DSDV

Alittle background first..

Early January 2008 I pinched a nerve in my spine which triggered symptoms identical to a heart attack and caused me to pass out on the floor... woke up the next day and went to the hospital expecting the worst.. my heart is in excellent condition... wooo... they prescribed me anti-depressants (to combat the attack that caused me to pass out) and anti-inflammatories to reduce the swelling (though at the hospital the Dr said they were pain killers, so I didn't take them) .. I had little to no feeling in my left leg (due to the nerve being pinched) and in constant pain... the anti-depressants completely #### with my head, besides being disturbing bouncy and smiley.. I was developing memory gaps.. sometimes several hours long... like sitting there working on the CEO's computer and talking to him for hours... I have no recollection of that at all... and many other things... I went to my Dr when she was back from holidays... and she explained that the 'painkillers' were actually anti-inflammatories and that I should take them... she also explained why I should keep taking the anti-depressants... due it 'taking time' for my brain chemistry to adjust... blah blah blah... it all made sense.

Fast forward 4 days later... anti-inflammatories did the exact opposite.. it inflamed my stomach and entire intestinal tract.. I was in even more pain (didn't do a damn thing for my back) .. could barely eat... walk or anything due to the fact that the slightest movement was agony... then I started bleeding internally .... had a 18cm camera shoved up my bum without anything dull the pain.. Dr's answer... painkillers and bedrest...

(seriously.. people wonder why I DON'T go to the doctors, they #### me up worse than I was originally)

I stopped taking the antidepressants because my memory was totally shot, and not just current events.. I had a hard time remembering things from beforehand... I took the painkillers regularly... I had to... ended up getting a camera shoved down my throat to investigate my stomach which had started overproducing acid because I wasn't (couldn't) eat right... got more pills to take for that...

months later.. I was back at work... still no feeling in my leg... still constant back pain... Dr's answer... have some more painkillers...

I did end up in hospital again in June for an unknown infection that nearly made me pass out in pain... did the dr investigate? nope... just kept testing my blood and urine... still 100% STD free... no renewed cancer... here have some painkillers... oh and your white bloodcell count is down to almost normal.. you can go back to work... btw.. did you know that on average... a slovenian goes to the dr 3 times a year... and I'd been there 13 times...

my response... I haven't been back since... the reason I'd been so much.. well it's pretty obvious.. stupid bitch wasn't trying to find out what was wrong with me... just 'clearing' me.. I seriously did consider a lawsuit...

2009

January.. I got myself a massage... or I was planning to.. all I got was a rub before the woman freaked out and refused to touch me for fear of putting me in a wheelchair.. due to all that time spent laying in bed and taking pain pills... the muscles in my back had atrophied and compressed more nerves... and herniated a disk... caused sciatica.. the reason I had no #### feeling in my leg... that my DOCTOR didn't bother checking out... now that I had somewhere to start.. I did some research.. and within 2 weeks I had feeling in my leg again... 6 weeks full feeling ... (back still hurts like a bitch though, but it IS getting better) .. I started regaining some weight as well... by march I'd reached the optimal weight for my height.. I flew to Australia for my little brothers 21st (also had Dinner with Lienad and caught up a bit) was there for a month...

I fly back in april, arriving on payday... back is worse due to the 50 hour travel (each way).. airline seats and airport seats are NOT good for your back.. except there was no pay... I was broke due the flight... and spending money buying lots of stuff.. this was the first time pay hadn't been on time.. struggled for two weeks till we got our pay.. woo... business as usual.... takes a bit more effort to get my back into some semblance of order... May rolls around.... errr... no pay? wtf? ... June rolls around... I'm broke.... no pay... July? we get a token 'half pay' to keep us 'liquid' .. I go to the UK for a week with MoM (was booked and paid for early May.. damn cheap flight 5 euro's per person each way!).. careful with my spending... pretty tense and sleepless... back gets sore again as the couch of the friends place (not to mention the floor on two occasions at another friends place) isn't particulary comfortable or good for my back... periodically lost feeling in my leg...

