On Friday, I was stabbed and electrocuted. And I had a $30 co-pay to experience this joy.

Seriously, though.  This is going to take a few minutes to get you up to speed on the whole situation, so grab a drink and settle in.  (Closing your browser and running away is another valid option.) I’m going to give you the high-level overview, but it’s still going to take a while.  That’s how crazy this situation is. 

(I know this is a total first-world problem and that it may be a little whingy, but I’ve been a bit frustrated with this whole thing because it’s consuming so much of my time and life right now.)

Back in August, I came home after a late werk night and sat at my desk. This is not unusual. I have done it a zillion times before. My desk is L-shaped and has multiple computers across it that I werk on regularly.  (I would take a picture of it, but it’s a mess right now. Or always.) I also have a rolling office chair. Beneath the chair is one of those plastic office floor protector things, which helps 1) protect the floor and 2) the chair roll better than it would on carpet.

When I came home on this particular night in August, I sat in my chair and grasped the edge of the desk to pull myself closer to it.  Again, I do this all the time. This time was different; a sharp pain ran up through my thumb and wrist.  Ow.  It really, really hurt.

I iced it down a little and avoided using it much for the rest of the evening.  In the morning, it was still throbbing, painful, and the thumb pad actually looked visibly red and puffy.  The pain wasn’t limited to the thumb area; it extended through my hand and wrist.  I called the consulting nurse at my doctor’s office for an opinion and she scheduled me with one of the doctors within the next day. (Not my regular doctor, due to availability.)

That doctor took a look and told me to take some ibuprofen and go see the Physical Therapist. She gave me a referral and sent me on my way.  Okay. I was still in a lot of pain, but she’s the doctor.

I immediately called the PT for an appointment. The soonest they could get me in was… a week away.  Timely.

This was the beginning of months of fun.  I went to physical therapy regularly, was pretty diligent about following the exercises in between my appointments (with the except of one that involved stirring lentils), tried and wore a number of braces, paddings, and stabilisers to try to help the situation, and was alternating between ibuprofen and Aleve as recommended by the physical therapist for inflammation and pain. 

The Physical Therapist thought my issue was one of two things: a type of tenosynovitis or something called Trigger Thumb. (There’s a more scientific name for it, but I can’t remember what it is at the moment.) However, I wasn’t showing the main symptom of Trigger Thumb. (You know, the triggery part.) In the meantime, I was still having throbbing pain and lack of motor ability that was preventing me from properly using the thumb.

Eventually, I went back to try to talk to my doctor about the situation. My primary doctor was again unavailable, so they scheduled me with a PA (Physician’s Assistant).  I actually don’t really know the difference between a PA and… well, anything.  I do assume that he knows more about medicine than I do.  I re-explained the situation, let him know what had happened so far, and mentioned that it was still pretty painful.

The PA had a completely different theory/diagnosis possibility. He took x-rays to rule out the possibility of a hairline fracture.  (I didn’t have one.) There was an irregularity in the x-ray. He thought was due to lack of use of the thumb. (The muscle could potentially be deteriorating from less use.) He sent me back to the PT with the new diagnosis.  He also gave me a prescription for Naproxen to try to combat the pain and said to follow-up in a couple of weeks if I was still having difficulty.

Back to the Physical Therapist! She didn’t agree with his diagnosis and wanted to continue on the path for her possible diagnoses/theories.  The Naproxen didn’t do much. 
So, after 3 weeks (the PT requested an extra week before I followed back up with the PA), I spoke to the PA again via the office’s online system.  Long story short (because it still irritates me), he basically passed me off and told me to make an appointment with my primary doctor instead.

This brings us to December. I was able to secure an appointment with my doctor.  I have to admit that I was pretty frustrated at this point.  I have enough issues with my knee pain; this was a whole new level/layer of unfun.  Constant throbbing pain + inability to really grip things or use your hand is basically awful. 

My doctor assessed the situation and took me off the naproxen, since it wasn’t doing much for me. He also put an end to the physical therapy visits, though I was to continue the exercises on my own. 

After hearing that I had not been to a specialist, he requested something called an EMG nerve test and referred me to an orthopedist.  He thought the issue might be carpal tunnel, but wanted to hear the specialist’s opinion.

I went home and called to make an appointment for the EMG. They told me I’d have to wait for them to call me. (No joke. Even though the doctor told me to call and put it in the system electronically, they “didn’t have [my] paperwerk” and would let me know when they had it.) They called a day or two later. 

