Wednesday, April 28, 2010

I wear my sunglizzles at night

I keep forgetting to mention this new shirt I got at Target last week(ish). It's fresh on my mind because I might wear it in tomorrow's show. I got it for $4! It has sunglasses on it, hence the title of this post. It has six or eight pairs of sunglasses on it, and it's kinda cute-like. I love me some cheap junk.

So, let me tell you more about being a terrorist for the last 24 hours. I'm surprised at how well I slept last night. Now, I keep forgetting that I took an AdvilPM, which could have been a big contributor, but man, I slept like a log! I am also relieved by how nonchokered I felt. It was pretty awesome! That brings me to my next breaking news topic...

I have come up with a new invention. I am going to post it out for the world to see, and then sue you when you take my idea. It's a pillow that dangles from your body. Now, give me a minute to explain. I think the strap will velcro across your torso right underneath your arms to prevent any strain from being on one area in particular. The pillow will then dangle down to one side, with the top of the pillow hitting waist height. Are you with me?

That's basically how I was all day. I wore the bomber vest, but instead of putting the machine back into the fanny pack, I left it inside its pillow. It brought a whole new perspective to life. Everywhere I went, I was comfortable because there was a pillow attached to me. As I walked, I naturally held on to the pillow and felt so comfy and safe, like a child. The pillow also acted as a portable lap desk for my laptop, which was really convenient. I know this is probably sounding crazy, but I bet someone said that about the Snuggie years ago. I'm still thinking of a name, but I promise it was awesome. I'm not being facetious at all; I felt so protected and at-ease all day.

My friend brought me Moe's today! Guess what I had?! STEAK NACHOS! We had a nice visit over lunch, and it was so awesome to have some human interaction AND some delicious food during a period in which I wasn't going to have any of that. It was good to catch up and talk life!

Umm, what else? I made some revelations today when I met my friend at Starbucks. I'm excited about them, so I hope I don't forget them. Maybe then I can have re-revelations.

Well, I gotta get to bed. I have a big morning ahead of me. I plan to get up and exercise for a bit first thing. Then, on the way to Emory, I have to stop at the grocery store to get a few items for a colleague's bridal shower tomorrow. However, I have a study appointment at 8:30 a.m., so I'll head straight there. I am fasting right now. I'm not sure how long all of tomorrow will take, but then I'll go into work until I have to head down to the SHOW! I am excited to be in the show! Even though it hasn't been very long, it sure feels like it. Adddddddiction.

Drew's Crew: $13,350!

I got a neat present tonight, too. The birthday that keeps on giving! It is a dream journal and a book to interpret my dreams. I am going to start documenting my dreams on paper using the journal. I remember when I was younger I'd keep a pad by my bed and would often be able to catch my dreams before they escaped me in the morning. It was hilarious going back and looking what I wrote later in the day when I had completely forgotten that I'd logged the dream. I hope I get a good one tonight! Oh, the pressure!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Get in your pillow

Greetings from someone who looks like a threat to national security. I am all hooked up to my monitoring vest to count my coughs and what not. I wouldn't mess with me if I saw me wearing this outfit. I have on this black vest with a choker and it's all connected to a machine that sits inside of a fanny pack. The funniest part about it is that the fanny pack is The North Face brand. I'm glad it isn't some knock-off since I want to go out in public like this. Oh wait, NOOOOO! Only because you care about my life and wouldn't be reading this if you didn't...


Aren't you intimidated? Are you ready for the cute part, though?! Because I have to wear this for 24 hours (which obviously includes sleeping in it), the machine has a little pillow it goes in for bed! I know I shouldn't be excited about it, but aww! I already put him into his little pillow because I thought it would be adorable. It was actually really anticlimactic, but I did get to take off the fanny pack.

Today was a pretty decent day. I finalized some benefit show items, and am hoping to get the go-ahead to market that tomorrow. I want it to be a big hit, so I'm excited to get started! Drew's Crew looks to be ending the day at $13,105, which makes me happy.

I've been keeping this food journal for the OTHER study, and it's actually pretty embarrassing. It says to note if my eating habits are exceptionally unusual during this three-day period for any reason. And, although I wish there was a reason I could say they're weird, I'm just a weird eater. The evaluator is going to be ashamed of me. And my friend SR would be, too! :-) I mean, eating is clearly not my strong-suit. I do plenty of it, but the habits are sooo not what I learned in school.

What else? I feel kind of giddy like there's stuff I'm forgetting to say, but I have no idea what that could be. Oh - thought of one! I am excited because a friend is bringing me lunch tomorrow. I am seriously not leaving the house like this - more for society's sake than my own vanity - so it will be nice to have food catered. Plus, I wasn't expecting to interact with any humans during this 24-hour period, so I'm glad to be wrong.

I'm excited to do some improvising tomorrow! We have had all kinds of different renditions of rehearsal, so it's been a while since we've really played games and what not.

Well, I think I better start getting ready for bed. I don't want to be like this, but the Braves are actually horrible. I mean, holy mackerel. Their patheticism is incredible. I don't even know why I am still watching this mess.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Go girl, it's your birthday

Well, what to say, what to say. I'm torn between what to say because I don't want to make it sound like my day was absolutely miserable. Buuuuuuut, I didn't have a very good day. I had a difficult time sleeping last night because my mind was going a million miles per hour. It's been a while since I've had a night like that, but it happened last night.

Since it was difficult for me to sleep, it was also tough to get up this morning, but I was set on getting to the gym. I ended up resetting my alarm a few times, and got up and did a quick 22-minute workout. I did about 4 1/2 minutes on the treadmill, but was having a hard time, so I got on the elliptical for 7 1/2. Then, I ran on the treadmill for 10 minutes to seal the deal. I'm not exactly sure why it was so difficult compared to last week, but maybe because I wasn't feeling well...

