Yes, I call in sick for cramps

Monday, the first day back from Thanksgiving break, I didn’t go to school because I woke up with a bit of a “nervous” stomach and a menstrual cramping episode. I didn’t want to go all the way to campus (over an hour’s journey) just to get there and be reminded why I shouldn’t have gone. But, cramps?!, you say… you stayed home because of cramps?! Uhh, heck yes I did. One of my high school teachers says it takes women back a few steps to avoid responsibilities (work, school, etc.) because of one’s cycle; but she obviously doesn’t suffer crampage like me.

When I start cramping, I swear it’s like G.I. Joe put his Kung Fu Grip on my uterus. I’m afraid to leave the house to go to the movies 2 blocks away for fear that I’ll be struck with an episode and stranded somewhere without my trusty heating pad. And, no, Midol, Tylenol, Geritol (yes, I know, non-sequiter)… nothing works. The only thing that dulls the pain of my fallopian spasms is heat. There used to be these portable “heating pads” that I could get but I think they discontinued them. I was extremely disappointed, to say the least.

Out of the 4 ladies in my immediate family, I am the only one to suffer such pain on a consistent and regular basis. My brother once asked me what they felt like, and here’s how I described it:

Cramps, for me, are what I like to call the “Underwear of Pain”. Any place your underwear covers, that’s where it hurts for me. It’s like someone is giving you an Indian Burn on your insides and you can’t do anything to stop them. And just when you feel like they’ve tired of torturing you and the pain begins to fade away, you’re struck with another succession of waves of pain that force you, against your will, to curl into the fetal position because, somehow, your body thinks that will make everything better… but it doesn’t. And this happens to me 3-4 days a month, every month…

At that, my brother grimaced like he could really feel the pain and I know that no-so-deep-down inside he was thanking God for having made him a man.

Why don’t you just use birth control? I can hear people saying… I have used birth control in the past and I do find it convenient. I am not currently on birth control because, quite honestly, I am in no way sexually active and so I’m not particularly worried about having birth’s controlled and when my prescription expired I just never got around to renewing it. There are other reasons why I haven’t “gotten around to it” in the past 5 years, but that’s a little too personal and I don’t know you like that, Reader.

I meant to blog about something completely different, but hey, this is sort of interesting, too. I actually did a Video piece related to the subject earlier this year. It’s below if you want to watch it. It’s about 5 minutes long, but it’s got some funny in there too. If you do watch it, please rate and comment, that would be greaaaaat. So enjoy!

I gave thanks… a lot

Surprisingly I only ate once today. I’ve been so drained all day because of trekking across the Bay Area to various gatherings. First off we went to Brentwood to spend time with a small family from our church. We had dinner there last year and we thought it would be nice to do it again this year. For some dumb reason, my younger sis had to work until 3 today. She works in a small electronics store. I say, who needs to buy a radio on Thanksgiving? The only places that should be open on Thanksgiving are the grocery store, gas stations, and Denny’s/IHOP/Whatever for people who can’t cook.

Anyway, after that we (me, my brother, 2 sisters, and my bro-in-law) drove 50 miles to Richmond to spend time with my Dad’s side of the family. We hadn’t spent the last 2 with them, so we felt a need. Especially since the wedding is in three weeks, my grandmother is in town, and one of my Uncles just had his first child two months ago. It’s about time he had a baby, he’s around 40 and the last of a brood of 7 to have his own children. I have the “finally” attitude because he is my favorite uncle and I know he’s going to make a great dad.

Nicknames are big in my family, my Dad, his older sister, and this uncle don’t go by their first names; my brother (who is a Junior) doesn’t go by his first name either, and no one ever really calls me by my full name. My Uncle’s nickname is Bucky (not because of a dental problem, but because he was kicky in the womb), so everyone’s been coming up with potential names for his little boy. Some suggestions were “BJ” (Bucky Junior), “Lil Buck”, or “Baby Bucky” (my contribution). My sister suggested “Young Buck”. I said that was cool….. if she wanted him to grow up to be a rapper. My Uncle’s GF didn’t like any of them, haha. She said he’s just going to be called “Evan”. He’s cute anyway. I see both of them in him.

After being there for a few hours, we then drove about 15 miles to my Grandfather’s house where my mom and aunts and uncles were. I was exhausted and still full so I didn’t eat anything. I just sat on the couch and sort of had conversation. I think Grandaddy was on the same page because he was in the middle of everyone and I saw him kind of nodding off in his lazy chair. I don’t blame you, Grandaddy. You’re 80. You’re still pretty darn lucid with your right mind about you, but… you’re 80. Eh, I’ll give him credit… he looks 70, but he cooked a lot and it was a long day for sure.

After we left Grandaddy’s, we drove another 40 miles to get home and everyone is dead tired. Mom and Big Sis are going, but I know I’m not shopping tomorrow morning. For one, I’m broke; and for another, I have to work from 8-2 and I know after that the last thing I’ll want to do is go shopping. In fact, I’m about to go hit the sack right now.

Niiiiight.

I Lost My Book!