I've lost the healthy weight I'd build up.. I'm now 12kg under my optimal weight.. but we got paid for May and June today... and I've just spent 4 digits on my backlog of bills... July's pay is due in 2 weeks... and while the company 'claims' that it will be on time.. I just don't trust the #### now.. ever since that May pay wasn't on time they've been saying 'next week' or 'in a few days' ... so besides stocking up on dry goods.. and paying bills... no goodies for me until the pay gets regular again.. ( DSDV will get paid, I class that as a 'bill' ) .. stupid #### economy.. I blame America.. it was because our US clients couldn't pay and we'd just made a massive hardware purchase for shipment to China that the company was broke...

So I'm almost back at square one, underweight and in pain.. but I can feel my leg..

That's my 2009 and its several levels of suck... how is everyone elses year thus far?

Ouch. The doctors there are even worse than the doctors here(in my hometown, in other cities it gets better..or worse), where they poke holes at you 5-6 times until they find a vein to stick that transparent UV serum thing..
Good to know you are somehow functioning again, though. I hope you never have to go to a doctor over there another time. I hate the buggers.
My year so far has been just the normal university stuff, plus my mother screaming on a semi-regular basis about me not getting my degree yet. And I am confused, but that is another matter. I also discovered that my family owes me something like 10K in euros. Bloody hell, I should be rich.

Being a student, I'm sure that 10k would take you a hell of a long way!

Hell, they could buy me a luxurious car if I wished so and had a driver's license. And today I blew another year's candles. A shame my birthday is so near the September's exam period.

Happy birthday anyway! hope you have a great day! ( I won't ask how old you are, that would be rude)

As for me, I got evicted by my nutjob landlord and I'm currently 'couch surfing' for the month. I'll be moving into a nice (LEGAL) apartment on the 1st of October, but possibly (hopefully) sooner. I gotta say, I'm much more relaxed being out of that place, even though I dislike having to live out of a room, it's preferable to that apartment I was in and the constant stress and anxiety there.

D, you're a mess. At least some things never change. If you were doing fantastic without some major trauma in your life, I'd expect Armaggedon.

Try yoga to decompress your vertebrae. Not to mention you sound like you could use some balance emotionally as well. Yoga is great for that.

Too bad you aren't coming to New Orleans for a week, we could get that crap all worked out.

~~MT

not likely to happen this year, with the whole money situation, but possibly next year.. I think I could swing it... we'll see what happens...

I remember the massage you gave me when I was there, awesome doesn't even begin to describe it!

Greetings, Demon, and Co.,

2009 had one really suck moment; when our economy herein what used to be a united states tanked. The domino effect hit my profession very hard, making it almost impossible to find work. Not being a nomad for the last few years, and living in a high unemployment state, has not helped. A few projects have trickled in, enough to keep us going, but just barely.

On a brighter note, the year has been one of exploration and experimentation. Never having really had an opportunity to play genius loci before, it has been wonderful to actually have the space and resources to build gardens. We grew enough vegetables and herbs to keep us eating well so far this year, with a second crop just recently put in for the fall. Other projects have included a potting shed/greenhouse and a forge/workshop in the back open space. Our trees have begun to shift from mostly pine and scrub undergrowth to a more mixed hardwood/softwood forest, with the nice open forest floor space instead of choking impassable thorns and scrub. A fern garden has worked out well, and the compost heap is producing topsoil like nobody's business.

My Prince, I truly am saddened by all the myriad health problems that have plagued you of recent months. I hope very much that you will continue to mend, and will soon be back to your old constitutionally-stout self. Myself, I can't afford doctors (or health care, except in extreme emergencies), so we pretty much have to be our own physician/pharmacy. Fortunately, both of us are in good health. Soon, I hope to hear you are the same. Maybe a trip to visit Miz for medical therapeutic reasons would be a good idea...

