Boring Update (Hey, you asked for it!)

I have heard from more than a few people (mostly those that live at least 1,500 miles away) that my blog contains far too many random musings and adjective-laden anecdotes, rather than cold hard facts about what the heck is going on in my life. So, in the interest of placating the plot-starved, I offer this update.

My knee continues to heal, but is having some weird nasty pain that may be nerve-related. I have no idea what this bodes for the future. I have been working minimal shifts at Stone since my surgery, and I just got switched over to the tours-only department. Yay! No more retail for me. On the downside, I haven’t been out of full-time work for this many months in years, and I’m not handling it well. I really can’t remember when I’ve had such a gaping void of a schedule. The last time I had no job I was in grad school, which provides plenty of stress and obligation to fill your daylight hours and then some.
I am starting to get antsy/depressed/stir crazy/mopey. I don’t do well at all with unstructured time. I need to figure out what to do with my life. I really mean it this time when I say I want out of field archaeology. The work itself is still as joyous and rewarding as ever; that's not the problem. I don’t like the degree of unprofessionalism that seems to be rampant in the field, I don’t like the politics, I don’t like being the red carpet for developers to further destroy the landscape, and most of all, I don’t like the lack of steady employment and medical benefits. I won’t bore you with further excogitations about what I DO plan on doing. This is a more sophisticated way of saying I'm really not sure.
My respiratory health is good. Which is rather surprising considering that I haven’t exercised in months and I’ve been doing a really crappy job of taking care of myself as far as daily maintenance goes (nebulizing, etc.). I did have a problem about a month ago, when my lungs decided it was time that I experienced another thrilling episode of hemoptysis. For those of you who aren’t medical students, that means when a blood vessel in your lungs bursts. It’s quite yucky, to say the least. This last time was thankfully quite mild compared to other times this has happened, thank god, but it still threw me for a loop. Coughing up blood never ceases to be disconcerting, no matter how many times it’s happened to you. At any rate, it wasn’t enough to warrant a hospital visit and it stopped within a few days. For the curious, the reason this happens is because of the scarring in my lungs (bronchiectasis) caused by poor lung function and numerous respiratory infections. What happens is that the airways become enlarged and kind of floppy; they lose their integrity and become great little hidey-holes for bacteria to hang out in and throw wild parties. It’s a rather vicious cycle--having repeated infections causes more bronchiectasis, which in turn makes you much more susceptible to subsequent infections.

Ah! Which brings me to another fine point: I am planning, no matter how badly or slowly, on doing another fundraising walk, probably in November. So please keep that in mind and get ready to throw lots of money at the PCD Foundation. Our financial situation is even more lousy than last year so please don’t cop out on me. We need you!
I also just had an eye exam and my eyes have stayed stable for the first time ever--there has been almost no change since my last exam a year and a half ago. Even the astigmatism is the same. And my eyes are totally healthy. Yippee. I celebrated by ordering a really funky new pair of glasses. I’m also seeing the dentist next month finally...but really, now, this update is starting to bore even me! You can’t possibly be enjoying this! I brushed my teeth twice already today, you know...

In slightly more interesting news, I went back to dance practice for the first time last Thursday, and my leg didn’t fall off or anything. It went really well. I sat down a lot, and I skipped the parts in the routines where we kneel. I hope to be dancing up a storm in no time. Don’t forget that we’re performing at the Renaissance Faire in Escondido at the end of October!
Thanks to those of you who persevered to the end, despite the excruciating banality of this post. I can’t please everyone, you know! I promise that my next installment will be chock-full of useless information, detailed descriptions of absolute minutiae, and stories about cats and feet.