Happy New Year’s Eve 2015

Happy New Year’s Eve 2015

If I said that I was going to work on my blog thingy today, that would be a mistake. I woke up really early because of pain and couldn’t go back to sleep until the afternoon. When I woke up, it was time for my sister’s party. I feel like I am getting no where with this. So I am just going to read about the civil war until something comes to me. I asked my writing partner about this and she told me to “marinate” so that is what I am going to do. If it doesn’t get done this week, it doesn’t get done.

I made a brief appearance at the party. I had some food, some alcohol, and then my ankle said goodnight. I had been standing on it for almost three hours. I couldn’t sit because there was really no place to sit. It was a full house to say the least. I talked with my various cousins about different things. Talked with my uncle and aunt about my pain issues and PT. Then the crown that I was drinking and my ankle had enough. It was also a million degrees in the house. My crazy sister was wearing a sleeveless shirt or dress then put on a fleece jacket as I am sweating bullets. I was like, you got to be kidding me! She was cold! In the HOT house! I couldn’t believe it. She is whacked. Now I am in my room and it is chilly. But I am still very tired and my pillow is calling me. I wish I could say that it was the alcohol, and it probably is, but I think being up at 0530 has something to do with it too. I hate that my sleep is still fucked up.

It’s still some time before midnight. I still haven’t taken my meds, but then I haven’t finished my crown either. I haven’t had that much. Just a little over a shot, so far. I have about half a shot left in my glass. I miss drinking crown. I used to drink it all the time. But I drank the last of it quite some time ago and just haven’t been to the liquor store to buy more. But then, I also haven’t had the extra cash to get it either. I do have gin, though.

I was talking with one of my cousins tonight about my book. He was more interested in the marketing of the book than the subject matter. He didn’t seem impressed that I published a book. Oh well, can’t please everyone. I have been surprised that I have been able to keep this from my father all this time. If he does know, he hasn’t mentioned it to me. But then he is so self absorbed that I doubt I am on his radar.

Hope you all have a Happy New Year and that 2015 is better than this one.

Cold Day, Visiting Friends

Cold day visiting friends

I went out today to visit some friends I hadn’t seen in a while. I thought the visit went well. We shared some laughs, some good food. But when I came home, my ankle was swollen then the pain started and I haven’t been able to hold it back. I just took my pain meds with my night meds so hopefully that will work. It is really cold in my room for some reason, but warm in the rest of the house. I don’t know why this is. It is about only twenty degrees out. I froze my butt off waiting for the bus ride home. I just put on a sweatshirt and flannel pajamas for warmth. I really want to go to bed but thought I would write a little bit before turning in.

Despite going to two places to try and write, I got nothing written. I am so disappointed. I have the ideas circling but they just won’t come out. It is so frustrating. I think I am putting pressure on myself in trying to write this “thing”, but I know once I start working on it, I will feel better. My brain feels cooped up and if I don’t let it out, I might go crazy. I’m going to try tomorrow to write in my comfort zone, my bed, and see how that goes. I don’t know what else to do. Every time I close my eyes, words are there waiting to get plucked out. But soon as I see a blank page of paper or screen, poof, they are gone! My writing partner would say work on something else and then it will come to me. But I have tried that and it hasn’t helped me. I am getting frustrated and wish my therapist was here so we can talk about it. More so, I wish my psychiatrist was back in the office so I can SEE her. I emailed her yesterday but have not heard back. I am so frustrated with her too but there is nothing I can do about it. She has a broken hip and broken bones take time to heal.

I don’t talk with my therapist until next week. She is on vacation. I hate it when therapists are on vacations! I just need someone to talk to about my writing. My psychiatrist was always good in listening to me when I was writing a paper. She is always interested in what I write.

Promoting is hard work

I remember this time last year, I was filled with anxiety about my book. I had done all I could do with the editing piece before my editor would actually read it. I had to wait almost four months before she would work on it and the waiting was filling me with doubts. This year, I am working hard on “selling” my book. It hasn’t been easy as I have no idea how to promote. I don’t have nor can afford an agent. I tried in September to get one and got no response. It has been a hard few months just selling two copies of my book a month, either via Kindle or paperback. Last month I had a promotion and sold 3 books on Kindle. It was the most I have sold since my book came out. In total, I think I have sold something like 70 books between the two formats. My goal was to reach 100 copies sold by year’s end. I still have a few months to go and I hope that it comes easily. I am hashtagging the crap out of it on Twitter, the only social media that I know of. I also use my blog but it doesn’t get more than twenty views a day and most of the time, it is not on the blog link. Even if people read my book page, they don’t click on the link to get it. It is very frustrating. I am glad I have other income or I would be screwed.

My physical therapy appointment got cancelled early this morning. They called before eight to say that my therapist was sick! Talk about courtesy. So I went to Starbucks even though it killed my back. I really wanted to work on a new blog for CAMS/SSF. I got overwhelmed with the first chapter alone so only wrote so much. It’s a lot of information and I know that I will be writing at least 1500 words for this. I want to make it count as there are at least 5 therapists that follow my blog and Twitter account. So I want to write a good blog. I know my perfectionism is what is getting in the way.

