Friday, December 28, 2012

My Merry Christmas!

Christmas was good to me and my family this year, with lots of family time spent, and reuniting. Great gifts all around, given and received. Time spent together as a family, sharing and growing closer. 

An example of a great gift is what I am  using to type this blog post right now. A brand new laptop. Lenovo I7 processor, 4 gigs of RAM, and the Windows 8 operating system. I also got a couple of books, a t-shirt, and some AWESOME Doctor Who paraphernalia.

My WonderWife got an iPod touch, and some work clothes, a new jacket (leather with sheepskin interior) and a new Toronto Maple Leafs hat.

The little Munchkin got an eReader (and started reading A Tale of Two Cities... willingly.) lots of clothes, a new movie, and lots and lots of craft gear. 

But more than that, we spent a great 4 days in total so far with various members of the family. Chatting and connecting. I have become closer to my cousins than I ever thought possible, and I am so grateful to have them. They are unique and fun individuals with likes and dislikes emerging as they become mature and more adult.

WW has spent time talking and hanging out with her family, and has expanded her family further, meeting new members that she had never met before.

It was a great holiday, and I look forward to next year and every day in between.

Peace, love, and merry christmas.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Psychiatry Update #1

Comfortably one day short of being on the road trip through the world of psychiatry, I feel compelled to update as to my progress. I had many fears, worries, neuroses, etc on beginning the life-long trip through the medicated mental illness world.

I am glad to say that I feel pretty fantastic on the whole.

Despite being rather frustrated at the psychatrist who, basically, tried to rediagnose me after a 20 minute appointment, I got a prescription for Seroquel XR.

Seroquel XR is basically a magic pill that helps people with issues ranging from sleep issues and anxieties (lower doses), borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder (medium doses), all the way up to paranoid schizophrenia (high doses).

Initially told to take 50mg for 2 days, then bump it up to 150mg on the third day, I (obviously) ignored that and have been taking just 50mg daily.

What a freaking difference. Honestly.

I still feel the mood shifting, and I get frustrated and anxious, but it's not overwhelming anymore. I've been sleeping so much better, and deeper. My ability to pay attention throughout the day and even take on new tasks has drastically improved.

Even the WonderWife has said that I'm not a zombie anymore. She also says it's kind of like dealing with a child with ADD... but at least there's responsiveness!

I've been told that it takes about 4-6 weeks for the drug to really stabilize in my system, but so far I am very pleased with the results. Not to mention that it's now significantly easier for me to actually go to sleep at a relatively normal hour.

I have gained a bit of weight, but that had started before, and that just means I need to take a closer look at the foods and drinks I'm putting into my body, and the energy I am expending.

Thanks for following me on this journey, and as always:

Peace, love, and tranquility (for once)

Monday, December 3, 2012

Trying New Things: Persimmons

As I scope through the flyers, occasionally I notice new trends. This past month it has been persimmons.

They were in almost every flyer! I had never heard of them before, but decided to buy one on a whim. Just one, in case they weren't any good.

So it sat on my counter for six days. Six days I watched it get riper and riper, and I still had no idea how to eat it or what it would taste like.

Today I bit the bullet. I looked up "how to eat a persimmon" and read the first non-video page.

Mmmm... tasty!

Turns out, you just slice the leaves off the top and cut it into wedges as you would a tomato. Except that this fruit, unlike the tomato, was not acidic in the least.

The flesh was soft and squishy, pleasant on the palate. The taste was a deep sweet, a satisfying sweetness that sat wonderfully on my tongue and ruined the taste of coffee for me that I was trying to drink at the same time.

It was delicious! Sweet like a berry, soft like a berry, but bigger, and fuller.

Thus shall begin my irregular and non-sequential series that is going to be ostensibly called "Trying new things"

Because it's good to try new things, particularly when the new things turns out to be so... tasty.

Stay tuned!

Peace, love, and eat fruit!