Another year!

Happy not-birthday to me! Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a simple yet wonderful day. I took the day off of work, which has become a tradition of mine. I got up relatively early so that the day would feel as long as humanly possible. I fixed breakfast, drank coffee and caught up on some pointless TV shows.

I met a friend (KZ-turned-KB) for lunch. We had Mexican, of course, which was delightful. After lunch, I went for a birthday run outside.

RA left work early so that we could go get massages. It was honestly one of the best massages I’ve ever had. (I feel like I say that every time.) The massage therapist asked when I last had a massage, and I told him it was about a month ago. He responded, “Wow, you must be under a lot of stress.” Ahem. We then hurried to freshen up before dinner.

For dinner, we went to an amazing restaurant called TOP FLR. I had never heard of it, but I have been spreading the word ever since. It was absolutely amazing! A cheese tray was involved, which is the way to my heart. I also had some of the best macaroni and cheese ever created. Oh man! I am salivating just thinking about it again.

 

After dinner, we headed to Marlee’s Coffee. Every other Friday, there is one of those BYOB painting things, which I had always wanted to do. It was so much fun! We had a bit of a competition going on with our paintings. I’ll let you judge for yourself, but please make sure to look closely at the leaves. (Disregard the “Terri” painted on the left one. That was a pseudonym.)

I also set a fundraising goal for my birthday, and my team blew it out of the water. Drew’s Crew is amazing!

Thank you to everyone who made my day special!

Huddy birthday to me!

Guess what! I'm going to the Braves game today! I haven't been to a game yet this season, and I'm fortunate to make my return on the same day Tim Hudson makes his. The temperatures are going to be in the high 80s today, so I'm prepared for a doozy. I'm excited!

I celebrated my birthday on Thursday, and it was nice! I got up pretty early, exercised and scheduled a massage appointment. Then I headed to meet a friend (CP) for Tin Lizzy's (Mmm... Mexican Food Round #1). I then hurried to my massage. It was glorious, but I did think the masseuse might rip off my Achilles' tendon at one point. My Achilles' tendon is my Achilles' heel. I came home and showered before heading to Mexican Food Round #2 with RA. It was a nice, simple day!

This weekend I did the hat trick of improv shows -- Friday's show and both Saturday shows. The shows were a blast! I laugh a lot backstage and even on-stage (oops!). Last night's most surprising moment was when I got hit in the rib cage by a dill pickle spear. Man, it was so unexpected and hilarious!

I know this is a short post, but I better start slathering (weird word) on the sunscreen before I head down to the stadium. Happy weekend, world!

So this is where the title goes, huh?

This is my first time using Blogger since some apparent updates were made. Hopefully I won't get agitated.

So, I've done my infamous wait-forever-between-posts trick, which is getting pretty old. (Blogger just made me agitated.) Every time I write, I make the resolution to write more frequently, yet I still seem to fall into my old ways. Maybe it's a sign of aging. What? Did someone mention aging? That's funny because my birthday starts in 21 minutes. I'm sure I've probably said t(Blogger just made me more agitated.)his before, but I am not a birthday person. I don't run from birthdays or anything, but I sure don't expect much on my birthday. I take birthdays with a grain of salt (or multiple grains of salt on the rim of a margarita!), and I am fine if it's like any other day. I prefer that my birthday be as non-stressful as possible, but that's pretty much the only requirement. (It's really unfortunate when Blogger auto-saves and loses everything I type in that 3-second window. For someone who types a billion words per minute, that's a lot of text.)

What all has happened since April 8, you ask? I'll give the rundown of the things I can recall at this moment. The weekend before last was my sister's bachelorette party. A group of us went up to a house in Dahlonega and went to the wineries. It was a lot of fun! We reminisced about Free Willy, played Cranium, ate queso, etc. I seriously had a blast! I cannot believe that Claire gets married in just over two weeks. Insanity! Speaking of looking good in my bridesmaid dress...

