Zoog = 2008
So much change in such a short period of time...I can’t possibly get to it all. I'll try to convey the main parts.
Since Christmas, I have been slowly eliminating horrible, bad things from my food choices (after over-indulging on them, naturally). At work, kind-hearted business associates send you cookies and candy and popcorn covered with caramel over the holidays, and you eat it in little bits during the day and at day’s end, you feel like a lead balloon. It’s sickening to me. I hate the way my body feels so heavy after a few moments’ pleasure. So I went cold turkey after Christmas, but before New Year’s. Actually, a little piece of chocolate filled with nuttiness helped me with that decision.
I was at a holiday party, having a grand time with my flapper gals. Had some champagne, had some real food in order not to go into intoxication too quickly (or not at all, actually, because I was the driver). Then, I picked up a piece of innocent-seeming chocolate. It looked like a chocolate-covered wafer-type thingy. Filled with some kind of creme. Not a nut in sight. Which would have been good, since I’m allergic to the fuckers. But alas, I began to get The Reaction. Itchy throat. Usually, I drink some soda, eat something crunchy like chips, or eat some fruit, and those things neutralize The Reaction. I told people I was having a Reaction and needed some soda, which I had, along with some fruit salad. However, I began to notice that, not only did The Reaction not go away, my tongue began to swell up. Sooooo not normal. I don’t remember what happened after I noticed the tongue swell. I was told that I wasn’t responding to questions, and that I went outside to get some air. That I fell to my knees on the porch and passed out, and that if they hadn’t caught me, I would have fallen down the stairs. They brought me in another room and laid me out on the floor. I remember coming to and I was on the floor, and people were kneeling over me, telling me I was going to be okay, and I heard someone calling 911. Then people were helping me up and out to the spinning red lights. I remember being so dismayed that I had fucked up the party with the presence of an ambulance...So not necessary, you guys...
But it was. They gave me a Benadryl drip and oxygen and took me to the hospital. My dear friends came with me, bless their little souls. At the hospital they gave me some gas elixir to open the alveoli in my lungs. After a few hours, I was feeling better and alert and my tongue had gone down considerably. Everyone took such great care of me--friends, strangers, the EMTs, nurses, doctors...I got a prescription for an epinephrine pen, to keep with me always in case it happens again. I think the alcohol was what catapulted it into emergency—all other times I’ve had The Reaction, I don’t remember having had alcohol. That’s the only factor I can think of that was different. But still going to get the epi pen. No use being stupid about it.
We went back to the party, which had considerably wound down. But I wanted to let everyone know I was okay, and we had to get my car, anyway. I thanked everyone for helping me. They all scored karma points for being good Samaritans, let me tell ya. I am very, very lucky to have such a fine collection of friends.
The ironic thing in all of this? I was the one who brought the champagne and the candy that felled me. That’s right. I did it. I could have brought ginger snaps and port wine cheese like I did last year, but nooooo....
So. No alcohol and no obscene amounts of sugar since then. I haven’t wanted to touch the stuff. Just...ick. I also have been staying away from other unhealthy foods, in addition. I’ve been drawn to fruit and yogurt and cereal and chicken and spinach and other vegetables.
And I have also been exercising my ass off. Literally. I have been introduced to a Magic Hill, only ten minutes from my house. One that can be hiked up and run down. And I have been hiking and running. Slowly building up my endurance. And it is soooo beautiful up there—you can see clear to downtown LA, some days, if it is not too vaporous. And I have been doing yoga stretches every single morning, strengthening my muscles. Becoming a creature. And I have lost weight, and I am beginning to see my muscles through my skin again. And I feel such tremendous energy throughout the day, and I love the feeling that being physical has on my body. I have never been in such good shape—and I still have far to go to be in great shape! To be a contortionist juggler, to be a white-tailed deer, running trails. To be a dancer, an acrobat, a martial artist, a Zen faerie, climbing trees. This is what I want...I want to be the creature that I am. A human animal in her natural habitat. Huzzah!!
So 2008, or Zoog (because that’s what it would look like in alpha characters, to my warped mind), is off to a great start! I also have another show at Sponto coming up in April. I have two pieces in mind that I want to do. Working towards that (rubs hands together in anticipation). And there’s Sara’s wedding in February, in which I am playing maid-of-honor, stage manager for the reception vaudeville badchen (the entertaining of the bride and groom, in Jewish tradition), singer and comedian in said badchen, and co-planner of bachelorette festivities. Also on the plate are a few pro-bono photo re-touching and CD cover design gigs for friends. I’m not bored, y’all.
