At least my place is clean now...

I vacuumed, I washed all my bedding and pajama in super-hot water, I replaced my down pillows and comforter with synthetic ones and... it didn't really make any difference. Trial and error, I guess.

BTW, if you ever have an urge to read about dust mites... don't.

Brain... is... numb...

Inactivity and four consecutive days of Buffy will do this to a girl.

What can I say, I'm still sick. I went back to my doctor (the one I don't like) on Monday and came back with enough prescription drugs to open my own pharmacy. There's a powder that I must inhale twice a day to help my inflamed airways. There are five more days of antibiotics because the infection in my lungs is not clearing up as fast as it could. There's a cough syrup with codeine to help me sleep at night (and it works, I only wake up every two hours now instead of every 45 minutes, yay!). The doctor also sent me for a blood test (to check my white blood cell count) and another chest x-ray (with all this radiation, I'm going to audition for a part in the next X-Men movie).

It could be worse. If I had a fever, I'd be on IV at the hospital. But no fever...

Once this entire thing clears up, as I know it will eventually, I'm also scheduled for some additional tests. Respiratory tests to confirm the asthma diagnostic (or not) and allergy test to find out what rocks my boat. Once I know what I'm allergic to, then I can start avoiding this substance.

Which brings me to a recent observation. When I am downstairs, watching TV or eating, I don't cough much. However, when I move upstairs, to work on the computer, or read in my room, or sleep, I cough all the time. What's the one major difference between the two floors? Carpet. And whatever lives in an old carpet. So, maybe this is nothing, but I'm going to use a phased approach here: first, vacuum the damn thing tonight and this weekend, get it cleaned. Maybe I'm sensitive to dust... Hey, that would be a great excuse to replace the carpet and get hardwood floors installed on the second floor. Maybe you can get a discount for allergies ;)

What's up?

OK, that was not fair... I changed my template and then stopped posting ;) Bear with me while I'm discovering there is no end to catching even nastier bugs. The latest update is that I have 1) a bad cold (and the coughing hasn't stopped, it just moved to my lungs) and 2) a lung infection, maybe a bit of pneumonia. I don't know what "a bit of pneumonia" means, but that's what my doctor said. I don't like this doctor, when I asked her about why she thought my immune system was suddenly giving up the fight, she kept on brushing my question away and telling me I'd have to take antibiotics for the infection. Thing is, lady, the infection is a symptom of something else gone wrong, work with me here... If we fix the infection without addressing the source of the problem, it will come back, no?

Lara suggested that I look into alternatives to "modern medicine". She's also not really impressed with regular doctors, and she mentioned that I should see an acupuncturist. Acupuncture treats people by also looking at the bigger picture, their overall well-being, diet habits, mental health... Everything is connected, that's actually something I believe in. I also believe in listening to what your body is telling you, and my body is telling me the cough and the lung infection is not what's wrong.

Mom had an interesting theory. Maybe I've developed an allergy to something airborne or something that I eat regularly. In fighting this allergene, my body would constantly be in reactive mode, and this could eventually lead to my immune system getting weak. My cough could be due to my nose leaking a bit and the throat getting irritated. This is definitely worth investigating further.

In the mean time, I'm taking time-off, trying to get some extra sleep, even with the coughing. I'm homebound all weekend, fortunately, I have the entire season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Nip and Tuck to keep me entertained.

Pink is the new template

Time for another template change for the blog. This one is more girly, yet very readable. The title of this post is a take on my favorite source of Hollywood gossip on the Web, Pink Is The New Blog. Move over, Entertainment Tonight!

It's also about time that this blog actually show a frog (image borrowed from the Maui County Condo Directory, thank you Google image search).

Camping at Lillooet Lake

We didn't get the best weather, but the camping trip was a lot of fun. I went with my friend Steph and her friend Mike. At Lillooet Lake, we were meeting with three of Mike's friends, Dave, Sandra, and Gerry. A good bunch of people they were. I would definitely go camping with these guys again.

I was happy to be outside for a few days, enjoying the calm of a pretty secluded campsite. We weren't alone, but our neighbors were quiet, or the high winds drowned their noise. Boy was it windy, which made my life a bit hard because I kept on getting either our own campfire smoke or the neighbor's campfire smoke. Today, I'm coughing a lot.

I also tried banana boats for the very first time. To make a banana boat, you cut a piece of skin off the banana, as if you were carving a canoe. Then, you eat a bit of the banana and replace the flesh with chocolate squares. You place the skin back on the banana and wrap it in tinfoil. Then, you place it in the campfire and wait about 15 minutes to eat this yummy banana-chocolate goo. Mmmmm...


We did get a tiny bit of sun...