The first appointment availability they had was a a month away.

Yay. 

That appointment finally happened on Friday. 

I had no idea what an EMG entailed before the doctor ordered me to get one.  I did a little research in the time between that order and the appointment and I have to say I was a little apprehensive. There were two types of tests and neither seemed very pleasant.  Still, I was willing to endure in the name of science and medicine and some sort of diagnosis or clarity or resolution of my pain.  (Plus, Narilka told me that she’d had an EMG and it just involved little pads and some current.)

Well.  I was certainly wearing the rose-tinted glasses on this one.

[...Part 2: to be continued tomorrow because this entry is already way too long.]

We walked out front to get the mail and grab a coffee at the coffee shop this afternoon.  It had finally stopped snowing and was just cold.  On the way back, I was looking at all the footprints in the snow.

Me: I like that your shoes make those really cool circles when you step.

The James (looking down at the ground, then back up at me): My shoes don’t have circles on the bottom.

[...pause...]

I stare down at the footprints and look at the trail as they lead into....

Me (staring at my shoes): Oh.

He said nothing else as he unlocked the front door.

So, hey. We have snow and panic and crazy drivers and everything because we’re Seattle and snow is basically the equivalent of a red alert national emergency. 

I werked from home, which involved a bunch of conference calls with the cat helping out, answering a lot of emails, and actually getting some planning done.  It’s supposed to warm up tomorrow, but I’m withholding judgment so far.

I stepped outside for about 5 minutes this morning to take this picture of one of my Tokyo Plastic geisha headphone girls in the snow. It’s actually not quite an accurate showing of the snow because I didn’t push her all the way down to touch the surface beneath the snow.  Also, my fingers were freezing off because I didn’t think to wear gloves, so it’s a little crooked. Oh, well.

Hope everyone’s warmer than us!

INT. HOUSE EVERSKA - KICKIT ROOM - NIGHT

ZANNAH is watching a trailer for The Expendables, thinking to herself.

.ZANNAH.
(suddenly)
Which do you like better?

THE JAMES
(looking up from computer)
... of the Expendables?

.ZANNAH.
Uhm, no. Sorry. I was having a conversation in my head, but I only said the last part out loud.

THE JAMES
That’s okay, I came in here earlier looking to ask Paul* a question.

[editor’s note: * Paul is someone the James werks with. And clearly nowhere to be found.]

I slept in more than I meant to this morning. I had hoped to get up a little earlier in an attempt to get my sleep schedule back into werk mode.  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.  At least I wasn’t groggy when I awoke, which was a plus.

I thought it was going to be a sunny day, but somewhere in the middle of the afternoon it decided to get cloudy and dump buckets of rain on everyone.  We went out because I wanted to get something for an art project I’m werking on.  I didn’t really think through the crowds that would be out and about today.  Combined with the rain, it was a bit mad. We did get lucky once we got to the shopping area, though.  We managed to find a parking space quickly, get into the store, get the items I wanted, and get right out.  Then it was just a quick stop at the grocery store and we came back home to settle in for the rest of the day.  By that time, it was raining so hard, we could hear it on the roof when we came into the apartment...and I heard thunder at least once or twice.

I spent much of the evening unpacking the rest of my art supplies and organising what we call “the studio” space.  I think it’s called a den on the original floor plan, but we’re using it as a studio for my creative arts and the James’ wargaming miniature painting and building.  (We’ve unofficially split the space down the middle.) I have been doing paints out on the dining room table this week because I was using my studio drafting desk/table for sorting papers. Now it’s cleared off again (and my paper is all neatly put away), so I can probably start werking in there again.  I’m sure the James will appreciate it.  (The cat, however, rather enjoys the time I spend at the dining room table, as it gives her an opportunity to get her nose into everything.)

We also put together the bookshelf I got from my mum and stepdad for Christmas, then moved the furniture around to accomodate it.  I had a few boxes with books that I hadn’t yet unpacked from our move because of the lack of shelving, so I dug into a few of those and emptied them out, too.

I’m glad I took this time off.  I think I really needed it, and things at werk were in a place that allowed for it.  Sometimes you just need time to step away.  (And by “you”, I mean me.)

It’s back to the office tomorrow. I’ve been told nothing imploded while I was gone, so I’m hoping it will be a relatively painless re-immersion.  I’ve been trying not to overthink going back because I feel like it takes away from the vacation time.  Anything that needs to be attended to will be there when I get in, right?  It’s not going anywhere between now and then.

