For a long while now, I haven't been able to think of anything to say. Anything, that is, that wouldn't be cause for you to worry.
I've become so stuck in this place that I'm in that sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't worry. I'm hanging in some sort of limbo between real life and total meninglessness, where I exist but don't participate.
I can excuse it now, sure. I'm hundreds of miles away from the only friends I have, I'm too sick to go to school and make new ones, I don't pursue any hobbies because of my physical state, I don't read because my head is too clouded by medications. Nobody's blaming me for sitting around doing (literally) nothing. But I wonder what my excuse was last February, when I was surrounded by friends and seemingly happy with my life. What will be my excuse when I head off to college on my own? My isolation and disinvolvement, while currently pushed to an extreme by circumstance, may not go away.
It's a frightening thing to contemplate. For so long, I've romanticized college, convincing myself of is magical transitional powers. And while I maintian that getting out of Maryland and sorting out my medical concerns will improve my condition, I'm afraid I'll still do this to myself. Like I know, while invisible, that I'm doing now. Like I've done before.
It is not the incapablity of happiness. I enjoy things and I still laugh. What I'm describing is the incapability to sit, alone with my thoughts and decisions, and be fine. Not happy, just fine. Happiness is something else entirely, something fleeting and needing no contemplation. But what I'm talking about, what I'm struggling with, is something more closely related to satisfaction or fulfillment of the self. And while I don't expect my own or anyone else's levels of this thing to ever be complete, I'd like to be a little less anemic.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Sometimes I amaze myself...
There are not many things that I am really, really good at. I am adequate at many, decent at some, and good at few. But really, really good? Why, it's almost unheard of. That being said, I have discovered something I am really, really good at.
By this point, we all know I'm excellent at being sick. That basically doesn't even count anymore. However, being sick does play a role in my newly realized talent. So, um, yes. On with it.
I am really, really good at ruining holidays for myself.
Awesome, right? I totally think a $50,000 cash prize is headed my way somewhere in the near future. Although, if this talent is going to win me any contests, I'd better supply something to back my statement up. So here it is, a few of the more recent occasions that I've managed to make miserable:
1. It hasn't happened yet, but this Christmas will suck because I'm sick right now, and viruses generally take me and my incompetent immune system 4-5 weeks to fight off.
2. This past Thanksgiving, I spent the night before throwing up, and the day itself curled up on a couch with no appetite, refusing my grandmother's constant culinary offerings. (which, by the way constitutes an unforgivable crime in her household)
3. Halloween, I sat in my basement with my dog, because I have no friends.
4. My birthday 2005, 2004, and 2003, I was grounded.
5. Last Mother's Day, I slept all day (I was just released from the hospital a day before) and in doing so, convinced my mother that I hated her.
I'm only giving you five, because my skills are getting a little depressing. Happy Kwanzaa. I haven't screwed that one up yet....
By this point, we all know I'm excellent at being sick. That basically doesn't even count anymore. However, being sick does play a role in my newly realized talent. So, um, yes. On with it.
I am really, really good at ruining holidays for myself.
Awesome, right? I totally think a $50,000 cash prize is headed my way somewhere in the near future. Although, if this talent is going to win me any contests, I'd better supply something to back my statement up. So here it is, a few of the more recent occasions that I've managed to make miserable:
1. It hasn't happened yet, but this Christmas will suck because I'm sick right now, and viruses generally take me and my incompetent immune system 4-5 weeks to fight off.
2. This past Thanksgiving, I spent the night before throwing up, and the day itself curled up on a couch with no appetite, refusing my grandmother's constant culinary offerings. (which, by the way constitutes an unforgivable crime in her household)
3. Halloween, I sat in my basement with my dog, because I have no friends.
4. My birthday 2005, 2004, and 2003, I was grounded.
5. Last Mother's Day, I slept all day (I was just released from the hospital a day before) and in doing so, convinced my mother that I hated her.
I'm only giving you five, because my skills are getting a little depressing. Happy Kwanzaa. I haven't screwed that one up yet....
Friday, December 15, 2006
In which Krissy upsets herself
I started to clean my room today. When this occurs, it is not generally prompted by my mother's requests. Nor is it prompted by her threats ("No Martha Stewart magazine until your room is clean!"). Rather, it occurs only when I have the desperate need or want to find something long buried by piles of clothes or hidden in shoeboxes of random junk.
Today I remembered something, and realized how sorry I was to have forgotten it.
Wasting time on facebook, I began to think about (naturally) my friends. I started to miss them, like I always do, and I began to reminisce about last year, before moving to Maryland. Then I started thinking about my going-away party, and then I started thinking about the going-away gifts, cards, and letters I received. I suddenly had the urge to find them, to sit and reread what had been written.
And so my search began. I started with the bin I keep pictures in, and began removing albums and loose photographs. First I unearthed my Damn Yankees phone tree, then my G.I. medals. I hadn't found what I was looking for, but I was on to something else. I continued my search elsewhere, in shoeboxes, folders, and bins. Now I was looking for not only going-away letters, but, reminded of G.I. and my various E.R. and hospital visits, for get-well cards and pictures, and perhaps most importantly, a set of notes written on Hilton notepaper that I received at G.I. state finals last year. I thought about this more and more, about how I had almost missed it because of collapsing, how my mother drove me down by myself because I missed the bus for a doctor's appointment, and how, upon my arrival in Springfield, I was greeted so warmly by my friends. Sometime that weekend, several of my friends gave me notes or drew me pictures (a certain someone surprised me with fruit snacks). I kept those notes, and put them on my bulletin board when I got home. I remembered now how I had packed them, along with everything else pinned on that piece of cork, and everything else inside my room, in an assortment of boxes and bins one week last June. And now, digging in my closet in Maryland, I wanted to find those notes.
I can't exactly explain why I wanted to find them so badly, aside from sentimentality. All I know is that I tore through dozens of still-unpacked boxes that are housed in the back of my closet, under my bed, and stacked in corners of my room. I dug, frantically, through every receptacle that had even the slightest possibility of containing that for which I searched. At the end of all this, I sat.
In the middle of the floor, surrounded by throw pillows, unironed slacks, human Geography papers and more, I began to cry. I couldn't find them. I had come across some letters sent by friends after I moved, and read over them fondly, but they weren't what I needed to find. Wiping away my seemingly unnecessary tears, I began to understand why I needed to find the particular notes that I did. It was because if couldn't find them, every scrap of paper and photograph and unremarkable object that I had ever saved and placed inside a shoebox was random junk. If I couldn't find them, it meant that somewhere along the line of packing and moving and unpacking, I threw them away. I discarded something meaningful, irreplaceable, and truly valuable. I left myself only with random junk.
The phrase "random junk" is significant, because you see, I used to think of my shoebox stuff as "homeless mementos". I would occasionally keep something given to me by a friend, or made by a younger cousin, and stow it away in one of these boxes, because I had no other place to put it. But all of this time, I believed that I cared about my shoebox stuff. I believed that I kept it for a reason. Upon the realization that I had disposed of such wonderful gifts from friends, I could no longer continue thinking that kept that which was important or meaningful. At whatever point I started "cleaning out" my boxes to save space (or whatever reason I had at the time), I turned my homeless mementos into random junk.
