I have moved my blogging platform...
Please find me at my new location at http://sheilamia.wordpress.com/
7.24.2008
Rollercoaster ride
A friend who attended BlogHer gave me some web addresses of women she met who blog about their struggles with infertility. I haven't had the desire to check them out yet. Not sure why.
I have often thought about whether I should start a blog focused on my fertility challenges, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do so. I guess the optimist in me is keeping hope that this is a temporary situation.
Let's face it, I've been dealing with this for over a year now. It sure ain't temporary and sure doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. As I go through box after $30 box of ovulation kits only to see a single blue line each day... my emotions and state of mind are on a constant roller coaster ride. One day, I am optimistic after the positive words from my Chinese medicine guru. The next day, I am bummed again from a negative result on a stupid plastic device. Those DAMN plastic devices. I hate them. (guess you can tell which frame of mind I'm currently in?!?)
The next question is... do I skip the madness and go straight to the "big guns" treatment: I.V.F (price tag $13,000), do I keep spending cash on acupuncture treatments (still much less than the Western treatments) which may be a slow process - and let's face it, I ain't getting any younger - OR do I baby step it with $3,000 I.U.I treatments which may not work and require I do I.V.F anyways?
Also, the issues have been isolated to me so far. My husband hasn't been a factor at all. But let's face it HE isn't getting any younger either.
Can someone wave a magic wand and make me fertile, please?
I have often thought about whether I should start a blog focused on my fertility challenges, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do so. I guess the optimist in me is keeping hope that this is a temporary situation.
Let's face it, I've been dealing with this for over a year now. It sure ain't temporary and sure doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. As I go through box after $30 box of ovulation kits only to see a single blue line each day... my emotions and state of mind are on a constant roller coaster ride. One day, I am optimistic after the positive words from my Chinese medicine guru. The next day, I am bummed again from a negative result on a stupid plastic device. Those DAMN plastic devices. I hate them. (guess you can tell which frame of mind I'm currently in?!?)
The next question is... do I skip the madness and go straight to the "big guns" treatment: I.V.F (price tag $13,000), do I keep spending cash on acupuncture treatments (still much less than the Western treatments) which may be a slow process - and let's face it, I ain't getting any younger - OR do I baby step it with $3,000 I.U.I treatments which may not work and require I do I.V.F anyways?
Also, the issues have been isolated to me so far. My husband hasn't been a factor at all. But let's face it HE isn't getting any younger either.
Can someone wave a magic wand and make me fertile, please?
7.23.2008
When something you depend on fails you
Somehow, I have found myself addicted to Twitter. Chute, I even set Lucy up with an account!
It's a great tool for me to quickly let a bunch of people know what I'm doing. It's also the easiest way to learn what's new in technology, sports, and other topics that interest me.
You can do it to! Simply find an available twitterer from Twellow who is an expert in the industry and start to follow them.
Next thing you know, you'll get up-to-date "tweets" as your "followed" twitterers post something. You can get these tweets on the web or even on your cellphone if you want.
The problem with Twitter is it is highly unstable. The service goes down if there are too many twitterers using it. I have seen their "service down" screen (picture of a whale being carried by a swarm of orange birds) way too many times for something that so many people rely on.
There is clearly much misery displayed (in the form of tweets received an hour later than intended, once the service has returned) from users who are sick and tired of the lack of availability of this tool.
Sadly, I think everyone is in the same boat as I. We love to hate Twitter. I can't imagine giving up on Twitter at this point, so I just live with it.
It's a great tool for me to quickly let a bunch of people know what I'm doing. It's also the easiest way to learn what's new in technology, sports, and other topics that interest me.
You can do it to! Simply find an available twitterer from Twellow who is an expert in the industry and start to follow them.
Next thing you know, you'll get up-to-date "tweets" as your "followed" twitterers post something. You can get these tweets on the web or even on your cellphone if you want.