I went to Starbucks on the way to work and got an iced mocha latte. Then, when I got to work, one of my wonderful coworkers surprised me with a McDonald's Mocha Frappe or what not. So, by 11:00 a.m., I'd completed both of those drinks and was pretty rowdy and feeling decent, although coughy. Haha. Coffee. HAAAA! I didn't even mean to do that, but anyway...

My coworker and I went to my FAVORITE Mexican restuurant (Monterrey) for lunch, where I had two grilled steak quesadillas. It was so delicious, and she surprised me by treating me! It was so sweet. One of my coworkers had also brought cupcakes, so I was excited about that and brought some of them home.

After lunch I was just having a really hard time. I wasn't feeling very well and it was really bringing me down; I've had a lot weighing on my mind. I ended up having to duck out of work early because I was feeling pretty bad. I came home and things didn't improve much. Then, I headed to rehearsal still in a bit of a funk, but everyone was really sweet and tried to help me out of it.

I got a few really thoughtful gifts that I'm excited about and, even though I probably didn't show it tonight, I am so thankful to have my theatre friends.

So many people wished me a happy birthday and, although Drew's Crew didn't rake it in like I hoped we might, there's still time left. Even though I seemed like a hot mess for the majority of the day, I am so lucky to know so many great people. Now if only the Braves can pull out a win tonight; it's tied right now...

Well, I'm hoping for a great day tomorrow - for everyone. I'm sending positive thoughts all kinds of directions.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Whatcha say?

Well, tomorrow's my birthday. I've never been a big birthday person, but I'm also not a holiday person in general. I know I've mentioned it several times before, but there's just so much hype involved, and then it's just kind of weird. I was considering taking tomorrow off since it's my birthday, but everyone else will be working, so I'm not sure if there's a point. I think I'd rather save the day and use it for a vacation rather than to sit around on my birthday, wondering what's going on at work. It looks like I just got that decision taken care of...

I'm not feeling that great, and I'm not sure why. I'm feeling kind of short of breath. I've also been sneezing, and just feeling really worn down. I've taken it easy this weekend and forced myself to rest, but I'm not feeling like I imagined I'd be after an easy weekend. Hopefully I'll wake up feeling refreshed.

I didn't do a whole lot today. I sat out in the sun for about an hour, which was nice. My ceiling got painted, so hopefully the colors match and I don't have to get the rest of the room repainted. But, even if that happened, it wouldn't be a really big deal.

My mom came by to give me a few presents, and we ended up going out to eat. I got a few bags of gummy bears (shock!) and two shirts. I also got my much-anticipated birthday donation, so I was very happy about that. We picked up my sister and went out to eat at El Toro. I got a gift from my sister, which was a cute journal and a turtle made out of different metal odds and ends. She got him at the Dogwood Festival, and I laugh when I look at him; he is so funny. I wish I could show him to you, but that would involve too many steps that I don't want to perform right now.

Update: Drew's Crew is at $12,800 (I added the $20 donation that my mom just got, even though it isn't posted). YAY! I hope that the birthday thing garners donations in the way it did last year. I was really happy!

What else? The Braves are pretty much sickening right now. It is seriously a joke. This rain delay that they called is probably the best thing that could happen to us right now - save some embarrassment. Haha! My brother and I are twins... He just texted and said, "I've never been so happy for a rain delay. We can't strand runners during a rain delay." I hope they can get it together because this just hurts to watch.

Well, I guess I better get to sleep. I'm going to run in the morning to get my birthday off to a good and productive start. Good night, all!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Coincidence

Sometimes I read entirely too much into coincidences. I have no idea why I even felt the need to say that because I'm not going to explain what I mean by that. Vague, I know. Moving right along...

A friend treated me to a nice night out on the town, and we hadn't hung out in a while, so I was glad to spend time with her! First we went out to eat at Cheeseburger in Paradise. Given the nastiness of the weather today, I figured it would be nice to escape to the tropics, despite watching the rain through the window. We enjoyed catching up and talking about life, which is always a crowd-pleaser in my book. Then we headed to Cafe Intermezzo where we grabbed some hot chocolate and continued our discussion! I also opened a sweet gift from her - a HUGE bag of Haribo gummy bears AND a gift card to the movies. I need to start getting up-to-speed with current movies so that I can use it wisely! Anyway, I considered tonight my birthday celebration for the most part, and it was time well-spent; it got me thinking.

I got some donations today! I am really appreciative, and the team is sitting at $12,100. I'm hoping to bring home some bacon on my birthday, so I've got high hopes for that! Let's celebrate!

Making that text a hyperlink made me think about the fact that I'm getting kind of good at HTML stuff. I dabble in it at work and have been using it some here and there for different fundraising things, and I actually like it. Basically it's like a brainteaser of sorts, so maybe I should look into learning more... DORK!

I haven't done too much that's noteworthy today... or yesterday. I got enrolled in ANOTHER study that I'll do on Thursday, so I have to start keeping a food journal tomorrow. I hope I don't forget. I don't have a printer, so I'm going to keep track in a gangsterfied way until I can get it printed.

Umm, that's about it. I am feeling motivated in many senses of the word!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Yawn

What a day! Well, today I got up and hit the fitness center before work. I surprisingly ran two miles without stopping, and then walked for a couple minutes before heading back home. I reset my alarm a few times, so I didn't have as much time to exercise as usual when I go before work. Oh well! It was better than nothing. I was really excited to run for 20 minutes without ever even stepping my feet on the side of the treadmill; I haven't done that in a bit!

I went to work and knocked out a TON of stuff all in a few hours of time. I was in the office from a little before 9 until a little before 1, then headed to my CF study appointment.

So, the appointment went really well. Well, it didn't, but it did. When I did my PFTs, they were surprisingly low - lower than my appointment last week, and about on-par with my first study appointment. The doctor basically told me there were two options... 1) try IV antibiotics and see what happens, or 2) have him declare me 'stable' so I would be eligible for the study. Since a drop of a few percentage points can be attributed to many things other than my true lung function, I went with the tell-me-I'm-stable route.

