The Third of the Month

I woke up with a headache today.  That's pretty unusual lately, since I started taking the Depakote DR.   I hadn't slept well, either.  The cats had been running in and out of the cat door all night, and I turned up my (heated) mattress pad too high. 

I did get to sleep in a little, though, and woke up at 7.  I took a shower and did my God Time.  I ate and took my pills, shaking a mental fist at my pills-of-the-week because my levels were low. 

We went to Walmart.  I needed to make a deposit.  I also needed to buy some office supplies for work; we are going through our yearly audit.  Basically we have to "prove" two months of accounting to the boss.  It is tedious but we will do it.  I am sure Ron will have a stiff drink after we finish.  I'm sure I'm going to wish I could have a stiff drink when we finish. 

This may sound odd, but I do wish I could have a drink sometimes.  People really seem to enjoy moderate drinking.  But I don't think "Moderate" is in my DNA and it is poison for anyone with bipolar disorder.  Aaaand, it interacts with my medication. 

I did plenty of reading after my diagnosis, enough to realize that half of us (bipolar) have some kind of addiction issue.  80% of those with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome have addiction issues.  I don't know the odds of a child of an alcoholic growing up to be alcoholic, but I believe it is also 50%. 

I'm not a gambler.  I don't even know how to play poker or "21".  I'm not playing those odds. 

So, we went to Walmart.  Ron wanted to stay up front so I left him.  I noticed all the motorized shopping carts were gone, and the store was full of elderly and disabled customers.  If I had a dollar for every mobility device and/or motorized scooter, I could have bought us a nice steak dinner. 

I went to the stationary department first, and got the envelopes we needed.  Then I bought some stuff for me.  I have pages slid into sheet protectors, in my God Time notebook.  They are basically written out prayer requests on various topics, people online, neighbors, first responders, evangelists, unreached, stuff like that.  I have been wanting to add some more but I noticed I was running out of sheet protectors and pages.  I also got a small notebook to use as a food log.  Ha ha. 

I put all that in my cart and went to the bank.  I had to wait about 15 minutes, one old lady kept taking a lot of time at the window.  I don't know what she was doing.  She would almost finish and then "Oh, I need something else".  It was frustrating for those of us waiting in line.  I just had a simple deposit, enough to cover most of my auto-pays for the month.  I finally got the front of the line and got the teller I liked.  She always calls me by name even before she looks at my deposit slip.  I like that. 

I went back to my shopping cart (aka "buggy") and finished my shopping.  I selected some cookies and got Ron. 

Ron can have digestive issues if he takes a lot of glucosamine, which he had.  His hand was bothering him.  He needs to have surgery on his hand but is reluctant to do so, afraid they will mess up his only good hand.  I can't say that I blame him. 

At any rate, he had asked me to leave him by the bathroom, so I had.  I noticed the shoe department was right next to the dog chew toys.  I thought that was funny, given how I hear dogs love to chew up their owner's shoes. 

I saw some very cute sandals but I managed to resist.  I am not a "shoe person" but these were really cute and romantic, and are actually comfortable.  The "Earth Shoes" brand. I bought a pair for a wedding 5 years ago and I still have them.  I generally only wear them to church, which isn't often.  They go with everything, being beige, so I don't need any more shoes.  But they were cute. 

I was also limited by the space in my tote bag.  We were going to work afterward and I had to keep things compact. 

We checked out and began waiting.  I became worried when dispatch told Ron we were picking up another client.  One old lady had a huge rolling cart, plus an entire basket full of merchandise.  I wondered how the driver would fit her, me, Ron, Ron's wheelchair, and all her crap into one minivan. 

I wondered about that for a while and then figured he would have to refuse to take her, or force Ron to ride in the wheelchair.  Even then, it would be a very tight fit. 

"I don't want to ride" I told Ron quietly "With all her crap in my lap".  As it turns out, a white compact car, driven by a man clearly her son, came for her. 

We saw a very agitated Asian woman, screaming into a cell phone on speaker.  I secretly hoped we would not be riding with her.  As I watched her, it was apparent she was manic. 

I always wonder if they got the diagnosis and refused to accept it, or never got diagnosed.  I also remember the expert asking me "Has anyone ever told you you're bipolar?" the day of my diagnosis. 

Clearly, she was.  It was exhausting to watch. 

Unfortunately, she was riding with us.  She bounced around in her seat, cursing, screaming into her cell phone on speaker, repeatedly dialing someone who had a busy signal, etc.  Thankfully she only had 2 small bags, I guess she didn't need much today. 

Thankfully, again, she was only going a short ways.  We dropped her first, thank God, and I got into the front seat once she left.  I don't like riding in the back for several reasons. 

1.  One time I was forced to sit squeezed in next to a man who was dirty, with open sores all over his arms.  They kept rubbing against my bare arms (I was wearing a t-shirt). 

2.  Another time a client began masturbating. 

3.  A client in the backseat became violent and hit the driver. 

4.  The seatbelt cuts into my neck.

5.  One client began aggressively groping at Ron's crotch and grunting, trying to undo his zipper.  The driver had a hard time stopping her.  Ron folded his arms over his lap, bent over, and said "No" calmly several times. 

Some drivers get very upset, they think, because Ron and I are married, we should sit next to each other.  I don't get that.  We spend every minute of every day "next to each other" and we can certainly still talk (and do) when I am in the front seat. 

We went to work.  Things were moderately busy.  I did snacks and Ron worked on canned sodas. 

968 Biscuit is walking on the keyboard.  He is always very affectionate when I am on the computer.  However, when I'm in my TV chair I could be dead, as far as he's concerned. 

Back to work: we stocked it all.  I didn't do sandwiches but I will tomorrow.  I wanted to make sure we cleared out the old stock before I put the new stuff out. 

I helped Ron get drinks for the bottled vendor and did 2/3 of the stocking on that.  Ron was appreciative.  I also tested it to make sure it is still working. 

Finally, time to go.  We rode home with Chuck, who drove very carefully this time.  Maybe Ron told him I had been concerned about him running the red lights, or he figured it out on his own. 

We got home and I tried to take a nap, but I couldn't.  The dog behind us was barking furiously.  I figured out later the cable guy was in our backyard hooking up #2, who has apparently moved in. 

I finally got up around 4 and watched a little TV.  I checked Facebook and decided to "do my duty" by?  For?  the blog.  :P 

I hope you have a good weekend.