July: Middle of Month Update

 

Hello! The Unleashed One here. How is everyone faring so far? In my neck of the woods, it has been very hot and humid.

One characteristic I have noticed about my arthritis is that the warmer it is, the more it tends to flare up. The concentration of arthritis resides in my hands, wrists, and my knees. I am still getting cortisone injections in my knees every three months but have noticed that the effectiveness is waning slightly. The gel injections are the next step, but I'm going to talk to the doctor to see if it's the way to go as of yet.

I resumed a hybrid work schedule beginning the last week of June. To date, it has been beneficial only attending the office three days a week.

As far as my workout routine, I originally wanted to incorporate a day or two where I'd been utilizing the RWJ Fitness Center on days when I'm onsite and only doing Planet Fitness on days when I'm offsite or close to the house. One new class I wanted to try for Thursday was not my cup of tea because it involved movements that would cause too much high impact on my joints. Therefore, the classes would have to fall either on Tuesdays or Wednesdays to be of benefit. I do have classes I like on Tuesdays but not any that fall within the timeframe on Wednesdays, so I'm still trying to sort all of that out. I have made a decision that after this month,  I'm going to put a pause on the membership. I have vacation time scheduled, and honestly, the last thing I want is to be five minutes away from work (which is how far RWJ is from there).

I was very pleased with myself for being able to do three plates on each side on the leg press machine. I hear that Planet Fitness has a reputation for not being user-friendly to those utilizing too much weight, but I haven't had that problem so far. Plus, at that particular location, I've seen men put as many as six plates on each side of the leg press, and no one's kicked them out. If there's any Planet Fitness I've not gone to in a while, it's mainly because of:

(1) Lack of flexible hours

(2) Cleanliness of location

(3) Lack of machines/maintenance of machines

(4) Overcrowdedness

It has never been due to being kicked out or harassed. If that ever changes, trust me, ALL will know.

My investment in my Mental Health is progressing well. Yes, there are moments when it can be mentally and emotionally draining, but it is part of the process. An outside party can provide a different perspective that may produce an alternate way of handling situations. Similar to physical fitness, staying emotionally and mentally fit takes everyday dedication.

As far as medication, my stance on that remains the same. I don't want to resume going back on medication because of how it negatively impacts my creativity. I'm appreciative that my therapist respects my decision and has not tried to overly advocate the inclusion of pharmaceuticals. Note, I'm not saying that this is the right course for everyone. Please talk to a doctor or therapist who can decide whether being on medication is the proper move. With some diagnoses, medication is an absolute necessity.

I got the wonderful news that my passport application was approved. 😁😁😁 I've been tracking the status online, and if all bodes well, my passport should arrive before the end of the month. In hindsight, I wish I had done this sooner, but I don't think I would have appreciated getting this done as much. Will doing some international travel be in the near future as opposed to the distant future? Only time will tell. 

I'm going to attempt (keyword: attempt) to be around more often socially. I have set up a new Instagram account solely for updates on this blog/website. Click on the bouncing Instagram logo to become a follower or just search @simplynolabels. If I fall short, I request grace because (1) I'm human and (2) my pseudonym Queen of Spades is working on something big, so trying to manage that level of creative energy can be two handfuls. #CreativeTypesWillGetThis

As always, thanks so much for stopping by.