Month: March 2017

Heathers

Posted on by kmarrs

So in me Business writing class there was this girl.  We’ll call her Heather.  Because that was her name.  Anyway, Heather was the biggest bitch to me.  Not just in general, but directed at me directly and to my face, in front of the entire class.  She was the biggest bitch.  It all started when I accidentally outed myself as genderqueer.  She suddenly singled me out and was really nasty.  So that was Heather.

Anyway.  For the second half of this class we had a business proposal we were working on.  I chose to write a proposal to my landlord requesting permission to install a little free library in my front yard.  With these business proposals we needed to have a primary research source.  This is an interview or a survey that we conducted ourselves.  I originally decided to reach out to those who ran their own LFLs and ask them some questions.  But of the 12 surveys I sent out, I only received 1 back.  Meanwhile Heather was bragging that she was conducting a survey and was sending it to 500 people.  Bragging and bragging.  So I decided at the last-minute, 4 days before the paper was due, that I was going to run an online poll.  I needed at least 30-50 responses to be statistically sound, but could I beat 500?

I have limited reach on Tumblr but I have powerfully popular friends there, and I told them about my project, and I about Heather, as a means of explaining why I wanted to smash 500 surveys into the ground.  Tumblr appreciates a good arch nemesis story.

Here are the results.

I had 4760 people take my survey.  The best part?  Turns out she only sent out 100 surveys and she got about 65 back.

Gotta say Heather, this doesn’t look good on your part.

It’s All A Headache

Posted on by kmarrs

So a few months ago I was put on Topamax to 1) counterbalance the weight gain from my antipsychotic and 2) help prevent my near constant headaches.  I was also given a prescription of Flexeril to help treat breakthrough stress headaches.  So let’s talk about this some.

First, headaches are not fully uncommon for fibromyalgia or depression.  Both report headaches as symptoms.  I don’t know if I’m having actual migraines, but I’m having severe stress headaches that leave me sensitive to light and sound and make me sick to my stomach.  Sounds like a migraine, but they are more in my neck and the base of my skull which is why there is question as to what we are treating.

Anyway, the Topamax.  No weight loss to report.  It would have been nice but it wasn’t the main reason I was taking it.  My severe headaches that leave me unable to work were reduced to 1 every 2 weeks, and the bad headaches where I take a Flexeril were reduced to 2-3 a week, and I don’t think a day will ever pass that I’m not at least taking Aleve.  I’m ok with that.  That’s just annoying, not debilitating.

So there was progress with the Topamax but could it be better?  We doubled the dose and we shall see.  Ideally, I won’t miss any work because of headaches.  My boss doesn’t seem to mind too much, but I prefer to have a strong work ethic.  And I can’t be missing work twice a month from a damn headache.  We’ve also switched me off the Flexeril and on to something else called Tizanidine HCL.  The Flexeril makes me sleepy so it’s harder to function when I take it 2-3 times a week (at work and at school usually) so hopefully this one won’t knock me out.

Downward Spiral

Posted on by kmarrs

I seem to be on a 4 year cycle.  At the cusp of the 4 years I spiral downhill fast into a really bad year.  Then I claw my way back out of it and have a couple of years of really good mental health and then a fourth year of decent enough but edging towards the cusp mental health.  Then rinse repeat.

I hate predicting it, because it’s like I’m making it true, but the pattern holds.  Every 4 years I enter a romantic entanglement as a means of escaping and trying to feel better, and in the process sabotage my relationship with my husband.  We separate.  Near divorce.  And I spiral further down.  The romantic entanglement blows up in my face, because it’s not a health relationship to start out with, and I fly back to a confused and hurting Patrick who eases my pain.

This time will be different.  First, I know my pattern and there will be no romance.  Even if there is, as Pat and I are now in an open relationship, I don’t have to sacrifice anything.  I can be open and honest with him, and trust him to guide me through treacherous waters.  I know this sounds unfair to him.  But it’s something we’ve come to together.  It’s far healthier than the alternative, and he’s wanted an open relationship for years.  So this isn’t just me.

