The Weekend Where Everything Happened

My weekend was long and full of adventure:

• I reduced my medication and was full of energy again starting Saturday.
• I met Ian, Sherlin, and the kids for lunch and playing.  The younger kids still make sure that I take turns flipping them around and fulfill my duties as the Fun Uncle.
• We went to a barbecue hosted by Jimmy, the guy who plays lead guitar in our not-a-band.
• We had a jam session in front of everyone (the only people who were really invested were the ones we brought).  We were missing our drummer, Joe, and his absence was really felt, but it still felt so good to play with a group again.  And I don't know if the others could tell, but my lessons are really paying off.
• I got home late because I stopped for groceries on the way home and my neighbor asked for some help moving a dresser into his upstairs apartment.  After the dresser was in its new home, he offered me money as reward, but I refused (as I did to his offer of beer); I did, however, accept a box of high-quality chicken breast -- the man works as a delivery man for a meat company and was allowed to use some product for his own purposes, so he used one box to pay me. I may have to help him again.
• I attended a Linger Longer after church on Sunday and stayed the whole time and talked and met new people -- it's amazing what happens when you're not depressed and have energy to do something about it.
• I cleaned up my dining room that had been messy for months due to my depression.
• I baked a loaf of whole wheat fig bread, a strawberry cake, and a double batch of cream cheese cookies.  I took them with me for my visit with my good friends the Simciks.  It was so good seeing them again.  In fact, when I got there, my arms full of goodies, I went right in their open door so I could put the food down before turning to see Mark and suddenly I was giddy with excitement.  Based on how he and Lori reacted, they were too.  It was just like seeing family that you haven't seen in a while.  It was so wonderful talking with them and sharing a meal (the loaf of bread was intended for Samuel, my old roommate, which they promised to pass on).  When it came time for them to leave for a dinner engagement, Lori started debating if they should flake out to stay and continue visiting, but I made their decision easy for them by making my way to the door.  Hugs were exchanged and we agreed that we needed to meet again sooner and not go so long between visits.
• On my way home, I stopped by a clothing store to return some pants that I decided did not fit as well as I had thought in the store.  When I was parking, I noticed a set of missionary Elders walking around.  I made sure to say hi them and ask how they were doing.  I told them what ward I attend and they named some of the Elders serving there, though I had trouble confirming all of them (we have four companionship in my ward).  It was about 5:30, so I asked them if they had a dinner appointment that evening.  They admitted that they did not, so I told them to wait while I handled the return and then I'd take them to dinner.  I had them pick the restaurant because I didn't know the area very well (I knew the store I had gone to and not much else), so we went to a Chinese buffet.  We talked about where they're from and what they're plans are for careers and education, but they mostly asked about me.  After they were sufficiently fed (I had a few pieces of sushi, but I was mostly full from my visit with the Simciks), I paid the bill and I drove the Elders back to their car in the parking lot where I had seen them earlier.  As they got out of the car, they asked for my name because they want to talk me up to the Elders in my ward when they see them at the next Zone meeting.
• I came home and made banana bread to take to work tomorrow.

Like I said, my weekend was busy.  Busy, but great.

The Difference

Have you noticed anything about my blog post recently?  In the past few weeks, they've been frequently late and noticeably short (it's weird to think that it wasn't that long ago that I would write long essays just because a topic was on my mind).  The fact of the matter is, I've been exhausted lately and it's been getting progressively worse.  It's gotten so bad that I haven't been able to make it to the gym regularly in nearly a month -- and this week, I couldn't even make it there once.  I assumed that I wasn't getting enough sleep, but even after several days of going to bed early every night, I was still sleepy all the time.  Yesterday, I saw a connection I missed before: my new medication.

While I still feel that the oxcarbazepine is helping as far as my depression is concerned, I can't really enjoy it because I'm always pooped.  I talked to my neurologist today and she recommended that I scale back my dosage, to help take the edge off that side effect.  She also recommended that I talk to my regular doctor about exploring other options, including seeing a psychiatrist.  I suspect that she's a little frustrated that I asked to switch medications just a couple of months ago (she even said that fatigue is a better side effect than depression), but what I'm dealing with is seriously affecting my life, including my productivity at work.  For now, I've lowered my dosage according to her suggestion and she's ordered another round of blood work to see how my liver's doing.  I'll call my doctor on Tuesday and I guess we'll go from there.

