I have not posted in a while because things have been quite hectic here.  I am flying to Honolulu this week to spend a couple of days with my parents, go shopping, and visit Pearl Harbor before they come back to the Big Island to stay with us and have a rousing Thanksgiving.  I have also been planning the trip that Brian and I are taking to Kaua’i in December.  In addition to all of that, I have been preparing for various exhibitions that I will be at later this month and December.  I am also in the midst of rehab for my knee which the physical therapist says that I will most likely need surgery to correct.

On Friday, Brian dropped me off in town (Hilo) and I walked around while he went to Honoka’a.  I finally went to the Pacific Tsunami Museum - it was great.  I also went to the Kress Cinema downtown ($1 theater) after I walked several miles and saw the Mr. Bean movie - bad, very bad…  I spent time in Kalakaua Park and had a lovely afternoon.

We also went up to Mauna Kea in hopes of seeing snow but it had already melted.  The standouts of the evening were seeing the Milky Way, Jupiter, and a string of comets.  The last time we were up there with Brian’s parents we got to see the International Space Station move across the sky.  Mauna Kea really is the finest place in the world to stargaze (obviously).

While hiking at Kalopa State Park, Brian and I ended up on a pig trail and both got stung by bees.  I lost all feeling in my leg and bottom that evening and then slept for about 16 hours because of the bee sting.  It has been over two weeks now and I still have pain and redness from the sting.  Brian got stung on his back but he is doing fine.

I have been reading a large number of books on the economics of the poor - very interesting reading…  I will talk about that in a later post.

Brian and I have been watching StarGate SG-1 now that we have finished Star Trek Voyager.  It is unique and interesting…

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Earlier this week, my grandmother had a stroke and was rushed to the hospital. The stroke was the largest stroke she has had to date. At the time, she was entirely paralyzed and could not speak. Fortunately, she is able to speak coherently and move around. Oddly enough, her mental faculties seem to be slightly improved compared to how she was before the stroke. Fortunately, she lives in a wonderful assisted living facility and can get help for any problems she might have because of the stroke. She actually went home this evening and seems to be in good spirits. I am just glad that she is all right.

I am having some knee problems that I have ignored for far too long. It appears that I may have a meniscus injury. Not surprisingly, it is most likely from doing cardio kickboxing. I had stopped for a while and had started swimming instead but the pain has not receded. I definitely noticed it when Brian and I went to Akaka Falls this past weekend. I knew when I felt pain on such a short and ridiculously easy hike that I could no longer pretend like nothing was wrong especially since I have not been able to straighten my right leg for a long time. I will be going to the doctor soon to see what can be done.

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I just had a black freckle (for lack of a better term) removed from my arm this week. I have stitches and I cannot sweat or workout this week until next Wednesday. The chunk of my body is being sent to the lab and I will know next week if I need to go in for more treatment (whatever that may be).

We bought a program for Brian to use, The Wild Divine, so he can become enlightened and lower his blood pressure at the same time.

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It has been quite a long time since I updated…

So, here is what has been going on…
We were hit by a drunk driver in August and he totaled our Honda Civic. We had to buy a new car so we bought a 2006 Scion xB. Fortunately, we were not hurt too badly but we are still receiving treatment for sore backs and necks (we do still hurt.)

I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. The doctor was not helpful so I got a second opinion. I may or may not have it. I have a mild insulin resistance and my doctor is working with my sports nutritionist to change my diet. Apparently, I’ll be on a wheat-free, sugar-free, low-carb (yikes and yuck), vegetarian diet. I can’t wait to see what that will be… Hopefully, with any luck I will be able to eat SOMETHING.

Brian has been promoted and has been given a second class to teach in the Spring.

We’re going to Japan in the Spring.

Our 2nd anniversary is coming up in December. It feels like longer (in a good way).

My parents are coming to visit for Thanksgiving and Brian’s parents are coming to visit right after Christmas.

That sums it up, I think.

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We got our 15 lb. medicine ball in the mail today, yay! We are having great fun with arm plyometrics despite my wearing a wrist splint in order to prevent further CTS related damage.

Because I am wearing a wrist splint during the day and while I sleep, it is difficult to do some tasks. One of those tasks is flossing my teeth, so, I used this weird flosser that Brian had in the medicine cabinet (because it is easier to use…it has a handle), especially since they had his endorsement. He said, “They work great!” After I flossed half of my mouth, I got the flosser stuck in between two teeth. So, I walked into the office where he was and said, “How are these good?” And he informed me that I must be the only person to ever get the flosser stuck in their teeth. Indeed, it was stuck and it was not going anywhere. Brian then had the pleasure of cutting it out of my mouth. Joy. Then I used regular floss, so I would not have to have anymore flossers cut from my mouth.

