Ok, the sad truth finally came out!

Yesterday I called work  again and asked to speak to Janet. She was in a meeting and I was promised that she would call back later. I waited and waited...to no avail. So I called back today and got her on the phone. And finally she gave me the truth! According to some new law or new policy they have to wait 3 months until they offer a new contract! So they can't offer me one before November 19th!!! I was like...WTF? 

Really, I 'exercised' my ass off to get over the Bell's palsey and in fact would have been ready to work again starting September but then she had the excuse work was slow and I could start again in October. And now this crap :(  I told her I was very disappointed and would have liked to know this earlier so I could actively have searched for another job.

Because that's what I'm gonna do. I found a job opening for Customer Service at a big seed company in Enkhuizen, where Andrea lives and I am gonna apply to that. Might I get the job I'd be killing 2 birds with 1 stone because my son finally gets his appartment back and well, I'd be having a job :')

In the meantime money is really tight since Social Services deducted the little money I made from this month's allowance and my scooter finally decided to...well...kinda die on me. So I had to order the exhaust. Luckily that cost quite a bit less than expected and the shipping and handling was even for free since my order was over a certain amount of Euros.

On a (much) happier note... Dan and I are planning our next vacation. It is supposed to be from April 29th until May 13th 2012. Of course I keep saying to him: IF I have a job because otherwise there is no way in Hell I can even buy me a ticket to the States. But he's being totally positive and even made some reservations already :p I wish I could be as positive as he is...but finding a job is about the hardest thing I have done EVER. Of course the economy and my age aren't helping either.

Last week I put away all my summer clothes for the winter. The weather was really sucky, cold and wet so it seemed a good time to do so. But of course (?) this week the weather is absolutely lovely! We seem to finally get the summer we never had this year :p (Oh wait I keep on forgetting those 2 weeks in April ;) ) Today it's even 26C/79F! And all this week and next week temperatures are gonna be in the 20C/70F's... Oh well, I have some 'wear-through' clothes handy and of course the boxes are only on top of the wardrobes so access is easy enough ;)

Anyway dear readers, I have stuff to do, think up a nice application letter for the Customer Service job and get that on it's way! And I really refuse to let anything of what happened to me bring me down!

So have a great day y'all, speak to you soon again!

Hugz, Anna

Grrrr, still no work!

Called work again today. As I feared Janet had a bit of bad news for me: 2 projects didn't come through so at the moment she doesn't have work for me. She promised she'll call me as soon as things pick up but has no idea yet when that's gonna be... At least October looks good but she's gonna look for something earlier. 'Don't call us, we'll call you' :p

Well at least I get things done about the house now. The weather is really bad here and I am thinking of taking some of my winter clothes out of the boxes and put some of the most summery stuff in. We had such a bad summer that I didn't even use most of my summer clothes!

My scooter needs repairing...and that is mostly why I really want to go back to work: it's just a money thing! I need a new exhaust, a new battery, a new sparkplug and idealy a new backtyre too. Luckily my son and his friend have promised to do the repairs for me, otherwise it would cost me too much really. But still, I need money for the pieces. 

That's my sweet little scooter :) I have a basket on the back, since I use it mostly to go shopping now, I go to work by bus. And even though I have to kickstart it every time I use it, I still love it dearly and couldn't do without it!

So I'll just go on being bored now...damn I was so happy to have found a job after a year and a half! And then the damned Bell's palsey had to hit me :(  I'll just wait patiently I guess...and call Janet every Monday from now on :')

You all have better luck than me ;) See you next time...with better news I hope!

Hugz, Anna

Doctor, doctor...gimme the news...

Yesterday I called work, because I got a rather disturbing letter that I was fired starting August 18th. Luckily my trainer told me they had apparently sent the standard letter and that I can start working again as soon as the doctor says I can and they have a new project for me.

And today I visited the doctor. Well a substitute doctor really but she was pleasantly surprised with the great progress I made. She gave me a tip for my pain medication for the nerve pain too: 1 ibuprofen and 2 paracetamoles 3 times a day, that should work a lot better than just 2 ibuprofens or paracetamoles.

She asked me to come back in 2-4 weeks just to see how it all develops, and to call for an appointment immediately if my condition deteriorates - which isn't really to be expected. So all good news there!

Monday I expect another call from work again and I hope I can start as soon as possible!

