Home, sorta

I got home last night from Panama City Beach. My trip was wonderful, filled with beach visits (day and night), eating at some great restaurants (Margaritaville, Reggae J's, Back Porch, 5 Guys Burger & Fries, etc), hangin' with fam #2, SHOPPING, and jet skis. Ooooh jet skis. I love them. I loved them before, but I *LOVE* them now. I was sore for 2 or 3 days after crazy wave jumping, and still have bruises on the inside of my calves, but it was all totally worth it.

The trip wasn't all great though. There was one thing that rode my nerves more than anything: the insane amount of smokers. There were so many times when I'm sitting on the beach, at night when there aren't that many people out, and someone sits down nearby and lights a cigarette upwind from me. So many times when I was out shopping, I had to leave areas because, as I'm browsing the outdoor areas, or resting my feet on a bench, the smoke rolls in. I'm seriously paying for it too. It was an unavoidable amount of smoke sometimes, and I can feel some junk now piling up in my lungs, more so than before the trip. Not bringing the Vest hasn't helped either though. I took the flutter, but it's not as affective against mass inhalations of smoke as the Vest is. So I'm doing an extra Vest treatment right now, trying to fight back against my struggle to breathe. I really can tell a difference after so much smoke. It really does affect my breathing pretty quickly. And if I'm willing to do extra Vest treatments, that should tell you how frustrated I am. It does feel good getting a lot of this junk up. And, thankfully, on that trip I had a good friend who ran away with me and helped me kindly ask people to smoke away from me (those time when I had been "camped out" on the beach loooong before they showed up). She let me rant about all the smoke a ton, which helped because it was really starting to work on my last nerve.... ugh. (Thanks Kid)

Still doing Cayston. I wish I could feel better, and hopefully I will closer to the end of my first 28 days, but right now I feel worse because of all the smoke. I'm expecting things to take a positive turn soon though.

Around 6pm tonight, I move out to that mansion with my dear friend Casey. As I mentioned before, we are house sitting for roughly 2 weeks. I'm pretty excited but also kinda nervous, with the more I learn about this place. It's under a lot of remodeling right now... a lot. There is one working bathroom, and it doesn't work too well. The dryer doesn't work. Mice have been spotted in the kitchen. I'm hoping there's internet so I can keep the blog updated.

So remember a little while ago I switched from Pancrease MT20 to Zenpep MT 20? I haven't noticed a difference. It has not fixed any of my GI issues like it was suppose to nor really helped my chronic sick feeling, even when I take all the other meds. *sigh* I'll keep taking them, in hopes that maybe it just takes my body a while to get used to new stuff, and talk with my doctor at the next appointment.

Time to do a little at-home relaxing before I pack and head out to my next vacation/adventure. Pictures of my new adventure are coming up, but here are a few more from my beach vaca! Click to enlarge them.

-Annie

Drinking and Smoking

I've been asked a lot recently what I think about drinking or smoking. I've also been offered a lot of alcohol and usually get asked why I've turn it down. So I've decided to lay it all out on the table.

These are my opinions, take them or leave them. But don't argue with me about them.

SMOKING-

Clearly, this is bad for my health. I have a disease that affects the lungs, I don't need smoke messing them up too. However, what do I think about others smoking? I can't stand it. I h.ate walking to my class in the morning and having to walk through clouds of smoke. With all of the clear evidence that smoking is bad for you, people still pick it up (people my age!) and s.crew their lungs over. You were blessed with a HEALTHY pair of lungs. Why are you BUYING things to ruin them?! The older generations who smoke, I let it slide because they knew nothing about what it did to their lungs. But for those who are younger, as my dad puts it, "smoking should be a sign to the rest of population that those people are idiots and we should avoid them." While that's a little bit harsher than I would put it, it gets the point across.

