Cats, Halloween, and Novels

Back by popular demand!

So sorry for the delay between posts. Usually if nothing of note happens in the day I don't see any point in updating.

I just read back a few entries and realized I never updated about the cat. I changed his diet awhile back to Iams healthy something or other and more recently started feeding him a little wet food at night. His problem seems to be gone for now. I'm also working harder to make sure he drinks plenty of water. I mixed some wet food with water today and gave it to him. He was happy to take it off my hands. Right now he's thumping his tail and laying on a stack of magazines. Nothing beats a spoiled, happy cat.

Last night we had our yearly Halloween party. The theme was Iron Chef: Gourds, and I was very apprehensive as last year at the halloween party I had a seizure during set-up. I may have mentioned that before. Anyway, this time I was seizure free! And I won an award for best use of the sectret ingrediant. I made a vegetarian pumpkin lasagna from a recipe I found online. I had my doubt, but it was a fan favorite. Score!
I'm trying to get use to not drinking at parties. With all the pills I'm on and all, alcohol is one of the worst things I can put in my body. Also I'm not the, "well, I'll just have one," type of person. It's why when I quit smoking I just stopped. It's either all or none. If I have one, it'll lead to move. When my doctor okay'd 1-2 beers, I had seven; and I threw up everywhere. I've put soda in the place of alcohol. As odd as it sounds, I think it's working. I stopped drinking soda on a regular basis and only do it on "special" occasions. So last night instead of drinking and regretting it, I let myself have soda guilt free. It's a win-win situation.

Tomorrow begins National Novel Writing Month. I'm sure in a few days I'll be blogging about how i can't believe i signed up for this. But for now, let's pretend it's a great idea. I'm hoping that having a goal with a definite deadline will help me get back into a schedule. Not having a schedule and watching 6 hours of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while fun, isn't doing anything for my mental, emotional, and physical health. Starting at 12:00am November 1st, participants have 30 days to write a 50,000 word novel. Or if you're looking for pages, that number is 175. I don't have any strong ideas as of yet. I think I'll just start writing tomorrow and see what comes out. It's how I work best after all. :)

Haven't done this in years!

Couldn't figure out why I couldn't sleep last night. Until this morning when I realized I took pills labelled DAY instead of the ones labeled NIGHT. Day pills contain adderell. Now I am very tired. ;P

My name is Sean Hodgdon, and I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

Okay, so I missed 2 days. One of those days nothing happened. No, really! I sat and watched Buffy allllllll day. Yesterday I booked a trip to Disney World.

No, you heard me correctly. I booked a trip to Disney World yesterday. Okay, okay. I didn't use my credit card. BUT I did do the actual booking. For December. Yes, this December. C'mon, what better way to celebrate the holidays than at the happiest place on earth!

Wheelchair is ordered, cat sitter confirmed, I called WDW today to iron out the details. Yes, I'm the person who accidentally sent in two reservations when I was playing around with the dates. I told her that yes, the one we started to pay for was the one we wanted to keep. I also requested a room close to the bus stop because of the wheelchair. Seriously, if I didn't use a wheelchair while there I would be beat after a day and a half. I was so tired the last time we went (and this is using a wheelchair), we came back to the room in the middle of the day to rest up before we went out again. I passed out in my underwear for an hour and a half. I'm the person who doesn't EVER nap. We're also going during the free dining promotion and during the 3rd least crowded week of the year. It will be nice to see the parks all dressed up for the holidays.

Also yesterday the Westboro Baptist Church (website: godhatesfags.com) had threatened to protest UML's production of the Laramie Project. Almost 100 students, faculty, staff, and friends showed up for a peaceful counter protest with witty and funny signs. People even stayed when it started to rain. I did not, I ran for cover for two reasons. 1) I refused to get sick from standing out in the pouring rain because 2) they never showed up. That's right - they. didn't. show. Apparently they've missed a lot of their protests lately and we weren't on the protest schedule on the offending website. It was great that they didn't show up but oddly disappointing as so many showed up in support.