I went running on Sunday and took a tumble down an asphalt hill. That was pretty unfortunate, especially for my left leg and hand. Thankfully I'm still all in one piece, but my leg is pretty skinned up, and my palm is to' up from the flo' up. I've been healing quite nicely! After having an approximately 15-year streak of not skinning any elbows or knees, my success has come to a[n asp]halt. A big thank you goes out to the cars that slowed down -- I'm not sure if they were being helpful or laughing too hard to drive.

My birthday now starts in four minutes. (I know you're probably thinking I don't type a billion words per minute, but Blogger has been acting out this entire time.) I feel like I should post this now.

I will say more very soon. I mean that. SENDING LOVE!

I'm trained for this.

Well, I'm on MARTA. I didn't miss the train on this glorious Monday morning, so I consider that a sign of good things to come.

I had a good weekend. Friday night I met some old coworkers for dinner because one of them (SS) was celebrating a birthday. Then several of them came to watch me perform, which was fun.
Wow, that guy's suitcase is huge.

On Saturday I went to a family birthday get-together. We had burgers, and they were delicious! Then we watched my cousin's soccer game, which I really enjoyed. Go Abbey! It made me wish I still played.

Then I went and had pizza with KS. It was a lot of fun!

I then went on a hunt for the glasses I lost last weekend, but I was not successful. I ended the day seeing 50/50 (Me? Movies?) with AM and RE. I would recommend it. Humor combined with illness is right up my alley.

Yesterday was a lazy day. I did exercise, but I also slept in excess. The Falcons won, and Drew Brees was amazing for my fantasy team!

I ended the weekend with Italian food and Yogli Mogli while talking Mission: Creative with ES.

Well, I'm one stop away. Hope everyone has a nice Monday!

Horsing around

Happy Tuesday!

Well, I'll go ahead and get my venting out of the way first. Way back in March or maybe April, the ENT scheduled allergy testing for today. I had to discontinue some medications and what not for a week to prepare for the appointment. I took half of a day off work for the appointment. Per usual, I got my appointment reminder phone call on Friday. After riding MARTA down to the appointment, I walked in and the receptionist was like, "Oh, that appointment was rescheduled for Tuesday, June 28 at 9:00 a.m." I was like, "Umm, what?" She said, "Oh, the allergy nurse is on vacation this week." I'M GLAD I CAN READ MINDS. NOT. So, needless to say, I'm not a happy camper. High five on failing.

In other news, the Charley horses are running rampant (AKA galloping). I am literally on the verge of horsing at all times. The weirdest occurrences today were in my hands and in my chin. Yeah, for real. I have been feeling horse-free for the last couple of hours, so I'm hoping this spell is about over... I've never experienced anything like this.

What else? This morning, after I'd been at work for a few hours, I went to Kroger and got biscuits for me and KQ; I had a craving. I also had a major disappointment because I went to two different Krogers, and they didn't have sushi made yet. SIGH.

It's almost my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, cutie! I love you!

I've been pretty inspired to write lately. I haven't exactly pulled the trigger yet, but there is a lot of material brewing. "Brewing" sounds pretty creepy more often than not.

I exercised yesterday morning before work, but I was pretty unsuccessful this morning. I did go up to the fitness center, but I just couldn't make it through. I was feeling a little off-kilter, and I kept thinking I was going to cramp up. Tomorrow...

Well, I guess I'll call it a night. The next several days are gonna be BUSY!

The Braves won tonight. GO TEAM!

Mmmm, curdle

Yep, I'm back.

Well, tonight I'm sitting at home and I should have been working a reunion at work and, currently, I should be out watching an improv show to celebrate my roommate's birthday. However, I find myself about to doze off, which is good. I haven't been feeling too hot this week.

That's kind of the perfect segue to tell the unfortunate series of events that went down last Saturday. It went a little something like this: I enjoyed a few beers at the Braves game with friends (KQ and BB). Then, BB and I headed to the Inman Park Festival to meet up with some other friends (ERR and crew). We walked around and found ourselves at a pub. After a few beers, people suggested a birthday shot. I explained that I don't really do shots, so they were going to pick something simple and delicious. Well, I received the shot (which looked like some kind of liqueur-based thing, take a sip of it, and notice there are chunks in it. Trying to be appreciative, I take another sip and then decide that there's no way this looks right. So, I asked the people at the table and they said that it looked curdled and not to drink anymore.

