Whiplash

I'll never again say that a bad blind date won't kill me.

Dan* took me out for Mexican food which is a good way to get on my good side. We then headed over to an ice skating rink in Murray. I go ice skating once every three or four years, but I figured I'd be okay. I'm in pretty good shape after all. I stumbled a few times and managed to keep my feet for about 45 minutes while we talked about movies and theater.

And then, with no warning or wobble, my feet went out from under me, I fell on my back, and then I hit my head hard on the ice. I wasn't knocked unconscious, thank goodness, but it HURT. My vision went blurry and I started crying. I knew I was in shock at the very least. Dan knelt and asked if I was okay and I responded somewhat wittily, "No, it hurts a lot." After a few moments, I let him and another girl help me stand, escort me off the ice, and sit on a bench. An employee came over and asked me a few questions to make sure I didn't have a concussion (I didn't). He also gave me some ice to put on the back of my head. 

After a some sitting and talking, I said, "I think I'm going to go home now." Dan was very sweet, removing my skates and putting my other shoes on and lacing them for me. He then escorted me to my car and followed me home to make sure I got there okay. I did. I apologized for ruining the night and asked if we could try again sometime. No more ice skating though ;)

Theresa stayed with me overnight to make sure I woke up the next morning. I cannot say how much I appreciate that she volunteered to do that, especially since the next morning was Mother's Day. I made her waffles and bacon as a thank you. I did wake up just fine the next morning, thank goodness, and didn't have any of the "danger signs" listed for head injuries on the website I had looked up.

I didn't have any headaches, but over the next couple of days my neck got more and more sore. After four days, I couldn't move it side to side or even lean over without extreme pain. So I bit the bullet and went to an instacare. After an exam and some freaky-looking x-rays, the doctor told me it was whiplash. He prescribed some medication and the next day I felt a whole lot better.

I've been doing well ever since. The back of my head is still tender, but it and my neck are healing quickly. I plan to take it easy for another week or so, and then I'm back into yoga. I already miss it!

So, in closing, I got whiplash on a date. I feel pretty lucky, because it could have been a LOT worse. It would be a funny meet-cute if Dan and I get married. But for now, I finally have a "worst date" story. I'm not likely to forget it anytime soon!

*Not his real name.

February Fun

To no one's surprise, the shortest calendar month of the year went by really fast. It was mostly filled by rehearsals for Noises Off, but there were other great events. For once, I didn't spend the whole month feeling depressed -- maybe it was the Spring-like weather? I don't know, but I hope next February feels as optimistic!

CenterPoint Legacy Theatre's "Hats Off" Thank You Party

Remember when I won this necklace at the party last year? I love it!

CenterPoint kindly and lavishly threw another bash to celebrate the people who volunteered and worked at CenterPoint in some capacity last year. Since I was in two plays, I was invited twice! I truly enjoyed the opportunity to wear a cocktail dress and heels and chat with some of my favorite people. It's a shame that at parties like this, a "chat" is all the conversation I get with most of them. However, the 2014 production-themed food and show-centric entertainment was delightful. I hope that somehow I am invited again next year!

I love this purple dress. I received a lot of compliments that night.

The contents of my tiny clutch

Program-viewing buddies Seth, Natalie, and Josh

Liz and Summer (a mini Little Women reunion)

Chantryce

Jackie

My Maurie

Amy and Jason

Todd

Jekyll costars Dan, Wendi, Amanda, Angie, Jared, and Madison

Valentine's Day

Another year with no official Valentine date, and yet Valentine's Day was a good day. Not spectacular, but good. 

I made strawberry and chocolate-strawberry fudge for my friends for Noises Off rehearsal in the morning -- it tasted all right but wasn't anything to write home about. One of the women did say: "You make homemade fudge? How are you still single?!" 

After rehearsal, I drove to my mom's house, but she wasn't there, so I left a little container of fudge in the fridge for her and dad. When I arrived home, I found she had left me a plate of cookies. Mom's sugar cookies ARE worth writing home about, or at least writing HERE about! Just sweet enough and the frosting is so smooth. Plus, they're pretty! I was delighted by the thoughtful gift.

Five is just enough. I would happily eat more, but I probably shouldn't!