Campfire by Lillooet Lake 

Dave and Gerry 

Stephanie 

Melissa and Sandra 

Our campsite was right on the beach 

Mist on Lillooet Lake 

OK, maybe not so relaxing after all...

But I'm very excited! I'm going camping this weekend. My friend Steph e-mailed me today to ask if I wanted to join her and a few friends in Lillooet this weekend. Apparently, her friends reserved a campsite a while ago (very fortunate, because this is the May long weekend and the weather is expected to be very nice, so it's going to be busy). We're leaving tomorrow afternoon and returning on Sunday, just before the rain.

My feet hurt!

This was my first night dancing in my brand new salsa shoes. I guess it will take a few more hours before they are nicely broken into. And a few more hours before they become much less slippery, because right now, I can't say that I'm totally in control. The shoes are great for spins though and getting me used to dance on the ball of my foot, not on the entire foot (that's usually what happens when you dance on flat shoes).

It's really hot in Vancouver these days, it's like someone turned on the summer switch all of a sudden. No complaining though, it's so nice to finally see a bit of sun, pull out the sandals, and leave the jacket at home. And the umbrella :-)

No news on the work front, I think it will take a while before I hear a final decision concerning the job switch. In the mean time, this gives me lots of time to wrap up my current tasks, which is not a bad thing. I don't really want to do two jobs at once.

I'm looking forward to the long weekend. I'm starting early, as I'm moving to another area in the building and have to be all packed by noon on Friday. I guess this gives me the afternoon off, as I can't really do any work without my computer. And Monday is off for Victoria day. I'm staying in town, so far I only have plans for salsa on Friday and helping Lara with some shopping on Saturday, and I'm happy with the light schedule. Might actually spend some time relaxing ;)

Sunny weekend on the West Coast

It took a while before we had any preview of spring, but this weekend was simply beautiful. A bit windy and cool on Saturday, but today was amazing. I went for a long run this morning, 16km, it felt great, I paced myself nicely and tried my new inhaler. I can't say I saw any major difference, if only for the fact that I had this funny taste in my mouth (bitter, like medication ;)).

I had a pleasant weekend. On Saturday, I went to get a hair cut and highlights, just in time for the sunny days. Then, I did a bit of shopping because gorgeous hair deserves a nice outfit. I bought a skirt, a tank top, and a 3/4 top that ties in the front. I also bought a pair of white sandals with interchangeable flowers on them. You can pick the flower to match your outfit, how neat is that? And they are really comfy. Then, I had a nap, I was tired after going to bed late on Friday (I had dinner and watched a movie with my friend Craig). I needed to be rested to go out later.

Saturday night, Lara and I ate dinner at Bridges on Granville Island, yummy food and a beautiful view of the waterfront. Raf gave us a call and asked if we were doing anything later. We told him to meet us for drinks at Sandbar, also on Granville Island. At Sandbar, we had a blast watching the cougars hound the young men in the place (cougars are older women hanging around in bars, not dressing up their age, and hunting for young men). Needless to say that a few of the predators had their eyes on Raf, he's such a cutie. Then, whenever the DJ was playing half decent music (which was not often, unfortunately), we started dancing, sometimes even salsa dancing on music that wasn't salsa at all. Raf took several pictures of the evening, they should be on his blog sometime tomorrow.

Today, well, there was running. Then, a call to bro and sis, to catch up on the latest news. Then, I did a bit of cleaning at home, my place was such a mess, and also cleaned my balcony. The white banister was more green than white and needed a good wash. The flower boxes had more brown than green, I took out all the dead plants and will buy new plants for the summer next weekend. I also called mom, because today is mother's day :-) Wish I could be at dinner with the family, that's for sure...

That just might explain it...

I saw a doctor this morning, both for the chronic cough I've been fighting for over a week and the fact that I have a hard time breathing when I do high-intensity exercise (like bootcamp or hill training). After listening to my breathing, she said she did hear a bit of wheezing, so she scheduled me for a chest x-ray, in case (in case of what, I'm not sure, but I have an appointment with her in two weeks to discuss the results).

Her theory is that I have exercise-induced asthma. It sounds a lot worse than it is, but basically, when I push myself hard and the air quality is less than desirable (i.e. working out outside, in the downtown core, on a dry day), the air that reaches my lungs, unfiltered because it comes in through the mouth, triggers an asthmatic reaction (throat becomes constricted, I might cough a bit). My cough is probably related to such a reaction and since it wasn't prevented or treated, has continued to worsen as I cough and irritate my throat, and then the irritation causes me to cough.

She gave me a sample of a powder I need to inhale twice a day to treat the throat irritation. It has some sort of steroid to fight the inflammation. She also gave me a prescription for an inhaler (the typical asthma inhaler) to use before I exercise. She also told me to continue working out, it was OK and even recommended.

