DST, More (about) Pain, Books, and More!

Daylight Savings and the Dark Years

I did not grow up with this thing called Daylight Savings Time. And as such, when I first experienced it, I did not like it...HAHAHA I first dealt with it in my years living in Illinois; 2005-2009. Indiana, however, did not observe DST from 1970 through 2006.

When I returned to Indiana in 2009, I was already exposed to the concept and had no issue transitioning since Indiana was back to observing it too while I was away those 4 years. Those 4 years... Although not directly tied to DST, my time in Illinois is what I affectionately refer to as my Dark Years. I'm using the word affectionately sarcastically in this context...hehehe

If ever I write a memoir, I'll discuss in detail what those years were truly like. Someone out there has experienced or is experiencing a similar season of their life. Perhaps talking about my own experience will in someway help or encourage them. At the time, I felt very much alone. However, I have since learned that so many others experience such times.

My suicide attempt was in October 2005 and led to 4 years of misguided pharmaceutical and in-patient treatments that have taken an additional 15 years to recover from. Of course, the obvious thing is that I failed at that attempt to take my own life. Perhaps equally as obvious, and the key thing, is that I have truly recovered from it.

Although it has taken 15 years, God has used these years to teach me so many wonderful things. To go through those Dark Years and still be praising God today is somewhat a miracle. At least it is to me. I use to resent what happened. I use to resent the people involved. DST use to be a trigger to remind me of what happened. I don't feel that way any longer. Now, I pray for those who played a role and I look at DST as a reminder that my favorite time of year has arrived.

Just as each year goes through it, our lives go through seasons. Spring is almost here this year. And my own life is about to go through a Spring of sorts. I'm growing just as the leaves on the trees are budding. March winds bring April showers. April showers bring May flowers. The Secret Garden of my heart is just about to burst with color and life! And tonight's time change is a welcome reminder of this wonderful season...both for the year, and for my life!

Welcome back Daylight Savings! I've missed you old friend!

Trio of Pain

Hehehe...interesting subheading, right!? I wrote about my jaw pain the other day. And yesterday I wrote about my gout. But I forgot to mention another painful experience I had whilst at Disney World last week...HAHAHA Before the gout and before the infection in my jaw, I had...wait for it... hemorrhoids!!!

I won't go into the gory details. That's just gross, right?! Well, not really gross. It's something that happens to a lot of people. I've dealt with it most of my life. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it when I was journaling last weekend. It has been a kind of crazy week with these ailments. First the hemorrhoids. Once I resolved that, the infection in my jaw hit. Once that resolved itself, I get hit by gout! Imagine if all 3 had happened at the same time instead of in succession!!! OUCH!

All of these do not happen often. And they never happen so closely together. It could have all been a manifestation of the emotions I was going through leading up to last week's meetup. And in some ways, a result of the meetup itself. I don't really know. But what I do know is what I did through the physical pain.

Over the course of about 8 days of one pain into the next, I did a lot of focused prayer. Not for the pain and ailments I was experiencing. I was actually focused on specific prayers for a few other things. It is sort of like the experience I had in January with fasting seafood, television, and candy. Every time I thought about the pain, just as I would think about those things I fasted, I would start to pray for those specific situations others had asked me to pray for. Not only did my mind get off of the physical pain, my mind was able to focus on talking with God. Pretty cool, eh?

I am by no means comparing my pain with what folks like Paul went through. But I do wonder if that is how he managed to get through it. Did he use that opportunity to be closer to God? Did he train his mind to focus on God's voice instead of the pain? I don't really know. What I do know is that this practice has helped me get through my own physical pains this time. It has worked so well, in fact, that I didn't even take pain medication for the gout; which was the worst of the 3 experiences and was the latest.

Today, none of these 3 are flaring up. All of it feels to be healing. Some swelling remains around my large toe on my right foot. But other than that, all of the pain is at the low number of 1 on the 10 point scale. I'm grateful for the prayers of others during this time. I am quite certain their prayers helped in the healing process. And this gave me the opportunity to pray for all of the things I needed to pray for myself. What an amazing Gift God has given us!