I spent the early afternoon with my grandmother, talking about whatever one of us might think of. I don't make the time to visit her very often, so she was surprised to see me on her doorstep. She's such a neat lady, and she loves her family so much. I'm glad I took the time. I'm glad she had the time!

The rest of the day was spent eating waffles at IHOP (which is empty at 3 in the afternoon on Valentine's Day), and saw Big Eyes alone. The movie was good, though I was in the mood for something a little more upbeat. Terrific acting is always welcome.

Dinner at Potbelly

Remember how much I raved about Potbelly's sandwiches when I visited NYC and Washington D.C. last year? There's a store in Sugarhouse now! I had to stop by for dinner one Monday before rehearsal. The Italian sandwich and berry shake were perfect compliments to each other (I requested jalapenos for the sandwich, so I NEEDED the ice cream). Everybody go now so they know they are welcome and establish more locations nearby!

"Joy in sandwich form. Welcome to Salt Lake, and get in my belly, Potbelly!"
#yummm #itsthelittlethings

Allergies

Since winter in Utah was weird this year, we had nearly 60 degree weather for most of the month. This, of course, wreaked havoc on my allergies. I continue to have monthly allergy shots. Hope to be fully inoculated in about three more years.

We did finally see some snow during the last week. Not a lot, but I'll take what I can get.

The allergies finally got the best of me and blew up into a full-blown cold just in time for an all-day tech rehearsal. It's been about two weeks now and I feel mostly better, but not all the way. That's life. At least I no longer sound like Lauren Bacall.

Noises Off preview performance and opening night

We were asked to invite a few friends to preview our last dress rehearsal. It was such a comfort to hear Chantryce and Mandi laugh from the audience. It gave the cast hope that the show might be pretty good!

Opening night was better than any of us could have imagined. The seats were mostly full, and nobody held back their laughter. Because we could tell they were having fun, we on stage were able to relax and have fun, too. The next night was a little crazy and a LOT of things went wrong, but the audience was just as appreciative. I am relieved that our hard work is paying off!

Noises Off is open, and in a few days it will be over. I plan to wait a few months before my next audition. I'm excited to spend more time with my friends, eat out, and see several plays and the new Cinderella movie. Hoping that March is equal parts fun and relaxing. It will help once we finish up this current software release at work :)

Seeing clearly... eventually...

I have had LASIK eye surgery performed twice on both of my eyes*. Because I was nearsighted, I wore glasses starting in elementary school (and contacts in college) right up until that first surgery (soon after my LDS mission). When people ask how my experiences have been, I tell them I would recommend LASIK to anyone. I've had six years each time of really good eye sight starting directly after the surgery.

When looking with both eyes, my vision is actually darn good! My right eye is still so good that the doctor said they couldn't do anything to improve it (hooray for 20/20 vision!), but vision in my left eye alone had grown pretty blurry. I've still been able to safely pass my driver's license eye exam and such, so I'm not a menace to society, it's just annoying for someone who enjoys going to live theatre performances, and drives at night, and wants to see things in general that are far away without squinting. I've been thinking for a couple of years whether I wanted to do eye surgery again**, or give up and by glasses and contacts again.

The sort-of-sunglasses I wore while
waiting for the dilation to wear off.
Notice there are no earpieces :P

Last Monday, I had laser surgery again on my left eye. I had an eye exam at the LASIK Vision Institute in the morning where the doctor dilated my eyes and decided I was okay to have laser surgery again. This time, he recommended PRK, which is another type of laser surgery he assured me is less risky. With LASIK, they open a flap in your cornea to do the surgery, and with PRK they work directly on the top of the eye. When we decided to go ahead, they told me to fill the prescriptions I'd need, and come back at 2pm for the surgery, since we had to wait until my eyes were no longer dilated before they could operate. I ran errands (looking cool in some sort-of-sunglasses) and called in sick to work for the next three days (I had warned them ahead of time I was hoping to have the surgery, so they were very supportive). Then my mom drove me back to the office, because I wasn't allowed to drive myself home.