Let's see how this works out for me...

Am I a believer? (part 2)

Nope. At least, not when it comes to the efficiency of this homeopathic cough liquid I just tried. It did numb my throat for 45 minutes to an hour after trying the rapid fire technique, but I think that's probably the result of a 20% alcohol content more than anything else. Yeah, maybe I'll start sipping brandy to soothe my throat, maybe I can get drunk enough to sleep through the night...

Basically, this has been a pretty boring and uneventful week, mainly due to the fact that I slept very little and did not work out at all, making me a little more crabby than usual. I still managed to make it to salsa level 3 on Wednesday. I'm really excited about this new course, the teacher is a lot better than the teacher from level 2, and we're learning three new moves per night! I'm going to start looking for a pair of dance shoes soon, as we're getting into a lot of spins. You need proper shoes for spins. Weeee!

Am I a believer?

Mom wrote me an e-mail today asking if everything was all right. She said that my last blog update dated back to Thursday, I guess I have to keep up the writing now that family and friends read the posts on a regular basis.

I have been a bit under the weather since my dry cough has returned. Yes, coughing again. Sunday night was pretty bad, didn't get much sleep, so last night, I decided to take some codeine syrup before going to bed. Well, that didn't help whatsoever. I was up every single hour, hacking away. This morning, I almost didn't go to work. It was a long day.

Then I remembered this e-mail I received from Lara over the weekend. We watched a movie on Saturday and as she noticed that I started coughing again, she wrote me a message later that day to encourage me to think of other alternatives for treating this nagging cough. She recommended I visit the naturopath at Choices Market, apparently, this lady was very good. Maybe I would find a treatment that would actually work.

So, I decided to give it a try. I left work a bit early, then headed over to Choices and asked for some help with natural cough remedies. The lady pointed me to a product called Cough Complex, from Nova Homeopathic Natural Remedies. She also explained how to use it to get the most out of it. Instead of following the dosage, I should use the rapid fire method. When I get a tickle or itch in the back of my throat, I take one dose (12 drops). Then, five minutes later, another dose. Then, again, five minutes later another dose. This should prevent me from coughing which, in turn, irritates my throat and makes me cough even more.

So, this is what I'm trying tonight. I already pulled the firing squad twice and it does seem to quiet the cough for a little while. But the real test is tonight, will I be able to sleep more than one hour at the time without breaking into a nasty spell of coughing?

Am I a believer?

Other recent news from my little place in the world: I almost reached the 50% mark on my fundraising efforts for The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. Thanks to everyone who has donated so far! Keep 'em coming!

Good things come in three

and sometimes, on the same day as well :-)

This morning, I had a meeting with one of the solution managers at work (product manager could also be the term used to refer to them) about a business analyst position that was vacant. Apparently, I am being seriously considered for the position, if I'm interested. We discussed responsibilities, so I could understand what the job involved, and whether or not the job would be a good fit for me. He told me he'd be waiting for my answer as to whether or not I'm interested. I think this could be a very interesting opportunity!

Then, I received an e-mail from Simon Fraser University to congratulate me on being awarded one of their Entrance Scholarships. $5000 towards the first semester's tuition! I didn't even apply for a scholarship, this came out of the blue and I HAD to do a little happy dance at my desk. $5000 will help a lot with the tuition!

And finally, my date wasn't a waste, he was funny, entertaining, and we had a lovely time together.

This was a really good day...

Sweet!

You have to give it to Dell to do things right. Last week, someone at work pointed out an incredible deal on the Canadian site of Dell, $269 (delivery included) for a 19" flat panel monitor. The sale was on for a day only, I simply couldn't resist. My old monitor was a 19" CRT and took most of the space on my desk. My new monitor is this little jewel, so light, bright, and it can even be turned 90 degrees to change from a landscape view to a portrait view. I'm sure it has plenty of other cool features, I'll have to read about it tomorrow. Right now, I'm simply blown away by this beautiful technology. Technology that normally sells for $399!


New toy

It's actually nice to stay home one night out of the week

and Monday it is... Not that I'm doing anything exciting, mostly cleaning, laundry, dishes, figuring out what to do with the 200 e-mails in my Hotmail Inbox (that's a new record), replying to e-mails that are a few weeks old (sorry...).

And then the week insanity starts again. Tomorrow, I'm having lunch with Raf to chit-chat about our lives (hard to say anything when a man is spinning you around), then after work a Special General Meeting with the Strata to kick out the incompetent property management company, Wednesday is salsa, Thursday I'm signed up for bootcamp at lunch time and I have a date after dinner (yes, I figure I've been single for long enough now, I have an actual date for drinks at a cool place on Broadway, Bin 942), Friday is salsa again... I also need to get a few runs in. I never have to ask myself why I sleep so well.