As far as my spiral goes, I’m trying to head it off.  I’m in a healthy, low pressure job.  I’m kind of stuck in school, can’t take a term off, but the routine might be beneficial.  Also the shrimp project and the fish keep me mellow.  And the learning to crochet gives me distraction.  So I’m using my DBT skills.  So I think I’ll be ok.  It would be nice to make it through the next year without landing in the hospital.

Because I’m drawing ever nearer to the cusp.

The Collective

Posted on by kmarrs

Sitting on my desk, is my third aquarium.  It’s a 5 gallon and it’s empty, save for being freshly planted.  I still need to cycle it, which can take a good month if not two.  But once it’s done I will have blue velvet shrimp in there.  I am, SUPER excited about this.  I’ve been wanting a shrimp tank for a while.

I tried to house them in my 20, but things went downhill when I got pneumonia 6 months back.  My tank was overstocked, so when I didn’t keep up on water changes, the chemistry went bad and the shrimp, which are super sensitive to these things, died.

But I learned my lesson.  Water changes every Friday or Saturday no matter what.  And it’ll all be ok.

Anyway, I’m piecing together the tank bit by bit.  I just got the plants in.  It’s scaped to be sort of  a full wild jungle feel.  They are in orderly rows, actually, but as they grow it’ll be more out of control.

There are five different kinds of plants in there.  Don’t ask me to name them.  I’m not good at plant identification.

I plan to kick-start the cycle process by adding ammonium.  I have it on order and it should be here sometime next week.  Then it’s a patient game of water changes and daily chemistry checks.  I’m not looking forward to it.  But if I don’t do it, the shrimp will just die.  So, I have little choice.

Once done I’ll buy 12 blue velvet shrimp and call them The Collective.  Because why not.

Meanwhile life in the 10 and 20 goes on.

The 10 gallon is now home to a nerite snail as well as my betta.  There were two snails but one of them died.  I’m not entirely sure what happened.  I know my betta was really upset about the invasion of the snails, but I’m fairly certain betta can’t hurt these guys.  I also upgraded the filer to a sponge filter, which is super exciting for my, and the betta both.  The flow of a sponge filter is much more gentle and betta prefer that.

The 20 gallon was out of control with its sunburst platy population, so I took them all back to the store.  Well, all but one.  I somehow ended up with an albino one, so I kept him.  That done, I was only at 68% stocked so I had the option of adding more fish.  I bought a pair of blue gourami.  Now they are male and female, but they are egg layers and the fish, snails, and filter will eat all the eggs, so I don’t have to worry about out of control babies.  I named them Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.

Crocheting

Posted on by kmarrs

When I was much younger, about 8 years old, my grandmother, who could crochet anything, started teaching me the craft.  But as we were short on time, we didn’t get any further than the beginning chain.  The plan became for me to spend a couple of weeks with her that summer, and she would have me taught the rest of the way in no time at all.

She died that spring.

So here I was 25 years later, unable to crochet more than the beginning chain.  That is until I met my friend Savi, who can, just like my grandma, crochet just about anything.  Now Savi isn’t local but she worked as a catalyst towards me wanting to master this skill once and for all.  So I asked her for her advice on what YouTube videos might be the best to teach me.  She sent me this link.  With my tax return I bought a bunch of yarn, a set of crochet hooks, and a couple of beginners pattern books and away I stumbled.

As we speak I’m taking a break from a Barbie blanket I’m working on.  Nothing too exciting.  It’s solid white, and isn’t following a pattern.  It was a means of me remastering a chain, and learning the first stitch.  My next project will be a second Barbie blanket where I master the second stitch.  And so on.  It’s good practice.

My stitch work is uneven and I have a lot to learn.  However, I’m getting there and I’m determined.  I will do this.  So help me.

Besides, it is calming.  I mean not now.  Right now it’s frustrating.  But once I have my stitch down and I’m comfortable with what I’m doing, it’ll be calming.  I know this as fact.  It’s a great tool for the depressed and anxious.  So I’m learning and mastering.