For My Next Birthday (in 6 months)...

... I'm giving myself the gift of being in the best shape of my life. 'Cause that birthday's a big-un. And because that's a far enough--but close enough--date (to motivate me to reach my goal, but give me time to see a significant change).

I registered for the Freedom Run 5K today, so I feel like that's a good place to start. A celebratory kick-off of my journey to a strong and healthy body.

Free Health Care

So, the last thing I expected when I went to the hospital today was to walk out without having even shown my insurance card or paid a single cent.

And don't bother saying it's because the French are on a social health care system. I'm not a tax-paying citizen, and I didn't enroll in the social security system as a student either. I opted to get my own health coverage.

I'm especialy surprised that this visit was free because I signed a form when I got to the orthopedic surgery department saying that I acknowledged that my doctor charges 100 Euro for the consultation alone, which I had to pay in cash.

However, after about 30 seconds of examining my condition and asking about the accident, the doctor told me there was nothing wrong with my bones and he saw no reason to go through with additional x-rays. Then he walked me to the secretary's office, and said, "Don't charge her for this visit."

Wow. Frankly, I think that's just cool. Bless you, Dr. Olivier.

Got in a Fight With a Bus Today. The Bus Won.

But I, hopped up on adrenaline and completely in shock from being smacked by public transit:

1) told everyone I was fine

2) refused to let them call the paramedics, and

3) went to my phonetics course, where I attempted NOT to burst into tears for an hour while replaying the scene in my mind over and over and over. (Luckily, I was successful. It was my first day, and what a horrible impression to make...)

I battled hysteria in both its comic and tear-filled forms for another hour or so while I tried to think of the signs of shock and concussions so I could keep a watchful eye on myself on my way to Institute.

I wanted to ask the other people who were in the Metro if they were freezing to death, too, but I didn't want them to think I was psycho. (Look at me being all prideful in my distress. I'm lame, I know.) I ate most of a sandwich from the corner bakery, thinking that maybe it would help alleviate the nausea. Not so much.

Then I went to Institute and burst into tears as soon as I got to the bathroom.

And don't worry that it was totally my fault. I was in an area of the city that I'm not very familiar with, and after looking for oncoming traffic, I started into the street. Unfortunately, there was a street behind me that I didn't check, and SMACK went the bus into my left shoulder and leg. CRASH went I, onto the sidewalk on my right shoulder.

The site of the accident. The ladies crossing the street are standing right where I was...

I am grateful:

-that neither the bus nor the sidewalk made contact with my head or spine
-that the bus was coming to a stop anyway, so it wasn't going fast enough to do serious damage to my bones
-for the church--I have no idea how else I would have made it through today. I don't know anyone here, so being able to go to Institute and get a blessing, comfort from friends, and a referral to a doctor all in one place helped alleviate a lot of my trauma. :)
-that the only injuries I have (assuming I'm not bleeding internally anywhere, which is HIGHLY unlikely) are a sore back and a scraped ankle
-that my wonderful friend Agenor had very kind things to say to me that helped me put this little incident into perspective
-that I could learn this lesson while retaining the use of all of my body parts


Feeling blessed tonight. Also feeling a little stupid. But not stupid enough that I refuse to write about it here. Because what's sharing it with people who already love me, when about 50 random people in Paris saw it happen?


Yeah, I think I'm going to take another route to class from now on. Also, is it weird that the buses (busses?? shoot. I used to be able to spell. Oh... now I feel better.) now scare me? I think I'm going to have to start taking the bus to get over that as quickly as possible.


(P.S. Welcome to my stream of consciousness. I know it's chaotic.)

"Soon" is a Relative Term

Ha. So today I feel like crap. I totally interrupted my French class by leaving to go to the bathroom and then going back in, packing up my stuff, and leaving. My teacher was probably bugged, but he was in the middle of talking, so I didn't stop to explain.

But I think that's better than vomiting in the middle of class, right?

So now I'm camped out at home for the night, working on re-writing all of my class notes, creating verb-conjugaison(tion) and usage flashcards, and updating my A-Z address book with alphabetically categorized vocabulary words and their root words/derivatives. Don't be jealous.

