Absent, but not gone

[sara_tanaquil]

I just wanted to apologize for not having been around on LJ lately. I really want to get back to the One Piece posts! But besides getting adjusted back to life post-sabbatical (which is going busily, but well), the main reason I haven't been around is that I've been getting physical therapy since August for persistent pain in my left arm. Apparently it's a severely irritated rotator cuff, caused by computer over-use (what, I'm not supposed to be on the laptop 24/7?). I can still type short posts, obviously, but long typing sessions were making the problem much worse, so for the last month I've been trying to avoid computer use and amusing myself in other ways.

Since reading One Piece made me feel guilty for not doing posts, I've been reading a lot of Detective Conan. (I don't know, somehow the dumb detective stories are just kind of soothing?) Also catching up on a lot of anime, both vintage and recent - but more on that some other time.

Kitties are well and tearing my house to shreds in an excess of kitten energy. Oh god. I may never have an upright trash can ever again.

Physical therapy is showing improvement, so I hope to be around more soon!

Comments

[mvrdrk.livejournal.com]

You got kitties? And didn't post pictures? Save them for when your arm is feeling better?

[sara-tanaquil.livejournal.com]

I did post originally, but the pictures aren't displaying correctly right now. I hope to fix that soon! I am definitely overdue for posting more cat updates.

[mangaroo.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about your rotator cuff, but I'm kind of relieved, too. I was concerned your recent silence indicated a rocky return from sabbatical. Good to know that with a little rest & rehab (and maybe some dictation software), you'll be okay.

Kittehs!

[sara-tanaquil.livejournal.com]

The return from sabbatical has actually been fine, apart from the fact that I am very tired a lot of the time - not sure how much of that is a side effect from the change in schedule (I get more physical exercise now, especially with being in the new building), and how much might be a side effect of sore muscles and twice-weekly therapy sessions.

On the upside, the cats snuggle with me more if I spend all my time in bed. (They don't seem to want to snuggle on the couch, what?)

[wednesday-10-00.livejournal.com]

Agh, sorry about the rotator cuff, but glad to hear that the physical therapy is helping! (I've actually been having over-computer-use problems, myself--tendonitis, I think, in my right arm, which is aggravated by too much mousing or (lol) playing games on my iphone. But wearing a wrist brace alleviates 99% of the pain, so it's not too bad.)

I may never have an upright trash can ever again.

Maybe you need to look into trash cans with lids?

Speaking of kitties, do you maybe have more pictures to post? It's been (*checks*) over two months, so I bet they've grown lots! And, now that I look, Flickr seems to have eaten the pictures on your last post. We need kitty pictures! (As long as it doesn't hurt your arm, obviously.)

[sara-tanaquil.livejournal.com]

I know, I can't believe it's been two months! (Tashigi is going in for her fixing surgery tomorrow, sob...)

Weirdly, they don't look that much bigger to my eyes, but I think that's because Smoker being two months older always makes the little ones look like babies. I have to remind myself that both Tashigi and Zoro are now as old as Smoker was when I first got them. Zoro, in particular, still looks spindly, but I think he's lengthened out quite a bit.

I should definitely take a new crop of pictures. (I do snap a picture whenever they're doing something cute, but they so often move before I can get a good shot. So most of my pictures are from the first phase, when I was pretty much following them around with the camera all the time.) And I just noticed that Flickr is not displaying my pictures properly, as you say (maybe because I have a free account?). My family keeps pestering me for updated pictures too, so I need to work on that in the next few days.

Maybe you need to look into trash cans with lids?

Haha, fortunately they haven't learned how to tip over the 13-gallon kitchen trash can yet. They mostly upend those little plastic wastebaskets that I have in most of my rooms. You'd never know the house is full of cat toys, for the amount of time they spend playing with trash. (Q-tips! The wrappers from cheese sticks are also very popular.) For extra fun, most of my small trash cans are round and make attractive rolling objects when turned on their side.

Sorry to hear about your arm! Mine is also a form of tendonitis, but in the left arm (why the left, I don't know). Glad the wrist brace is helping you.

[wednesday-10-00.livejournal.com]

I do snap a picture whenever they're doing something cute, but they so often move before I can get a good shot.

Sleeping cats are cute. ^_~

[gaminette.livejournal.com]

Have you considered getting one of those voice recognition software thingies like Dragon Naturally Speaking? I've tried them and they do really work. If you need to cut back on typing to give your arm a break, it might be worth looking into. If you need recommendations, etc. I'm sure Xandria can be of assistance.

Feel better, bb!!

[sara-tanaquil.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! I actually spent a good bit of August trying to train myself to use Dragon Naturally Speaking (or the Mac version of it, which is not quite as good as the PC version). I never did quite manage the conversion, because it takes a lot of training and I felt weird composing text aloud, but I hope to make more use of it in the future.

[collarnojutsu.livejournal.com]

I hope your arm feels better soon! A well-deserved reading break sounds about right for treatment. ;)

What anime have you been watching?? (Don't tell us yet - later, when you are rested!)

[serrende.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about your arm pain. {{{hugs}}} I fully support being very careful with writing and posting. I'm glad to hear it's been working.

Lightweight soothing stories are the best! I'm partial to Yotsuba& and Saint Young Men recently, but any kind that works is cool.