The staff at the LASIK Vision Institute is great, BTW. The assistants were wonderful at putting me at ease (which was nice, 'cause stuff with eyeballs kind of freaks me out), and the doctor was professional and kind. They definitely know what they're doing. There's a reason I keep going back to the same place :)

A few things about the surgery itself:

• The surgery doesn't take long. I was in and out of the operating room in about seven minutes, and the surgery itself was maybe three minutes, probably less. This is nice because
• You have to be awake the entire time to make sure that your eyeballs remain still (they move during REM sleep). They have a device to prop the eye open, but it's stressful to make sure you keep "looking at the orange light" especially because some of the stuff they do hides the light from view and then you don't know if they're still still!
• They do numb the eyeballs. They put in a drop or two of a topical anesthetic so you don't feel anything.
• They put a contact in to protect the surface of the eye for the first few days.

Right after surgery: the pupil in my left eye
(your right) is significantly larger than the right -- crazy!

After the surgery was done, they gave me a prescription for painkillers and post-op instructions like:

• As soon as I get home, put in all of the drops, and then nap for 3 hours. 
• For the next two weeks, tape the plastic eye patch over my eye while sleeping (they recommended I change the tape every couple of days).
• Use extra eye-drops when reading or staring at a computer because I won't blink as much.
• No eye make-up for a couple of weeks.

Plastic eye patch for sleeping :)

There have been some fairly major differences this time than with previous surgeries. When I had LASIK, I could see really clearly right away and there was almost no pain afterwards. I must have taken time off work, and I know I wore that plastic eye patch while sleeping and was worried about people hitting me in the face during rehearsals, but that was about it. Unfortunately, after PRK I was in pain for two days. When they removed the contact at the 2-day post-op appointment, they said it would feel scratchy; that was a good description. It wasn't comfortable, but it went away after another day. I'd also planned to work from home on Thursday and Friday, but after two hours of staring at the computer on Thursday, even with sunglasses on, my eye was exhausted. I slept almost the entire week last week.

It's been a week now, and I still don't see completely clearly yet. I borrowed my mom's opera glasses to see the touring production of War Horse on Saturday because I really wanted to be able to see the puppets! I'm back to work now and still wearing sunglasses while I stare at the computer screen. They help with the glare and also hide the fact I don't have any eye make-up on. I haven't consistently not worn any eye make-up since high school, and I don't like it. Wearing lipstick helps, but it was still weird to go to an audition AND a callback with nothing on my eyelids and lashes. I miss my mascara!! Hopefully they'll give me the greenlight for that at the 2-week post op next week. Sadly, the lingering inequality in my vision is giving me headaches. Hopefully that will subside as my vision continues to improve (before my upcoming vacation, I hope).

The nice thing is that my eyes aren't as dry this time as they were after previous surgeries. I'm not in awful pain if I forget to do eye drops for a few hours, though it's still a relief when I remember!

I had thought I'd do PRK this time, and then if I'm still a candidate, maybe do it again in 6 years or so, whenever my eyes get really bad again. But, I don't know if it's worth this recovery hassle. Ask me again in a few more weeks when my eyes are theoretically right as rain...

As I said, LASIK was brilliant and I'd recommend it to anyone. Jury's still out on this PRK thing...

Have you had eye surgery? Was it worth it to you, or will you go back to glasses and contacts next time your eyes fail you?

*Sadly, eyes tend to deteriorate, so even if you have laser eye surgery, it doesn't mean you won't need bifocals or the like when you get older. Plus, due to the nature of eyes, if you want LASIK after a certain age you might have to choose whether to see near or far away, but you might not be able to get both.

**For my second surgery, I purchased a plan with the LASIK Vision Institute that guarantees I can get free "enhancements", if I go in for an eye exam every year and it's still a safe for my eyes.

A letter to September

Dear September,

The last two of you were pretty awful to me. I've gotten sick during Labor Day weekend both years, and was sick for my birthday... and the whole rest of the month. Two years ago, I had whooping cough, which was not diagnosed until the end of the month. Last year, it may have just been a sinus infection, but it lasted forever, and the coughing and irritated throat ruined closing night of my show.