I realize that when it comes to required medications like anti-convulsants, there's rarely a perfect fit; it's usually a matter of picking which side effects you hate the least.  Maybe it's time to consider levetiracitam again, but combine it with an anti-depressant...

Better Than Expected

I went to the dentist today.  That wouldn't be noteworthy except for the fact that this is the first time I've been examined or had a cleaning since late summer, 2009.

I don't get nervous about going to the dentist (it's a common source of anxiety for people), there have just been other factor preventing me from going.  First, I was uninsured for years, so dentistry was a financial burden that simply didn't seem worth it.  Once I finally had insurance, I was either trying to figure out what was causing such bad allergic reactions or I was dealing with my newly diagnosed epilepsy.  Then I was uninsured again.  Once I was finally insured, I was busy working at the most stressful job I've ever had, so a healthy mouth was the least of my concerns.  Finally, I got my job at Danfoss and things settled down... until I needed to start work on getting divorced.  After that, I simply didn't think about it for a while.

So, how does a mouth look after nearly seven years of not being professionally cleaned?  According to the dental assistant who cleaned my teeth: "not as bad as [she] thought."  Don't get me wrong, she had to spend a lot of time scraping away plaque, to the point that my mouth got tired from having to hold it open for so long, but apparently she expected it to be much worse.  My secret?  I brush too hard.  I go through a toothbrush in about a month and they're pretty much destroyed by the time I replace them.  However, brushing so hard has made my gums excessively recede.  The doctor recommended that I invest in an electric toothbrush with a pressure sensor that shuts off if I press too hard.  I may have to do that because the only way to get my gums back is with painful surgery, so keeping what I have is really important.  What I currently have is livable, just less than ideal.

But I know the real question on your mind; how many cavities do I have?  Again, fewer than expected based on how long it's been since my last visit: I have three cavities, but none of them are very deep.  I have another appointment scheduled for drilling and filling, though not until August; my doctor is the highest customer-rated dentist in the area, so he's pretty popular.

I was expecting a root canal after so much time, so a few minor cavities sounds like a good deal to me.

Thank You, Your Honor

My divorce hearing was today.

It was pretty straight forward.  My case was called and Ian and I went in.  I identified myself as the plaintiff and Ian as my witness.  We were both sworn in by the magistrate and asked to sit down.  The magistrate asked me several questions to verify the information I had already submitted -- some questions I answered with names and dates, others I just said yes or no.  Ian was asked a few questions to corroborate my story, which he did.  After reviewing all of the information (including the fact that neither party was seeking damages and that the defendant was served but never responded), the magistrate said she would recommend to the presiding judge to rule in favor of granting the divorce.  I filled out another form and was on my way.  Including waiting to be called in and filling out the final form, the whole process took about an hour.

I would like to reiterate that the magistrate did not make a final ruling; that still needs to be done by a judge.  The magistrate did say she would recommend ruling in my favor, so at least I can be happy about that.  The way it look, the only things left to do are to have the judge make the final decision and a file clerk process the case.  But based on my experience thus far, I'll wait until I have the final papers in my hands before I celebrate.

Resume-Man

Just as I had in my last ward, I've been volunteering my time in my current ward to help members with their resumes.  I admit that I'm not very quick about it and I know I could be doing a better job with my timeliness, but the senior couple that act as the ward's Employment Specialists only say nice things about the work I've done.  While I know that they're being sincere, it feels like too much.  Maybe I'm thinking about how I don't get to the resumes as fast as I know I could, while they only see what I actually turn in.

This last Sunday, I got to see some of the fruits of my labors. At church, I was introduced to a member who I had not met, but I had worked on her resume.  She came up to me to personally thank me for the help I had provided.  Apparently, she had submitted her resume with my changes and had found a job.  I congratulated her and pointed out that I had only helped with the presentation: if she had had nothing to for me to work with, making it pretty wouldn't have helped.  Still, it was nice to see that my efforts had helped someone.

