Random Stuff – I'm Just Living This M.S. Life

pop…pop…pop…pop… dumb thoughts bouncing around between my ears… for real. This is what it is like to have MS with a side of ADHD. lolol

For absolutely NO reason except maybe I heard a weird noise or saw something jump out of the corner of my eye, this kind of crap starts looping in my head:

Frog. Frog, Frog, Frog……FRRRRROG….frOOOOOOg…frog-uh…frogfrogfrogfrogfrogfrog…..FROG, froggity, frog, frog, FROG!! Frog, Frog…frogfrogfrog!!! frog…am i saying it right…frog…is that a real word? Frog? Frooooooog, FRRRRRRRRROG, frog. Yeah it says ribbit…frog.

Oxymoron….Florida Winters

February 20th 2020- Minnesota 16.3 F….Florida 84 F

pic courtesy of weather.com –
https://weather.com/weather/radar/interactive/l/db3f7350b548e8beac39fb93bf80938a38721011751b455dfbf0e032ef179026

Christmas Stockings…..in Florida….we don’t have chimneys ……..Mom, what’s a chimney??

EggNog is gross….even after the Alcohol is added….I mean ewwwww, it has RAW eggs in it. YET…. After drinking said, raw egg, rum spiked EggNog…..you could care less what it tastes like.

Fun stuff on the drive home from work….Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec. ALL HAIL THE BEGINNING OF SPRING BREAK !!!!!

Not sure which page this one should be on……MS page type stuff….or Nugatory Notions type blabber.

So we were introduced to a virus. Some people are terrified of this “Novel” virus. Yes, it is Covid-19. This is a Corona virus. Most of us know that the common cold can be caused by a Corona virus. The 2009 SARS virus ….aka Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome was a Corona virus. So when someone says “Novel” they don’t mean this is an Alien …just appeared out of thin air…brand spanking NEW IN EVERY WAY….virus. They just mean that this virus – hasn’t been seen in people before.

Now that is what we are being told. There seems to be two main schools of thought about the virus’ origins. Some believe that the virus was spread from a bat to a human. I think the belief there is that either in butchering or eating a bat that happened to have this particular corona virus….the offending human was infected. Then BOOM human to human… to cat…. to dog… to cat…. to human…. to tiger….. virus spreading was enabled and the virus could jump around as it damn well pleased.

Another thought pattern paints China as the Evil Big Brother, who, while whipping up viral weapons in their Wuhan lab either accidentally or purposefully let the new “Novel” Nasty Covid-19 escape and wreak havoc across the world.

On the other hand though, if you read a little further you will meet a Virologist named Shi Zhengli from China. Supposedly Shi Zhengli is known as the “Bat Woman”. Guess what she does? Studies SARS like viruses in Bats.

Now I’m not sure how true this information is. I’m doing some fact checking to see exactly what I find. One thing I want to confirm is if she was truly working on trying to find the way or find the mutations that allow humans to get infected with viruses not typically found in our species. Rumor says Shi Zhengli took a SARS virus and basically retro-fitted it with ‘spike proteins’ similar to something in the HIV virus, that allows it to pass to and infect humans so easily. Like I said, I’m not passing this off as 100% truth but I am trying to see what I find. She supposedly worked with Canadian, American, and other scientists in the world of infectious diseases, on this project.

I can see the benefit of knowing what makes a virus tick, and I can wonder what would happen if different mutations take place…….but any work like that can……as any superhero would say……be used for Evil. Bio Weapons anyone??????

If I find out anything of interest in my searches I’ll let you know. Of course I will give all the bibliography information so you can see where I find info. lol ….. that is IF…..I can find anything interesting. I mean if all of the ‘China was making Frankenstein Viruses’ is just a lot of paranoia / propaganda story tidbits, I might not find much at all.

Another reason to HATE Hurricanes !