I realize it's not your fault that I'm allergic to trees and weeds and grass, and otherwise I would totally look forward to Autumn and the changing of trees and crunching leaves and cooling of weather. But, since I AM allergic, please go easy on me. I've been doing my part and getting allergy shots and taking other medication to help ease the process, but anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated. Can't the continuing physical therapy on my ankle be enough of the physical trouble for now?

I must say, it's hard enough accepting that I'm in my thirties, but to spend the first month of the new year ill is adding insult to injury. Uncool September. The birthday coming up could be especially difficult emotionally. Don't make it worse.

This September, in particular, I really, really want to be healthy. I have a LOT of awesome stuff planned and I do NOT want to be sick for all of it. Please? Pretty, pretty please?

Looking forward to a terrific month free of illness and full of family, friends, and fun. Let's work together to make this a truly epic birthday month. We're making up for the last two, after all!

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Miss Megan

DON'T break a leg!

During a performance of Bye Bye Birdie at the Grand, I was conked in the head by a huge set of double-doors on a rolling wagon, and ended up being taken to the hospital in an ambulance, strapped to a gurney.

Opening night of Oklahoma, I stepped on my skirt while running, fell and -- again -- conked my head on the cement stage, ending up with a concussion (I was able to finish the show, thanks to a young man who held me up during the song "Oklahoma").

Opening day of Tom Sawyer, during the final run-though rehearsal, I turned a glass candle the wrong way, and the bulb shattered in my hand, cutting my thumb pretty badly. Did I mention I was wearing a white dress at the time?

I had a sinus infection for most of run of Little Women at CenterPoint Legacy.

Luckily, my latest theater-related maiming didn't happen during a performance of Robin Hood: Legend of the Sherwood Bandit.

Unluckily, it happened right after the preview performance, and I was not recovered enough the next day to perform.

What happened?!! you ask.

The actors were asked to help set up the props and sound equipment before the show and then put them away afterwards. I was happy to do so to spare the stage manager and light technician hours of extra work. That's what community theater is all about -- helping out where ever you can!

Well, I was backstage in a poorly-lit area, moving a box that the sound equipment rested on. I could see the black lawn v the greyish sidewalk, and I remember thinking, "Oh, I should make sure not to fall on that curb." Two seconds later, that's exactly what I did! My left foot caught on the curb in just the wrong way, and got stuck so that when I fell, I fell right on my foot... with the box on top of me.

Now, if you know me at all, you know I'm a bit of a klutz. These things happen to me -- possibly because I think they're hilarious -- and I'm usually really good at falling without getting hurt. This time, my immediate reaction was "Oh, Megan. You silly!" And then.... then I realized that my ankle hurt. A LOT.

The stage manager came rushing over to check on me, and I calmly and with some surprise and annoyance said something along the lines of, "Oh. Oh, no. That hurts!" People kept asking if I was ok, and I said "I'm probably in shock 'cause I'm not freaking out" (they agreed). My ankle swelled up almost immediately. I was more worried about making everyone else upset and inconveniencing everyone. Our costumer is a nurse, and she came over with an ace bandage, and someone else appeared with a bag of ice. The stage manager and costumer both agreed it was probably just a bad sprain, because I would have been unable to move my foot if it were broken. Everyone was so concerned and wanted to help. One kid found my box of stuff, my music director drove me to my car in a parking lot a block away, and my carpool buddy drove me first to the costumer's house (to pick up some supplies) and then to our rendezvous point. I assured him (and everyone else) that I could get myself home. Like I said, it was my left ankle, and my car is an automatic. I was annoyed that there was construction blocking my normal freeway entrance, which forced me on a 20 minute detour, but I drove slowly and managed to make it home all right.

It wasn't until I reached my apartment building that I realized I somehow had to lug my laptop, my box of theater stuff, and myself up three flights of stairs without being able to walk.

That is when I started to cry.

I must have been a pretty pathetic figure crawling up those stairs, moving the box and laptop a few stairs above me at a time. I made it to the top, though. I tried to put aside all stress of injury and wondering whether I'd be able to perform the next day aside. I needed to sleep.

I woke up at 7 a.m., unable to fall back asleep. I sent a few e-mails, including one to work declaring a "sick day", and at about 8 a.m. I called my mom to tell her what had happened, and left a message for my director letting her know that it didn't hurt as much. Actually, thanks to the salves the costumer gave me, there was hardly any swelling at all anymore.

