Personal update: residencies + nerve injuries

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Hi friends! I don’t know why I didn’t sit very comfortably… actually. I do know why I didn’t sit very comfortably, because things are wet, but I wanted to be outside, so I’ll be sitting weirdly to try to not get too wet. I have some I guess news to share. It’s not really news? I have been working on an application for a residency in Virginia that would be a month in the spring. I want it so muuuuuch! So I’ve been working on it a lot this last week and I’m close to being finished with it. I’m getting some more feedback from people that I value their opinions. So taking that into consideration. I have some more edits to do but I’m really excited and I’m pretty happy with it so far. And I really, really, really, really, really, really hope that I get this residency. It would be perfect. It’s an hour from Shenandoah, so you know I would be spending a lot of time there! Yeah, so I really hope I get it! I’m really excited, working really hard on it, so hopefully that will happen.

(CLICK HERE TO SEE THE IMAGES IM SUBMITTING)

Another new thing. I had a routine STI test because you know, safe sex is hot! And the third time in my life I have a nerve injury. Yay… That’s a very sarcastic yay if you couldn’t tell. Wow, there’s a lot of mosquitoes! I’m not gonna be out here for too long. Okay, so I got my blood drawn in the usual place, you know the crook of your arm, and as soon as the needle went in I knew they nicked a nerve because I felt it like electricity down my hand, down my arm and into my hand. So it’s like the section here and then into the bottom of my thumb, is randomly has lightning strikes in it of pain and little random places of tingly and numbness.

I’m apparently prone to getting nerve injuries. If you were here in 2016, you knew about the wrist drop that I had for three months where I like, couldn’t lift my wrist like this. I couldn’t make a thumbs up and I couldn’t open, I couldn’t expand my fingers all the way. It was on my right hand, which is my dominant hand. I might link to it, if you want to see it. It’s been a really long time, but for three months, I didn’t have use of my right hand. I mean, obviously, I do now, but it was pretty scary. Nerve injuries are not fun.

(CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF ME WITH WRIST DROP MAY 2016)

But in 2019, the same thing happened with the blood draw. I had a blood draw and it was the same thing and I still have a little numb spot right here, from that in 2019. Luckily I don’t have the pain anymore, that part of the nerve has healed, but I still never regained the feeling in this little spot right here. So hopefully this feels and goes away quickly. It’s not fun, nerve injuries are weird.

I’m like surrounded by mosquitoes right now! Holy moly. Okay. Try to move to make them not land on me. Please don’t, I don’t want you sucking my blood! Yeah. So those are the main new things happening in my life. I’m going camping next week, I’m really excited! I get to see my friend and then I have a whole lot going on in October.

Yeah, I still have a whole bunch of self portraits that I took last year I think, or also some this year, but I have a whole bunch of self portraits that I’ve taken more recently that I haven’t had the energy to go through them because there’s so many and it’s kind of overwhelming and I want to, like, pare them down to my favorites, but I’m just overwhelmed by how many there are so I haven’t really looked at them, but I do have them and I need to look through them. It’s just very daunting to me right now at this point. Mosquitoes, goodness! I will have more self portraits for you at some point soon hopefully, I just need to take the time to look through them.

Actually, you know what might be fun? Maybe we can do a thing where you look through them with me and it’s like a co-working thing, except you just tell me which photos are your favorites. Maybe we will do that at some point. I need to like, find the time schedule that because that might actually be really fun. And y’all might like that. I don’t know, but it will definitely help me look through those photos if I had some friend accountability to do it. It’s just so… I it’s like overwhelming because there’s too many to look at and I feel like I need to do it all in one sitting. Maybe that’s my problem is I feel like I need to do it all in one sitting, why do I feel that way?

(I HAVE A SURVEY BELOW WHERE YOU CAN SHARE FEEDBACK!)

Oh my gosh mosquitoes, oh a squirrel! Okay, I’m getting it distracted now. I’ve talked about the important things. It’s already been 5 minutes. Okay. I just want to say y’all are amazing. I am thinking about you all the time. I am stressed out by computer work things, which is why I haven’t been posting that much recently. I think about you all the time and I want to figure out a way to be more consistent and like, actually share things on here that is sustainable for me. Because being on the computer for hours a day is not my favorite thing. It stresses me out a lot and it’s not enjoyable. So I need to figure out how to do things in a way that I’m still able to share with you, but it doesn’t require as much time on the computer. 

So, if you have any ideas, I’m definitely open to that because I really want to share more with you and spend more time with you. Maybe I maybe instead of having Vlogs, we can just hang out live because that to me doesn’t take as much energy. That’s more fun than just like sitting at a desk. Okay, Yeah. Into feedback! I love you all so much! Thank you for being here and I’ll talk to you soon!