A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Snore

I just this evening noticed that there was a typo in the subtitle of my blog. Professional, ain't I?

Tired today, and the rain had me down. Guess I've gotten spoiled. We have a rainy day maybe once a month, and I'm bummed.

But anyway, we went into Denpasar this morning to buy a wedding gift for my daughter and her fiance, then came home and fell asleep.

The good news is that now I can stay up all night. Watch out Sanur!

Boldness

So what if I just want the old design back? Can I get it?

Hanging out at the salon again today, still working on the Bali sketches. The more I write, I write the more. Strange phenomenon. Only begin, as Goethe said:

Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute;
What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it;
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

Met a friend down at the beach last night. Very windy. First time I've seen that here. But not cold. Mild. Mild enough for shorts and shirt sleeves. The wind was picking up the white on the breakers and making it feel like light rain. I could not determine what was more beautiful--her eyes or the ocean.

Beauty here in general comes at you constantly from every direction, in every season, at every hour of the day and night. It rides on the wind, weaving through the palm trees on the sea shore, ambles up the path to the town, lingers outside the warungs, looking in for a moment, then makes it's way through the crowded pasar, rearranging hats and headdresses along the way. It sneaks along the alleyways, ruffling stray dogs, sniffing at the garbage bins, smudging the chalken slogans on the wall. It dreams with you at night, wakes with you in the morning.

Damn the Designer!

Who wants to join the I Hate the New Designer Club? Sheesh. Or at least they should block users with MS. How many of us, I wonder, have already messed up our blogs beyond repair? Have a little consideration for those of us who cannot think straight! Include a warning label or something. Designer may be dangerous to those who suffer from multiple sclerosis or other cognitive disorders.

Well, drinking Bintang and eating complimentary peanuts here at Sindhu Beach, Bali. Would that the Bintang was also complimentary. With tourist season upon us, they have once again raised the price, having learned, apparently, that beer is one of the main food groups for Westerners.

Someone did tell me the other day that it makes hair grow (beer does, that is). Then again, the same guy told me that Dick Cheney was the actual President of the United States during the Bush administration.

Well, maybe it does make hair grow.

Mark Twain once said that people should be careful about health books, as a misprint might possibly cause death. In the same spirit, I suppose that one should be careful of doctors, for a misdiagnosis might have the same effect.

New Designer

Seems like I messed up my blog with the nifty new blog designer. Try to fix it now. I have so far at least returned it to a readable format, albeit a pretty plain one. Sorry folks. Never was much good at art work. The fact is, in school my art projects used to be shown in front of the class as examples of what not to do.

Wanted: Rich patron (patroness) to support struggling (almost starving) writer in Bali.

Qualifications: Well, must have money.

Reward: Seven percent of proceeds from all published material from this date to my demise.


All applicants may apply via comment at this site.

And the Relapse Goes On, and On, and On ....

When you've gone an extended period of time without experiencing MS symptoms, say 6 months of good health, it is hard to deal with the symptoms when they recur. It's almost like getting MS all over again. You've learned a new life during your period of good health, and now suddenly you're back again to the fatigue and the confusion and the aches and the stumbling gait.

In short, it's a real bummer. This morning I tried to live the life I have become accustomed to, and the next thing I knew I was dead asleep in my bed. Mind you, this was this morning, after I had just got done sleeping the whole night.

I woke up, surprised to find that I'd been out like a light for four hours. I remember that sometime during those hours my son was trying to ask me a question, and I just couldn't understand what he was saying. I just couldn't wake up. It reminds me of when I had mononucleosis. Always does.

In the morning I had gone up to the cafe for coffee, just as I always do, taking my laptop along with me--and I sat there in a daze, entranced, completely unable to do the things I had been doing every morning since February 2010.

When I walked back home I kept trying to correct my gait so that people on the street wouldn't think I was drunk. I feel like wearing a sign, the same way I used to feel--a sign that says I HAVE MS--CAN'T WALK, CAN'T THINK, BUT A NICE GUY IF YOU GET TO KNOW ME.

Now how long do I have to endure this when I have better things to do?

Relapse

Having gone three years, to the month, without an MS relapse, I am now finally suffering one. This has come in much the same way as my first really noticeable attack in the Spring of 2005. At that time (and now this) the symptoms occurred mostly in my brain and manifested themselves in the form of confusion, inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, and a general sort of spaced out feeling. Along with those symptoms there is another which doctors say they have never heard of--but I sure have, and I know other MS sufferers who have as well. This is a sort of sound/sensation inside the head. It's like you can hear it, but of course you're not hearing it with your ears, and you can feel it as a sort of random pulsation, dashing from this point to that, like a electrical storm within the brain. It tends to cause a headache, and it makes me feel lightheaded and faintly nauseous. There is also the occasional feeling that I am about to faint.

In 2005 this was diagnosed as ... well, as 'We don't know what this is ... and then later, in 2007 when I had my second attack, the first was rediagnosed by another neurologist and another radiologist as 'classic MS.'

So that's where I stand--hoping the old CNS will repair itself quickly and restore my brain at least to its already (post 2005) level of functioning.

Funny how much you can forget about these things when you're not having to suffer them. I had just almost turned into a normal person, but now here we go again.