Yet Another Leg Mutiny
My Legs Strike Again:
Saturday, while I was working, I began having pain in my legs. It eventually got to the point that I couldn’t really walk and I was forced to sit for a couple of hours at my desk doing work that, while needed to be done, was not as much fun as working on the floor on a Saturday afternoon. It was a little better for the last 15 minutes of my shift when I returned to the floor. Having taken pain reliever (which I never do), I was tired and went home to sleep off whatever the problem was.
Jess called and woke me up after a while and we went searching for Heather & Jake. We didn’t find them and ended up at The Raven, a neighborhood gay bar, unfortunately known for drugs. I was in the mood for a bit of filth. I actually enjoyed myself, as it was quiet and practically empty. We talked and left messages on Heather’s machine.
Finally, we ended up at Heather’s, where we ordered pizza and watched Wayne’s World 2 (of all things). It was a great time and a lot of skin was exposed! Jess’ underwear was exposed — and bills were inserted into the sides. Jake bore his chest and pressed it against the window to the porch in a random moment of exhibitionism. It was fun and made me very happy to be here in Alaska with people I enjoy.
Sunday morning, I woke up in pain. My legs had not only gotten worse, but my entire body was sore. It was weird, like a burning sensation just under the skin, but not muscle. I called out and slept all day. I didn’t feel like standing up until 6:00 a.m. Monday morning. By that time, the pain was gone. Nearly as quickly as it had started, it was gone.
Del Marquis:
I was thrilled to discover music by Del on his MySpace account. He is awesome and it was great to hear his music independantly of Scissor Sisters. Don’t get me wrong, SS still makes me tear up, but it was nice to hear 
the difference.
Pier 1:
I know it will get better, but I am still plagued with longing for David. It is just something to get over, I guess. I wish him well and I know that this was not about me. I am such a fantastic person that anyone would be lucky to have me.
Images: John Breed art installation; photo and logo of The Raven; long legs sculpture
Featured Image Art: photo by Jr Korpa (via Unsplash)
I revealed something to a friend… a crush. I am terrified of what will happen next (good or bad). I just needed to get it off my heart and let him know because it was consuming me, keeping me up at night. I haven’t seen or spoken to him in months and I can’t stop thinking about him. It felt like the right thing to do. Unfortunately, he was unavailable, so I left a message, telling him everything that I needed him to know. If I had waited, I would have lost my nerve.
My father called a number of times yesterday. Today has been a very bittersweet mixed emotion kind of day. Good news should always come first: the condo is gone. Finally. For those who know that I have been trying to sell it for nearly a full year, will know that this comes as a great relief! The check was cut and now plane tickets can finally be purchased so I can go home for a couple of weeks. It was a great relief in theory, but I was not filled with any emotion after hearing that it was finalized. Really… nothing.
Happy Birthday Heather! I am sitting here at the end of the party at Heather’s. I begrudgingly was convinced to engage in a game of Apples To Apples, which wasn’t as bad as I wanted it to be. Okay, fine, it was fun.
I’ve recently discovered what the pain of homesickness feels like and I don’t really care for it. I was putting together my photo album, as I do when the sequence of events needs to be altered to represent who I am now, when I felt an ever increasing ache in my entire being. With no other warning, I began to cry. I have tested my limits and discovered my true breaking point. It seems that nine months is too long to be away from my loved ones. Rather like birth. Nine months was enough and I had to emerge and meet my family. Now I feel that again.
I haven’t been a model human being lately. I have a good heart and I mean well, but that can only get you so far in this life. My lack of attention to what seem to be important things in life has really added to the hole I continue to dig for myself. My brain just won’t work correctly. I find that music is the only thing that can keep me focused, which is likely the reason I love it so much. I can actually think about something rather than thinking about everything.
I have discovered an entirely new world here in Alaska. Health is much more important to people here and there is evidence of that in the vast natural food sections in stores. Not just a single aisle, or single side of an aisle, these sections are serious portions of the store, taking 5-6 full aisles plus a refrigerated case. I see myself making the food choices I prefer.
I really expected the loons to have migrated by now, but they are still around. They are quite creepy to hear, especially when they call at night. It just doesn’t sound like a bird. Lucille, the 86 year old woman upstairs, said they will leave just when it is about to freeze. No freezing in the immediate forecast, so my time here should be full of loon creepiness.
