Tuesday, July 09, 2019

July Randoms: My Summer of Discontent (so far)

It's been a while... Again!!  Here's how my summer has been shaping up so far...
  • We celebrated Canada Day on June 30th in my little town, and it was a wonderful celebration indeed!!  I had a great crew of family and friends that joined me at my place for the big day.  We got burgers and dogs from the Community BBQ that the Canada Day Committee runs, and we had all kinds of sides, salads and desserts to go along with them.  We all gathered on my front lawn to watch the parade, and I had such a good time. I missed out on so many of these parties when I was on the committee, so I really enjoy being part of them now!
  • After the parade, most of the guests left to get their kids home to bed, but the rest of us hung out at my place and had a few drinks before heading down to watch the LEGENDARY fireworks!  They are always sooo good, and it makes my heart burst with pride to know our little town puts on such a damn good show.  Hats of to the Canada Day Committee for all their hard work!!
  • So, then there was the after-party.  My plan was to go for one. ONE.  I had ZERO intentions of going on a rip.  And then, suddenly... there I was.  ugh.  I always forget... I ask for my drinks in a big cup thinking they'll be watered down, but instead, I end up drinking doubles (possibly even triples??)  One minute I'm responsible, the next I'm a mess.  THERE'S A REASON I DON'T DO THIS ANYMORE!!!  I dropped one drink.  I ran into a kid and spilled his drink.  Then I dropped another drink.  And I knew then it was time to go home.  Thank God I did, because I think I was one drink away from being VERY malade the next day.  oy vey.
  • The rest of Canada Day weekend was a combination of preparing for the celebrations, and relaxing and enjoying the long weekend.  I had cut grass the previous Thursday evening, I got groceries on Friday evening, I did lots of cleaning and food prep on Saturday, but I also hit up a friend's yard sale, and then decided to go with my mom to my nephew's ball game on Saturday night.  A storm moved in and we watched from the car for a long time before they finally called the game, and then we all went out to eat at St. Hubert's.  Sunday was the big day, as described above.  And then Monday was low-key recovery.  Lol!  It had been a loooong time since I'd had a hangover, and I did NOT like it!!  But I had some chipstand grease for lunch, then spent the rest of the day on my sister and BIL's deck, soaking up the sun.  All in all, a great holiday weekend!!  I just wish it didn't fly by so fast!!
  • OK.  So.  Now we get into the "discontented" part.  As you know from recent posts, I got on the Raptors bandwagon toward the end of their Championship run, and while I followed them in the finals, I fell in love with their star player, Kawhi Leonard. And I mean, I fell hard.  I have not cared so much for an athlete since, like... Wade Redden.  Seriously.  And once all the partying and celebrating faded, the attention turned to the fact that Kawhi was becoming a free agent.  Toronto fans were hopeful he'd decide to come back for at least one more year, for a chance to run it back with basically the same team and a great chance at a repeat championship next year.  
  • Last week, I really got swept up in #KawhiWatch.  I was on Twitter as much as I possibly could be, trying to find out if he was going to sign in TO.  I followed basketball "insiders" as they shared the latest updates, I watched aerial footage of Kawhi landing in Toronto for his meeting, I tracked MLSE planes to see where they were going (IS KAWHI ON THE PLANE??), and I speculated with the best of 'em.  I have never been so caught up in hype quite like that. And deep down, I really, really thought he was going to re-sign here for one more year.  One more shot.  This section of the post is to be continued...
  • Late last week, something weird started happening to me.  I think it started on Thursday afternoon.  I was getting these weird sharp pains - almost like pulses or shocks - in the left side of my neck.  They would run up my neck, up behind my ear.  They weren't extreme, but they hurt, and they'd leave me feeling a little dazed afterwards.  I didn't think much of it at first, but as they continued on Friday, I started to get worried.  They left my neck and shoulders feeling stiff and sore, even when they weren't happening.  It was disconcerting.
  • Despite the weird neck/head issue, I proceeded into my weekend as if all things were normal.  On Friday evening, I had what I'd consider the perfect summer evening.  My sister and her fam came up, and we all went swimming at her in-laws (they live right behind me).  We ordered chipstand food for supper and ate out on their deck.  Then when I got home, I ate the Kronut my friend Sharon had brought me from Art Is In Bakery.... heavenly.  It was pure summer pleasure (aside from the pain in my neck).
