Chemgeek welcomes the sun

[Mistr]

Sorry that you caught the awful crud. Rest and take care of yourself.

[chemgeek]

Fell asleep on the couch at 8 last night. Decided my body was telling me something and went to bed. Slept 10ish hrs. Still tired. Annnd lost my voice in the 2nd most important training week of the year. I am supposed to deliver 1/3 of the sessions.

 

Croaky McCroakerson, that is me.

 

Could be worse. But martial arts isn't happening tonight. Even if I could talk I am just too sick...

[Kishi]

Yeah, man, no, don't worry about nothing. Just focus on getting better.

[Mistr]

<Nods> it always happens that a person gets a sore throat just when they need to talk the most. Hot beverages are your friend. So is getting all the sleep.

[chemgeek]

Warg. So FINALLY feeling up to more than melting into a puzzle of infectious ooze. Martial arts this AM. 

 

Made wakeup goals spottily this week and made fitness not at all. I slept, slept and slept some more. I still have a nasty dry cough (the hacking kind that makes ppl give you stink eye and a wide berth) but no longer have a scratchy throat or other cold symptoms so am pretty sure the cough and nightly coughing/breathing problems spells are the asthma flare induced by the cold and I am no longer a virus fountain. 

 

Back on the wagon. Subbing weights for cardio tomorrow but still doing something cuz I can now.

[chemgeek]

Ok maybe I wasn't as ready to jump back as I thought I was. Needed a 2hr nap this afternoon... Still. Woth it to do something other than work and feeling sick.

[chemgeek]

So far this week I am one for two on waking up, 0/2 on work out and 1/2 on clean up (... though today isn't over yet). Still fatigued from the cold bug I had last week, which is eating into my get stuff done time. :\ 

 

Going to martial arts tonight, hoping it'll help me get back in the swing of things. I did not wake up at 1 and 4 AM with breathing problems like I did every day last week, or at 3AM like I did the night before last. It's the first time I slept through the night since I got this cold, so I'm hoping that means my energy level is going to get back to normal soon. My gearfit thing has a sleep monitor and says I was averaging about 85% sleep efficiency last week and this week so far it's 91% and 93%, respectively. And I don't feel as zombie-like this morning as I have felt this past week, so here's hoping.

 

Generally, when my breathing goes downhill, my sleep goes downhill and then everything else goes downhill. Some people can function fairly well on reduced sleep, but I'm not one of them. I need my 7 hours a night, and I need it to be good quality. If it's not, it means bad things for my productivity, organization, willpower, mood and motivation.

[Kishi]

Honestly, I think the people who claim to get by on less sleep are making it up or heavily medicating with caffeine, and typically tend to be the kind of people who don't take their health all that seriously. Regardless, sleep is hugely friggin' important, and there's nothing wrong with needing to get some Zs.

 

I hope that things take that positive turn for you and that you're able to get back out on the mats!

[chemgeek]

20 seconds of courage: got my flu shot. I hate needles.

 

Always feel like a big wimp when my hands start shaking and I get lightheaded over a needle but they just scare me and sometimes make me pass out. I used to have full on need an ativan to consent to an IV phobia ( I literally ran screaming out of the room for my 15-yr booster). Better than I was - way better - but it is still scary dammit. Add in that I can't get one when I feel sick or asthma is flaring and it gets hard to find a good day.

 

But I did the thing! Finally.

[chemgeek]

Weird thought: I'm kind of a jerk to myself over the whole needle fear thing... I'd never call friends who have fears of heights or insects or dogs or what have you "wimps" or childish for being nervous when they know they have to face it - in fact, I usually go out of my way to ensure they aren't exposed to the object of their fear unexpectedly, and to root for them if they're going to do something they're scared of. Yet with myself my brain is always, "Stop being a goddamn baby, you call yourself a doctor's kid? Grow the hell up and put on your big kid pants and get it done. It's just a frigging needle for &^% sake." Only with more cursing and insults. I basically bully myself into getting the needle. IDK, it works, but probably isn't the best way to convince myself to do the thing. And I'm probably not being fair to myself by holding myself to such a higher standard than I hold everyone else.