“Got a feeling that 0-8 is gonna be a good year...”
Since Christmas, I have been slowly eliminating horrible, bad things from my food choices (after over-indulging on them, naturally). At work, kind-hearted business associates send you cookies and candy and popcorn covered with caramel over the holidays, and you eat it in little bits during the day and at day’s end, you feel like a lead balloon. It’s sickening to me. I hate the way my body feels so heavy after a few moments’ pleasure. So I went cold turkey after Christmas, but before New Year’s. Actually, a little piece of chocolate filled with nuttiness helped me with that decision.
I was at a holiday party, having a grand time with my flapper gals. Had some champagne, had some real food in order not to go into intoxication too quickly (or not at all, actually, because I was the driver). Then, I picked up a piece of innocent-seeming chocolate. It looked like a chocolate-covered wafer-type thingy. Filled with some kind of creme. Not a nut in sight. Which would have been good, since I’m allergic to the fuckers. But alas, I began to get The Reaction. Itchy throat. Usually, I drink some soda, eat something crunchy like chips, or eat some fruit, and those things neutralize The Reaction. I told people I was having a Reaction and needed some soda, which I had, along with some fruit salad. However, I began to notice that, not only did The Reaction not go away, my tongue began to swell up. Sooooo not normal. I don’t remember what happened after I noticed the tongue swell. I was told that I wasn’t responding to questions, and that I went outside to get some air. That I fell to my knees on the porch and passed out, and that if they hadn’t caught me, I would have fallen down the stairs. They brought me in another room and laid me out on the floor. I remember coming to and I was on the floor, and people were kneeling over me, telling me I was going to be okay, and I heard someone calling 911. Then people were helping me up and out to the spinning red lights. I remember being so dismayed that I had fucked up the party with the presence of an ambulance...So not necessary, you guys...
But it was. They gave me a Benadryl drip and oxygen and took me to the hospital. My dear friends came with me, bless their little souls. At the hospital they gave me some gas elixir to open the alveoli in my lungs. After a few hours, I was feeling better and alert and my tongue had gone down considerably. Everyone took such great care of me--friends, strangers, the EMTs, nurses, doctors...I got a prescription for an epinephrine pen, to keep with me always in case it happens again. I think the alcohol was what catapulted it into emergency—all other times I’ve had The Reaction, I don’t remember having had alcohol. That’s the only factor I can think of that was different. But still going to get the epi pen. No use being stupid about it.
We went back to the party, which had considerably wound down. But I wanted to let everyone know I was okay, and we had to get my car, anyway. I thanked everyone for helping me. They all scored karma points for being good Samaritans, let me tell ya. I am very, very lucky to have such a fine collection of friends.
The ironic thing in all of this? I was the one who brought the champagne and the candy that felled me. That’s right. I did it. I could have brought ginger snaps and port wine cheese like I did last year, but nooooo....
So. No alcohol and no obscene amounts of sugar since then. I haven’t wanted to touch the stuff. Just...ick. I also have been staying away from other unhealthy foods, in addition. I’ve been drawn to fruit and yogurt and cereal and chicken and spinach and other vegetables.
And I have also been exercising my ass off. Literally. I have been introduced to a Magic Hill, only ten minutes from my house. One that can be hiked up and run down. And I have been hiking and running. Slowly building up my endurance. And it is soooo beautiful up there—you can see clear to downtown LA, some days, if it is not too vaporous. And I have been doing yoga stretches every single morning, strengthening my muscles. Becoming a creature. And I have lost weight, and I am beginning to see my muscles through my skin again. And I feel such tremendous energy throughout the day, and I love the feeling that being physical has on my body. I have never been in such good shape—and I still have far to go to be in great shape! To be a contortionist juggler, to be a white-tailed deer, running trails. To be a dancer, an acrobat, a martial artist, a Zen faerie, climbing trees. This is what I want...I want to be the creature that I am. A human animal in her natural habitat. Huzzah!!
So 2008, or Zoog (because that’s what it would look like in alpha characters, to my warped mind), is off to a great start! I also have another show at Sponto coming up in April. I have two pieces in mind that I want to do. Working towards that (rubs hands together in anticipation). And there’s Sara’s wedding in February, in which I am playing maid-of-honor, stage manager for the reception vaudeville badchen (the entertaining of the bride and groom, in Jewish tradition), singer and comedian in said badchen, and co-planner of bachelorette festivities. Also on the plate are a few pro-bono photo re-touching and CD cover design gigs for friends. I’m not bored, y’all.
“Got a feeling that 0-8 is gonna be a good year...”
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