Life Lately

Hey Dreamers!

I hope all is well with you all.

I know that I have been absent from here for a couple of weeks - maybe a little less time then I think it's been.... things have been crazy around here. Well... maybe not as much as I think it is... but you know how your mind occasionally warps things to make them feel worse then they really are.

I finally had my first appointment with the VA at the end of March. Me, being who I am, made a list ahead of time of things that I wanted to talk about with the doctor. I also made a list of all my medications, because being a spoonie, there are quite a few and I am liable to forget something if I don't write it down. My nurse and doctor were really impressed. It really pays to be organized. The first appointment went alright, lots of talking and introductions. My doctor is pretty cool, she's an interesting woman. Very quickly she determined that I needed to schedule appointments with the behavioral health counselor, get screened for a TBI (4 years too late), a new optometry appointment, a radiology scan, an x-ray or MRI of my abdomen, some more blood tests.... there were just quite a few things that needed to be done.

This is my daily page inside my bullet journal covering everything that I needed to discuss

Since then I have picked up refills of ALL of my prescriptions (thank god) and had my initial intake with a behavioral health counselor. That word has such a negative connotation.... behavioral health.... especially within the military community. I know that I need to talk to someone.... my anxiety already determined that back in 2014.... and at the beginning of the month I was also diagnosed with depression. I'm supposed to start a group therapy session weekly in May. I don't know how I feel about this new diagnosis.... it makes sense I guess.... but another thing wrong with me? So there is that...... I'm now awaiting yet another medication that I am supposed to take to arrive in the mail, the lady had to talk to my doctor to make sure whatever medication she prescribed to me wouldn't interfere with anything I take for my fibromyalgia.

I have also submitted my paperwork for my handicap placard, now I am just waiting for that to be approved. Speaking of that... my car is finally registered here in the state of NC. It was still under my German registration because there was some stuff that I needed to get done to my car before getting registered. However, things changed when I was pulled over by a police officer on my way to work because he didn't recognize my NATO license plate. Thankfully, I didn't get a ticket.... but it was still a pain in my rear end. 

Yesterday I applied for my NC state drivers license. I figured that it was about time, since I plan on living here for quite a while, and I'm considering changing jobs and working for the county I live in and it's mandatory to have a NC state license. 

I got to meet Lee's bandmates last weekend, which was a total blast. They are nerds like me in their own way, and just super friendly people. I look forward to getting to know them more. They live about an hour away from us, so after I got out of work on Saturday, we drove there with the intent for them to practice, and then we were going to grill steaks and just hang out. They got to practice for a while before Lee got word that he had 24 hour duty on Sunday, so we had to return earlier then anticipated. So on Sunday, I hung out with him while he was on duty, and then picked him up from work on Monday morning and drove him home. Our plans for this coming weekend got screwed up because last minute he had to go out to the field until Sunday, which just kind of added to my feelings of these past two weeks. Gotta love the dumb stuff in the Army. I've come to accept that it happens, sometimes even expect it (like what happened to this weekend), but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. 5.5 years in the Army taught me that. 

shenanigans with his bandmates hat's

Today, I was supposed to enroll in classes that start in early June. I found out that my college accepted all 24 of my transfer credits from my time in the Army, which is a relief. I am scheduled to graduate 19 December 2019 with a Bachelors in Business Administration with a focus in marketing. I can't wait to start school again, the best part is that I get to take classes on base since I am a retiree. This means smaller class sizes, which will help with my anxiety, and it's also in an area that I am familiar with, and amongst other service members. I don't know if I could handle a regular college class size or the way that people look at me. I have to contact my new advisor tomorrow to get some alternate pin number needed to finally register for classes.

I also adjusted my availability hours for work. I went from open availability (minus Monday mornings to take Mem to school) to a more structured availability. Amy is picking up more hours at work, which means I need to make sure I am home more so Mem isn't by himself more often then not. For instance, Amy took a Crisis shift at the hospital tonight (which means she gets like twice the pay because they are understaffed and it's last minute) so it's a good thing I am home to hang out with Mem. He's self sufficient enough if we have to leave him by himself, but we decided to limit how much time that is if at all possible. 