I then proceeded with my EKG, bloodwork, nasal PD (measuring electrical activity in your nasal cells - WILD!), sweat tests, etc. All in all, it took about five hours to complete all of the necessary testing. It looks like I'm good to get randomized as long as today's results come back looking good! It's funny because, after all of the things that could have kept me from being in the study, the biggest issue today was getting blood out of my arms. We moved from arm to arm with multiple people trying to get a good result. Finally we got a good vein and, of the nine tubes that needed to get filled, we got to the ninth one and my arm gave out. Someone else had to come save the day by poking and prodding around to get that final BIG tube filled. Thankfully I don't mind needles in the arms.

After all of that, I met a few theatre friends at El Azteca (Midtown area) before the improv show tonight. It was a showcase put on by the folks in the Improv Studies group, and I had a lot of fun. I probably stayed out later than I should have, as you can probably tell, so I'm about to hit the hay. I have a crew shift at the theatre tomorrow night, so it looks like it will be Saturday before I can relax.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Vat o' queso

Guess who's all willy nilly right now... ME! That was a pun, but you don't know it yet. I had steak nachos from Willy's today for lunch. Tonight we had a work call at the theatre. When we finished working, we were treated to a nacho bar from Willy's. After all was said and done, there was a bunch of stuff left over. Most of the people were gone before we realized how much extra food there was, so people got sent home with stuff. I ended up with a big ol' vat o' queso. I must say I'm pretty excited about it; you can never have too much cheese.

Before I forget to give them their proper recognition, the Braves SEALED THE DEAL last night. I was very, very tired and we entered the ninth inning down 3 to 0. The first batter in the ninth automatically got an out, so I was feeling pretty discouraged. I was tired and thought it would be better for me to check the score in the morning than stay up for the last two outs. So, I turned the game off and started trying to sleep. Within minutes, though, I had text messages from my mom and brother. With two outs, the Braves got a two-run homer (Glaus) followed by a solo homer by Heyward. At this point I had the TV on the see the start ofthe tenth inning. After an easy top of the inning, the first battler in the bottom of the tenth (McLouth) got a walk-off home run. It was so awesome! It made me proud. Then they went and lost tonight, but whatever. Go Braves!

I am getting really excited about the benefit show. I plan to unveil the details by Monday, I hope. I'm ready to start selling tickets and seeing that total rise! So many people have offered to volunteer their time and energy, and I just know it's going to be awesome and fun for everyone involved. And, of course, it helps a cause that means so much to me. I am thankful for everyone.

Speaking of, today was AWESOME for Drew's Crew! One of the walkers made BANK today, raising over $500. Some checks got posted as well, so the total of everything posted at this exact moment in time is $11,630. That is only about $50 less than what Drew's Crew raised ALL of last year, and we still have 23 days to go. MAN! I AM SO ENERGIZED! We are going to blow our old selves out of the water!

WHAT ELSE?! Tomorrow I have my study appointment. Yeehaw! I am going into work at the regular time and then will head out a few minutes before 1:00 p.m. The appointment should take about four or five hours. Then, tomorrow night, the Improv Studies Program is performing a show, so I'm going to go check that out. I'm looking forward to seeing them perform!

I'm just feeling really happy. Life is great!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Cure Found

I don't have much to say, but figured I'd say something...

I'm getting ready for bed. My face has been aching from allergies today. In fact, I worked from home in an effort to recuperate. I really don't want to have to reschedule my study appointment, but I feel like I might have to if my symptoms don't improve. I hope that tomorrow I'll wake up feeling better since the rain helped wash away some of the pollen today.

THIS JUST IN: $100 donation from a complete stranger! Man, I am excited. Now I've gotta investigate to see if anyone knows this person... People are good.

In other CFF-related news, I am tentatively doing an improv benefit show on May 11. I secured some free event space today, and am in the process of ironing out the details. This should be a really great, profitable event. That makes me happy.

I don't have a lot to say. I am just tired.

Ooooh - oh - oooooooh!

That title is me trying to articulate the sound of the tomahawk chop. I went to the Braves game yesterday afternoon, and BOY, was it an exciting one! The Braves were down 3-2 to start the ninth, and came back to win the thing. Jason Heyward came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He hit a game-winning single, and it was so cute. They huddled on the field and it made me want to cry. Then he got pied in the face! I'm just excited because my record is 1-0 right now. The Braves win 100 percent of the games I attend!

Well, my boss went into labor. I don't know for sure whether or not she's had the baby or what not, but she was in early labor last night. I am excited to see pictures, but I'm really going to miss her when she's gone.

Today the apprentices went bowling instead of rehearsing. Since the Improv Studies Program has a show this Thursday, we got the night free from apprentice rehearsal. Going bowling was a nice change of pace. It was fun to get to bond a bit in a non-improv atmosphere. Anytime we've gone out in public together, I always wonder if people are curious as to how we are friends. It's just an interesting combination of people. I bowled a 78 on the first game and was at 37 on the second game (with two frames left) when we ran out of time. I had a good time. Bowling is fun! I did get one strike, so that was nice!

Guess what! Today I scheduled my second study screening for this Thursday. They can only re-screen once, so I've got to do awesome on Thursday in order to be eligible. If I do as well as I did at the doctor last week, I should hopefully be good to go - at least lung-wise. I really, really hope that we can get this under way. I haven't gotten too excited about it in the last several weeks because I was trying to focus on the health issues of the present, but I hope everything goes well and I get approved within the next couple of weeks! Send the positive energy this way. I'll have to take half of a day off of work to participate, but hopefully it will be worth all of the positive benefits of the drug (if I don't get the placebo!).