It was opening night of my show, and I wanted to perform if I could. I had quite a few friends and family planning to come that night, not to mention the reviewer for Utah Theater Bloggers -- also a friend of mine! I spent the day doing everything I could to get my ankle well. I called a nurse practitioner friend to take a look, and she agreed it was probably just a sprain. She said if it was still really bad in a few days I should get it X-rayed. My mom was a saint. I think she spent the whole day running errands for me. She bought me meds, and lunch, and a huge boot, and a less-intense sleeve-thing, and I don't remember what else.

I didn't say anything to anyone else about the sprain, because I wasn't sure if I'd get to perform. If yes, I didn't want people thinking about my ankle. I'm still haunted by people coming up to me after that Oklahoma performance and saying "That looked really bad; are you ok?" instead of "Wow! You worked so hard and are so talented and cute!" I couldn't bear for that to happen again if I could avoid it. So, I quietly kept my mouth shut, and plugged the show on Facebook and here on my blog.

At 4 p.m., I met the director, music director, and producer at the Clearfield Arts Building. On the drive up, I felt good. I felt positive. I knew that I had done absolutely everything I could, and that regardless of whether I did the show, I wasn't going to be upset. We all agreed that whether I performed that night needed to be a group decision. I walked up and down stairs and ran a bit in the boot. It wasn't too painful with the huge boot -- going without was unthinkable -- but while wearing that boot, it was very obvious that I had been injured, and it might prove to be distracting. I didn't want to mess up the show for anyone. The other three felt that if I took it easy on opening, my foot would be better healed to perform the rest of the shows (I can't tell you how grateful I was that I wasn't being replaced altogether). Yeah, I'd worked my butt off and I loved my character and the play, and I hated giving away a performance (we only had 5 scheduled)... but it was almost a relief to say I really wouldn't mind if the director filled in for me that night.

Once we made the decision, we all started working towards getting Liz ready. I walked her through my blocking (thank goodness she made up the choreography, and I lurked in a lot of the scenes), the music director ran through the music (again, thank goodness I sang the melody!), and the costumer took in my costume a tiny bit.

The cast was so supportive. Every single person asked how I felt, and expressed sadness I couldn't perform with them that night. The producer said I was "classy" to put the show first. It probably would have been more difficult for me emotionally, if I weren't so used to being double-cast; I'm pretty used to watching other people play my roles :-) I said the cast prayer that night. I love those people. I wanted the show to be good and nothing else to go wrong.

Liz (the director/my understudy), Kellie (Maid Marian),
 and Elinor (Sophie) on opening night

The upside was that I got to watch the performance opening night! (That's the downside to single-casting: you don't ever get to watch the show.) I can't tell you how proud I was of everyone. I knew that the show was good, and that everyone was terrific in their roles, but getting to see what's going on while I lurk in the back, or dance in the front, or languish backstage, and hear Alan's part in the songs (that guy owned the stage), and actually see the cool arrow effect (our view during the tournament was blocked by the coach -- we relied entirely on sound to time our lines), and laugh at Much's brilliance, and cheer along with the audience as Robin and King Richard saved the day... it was a terrific experience. There were funny little gaffs here and there - things people unfamiliar with the show probably wouldn't notice and that I don't think happened in any of the subsequent performances. Liz was right when she said the difference between good community theater, and "community" community theater is a great ensemble; ours definitely was. After watching, I could honestly tell people that it was a quality show, and didn't feel a bit guilty asking them to trek all the way to Clearfield to see it. Sure, I'm biased, but that doesn't mean I was wrong!

The reviewer, Andrea, liked it, too. Here's a link to her very kind and thoughtful review. I was thrilled that my character of Rowena was mentioned, and tried not to be sad Andrea didn't see me in the role. Oh, well. Thanks for letting me sit with you, Andrea!

