My fall semester was wonderful.  I ended with a great grade point average that I don't think I ever had in my entire academic career. Learned lots of stuff and history of animation was awesome. Then the New Year came and things changed. My mood took for a turn for the worse. I thought it was just winter blues and it would go away when the spring semester started. I would be busy again and the winter funk would take a hike. No such luck. I found it hard to concentrate at times and had an occasional headache. I even bought a happy light thinking that might help. Both my psychologist and general doctor said they are placebo effect. I didn't use it consistently enough to give it head or tails. So my advice would  to try it and see if it has any effect on you. Happy lights are not cheap either.

A week before spring break I have a few headaches. I thought it was because there was painting going on in my hallway and the paint fumes tend to make me feel sick. Two days after spring break started I had a massive migraine. The next day is when the nightmare began. I woke up with horrible neck pain and it has yet to be cease. After a visit to the doctor I also found out that my blood pressure was high. I had my meds adjusted for that. I even had my eyes checked and there was nothing wrong with them.The neck pain started to radiate to my right shoulder. Sometimes I feel it in my elbows. At times my low back bothers me. Going to school and being out and about aggravates the problem. Every crack, gap and pot hole I go over on the sidewalk with my scooter really hurts. This winter did a wonderful job creating lots of new cracks and pot holes. I have been using a pillow to soften the blows. Constantly looking down to write notes is a real pain in the neck.

At first I was taking muscle relaxer but I stopped  because it was effecting my concentration, but at the same time so does being in pain. You're dammed if you do and your dammed if you don't. At least I got some decent sleep. Physical therapy has helped to isolate the issue to stop the pain from radiating all over the place. It has also helped dulling the pain to a more tolerable level. I only have a few weeks of physical therapy left and I can't get into to see my specialist until the end of May. I was told from my last doctor's visit that if the pain doesn't cease then there is acupuncture or botox. Yeah that's right, botox isn't just for rich ladies who want to freeze their wrinkles.  

As for school I feel totally fucked. My concentration is not good when I try to read for any period of time. My neck has not been very tolerable to reading. In a few mins of reading my neck starts to hurt. I have papers due in the next few weeks and there is finals. I'm behind in old assignments too. I purchased a book holder which is dandy for big books for small paper backs its the same old position. I'm going to have to look at options for next semester that will be better for my neck but until then I need to survive the next few weeks.I am considering taking incompletes for two classes to give me more time.

As for the future there is three semesters of math, two of foreign language. I'm pretty set on taking German. Then a few other anthro classes and one more classics course and I will graduate. So I have to keep telling myself this to keep on going.

Cartoons and music are the best pain killers.