Life is good - my update

I just got back from physical therapy and eye doctor appointments, and I feel really great about the results! As far as I can tell, I'm in fairly good shape, and I'm hopeful to make a full recovery of all numbness in my fingers. My eyes checked out perfectly - there's been no issues due to the disease, and every piece of information that I uncover makes me feel that much better! I think I've been worrying a lot needlessly, and I apologize to those of you that have been worrying along with me, but who can know without actual physical results? Everything that I have read about this disease has put the fear or god in me, and I'm finally now getting over it.

Now that things are better, I'm even considering driving again for short distances - let's see if my doctor approves it next week.

In terms of activities, I've just been reading, wii fitting, and watching Lost! now that the new episodes are on tv. The new episodes are very exciting, for you Lost! fans out there. Watch it again - it's gotten more adventurous, but they are preserving some of the debt. Things seem to also be getting a bit more scientific.

In terms of books, I finished a great book - 'The Diplomat's Daughter'. It was fabulous, very interesting for those of you that follow current events and are interested in world politics. I read the whole book in a day, and it's huge!

We need to get a few more books from the library. I will keep you posted if I find any other good ones!

TTFN,
A

Some interesting articles on recovering from setbacks

I just read a very interesting article on tough experiences and what we can gain from them. If you're interested in that kind of thing, defintely check it out!

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=45978089203&h=2dASr&u=AP8HP&ref=nf

Here's another article that I found interesting on a site that I check every day. It's great for career advice, and they have fantastic blogs every day by 20 and 30 something professionals.
Read this if you think you are having a bad year:

http://www.brazencareerist.com/2009/01/24/what-i-learned-about-life-through-disasters

Enjoy!

Amy

Reviews of my latest reads

My latest book read is "First Darling of the Morning" by Thrity Umrigar. I seem to have a knack lately for picking up dark books that strangely have similarities to my life. Not that my life is or has been dark, per se, but you know where you read something about a character andd think "Wow, that's me!" That - it's happening to me. A Lot. Very eerie, strange, and a bit perturbing, when you're trying to think about positive things and cheery little butterflies, but then, what fun is that anyway? The dark side is where the good stuff is, according to all the books.

So I just finished the Umrigar book, which is dark but good, and am almost done with 'The Palace Of Illusions' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Now this is one Fantastic book, but it is Very Dark. It is basically a retelling of essential stories from the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic, from the vantage point of the main female character, Draupadi. I had to actually put the book down at times, as those of you that are familiar with the Mahabharata are aware of how dark the story gets at points. Multiply that by 100 - the author really puts you in Draupadi's skin and makes you feel an approximation of what she might have felt at each of the major instances in her life. This book is really amazing - Divakaruni should win a literary prize for it.

The last book, which I ended up returning to the library without finishing, was a book about Elizabeth. The author is Allison Weitland (sp?), and the book is really amazing, but it got too dark for me, with all the talk of the Tower and death, so I just let it go. I believe that this is the book that the last Elizabeth movie was based on, and I highly recommend it for any history enthusiasts that enjoy the stories of Elizabeth and Henry VIIIth. I've read a lot of historical fiction about these two subjects, and this one did the best job of making sense of various events in history. The lives of both of these historical figures make so much more sense to me now! If the subject interests you, definitely grab this book!

Tonight - dinner at CPK with the parents, sister, and her father-in-law. The finale for SaReGaMaPa was very long, but decent, and Rush Hour 3 is a good movie! The next books on the list are: 'A Golden Age' by Tahmima Anam, 'The Diplomat's Daughter' by Tom Kinsolving, 'The Harafish' by Nagub Mahfouz, and 'Secrets and Mysteries of the World' by Sylvia Browne.

Later,
A

Keeping busy and other thoughts

My biggest past time right now, while I am am home, has been finding positive ways to keep myself busy.

For those of you that currently work, this is not as easy as it would seem. I'm magically hitting that 3 month mark at which unemployment turns from fun and freedom into boredom.

