Raise your glass

I've become so delinquent on this blog-posting business. Oh well. I'm enjoying myself!

I had a good Thanksgiving. We usually go to my uncle's farm, but that didn't happen this year. I ended up doing a Thanksgiving dinner with my friend (LW) at her husband's parents' place on Thursday night. Even though I missed my family, I had a really great time. It was very low-key and we just pretty much sat around and enjoyed each others' company. The food was delicious, too! I'm thankful for everyone who offered to host me. :-)

After the dinner, I ended up heading to my parents' house as a surprise. I was already out in their direction, so I figured I would show up and spend the night. I spent all day Friday hanging out until I had to head to the theatre to work lights. Then I headed back to my parents' house Friday night and did Thanksgiving: The Sequel with my dad's side of the family on Saturday. Then, I headed to the theatre again to do suggestions for last night's show. Are you getting exhausted reading this? I feel worn out just typing it.

Today I went to my brother's place and watched the Falcons beat the Packers. It was fun!

I'm about to go to sleep. It's really early, but I've had a busy weekend. I've got a big day tomorrow!

It's gonna be a great week, world!

Night owl

Yooooooooooo. Just got home from a crew shift at the theatre. I was supposed to be on camera, but I ended up suggestionizing and camerafying solo because there was a no-show. It was fun! I hadn't seen a main stage show in a good bit. Hoorah!

I performed on Thursday night and was in some fun scenes - Buzzer Talk Show, Spanish-Dubbed Soap Opera, Sit Stand Lean Oscar, ABC Buzzer Beatnik Poetry, and Musical Styles (Reggae, Blues, Country, Rap). I have an official new favorite game of all time: ABC Buzzer Beatnik Poetry. Oh man! That junk is crazy-fun! My mom came to the show (per usual!) and so did two friends (JM and SLW). Baller!

Well, I've been staying up way too late since this whole hospitalization thing. I gradually stay up later and later and sleep later and later. I've pretty much lost all structure to my days, but I'm going to fix it ASAP. I guess this proves that, when I have it my way, I'm a bit of a night owl. I've always thought that I was a cross between a morning person and a night owl, but someone who slumps in the afternoons. I think I prefer being up late versus going to bed early. See? I wouldn't be having this debate with myself at 1:21 a.m. if I wasn't a night owl.

I don't really feel like saying anything else. I could try to recap the entire week, but it runs together. I went to the doctor and it went pretty well, but I need to see the eye doctor and the neurologist. Umm, my roommate and I went to Willy's on Thursday for lunch, but I think I need it again tomorrow (which is now 'today').

Honestly, I just can't believe October is ending. It feels like it just started... Happy Halloween! I don't like Halloween.

Tiiiiiiiiiiiiime

Good grief, where does the time go? I swear time is getting lesser and lesser by the day.

Yesterday I slept in until 11:00 a.m. Now, given the fact that I'm complaining about having no time, I realize that wasn't exactly an effective use of my Saturday morning. However, I wouldn't have felt compelled to sleep that late if I wasn't completely exhausted, so I'm just listening to my body. Then I headed over to the gym and exercised for a bit. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 12 on the treadmill. It was a good start to the day!

Then I hurriedly showered and got ready and met my friend DH for lunch. We were going to go to Hudson Grille, but apparently it closed or something, so we went to Taco Mac instead. Wooo! Aside from her coming to my improv show last Thursday, we hadn't really talked in YEARS, so that was a lot of fun. I love catching up with relatable people!

I then decided that I needed to go get groceries since it had been probably close to a month. I am really not good at fulfilling my basic needs when I have next to no free time. I realize that my basic needs should come first, but dang, it's tough. I just went into Target (the SUPER kind!) and got some stuff. I had a hard time because I wanted to get home quickly and dodge the rain, so I just arbitrarily grabbed healthyish stuff, plus a few things like shampoo, etc. Consider it true if it's written here - I really want to start eating healthier. Not for vanity's sake, but because I know I don't have good eating habits and I used to feel much more energized when I ate such a variety. Granted, at that time, my only concerns were being in high school and making smoothies, but I felt healthier nutrition-wise. So, that's a goal of mine.

I put groceries up, laid down for a bit, then realized it was time to head out to my crew shift at the theatre. I stopped by Starbucks at the way (See? Thinking I can drink my energy?) and got an iced vanilla latte. I got down to the theatre and trained a newby on suggestions and worked the camera during the show. The shows were a lot of fun to watch and, even though I was out late, I enjoyed myself!

Now I'm getting ready to go watch the kids perform at the theatre - well, the youths and teens. It should be a lot of fun. I'm getting lunch beforehand. YAY!

