NaNoWriMo

Well, here I go again!  November is National Novel Writing Month and there is a site on the web that brings writers all together to get the most out of it all.  

Last year I decided to take the year off, having a new job and all, but since my back and leg are giving me such a hard time this year I've decided to drop down to part time at work.  I've also decided that I'm going to fill my spare time up attempting to write another novel.  

I wish that I could just finish my old novel that I started back in 2006, but I've read and reread the rules and regs and they just won't allow it to happen.  I started a novel called "The Demon Hunter Diaries" when I last competed, but I only made it to 25,000 words.  The rules state that you must write a minimum of 50,000 words to win the event.  I can't remember exactly what happened last time, other than me being side tracked because I had no job and no prospect of paying the mortgage!  I'll probably be having the same problem again soon, but hey...such is life.  I have to take care of myself too...and it's not like I have NO income at all.

The event has a badge that participants get to put on their websites, but since I don't actually have a website, I put it up at the top of this page.

If you fancy yourself a writer, you ought to give it a try!

Ciao for now!  

Going Crazy!

I don't think I've ever been as busy as I have been in the past week, but I don't feel as though I've gotten a darned thing accomplished.  My major project for the month is birthdays (I've got them on 17th, 19th, and 23rd) and I've had NO luck finding anything that I can actually afford for the people that I'm buying for.  I've even attempted to do something simple, like drawing a picture for one of the people (I can draw) and frame it for her like an art print, but I can't seem to even get that going.  I start, and nothing happens.  Im just so very very pathetic!  LOL!

Today I have finally made a decision.  I am going to file for disability because I am getting much worse.  I've learned for sure that my foot is linked to the injury in my back, and it wasn't like that before, so it must be from the arthritis that came from my limping around for the past two years.  How do I know that it's my back that's causing this rather than my diabetes?  Well, it's easy.  All I have to do is look down at the floor and I'll get screaming pains shooting around my ankle and half of my foot!  How stupid is that?  It's bad enough that I can't bend without causing pain in my back, but now I can't look down???  WTF!!

I've made an appt to see my Family Doctor on the 27th of this month to discuss the possibilities with him, and I also have a meeting with my pain Doctor's associate sometime in the next two weeks (I have to figure that one out...when is it?)  and with a little luck I will be able to get statements from one, if not both of them, declaring my situation.  I know that I will have to go see a doc of their choosing as well, but I should be able to get through that.   You know, I feel like such a wimp doing this, but things are really starting to get bad.  Even the pain meds are screwing with me now when they didn't used to.  I'm falling asleep during my shifts at work while I'm on the computer.  That is a very bad thing.  My back up manager has even caught me a couple of times.  It's embarrassing, to say the very least.

So, wish me luck.  It's going to be a hard road, and I won't be able to work at all while I wait to receive disability.  There are those that will say that it's going to take me two to three years to get it.  God I hope not, especially for the sake of my house.  If D doesn't get a job soon, then I'm most certainly going to lose it all.

I'm outta here for now.

Roommates.

Anyone out there have a roomie?  If so, I've got a question for you. 

How did you solve the TV problem?  I have a roommate who has the exact opposite taste in television shows that I do, and I'm really in quite the quandry as to what to do.  He's a huge reality show fan, and I can't stand reality shows.  The real problem is, he seems to wait until I come home from work to watch TV, and therefore he's watching things that I can't stand during the only time that I have to watch, other than when I'm in bed at night.  He's been home all day long.  I'd like to know why he has to wait to watch TV until I am home?  I've seen the TV guide, and he can watch the usual drivel that he watches when I'm not at home....9 hours of it a day.

Does your roommate do this type of thing?  Do you think that he does it to annoy you, or do you think it's all innocent when it happens to you?  I've tried being nice, I've tried being rude.  I don't know what else to do.  I'm open to suggestions.

out.

What to do about work?

I'm the kinda guy that really hates to let people down.  I think that's the reason that I haven't gone and done something already that I need to do.  I need to file for disability, but I don't want to let my boss at work down by quitting.

Things with my back have become really painful, and the only times that they aren't painful are when I'm so drugged up that I cannot even think.  I knew it was going to be rough working here because of my back situation, but I didn't expect it to get worse over time.  I really believe that working is causing the problem too.  Now, on top of the back thing, I have this new thing going on in my right foot that is making it difficult to walk as well.  It's a pain that runs down my leg, around my ankle, and then finishes with my heel, causing such pain that I don't even want to stand on it anymore.  I asked my doctor if this could be related to my diabetes, but he couldn't be sure.  He said that it was most likely related to my back issues.  I hope not.

