Here I am!

I know I'm nowhere to be found lately. I just can't keep up with this world and its crazy ways. That was simply for dramatic effect. Anyway, I actually started a post on my computer a few weeks ago, but realized I never posted it.

I'm not going to say much of significance right now, but I'm here to say I should be able to pick up the pace soon. I need to summarize the entire month of November and the first half of December.

I'm almost to work, but I have a headache I can't seem to shake (for weeks now). Today might be a half day.

Hope all is well, and thank you all for being awesome!

Take out da papers and da trash

Greetings!

There's not a ton I care to share, but I figured I'd stop by since it has been so long. I've been staying pretty busy lately. It's been quite exhausting, but I've enjoyed it for the most part.

My floor still isn't fixed... and by "not fixed," I mean that the contractor hasn't even started replacing it. Basically I'm in insurance limbo right now -- hovering between my homeowner's insurance coverage and my condo complex's master policy. I probably sound more intelligent than I am, but I'm just kind of waiting for the proper person to say that the work should begin. It's been almost two months without floors (Can you believe that?), so I'd be lying if I said I was in an extreme hurry at this point.

What else? My sister got engaged, so that's exciting! I'm going to be her maid of honor. I'm not sure how all of this wedding stuff works, but I'm very happy for her and know that she's found a keeper. This is how we do it! She got engaged just before the Braves game on Friday, July 1, and I went to that Braves game, too (with KS). I can't believe I've been to so few games this season, but it was good to put another win in the books!

I'm hopeful that some positive change is on the horizon. CHANGE!!!!!!!

Well, I'm pretty sleepy, so I'm going to hit the hay. In summary, life has been pretty good, but I know that I've put some important things on the back-burner. I intended for them to be very temporary, but it feels like it's going to last a bit longer than I anticipated. Everything will work out, though; it always does.

In closing, I'm lucky to know so many wonderful people. Life is good!

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!

Hola, hypocrite

So, this is a forewarning that I'm not in a very pleasant mood. It's really been a culmination of things that got me to this point, the biggest of those being hypocrisy.

To make a long story short, Saturday was not a good day. I was in my room getting ready to venture out of the house when I heard some weird noises. Knowing my roommate wasn't home, it caught my attention. I then heard loud noises again and realized they were coming from outside. I looked outside in time to see a U-Haul wedged against the cement column to which our exit gate is affixed. Well, I saw the truck try to break free, consequently uprooting the cement column and knocking the cast-iron gate loose only to be caught by my car. Hooray!

I threw on some clothes and went downstairs and outside to see that the gate had been lifted off my car. I was looking at my car to see if my window was cracked and if there was any other damage. Two of the three guys involved were trying to rub scratches off my car and I pulled out my phone. One guy was friendly and said he was calling the cops, so I started to look up the numbers to our property management company. Then, out of nowhere, the guys made a break for it and took off.

I stood there in disbelief for longer than I should have, hoping that they were simply moving the U-Haul and accompanying car out of the roadway. Buuuut they didn't return. So I called the cops and, although they tried to chase them, they couldn't find them. I then spent another 90 minutes dealing with the cops and filing the report, etc. We knocked on some doors to see if we could get any information, but the cop explained that it would be assigned to a hit-and-run detective who would call me and try to help find the perpetrators.

Now, because of someone else's irresponsibility, I've wasted several hours having to tell and retell the story to various parties, only to feel like nobody is all that concerned. It's just frustrating because people are acting like I'm being unreasonable and/or impatient when I can't even imagine how the tables would be turned if they were in my position. Not only am I frustrated by the inconvenience of it all, but it's kind of disheartening when someone does something like that to you personally. I feel like it isn't a priority to anybody except me, when I'm already the one who wasted most of my free time on the weekend dealing with it, has to listen to the screeching of the broken gate trying to close at all times, and was technically the 'victim' of the pending case. I just kind of wish people would take a moment to step back and try to empathize with how they might feel if the roles were reversed.

Enough of being on that pedestal, but it has been stressful.

Friday night I saw Peter Pan and it was pretty stinkin' cool. My weekend was practically nonstop, so I don't feel well-rested at all. I just feel so drained in every sense. I can't wait to leave town.

ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAR

I'm at one of those points again where the world just feels like it's spinning out of control. I literally feel like I blogged yesterday, but apparently it's been four days. In some respects that makes me glad because I know I'm out and about accomplishing things. In other ways, though, it's discouraging because I know I'm not stopping to smell the roses, which is kinda stressing me out.