The problem with Twitter is it is highly unstable. The service goes down if there are too many twitterers using it. I have seen their "service down" screen (picture of a whale being carried by a swarm of orange birds) way too many times for something that so many people rely on.
There is clearly much misery displayed (in the form of tweets received an hour later than intended, once the service has returned) from users who are sick and tired of the lack of availability of this tool.
Sadly, I think everyone is in the same boat as I. We love to hate Twitter. I can't imagine giving up on Twitter at this point, so I just live with it.
7.22.2008
Like an old friend.
Saturday morning was crazy - my cell phone fell out of my bag during morning walkie. Luckily a wonderful woman picked it up and emailed me to let me know she had found it on the trail. How lucky am I? All the chaos meant I had to rush around to make my 9am acupuncture appointment. Of course I had to drive to the city cause San Ramon was booked up... Of course my gas light came on halfway into the city so I had to stop for a fill-up. It is amazing I made it there at 9:02am.
The SF Harmony Acupuncture office is on Clement street, which is like a mini-Chinatown. All of the shops cater to the Chinese community... grocery stores with unidentifiable fruits and vegetables outside. Signs written in Chinese, etc.
I walked along Clement looking for the address, passing shabbily dressed, elderly Asians clutching bags of groceries. Echoing in the back of my mind were my mom's words when I first told her I was doing acupuncture, "is the place clean?" (forehead crinkled with look of cringe on her face). I finally found the address: a nondescript brown door with a homemade sign that read, "Harmony Acupuncture."
I walked up the stairs and immediately all of my anxiety disappeared. I was greeted by a smiling older Chinese man. You know those people who put you at ease the moment you meet them? I felt like I was seeing an old friend. He asked me to hold on, since he was checking out another patient. I overheard their hushed conversation. My Chinese man said to the woman, "if your period doesn't come, make an appointment and we'll try something else." I SOO wanted to rush over and introduce myself to the gal and exchange contact details so we could become a fertility support network for each other. "I'm in the same position as you!" I thought to myself. Of course, I sat tight.
Finally the man introduced himself as Dr. Po-Lin Shyu, the master of the program. I felt somewhat honored to be in his presence. He whisked me into one of the patient rooms. It was a much more pleasant room compared to the rooms in San Ramon, painted pink with drapes on the window. The room was quite warm, which made me happy since I'm always on the cold side. Dr. Shyu asked me many questions, a very different experience from the very clinical, business-like practitioners at the San Ramon office.
When he "needled" me (the term they use), he tapped the location where the needle would go in just before inserting the needle... so I never felt the needle going in! Ok, well, except for the one that went in my right foot - there just ain't a lot of flesh on my feet.
The 25 minute wait was not as boring and tedious as it was for me in San Ramon. Maybe it was the atmosphere, or maybe just my frame of mind. While waiting, every so often I'd hear a kitchen timer go off. Someone (I'm sure it was Dr. Shyu) would turn off the alarm then move to another room, presumably to help other clients. The background noise was a pleasant distraction for me.
Finally my alarm went off and the needles came out. Dr. Shyu informed me that the masseuse who was supposed to do my acupressure massage was stuck with a broken down car. He apologized and said he'd massage me for a little bit. He spent 10 minutes or so massaging my mid-section. Perfect! I wasn't looking forward to a 60 minute acupressure massage anyways (see my post, "A different kind of massage" for more info).
When he was done, Dr. Shyu actually told me that everything seemed "really good" and that he felt no tight spots within my organs. YES! I SOO needed the positive feedback that what I'm doing is right.
The SF Harmony Acupuncture office is on Clement street, which is like a mini-Chinatown. All of the shops cater to the Chinese community... grocery stores with unidentifiable fruits and vegetables outside. Signs written in Chinese, etc.
I walked along Clement looking for the address, passing shabbily dressed, elderly Asians clutching bags of groceries. Echoing in the back of my mind were my mom's words when I first told her I was doing acupuncture, "is the place clean?" (forehead crinkled with look of cringe on her face). I finally found the address: a nondescript brown door with a homemade sign that read, "Harmony Acupuncture."
