Monday, August 25, 2008

Thank God August Is Almost Over!

So I've been hiding even more than usual lately. First of all, since July through now I've been working 10 hour days, not including the 2 hours total daily commute. I wake up about 7:30 am and usually don't get home till almost 9pm. 2 hours later I need to be going to sleep if I don't want to feel like shit the next day. The summer months are tourist season so they are the busiest which means we stay open later and it doesn't help that we're understaffed as well.

And then of course I had like a 3 week long cold that is finally starting to go away but gave me hell the first 2 weeks. Mind you, I gave it to Clay and he got over it within 4 days and a co-worker who got over it in a week. Damn my weak immune system! So I'm just starting to feel normal again. Starting September 1st we go back to our regular hours finally. It's not that much of a difference but I'd rather get out at 6:30pm than 8pm.

My friend Jorge is getting married in about a month and I still haven't booked a hotel or purchased a gift. I'll need to get on that soon.

For Christmas (of last year) Clay gave me a gift certificate for a day at the spa that I never used until today. It was heaven. I got a massage, back scrub, facial, and a paraffin hand and foot treatment. It took about 4 hours for everything. It was just what I needed. I've been stressing about work too much and this was a great way to relax. Afterward I bought my family Shakey's (one of my favorite pizza places mostly because we used to go there often as kids) and it felt like a good day. I might try to make a massage and facial a monthly routine, depending on my finances.

Last week we took my brother Diego Back to School shopping and I have to say, another great day. So we go to this place called the Warehouse Shoe Sale to buy his shoes (a chain where they sell casual shoes, mostly sneakers of different brands) and they had this contest going on where they gave you a scratcher if you bought anything and you could win a gift card or cash. I'm paying for 3 pairs of shoes when they give me the scratcher and I hand it to Diego because I never win anything so I can't be bothered to scratch it. Turns out it was a winning ticket and we win a $100 gift card. And the employees all clap, they ring a bell, it's a big to do. My mom, Diego, and I all talk about the different circumstances that lead us to the register at the right time to be given a winning ticket. We had talked about going to another store, I insisted Diego get another pair of shoes (timing), and then the employee gave us the last ticket instead of the one on top of the stack. So my mom grabbed a pair of sneakers for herself and we walked out happily having spent less than $100 for 4 pairs of shoes.

Then we went to Target to buy more school stuff and afterwards I took them both out to Red Lobster, which I like and they'd never been to. It was a great way to end the day.

It feels good to do things with and for your family. My mom sometimes tries to thank me too much and she doesn't realize the pleasure it gives me to do everyday things with her and them and do things for them that they wouldn't have done themselves. Even if it's something as simple as bringing pizza home.

In September I'm going to work less hours a day but I'll work more days in a row. Since I work retail, I'm not used to working 5 days straight since I don't get weekends off usually. But because of the days I need off for doctor's appointments and Jorge's wedding, I'll be working quite a few days back to back before I get a day off. My store director said I could come in later on any given day if I needed the extra rest and I think I may actually take her up on the offer at some point.

So I have bad news. One of my brothers spilled orange juice on my laptop and now it's not working. I feel really bad and I don't know what to do. He's offered to fix it (through a friend of a friend) but it's been 2 weeks now and he hasn't done anything and I don't know where to take it. Where does one take laptops that have had something spilt on them? I hate that I have to charge him for it but I don't feel like covering the cost for damage I didn't do. Thankfully he's offered to pay for the repair but I still hate that this happened. It wasn't an expensive laptop but it's the one Clay gave me when I was in City of Hope during my first transplant so that I would have something to do when no one was there. He's also not very happy about the situation. It just makes me feel like I lent someone something special to me and they messed it up and I feel partially responsible because maybe I shouldn't have lent it out. This week is the deadline I gave my brother to try to fix it before I started my own research, which I should have really done already. God I hope it's something that can be fixed, and hopefully quickly.

My next treat to myself is to go shopping. I need new jeans more than anything. It's disheartening when nothing in your closet fits because you've lost too much weight and everything just hangs. I want to get jeans that fit and that I'll feel good in.

I need to get out of the rut I'm in. I used to care about clothes and looking nice. Lately I've just been wearing pajamas because all I want to do is hang out in bed. I need to get up, go shopping, go to the spa, go to the movies, have coffee with friends, do things with my boyfriend. Now if only I'd stop getting sick, maybe I can make some of those things happen.....

More bad news, my hair is starting to fall out again. Hair loss was a side effect of the pills I'm currently on but it took 3 months before it started to kick in. I was hoping it was a side effect I wouldn't get but unfortunately, that wasn't to be. It's gradual but I already notice the difference. I'm hoping it won't get to the point where I need to wear a wig to work but I think it will, unless I switch medication to something that doesn't cause hair loss but just about everything does. We'll see what happens.

Well, time to go to bed............

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