Author Archives: Rachel

Fifteen minutes straight writing…begin…right…now.

High wind warning began last night. Local weather broadcasters were not kidding when they said it “might” interfere with sleep. Of course, the cat on the pillow did not help matters. I wish I could say I could stay home and safe, though going to work is necessary.

Even though I dread going after finding a significant error that will require some bullshitting.

Good thing there is coffee. Coffee makes the world go round some mornings. Most mornings.

Chicago. What is there to say? (What isn’t there to say?)

The weather stayed nice for me, winter coat and gloves required, but not terribly cold as I remember Midwest winters, thanks to the mild season they have had so far.

The people with whom I interacted (some of whom I already knew, some completely new to me) made me feel like I was already “home”. Home will always reside in the houses of immediate family members and be in the presence of said family, of course, though I know I have been missing a sense of my own “home” this past year.

Lots of good food and drink and neighborhood scouting. And I can never turn down a good secondhand store or a bookstore. The 3-day CTA pass got some good wear and tear on both the “L” and city buses. (What a difference from RTD with how often those buses run. Cheers to a bigger city!)

Bananagrams may be the most fantastic game since Scrabble, and less strategizing is needed, making it go quicker than the average Scrabble game.

One of these days, I need to write a post of substance outside the Rambly Fifteen, Weekly Grace, and Friday cat blogging. This is not that day. Writing prompts from the chronic illness communities have got me thinking, though. Something will bubble to the surface, I am convinced of it.

(courtesy Schmutzie‘s Grace in Small Things)

1. A week before a travel weekend that sped quite fast.
2. Champagne served in lager glasses.
3. Being surrounded by people who have only my best interest at heart.
4. Staying offline and disconnected for most of the 48 hours away.
5. Returning home to the felines who adore me.

Fifteen minutes straight writing…begin…right…now.

Survived Valentine’s Day. Never really having been a fan, it was fairly easy to survive except for the flowers delivered to the next cubicle. Not because I was jealous or anything, but because I am allergic. (To flowers, to perfume, to anything with much of a scent.)

The cuddly felines turned out to be the best valentines all day. Surprise, surprise.

Amber Riley knocked “I Will Always Love You” out of the park last night on Glee. She met Whitney Houston last Thursday, apparently, which makes me smile in spite of the tragedy. Yes, there was a history of drug abuse; yes, WH ended up with a troubled life after a brilliant start to her career. The fact remains, she’s still loved by her family and surely they are going through hell. To have people make jokes or say that it was bound to happen, that’s just cruel to those left behind. Especially that daughter barely into adulthood.

And, yes, other less famous people died that day and the day before and the day after. I get that. However, the ten-year-old girl who watched “How Will I Know?” over and over and over on MTV and then later at seventeen watched The Bodyguard with delight, even as “I Will Always Love You” played over and over and over on MTV and the radio? They’re grieving. Much much more than when Michael Jackson died.

(I will say that I’m about done with that cover of Dolly Parton’s country hit from the 1970′s. I have possibly heard it more times in the past few days than I did in all of 1993.)

Back to exercising this week after nearly two weeks off due to the crud. Blood glucose readings are still doing well in spite of (a) the crud and (b) not exercising.

Lots going on at work, keeping busy, keeping frustrated.

Fifteen minutes straight writing…begin…right…now.

Day #6 of this …crud. Worse than a cold, not as bad as the fun of influenza. Although, current theory is that it is indeed upper respiratory flu, mitigated by the fact I did enjoy a flu shot a few months back.

First four days were all about aches, fever, chills, fatigue, stuffiness, coughing. Last couple days have been more of recovery, still sniffly and still coughing and still way fatigued.

Luckily, alarm clock cat (Perl) has been kind enough to let me sleep all the way to the real alarm. And I have no trouble falling asleep either, not with the humidifier with its white noise fan and help with opening up those nasal passages and lungs.

What have I been doing besides those activities directly related to the crud? Watching a ton of television. Reading magazines (no patience for actual books in this state). Doing research for upcoming quick trip to Chicago. Fussing over lost sick time (and as of today, some vacation time, too). Going mad with cabin fever.

Yeah, I am the girl who got sick just as Denver started getting hit with repeated snow events and cold temperatures. There seems to be no end in immediate sight, either, and the last thing I want to do is spend too much time out in the crappy weather and not get well.

Cabin fever also entails the inability to work out. The appetite was quite low while I was feverish, so there’s that in maintaining weight. However, I hate not working out. Not that I had really established a routine, and had been really sporadic in frequency of exercising before getting the crud…but I determined a big goal mere days before the crud invaded.

I still have that goal in mind – to walk that 7k on my mom’s birthday. In 32 days. Here’s to maybe getting back to exercise by Saturday? One can hope.