Brief Hiatus From Land

because i've had some serious issues in the last couple of years finding a full-time job - or even several part-time jobs that allow me to keep a roof over my head and eat - i started filling out applications to everything that i was even slightly qualified for. 2 weeks ago i was offered a seasonal youth staff position with norwegian cruise lines... starting tomorrow. the problem with this is that by the time i took 2 or 3 days to make up my mind (do i really want to do this?) it gave me about 8 business days to get things done. i made as many appointments as possibles around my work schedule. the bigger problem was that this week is a holiday week, and most doctor's offices and labs were only open 2 or 2 and a half days. which meant i could get things run, but i can't get the reports until next week. so my ship out date has been pushed out till mid-week or next sunday. i'm a little worried about food and cross-contamination, since i was informed that no special consideration will be made for crew member's dietary restrictions. i guess i'll just have to illegally stash peanut butter and gf crackers in my cabin...

it looks like i might have some good stuff lined up for when i get back in 6 (well, now 5) weeks. if nothing else, it's a break from jobs i don't particularly like and a chance to travel a bit. hopefully, it'll be a good decision and experience. and chances are i won't lose too much sanity in 5 weeks...

UPDATE: yeah, that didn't happen. norwegian was a pain in the ass to deal with, and then i started a job that is kinda awesome, so no ships for me. which is probably for the best, since i really wasn't sure about how my body was going to react, what with the motion sickness and the celiac...

At Least the Micro-Bathroom Was Good For Something

bloody hell. for the past 24-hour-or-so period, i have been embroiled in a nasty battle with some type of equally nasty infection. even since the fibro onset, i don't really get colds and flus and things anymore. my body is so busy fighting off EVERYTHING (including things that it shouldn't), that those things don't get past my hyper-active immune system. so when i started being violently ill tuesday morning, it actually only took about 5 hours before i gave in and went to the lorton office. if you know me, you know that i abhor going to the doctor's for what i consider minor stuff - and normally throwing up would fit into that category. but i was so ill, so violently, for so long a continuous period - plus i was in some nasty pain, too - that i shlepped myself in. part of the reason was because my gall bladder was acting up last week, so i wanted to make sure that wasn't the problem. but i haven't been that sick since i had the norwalk virus over four years ago.

if you've never had norwalk - and let's hope you haven't, and never will have it - it is amazingly horrific. it's not something i would wish on my worse enemy. well, not that i really have enemies, but you know what i mean. in fact, now that i think about it, it should really be instituted as a form of justice. seriously. infect an inmate with norwalk, give him just enough fluids to not be at a critical state, and let him suffer for a week. i swear to you, it would be more effective than locking someone up in a climate-controlled jail with cable tv, libraries, and gym equipment. when you have norwalk (and this is going to get a little gross, so just skip to the next paragraph if you're squeamish), everything in your body is going to be purged any way it possibly can. whenever it can. all at the same time. you have chills and sweats, and usually can't walk more than 20 feet without passing out. any form of liquid you may try to put in you, will simply flow right back out without passing go and collecting $200. if you've never been in a crew cabin on a cruise ship, you have no idea how tiny those rooms can be. even on the sovereign, where the cabins could be considered downright luxurious, the bathrooms are ridiculous. to give you an idea: imagine stepping inside and shutting the door behind you. there is no actual space to move in, so you turn in place and sit on the toilet. the sink is directly to your left - and i mean directly. no matter how skinny you may be, when sitting on the toilet, your left arm is going to be up against the sink. the basin of the sink starts almost immediately; not a lot of counter space here. which mean you can sit on the toilet, lift your left arm up and rest in on the sink, and then lean over and yak into the sink without having to move at all. which is how i spent the better part of two days. thank goodness my roommate was generally down in her boyfriend's cabin. i just sat there purging in between moments of passing out on the sink. fun times.

they ran a quick panel on my blood to see if i had an infection, and it seems i do. antibiotics were prescribed along with anti-nausea pills so i could keep the antibiotics down. it's been a slow-progressing battle, but i think i'm starting to feel a little better... at least i managed to get in about 6 hours of sleep, so hopefully that'll help. i had been planning to head to my parents' house today, so we'll see how that goes... wish me luck. bleagh.