Today my kids got called by my sister's son. He has hemachromatosis, a blood disease that causes iron overload. He has to start weekly bloodlettings next week until his iron levels are normal again and he will have to have regular bloodlettings for the rest of his life. He inherited this disease mainly from my dad and probably his dad had a gen for it too, since neither I nor my sister has the disease, we are both only carriers.

Of course my kids were all worried and asked me if they had to be tested for it. Well, Nina is a bit anemic and they found out she has beta thalassemia minor - she got that from her dad :p So she can't even have hemachromatosis. And Evan wanted to know if he has to be tested for either but I told him to wait until he has a girlfriend and he gets her pregnant :p There is such a slim chance for him that he has one of the diseases, he may just be a carrier for both.

So in fact: all is well ;) Have a great day all and see you soon again!

Hugz, Anna

'Yay!'she said SMILING!

I am very happy to announce that...the right corner of my mouth is starting to work again! And yes, I can smile again :) It's a bit of a crooked, lopsided smile but who cares, I see progress and that after just 2 weeks. I have an appointment with my doctor next Friday but if things keep on going the way they are I have a good mind of calling work and telling them I'll be back next week!

Have to say: I am so relieved that it didn't take my mouth months to get better! And although my face still hurts, I can at least articulate again and that's all I need to get working again :) Guess the exercises did work! I guess the pain in my face is nerve pain and I am taking painkillers for it but all and all I am so happy I could just jump around!

Truth be told I never expected to get better this soon and ok, my face is still drooping but I have faith that's gonna be allright too, and I don't care if that's gonna take 3-6 months or even a year. As long as I can talk I can work so that's good!

Ok, don't have much else to tell, just wanted to share the good news with y'all :)

Have a wonderful day!

Hugz, Anna

(Temporarily) Laid off...

Got a phonecall from work today. They asked how I'm doing and when I can come back... Of course I had to explain Bell's palsey again and also had to tell there's no saying when it'll be over.

So since I was still in my trial month I am gonna be temporarily laid off. Have to call them when my mouth works again so they can give me a new contract. I KNEW IT! Why can't things just go smooth, why do I have to get some obscure ailment nobody knows what starts or ends it. I hate this! With my first pay I was gonna repair my scooter finally and from there on I could start saving money... Well, looks like that's all gonna be delayed now.

I am so, so sad about that but I understand work too. Shit happens apparently.

On the other hand...I DO have more time for reading now. Last season I watched this great HBO series, A Game Of Thrones. It is based on the 'A Song Of Ice And Fire' series by writer George R.R. Martin and my son gave me the first 4 books in paperback format for my birthday. They're all about 1000 pages so although they do look 'small', the paper is thin and the letters tiny ;) I have been walking around with 'A Game Of Thrones' ever since I got the giftbox, I read some in the bus going to work, and always read 1 or 2 chapters in bed before going to sleep.

I am VERY happy to announce I have started in book 2 now: 'A Clash Of Kings'. And since the HBO series followed the first book very well I can't wait to see the 2nd season... and I am reading it now :) The books are lovely, well written and I don't think it's gonna take me almost 2 months to finish this one.

There was another tv series I well liked: 'Legend Of The Seeker', based on the books of Terry Goodkind. And that writer has written another book, first of a series too I think, called 'The Laws Of Nines' And guess what: my son bought me that book too :) In Dutch this time but who cares ;)

And of course part 5 of 7 of  'A Song Of Ice And Fire' is just out now! Only in hardcover edition for now but by the time I am ready for it it should be out in paperback :)

So you see, I have LOTS of reading to do...now that I have lots of time to do just that!

Y'all have a great day, 

Hugz, Anna

Bell's palsey really sucks... Ben&Jerry's therapy helped a bit :p

Here I am, writing in the very early morning hours, haven't slept yet. And I can't sleep. Not because of my eye, that closes ok at night, I just have trouble keeping the cornea hydrated by day since I can't blink. But I'm gonna call the doctor for drops or a gel today, promise!

Yes, my face dropped a bit more since everything started. My speech is even worse than it was and things like eating and drinking aren't going too good either. I have been to the doctor on Friday and he told me again it may take up to several weeks or even months to heal and he gave me another appointment for over 2 weeks. He even said the Prednisolone might not even work, and make me depressed. Bloodglucose is through the roof.

