Shelby Cass’s Weblog

Ringing in 2009 at a big fat whopping 158 pounds, I am far from my goal of 135, but definitely working on it.  I start with this line because it’s a lot of what I think about.  Since the last surgery I have been doing wonderfully, except recently I have been sleeping over 12 hours a night and dark circles are making a comeback under my eyes.  It’s worrysome, and today on our way home from Novato (where we had lunch with my old friend Brad - Hi Brad!) I started nodding behind the wheel.  After 12 hours of sleep, a taco salad and 2 cups of coffee, that shouldn’t happen…so I am scared and sad…And have been on a 1200 calorie low carb diet since December 15 with only 4 pounds off to show for it (I know you’re supposed to lose it slow to keep it off, but I would still like to wake up with curves in the right places…overnight weight loss would be fine by me!).  Grr.  Depresso entry.  Sorry.  We also picked up badminton again after my sprained ankle, and as soon as my freaking hammer squished finger heals, I will get back into yoga and light weights.

Here’s something awesome: When I was in ballet, oh so many years ago, I had a best friend at SFB.  Her name was Britta.  I called her Brit-Brit.  She called me Shelb-Shelb.  She lived in Daly City, so her family let me stay with them whenever I could (mostly summers and Nutcracker season, but many Fridays as well since we always had class on Saturday).  Britta and I lost touch when I left the school to go to high school (the ballet school told me I had to consider “home schooling” going into the next level which I thought meant I was going to be dumb and not go to college so I chose school), but her mom always remembered me and tracked me down right before Britta got married about 5 years ago.  I was invited to be a surprise guest…I was SO EXCITED.  So excited that even though the day of her wedding was the same day I was released from the hospital with kidney stones still partying in my urinary tract, I wanted to go.  David and Courtland had to very sternly tell me I was INSANE and sat with me while I tearfully called the hotel and left a message for Britta’s mom that I would not be attending.

Fast forward 5 years and I still had not seen Britta.  She and her husband lived in the Caribbean and until two years ago we hadn’t even spoken on the phone.  When we finally spoke on the phone, they had just moved back to Daly City and I was just about to have my MMA.  We again lost touch until December 7 when Britta was going through her mom’s address book looking for people to invite to her mom’s surprise birthday party and found my number.  I was invited to the party and 3 days later got to see the whole family again.  It was awesome.  Amazing.  Britta looked the same and we just picked up where we left off…it was just NICE.  So comfortable and nice.  AND Britta has a goal.  She wants to lose some weight and take a ballet class.  It’s funny how people can travel through life, taking different paths here and there, changing little bits about themselves, yet still be, for lack of a better vocabulary, the same.  You know what I mean.  Not the same person…a richer person who knows more and has been through lilfe-shaping things…but a person who even today, if we met brand new, might still end up being a good friend.  Those ones are hard to find.  And you can bet your bottom that she and I will reach our goals and start taking a ballet class from Zoltan (another story) together.  (By the way, Britta has a cat she named Shelby - teehee *big grin*)

So this year has been great.  I know lots of stuff has happened, but everything has had a positive outcome…as in, I believe I am better off today than I was one year ago…and I aim to keep that trend going.  Tonight Nicholas is coming over and we will very mellow-ly watch tons of Psych and if we’re up at 12 we will all three pour bubbly stuff into glasses, clink them together and wish each other a very Happy New Year.  Which it will be.  I have creed.

Happy New Year to you ALL!

xoxo

Shelby

Holy cow and a half!  Okay it’s been a while.  Since I last wrote I have gained weight (ankle fail), hired a professional organizer (consequently got a horrible upper respiratory cold due to *cough* dust *cough* - but kept on breathing), took a mini vacay to Half Moon Bay with step mom Anne, was spontaneously invited and spontaneously accepted trip to Hawaii for a week before Thanksgiving, had two Thanksgiving dinners (=more weight most likely), skipped out on the NECE in Vegas going on right now (National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition), and put Mochi kitty on a diet.  I’m sure there are more things that happened, but those are the highlights…now let us look at the breathing part of those highlights.  Did you notice?  If ANYTHING was going to test the efficacy of the last roto-rootering of my throat, it was that cold.  Dr. Li for the win!  Party on Wayne!