THIS POST WAS POINTLESS!

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!

Kick it to the curb

So, Thursday was an eventful day; that Cortisone injection made it more painful than I imagined. I took some Aleve in the morning, hoping that the soreness would wear off as the day continued. However, I was horribly wrong. By 2:00 p.m. when the pain wasn't subsiding any, I decided to take half of a Vicodin. I'll tell you that definitely did a trick or two. I was at least able to relax a bit, so my shoulder stopped twitching and my neck loosened up a bit.

I met a friend at El Azteca before Thursday night's show. Dinner got started a little late considering the zebra running around on the Downtown Connector, which held up traffic quite a bit (it's no wonder Atlanta was just ranked third in the worst traffic among metro areas). Anyway, we had to move quickly, but we got in some good catching-up before we headed to the improv show. It was super-fun being spectators together, and the show was quite amusing!

I was relieved to work at home Friday so that I didn't have to sit up in a chair and/or walk around as much. Thankfully, I woke up Friday feeling remarkably less sore, but it was still nice to get to work from bed. I got a lot accomplished before I headed downtown to meet a friend at Willy's. We were both on the volunteer schedule, so we got to visit over dinner before we went to fulfill our duties. I was originally slated as the camera girl with her doing suggestions, but we flipped responsibilities since I knew my SC joint wasn't going to be happy about having to work the camera.

Today has been a really lazy day. I'm not sure if I'm just exhausted or if I'm still kind of fighting something, but I haven't felt up to much today. I slept in pretty late, which was nice since it's been a pretty jam-packed week. My mom ended up heading this way and we went to the Goodwill to do a little character-outfit shopping. I got a few good things to solidify some characters. Then we swung by El Toro (third Mexican reference in this post - I also forgot to say I had Willy's for lunch Thursday) and ate a late lunch.

This evening I haven't accomplished much. I dozed off for over an hour. I tried cleaning up a bit, too, but that didn't work out quite as planned. I got a bath, which was nice, but honestly I have no idea where the night has gone. All I know is that I'm feeling pretty drained.

Tomorrow I think some of the apprentice actors are meeting for lunch. Then, in the afternoon, a friend and I will be doing some filming for my CF video. I'm pretty excited to see the outcome of this; it's gonna be cooooool!

Hold on while I ice my chest

GREETINGS! IT'S THURSDAY!

Well, my chest is really sore today because I got my much-anticipated Cortisone injection. It was kind of what I imagined it might be when I tried to conceptualize what it would be like for a needle to go into my chest. I was on the gurney (or whatever) and the guy put the gooey gel on my SC joint. He started moving the ultrasound thingy (these are all medical terms) around to get a good picture of the joint. He moved it around for a while, then told me to get ready for a cold spray. After the cold, the needle went into my chest at a diagonal. When the needle got into the place they were going for in the joint, the doctor could not make the syringe cooperate. I think it was a matter of being at a place in my chest that didn't want the medicine. So, they ended up having to take it out.

Then, then tried again. This time they got in the joint pretty easily at an angle that was actually willing to receive the medicine. He slowly started to push the syringe. He warned me that I would feel a lot of pressure, but it was kind of like someone had just put a twenty-five pound weight on my chest or something. It was weird because it was in such a specified location, but it felt like the joint was about to explode from the pressure. Anyway, he warned me that after the injected Lidocaine wore off, it would start to get sore. And boy, was he right. There's a little bruise in the center of my chest and I'm feeling pretty sore. I iced it after rehearsal last night. I'm probably gonna need to pop a painkiller today. He said the pain should only last a few days.

The week has gone pretty well, I'd say. It has actually flown by; I can't believe today's Thursday. Tonight I'm going to the improv show to support some fellow actors. I think I'm meeting a friend for MEXICAN! beforehand, which will be the perfect after-work activity on a Thursday. Then tomorrow I will be working from home until I need to head down to the theatre to work suggestions and camera again. Saturday I will be worthless.

I really need to finish getting ready for work. I forgot that I'm going to be relying on my less-coordinated arm to dry my hair and what not. Here goes!

Achooooo

The sneeze total in the hour and a half I've been awake is now at seven. I don't know what's up, but my nose has been running pretty severely since Sunday night. Mmm, perhaps the suspicion that I was getting sick was on-target. However, I'm confident I can kick this. YES. I. CAN.

I had a pretty good weekend, although the snow thing threw it off a bit. Saturday was pretty fun. I officially went to IHOP for the third consecutive weekend; this time I went with a friend that lives in my complex. The second we walked into IHOP, the workers started telling me I looked exactly like 'Sarah' that used to work there. They were all pointing me out to each other. It's pretty strange because I don't know how I could possibly look like so many people. Oh, and I got an Elizabeth Shue lookalike comment on Friday.

