The winner is...

...A sinus infection!!! I went to the doctor today because of the crazy symptoms I've been having. I'm always paranoid that I have a sinus infection, ear infection, or bronchitis, so I now always want to get in early because the earlier I get in, the sooner I get better. Antibiotics usually clear me up after a couple of days, which I'm really looking forward to. I'm trying to better understand my allergies though because the more I know about what's setting me off, the more I can do to hopefully prevent my allergies from being set off.

I'm thinking about seeing an allergist. My doctor recommended one that has a partnership with the U's health center. Maybe an early Christmas present Mom and Dad? haha I'm thinking that it's a necessary next step to determining exactly what is causing my allergies to go haywire in the first place. I don't want to fall apart at my young age! I'm just a little kid!!!

I started my antibiotics tonight, and have ten days worth of them (I didn't get "the bomb" this time around). And man o man do these medications hurt the pocketbook! Good thing I have a job so that I can pay for all of my allergy treatments!

Speaking of jobs, my boss's boss said that they may be able to post another position in a couple of weeks, so we'll see how things go.... I'm really hoping that I can stick around the City for a while because I enjoy the work that I'm doing and I get to learn new things all the time. We'll see where the wind takes me. For now, I am focusing on getting better! I would love to not have to blow my nose every five minutes and not cough a bizillion times a day! Oh yeah, and I would love not to be tired all of the time - the first time I had a sinus infection, I would come home after working at the bank and go to bed right away. A similar pattern was beginning to emerge this week when one night, I am pretty sure I slept about 12 hours. Eek!

Hope those antibiotics are kicking some behind right now!

Ear infection...again??

So I'm sick - again. First it was allergies, and now it appears to be an ear infection (I'm going to the doctor tomorrow morning). At first I thought it might be a sinus infection because I've had major sinus headaches for the past couple of days. Then I thought I might have bronchitis again because my throat was killing me a couple of days ago and caused my voice to drop an octave yesterday. Now my ears are plugged and I got dizzy at work. Yep, I'm thinking another ear infection is to blame.

I'm so glad I keep having all of these ear, nose, and throat problems (note the sarcasm). But I should just suck it up. I have bad allergies, and I have to deal with that. But I would much rather just bitch about it, at least for a little bit. I have to be on expensive meds to control them because I'm not willing to move to a dry environment (like the mountains in Peru in the winter/dry season). I really like Minnesota, and unfortunately I like living in this allergen-filled environment, which is made worse by the fact that I live directly in the city. I have to just deal.

The bottom line is that if you hear me bitching about my allergies, tell me to shut up. It's my fault for living where I do - it's a choice that I made. But it still sucks :)

The Unpacking Phase

Please don't let the unpacking phase last the rest of the time we're living here!!! While the majority of the boxes have been unpacked, there is still a nice pile in "the office" a.k.a. Chris's old room. The problem is that we are very slowly cleaning small spaces out. Why so slow? Chris has been super duper busy with photography and I can't clean it out because it is his stuff. I must admit that I have really enjoyed not doing any major cleaning over the past couple of weeks. The apartment is looking a lot better though, and hopefully it will start feeling like home to me rather than continuing to feel like Chris's place...

I am looking into buying a gym membership once again in order to get my fat behind up and working out again. It's been about a year-and-a-half since I had a gym membership, and it used to be great. Then my second year of grad school hit and I couldn't justify spending the money or the time. Now I need it desperately, as much for my mind as my body.

I have been looking into a couple of options: there is a gym literally on the same block as our apartment, but it doesn't have any cardio-kickboxing classes (which I LOVE), but it does have yoga (which I also LOVE). The other, probably better option is LifeTime in Highland Park (about 3 miles from the apartment). The LifeTime would be cheaper, have more classes, and have longer hours than the other, but it would mean I would have to drive and I'm getting really used to not having to drive.

I have a free week trail at the closer gym, so I'll try it out and see what I think. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be joining LifeTime again because of my love for kickboxing, longer hours, and cheap prices (subsidized by my health insurance company). I will definitely give the closer one a chance though. I'm really excited to get back into the workout routine! More importantly, I can't wait to get back into shape again.