Oh.  I also had a birthday.  12th Annual 24th.  I had my party at Caprino’s down the street.  There were over 40 people in attendance and I had an absolute ball.  I even hooked up with a cake gal and got myself (in addition to a wonderful raved-about opera cake) a special Shelby cake.

I have now spent about an hour trying to upload photos.  Mood = bad.  Need heat (thought I turned it on–evidently not enough) and food.  TBC.  Sorry!

Mochi baby is cute.

Left you hanging…as usual.  It’s not that I didn’t think of you all the time, but as time went on, more and more things were added to my mental list of “things to blog” and of course that resulted in overwhelming myself into silence.  Well, I’m sure you are all used to that by now.  So where were we?

Last we spoke I was on my way to the MMA “Reunion”…which is not right.  Reunion implies we had met before.  So…it was the MMA (Maxillo Mandibular Advancement, not Mixed Martial Arts) gathering.  And it was rad.  Met all sorts of cool people and put faces to names of other cool people.  All in all a wonderful day and someday I will post pictures.  Isn’t it enough I’m writing? 

The day after that, my frog died.  Slider, aka Sticky-E (his street name) passed away and I was sad sad sad.  I was so sad and upset that my squeamish better half offered to remove Sticky-E’s remains so that I wouldn’t have to.  Pretty serious.  And I know…it’s just a frog.  But I liked him.  No frogs legs jokes here (believe me I’ve heard them all).  That night I cleaned the terrarium and every morning since then I have walked out of my bedroom and felt a very big THUMP of guilt when I see the empty cage.  Yes…GUILT.  I think I killed him.  I mean, my only job was to keep him alive and I only managed to do that for 5 years.  These guys are supposed to live on average 10.  I am not a model frog owner.  He was sometimes hungry.  His cage was not cleaned as frequently as it should have been.  He did always have water…but you know, I could have done better.  I guess I also could have done worse.  But that was the end, I think, of my frog-owning days.  Now I am cats and gecko mom.

Synopsis of lately things: sprained my ankle last Friday.  Lovely.  But AWESOME NEWS:  It is healing like a CHARM!!!  I sprained my ankle 5 years ago when I was mis-diagnosed with narcolepsy and it took 8 MONTHS in a walking cast to heal.  Same ankle, same inversion sprain…and I’m thrilled with the progress.  Of course no badminton for a while, and yoga is on hold (I see the fat cells rallying) but ever since my MMA surgery I heal faster and on top of that, actually don’t get hurt/sick as much at all.  A credit to oxygen and sleep.  Hooray!  I’m a fan.

Bad news (and maybe someone of doctor knowledge can help here):  My nausea and vomiting is back.  I notice now a very metallic taste in the back of my throat which I figured was post nasal drip or something, but I’ve had PND my whole life and never been a puking machine like I am now.  It’s very attractive, yes, but sometimes I want to be able to turn that whole projectile thing off.  You know?  I think I have something wrong with my stomach.  Maybe from too many NSAIDs which I cannot take anymore except in emergency and only if I am not going to lie down anytime soon.  So I am sitting here with a metallic taste in the back of my mouth and nausea though not so bad, and any moment I will mosey into the bathroom (I pretend it’s on MY terms), pull my hair back into a ponytail (eeww we know why) and get up close and personal with my newly repaired (thanks manager Dan!) porcelain pal.  Not happy, Bob.

On other notes: drinksapp.com go go go!  My car has cost me $2700 this year.  Sudoku is still addictive especially on the DS.  My birthday is on Friday.  I will be 24 again (12th annual).

Happy Saturday night!  I hope you have an awesome weekend and that you spend absolutely NONE of it unnecessarily communing with your commode.

My title is probably not funny unless you’re Cynthia.

This morning (Monday) I went to see Dr. Li, my favorite doctor in the world.  He looked in my throat and pronounced me stitch free.  I wondered why I still had sore throats after talking and he explained that while the stitches were in my throat was reacting to the foreign material and only now after the stitches are gone can the tissue fully heal.

I had emailed Dr. Li over the weekend and mentioned that my chin still hurt.  I found this out on Friday when I leaned on my chin…or did I lean on my hand?  I propped myself up with my hand on my chin?  Oh you know what I’m saying.  And I felt pain…only on the right side…where the screw that broke lives.  So Dr. Li prodded that area and shook his head…I’m sure he wishes at times that I just wasn’t so darned sensitive.  I said it was fine.  Something I would live with I’m sure.  And he said give it some time and we’ll revisit it.  But then…THEN…he said “Keep in touch.  Email me in a month. I don’t need to see you.”  Yowzah!!!  I mean, I know I will have a follow up sleep study at some point, but I guess it’s true.  He doesn’t need to see me again.  *tear*  Now what am I going to blog about?

