Friday, January 06, 2006

"I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning..."

Copied from my LJ-6/30/05
Mid-June was an adventure in dizziness. I got a case of vertigo on the Thursday the 16th. Just sitting at my desk at work, the room began to spin. I ended up laying down in the lounge for a while and going home an hour early, terrified another spell would hit while I was driving. I never had anything like that happen before and it scared the shit out of me. Not only because I worried what could be causing it, but also because I have no insurance and cannot afford a health crisis. In fact the doctor's visit the next day cost me $115 out of pocket I could ill afford to part with. But at least she ruled out any severe neurological dysfunction and pronounced it vertigo of probable inner ear origin. It wasn't precipitated by an ear infection nor did she see anything wrong in there, but that's the usual presumption.

I took my Antivert religiously every 8 hours, but the severe dizziness lasted for 3 days. It was disorienting and uncomfortable to move about much. I spent two days clinging to my bed watching the world whirl around me. The worst of it subsided by Sunday and I was back to work Monday. I still felt a bit floaty and out of it for most of last week though, due at least in part to the medication. This week I have had odd little moments where the floor seems to tilt ever so slightly as I'm walking. But the spells are short lived and getting rarer.

I can tolerate just about everything about my crappy job now except the scandalously low pay. My financial situation is pretty dire and I am hoping something changes very soon. A couple of companies have contacted me through my resume on Monster regarding tech support positions, but no interview has been scheduled yet.

Meanwhile, the rumor is that I'm about to get a raise and benefits at my job. Tracy, my dayshift counterpart and the boss's wayward nephew, has gone on an indefinite leave for a mysterious (read: fictitious) medical claim. They were about to fire him for his habit of no-call-no-showing at least one or two days every week. Of course now that he's gone on disability they can't fire him (clever guy), but it's unknown whether or when he may return.

My boss Lamont says I'll get Tracy's position with benefits and a raise. But since Lamont is a bullshitter extraordinaire, I will believe it when I see it. Supposedly HR said I will qualify for benefits in August, but that also came from him so who knows.

Paul and I are going camping this weekend in Manistee National Forest in northwest Michigan. He has scoped out the campsites on recent hikes and we're hoping to get there early enough to claim a nice spot by a stream with a waterfall. We're taking my dog Cleo with us. She really seemed to enjoy our camping trips last summer, even the one where we were beseiged by a biblical plague of flies on the beach near Ludington. She's a 120 lb. shepherd/lab mix and takes up as much room in the tent as one of us, but she's fun to have along.

Music: Telefon Tel Aviv-Farenheit Fair Enough
Mood: Bored