That and honestly, work is stressing me out and burning me out. ATC was stressful, with a high burnout rate, but this is stressful in it's own way. My anxiety isn't really cut out for a high paced customer service type job while spending most of the day on my feet combating my fibromyalgia. It's definitely taking it's toll on me. Don't get me wrong, I really like my job.... but it's burning me out. I've made some awesome friends in certain coworkers, and they're probably the only reason I haven't quit. I've gotten in my groove, so most of my day is kind of spent in a mindless routine that I don't have to think much about. That, and I was really hoping for some kind of administration job when I got out, which I obviously didn't get and I'm not complaining because at least I have a job. I just need something that pays a little bit better and doesn't wear me out as much on a daily basis. 

I've been working on my bullet journals. Yes, that's plural... because I've separated my every day bullet journal, my medical journal, and my blog journal. My every day carry is still housed within my MyDorian TN - it houses my monthly/weekly/daily insert, my scrap journal, a newly added Spring Semester insert for school stuff, and my 2016 yearly book. The other two are in separate, bigger Moleskine notebooks. There will be a walkthrough video and coordinating blog posts coming within the future month for those that are interested.

I think that is enough rambles for now....

don't want to bore you guys with too much of my life.

What have you all been up too lately?

My first week

Hello dearest friends!

Today I wanted to tell you my thoughts over the first week of my new job.

On Monday I got the phone call that I got the barista job working at Starbucks. Let me just tell you how relieved I was to have gotten that phone call. 

Little back story for new readers: I was medically retired from the military at the end of December. I came home on terminal leave two days after Thanksgiving and have been staying with my dearest friend Amy and her son Memphis.  My initial plan was to start going to school ASAP through my GI Bill, which means that I can finish my BA in Business Management while getting a monthly housing allowance. I will also be getting retirement pay from the US Army until my VA retirement pay kicks in.

However, not everything works as planned for me. It was a little harder to get the school stuff completed since it was December, so it has taken much longer. My mother sent me sealed copies of my transcripts last week that I now have to turn in to the school to hopefully get accepted ASAP!

In the mean time, I decided that I needed to get a job. Partially because I need the money ( the Army money isn't enough to function on a monthly basis ) and partially because I need something to do with all my newfound extra time. I get antsy just sitting around after a while. It's driving me nuts! So, I started applying to jobs all over the city but no one wanted to hire me because I didn't have the experience they wanted. However, I got really lucky with Starbucks. She didn't care that I didn't have any customer service or barista experience, and she was rather impressed with my experience in the Army. She hired me rather quickly and Tuesday was my first day at work. 

Training has gone really easy this first week, it's been a lot of watching videos and reading things coupled with learning what needs to be done to both open and close the store. It's nice to have a job again. It doesn't pay nearly as much as I was hoping, but its definitely a start. There are tons of benefits that I wasn't aware of until I got the job. It's kind of cool. It's only part time, but I still get the benefits of a full time employee. This will work really well when I finally start school. Overall, I really enjoy working at Starbucks so far. I know that there will be days when I hate my life, but that comes with any job. It's a friendly place to work and we all get along (as of now). Everyone is really helpful to me and patient when I don't know how to do something. 

This upcoming week is all about learning to make the drinks and what not. I'm kind of excited. Let's see what the future holds for me from here on out! Wish me luck!

Life Update

Hello friends!

Happy Friday!!!!

So today I just wanted to drop by and give you guys a super quick update in the Dreamer world.

1. Job hunting is a b****!!! For reals. Especially when it's right after the holiday season so everyone is getting rid of seasonal help. -.-'

2. I got an apartment! Yay! I picked up the keys for the apartment yesterday, but right now, the only thing that is in the apartment is the new entertainment stand I picked up yesterday for $30. I can't really move in to the apartment right now because I don't have much to work with.... just the things I brought from Germany with me - so no bed, dresser, tables, couches, etc. I did order my bed last Sunday, but it won't be delivered until closer to the end of the month. My belongings from Germany aren't supposed to be here until the end of the month. Once I get everything there and situated (also have to get stuff from Florida - like a couch from my parents) then I will do a blog or a YouTube or something to show you guys how everything is set up.

3. Last but not least.... I picked up my car from the Charleston Port today in SC!!! I am super excited to have my own car again!!!!!

Kind of a scary super excited face. Haha. I love the fact that my roommate pretty much gave me free reign of her car as long as I took her to/from work and her son to/from school... but nothing like having your own car!

Overall, it's been a great start to the new years (minus Mem potentially breaking his arm) and I just can't wait to see what happens next!!!

Talk to you later lovelies!