At least it's not black. That looked awful." Thank goodness none of us grandkids ever had the urge to go pink or blue.)
Work is work. I like the job pretty well, but I think I'd fall asleep typing about it and you'd all skip reading it. Suffice it to say that I work with some great people, I get to work with food, and it beats the everloving hell out of my old job.
Classes start again on Monday. I am so excited. I've been looking forward to them since about two weeks after last semester ended, because it turns out that when I am learning voluntarily, I am a giant school geek. Plus, I have some cool classes. I'm taking Intro to Theater (which is an English credit, score), Sport Psychology (the entire reason I took Psych was because it was a prereq for this class), and Spanish II. I am also taking Biology to fulfill the science requirement, which bleah, I hated Bio in high school and needed three tries to pass it because my apathy ran deep, and I'm taking it on Saturdays in like three hour chunks plus labs so double bleah, but, since I go to a community college and they hire a lot of retired teachers and the like, the instructor is actually a teacher I had in high school! I liked him. All, um, two or three or eighteen times I had him until I finally passed a class to get the science credit. (Getting the science credits I needed to graduate high school was like pulling teeth. I was having problems with major burnout from then-undiagnosed ADD. I took math at the dummy level all three years I had to take it and was able to cruise through and get high enough grades to pass without a ton of effort, but the science classes needed more effort than I was willing/able to put into them.) Poor Mr Willink. I hope he didn't cry when he saw my name on the list. If nothing else, I will do my best in Biology because I owe him that much. He certainly put up with more than enough nonsense from me a few years ago.
I think that's about it, all the major stuff going on in the past week or next week. Also, I love Magglio Ordonez. You know, when Clemens was with the Astros, I was Rocket Poison. He lost every start that I watched, listened to, or thought about. I wonder if that still holds true.
Tara: No. Yes. It's always sudden.
I realized it's been a week since my last post, so I thought I'd post to let you all know that I'm still around and sane. I haven't collapsed into a grief-stricken catatonia or anything. I'm doing okay - lot going on to keep me busy, with the still newish job and all.
I saw my doctor last week to address some back problems I've had for years but haven't been too bad, until this job. The way I stand when I'm washing dishes or making pizza or a hundred other things is exactly the posture that makes it flare up, and it's aggravated so badly now that I have to stop working every now and then to bend over and try to stretch it out a little. He gave me some exercises to do to strengthen the muscles, so hopefully that will help.
We also discussed my ADD medication. I was taking Adderall, which has such a short life that I found myself occasionally taking a second dose to keep the effects through my nine-hour shifts. I have ADD, and the medication really helps to keep me focused. I thought about it and realized that even though I won't be working the long shifts during the semester, I'm going to have some long days on campus where a single dose just wouldn't cut it. I was thinking of perhaps altering my prescription to include a second smaller dose, but instead he put me on Adderall XR. It does what Adderall does, but it lasts hours longer, plus it doesn't hit my bloodstream like a quadruple espresso delivered by a Mack truck. (Seriously, that first hour or so after a dose? Exactly what you'd expect speed to be like. I do not miss it.) It's so much better than the regular Adderall. I'm really happy with it.
And then a few days later I got my hair cut into possibly the best cut I've ever had. It's just a simple chin-length layered bob, but it is insanely flattering and perfect for the type of hair I had. The stylist commented on how she didn't have to do any real styling because it fell right into place. Then I went home and dyed it auburn, which is also working really nicely. There will be photos when I can find the motivation to snap a million of them.
(Side note: I kept my hair black for about four years, from sixteen to twenty. No reason [read: it was not a wannabe goth phase] - I just liked it. Grandpa hated it. It wasn't natural. He always had something to say about it whenever he saw me, but I blew it off, because whatever, my hair. Once he even offered to give me a kelly green t-shirt of his if I would dye my hair that color. I suspect he'd like the auburn better, by which I mean he'd say, "At least it's not black. That looked awful." Thank goodness none of us grandkids ever had the urge to go pink or blue.)
Work is work. I like the job pretty well, but I think I'd fall asleep typing about it and you'd all skip reading it. Suffice it to say that I work with some great people, I get to work with food, and it beats the everloving hell out of my old job.
Classes start again on Monday. I am so excited. I've been looking forward to them since about two weeks after last semester ended, because it turns out that when I am learning voluntarily, I am a giant school geek. Plus, I have some cool classes. I'm taking Intro to Theater (which is an English credit, score), Sport Psychology (the entire reason I took Psych was because it was a prereq for this class), and Spanish II. I am also taking Biology to fulfill the science requirement, which bleah, I hated Bio in high school and needed three tries to pass it because my apathy ran deep, and I'm taking it on Saturdays in like three hour chunks plus labs so double bleah, but, since I go to a community college and they hire a lot of retired teachers and the like, the instructor is actually a teacher I had in high school! I liked him. All, um, two or three or eighteen times I had him until I finally passed a class to get the science credit. (Getting the science credits I needed to graduate high school was like pulling teeth. I was having problems with major burnout from then-undiagnosed ADD. I took math at the dummy level all three years I had to take it and was able to cruise through and get high enough grades to pass without a ton of effort, but the science classes needed more effort than I was willing/able to put into them.) Poor Mr Willink. I hope he didn't cry when he saw my name on the list. If nothing else, I will do my best in Biology because I owe him that much. He certainly put up with more than enough nonsense from me a few years ago.
I think that's about it, all the major stuff going on in the past week or next week. Also, I love Magglio Ordonez. You know, when Clemens was with the Astros, I was Rocket Poison. He lost every start that I watched, listened to, or thought about. I wonder if that still holds true.
no subject
Also, auburn! Dude! I'm inappropriately fixated on haircuts at the moment, and would welcome the chance to see your elegant new coiff. Hoorah.