A Close One

I was working for about an hour on a review paper about Google Chrome (the best browser ever, in case you didn't know), and then I had an aura.

I got somewhat anxious, which I am sure can only make things worse, and got my magnet out of my pocket and swiped it.

The aura was at the intensity where it has always turned into a seizure in the past, but I prayed and it stopped.

Praise the Lord.

Another Nice Test

On my first Calc test, I expected to get up to 96%, and I got 94%.

For the second test, which I took one week ago, I expected to get up to 100%.

I just got it back today, and it was 96%.

Homework is 1/11 of the whole grade, and until now I haven't been doing too well at it, getting about 30-40% of the problems done. However, after the Fall Break, I am starting to get ahead, and I am hoping to turn in more complete homework the rest of the semester. Today's homework, the first assignment to be turned in after the break, was complete, and I hope to continue that as a trend.

Another nice thing the break did for me was to pay off some of my sleep debt. I am now less tired, and I hope being ahead on work will help me to maintain a good Circadian rhythm (sleep cycle).

Some Somewhat Random News

As my Fall Break draws to an end, I am trying (not quite hard enough, as you can see from the fact that I am making a post) to get an early head start on my Calculus homework.

Yesterday I received three nice things together in the mail - two DVDs, Unlocking the Mystery of Life and Darwin's Dilemma, and something I've been missing for two months: my Leatherman Micra.

Wow. Google Chrome, the browser I'm using to write this, does not have "Leatherman" in its spell check dictionary, but it does have "Featherman". But other than the funniness of the dictionary, which in truth all browsers indubitably share, Chrome is a great browser. It is faster than any of the others, and the area devoted to toolbars is nil, so there is much more of the actual site that you can see.

Last two nights I had about 10 hours of sleep each, paying off my sleep debt (or at least a good portion of it) and making me much more resilient. I hope to keep a good Circadian rhythm (regular sleep cycle) going for the rest of the semester. When I had one last fall, I temporarily stopped needing Rozerem (my Rx sleep med).

I hadn't heard the "Spike" song in a long time, and then I listened to it a few days ago. I can't really get it out of my head, but I don't really mind that. The humor, plus the memories, make it nice.

I missed yesterday morning's dose of medicine, but I don't think it's much cause for alarm. I got up after 9 AM that morning, while I usually get up around 7:30, so I don't expect the error to be repeated that easily. Also, I don't think it will cause any seizures, because as I mentioned before, the sleep I've gotten has made my brain stronger.

And another seizure

22 and a half hours ago, I had just come back to my dorm after watching Unlocking the Mystery of Life with one other student (I had been hoping to challenge the size of the room, which has 100 seats, but no).

I sat down in front of my computer, opened a random file and looked at it, and then an aura started. I think it still followed the pattern of each seizure being harsher than the next, but it was a seizure. Like the previous three, I was conscious the whole time but had difficulty speaking for a while after it ended - something between 15 minutes and 1 hour.

I think a large part in starting that seizure was played by missing out on sleep the last two or three nights. I don't think missing the dose on Wednesday morning had any significant role; I am pretty sure that the levels in my blood were back up by the time I had the seizure.

I am hoping to get caught up and ahead, perhaps a week ahead, in all of my classes, as Monday and Tuesday are part of a 4-day weekend. Please pray that I will get much done, and have wisdom as to what to put time into.

Thank you for you prayers, and God bless you all.

Alert! Alert!

I just found out that I missed my medicine this morning; that's twice with less than a one week separation.

I will raise my level of caution in the mornings, and always make sure I took my medicine before leaving for class.

I have been doing pretty well yesterday and today in terms of feeling prone to have auras. Avoiding the computer/tv screen, where all of my seizures since the surgery have happened, has helped.

Please pray that I will not forget any more medicine, and that I will not have any more seizures.

Thank you for your prayers.

The Monthly Popcorn Ceremony

About 20 minutes ago, right now being 6:30 PM Central Time, I sat down at my desk to start doing some homework, and the fire alarm went off.

This was the third time, I think, that this has happened while I've been here. The first time it was because someone had overcooked popcorn in his microwave, hence the title of this post. The second time, the Resident Director told me that it was not popcorn, but I still haven't been told what it was. This time, someone had actually pulled the alarm. I imagine the fine for doing that should be higher than for burning popcorn and setting off the smoke detector.

So, about once a month everyone gets out of the building in the evening and waits outside the door for the fire engines to come, then looks a little while at the flashing lights, some comments are exchanged about the W's of the alarm, there is some cheering as the RD comes running over from dinner, we wait another few minutes, and then it's verified that there is no fire and we enter the dorm again.

And, as you can see, while before the alarm went off, we were on the track towards getting some work done, we are all freshly distracted after the alarm.