Umm, that's about it. Drew's Crew is at $10,428. I am only $22 shy of $5,000 on my personal page. Yeeehaw! Thank you all!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Shorty

GUESS WHAT! I NEED TO GO TO SLEEP!

Today was a big day for Drew's Crew. We surpassed the $10,000 mark!! To be exact, the online total is reflecting $10,165. This makes me really, really happy. I know that $20,000 is going to be tough to make, but I just know that there are good things to come...

Soooo, I got my hair chopped off today. I think you can officially call it 'chopping' when 100 percent of people that see you acknowledge that it is chopped. I am still accepting the change. It looks great and feels great, so in a couple of days I will be all about it. I also got it a little bit lighter. Only about half of the people I've seen noticed that, so the color isn't very drastic. I can hardly notice it myself because I'm not seeing past the short hair. We'll have to see what happens when I style it on my own...

I was feeling a little unsure afterwards, trying to decide if I looked younger, older, or the same. I had a few people say I looked older (like in a sophisticated way). Then, though, I made a quick stop in Publix and the worker called me "lil' bit." That wasn't at all what I was going for, but all that got erased by some of the kind words my theatre family had for me tonight - particularly 'a perfect haircut.'

I am very tired. Therefore, I shall sleep.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

RA RA RA RA RAAAAAA

WOW! It's late.

Well, tonight was the night - Drewby Doo's Mainstage Debut. (I realize that was annoying, but I couldn't not say it when it just crossed my mind.) I headed down to the theatre with plenty of time given all of Atlanta's festivities. I left 1 hour and 45 minutes before I needed to arrive to allot time to go to the grocery store and fight Friday traffic on top of Braves traffic, Freaknik traffic, festival traffic, etc. Congratulations to me for going to the grocery store AND getting to Midtown with 1 hour and 15 minutes until call time. That's record time for any day. Period.

So, I ended up going to Starbucks instead. Ironically, before all was said and done, half of tonight's cast members and the house manager were sitting at a table chatting. I'm not exactly sure if people were also surprised by how little traffic there was, if this is routine for some folks, etc., but it sure was an unexpected and almost surreal way to start the night. It was nice to sit around and talk instead of re-reading everything I've ever written in my notebook.

Tonight I played: Stereotypes, Repeat Scene Direction (paranoid, claustrophobic, pregnant), Senior Class President Buzzer Debate (a younger Barbara - Barb), and ABC (starting in the middle). All in all, I had a lot of fun. I was headier than I'd liked to have been, but it was hard not to treat it as something special because... IT WAS! I am feeling an entire series of post-show emotions, but my main feeling is 'thankful.' I am really happy that I got the experience. Oh, and a special shout-out to all of my wonderful friends who were there (in many senses of the word) for me tonight. After 'thankful,' I feel very motivated. I want to absorb everything I possibly can. I mean, I'm even excited about having to work my shift tomorrow, despite it being my sixth day there this week. I'm excited to watch and learn more.

I forgot to drop some big news yesterday (Thursday) - We booked flights to the Dominican Republic! I can't believe I'm going on a real, all-out vacation. I have never done this for myself... this splurging-type thing for a vacation. It is now official, and I'm excited to pamper myself!

Speaking of pampering, tomorrow I am getting my hair done - highlights and a cut. It will be a nice start to the day. After my new hair and before my double at the theatre, I bet I'll end up napping! I'm excited to get all freshened up and rejuvenated hair-wise.

I know there's a lot more to say... I have the post-show chatties. However, I realize it's after 2:00 a.m., and I need to rest my little head on a pillow.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Sleepay

So. Tired.

Today in summary:

I didn't sleep too well, but got up and got gasoline para mi coche and an iced mocha latte before work (Starbucks).

When I got to work, I began by cleaning off my desk. I have no idea why I would do that, other than trying to get motivated. I had a huge stack of random papers on my desk and now they're gone. Awesome. Then, being that it's the biggest mass email day of the month, I was surprised to find that our mass email tool was down. For several hours. Soooo, that brought my work for the day to a screeching halt.

During the time in which I was trying to maintain my sanity, tomorrow night's emcee called me to see if I had plans for tomorrow (Friday) night. Hoping this was going somewhere good, I said I didn't and got asked if I would like to be in the show tomorrow night. I giddily said yes and literally galloped around the office for a few moments. I'm a combination of nervous and psyched, but mostly psyched! It will be fun getting to perform with the mainstagers! I bet I will learn a lot.

I then went and ate steak nachos at Willy's.

The system was up and running for me when I got back, so I got as much done as I could. I didn't get everything accomplished that was on the agenda today, but I made a great effort given the circumstances.

Then I headed to Midtown for tonight's show. I had so much fun tonight, and literally used every ounce of energy I had! I played ABC Buzzer, Repeat Scene Styles (Gladiator, Soap Opera, High School Musical), Helping Hands Oscar (handless), Script in Hand (off-book), and Sounds Like a Song/Rap. Man, it was a lot of fun! [INTERRUPTION: DONATION ALERT!] My parents and a few friends came, including my faaaaaavorite nurse ever. I looooooooooove Script in Hand; it is in my top games!

That donation was the perfect segue to say that Drew's Crew is at $9,777. I hope to hit $10,000 by the end of the week. Have I already mentioned that? I feel like I've already said that. Okay, I'm teasing with you - I had this conversation with myself last night, but I meant it last night. I forgot to look back and see if I'd really said it the day before.

So, how about I go to sleep?! I've got to do some resting so I am energized for tomorrow night!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Givin' Lip

I'll go ahead and say that the title of this post has nothing to do with actually giving lip... I am wearing a shirt that someone gave me because it was too small, and it is a white tank top with the words "Givin' Lip" in pink writing. I actually kind of love it because it's worthless.

