I think I must have only thought and not typed, so - Sophia, so glad that you are seen!

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Guess who needs carpal tunnel surgery on her right hand? (Shockingly it is not Tim, who has been the only surgery-haver in the house since 2020.) Apparently the carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand is considered severe and a cortisone shot wouldn't do much. There was one test that involved an electrical current through an acupuncture needle in the meaty part of the thumb muscle, and it hurt like hell in my left hand... and I didn't even feel it in my right. "That's bad, isn't it?" I asked the doctor. He said "Let's just say it's a very strong diagnostic indicator."

I do apparently have some carpal tunnel issues in my left hand, too, which I hadn't even noticed. They're minor, so the doctor doesn't recommend surgery unless the symptoms get worse, but he said I may want a cortisone injection for that hand.

Damn this crumbling human shell.

Anyway, the carpal tunnel surgery is supposed to be super easy and the recovery time is short, so I say bring it on.

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Well, I'm glad it's an easier surgery with a short recovery time, but I'm sorry you have to have it at all.

The crumbling shell plan is just not a good one. May the next iteration of the Universe come up with something better.

Oh, shit. I'm here, and I have been completely not doing what I need to be. Dammit. OK, next time I post here, I better be able to say, "Email done."

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His born-again sister considered Catholics as only Christian-adjacent or something.

I remember having this argument on the school bus when I was a kid- I was nothing (my mom was Catholic, but due to literal thinking, she thought I couldn't be because I was born out of wedlock- the neurodivergence runs deep in my family). The other girl was a "born-again" Christian and said Catholics were not Christians, and I was also literal and was like... um, wasn't Paul the rock, and upon this rock I will build my foundation? I get that there are more interpretations now, but I was so confused!

Damn this crumbling human shell.

Aargh! I actually did NOT get diagnosed with Carpel Tunnel when I may have had it in the 90s because I was 18 and still on my mom's insurance and my Dr. did not want to give me a pre-existing condition. I only have numbness while sleeping though, because T-Rex arms.

Calli:(Also, I think we have similar jobs.)

I think you might also be an instructional designer at a private university. If so yes, we have very similar jobs, except maybe because I was promoted up, I am still doing student recruitment...It is weird. I have to have a master's to move up, although my colleagues across the Univerisity have said my 25 years of doing this work should be equivalent if I want to move out of the School of Nursing.

WRT to Ozempic, is anyone else (other than Nanita) a Patreon supporter of Crime Writers On Posdcast. Then have an amazing episode about their personal journeys with medical weightloss. I would also just recommend them SO MUCH because they are so much more than true crime. They really dissect shows in a way that gives me vibes like we discussed Buffy and they are fun, cool people

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Jen, that’s very interesting. I haven’t take ozempic, but I might be headed in that direction. For me being on ADHD meds has drastically reduced the good noise in my head, but when it has worn off in the evening, it comes back with a vengeance.

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His born-again sister considered Catholics as only Christian-adjacent or something.

I remember that from the freak-ass church! Granted, they were so extreme that they believed you couldn't assume that other Protestant sects were *really* Christian — if pressed, the FAC seemed to believe they were genuinely the only "true" Christians. Should that have set off my "Danger: This Is A Fucking Cult" alarm sooner than it did? Yes. Yes, it should have.

Anyway, my understanding is that a lot of evangelical Christians, particularly the born-again variety, think Catholics are un-Christian idol worshippers. Those folks need to fucking chill out.

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Yep, I am now on zepbound, and it’s not quite as strong as what I was on before but it still helps SO much. Like, I don’t count calories, but just the not snacking and not eating an entire bag of chips because I’m bored and my mouth wants entertainment is enough to keep me from gaining weight. It’s wild.

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I'm still annoyed our insurance won't cover the GLP-1 meds (Ozempic, et al), because there's more and more evidence that they're beneficial for a lot of conditions. I do know there are compounding pharmacies online where I could get treatment with GLP-1 meds, but for now I'm sticking to the boring slog of tracking my food. (I deliberately stopped tracking around the holidays because I wanted to eat tasty tasty holiday food -- and then I didn't start tracking again and shit got so stressful after the inauguration I was like, WELP, gonna eat my feelings on this hellscape, and long story short, I regained like 8 pounds. So I am dutifully tracking my food again. Being responsible is bullshit when I just want to eat all the Reese's Easter eggs [aka, God's perfect food].)

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Ugh. I came back from lunch to an email about “strategic realignment and cost-reduction”, with more details to come. That’s not nerve wracking at all.

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I don’t want to not think about food. Thinking about food means not obsessively thinking about all the terrible things happening in the world and how I’m virtually powerless to stop them. Also, food gives me joy! And is interesting to me.

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