Finding my groove

I realized it had been a long time since I updated the health aspect of this particular category. Oops. My bad. I was doing pretty good until I got hit with a mass of kidney stones, a major infection and a hospital stay followed by two surgeries and a month of complete blah.

That’s done now, thankfully. I’m working out what I can eat now that high oxalate is also out of the question and am back into a routine of regular movement. Because of the downtime the weight loss stalled, but seems to be moving again. 28 pounds down, 25 more to my first major goal. Twenty pounds after that I’ll be back at high school weight.

Peace, love and Eliza Dushku

Dushku as Faith Lehane

A while back I promised someone that I would write about why I often sign emails and letters with the salutation, “Peace, love and Eliza Dushku.”  Since May 10th is not far away, I figured now was as good a time as any to make good on it.

Last year, May 10th was Mother’s Day.  It was also the day my mom died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.  After two of the busiest months I can remember, I proceeded to spend the rest of 2009 completely losing my mind.  And I don’t mean that as a joke.

Part of the reason for my almost complete detachment with reality was due to my fantastic ability to bury things (among other factors).  I can bury things so deep they become completely invisible.  The only problem is, they tend to then unbury themselves and beat me repeatedly with a pointed stick.  And then I bury them, and then they scratch and claw their way back up and flog me with a wet tire iron.

Finding answers and working harder

Well we now know why I’ve been feeling wonky.  No need to click the link, I’ll give the back story.

In October, 2008, I wound up with Achilles tendinitis in my right foot and plantar fasciitis in both feet.  I was in a wheelchair for a couple weeks before the left foot could handle a little more.  By the time I got to a decent podiatrist, I was told the first course of action was to spend several weeks to a couple months doing nothing but going to work, coming home, and spending my free time with my head back and feet up.

Obviously, it’s hard to be someone’s caretaker in that position.  So when it became clear I wasn’t healing quickly, I talked my mom into using some of the money she was hoping to leave behind to pay some people to replace me.  I would be her comedian and confidante and they would do the physical stuff.

Feeling wonky and wanting to change

In high school, I wasn’t thin like a cheerleader but I was definitely close to slim, had long hair, looked like a hair band guitar player and felt good enough to wrestle with friends and do just about anything I wanted to do.

After hating my first three semesters of college, I gained a little weight and got hooked on building websites.  I quit college, got a full time computer job, gained a little more weight and hung out with people who kept me in a constant state of anxiety.  In 2001 I moved to Nashville, lost a little weight, came back to Arkansas and went back to school and gained a little back.

I didn’t eat very well in college (apparently few people do) and due to my frequent computer use was losing curve in my neck and getting too much in my lower back.  That meant doing normal things like cleaning the bathtub made my back feel like the muscles were trying to pull me over backwards.  It only got worse.