Okay, we hate Hurricanes for many, many, many reasons. Let’s see, we hate them because the Weather services can NEVER tell us where they are going to land until THE VERY LAST MINUTE ! They WORRY us. Worry us about property damage, loss of shelter, loss of work, fear for keeping your kids, significant others, and pets safe. Tons of questions run through your head as you are trying to prepare for the storm to hit. Is it actually going to hit here? How close will it hit? How high are the winds? How fast is it going? Are the lines at the gas station really long?……we need to get gas for the generator. When was the last time we tested the generator? We also hate the list of “to dos” that come with prepping for a Hurricane. We have to go refill our prescriptions so we know we have enough to get us through. We need to shutter the windows. Do we still have all the bolts or do we have to go to the hardware store? We have to bring the patio furniture cushions in the garage and we need to throw the ‘non wicker’ patio furniture in the pool so it doesn’t blow into the neighbors house. We need to bring the potted plants into the garage because those clay pots can break windows if thrown by wind. We have to go get drinking water for the humans and pets. We need to fill the bath tub with water so if service is disrupted during or after the storm we have water to wash with or flush toilets with. We need to fill our cars with gas and get cash out of the ATM ….since electricity, phones, and internet may be down after the Hurricane and you won’t be able to use credit or debit cards. We need batteries for the flashlights, a hand crank or solar powered weather radio, we need a powerbank / extra battery for our cell phones……or wait….we can charge our phones in our car after the storm so we need a cigarette lighter charger. We need to stock up on canned / packaged Non perishable food. You will be sick of Chef Boiardee, Campbells, and Progresso by the time the storm passes. You worry about your extended family if they are also located in the “Cone of Uncertainty”.

Then the WHOLE time you are trapped in your house you are going stir crazy. The news does NOTHING but Report on the Damn Hurricane. Every 5 minutes “the storm is here…now it is over there….now it is coming back here again….”. They stand in non-existent bursts of hurricane winds and talk about how hard it is to stand in place. OMG…so tired of that SHIT.

Another horrible side effect of Hurricanes is Weight Gain. Yeah, you are trapped in the house, with easy to prepare and eat foods. Aaaaaaaaand what do humans do when they are bored? EAT, we eat. Yup, I gained 8 lbs during the stupid hurricane and the weeks soon thereafter because we had a lot of easy to prepare food. NOT HAPPY! I have 6 weeks until my Tough Mudder and I have to drop the stupid 8lbs again. Can’t drop the weight if I can’t run, can’t run if I am carrying even 5 lbs extra weight because my hips and knees will hurt. So I started the V-Shred toned in 90 days workout program. I like it a lot. It is very quick….less than 20 minutes, but it is a real workout. I’m actually sore. The arms and leg programs are what makes me sore. The AB ones aren’t bad. I’ve always had really strong ABs so those don’t seem hard at all. Hopefully this program works. I skipped today because I am so sore from the last 2 days workouts. I just made today a cardio day by trying to run. Well I walk and run. The knees can’t take the extra weight if I am running sooooooo until that is gone….it will be walk run, not just run.

God I really just want to RUN…I used to run 35ish miles a week. I loved it. It was addictive. I’d run on Christmas morning before opening presents, the morning after a hurricane because I couldn’t stand the inactivity anymore. I’d run 2 miles before work and 4 miles after work and 13 miles on Saturday. I miss it…..Damn Multiple Sclerosis and the limitations it has set upon me, damn getting older because that probably contributes to the whole shebang too. Doesn’t metabolism slow down as you get older? My new med may be contributing to the weight gain too…..the med is working so if I have to just deal with the extra weight, I’ll just have to suck it up.

Anyway, let’s see how V-Shred, Toned in 90 Days works for me. I’m training with light weights high reps too, and the attempted runs. I’ll let you know how it goes. MS is not going to ruin my Tough Mudder by sidelining me. Screw that. I’ll keep updating my results.

Just as an FYI….I do not in any way believe or think I am Fat. I’m not one of those women who say, OMG I’m fat. I am probably in the normal range or a little better than average range for a woman of my age and height, etc . Even so, to run comfortably and without knee and hip pain I need to lose 8 to 10 lbs from where I am now. I am 43 yrs old, 5 ft 1 inch short, and as of this morning 120.8 lbs. I need to be 112 lbs. 115 at most. That is for comfort levels when I run.

Anyway, I’ll post about my results with the V-Shred program. Let’s see if it is just a fad, or if it really works. Have a great week.

Monday’s Stink

Monday’s stink. Yeah, I said it…..they STINK !!! There is always a weeks worth of work piled on my desk when I get to work on Monday. At least it feels that way. Even though Mondays normally fly by pretty fast at work, it’s only because I am crazy, out of my mind busy. I can’t catch a break, I miss lunch, and I’m still unable to catch up. Yeah, Mondays DO STINK.

