What We Do In the Shadows & Sleep Again

[singedsun]

I am so behind on this show because I don't have cable, but they just added season one to Hulu, so I binged all ten episodes today. I loved it, it's got all the same dumb and charming energy of the movie. I am in love with Nadja and her protégé, Jen. The episode with them at the college party was adorable. Nadja is also a real babe, the painting of her in the opening sequence is amazing and I low-key would love to be able to buy a poster or something of it.

I haven't played much more of Final Fantasy XV because our Xbox One controller seems to be really dumb and it's stopped holding a charge. This has happened to me before with an old Xbox 360 controller too, it's like if you don't use them for awhile, they just ...stop working altogether. I found a few options online to see if it's fixable that I'm going to try tomorrow. If not I might have to suck it up and buy a new one. I hate how expensive they are though. I do have an Amazon gift card and I hate to spend it on something like this instead of IDK something more fun? so hopefully one of the tests to fix it will work.

Discovered some new pain this evening, I'm hoping it's nothing to worry about just pain from healing. I stopped my meds a few days ago because I'm feeling okay without them. My sleep is obviously disturbed though as I withdraw from them (they were heavy opiates) and this morning I slept in our wingback chair for like five hours because I was so exhausted from not sleeping last night. I'm trying not to have a repeat of that tonight. I did discover that I can sleep for short periods in the bed now, with lots of pillow support. So I might crawl into the spare bedroom in an hour or so and see if that'll work.

Last night when I couldn't sleep I finally started my intoabar fic. Since I got the assignment I've had a strong concept for it, I just hadn't actually sat down to write it yet. I think it's bordering on 1k words already, so I'm over the min word count but I feel like it's really just starting. So I need to be awake enough at some point in the next few days to get it posted. I didn't anticipate the second week of my recovery to still be so tired and out of it most of the time, so maybe accepting a fic challenge was a bad idea for this time period, but I'm also really enjoying what I am writing of it, and being able to focus on something creative, so I don't know what the right answer there is.

I got notice from the benefits company that handles short term disability claims for my office, and they think I should be able to return to work on September 1st, which feels like WAY too fucking soon, given the trouble I'm having getting back to normal in my second week. I know I have an office job that's pretty sedentary, but um... I'm having trouble sitting upright comfortably when I am awake and feeling good. Plus, my first check-up with my doctor isn't until the 10th of September, which indicates my doctor sure didn't expect me to be up and around and working until before that time period. So I'm going to call them tomorrow and try to explain at least the check-up part and see what they have to say. Last I saw they were still waiting on info from my doctor's anyway, so they don't have all the info to make a real decision based on what my doctor had to say about my discharge and recovery requirements. Mentally, aside from the fatigue and sleep schedule being shit, when I am awake I feel pretty with it, just sore with certain needs for sitting/resting comfortably. I could work for short periods of time, but not a full eight hours every day and still feel competent at my job.

Comments

[rionaleonhart]

Can you plug the XBox One controller into any USB port, or does it have to be connected to the console? We'll sometimes plug the PS4 controller into a USB adapter by the sofa, so we can still use it comfortably when it's low on battery.

[singedsun]

Currently I do have it plugged into a wall port, so I can play on the couch. It was plugged into the Xbox One previously but I don't know that one did better than the other. I did find a place in the settings where maybe there's a controller update that could be applied, so I'm going to plug it back into the Xbox One and try that first.

[riotheclown]

Hope you feel better soon! I have found that there is a rapid curve to healing. that really it is very slow at first but the improvement is exponential as things "come together"; as you get back to "normal" the improvement improves. The sleep thing, as long as you are healing sleep whenever you feel like sleeping and don't fret about the quality or location, that will come. After my hematoma I used some relaxation audios and guided meditations to get back into a more regular pattern nighttime. I remember the first night I could sleep on my side again, wow it was wonderful! Sensible use of non-opiate pain killers like Tylenol X can make a difference too and are easier to give up when you are well. Definitely get more time off work, you will have to recover from the inactivity too, but as you do try light exercise that will help your general well being and the health of your knee.
I thought I had lost an entire summer but I am able to ride my bike again. Amazing! Thought I'd never get here.

[singedsun]

I'm trying to remind myself that sleep time is healing time so the more I can get the better. It doesn't help that I tend towards night owlish-ness when left to my own devices and often struggle with insomnia. So this like freedom to sleep when it comes is hard for me to embrace.

[riotheclown]

There is a lot of good information about sleep now, as a rule of thumb no screens for a half hour before bed. But I think the fact that you could sleep in a chair for five hours shows you body will demand it if it needs it regardless of you inclination.

My problem is I wake up at 5:30 am regardless of what I have to do that day. I am retired so I can have a nap if I need it. But sleep deprivation is the cause of a lot of illness though how much you need can vary.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x66hear a good show about sleep

[enemytosleep]

Is it possible to do work from home as you recover? I definitely feel like with insurance and the like it's always a fucking battle. When I tore my shoulder they approved TWO physical therapy sessions for me and said I only need one week off of work. I work a physical job that requires full use of my arm so while I could do a few office hours in a sling, I couldn't perform my usual job functions. It was a battle every week to get more PT approved and to get the letter for work to excuse me not being there. I hope you only need one phonecall to postpone until sometime after your follow up appointment.

On a more fun note, I am enjoying FF15 more. I'm almost done chapter three. I'm still not convinced of the larger story, but as far as the ChocoBro Road Trip goes, I'm very much enjoying all the hunts and quests! I've gotten the knack of exploring and camping, and I'm all the way to level four on the goddamn fishing system (meanwhile Prompto is somehow level seven for selfies?!? Why?). FF13 was so extremely linear that it's really nice to have an open world to explore. The graphics are gorgeous and I even know how to drive manually between most major gas stations without a map. We'll see if they convince me on the royal versus imperial story line as it progresses.

[enemytosleep]

Also, shameless plug of my intoabar story because it's 15 year old Jester Lavorre and that's good for the soul.

[singedsun]

If I have to, I totally have the ability to work from home. But, because I'm a team lead and we have a new manager, I kind of wouldn't want to do that to the team. I feel like if I'm back, I should physically be back so make sure I get caught up on everything.

Oh! You're about in the same spot I'm in! I did realize that the batteries in the controller were old, so I replaced them today and I'm going to try and pick it back up tomorrow. Didn't have a chance to try it before Critical Role started tonight.

[enemytosleep]

Well you might need to give yourself permission to lower the bar a little on the ideal way to integrate with a new manager. I hope you heal up well and that it's not an issue with disability to be out for the time you need, but yeah, if you can do half days at the office or something down the road, it might be worth considering. Fingers crossed!

I advanced the story more yesterday, and chapter 4 and 5 were both pretty straight forward (no real room for sidequests so you have to get to a certain point of advancement). I'm going to spend the weekend doing more hunts/quests now before the next chapter where obviously sidequests won't be an option for a bit. I also learned that you can unlock more colors for the chocobos and I've fallen down that rabbit hole. I think I'm happy with 3 out of 4 colors that I've chosen, so I want to unlock one more to change Gladiolus.