In an effort to improve my turn around time, I got another resume this afternoon and I already edited it and returned.  Hopefully, I'll be able to keep that kind of pace up in the future.

Pass Me the Bucket!

Imagine you're in a bucket brigade putting out a house fire.  There's only one bucket, so it takes a while until it gets to you so you can dump water on the fire.  The home owner is watching nearby and is understandably anxious.  They start to yell at you to work faster and save their home, which might be understandable, but they're only yelling at you, not anyone else in the line.  You try to explain that you can't actually throw the water on the fire until you have said water.  They don't seem to understand and say that you're letting their house burn down, why won't you save it?  Again, you explain that once the water comes to you, you'll throw it on the fire.  Finally, they seem to understand just as you're handed the bucket.

As I've explained before, I often have to copyedit documents that explain changes to products or packing.  Sometimes these documents detail errors in manufacturing and need to be sent out as soon as possible.  One recent change to the processing of these documents (that came out of the experience I linked to) is that before I can do any editing, the documents need to be proofread by someone for technical content.  I'm all for that, since it should prevent errors like before.  However, not everyone seemed to understand the new process.  I got calls from two separate product managers asking me to copyedit their documents right away, without waiting for the email of approval from the technical proofreader.  They both understood why we had that particular process in place, but they both followed up with "Once it's approved, we need you to edit it right away," or something similar.

I'm happy that my reputation is continuing to spread throughout the company (one of the managers said that my edits vastly improve the documents he sends me), but it's frustrating that the new step in the process has not been properly communicated.

Four by Jordan

At work today, one of my coworkers, Michael, was describing a banner he was planning to order for an upcoming trade show to our boss, Magda.  When asked how big it would be, Michael gave the dimensions he had chosen: four feet by six feet.  Unfortunately, Magda is unfamiliar with US standard measurements since she's from from Europe, so she needed further clarification.  Before anyone else could respond, Micheal said "It's as long as Jordan is tall."  Magda asked me to stand up to help her better imagine the banner.  And it worked.  She nodded her head and approved the banner's size.

This experience reminds me of a prank I heard about that happened at Harvard back in the late fifties.  A fraternity used one of its member named Oliver Smoot to measure a bridge, repeatedly picking and moving Smoot over and over again until they had crossed the length of the bridge.  One Smoot equals five feet seven inches and the bridge totaled 364.4 Smoots (plus or minus one ear).  To this day, Smoots are occasionally used as a humorous length, as someone might also use archaic measurements, like cubits or rods, for fun.

While one Jordan really equals six feet one inch, it was close enough for today's purposes and got a chuckle out of those in the room (including me!).

I Should Have Known!

I went to my divorce hearing today.  I had all of my paperwork, I was clean shaven, and I wore my new suit.  In other words, I was prepared.  I appeared before the magistrate and she listed all of the forms I had brought with me as evidence that I had done everything in the right order (so I hadn't needed to have brought my copies after all).

Then she asked if I had a witness to testify on my behalf.  I told her that I didn't, to which she replied that the case could not proceed without a witness.  Thankfully, she did not dismiss the case but instead had it rescheduled.  I will now be appearing next Monday (May 23) and Ian has already agreed to testify on my behalf.  According to the magistrate, all Ian needs to confirm is that I was married and was properly separated before filling for divorce.

It was silly of me to think that after so many hiccups along the way that the hearing go smoothly.  I wouldn't wish divorce on my worst enemy, but if I ever have to go through this again, you better believe I'll be using a lawyer.

Nearing the End

My divorce hearing is on Friday afternoon.  It's been nearly a year-and-a-quarter since I first applied for divorice, but the day has finally come.  I have all of my paperwork ready to go and I bought a suit to look as presentable as possible.  And yes, I'll finally be shaving my way past annoying beard (though I did get more compliments on it this weekend than ever before).

It's been a long road to get here, but it looks like it'll all be over soon.  The hearing is at 1:30 PM EDT, if you would like to lend a prayer at or before the time of the main event.

Tuesdays with Media: Pecking Order

I'm not sure why I haven't been keeping up with this feature.  While I try to figure out the reason, you should follow this link to read my latest work of fiction.