Fast-forward a little while later and I am projectile vomiting all over Atlanta. Locations included: outside of a bathroom in a pub, on myself, in someone's car, in a gas station parking lot, in a BP, and on my bathroom floor. The count for the night was about 20, and I still feel sick to my stomach every now and then. Today, every time I even took a sip of anything, my stomach cramped up. It was ROUGH.

What else happened this week? Operation: Get Rid of the Office Termites.

I sold a lot of benefit show tickets, but you can get yours here: http://www.cff.org/great_strides/laughtilyoucough.

I performed improv on Cinco de Mayo and, despite it being Cinco de Muerto, the show was fun. I did a straight scene, female stereotypes, Hip or Not, and Oscar Musical Funeral. Between the termite chemicals and the curdled milk, I wasn't at my prime, but I still had a good time. And made a rhyme! Hop on pop!

I'm about to go to sleep in hopes of feeling almost 100 percent tomorrow. My stomach is cooperating right now, but I'm also not consuming anything. I have a long day of work ahead of me.

In other news... I! AM! INSPIRED!

Onions have layers

It appears to be bedtime. Yes, it's about 9:37 on a Friday night and I'm calling it quits. My tiredness from the week has finally caught up to me.

So, as I suggested in the tiny post on Tuesday, I had an amazing birthday. I have just felt so supported over the recent weeks, and my birthday took the cake. HAAA! Birthday pun. Anyway, as I believe I'd mentioned, I set a goal to raise $2,500 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on my birthday. Well, Drew's Crew ended up raising about $4,000 in a 24-hour period instead. I can't even begin to explain how incredible that felt.

I ended up treating myself to a massage on my birthday. I don't ever do anything like that, so it was awesome to do something pamper-esque. It's funny because my massage therapist said that my back was like a brick wall. She said she usually tells people to drink a bottle of water after the massage, but she recommended I drink a gallon. It's hard to believe, but I'm still extremely sore from it; I feel good, though! I felt like I was on another planet for a few hours after the massage. I guess I'm quite the toxin machine.

Me, AH, KW, and my mom went to El Azteca for my birthday dinner and the lady brought me a tequila shot. I took a sip and poured the rest into my margarita while the fire in my mouth died down. After dinner we headed down to the Fox to see Shrek the Musical. It was so much fun! I absolutely loved it and would recommend it to anyone. I love Donkey!

I am about to doze off, so I will do a brief summary of the rest of the week...
Wednesday: Cortisone and tornadoes (sending thoughts to everyone affected)
Thursday: Termite chemicals and margaritas
Friday: Target and Oreo cheesecake

I finally had my white powdered donuts for breakfast this morning. I feel intense satisfaction after having had that craving for a few months.

Note to self:

Today was incredible.

Sappy Magee

I am such a sap right now. Man, it's absurd. I think it's expected, though, given the events of the past few weeks.

So, Friday night was my grandfather's visitation. It was actually really great. A lot of people were there showing support and it meant a lot to our family. I imagined that it was going to be pretty difficult, but it was very pleasant.

The funeral was absolutely beautiful. I spoke and, although I had a difficult time deciding what I'd say, the words came to me on Friday night. If you'd like to see the tribute I wrote, let me know. That isn't a ploy or a friendship test, by the way; I just don't really feel like shoving it down your throats.

I have to say that I've never felt comfortable in a cemetery until Saturday. I think there are many factors that contribute to that. The casket was draped with an American flag and military people were there giving a final salute and playing "Taps" (I didn't know the name of it until just now, but it is beautiful). Aside from some difficulty folding the flag into a triangle, it was perfect. Honestly, though, the folding debacle made it even better. The weather was amazing and the sun was shining!