Well, I will vomit if I talk about the Braves game on Wednesday. My record has dropped to 6 and 4. BLAH BLAH BLAH. The Braves and I are not on great terms right now, but I was happy for a win tonight.

My surgery is officially on the books for October 11. I'm not sure yet what the plan is as far as getting admitted, going on IV antibiotics, taking off from work, etc. Honestly I'm still processing the fact that it's scheduled, so I'll give it a few days to start finalizing those details. I feel a sense of relief, but I'm also overwhelmed.

I was in the show last night and it was fun! It was one of the new apprentices' (AF) first shows, so that was cool. He and I were in every scene together, too! I played Remote Control Styles, Musical Styles (80s love ballad, 90s boy band, R&B, rap), Repeat Scene Stereotypes (drag queens, drunk drug dealers, rednecks), and Oscar Musical Funeral (as Barbara Buchanan). Yeeehaw!

Today I met my siblings (and my brother's girlfriend) for lunch at Chick-fil-A. Then, for dinner, I went to Los Bravos with KW. I needed to get out and do something because today was kinda 'mleh.' I had a great time. We watched a documentary called Dear Zachary and it was really interesting. Although today had its ups and downs, I'm thankful to be ending on an 'up.'

Sleeping sounds so awesome right now! I am really excited to sleep and feel new in the morning!

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!

He knows my nose

Wow. Wow. I can't believe I haven't said anything in so long. It feels like I was just writing in here... Well, where should I start? HECTIC.

Saturday was a fun day. I slept in and went to the gym. Then, my mom and I went over to my grandmother's house and we all (plus my uncle) went out to eat at El Toro. At one point, my grandmother said, "I had something so hot I couldn't eat it the other day and I thought of Drew. My tongue caught on fire." I don't know why, but it cracked me up. Lunch was delicious!

I worked lights on Saturday night and I'd say it was pretty successful. Aside from a few iffy music cues, I thought it went really well. It was fun and mentally stimulating all at once. Woohoo!

Sunday was lazyish. I slept in (again!) and went to the pool. The weather was actually pretty cool, so I didn't stay out for very long. I came inside and napped on and off for most of the Braves game. The Braves made a MIRACULOUS comeback to win the game, so that left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling!

On Sunday night I dreamt that my front four teeth were messed up. It was almost like they were baby teeth again. The weirdest thing is that I know someone else (MM) who also had a jacked-up-front-four-teeth dream simultaneously. Tell me something cooler than that...

Rehearsal was canceled on Monday since we don't have a show this week, so I ended up going to the Braves game (again!) with ES. The Braves killed it, so I happily improved my record to 6-2; I broke my two-game losing streak, thankfully. Even though I probably shouldn't have stayed out so late on my one night off this week, it was a lot of fun. I wouldn't take it back!

Today was taxing. I went to the ENT for a check-up and it looks to be time for SURGERY. I get a CT scan next week to get the full scope, but it's pretty much a definite thing. This came as no surprise, but I'm still irritated. I also got an email about needing to see a kidney specialist, so add that to my list of nonsense. Summer 2010 will go down in history... I'm ready for it to end.

I worked the camera at a graduation show tonight, which is why I'm still up after 1:00 a.m. on a work night. This isn't my idea of a smart decision, but I've only been home for an hour. The Braves killed it tonight, but the Phillies won, too, soooo... We're up by 3 games, so I'll take it!

You're beautiful

Sing that title like James Blunt sings it, please.

Well, it's late, but I haven't even been home for an hour. Tonight's show was fun. Like I mentioned, it was a private event for a consulting firm. Ironically, when I ran out at the beginning of the show, one of the first people I saw was a person I had a lengthy meeting with the other day at work. He is a member of the alumni board. That was actually extremely shocking, and I could tell he was just as surprised. In the show, I played Conducted Orchestra, Buzzer, Repeat-Scene-That Kind of Family, and Emotion Interview (with a physical characteristic thrown in the mix). I had a lot of fun in every single scene, which felt really great!

Today was a very hectic day work-wise. Yes, I worked from home, but it felt almost busier than if I'd been in the office. When I walked out the door for the show, it hit me that I hadn't even eaten a real meal all day. I'm not saying that like I'm proud, but I'm just surprised that today was that crazy. For the first time ever, I even forgot two of my three study drug doses. I'm not proud of that, either. I did end up using my lunch hour to go to the grocery store today, and I successfully bought a cart of groceries for the first time in at least three months. Pathetic, I know.

