depressed maybe

Yeahyeahyeah, I havent blogged in a few days.

One, because I have been trying to not get overwhelmed by all that is going on with my health. And two, because I created a tumblr account mostly dedicated to posting cat pictures. Three, because Harry Potter came out and I have been mourning the loss of one of the most epic stories I have ever loved in my life. The movie was fantastic, and they couldnt have ended it any better I dont think. Of course there were some little mishaps from book to screen, but all in all, I was pleased. Got in line for my double feature (pt 1 of deathly hallows at 9pm then the finale at midnight) at about 445pm. Was allowed into the theatre itself around 745pm. Movie started on time and by 2am, my butt and hips were sorer than ever. But all for good reason. I dont think I will ever love a story more than I have loved the Potter books. Its our generation's version of the star wars for our parents generation... I am sure that will be contested but I think its accurate.

catfancykayle.tumblr.com if you want!

tomorrow never looked so bad

here is what will be happening to me tomorrow morning in effort to more precisely diagnose the severity and location of my hip problems. i will be wide awake with no drug assistance for this:

and that needle will be reaching all the way down into my hip socket to be able to inject the contrast into the joint itself. :cryingalready:

the american dilemma

Someone please tell me WHY after 6 years of different doctors, different types of examinations, different injuries all centered around the same thing, and going from uninsured to insured, has still NOT changed the fact that every medical professional I have seen does not give a flying turd about my medical condition? Please.

sweet sweet sweet

THIS:

AND THIS:
are my only loving companions today.

Not my best day

After years and years of back pain, a year of recovering from dislocating my knee + pain, seeing several doctors and therapists, and just a mere few weeks of agonizing hip pain, -- I went to see a hip specialist this morning. My physical therapist had referred me to this specialist and said that he would likely tell me I needed to get an arthogram mri. ( for those of you who dont know, that is not your typical mri, it is a somewhat invasive procedure where they insert a giant needle directly into your pelvis which injects a contrast dye in your hip socket before you get the normal mri ) google it and try not to be squeamish or anxious, youre awake for this procedure mind you.

Now before I arrived to this appointment this morning, I was trying my best to remain optimistic and not worry about whether I would need this arthogram. I tried to convince myself that maybe it was just a muscle issue and would recover on its own with the right therapy and rest. I figured trying to maintain low stress would help more than freaking out. So, I get to my appt. and the doctor after a full hour of roughly throwing my leg around in all sorts of twists and turns, and making me walk on my tiptoes and heels and bend and stretch and turn, etc, has me get an xray on my hip. Once that is completed, we return to the exam room to talk diagnosis. Here is where it all goes to sh*t-

I wish I could pronounce everything he said but I did pick up a few things which included lumbar-something sprain, sacroiliatic fracture and something, femoral impingment and another type of impingment. (oh and throw in my knee too with recurring patellar subluxation and loose tracking) All of which he spouts off too fast for me to keep up and react, and then I hear those infamous words I was dreading, arthogram mri and surgery. Surgery that will have a recovery time of 9-12mos, and once that recovery is finished, then a possible knee surgery to re-position my kneecap and shave off some scar tissue in the knee.

I AM ONLY 25 YEARS OLD.

And now having to think about how I am going to afford this, even with insurance. And how I am going to be able to work, with a hip surgery recovery in my near future. This is an ugly system of healthcare we have in america. I wish I were rich to take care of this easily.

Thats my complaint for now.

At least Harry Potter is coming out in a week.

Kompton Part Deux

So as it turns out, the family reunion wasnt as awful as I thought it was going to be. My dad gave me the impression that the family was going to criticize me the entire time, when in reality, they were going to be drinking and socializing with everyone else instead. phew. I cant wait to get all these pictures uploaded correctly so you can see the things I did during this reunion. My aunt's house is pretty fascinating, as she is a borderline hoarder/collector of all things knick knack related. She has managed to cram all these things into her small looking home over the years, and in a somewhat orderly fashion. If you ask me though, I would say she is just a clean version of a hoarder. Here are a few pictures of some of the things inside of her house as well as some of the views from around her property and yard. Her house is right on the river in downtown spokane in a neighborhood called peaceful valley. The sequence of these pictures has no rhyme or reason to it so just go along and enjoy the brilliance that is my cell phone's camera... Also, click to see the larger image-- I dont like huge photos taking up the space so you can put up with a window opening to get a better image!

here is one of my favorite features inside my aunt's home. and let me just say that this wall showing is just one of the several in the home that are covered frame to frame with random pictures and such.

quack quack on the wall above the basement door which has a ladder you must climb to go below
the other view from her riverfront property, both of which have different bridges
amurrca!

welcome to peaceful valley and my peaceful finger signs

here is the benny and joon house which is directly across the driveway from my aunts.this is a sunroom that she has above her property that also overlooks the river and it is awesome!
the entry to said sunroom-
looking out the window in the sunroom
one of the views from her property
some cool jug/pots/whatever you wanna call em that she has on one dresser. They are actually very pretty and have this shimmery silver border along the white parts.