Can I just say that 3 day weekends and the following short work weeks are awesome? I think I just said it.

Tuesday morning I got a desperate call from my boss…co-worker who was supposed to teach class was not feeling well, was there any way I could teach?  Sure.  Why not.  So, I went in to work and walked straight over to the classroom where I proceeded to talk to over 30 people for 1.5 hours straight.  Good thing I’d stocked up on iced coffee and ice water.  But alas, after class my throat was none so happy.  And then I had to do 3-4 more evaluations in Mission College no less (I hate shuttling around, in all honesty).  Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled when 6 rolled around and I could stop talking until 7 when we walked down the street to Gin Mon for dinner.

Wednesday morning I woke up with…yes, a sore throat.  It actually woke me up a few times during the night too which was lovely.  I got to work and found out I was getting on the shuttle again midday to Great America, but being as it was my Friday, I wasn’t too concerned.  I stocked up again on iced coffee and water, and plunged in.  At the end of the day I STILL had a sore throat.  I mentioned this to my boss, because I noticed that next week has me teaching again, and I am a little not thrilled about that, but maybe next week will be better.  Best way to find your limits is to test them?  Well, that’s about where I am.

Yesterday (Thursday) I did not talk for over 8 hours.  Not even to the kitties.  And I feel MUCH better.  Lesson learned?  Probably not.  Next weekend is the MMA “reunion” of sorts in Sunnyvale, and what to want to bet I talk a little too much?  What else am I supposed to do?  Peeps from out of state are going to be there!  Must talk…must chat…  Talk to you later!

Hello Party People.

So…Monday I woke up…with no sore throat.  Yes throat aggravation and stitches awareness, but no pain.  And this continued…all week.  Hooray!!!  Today I have a sore throat but of the allergy/am I getting sick kind and no real stitches awareness…could those buggers be gone?  Another Hooray!

So, although feeling like I am coming down with something (though my ears are involved so maybe is just allergies) on a 3 day weekend is not ideal, I have high hopes for my future.  Have a wonderful holiday weekend!  Be safe!

Dr. Li told me to let him know if my throat still hurt on Friday.  It’s 50 minutes til Friday and I’m not comfy so I wrote him an email.  I mentioned I might be a wussmonster because really, what gives?  When he looked in my throat on Monday he said it looked great.  I would think he’d have noticed and/or mentioned if it looked inflamed still.  Or maybe most people deal with this sore achey uncomfortable throat and don’t complain as much as I do.

Tonight I had a wonderful surprise.  My friend David spontaneously came over, and then I got a phone call from #1 saying she’d gone to Ikea and got stuck this side of Santa Cruz so did we want to get dinner in Palo Alto?  Yeahoo!  David and I hopped in the car(pool lane) and met her at Nola’s (New Orlean’s fare) where I realised that in New Orleans…everyone eats SHELLFISH.  hahah  I got a burger.

I also found out that when there are 3 people at the table and the place is LOUD, my throat will hurt if I want the people I am with to hear me.  But my burger was excellent…as were the beignets after that.  Of course.  When is deep fried dough smothered in powdered sugar with dipping sauces NOT good?

Tomorrow I am off to Murphy…wherever that is.  I looked on a map and I still don’t know.  I just know I should get water and gas in Stockton and not pick up any hitchhikers.  My sister is going to a wedding on Saturday afternoon so I am to play Super Aunt Shelby while she is away.  Can do.  Have a great weekend, all!  Revel in your non-sore throats.

Boy.

Today is Wednesday, August 20.  I had my UPPP minus the U over a month ago now and I’m still(?) recovering.  I guess I expected to be practicing my yodel by now.  I’m not really in pain, per se, but I am in aggravation?  Annoyance?  Ickdome?  I really really really do not like the feeling of stitches in my throat.  I am assuming that is what I am feeling.  Could be a rogue cricket escaped from the frog or gecko terrariums, but I think Dr. Li may have seen that and commented when he last peered down there on Monday.  So I’m going with stitches.  And I don’t like them.  No sir.  I don’t like it.