Well, I just got home from rehearsal. I guess you can't really call it rehearsal because we actually went hanging up posters around Midtown - at least that's the group my area tackled. [Side bar: I just noticed after posting that I said "group my area tackled" instead of "area my group tackled." I have been doing backwards things like this for a few days, so I'm leaving it as-is for a trip down memory lane.] It was a fun change of pace, but we walked around a lot and I'm feeling kinda worn out. I guess that's good since I should be heading to sleep soon!

Umm, Drew's Crew is at $9,602!!!!! I really, really hope to hit $10,000 by the week's end. Did I say that yesterday? Or say it in my mind? Either way, it's still the truth! I think I did say it. (Can you tell I'm delirious?)

What elsssssssse? I went to the fitness center for a little chunk during lunchtime today. I got in a pretty good workout. I ran for a little on the treadmill, then hopped on the elliptical, then did some sprints on the treadmill, and topped it off with walking at an incline. I didn't feel like I could exert myself in the way that I do when I'm feeling my best, but I was able to do moderately intense things for a decent length of time, so that was good!

I am kinda at a loss of things to say, which is surprising.

I better take advantage of this 'being tired' thing while it's still accurate.

Oh, my boss is going to have a baby any day now. I don't know why it is nerveracking for me! I'm not the one giving birth, but I am just anxiously waiting...in a neutral way. The actual due date is April 22, so I am trying to be prepared, but I don't think I will be. I will miss her while she's on maternity leave.

Okay. Done.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Dodging a bullet

Well, y'aaaaaaaaalllllllllll........ My doctor's appointment went surprisingly well today! I'll start at the beginning. I got to Emory right at 10:00 a.m. to start my glucose tolerance test. When they finally drew (DREW!) my blood at about 10:30 a.m., I felt like I was going to faint. I survived the blood draws and then drank the special orange drink, which actually tastes pretty decent when you're starved beyond rational thinking. I then headed over for my DEXA bone density scan. After that, I headed back to the lab and had to wait until 12:30 p.m. for my post-orange DRANK stick. The worker was so helpful and, given how weak I was feeling she packed me a baggie with two 4-packs of Oreos and two apple juices, which I thought was really sweet. I want to write her boss and commend her work, but every time I plan to do that it's difficult to follow through...

From there, I headed up to the real doozie - the CF appointment. I didn't have to wait too exceptionally long before completing my PFTs. Believe it or not, my numbers had IMPROVED from the study visit, but were still down a little bit from my baseline. I couldn't believe that I would have improved considering the fact that I didn't feel so great, but I did...so I'll take it! My bloodwork from the morning looked great, with my glucose tolerance test showing that I was normal.

Interestingly, though, the doctor did notice that a particular liver enzyme was elevated. It didn't worry her too much, but she did take note of it since some CFers end up with liver disease for a variety of reasons. Then, we got to talking about the pain that I'd had (the ER-inspiring pain), and she was convinced that the pain was in my gall bladder/liver area. She said that lungs don't really have pain censors, with the exception of when the lining is inflamed, but my pain didn't seem to be affected by my breathing. So, with the combination of the pain and the elevated enzymes, she wants to do an ultrasound of my gall bladder/liver if the pain returns. Hopefully it was just an odd occurrence, and I'm optimistic since I've been painkiller- and pain-free for a week.

Needless to say, after all of that news, I don't have to go to the hospital and I don't have to return for a follow-up until June 1. YAAAAAY! The doctor also mentioned trying to get me back in the study, so I'm hopeful for that. I let that fall to the back-burner temporarily because obviously my current health is the most pressing, but lately I'd been thinking how I really hope to get to participate in the study even though my initial screening indicated otherwise. I'll keep you posted on that.

I don't really have too much to say, as the doctor's appointment was the bulk of my day. Drew's Crew is at $9,367. I'm excited! I think my next endeavor is to encourage friends to email everyone they know. We've come a long way, but we're still only halfway to my aspirational goal!
Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes my way; they helped!

Monday, April 12, 2010

what a day

At least the Braves didn't lose 17 to 2. Oh wait, they did. Darn.

I'd say the Braves score is indicative of my overall day. I know that's kind of melodramatic, but oh well. Today was one of those days where it was hard to snap out of it. ARGGGGH! At least it's about over...

Surprisingly, I was able to sleep through the night like I hadn't taken 6 hours of naps immediately before laying down for bed. I'm just amazed that I could sleep from almost 3:00 p.m. until 6:22 a.m. That's quite the accomplishment. Sadly, it's probably the biggest success of the day.

I did get up and exercise this morning, although it was extremely difficult to wake up this morning. I did about 32 minutes of varying activities in the fitness center, experiencing some of the same exercise ADD that I had yesterday. I then headed off to work where I kicked off my day with a lovely 1.5-hour meeting that we have once a month. I went out to eat for lunch (Mexican), so that was a highlight.

I went to Starbucks on the way to rehearsal because I figured I needed some kind of fake enthusiasm in order to do a good job. It's getting increasingly difficult to go to rehearsal with an open mind on Mondays after work. Mmm, maybe if I anticipate it on Mondays from here on out, it won't take me by surprise. Anyway, rehearsal was a lot of fun. We played ABC Buzzer and Blind Scene, and the fact that I hadn't had a good day didn't cross my mind once!

Well, tomorrow's the big day at the doctor. I have to do a two-hour glucose tolerance test, which means I am beginning to fast. BLAH! I will never be as hungry as I will be tomorrow morning. Anyway, I need to get my blood drawn at 10:00 a.m., then I'll drink the orange drank and get blood drawn again at noon. I need to get a DEXA bone density scan somewhere in that time, too, so that the doctors can tell me I have osteopenia. Then, I have my pulmonary function tests (PFTs) at 12:30 p.m. and my actual appointment at 1:00 p.m. Yeaaaaaaaah, it's gonna be a pretty long day. While the optimist in me wants to say that it will go well, the pragmatist in me doesn't have very high hopes. Whatever happens, I will handle it with grace... and probably IV antibiotics.

