BJJ Grrl

Of course, this morning everything felt fine. Bah. But yesterday I’d paid attention to where all and how all it hurt, so I was able to describe it.

First, good idea to rest and wait 1 month, because that’s the first thing she would have had to tell me to do. Since I’d already done that, and it was still hurting, we could move on.

So, most likely, ligament. Maybe strain, maybe small tear. They took x-rays (required by insurance before an MRI); those looked fine, so she’ll schedule an MRI appointment for me. She said that even with a small tear, I may be able to get by with some more rest and maybe some PT.

Update: The doctor’s office called a little while ago. My MRI is next Wednesday morning. *le sigh*

Work has taken up my time for the last week. A major project, mostly mine at the moment. First part had to be completed and in the mail by Friday afternoon. (Validation document, so I had to print it out and then sign each step as I did it. There were several parts of “Repeat the next 5 steps for all 48 entries.” All. Five. Steps. Signed. Separately. For. Each. Entry. Ow.) The system administrator did it originally in 3 days. Me, with no experience at all, squeaked it out in 3.5 days, with several long nights. First doc: ~850 pages, 11 lbs.

Second part had to be completed by Tuesday afternoon. Again, validation doc, so printing and signing. Started Sunday. Missed family lunch at my Yiayia’s. I drove to work Tuesday morning for the better internet and printer just before the snow, sleet, and freezing rain started. I finally finished and was on the way to mail it when the project manager called — the system wasn’t working, so don’t mail it yet. Took the system admin a very long night and early morning to track down my typo. Fixed, and working. Second doc: ~250 pages, 3+ lbs.

This morning I got a call from the system admin saying the client rejected our validation. One reason: I used a red pen for some of the markup. Seriously. Would have been nice to know beforehand that there were ink restrictions. Main reason, though, is that I haven’t taken a validation certification course, so I’m not “qualified” to perform the validation. Once again, would have been nice to know beforehand.

But, at least we figured out what did and did not work in our documentation. So then I had to fix it. Due tomorrow morning. So today, starting at 8:30 a.m. and going straight at 7:30 p.m., I had to fix roughly 1,000 pages of documentation based on my rejected validation.

With so much time spent working, I wouldn’t've had any time to train even if I were able to. Most nights that I have to skip class for one reason or another, I always seem to look at a clock right around class time, realize that I’m missing it, and sigh. This last week, I haven’t seen a clock until after class is long over. I’ve hardly even kept up with my RSS subscriptions! (The current total says 573. Yow!) Just as well that my knee’s being dodgy when I don’t have time to train anyway.

And the weather! A storm came through on Friday night and dumped ~10 inches of snow on us. Another hit Tuesday with a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain. Another one’s supposed to come in early tomorrow morning, mostly ice through here — my company is actually closed for tomorrow (which is great, actually, because I need a break!). So, even if I had the time or were healthy enough to train, the weather is keeping me out. At least I can work from home most of the time; only really had to go in on Tuesday because I needed the printer.

Then there’s my knee. The working-from-home days have helped it, I think; it’s most un-favorite position is 90 degrees sitting in a chair. Best is nearly straight, with something supporting under the knee. (So playing video games is a great exercise. ) When I went to work on Tuesday, it was actually doing pretty well that morning, and I was thinking I could get back to class soon. But after a day stuck at my desk, it was aching something terrible; I could hardly walk. I worked from home yesterday again, and it was back to “good” in no time. Today when I went to work, I took a pillow to prop under it and overturned my trash can as a footrest. That worked great, and it feels fine now.

Eventually these three will clear out, and I’ll get back to class…

Books

• The Female Body Breakthrough, Rachel Cosgrove. I read a book! I wrote up a review of it. I haven’t tried the nutrition or workout plans yet, though.

Audiobooks

• Quarter Share, Half Share, Full Share, Double Share, and Captain’s Share, Nathan Lowell. (Thanks again, Brian.) Um, yeah, so now I’m waiting for a spaceship to come in, and then I’m shipping out. Quarter Share introduces Ishmael, Half Share shows you he’s not as innocent as you first thought, Full Share confirms it, Double Share put him on the worst ship possible, Captain’s Share gave him the next worst ship in line. It’s a very different experience to listen to a book rather than read it. I read fast and skip boring explanations or scenes I don’t want to read, but I can’t do that when listening, not that there were too many places to do that in this series. There were moments when I wanted it to go faster because I wanted to know! Now! What’s happening?!? (By the way, Half Share+ may not be safe for work, especially if you giggle at books and/or blush. Just a tip.)