Forgotten Caveats

So I got through my marathon blog yesterday, and later remembered all kinds of little details I forgot to mention... you know, the kind of details you don't think of cuz they're obvious to yourself, but might help an uninformed party get a better picture.

Amway, I figured I'd just throw together a collage of misc. stuff that don't necessarily relate at all, except to address missing pieces from yesterday's blog.

Misc. Puzzle Piece #1 Re: Dealing with the smokestacks upstairs

I mentioned yesterday in On the Move… Coming Soon that I decided to just stick it out and try to deal with my neighbors until May. Well, I failed to mention that one of my coworkers suggested trying an Air Purifier. You know, one of those expensive suckers that draw air impurities down to it’s li’l metal strips like magnets, then generates a light oxygen flow back out into the room. It’s quiet… I mean, you can’t hear squat… and it has no filters to clean or replace. You just pull up the li’l metal strips and wipe them off.

Amway, my coworker had seen them on sale at Office Depot… buy one, get the second half off. She thought of them cuz she has a friend who smokes, like, 2 packs a day and her home doesn’t smell like a smoker lives in it at all. According to my coworker, anyway. She says this lady has one of these purifiers in her house, and it has to be cleaned of the black coating of cigarette smoke every single day. So I figured… what the hell, can’t hurt the try.

I went to Office Depot and spent about 15 minutes debated the merits of getting a second one at half the price (they’re $250 to start with). I finally settled on buying both, trying one for a while to see how well it works, determining if I really need two, and returning the second if I decide against it. Well, I got them home and immediately set one up on the side table RIGHT next to the recliner I sit in every night.

And I honestly think it helps. I really smelled the ozone smell of oxygen at first… almost got me a li’l heady when sitting too close to it. And I could feel the breeze as it gently blew across the recliner. It’s almost the equivalent to having the sliding glass door open for fresh air… and is a huge improvement on paying humongous heating bills during the Winter. Best of all, on nights when I can smell cigarette smoke elsewhere in the apartment, I sit down in the recliner, and the smell is not as strong... and it disappears everywhere else a lot quicker, too. I’m pretty happy with the investment.

Though, I did decide to return the second one. I kept trying to tell myself it could come in handy someday, but my credit card debt was looming over my head, and I finally just returned it… feeling heaps better for doing so. Bus Snob advised finding refurbished ones on the net for much cheaper, but I just wasn’t up to trying to return a used one. I’m sure I could, but sometimes the amount of effort required to save money cancels out the savings. One must remember that before everything else, I am always lazy at heart. *grin*

So amway, the gist of this additional snippet of information is that the whole prospect of dealing with my neighbors for a few months more is not quite as grim as it was originally… as I have a way to combat the cigarette smoke to a certain extent.

Misc. Puzzle Piece # 2 Re: Losing Touch with Halloween Nut

I blogged at length in Evolving Interpersonal Relationships about how I felt like my connection to Halloween Nut might have grown apart through the years. I mentioned that I e-mailed her to wish her Happy Birthday and briefly chatted with her on IM with cool response. Well, I failed to mention that I also tried to call her a short while after that IM… concerned if all was okay with her and between us. I got her voice mail… and left a message, leaving the ball in her court. I haven’t heard from her since.

So I didn’t just come to the conclusion that she may be miffed at me or avoiding me after a short IM and e-mail, but also after an attempt to call her. It may all be nothing. She may just be busy… or, like myself, not in the mood to talk. I also considered the possibility that she may be distancing herself from me cuz I continually talk about coming back home… and then flake for one reason or another. I may have flaked on her one time too many. *shrugging* I just don’t know. She doesn’t do conflict well, and is still learning how to confront her friends with things she doesn’t like, so I may not know for a while if she has any kind of problem with me at all. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

All I know is that I will not push her. I’ve never been one to go chasing after peeps. They will come to me on their own terms or they won’t come to me at all.

Misc. Puzzle Piece #3 Re: The migraine situation

I mentioned in Money Matters under “VA Claim” that I finally got my disability claim finished and submitted to the VA. I explained that my primary concern is safeguarding my financial future in case I am unable to work and support myself. See, I have nobody but myself to rely on to support myself. Oh, my folks will always be here to help me if I need it, but I can’t expect them to support me for the rest of my life if I am unable to work. Of course, in this situation, I’m asking the US Government to foot the bill, but I DID incur this condition while serving my country, so I’m not feeling too horribly guilty about it.

