Off to School I Go!

Well, today's the day I change my life for a while. I become a commuter student, and my cats and I have a bittersweet relationship. My focus has to be on school.

I've been furiously packing and preparing for the last month. I have everything put in containers except for some loose ends. My pillows and two lamps will be loose in the car, but everything else has been contained.  I don't know if I have room for a TV, and even if I do, I don't have any way to get the converter box right now. I'm taking 8 movies, and I'll watch what I can on the computer.

Surprisingly, I slept kinda well last night. I was watching the Gene Kelly marathon on TMC, and was falling asleep during Singin' in the Rain. I love Donald O'Connor's "Make Em Laugh" number.  I started falling asleep during the "Good Morning" number with Debbie Reynolds. I figured I needed to sleep.  I saw the Pirate, and American in Paris. Why do they put the goods movies on so late, I wonder? Not everyone lives in California.

I got up just before 7 this morning, did the dishes and pissed off the cats because they only get crunchies today, and until I get back in two weeks.

I hope Fluffy makes it till I come back. She's so sick. I know she's gonna pass this semester. I just hope I'm home when she does. She has chronic renal failure. And I made it worse by giving her fish cat food for the last 3 weeks. I didn't know that was too high in protein for her. I found some chicken cat food in the cupboard and gave that to her this week, but it might be too late. She's pretty lethargic. She was up watching the birds this morning, so that shows she's still interested in life. But she hasn't been on my lap or on the bed for several days.

Doc has me taking my blood pressure readings at least twice a day again. He's got me on so much medicine, I feel like a pill bottle twice a day!  I'm sure all this stress isn't helping any.

The money hasn't hit my bank account yet. I can't get the microwave or dish rack - or pillows, so I'm taking my normal bed pillows. I also can't get any food except what I can get on campus. And the rear-end of the car won't get fixed here. I'll have to find a place there - since the garage here is closed on weekends. I can't wait on that repair.

I'm trying to set up an efficiency apartment sight unseen, and be ready for two weeks of adjustments and making do. In two weeks, I can bring stuff back and forth as I need to. But this first trip is the biggie. LOTS of stuff going! I just hope I can bring it all back home OK in spring....

Well, turn off the computer, get through the shower and take that blood pressure reading so I can take my morning meds. Then pack the last bits and load up. I expect to be on the road by 10:30. That will give me time to get settled.

Blood Pressure went wacky...

I thought maybe it was the stress put myself under, but after careful examination, it seems that it was just too long between doses of my medicine, combined with the stress, that escalated it.

I've decided to try an experiment for a few days before I run to the Docs to fix it...

Take my meds roughly 12 hrs apart instead of on awakening and at bedtime. Sometimes, I have to get up really early, and my days go for close to 20 hours. That's too long between meds, so if I make it a 12 hr cycle, things should calm down.

I'll be doing a 10am-10pm cycle. I get up a lot earlier than that, and I'm often up at least another 2-3 hours at night, so this should work.

If nothing else, it will steady my blood pressure while I'm working through my stressful situation.

I have another 2 weeks to complete a major change in my work life - and with any luck and a lot of determination, it should be completed by the end of this week. I'll have to be on my toes for another 2 months after this, too, so that the habits I create now will become just that - habits.

So, keeping the BP under control really helps. Did I tell you the side effect of bouncing BP??? Emotional insanity. I become a basket case. The little things take on huge dimensions. Everything seems much more important than it really is.

God is in Charge. God knows what God is doing. I don't have to. And my biggest problem today is that I hate change. I hate to make new habits, a detour in my route, my cats acting weird, or running out of something I use all the time. Am I set in my ways? Yes. A resounding Yes! I know what works for me and what doesn't.

The broken parts though - it's so hard to let go of them...

Like an old friend, that broken habit or item takes up time or space in my life. If I let them go, what will happen? I'll be somehow less????

NO~ God always takes things away so that he can make room for something better.

And I am grateful that my life is so full that I have to let things go to "make room" for new things.

God Bless....
Have a good week...

Better Today...

I'm doing better today. I plan on taking a break and resting. Maybe my nerves will calm down a bit.

I want to get my sewing room cleared a bit, so I can do some sewing and get creative. That always calms my nerves, too. All the boxes and commotion and mess in there are not conducive to creativity.

I find that when I get creative - crochet, knitting, sewing, painting, or beading; that my doldrums go away, and all's right with the world pretty soon. It's getting the creative juices flowing that's the issue.

If creativity is plugged up by stress, worry or disorganization, I can be very difficult to be around. It's like a spiral out of control, toward depression and unhappiness.

If I'm expressing creativity in one place, it spreads out to the rest of my life. I come up with interesting and novel ideas that actually work, when dealing with the little annoyances that pop up in life. I handle finances better. I approach the most mundane task as an opportunity to express art. I get more satisfied with work. It all just flows. I become very productive, too! It seems to build on itself and feed more creativity. Like begets like.