But don’t worry, anything that I don’t finish on Monday…….will be sitting there, waiting patiently for me on Tuesday.

Hey did I tell you that Tuesday’s Smell Really, Really, Really Bad………..

Weekends are over all too quickly….

Why are weekends only 2 days long? I mean, the days that we work are rarely only 8 hours long. If they stretch to 10 hours long….then you have a 50 hour work week. That doesn’t include any time spent at home working. Working at home can always add up to another 5 or so hours a week. Technically we are working about 55 hours a week.

Now I can’t say that this is abnormal. I’m sure my boss is working more than 60 hours a week. I think he probably works all day on Sunday, and on the 1 hour drive in and the 1 hour drive home. So he is probably working 11 hours a day, plus at least another 8 hours on Sunday. Lets do the math…..about 63 hours…..something close to that.

I’m sorry, to me that is crazy. I can barely survive a 45 hour work week, much less something as crazy as 63 hours. Hell no. I don’t think so.

Sooooooo…..it is Sunday…..and I have to be up at 5:30 am to get to work at about 7:30 am. I am waaaaaaay…too tired for this Sh*t.

Anyway, last night my husband ‘absconded” with my emotional support dog Mischevious Poe. One of the reasons I have dogs is because I stop having nightmares when they are sleeping with me. Poe is my cuddle bug…..my nightmare preventative. Last night I was having some bizarre dreams. Not nightmares….just suuuuuper weird. On top of that it was very, very, hot in my room. I was miserable, so I had to get up at 3:00 am and move to the living room. The AC is so much better in the living room. So I found my pup Poe and stole him back , from my husbands room 🙂 🙂 I took my Poe Deep puppy back to the living room where I was going to sleep.

He stopped the weird dreams, just by laying next to me. He puts his head on me and I sleep like a baby. The dreams I was having while Poe wasn’t with me were bizarre. When I have a little more time, I’ll describe the dreams.

Have a Great Night !!!!!

It was Soooo Worth It !

It is still really hot here in the always sunny state of Florida. Waaaaaay too hot !!! As I have mentioned before, heat and M.S. do not mix well. Fatigue is a lot worse when you get overheated….etc. ….etc.

I want to walk my dogs everyday but after work I am just waaaay too tired. I finally decided that I need help taking the pups out for walks. If I try to walk all three together they tie themselves up in their leashes, pull me in every direction, and just don’t listen. If I walk them one at a time it takes about 2 hours to get everyone taken care of. I just don’t have that much free time.

I mentioned my dilemma at work and someone suggested hiring a dog walker. I looked into it and it can be very expensive, especially for multiple dogs. I cannot afford that. The same person said I should ask another mom I work with if any of her children would like to help with my furry monsters. What an amazing idea !!!!

So I asked the other mom “Do you think one or two of your almost adult sized offspring would be interested in getting paid to help me walk my dogs?” Yaaaaaay……as least One of those soon to be adults wants to walk the dogs with me.

So, 3 days a week I will be paying one or two kids to help me walk the dogs. It will be money WELL spent and will be totally worth it. Dad dropped the kids off this afternoon and I brought them in to meet the pups, hoping that they would get off on the right foot. After about 3 minutes of the dogs being unsure of newbies in their house, everyone was calm and happy. Yaaaaaay,they got leashed and we went outside.

They had about a 40 minute walk and fell right asleep when they got back. The picture shows just how CUTE my sweet ‘Ca-Lee Lee Poot Poot the Lilliputian’ is. The walk tired her out but good. She has been out for over an hour and a half. 🙂 🙂 Grimm has been passed out on mom and dads bed, and Poe has taken a few 15 minute cat naps in his crate. The pups are happy, so I am happy.

I am looking forward to our upcoming doggie walks. I also enjoyed talking to Miss Reagan and Mr. Raven. Teenagers are always interesting.

Have a great night.

jen

What day is it??…Friday you say.?. THANK THE UNIVERSE !!

I woke up this morning and had no idea what day of the week it was. I had to drag my sorry, tired butt out of bed and into the living room. I stood in front of the TV and waited for the newscaster to tell me what day it was…… Yaaaaay, they said it is Friday today.

I couldn’t be more ready for the weekend. I still took a pile of work home so I can get a bit ahead. This was a Hellacious work week. Some days you just wish you called in sick. It can feel like you never do anything right.