Here is a photograph of the flag:



Hmm, what else? On Sunday, the family celebrated Easter at Gran's house and that was nice. I wasn't the most endearing person to be around since I was feeling pretty exhausted by that point, but it was great to get to see my other side of the family. After the Easter celebration, I came home and exercised in an attempt to clear my mind and freshen up my mood.

Then, I ended the weekend by heading to my other grandmother's house to spend the night with her so she wasn't alone. We hadn't had any one-on-one time in quite a while, so it was nice to visit with her and lend her an ear as she adjusts to her new life without my grandfather.

This is really dorky, but I stumbled upon something that made me really excited last night. I had been looking through a lot of photo albums last week because I was asked to pick out the photographs for the slide show at the visitation. I looked through a lot of pictures of my grandparents' trips to all different places like China, Australia, Italy, etc. However, last night I ran into a photo album of random pictures my grandfather took. It's funny because I remember him having a disposable camera at Christmas a few years back. In this album, there were several pictures of us (at Christmas) that he'd taken with the disposable camera. However, the rest of the disposable camera consisted of pictures he'd taken of geese at the lake. It's the same journey he was on when he died last week. It was really neat because I was a little too far removed from the pictures of faraway places, but the geese pictures were so simple and documented something meaningful to me; it was almost like I was walking right there with him. I took two of the pictures -- one he took from the bridge of the geese swimming (you can see his finger in the photo), and one of the geese crossing the sidewalk right in front of him. They were so amateur and I love them because it's like viewing everyday life from his eyes. How long can I talk about some photos of geese? You tell me.

Today I returned back to work and, although I really hadn't been gone, it felt like it. I was greeted by tons of termites running rampant on the carpet outside of my office. I didn't notice them at first because I got to work so early and didn't turn on the light in the hallway. However, a little while later, I looked at the carpet and realized it was like an optical illusion. Seriously. The carpet looked 3D like a Magic Eye puzzle. Are you grossed out yet? I spent the rest of the morning being paranoid that they were crawling on me and, after the Orkin man came and said they were coming up through the floor, the folks in my suite called it a day and headed home. Ugh, I shouldn't be thinking about this so close to bedtime. I'm gonna dream of termites bringing me donuts.

Well, it's about to become my birthday if anyone's counting. I've set a goal for Drew's Crew to raise $2,500 on my birthday. I gave us a tiny head start because I was getting impatient. If you'd like to contribute to the cause, first let me commend you for making it this far in this novel of a post. Secondly, here is the link: http://www.cff.org/great_strides/drewdotson5267.

I want to thank everyone who has shown me some love over the past several days; it has really helped.

Hello, bed of mine! How I've missed thee!

Feelin' lucky

This weekend has me feeling very fortunate. I'm lucky to know the people that I know and to have the support that I have. Drew's Crew is about to hit $10,000 online, which is well beyond where I expected to be at this time. It's especially surprising because the team is still forming and I haven't put a heavy emphasis on fundraising yet. It's really refreshing to see so many people standing behind me and my cause. Let's cure CF! http://www.cff.org/great_strides/drewdotson5267

Now, for the insane part... As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it was my friend BB's birthday. After I finished working my crew shift at the theatre, a group of us went out to celebrate. We went to a bar in Midtown and did some people watching and things of that nature. When we called it a night, my roommate and I got in my car so I could drive us home since I was the DD (double meaning!).

We were chatting and driving on 400 when I saw a car weaving in my rearview mirror. I was in the center lane of the three-lane highway. It looked like it was about to barrel into the back of my car, and it startled me to the point of yelling. Before I could even realize what was happening, I saw the headlights jerk to the left and I started to brake. The SUV then looked to have lost control and headed toward the cement wall that acts as a median. When the car was literally feet from crashing into the wall, the driver must have spun the wheel to the right, and the SUV crossed directly in front of us (perpendicular to the way of traffic). Thankfully, I was shocked into braking, but a car in the far right lane didn't see this happening and we watched the SUV barrel right into the driver's side door of a truck.