Insofaras the economic problems of the globe being The fault of the United States, well, to some extent it is. This notion of globalizing the economy was not real brilliant to begin with, and I don't recall a lot of countries not wanting to jump on the bandwagon while it was throwing out wads of cash. However, the howling of the party-goers combined with the groans of the party host make for a pretty wretched noise. LIke it or not, we're all in this together, and only by working together will we all get out of it.

Me, another twenty acres and five years, and I won't care overmuch.

Right now, we're both sadly out of work, but we keep on networking to find projects. Things will change, as they always do, and perseverance, not petulance, will see us through it.

Couch surfing sucks, I did it for years and am ever so glad to not be doing it now. Congratulations on your new digs, and can't wait to hear about it after you've moved in and altered it.

Good to see new things to talk about here. I was getting lonely dropping in and seeing only silence.

in feudam Daimonos ad perpetuum,
The Grey One

Demon, a new apartment sounds like a good idea, especially if it is better than the last one.
I am not old enough to hide my age yet - turning a quarter of a century old next year - but eating cake is always nice.
Good to see Misery still alive and kicking.
And Grey growing things can be hard work, I hope both of you will find more projects and make some decent amounts of money.

I am in the new apartment, have been since October 1st. I only got internet access here last week, but it's fast and unlimited, not to mention a ton of cable channels (100mb/s download/20mb/s upload and 200 channels for 35 euros a month!). Currently sleeping on an air matress though surprisingly it's better for my back than the bed in the previous place I was living. Pay is still all over the place, tomorrow we are getting the second half of the pay that was due to us 3 weeks ago, and still no sign of the holiday bonus. I've done a few freelance jobs in between, to cover the expense of moving in to a new apartment (Security Deposit, advance rent, stuff necessary for the place). I will be buying a proper bead in the next week or so, one of those back support ones and building a frame for it so it can be folded against the wall to free up more room (the place is smaller than what I had before, but it's nice) and I need to build a desk for my machines... Mistress may be moving in soon (hoping for this year but I realise it may not be until next year) and I'm eating better now that I have a proper kitchen. Compared to the rest of the year, things have turned around reasonably well since I left my previous place, back is definitely giving me less problems! (might even post some 'before/after' pictures)

Moving was kinda funny... even with my back in its wretched state.. I was still able to carry a lot of heavy stuff that my non-injured friends weren't able to lift... hehe

Band management still isn't making me any money yet, though I am pushing them to come up with original material instead of covers so that I don't have to screw around with licensing and will make it more valuable in the long run (will be released under a creative commons license, so you get to download it for free money will be made from merchandise, highest quality digital downloads, concerts and scarce/limited goods ) I wrote a couple of the songs as well. As of today I may be getting a cut of an import/export trade providing I find distributors. I might also have some more web design work coming up, which is relatively easy money. All up 2010 could be a very lucrative year financially, but at the moment it's all work.. I have so many projects going on at the moment.... gah

It sounds like things are going much better, just remember to take care of yourself even when it gets crazy busy.

Hopefully in 2010, I'll get to see your sarddonic grin again. Who knows, I may just show up in Europe, wherever it is you happen to be holing up at.

Hugs,
Miz

I managed to slip out of this place for a while again, didn't I..
Anyway, Demon, things sound great for you and I hope the next year brings all sorts of goodies, in whatever form.
I am also jealous of your internet.
I have no desire whatsoever to go outside, so I just spend most of my time on the computer, although that is not new. Hopefully next year will be somehow better - it isn't that long now, Christmas is coming up...

I forgot that I am excited about getting a graphics tablet on Christmas.. It will breathe some life on my deviantart account.
We don't have an edit button in this forum, I just noticed..

I hope everyone had a great Christmas (or in Lienads case, Hanukkah) or whatever you celebrate.. and had a great new year.. I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a year of change... hopefully for the better.. but it's definitely going to be different..

My vacation was nice, better in a way than previous ones, although I gained some weight due to the good food. Otherwise I haven't seen any big changes so far, but it's still too early in the year to tell.
Hope yours turn out to be better than 2009 - which is almost certain for Demon, considering how his 2009 was...