Ang's Journal

I am reading a book right now called Hello I Want To Die Please Fix Me: Depression in the First Person by Anna Mehler Paperny, & it's been a looooong time since a book creeped me out so much by being MY OWN STORY so strongly. I seriously could've written entire chapters of this other woman's memoir. I haven't finished yet, but this is likely to go on my "Recommend to All" book list. If you've ever wondered what serious, life-threatening, suicide-inducing depression feels like, read this book. If it sounds familiar, at least you will know that you aren't alone. If it doesn't, thank your lucky fucking stars.

Alan & I have started watching the series Yellowstone & it's pretty good. We are just starting Season 2. Great cast, pretty setting, decent writing. Kevin Costner's character, John Dutton, is an extra-evil, Hollywood version of my uncle Paul - including all his screwed-up relationships with his children. The show's soundtrack is excellent, featuring several songs by Ryan Bingham, who also is in the cast. I made a Spotify radio station based on the Yellowstone soundtrack & it's mostly feeding me bluegrass & spirituals. I'm countrifying!

I have been using a ResMed AirSense 11 APAP machine for just over a week. It is making a huge difference in my sleep. While awake, I've noticed much less drowsiness while driving (a huge health & safety plus right there, folks!). I also have more energy in the afternoons, & I wake up ready to get out of bed. That being said, I'm also sleeping longer hours. I feel like my body is trying to make up for years of bad sleep. I've also had some vivid dreams that I remember (briefly) upon awakening. I take this as a sign that my brain is spending more time in the REM stage of sleep. I hope it's also more able to clean out plaques & do all the other brain-maintenance tasks that are supposed to happen during Snooze Time.

*blows dust off of LJ*

Wow, I haven't been here in a while. Which is a shame, really. I like having a journal. But like so many, I have been sucked into the short format version of journaling known as Facebook. It's much easier to come up with one or two sentences (especially when I can just type them in on my phone) than it is to write a full post.

Soooo.... my last post was on June 4th. Since then, I have spent 3 months on a field assignment in Conroe, Texas. We are repairing a landfill at a Superfund site that was leaking. By my standards, this has been a GREAT field assignment - Conroe is close enough to home that I've been staying at home, yet I'm getting overtime. And since we're repairing the landfill, we're not actually in contact with any of the contaminated material, so we haven't had to wear too much safety gear. This is a very nice thing when working outside, in Texas, in July & August.

(I mean, we're still wearing long-sleeved shirts, hard hats, steel-toed boots, & gloves, but at least we're not wearing respirators or Tyvek.)

It has been a pretty boring summer. hotpantsgalore sold peaches in Austin for most of the weekends, so we didn't see much of each other - until late August, when we took at a ten-day trip to the Pacific Northwest. Then we visited Seattle & Portland, & Shay got to meet a lot of my family on my mother's side. We stopped by Crater Lake & visited Fort Rock. It was a superb trip - very fun, very relaxing, & it was great to catch up with my family. They all loved HPG, like there was any doubt about that.

Health has been.... not bad, but not great. I have put on a lot of weight since doing the triathlon in February, & this is because I am getting almost no exercise. No excuses, just pure laziness. In the last few weeks, my right shoulder has flared up something awful & I have an appointment next week with an orthopedist to weld it back together (or whatever they're going to propose to fix it).

I am still really enjoying living in Houston. Our neighbors & neighborhood are simply fantastic. The more I learn about our neighborhood, the more fun things I find to do within walking distance of the house. I have also become very involved with my church, & I will be officially joining the church next month. It's WEIRD to think about being a member of a Baptist church, but I love Covenant & I want to be eligible to be a deacon or a council member, so I'm going to join. In the meantime, I am on the Facilities Committee, I lead Bible study classes, & I'm going to be the lay worship leader during Advent. I've also been volunteering with an outreach program to homeless GLBT teens, which is heartwarming/heartbreaking.

This field project (originally billed as 4-6 weeks, now completing our 12th week on the job) SHOULD be wrapped up this Tuesday. We are working through the weekend to make that happen (boo hiss). Wednesday & Thursday are booked with doctor's appointments that have been put off all summer, & then Friday-Sunday HPG & I will be in Austin for the ACL Music Festival. The lineup is incredible: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Florence + The Machine, Weezer, Rufus Wainwright, The Shins, & about 2 million other bands. After that, I will finally be back in the office - I wonder if they gave someone else my desk?