Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!
Grab a cup of coffee and share with us! What’s been going on in your life? What are your weekend plans? Is there a topic you’ve just been ruminating on that you want to talk about?
Welcome to May everyone. I hope you’re all doing well. This week has been okay for me, just another week without much exciting (which at this point is actually wonderful. I’m not sure I really want too much excitement in my life right now).
I have been feeling better, so I think that getting to return to my normal dosage of meds has helped. Thank you all for your well-wishes, though I did want to clarify, I don’t have RA. Technically I have “undifferentiated connective tissue disorder” which, in short, means it’s in the family of inflammation issues but they haven’t pinpointed it. Some of my treatment seems to follow the treatments that work for lupus but, it is all a guess at what’s going to work at any point. I’m very fortunate to have a good team of doctors working with me!
School has been wrapping up (I’m in my first semester of a Master’s of Library and Information Sciences program), I have one more project (group project) and then I’ll be done for the semester. It’s kind of fun to be ending the semester on a project where I’m charged with making suggestions on changes for a website, since that’s something I’ve actually done before!
It’s been a good semester, and I’m looking forward to a month off from schoolwork, and looking forward to starting my next semester in which I’ll be taking one of the required intro classes which is a research and writing class, as well as an intro class in “Information Technology Tools and Applications.” It’ll be an interesting combo to have one programming and tech heavy class and one that’s more writing heavy (including regular blog posts over on my student blog, it’ll be nice to be getting into the flow of regularly writing again).
Also on my “things I’m going to do soon” list? upgrading the Catio! I have plans to make it more accessible for ME (not just Monster) and I have the tools I need to make it happen. I’ll be sure to share pictures once I get it done.
Eclectic Alli 
What a time, right? We are heading into 90 degree weather in LA, and yet the beaches are closed…will be tough to enforce…
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Oof, yeah that will be a challenge! I wish more people would take personal responsibility… it makes me so frustrated when I see people being irresponsible in a way that could be putting other people in danger.
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agree completely, the lack of personal responsibility is shameful
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Ah. I’m glad you have a good team of doctors. I’ve not found one here yet and then covid. I also have UCTD. It’s a pain! (Pun intended).
If my mood stays stable today, I’ll try a coffee share!
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Such a pain! I feel SO LUCKY to have found my team! I hope you’ll find one as soon as possible, it really helps to have medical partners in this journey.
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Glad you’re feeling better and that your class went so well. My daughter is finishing up the last semester of her bachelor’s degree in Marketing and group projects have been the bane of her existance! Having to work only remotely has made it even more challenging. She’s looking forward to the break too. Enjoy your weekend.
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My entire program is online-only, so I think that’s why they emphasize group work at the start. I was really lucky to have two good groups, but am happy that it doesn’t appear either of my summer classes have much group work – I’m ready for a break from that!
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I LOVE Monster and his catio is soooo cool!! He looks very content! Thank you for the coffee share! ❤️ ☕😁
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Thanks! He is rather fond of the catio!
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I am glad your are doing better health wise. What a relief, I totally understand not wanting more excitement right now. I feel the same way. Thank you for the coffee, I hope you are enjoying the weekend ❤
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I hope your weekend was good! I did enjoy it, it ended up being a bit of a strange weekend, but I relaxed a bunch.
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Hi Alli,
Great that the docs are getting closer to understanding what your symptoms are trying to tell them and so you’re feeling better. Maybe there’s a full answer coming soon.
You array of classes sound wonderful. I took one library science course as part of my undergraduate work and often have thought I could have been happy if I could have just turned that into a career, but I know that working in corporate computer science education and IT certainly proved to pay better – and I have the missing hair to prove it.
You are getting very close to some big goals.
All the best.
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Thanks Gary! Honestly, I’m just content with managing the symptoms right now – though fuller answers (and therefore perhaps a better idea of some of the things to anticipate in the future) would be a lovely thing to find.
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I’m sorry to hear about your inflammatory issues. I’m glad you’re gluten free!
What a great time of the year to be finished with school and have a month off before the summer heats us up. Your field is certainly changing as more resources are available digitally. It will be interesting to see how this pandemic affects that shift.
I love your catio photo! I’ve never heard of that term but as soon as I saw the photo, I knew exactly what it meant. Does your cat live out there or just enjoy the sun?
Thanks for sharing!
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Been gluten-free for over a decade now – it makes such a HUGE difference for me. My mom (who I live with) is now also gluten-free.
I’m excited to be entering the field as it is changing so rapidly. 20 years ago, when I was just starting college, I had thought about going into library sciences, but was discouraged because it was “a dying field.” But it has just grown, evolved, and embraced the changes. Now things are shifting even more, and I’m looking forward to being part of it!
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I’m really glad that library science has evolved and is growing. Great news!
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It really is, it’s intriguing to see all the ways that things are evolving and changing in the field!
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Good to hear you’re feeling better and will have a break from schoolwork to do something fun for yourself. Thanks for hosting Alli. Have a great weekend! #weekendcoffeeshare
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Thanks!!
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Good to know that you are doing well. And my best wishes for your upcoming semester. You really have your hands full 🙂
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It’s been a busy time for sure. I have to work to keep the balance!
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Hi Ali,
Thanks for the coffee. I’m watching Romeo and Juliet the ballet while wrapping up my post. Watching it on TV is nothing like watching it in person up close like when I’m watching my daughter and the others dance. Nothing beats being there in person, not matter what it is. Obviously we’re not doing much of that atm but are making do with the screen. Or, as in the case of shows like this, watching them because they’ve been released to entertain us during lock down.
Does it concern you that you don’t have a firm diagnosis? Is the treatment generally working? It took me 18 months to get a diagnosis and that made all the difference. I was very, very ill.
It is starting to cool down here and get chilly. However, what I miss most is the longer hours of daylight and feel like the end of the day has been stolen. Of course, it doesn’t help when my hours are upside down and as Geoff pointed out tonight, I’ve become “nocturnal”.
Anyway, I hope you have a good week.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Hi Rowena –
I haven’t been to the ballet in ages, I should definitely take some time to watch some while I have the time and opportunity – maybe get myself to the point of actually going to see it live when we can again!
I’m actually really pleased with the diagnosis I have so far – autoimmune diseases can take a really long time to diagnose, so having the recognition that I have one is a big step in of itself. My symptoms just aren’t fitting nicely in any category, so we’re handling it as it comes, and so far the treatments are working really well. I figure that at some point it will eventually settle into SOMETHING.
I’m so happy that our days are getting longer, and warmer (though soon they’ll be TOO warm for me!).
Hope you’ve had a good weekend!
Allison
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Sadly, as your days get longer, ours are getting shorter, which is a strong incentive for me to dramatically shift my body clock. I’ve been going to bed at 3.00am and waking up at midday for a few weeks. Lock down hasn’t been good for that and I was beavering away on the A-Z Challenge. Every day I vow to start making the change but it’s a hard habit to break, but now with the reducing hours of daylight, I think that’s get me moving.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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