I had one of those days yesterday. I have been working on a project off and on with our IT department for a couple of years now. We have been forced to delay the project completion many, many times. Sometimes other priority projects are put on your desk and you are forced to push back what you have been working on.

Then, out of the blue, this “couple year long” project becomes a ‘Get it finished in the next 3 weeks’ project. Interestingly enough, week two was interrupted by ‘maybe here, maybe there, maybe back here again, maybe we really don’t know where it will be…..’ Hurricane Dorian. Week number two ended up only being 2 work days long. We went back to work on Thursday.

Well, the day before yesterday, the IT department had ALL of their project work done. I was up next. I had completed the instructions and the how to’s. Everything seemed like it was going to go smoothly.

Funny thing is….I find that when I assume things are going to go smoothly……..they usually Don’t. At the last minute, the brakes were put on my training sessions. I was totally blindsided. Come to find out another department has a specific protocol for communication within the corporation. This fact was never conveyed to me. I had discussed my plans with this department….and assumed everything was good. I wasn’t told to alter my plan or to proceed in a different manner.

At the last minute I am called into my bosses office…..(I already knew there was some type of problem because of an email). I knew I didn’t do anything wrong…..but my Boss was acting like I did…..like I missed some HUGE sign telling me to ‘STOP…DO NOT PASS GO….DO NOT COLLECT $200. ‘……lol, thank you Monopoly for this phrase….I will remember it forever….lololol

He was asking me questions in his really Vague way….we all normally have to ask him more than once to explain his questions. I will come right out and say “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you are asking me. What is it that you are looking for?” So the more I asked those questions, the more aggravated my boss became. I ended up in tears.

My boss is a wonderful, brilliant man. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it…..but he gets aggravated and kinda mean very easy. You end up either questioning your own intelligence or feeling as small as a bug.

I left his office and completed what he told me to do….with silent tears running down my face. Once it was done….I put up a sign that said “going on Break and then into the warehouse to fix a computer program problem”.

I went to my car, started it, cranked the AC since it is in the upper 80s lower 90s, and BLASTED vintage Avenged Sevenfold on the radio. After about 10 minutes, I thought I was done “Ugly Crying”….lolol. I really did have to go into the warehouse and deal with a software problem. I had to call the developer and have him walk me through the issue. 5 minutes into the conversation…..I have silent tears running down both cheeks…..I’m trying to not sound like I am all stuffed up from crying. That is all I needed….for the guy in a different country to know I was crying like a baby. Other warehouse associates were walking by me…..surely noticing that I was crying……and trying not to let me know….that they knew.

From the time I went to my car, worked with the developer, and finished answering questions about the soon to be implemented ‘project’ it was about one hour since the ‘boss blow up’ episode. I went back to my desk, put on my headphones, blasted Avenged Sevenfold, and took my lunch break. My phone continued to ring….with questions pertaining to the upcomimg project that I wasn’t able to verbally expalin…I ignored it. Normally I will answer the phone during lunch and help someone if I can….but not yesterday. NOPE, wasn’t going to do it. Screw It. Let people call in confusion. If I had it my way I would tell the callers to direct their questions to their department heads. That is petty though, and I try to NOT be petty.

So….as I said, I am just GLAD it is FRIDAY !!!! Hopefully you ALL have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND !!!

Dorian……. IS it going to get Windy ???

Okay, I have had enough. I have had enough of the 24 hour coverage. Our forecasters are acting like we are going to still have this horrible storm……when we are not. The way it is right now, we are going to get tropical storm force winds. WE GET THAT EVERY 2:00 pm SUMMER DAY THUNDERSTORM. Floridians are used to this kind of weather. Dorian is going to stay quite a ways away. Yes we will have some storm surge and some flooding along the coast. That will be terrible for some people, but flooding like that can, and sometimes does, happen during our Bad Afternoon Thunderstorms. The forecasters are putting on a show now……..trying to keep everyone on edge because they made such a huge deal of Dorian WAAAAAAAY before they should have.

People living in the Bahamas are the ones really suffering and they will for a long time to come. Dorian FLATTENED huge areas of land. Dorian as a Cat 5, hit the Bahamas like a Bulldozer. Residents there won’t have power, water, even shelter for what will probably be MONTHS.

Forecasters……to you I say…..Focus on where the real need is. I’m in Brevard, Florida……in the Titusville area to be exact. I HAVEN’T SEEN EVEN ONE DROP OF RAIN SINCE LAST NIGHT….and that was a tiny, tiny amount. If you turn on the news….I should be getting Gusty Rain Bands….etc…..etc.

