I'm de-caffinated!

Seriously. The former caffeine fiend, the 6-8 cups a day devil, the guy who used to vibrate after 2pm has been caffeine free for over two months.

Don't know why I did it, but I noticed that when I was back east I didn't have any and felt pretty good. So I've avoided it since I've been back, and I've been golden.

Except for the past couple of weeks, when I've found myself dragging pretty hard. And I'm not sure how long it will last, if/when I start working again.

But caffeine free. Whodathunkit?

Now if I could just get rid of this big back of crack...

I don't have TB

I took advantage of having all this free time by going to the doctor for the first time in at least 10 years (not counting trips to the ER). I got bloodwork, xrays and so on done, and the GP decided that it would be a good idea if he sent me to a lung specialist. Apparently he could here and see some scarring in my lungs. He told me there were two common causes of this; having had a lung collapse in the past, or having had tuberculosis.

Well, says I, I've had a lung collapse, so that's probably it. But in the interest of humouring him (and helping him get a new boat for Christmas) off I trot to the lung guy.

He makes me do a bunch of tests, including breathing through a plastic tube with a big rubber end bit clamped between my teeth, holding my breath in said contraption, panting until I almost pass out in said contraption, and then sealing me in a small air tight chamber to do it all over again. And the highlight of this was the Romanian lab tech who was shouting instructions at me as to when to do any of these things.

Then I see the lung doc again. He asks me if I've spent any time on a farm, reservation, huffing asbestos, using intravenous drugs, participating in high risk behaviour, car surfing, attending law school, climbing hotel balconies, or auditioning for beer commercials. (I've only done 3 of those) He also asks if I've ever smoked. Now, it's not common knowledge, but I was on the sticks for a time, but haven't been for over 5 years.

And then he tells me he thinks I might have TB. Because, apparently that's one of the causes of scarred lung tissue. I told him I had a collapsed lung. He said he needed more tests to be sure. Now, I'm no doctor, but if a patient has scarring on their lungs that can be caused by one of two things, and the patient admits to having had one of those two causes, shouldn't by process of elimination we be able to determine what's caused the scarring? Maybe that's why I'm not a doctor. Afflicted with too much sense. But I guess lung specialists want new boats for Christmas too.

So, more tests, blah blah blah, and believe it or not, I don't have TB. I have something else, which caused the lung collapse oh so many years ago. This syndrome apparently precludes me from ever smoking again, or ever taking up scuba diving, as it could cause "Irreperable Damage"™

So no more smoking or seeing doctors for me. I've done my good deed and secured two Christmas boats.

Job Hunt

I hate looking for work. It's roughly my 378th favourite thing, right between dropping a bowling ball on my foot, and getting hit by a Mack Truck going 20 klicks.

It's been so so thus far, but the jobs that I've actually had any interest in applying for have been few and far between.

See, the last long term job I worked, I thoroughly enjoyed for the first three years I was there. I was passionate about it, didn't mind getting up in the morning, and so on.

The last two years were a living hell, especially the last six months or so. I was actually supposed to keep working there another six months, but by August of 2003, the thought of working another day, let alone six months there made me so crazy that I resigned on the spot.

So now I'm job hunting. Woe for me.

But I am going to try to stop being such a slacker, and get back to posting at least semi regularly. I'm also contemplating taking a crack at The National Novel Writing Month this year I think.

So to all of you who've kept checking this sad little blog, ta. And to those who've stopped checking ta ta.