There is a bit of a happy ending, in that I did get to perform in all of the rest of the shows. Liz changed some of the choreography and blocking so I wouldn't have to move quite so much, and my nurse practitioner friend taught me how to wrap it with sports tape the way athletes do. The limp was less painful each night. Some claimed the limp was pretty obvious (especially during the second act, when I did a lot of running), others kindly said it was hardly noticeable. One friend who came on closing -- who magically hadn't heard about the accident -- didn't realize from my performance that I was injured, and when I posted a photo of my boot a few days later assumed the accident must have happened after closing!

I AM a little annoyed that even now -- two weeks later -- I still have to tell people that I see almost every day what has happened. I sent an e-mail while I was out to everyone at work explaining how I'd sprained my ankle, and when I returned they asked me to tell them the story again. Even today, someone asked me to tell the story. At this point, I'm tempted to let people make up their own reasons. "Was it a skiing accident?" "Maybe." Oh, wait, isn't this July?

As of now, I'm off the boot, and just wearing a black sleeve-y thing to help give my ankle some support. I'm doing stretching and strengthening exercises, and the ankle seems better every day. It might take another week or so to heal fully, but it's getting there.

After the injury, pretty much everyone who wanted to wish me luck on the show said, "Don't break a leg!"

I'm happy to report that I didn't! I am very grateful. It could have been so much worse!

Days of Plenty

Shortly after being cast in our show, one of our Marmees, Wanda, was diagnosed with a form of cancer called  Hodgkins Lymphoma. She talked it over with her husband, doctors, production team, and double, and everyone was very supportive of her continuing with the play. Wanda missed many rehearsals while recovering from chemotherapy and sat in the audience to watch her double when she was well enough to come but didn't have the strength to practice. 

Marmee and her girls

We showered Wanda with prayers and support during rehearsals and performances. It was a huge miracle that she didn't have to rely on her double and was able to perform during all of her scheduled shows! Wanda was such a sweet, sympathetic, and strong Marmee.

I am grateful that I chose to watch her cast on their closing night. I was able to bask in how wonderful the show was, and finally understand why everyone told me the play had made them cry the "ugly cry." (I sure am glad it was dark and no one could see my own ugly crying!)

But the moment that put me over the edge was watching and hearing Wanda sing her power ballad "Days of Plenty." It's a beautiful and meaningful song in any circumstance, but when I thought of Wanda's particular experience, my emotions filled my heart and spilled out my eyes. 

MARMEE:
Don’t make so much of me Jo… (spoken)

I never dreamed of this sorrow,
I never thought I’d have reason to lament,
I hoped I’d never know heartbreak,
How I wish I could change the way things went!
I wanted nothing but goodness,
I wanted reason to prevail,
Not this bare emptyness.
I wanted Days of Plenty.

But I refused to feel tragic,
I am aching for more than pain and grief.
There has got to be meaning,
Most of all when a life has been so brief.
I have got to learn something,
How can I give her any less?
I want life to go on.
I want Days of Plenty

You have to Believe,
There is reason for Hope.
You have to Believe
That the answers will come.
You can’t let this defeat you.
I won’t less this defeat you.
You must fight to keep her there,
Within you!

So Believe that she matters!
And Believe that she always will!
She will always be with you!
She’ll be part of the days you’ve yet to fill!
She will live in your bounty!
She will live as you carry on your life!

So carry on,
Full of Hope,
She’ll be there,

For all your Days of Plenty

I hope that one day I can be as inspiring as she is to me, and that I could follow her example when faced with a similar crisis. I have no doubt that she will beat this illness and become stronger than ever. I cannot wait to see and work with her again someday.

Director Leslie, sandwiched between our two brilliant Marmees!

September tybbling

• So far, I've already completed twelve performances of Little Women. It's hard to wrap my brain around the fact I've done so many. That's the equivalent of a full run for most CenterPoint shows, but I'm so lucky I still get to do another four :) (To put it in perspective, the total is twice the number of performances I had for The Marvelous Wonderettes!) This really is one of the best-quality plays I've ever been a part of, and I have loved hearing how much my friends have liked it. Even a lot of men who don't like chick flicks have enjoyed it. Only one week left. Don't miss it. You won't regret coming!

Yes, I am the troll! Yes, it
is the coolest (and most
stifling) costume ever!

