wookiemonster | Sunday (Reply)

Damn, only two more days of the holiday break. I had hoped for a few days where I'd wake up around 8 or 9, get breakfast, then work on writing until 2 or 3, then read for a bit, then maybe a little more writing, then gaming. Unfortunately, the break turned out to be a little busier than I anticipated with house stuff and errands. And sleep.

I'm almost done John Scalzi's Redshirts: A Novel With Three Codas. I've been highly amused by the main narrative, and I still have two codas to go. After I read the main narrative, I was ready to make a vow to not kill any characters in my novels, and I'm glad I read that first coda before making any such vow. That first coda also has given me a lot to think about with regards to writing in general, as well as writer's block and so on. I need to stop being so lazy and start pushing myself.

Tying some things together... I think I may be anemic. I mean, since September, I've been denied at the blood bank for my hemoglobin being too low. And my energy level has been down, too. Hence the extra sleeping over the break. And having a hard time getting myself motivated to work on stuff around the house, and even writing. Now, given my esophageal issues and GERD, there's a link there with anemia in that nutrients aren't being properly absorbed into my body. And then there's the Nexium, which may be hitting my bones and affecting my marrow in that red blood cells aren't being manufactured in the right numbers or in the right way. Lastly, there's an infinitesimal chance that kidney stone back at the beginning of the year did something to my kidney and my erythropoietin is down. Yeah, I kind of doubt that last one. Now, since work is kind of shitty about allowing me to use time I've earned, and since I have a backlog of things to take care of as a result, it may be February or March before I go to the doctor to get this addressed. In the meantime, I'm taking B-complex vitamin supplements and switching to a Flintstones chewables vitamin with iron for my multi-vitamin.

In any event, I'm hoping this is something that can be addressed with vitamin supplements and not require shots or anything. Still, I'm...annoyed. First, there was the whole sleep apnea and sleep disorder thing, and now this. I'm tired of this damn meat sack conspiring against me to where I'm just existing instead of living. Anyway, we'll see. Oh, and all this might be a significant contributor to the whole weight-loss thing. If my body's having a hard time absorbing nutrients from food, this might explain extra hunger and such, and might explain metabolic issues causing me to store fat instead of burning it.

But, I am determined to, eventually, get this all figured out and dealt with. Who knows? Maybe by March, the vitamins and such will have given me the boost I need, and the trip to the doctor will just result in some tests to make sure there's not some underlying major thing going on and I'll already be bouncing back by then.

In sucktacular news, Trek author and comic book writer Peter David had a stroke. Please keep him and his family in your prayers or thoughts.

Calvin and Hobbes