I have decided that in the new year, I am getting 90 day supply of my medication because dishing out $70 for 1 month supply every month is getting to me. Hopefully my doc will allow it. I know that my pain meds and Ativan can’t be 90 day supply but that is just two of the twelve meds that I take. I have a new prescription carrier for the new year so hopefully it will actually save me money, in the end. I am spending more on my meds than groceries or food. Luckily, I got Starbucks money for Christmas and my birthday so I don’t have to dish out $25/mth for a while. I am glad my mother gave me cash for Christmas because I am short on getting my blood pressure med this month. There are some meds I can sacrifice, but I can’t do that with my blood pressure. Last thing I need is a stroke.

I really need to take a shower today. I leaked on the way home and I smell. Fucking hate when I leak and I don’t realize it until I go to the bathroom. On the other hand, I haven’t gone to do #2 in a few days so I am not looking forward to going. I took a laxative a couple of hours ago so I go sometime tonight I hope. Just another pill I have to take. And with me taking increased pain meds, I need to be regular. I can’t believe I was so stupid in forgetting to take the senna. But I have been playing the “what I feel like taking, I’m taking” game because I didn’t fill my pill box for the week. I filled it about an hour ago so I don’t have to play that game this week. Some how last night I forgot to take my hormone pill. I don’t even remember if I took my pills last night so it’s good I filled the box. I hope I don’t have my menses because I missed a pill. I will be so bullshit!

My mood kind of sucks today. It took me forever to get organized for the blog that I am writing. I should really call it a paper or review, as that is mostly what I am doing. I can’t believe that I haven’t written, in detail, about the SSF or CAMS before now. I tried to find it in my book but I just gave a brief overview of what they are. I want this paper to be more detailed. But it’s exhausting me because there is so much information, and Jobes had the same ideas that I did, though not exactly at the same time. He was able to come up with something brilliant and useful. I just am promoting his ideas. And promoting as I have learned with my book, is hard work!

Hip is on Fire

Hip on fire

I woke up in pain again this morning. My hip just felt like it was on fire. I am so tired of being in pain every morning. Just when I think I am getting better, I take two steps back. I managed to get to the pharmacy to get my pain medication refilled. I desperately needed it as I took my last two this morning. Then it took forever for me to wake up. I planned on going soon as it opened at 10 am but I didn’t get out of bed until around 1330. I just couldn’t move. I also have been taking Ativan to calm down the damn spasms I have been having too. I just can’t win and I am tired of losing.

Tonight, I participated in the BPDChat on Twitter. I was using Tweetchat to participate but something was wrong with it as only my tweets were posting and no one else’s. I had to go to the main Twitter page to see everyone’s responses and comments. I should have just left and laid down and rest. I plan on doing that after I write this blog. I need to lie down. Sitting is getting almost impossible and despite taking pain meds, I am still hurting. I wish I could say that it is because I did X that caused this but I didn’t do anything. I didn’t lift anything. I just sneezed and threw my back out. Plus with this cough, I think I made things worse.

My mood sucks right now. I really am feeling like a piece of shit. I know my not sleeping right is also contributing to my sour mood. Tomorrow I have physical therapy and I don’t care if I don’t go. I really don’t feel like it. But I will go because it will get me out of the house. I just hope that I will be able to walk to get there. Lately, my hip/back has been giving me trouble walking. And going down the stairs is like I am tearing something. This really sucks.

I wrote my therapist a letter this morning. It was long as I was really tired and I was falling asleep as I was writing it. I just gave her a brief update to what was happening. I write her a letter every time she goes on vacation. Hopefully this time I will have it in the mail so she gets it when she is back in the office. I really miss her. I still don’t know when my pdoc is going to be back in the office. I hope it is soon. Guess I will find out after the holidays.

I really want to write a blog about the SSF and CAMS model. I realized that I don’t really talk in detail about them. I mention them in my blog but don’t go into great detail about them. I think it will be a good blog for therapists to have. And I have a few therapists that follow my blog.

I am really tired. Meds are working and I should be toast right now but I am fighting the fatigue like I always do. I have to take a shower sometime between now and tomorrow morning. I hate showering lately. But it’s something that has to happen. It just sucks when you are in pain with a bad back. Any standing motion just triggers more pain and spasms. It just really sucks. I should be getting better by now but for some reason, I am not. I don’t know why. It is really stressing me out. I am going to put a heating pad sticky on tonight to see if that helps. I figure it can’t hurt me. I would put my heating pad on but I really don’t want another thing on my bed. My bed is becoming more my office than a sleeping place. I have notepads, my laptop, journal, pens, a notebook, and a box of tissues. I also have my therapist’s card that I read to remind myself of what she said to me that means so much. I really value her words. I just wish they would sink in. But they don’t so, I have to keep reading them, if that makes sense. I can’t sit any longer so I am going to stop here.