The day we lost power I made out a check to one of my loan companies, sealed the envelope, and then lost it. The only good thing is I know it didn't leave the house because we didn't have any stamps. It's driving me nuts that it's gone. I even ended up rearranging the office looking for it. I made it look 100% better and we can actually get to the gym again. Because I'll be rocking a wheelchair for a week I need to get working on my arm and core muscles. Last time I did fine without them but I imagine it will be so much easier with them. Night, all! :)

My American Beauty moment at the kitchen table

I got out of the shower and saw a plain band-aid on my arm. I wondered why it wasn't a buzz lightyear band-aid. Then I remembered it was from the flu shot I did not administer myself.

Last night I did not blog because I had an American Beauty moment. We got home late and there was cat shit on the floor, the cats were screaming for food, and I forgot it was Thursday and the trash needed to go out. Amy was tired and went upstairs. I fed the cats and was picking up their poop when Io started throwing up in the livingroom. She threw up at least 6 times. And I picked that night, of all nights, to feed them chunky beef in gravy. After using all the paper towels and napkins, I finally clean it up, use Spot Shot to remove the stains, wipe it down with water, and vacuum. I finish what I was doing before she threw up and take out the trash. At some point I went upstairs to tell a sleeping Amy all the stuff I just did while she was sleeping. I went back downstairs and sat down at the kitchen table. Just sat there. I didn't know what to do, what to feel. I was empty, but full at the same time. Eventually I went upstairs to bed.

Appointments, Buffy, and Cat food

I had a tough time sleeping last night. My left lower back/hip was hit with sharp, stabbing pain for awhile. I think I slept on a couch for a bit before heading upstairs. Luckily when I woke there was no sign of pain. I have a rheumotology appointment tomorrow so I'm hoping he does something about my joint pain. Also I'll have my blood taken so we'll know what is going on.
I found a recipe for Pumpkin Lasagna after learning we needed another main dish for the Halloween party. Last year while preparing for the Halloween party I had a seizure. When I got back from the ER I went straight to sleep on the pull out couch in the guest room. So here's hoping it goes better this year!
I spent most of the day today watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This week has been all about resting as I have Thursday and Friday in Boston.
I received some potential good news about my computer. It seems it might be a software problem so hopefully I'll have it back working soon.
We've been out of Io's fat cat food for a few days so we've been feeding her Porkchop's food. Tonight I split a can of salmon and shrimp fancy feast between the two of them. Io couldn't believe it. She was one happy kitty and completely snubbed the dry food, which she used to be gaga over. Now they're both passed out on the couch. Porkchop's been showing signs of a UTI again so I've been using the wet food to get more water into his system. If he doesn't improve by Monday we'll make him am appointment.

Short

This morning we suddenly lost power when I was watching TV and surfin' da web. Followed by a loud BOOM. I guess whatever happened wasn't terrible because we had power again in 2 hours or so. I used the electricity-free time to go through my mail and file paperwork. It was nice.

And of course as soon as the electricity came on I started to feel terrible again ;P I watched some Cake Boss and Buffy. I also put the heating pad on my lower back and took half a percocet. It's still painful now and I'm hoping it goes away.

Cooking ideas and wheeling wonders

This year the Halloween Party theme is Iron Chef: Gourds. Yes, all gourds. It was decided after much mumbling (and probably some hissing) that gourd edible decorations counted. After watching episodes of Cake Boss's second season I had an idea. It might not work, but I figure I might as well try it out. The worst that can happen? I'll just make something else ;P

We went to IKEA today and bought a few things. My mobility hasn't been the best lately so I opted to get a wheelchair. I've gotten one at IKEA before. Not walking for all that time really makes a HUGE difference. The only wheelchairs they had left were large ones. Big difference from the regular ones. I kept having to scoot back and readjust my body. It did come in handy when we started to accumulate items. I fit a rolled up blanket, two plastic containers, and a toilet paper holder in my sides.

People are generally much nicer to me when I'm in the chair. They seem to have no patience for a young, white, healthy-looking male walking slowly or having trouble getting with his wallet or even having trouble with a pen. Add the wheelchair and BAM, even when I wasn't paying attention and cut off someone they apologized to me. It's always interesting to put in perspective what having an invisible illness vs. a visable illness means as far as courtesy.

