Happy birthday to me

[darkemeralds]

Hi everyone. It's my birthday! Which, after 57 previous ones, isn't all that big a deal. But I took the day off work, had acupuncture, went out to breakfast-for-lunch, got my nails done, and came home in the very cold December evening to eat really rather a lot of French chocolate.

I was dreadfully sick last week--like bedridden-and-housebound for six days, miss-Thanksgiving-dinner level sick. It was mostly just the worst cold in the world, I think. At the nadir of it I ruptured an eardrum and had conjunctivitis in both eyes, so I was half-deaf and half-blind and it was generally awful. (Bragg's raw apple cider vinegar, diluted on a cotton pad and wiped along the lower lid, stings like hell but makes short work of the pinkeye, by the way.)

Long story short, I'm a million percent better now, though still a bit hearing impaired in the one ear. Back to breathing, sleeping, and riding my bike.


Birthday nails

Hardly any job left in my life now:

Retirement countdown

Comments

happy birthday to you!

[dine]

those birthday nails are SHINY indeed - and I'm impressed by the low number on your countdown.

congrats to you on all fronts!

Re: happy birthday to you!

[darkemeralds]

Thankee!

[panisdead]

ruptured an eardrum and had conjunctivitis in both eyes

Holy crap. I'm glad you're feeling much better now!

Happy birthday!

[darkemeralds]

Thank you. Much, much better, I'm grateful to report.

[lycomingst]

Happy Birthday!

[darkemeralds]

Thank you! I just subscribed to your journal--hope that's okay. I like your movie reviews.

[ranunculus]

OMG
I'm so glad you are ok, um sort of.

[darkemeralds]

Much, much better, thank you.

[tehomet]

ruptured an eardrum and had conjunctivitis in both eyes

OMG, that sounds miserable! I'm glad you're feeling (mostly) better.

Happy increasingly-imminent escape from the World's Tallest Basement. :) A mere 25 days to go!

Love the manicure.

Happy birthday and many happy returns.

[darkemeralds]

The clock seems to be ticking down very fast now! As others have pointed out, the sudden and extreme illness affecting (mostly) my hearing is awfully symbolic. It makes me realize how much work-related stuff I've listened to over the years that I finally get to "be deaf to" in these last few weeks.

Hopefully the partial deafness is temporary. I've had this in the past and it goes away gradually.

[cat63]

Belated Happy Birthday.

Your cold sounds to have been deeply miserable, but on the plus side, at least it got better in time for you to have a good time on your birthday!

[darkemeralds]

Thanks.

And it gave me an excuse to use up some accumulated sick leave that I won't be compensated for any other way. So, it all works out. And I'm feeling much better now.

[scribblemoose]

Happy birthday, at this pre-dawn of a wonderful new chapter in your life. :)

[darkemeralds]

Thank you! What a lovely way of putting it. :D

[bluemeridian]

*eyebrow* That's a really impressive cold, damn.

The nails, though, are super shiny and generally fantastic.

[darkemeralds]

It was a whopper.

I'm enjoying the nails. These Shellacs are the best invention. I don't care how much toxic waste goes into them...

[mizzhap.livejournal.com]

*comes out of hiding once again to belatedly join the chorus of well-wishers* A very happy birthday to you, and may many more follow! That illness does sound awful, glad you're feeling better.

[darkemeralds]

Thank you!

[ruric]

Belated happies!

Glad you're feeling better after the unholy trifecta you managed last week. I've been languishing on my couch with a cold from hell too - but at least I missed the busted ear drum and conjunctivitis. Never heard of the cider vinegar cure either but will remember it for next time *G*

Also on the plus side - shiny nails are very shiny and seasonal - also 25 day to FREEDOM! Which is a hell of a big bang start to 2014 *G*

[darkemeralds]

I saw your late-night tweets re the cold (so much sympathy) and the new phone (what'dja get?).

Thank you for the birthday and retirement wishes. On the vinegar: the key is to dilute. Just bear it in mind. I stuck a drop of the stuff in my eye straight from the bottle and that was a shock.

[toft]

Happy birthday!!! Oh gosh, that sounds grim, glad you're better.

[darkemeralds]

Thank you! One good thing about being that sick is that feeling normal again is so wonderful.

[cookiemom6067]

Happy Birthday, a week or so late.

[darkemeralds]

Thank you! It's lovely to hear from you at any time. :D

[cookiemom6067]

I have been really anti-social in most ways lately - very inwardly focused. Somehow, I suspect you understand that impulse.

I'm very happy for you that you'll shortly be leaving your work life behind (or at least, changing the form of your work life). What an exciting new chapter! We're not far off in age, but I'm nowhere near retirement. I confess to feeling somewhat envious.

[darkemeralds]

I do understand the long inward periods. I hope things are looking brighter...?

It would be so awesome for my ego if I could claim to have worked hard to earn this slot in life, but I can't. I've just been lucky. Discounting the baseline good fortune of middle-class white privilege, I was also lucky to have wandered into a pretty good job that was also relatively recession-proof. The last six years or so since the big crash have been when I was personally able to save the most money.

The backhanded compliment my family members pay me is, "God, I don't see how you stuck with that [stupid, boring, bureaucratic, uncreative] job all those years. I [exciting, restless, bold, nonconforming interesting person] couldn't have done it!"

As Xander famously said, "I like the quiet." But I really have been lucky.

[cookiemom6067]

I hope they're not consciously passive aggressive. That would be irksome.

We have had some bad luck, certainly, and made some bad choices. We've also made expensive choices we wouldn't change if we could (having children, going back to school at fairly "advanced" ages). But, bed made. Lying in it.

Honestly, I believe good luck is also to be celebrated. You don't have to "deserve" what you have by dint of "hard work." You don't have to deserve happiness. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

Yes. I am feeling brighter. I'm still not answering my phone or picking up voice mail messages (do other people do that? I feel really guilty about it), but I have been developing a really good self care morning routine. I'm doing better. Still not "there," but I'm starting to wonder if anyone ever gets "there."

[cookiemom6067]

I hope they're not consciously passive aggressive. That would be irksome.

We have had some bad luck, certainly, and made some bad choices. We've also made expensive choices we wouldn't change if we could (having children, going back to school at fairly "advanced" ages). But, bed made. Lying in it.

Honestly, I believe good luck is also to be celebrated. You don't have to "deserve" what you have by dint of "hard work." You don't have to deserve happiness. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

Yes. I am feeling brighter. I'm still not answering my phone or picking up voice mail messages (do other people do that? I feel really guilty about it), but I have been developing a really good self care morning routine. I'm doing better. Still not "there," but I'm starting to wonder if anyone ever gets "there."

[darkemeralds]

Somehow this comment got buried in my inbox. So sorry!

Personally, I'm so bad at phone that basically nobody calls me anymore. Well, between my unwillingness to make and take phone calls and the absolutely abysmal sound quality of cellular service, I should say, talking on the phone has practically gone extinct in my life. As to voicemail...pffft! I can see that you called, and it would be quicker if you'd leave me a text.

I'm pretty bad that way. My poor mother has had to adapt at a very late time of life.

I don't think there's any there there, frankly, when it comes to self-care and self-help. Sometimes I'm fully alive to the joys of the journey, and when I'm not--when I fall into dejection over how far I think I should have gotten by now, or over those last few backward steps--I have a hell of time reminding myself to "be here now" and just live in the moment.

I hope the Christmas season is treating you kindly.