• Starting to worry about what I'm going to do after the show closes. Then again, I've never had much trouble filling my time before. I am going to take a theater break. Larissa said it'll be tempting not to jump into something else right away and she's already right. But I will resist because I have so many neglected friends to see and activities to pursue. Life won't be dull. It'll be nice to recharge and live the life of a regular person for awhile, instead of playing at someone else's, much as I love it and hate to miss performing opportunities.

• The nice thing about the timing of my show closing is that most of the network television shows start up again next week. Woo-hoo! I'll finally learn the fate of the plane crash survivors on Grey's Anatomy, get reacquainted with the quirky Community bunch, and see how Leslie manages her new job on Parks and Recreation. Also been watching Doctor Who and Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Netflix. Took me awhile to get into them, but Holy Cow, I'm hooked now!

• The doctor told me today that I've been dealing with bronchitis for the last few weeks. Boo. If I hadn't put off going to the doc, I might have known this and been treated before the horrific on-stage coughing fit last Tuesday. Then again, how was I supposed to know it would be this bad? Lucky that my part in the play isn't more singing-intensive. I've managed to muddle through without too many problems or false notes. Thank goodness for antibiotics. They'll get me well again in no time. Wish it could have waited three weeks to show up, though. Oh, well :P 
• Meanwhile, I miss my previous doctor. I loved her. She was never too busy to listen to what I had to say and answer all of my questions. She left her practice in order to spend more time with her family. The guy I saw today mumbled the diagnosis while practically running out of the room and barely answered the one question I managed to ask before he closed the door behind him. Won't be going to him again...

My birthday tiara :D
My nieces were sooo jealous!

• My birthday week was perfect. I didn't even mind (much) being sick for it. Everything I did was brilliant. I didn't feel sad or lonely, and got to do and eat almost everything I wanted. Hoping to write up a post about all of the fun, though it won't include "Besty Birthday" 'cause that date is yet to be determined. That's what happens when you and your best friend are both crazy-busy during your close-together birthdays. Just prolongs the celebration a bit longer. You should give it a try :D

• Was surprised to hear that the BYU/University of Utah game happened on Saturday. If not for a few (billion) posts on Friday and Saturday I might have missed it entirely... which would have been fine. I really don't care about the rivalry except that it seems to bring out the ugliness of my partisan friends in the same way the election does. I'm glad the whole thing only lasted three days on Facebook (including the day after when the U fans gloated about their victory), and sad that my Cougars apparently deserved their loss. *Shrug* Thank goodness that's over for another year!

C'est tout. Happy Monday!

A year without Diet Coke

If you'll recall, I was sick last year during my birthday, and the 6-8 weeks afterwards. On the birthday, I had a Diet Coke, but it didn't really sound good the rest of the time I was sick. Well, I got well again, and then sick, and then other stuff happened. Then, in January, I started that South Beach Diet I mentioned in the last post, and went on a soft drink fast.

Before I knew it, nine months had gone by and I hadn't had a Diet Coke.

Drinking a DC at the Shakespearean Festival last summer

Now, I say this like it's a big deal, and it kind of is, but it's not like I was addicted to Diet Coke before my birthday (and, yes, I know all addicts say that). We have free soft drinks at work (they even have caffeine free!), and I'd have one every couple of days and when I'd go out to restaurants, but I still managed to to drink about 64 oz. or more of water every day. My rule was: if I didn't drink at least 32 oz. of water by lunch, I didn't get a Diet Coke that afternoon, because for some reason I'm less interested in water after the Diet Coke. It makes sense in my head.

In May I decided since it had been that long already, I might as well see if I can finish out the year.

It's been hard!

Before, I wasn't really thinking about it, and now I think about it all the time. Go out to dinner? I want a DC. Eating pizza? I want a DC. Eating carrots (don't ask)? I want... well, you see how this is going.

I've been substituting other things, like chocolate milk (which is awesome, if not necessarily healthier) and sometimes other soft drinks, like Root Beer or Orange Crush. It's been okay to switch things up, but they just aren't the same.

Wish I could say that I have had some existential experience during my deprivation, or that I've been cured of my craving, but that's just not the case. I did it partially by accident and then just because I thought it would be cool and not for loftier reasons. They say that in any learning experience you only get out what you put in, right? I didn't put much into this. There was no goal in mind except to see if I could do it. With the weight loss, I saw a difference. With this one, I'm just really looking forward to getting a Diet Coke at the State Fair tomorrow!