I'm still looking, in binders and drawers and folders, for those couple of notes. I'm quite sure that they're gone, because I've searched everywhere I can remember packing that sort of thing. Because sifting through my memories like I have today has made me want to read them. More than that though, it has made me want to prove to myself that I was not so foolish as to cast off a crumpled letter, and to keep only what was framed or purchased.
Today I remembered something, and realized how sorry I was to have forgotten it.
Wasting time on facebook, I began to think about (naturally) my friends. I started to miss them, like I always do, and I began to reminisce about last year, before moving to Maryland. Then I started thinking about my going-away party, and then I started thinking about the going-away gifts, cards, and letters I received. I suddenly had the urge to find them, to sit and reread what had been written.
And so my search began. I started with the bin I keep pictures in, and began removing albums and loose photographs. First I unearthed my Damn Yankees phone tree, then my G.I. medals. I hadn't found what I was looking for, but I was on to something else. I continued my search elsewhere, in shoeboxes, folders, and bins. Now I was looking for not only going-away letters, but, reminded of G.I. and my various E.R. and hospital visits, for get-well cards and pictures, and perhaps most importantly, a set of notes written on Hilton notepaper that I received at G.I. state finals last year. I thought about this more and more, about how I had almost missed it because of collapsing, how my mother drove me down by myself because I missed the bus for a doctor's appointment, and how, upon my arrival in Springfield, I was greeted so warmly by my friends. Sometime that weekend, several of my friends gave me notes or drew me pictures (a certain someone surprised me with fruit snacks). I kept those notes, and put them on my bulletin board when I got home. I remembered now how I had packed them, along with everything else pinned on that piece of cork, and everything else inside my room, in an assortment of boxes and bins one week last June. And now, digging in my closet in Maryland, I wanted to find those notes.
I can't exactly explain why I wanted to find them so badly, aside from sentimentality. All I know is that I tore through dozens of still-unpacked boxes that are housed in the back of my closet, under my bed, and stacked in corners of my room. I dug, frantically, through every receptacle that had even the slightest possibility of containing that for which I searched. At the end of all this, I sat.
In the middle of the floor, surrounded by throw pillows, unironed slacks, human Geography papers and more, I began to cry. I couldn't find them. I had come across some letters sent by friends after I moved, and read over them fondly, but they weren't what I needed to find. Wiping away my seemingly unnecessary tears, I began to understand why I needed to find the particular notes that I did. It was because if couldn't find them, every scrap of paper and photograph and unremarkable object that I had ever saved and placed inside a shoebox was random junk. If I couldn't find them, it meant that somewhere along the line of packing and moving and unpacking, I threw them away. I discarded something meaningful, irreplaceable, and truly valuable. I left myself only with random junk.
The phrase "random junk" is significant, because you see, I used to think of my shoebox stuff as "homeless mementos". I would occasionally keep something given to me by a friend, or made by a younger cousin, and stow it away in one of these boxes, because I had no other place to put it. But all of this time, I believed that I cared about my shoebox stuff. I believed that I kept it for a reason. Upon the realization that I had disposed of such wonderful gifts from friends, I could no longer continue thinking that kept that which was important or meaningful. At whatever point I started "cleaning out" my boxes to save space (or whatever reason I had at the time), I turned my homeless mementos into random junk.
I'm still looking, in binders and drawers and folders, for those couple of notes. I'm quite sure that they're gone, because I've searched everywhere I can remember packing that sort of thing. Because sifting through my memories like I have today has made me want to read them. More than that though, it has made me want to prove to myself that I was not so foolish as to cast off a crumpled letter, and to keep only what was framed or purchased.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
I do not like to put a space between the can and not of cannot.
I am in the sort of mood to be quiet and read Jane Austen novels, the sort of mood to twist my hair up and secure it with a pen. Naturally, I should be drinking tea. And eating apple crisp. In bed, with flannel sheets and a big down comforter. Also, my dog should be curled up at the end of the bed, not smelling of dog.
Instead, I am blogging. And punctuating fragments as sentances. Soon, I will get between normal cotton sheets and blankets and pretend I am sleeping. I will not be. I'll accidentally kick my iron footboard, and it will bang against the wall, interrupting the quiet, which is the only part of my plan that will actually be carried out tonight. I'll get thirsty and sip from the waterbottle on the floor next to my bed, in the shoebox with all of my pills. I will shut my door to keep the dog out, because if I let her in she would only make noise and smell.
Good night.
Instead, I am blogging. And punctuating fragments as sentances. Soon, I will get between normal cotton sheets and blankets and pretend I am sleeping. I will not be. I'll accidentally kick my iron footboard, and it will bang against the wall, interrupting the quiet, which is the only part of my plan that will actually be carried out tonight. I'll get thirsty and sip from the waterbottle on the floor next to my bed, in the shoebox with all of my pills. I will shut my door to keep the dog out, because if I let her in she would only make noise and smell.
Good night.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
What an eyesore
"Oh, how bizarre, how interesting and bizarre..." says Dr. Tong, examining the technician's findings. I'm sitting, slightly elevated, in an optical exam chair. Dr. Tong leans over charts filled with measurements (of what? I don't know) and my mother wrings her hands nervously. "Well," he says, "you have fourth-nerve palsy." I lean back, and for a reason I cannot recall, mutter "I gots me some palsy." to myself.
Dr. Tong continues, explaining exactly what the condition is. To paraphrase, a specific nerve/muscle combination that controls my left eye is screwed up. He stands up, takes a series of prisms from a drawer, and walks over to my mother's chair. "Using these prisms," he says, with a precise and oddly-emphasized English characteristic of non-native speakers, "I will simulate for you the way Kristen's eyes see the world." He lines up the prisms and holds them up to her eye. "Oh, my," my mother said, screwing her face up in concentration. "How on earth does she..." Her sentence goes unfinished. Dr. Tong removes the prisms and asks her what she saw. "Well, everything was doubled," she began. "But not just that. One half of something would be over here," she gestured to her left. "and the other half would be somewhere to the right and above it! I don't know how Krissy possibly sees." Dr. Tong nods. "Hold on," I say, "I don't see like that. I mean, I'll get double vision when I look in certain directions, but it's nothing so drastic as that." "Ah," Dr. Tong turns to me, "But it is!"