I wish that there was someone that could tell me what to do, as I have no idea how to proceed.  I know that if I continue working that it's only going to get worse, but I so want to keep doing a good job for my bosses.  I would really miss this place I think.  

This is so frustrating...sigh...

An interesting photo...paranormal though?

Here is one of the more unusual photo's that were taken a few weeks ago during the "One Sky Ranch" investigation.  There are a lot of out of the ordinary things going on here for a September evening in Western Iowa after a dry spell, but some of the things here could just be bugs.  What are your opinions?  Paranormal stuff or not?

This wasn't the only strange thing that happened on this investigation either.  There were many class A EVP's of note, two of which spoke my name or a variation thereof.  We also captured some sort of unintelligible chant on a recorder during this investigation.  

After the investigation, we did a blessing on the house.  It was an experience that I will not soon forget.  I think that every investigator had a different experience while this was going on, and it didn't stop there.  The team that I was working with had to go back again two days later to fight whatever was there off yet again.  I have to say that of all the investigations that I've ever had the priviledge of working, this one was the second most active.  It was a very exciting evening!

Things are worse..much worse...for my back.

I have no idea what's kicked this into happening, but my back is a sheer misery.  At night, I'm sleeping more, but now I wake up in exquisite pain, unable to move, with spasming and an ache thats just unbearable.  I don't know what to do.

I had a new procedure on my back last monday, an epidural nerve block, but something else seems to have happened.  I won't feel the results of the block for about another 7 days, but this procedure was requested nearly two months ago and these problems that I am having now weren't an issue back then, so I don't think that whatever this procedure has done is going to solve the pain that the new problem is creating.

It all just figures, you know.  I just spent all that time on my last post talking about how great my doctor has been and how he's made me feel so much better.  How ironic that I'm sitting here just a few days later complaining about how much pain that I'm in.  I still think he's been a great boon for me, but damn....I don't seen any relief from this new thing going on.

Last night was extreme.  I woke up at 5:30 am with not just the back pain, but cramps in my legs in muscles and tendons that I didn't even know could cramp!  I had cramps in the muscles that run on the OUTSIDE of my knees down to my ankles.  It's like a thin muscle or tendon that I didn't even know existed.  Thank GOD Dana was there and was able to run downstairs and grab my medication, as I don't think I could have made it down the stairs to get them myself.  

To be honest though, I think that last night was a withdrawal problem.  I think that I might have not taken my oxycontin pill, which is the big one that WILL cause problems if I forget it.  This whole thing is just so embarrassing, as I'm an addict to pain drugs.  I'm addicted very very hard too.  I knew that this was going to happen, I just didn't think that withdrawal would be quite THIS horrifyingly painful.  I wonder what's going to happen if I ever get the opportunity to get off of these damned things?  My God...will they have to hospitalize me?

Enough of that and back to my back problem.  I've been doing a lot of work lately, but no more than I should normally be required to do.  I've been observing my restrictions and taking care to not do things that would be considered normal by the standards of normal people, like bending, twisting, sitting too long.  I just don't understand what is happening with it.

When I spoke to Dr Baldi last week, he informed me that the arthritis in both my back and my foot have both gotten pretty bad, and so that is what is most likely causing the increase in pain.  Arthritis eh?  I never in a million years thought that arthritis could be worse than the pain that I already had...I was so wrong if that is the case.

I'm rambling, I know, but I don't know what else to do.  I'll close for now as I have a lack of what else to say.  I just wish I could go on disability.  It's becoming very hard to even do my job these days, and not seeing an end in sight to this pain is just exhausting.  I have no energy.

Bye for now,

Mike

Another Back Procedure.

Today I had another back procedure.  This time, Dr Baldi killed off another nerve in my back.

He's such a great Doctor for me, and I have no idea what I would do without him.  If it weren't for him, I can picture myself in a wheelchair right now.  Because of him and his innovative nerve treatments on me, I've been able to continue walking, to work at least part time, and I've been able to live my life in considerably less pain for the past two years.  God Bless you Doc!

