Man, I've been lazy lately. That's most likely why I haven't been posting here very often. In fact, last time I posted any real update of any kind was my Kumoricon report which was almost two months ago. Gah!

I'm here and well except that my foot hasn't gotten any better. Oh right, I don't think I ever said anything about that here. Late August I sustained an injury to the bottom of my right foot at work though I never was sure what I did to it exactly. The doctor told me I sprained it and put me on transitional duty at work which basically means that I don't do my normal job because it requires far too much standing and walking. Mostly I fold napkins, stuff envelopes, unpack merchandise, and lots of other boring and tedious tasks. After two months of this garbage I'm VERY ready to go back to my regular job but my foot hasn't gotten any better, even after the cortisone shot I got last Monday. So I'll probably be doing this for a while longer. Meh! If it goes on long enough I'll get put on medical leave. :\

In much, much, MUCH better news: Phil and Kaja Foglio, along with their children, will be spending some time in Disneyland after the California Steampunk Convention (which I sadly won't be making it to because I'll be at the Harvest Festival in Fresno instead). I've been making plans with Kaja and shall be getting them some free tickets and, if I have a day or two off, volunteering my services as their personal tour guide (aka, hang out); there has been much excited squeeing on both sides! We also may be going out for dinner one of the nights they're in town. Needless to say I'm VERY excited about this and I'm also looking forward to getting to meet the rugrats. From what I've heard about them they're the kids that all geeks dream of having so I'm sure I'll love them. But then I love most kids so it's pretty much a given.

That's pretty much my life as of late. I've been drawing a lot more than usual lately, scrapping a good portion of it, but it's good practice and I can see improvements as I flip through my sketch books in chonological order.

One more thing before I go to upload some stuff and work on others, I finally managed to do a photoshoot on my horse in my Maxim costume! I already posted these on the Girl Genius comm and the Jägerkin forums but forgot to post them here! Silly me. I know a lot of people were waiting for them, too. I'm going to Photoshop my favorites and send those to Kaja so she can put them on the website. But for now here are the best photos of the bunch (the ones that aren't blurry or me with weird expressions or Brego in mid-head-shake or with his eyes closed, etc...)

http://s362.photobucket.com/albums/oo68/bagof4grapes/maximcavalry/

My dad is the photographer of all of these and he used my camera, a Kodak EasyShare Z740.

I've been having a lot of asthma problems lately, especially at work. I just saw my doctor today and she prescribed me ANOTHER inhaler. This one is supposed to help prevent asthma attacks, whereas the one I already have is a "rescue" inhaler if I'm having an asthma attack.

Just what I need. Another monthly expense. $30 per inhaler per month. *cringes*

In other news, Orangina is deeeeeeeelish!

That and 72% cacao Swiss dark chocolate. x_x

I never, ever, EVER want to have to do that again.

I just had surgery (for those who are new to my LJ I had a lipoma - a benign tumor - just under the skin on my right shoulder blade) and I was awake for the whole thing. Of course I had a local anesthetic so I didn't feel any pain whatsoever but I could still feel ( cut for the squeamish )

Still, the surgeon was VERY nice and was really good at distracting me. He kept me talking the whole time. I could tell he wasn't truly interested in anything I had to say but at the same time he was very good at listening and just keeping me going. Everytime I stopped talking he'd figure out another question to ask me that involved a long, drawn-out answer. We talked about my horse and my job and my family and what I do for fun and that kind of rubbish. Meanwhile I was trying to ignore ( another cut for the squeamish )

It was only a 1" incision and I only have four stitches so it wasn't a big deal. My Uncle Phil (not actually my uncle, friend of my dad's whom I've known my whole life and the only "relative" I have within 200 miles) drove me to and from the hospital and even though I wasn't out of it or anything I was still very shaken up and was really glad to have him there with me. He bought me breakfast and then after my surgery took me to a CVS Pharmacy to pick up some extra strength Tylenol.

I'm still numb so I haven't started feeling anything yet but I kinda figured that in a few hours I'll be sore. Definitely hoping I won't be miserable at work tomorrow.

