State of the Barbarienne
Work (dayjob): way too much. I shouldn't even be taking the time to write this.
Writing: Not so much. Doing a bit of fiddling and revising, but see above re: too much dayjob. And also see below re: health.
House: Good. I need more money, because that kitchen needs to come into the 21st century. Or at least closer to it. It's still in 1953.
Car: has crossed 100K miles. Please last another 4 years. Please. Currently in the shop needing new tires and possibly to fix an oil leak and OH GOD OLD CARS COST MONEY.
Family: doing well. I don't have many of them, so this is not too bad.
Friends: doing well. It's nice to be at a stable stage of my life.
Health: Well, then.
The issues with my back continue. The problem is the combination of instability of the spine and arthritis. It's hard to fix the one without the other getting in the way/flaring up. I've been doing PT, which is fantastic, but too many mornings I wake up feeling like I've been run over by a truck, when I didn't do anything major the day before. Or the two days before.
That's the problem with my variety of arthritis: it strikes randomly. I never know what body part is going to hurt next. Currently it is digging holes in my shoulders, but that is easing. My left hip/knee/ankle have been cranky for a while now, but is that the arthritis or the spine issues? Who the fuck knows?
It's two steps forward, one step back. (Sometimes three steps back. Frustrating.)
I just want to not be in pain all the time. I can't even answer the question of "how much pain are you in?" because I have no basis for comparison anymore. I have always been in pain, at least since I was a teenager. It's just that now it's interfering in my life.
Pain is exhausting. They don't tell you that. When I'm on the Good Drugs (steroids), I have enough energy to do a full day's work and come home and do more things (such as cooking or laundry or writing) like a normal person. But I can't stay on steroids because the long-term side effects are very bad.
So yeah, that's not being managed very well.
I keep plugging, because what's the alternative? I'm enjoying the PT (mostly aquatic therapy) and if I have half a brain I'll join the local Y and use the pool. We'll see how that goes.