Categories
Health and Exercise

Getting out of survival mode

A close friend of mine died in January, shortly after the holidays. I was the one who found her on her couch, two days after she’d passed, and I’ve pretty much been in survival mode since then. For me, survival mode means ice cream and donuts, rarely leaving my couch except for work, watching TV episodes that I’ve already seen and therefore already know what happens, and knitting and crocheting like my life depends on it.

So here I am, two months later. My weight is the highest it’s been since I moved to L.A. almost 15 years ago, which has led to my knee issues and heel spurs flaring up and causing much pain whenever I’m standing, much less walking. My right arm, particularly the elbow, is in almost constant pain from the relentless knitting and crocheting, making it difficult to type, to brush my hair, to hold my camera, and to play pool. My whole body feels out of control, and the pain makes me not want to move at all, completing a very ugly circle.

I’m trying to shake loose and bounce myself out of this survival mode that’s more like a “self-destruct mode”. This morning I finally went to my knee doctor for my overdue orthovisc shot–only two and a half months late. Next week I’m seeing an elbow doctor. And tomorrow I’m going to try to walk down the hill for the first time since before Christmas.

Changing my eating habits is of course proving to be way harder. Despite probiotics and some new med my doc put me on to control cravings, I have been unable to stay away from any of my customary sabotage foods–particularly sugar, but also pizza, chinese food, pasta, etc. My sis and sis-in-law suggest The Whole 30, which seems crazy hard to me, but my colleague said 14Four is similar, but half the time, so theoretically easier. However, it also costs, which The Whole 30 doesn’t. So, do I fork over the cash to try to help myself? So far, I’m undecided. I think I’ll see how the hill works out first.

Categories
Miscellaneous News

A 2014 Year in Review

Matt Inman (The Oatmeal) holding my handcuffs for a pic at Denver Comic-Con, June 2014
Matt Inman (The Oatmeal) holding my handcuffs for a pic at Denver Comic-Con, June 2014
Wow. I have not been here in a gazillion years. I wasn’t even sure I’d remember how to log in, but fortunately my browser remembered my password, even though I didn’t.

So, no posts for the entirety of 2014. How pathetic. Here’s a quick rundown of what I did in 2014:

Things kind of went to hell at work, through no fault of my boss or anyone in my department, but I definitely don’t harbor any fluffy feelings for the H.R. department. It led to a craptastic summer depression that segued into horrible weight gain, and I still haven’t bounced back from that. Yay? I have, however, revamped my professional website (pmcarlson.com). And possibly my resume.

The sis and brother-in-law finally bought a house, and I spent much time flying out there to hang out in it. It’s a large 100-year-old Victorian that’s currently getting pummeled with snow and ice, with a large backyard, a garage, and my own bedroom. It’s pretty sweet.

I didn’t go to any professional conferences in 2014, but I did fly out to Denver for their Comic-Con and for my friend Jacqui’s 40th birthday. The weekend had its ups and downs, but overall it was a good time–plus I got the Oatmeal to hold my handcuffs for a pic. 😀

National Champions!
National Champions!

My 8-ball team won first place in the Vegas tournament! We are officially the National 8-ball Women’s Team Champions….in the trophy division. That’s kind of like the kiddy-pool of divisions. However, we got awesome trophies that say FIRST PLACE, and really cool leather jackets with National Champions stitched on them, along with our names. It was pretty awesome.

Kayaking on some river in New Hampshire, Labor Day Weekend 2014
Kayaking on some river in New Hampshire, Labor Day Weekend 2014

Laugh Factory marquee
Let’s see, there was also kayaking in New Hampshire, going out onto the ice after a Kings/Bruins game, new glasses, a visit to the mantis shrimp in Monterey, a new GoPro (won it at the department holiday party), a visit to Nerd HQ, a new niece!, and a one-time foray into speed-dating.

And also, my stepbrother died, last March. Which sucked.

So, that was 2014. Some good, some bad, and totally over. Hopefully I can be better about posting in 2015.