Sweet

Nesting

I'm still recovering from the move.  Swelling has gone down but I've been running a low grade fever and the eczema on my hands has flared up.  I did manage a short grocery trip today.  Migraine responded to meds.  I've been able to sit up a bit longer without getting zombified.

It's cooled off wonderfully here and will be nice the rest of the week.

Hoping to start home-hunting tomorrow.  We have lots of decisions to make - apartment or house?  Where?  Can I drive or not and how will that affect our choice?

We want at least 2 bedrooms so we can have a guest room and I can have an office/studio space of some kind.  At least 1.5 baths or more.  Doggie friendly.  No or very few (like no more than three) stairs.  Fairly quiet and low-key.  A porch or sunroom or patio of some kind.

Arrived

We're here.  The stupid-ass storm is still here.  I am exhausted.  We noticed my ankles had swollen up ridiculously huge last night, but they seem to have gotten a bit better with sleep.  Hoping that was just from so much time sitting in the truck.
Had a bit of a return on the involuntary trunk movements too, but again, probably just fatigue and truck.
My hands are swollen and hot and the skin hurts there too.  Sigh.

Oreo is being a bit of a punk with Brownie and Blue, but everyone is mostly okay.

We had fabulous dinner last night.  Restaurant on the Gulf.  Fried dill pickles the proper way - in chips instead of spears and omnomnomnom fried shrimp.   I loved watching the storm on the water.

Thunder only started up last night and it doesn't seem too bad today.

Driving

Image via WikipediaOne of the things we're excited about with the move to Mississippi is that I might be able to drive again. I quit driving about 3 years ago when my health had taken a pretty significant downturn. I was having major problems with balance and depth perception.  I felt foggy and sort of disconnected a lot of the time. I was having pretty significant involuntary movements that would probably be really bad to have while driving. I also was having major issues with sensory overload - lots of motion and noise tended to be really, really disorienting.  So, because I didn't feel safe and I didn't think it was a good idea to risk injuring or killing someone, I quit driving.

Now, I think I can safely experiment with driving short distances with someone else in the car to see how I do.  I still have days where I'm foggy and slightly out of it. Sensory overload is still a problem - it's one of the major reasons I now HATE malls and grocery stores during busy times.  And my migraines can create or enhance depth perception problems. Pain and fatigue are also a distraction.  Medication is also a major concern.  I can't take anything that might be impairing if I'm going to drive.

But, my depth perception has improved.  My balance has improved.  I don't have nearly as significant an issue with involuntary movements.  Traffic patterns in Mississippi will be far less intense.  There isn't quite so much noise and motion with traffic, bikers, pedestrians, trains, buses, and skyscrapers all at the same time.  It's easier to pull off most roads.  I won't have to parallel park. 

So, the strategy I'm developing is to drive slowly (and stay in the slow lane while doing so) and try to give myself a little more reaction time.  Avoid driving in bad weather.  Try to drive only during quiet times.  Make sure I know where I'm going. Make sure I have pain meds that aren't impairing with me.  Keep a snack of some kind  and water with me as both low blood sugar and dehydration can be major contributors to migraines and CFS symptoms.  Make sure I always have my phone with me in case I get somewhere but don't feel well enough to drive back home.  Don't force myself to drive if I feel like I shouldn't. 

I have also discovered recently that lying flat on my back on a bench or something similar helps a lot with the sort of brain foggy-floatiness that I sometimes get if I've been sitting up or standing too long.  

All of the possibly impairing daily meds I have I take at night before bed which should help immensely with that particular issue.  Everything else is to be taken as needed and I'll just need to be sure I don't take it when I'm planning to drive.

I think we'll start out with very short drives and increase distance over time to see how I do. I'm really hoping I can drive again at least a little bit.  I would make things so much easier.  I could run errands during the day so Tom wouldn't have to try to fit them in to his workday or weekend.  I'd be able to get out a bit more and possibly have a wider range of potential employment. 

Moving

Image via WikipediaSo, we should be up for grand adventure soon.  Tom has gotten a job in Biloxi, MS as an archaeologist which is, you know, what he's trained for.  More money, equal or greater benefits and more opportunity for advancement.  So, YAY!!!!!

I know very little about local history and archaeology, but am really looking forward to hearing about stuff from Tom and exploring stuff myself.  I'm especially interested in colonial/cultural contact archaeology and history topics and there is a lot of history with various European powers and local tribes interacting, playing off each other, etc.  Very cool.  