Umm, what else? That's all. No money raised online for Drew's Crew today, but one of the crew members should have made his first push tonight, so I'm hoping I'll see an increase when I check the total in the morning. Unless you beat him to it....

Have a good night. I will report on judgment day tomorrow.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Snoozer

At what point does a nap no longer classify as a nap? Does it depend on what time it starts or its duration? Either way, I basically slept from 3:00 to 10:00 p.m. this afternoon, with the exception of one or two little stints of waking up for 30 minutes. I mean, that's incredible. I'm afraid it could be difficult to sleep tonight, which is why I'm going to be quick-like. Gotta keep this napping momentum going!

Today I got up and hit the gym first thing. I experienced the worst cast of gym ADD that I've ever had. I would get on one machine for a few minutes, feel like changing to something else, then repeat that again. All in all, I did a little over 30 minutes of stuff, but it was really hard to stay focused. I have no idea why!

Then, I got picked up to go eat an early lunch at El Azteca (Peachtree). I was graced by my two female apprenti, which was fun. We chit-chatted and had a few margaritas before heading to WWIT for the monthly teen performance. It was a lot of fun to watch! I was also excited because I knew that a fellow CFer was in the show (small world, I know), so I got to talk to his mom. CFers just have this inherent bond.

That reminds me that I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I'm not exactly worried about it, but I'm definitely feeling some hesitance. I just don't know if it will go well. I haven't felt GREAT in a while.

Speaking of not feeling great, the Braves are kinda sucking. I mean, they could be doing worse, but they have 3 wins and 3 losses right now. I'm kinda thankful that I fell asleep for most of today's game. I started off with a feeling that this season was gonna be different, and it's starting to dwindle. COME ON!

Well, there's more I could drone on about, but I really didn't have a productive weekend. It was just kinda there. I tried to write and had no success. I just kind of piddled around, but I guess I'm entitled to that considering how busy I've been lately.

I'm hoping for a good week of fundraising. Drew's Crew is at $8592. I hope we can pick up some momentum this week and hit maybe $11 or $12K. We'll hit the one-month-out mark on Wednesday, so we've gotta get it going!

Good night, y'aaaaallllllllllllll!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Do you hear what I heaaaaar?

A child, a child. That title was inspired by a blog I just read. (Yes, you.) I misread the title and started singing that song.

It seems like it's been forever, but I know it hasn't. I'm just being overly dramatic.

Well, Thursday was a pretty good day! However, it started off a bit dicey (that's a pun, but you don't know it yet). I stopped by my sister's place on the way to work to pick up a shirt she was handing down to me. On the way out of her door, the storm door (the technical term - one of those glass doors outside of the front door) attacked my ankle. I wish I could convey the extent of the pain in words, but I don't know that I can. I was afraid to look at it because it was hurting so bad, but surprisingly the actual wound doesn't do it justice. Neither does this picture because it's one of those awkward injuries where it breaks the skin in a way that stings and what not. It kind of skipped a chunk and then actually bled on the back of my heel. It's so sore! Hey - Look at my lil vest machine down there! Aren't my sheets cute with the asterisks? That's a hard word to say.


It's about three inches of ouch. The jaggedness should illustrate PAIN.

Also on Thursday, my mom and I went out to lunch at my favorite Mexican place of all time (I think) - Monterrey on LaVista. Man, it was incredible! I had two grilled steak quesadillas. That's the first time I've ever broken my improv show tradition of having Willy's for lunch. It was so good and I didn't notice it affecting my performance.

That's the perfect segue to mention Thursday's show! I played Sounds Like a Song, ABC Buzzer, Narration Switch (started off-stage), and Confessions (as Barbara Buchanan). The show was a lot of fun and the audience was very participatory, which is awesome! I had fun with all of the games, especially ABC Buzzer. That's always been a favorite of mine! It's fun having to blurt out a new word in a split-second, and we got to do it many times! I could have been much better at Confessions, but I thought it went well for a game I'd never played. I had a good ol' time, and had some friends and family come check it out!

Today was pretty low-key. I worked from home, and then grabbed dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with my neighbor before heading to my crew shift. I was doing suggestions tonight. Although I've enjoyed my weekends off from volunteering, it was fun to be back and see a show! And guess what .... DRUMROLL ............

I saw my first proposal tonight! A guy had coordinated with the emcee to incorporate their proposal into the show. Man, I felt so special all night for knowing the secret, even though all of us did. On the last scene of the night, the emcee got volunteers and they came up on stage. The guy was so nervous and his voice was shaking and he asked his girlfriend to marry him. It was really sweet! I'd slap anyone in the face who did that to me, but hopefully he knows her well enough to know that she'd like that... Well, she said yes!

That's about all. I just read an AJC article about Roethlisberger being innocent in an assault accusation and it referred to him as a 'pro-bowler.' I was like, 'No he's not; he's a pro football player.' Then I realized there's something called the pro bowl...

I'm WAY excited about tomorrow. I have no plans in any form or fashion! And I am NOT setting an alarm!!!!

Drew's Crew is at $8,532 online!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Pollination transformation

I'm gonna attempt to make this quick-like since it's past my bedtime already...

Today was a somewhat successful day. I worked from home, which brought great relief to a week that hadn't started out as I'd hoped. I decided to sit outside on my patio and work for a while. I knew I was taking a risk given the pollen count, but it seemed to have been a risk worth taking. When pollen has really irritated me before, it's almost instantaneous, so I think I may have dodged a bullet. Knock on wizzooood.

Instead of going anywhere to pick up lunch, I decided to exercise for part of my lunch hour and put some of last night's groceries to good use. Well, exercising was a bit tough, but I outdid myself and did 3.4 miles today. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to how much time I spent running versus walking, but I did the 3.4 in 36 minutes, so that's averaging about 6.0 mph at all times. So, I considered that a win. I am pretty pleased with myself AND my dedication. I'd like to work out in the morning, but it's getting pretty unlikely if I'm going to get sufficient sleep.

