Meme & Project Looking Through
I’ve been tagged! CrazyCath from CrazyCath’s Reflections: No Sense or Sensibility, flagged me to play, It’s All About Me.
- The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
- Each player answers the questions about themselves.
- At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. (You know I don’t tag, so take this if you so choose and mention you got it from me.)
What I was doing 10 years ago?
April 18th, 1998 — I was coming to the end of my first year in Las Vegas, my first and only year as a remedial reading teacher and my last year so obese that tying my shoes wasn’t even possible and all I owned were slip-ons. That was the year I tried 5 different doctors looking for a solution to what ailed me. I was hungry 24 hours a day, couldn’t sleep at night, and couldn’t stay awake at work. I’d already been forced to quit driving because I’d fall asleep when blinking my eye. [Open. Clozzzzzzzzzzz]
Two different doctors (consecutively, not concurrently) put me on sleeping pills to force me to sleep at night so I could remain awake during the day. The sleeping pills actually made me hyper! Instead of tossing and turning all night and having horrible and terrifying dreams, I was up scrubbing my house from top to bottom. I tried three different brands of pills and two doctors before chucking that idea.
The next doctor put me on a strict no carb diet. I didn’t mind, I’m not overly into carbs anyway (except sugar). I didn’t lose any weight, my sleeping habits didn’t change, and my grocery bill tripled.
The next doctor told me I was fat and lazy and the only thing I needed was to get off my butt and exercise. At this point I was truly frightened because I was taking the bus to work and a couple of times the driver tried to wake me and I couldn’t respond, even though I heard him clearly. I fell asleep in class, and as the teacher that is neither safe nor responsible. I’d spend 12 hours a night in bed neither awake nor asleep, but in a horror land in between where monsters dwelt and terror stalked me. If I was awake, I was ravenous and eating. Even if I was too full to move, my body still craved food.
The fifth doctor listened to me recite my medical history and the above symptoms and told me that he was certain I had Sleep Apnea, probably started by a series of upper respiratory infections I had in late 1996 – early 1997. The Doc explained that the nightmares come during the time when the body is neither asleep or awake. They are spurred by the body’s inability to get the rest or energy it needs. Sleep, like food, is energy. They are not interchangeable resources, so food energy will not replace sleep energy, but when the body reaches a certain point of fatigue it activates all energy gathering stimuli — thus my constant fatigue and need for food and sleep.
Doc sent me in for a sleep study. The results came back that I had severe apnea. I was given a C-PAP machine to help me breath at night, and within three weeks I was once again bright, cheerful, energetic and back to eating normal quantities of food. I lost 30 pounds in just a few weeks. Then Doc added exercise to my daily routine. My life was once again under my control.
5 snacks I enjoy:
- pears
- chocolate covered raisins
- Fritos & salsa
- humus with crackers
- cheese
Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
- Found & fund a local Sidewalk Sunday School (children’s ministry) site.
- Buy a lovely yet modest home here on Oahu, and another in Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands.
- Give generously to assorted causes/charities, including Oahu’s homeless shelter.
- Help my family members and friends achieve a few dreams.
- Retire from work, buy a truly fabulous camera, take a class or two in how to use it, then travel the globe with OC snapping photos.
Five jobs I have had:
- Home health care aide
- apartment manager
- janitor (hospital)
- cook (hospital)
- teacher
Five places I have lived:
- Idaho
- Washington
- California
- Montana
- Oregon
- Nevada
- Hawaii (Oahu)
(So, I can’t count. Don’t complain or I’ll start naming cities and the list will triple.)
Five people I want to know more about:
- (ALL of you! “TAG!” but only if you wish to accept it.)
PROJECT LOOKING THROUGH: Take 2
Maddy, looking through the glass and into the Sea Life Park aquarium.
Mark clapped and giggled whenever the Puffer Fish swam by.
Cass liked this Butterfly Fish best.
Jay and Kevin preferred the Sting Ray and the sharks.
They continue to talk about them and it’s been several days since the field trip.
~0~
Project Looking Through originated with Mark,
who claims to have a Regular Life.
15 Comments
OK 1997 was 11 years ago (do you lose sense of time in paradise?) but it’s worth the extra year to hear how you coped with such incompetence! I have had that experience with doctors too – being told I am lazy, mad, just anxious when I have been YELLOW with jaundice I am so anaemic! Where do they get off being so lazy themselves? Glad you got your diagnosis – I knew it was apnea as soon as you said you slept at a blink and in class…. So glad you got it sorted. Once you are feeling better physically, everything else starts to slot into place and you can deal with the other stuff.
Thanks for doing the meme – it’s great to hear a bit about people and what makes them tick. Your foods are much healthier than mine! lol
Love the ‘looking through’ again too – especially of Maddy as she IS looking through. Very good shots. I don’t know if I could manage them so clearly with the lighting in an aquarium as it is. Love the puffer fish.