 

Anyway, introspection aside, aiming for martial arts tonight and Saturday. Actually did some stretching this morning. And snow shovelling. Arm is sore but hugely so - much better than the H3N1 vaccine a few years back which saw me have an allergic reaction and the H1N1 vaccine where my deltoid looked like someone had stuffed a baseball into my deltoid (seriously, it was so swollen you could see the lump through my hoodie for a week). It's a little red, rather tender, and mildly swollen. No biggie. 

 

This weekend I start Biggest Work Trip Yet which will see me in 7 or 8 cities (half of those just their airports, to be fair) in three different countries across two different continents over 2.5 weeks, including my first trip to Asia. I'm fully expecting everything will go well, it's just first-time-going-to-a-place jitters are happening. It'll be easier once the trip starts and I don't have time to worry.

[Kishi]

The compassion and encouragement that one shows for others isn't necessarily the same as the compassion and encouragement one allows for oneself. Not everyone reacts to the same things in the same ways, and as long as you know your heart in the matter, I'm sure it's fine.

 

More travels! How exciting! Where in Asia are you going?

[Mistr]

Good for you for powering through your fears and getting your flu shot. I just listened to a TED talk on the behaviors associated with long life. She had data showing that getting a flu shot was as important as regular exercise in preventing death for middle-aged people.

 

Your trip sounds amazing. I hope things go as smoothly as possible under the circumstances. Travel in Asia is a very different thing than travel in North America. Tell us about your adventures when you get back.

[chemgeek]

I always get my flu shot even though I hate needles. I hate winding up hospitalized from the flu more (which happens every time I catch actual influenza, thanks asthma), so flu shot it is. Likewise with work travel - I get all the vaccines, even the optional ones, because hey I might not like needles but I can get one now or however many is needed to treat acute hepatitis if I catch something from bad food or water or what have you... I don't mind taking educated risks (I enjoy rock climbing and ropes courses, for example, so I do my share of "extreme" activities) but I want to mitigate what risk I can as much as I can. 

 

Now that the trip is closer, I'm starting to get excited. Not sure if it's a thing you folks experience but for me plans for the future are always in some nebulous nether region of not-quite-real-not-quite-not-real until they're imminent and then it's, "Oh. This is actually happening. Cool." and I start to actually process it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chemgeek]

Busy busy. Still alive. Doing better on goals than I was. Discovered when I was in Edmonton that my asthma still hates Prairie winters. 

 

Now in Taiwan. Have literally only seen immigration and airport and hotel so far. 

[chemgeek]

Last night I slept poorly.

 

Rather, I slept fine until I woke up in a fit about a couple things that needed doing apparently at 2 AM. Did the things. Back asleep at 3. Woke again at 4. Tossed and turned until I gave up on sleep at 6. Which is when I realized that my asthma is acting up.  I think that is probably why I woke up in the first place. Insomnia for me comes down to asthma 95% of the time. 

 

Also I should probably see a doctor when I get home. I have had too many mild flares lately - that can be a precursor to a big one or just a sign I need a med tweak. Regardless I should go see a doc.

[chemgeek]

So, so far my takeaway in Taiwan is that it feels really weird to be a racial minority in a country when I am used to being a white person in North America. 

 

It is also really weird to be taller than average. I am not used to looking down to meet the eyes of others. Or to being too big to comfortably use things (usually my issue is the other end). I am not a giant by local standards but I am taller than average for sure.

[Kishi]

My brother had the same trouble when he was stationed in Okinawa. Dude is 6'1" and all the cool traditional Okinawan/Japanese restaurants are built for people who are a lot shorter than he is. One time, he was out with some of his fellow marines and the restaurant filled up with people as restaurants do. When the time came to leave and he stood up, it caused the entire restaurant to go silent for a moment before everyone began talking again.

 

I envy you the experience!

[Mistr]

23 hours ago, chemgeek said:

 

It is also really weird to be taller than average. I am not used to looking down to meet the eyes of others. Or to being too big to comfortably use things (usually my issue is the other end). I am not a giant by local standards but I am taller than average for sure.

 

I know what you mean. I got to go to India last year. I feel like I am about average height in North America. On the tall side for a woman, average overall. In India most of the men were shorter than me.

 

I was not as surprised by looking different. I experienced that for the first time when I visited Toronto. Sure, the majority of people are white, but they also have dark hair. It felt very odd to stick out as blonde. I grew up in Minnesota, home of transplanted Scandinavians. Blonde is normal. I always wondered why people on TV made such a big deal about it. I found out what the prevalence of blondes is in other places.