Well, I am in tomorrow night's improv show, so that should be fun. I was between a rock and a hard place because I really, really wanted to see a Braves game in their first home stand of the season, but my only off-day was their only off-day. As it got closer and closer to showtime and I didn't have a Braves plan yet, I didn't want to end up with no show and no game. So, given the rain in the forecast for tomorrow, plus the fact that it would be difficult to throw that together last-minute, I'm glad I won't be able to attend the game for a solid, legitimate, also fun reason. I'm excited because one of my old bosses is coming! Congrats on being 2-0, Bravos!

I think that's about it. Drew's Crew kept it pretty low-key today, but we're looking at $8317 today. I'm excited because I am at $4000 on the nose. That's 40 percent of my goal, which is a little AHHH since I am not keeping a steady pace, but it's AWESOME! Shameless plug.

Umm, yeah. Going to BED!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

loooooove

First things first, let me announce the newest online total of $8259. This makes me so happy for Drew's Crew. This is such an important time of year for me, and it's awesome people who make it possible for me to be so successful. Sometimes I feel like a 'thank you' isn't enough for the support and the love I get from the people in my life. Seems cliche, but I mean it. It's amazing to think about how excited my mom and I used to be when we broke $1000, but as I meet more and more incredible people, it becomes that much simpler to do.

Well, today was a success. I didn't sleep very well, but I did get up early to exercise. I ended up exercising for 34 minutes and, of those minutes, I only walked for about 8. That was a pleasant surprise! In total, my distance was about 3.2 miles, so it was an awesome way to start the day. I haven't accomplished anything physical like that in quite a while. I hope to do something similar tomorrow because I felt so fulfilled when I finished.

I've spent the last two days at work catching up on some tasks I have been putting off left and right - some low-priority things. It feels good to get some of that out of the way so it's not staring me in the face anymore. Tomorrow, when I work from home, I'll get to spend my time building next week's mass emails to ATL and NYC. Oooh, how exciting! It'll be nice to take care of it distraction-free for a change. Speaking of, I wore a sundress today bracing myself for the 80+ degree temperatures in the office, and then it ended up being pretty chilly. I was relieved it was fixed, though, because it made for an easier day.

I had El Torero for lunch. It was fun!

Tonight I ended up going out to El Azteca for dinner, and then getting some groceries. Yeah, I planned on staying home and relaxing tonight, but El Azteca was too tempting and I kind of wanted to go out and do something instead of sitting around in a funk like I've been doing a bit too much lately. So, off I went, and I'm really glad I did!

I think that's about it. The Braves didn't play today, so I didn't get to enjoy that on my 'off' night... They're back at it tomorrow, though, so I'm looking forward to it!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Gooooo Bravooooooooos

Well, I was really sad to miss the Braves home opener today. It's the first time I've missed in several years. I missed for a few reasons - 1) Since I was home from work last week, I didn't want to take another day off, 2) I had improv, and 3) The pollen is ridiculous. The Braves beat the Cubs 16 to 5, so it would have been a fun game to see. Oh well... I know I'll get to one sooner than later!

Today was a rough day. As I mentioned last night, it had been a while since I'd been in the office, and it was tough to be back. I didn't sleep well last night, so I was already a little perturbed. Then the day didn't improve a whole lot from there. Moodwise, at least. I was in a bit of a funk all day, but I surprisingly felt better when I walked into the theatre. I was worried I wouldn't be able to shake it, but I did; I didn't even think one time about how bad my day had been.

I think part of that is because, as I was walking into the theatre, one of my friends gave me a $250 donation from his dad! That made me smile BIG TIME! Then, when I was getting out of improv, I looked at my phone and my mom had texted me to tell me about a $500 donation from my old boss. All in all, today was an awesome fundraising day, with a total of $850 raised! Now Drew's Crew's online total is $7662! SOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!

What else? I got over to the Emory area a little early today, so I stopped by Kroger and got some granola bars and cashews. I ate a granola bar for breakfast. Is anyone in particular who is reading this proud of me for eating breakfast????????????????? I had steak nachos for lunch at Willy's, which was a ray of sunshine on this bleak Monday.

Oh yeah, I ended up not working out today. I think I have a really good explanation, though. It took me a long time to get to sleep, so it was really hard to get up this morning. I decided to sleep in a little later and use my exercise hour at work today to hop on the elliptical before improv. However, the AC was broken at work today, so my office was 83 degrees, with some neighboring offices getting up to 87. That being said, the exercise room was like a sauna and it wouldn't fare well with my heading-straight-to-improv-after-a-sink-shower plan that I was hoping to accomplish. So, I'm getting up and doing it tomorrow. No excuses. Man, it's already late. I better get on this sleeping thing!

Cheers to a better Tuesday!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Back to work

It's hard to imagine that I haven't been to work in almost a week. Yeah, I was telecommuting, but it will be nice to see everyone's faces when I'm back in the office tomorrow. I kind of wish I was feeling 100 percent, but I'm not sure when I will be given the weather, etc.

I haven't had any of the same pain that I had on Friday. However, I've also been taking the prescription Motrin pretty regularly, so I don't know if I'd be pain-free without it. I was experiencing some shortness of breath (again) Saturday and today, but I do think I'm on the road to recovery. Fatigue has been trying to hold me back, so I'm hoping tomorrow won't be too difficult at work.

Guess what! Today I went to the gym for the first time in what felt like forever. I haven't tried to run in at least two weeks, but probably more like three. As I mentioned recently, I was starting to feel like I needed to work out - just that my body was withering away or something. The gym was tough, but I walked for three minutes, ran for five, walked for two, ran for five, then walked for three again. I then did twelve minutes on the elliptical, and finished with a ten-minute walk. It felt a little measly compared to how I usually push myself, but it was the most I felt like I could do. I have high hopes of getting up and going over there again in the morning to start my week off on a positive note.