I have been planning, depending on the day, to start writing a book, start preparation for the remaining Navision certification exams, update my blog on a more regular basis, study a new language, watch more movies, catch up with more friends, etc. None of the above is quite sticking. I'm thinking back to what others have done during prolonged bouts of bedrest - the only person that I have heard stories of is JFK. I believe that he was hospitalized and on bedrest for a few months after back surgery, and that he read a lot and ended up writing a book. Huh.

I found a new blog on writing that is endlessly entertaining to me. For those of you that have problems with bad language, please be warned, there is some.

http://www.writinghannah.blogspot.com/

It did inspire me to finally start my book, but Hannah was not kidding. I barely wrote a page, and I think I'm tapped out now, writing is really tough business!

I hope you enjoy the above, more later!
A

Nav 2009 is very impressive!

I just saw a preview of Dynamics Nav 2009, and I was not planning to be impressed, but I absolutely was! The options for viewing of documents based on certain breakdowns of statistics (this will only make sense for those of you that are very familiar with MS Dynamics Nav, if you are not please do yourself a favor and skip this post).

I can't wait to get more familiar with it and the process of implementing it. Actually, the implementation does seem like it will be more of a bear, but the extra time spent on start seems like it will save a lot of time later. I'm very impressed with the Danish folk that have spent the time and come up with this improved design.

There are possibly two people still reading at this point. Do either of you have anything to add regarding the software, including your impressions and/ or experiences with it. How does it feel on the development side? I can imagine that there have been significant structural changes that almost make 2009 a different language from CSIDE? If you have any feedback, please elaborate, I'm curious!

Amy

Dealing with bad friends

A while back a posted about a dilemna involving an ex-friend and asked for feedback on how to deal with her regarding a silly rumor her family seems to have started about me. I received some really good feedback, particularly from people that know both myself and the party in question, yes - including my mom. I have come to the decision that this friend is basically not in my 'lifetime' category.

At the risk of sounding childish, I will mention that email that everyone has seen, regarding people that come into your life for a reason, season, or lifetime. Not everyone that we meet falls into the lifetime category, and this has been a particularly painful experience for me up until now, for some reason. I had always prided myself on my ability to make and sustain friendships for the long term, until recently. I now realize that a relationship can not be sustained by one person alone, no matter the person and no matter the circumstances. Some, indeed most, people are meant to be there for the short term, either for a reason or a season.

Back to the ex-friend - and I want to make sure that I don't sound petty or over-reactive here. Obviously there have been other events that have precipitated the falling out and led to whatever bad feelings there might be between us, and this bit was just the last straw for me. I had tried reasoning with her a few times, and just seemed to keep meeting a brick wall of resistance. She is a fun friend, and we come from similar communities - I'm not sure if that contributes to my stupidity in holding on to that ridiculous one-way relationship for so long, but I can only guess what my reasoning was at that time. When you're young you do stupid things, and we were young when we met, so that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!

At this point I've decided to just cut her off. I pray for forgiveness, but I really want forgetness first, to make a reference to "The Hills" and the great Lauren/Heidi argument. Just make her go away, please! No references to her, no "how is she doing", I think I just want to forget the fact of her existness - my life will be better for it.

I decided to write about this subject as it has been a long standing issue for me, and so maybe someone else can get some clarity from my experiences. I seem to have had several of these issues with friends and former friends, especially lately with this illness and the move. If I can keep one of you from experiencing some of the pain, it's worth it!

Do any of you have similar experiences? If so, I'd love to hear about them. Please let me know if you have any thoughts on the decision I made. Is it the healthy choice, escapism, or maybe just what works best for me? I would love to hear your comments and feedback!

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day!
Amy

Where I review Louise Hay's book

I had promised earlier to talk more about my favorite New Age Healing book of the minute, "Heal Your Body, Heal Your Life", and I have to start off by saying, I had no idea how popular this book is! I have mentioned it to just a few people in passing, and a some of the people that I mentioned it to got really excited when I told them the title or author. This book truly has been a godsend to many, so I feel that it is fitting to write about it here in the hope that more people can be helped by its contents.