Saturday night I worked two sold-out shows at the theatre. I was on suggestions and camera. It was pretty fun because it was a packed house. We also gave out roses for creative suggestions. How. Sweet. Anyway, I had a good time and worked with a fun crew.

Sunday a friend and I went to watch a college basketball game (a friend is an assistant coach there). The game was pretty fun; I like sports in general. Then the three of us went to get Mexican and margaritas for dinner. It was a non-traditional Valentine's Day, but I'm not a big fan anyway.

Yesterday I woke up feeling pretty gross. I was all sniffly and what not. My throat hurt pretty bad, too, from being horizontal, but it got progressively better as the day went on. I was also FREEZING all day, but the thermometer suggested that I didn't have a fever. Anyway, today when I woke up, my throat didn't hurt as much, but, as I mentioned earlier, I am sneezy magee.

I had sushi for lunch yesterday with some people from the CFF. It was fun aaaaand delicious. We talked about some fundraising strategy for the walk (yes, kids, it's about that time!!!!). Over the next few days, I'm going to write some motivational letters that are going to get blasted out to team leaders. It's time to get inspirational!

Rehearsal was the late shift again last night, but I'm excited because it's at 7:00 p.m. next week. Awesome! By the time I got there, I was feeling so run-down. [Interjection: I ate Mexican food (SHOCK!) for dinner before rehearsal.] We mainly sat around and talked about problem areas at rehearsal, which was kind of a blessing considering how 'off' I was feeling with my stuffy head. Anyway, I got home around 11:30 p.m. and got to sleep to gear up for an early day at work. WOOOOOOO!

Vanilla latte.

..........

This week isn't on the top of my "Best Weeks Ever" list. In fact, it's far from it. I've definitely complained more than I should this week, but it was an exceptionally hard week for me. I was plagued by headaches Monday through Thursday and, although there were some twinges of pain throughout the day today, I was fairly pain-free.

I got a call about my SC joint today. I am scheduled for an ultrasound of the joint on February 17 and may also be given a cortisone injection if the doctor sees the troublesome area. While the thought of a needle going into the boniest part of my chest doesn't sound appealing, I like the idea of potentially getting rid of the pain!

The improv schedule for February came out and I'm in the shows on the 4th and 25th, so I'm looking forward to both of those. I got suggestions and worked the camera last night, so it was fun to see a show after a somewhat stressful week. I also saw some patrons that I thought I recognized from the previous week and they complimented my performance, which made me feel really good. I can't wait until I get to perform again next Thursday!

I plan to keep it pretty low-key this weekend, especially considering how worn down I feel right now. I haven't felt this exhausted in a long time. Every little movement feels like it requires so much energy. Tomorrow morning I've got to be up pretty early to go to a birthday breakfast for my grandfather at IHOP. I haven't been there in a long time, so I'm excited! IHOP pancakes aren't as good as my mother's Bisquick pancakes, but I'll manage. My grandfather just turned 86. Wow!

As you may recall (primarily if I wrote it in here because I'm not sure if I did...), I set a goal of finishing the revision of my autobiography by January 31, 2010. That's only two days away and I'm definitely not where I imagined to be at this point. I am going into writing lockdown mode tomorrow after breakfast and staying focused for the remainder of the day. Maybe before I go to bed I'll jot a list of areas that need some strengthening. Often, when I sit down, I find myself dumbfounded regarding where I'll begin. Plus, I think I'm too tired to do any efficient writing tonight, so I'll just hoard that energy for tomorrow.

Well, I somehow almost dropped my laptop on the ground just then, so I should probably cut myself off. Here's to a productive weekend!

A success story

Hmm, well, going to sleep is long overdue, but I figured I ought to write in here since it crossed my mind. I got home from the CF event I spoke at not too long ago. The event was in a very nice home in the Lenox Mall area. It took me forever to get there because I forgot about the roads that are still washed out due to the flood. The good news, however, is that I got there.

I winged it, for the most part, but I think it went well. It was a small and intimate gathering, so it wasn't as intimidating as it could have been. I met some very nice people all there to support my cause, so that's always uplifting!

I also found out some news I deem super-exciting. I was speaking with a CF doctor about clinical trials and one just got approved this week. Less than 10 percent of the CF population could benefit from this drug, and I happen to be in that small group. I have been following this drug for almost three years now, so I am way excited that my treatment center will have access to it. It could seriously make a huge difference in my life. Guess who's looking into that tomorrow!