Debris went flying like rain onto our car, and both the truck and the SUV started spinning. I slammed on the brakes so hard that we started to fishtail and head straight for the cement wall/SUV that was bouncing off of the wall. How we made it between the two spinning cars without getting hit is beyond me. It was truly like our lives flashed before our eyes. Both scared speechless and shaking like crazy, I tried to make my way to the side of the road as AH called 911. As AH was fielding questions from the 911 dispatcher, I saw the SUV start to reverse (it ended up facing the wrong direction after bouncing off the wall and back toward the shoulder).

The SUV then started riding up the shoulder behind us and I was hopeful that they were turning around to move the car out of the way and wait for the cops. However, given my experience two months ago, I knew better than to trust that someone would do the right thing. I started yelling that the car was leaving and tried to remember how to put my car in drive. As the SUV went by, I yelled out the first three letters of the license plate, but we were both so shocked that neither of us were functioning to the best of our abilities. When I got the car going, I started trying to follow the SUV. The car got off at the first exit so I started to follow, but I'm positive that they could tell that's what I was doing. The person started (or continued) driving like a maniac. For example, we started to get in a left turn lane right behind them at a red light, and they instinctively got out of the turn lane so they could have a green light and cut across three more lanes of traffic to make a quick right-hand turn. At this point, we realized that catching them was hopeless (and probably dangerous), so we decided to head back down the highway to turn around and get back on heading toward the accident.

When we got back to the scene, people were standing outside of their cars and the truck looked even worse than I'd envisioned. There were items from the bed of the truck on the highway and the whole right side of the truck was practically touching the ground. The tailgate was on the other side of the totaled guard rail, and the metal sound barrier past the guard rail was torn up, too. I was relieved to see that the driver's door was opened and that everyone was standing. We then realized who the driver must have been because there was a lady who was clearly in shock and very emotional.

The cop finally arrived a few minutes after we made it back and, once again, I became the witness to a hit and run. The cop said I would be the primary witness since I was in the middle of it and had seen everything happen. He said that I could expect to hear from the detective regarding the case. I wonder if it will be my same detective friend; I'm quite the magnet! As the cop was getting my number, another group of witnesses started trying to make a love connection, but the cop wasn't having any of that.

I couldn't sleep when we finally got home (after 3:30 a.m.) because it was one of those moments that makes you think about how your life can change in a split second. As my roommate and I walked through the grocery store today, all we (mainly I) could talk about was how that could have played out differently. It's times like these when I think about some angels I know who are breathing easy and looking after me. It was such a frightening experience, and I really can't even put into words how grateful we both feel today.

It makes me think about life and, despite the health battles that I face, I'm not exempt from anything. That was one of the scariest things I've ever seen, and I'm amazed that we were so lucky. It's just a reminder that you can do everything right, but you can't control the crazy things that other people might do. There's obviously no need to live a life of fear, but there's a need to live a life that makes you proud.

Love you all.

A little patience

Hi!

Last night I performed improv! I played Emo Interview, Sit Stand Lean Oscar, Meet the Experts, and Remote Control Styles. It was a ton of fun, and some of my family members were there to celebrate my cousin's 21st birthday. Woohooo!

I went out after the show and watched one of my best high school friends (PH) play music at a bar. I saw a bunch of familiar faces and had a good time. I also ate a BLT.

What else has been happening in my world? I sound pretty awful with the pollen and what not. Today is going to be a beautiful day (almost 80 degrees!), but I think I'll have to enjoy it from the confines of my home. Highest pollen count yet! I sound so dorky talking about it, but my life truly does need to revolve around allergies for the next ... while.

I've got a really busy week ahead. I get intimidated when I think about it. It's not that I have poor time management skills; I just have too much to do.

GUESS WHAT! I got cowboy boots the other day! I'm super excited about them!

I ran into my grandmother at the grocery store yesterday. She got me some sour gummy worms!

Well, off to take on the day... No idea of what I'll do!