On the up side of things, I went to my first French Cinema class today. I'm pretty sure it will consist of us watching a movie every Monday at 10, and not much else. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will take the least effort imaginable.

Today we watched "Oscar," a comedy of errors/farce filmed in 1967. I laughed out loud a couple of times, even while trying to read the french subtitles. But some of the gestural comedy was a little much for me.

I promise at some point I'll put up the pictures from last week. Maybe even tonight. But first, I need to give some attention to my schoolwork.

I've Lost

8 pounds in the past two weeks. Hoping this trend continues and that I don't suddenly start craving chocolate. 'Cause that would be lame.

Moonstruck Chocolates by eszter.

My Bed

... is not the most comfortable of creations.

For my first two weeks here, I slept in a crater that was wreaking havoc on my SI joints. It's one of those lovely little IKEA-style mattresses that must just be cotton balls stuffed inside heavy canvas.

So I spent way too much money buying way too many red fleece blankets to help even out the mattress.

I also bought this awesome (and also way expensive -lame!) heating pad that's practically the size of my whole back (as pictured below in the middle of my bed).

Last night was the trial run, and I think both of these DIY-changes helped quite a bit. We'll see how tonight goes. I still miss my body pillow, though. Not sure where I can find one of those here (or if I even dare cart it around on the Metro with me).

Ahhh... my room. It's big, yeah? I'll post more pics of the apartment sometime this week. That will include a better glimpse into my room when all of my bedding isn't draped ove the back of my "office" chair.

Subconscious Anxiety and Its Physical Manifestation*

Last week I emailed my landlord in Paris to tell her what time I was going to arrive and get her phone number so I could call her when I was almost to the apartment (she has to leave work and use her lunch break to let me into the apartment and get me my key, etc.).

After 5 days, I hadn't heard anything. I was slightly worried, but not to the point of it creating any nervous ticks or anything**. I had the numbers of two families in the area who said they would be willing to help me out with anything I needed upon my arrival in Paris. I figured if I was stranded without a place to live for a couple of days, that might be covered in the blanket offer to help.

However...

Today before church as I was getting ready I noticed that my forehead was totally scrunched into a perma-worrywart wrinkle-fest. Wow. I hadn't even noticed my forehead was in a knot until I looked into the mirror.
During church I was just calmly minding my own business, listening to the speaker, or singing a hymn, when I realized my shoulders and next were so stiff I might as well be a marble statue of a Greek god (minus the awesome musculature... and stuff). My shoulders were hunched up to tight around my neck I probably looked like a turtle. :) I had to consciously take some deep breaths and focus on relaxing my body.

Less than an hour later I found myself clenching my jaw like there was no tomorrow, only noticing when I was actually in pain. I finally realized that I was FREAKING OUT on the inside but completely suppressing it so no one could tell. I must have been sunconsciously wondering what I was going to do with four suitcases and freezing temperatures if I couldn't get into my apartment and my "helper" families weren't answering their phones.

Of course, some of you might have already picked up on the fact that I'm freaking out a bit. My doomsday attitude ("Ummm... I think I have cancer," or "Okay, I don't have cancer, but I think my plane is going to crash.") might have tipped you off. I think part of me is terrified that after all this preparation and effort in making this dream a reality, something is going to go horribly wrong.

As it turns out, my landlord (who I heard from today) didn't respond earlier because she was out of town for 8 days helping with a family emergency.

So, all is well. But I still have a migraine (which I thought was from lack of sleep, but I'm sure my shoulder-hunching, jaw-clenching, worry-wrinkle-forehead subconscious wasn't helping). Good thing I haven't packed my economy-sized bottle of Excedrin*** yet.

*Doesn't this sound like a term paper for some kind of psychology major? I would totally volunteer myself for a study.
**Or so I thought.
***Excedrin is truly a wonder drug.

Say "Aaaaaahhhhh Yeah!"

No cancer.

No surgery.

HOORAY!!

