The New Normal?

Good lord, I hope not.

Sorry to have dropped off the radar for the past week, but I figured a post was far past due.

Things with the teenager have been tense. We prepared for a major meltdown with the coming of Memorial Day weekend, as we have learned that holidays and anniversaries can be huge triggers with Tyler. We actually scored what I feel to be a minor victory in that we had a really nice weekend with much family bonding, and the outburst on Monday night was handled without police intervention.

One of the problems in having my stoic tendencies is that often stress becomes internalized and manifests in all sorts of uncomfortable ways. So it should be no surprise that I developed a pinched nerve in my shoulder, which resulted in burning pain, numbness and tingling down my entire left arm. It's not heart-related. Don't worry. But it's no fun either.

So this week has been split between Tyler's psych/counseling appointments and a host of physical therapy appointments for me. A trip to the doctor, three trips to the chiro, and two trips to the LMP for massage. I'm hitting this with everything I can, eastern and western. Ibuprofen, cyclobenzaprine, hydration and B-complex vitamins, Biofreeze, ice packs, chiropractic and massage (including craniosacral and reflexology). I might even go in for an acupuncture session (seeing as how I've had some good results with it in the past). I am very happy to have insurance, but the co-pays are nickel-and-diming me dry this month.

Anyway, numb fingers aside (and I can tell you that not being able to feel half your fingers makes typing a blog post quite an adventure), it seems to be getting gradually better and my overall mood has improved. I hope that by this time next week, I'll be back up to normal functioning.

As TFMD mentioned in her post, she got herself a nasty computer infection, which an old friend and IT guru has been working on. He is due back this morning to (hopefully) finish and get Rae Rae back online. Last night's production meeting was, for lack of a better term, productive. We're revising the Duo budget and made some more progress on the OA series.

And speaking of independent cinema, I have two recommendations:

Fanboys appears at first to be another point-and-laugh at socially-retarded fans engaging in goofy shenanigans, but surprised me quite a bit in its character depth and subtext. It's a really sweet story, well-written and acted, with some fun cameos and a charming (if somewhat hidden) love story. And the film was made by Kevin Spacey's production company, Trigger Street.

And speaking of Kevin Spacey (and space in general), Moon was just featured at SIFF, and has been getting rave reviews. It's a British production starring Sam Rockwell as the lone technician in an automated mining facility on the moon, supplying Helium-3 to Earth for clean energy. His three-year contract is just two weeks from being up when he begins to go a bit space-crazy. Kevin Spacey is the voice of the computer (and second lead character). Looks like a character fest for Rockwell, who I find is always surprising folks with his unflinching embrace of challenging roles. Should be getting general release this year.

Anyway, this weekend should hopefully be a little less stressful, with Kayleigh away at a school band trip and Tyler starting a new RPG campaign at Gavin's. Tyler has his sleep study tonight. Sunday is our May Birthdays celebration in Bellingham, and it'll be nice to hang out with the fam.

That's all I've got for now. Anon.