Today's procedure went as can be expected when you have someone insert a needle into your spine.  Thank the Lord for anesthesia, of course.  I was a bit angry at the Anesthesiologist today though, as he was telling me how things were going to progress.  It happened like this...

"Well Michael, here's what we are going to do today.  First we are going to put this pulse-oxygen sensor on your fingers.  Then we will put this blood pressure cuff on your arm and take your blood pressure--then after we get your blood pressure we are going to give you a little something to take you to happyland..."

And then I said "Ok--what is that burning sensation?  Oh aren't you the...."  I never got to finish my sentence.  I wanted to say "sneaky one." but I never got the chance.  I woke up almost two hours later.  I love anesthesia!  LOL!

It still troubles me that you don't have dreams while under anesthesia though.  It's like missing time.  I often wonder if that is what death is like, as there is absolutely nothing but peaceful nothingness.  I fear it, and I love it at the same time.

Overall though, I'm okay.  I've been dopey today, but I came through good.  Only time will tell if the shot does any good.  For some reason, the procedure doesn't start to show any results for a week or so after it's done, so I'll let you all know later how it's going...

By the way..."Happy Belated Birthday Richie!"  Sorry I missed it, but it was a hella weekend.  I hope yours was a great as mine was!

Outta here for now!

Iowa Gay Pride Festival

I had an interesting weekend...downtown at the 2008 Iowa Gay Pride Festival.

As you all know, I work for the Minx Showpalace and Love Boutique, and this year we again decided to put up a booth down at the Pride Festival and then also the night before at the Street Party that was held in front of the Blazing Saddle, my once second home when I was able to drink and socialize.

I've been participating in these things for years, originally as just a supporter, but about ten years ago I decided to open a booth and advertise wares from Bachelors Library, the place that I worked at the time.  It was never worth it.  We never made ANY money, but we always had a good time and advertised our goods and got our company name out there.

Last year I decided to put up a booth for my new employer, the Minx.  Again, the same thing.  We didn't make any money (unless you consider $48 money) but we had a good time.  I don't have any idea why I decided to do it one more time this year, but I think I'm glad that I did.

This year I decided to do things just a little bit differently.  I decided to buy "fun" stuff instead of just bringing down our standard wares.  I purchased rainbow feather boas, boas that lit up, glow necklaces, rainbow flower leis, LED lit hats--one that said "Bitch" and one that had the rainbow flag that lit up in colored sequences.  I had a lot of fun stuff, and this year our booth EXPLODED.  We made more money than we did in any of the previous years that I've participated in pride combined!  I FINALLY got something right!

We sold out of the boas in the first two hours, which surprised the heck out of me.  We sold out of the "Bitch" hats next, which somewhat surprised me, but I liked them, so I figured that they would go.  We had a friend of one of our employees there, his name was Frank, and he set the entire place ablaze with our glow necklaces.  I think I bought 200 of them, and we have about 50 left.  It was awesome!  

I think that the big moment of the night came early when Thea Austin, the entertainment for the night (she sang "Rhythm is a Dancer, I got the Power(with "Snap"), and a few other great tunes that I can't remember now but was thrilled to hear) stopped by our tent and purchased a rhinestone bracelet from us.  She wore it on stage while she performed!!!  I wish I could have gotten a photo of her and I, but it didn't happen.  I'm just thrilled to know that we had something to offer that a major star would find interesting.  

It was a LOT of work and I could do so little of it due to my back, but it was a GREAT time.  I hope that my boss appreciates all the hard work that my employees put in for me to get this thing together, because I sure do.  If it weren't for Shannon, I wouldn't have had been able to get things put together easily without her, and if it weren't for Brian, I'd have had a hard time getting things setup on Sunday Morning as well as tearing down on Saturday night.  They were all invaluable to me.  There were other people that weren't employed by me that were invaluable to me as well, such as Brian's Girlfriend Ashley, who pretty much guarded the cashbox for me when I couldn't stay in one place very long due to my back.  She was a godsend.  also, Dana, my sig other was there the whole time and waited on me for anything I needed.  He was a godsend as well.  None of that could have happened without these folks, and I wish to Thank them with my whole heart.  I wish I could do something very special for them, but I have no idea what I could do.  Obviously Money is the thing to do, but lets face it, I don't have any of that of my own...But believe me guys, if I could, I would.  You deserved it.

It was such a great weekend.  I wish EVERYONE in the world could have been there because it was truly a great time.

Bye for now!