Off the Meds

I stopped taking my anti-depressants seven weeks ago to see if I really needed them. I began them almost ten years ago when I started have thoughts of suicide. A few years later the Lexapro stopped working and I lost interest in most everything and wanted to sleep all the time. My therapist Fonda noticed the change and got me into Dr. Harwood. I got my meds sorted out but after years of being an easy patient, I wondered if I still needed them so I stopped. So far so good. I haven't had any bad blue days and I still have lots of interests. I'm a little more joyful at times and today a bit serious. The biological imperative has gotten stronger though.

Mid-term is next week and I am right where I want to be in biology but I am a week behind in physical science. I finish astronomy this next week and then onto rocks! I may never make it to weather. They have turned room 224 into a physics lab. It has some beautiful benches, a front lab desk and soon electrical outlets. Good news for bio since we could use it if there is ever a lab conflict.

I spent several hours Thursday afternoon and Friday morning revising the Spring semester schedule for Abbie and me. I worked it out so Abbie could teach A&P I as a traditional course instead of as a hybrid. I finally understood why Abbie teaches so many hybrids. Her family demands and commute from Greenville are complicated. I hope Mary Ann goes for it because it accomodates Abbie and is 100% better for our students.

I had one major faux pas this week. I had scheduled a stargazing activity for Tuesday night. I had checked the weather channel forecast the previous night and it said Tuesday night would be cloudy. I checked it Tuesday morning and it had changed to clear. Well, I went out at 4PM to calibrate the telescope and the clouds came in. At 5 I decided to cancel so I send a teacherease email out to my students. Kind of a late notice but I hoped they would spread the word. I put a note on the door just in case. I felt terrible. I should have warned them when I announced it to check their emails for any unforseen changes.

I finally got an expectorant for my cough and it seems to have helped. I have also been enjoying a beer during my evening shower. So far I've been drinking Miller High Life and last night I had a Sam Adams. No heartburn yet but man mix that with a antihistamine and reading before bed is impossible.

On my drive up the Montgomery yesterday I popped in my new Mark Knopfler CD Privateering. It is a double album. I haven't liked his last three albums so my hopes weren't too high for this one. I was pleasantly surprised. I could hear his old styles from Brothers in Arms, Golden Heart and Ragpicker's Dream plus some more blues-driven stuff.

After my appointment with Dr. Harwood, I bought some new underwear and socks (real exciting) at Target, ate a veggie burrito at Moe's (next time I am ordering a bowl of chili con queso), and bought dog food and dog bones at Earth Fare. They are great big cow cannon bones (toe bones) that Mr. B and Lucy girl love to chew the ends off. Basil was so thrilled when Susan gave him one. He pranced around and would come up to us to show it off. He whittled it down in no time.

The season premiere of Big Bang Theory started Thursday. We have it Tivoed but haven't found the right moment to watch it. So far I have enjoyed only two new shows this season: Go On and Ben & Kate. I tried the New Normal and the Mindy Kaling Project. Too preachy and too awful. Why does everyone in TV need a prestigious occupation? Why not just retail drone, office minion or service worker? After the pilot, the job part disappears pretty quickly.

We watched the season premieres of The Middle and Modern Family. Although Modern Family gets all the awards, the Middle is a much better show. The first episode of the Middle was excellent and went deep right off the bat into the family dynamic. I keep thinking about Axl playing college football. What a waste of college scholarship! He hates academics. I wonder if Frankie or Mike ever went to college? Probably not. Party on Garth!