Marathon runners and maniac temperatures

This morning we headed out to watch the marathon. Luckily we brought our camping chairs, because even though we were just across the street it was still cold. It was really exciting when we saw Michelle in the distance and the excitement only mounted as she got closer. I had never seen someone I knew run in a marathon before. It was worth it to see the look on her face when she saw us with the sign. Later in the day someone posted a picture of her crossing the finish line in 5hr 50min. In that moment I felt so proud of her. We have only seen each other 3 times (two of which she was running by our townhouse complex) but I feel almost a deep kindred spirit with her.

I haven't felt well today. My temperature has been fluctuating, well, everything but my feet. Lately my feet feel like they just came out of the freezer. I also ate a lot of apple pie today.

We started watching the movie MacGruber because I'm a fan of the SNL skits. Unfortunately the movie is terrible. We got 21min into it and Amy was basically begging me to shut it off. Normally I'll stick with a terrible movie, but this time I turned it off right away. Which made me start wondering if I had a better tolerance for movies like that when I was younger. Probably.

Tomorrow we're off to Ikea to scope out some livingroom side tables and a bathroom mirror.

My Saturday by me

Today was a good day! I woke up at 9a to chop vegetables for our 8 hour in the crockpot stew. After that we went to McDonalds for breakfast in pajamas. Yes, the black fleece pants with skull and crossbones. I ran into CVS to grab some alcohol pads and was called a "Smart Shopper" by the cashier. I'm not sure if it's because I used extrabucks and only paid $0.39 out of pocket, or because one of the extrabucks had expired. ;)

The rest of the day we spent watching episodes of Hoarders, Cake Boss, and the wedding episodes of The Office. We also laid down the floor/tub caulk. And we baked a pie that came out..well, interesting. It took a little longer than expected. But it tastes fantastic! And I did laundry. Oh, and I shaved. I'm now watching last weeks episode of SNL on netflix. Tomorrow we're going to watch the Bay State Marathon and hopefully see Michelle. We have a sign and everything!

Sleepy time, kiddies.

I'm really tired and hoping I can get some sleep tonight. Last night my body ached from the rain storm. I took half a percocet in order to sleep. I thought I forgot to take my day meds today but I didn't. Because of the wind we had three empty trash barrells that weren't ours strayed in front of the garage. I went outside barefoot and stood them upside down next to the house. Hopefully they didn't go far so whomever lost them can locate them. My feet were kind of bluish-purple, but I didn't care because they didn't feel any different. They're always cold. I must be tired, my sentances are never this short. Nor am I this boring. Well, normally.

Winterizing has begun

I just got sucked into looking at one of the blogs of note. It is called Cat Chat. That's all you need to know.

Today Rick, our house repair man, came to install the bathroom ventilation light. It looks and sounds fantastic. And the light works as well. ;) Of course now that the major work is done, it seems the people in the unit next to ours have a water leak. Why does this matter to me? It's leaking into our basement and creating a puddle. Oh, did I mention it's leaking UNDER our stairs and pooling next to them? The person we called at the condo association seems to think that if our stairs need to be replaced it is our responcibility to pay for it. I could understand if WE had a leak. Or if our basement flooded due to the WEATHER. But come on! Don't worry, we'll be thoroughly going through our paperwork and doing whatever homework is necessary.

In other news, I put in the downstairs storm windows and rearranged the livingroom to be more winter-friendly. The problem is the heaters are in the worst possible places. And I'll never understand why heaters are directly under windows. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Bah, technology!

With my computer still out of order, I nearly fell out of bed this mroning when Amy's computer shut down randomly by itself. After doing some checking online I think it may have overheated. I'll have to keep an eye on it.

Last night I accompanied Amy to the candlelight vigil Pride Alliance put on for Matthew Shepard and the gay teens who committed suicide. It was very moving and all the students involved did a great job. Over 100 people showed up.

I always forget that in the fall before the first frost I'm allergic to everything. Especially something on both East and South campuses. My face was swollen and I couldn't stop sneezing! I felt terrible everytime I interrupted a speaker.

Hopefully my laptop will be fixed soon...and perhaps this one can behave itself until then.