I can't remember if I mentioned this or not because my mind is so ... gone, but I have my endocrinologist and study appointments tomorrow. Then I'm heading to meet my friend (ED) for a late lunch. I am pretty excited for the day! It's a little busy for a day off of work, but it will be nice. I work at the theatre tomorrow night, too. Saturday means floating down the Chattahoochee with some really fun people. I soooo look forward to this day!

Well, my voice is halfway gone, which is a great foreshadowing for tomorrow's appointments. I am interested to see where my PFTs sit; the hospital is typical for me in August...

I am feeling a lot of positive energy lately. Heck yes!

One last thing - I had a crazy dream this morning. Sorry to all you cat people. I was walking to my front door and there was a cat staring me down. The cat was gray and pretty fluffy. I noticed as I neared the door that his tail was unattached, sitting next to him. When I got close, he jumped up and tried to bite my hand. I was trying to violently shake him off because it hurt so bad. I ended up hurling him off and the funniest thing is that this happened in real life. I literally woke myself up chucking a pillow across the room. I know that probably doesn't sound as funny as it was, but I could totally see that being a YouTube sensation if it had been recorded.

Balla

I am a balla in a Chevy Impala. Man, I am not a fan of driving a car that doesn't feel like mine.

Anyway, today was a really busy telecommuting today. There were tons of mass emails to send and those fools are all sent.

Now I'm returning this computer to my sister and heading down to rehearsal.

Hopefully I will be back on the blogging front soon. I know all of my fans are having withdrawals, but I need a new stinkin' computer and probably won't get to that until this weekend.

Late December back in '63

Guess who hasn't gone to sleep yet?! Guess who isn't going to sleep tonight?! This was not intentional.

Today was such a busy day. Between trying to finalize everything under the sun for work and get ready for this trip, I have been going nonstop all day. I stayed up later than I should have last night, but I think the adrenaline was kicking in because I wasn't feeling tired. This morning I woke up pretty early, too, probably because my body knew how much there was to accomplish today...

DANG! THE BRAVES LOST! They didn't just lose or anything. It hit me that I didn't see any of the game, so I checked the score.

Anyway, I did go to the fitness center for a brief stint today and met a neighbor. That was a highlight of the day because it was the only moment when I forgot how much stuff there was to do. Fast-forward through a day of nonstop work (I am still emailing work people right now) into a crew shift. The camera is officially jacked up, so it was a challenge to train tonight's pupil appropriately, but he got the gist of it. The show was a blast.

Right before the show I was in decision-making mode. Knowing how much stuff I needed to get done when I'd get home at midnight, I made the decision to drink a Monster at 9:00 p.m. for my shift drink. I was tired enough that I never really got a boost, but at least I'm coasting right now. About an hour ago, I had to make another decision - whether to take a nap or not. I started to lay down to take a nap, but then I decided maybe I should truck through. So, I went and unloaded the dishwasher.

I'm very hopeful that everything goes smoothly with our travel arrangements tomorrow. My biggest source of paranoia is all of my medicine. I tried to make phone calls to make sure I have it all figured out, but I'm not sure how effective that was. Let's just say that my study drug looks shady... little homemade-looking packets of white powder. Being the person I am, I would like to be up-front at the airport about all of my medical stuff and what not. However, I don't want to end up going through some ridiculous drama just because I chose to be honest. I'm carrying all of my medicine in my carry-on and I have the best documentation I could get for each of the items. I don't think I will bring anything up unless I'm asked. Once I get through the airport shenanigans to leave, though, I'll have to go through Customs. I hope I'm not in a jail in the Dominican Republic by the time you read this. Maybe I could sue someone and make a lot of money if that happened. I must officially be delirious to be having these trains of thought. Choo. Choo.

I need to make a luggage tag.

I don't feel so hot today, but I know that relaxation is just around the corner. It doesn't help that I've been up forever, but oh well. I might drink an Emergen-C after I finish my morning breathing treatments that I just started. I'm getting picked up in 1.25 hours.

Man! I set up my out-of-office reply a few hours ago. That felt so good! I literally won't deal with work for the next 16 days. BALLER! I know I'm going to have some revelations over the next few days of things I forgot to do, but I'm going to let them slide.

It's weird when an occasion finally arrives that you thought would never get here. It's still a little surreal to me, and part of that probably involves the fact that my brain isn't functioning at its full capacity right now. Wait, I don't think that makes sense. It's not acting to its fullest potential? I would hope its capacity isn't maxed out because I don't feel very smart right now. I am talking in circles.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything. Luggage tag. Luggage tag. Luggage tag. I just finished my breathing treatments, so I guess I'd better pack up my little machine and put it in my carry-on. La. Dee. Da.