So just like I said, today I’m ready to start reading and doing the initial prep-work for that research paper for my music class. I wake up this morning and I look around my (somewhat messy) bedroom and you know what, I CAN’T FIND MY TEXTBOOK! Ugh!

I know where my notebooks, my sketchbook, and my other textbook for this semester are: jammed in a little cubby next to my bed. I’ve looked in my backpack, my shoulder bag, under my bed, in a pile of papers/books/magazines/serger/camera in front of my dresser…. I’m a litle upset because the semester is almost over and I would hate to spend $80 I don’t have on a book I only need for less than a month, just to sell it back for $15! (Stinking “non-profit bookstore). And I really think it’s some kind of conspiracy that we don’t have an alternate bookstore/book buyer for our campus……

Anyway… so I’m off to the hunt. I have to make a solid effort before I go back to playing videogames. I have to be able to truthfully claim “I searched HI and LOW for it!” before I give up. You know, one might say, “maybe you should clean your room, then you would know where everything was” (mom)… to which I would respond, “I don’t need to clean it, I just need a bigger space for my stuff, and less of my (almost married) sister’s stuff in here” I have an almost-photographic memory. I can remember where most everything is, but seeing as how I haven’t touched the book in… say, 2 weeks, that might have been what did me in… grrr.

So a-hunting I will go.

As if I needed another thing to snatch my time…

Last week my sister and her fiancee gave me a Target giftcard for my birthday. The first decent thing I bought with it was Kingdom Hearts II for my PS2. “A videogame?!”, you ask… yes. That’s one of my other hobbies/loves. And not just the ordinary play-a-level-or-two-and-call-it-a-day games… I love Role Playing Games and Platformers. The kind of games that you can easily pour 80+ hours into and STILL not have done everything.

If that wasn’t enough, I also picked up embroidery this week, with the help of this book my mom got for me.

So far it’s pretty good, relatively easy without the other jumble of needlework activities thrown in. It seemed kind of hard to find a book strictly about hand embroidery. I didn’t want machine embroidery or cross stitch and just about every publication I saw jumbled them together. Also, the patterns/diagrams (whatever they’re called) are pretty and something I would actually want to use instead of just 2 out of 30 projects that I might think about doing.

Another thing I have to work on is that cotillion dress. I have the bodice pretty much done. I know that’s the hardest/most complicated part and if I buckled down, I could really get it done tomorrow… but then there’s the gaming and the embroidery also calling me.

Oh, and another piece of the pie is the fact that I could totally be working on the 10-page research paper for my music appreciation class. Yes, it’s not due for another month, but it is due only 4 days after the wedding and who knows that during that last week before the ceremony everything is going to be crazy for this maid of honor. Aaaand there’s my final painting assignment that I’m pretty sure is going to take 20 or so hours to complete.

I like school, but I’m kind of over this semester >.< Now would be the time for Time Budgeting and dividing my day up into different necessary tasks… but this week feels a lot like Christmas vacation because I have no school all week. It’s like an early taste. I know how I am the first couple of days… I know I’ll shape up in 48 hours… It always get’s cranked out in the end.

Current Work in Progress…

So my birthday was cool. It was mellow, but it was nice. That’s how I like things to be. We went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, then later we just kicked it, watched moves, and talked.

Another cool thing was that I didn’t have to go to school the next day. Awesome. So I took some of my Birthday cash and went to the Fabric store. I bought a couple yards of glittery black and green costume satins at $1.99/yd. Then I bought a pattern for $1.99 also. My friend’s cotillion is on the first and I want to make the dress. I can’t afford to go out and buy a party dress so at a total cost of around $15, it’ll be a whole lot cheaper. Plus, I know that no one else will have this same dress, which I love.

I’m going to use Simplicity #4070, view B

.

I’ll post some pictures when I’m done.

Oh, and my brother’s pirate costume was a big hit! Thanks in part to the coat I made him. Check it out:

Birthday Anxiety

So… my birthday is tomorrow. As it looms, I am completely gloomy and apprehensive about what tomorrow will bring. Yes, I said I didn’t want a party because of all the other stuff coming up in the next 5 weeks (Bridal Shower, Cotillion, Baby Shower, Wedding; all happening back-to-back for the next couple Saturdays)… but that didn’t mean I don’t want anything

My take on Birthdays is that it’s the one day of the year that I can be selfish. It’s the one day of the year that I don’t have to feel guilty for having attention and gifts lavished upon me. For the past couple years it’s really sucked. Last year I was out of town visiting my sister and no one did or said anything. I mean, even the people I traveled with barely even said Happy Birthday, let alone get cake.

The year before that I just sat around. No car, I live 50 miles away from school/friends; nothing special happened whatsoever. The year before, I got kicked out of my apartment a couple days before my birthday.

I don’t mean to throw a pity party, but it sucks when the one thing you ask for, that people really only have to pitch in $20/each to get you, isn’t going to come through because someone else is getting married in 5 weeks and all funds/efforts are funneled into that event. Whatever.

I haven’t lost all faith. I really hope that tomorrow proves me wrong. Oh God.