Brownies

I woke up this morning to a note on the whiteboard. It said, if you are feeling up to it please make brownies. Pouch is on the counter. First off, the brownies are not for me. Fully knowing that I made them anyway. Now they are cooling on the very counter they came from. All I want to do is rip into them and eat the entire batch. So whomever gets these brownies tomorrow, be thankful.

I heart slot machines, dislike lupus, and adore Yard Sale: Hidden Treasures

Holllaaaaa!!!!!!

The alarm went off at 5:15a this morning so we could get an early start to Mohegan Sun. The best part of the casino is getting there before it gets crowded so you can breathe. I got a $10 free slot promo in the mail, which worked out well because I was able to build off that and even walk out with $25.

In other news, I'm 99% sure my lupus is flaring. I should have known. Chest pain, joint/muscle pain, temperature fluctuation, cold hands and feet, and probably a low grade fever. I didn't call it a flare until I saw my red blotchy cheeks and forehead. Then it was official.

Boo!

We got home from the casino around 4p and planned on resting. Because my laptop crashed I've been using Amy's. The problem with that is something happened long ago to her computer and it's never been fixed. So it's extremely slow. This week I'm finding my paperwork and calling Dell. I've only had my laptop for over a year and I'm almost positive it's still under warrenty. Anyway, I didn't stay online for long because she downloaded Yard Sale for the Wii. Yes, I know it sounds terrible. I've been making fun of it for a week. However, I read the reveiw and customers really loved it. So she downloaded it, and I got sucked in right away. It's an extremely cheesy game in which you must visit neighbor's yard sale, find particular items and refurbish them in order to spruce up a room. Why? To win the neighborhood's beautiful house prize. Or something like that.

It's been estimated we played for 4 hours. I will check the wii tomorrow to see the exact time.

My weekend by Seanie

Yes, I know I didn't blog yesterday. I have some good excuses!

#1 - Friday night while waiting for Amy's mother and sister to arrive my computer crashed. Whenever I tried to turn it on I'd get a message saying it couldn't start up. I'd be taken to a grey menu reminiscent of Windows 3.0 days. A system repair bar would appear and it claimed it was searching for the problem. I think it was taking a coffee break. I also attempted to back up my files and then return the system to the state it was in a year ago, which was apparently the last time I thought to back anything up.

No dice.

#2 - Yesterday we went apple picking at Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro. We rode a hay bale-lined cart through the orchard to the trees that were ripe for picking. I'm allergic to hay. I thought I'd be fine as long as it didn't touch my skin. We filled a 20lb bag with apples and I was exhausted from walking up and down the many rows of apple trees, walking on uneven grass/dirt. In the country store I bought two bags of the apple cider donuts and we enjoyed those. If you are ever at Parlee Farms, try them. You will not be disappointed. We then checked out the animals. Amy fed a goat and I got my picture taken with a sheep. Really, what is the singular of sheep? Did the people who invented the English language not think about that? Were they too tired after a long day of backing up the theory that yes, people will totally get the difference between there, their, and they're? One will never know.

#3 - After dropping the apples off at home and throwing away my empty bag of donuts we grabbed our lunch bag and piled into the car. Off to the Yankee Candle Factory in South Deerfield! The ride was pretty uneventful. We listened to songs from Glee off my ipod. The store was packed when we got there. Already exhausted from apple picking and the long car ride, I wasn't too excited to be walking around crowded stores. My highlight of our time there was the $2 blue raspberry slush puppie. Worth every penny.

#4 It is decided after leaving the Yankee Candle Factory that we will be heading to Chunky's in Nashua. After fumbling around on the internet with our trusty 3G phones, we find out that the original move we planned on seeing wasn't playing. The only movie that fit our time schedule was the one with Katherine Heigel about the two single people who have to raise their best friend's baby after they are killed in a car crash. I can't even remember the name of it, that's how much I liked it ;P Anyway. In the car I noticed my ankles were swelling so I removed my socks and shoes to alleviate the pressure. Later I noticed my knees were also swelling. We arrived in Nashua a little early for the movie so we went to the Christmas Tree Shop. Yes, more walking and shopping. But this time I'm not wearing socks! After that we went to the theater, waited in line because our show didn't go on sale until 6:25p and we got there at 6p, ate, watched the movie, and went home. The plan for the night was to watch SNL, but once I went upstairs I stayed there. I tried one last attempt to save my computer (although it was the same thing I tried the day before and didn't work...) and just went to bed.