I'm gonna miss y'all. I love everyone. Please bail me out of the DR jail.

Oh, and I doubt I'll have access to blog-writing. But I'll try to document each day so that I can write upon my return.

I. Am. Robot.

Welcome to the busiest week I've had in forever.

Staying up late on Tuesday was a poor choice, but sometimes it's hard to get home from improv and feel tired. Needless to say, I've been super-exhausted for most of the week.

Wednesday was an okay day. I am finally in the midst of accepting that what used to be a 40-minute commute has turned into a 60-minute commute over the last two weeks. I can't even explain how frustrating that is because it's time that I didn't feel like I had to spare in the first place, but...oh well. Complaining about it isn't going to change the fact that Atlanta's traffic is ridiculous. It feels good to whine, though.

The highlight of my day Wednesday was that I went to Chick-fil-A before improv. I got an 8-pack of chicken nuggets and a chocolate milkshake. Guess what! They accidentally gave me 10 nuggets, one of which was gigantic, so I count it as 11. It's a little sad to say that this was the best thing that happened to me, but it's true. That milkshake was the bomb, too.

Improv was fun on Wednesday because, for the first time since I became apprentified, we got to practice on our own with only the other apprentices. It takes some of the pressure off and makes it a bit more 'free.' Anyway, we worked on some fun stuff, my favorite of which is Script in Hand. I can't wait to perform that game sometime. I thought it gave us a little bit of bonding time, too.

Thursday was no different from the other days this week...LONG! I got up and worked out for 32 minutes before work - a combination of running, Stairmastering, and sprinting. I stopped by Starbucks on my way to work because I felt like I deserved something to start off my day. I saw a sign for this dark cherry chocolate latte or something and decided I would try something new. However, when I tried to order it, they said it wouldn't be available until Tuesday, so it looks like I'll have to make another trip. I ended up with a vanilla latte, which was a nice perk to the last weekday in the office of the longest week known to man. That isn't very readable, but whatever.

Work was a blur, but we did go to lunch for a colleague's going-away. Today is her last day, but several of us are home on Fridays, so we planned it for yesterday. We went to a bakery in the Highlands and it was pretty good. I got a vanilla cheesecake lolli as an afternoon treat. I've got to admit...it wasn't all that great, but it was still worth having.

I ended up getting a ton done at work before I headed downtown to work my second of three volunteer shifts of the month. Woooooo! I was on camera/suggestions and was supposed to be training someone, but apparently he forgot to come, so that ended up being a blessing in disguise considering I was in no mood to speak to people. Anyway, I got kinda Monsterfied before the show and then tried to get suggestions from the cocktail party of accountants, which didn't fare too well. Then I worked the camera for the show. It was fun to be an audience member, even though I had limited responsibilities. I just can't imagine having performed after this week's craziness. Anyway, the show was a lot of fun and it was the first five-person cast I've seen since we've been apprentices, so that looked fun, but exhausting. Everyone was on stage the whole time, or so it seemed. I enjoyed watching!

Today I am home, which I've needed now more than ever. I don't know how I could have gone into work today. Everything just seems so exhausting, and the lack of sleep has got me feeling a little blah physically. I'm glad because I'm meeting my old boss for lunch today, and we haven't seen each other since right before the holidays. I always love catching up with him because he's so insightful.

Finally, one last thing for me to complain about - I was excited because, after having run myself into the ground all week, I was ready for a weekend of doing NOTHING. I decided to make one plan, which was to catch up with my neighborhood friend over dinner on Saturday. Then, though, I forgot I'd said I could do this theatre-related gig on Sunday. It hadn't been confirmed yet, but then we got an email telling us the specifics, so I was kind of disappointed. Then, I found out about a family get-together on Sunday afternoon and, as much as I don't mind going to those, my weekend sort of vanished in a matter of moments. I've still got tonight and most of tomorrow, but Sundays are always the most critical in getting off to a good start for the week. Ahh, what a whiner.

Oh, and I have confirmed the first portion of my research study pre-screen for Tuesday. Let my body go to science.

Hairy up with our food

Well, 2010 has been uncharacteristically busy so far... as you may have concluded since I haven't said much. So... I'll share some highlights of my busy week.

I had a CF check-up on Tuesday and it went surprisingly well. Not that I didn't think it would go well, but it was actually the best appointment I've had in over two years. I didn't even have to wait all that long, either... only about 30 or 45 minutes, which is actually impressive for this place.