Still kicking

The move has been fairly smooth - except for all of the dust that we've been kicking up. My body has not been happy with me; my allergies have been killing me. But I'm going back on Zyrtec even though it's so expensive. The crummy thing is is that it's worth it. The cool thing is that the apartment is coming together, bit by bit.

There may be a position opening at the place where I work, but it's uncertain how soon it will open up. I would be working with some new people along with my current coworkers, which I would enjoy. I have been applying to some other places, but I haven't heard back from them yet.

Other than that, things have been pretty quiet. I'm still working on Collapse, and I hope to finish it over the weekend so that I can start reading some other books. My shelf of books to read is overflowing once again.

Michelle's To-do List: Move - check!

The week of crazy cleaning is close to being over - we're getting more settled in now. For those who don't know what the hell I'm talking about, I moved into Chris's apartment last weekend, and we've been cleaning and I've been unpacking all week long. That's why not many people have heard from me. Each day it is feeling more and more like home, especially as I've been unpacking my stuff.

Some have asked if this is a big step for us, and I have to admit that it's really not because I've practically been living here for the past year anyway, it's just that all of my stuff was at my aunt and uncle's except for a bag of clothes. And I have to say how much I LOVE not living out of a bag :)

I think the apartment is looking a lot better (can't wait for you to see it now Mom!). We have a new-to-us couch that is very comfortable and in great condition, and that does a lot to making the whole living room look a lot better. We moved into the bigger bedroom right away, and Chris is in the process of cleaning out his old bedroom between shooting sports. Eventually the old bedroom will be an office/guest bedroom (exciting!).

Morning ride

In the spirit of last weekend, Chris and I went on another long bike ride, but only half as long as last weekend. He took me through a lot of neat bike trails through area parks, the majority of them following the Mississippi. The great thing is is that I think it will take me a long time to see all of the trails in the Twin Cities area. It's always interesting and exciting to ride on a new trail :)

Exciting news: Chris and I are going to have our own space soon! For those who didn't know, Chris's roommate bought a house and is moving out next Sunday. I am so excited!!!! I can't wait to have my own space again, and both me and Chris are excited about having all of our stuff in one place. There will be a lot of work to be done to fix the place up, and it will be difficult, but rewarding. I'm really jazzed about having my stuff in one place.

Crazy busy week last week at work since we were finishing up the budget book. I got in a few overtime hours (which I'm getting paid for - woohoo!!!). My internship lasts through the end of November, so I'm starting up the job search (which I hate). There are some interesting leads, but nothing to talk about yet.

41-Miler

This morning Chris and I did the Minneapolis Bike Tour and rode the 41-mile route. It took us around four hours to do, and I only felt like I was going to die once (there was one part where we went up two what I thought were significant hills in quick succession, and my asthma kicked in hardcore). That is the longest bike ride I've ever done, and all in all I feel pretty good about it.

Here's a map of the route so you can see where we rode (I'm terrible at explaining those kinds of things):
Chris said that I didn't look happy the entire ride, but the truth is I like doing those kinds of activities, but I really have to focus on breathing. Today was more of a mental challenge than a physical one because whenever my asthma kicks in, which is often, I have to calm myself down and focus on slowing my breathing down. I get frustrated whenever this happens, but have not found a way to prevent it except for not doing activities like riding, which I'm not willing to do. I have found that I can train my lungs to withstand a great deal of cardio without freaking out, but it takes a long time to build up that kind of endurance. I had it a couple of years ago, but my time was consumed my second year of grad school and I didn't dedicate the time or money to keep myself in that great of shape.

Now I'm trying to slowly get myself back into shape. I'm thinking that I might bike into work more frequently because this cooler weather is incredible to bike in and it would save me money on bus passes. I also am going to try to get myself in a routine of going on walks during the week so I can enjoy this weather while it lasts. We'll see if I'm actually committed to it. If not, I will continue to enjoy the bike riding that I do now and only complain about my breathing to myself and Chris (sorry Chris!).