Lots to share. It’s been a long week.

I may have been a tad bit premature announcing my road to recovery last weekend. After doing well for a couple days at home on the weekend, I had two days in a row of gut pain (Monday and Tuesday) shortly after getting out of bed in the morning and having my first coffee and delicious Ensure of the day. Fortunately, we realized right away it was the Mirilax I was putting in my coffee in the morning, which I immediately stopped adding and, the next day, the pain did not return. (We had suspected I might have developed an intolerance to Mirilax earlier on, but after they determined I was in a Crohn’s flare-up, we foolishly assumed THAT was the problem, not the Mirilax itself.) I had a follow-up with my GI last Thursday and all tests conclude I have acclimated to my Remicade dosage and need to increase it to obtain the same anti-inflammatory effects it has been providing me since 2014. So I will get an increased dosage, and start getting my infusions every 4 weeks, instead of every 8 weeks. Not thrilled about that, honestly, but if it works, it’s necessary and I’ll do what I gotta do to stay healthy. I have to go for an MRI this Wednesday as a precaution, to rule out any other issues like bowel obstructions or strictures. In the meantime, I have to remain on a liquid diet until it’s confirmed I have no internal impediments to solid food. Once that’s confirmed (assuming it is – knock on wood) I can slowly start introducing solid foods back into my diet, as I can tolerate. It’s a scary “trial and error” process, because the wrong food and/or amount can send me into painful gut spasms. Fortunately, my GI prescribed me anti-spasmodic pain meds (why have I never been prescribed these before?) in the event I have any further episodes at home while re-introducing solids. That gives me some sense of safety in reintroducing food. Make no mistake, I miss solid food and want to start eating properly again, it’s just scary because I don’t want to be in pain any more. I’m kinda over the pain. A lot. Still, one cannot live on Ensure, V-8, Bouillon, and Apple Sauce indefinitely. (Although it’s a great way to lose 56 pounds in 3 months, if you really want that narrower waistline bad enough. But I don’t recommend it.) What do I miss most, besides chewing? EVERYTHING! I want it all: Pasta, Pizza, Tacos, Sandwiches, Casseroles, Salads, Eggs, Pancakes, Cookies, Wine, Cocktails…you name it, I crave it. I also miss sleeping every night. The Prednisone is causing insomnia and I am having a terrible time sleeping. Many nights I don’t sleep at all, some only 2-3 hours in total. I am slowly tapering off the P-sone (as one must do to avoid adverse reactions) so I hope that starts to improve soon. Surviving on liquids and little sleep has left me extremely energy-less, so I have spent most of the week just resting and napping during my non-work hours, when I can.

BUT, that’s not all I’ve done.

I finally got my “new” basement office together and I love it. We just replaced the mishmash of non-matching office furniture with a proper, larger desk and matching bookshelves, and it looks and functions so much better. See for yourself

I am so happy with the result and enjoy working at my desk and in this space so much more now.

There was another big change at Sassyland, as well: A new car. (Gasp!) We were just about to pay off my existing car, Hedwig, my black 2016 Subaru Forrester, which I love. We started discussing whether I should trade her in or keep her. She had a dent from a mysterious “collision” that happened in the parking garage at work one day two years ago while it was parked – I suspect the doings of a disgruntled co-worker, honestly – which we intended to have fixed but never got around to doing. If I traded her in now, we could pay it off by the time I retire in 2026, and then my car would be both dentless and only 5 years old, instead of 10. We even got a surprising trade in offer for Hedwig, much higher than we expected. Additionally, preliminary research showed we could upgrade to a 2021 model without increasing our monthly payment. And, last but not least, I could get the model I was looking at in a shade of Green, which was REALLY appealing to me, because Green is my favorite color. After some discussion, pros-and-cons lists, further research, and contemplation, we decided to go for it. On Tuesday, as I was not feeling well enough to go, Jeffrey headed to a car dealer that had the model in the color I wanted, for discussions and a test drive. On Friday morning, we returned to the dealership together to sign papers. An hour after arriving, I had a new ride! Meet Mogo, my new 2021 Subaru Forrester Touring, in Jasper Green:

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I absolutely love him. Lots of new bells and whistles, and he drives even smoother than Hedwig. Mogo is named after a Green Lantern – a sentient planet that is a member of the Green Lantern Corps, responsible for policing Space Sector 1014. Can the name be more perfect for my new car? I think not.

Speaking of Green Lantern, I scored MEGA deals in obtaining these two key issues of the Green Lantern Comic Series from eBay recently, both for incredible deals. Although they still weren’t cheap, they were cheaper than anything I’ve seen in forever, and feel very lucky to have gotten them both. And while not pristine, they are both in excellent condition.

In yet more comic collecting geek news, I just completed my 3 volume set of Alex Ross artwork : Volume 1: Mythology (his DC Comics artwork) which I received a couple years ago for a birthday present; Volume 2: Marvelocity (his Marvel Comics artwork) which I just received in the mail today; and Volume 3: Dynamite Art (his Dynamite Comics artwork) which I received as a gift this past Christmas. Alex Ross is one of my favorite Comic Book Artists, using real life models as reference to obtain as realistic looking images as possible for his characters, and I am thrilled to finally own all three volume collections of his work:

And, finally, I received my second vaccination of Pfizer this morning. Wahoo!

I was in and out of the vaccine center in 20 minutes, which included a 15 minute precautionary wait time after getting the shot. If there was an award for “Smooth Vaccination Operation,” SUNY Albany would win it, hands down. So far, no adverse effects, but it’s only been a few hours. I do feel extremely tired but, to be fair, I felt that way before the shot. I took tomorrow off from work just in case, as I heard some people start to feel flu-like symptoms 24 hours after getting the second shot. I hope I don’t (Jeffrey had no adverse reactions to his first or second Moderna shots) but I’m prepared to stay in bed all day tomorrow if I’m one of the unfortunate few who has a stronger reaction. (And with my track record…)

And that’s all the news unfit to print. Stay safe , everyone, and maybe wish me luck that I’m eating toast and rice by Friday!