He begins pointing things out about me, things like my crooked glasses and the way I tilt my head slightly to the left. My mother tells him that the glasses are nothing, that I've always had crooked glasses, I have since I was in preschool, and so that couldn't possibly indicate anything. Growing more passionate with his speech, Dr. Tong responds. "Precisely!" He takes out some angle-measuring device and, holding it up to my glasses, mutters a rapid series of complex measurements to himself. "Her glasses are crooked at the exact angle to partially alleviate her condition! And you say they have been like this since she was young?" "Well," my mother says, "We always thought she was just rough on them." "Kylie always thought I had crooked ears.." I add. Dr. Tong is fascinated. "It all makes sense." he says. "The way you have bent them is therapeutic to your eyes. It moves things for you. Do you remember how your mother said things looked split through the prism?" I nod. "Well, by tilting your glasses, the lens moves things closer to where they should be. It is remarkable though, for a patient, even subconsciously, to have made these adjustments, especially from a young age!" "Oh. But if that doesn't entirely remedy my condition, how come I see fairly normally?" "Well, you tilt your head to the left, and while it is only a slight tilt, it contributes to the effect of the tilted glasses. Aside from these outward remedies, the rest is done through muscular compensation. You say that you have been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?" he asks. "Well, yes," I answer, "But I think that has more to do with the Ehlers-Danlos* syndrome than anything else..." "This may be true," Dr. Tong continues, nodding, "But the muscles of your left eye are working five, perhaps more, times as hard as your right eye in order to straighten out your vision. While it does not seem like your eyes could make you feel tired, this could be a major contributor to your already existent problem. You may not feel strained at this point in your life, but somewhere down the line, perhaps sooner than you think, the constant fight to see will take a toll on you. It will be too much." My mother looks at me, but I don't quite know what to say. "Furthermore," Dr. Tong continues, "your head tilt is dangerous, especially since you have Ehlers-Danlos. Over time, the vertebrae in your neck will stop looking like they are discs, and start looking like they are wedges. Your bones will change shape." "She's already in physical therapy for her back and neck!" my mother blurts out, looking overwhelmed. "Well," Dr. Tong says, "Let us explore the treatment options."
I sit back, waiting for the expected round of drugs that usually comes my way when doctors discuss my treatment options. "You have three options." Dr. Tong begins. "You can have surgery, wear prism glasses, or do nothing. I strongly warn you not to do nothing, because while it may not seem like an insurmountable challenge to overcome right now, fighting this disorder will only become harder for you. Surgery is your best option." "Well, we don't really want surgery." my mother says. "What are the prism glasses?" "The prism glasses use special glass, prisms, to shift the problem. You must be aware though, that the problem is not corrected, it is merely shifted. As Kristen currently sees, her vision to the right (with glasses) is fine. The center is mostly fine, but she occasionally sees double, and her vision to the left is awful. What prism glasses will do is shift the problem so there is no problem in the middle, less problem to the left, but the right, where there was no problem, will now have some problem. That is why I recommend surgery." Alright, but exactly what does the surgery entail?" my mother asks, clearly unsure of herself.
"Well, we don't actually take the eyeball completely out..." says Dr. Tong.
And so it looks like I'm getting eye surgery pretty soon. (I don't know how long it takes to get an appointment.) It also looks like I gots me some palsy.
Dr. Tong continues, explaining exactly what the condition is. To paraphrase, a specific nerve/muscle combination that controls my left eye is screwed up. He stands up, takes a series of prisms from a drawer, and walks over to my mother's chair. "Using these prisms," he says, with a precise and oddly-emphasized English characteristic of non-native speakers, "I will simulate for you the way Kristen's eyes see the world." He lines up the prisms and holds them up to her eye. "Oh, my," my mother said, screwing her face up in concentration. "How on earth does she..." Her sentence goes unfinished. Dr. Tong removes the prisms and asks her what she saw. "Well, everything was doubled," she began. "But not just that. One half of something would be over here," she gestured to her left. "and the other half would be somewhere to the right and above it! I don't know how Krissy possibly sees." Dr. Tong nods. "Hold on," I say, "I don't see like that. I mean, I'll get double vision when I look in certain directions, but it's nothing so drastic as that." "Ah," Dr. Tong turns to me, "But it is!"
He begins pointing things out about me, things like my crooked glasses and the way I tilt my head slightly to the left. My mother tells him that the glasses are nothing, that I've always had crooked glasses, I have since I was in preschool, and so that couldn't possibly indicate anything. Growing more passionate with his speech, Dr. Tong responds. "Precisely!" He takes out some angle-measuring device and, holding it up to my glasses, mutters a rapid series of complex measurements to himself. "Her glasses are crooked at the exact angle to partially alleviate her condition! And you say they have been like this since she was young?" "Well," my mother says, "We always thought she was just rough on them." "Kylie always thought I had crooked ears.." I add. Dr. Tong is fascinated. "It all makes sense." he says. "The way you have bent them is therapeutic to your eyes. It moves things for you. Do you remember how your mother said things looked split through the prism?" I nod. "Well, by tilting your glasses, the lens moves things closer to where they should be. It is remarkable though, for a patient, even subconsciously, to have made these adjustments, especially from a young age!" "Oh. But if that doesn't entirely remedy my condition, how come I see fairly normally?" "Well, you tilt your head to the left, and while it is only a slight tilt, it contributes to the effect of the tilted glasses. Aside from these outward remedies, the rest is done through muscular compensation. You say that you have been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?" he asks. "Well, yes," I answer, "But I think that has more to do with the Ehlers-Danlos* syndrome than anything else..." "This may be true," Dr. Tong continues, nodding, "But the muscles of your left eye are working five, perhaps more, times as hard as your right eye in order to straighten out your vision. While it does not seem like your eyes could make you feel tired, this could be a major contributor to your already existent problem. You may not feel strained at this point in your life, but somewhere down the line, perhaps sooner than you think, the constant fight to see will take a toll on you. It will be too much." My mother looks at me, but I don't quite know what to say. "Furthermore," Dr. Tong continues, "your head tilt is dangerous, especially since you have Ehlers-Danlos. Over time, the vertebrae in your neck will stop looking like they are discs, and start looking like they are wedges. Your bones will change shape." "She's already in physical therapy for her back and neck!" my mother blurts out, looking overwhelmed. "Well," Dr. Tong says, "Let us explore the treatment options."
I sit back, waiting for the expected round of drugs that usually comes my way when doctors discuss my treatment options. "You have three options." Dr. Tong begins. "You can have surgery, wear prism glasses, or do nothing. I strongly warn you not to do nothing, because while it may not seem like an insurmountable challenge to overcome right now, fighting this disorder will only become harder for you. Surgery is your best option." "Well, we don't really want surgery." my mother says. "What are the prism glasses?" "The prism glasses use special glass, prisms, to shift the problem. You must be aware though, that the problem is not corrected, it is merely shifted. As Kristen currently sees, her vision to the right (with glasses) is fine. The center is mostly fine, but she occasionally sees double, and her vision to the left is awful. What prism glasses will do is shift the problem so there is no problem in the middle, less problem to the left, but the right, where there was no problem, will now have some problem. That is why I recommend surgery." Alright, but exactly what does the surgery entail?" my mother asks, clearly unsure of herself.
"Well, we don't actually take the eyeball completely out..." says Dr. Tong.
And so it looks like I'm getting eye surgery pretty soon. (I don't know how long it takes to get an appointment.) It also looks like I gots me some palsy.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
I feel like Harry Potter, and for once it's not teen angst
Last night, I had a terrible dream. I can't quite recall what happened that made it so terrible, but I woke up trembling, with this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that can only be described as a feeling of dread, or possibly doom. I keep getting that feeling, or a random shiver, and I'm not sure if I caught whatever nervous disorder Kylie has over Thanksgiving, or if some subconscious event (that of my dream) is goin' all psychosomatic on me. Or, perhaps it is dementors! I haven't noticed any frosty windows around the house (it's 70 degrees here), and eating chocolate doesn't work, so I guess not. Perhaps, though...
