A lot can happen in 3 months

The last time I wrote on this blog was back in June and it was about Uncle Tetsu! I’m sure for those who read, you likely were alarmed at the frequency of cheesecakes I was consuming, and also crazy judging the amount of time I devoted to waiting in line for it. I’m happy to report that since that last cheesecake, I have not consumed one or waited in line for one since then. DONE! COLD TURKEY QUIT! KH OUT!Since that last update (June 11,2015) - here’s a rundown of things that went down since then.

1. I started a new job (JUNE)

My first day was actually June 15 and I was in California for that week training at what I like to refer to as “The Mothership.” Since then, it’s been an up and down rollercoaster ride. Here are some adjectives that I’ll describe of the new gig: intense, challenging, uncomfortable, ridiculous, amazing, scary, confusing, and most importantly (to me) - delicious.

I will say this of starting a new job - it’s never easy. It’s like starting the first day at a new school and not knowing anyone, you’re totally the loser kid who doesn’t have anyone to eat with at lunch :( It definitely wasn’t an easy or seamless transition to acclimate to the new place - partly because I was so emotionally attached to my previous employer - but I will say this, it’s definitely better than when I first started, and things keep getting better. I’m happy and proud to take on a new challenge - even if it makes me incredibly uncomfortable (and clammy).

2. I turned 30 (July)

Dan planned a big 3-0 birthday party for me in our condo’s party room. Lots of friends, food, pizza, music… and a tent that I deemed the “birthday gift” tent. All in all it was amazing but stressful to get everything ready leading up to the day, on top of everything else we had going on. In retrospect - it probably wasn’t the best timing to throw a big birthday party in the midst of all the stuff that was happening but… you only turn 30 once!

3. I GOT MARRIED (AUG)

Dan and I got married on August 7th, 2015 and it was awesome. To be fair, I was totally a bridezilla the day of running around barking at everyone and seeming genuinely agitated at my wedding planning vendors (more on that another time) so I apologize now to everyone who was affected by my manic attitude the day of!

I’ll write a completely new post devoted to the wedding after I get the photos from the photographer, but I will say this about the wedding having had some time pass to absorb and reflect on the special day: Dan and I are very very lucky and blessed.

It’s something I’m definitely aware of but on that day in particular, I just really felt blessed and extraordinarily lucky - to have Dan be my best friend and know we are going to spend the rest of our lives together, and that we are blessed with such supportive friends and family who love us.

4. I GOT CRAY CRAY SICK (AUG-Present)

Similar to in a movie where things rarely go right all the time, this is what happened after the wedding:

We decided to defer a honeymoon until next year but we did take a few days off to chill in Florida at Dan’s parents’ house. But starting on the plane ride there and for the subsequent 2 days there, I was pretty much in bed or in a blanket just completely tired and out of it, fever off and on. I didn’t even have enough energy to go to the outlet mall - which you KNOW means it must have been bad.
As soon as we came back from Florida, I was in the office for about 2 days before I had to take off again back to California for almost a week for training. I had barely recovered from being sick when I was in Florida that being on a 6hr plane to and from Cali definitely did not help.
2 weeks later, while I was out having a family dinner - I noticed my mouth felt tingly. I thought it was super strange so assumed it might be an allergic reaction. Dan advised to just take some benadryl and sleep it off and I should be fine the next morning.
Fast forward to the next morning when I woke up and I couldn’t feel half my face! The entire left side of my face was numb and tingling. RUH-ROH! I immediately thought the worst: 1) I’m having a stroke 2) I’m getting Bell’s Palsy.
I saw a doctor immediately and based on the symptoms I was experiencing, he deduced: Bell’s Palsy.

Bell’s Palsy is scary - it’s essentially classified as one sided face paralysis caused by unknown reasons and pending the severity of the condition or not being treated early enough, your affected side of the face loses muscle memory and just starts to droop. Jean Cretien had it pretty seriously in his youth… so that explains why his face looks like that.
Lets just say when the doctor diagnosed me I burst into tears immediately. I called Dan after crying and walking down the street back home. I was a total emotional disaster.
2 days later I had to go back to the doctor because I was experiencing unbearable pain around my nasal area. Based on the symptoms I was describing, he also diagnosed me with a sinus infection. BELL’S PALSY + SINUS INFECTION!!!!! FML
Things are significantly better but for awhile I was pretty scared (and so was everyone around me). Dan stayed home with me for the first couple of days, and eventually I cracked and called my mom to come down to take care of me too. So far I am not 100% back to normal but my face is significantly less numb.
I’m taking things REALLY slowly though and not over exerting myself because my pharmacist cousin told me she believes my Bell’s Palsy brought on by the latent virus was more than likely stress induced!
Upon reflecting on starting a new job, getting married and even all the shizzle that’s happened since the beginning of the year, I would say YA THINK - yeah I probably have post traumatic stress that’s brought on some sort of latent virus.
I still can’t listen to The Weeknd’s song “I can’t feel my face” without feeling some anxiety though… which is unfortunate because I use to love that song!

So based on the above, that’s pretty much why I’ve been radio silent on the blog. Now that things are settling back to normal (besides my face that is), I’m back to spending more time and attention to this website.

I’m excited to share that I’m starting a class next week until the end of the year to learn how to program and code, which will mean that this blog will likely be experiencing a brand new face lift at some point!