Need some inspiration?

I recently came across this post by Darren Barefoot which includes 55 blog topic ideas. I've decided to start using some of those ideas, and everyone else is welcome to do it as well. I was going to do one every day (or every other day, or whenever I have time) but I realized you can't really write about all of them because some are contradictory. So I'm just going to start at the top and write about the ones I feel like. I think some of them are going to be very interesting.

Do drugs *really* make everything better?

As many of you probably know, I suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). In fact, I think I've probably mentioned it on here before. What you may not know is that I suffer from a much worse case than many of my other cysters. While many women can live a fairly normal life, and may not even know they have it until dealing with infertility, I cannot.

For the past 3 months or so I've been dealing with a particularly bad episode. My hormones are all out of wack and I am in constant pain. There's really not much they can do other than give me pain medication and put me back on HBC. The HBC can take up to 3 months to work, if it works at all. I may need to switch to a new brand after 3 months (it has been 2 with this one). So, I just stay drugged up 24/7. And if I miss a dose or take it too late the consequences are quite dire. Quite a bit of the time Josh has to bring it to me in bed as I'm in too much pain to get it myself.

Lately it has actually been getting worse. Even after taking one pill I am still in a large amount of pain. The other day I actually passed out for a few seconds (or minutes? I'm not sure I was passed out lol) from the pain. So I have to get even *more* drugged up.

What is the point of me writing all this? Well I am not myself when I am drugged up. I obviously can't drive, so I've been holed up in the house. I haven't been able to work, either. I haven't officially quit not have I been fired but at this point I'm not holding out hope that my job will still be there when I get better. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I have also become even more antisocial than normal. I don't want to talk to anybody or see anybody in person because I'm not myself and that embarrasses me. My sister's wedding is coming up (and associated parties) and I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with that. I'm supposed to be in the darn thing and she's going to have these pictures for the rest of her life. I don't want to ruin them.

Basically my point is if you see me acting like a fool and talking funny, it's not my fault. If you see me crying in pain, give me a hug. I could use one.

Teal is the color for PCOS (and Ovarian Cancer) support. The image above is from [here], where you can buy PCOS support ribbons, postcards, pillows, and other paraphernalia. This one is my favorite and I would love to have it if it's wasn't for that whole not working thing.

What a Sad, Sad Day

Yesterday my wonderful husband went to the store for me since I have been unable to for the past like three weeks or something dumb like that. He got me my favorite things ever - Walmart brand hamburger dill pickle chips.

[source]

As I was picking them up off the counter to put into the fridge the unthinkable happened. CRASH! There goes all my lovely, delicious, pickles on to the floor.... If it wasn't for all the tiny pieces of glass I might have been tempted to find the ones who weren't touching the floor and save them. =(

Thankfully no one was hurt - not even a scratch. But even better than that my fantastical husby had been wise enough to get more than one jar of pickles. =D

Just part of my 99%

As some of you know, I applied for a promotion at work several weeks ago. I recently found out that I did not get it. Instead the position was given to another internal candidate from Tallahassee who has been with the company several years longer than I have. Despite how long he's been with the company, I still know more about *our* store than he does, but I digress. He's a nice enough guy and I'm sure he deserved it.

I have since decided that although I did not get this position, it is very important that I find full time employment. We need more money. I need health insurance. I am not going to school over the summer so I'll certainly have the time. So if my local readers know of anything, I would appreciate you letting me know.

I know that saying I'm looking for a new job publicly on the internet can be risky. I'm not too worried about it though as my boss (and hers) already know what I have decided. There is a chance that my position will be converted into a full time one in order for me to stay, but I am certainly not counting on it.

Swagbucks

Near the beginning of March I started my account with Swagbucks.com (note: this is my referral link). At first I was skeptical and thought it might be a pyramid scheme, but now I'm really glad I stuck with it.

Since I started my account I have earned enough swagbucks to get $10 in Amazon.com gift cards and am halfway to my next $5. This was done all on my own without the help of any referrals. Whenever I search the web I use their search engine first, and if I don't find what I'm looking for I try the search engine I used before. Each time you search you have a chance to win up to 50 bucks (at least, that's the most I've seen). I usually make about 10. Those of you who are on my facebook have probably seen the posts from when I've won bucks this way.

There are also "free" bucks you can earn everyday by taking the poll, going through the NOSO path, and visiting the Trusted Survey page. I also take the surveys if I've got more than a 50% chance of qualifying. For 15 minutes of answering questions about which movies I want to see I can get 100 bucks, so why not? They also have tons of videos you can watch on the site, giving you three bucks every time you watch 10 (most I've watched were under 2 minutes long and you can still do other stuff while they play).

Right now they are doing Mom Madness on their blog. Every week day you can earn 6 bucks by voting for your favorite mom, until the ultimate mom is crowned winner. It's fun and interesting to see who wins each round; the bucks are just the icing on the cake.

I really suggest those who search the web a lot like I do (and even those who don't) sign up for this service. I would love for you to use my link as they match all referrals first 1000 bucks (which equals to ~$12 in gift cards) but I'm not suggesting *just* because I would benefit. I'd feel bad keeping this opportunity to myself.

Leave the Scar!

Implicit Association Tests

As part of my Marriage and Family sociology class, I was asked to take the Sexuality IAT on this website. It's free and only takes about 10 minutes, so you should go check it out yourself.

The test shows you two group headings, one on the left and one on the right. As images and words pop up you are supposed to sort them using the E key for left and I key for right. The order of word sets is randomized, but I first had bad on one side and good on the other. The words were pretty easy, tragic for bad and beautiful for good as an example. Then I had gay people on one side and straight people on the other. This time sometimes words were shown (like homosexual or heterosexual), or pictures such as a man and woman in wedding attire or two women. But then they put the two word sets together...

My first set like this had both bad and gay people on the left with good and straight people on the right. Words describing good or bad were shown in green, while pictures/words depicting sexual orientation were in white. The words/pictures didn't have to correspond to both words on the correct side, just one depending on the color.

After that section I did it again, only with the words reversed. Bad was with straight people and good was with gay people. Your automatic preference for one sexual orientation over the other is figured out by which group you finish the fastest and with the least amount of errors, straight people with good or gay people with good.

My results were "little to no automatic preference between Gay People and Straight People." =]

(source)

What was your results? What do you think about this test, is it accurate?