Anyhow, I haven't the foggiest what's really causing it. Maybe it's just Maryland. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I should try the chocolate one more time, just to be safe.
Anyhow, I haven't the foggiest what's really causing it. Maybe it's just Maryland. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I should try the chocolate one more time, just to be safe.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Why I stuffed my mouth with Kleenex at 2:40 last night
I can't sleep.
That came first. I came off a med or two, started up some new ones, and I can't sleep. Okay, fine. The doctor said that might happen. Sure, it's uncomfortable when four o' clock rolls around and I'm still tossing and turning, but cool. Whatever, I'll just take a nap tomorrow.
It continues. Three nights later, my problems start. Not sleep deprivation. Not even headaches. Nope.
Saliva.
It's only 11:30 on Tuesday night. I'm awake, no surprises here. But holy shit, I'm swallowing an awful lot. Hold on, maybe I'm just being paranoid, maybe it's just because I'm lying here with nothing else to think about except swallowing. That's it.
Gulp.
It's 3:45 now, and what the hell? I can't stop swallowing! Okay, everyone swallows their spit. I've always done it...so why is it happening so often, or why am I noticing so much? Maybe a drink of water will help.
Ugh!
The stuff's only tasted worse at wellgroup waiting for a urine sample. And that's saying something. It's probably just the meds. I'll get used to it. I fall asleep sometime after 4:30.
I'm fine.
Until Wednesday night. It happens again, only it starts in at nine, not eleven. I haven't even crawled into bed yet. Again, swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...that's all my brain is doing. Telling me to swallow. I try to focus on other things, anything!
4:15
...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...
Somewhere along the line I drift off. 8:30, Mom calls upstairs, time to get up. And swallow.
No!
This went away after sleeping yesterday! Well, as crime fighters everywhere (or maybe just Buzz Lightyear) bellow at evil-doers: "Not today!!" And so ,as Gogol Bordello would say: "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!"
Twelve hours pass.
Still swallowing. And still not knowing if its the meds or I'm just crazy.
That came first. I came off a med or two, started up some new ones, and I can't sleep. Okay, fine. The doctor said that might happen. Sure, it's uncomfortable when four o' clock rolls around and I'm still tossing and turning, but cool. Whatever, I'll just take a nap tomorrow.
It continues. Three nights later, my problems start. Not sleep deprivation. Not even headaches. Nope.
Saliva.
It's only 11:30 on Tuesday night. I'm awake, no surprises here. But holy shit, I'm swallowing an awful lot. Hold on, maybe I'm just being paranoid, maybe it's just because I'm lying here with nothing else to think about except swallowing. That's it.
Gulp.
It's 3:45 now, and what the hell? I can't stop swallowing! Okay, everyone swallows their spit. I've always done it...so why is it happening so often, or why am I noticing so much? Maybe a drink of water will help.
Ugh!
The stuff's only tasted worse at wellgroup waiting for a urine sample. And that's saying something. It's probably just the meds. I'll get used to it. I fall asleep sometime after 4:30.
I'm fine.
Until Wednesday night. It happens again, only it starts in at nine, not eleven. I haven't even crawled into bed yet. Again, swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...that's all my brain is doing. Telling me to swallow. I try to focus on other things, anything!
4:15
...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...swallow...
Somewhere along the line I drift off. 8:30, Mom calls upstairs, time to get up. And swallow.
No!
This went away after sleeping yesterday! Well, as crime fighters everywhere (or maybe just Buzz Lightyear) bellow at evil-doers: "Not today!!" And so ,as Gogol Bordello would say: "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!"
Twelve hours pass.
Still swallowing. And still not knowing if its the meds or I'm just crazy.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
It's sleek and speedy. And not a Dell.
I imagine that it will echo in my dusty corner of cyberspace when this entry is posted. The space has long been empty. It will probably take several years for some intrepid explorers to uncover this post. The "Abandoned Blog" sign has scared most readers off long ago. But here it is, to be found tomorrow or next August: An update of Krissy's blog.
I've rediscovered the internet, it seems, after months of ignoring it. The principal reason behind my rediscovery is the computer I'm typing on. While not the apple I'd hoped for, my new Sony Vaio is certainly satisfactory. No more busted-up Dell with dial-up. Quite frankly, it's inspiring.
So that's what brings me back to the internet. Hopefully, I'll stay here, and not drift back into technological seclusion, but I can't say for sure...
I've rediscovered the internet, it seems, after months of ignoring it. The principal reason behind my rediscovery is the computer I'm typing on. While not the apple I'd hoped for, my new Sony Vaio is certainly satisfactory. No more busted-up Dell with dial-up. Quite frankly, it's inspiring.
So that's what brings me back to the internet. Hopefully, I'll stay here, and not drift back into technological seclusion, but I can't say for sure...
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Coming soon to Krissy's blog....Photos and updates a-plenty!
I apologise for not writing more frequently. My life is frightfully dull.
Right now, though, as I speak (or type or something), something exciting is happening! there are six men in my front lawn digging holes! That's right, holes! Now I'm sure you all are curious as to why they are digging holes. It must be, as I said, terribly exciting! Is there hidden treasure? An ancient burial site? Or perhaps an expansive network of undergroud caves that my mother discovered while gardening?!?!
It is none of these.
Right now, six men are digging holes in our lawn to bury a cable. That's right, a cable. A cable which will bring with it faster downloading, more efficient blog updates, and will free our singular phone line from the bondage of Kylie's lengthy online fanfics! That's right, friends, I'm getting high-speed internet!!!
Please note: I do not endorse, promote, or encourage excessive punctuation in any way, shape, or form. However, in order to convey such an overwhelming emotion, it was necessary for this post. I will continue to make efforts aimed at minimizing the use of this unfortunate and tasteless device in the future. Thank you.
Right now, though, as I speak (or type or something), something exciting is happening! there are six men in my front lawn digging holes! That's right, holes! Now I'm sure you all are curious as to why they are digging holes. It must be, as I said, terribly exciting! Is there hidden treasure? An ancient burial site? Or perhaps an expansive network of undergroud caves that my mother discovered while gardening?!?!
It is none of these.
Right now, six men are digging holes in our lawn to bury a cable. That's right, a cable. A cable which will bring with it faster downloading, more efficient blog updates, and will free our singular phone line from the bondage of Kylie's lengthy online fanfics! That's right, friends, I'm getting high-speed internet!!!
Please note: I do not endorse, promote, or encourage excessive punctuation in any way, shape, or form. However, in order to convey such an overwhelming emotion, it was necessary for this post. I will continue to make efforts aimed at minimizing the use of this unfortunate and tasteless device in the future. Thank you.
Monday, July 24, 2006
I've got a bag of Milanos, a shopping magazine, and an iPod in my carry-on.
For lack of anything better to do, I have devoted my life to Audrey Hepburn-ing.
It makes me happy. Cropped black pants and tailored shirts, sixties evening-wear, and short pixie-ish haircuts....what's not to love? I can sit in my basement and drink cocoa and watch movies and almost forget that I live in the lamest place ever. It's nice. I can hug my poodle and and hum along to corny romance themes that play under the dialouge....and then I can go to my room and read the biographies of Audrey that I keep getting from the library.