Sometimes, people are just plain nice, which is always unexpected. I called the Oklahoma Unemployment offices for some help. I am required to attend a work rehabilitation meeting this Friday with Workforce Oklahoma. Although I am required to attend in order to receive my unemployment check, they are not actually the same agency. However, the number for Workforce Oklahoma may not be dialed from Alaska. Expecting resistance, I called the only number I knew, the one to file a claim, and spoke to a claims representative. To my surprise, she not only was attentive to what my issue, but offered to call the number for me. When she received no answer, she then offered to fax over the information I had given. It was so nice to speak to somebody who genuinely wanted to help.
On the job front, speaking of unemployment, I did attend a screening session for Fred Meyer yesterday. It was rather strange, but I imagine it will result in an interview. I also have an interview with Wal-Mart this morning. I am not sure what kind of position that will be for, but I think I really need to focus on finding a management position. Not that I will limit my search to that or refuse work, but at some point I need to get back into retail management because I just love it. And I am good at it. I am really interested in positions I found online at some other companies. We will see how those go.
I am trying to find a new church home. I think I will be attending MCC in Anchorage today, so we will see how I like it. I did take several of the denomination selectors online. I always come out as Quaker and Unitarian Universalist. But, United Churches of Christ is on there too and I generally like them. I am welcome to advice on this.
So, I apparently had the flu. Not that I went to a doctor or anything smart like that. But I am pretty sure based on symptoms that it was the flu. That pretty much killed my whole week. I had a fever that I couldn’t break for several days, body aches, and I was so congested. I finally started feeling better on Friday, but by then I was so exhausted! And the days have all melded together and seem to be flying by rapidly. Not at all a fun way to spend my time.
We had just come home from the dinner and I was really feeling ill from my cold. I decided (or, I was convinced) to go to bed. Delisa needed to work on her lesson for today anyhow. I watched some Ellen and then retired to the guest bedroom, where I took a book to read. I settled on Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You To Know About by Kevin Trudeau. You may have seen this moron on television, proclaiming the horrors of everything from fast food to prescription drugs. To this guy, everything is “toxic.”
I think it is worth reading. I have never been so angry as I was after reading it. I kept thinking, this chapter would have made a brilliant book if he had spent more time explaining and supporting the arguments. Mostly over prescription drugs. I want to see the proof, as anyone should. I refuse to take him at his word for two reasons. Freedom of speech allows for such books to be written, regardless of consequence, and this is the same person who so heavily promoted the Atkins diet on television. He has a lot to say in the book about the world being about money and how obviously evil that is, but he himself is profiting from a product designed to scare you. That is all about the money.
So, I have been in Alaska for two weeks! Considering I have spent the past 4 days mostly sick in bed, I have not found a job yet. I did get the paper this morning and it should be helpful as I am starting to get over my cold.
What I have found weird is the almost militant veganism they subscribe to. It is somewhat subtle, but borders on bitter and nasty. I attended the first meeting (potluck) of the Alaska Vegetarian Society as a guest last night. In and of itself, the dinner was nice and the people were so friendly. It was one of the happiest places on Earth. But I found that an underlying theme in the evening was how wasteful the planet is and how cruel we are to the “very intelligent” livestock we eat on a regular basis. I absolutely appreciate the argument, but I don’t agree. Mind you, I fully support vegetarianism for its many benefits, but this type of over-the-top veganism doesn’t sit well with me.
I think Daria summed it up nicely. And this newest adventure in my life is quickly becoming one of the most frustrating too. Things just never go smoothly and I think that from time to time they just should.
coming up with the money for the apartment, getting my stuff/cats up here, paying for gas/tires along the way. It is all just a little much to handle.
It seems quite official — we are moving to Alaska. Lori has had a lot of luck in finding a job, but I still have nothing. I need to try just that much harder this week so I can find something. Justin seems equally ready to just “get the hell out of Dodge” so to speak. It seems we have reached a conclusion that this is where we want to be.
I have asked Brent for help, but I am not sure to what extent he can. It is a bad time to be moving and I know that one or two months ago would have proven easier on us. But we won’t soon forget the arduous trek across the continent, just to find something new. It will likely be one of the highlights of our time of the planet, regardless of the level of success we have in our new lives.