I wrote to Dr. Li (a doctor who does not charge me money to contact him via email?  Again, who IS this man?) and mentioned my discomfort and he replied (!!) if it still hurts, contact him on Friday.  Will do.

Haven’t contacted allergist yet…feel like I should just address one thing at a time.  Plus I just got my hospital bills.  Yoinks.  I have to say I don’t like my deductible either.  It’s right up there with stitches in throat…  (ok not really.  I’m happy I have insurance.)  I talked to a number of people who say they are allergic to shrimp too…but it’s the iodine?  Again, I’ll find out later when I go to the allergist, but at least I can still hope and dream of eating oysters in the future.

Today was my Friday at work since I’m still taking it easy on my indie contracting days.  Hope these stitches get the heck out by Sat…I get to babysit the minis (sister’s kids) and want (need) to be at 100%.  Mikey recognised my voice on the phone this morning.  “Auntie Shelby?!?!?  You coming OVER?”  No, I have to go to work.  But I will see you this weekend.  “Oh.  You have to go to work before you come OVER?”  Yes, that’s right.  Adorable…  Okay I’m outta here.  PEACE (but not literally…have you seen it yet?!?!?!)

Apologies for the haitus I took from the blog mid-recovery.  I kind of got censored…long story…and got upset and considered not writing anymore.  I am now officially over that thought.

So where were we?  Dr. Li, with hands as fine as a bee’s wing, took 5 stitches out of my throat on Monday morning before I went back to work.  I was really (REALLY) not looking forward to sharp sharp scissors in my throat, but honestly…Dr. Li is an angel in disguise as a surgeon.  I barely felt a thing, and life (in my throat) has been so much more pleasant ever since.

I worked 4 hours on Monday (translate into: I talked for 2 hours) and that was about all I could do, but every day got better and by Wednesday I was up to talking about 4 hours (that’s what I do.  I talk.), though I was very happy not to have to work on Thursday.  David came over and we cleaned a bunch - hello clean kitchen!  Then we all went to dinner at Luna’s and I found out that if I ask (*glee*), I can get flour torilla chips.  Luna’s = my new favorite Mexican restaurant if I can’t get to Juan’s.  Friday I did some reporting and billing and at 4pm met up with a couple vendors at TOWN.  Love Town.  Love it.  But I am not so sure they love me anymore.

It started out well enough.  Table out front.  Warm weather.  Pomegranate Martini (x2).  Lots of water.  An hour into the “meeting” we ordered the MUST HAVE La Brea garlic cheese bread.  Then we split a jumbo shrimp cocktail (I had 2 shrimp), I had a Grey Goose Pear Martini and then one of the guys had to go home, so I moved over to sit across from Rick and we decided to split a grilled artichoke.  Midway through the artichoke, I suddenly (I cannot explain how scary this was) felt like I was going to lose consciousness.  My ears started ringing, the world started getting dark…I managed to say to Rick “I just got a huge headrush.  I think I might pass out.”  And then…oh poor poor Rick.  And poor poor anyone EATING DINNER next to us…  I threw up.  Twice.  On the table.  No warning.  No time to move to the gutter or make a dash for the bathroom.  Just…M-blah.  Times 2.

And then I felt fine.  Okay not FINE.  But like 80% better.  And Rick escorted me to the bathroom where I had to …er…clean up…and then I went home and was fine, though tired, and EXTREMELY embarassed.  Oh I cannot tell you how mortified I was/am.  I could only imagine maybe I got a nut on accident somewhere (the only thing that has ever made me throw up before), but then Rick wrote me to say a doctor friend of his thought it was probably the shrimp.  So, back to the allergist.  Because I NEVER want to feel like that again.  EVER.  EVER.

On the throat front: I can still feel stitches in my throat (especially when I swallow) which I am quite looking forward to being GONE, but I no longer feel like I have strep.

On the weight front: I lost 8 lbs on the roto-throat adventure and have kept it off so far.  Hooray for badminton!  My new cardio sport.  We have a 2:30 badminton date so I must go get ready.

On my most recent obsession: You must see Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.  And then watch it 10 more times.  And sing along!  Yeah, that’s what I do.  If you don’t want to buy it on itunes (massively awesome investment), watch it here: Hulu and THEN buy it on iTunes because you’re addicted like me.

On the brilliance of my boyfriend:  drinks

The end.

Peace.  But not literally…oh watch Dr. Horrible.