Ten Years Ago

I was thinking today that things are very different for me than they were in 2006.  That was the year that I first experienced being let go.

Prior to that year, I had only ever quit my jobs, giving proper notice each time.  But I decided that I was ready for something new, so I took a job in construction.  I had never done anything like it before and it showed.  Three-and-a-half weeks in, I was let go (the reason I was given was that, despite my learning the job at a fast pace, there was just too much work to do, so someone with a couple of decades in the field was being hired as my replacement).  I hated working construction, so I was happy to have a reason to not do it any more, but it felt weird suddenly not having a job.  I remember feeling like I would find something new right away, but I was still worried that I wouldn't.

Two-and-a-half months later, I finally started my next job, this time in a printing house.  It was a decent job with nice perks, but the tight schedule meant that I couldn't continue taking classes at the community college I had been attending.  So, after another five months, I gave my two week notice without having my next job lined up.  This was different than before, not just because I was the one who terminated my employment, but because I had prayed about it and felt that I would be okay.  Sure enough, I found something in time so that I was able to start the new job without any down time.  That new job was with BNi, a company I worked for under different capacities for three years, still the longest stint I've had at one location.

While 2006 was my first experience with being let go, it would sadly not be my last -- I was even straight-up fired a couple of times.  Still, looking back, I learned a lot and I can certainly say that I'm in a better place than I was a decade ago.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Yesterday, I went to see the Baltimore Orioles play against the New York Yankees at Camden Yards.  Just like the last time I attended a live game, I went with my coworkers.  However, unlike last time, I actually liked the people I went with.

Several weeks ago my department had one of our weekly meetings and someone (I think it was me, but I don't remember for sure) brought up the idea of doing something outside of work to build camaraderie and the idea of going to a baseball game was brought up.  Magda, the department manager, loved the idea, despite being completely unfamiliar with the game.  We agreed to look up the game schedule and figure out a date that worked for everyone.  I suggested that we go yesterday as a friendly ribbing to my coworker, Michael, who's originally from New Jersey and is a loyal Yankees fan.  He thought that was pretty funny, so we scheduled the game in our calendars.

Last week, I asked Magda if the department was going to pay for our tickets or if we were expected to buy our own way (I made it clear I was happy either way).  She looked disappointed told me that I ruined the surprise she was planning.  Apparently Magda's boss liked the idea of this team building outing so much, that he bought the tickets for us, as well as gift certificates for food or souvenirs.  All that was left was for us to arrange transportation.  We decided that it would be too much of a hassle to all go in one car, so we split up, with Chelsea and Magda commuting together and Michael and I going in the same car.

As for the game itself, it was a great example of both teams' strong defense.  On both sides, no one got a run in.  One of the Yankees made it third base at one point, but was taken out before he made it home.  Magda asked a lot of questions and we all took turns answering them (I hadn't realize how complicated baseball is, but it has a lot of subtleties that take time to explain).  Eventually, we got to the ninth inning and the game was still tied at 0-0.  Finally, at the bottom of the tenth, Hyun-soo Kim of the Orielos, stole home.  After an entire game of building anticipation, the crowd went wild.

It was a good time.  I enjoyed the company of my coworkers, I had fun at the game, and I got to see more of downtown Baltimore.  We all agreed that we needed to do something similar again sometime.

From left to right: me, Magda, Chelsea, and Micheal.

Yes, I painted my beard orange, and yes, I got a lot of compliments from other fans.

He's Got My Vote

Because a fictional super villain is still a better option than a real life one.  At least Lex is honest about his baldness...

New Effect

An interesting side effect of my increased oxcarbazepine dosage is that I get dizzy in the evenings.  Because each tablet is 300mg, I take one tablet in the morning and two tablets in the evening.  Apparently that double dose in the PM is enough for me to experience one of the lesser side effects.

While the dizziness is pronounced, it doesn't last that long: I'm usually feeling fine in about three-quarters of an hour.  However, that does mean that I have to make sure I take my evening dose only when I'm in a place where I can sit down for nearly an hour.  Still, I'll take a minor inconvenience once a day to my whole life being a mess most of the time.  I'm still very happy that I made the switch, is what I'm saying.