Louise Hay was touted by Oprah Winfrey as the founder of the New Age Movement, and I would have to agree with her regarding that title. I've been pursuing natural altenatives to medicine for the last 8 or so years, and Louise Hay's name and book titles have constantly come to me during that time, whether it was a reference in other books, online, or by word of mouth. I wish I had listened before, but maybe I was not yet ready to hear her message.

The basic premise of "Heal Your Body, Heal Your Life" is that all diseases and infections in the body can be linked to negative emotional states and traumas that a person has experiences. Once these negative states are resolved, the body is able to heal itself as it needs to. Hay discusses the need to totally love oneself in the book, and many of the exercises in the book are directed toward this goal. Toward the end of the book, Hay has a list of hundreds of different ailments, along with each prescribed affirmation that the sufferer should say to counteract the negative emotional state that might be causing the illness.

I first read through the book a bit, and tried some of the exercises half-heartedly to see if I got any immediate effect. These exercises can be a bit taxing and draining, if you've never done them, and I did not want to risk making myself worse, even temporarily. The process of clearing out old crap can be tough, as we all know. I noticed that I felt a bit better after reading theough some of the sections and exercises.

Over the past few months, as I mentioned, I've been experiencing some crazy mood swings. I'm honestly not myself right now - screaming at the people around me (even my parents' friends, lol) at the drop of a hat, this is so unlike me. I generally don't scream unless thoroughly provoked, and I usually have a lot of patience with people.

I decided to write down several of the affirmations from Louise's book that applied to me currently (and was shocked that there were a lot of them, lol!). I figured I would try reading them to myself at night a few times before bed, and see if they made a difference.

I got a really good night's sleep, and the affirmations continue to help me a few days later! I say one or two of them to myself as a calming factor any time I find my mood dropping. I havem't been able to catch myself before my temper flares, but that is my next goal. In short, they worked for me!

I also really recommend the aesthetics of the book - the drawings inside are so beautiful and warmly colored, that you can't help but be drawn if you dare to open a copy of the book. I plan to pick up a copy for myself and for a family friend that was recently diagnosed with cancer. Hay mentions cancer as a disease that is the result of pent-up resentment. I had already mentioned the affirmations to this family friend, and she is currently expecting a list of the ones that apply to her condition from me, but I would rather just give her a copy of the book. That way she can read through the stories in her own time, and hopefully get the full effect.

In case it wasn't clear from the review, I loved this book! I've already recommended it to a couple of friends that I know would benefit from it. I'm planning on getting my own copy before this one gets back to the library!

Comments, suggestions, alternative viewpoints of the book? Please forward them on to me!
Amy

Lazy Sunday, the news is depressing

Today is turning out to be a nice relaxing Sunday. I made pancakes for breakfast and set up the Bose system.

The morning is still wide open.

So is anyone else getting depressed by the news? The economic situation is horrible, Israel and Palestine will not stop going at it, and it's so sad. I guess it could always be worse, but how did we get to this horrible point? I'm really worried that the Middle East situation might escalate to a world war, what with all the nuclear arms proliferation that has occurred in so many countries over the past few years. Unless an independent party agrees to act as mediator for the two sides, the situation will just continue to escalate. I liked Naomi Klein's idea of a boycott to Israeli products in order to send an economic signal of disapproval around the world, but it just seems like too little too late. I'm not sure that it would have enough of an economic effect to even bear noticing. We are talking about years of segregation and persecution and hatred that have brought the two parties to this point.

I think maybe that I have too much time on my hands. I was counting - I'm generally up 16 hours a day, and that's a lot of time to fill when you are not working - lol! I'm thinking about taking a language class - something to get me out of the house more and force me to study. The Nav continuing education or rather re-education program that I was putting myself on has been a no go thus far - it's hard to force yourself to study! At least it is for me - I have always admired those self-motivated people that can schedule and stick to allotted study and work and feeding and play times. I do think that the best balance is somewhere in between though.

