Pain is the Best Motivator…Unfortunately
I know there’s a long entry I could write with this picture attached, but all I am going to say is that I ran more when my arthritis pain in my hand was hardly bearable. Since being on Enbrel, the pain has subsided and now the the endorphins aren’t as good a reward as it was before.
Well, in the spirit of mixing things up, I joined the YMCA so that I can take up swimming and give my joints a little break while still getting exercise. I hope it works out for me.
Sign of Recovery
A year ago, I took this picture of my right hand not having any idea what was causing it to hurt and swell the way it did. Only a month and a half later did I get my answer with a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis.
I definitely feel blessed that with treatment, my hand is feeling worlds better. I just have to remember not to take it for granted.
Busy Day Shopping…But Not For Mother’s Day
I spent my day off today perusing 3 malls so that I could find a dress to wear at a wedding I’m going to next weekend. Being my last day off before Mother’s Day, you figure I’d be looking for a gift for my mom. Well, it didn’t cross my mind because my mom doesn’t want me to get her anything as it has been every year. This comic well describes my mother on Mother’s Day:
Not sure if that’s how many Asian mothers are, but I can tell you that my Asian mother is very much like that. I am still thinking of something to do for my mom for Mother’s Day, but it certainly is not going to be something I buy from the mall.
Taking Out The Trash
Taking out the trash is such an easy thing to do, but let’s face it: we avoid doing it if we can.
Your Sweetness is a Weakness.
Sencha Shot from Ito-En is my one of my most favorite drinks. It is expensive (usually $2 for a small can), but it definitely fits my current palette to a tee.
I am always on the look out for a good refreshing non-sweet drink, usually iced tea. I would like to think that it wouldn’t be a hard task since there are so many drinks out there. When you are diagnosed as a diabetic like me, though, you unfortunately find out that is not the case.
Life was so much easier when I didn’t have to read the label on what I buy, but now as someone who has to be more conscious about what goes into her body, I am disappointed to find that there is a huge lack of unsweetened drinks in the marketplace. The disappointment runs deeper when I go to places like Whole Foods and Down to Earth and find most of their “healthy” drinks are chock full of sugar. Granted, the source of sugar is probably more natural than artificial, but nonetheless, it is still sugar that I have to stay away from. Also, there are ‘diet drinks’ that have zero sugar and therefore zero calories, but they are made with artificial sweeteners which I find gross. These things are out on the market because of some insatiable craving we have for the sweet, and that even when we are advised to cut back on sugar, we have to synthesize artificial sweeteners that may (or may not) be harmful to us in the long run. (Yes, that’s ANOTHER debate.)
The fact that I am diabetic actually is quite irrelevant; what I ponder is this: what can one drink when they just don’t want to drink something highly sweet? All I can really find is water and a few varieties of unsweetened teas, which are so small in number compared to the sweetened teas that are out there. And I know it’s not hard to manufacture unsweetened teas if they can easily manufacture and distribute sweetened teas.
I have downed so much green tea this past year, it is not even funny. As much as I LOVE it, I do wish for a little variety. What I have been doing to get that variety of flavor is buying and brewing my own tea (Yay Lupicia!), but I am just so disappointed that I can’t just go to my friendly neighborhood store and find something refreshing and not entirely bland. Am I rowing by myself in this boat, or no?
Breakworthy
I have to go back to work in 3 minutes, but I just wanted to express my fondness for this new Clif Mojo Bar that I bought at Whole Foods. So yummy and so good for you! Definitely breakworthy. 
Another Night Wasted to YouTube
Instead of going for a run, I decided to stay home because I was feeling tired and I figured I’d catch up on my sleep. I didn’t even get to do that because I was cracking out on YouTube. A lot of my time on YouTube is spent looking up classic LUNA SEA clips like this one. I’m inspired to revamp my LUNA SEA translation site (which currently uses frames…how 1997!) Working on that certainly would have been more productive than just watching YouTube clips all night.
My translation site has been live for years, but with its archaic design it was never announced to the world when I got a domain name for it. You can figure out how to get to the “index” page *snark* by starting at the page I created for “SLAVE,” my most favorite “c/w” song from LUNA SEA. This song is awesome.
Mii Not So Flexible…Apparently
On Monday, I had a follow up visit with my rheumatologist. I was so ready to gush about how much better I was feeling with my new meds and how I thought my health was on the up. Instead of being encouraged my progress, I ended up being discouraged by my doctor’s disappointment that I couldn’t do a toe touch when he asked me to do one. I know my flexibility sucks, but I figured my recent muscle gain and fat loss was worthy enough to celebrate. So anyway, long story short, the doctor told me that I need to get more exercise. He wasn’t too specific to my disappointment, but I’m guessing I need to do more exercise for flexibility.
So of course, when I think flexibility exercises, I think of yoga. I’ve never done yoga though I had considered taking it when I was going to college. I thought I’d never be good at taking direction as aerobics was hard enough to do! I was gifted a Wii Fit about a year and a half ago, and that was probably the extent of my yoga instruction. I guess it was fun but it was just one of those ideas that couldn’t stick. I figure as long as I don’t get muscle cramps, there is no need for me to be flexible.
Well, I figure it’s something I can try again. I’ll start with the Wii Fit until I can find a better plan that I can stick to.
Refueling Another Addiction
With all this talk and anticipation of the iPad coming out this weekend, it tickles me that getting back to the basics of pen and paper still gives me such joy. I placed my first order with jetpens.com for some 0.38mm pens and some Japanese notebooks (like I had featured in an earlier post.) As far as the service goes, I was very pleased with how prompt and easy it was to place and receive my order. On top of that, the shipping was free.
The pens that I purchased were the Uni Signo RT. I assume the RT means “retractable,” which is what I prefer since I tend to lose pen caps. The pen tips are 0.38mm, which I came to LOVE when I first tried them on the Uni Style Fit pens. (I am so disappointed that here in the US, 0.5mm is the thinnest point available, and even then it can sometimes be hard to find.) The Signo RT pens are very much like the ubiquitous Pilot G-2 pens in shape and design, but the color selection and the pen tips on the Signo RT pens made them a “must have” for me. I already have 2 Uni Style Fit pens (each with 5 colors) which come in the same colors and pen tip, so it wouldn’t look that much different in what I write, but the rubber grips on each pen definitely count for something. And the pens themselves are just so pretty to look at!
And yes, I bought those notebooks “just to have.” I am not sure what I’m going to use them for since I have so many other unused notebooks. I buy these notebooks thinking I will eventually use them for note taking or journal writing, but a lot of them just end up sitting in my drawer for months and months or sometimes years without being touched. If I do indeed get an iPad, I will end up scaling back on my notebook purchases.
The iPad, of course, is an entirely different subject. Suffice it to say that I am on the fence about it. My decision to get one is definitely contingent on the apps that become available for it. If it can replace all the things I do on my iBook for my moonlighting job, then I am definitely sold. I can definitely see the iPad replacing my iBook, but definitely not my precious pens and paper!
5x Down, 5x to Go
It’s Wednesday so here I am again. I think I am feeling stronger today than in weeks past. It should be another 10×99 day.