How encouraging is that huh? Well I have Prednisolone for one more day and then I'm at least done with that. 

I decided on some therapy today. Ben&Jerry's whole pint therapy! I got me a pint of something new-ish I had seen: Coconutterly Fair. Choco icecream with coconut caramel swirls and chocolatey coconut caramel crunch. Took me almost an hour to finish the whole pint and it was sooooo DELICIOUS!!! Got me in a total sugarrush and I felt happy for a few hours :p

Hey, I promise: I only do something like this when I really really need it! It has been at least 2 years since I ate a whole pint of B&J's! I think I had 1 or 2 of those tiny 1 person tubs in the meantime!

But...damn! I was so happy I finally landed a job and now...I don't know what's gonna happen! I am still in my trial period so I have no idea what the consequences are gonna be... I may even be laid off again :( I'll tell them I'll do anything, as long as I don't have to talk...

*Sigh* Should see if I can get some sleep at least...otherwise I am gonna have a looooong day ahead of me!

You all stay safe and healthy!

Hugz, Anna

Silly face...

Yeah, so I am all happy to have a job again and after a long weekend I'm all ready to go back to work. But then there was this....little snag on Monday.

I woke up with a massive headache. Nothing to worry about I think, that happens quite a lot lately so I take 2 paracetamols and just go ahead doing what I do usually in the morning: watch stuff on BBC and look at my mail and FaceBook. I made coffee and when it was ready to drink I take a sip and...what the f***? Coffee is coming out of the right side of my mouth. Oooookay.... So I take a mirror and have a look at my face. It doesn't look allright so I start making faces at it. And find out that the right side of my face is not working along with the left side.

Well, I kinda dismiss it, thinking I am tired or something and I go shopping, had to go to the mall because the supermarket there had some nice offers and *cough* my fave clothes store is right next to it and they had some very nice offers too, end of sales ;) I got a top (was €19.95 now €7,00), a fancy short jacket (from €34,95 for €7,00) and two pairs of leggings (each from €14,95 for €2,00). I looove shopping like that :D

When I got home again I decide to take another look at my face and had to admit it got worse. So I decided to look up the symptoms on the internet and think: oh I just can go to work tomorrow and visit the doctor on Wednesday. 

At night, when Dan got home we talked a bit and Dan is definitely concerned about me. He tells me numerous times to call the doctor immediately but I tell him it's night so why bother them with something minor. He even tells me to call off work (something he'd NEVER do) and please visit the doctor the next morning then. But I am still stubborn. After we turn on the cams his concern even grows, and I can see too my face is really drooping. Since I smoke like a chimney and am a diabetic Dan suspects I might be having a TIA.

Ok, now I am starting to get scared. And when my sister Andrea comes online the two of them start to chat behind my back and Dan tells me to go online with Andrea and show my face on cam. Reluctantly I do and she too starts to tell me I may be having a TIA and should call the doctor immediately. So okay, to make the two of them happy I make the call and have to go to the hospital immediately. Have to call my son too to take me there because they don't want me to drive myself.

Keep in mind please it is 4 am by now! And I am a bit scared but still really convinced it could have waited until morning! My son got scared by the word TIA, one of his sister's friends just had a stroke at 22 yrs of age...

When we get to the hospital the doctor is very nice and diagnoses me with what I thought it was all the time: Bell's palsey. He too says I have the risk factors for a TIA so it is good I came by and because the palsey only started in the afternoon he wants me on prednisolone as soon as possible to have a better chance on healing. He gives me a patientletter to read everything once again and puts a special little insuline schedule on it because the prednisolone may highten my bloodglucose.

So here I am now, taking my meds, monitoring my bloodglucose levels, talking like I had half a bottle of whisky too much and dabbing my eye and nose with a tissue because stuff keeps coming out :p Can't eat soup (bummer, my ultimate comfort food :p) and drink coffee through a straw. It can take weeks to months before I am all normal again. I just hope my speech comes back first because I wanna work!!!

On the other hand, I am in the good company of people like George Clooney, Milo Ventimiglia and Joe Mantegna. I think especially the last two are still a little bit lopsided but I also think that's kinda sexy ;)

Well, it's time to face the world again and go do some shopping. Cy'all soon again!

Hugz, Anna