I actually lived in Biloxi for a few years in my early teens - my family moved from Nevada when gaming was legalized.   We have friends in the area and before I got sick I was an adjunct instructor there for a summer.  So we already have a bit of a support system in place which will make the move easier, I think.

We're very happy but still a little in disbelief that we're actually moving.  We've been in Chicago a really long time.

Anyway, we will be moving at the end of the month.  Tom starts work the second week of September. 

We are hoping to find a rental close to Tom's office so there won't be a huge issue of commuting. 

Moving will be awesome - we should be able to get a place with central air and heating, a dishwasher, and washer/dryer hookups.  All of those things will make a lot of household chores much easier and climate control will probably help with some of my symptoms.

Depending on where we wind up we will probably have regular access to a pool and I'm really looking forward to that as another way to exercise and relieve pain.  

Tom will be able to get back into diving and be closer to some interesting dive locations. 

It will all be very exciting I'm sure.  I'm hoping after we get settled to get in touch with some of my contacts and see if I can get another part-time teaching position or something similar.  I'm also hoping that I'll be able to start driving again at least short distances in an environment that isn't nearly as challenging and hectic as Chicago traffic and parking, etc. 

Current plan is to pack up what we're taking either into a rental truck or one of the movable storage box thingies, move it down, stay with a friend for a while and look for a place to live longer term. 

We've already been sorting through things like clothes and books for things to donate or sell, so that process is already started.  I'm going to start boxing books and craft supplies soon.

Poor Oreo is going to have a stressful month, though.  He gets a bit nervous when we pack things either in boxes or suitcases.  "The den, the den is changing, OMG change!  Are you going to leave me behind?!?!?"  So, there will be extra doggy cuddling going on.  He's a good little traveler by ground or air though, so the actual moving won't be too bad. 

Given the return of the heatwave to Chicago I'm really not able to to think much past AIR CONDITIONING!!!!!  at the moment. 

Obviously, it gets super hot and humid on the coast too, but it somehow doesn't seem as bad there as in Chicago. 

Also, I have a smartphone now, so I can live blog things like "wow, we're driving past yet more soy bean fields!"  I know you will all be at the edge of your seats for that.

And Tom and I tend to manage to have surreal adventures during things like moving, so that should be entertaining. 

Road Trip!

Last week we headed down to Mississippi for the first time in about 2 years so we could visit Tom's family and so he could defend his thesis and get his MA in Applied Anthropology and I could go visit some old professors of ours at Mississippi State.  I wasn't sure how well I would handle an extended car ride (it's roughly 10 hours) but I managed reasonably well, especially since my neurologist prescribed some low dose clonazapam for me to try out for when my back is being particularly stupid.  Pretty much the only bad part was discovering that I get a migraine when I'm in our car for more than about an hour even if I'm not driving.  Not sure if it's our car or something else, but that's rampant speculation for another time.  Taking something doesn't seem to do much for prevention either, it just keeps it from getting totally unbearable.

I just realized it looks like Tom has his eyes closed.  That might explain a few things.

The position of the price tag on this bag of Chex mix suggests the ultimate results of consumption.

Oreo's head got in the way when my hand jerked, so here's the blurry photo of his head.

The giant cross of aluminum siding outside Effingham.  Because nothing says devout like building a huge aluminum cross in the middle of Illinois that will startle road-dazed drivers.

I pretty much forgot about the camera for most of the rest of the trip.  Tom did get some excellent photos of a few projects I finished though, so I'll post those in the next few days.

Tom successfully defended.  Yay!  He just has to do some final edits and formatting and that good stuff.  So, now we're even on the graduate degree front. 

Oreo is still recovering from the trip - I think he was terrified we were going to leave him with my in-laws because that's where he stayed the last time we were in Sudan for 2 months.  He was definitely freaking out when we starting packing up to come home all the way up the point we actually put him in the car.  Poor little dude.  He's an excellent little traveler, though.  And I like having a warm snuggly on my lap for the trip, at least until he squirms too much and steps on my internal organs. 

Oh, and Tom briefly transformed into a douchebag while we were in Mississippi. 

All he needs is a flask of Maker's Mark, business cards for his lawyer/politician/lobbyist/upper management dad, and a Confederate flag and he'd be all ready for Pledge Week at Ole Miss.
I deeply and sincerely hope to never, ever again see my husband with

1. A popped collar
2. Any item of Ole Miss memorabilia
3. This facial expression