I walked up the stairs and immediately all of my anxiety disappeared. I was greeted by a smiling older Chinese man. You know those people who put you at ease the moment you meet them? I felt like I was seeing an old friend. He asked me to hold on, since he was checking out another patient. I overheard their hushed conversation. My Chinese man said to the woman, "if your period doesn't come, make an appointment and we'll try something else." I SOO wanted to rush over and introduce myself to the gal and exchange contact details so we could become a fertility support network for each other. "I'm in the same position as you!" I thought to myself. Of course, I sat tight.
Finally the man introduced himself as Dr. Po-Lin Shyu, the master of the program. I felt somewhat honored to be in his presence. He whisked me into one of the patient rooms. It was a much more pleasant room compared to the rooms in San Ramon, painted pink with drapes on the window. The room was quite warm, which made me happy since I'm always on the cold side. Dr. Shyu asked me many questions, a very different experience from the very clinical, business-like practitioners at the San Ramon office.
When he "needled" me (the term they use), he tapped the location where the needle would go in just before inserting the needle... so I never felt the needle going in! Ok, well, except for the one that went in my right foot - there just ain't a lot of flesh on my feet.
The 25 minute wait was not as boring and tedious as it was for me in San Ramon. Maybe it was the atmosphere, or maybe just my frame of mind. While waiting, every so often I'd hear a kitchen timer go off. Someone (I'm sure it was Dr. Shyu) would turn off the alarm then move to another room, presumably to help other clients. The background noise was a pleasant distraction for me.
Finally my alarm went off and the needles came out. Dr. Shyu informed me that the masseuse who was supposed to do my acupressure massage was stuck with a broken down car. He apologized and said he'd massage me for a little bit. He spent 10 minutes or so massaging my mid-section. Perfect! I wasn't looking forward to a 60 minute acupressure massage anyways (see my post, "A different kind of massage" for more info).
When he was done, Dr. Shyu actually told me that everything seemed "really good" and that he felt no tight spots within my organs. YES! I SOO needed the positive feedback that what I'm doing is right.
He didn't even charge me for the massage. I pretty much made the decision right then and there, to start seeing him going forward.
Guess I'll be driving to the city more often...
7.21.2008
Death row inmates are allowed to blog?!?!
I just read this and I am thoroughly outraged,
http://tinyurl.com/5mfavn
I cannot believe that this guy has been given the privilege of engaging with the public. He has been deemed a treat to society but he's still allowed to influence others?
I'm (of course) a big fan of blogging. I could see a non-violent prisoner being given the right to blog. Perhaps as a useful tool to promote reform... but NOT for someone who killed their wife and baby.
Tell me what you think...
http://tinyurl.com/5mfavn
I cannot believe that this guy has been given the privilege of engaging with the public. He has been deemed a treat to society but he's still allowed to influence others?
I'm (of course) a big fan of blogging. I could see a non-violent prisoner being given the right to blog. Perhaps as a useful tool to promote reform... but NOT for someone who killed their wife and baby.
Tell me what you think...
Just an observation
I made an interesting revelation this weekend. Most of the people I engage with are Democrats and very few are Republicans.
It hit me this weekend that those who are Republican are quite aggressive when it comes to stating their points. There also seems to be an air of defensiveness, akin to a bulldog protecting his bone from being taken away.
On the flip side, the Democrats I know are pretty unobtrusive, keeping their opinions to themselves, unless asked.
Just an observation... No offense meant to anyone.
It hit me this weekend that those who are Republican are quite aggressive when it comes to stating their points. There also seems to be an air of defensiveness, akin to a bulldog protecting his bone from being taken away.
On the flip side, the Democrats I know are pretty unobtrusive, keeping their opinions to themselves, unless asked.
Just an observation... No offense meant to anyone.
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