About that situation with the ex-friend - I've decided to just let it go. It's really not worth worrying about - it's in the past and what's done is done. The funny thing is the lie that was told is so obviously not true, and in February it will be obvious to everyone. So why spend a second's thought on the silliness? You're right, I won't!!!

I didn't really have a ton to say today, so sorry for the brevity, but I wanted to get a post in while I had a chance. I hope that you are all having nice Mimosa or other drink of your choice Sundays!

TTFN,
Amy

Welcome twitter friends!

I'm expecting that some of you have ventured here from my link on twitter, and if so, Welcome!

I wanted to make sure that I was not being too secretive and dicey on twitter about the issues that I'm going through. None of this is a secret, but because some of what I have written in this blog is so personal to me and my experiences, I've only made the url known to a few good friends until now. That might change in the future depending on how brave I get, but let's see.

Today seems like it will be a good day. Mom and I are heading out to buy something for my sister-in-law in London whose birthday just passed. We will probably have lunch outside and grab a Hindi dvd for tonight.

Last night we went to our family friend's place - this is the family friend that was recently diagnosed with lymphoma. It really made me think about my own issues, as I need to be monitored for the development of lymphoma with the high doses of corticosteroids and chemotherapy agents I'm taking. Scary stuff. She starts chemo at the end of the month, and is understandably scared, but it seemed to help her a bit to see us.

Tomorrow is another family friend's birthday, so we will be going over there in the evening.
Other than that, I'm finally sleeping 8 hours a night (yay me!) and it seems to really be helping. I've had a bit of a setback in that my foot seems to be going numb again, but the doctors are aware of it and just want to wait it out two weeks to see if it persists.

So I guess tonight we will watch a movie. Other than that who knows, we are wild and crazy kind of people right now, woohoo! Sorry to be so boring, I promise to be a little more interesting once my energy level goes up. I started doing some Louise Hay affirmations last night, and I think that they really helped with the sleep quality and general outlook, believe it or not! I need to post a review of her book, it has been a life changer for me, so I just know that it can help someone else out. I'm planning to read every book now that she has written, and I know that there are a lot. She's a genius!

Anyway, that's all for now!
Amy

Great day!

We just got back from a fantastic Chinese buffet, and a great visit to the chiropractor and massage therapist. In California I was getting regular treatments from a chiropractor, and it really kept me sane during the last 6 months of hell. Today I also got a biofeedback session with a massage therapist, and I felt fabulous afterward, like my old self again!

I also switched from Ambien to another sleep med, as sleep is so important right now and mine has been erratic at best. Well, I'm off to journal and take a nap.

I have a dilemna for some of you. If you had been told that a family member of a former friend was spreading untrue rumors about you, what would you do? Particularly if the rumors had by now spread all over the city? Would you retaliate with the truth as you know it about that person, and consider it fair play? This is what my heart tells me I should do...comments please!

Some of you will know who and what I'm referring to - please feel free to use real names, lol!

Amy

Easy breezy day today

Today was a nice and easy day - we were just at home today. I slept about 10 hours, which was fabulous, and then dad and I went grocery shopping in the evening.

I talked to a couple of friends today and formulated some ideas on the future of this blog. I'm realizing more and more that the purpose was never to talk about Navision and IT, but rather my interest in healing others. The older I get, the more I consider myself a healer. I believe that this is the reason that I am experiencing all of this, and that ultimately what keeps me going during the day is helping others with their issues. So those of you that worry about stressing me out with your own persona issues, please don't. I will tell you if I can't handle it or just not answer the phone.

I know that several of you have expressed concern over my current physical condition. I'm in decent shape - I'm walking and talking and eating on my own, and most people that come to visit say that they would not even know that I was less than 100% healthy from looking at me. Auto-immune diseases are strange like that I guess.

Anyway, I will write more tomorrow most likely, good night!
A

Phone shopping, etc.

Today we checked out the phones at Best Buy. There are way too many to choose from! I think I like the Treo, but have decided to find a way to try it out before I buy.