Yesterday we went for a get-together at my aunts' house, and today we had a gathering at my grandmother's house. It was fun to get to see everyone on my dad's side of the family; it seemed like it had been a while. I enjoyed today, but everything was set up to eat outside and I knew it probably wasn't the best idea for me. Last year I got very, very sick from allergies on Easter Sunday and missed a week of work. Geeee, sounds sort of familiar, but I'll say this year has been nothing in comparison to last year (knock on wood). Anyway, I ended up sitting inside and one of my cousins joined me so I wasn't all alone. :-)

I know it seems like all I've been talking about lately is my health, but whatever - I'm more cognizant of it now than I usually am. That reminds me that I have only a few days left on this oral antibiotic, and a doctor's appointment next Tuesday. We'll see how all of that unfolds...

Although I am all talk regarding my book, I've been thinking about it a lot over these last couple days. I think that the revelation I had at the end of the year is gonna get tossed by the wayside and I should take a slightly different approach. Sometimes I wish I was better at acting rather than talking my way through things. I'm getting annoyed with myself by how badly I've been procrastinating. However, to go easy on myself, I haven't had much free time on my hands and, when I've found it, I've ended up using it for life's essentials - i.e. sleeping and eating.

Speaking of sleeping, I'm just finishing up a round of vesting so I can get a good night's sleep to start my week off... and so I'll get up to exercise!

Friday, April 2, 2010

GOOOOOOD Friday

Hi y'all!

I write you tonight with a smiling heart. Today has been such a great day, primarily due to the major advancements made by Drew's Crew! I, as an individual, raised $577 today - through a mere four donations! A really great friend left me in complete and utter shock with her generous donation, and it's like that positive energy carried into other people as well. It seemed like every time I logged onto Facebook, someone new was posting my link, which means a lot to me. Drew's Crew's up-to-date online total is $6,762!!! While it's not officially official yet, there is approximately $1,000 in checks that haven't been posted online yet. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF HOW HAPPY I AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I stopped by my mom's school to meet her kindergarten students. I haven't been able to go there in quite a while (pretty much since I finished college), so it was super-exciting to get to see all of the children. The kids were participating in an egg hunt today, and immediately upon entering the classroom, a student asked me if I was the Easter bunny. Man, that cracks me up. I've considered teaching and seeing those little kids today pulled at my heartstrings. I typically have a problem with children, but they were sooooooooo adorable.

I'll throw one tiny little twinge of negativity in here, more for informational purposes than anything. I have been doing really great pain-wise in the lungs since Tuesday, but today I got some more dagger-like pains. It's tough to imagine pain like this not being caused by something of concern, but they stopped shortly after taking the prescription Motrin. I had one 30-minute episode of being short-of-breath, too, so I guess I'm still monitoring this... That headache is lingering, too. I wonder if it has to do with a lack of oxygen or something.

ANYWAY! I'll end on a positive note. Tonight I got a post on my Facebook from a father of a CFer who said that my posting has motivated him to start fundraising again. That makes me very happy, so a shout-out to him!

As you go to sleep tonight, send some positive thoughts to a blog friend of mine who ought to be in the throes of a double-lung transplant right now. Someone's about to be breathing easy!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Foggy

Tonight's show was fun. It was a pretty quiet crowd, but I'm getting better at accepting the fact that a non-reactive crowd doesn't mean a displeased crowd. I had several friends and family members there, so that made me happy. I also had a surprise appearance by one of the CF doctors! One of my friends went to see him today (Hi E!) and I asked her to pass the info along to him. I didn't see him during the show, but was so excited when he was out in the cafe afterwards.

I was in the following games tonight: Emo Speed Date (changer), Buzzer Game Show (as Barbara Buchanan), Helping Hands Oscar (sitting on the lap), Foreign-Dubbed Soap Opera (as a translator), and Repeat Scene Musical Styles. I had a lot of fun with all of the games, even though my head was really foggy tonight. I think it was a combination of how lethargic I was all week, plus the prescription pain medicine. I have never found myself blanking as much as I did tonight, like completely forgetting what the last person just said, etc. I had this faint headache throughout the show - a dehydrated-like feeling. I'll say my biggest accomplishment for the night was Repeat Scene Musical Styles. I tend to lurk in the background in musical games because singing isn't my forte, but I really gave it my all tonight. We did R&B, Opera, and Rap. It was the perfect scene to end the night!

Right now I am in my childhood room.

OH! Before I forget... Yesterday I was at Starbucks and was talking to the worker as my drink was made. He commented on how nice the weather was, and I told him that it was beautiful and that I have bad allergies, so it would be a few weeks until I could actually go out and enjoy it. He was like, "I'm lucky I don't have that problem, but now I will just appreciate it more. I will breathe easy for you, my friend." Honestly it about stopped me dead in my tracks because of the words 'breathe easy.' Now, I realize they aren't the most uncommon words in the world, but I don't often hear them in reference to something other than CF. Two of my best friends have gotten those words tattooed on them in honor of me, so those words are really special to me. It was a really interesting word choice on his part and it made me shudder. In a good way.

Today I was thinking about how I really need to get back into an exercise routine. I know it's only been a few weeks and my slacking has been for mostly legitimate purposes, but I feel kind of useless lately. Not in an oh-how-depressing kind of way, but I just don't feel very strong lately. I just feel kind of 'there' and lacking some substance. I hope the way I'm describing this makes sense to someone somewhere.

Well, my car has a check-up in the morning, so I better get to sleep. I'll probably work on my laptop using wireless Internet at Nissan as it happens. This week has been weird since I haven't been at work, but I have gotten just as much accomplished telecommuting each day. So I am worn out.