I walked all 3 of my dogs this morning……took about an hour and a half. Beautiful weather, sunny, nice breeze…….sometimes a strong breeze……..BUT IT IS JUST A BREEZE.

beautiful sky over my house

My front yard on September, 3 2019 @ 3:10 pm…… according to the news I should be getting gusty rain bands right now…… I haven’t received ANY ALL DAY.

If you believe in some kind of higher power……whatever or whoever that may be…..offer up a prayer for those living / staying in the Bahamas.

I will video…or take pictures if I can (It may be dark out) of any storm happenings here.

DORIAN….it’s going to get Windy.

image from The Weather Channel @ weather.com

So, we are going to be paid a visit by Dorian in the next couple of days. YUP, Hurricane Dorian. I’m watching the news at 19:42 on Saturday the 31st. The update they just gave stated that the Air Force plane reported a gust just above 160 miles per hour. If that was a sustained wind , Dorian would be a Cat 5. Still only expected to be a Cat 4 though. As usual, what is called the “Cone of Uncertainty” has wobbled from left to right and will probably continue to do so. The forecast path has changed many times. It will change a couple more times until the hurricane gets where it’s going.

They should put another official forecast out soon. lol….just another Floridian Summer / Hurricane / Summer Season.

Helping put up shutters (metal shutters) in the middle of the day during the summer…..is not a pleasant experience for anyone. If you have M.S. though, it can be awful. I helped with the first 5 panels / covering our master sliders. WAAAAAAAAAY too hot. After 20 minutes of being outside working with hot metal, sun shining down on me, sweating like crazy, I was shaking and felt like I was going to pass out. Luckily our son came out to help. Back inside for me, cold drink, fan, sitting on my butt…..after about an hour I felt better. Problem is I am STILL Exhausted. I hate that the heat can Screw with my M.S. Brain. Times like these I want to move up north where there are more cold days than burning hot days.

The pictures here are from N.A.S.A and ABC News.

From ABC news…..one of many “spaghetti models” for Dorian

Karma….or just Bad Luck?

I’ve heard people say, “If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all.” Sometimes I feel that way…..just unlucky. I think we all do at one point or another. When I sit back and think about it though, I’ve actually been very lucky. I have amazing children that have grown up into responsible adults. They were never in trouble at school. They behaved. I have the love of 3 sweet, goofy dogs. I am still walking and my M.S. isn’t as bad as it could be. I guess that can be considered good luck.

Trying to stay positive, and trying to believe that I have the good kind of luck is really hard when things start going wrong. There is the plumbing problem with the burst pipe in our foundation and the clothes dryer that broke while full of next weeks work attire. Then there are the ‘black comedies’ of the luck world. The quirky, crappy, annoying things that cause EVERYONE AROUND YOU to laugh like Hyenas. “We’re not laughing at you, we’re laughing with you.” they say …..but you’re NOT laughing. Sort of like the morning I climbed out of may car, started the 10th of a mile walk into the office and the sky opened up and peed on me, or when that little strap between the toes on my sandals broke and I flung my shoe across the room. I was MORTIFIED. …..Glue….Staples…..Duct Tape..???

I hate thinking that ‘lucky’ is a real state of being. If good and bad luck truly exist, life is not doling them out in equal measures. I mean why would one group of people be lucky while another never seems to get a break? Luck seems too random.

I much prefer imagining that I was a horrible person in a past life. Someone like Snow White’s Evil Queen Step-Witch or Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent. Then it would be Karma, lolol. It would be punishment for my evil deeds. 🙂 I would deserve this Unlucky Luck. It would be Karmic justice.

Throwing the idea of luck, good or bad out the window has allowed me to accept life for what it is……a series of misadventures, millions of giggles, an equal measure of tears, and a shooting star or three.

The ‘Oh Woe is Me’ crap, just isn’t me. Life can feel like a Shi*show. Just remember EVERYONE has some version of the Shi*show playing out in their life. When I remember that I’m not the only Actor in this “show”, I suck it up and find a way to deal with it. Hell, if I let it get to me, I might end up a bitter, grumpy individual who makes everyone around her miserable. Then I’d probably come back as a Worm in my next life. Better yet, as a Worm someone will use for fish bait…..think about that Karmic payback.