It has been a great couple of days, thanks to good company and getting out of the house! I'd like to welcome my sorority sisters that are visiting the blog - I hope you like what you read!

I've been reading some good books, and will post recommendations if anyone is interested. Same with movies. TV - not so much, which I'm actually really proud of - I used to be a tv fiend! I was planning to get some extra channels that I watch added to my parents cable, but I'm holding off until the boredom is too great. I've actually been able to fill the hours during the day with PT practice, watching recorded shows, reading, meals, getting out of the house, and the internet.

So I'm more than willing to take suggestions for interesting topics that might appear in this blog - please don't be shy! I've really enjoyed reconnecting with a lot of you via facebook, and hope that we can continue to be in touch through the years.

A good friend of mine sent a diet that she follows to deal with rheumatoid arthritis - she is now medicine and pain-free! Please let me know if you would like a copy - I've already sent it to a few of you that might be interested.

I've decided to start cooking healthy meals, so I'm going to get a crockpot for this house, and start making some of those meals, once my energy and strength are back. I can't wait!

I think my brain is empty now, so I am signing off for today. Thanks for reading, I'll talk more to you guys soon!

A

Good Morning!

So it's 4:30 am and I am waiting for the Ambien to kick in. I'm starting to enjoy these early hours to check mail and read and just do whatever strikes my fancy. Of course not having to get up early for work helps in this situation - sorry to rub it in to those of you that are currently working. You can pinch me later - lol!

In terms of news, there is not much new to tell. My sister and her husband are vacationing in Italy and sent us some gorgeous pictures from a show at the coliseum in Rome. She's in love with gelato, and of course I asked her to please send us some.

The plan for today is to maybe start reading my accounting books to refresh my memory.
My health gets better day by day. I did some exercise yesterday and might have overdone it, as my feet and fingers were swollen at night. This disease is so crazy - pain can be either a good or bad sign!

Today - appointment at the hair salon. My dad wants me to wear a face mask to the mall - lol! Luckily my dr. mom nixed that idea. My poor dad is so worried still, he sometimes suggests really funny things in a bid to help.

In other news, there is so much sadness going on in the world right now, what with John Travolta's son, and the situation in Gaza. Ay ay ay!

Time to change the subject. One task that I have undertaken while in the Mehta household is to clean up and organize. I'm really hoping that we can help my parents out with electronics set up and fixing up the decor a bit so its warmer and cozier. The whole downstairs is marble, so we will need to add some warmer touches and maybe some more paintings, and clear out the tons of knicknacks and pics that are on display - there is waaaaay tooo much clutter and it drives me crazy! I've already annoyed my parents with the reorganizing I did of their bathroom (there was literally stuff everywhere, books, magazines, receipts, medicines, and makeup galore). Since my mom and I each have a sink and side of the counter, I cleaned up my side completely and put some of her and dad's stuff away in drawers to make things a bit more manageable and have actual empty counter top space. Yeah, they weren't too happy about the changes, and asked for a few restores, but now we are okay. So the next step is to keep working on the bathroom until it is a little cozier and prettier - it reminds me our old college dormitory bathroom, with the two stalls and shower in between. The shower that they have is to die for, with three shower heads and a marble seating area! So the bathroom definitely has potential - lol!

That all's for now - I'll post more later!

A

Welcome to my blog (3-5 stars)

You might be visiting this site for the first time, and if that's the case, Welcome! If you've been here before, welcome back :-)