That sleep apnea thing was scary just to read. I can’t imagine how you were able to deal with all that; my mother has sleep apnea-I had NO idea that that’s how severe it could be.
Meme??? Quilly??? Whooooooa! You mean ALL I EVER had to do was TAG you??? Wow! And you did GOOD with this too! Sleep apnea IS a nightmare! I used a C-Pap for a year or two – but then lost so much weight I didn’t NEED it anymore! Now I’m trying to avoid GAINING so much that I have to go back ON it!!! This weight is coming OFF!!! One way or another! And ooooy! You are two days into the looking through project — and I wanted to JOIN this one!!! I better get on the ball! UGH!
Hi Quilly,
I came looking to see your PLT which is wonderful, and I loved reading a little about you – getting to know you – I love your idea of a Sidewalk Sunday School. When I read that I thought what a wonderful idea that would be.
Really enjoyed my visit today.
Sting rays are bitchin’!
That was actually an interesting autobiographical meme. Maybe the first one ever. Glad you got well, that sounded brutal.
Nice aquarium shots. That whole trip qualified for PLT!
wow, that’s quite a treat for one post!
that apnea thing sounded scary… glad you sorted it out.
and the kids in aquarium… cool! excellent shots considering the glass.
Cath — the 7 was a typo. that’s what happens when I am up past my bedtime posting. I don’t see the typos that spell doesn’t highlight.
And I just learned that the trick to good shots through glass is to put the camera lens right up to the glass to eliminate any light contamination between them. That does make angling for the right shot a bit tougher. I was wishing for a flexible rubber extension bridge.
Silver — the sleep study report labeled my apnea “Severe to Life-threatening”.
Melli — nope, only works once unless I want to do the meme. Now Cath knows I prefer not to be tagged, so I don’t have to worry about hurting her feelings if I prefer not to accept. As to Project Looking Through (PLT), I am a post behind the first run players.
Carletta — I directed a Sidewalk Sunday School for 6 years in Las Vegas. The church sponsored it. We went into a high-risk neighborhood where many of the kids did not know about church.
Doug — And I thought it was so long that no one would read it.
Mark — yes, I have a couple more shots taken elsewhere in the park that I will post this evening.
Polona — I love the shot of Maddy. So did her momma. The glass shots are explained up above in my comment to Cath.
Cath — the 7 was a typo. that’s what happens when I am up past my bedtime posting. I don’t see the typos that spell doesn’t highlight.
And I just learned that the trick to good shots through glass is to put the camera lens right up to the glass to eliminate any light contamination between them. That does make angling for the right shot a bit tougher. I was wishing for a flexible rubber extension bridge.
Silver — the sleep study report labeled my apnea “Severe to Life-threatening”.
Melli — nope, only works once unless I want to do the meme. Now Cath knows I prefer not to be tagged, so I don’t have to worry about hurting her feelings if I prefer not to accept. As to Project Looking Through (PLT), I am a post behind the first run players.
Carletta — I directed a Sidewalk Sunday School for 6 years in Las Vegas. The church sponsored it. We went into a high-risk neighborhood where many of the kids did not know about church.
Doug — And I thought it was so long that no one would read it.
Mark — yes, I have a couple more shots taken elsewhere in the park that I will post this evening.
Polona — I love the shot of Maddy. So did her momma. The glass shots are explained up above in my comment to Cath.
Okay! Well… I’m going to go post a few things I already have for it – and get caught up… then I’ll worry about finding MORE! Does it only go for one week? Or is there a rule to it?
Melli — as far as I can tell, the rule is “Looking Through”. Check out the link I have provided just below the mantas. That was Mark’s introduction to this project. I have no idea when it might end.
Hi!
First, I love your PLT photos. They are very good shots, AND I can see the big sharks but they can’t see me, lol!
Second, I enjoyed your post about losing weight. I had a SA test done 2 years ago and I have mild asthma, but lately I have the same symptoms you describe. Maybe I should do it again. The food/sleep thing really cuts into my goofing off time 🙂
what a total nightmare! hope it’s all sorted out now!
which part of california? (i lived in san diego)
and montana? we were neighbours (wyomingite)
although probably not at the same times. that would be freaky.
Carolyn — definitely time for another eval! Check it out before you get to the state I was in.
Holly — I lived in L.A. for one year and one day. I hated it. I lived in Victor, Montana, just outside of Missoula. My husband and I spent a homeless winter there, but despite our circumstances, I love the countryside!
I was at Sea Life Park years and years ago. These shots bring back memories. Have you hopped over to the Maui Ocean Center? That’s a nice aquarium! I got some good shots there. Thanks for sharing these.
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