Testing, testing

Well, this is my first attempt at blogging on my phone. Okay, that was a fabrication. I downloaded the Blogger app a few minutes ago, so this is my first time blogging with the app. I did write a tiny blog once logged into the Blogger website. Why am I telling you stuff you don't care about at all? Good question.

I just got home from a friend's (LG) birthday party. I wasn't feeling great today, so I almost didn't go. Then I started wondering if I was giving into the "illness" too easily, so I went regardless of whether or not it was a good idea. Only time will tell.

I'm currently in bed thinking about how I need to be over at the hospital at 8:00 a.m. to fulfill my role as a Patient Family Advisor. Whew. I realize once a month is a very small time commitment, but when it's that early on a day when I'd normally be telecommuting, it's gigantic.

I had steak nachos at Willy's today, so that was what I'd call success. Other than that, the day was kind of rough. At least I wore a new cardigan.

Now that I've wasted your time, I'll go to sleep so tomorrow might yield more worthwhile things.

Moving picture

Helloooooooooo! It's bedtime! I know it's early, but I'm trying to take advantage of the Labor Day holiday - and my parents' anniversary. This week will be AWESOME if I start it off with some solid sleep!

Well, my hair appointment was successful on Saturday. I got my hair dyed brown with some blonde highlights. I like it so far. We'll see how its unveiling goes at work tomorrow.

Saturday night's crew shift was surprisingly short because the 10:30 p.m. show got canceled. Although it stinks that it got canceled, it was refreshing to finish up earlier than expected. I ended up going out for a few drinks after the show, so I still got home as late as usual (2:00 a.m).

Sunday I slept in until about 11:00 a.m. and then headed to the gym. I spent most of the day being lazy. I did, however, go to a MOVIE! I went to see The Other Guys (with MM), which was pretty funny. I hadn't been to the movies in forever and I really enjoyed it. I didn't fall asleep during it, either, which is an accomplishment for me.

Today was a lazy day, too, but I got to catch up with a friend I haven't gotten to see much this year (ER). Between her endeavors in Israel and my crazy-busy life since she's returned, it was good to catch up. We had some beers at the pool and talked life. It was so good to see her!

Finally, I went out to eat at El Azteca with JM. I hadn't seen her since her BIRTHDAY last weekend, so that was fun, too. It was a Labor Day well-spent.

Now I'm gonna get a solid night's sleep!

Laaaaaaaaaaaabor Day

I am getting so bad at blogging. I cut myself some slack, though, because it feels like I haven't been home much at all this week.

Well, Thursday was an eventful day. Because of all of the kidney issues, the doctor mentioned wanting to hospitalize me to give me fluids to help flush out my kidneys. They went ahead and moved next Tuesday's CF appointment up to Thursday so that they could put me in the hospital with as much information as possible. So, I went to get bloodwork so they'd have the results by the time of my appointment. Now, for the dramatic turn in all of this - my kidney bloodwork was almost back to normal and my PFTs were up another three percent. Nobody understands at this point, but the hospital talk was merely a scare and now it's only a matter of scheduling sinus surgery. This has been such an emotional roller coaster!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday night I spoke at a CF fundraising cultivation event. It was fun! Since I was running around all day, I really had zero preparation time, but I still think it went well. Yeehaw!

Yesterday (Friday) was a good day. My roommate was working from home, too, so it was a lot of fun. I wish she got to work from home with me every Friday. :-) When I got off work early, I went to meet Claire at the pool. We hung out and chatted for a few hours. On my way to work at the theatre, I treated myself to Yogli Mogli and ate many things shunned by my low-oxalate diet.

I worked the lights without any supervision last night, so that was fun. Light-wise, all went extremely well. However, the lights person is also in charge of recording the DVD, and I got the dreaded "Disc cannot be finalized" message. Thankfully everyone was really laid back, but it made me so mad. That was the easiest part of the last three shows. People were like, "Oh lord. I know that message." So, OOPS, although I heard I couldn't have done anything to fix it.

Right now I'm sitting at my parents' kitchen table. I'm about to go get my hair did(!).