That being said, I should try to sleep soon, or I’ll never wake up in time!

Happy new year!  I think this is where I say how quickly the year seems to go by and that it feels like I just wrote one of these entries.  Both statements are true.  I probably say that every year.

It’s definitely been a crazy, busy year.  I went to SXSW. I was really ill in the spring. We moved into a new apartment.  We went to Vegas and San Diego Comic-Con. I’ve been werking a ton (maybe too much sometimes), but I also got promoted and have really grown my team. I’ve gotten great support from my management and will be continuing to grow the team into the next year.

It’s been a pretty stressful year, but a lot of good things have come out of it, too.

We had a really great Christmas and holiday. At the encouragement of my boss(es) and some of my team, I took the week off.  I was at the maximum accumulation for paid time off, so I needed to take time away to start accruing time again.  And, as they tell me, what’s the point of a benefit if you ever use it?  (They’re right, of course… I just have difficulty finding “the right time”; it never seems to be the right time.)

I’ve been mostly using my holiday to relax and hang out, plus some re-organisation and arrangement of our apartment.  We spent time with the family both weekends, for Christmas last week and for pre-New Year’s Eve poker this last Saturday. We played games and cards with various friends several times.  We went to the year-end New Year’s party and caught up with a number of people we hadn’t seen in months (and in at least one case, years). 

Several friends had flown into the area from across the country. We were able to spend time with them, including some rowdy karaoke box this evening.  I haven’t done much karaoke in recent months, due to the aforementioned crazy schedule.  There were a few songs that I didn’t think would go well, but it all actually turned out fine.  We had a blast, even though I have a sore throat now.  It also reminded me how much I like karaoke.  We’ll have to do it again soon.

I’m calling the holiday a success.  I made it through December in one piece. Now we’re into the new year! I haven’t made any real resolutions for the new year, yet. I suppose there’s still a tiny bit of a grace period where I could still make some.  I’ll have to think about it more.

I was going to write more, but it’s late and I need some sleep.  Maybe tomorrow.

Earlier today, I was sitting at my desk in the office when I heard the Words With Friends notification chime on someone’s iPhone. There are a lot of iPhones in the general vicinity and it was kind of faint, so I couldn’t tell whose it was.

I thought to myself, “Words With Friends! Someone’s taking a break from werk.  I wonder if they think no one will notice.” I continued attempting to find a slot in my calendar for a meeting in a couple of weeks.

A few minutes later (or maybe more; time flies when you’re wrestling with Outlook), I heard the notification chime again.  I thought, “Someone’s either got multiple games of Words With Friends going on, or they’re playing their turns really fast right now.  I wonder if it’s someone on my team.  Is someone slacking off?”

Then I got distracted with phone calls and instant messages and people trying to talk to me and meetings, so I forgot.

After 5, the office had cleared out some. I was back at my desk trying to finish up some last minute things when my iPhone startled me by chirping the “new MMS” alert.  As I reached to take a look at it, I realised that at some point during the day, I had left the volume up slightly instead of on silent/vibrate. 

It had probably happened when I was fidgeting with the phone in a meeting.  I vaguely recalled flipping the switch back and forth earlier in the day. 

And so...I realised it must have been my iPhone earlier in the day making the notification noises.  Oops.

I may have felt a little sheepish.

A while ago, I bought these leggings at the store.  They didn’t have the ones with the black cuff, only the leopard/cheetah print pictured at the right.

Normally, I wouldn’t even entertain them. They’re cute, but not really my style.  They’d require flats or heels to be worn with them - something I don’t wear with leggings too often - and this animal print is one of the few things I feel like I can’t carry off without feeling completely silly.

However, they are extremely soft and fleece-lined. They’re also by Betsey Johnson, who I love in concept, even if I can’t wear many of her designs (in part due to all the animal print).  And they were discounted.

I almost walked away from them anyway, but then the James said, “You should get them. You can wear them around the house!”

I couldn’t argue with that.

I am wearing them right now. They’re ridiculously comfortable, so I’m pretty happy that I went through with it.  I still think the animal print is pretty silly. I find myself looking at them and giggling internally (or at the cat, who also finds them interesting). They seem like the sort of thing you should prance around in.

I do indulge in the occasional prance.  No one else can see me inside the apartment!

Anyone else have things they only wear around the house?