On Friday I went to the doctor about my SC joint. Unlike the physical therapists who determined it was my first rib that was displaced, the doctor still believes it's my SC joint that's causing the problems. Either way, he didn't have a ton to say... He was going to consult some of the other doctors because he thinks maybe we should do an ultrasound to see exactly what's going on. Everyone seems to be in agreement that this issue shouldn't be plaguing me a year later. But hey... sometimes cornhole can get the best of someone. He said that, depending on what the ultrasound showed, maybe a Cortisone injection would help. That makes me cringe a little, but whatever!

So, tonight I went out to eat at a location. I don't think I'll say the name of the location because of the story I'm about to tell... Well, when my friends and I sat down at the table, the server brought a plate with some forks, chopsticks (that narrows it down a tiny bit), and napkins. I glanced at the plate and noticed a pretty lengthy hair intertwined in the prongs of the fork. This didn't really faze me all that much, but I did ask the server if we could get a new plate with forks. Then, my friend's appetizer arrived and there was literally another lengthy hair making itself at home in her tofu. At this point I almost vomited and I'm not usually grossed out by stuff like this. I mean, what are the chances that we would end up being 2-for-2? Needless to say, everything was comped, but I'm still kind of feeling uneasy when I think about it. I chewed every bite with hesitance, and I'm kind of surprised we even stayed there... Ugh. I grossed myself out just reading that story again.

I didn't have any time to exercise this week... sadly. I did go to the fitness center today and did a combination of walking and running, but mainly walking. My SC joint (the doctor's opinion is clearly winning right now) has been aching a lot and the running was just too high-impact to do comfortably. I'm proud of myself, though, for dragging myself out in the rain to go to the gym.

This weekend was going to be solely devoted to working on my book because I really hope to be done editing by the end of January. It's a long weekend, too, so I told myself I'd get a lot accomplished on the book. I did work on it some today, but I find myself feeling pretty discouraged about it.... I guess this is what happens when my left brain enters the picture. I'm second-guessing pretty much everything, including the recent revelation I had about reorganizing my book. I've told myself I was going to start working again for the last two hours since I got home, but I'm clearly not convinced yet. I promise I'm doing it after I post this... and maybe eat something. :o)

Improv was fun this week. On Monday at rehearsal we did some trust games. On Wednesday, we worked on scenework with the main-stagers, so that was a lot of fun. I'd never worked with many of them before, but things seemed to fall right into place. I'm excited because I'm in the show on Thursday! Woohooo! First apprentified performance.

Finally, before I go, I'd like to announce that my left "control" key experienced an unfortunate accident this week. I basically just broke it. It's funny because I lost control this week (I didn't come up with that joke on my own). Seriously, though, I felt really out of control this week, so it's funny that I also I lost control. HAHAHAHA! How symbolic!

Off to write...

Bulletproof

Well, the week hasn't improved much since Monday, but the good news is that I am alive and surviving. I somehow feel like switching from 2009 to 2010 will make me feel refreshed, although that's kind of crazy and unrealistic. Oh well... Maybe the two shortened workweeks will give me some time to take it easy. I don't think I'm going to take any days off; I prefer to hoard my vacation days.

Yesterday I got one of my favorite compliments of all-time... I was told I am bulletproof. Now, I realize that could be backhanded if said in the wrong context, but I was very flattered to hear it. I think I have gotten much more bulletproof over the last year or so. Can't nobody stop me!

Today I went to Target and got two Christmas gifts for people on my list. I think they'll like them... primarily because I was given direct instructions and no additional options. Merry Christmas! I also picked up two prescriptions, so I made a whole trip out of it. As much as I love Target, I hate shopping in general, so I'm pleased I made it through the experience without getting too angry.

Tonight at improv we didn't actually rehearse, which was probably in my best interest. I don't know what's up with me this week, but I haven't felt this wound up and unfocused in quite a while. Tomorrow should be a relaxing night if all goes as planned to be worthless. Then, I'm at the theatre Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. So I'm bracing myself for a busy weekend.

I exercised yesterday and today...round of applause. Yesterday I really kicked it into high gear and did a combination of sprints and the Stairmaster. I got riled up enough that it was difficult to go to bed. That's probably a better exercise routine for waking up rather than winding down. Today I just did the elliptical at work, so I didn't get myself into hardcore mode. Oh well, I still got in some quality exercise.

My eyes are telling me it's bedtime, so perhaps I'll listen. Good night!