  • I tried to finish up House of Cards by watching it in bed that night, but I fell asleep.  I woke around 3:30 AM and I was not feeling too crash hot.  The pulses were happening in my neck again (the first time I'd been wakened by them), and my stomach didn't feel good either.  I tossed and turned for awhile, then I got on my phone and started researching my symptoms.  Some of my findings were assuring (pains in the neck are usually nothing to  worry about!), some were alarming (you might be having a heart attack or stroke!), and finally I landed on one that made complete sense... something called Occipital Neuralgia.  I had most of the symptoms, and I was reassured by the fact that it was a non-life-threatening condition.  There was a list of home remedies to try (heat, rest, Ibuprofen, etc), but it said for more permanent solutions to see a doctor.  I felt comforted by what I read, so I got up, took some Tums and an Advil, and went back to bed.
  • And now, back to Kawhi...  I rolled over at about 7 AM the next morning, and immediately reached for my phone.  Opened Twitter.  And the first thing that popped up was a video posted by another Raps free agent, Danny Green, who had supposedly been waiting on Kawhi to decide if he was coming back or not next season.  In the video, he said that now that he knows what Kawhi is doing, he's decided to sign with the Lakers.  And I was like, "Huh?  What is Kawhi doing?!?!"  As it turns out, news broke in the middle of the night that he had decided to sign with the Clippers.  My heart sank.  Literally sank.  I didn't think it was possible to be that upset over a basketball player, and yet, I was.  I was heartbroken.
  • And the funny part of it all?  When I was up in the middle of the night searching Google for a diagnosis, I never checked Twitter.  If I had, I'd have probably seen the Kawhi news as it was breaking.  I really think my body was trying to tell me something!!!
  • Probably best that I didn't see it, though, because then I probably wouldn't have been able to get back to sleep. :(
  • So, yeah, Saturday was a glum day.  I cut grass and went for groceries, all the while sad about Kawhi and at the height of my worry about my neck issue.  My mom thought I should go to the hospital.  I haaaaate going to the hospital.  So I chose to sit around home  and worry instead.  And be sad about Kawhi.  Fun times.
  • That evening, I did one of Dr. Google's recommended remedies and took a muscle relaxant around 6 PM.  I fell asleep on the couch less than half an hour later.  I'd wake up, rewind House of Cards, and then promptly fall asleep again.  I eventually moved to my bed and slept through the night.  When I woke the next morning, my Fitbit told me I'd slept over 12 hours.  That just added to my feeling of discontentment.
  • Sunday continued with more ignoring the pain in the neck, and forcing myself to have a fun summer's day.  We went to church, had lunch at my place, dropped in on Stacy & Maddy at their yard sale, and then went to the pool again for the afternoon.  I started to think I might be feeling better, as the pulses weren't happening anymore, just soreness in my neck and shoulder.  We had a BBQ dinner at my mom's and it was delicious.  I was starting to feel like maybe I was better.
  • That night, I FINALLY finished House of Cards.  Thank God!!  I had wanted to finish it on Friday so that I could dive into Stranger Things 3, but that didn't pan out.  I'm glad I can finally do that, I'm so excited to watch it!
  • Last night I finished reading The Mister by EL James, and now I have to decide what my next book will be.  Decisions, decisions...
  • And one last bit of good news:  I called my doc's office yesterday and actually got an appointment to see him next Tuesday.  HUGE relief!  They usually book months in advance, but when I explained my situation, I got a squeeze-in appt, and I feel like I have a weight off my shoulders.  The neck issue seems to be getting better, though there is still some soreness and the occasional pulsing, so I definitely feel like I need his assessment.  I'm a worry-wart (which probably isn't helping) and that man can calm me down better than anyone else.  I feel better just knowing I'm going to see him soon.  Phewf!!
Well, I think that's enough rambling for one day, isn't it?  Sorry for the verbal dump, but... it's my summer of discontent.  What can I say.

1 comment:

Nicole said...

So what happened with the neck pain?