It's pathetic, it's a waste of time, and it's fun. So hrmfp. I'll do what I want, bitch!!! (That is me being assertive. Not bad, eh? Note the excessive punctuation.)
Anyhow, I'll be back in Illinois (pronounced in the French manner: eel-ee-nwah) by 9:30 tonight, and for a week, my only unhappiness will come from stressing about not having time to see everyone I want to.
It makes me happy. Cropped black pants and tailored shirts, sixties evening-wear, and short pixie-ish haircuts....what's not to love? I can sit in my basement and drink cocoa and watch movies and almost forget that I live in the lamest place ever. It's nice. I can hug my poodle and and hum along to corny romance themes that play under the dialouge....and then I can go to my room and read the biographies of Audrey that I keep getting from the library.
It's pathetic, it's a waste of time, and it's fun. So hrmfp. I'll do what I want, bitch!!! (That is me being assertive. Not bad, eh? Note the excessive punctuation.)
Anyhow, I'll be back in Illinois (pronounced in the French manner: eel-ee-nwah) by 9:30 tonight, and for a week, my only unhappiness will come from stressing about not having time to see everyone I want to.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Krissy reaches a new low
Before I come out and say it, I want to establish a few things:
1. I still dislike being white.
2. I still dislike (as a whole) white people.
3. I still dislike WASPS.
4. I still dislike my recent tendency to continue getting WASPier.
Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do. You see, and please don't hate me for it, I
1. have decided that J. Crew is almost my new favorite store (it was a close tie with Banana Republic)
2. bought myself a leather and linen handbag for far too much money
3. wear white cropped pants and a grosgrain ribbon belt at least every other week.
4. wear heels to the grocery store
And, worst of all,
5. saw a coach bag in the store and intend to buy it, despite the fact that A) It is Coach, and I hate Coach, as well as people who like Coach. B) I will be wasting 118 dollars on it.
Please. Still talk to me. I know it will never be the same, but I didn't mean to like it! It just happened! I only wish I had never seen it, and that we all could return to the happy days of my Coach loathing. But we can't. I've already seen it, and wanted it, and decided that it would go really nicely with my black wool coat. All I can say is that I'm sorry.
If it's any consolation, it is black, which automatically makes apparel better, and because of that, you cannot so clearly see the little "C" design printed all over it. I know, I know, it's the principal of the thing, but face it, kids, things have changed.
1. I still dislike being white.
2. I still dislike (as a whole) white people.
3. I still dislike WASPS.
4. I still dislike my recent tendency to continue getting WASPier.
Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do. You see, and please don't hate me for it, I
1. have decided that J. Crew is almost my new favorite store (it was a close tie with Banana Republic)
2. bought myself a leather and linen handbag for far too much money
3. wear white cropped pants and a grosgrain ribbon belt at least every other week.
4. wear heels to the grocery store
And, worst of all,
5. saw a coach bag in the store and intend to buy it, despite the fact that A) It is Coach, and I hate Coach, as well as people who like Coach. B) I will be wasting 118 dollars on it.
Please. Still talk to me. I know it will never be the same, but I didn't mean to like it! It just happened! I only wish I had never seen it, and that we all could return to the happy days of my Coach loathing. But we can't. I've already seen it, and wanted it, and decided that it would go really nicely with my black wool coat. All I can say is that I'm sorry.
If it's any consolation, it is black, which automatically makes apparel better, and because of that, you cannot so clearly see the little "C" design printed all over it. I know, I know, it's the principal of the thing, but face it, kids, things have changed.
I'm addicted to lazy.
I am all kinds of unhappy right now. My migranes are back, despite my various meds, I live in Ellicott City, my father is annoying, I have absolutely nothing to do with myself all day, I have a stupid schedule at my new school, and, oh yeah, I'm fat now!
I have no idea if it's the meds, which can cause weight gain, or my constant boredom (read: constant eating), but I've definitely gone from a size 4-6 to an 8. I only know this because I went shopping yesterday, and also because I fit perfectly into my baggy jeans. I know it's stupid and superficial, and it shouldn't bother me, but it really does. Also, I know that I'm not obese or anything, but it's just one more thing on top of everything else. Oh, and also my parents, father included, were telling me that they weighed less than me in college. This again? Didn't my mother get this out of her system when I was in seventh grade? I didn't think parents wanted their children to become anorexic, but hey, what do I know?
In not-so-stupid news, I gave my dog a bath today. Yes, that is how bored I am here. I chose to bathe my dog.
Back to stupidity. (But wait, Krissy, how was you blogging about bathing your dog not stupid?) I can't eat feta anymore.
(space to react)
I just can't. We even found a middle-eastern grocery, where I can get any variety my heart desires, fresh pitas, hummus, pastries, and everything else I live for. The only thing is, there's a pound of Bulgarian feta in my kitchen just waiting to be devoured, and I can't go near it!
Maybe this is why I'm fat! Maybe, there was some enzyme in the feta that sped my metabolism, and now that I'm not eating it, my already disfunctional body's entire digestive system has slowed down! Yeah! I'll bet that's it! I'm a genius!
My brilliance aside, I really don't know what's going on with this whole feta thing. It worries me though...
I have no idea if it's the meds, which can cause weight gain, or my constant boredom (read: constant eating), but I've definitely gone from a size 4-6 to an 8. I only know this because I went shopping yesterday, and also because I fit perfectly into my baggy jeans. I know it's stupid and superficial, and it shouldn't bother me, but it really does. Also, I know that I'm not obese or anything, but it's just one more thing on top of everything else. Oh, and also my parents, father included, were telling me that they weighed less than me in college. This again? Didn't my mother get this out of her system when I was in seventh grade? I didn't think parents wanted their children to become anorexic, but hey, what do I know?
In not-so-stupid news, I gave my dog a bath today. Yes, that is how bored I am here. I chose to bathe my dog.
Back to stupidity. (But wait, Krissy, how was you blogging about bathing your dog not stupid?) I can't eat feta anymore.
(space to react)
I just can't. We even found a middle-eastern grocery, where I can get any variety my heart desires, fresh pitas, hummus, pastries, and everything else I live for. The only thing is, there's a pound of Bulgarian feta in my kitchen just waiting to be devoured, and I can't go near it!
Maybe this is why I'm fat! Maybe, there was some enzyme in the feta that sped my metabolism, and now that I'm not eating it, my already disfunctional body's entire digestive system has slowed down! Yeah! I'll bet that's it! I'm a genius!
My brilliance aside, I really don't know what's going on with this whole feta thing. It worries me though...
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Flexible Fabric Is Better
I really hate plastic band-aids. They remind me of every part of my chilhood that I hated. The uncomfortable feeling of it being either too tight or too loose depending on how you move, the way it never really fits, I can't stand it. No matter what you do, a plastic band-aid will not be comfortable.