Amway, what I failed to mention here was that my Primary Care Provider hooked me up with an appointment with a VA Neurologist. He confirmed that I, indeed, suffer from migraines (surprise, surprise) and suggested some options for treatment. Of course, these are all options that have been tried before, but not necessarily everything that could be done within those options. We decided to try me on a new dose of Amitriptyline, which is a preventative medication. There are two primary meds used for prevention… the other one I tried last year and experience a severe adverse reaction. Amitriptyline, however, simply makes one drowsy. I’d tried it years ago at a lower dose, with no results, so that option was discarded. In fact, at the time, I was also not too hip on taking a drug every single day whether I was in pain or not.

I have no such qualms now. I experience severe migraines frequently enough that I’m practically taking daily drugs anyway just to treat them. So he started me on a higher dose of Amitriptyline, and we’re seeing how it works out…at our next appt. in a few months, he’ll evaluate the situation and see if we need to up the dose.

I’m not entirely sure how well it’s working. Sometimes I think I’m experiencing fewer migraines, and then boom… one hits. It certainly did not stand up to hormones in the slightest. But I’m not giving up hope on it. I had previously disregarded it as ineffective before knowing that there were higher doses available. I may be able to actually live a normal life eventually and not need help from the US government, the family or anybody. Or not. But we’ll keep trying and see what happens.

My biggest concern at the moment is how drowsy the new meds make me. The Neurologist warned me about this, and instructed me to take them before going to bed. Which is fine and all, except that I have an even harder time waking up in the morning… it’s almost like a sleeping pill. If I forget to take it until just before bed, I can almost guarantee sleeping through my alarm. I try to remember to take it with dinner… and even then I can have some problems in the morning. Which, of course, does wonders for that tardiness problem at work…

Which brings me to…

Misc. Puzzle Piece #4 Re: Tardiness

In I’m Searchable! I talked about my performance evaluation at work, in which I know for a fact that my tardiness will be brought up. I also glossed over that li’l unpleasantness, saying that everything else is going well.

Well, I feel a need to clarify that my work ethic is really not that lackadaisical. I know that many folks value punctuality… and that many jobs out there depend on it. I guess I never inherited that particular gene. My job ethic stresses attention to detail, taking the time to find out how to do what I don’t know how to do, to do a job right, to act in a professional manner when needed. And I’m a REAL stickler about giving time for every cent I earn. I work well over 40 hours many weeks… and I don’t fuss about the overtime. I work until the job is done to my satisfaction, then I worry about going home. Of course, I can indulge in this li’l bit of anal-retentiveness cuz I don’t have anybody but a cat waiting for me at home.

I may come in late, but I work through most of my lunches (when I don’t go out with Mom) and leave late. To me, that is what is important. None of my job duties require attention at 8:30 on the dot, and my lot in life is simply to always be late to everything. Unfortunately, I’ve rarely been able to find a boss that happens to agree with me. *grin*

Amway, I can of course muster myself to be on time for special instances. In fact, the sneaky Office Manger went and rescheduled my eval for 8:30 on the dot next Wed. I laughed and accused her of FORCING me to come in on time, and she unashamedly agreed. But I can understand… punctuality may not be important to me, but it is important to others. Plus I need to be aware of the example I’m setting for the students… for whom getting in on time IS important. So I’m workin on it… I really am. I’ve been workin on it for 31 years. I was even born late… doc tried to induce, but I was havin none of that. lol

And in similar spirit of trying to sound slightly less irresponsible than I originally portrayed myself:

Misc. Puzzle Piece #5 Re: Spending Money

I just wanted to clarify my declarations of addiction to spending money in Money Matters under “Addict?" See, now, I know how to not spend money when I know I really CAN’T. And I mean, CAN’T as in I have no money comin IN. When I was out of work for four months a few years ago (just before this job, actually), I was pretty worried. It took some creative juggling of funds, but I managed to be able to make the money I DID have stretch to pay all my bills… I didn’t miss a single payment. And I wasn’t buying anything but the absolutely bare essentials. lol

See, so I know I can do it. Exercise restraint and all. Of course, I was also so busy looking for work during those 4 months that I didn’t really have TIME to spend any of that money I don’t have. But still, the point’s the same. My problem now is that I know I can handle the debt at the moment. I have good, reliable income… I can easily pay far more than necessary on my cards, and still live comfortably. The catch is, of course, that everything could fall out from under my feet at any time… but my li’l shopping bug refuses to heed such dire prospects. My only saving grace is that I FINALLY opened up an IRA account last year, and have faithfully contributed it to it every month. So at least I'll be somewhat covered in my old age.

In the meantime, I guess I will simply live life dangerously… until the next time I’m forced to face the nasty li’l turns life throws at you.