Happy birthday to my brother (yesterday), and happy Labor Day to all!

I'm proud to be an American

I'm pretty bummed that I didn't hear my favorite 4th of July song this year. OH WELL! I guess the radio stations weren't feeling patriotic.

I just got back from watching fireworks with my mom and roommate. I'm actually at my parents' house. After my grandmother's 86th birthday party today, I headed back here with my parents. My mom and I ran by the mall to return a few things and then watched the Braves lose (sadly).

Well, I've been feeling allergy-tastic these last few days. It honestly blows my mind because it's the middle of the summer; it doesn't seem like I should be sneezing with an itchy throat. I woke up in the middle of the night on Thursday and have been coughing more than usual ever since. Oh well...It could be worse; I could have a kidney stone.

What else?! Friday was one of my Summer Fridays and it was a really dreary day. I worked a bit and took several naps. Friday night I went out and ate some Turkish food and then hit up Starbucks. Ahhh! Starbucks! I hadn't really gotten a chance to enjoy a good ol' coffee since I got back in town.

Saturday I got up, worked out, and then headed to meet my sister at the pool. We laid around and talked for a few hours and then headed to El Toro (!) for some lunch. After that, I came home and took yet another nap, which ended up being three hours long. Impressive, I know. The emcee for last night's show then called to see if I could stop by the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for ABC Buzzer Cooking Show. I got the oddest combination of things, including candy corn, Vienna sausages, and turkey gravy. I also treated myself to an iced White Chocolate Mocha at Starbucks in Kroger. Oh man! I forgot all about this interaction until right now.

Me: I'll have a grande iced White Chocolate Mocha.
Worker: (messing with register) Grande iced White Chocolate Mocha. Hot or cold?

The show was fun last night. The 10:30 p.m. show was canceled since the holiday weekend has been kinda of quiet. It was a nice treat considering how tired I'd been feeling. I could have lasted the two shows and would have enjoyed myself, but I was EXHAUSTED!

I ran three miles this morning.

I'm riding back to our place with my roommate tomorrow morning. Yeehaw! We plan to spend the day at the pool, so I'm hoping for nice weather!

Waiting is the hardest part

Oh, kidney stone, how I hate thee.

So, this kidney stone thing is getting a little awkward. I get a text/email/call every couple hours asking me if it has passed. As people know, I'm not very shy about much, but it's just kind of a strange topic since it involves human waste and what not. Anyway, as far as my body and my strainer indicate, it is still hanging out inside of my body.

Since I've been fortunate enough to have never experienced this before, I really don't know what to expect. I mean, theoretically, it could be out in a few minutes and everything would be back to normal (excluding the fact that there's another one in my kidney that could choose to jump out whenever it wants). I'm hopeful that it will be gone today, but in my "big picture" mind, I'm already trying to strategize about tomorrow. I feel most secure at home since people aren't here to witness everything, but it's also hard not to leave the house when I'm feeling pretty good. Who knows how much of that has to do with the painkillers, though...

Today I'm supposed to go to my grandmother's for a little birthday celebration for my mom and uncle. The trickiest parts about that are: 1) I'd have to get a ride, 2) packing the strainer is awkward, and 3) I keep dozing off at a moment's notice. I haven't yet decided whether or not I'll try to truck it over there.

I didn't make it to the theatre last night. I was confident that I could be pain-free while I was there, but I'd HAVE to use the bathroom in the time I was there, which would involve bringing the strainer. AND, given that the camera person is literally in the audience, I'd need to guarantee I wasn't going to fall asleep. Thankfully the theatre folks were very understanding and encouraged me to stay home and get better. All I'm waiting on is the "get better" part.

Well, this is going to sound nutty, but I might go try to exercise. I read that activity can help it pass, so perhaps that's what I'll do. The thought of it makes me anxious.

It feels like it's time to take another narcotic, though, because I feel the dull pain returning in my lower right back. The doctor told me to take medicine at the first sign of pain because the oral painkillers only work up until a certain point before IV painkillers are needed. Maybe the exercise thing needs to be moved to the back burner for now. Sigh.

