Second Place!

First of all, we're back from St. John and I'm a little depressed about that just generally.  Although I am happy my eyes are getting back to normal.  I always forget, but every time we go to St. John I have an allergic reaction to something and the skin around my eyes puffs up and itches like crazy.   This is the 4th year now.  Every year I think, "Maybe it's such-and-such that's causing this," and every year we rule out one thing or another. 


I have absolutely no seasonal allergies of any sort anywhere else in the world, but there is something in St. John that the skin around my eyes doesn't like.  My eyes are fine - they don't get red or teary.  I don't get stuffed up or cough or sneeze.  I don't get skin irritation anywhere else.  Just the very delicate skin around my eyes for whatever reason.  It's bizarre.


Anyway, once I got past my self-consciousness about looking a little freakish with my puffy eyes and just wore my sunglasses everywhere, we had a great time.  I wasn't going to let puffy eyes stop me from enjoying paradise.  We snorkeled and swam in the ocean every day.


But the important part is, we got 2nd place in our relay!  Only 2 seconds away from 1st!  It was a race to the finish for Tad and the other team's anchor.  However, I think it's important to point out that the 2 guys on the other team were both free divers and had fins that were, like, 4 feet long.  I'm convinced if we had had 4 foot long fins, we would have smoked them.   I'm proud of us!


My shoulder was great.  Earlier in the week I took one little swim around a little island in the middle of one of the swimming beaches, just to get the kinks out and see how I felt swimming with my snorkeling fins.  My shoulder started aching a teeny bit by the end of that swim, but nothing too bad.


After my leg of the relay, I iced my shoulder for about 10 minutes and I was fine.  Actually, I had little to no shoulder pain the entire time we were on vacation.


Since I got back, though...  I've realized that sitting at my desk all day, even while consciously pulling my shoulder blades together and sitting up super straight makes my shoulder ache.  My sedentary lawyer job has injured me, which is probably the lamest way ever to get injured.


However, this morning I got clearance from my physical therapist to swim again since I did so well in St. John!  She also tested my strength and range of motion and determined that I am much improved since I started with her a couple months ago.  Saturday morning, I'm hitting the pool!  I was reflecting to Jason yesterday how when it's my idea to not swim (for example, in the middle of a brutally cold dark winter), I can handle it, but being forced not to swim, especially as the mornings are brighter and I'm waking up early anyway because it's light out, has been wretched.  I'm looking forward to getting back in the pool!

All Hail Prescription Drugs!

When an orthopedist (or orthopedic PA, in my case) tells you to take an anti-inflammatory, it's a good idea to do it.  The problem is, we're still trying to have a baby, right?  And the particular anti-inflammatory I've been prescribed (or really any anti-inflammatory) isn't good for an embryo.  So I haven't been taking my pain pills for a couple of weeks. 

Which is when I did too much helping with set up at the Arthritis Foundation walk, and my back muscles knotted up and I had two weekends in a row ending with severe shoulder pain plus a migraine at the end of one of those weekends.

I started taking my pills again yesterday and it's like night and day.  Yes, I still have a dull ache in my shoulder, but it's just a mild humming in the background rather than shouting in my face (and crawling up my neck and down my back).  What I have learned is that up until a month ago, my shoulder hurt really bad, but I was just Dealing With It.*  Then I had a couple of weeks of less pain, so I really, really noticed it when suddenly that pain wasn't being stifled anymore.

The point is, I'm feeling better and my perspective is a lot more cheery today.



*I have a history of breaking bones and not realizing it for a few days.  A high pain tolerance can be dangerous.

Radio Silence

Things have been quiet around here.  I just haven't felt like writing.  I'm kind of down, if you must know.

Next week we're going to St. John.  I'm excited, but it's tempered by my lack of working out over the past couple of months because of my shoulder.  Yeah, I know these things take time, but I haven't been able to train at all for our swim.  The good thing is, this time the swim is at the end of our trip so we will have been snorkeling for several days leading up to it so my legs will be good to go.  Also, we're using fins, and I'm so glad we decided to do that.  At the time we felt a little lame, but I know I couldn't do this swim without the fins right now.  Well, okay, I could, but I would be in a lot of pain at the end of it.

As it is, I have a feeling I'm going to be in pain for a few days afterward.  My physical therapist has recommended a couple of things for me to do following the swim to try to mitigate the repercussions. 

Also, I'm just kind of bummed that I'm going to St. John as heavy as I am right now.  I know I'll probably forget about it once I'm in my swimsuit for a couple of days, but right now I'm feeling extremely self-conscious and there's nothing I can do about it.

Also, my work environment has been significantly downgraded in the last month and a half and it's getting to me.  I went from having an office for 6 years to now having a cubicle with no privacy at all.  We've added some new people to our firm and we're in interim space until our new fancy space is built out.  Only, the last I heard we still hadn't signed the lease on the new space.  Originally they said we would move in September.  At the rate things are going, I'm guessing we're going to be here for at least a year. 

I share a cubicle with the filing cabinets, which means the admins and paralegals are constantly buzzing in and out of my space.  I can hear everyone and they can hear me, which sometimes makes client calls a little awkward.  There are two partners who have offices, with doors that close and windows, and the rest of us are out in a common area together.  It's extremely stuffy and most everyone has a fan going at all times, which adds to the overall din.

I know I'm being entitled but, Office.  For 6 years.  Every other lawyer who I tell this story to is horrified.  Because we're all very entitled, I suppose.

But this time next week I'll be in St. John, so I guess I can't be too down.  I have a lot to do before then, though, so, back to work.