We went walking outside tonight and went to the Wetlands Observation tower at the OSU Wetlands Research Center and we saw a big garbage bag full of something (which we suspect to be a homeless guy) and the remnants of his fast food dinner. That was the second time we had seen a homeless person up there. At least we think it was a homeless person in the trash bag…

We have finally ordered our moving boxes for our big move in December. Brian is finishing up his dissertation and is doing weird Mars research. I am busy with random business things, web design for our businesses, and selling things on eBay. Also, we are continuing to train everyday. I am training for the Strongwoman competitions and Brian is training for all kinds of running. We are having a lot of fun too!

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I just returned home from a trip to CVS (a drugstore). All the many times I have gone to a CVS I have never had a problem with anything. The stores are always clean and the shelves are always stocked. Sometimes, the prices are even decent. This time, I went in looking for a wrist brace for my carpal tunnel. Given all the heavy weights I am lifting, Brian and I both think it is best to heal this for good so that I will not have issues later down the line when I am competing in the Strongwoman competitions. At any rate, back to CVS… I found a satisfactory wrist splint and went to purchase it. The manager, an old fat woman in her late 60s (or she may have been 30 and just looked really really old, who knows), was the one who finally came over to the register where I was patiently waiting. She was too busy eating her White Castle hamburger to come help me. So, I had the joyous occasion of having her greasy hamburger and french fry fingers touch my item and then my debit card, and then my receipt. She asked if I had a CVS customer care card and I said no, because I had no desire to get into the fact that my CVS card was stolen in December (when we were robbed the day before our wedding) as well as the fact that I did not want to increase my exposure to hamburger and french fry goo on her nasty Ohioan hands. The last time I went into CVS, it was to buy perioding pads and the cashier (a college age male) asked if I had a CVS customer care card. I said no, it was stolen and I needed a new one. But frankly, he was turning so red from having to scan pads that he did not even hear me. Surprise, women bleed regularly, get over it. The other thing that irritated me about this CVS is that they have two doors to walk in/out of and then another two doors to get inside the store from the entry way. Why do they unlock only one door on each side, it seems illogical to me to have to zigzag and use the door that was marked for “out” to go “in”. More Ohioan stupidity, I suppose… We will not be sad to leave Ohio, that is for sure.

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I’ve started a search for my birth family so that I can get medical information, actually I started this search some time ago but just haven’t taken the time to finish it. It seems to be a dead end anyway. My birthmother and birthfather are divorced now so it makes it more complicated. I’m not sure how to tactfully phrase everything I need to say. I don’t want to be rude because I greatly appreciate what she did, giving me up to my parents was the best thing possible. I’ve never really thought about my birthfather oddly enough, frankly I don’t care about him and I’m not curious at all about him. I guess I will have to send him a letter as well asking for medical information. I don’t want to ruin these people’s lives but I need medical information.

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I’ve started a search for my birth family so that I can get medical information, actually I started this search some time ago but just haven’t taken the time to finish it. It seems to be a dead end anyway. My birthmother and birthfather are divorced now so it makes it more complicated. I’m not sure how to tactfully phrase everything I need to say. I don’t want to be rude because I greatly appreciate what she did, giving me up to my parents was the best thing possible. I’ve never really thought about my birthfather oddly enough, frankly I don’t care about him and I’m not curious at all about him. I guess I will have to send him a letter as well asking for medical information. I don’t want to ruin these people’s lives but I need medical information.

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I’m still sick and I feel bad but that’s life and I’ll be alright.

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I am physically ill today, I don’t know if it’s stress related but my mom is on her way to take me to the hospital. I’ll fill in the details whenever I get back.

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I think it’s really odd that I continue to live here *only* because I can get DSL - because satellite internet is unacceptable. So, I risk my mental health for 1.5 mbps… Yea, I guess it’s worth it

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I’m leaving to go to the doctor now, I feel quite ill =(

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I want to sleep so bad…One day that would be incredibly nice to do, every single night for at least 8 hours. I’ve not slept more than 30-45 mins here and there for a long time. It’s making me crazy…among other things… =P

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I’m going to be starting a Lemonade Diet. It’s not a weight loss diet or anything of that sort, it is a detoxifying diet. I’m going to purge impurities from my body that are in my liver, gallbladder, kidneys, digestive system, lymph nodes, etc for the next 40 days. It’s an all liquid thing. I’ll probably get all skinny and gross but thats ok I can gain weight back This will most assuredly make my system more pure. It’s really not healthy and it does rot in the body, so I figure just not eating it will be fine. Anyway, I am told this Detox Plan will make me rather ill and there is a very large possibility that I will pass Gallstones and maybe Kidney Stones. While this doesn’t excite me, it’s part of cleaning my body out. So, 40 days without any solid food…that’s a long time…I will survive

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