I am going to post an entirely different blog about the happenings of this family reunion. I had really never met any of the people at this reunion, at least not in my memorable life, other than my dads siblings and their respective offspring. It was "interesting" to see just how crazy and/or different the older generation is. My dad's dad, Joe, who is also biologically my grandfather since that is how science works, has never sent me a card or even called me throughout my life, so this was my first time talking to him at all. He is in his seventies, and is a war veteran, and also a heavy drinker with no teeth and a wild personality. In the next blog, I will introduce you more intimately to him and his many antics!

Kompton

I will of course to do more work on this specific entry upon my return to the west side of the state (tomorrow)

Currently getting ready for the day, about to leave to go get my harry potter tattoo done, then onto the family reunion. My dad's aunt, mary, owns this INCREDIBLE house RIGHT on the river in downtown Spokane. She has owned and lived it in for over 40years, and before she owned it, her parents did. It just happens to be right next door to the house used for the johnny depp movie, benny and joon. I will post a pic of the b&j house later (tomorrow), I will put the pictures up of my aunts and her view cause it is quite fantastic!

Last night, for the first time since being old enough to, I went to a bar in downtown spokane called monterey cafe. It is a fake surfer bar with karoake and I had a pretty good time there! thanks kompton for not blowing it completely for me on this short visit here.

to be continued.....

Full weekend in process

My friend Kierstan, who I havent seen in 5+years, came to visit Seattle for two nights on Thursday and we made sure to achieve as much mischief as possible! She went back home to Spokane today, but I am following suit and going there tomorrow til Tuesday. My dad is forcing me to go to his estranged father's family reunion that hasnt happened in over 30years apparently... I was told by my dad and his two siblings that I am in for a lot of heckling and shit-talking from said side of the family while I am there due to the fact that I have so many visible tattoos.... Yay. (not)

Back to mischief--- Kierstan hadnt been to Seattle since being old enough to go to bars so I took her to one of my very favorites in Fremont called Brouwers. I have no clue how to put pictures where I want them so look for pics below.. She is down there somewhere, enjoying her wine bottle sized Troubadour Stout.

And then last night, the two of us went to see our friend's band play a show in Seattle. Theyve been touring tons in the past couple of years and I had yet to watch so I figured I would bite the bullet. Afterward, we went to visit Kierstan's mom at Emerald Queen Casino in the lovely Tacoma.... Got a "VIP" booth in the "club" and enjoyed listening to some house band perform tons of radio hits. It was kind of awesome.

Now after two nights of these mentioned and unmentioned events, it was no surprise that I was exhausted. Once we got back from the crazy casino we stayed up even later and I got no sleep before taking her to the bus station this morning. And of course, because the weather was fan-freakin-tastic today I had to stay awake to enjoy it! So directly after dropping her off, I headed to another friend's house to make a trek out to Darrington, Wa for a nice hike. What a day! Long story short, it takes two hours to get to Darrington, and the hike itself is 7miles roundtrip, and is also IMPOSSIBLE to find the trailhead.... so what we really ended up doing was driving around on old mountain logging roads trying to find the damn trail! We still got a few pictures snapped of spectacular views of the mountains and such, so at least it will somewhat look like we accomplished going on a hike..... Ill add a pic or two below of some of the trail we did see and the views we did have.

Well...

I am still quite partial toward your standard pen and paper for journaling, but upon further revelation and discoveries as of late, I have decided to do a bit of blogging.

I am currently trying to figure out whether Id like to have some sort of theme to this, or if I will rather just spout off random thoughts and interests and whatnot. I wish I understood design and how to make this look cool, but all in due time...

So far tonight; I have lurked to no end on the interweb, wrote a little in my real life journal, showered, painted my fingernails and toenails twice, listened to certain songs on repeat, read a little of my beloved carl sagan, and also wished I could move on when its so evidently necessary.

As opposed to some's total disagreement with the following statement, I would like to believe that I am generally a very happy person. Easy to get along with, open with my words and mind, funny even.. Yet, there is something so entirely irritating that I find with my tendency to want to totally ignore people. Sometimes I like to attribute it to wisdom... Other times, it may just be mean. But in the end, how much stupidity can you tolerate? I think my best bet is to take little seriously and enjoy those who dont annoy the crap out of me. Sigh.

I will leave you, my two followers, with this pearl of wisdom:

Blogging

Well, I certainly havent maintained this blog as I thought I might have originally. There is just something more fulfilling about writing with an actual pen, and seeing it splayed across paper.. I enjoy the now-deemed tedious task.

Life has been filled with life the past year plus, its always a balance of fond and not so fond memories... I am waiting for there to be a year where its more fond than not.. Haha..

Anyway, I will be driving in my car, or cleaning at work when ideas will pop up for funny things to write in or for a blog... and then I will forget to follow through...

We shall see... life is never too dull afterall.

I googled myself tonight and it was fun. And potentially creepy.