Cars, Meds, and Other Exciting Adventures.

Near the end of last month, Tene got into a car accident while on his way to work. He'd been driving my car (it got better gas mileage than his), and there was a decent amount of ice on the road. He slid, and ended up hitting the sidewall on the on ramp to the freeway and spinning out. The airbags deployed, and, long story short, the Subaru (Rubiru, as it began to be known to me) that had served me since Senior year of High School - taking me back and forth between Salt Lake and Cedar City - was totaled, and Tene was cited with a "Failure to Maintain Lane."

The front license plate was torn off in the accident.

The good news of all of this is that Tene was completely uninjured in the accident, he was just a little shaken up by it (which I can certainly understand).

So, this all happened on December 29. Rubiru was taken from the accident to a towing yard, and I was unable to get it released until the next day - I so had to pay them some absurd amount of money for towing it and holding it for me. On December 30 I got AAA to tow my car from the towing yard to our mechanic. Then we got to play the waiting game. Because it was a holiday weekend, neither our insurance (State Farm) or the mechanic got around to my car until the next week (I think they finally got to it on January 5 ... ), and they called Tene and I about the fact that my car was totaled shortly thereafter. On January 11 Tene and I finally went and did all the settlement stuff, got our check, and handed the Title over to State Farm. Rubiru was officially no longer mine.

Well, we were thinking of buying Rubiru in the auction, but I didn't get around to looking at their website until today, and I can't find Rubiru on the site (which surprises me, but maybe they aren't going to auction it off until later in the month?). So now my job is simple: Find myself a new car that is affordable with regards to our settlement.

So, what else is new? I'm on a new medication. On Monday, before we went to State Farm, Tene and I went to a new doctor - a Psychiatrist. He was decently friendly, and I liked him. I'm a little wary about some things that were discussed, but we'll see how it turns out. He took me off of my Zoloft, and put me on my new medication - Citalopram, the generic of the medication Celexa. I was also told that I have to start going through what is so eloquently called "Sleep Reduction." It's exactly what it sounds like. I'm not allowed to sleep as much anymore (which is probably good, because I was sleeping a good 12-15 hours per day for a while there). I go to sleep when I go to sleep, and I wake up at 11 to 11:30 - and I can't nap during the day. Until today, that was just fine, but now the lack of sleep is getting to me - all I've wanted to do all day is curl up in bed and sleep. I've been good, though! I haven't given in to temptation. Haven't done anything very productive either ... but I haven't slept!

My current medications: yellow Clonazepam (taken very very rarely), blue Zoloft (off of it now), and the red/pink Celexa

As for the medication itself, I haven't noticed much of a change in my mood - but I am noticing a few side effects (which I'm curious if they're psychosomatic, so I'm trying to not give them much weight at the moment). I'm not sleeping as well (I feel restless, but I had episodes of that on Zoloft as well; I'm waking up in the night and having a hard time getting back to sleep; and I seem to be sleeping a lot lighter than I usually do - and yeah, these aren't helping how I feel about the sleep-reduction thing any), and I've been getting headaches, nausea, and other "I feel sick" type symptoms. Which could be from either starting on Celexa or from stopping the Zoloft as abruptly as I did. I've also been having some general aches and pains. Again: I am wondering if most of this is psychosomatic, and I hope it is, but it might be real, which would suck. Hopefully the side-effects go away soon, and I tolerate this new medication well.

My final "adventure" happened on Jan 8! I had two friends come visit me, who I hadn't seen in quite a while. One was Jekka, who has been on an LDS mission in Japan (I'm so envious of her) for the last year and a half. The other was Zoie, who lives in the exotic land of Tennessee (hey, I live in Salt Lake, anywhere else is "exotic" to me) and I only get to see her once a year - if that! It was fun to have them over. Zoie dressed up in my EGL dress, and looked excellent in it, we talked and caught up, and we watched the first episode of Doctor Who (the new seasons, I still have yet to see anything earlier than 2005). It was good to see them, and I already miss Zoie (who is back in Tennessee). Hopefully I'll be able to see Jekka once I can go to Cedar City and visit my friends there.

2009 Assessment and 2010 Resolutions!

So first, the assessment of the resolutions I made way back last January.

1. I want to be posting in each of my blogs at least once a week
2. I want to do at least one new thing each week
3. I want to be posting on Kyoot! and Storyline at least once per week
4. I want to have new site layouts set up for both Kyoot! and Storyline
5. By the end of the year I want to be cooking regularly and be comfortable with cooking often

So, how did I do? "No" to #1 (although I did improve near the end of the year), a big no "no" to #2. An even larger "no" to #3 and #4 ... and ... another "no" to #5. Five "nos" and no "yesses" ... that doesn't really paint a nice picture of me.

But, in the last year I have improved in ways I didn't list. I brought Criss Cross Asterisk out of the dark, and I'm more public about my beliefs and views on things. I have played around with cooking and baking, and I am more comfortable with it. I'm less crazy than I was this time a year ago - still crazy, but less so. I'm still depressed, and I still have anxiety issues, but ... they aren't as bad as they were, and I have better control over them. I am in a much better place than I was a mere 365 days ago. I am, in general, happy.

So, what are my resolutions for 2010?

• Again: Posting to Criss Cross Asterisk once every 5 days, and to Rats in Pants, Kyoot!, and Truth in Lies once every 7. Storyline should be updated once every two weeks, once I get the site up and running appropriately.
• Kyoot! and Storyline should both have their websites recoded, completely, by the end of the year. Kyoot! should also take a new direction.
• I want to be writing every day. Even if it's just a page, or even just a sentence, I want to write every day.
• I want to settle into a housewife-type routine. I want to be cooking at least two meals a day (or making two meals a day), and I want those to be healthy. I very well might attempt a rotation diet later in the year to find out what exactly has been making me sick. I also want to be keeping my apartment clean and well-organized. I also also want to be a proper little baker - I want to try out cookies and brownies and cakes and cupcakes - all done from scratch. I want such things to be posted to 3 and 20 Blackbirds.
  
• I want to change my wardrobe to cuter, more feminine and airier clothes. This means sundresses and skirts, mostly.
• I, again, want to try something new every week. I have some extra motivation to do so, as well: Another blog, Sprouting Bulb, will detail my adventures in this area, with 2-3 posts per adventure (so, per week).
• Common resolution: I want to get into better shape. I want to try out yoga again, and maybe something like bellydancing or a type of martial art. I'm also considering running. This also includes eating healthy.
• I want to declutter my life. I have so much junk in my life, and so much of it I don't use. I've already started this process - cutting down my number of books by a decently large number (anyone want a whole bunch of fantasy books? I've got some nice hardcover editions of a few of The Wheel of Time books, barely used ... as well as quite a few others. Planning on putting them to good use through Freecycle if possible - but perhaps I'll give my friends the first go at them ...), but I want to do more. I would much rather have a few nice, well made things (say, a Kindle - which I bought, used, with Christmas money, hooray!), than a whole bunch of less-nice, badly made things.
  
• I want to become a better-rounded person. I hope by this time next year, I'm on a medication that helps me. Or that I don't need medication anymore (unlikely, but a girl can dream, right?). I want to be social, and happy, and doing well in the things I want to do.

More than last year, yeah, and I know there's a few others nagging at the back of my head, but it's late and I need sleep. Maybe I'll add to this later? But then again - maybe I won't. Only time will tell.

Hope you all have a great year!