November 24--Happy US Thanksgiving!

[zyzyly]

Someone left a comment the other day noting that I hadn't made a post in a while, and they were right. I thought it had been a few weeks, but the last time was October 8. Time just slips by. I've been pretty busy in the interval, but things are winding down for the semester and I spy winter break on the horizon, which makes me happy.



We had a quiet thanksgiving--just the two of us and the cats. We got invited to a party, but didn't feel like it. We went out for a walk along the creek this morning. It was a lovely day. Malida showed me a pic I took 5 years ago that popped up on her Facebook memories, and we recreated it 5 years later.

During my absence from here, Malida was in Thailand for 3 weeks visiting her family and friends. I sure missed her, but I had so much school work due that I welcomed the quiet and the time. I'm glad she's back, though!



One of the things I have taken up again, amidst all the stress, is cooking from scratch. I find it relaxing, and it is great to get away from processed foods. I joined one of those clubs where they send you a box of ingredients every week. I didn't like it at first, but now I love it. It forces me out of my food comfort zone. I don't get a box every week, but I do cook everything fresh now.

I had a really stressful couple of weeks at the end of October where work was crazy and I had all sorts of big assignments due in school. I was driving home from work one afternoon and felt some chest pain and my heart fluttering in my chest. My heart rate was about 170. I was two blocks from the hospital, and thought I ought to go, but my phone was almost dead and I didn't have a charger, Malida was 8000 miles away, and I had too much homework to do. So I pulled over and waited it out.

I ended up going to see the doctor when it happened again a few days later. My heart was fine, but my potassium was critically low. So I include a lot of green leafy vegetables in what I cook.



Yeah. Unbelievable.



I remember that over the summer my advisor told me to be prepared, because this semester was going to kick my ass. She was right. This is the only semester in the program where we have three courses. Two of them are fine, but statistical analysis is just such a mystery to me. We are creating our data analysis for our projects. I still have no clue. I wrote the instructor the other day and told her that I was completely lost, and even though my papers were coherent, it was pretty much bullshit. She wrote back and told me to take some time away from it and we could talk next week and sort it all out. As hard as it is, I love this program.



I am going to turn 60 in about 2 weeks. In spite of everything, I feel great, and am happy to have made it to this point in my life. I don't think I ever imagined getting here. I am thankful for every moment.

Comments

[sunshine-two.livejournal.com]

what are all these courses going to give you when you're done?

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

I also would like to know,

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

See above (below)!

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

It will be a doctorate in nursing practice--an DNP. One of the terminal degrees of nursing practice.

[pinkroo.livejournal.com]

what a treat, to read this.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

aww thanks!

[annie-r.livejournal.com]

So good to see you here!

I am a SAS programmer for a big HIV clinical database, but I don't have to do the actual statistics, thank goodness! (we have a phd person for that).

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

Yeah there are statisticians you can hire to do that stuff for you, but we need to know what it means. I'll be glad when this part is over!

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

60 is the new 30.

I had low potassium several years ago, and it landed me in surgery one New Year's Eve. I hope yours is less melodramatic.
Already, it's a good sign that a flutter and not something more intense signaled to you that it was time for the doctor.

That course sounds hard, but what a great thing to know something about that topic, if you can learn it!

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

I agree with that being 69 myself.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

I think my mind feels mostly somewhere late 30s to mid 40s. Anyway, I don't find 60 scary. Just odd.

I have not had any more episodes, so I think my diet change is working. I will follow up in a few weeks and see for sure.

[shutterbug.livejournal.com]

Good to see you, Mike. Glad the heart thing is an easier fix. And stupid Statistical Analysis. I went through the same back and forth with our research advisor and the stats dude to fully understand what we were doing, if it was the right thing to be doing, and what the heck it all meant. I feel your pain, my friend.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

haha yeah--"What it all meant". That's the key!

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

That plate looks delicious. Even the plate is beautiful.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

It was delicious. That was my second try making the dumplings, and learned that I can use a lot less oil. I'll try them again soon.

That plate originally belonged to my grandma.

[wantedonvoyage.livejournal.com]

I thought i was having a heart attack a few years ago and it seemed to be entirely stress induced. Blood work all came back fine. Glad the antidote in your case is as simple as food choices. Speaking of which that is a cool idea, the box of ingredients. A friend keeps trying to get me to enroll in a CSA, but I'm afraid I will end up wasting stuff.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

The recipes use everything they send. If I decide not to make something, I find that I can easily repurpose most of the ingredients. It's pretty cool.

[wantedonvoyage.livejournal.com]

With the CSA it's whatever is ripe so it's luck of the draw, whether I'll know how to cook it. I'm sure I could figure it out, but I know we're not super disciplined about shopping/cooking as it is and I would be mad at myself if it meant we wasted more produce.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Well i am already 60 and yet i do not feel much different. Statistical analysis is just so tedious i think,

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

I don't feel nearly as 60 as I thought I would. I'm happy about that.