close your eyes, have no fear.

Today I celebrate a very special day. On February 26, 2009, I realized a lifelong dream of seeing Celine Dion perform in concert. I had front row floor seats for her FINAL show on the Taking Chances World Tour in Omaha. I have the best memories of that night and I still can't believe it happened, or that I've been so fortunate as to see her two more times since then. The video above is not my own, I lost all my recordings from the night when I broke my phone. I purposely wore a bright pink blazer to stand out in the crowd and if you look hard you can spot me (well, my arms and shoulders). To give you an idea of the impeccable view I had from my seats, at 2:00 Miss Celine stands on the edge of the stage... she spent that entire segment singing at me. The people who rushed the stage were sitting right next to me... bunch of weirdos but it made for fun company that night. So, to wrap this up, gros bisous to Celine for the music, hugs and kisses to my momma for making good on a promise and being my concert buddy.

PS - my shoe shipment arrives tomorrow. I might have to call in sick to work to head out for a run.

Alright.

This morning I met with my neurologist. I was running a bit late because at the last minute boyfriend asked for a ride to work and I couldn't say no. I walked straight up to the receptionist and she says, "Ana, right? Dr Stern is actually at the office today."

Um... what the fuck.

In almost two years of seeing this doc, I have only ever met with her in one place. I didn't know she had an office? I thought this WAS the office! Thankfully the receptionist was sweet enough to give me directions and call over to the other office to let them know I was on my way (since I was three minutes past my appointment time at this point). It was no biggie in the end, this other office is located in a building adjacent to where I was. I was told I could take the sky walk, but I opted to go outside and cross the street instead. Two minutes later, I was in Suite 105. Easy peasy.

After updating my patient records and providing them with my new insurance information (this is the THIRD time I've used my new plan and it's been immensely better than before... thank sweet baby Jesus), I was in an exam room waiting to be seen. My doc gets straight to the point and there's very little chatter (I like that about her, I don't make conversation)... we talked about weight, my headaches, chapped lips and dry skin, I asked about the hives I've been experiencing and she referred me to a PCP. And then she blind sighted me.

"Any pregnancy plans?

No joke, I thought my lungs stopped working. WHAT?! Pregnancy plans?? Are you fucking kidding me? Aside from the fact that I've had this conversation with her before, I assume that everyone I know on more than just a casual level knows one thing about me: I don't want kids. So yeah, to ask if I am planning a pregnancy will be answered with a very enthusiastic "fuck no." Once I got over the shock and calmed myself down from the most offensive thing I could think of being asked, I came to some conclusions: she's my doctor and she has a right to know; it's a relevant question because it affects my meds; and I'm a female in my late 20s... it's not unreasonable to expect kids. I shouldn't be so sensitive about the subject but I am. Forgive me. I told her "No kids... ever. You can put that in my chart." She gave me the eyebrow, scribbled something, and then asked about birth control. MY NEUROLOGIST. Bahahaha, that'll wake you up.

This entire visit was not at all what I expected, so I'll eat my words from yesterday. I was caught off guard every step of the way, but the most unsettling part came at the end. She asked when my next vision appoint was, which was confusing because I went just last week and my ophthalmologist swore she'd fax over her workup the same day. I don't know if it was never sent or if it was never read, but that part kinda bothered me. I told her everything I could remember about my meeting with the eye doc to catch her up to speed and then we resumed as usual.

What I wasn't expecting was this: good news. Or any news. I was expecting more of the same. And it went a little like how I had anticipated, but mostly it went the other way. Doc says things keep getting "better and better" and as soon as things are perfect, she'll start weening me off the meds.

The lesson of my last two visits with my neurologist is that this is absolutely in my control: my meds have stayed the same, my weight has stayed the same, my papilledema has stayed the same, but if I make a change surely the rest will follow. It's in my hands, I will make this a reality.

Lastly, because I'm on a shopping kick apparently, eBay has my favorite earbuds on sale in COLORS! I have been ordering the white ones from Amazon, but these are cheaper and prettier. I'm in for a pink pair.