Home again! And not in the Army!

[badgerbag]

Hideous fitful dream last night that I had accidentally signed up to be in the Army. They said it would be very accessible, and I was desperate. It all had something to do with my fabulous skill at video games. Once I signed the papers everything changed, they took my wheelchair away, and were going to make me do basic training. They said that was all I needed to get better -- I was just lazy There was nothing wrong with me.

Why had I signed the papers! How could I undo it! What was going to happen when my ankles just collapsed and I was writhing in pain on the ground? Oh, regrets! What a relief to wake up.

It's so nice to be home, taking it completely easy, feeling like it's impossible to get myself together but trying to believe everything will be fine.

zond7 cooked us cottage pie last night with mashed cauliflower and cheese instead of potato on top. Really delicious. Moomin is playing endless video games and reading. Hilda in Birdland is his favorite book I brought back. "The Cat Master" amused him greatly but 2/3 of the way through he said he was stopping reading it because it was inappropriate (ie, embarrassed him.) The book of Herge's life is also a bit embarrassing in places but he was really enjoying all the references (textual and visual) since he knows every tintin book backwards & forwards. However, I erred in my judgement of what he would like best. Must keep this in mind for his birthday books. We went to the library and got a bagful of things -- and the first thing he pulled out were the babymouse books I got for myself.

I'm so glad that jong and basmati are doing A.'s birthday party - I am just not up to any of it.

Read House of Many Ways which I wish were 20 times longer.... just keep going in that world! I wish there were more! Maybe will get M. the Dalemark books. Also getting him Scott Westerfeld Leviathan books (or maybe just get them for A. as they will both read them and her birthday is first) Though they were just a bit annoying to read in some ways.

Also read the prequel to Mysterious Benedict Society and now I feel like reading those all over again.

On the plane I read every Amelia Butterworth mystery. How didn't I know about these! The first two were so amazing! I would read everything else by Anna Katherine Green just in case it would have other things equally amazing. That Affair Next Door was SO great. (And the ebook is FREE). Miss Butterworth's narration so hilarious & her rivalry & conversations with detective Gryce absolutely perfect.

Lost Man's Lane was also good but not as good as That Affair Next Door. But if you like Gothic elements in a story it will make you laugh. Apparently Green has other mysteries with Violet Green as the detective so I will look for those.

Will I ever reach a point of not being in so much pain or will it just stay like this or get worse? I don't understand how other people cope with it.

Comments

[sara]

Heh, a friend of my brother's from the Air Force Academy has a job flying drones, which is apparently very much like playing video games.

(They are based out of Vegas and fly planes all over the world. I eyeroll a LOT when people in the media hyperventilate about oh noes, drones will be flown over the US. Drones have been flown over the western US for at least the past 10-15 years. Pretty much daily. The only difference is that lately it's been in the news.)

[jesse_the_k]

DREAM! That's a 10/10 for creepy, anxiety-inducing, & generally horrible.

Ereaders were so made for you! (Although how much of your explorations are already available?)

Manage the pain? Pull back from the edge and always operate at 80% or less. Goooood drugs, assistive tech, accommodations. Even able-bodied, you'd be slowing down from your efficiency in your 20s and 30s. It sucketh mightily.

[badgerbag]

Yes - i am concluding I need better drugs, and more naps.

[bibliofile]

So many good books, so glad no one's run out of things to read yet. (Will it happen? and will CNN cover it if/when it does happen????@!?)

So it's not just me that Westerfeld's Leviathan books are just a bit less satifsying than some of his other books (e.g., Uglies)? To me they felt more like plain adventure books for boys than anything else. I couldn't tell if it was my lack of enthusiasm for that type of book or whether the books were actually less substantive and/or inventive.

Thinking of the people I know with pain issues, whose ailments possibly differ from yours: kvetching of course, pain classes (learning meditation and stuff), TENS units, some kinds of exercise (even PT), and yeah the medication. Acupuncture, massage and other bodywork, even talk therapy to manage stress. I know you know about, well, probably all of these things, of course.

[badgerbag]

I am definitely leaning towards a bit of talk therapy that would go beyond my general feeling of "complaining a lot".