Thank you to all for being so supportive!

Oh me, oh my

There is no justifiable reason why I should be up this late on a Monday night. Like I mentioned, we had 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. rehearsal, and I felt surprisingly awake on the way home. So, I decided to go ahead and watch the Bachelorette from tonight. If this isn't pure entertainment, I don't know what is. We're about to start giving out some roses! She's already sent the psycho home, and now there's a clear underdog in my opinion. We'll see if I'm right... YES! Good girl.

Today was an interesting day back to work. I went to Starbucks on the way and got my Iced White Chocolate Mocha goodness. It was the perfect start to the day, especially because I didn't realize I'd be in four hours of meetings. Because of the meeting craziness, we got pizza delivered, which was a nice treat even though I'm not a pizza fanatic. Then my friend KQ and I went to Yoforia. I got pineapple yogurt with Sour Patch Kids, kiwi and strawberries. Mmm!

I went by the doctor's office to get blood drawn for the study. However, things didn't quite go as planned. After six sticks, there was literally no indication that my arm was willing to relinquish any blood. Sooo, we pretty much gave up and are trying for tomorrow. I wore a dress today and was really cold, which didn't help the cause. I'm gonna dress warmly tomorrow.

What else? I just feel like good things are on the way for me. It's funny that I felt the exact opposite at this time last week.

Oh, and today was not very good on the stomach/appetite front. I forgot to mention (I think) that my back started bothering me at one point during the beach trip. Saturday afternoon the pain was so bad that I was nauseous. Today was like that, too. It's really weird because no painkiller I took was helping the cause. I hope it's just a strain or something and will be headed out of the door ASAP. I emailed my doctor just to get an opinion. We'll see what she says.

Happy birthday to my mom!

Let me tell you a story called...

"Where has all the time gone?"

That's the only reference I'm going to make to being short on time in this post.

Yesterday was a day full of wondrous Emory-related events. I worked at a classical concert and at the Corpus Cordis Aureum reception, which is the group of Emory alumni that graduated at least 50 years ago. It was interesting noting the differences between the new graduates and the CCA graduates. The new graduates refused to wait in short lines at the block party, while the CCA folks waited several times as long and never even made a remark about it. While this isn't a direct reference to the thing I said I wasn't going to reference earlier, it's neat how waiting seems irrelevant when you're 80 years old. I could stand to exemplify some of that patience more in my day-to-day life. There's no need to be in such a stinkin' hurry all the time.

This morning I got up a few minutes before 4:00 a.m. to get ready for commencement. Thankfully, although it was cold outside, the weather cooperated and the rain held off until later in the day. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered the commencement address and, I've got to admit, he was pretty funny. Inspiring? Umm, not so much. Entertaining? Yes! He literally went through all of the lines folks would want him to say, including "Hasta la vista, baby," "It's not a tumor," "I'll be back," etc. He was good-humored about the whole thing. Although he attempted, there wasn't a very moving message, but it was enjoyable to watch, so I didn't mind.

I got home a little before lunchtime. Since it's my wonderful sister's birthday, I treated her to lunch at our favorite, El Toro. I ate quickly and came home and worked for a while until I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I knocked a few more things out and then headed downtown to rehearsal. Traffic was an absolute nightmare, but I was surprised to arrive only six minutes late. We worked on Oscars, which was fun.

My SC joint is literally killing me. I think I need to call el doctor tomorrow. I sound like such a hypochondriac in these posts sometimes.

Tomorrow is the big day! I have study-related appointments at 7:50 and 8:30 a.m., so it's gonna be another lengthy day. Then, off to work to knock things out until it's time to get ready for the show. Tickets have been pouring in left and right, so I am getting very excited. I think my doctor is going to be there as well, so that's awesome news! Although a few donations haven't posted online yet, Drew's Crew exceeded $16K today. I AM READY TO PUMP YOU UP!

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.

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!