Well, I ended up working from home today. I've had a headache since Monday and just wasn't feeling up to driving to work today. I also had a very difficult time sleeping last night, so that wasn't helping matters. The headache hasn't bothered me all evening, so let's hope this is indicative of what tomorrow will bring!

Tomorrow I am doing camera/suggestions at the theatre. It's funny that not being there in two days seems so weird to me. I think that means I'm officially in deep. I also don't have to be there for any reason this weekend, so that will feel unusual, too.

Anyway, I can hardly keep my eyes open, so I think I'll call it a night. I don't know the last time I was up this late on a weeknight. I know I didn't say a whole lot worth hearing, but whatever. I'm excited about that drug. YEAH BABY!

Papa. Paparazzi.

It seems like I just wrote in here yesterday, but obviously it wasn't... This week flew by, probably because I was anticipating the show.

So, Thursday night was my first apprentified show at the theatre, and I had so much fun! Just for my own memory and not so much yours, these are the games I was in: Emo Interview, Sit Stand Lean Oscar, Remote Control Styles, ABC, and Oscar Musical Rap. I had soooo many WONDERFUL people supporting me and it couldn't have gone any better. I can't wait until the next - whenever that is!

Well, I'm up so late because I just finished working the 8:00 and 10:30 p.m. shows at the theatre. They were both sold out, which was fun. I was in charge of walking around getting suggestions for the show, and then pretty much watching and helping out if anything came up during the show. During the 8:00 p.m. show, a guy asked his girlfriend to prom onstage. He had planned it in advance, and it was actually very cute. I hate to admit it, but it almost made me cry. It was just so sweet, primarily because of its innocence.

Today I went to lunch at Mimi's Cafe with a friend that lives in my complex. I hadn't seen her since New Year's, so we had a good time catching up. I got a cheeseburger and onion rings. Woohooo! It was pretty good. When I got home from lunch, though, I literally passed out and didn't wake up for an hour and a half... I have no idea how I was so tired! Tomorrow night I'm meeting some friends for Mexican, so that's going to be AWESOME!

I went to the fitness center this morning, even though it took everything in my power to get out of bed (and this was at 11:00 a.m.). I ran a mile on the treadmill, then did 1.7 miles on the Stairmaster, then alternated between sprints and walking for 1.1 miles on the treadmill. I'm pretty surprised I'm not sore yet because sprints usually do it to me, especially if it's been a while.

Well, I'm about to go to sleep and not set an alarm. I usually set an alarm just for the heck of it, but not tonight. I'm just going to sleep until I can't sleep anymore... So excited!

Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo

Greeeeeeeeeeeeeetings. Today is 12-21, which is a palindrome. Therefore, I also used a palindrome to title this post. DORK!

Well, what a weekend! I worked at the theatre on Friday and Saturday nights. I did pre-show suggestions both nights, and also ran the camera on Saturday night. It didn't feel much like work, so that's cool. I also got to laugh a lot in the process, so volunteering was surprisingly fun. I was out pretty late both nights... Friday night I got home around 1, and Saturday it was more like 2. WILD CHILD!

Saturday I got up and exercised, then went shopping and knocked out pretty much everything you can imagine. It was relatively painless, which I didn't expect the weekend before Christmas. It's amazing how efficiently you can shop the closer you get to the deadline. I mean, the lines may be long and what not, but there's no longer time to debate, compare, pick and choose.

Sunday I got up and ran 3 miles (you heard me) and then went to lunch with a friend. We went to J. Christopher's and I had the spinach and bacon skillet. It made my mouth water! I could eat another right now. I debated getting the pancakes, but restaurant pancakes often don't do it for me. They are too...solid and calculated. I can't wait to eat some homemade pancakes this week!

Last night we had a theatre holiday party, and it was a lot of fun. I brought apple tart for dessert and my white elephant gift was a bottle of Bailey's. I ended up getting a tumbler... too bad the Bailey's already belonged to someone else at that point. There was so much delicious food to eat, including one of my favorites... buffalo chicken dip!

That brings me to a very important point. Back in September, I ranked my top three foods as Mexican, pancakes, and grilled cheese. However, I have an amendment to make. I'm officially replacing grilled cheese with buffalo chicken dip in my all-time top three favorite foods. Buffalo chicken dip is just sooooo savory.

Well, it's time to go to bed around 8:30 p.m. because I stayed up too late last night. Tomorrow is my last day in the office this week. YEAAAAAAH BUDDY! GET IT CRUNK! I'm seriously so excited about it. Plus, I'm going to lunch with my old boss, so that's always fun!