 

I hope your asthma calms down and you can enjoy your trip.

[chemgeek]

Experienced my first earthquake and earthquake swarm with a 5.8 (or 6.1 -reports vary) magnitude earthquake and a bunch of aftershocks. It was disconcerting. All is fine - the building I am staying in was designed to be earthquake resistant. But yea, not a nice way to get woken up from sleep when you decided to go to bed early. 

[chemgeek]

On 31/01/2018 at 9:37 PM, Kishi said:

My brother had the same trouble when he was stationed in Okinawa. Dude is 6'1" and all the cool traditional Okinawan/Japanese restaurants are built for people who are a lot shorter than he is. One time, he was out with some of his fellow marines and the restaurant filled up with people as restaurants do. When the time came to leave and he stood up, it caused the entire restaurant to go silent for a moment before everyone began talking again.

 

I envy you the experience!

 

Yeah. Children stare at me on the street because they are not used to seeing white people.

 

Other weird thing is they are creeped the hell out by my green eyes. Like adults exclaiming that I have green eyes mid-conversation and they've only seen it in medical textbooks and that it is weird then not looking at me in the eye for the rest of the conversation level creeped out. People here seem overwhelmingly to have brown eyes with rarely amber eyes thrown in. Where I am from, green eyes are common but they are apparently super rare here. 

[Kishi]

14 hours ago, chemgeek said:

Other weird thing is they are creeped the hell out by my green eyes. Like adults exclaiming that I have green eyes mid-conversation and they've only seen it in medical textbooks and that it is weird then not looking at me in the eye for the rest of the conversation level creeped out. People here seem overwhelmingly to have brown eyes with rarely amber eyes thrown in. Where I am from, green eyes are common but they are apparently super rare here. 

 

Distribution of phenotypes is pretty fascinating, though. Or at least I think so. I tend to be like, "Wow, so this is what a human looks like when you expose they and their ancestors this stimulus for this long." I think it's pretty cool. As I understand it, lighter coloring in hair and eyes does happen over there, but it's really uncommon even to the point of carrying slightly different connotations when used as a character trait in media.

[chemgeek]

Rarg. What the ever loving hell is it with USian business dudes thinking every conversation must be had at full bellow? You are not the only person trying to work in the lobby, Sir. >:(

 

Sorry USians but you are loud. Every USAian I have done business with talks really loud.

[Kishi]

On ‎2‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 12:44 PM, chemgeek said:

Rarg. What the ever loving hell is it with USian business dudes thinking every conversation must be had at full bellow? You are not the only person trying to work in the lobby, Sir. >:(

 

Sorry USians but you are loud. Every USAian I have done business with talks really loud.

 

WHAT? WHAT'S THAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF MY FREEDOM. COULD YOU REPEAT YOURSELF? I'M HAVING A HARD TIME UNDERSTA- NO, NO, SLOW DOWN, SPEAK UP, I CAN'T--

[chemgeek]

Hahaha. 

Seriously though when work sends me internationally, you can always hear the Americans about 30 seconds before you see them walk into view. I don't normally notice because (being fair) Canadians are almost as loud (Eastern Canadians in particular have a tendency to bellow through the house at each other rather than walking to the person we want to talk to) so it doesn't stand out that much when you're here, even though I'm pretty soft-spoken unless I get excited, but when I go to Europe or Asia, it's immediately noticeable.

 

I spent a lot of the weekend sleeping and generally de-jetlagging and feel significantly more human. Finished up by getting my Ikea on building a desk for my partner. He doesn't like building stuff, but I do, so I do the furniture building and he gives moral support and hands me tools when needed and makes the appropriate soothing noises when I start cursing about bad instructions with the goddamn drawings that are non-superimposable mirror images of what they're supposed to be getting me all screwed up and stupid isometric perspective not done to scale so I have to count the damn holes to make sure I have the right pieces cuz not all parts are named and not all named parts are labelled because of course not that's why. 

(Hey, y'know what's a bad idea? Giving a visual learner with good spacial reasoning skills instructions that aren't drawn to scale except when they are... with no indication what is or is not to scale)