The End (Of Summer) Is Extremely Nigh

I’m not dead.  There were periods throughout this summer where I think I rather would have been, though.  I came down with a nasty case of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, and it was probably the worst thing I’ve experienced since getting mono in college.  The world wouldn’t stop spinning, I puked a bunch, and the pounding headache served as the icing on the cake.  And of course, the worst of it happened on the 4th of July, when no doctor’s office is open, so I had to drive my dizzy ass to the ER (love that $500 bill, by the way) where they pumped me full of fluids via an IV and sent me on my way with some motion sickness pills. 

Honestly the worst part of the whole experience was the caffeine withdrawal, since I couldn’t have it until the vertigo went away.  Spending a whole day motionless with a throbbing head and wanting to die is a pretty good deterrent from ever becoming caffeine-dependent again. If only you could have seen me stumble out to the kitchen and MacGyver a heating pad out of a sock and some rice. 

I learned some exercises to help coax those ear crystals back where they belong, and I think those helped the dizziness a bit, which is good, because two days after my ER visit, I was scheduled to go with the rest of the faculty to the New Tech Annual Conference in New Orleans.  The bus ride down was interesting.  I could never tell if I was hungry or nauseous. 

The workshops were good, and overall it was a good experience.  Can’t say much for New Orleans, though.  Bourbon Street was a scary, smelly place (seriously, it smells like sewage).  I felt like I had to be on guard or else I’d get stabbed by a hobo with a dirty syringe.  I also wasn’t the only one in the group that felt the desire to burn my shoes and clothes after being there.  The food was amazing, though.   I’ll never go back to Zatarain’s after having real jambalaya, red beans and rice, and crawfish etouffee.

I got pretty depressed after I got back.  I live by myself and have no local friends, so spending a whole week around people seemed to remind me of what I was missing.  I couldn’t bring myself to eat most of the things I liked before the vertigo.  Throwing up greek yogurt mixed with strawberries just kinda ruined the whole thing for me.  The vertigo isn’t completely gone, though it doesn’t have an effect on my daily activities.  I just kinda feel it when lying down at night, like the pillow has a gravitational pull.  I’ve at least been able to start exercising again.  I haven’t had any coffee in five and a half weeks, though I have gotten some caffeine in the form of tea.  I’ve decided to only allow myself to have caffeine every three to four days to ensure that I don’t become dependent. 

Not much of a summer, huh?  I filled the last couple of weeks with the occasional toku show, some Layzner, and playing Xenoblade and Skyrim.  Of course, I’ve had a bunch of professional development over the last couple of weeks.  On Monday, school begins again.  I’m excited to go back, not because I get to see a horde of chitlins, but because I get to use my new lunchbox and thermos.  It’s the little things.  I’ll save the inspiring secondary education banter for some other time.  Until then, wish me luck.