I didn't mention it before, but I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in November of this year. The update is I am doing very well today.  Expected to make a full recovery and be back to work and normal life soon.
I started having these weird pains in January of this year. I had just started a new job as a trainer in September of 2007, but it was really a change in structure from the previous job. I gave my first professional training class in January of 2008. It was a 2-day 8 hour class, and the day afterward I started having this really bad pain in my right thumb, which I attributed to bad ergonomics in the training room. The pain continued to get worse. When I discussed it with my mom, she mentioned that we had carpal tunnel syndrome in our family history, and recommended wearing splints at night. So I bought splints and wore them at night. The idea of surgery and physical therapy freaked me out, so I figured I would just wait and see, and hopefully the pain would go away. Eventually it did.
In April we had my sister's wedding, and that was about 2 weeks of non-stop work. It was a lot of fun, but a ton of stress and activity, and of course very little sleep.
Fast forward to the first week of May. I fly back to California and promptly get the flu and pink-eye. I was sick for 3 or 4 days, and started on eyedrops, and soon noticed that the left side of my face felt numb.
There were some issues with finding a specialist in California (I had really bad luck with doctors in California, almost every single one I went to was bad). We were hopeful that it was just a mild case of Bell's Palsy, but I was advised to see a specialist.
Let me just say, the UCLA system sucked - I realize now that I should have just pulled some strings and gotten in to see a specialist right away, but I didn't know how to do that at the time.  I finally got in to see a family friend that is a family practitioner. Originally she also thought carpal tunnel syndrome, but agreed that further testing was needed due to the neuro issues. She ran the ANA values in October and those ended up being high, so she referred me to a neurologist and rheumatoid arthritis specialist, which was a little freaky! I was the only person that was able to walk - all of the patients in the office were over 70 or at least appeared to be..

This Ra guy, Dr. Fisher, seemed to be about 70 and a little senile to me. He ran some tests, and whe I went to the neurologist, he finally reran the EMG. Keep in mind - I was somehow working a full-time job and dealing with severe pain now in both hands and wrists, and driving myself to appointments. So I went back to both of these guys and the primary care person again and again for testing, and had MRIs and ultrasounds at an imaging place near work, and worked and went home and didn't sleep. It was a really horrible time, and I know that god must have been with me.
Fast-forward to October. Major financial collapses were occurring, and somewhere in the beginning of October, Iceland went bankrupt. Well, the company that I work for is an Icelandic- owned company, and with the lack of work, I should have been prepared. I did discuss the Icelandic situation with my supervisor, to see what his thoughts were on the future of the company due to the bankruptcy.
I honestly feel now that the lay off was a god send. I really needed a break.
In November my parents had signed the three of us up for a cruise, and we ended up going. Once the cruise was over, I packed and flew to Houston, where I saw another neuro the next day, had a third EMG, and got the diagnosis.
We went to the top autoimmune guy in Houston, Dr. Frank Arnette, and he gave us all the facts.
Visits from friends really sustained me during this time.

Well I really need to go grab lunch now.  I appreciate your getting this far if you are still reading, and thank you for letting me share my news with you in this way.
Anyway, that's all for now - again, I love you guys!

Muah,
Amy

Happy 2009! 3/4 stars

Happy 2009 to all of our dear friends and family! Here's wishing you the best 2009 ever!

I received an email about 2009 - apparently in astrology it is 'The Year of the Ox'. I'm not sure what that means, but I do know my Chinese astrological sign, based on the typical placemat in Chinese restaurants, is the ox. That makes me really hopeful that this will be a better year (for moi at least :0).

Apparently, in order to make positive changes this year, one must be very slow and methodical about all steps that are taken. No fast fixes will work, according to the email I received, so stay away from three minute cures - this is not the time for that. If you are ready and willing for a change, make sure that you have enough desire to see your changes through to the end, the long way.

In other news I'm finally updating my phone to the new blackberry, possibly tomorrow, so yay. Please welcome me to the 21st century. thank you! My current phone is more than 3 years old now and can barely be used to text message, but for some reason I was attached to it. At this point its a necessity to have something that's easy to use, so it's time to take the plunge.
In other news I feel good!!!!!
It looks like a former coworker from the company that I worked at before SCS (OSI) is possibly offering me a job. I'm not planning to work again for at least another 3 to 6 months, and I told this former coworker so, which he said was not a problem. Of course my mom said right away "You're not going back to California" so I guess we'll see about that. It felt nice to have a job offer, even if he was just being nice.

OK, this has been a crazy morning what with non-stop calls from friends and family. I miss all of you guys but I have to get off the computer now!  As always, more later!

TTFN,
A