As Promised

Okay, lots has happened lately, so I'll give the broad strokes.

I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and he said I have diabetes and my blood pressure is a bit high. He was also worried that I had a fatty liver, so I scheduled an ultrasound.

That appointment was fine, although the nurse/technician was a bit aggressive with the wands and I think she bruised my ribcage. I was sore for a day or two afterward. But, the good news is that, no, I don't have a fatty liver. Whew.

Julia and I also attended an "Intro" class on diabetes that was very informative. We were both really surprised at how good it was and how much we learned. F'rinstance, we both thought I'd "given" myself diabetes by being inactive and eating too many carbs/sugars, but it turns out I always had diabetes (and always will have it), but it's just recently that it's become a problem and now I need to monitor my blood sugar and take a pill to control it. The good news is that with some changes, I can hopefully get it back under control.

This week and next week we have three more classes to attend that go more in depth on specific parts of dealing with diabetes. Wednesday night was information about "Medical Complications" and next week's classes cover "Nutrition" and "Lifestyle Changes." I'm actually sort of looking forward to them because they've been so interesting.

Okay, in other news . . . last Friday I flew down to interview with Cryptic Studios, the company that made City of Heroes and City of Villains computer games (both of which I loved and played the hell out of). I interviewed with five or six people and then flew home in the evening. Oh, they're located in Los Gatos, California, which is part of the greater San Francisco area.

On Tuesday I heard from them and they extended an offer which I accepted. So, now I have to move to Los Gatos so I can start work on the 9th of March.

Firstly, I never would have gone for the interview if Julia and I hadn't talked about this beforehand and agreed that it was a good opportunity. Given the economy I'm not comfortable (at all) with continuing to work contract positions because I think they might be drying up. So, a full-time job is a good thing right now. And, the other big plus for me is that I'm finally breaking into the computer gaming business, which, despite my time and success as a game designer hasn't been open to me before now. So, this is an investment for me and I'm pretty excited about it.

The only drawback is that Julia is staying here in Seattle. She has her job, family, and we have the new house. And there's no way we're going to try and sell that in the current market. No way. So, we'll be living apart for a while. Luckily my boss is okay with a couple of days working remotely every month, so I should be able to make trips back with some sort of regularity.

Right now I'm spending some time looking for a place to live -- which will likely be a rented room in a house somewhere near work. It will be a spartan existence for me, I think.

Okay, there you go. My life over the past couple of weeks. Exciting, eh?

Real Quick

I just wanted to let you know that I plan to update again soon. And I actually have some good, cool, and interesting news.

If I'm lucky, I'll get some time to post tonight, but with Lost on, maybe not.

Check back soon.

Not Good

Nothing about today was good.

I went to the doctor, pretty much first thing this morning I had to go in to see the doctor (see last post) so he could give me the results of my lab tests.

The short story is that I have high blood pressure (today's readings were 142/82 and 130/80), diabetes (blood sugar in the 180 range, I think) and the lowest vitamin D levels he's ever seen (4, whatever that means). Oh, and I may have fatty deposits in my liver.

The longer story is that I now have medical conditions that require medication weekly, daily, and twice daily to treat everything. I also have to meet with someone to discuss my diabetes and how I'll need to change things in addition to the medication. Then I have to have an ultrasound on my liver to see if it actually has fatty deposits.

And the end result of all of this is that I'm so angry and disappointed in myself that I can barely stand it. All of my reasons and/or excuses for not working out regularly and all of my crazy cravings for sweets have led me to the worst shape I've ever been in.

So, now, to fix this I'll be walking every day at lunch. That will help to solve all the problems; the exercize will serve to lower my blood sugar and get me into better shape -- and walking at lunch will get me in the sun more often which will help with the vitamin D.

I'll learn more in my meetings, but hopefully the pills won't be around for long.

I'm trying to be positive about all of this, but it's not easy. I'm so disappointed in myself. This is 35 years worth of body, weight, and health issues that have finally come to a head. I don't want to be in this position.