My only remaining anxiety is that something horrible is going to happen to my plane. What about today's craziness with the plane crashing into the Husdon? Thank heaven for a great pilot, a great crew, and a "safe" place to land. Wow.

"Say Aaaaaahhhhhhh"

Today I am going to an otolaryngolosist. That's an Ear, Nose, and Throat doc for those of us who can't be bothered with science but are grateful for those who can be bothered.

A few weeks ago I was visiting my allergist to get some prescriptions to tide me over in the City of Light, and he noticed a growth on my tonsil "unlike anything I've ever seen before." Awesome, doc. Can't wait to find out what that means.

He encouraged me to see an ENT right away. Lucky for me, I managed to get an appointment for today after calling about 8 different offices.

So. I might have a random skin tag on my tonsils (keep your fingers crossed that this is the case). I might (worst-case scenario) have some horrible tumor in my tonsils. I'll be extremely furious if I have cancer and I don't get to go to France (but it's a good thing I've got my priorities straight, right?). Ha. Or I might have to have my tonsils out last minute and be hopped up on pain killers for my entire trip across the Atlantic.

This, of course, all assumes that they do a biopsy of some kind and can even get the results before I leave.

What joy is mine. (Name the movie.)

Can a Back Massage Change Your Life?

Yes. At least the one I had yesterday did.

Okay, it was actually what happened before the massage that made such a huge difference...

Every friday, the company I work for brings in two massage therapists to do seated massages. It's $10 for 15 minutes, and on more than one occasion I have considered it the best $10 I ever spent.

This time I actually had a back injury, rather than just general tightness. Last week this same therapist just did a massage, and she kept commenting on how tense and tight all of my muscles were, not just the ones in my back.

So this week before she started with the massage, she did a process that she called "unwinding."

I've never really had anything like that done before, but I tried to keep an open mind, and the results were truly incredible. It's not like my back magically feels 100% better, but I could see a significant improvement just in those ten minutes.

I found this article, which seems to be a pretty accurate description of the process as I experienced it (and as she described what it is supposed to do).

My back actually felt so much better after my "unwindy" massage appointment, I forgot all about the chiropractic appointment I had that same afternoon.

Eucalyptus

Since about 1999, soon after I started working for a wholesale florist, I have detested the smell of eucalyptus. I had to handle large bundles of it every so often at work, and the oil from its leaves just clings to your skin like nobody's business. Not only does that mean the smell stays with you for hours, but it also leaves a horrible residue all over, like sap from a tree that seemingly never goes away.

Eucalyptus by Marc 50 via Flickr

As a result of this distaste for all things eucalyptus, getting sore throats and colds is even more annoying, because everything seems to have nasal-passage-clearing and sore-throat-soothing eucalyptus in it.

No, thanks. I'll take those pseudo Vitamin C candies that they sell by the throat lozenges.

Last Post Today (I Promise) -- A New Blog

Today I set a goal to lose 20 pounds by December 31st. If you haven't seen me in a while, well... I've gained weight. Ta da!
If you have seen me recently, then you know I could stand to shed a few. There's really no denying it. (And this isn't a request for compliments of any kind. I'm just telling the truth). My long-term goal is to lose about 50 pounds. By when, I don't know. I'm just setting time-specific goals for the short-term and eventually I'll get to the long-term success.

I am a member of a weight-loss and healthy living success group at my work. Initially I joined because I was a trainer, they asked me to teach a class on exercise to the group, and (of course) I wanted to lose weight. It's pretty much done nothing for me up to this point because I wasn't really accountable to anyone and didn't take it seriously enough.

The group is only meeting on the first Tuesday of each month, so today we did some brainstorming about how we could help keep each other motivated for the other 28-30 days of the month.
I suggested a blog so everyone could contribute their ideas, successes, recipes, etc. and be able to access the suggested resources outside of their work e-mail accounts. No one else knew how to start it, so... I am officially in charge of said blog. I'm thinking that will help keep me motivated.

So, here it is:

Success Group

Stop by if you feel so inclined. And wish me luck on my way to a healthier life. :)

*I'm not posting a "Before" picture. The fugly one of me below should be sufficient.