Maybe I am addicted...

What about you? A fan of Diet Coke? Is there anything you tried to give up but quit because it wasn't for a good enough reason?

Why the devil am I sick all the time?!!

You know how I seem to get sick every time the weather changes, which, in Utah, is freakishly often?

Turns out, there IS a reason!

Finally had the chance to go to an allergy specialist and after some itchy tests (pricking me in the back with a whole bunch of different/likely allergy-inducing compounds) he determined I'm allergic to all grass, most weeds and and a lot of trees.

Basically, it's like The Happening, except in real life (okay, I never saw that movie, so I don't know how like this it is).

Oh, also I have asthma. Surprise!

So, the dust in the air messes with my lungs, sinuses, and throat all through Spring, Summer, and Fall, so that they are so swollen they take the whole winter to recover... at which point spring arrives and it starts all over again. Any virus or bacteria that came along immediately got trapped in my lungs, which is why I get EVERY THING that comes along... like whooping cough, pneumonia, the flu...

I knew I had hay fever, and suspected I was allergic to some things, but I didn't realize quite how many! Sheesh! How in the world did I survive as a child in a subdivision in the foothills where there were no other houses for several years? I'm lucky that my brothers usually had the lawn-mowing duties covered!

Don't worry, I'm not pretending this is debilitating in any way. It's not cancer or MS or even diabetes. It's nowhere near life-changing, and the treatment isn't terribly inconvenient. The doctor only gave me two new medications and adjusted the others I was already taking. The allergies are more irritating than dangerous; I don't have to carry an epi-pen or anything, and I can totally play outside and perform in plays outside and stuff. It's just really nice to finally know what I'm dealing with and have a plan of action.

With any luck, I won't feel so dang sickly this winter or beyond. Hooray for knowledge!

My neighborhood tried to kill me!

Make a Joyful Noise!

 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

- Psalms 98:4, King James Bible

While I was sick, and then when my throat was healing from the horrible cough damage, I didn't sing. I think I've mentioned before that I love to sing more than doing anything else in the world, so this was difficult for me. Sometimes just mouthing the words and dancing was enough to abate the need to actually make musical noise with my voice, but sometimes it wasn't.

But because I didn't want to damage my vocal chords any more than the illness already had, not using my voice was a necessary sacrifice. I hoped that it would only be short-term. My fear was that I'd never get my range or breath control back to what it was (I'm still pretty short of breath) and I still have coughing spells once in awhile. I could hear how scratchy and pathetic my voice was. I stubbornly tried to audition for a musical, and I was disappointed in my performance -- I could normally perform so much better than that! It's probably better that I wasn't cast in that show. But the first couple of weeks of Beauty rehearsals were endlessly frustrating, because I couldn't use my voice the way I am used to, and, again, I was afraid I'd lose it altogether at just the wrong moment.

It wasn't until the follow-up doctor's appointment this month that I realized how much NOT singing had affected my morale. It was bad enough that I felt crummy and didn't get to hang out with my friends, I couldn't sing, either? Talk about kicking a girl when she's down!

When I suddenly had permission to sing again it felt AMAZING!! Even though it was a Tuesday, I found the Friday song on my iPod and sang it about six times -- I figured it was an okay choice since the vocal range is limited (please don't judge me too harshly), plus the Glee cover is so wonderfully peppy. Then I put on a musical and continued to sing. I was so happy!

A dear friend asked me to sing last Sunday at a retirement home where she plays the piano. It was the first time since September that I'd sung in front of anyone. I sang "For the Beauty of the Earth" and I was nervous and shaky, but I did it! Ginny said I sounded beautiful and that everyone was grateful that I shared (I had to leave right after). I'm glad that she asked me to do it; I put my fears aside and shared my talent. Though weak, it's still there, thank goodness.

Here's a video of Andrea (Little Red), Greg (Baker), and Jonathon (Jack), and me singing my favorite song from Into the Woods. Hopefully I'll be back to audition/performance form and get to sing something like this again soon! I've seen several musicals lately and I sure do miss it!