For Want of a Nail

I've been doing week-in-review blog entries recently, which is mostly because I've been journaling in my art journals. It's a return to the pre-internet paper journal days for me, which I never really gave up completely, just did less of as the internet took over my life.

This past week was kind of busy, actually. I had a lot of school work to wrap up, not all of which is done. There is still more and since my final is this upcoming Thursday, it has to get done. After that, I have a few weeks off before the next semester begins.

Dave had an extra day off at the beginning of the week because he took a sick day. He pinched a nerve in his shoulder a few weeks ago and, just when it was getting better, he re-injured it at the gym.  I took a day off from school on Tuesday because my hives were bad that morning and they drove me to seek refuge in the arms of Benadryl, which made me a zombie.

What else? Our old car's battery gave up the ghost and we have yet to replace it, so we limped along with one car this week, which was fun.  When Dave did go to replace the battery, he found that we don't have the right wrench to do the job. So even though we have the battery, we still have a car that doesn't run until we get to the hardware store for a wrench. It's the 2015 version of "for want of a nail the shoe was lost." Or something.

On Tuesday evening, I took a tumble in the parking lot of the co-op. Dave and I had finished our shopping and were heading back out to the car when I stepped wrong on some uneven pavement and rolled my ankle and came down hard on my left side. I came home, took ibuprofen (which I never do because it knocks me out), and iced my ankle, knee, and wrists. I had twisted my back and bruised my right buttock, but those were harder to ice, so I'm just living with the pain. It took several days for me to get back on track--and I still have some pain in my knee and back--but it is better.

Wednesday, I had therapy. It was not particularly wrenching, but not entirely unwrenching either. I always cry a lot in therapy. I'm working on and toward big things. It's like digging out a bullet that's been lodged in me for decades and that has worked its way in deeper over the years. I sometimes ask myself if it's necessary to remove it, but that's just cowardice talking most of the time. I know that it is necessary if only for the sake of my own sanity--and curiosity.

A couple of weeks ago, the therapist started to suggest that I use art to--and I don't even know what she was going to say because I stopped her right there. I hate it when therapists, finding out that I am an artist or artistic or whatever, suggest ways that I can use art to express whatever. I told her, "Just because I'm an artist, it doesn't mean that art functions that way in my life or that I want to use it to that end." I went on, "What would you say if I were not an artist? Give me advice as though I were a truck driver and not an artist." So there's a boundary for you.

Thursday Dave dropped me off at school at, like, 6:30 in the morning. I was the first person in the lab building while it was still dark out, which is not the place to be when you're as paranoid about personal safety as I am. I went to class at 7:30 and afterward stayed a few extra hours on campus to study. I would have stayed longer (I'm very far behind on my studying) but I hadn't brought lunch with me and the cafeteria on campus is closed and there are no nearby options for food. There is a "cafe" in the library where I could buy coffee and chips or candy, but I'm not twenty anymore, so I need more lunch than chips and candy to fuel nine hours of lecture plus studying. I came home and made pasta for lunch.

That evening, we picked up some Chinese food and went over and had dinner with my brother at his place. (He still can't drive.) The old cook is back at the good Chinese place, so we feasted on my favorite spicy broccoli dish. YUM!

Friday morning, I took my brother to his doctor's appointment and then we stopped at the grocery store so he could stock up on supplies. I also stopped by the co-op afterward and got a breakfast burrito and a couple of things for my own dinner since Dave was having dinner with his mother and sister.

I came home and painted when I should have been studying. I did some chores and then took a shower for the first time in two days. I got in a short nap before I had to go pick up Dave. He went out after we got home and picked up a burger for me (a double meat itsa burger, yum!) before going off to have Greek food with his family.  After that, I went back to  bed even though it was only, like, 5:30. I haven't been getting much sleep lately and I'm exhausted all the time. I probably need to start being more diligent about remembering my vitamins and such.

It's Saturday morning, believe it or not. I have a bunch of things to do this morning. Ugh!