You have to make sure, when applying a plastic band-aid, to choose the correct size. If you pick one too large, you will not only waste it, because there are always less big ones ion a box, but you will cover a larger area with adhesive than neccessary. This means more stinging than neccessary when the time comes to rip the band-aid off. If you choose one too small, it will fall off easily, exposing the wound and losing adhesive. You will then have to apply a secondary band-aid. A careful consideration of band-aid proportion is very important.
I hate things that don't fit. I always have, always will. I refused to wear anything but stretch pants until the age of eleven. I still refuse to wear souvenir tee-shirts until at least two years later, after they've shrunk and I've grown. I will only wear certain pants with certain shirts, not because I care so much that I look cool, but so that things don't bulge or baag or cling in the unappealing ways that most people don't even think about. Things don't necessarily have to be tailored--the occasional tunic or breezy linen blouse is fine. However, they must be carefully matched so that the outfit is balanced, not baggy all over, but not loose on the top and skin-tight on the bottom. I like it when things fit.
Also important when using a plastic band-aid is applying it. Certain angles are not condusive to muscular movement, and certyain locations on the body are hard to fit band-aides to. When dealing with a difficult spot, multiple band-aids are sometimes needed to protect a wound. It is also important that they are not made too tight or loose, as it may case wrinkling or other undersirable things, like peeling or loss of adhesive.
I'm pretty sure that half of my childhood was spent making sure things fit properly. I did not like it when I was playing with a friend dressed in pastels and I was wearing brights. I did not enjoy putting on my mother's shoes, because they were obviously too big. I wasted hours and hours of collective classtime reorganizing my desk at school to accomadate each and every new item, from a stray pencil to a new workbook. Textbooks on the right, stacked parallel to the blackboard, folders and workbooks on the left, perpendicular, pencil cases and tissue boxes had to be level, and no more than two writing utensils coiuld fit in the pencil tray without being stacked. This was very important.
When wearing a plastic band-aid, regardless of whether or not the box says "waterproof", bear this in mind: Plastic band-aids are not waterproof. Do not wash your hands if you are wearing one on your thumb. It will start peeling and you will have to reapply. After bathing or showering, you must also reapply. It is possible though, to kind of "wash around" a bandaid, say, when rinsing your hands off because they are sticky. To avoid loss of adhesive, use one hand to carefully wash the other, rather than slathering both in suds under the faucet. With great care, it is possible to both wash your hands and keep a band-aid. It doesn't quite get your hands as clean, and the band-aid doesn't ever really stay dry, so really it's simply a hassle.
I also really hated conflict as a child, I still do. When I weas young, though, I really hated it. I hated disagreements and uncomfortableness to a point where when my sister and I made up imaginary games, I would sooner have our characters redecorate three times than have them go on an adventure and potentially get in trouble with their imaginary parents or get lost in an imaginary world. I couldn't watch "Arthur" if the characters were fighting. It made me too upset. This feeling applyed to my real life as well, where from third to eigth grade, I carefully cultivated friendships with members of "groups" that did not get along. In elementary school I would schedule when I would sit at what lunch table, because my friends didn't all get along, and I didn't want to upset anyone by not sitting with them. Monday, Wednesday, Friday at Bridget's table, Tuesday and Thurday at Sam's. Every week the schedule rotated, so it was even. The two groups never hated each other, they just didn't get along. I scurried back and forth this way well through juniopr high, taking pains to ensure everything remained intact, that I wouldn't lose bearing in one group by spending too much time with the other. I sidestepped conflict, promoted mediation, and made compromise my middle name.
Plain plastic band-aids are ugly. They not only have the discomforts listed above, but they are just not as cool as the neon ones with cartoons on them. They are boring and tacky, but not in the over-the-top tacky way band-aids should be.
Because of my chilhood quirks above, I turned out to be a really dull child. I hated dirt, activity, games, adventure, and just about everything else that makes a childhood a childhood. I was a delusional six-year-old who thought she was an interior designer. I was a stupid sixth-grader who thought she was an event planner. I kind of hated fun. It wasn't orderly, you couldn't rearrange it, and you had to be spontanious. I wasn't a trouble-maker who started food fights or a pre-teen who had strings of prepubescent boyfriends. As long as I can remember, even in my pre-Kindergarten days, I cannot remember ever wanting to do what my peers were doing. I was always "too mature" or "too good". As result, I became a ridiculously dull child. To this day, I wonder why I ever had friends.
That is why I hate plastic band-aids.
You have to make sure, when applying a plastic band-aid, to choose the correct size. If you pick one too large, you will not only waste it, because there are always less big ones ion a box, but you will cover a larger area with adhesive than neccessary. This means more stinging than neccessary when the time comes to rip the band-aid off. If you choose one too small, it will fall off easily, exposing the wound and losing adhesive. You will then have to apply a secondary band-aid. A careful consideration of band-aid proportion is very important.
I hate things that don't fit. I always have, always will. I refused to wear anything but stretch pants until the age of eleven. I still refuse to wear souvenir tee-shirts until at least two years later, after they've shrunk and I've grown. I will only wear certain pants with certain shirts, not because I care so much that I look cool, but so that things don't bulge or baag or cling in the unappealing ways that most people don't even think about. Things don't necessarily have to be tailored--the occasional tunic or breezy linen blouse is fine. However, they must be carefully matched so that the outfit is balanced, not baggy all over, but not loose on the top and skin-tight on the bottom. I like it when things fit.
Also important when using a plastic band-aid is applying it. Certain angles are not condusive to muscular movement, and certyain locations on the body are hard to fit band-aides to. When dealing with a difficult spot, multiple band-aids are sometimes needed to protect a wound. It is also important that they are not made too tight or loose, as it may case wrinkling or other undersirable things, like peeling or loss of adhesive.
I'm pretty sure that half of my childhood was spent making sure things fit properly. I did not like it when I was playing with a friend dressed in pastels and I was wearing brights. I did not enjoy putting on my mother's shoes, because they were obviously too big. I wasted hours and hours of collective classtime reorganizing my desk at school to accomadate each and every new item, from a stray pencil to a new workbook. Textbooks on the right, stacked parallel to the blackboard, folders and workbooks on the left, perpendicular, pencil cases and tissue boxes had to be level, and no more than two writing utensils coiuld fit in the pencil tray without being stacked. This was very important.
When wearing a plastic band-aid, regardless of whether or not the box says "waterproof", bear this in mind: Plastic band-aids are not waterproof. Do not wash your hands if you are wearing one on your thumb. It will start peeling and you will have to reapply. After bathing or showering, you must also reapply. It is possible though, to kind of "wash around" a bandaid, say, when rinsing your hands off because they are sticky. To avoid loss of adhesive, use one hand to carefully wash the other, rather than slathering both in suds under the faucet. With great care, it is possible to both wash your hands and keep a band-aid. It doesn't quite get your hands as clean, and the band-aid doesn't ever really stay dry, so really it's simply a hassle.