Perspective and the Book

So, I've been working on the book again this year. One of the steps I'm taking is reviewing and revising the existing chapters I've already written. The I Don't Want To chapter is having some trouble...hehehe However, the Perspective is Everything chapter has seen some significant improvement.

In its original form, Perspective is Everything seems to have been my most impactful chapter. At least, I received the most comments on it back when I first published it on my website. This revised edition is likely to have a comparable reception. I have greatly expanded on the topic and hopefully included some relatable analogies/anecdotes to convey my meaning more clearly.

As I have been praying about this book, I feel like I need to refocus it away from just being the Vitamin G I post on social and more toward specific scripture that supports the content of the book. As such, one of the tasks I'm thinking about taking on is merging my idea of a separate devotional into the actual book itself. Rather than having the book and a devotional, the book itself might have a devotional integrated within.

The original idea was to have a general book about overcoming life's circumstances so anyone and everyone could relate in the most generic sense. However, I'm not sure that is God's Will at this point. I could be wrong, of course. There is still a chance this will be two separate projects that compliment each other. I'm working on my perspective on these ideas...hehehe

I suppose that's the prayer isn't it. What will bring You most Glory, Lord? Will having a secular book with a religious secondary guide bring Him the most Glory? Or will having a single Christian book bring the most Glory to Him? That doesn't need to be decided at this stage. I have months of work left to go. And both paths can be achieved a little later down either path. I'll be sure to ask my editors to pray about this with me. Their perspective is why God led them to be in my life, after all! hehehe

St Patrick's Day and my Birthday

Okay, so, we are about a week away from my newest favorite holiday. These past few years, I have started new traditions around this holiday. I'm still experimenting on tradition with this because I never really thought about it in my younger years. Everything from food, to drink, to where I'm at, there are so many things to consider...hehehe

Today, I decided to try out the special offering at Ford's Garage. They have a St Patty's Melt sandwich that is a half pound of grilled black angus beef, swiss cheese, corned beef, sauerkraut, and spicy mustard all nestled between 2 slices of toasted rye bread. Yum, right?!? For dessert, I went with their St Patty's Mint Condition Milkshake. As you might have guessed, it's a mint chocolate shake.

With its proximity to my birthday, I suppose that might be the reason I hadn't given it much thought until recently. I think I started thinking about this holiday maybe 6 or 7 years ago.

Last year, along with my birthday, I celebrated at Disney. There is an actual Irish Pub at Disney Springs, Raglan Road. By that, I mean it was physically built in Ireland, then disassembled, shipped, and rebuilt at Disney Springs. It is the only one of its kind in the U.S. To celebrate the holiday there last year was something special!

One of my typical traditions for the last 6 or 7 years is to have a pint of Guinness beer and a shot of Jameson whisky. At Raglan Road last year, I continued that tradition and also ate fish and chips. I'd have to say their fish and chips are by far the best I've had!

This year, I'm not likely doing any of this on the actual day. It's on Sunday this year. So that's why I'm at Ford's Garage today. And I'm a week early...HAHAHA I'm going to keep things low key this year, even for my birthday.

My birthday is on a Wednesday this year. I decided to go ahead and take the day off using the My Day holiday from work. I'm currently watching the weather in hopes that I can get out on the water that day. I have a new paddleboard from my parents from Christmas. I haven't been able to get out yet...LOL Today is way too windy to be out on the water in a self propelled craft...hehehe

I had thought about going to Disney again this year. Originally I was hoping to get out to California's Disneyland. Disneyland is definitely not happening. And I don't think Disney World will either. That's okay. If the weather is good enough for Disney, it will be good enough to be out on the water. So I'd much rather be on the water! I haven't been out since November!!! AAAAAAAA....LOL

I Don't Want To Revisited

As I continue to sit here at Ford's Garage, I revisited the chapter I Don't Want To. Wow! I just wrote about a brief summary of what the outcome was for starting my health journey last year. I talked about how I didn't really want to exercise but did want to feel good again. Adding that personal anecdote to the chapter really makes a difference!

It's kinda of funny how I was having strong doubts about the chapter and then suddenly I start writing more that truly makes a difference in how the chapter comes across. That's the way it is with writing. It is almost like the literary work is never quite finished. Eventually the book will need to be complete. But as I am writing it, it keeps evolving.