This morning I do feel a little better. I'm still sore and I'm sneezing and stuffy. Amy's sister, Jessica, is feeling the same way, so we think it's probably from the hay. That stuff stays in your system for quite some time! I'm hoping to have a conversation with my doctor about my mobility issues. I'm afraid he's going to want to put my back on prednisone and I'm not interested in that. I've been taking half a tab of percocet for pain and that seems to be helping, but it doesn't help the swelling too much, and it doesn't help me walk better ;P

Bathroom powwwwwah!

I recently realized I spend way too long when I first log in to my blog contemplating a title. Because I tend to go off on tangents and talk about things I didn't anticipate, I've started waiting until the end to title a post. That way I don't feel stuck in a box and I've freed myself to explore what's in my head.

Yesterday we had a guy come in to work on our bathrooms. He was able to put in the downstairs toilet which is exciting, hung the light above the upstairs vanity, and put in the vanity. Today he came back to finish the plumbing which includes installing a pedistal sink downstairs. He is also putting in a vent/light in the upstairs bathroom. It will be nice having two fully functional bathrooms again. It's no fun using the bathroom upstairs and washing your hands downstairs.

I'm a spoonie

The Spoon Theory

Tired!

I'm happy to report that the goo gone and greased lightning worked on the bathroom floor. It now shines like the top of the Chrysler building. A handyman is coming tomorrow to make both bathrooms fully functional again. Here's hoping!

My first medical ID bracelet

I accidentally went to seanie.blogspot.com and found a blog that hadn't been updated since 2003. And the second to last post was simply: Hellllooooo.
Huh, sounds very familiar. Must be in the Seanie.
I originally shut my computer down and turned off the internet. Yes, we are one of the few households that turn off our wireless when no one is using it. I realized that I hadn't updated my blog and explained to Amy my plan for updating everyday. She agrees that I'll probably have more to say once I get used to writing more. It's not that I don't have anything to say - my head is filled with things! It's just getting them down that's the problem. I do a lot of thinking when I'm in the shower, but by the time I get out and get dressed I'm too tired... or end up in lupus fog land and remember nothing.
Having my last seizure in a public place when I was by myself hit me hard. I had my first seizure at home when Amy was there to call 911. (Granted, it was the first one and she thought I was dying. My first words after snapping out of it was to ask for clothes. Get your mind out of the gutter, I was hot before I laid down.)
The second one happened while preparing for a Halloween party in Allston. Luckily there were many people around, including my friend Mark who was sitting next to me at the time. It affected him more than I'll ever know. A few weeks ago I opted to stay in the car when everyone else went in Dunks to get coffee. A few minutes later he came out to the car and sat and talked with me while we waited for the others. I would do the same thing if I watched my friend have a seizure and he was all alone somewhere.
The third one is my favorite by far. I was alone in bed. Amy called and I answered sounding dazed. Then I explained I thought I had a seizure. We could tell by the bite marks from where I chomped down on my tongue. I was also very tired. No need to call the EMTs. (Which is why it was my favorite. No drama!)
The good part about number 4 is that I don't remember it. I remember the EMTs asking me questions in the ambulance that I of course didn't know. Hard ones such as, what is your last name? They got my wallet out while I was still out of it so they knew I lived in Lowell. (Or I could have handed it to them while hopping around like a bunny. I wouldn't remember if I did.) My guess is they ran my name at both hospitals because they brought me to the one with my files.
The point of this is, I finally broke down (emotionally) and got a medical ID bracelet. My mother has been bugging me to get one since the first time it happened. I had to get a petite sized one because I have a small wrist. The best part is they assume anyone identifying themselves as a man wouldn't have wrists this small, so I had to say the bracelet was for a boy. My options were boy, woman, girl.
It came in the mail yesterday and I do feel better having one, even though I joke that it's like having a dog collar.

Today is the day

Today is the day I start blogging everyday. I'm determined to get into a routine. Some days will chronicle more. Others may be a sentence or two. I'll start my goal at one month. If I am ever in a situation where I don't have access to a computer for 24 hours...well, let's hope my phone can access this site.