On the plus side, I have an AMAZING, WONDERFUL roommate who has offered to help me change bandages and put Neosporin on it and all that stuff since it's on my back and I can't reach it very well myself. Thank God for Sheena. I'm really blessed to have her in my life. She even offered to drive down from the office she works at IN LOS ANGELES to take me home from the hospital if I needed it. She's awesome. ^_^

I got brave just now and reached over my shoulder to feel the bandages and THE LUMP IS GONE. That's so exciting! That stupid lump that I've had for the past five or six years IS GONE! As soon as I heal and get past this icky stage it'll be so awesome! I don't have to feel self-conscious when I wear tank tops or swimsuits anymore.

Just have to keep reminding myself, there IS a good side to all the trauma I had to endure today.

Okay, off to do some fun, stress-free stuff to take my mind off things.

P.S., I just talked with a lady who has a prospective apartment for us. It sounds AWESOME! We're going to look at it tomorrow night.

I feel like major crap. Went to work today only to start getting dizzy spells so my lead was practically telling me to go home. They couldn't force me to go but it was clear that was what they thought I should do. I'm probably taking tomorrow off too since I'll be getting a free second sick day. Financially speaking I should be working as much as possible but I think I can make up for it later. The sooner I get rest the sooner I'll get better and the sooner I can start working extra hours.

So apparently I'm suffering from high stress.

Oh and, hi. Yes, I'm still alive. A lot of things have been happening lately so I haven't been around much.

I've been experiencing a lot of crazy symptoms lately and I looked them up on Web MD. It said I was most likely suffering from stress and it told me to use the stress calculator to see what level I'm at. I was thinking I'd wind up somewhere near the less severe end of the scale like those things always do and it would tell me to just relax, eat well, get a lot of rest, and that it wasn't a big deal. No, I got the highest stress level on the meter! It said I should see a physician and definitely start taking it easy or I could start suffering from major health problems.

Um. Yikes!

( Symptoms (slight TMI) and things that have been causing me stress. )

Wow, now that I've written all those things down and looked at them, I'm thinking that stress meter was right. I've got an unhealthy level of stress right now. I don't know what to do about it, though. I can't just relax or take it easy like it says to. You can't force yourself to stop worrying. I'm still very upset from last night and don't have much of an appetite. In fact, I feel slightly nauseous. I get dizzy every time I stand up. I should probably eat something but I'm afraid I'll get sick if I do. I mean, I ate just fine yesterday, had a full dinner and everything, so I'm pretty sure my dizziness isn't from food deprivation.

Usually I say don't worry about me, I'll be fine. This time I'm not so sure. Next to-do item: schedule a doctor's appointment.

Heh, some people on my flist may want to throw things at me for this post.

I'm back to a healthy weight, yay! I was getting too skinny a couple weeks ago. I was down to 115. Yikes! That's a BMI of 18.6. Supposedly you're not supposed to go under 20. I guess I just didn't have much of an appetite. I was also a bit stressed with finding an apartment and getting my job set up and everything that I wasn't making time to eat or make sure I was eating healthily. I also tend to skip meals or eat really small meals when I'm inactive (and it may sound like I've been really active but between my trips to LA I was spending a lot of time sitting on my duff).

But! Ever since I started training two weeks ago my appetite's been WAY up and now I'm at 123 lbs. That's 19.9 BMI. Almost! My goal is 125-130 so I'm still working at it. *dances* Seriously, I eat like a rabid wolf when I'm staying active (working, exercising, etc...). I really need to make sure I keep myself active so I don't do that to myself again.

Just so you know, I'm NOT anorexic. I just have a very fast metabolism and my appetite changes drastically depending on my routine. When I'm inactive I just get really sluggish and I don't eat much. Like, we're talking a granola bar for breakfast, no lunch, and half a package of Ramen for dinner. When I'm active I eat like a 250-pound man, seriously. It's scary. I still can't believe how much I was able to shovel down my throat each meal while at camp. And I ate like that three times a day. And sometimes I'd find something to eat in between meals because I'd be starving!

Then there's my love affair with food. ^_^ Seriously, if my stomach didn't eventually get full I would be eating 24/7.