Done

I took my final exam last night for my Bible class and turned in my final paper today. Finally, I am done with all of my classes. I've been feeling burned out anyway, but this one really sapped me.

I'm taking at least a month off from school. I've been going almost non-stop for nearly a year now, so I think I've earned a break.

The Greatest Captain in the Universe

I make no secret that Captain James T. Kirk is my hero. Ever since I was young, I have looked up to him and admired his leadership, cunning, panache, his fighting style (two-fisted chop!), his ability to "turn death into a fighting chance to live." I have always wanted to be Kirk.

There's a great website, The Captain Kirk Page, dedicated to all things Kirk. One of the coolest things they have is a quiz about the good Captain. If you pass (I got 10/10, of course), then you get a diploma to prove your dedication, devotion, hero-worship to Kirk. Here's mine:



I think I'm going to frame it and hang it in my office. As if my co-workers need another excuse to call me a geek.

I also can't let this salute to Jim Kirk go without posting one of my favorite Kirk images of all time. It's from this great website and they have many similar to it.



That is so freakin' awesome. Okay. Okay. I'll post another awesome poster from the same site.



Too cool.

Anyway, I salute you Captain James T. Kirk. Perhaps someday I will be half as awesome as you.

UPDATE: You can click on the pictures to see a larger view if you are having trouble reading the captions.

Kids Are Scary

My beautiful daughter, Erica. So sweet. So innocent.

But not for long...*sigh*

Erica will be 11 this November. I found myself just staring at her a few weeks ago and it hit me. She's turning into a young woman. I'm scared to death. Kids are scary enough in their own right, but she will soon be a teenager with all of the wonderful things that brings. I'm trying to stay calm. It doesn't help, though, when she says to me earlier tonight (giddy and excited about having a friend sleep over), "My hormones are going crazy and I'm feeling frisky!"

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Good News & Not So Good News

As part of the MS study I am in, I have to go in every three months for a variety of tests. They test hand-eye coordination, memory, gross motor skills, draw blood, do an EKG, and I have an MRI every six months. It's all very exciting, especially the memory test.

I listen to a CD of a man reading numbers. They come every five seconds in the most bland, monotone voice I have ever heard. It would be a great sleep aid; sometimes I find myself drifting toward unconciousness during the test. Anyway, I have to add together the last two numbers, the voice said. So, when he says, "Eight," and then five seconds later says, "Four," I say "Twelve." The tricky part is that I have to forget the sum I just gave, e.g. 12, because when he says the next number, say "six," I have to add it to the last number he said. So, I would add 6 and 4 to say, "Ten." I remember numbers very easily, so it's typically not a problem. As long as I am in the moment that is. There have been a few times when I find my mind drifting away listening to the monotone voice and I realize I didn't hear what the voice just said. It's almost more of an exercise in mental stamina than memory.

Anyway, my neurologist just called me. He said he had two things to tell me, one not so good and one great. First, my white blood cell count is low. He said it is not uncommon for people taking interferon medications as I am, but that it does need to be monitored. I am not too low, but he wants to keep an eye on it and if it gets lower and stays there, I may have to change medications.

The second piece of news is that my MRI shows marked improvement from the last scan. He told me that he was very pleased and surprised to see such a change. I'm not cured, of course. There is no cure for MS, but it is very exciting news, nonetheless. The drugs I'm on are clearly slowing the progress of the disease and that's great. I hope other people in this study are having similar progress with their condition.

Enter Sandman

I've been very tired lately. One of the more exciting aspects of MS that I've had to deal with is extreme fatigue. It doesn't take a lot (or any, really) of physical activity for it to hit me. It just does. I take Provigil and it's certainly been a life saver; I'm not sure how I would function without it. I'd sleep my life away.

Unfortunately, it doesn't always work. The last few days I have been more tired than usual even with the drugs. Last night, I was asleep shortly after eight. It's only a little after nine tonight and I've been struggling to stay awake for the last two hours. When the fatigue hits extra hard, it is typically worse in the evening, but it does affect me throughout the day. I have to really work to find the motivation to get stuff done at work as I'd rather just close my eyes and take a long nap.

That said, I'm off to take a long nap, now. An all-nighter.

Another Postcard

Another week. More pain. Check it out.

The Miracle of Birth

Two links in honor of my new niece:

An article about the miracle of birth and a video about said miracle.

One Down. One to Go.

I turned in my final research paper and abstract today for my research writing class. I'm done with that class now. I have one more week in my Intro to the Bible class and then I am done with it. I definitely need a break from school. I've been going nonstop for a few months now, and I'm starting to feel burned out. I haven't felt very motivated and it's led to more procrastination than usual. In fact, I wrote my research paper in the last three days and I've had the last sixteen weeks to work on it. I've got a lot of writing to do for my Bible class, too, that I've been putting off. That one has been a struggle, not just because I've been feeling burned out, but because of the nature of the course. I wasn't expecting a Bible class wherein the texts told me that the Bible is the inspired word of God because it says so and people inspired by the Holy Spirit have confirmed it. That's really put a damper on my enthusiasm for the class. There is still some good information in the books, but I find myself really disinterested in the whole class now. Oh, well. I am going to attempt to avoid taking any more classes from this prof in the future.