I also really hated conflict as a child, I still do. When I weas young, though, I really hated it. I hated disagreements and uncomfortableness to a point where when my sister and I made up imaginary games, I would sooner have our characters redecorate three times than have them go on an adventure and potentially get in trouble with their imaginary parents or get lost in an imaginary world. I couldn't watch "Arthur" if the characters were fighting. It made me too upset. This feeling applyed to my real life as well, where from third to eigth grade, I carefully cultivated friendships with members of "groups" that did not get along. In elementary school I would schedule when I would sit at what lunch table, because my friends didn't all get along, and I didn't want to upset anyone by not sitting with them. Monday, Wednesday, Friday at Bridget's table, Tuesday and Thurday at Sam's. Every week the schedule rotated, so it was even. The two groups never hated each other, they just didn't get along. I scurried back and forth this way well through juniopr high, taking pains to ensure everything remained intact, that I wouldn't lose bearing in one group by spending too much time with the other. I sidestepped conflict, promoted mediation, and made compromise my middle name.
Plain plastic band-aids are ugly. They not only have the discomforts listed above, but they are just not as cool as the neon ones with cartoons on them. They are boring and tacky, but not in the over-the-top tacky way band-aids should be.
Because of my chilhood quirks above, I turned out to be a really dull child. I hated dirt, activity, games, adventure, and just about everything else that makes a childhood a childhood. I was a delusional six-year-old who thought she was an interior designer. I was a stupid sixth-grader who thought she was an event planner. I kind of hated fun. It wasn't orderly, you couldn't rearrange it, and you had to be spontanious. I wasn't a trouble-maker who started food fights or a pre-teen who had strings of prepubescent boyfriends. As long as I can remember, even in my pre-Kindergarten days, I cannot remember ever wanting to do what my peers were doing. I was always "too mature" or "too good". As result, I became a ridiculously dull child. To this day, I wonder why I ever had friends.
That is why I hate plastic band-aids.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
After tripping on the patio...
Ow. Ow. Ow!
Oh, woe.
My left big toe
wrapped in half a roll of paper towel and the blood soaking through it is beginning to show.
It drips onto the patio.
I'm quite the poet, am I not? So yeah, ow. I can't manage to go more than two days without seeing a doctor. They can't put stitches in it, though, because of its location. Thank God. I will, however, be taking advantage of my get-out-of-class-five-minutes-early pass, so I can hobble from class to class.
I am ridiculously pathetic.
Oh, woe.
My left big toe
wrapped in half a roll of paper towel and the blood soaking through it is beginning to show.
It drips onto the patio.
I'm quite the poet, am I not? So yeah, ow. I can't manage to go more than two days without seeing a doctor. They can't put stitches in it, though, because of its location. Thank God. I will, however, be taking advantage of my get-out-of-class-five-minutes-early pass, so I can hobble from class to class.
I am ridiculously pathetic.
Friday, May 26, 2006
AP Euro, Adrien Brody, and Blogging
My glands are swollen. And I am in Euro. Also, I am not very cool, as is becoming rapidly apparant by Sophie's ring of Sri Lankian(?) bloggers. They are cool. They have friends, and dance, and go camping in tents made of blankets, and ride trains, and take really cool pictures of wasps. Not my kind of wasp, either, it's the kind that is yellow and buzzes. Also, they are very pretty and tanned.
Sophie has moved on mow to researching the Warsaw ghetto uprising, as per Mr. Osman's directions, which I am choosing to rebelliously ignore! I feel dangerous. As dangerous, you might say, as a Nazi in Poland. (Not quite...)
Due to the lack of both point and direction, I will now discontinue my post.
Sophie has moved on mow to researching the Warsaw ghetto uprising, as per Mr. Osman's directions, which I am choosing to rebelliously ignore! I feel dangerous. As dangerous, you might say, as a Nazi in Poland. (Not quite...)
Due to the lack of both point and direction, I will now discontinue my post.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Krissy Triumphs Over the Poor Design Choices of Middle America
I win!! My parents said when we move we can remodel the kitchen right away, rather than waiting for several months. That means that I won't have to go through with my threat of not cooking until it's de-vinyl-pine-and-laminate'd and granite-hardwood-and-tile-ified, which I was prepared to do in the name of good taste, but didn't really want to. True, this change of plans is based on the fact that someone actually wants to buy our house!!! and therefore my dad's company won't have to buy it, and therefore we get more money for it, but still, I like to think that I, alongside my crusade for a tasteful culinary environment, won.
Also, I am very excited to shop for bedroom textiles. 'Twill be very fun and stuff.
Also, I am very excited to shop for bedroom textiles. 'Twill be very fun and stuff.
Monday, May 15, 2006
My mother thinks I'm breaking up with her
So, yesterday was Mother's Day! How nice. My dad bought flowers that Kylie and I pretended to have picked out for her, I made her favorite kind of cookies because I was craving them but didn't say anything, and, oh yeah, we got in a huge fight.
The thing is, I had no idea we were fighting.
I stayed, aside from going downstairs to eat/make food, in my room all day, as I have for the past four days since returning from the hospital. My head hurt, and due to various side effects from various new medications*, I sleep for at least 16 hours a day now. Anyway, Sunday. At lunch, when seated with my family, my father kept asking me questions about how I felt. Not, "Does your head still hurt?", but "What emotion are you feeling right now?". Gee, Dad, how about "Pissed off"? This is because, since returning home, my father is convinced that I am suicidal, depressed, and made up my heart condition and seizures to, I don't know, why would I make that up? So all he had done was ask me, "How are you doing... emotionally, I mean?".
Here I must deviate again, so that you understand why this question, coming from him, pisses me off. We are WASPs. We don't hug. We don't even brush shoulders when we sit next to each other on the couch. I haven't told my parents that I loved them since I was six years old. We are cold, socially akward, WASPs. We DO NOT talk about our feelings. We don't talk about anything but work, school, redecorating, and the occasional anecdote. Now, when my father thinks I'm going to kill myself and faked unconciousness that resulted in a four-day hospital stay and the discovery of a medical condition that caused my unconciousness (yeah Dad. Just kidding! My heart didn't really stop beating during that test, I faked it!Haha!), now, he wants me to show some emotion.
So I was mad at him. And so I mumbled "fine" and continued eating. My head hurt, still, and so conversation, especially this one, was not really something I wanted to take part in. I sat in silence, save for a few good-natured remarks about my sister's lack of aptitude in the area of handling cutlery, but they just my usual, sarcastic, well-recieved bits. You know, like, "Kylie, unlike the Spainish members of the royal court in the sixteenth century, you should by now be familiar with the fork and how to use it, as it is no longer classifiable as a new invention". Stuff like that. Kylie doesn't recognize it as nasty or intentionally harmful, nor does anyone else who at all knows me. My mother though, couldn't take it. Sheleft her plate, half un-eaten, and went upstairs to cry.
Unaware of why she left, I continued eating, then went back to my room to sleep for four more hours. All this time, I had absolutely no idea that she was upset. The only thing that could have created friction between us in the past day or so was an incident on Saturday night, in which I had an episode, passed out in the living room, and came to while she was yelling at me for sleeping with my face in a book. Confused and shakey, I started crying, she yelled at me for sleeping on my face and crushing my glasses, my father came in, knew that I had been unconcious and not sleeping, and told my mother to calm down. He asked me if I was stressed, because he thinks I have episodes on purpose to be excused from my responsibilities. I said yes, because after awaking to my mother literally yelling in my face for sleeping, when I had absolutely done nothing wrong, I was kind of stressed. I told him this. He said, "I know, but your mother just was stressed so she started yelling. This whole business of yours has been very hard on her, you know." And so, choosing to ingnore his talk of "this business" of mine, and just how hard my medical woes, including chonic pain that triggers my heart condition, was on her, I nodded and wobbled upstairs to my room, to sleep.
