Monday, February 24th
We didn't know what to watch and eventually settled on watching silent movie clips on YouTube, especially ones with Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and Buster Keaton. I felt a little uneasy about watching FA because of his scandal, but it was undeniably entertaining. I tried to look up whether the trick of the film was done live or in postproduction. I didn't find that film specifically, but it seems most silent films were done with a combination of a very talented performer with excellent timing and very clever camera tricks. They come together to create the wonderful illusions on film. And it's a perfect clip to watch in my room as there is no dialogue.
Tuesday - Friday, February 25th - 28th
As my priority was finishing the essay, I did not start writing this blog until Tuesday of the following week. I am now used to thinking of what I did during the week during the weekend or Monday at the latest. Waiting this long to write it down means I can't remember what I did during the week. What I do remember is that I had been getting more and more low-grade sick over the course of the week.
Years ago, I got sick with MRSA and ended up reading the entire pamphlet of facts about the disease. I recovered just fine, but I learned about being colonized by the bacteria. That means the bacteria is all over you all the time and you just have to be careful about doing things that would make it worse to the point you would actually get sick. So it's either the MRSA or the bacteria that gives me a UTI or maybe both that is always present. Most of the time, my body is strong enough to fight it off and not get sick, but it seems I am losing that war right now.
I very much know when I am getting sick because my urethra gets a burning sensation followed by waves of pain and urgency and I start bypassing my catheter and peeing into my diaper. There is a little red pill that turns my urine red and stops the pain, but I try not to take it unless I really need it. I had one on December 11th and then not until February 8th. Then it was February 16th, then the 21st and 23rd and now it is almost every day. That is the sign that I am getting overrun.
I want to write about this to document what is happening so I have a record of it that I can look back on. I actually did order some supplements on Saturday, but I will not get them until mid-next week, probably. As bad as I am, I am glad I stopped doing the halfway measures so we can really see how the pills improve things when I do start taking them.
From my experience taking them over the last 25 years, I know they work, but anyone who is not me does not necessarily have the same point of view. I understand that my nutritionist is using very new and unconventional techniques combined with very good-quality supplements to give me very specialized care. Because we have worked together for so long, she stopped charging me her fee and gave me the pills at cost starting—I'm not sure when, but at least five years ago.
I never mentioned this to anyone because I didn't think I needed to, but it probably would've helped shape how mom and my sister see my nutritionist. I understand that they both want the best for me. We just do not agree on how to get there. I really hope it becomes obvious in the next few months when I start taking the supplements again.
Saturday, March 1st
Another two-hour discussion about the supplements with my sister. I am trying my hardest not to get excited about things, but I am fighting to take enough pills to really make a difference. Doing it just a little at a time doesn't really help. We both feel so strongly about our positions that it has become an argument we both want to win and that is not the best way to think about things.
Sunday, March 2nd
Mom came by in the afternoon in time to give me lunch. I am hoping I can watch the Oscars on Hulu tonight. Max has an animated film called Flow and I watched that yesterday. It's a wonderful film about a group of animals that come together and I am hoping we can watch that tomorrow. Mom doesn't usually like animated movies, but she'll try it if there's a good reason. I told her about the movie in a way that intrigued her, so I think we'll be able to!
As it turned out, one of the disadvantages of living in Hawaii is that Hulu cannot stream live to here, so I had to wait until Monday morning, and then I watched the ceremony. And Flow won for Best Animated Feature Length so that will definitely be the movie to watch Monday afternoon.
The photo this week is me in a shirt from my high school. I had ordered a red T-shirt that was the PE T-shirt for the school, but when it arrived, it was polyester or something that worked better when you sweat. That makes sense, but not for me, so we exchanged it for this shirt. I get all my T-shirts in men's size medium so it is big on me and easy to put on. I think this is a classy shirt! Have a great week!
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