DRINKING-

I do not drink, but I am in no way against people drinking alcohol. I am against underage drinking and excessive drinking. Underage drinking annoys me because that's a blatant violation of the law and has health risks that older drinkers do not have. The law was not placed (changed, and then changed back) for no reason. So props to people who wait to drink until they're 21. However, I have a problem with too much alcohol. Getting drunk allows for stupid mistakes to be made or rude things to be said and embarrassing situations that could have easily been avoided by a fewer number of shots or not drinking that last margarita. It's foolish and immature to think you have to drink to have fun. And it's even more foolish to arrive at that point where the only time you have fun is when you've had a little "liquid courage." Drinking and enjoying time with people is fine. Getting smashed, trashed, ****-faced, or wasted is a different story. Especially if you do it regularly. There are health risks with that too (direct and indirect). I choose not to drink because 1- I don't know how all the meds will react with alcohol 2,3,4- See paragraph above.

And lastly, to sum it all up,

^"19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

-Annie

Saturday on the Lake

I spent a large chunk of Saturday on a lake with my friend Gaelin, my friend Alissa (see Sci-port adventure) and Alissa's grandfather. When riding in a fast moving boat, my favourite place to sit in near the bow (the front, for you land creatures). When hitting a wave, it gives the same senation as sitting in the very back of a school bus: a bumpy ride. But there's something I love more than feeling like I might be thrown from the boat at the next wave: I love the wind in my face. I breathe the best at these moments, when oxygen is not only being inhaled but practically forced into my respitory system. Those times when it's actually harder to exhale than inhale. It's relaxing and I feel CF free for those few moments. Bliss.

Well, the lake was bliss until I was floating in the water downwind of 2 people who decided to smoke IN the water!? I'm blunt when it comes to that. Kill yourself, but don't take me with you. I've got enough lung problems without your help. Thanks.

But other than that, the lake was a success. Today, I'm VERY sore from my master tubing abilities, but it was very worth it. Now, I just wait for Sept. 2.
.................
*Checks calender*
This is going to take a while....

-Andrea

Independence Bowl 2008

On a scale of 1-10, the I-Bowl was an 8.

The game was at 7, but I started getting ready around 4:30. I was so pumped. First came getting dressed: under armour (body and legs), a Tech t-shirt, jeans, converses, and a red Magnet hoodie. Then eyeliner and blue mascara. Whataburger chicken strips, 3 episodes of House, and the boyfriend. I'm ready to go.

And so we go.

After wading through cigarette smoke and drunk people, we get through the ticket check, bag check, personality check, and finally to our seats. Great seats too! Right next to a block of students that go to the opposing team. But really, they were good seats. Row M on the 25 yard line. And these seats had backs. Yay! Honestly, it felt like Mardi Gras: loud drunks everywhere and you see people you know every time you turn around. Anyway, the game begins.

So, NIU scores and kicks the ball back to Tech. Tech catches it in their own endzone and runs it for a touchdown. Best play of the game. I had just sent the boyfriend out for nachoes (he saw it on the TV, thank goodness!) and was still gone while Tech was kicking it back to NIU. While he was gone, a man and his wife (I presume) stumble up the stairs... and into the seat next to me. The man was so drunk. He reeked. Luckily, his wife was sober and pulled him up to the next row. He tells the people behind them, "These aren't our seats, but I don't feel like climbing anymore.... we should be ok." Fantastic. The boyfriend comes back and notices the new people. I warn him immediately of how obnoxious they are (the man has been shaking my row of seats and yelling vulgar language) and he points out the two cops that are keeping an eye on him. Seems the man had pulled out a pack of cigarettes and put one in his mouth. Fine. I don't care. It's not lit. Maybe he's got such a bad habit that he just needs one in his mouth. *sigh* It's all fine until he lights it.

The boyfriend told me he was going to take it out of the guy's mouth, but I told him to just go get the attention of the police. Either way, he took care of it. Sadly, this cop was less than stern with the meager, "Sir... could you please put that out? We don't allow smoking" and walked off before he put the cigarette out. I was going to scream. I can't be around smoke and I'd gotten more than a lung-full already that evening. He puts it out and eventually leaves. Drunk college students replaced them, but sadly they were much better behaved. More loud, but I can handle that.

Tech won 17-10. Everyone cheered and we left. Aside from the massive intake of smoke, it was a very good evening!

Oh, and after a little begging and some motivation, I got the boyfriend to take a picture with me! He's about as camera shy as I am. :]