Apparntly this was our falling out. I had no other incident or words to go on, when Sunday evening my father approached me and asked "Are you mad at your mother?". I answered no, out of honesty, though I cannot say my voice was not tense with resraint. I had had it with his attempts at a heart-to-heart, and was trying not to let my anger towards him blow up into something unmanagable. "Well, then," he said. "Are you being mean to her for a reason?"
"What?"
"ARe you purposefully being mean to her on Mother's Day for a reason?"
"What did I do?!?"
"All right."
"What???"
And he got up and left the room.
My mother has not spoken to me since. She only gives pained looks, and turns away at the sight of me, then goes to read her eight or so "Thinking of you" and "I'm here for you in these hard times" greeting cards from friends. (NOTE: I have two get-well cards. I don't want more, but, why does she have eight?)
So that's it, kind of. My mother is mad at me, I'm mad at my father, and I can't leave the house for another week. Oh, and did I mention she's having her friend babysit me? Anyhow, life kind of sucks here, with the exception of feta, but I'm dealing with it.
*Um, I was going to go into it, but it's too long. Another post, guys, another post...
The thing is, I had no idea we were fighting.
I stayed, aside from going downstairs to eat/make food, in my room all day, as I have for the past four days since returning from the hospital. My head hurt, and due to various side effects from various new medications*, I sleep for at least 16 hours a day now. Anyway, Sunday. At lunch, when seated with my family, my father kept asking me questions about how I felt. Not, "Does your head still hurt?", but "What emotion are you feeling right now?". Gee, Dad, how about "Pissed off"? This is because, since returning home, my father is convinced that I am suicidal, depressed, and made up my heart condition and seizures to, I don't know, why would I make that up? So all he had done was ask me, "How are you doing... emotionally, I mean?".
Here I must deviate again, so that you understand why this question, coming from him, pisses me off. We are WASPs. We don't hug. We don't even brush shoulders when we sit next to each other on the couch. I haven't told my parents that I loved them since I was six years old. We are cold, socially akward, WASPs. We DO NOT talk about our feelings. We don't talk about anything but work, school, redecorating, and the occasional anecdote. Now, when my father thinks I'm going to kill myself and faked unconciousness that resulted in a four-day hospital stay and the discovery of a medical condition that caused my unconciousness (yeah Dad. Just kidding! My heart didn't really stop beating during that test, I faked it!Haha!), now, he wants me to show some emotion.
So I was mad at him. And so I mumbled "fine" and continued eating. My head hurt, still, and so conversation, especially this one, was not really something I wanted to take part in. I sat in silence, save for a few good-natured remarks about my sister's lack of aptitude in the area of handling cutlery, but they just my usual, sarcastic, well-recieved bits. You know, like, "Kylie, unlike the Spainish members of the royal court in the sixteenth century, you should by now be familiar with the fork and how to use it, as it is no longer classifiable as a new invention". Stuff like that. Kylie doesn't recognize it as nasty or intentionally harmful, nor does anyone else who at all knows me. My mother though, couldn't take it. Sheleft her plate, half un-eaten, and went upstairs to cry.
Unaware of why she left, I continued eating, then went back to my room to sleep for four more hours. All this time, I had absolutely no idea that she was upset. The only thing that could have created friction between us in the past day or so was an incident on Saturday night, in which I had an episode, passed out in the living room, and came to while she was yelling at me for sleeping with my face in a book. Confused and shakey, I started crying, she yelled at me for sleeping on my face and crushing my glasses, my father came in, knew that I had been unconcious and not sleeping, and told my mother to calm down. He asked me if I was stressed, because he thinks I have episodes on purpose to be excused from my responsibilities. I said yes, because after awaking to my mother literally yelling in my face for sleeping, when I had absolutely done nothing wrong, I was kind of stressed. I told him this. He said, "I know, but your mother just was stressed so she started yelling. This whole business of yours has been very hard on her, you know." And so, choosing to ingnore his talk of "this business" of mine, and just how hard my medical woes, including chonic pain that triggers my heart condition, was on her, I nodded and wobbled upstairs to my room, to sleep.
Apparntly this was our falling out. I had no other incident or words to go on, when Sunday evening my father approached me and asked "Are you mad at your mother?". I answered no, out of honesty, though I cannot say my voice was not tense with resraint. I had had it with his attempts at a heart-to-heart, and was trying not to let my anger towards him blow up into something unmanagable. "Well, then," he said. "Are you being mean to her for a reason?"
"What?"
"ARe you purposefully being mean to her on Mother's Day for a reason?"
"What did I do?!?"
"All right."
"What???"
And he got up and left the room.
My mother has not spoken to me since. She only gives pained looks, and turns away at the sight of me, then goes to read her eight or so "Thinking of you" and "I'm here for you in these hard times" greeting cards from friends. (NOTE: I have two get-well cards. I don't want more, but, why does she have eight?)
So that's it, kind of. My mother is mad at me, I'm mad at my father, and I can't leave the house for another week. Oh, and did I mention she's having her friend babysit me? Anyhow, life kind of sucks here, with the exception of feta, but I'm dealing with it.
*Um, I was going to go into it, but it's too long. Another post, guys, another post...
Friday, May 12, 2006
Her Glorious Return
Home again, and the cat meows and my dad never stops conference-calling the plant at Lake Charles on speakerphone and we get kicked out by prospective buyers and a slightly pushy realtor and I have piles of missed schoolwork to do...it's good to be back.
I was released yesterday with four new prescriptions that I'll never remember to take, three scheduled follow-ups, an order to be home-bound for up to another week, and no dietary resrictions. NO DIETARY RESTRICTIONS!! The first thing I did with my dizzy and drugged self when I got home was to break out the gorgonzola and order Chinese. Hell, I don't care if my heart momentarily spazzes and I sieze unconciously, it's better than my no dairy, no acid, no spices diet. I can eat cheese! And asian food! Mexican! Italian! INDIAN!!
I am happy. That's right, not angry, not cynical, well, still cynical, not depressed or anything else I normally am. I feel wonderful. It's truly awesome, as awesome as ten billion hot dogs, what a bit of salty, smelly, viened cheese can do.
I was released yesterday with four new prescriptions that I'll never remember to take, three scheduled follow-ups, an order to be home-bound for up to another week, and no dietary resrictions. NO DIETARY RESTRICTIONS!! The first thing I did with my dizzy and drugged self when I got home was to break out the gorgonzola and order Chinese. Hell, I don't care if my heart momentarily spazzes and I sieze unconciously, it's better than my no dairy, no acid, no spices diet. I can eat cheese! And asian food! Mexican! Italian! INDIAN!!
I am happy. That's right, not angry, not cynical, well, still cynical, not depressed or anything else I normally am. I feel wonderful. It's truly awesome, as awesome as ten billion hot dogs, what a bit of salty, smelly, viened cheese can do.
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