So much has been going on lately that I don’t even know where to starts, so I’m going to just leave you with this story for today:

Directly after werk today, the James and I went to the grocery store. I was out of Diet Pepsi at home. Those of you who are long-time readers will know that I basically bleed Diet Pepsi because I drink it all the time.  Those of you who aren’t, well… now you know.

I had a ridiculously full and long day at werk which was exhausting. I also did not have any chance to eat at all. The James sometimes makes me a sandwich for lunch, but today was not one of those days.  I didn’t even have time to grab a snack. As such, I literally had not eaten anything since last night when we arrived at the grocery store at around 6pm.

It’s never a good idea to shop hungry.

As sometimes happens, the James somehow managed to lose me in one of the aisles when he stopped (with the cart) to get something on his list. When he found me a few minutes later, I had, in hand:

+ a bag of chips
+ a bag of vanilla cupcake goldfish
+ a box of Cheez-its

...And I was in the process of picking out some cookies.

The James stared at me in what I can only call “abject horror” and said, “I should have left you in the car.” Then he quickly recovered and said, “Come on! Time to go!” and pushed me along, not unlike the way you might herd a cat. Or a kindergartener. 

I managed to grab a second bag of chips as we went by the display and dumped everything into his cart as he continued to herd me along.

He then nudged me toward the check-out cashier, making sure I did not stray from the path to get ice cream. (We already have some in the freezer anyway.)

He packed the groceries (and myself) in the car without further incident.

The end!

Pro tip: if you are a person who is panhandling for money for whatever reason, it’s probably not going to score you big points (or dollars) if you approach the young girl alone in a parking lot after she’s just used the bank machine. 

You also shouldn’t be offended if she walks away from you quickly, because - let’s be honest - she has no idea if you’re a nice man or someone who’s going to mug her, and she’d rather not take chances, given the circumstances and the day she’s had.

Just saying.

From their website, World Lux looks a little too fakey-corporate.  I think it has to do with all of the information crammed in on that first page and the fact that I’m pretty sure those pictures of people in the upper left are from stock photography sites.

Pictures of the store also make it look a little intimidating to a person like myself.  It looks like the kind of place where I would be awkwardly out of place. The type of place where you should be in a business suit. 

However, they reportedly had a really good selection of fountain pens and ink.  They’re listed on both the Noodler’s Ink site and the Lamy site as a resource store in Seattle.  They’re not far from my office… so I decided to peek inside when I was up in that area recently.

I actually wasn’t sure if it was open when I walked up.  It was silent and kind of dim inside. (Mood lighting!) I was the only customer.  (This has been true both times I’ve been now.) It was not unlike walking into an empty fountain pen/watch museum.  However, the gentleman in the back was immediately attendant, extremely nice, and didn’t seem put off by my ponytails or lack of extensive fountain pen knowledge. 

The first time, I was only looking for a particular ink (Noodler’s Dragon’s Napalm, for the curious) and an extra converter for my Lamy Safari fountain pen.  The sales assistant was friendly and knowledgable.  He helped me efficiently and as quickly as he was able. (They had to run next door to the “warehouse” to get more of the converters, but the wait wasn’t too long.) I mentally noted while I was being rung up that they had the Lamy Joy set (seen in the picture).

A couple of weeks later, I decided I wanted the Lamy Joy.  I had another meeting in the area, so I dropped in once more.  The same gentleman was there and was once more very friendly and chatty.  While I was waiting for him to pull out the Joy, I asked after another pen in the case. (It turned out to be the Pelikan Eternal Ice, which looks really cool in person.  I kind of wanted it.)

As I considered the Eternal Ice, he asked after other fountain pens I have.  Short answer: I don’t really have many. I used to have more, but stopped using them for quite some time. I only became re-interested in them recently due to a certain couple of people on the Internet.

I explained to him that I haven’t really found one that I would consider a “go to” pen.  He suggested the Namiki Falcon and brought one out for me to test.  He thought I would like the flexible nib since I sometimes doodle.  In trying it out, he was right.  It’s very smooth in writing and isn’t too scratchy. It isn’t fussy about the angles it writes at.  The barrel isn’t too wide for my small hand and it isn’t too heavy (even with the cap on top).  It also uses a converter. I find the act of filling an ink converter very satisfying, so that was a total bonus.

We brought out a couple of other pens as we talked about other options and choices, but ultimately, I decided to go with the Falcon.  I’ve basically been carrying it with me ever since.  And he sold me on the Namiki ink, which comes in a big, beautifully packaged bottle.  I’m totally in love with the whole package.

So, here I am, full of fountain pennery.  How are you?