I find the same to be true with painting. As I draw the subject, and then begin adding color, my paintings feel like they are disappointing. Then, suddenly, the color and lines begin to form what will become the final work. Suddenly, there it is!

I Don't Want To is a chapter that is well deserving if its name. Even when I first wrote it, I didn't want to publish it. It just didn't feel right. I'm not actually finished with it yet. But now it is finally feeling like a real chapter of the book.

I'm about a week or two away from being ready to send this chapter and Perception is Everything to my editors for their initial review and criticisms. The chapter titles may change by then. But the essence of these 2 remain from their original form.

This book is really happening!!! Woohoo!!!

Mugs

It has been a few days since I've updated myself on the Dodgers mugs I ordered. Great news! They arrived in Florida! Woohoo!!! They are expected to arrive at my home on Monday. But they are definitely in Orlando if UPS is telling me the truth...hehehe

My collection has been growing lately. Since coffee and tea are a daily routine, it makes sense that I've been growing this collection. Having fun reminders of things and people I love is very important to me. I rarely collect stuff for myself. I have a few things I've collected for me. But the mug collection is mostly about the people and places I love.

I look forward to having these. I'll first use them on my birthday for the Dodgers season opener. I know I've mentioned that before. I just find it fascinating that it happens to be on my birthday this year. And they are playing in Korea! Korea is where my late Grandfather served in the Navy. And he is the reason I drink coffee! Pretty cool, eh!? Finding such sweet connections are great. They help me stay connected with lost loved ones and those who are far away.

Birthday part 2

Back to my birthday. While I was at Ford's Garage today, I inquired about a special event they are having on my birthday...hehehe It is a 5 course dining experience with beer pairings. They only had 2 tickets left. So I snagged one of them. I confirmed with them that the 5 beers will be 5 oz pours. So I won't need a hotel reservation...HAHAHA One of my questions was about the size of each pour because I knew the beers listed were strong. 25 oz total of beer over the course of a few hours will not be a problem for me. Especially since it will be while eating.

The rest of my day is still open. Weather permitting, I'll get out on the water as I mentioned. Otherwise, I may just do another exploration day.

Exploration

Speaking of exploration, I did that today! After my time at Ford's Garage, I went to the nearby Barnes and Noble. I picked up one of their exclusive classics, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. It is one of my favorite stories and I haven't yet read the actual novel. The B&N edition looks quite fancy. But the price was pretty reasonable.

I also picked up a small copy of Irish Fairy and Folk Tales to go with my Irish heritage. I think that will be a fun read that I'll enjoy every so often. And last, but not least, I picked up a personal size Bible. It is small enough to pack away in my travels. It is the first of my Bible library rebuilding. They had a few other Bibles I was looking to get. But I'll wait for a bit. It will take time to rebuild my library of Bibles. There is no rush.

After B&N, I ventured out through the rest of the outdoor mall it was located in. It was a nice mall. It has all of the typical stores and a few I hadn't seen before. I didn't wander into many of the stores this time. But it is definitely a mall I'll return to. It has plenty of outdoor seating available to relax. And there were several restaurants I'd like to give a try. They did not have any of the typical restaurants. In fact, it reminded me more of the selection available at Disney Springs. It was only lacking a Chinese restaurant...LOL

Seeing that they did not have Chinese, and I was craving Chinese, I took to the map to see what was available nearby. I found this quint little bistro called Liang's Bistro Asian Cuisine in "Tampa" (it seemed I was too far from Tampa to call it Tampa...but the address is Tampa...LOL).

It was quite good! The atmosphere was fun and inviting. And everyone there seemed to be enjoying their meals as well. It was much too busy for me to get a good recording of the ambience using my iPhone's microphone. So when I get a decent mic, I'll be able to record the ambience next time. But I mention this because it was just such a pleasant experience. It was calming. I just don't have the equipment to capture that.

DST, Here I Come!

I had better set an alarm for the morning. I didn't quite meet my goal of getting to bed an hour early tonight. I'll be fine, though. I'm glad the time change occurs on Sundays. Sundays are typically my resting day...hehehe