Sleep and Why I Want It

A few nights ago—coincidentally, the night of the first day I took Alertec—I couldn't sleep. In contrast with the periodic bouts of insomnia I've experienced since childhood (topic for a future blog post?), this was a why-would-anyone-ever-want-to-sleep-when-they-could-spend-the-night-reading-back-issues-of-the-New-Yorker kind of sleeplessness. The next morning was pretty OK, considering the two or so hours of actual repose … Continue reading Sleep and Why I Want It →

Status

I indulged in some good old-fashioned sulking on Wednesday. My (truly lovely) in-laws were visiting from North Carolina, and we drove to Muskoka for a few nights, staying in a delightfully kitschy motel, exploring the surrounding area, and spending a day in Algonquin Park. The plan was to go canoeing. As we approached the portage … Continue reading Status →

Two Steps Forward

My default emotion for the last while has been a frustrating melding of sadness and anger. Maybe I can blame it on a recent concussion, on simultaneous medication changes, on anxiety, on the major depressive episode from which I can’t seem to emerge, on the headache that almost never eases, on seizures. Maybe it’s the … Continue reading Two Steps Forward →

OK, Now Everybody Panic!

Just kidding. Please don't. A few days ago, a friend asked me what she should do if I have a seizure while we’re together. Her question—a good one, obviously—made me realize that I should be more proactive about volunteering that information, especially to people I spend significant amounts of time with, so I thought it … Continue reading OK, Now Everybody Panic! →

Billy

In recent months, a few concerned parties have suggested that I consider getting a seizure response animal. I'm not opposed to the idea. In fact, I go through phases in which I wholeheartedly (and deludedly) assume that adopting a dog would drastically and instantaneously change my life for the better, though I'll admit that epilepsy-related … Continue reading Billy →

Going Places

Frequent travel has, for me, been a constant of the last ten or so years. Partly due to the nature of my academic work, but mostly driven by a combination of curiosity and restlessness, I’ve taken extensive trips, often enrolling in language courses abroad, sometimes consulting archives, occasionally just country-hopping. The personal and financial investment … Continue reading Going Places →

Flowers Shall Grow

I haven’t much felt like blogging lately. Last Monday, married friends of my husband and mine were brutally attacked in their home in North Carolina. He survived; she died early Wednesday morning. The past week has been a confusing and profoundly saddening blur, first of painful waiting, then of rushed travel preparations, airports, the visitation, … Continue reading Flowers Shall Grow →

In Praise of Culinary Monotony

Doctors, acquaintances, and the internet regularly remind me that nutrition plays a significant role in seizure control. My subjective opinion is that my diet is awesome. Objectively, there is probably some room for improvement. I sometimes joke that my favourite flavour is bland, but there’s more than a grain of truth in that statement. If … Continue reading In Praise of Culinary Monotony →

Rock Tumbling

I derive weird pleasure from devising theories about the cause of my epilepsy, which is supposedly idiopathic. As someone who values order and reason above almost everything else, I like to remind myself that just because medical professionals say that I spontaneously developed a seizure disorder doesn’t mean that they’re right. The idea that doctors … Continue reading Rock Tumbling →

Confessions of a Former Unschooler

The only thing that unschooling has in common with epilepsy is the particular brand of self-conscious embarrassment it inflicts when a stranger/new acquaintance associates the word with me for the first time. But I figure that since I've been putting it all out there, I might as well write about the unconventional choice that my … Continue reading Confessions of a Former Unschooler →