My Summer Class Survival Kit

I'm BAAAAAAAAACK! 

I don't know what happened there, just pretend I've been posting this whole time. K, thanks! :)

It's finally summer! We've survived the fall and spring semesters, conquered those finals, scheduled those future classes, cried about our new Monday schedules (mine starts at 9 a.m. and doesn't finish until 6:30 p.m. - ew), and we've bought our new planners for the coming year (Yippee!!). 

The next three months can be spent having camp outs, drinking margarita's (Yippeee!!!), spending time with friends and family, and swimming (just kidding, ew bathing suits).

OR

You work a part-time or full-time job because you're a broke college student with loans out the wazoo.

AND/OR

You're me and you take summer classes! yay.......

This is my second summer with classes on the docket, and let me tell you just how much I hate everything about it. Last summer was torture, with four classes all crammed into six weeks, a trip to Canada (OOOOOO CAAANNNNNNAAADA!) jammed in-between, a 35+ hour-a-week job, a sister in a vocal competition, and the added pressure that these classes may not actually transfer. Needless to say, I was not a nice person for those six weeks: I got about five hours of sleep a night (if that), and basically chained myself to the corner of our sofa which was dubbed The Throne of Education by my family. 

This summer should be a little different with just two classes, a slightly calmer work schedule, and no international trips (OOOOOOOO CAAAAANADA!) on the calendar. However, there is still need for preparation and planning.

If you're anything like me, music = air when you're studying. Last summer I had a solid line-up of playlists that simultaneously helped me focus, and perfectly captured the 2 a.m. two hour long biology exam vibe. There were other things that got me through as well, so here is a list of my must-haves for summer class survival.

1. Tervis o' Water

My brother despises the word Tervis, but this thing was an absolute lifesaver in terms of hydration. By my calculations, I drank about five to eight, 16-ounce Tervis cups of water per day last summer between my eight hours at work and my six to seven hours of school at night. 

If you don't know what a Tervis is, and/or don't already possess one, you may take a gander and purchase one here.

2. TV Table

If you are taking summer classes you are most likely taking them online, which means you need a laptop/computer of some sort. My laptop is not only massive but heats up to roughly the temperature of hell-fire after about an hour of use. I used a TV table to keep my laptop from burning my legs off AND as a place to keep my Tervis close at hand for optimum hydration needs. 

3. Back Support

Since I was using a TV table and because my arms are short, I could not comfortably sit on the sofa and reach my computer. So I sat at the edge of the sofa with zero back support for hours on end, after standing at work all day. We eventually bought a lap desk, and one of those pillow things that's sort of shaped like the back of a chair. Hard to explain but Target has them. 

4. Music

Playlist #1 - "where do my bluebird fly?"

Playlist #2 - "ice in every vein."

These two playlists were the primary entertainment. Both can be found at 8tracks.com. They're a little eerie and strange at times, but great enjoyable background noise. 8tracks in general is a fantastic place to find very lengthy study playlists, so I highly recommend checking it out and making an account, they have music for everything.


My other suggestion is to find playlists on YouTube of your favorite artists. I listened to this entire Hozier album many times.

There you have it, my basic survival kit for summer classes. I did fit food in there somewhere, but there was nothing in particular that got me through, so just make sure you have a few of your favorites in the pantry.

Good luck!

~ The Campus Curmudgeon ~

A Picture Heavy Analysis of Being an "Adult"

Congratulations, you've reached the age at which you are considered an adult!

I think we can all agree, though, that adulthood fails to live up to the expectations of our five-year-old selves. Growing up is a rough process we are forced to endure and college/early to mid 20's is the sweet spot of this emotion:                        

Which ultimately ends in a lot of this:

A season of life in which we all just need a nap...Constantly.

After this point things can either get worse or better (or maybe both, I don't know). But by then you've survived a bit, and know what life situations are going to definitely make you cry, and which ones you've already cried over (and quite frankly make you more annoyed than sad or angry).

For now, though, we are 20-something, and life consists of college and general experience-gathering.

So here are some photos, quotes, etc., in no particular order, that are just too relatable in this time of life (and, I'm sure, beyond).

First and Foremost:

Trying New Things:

When You Finally Put Together a Half Decent Outfit:

Dealing With Other People:

Trying to Explain Your Personality:

Entering The Dating World:

Homesickness:

Doing Adult-Like Things:

These:

Realizing This is the Only Thing You Truly Want in Life:

Not Knowing What the Most Popular Thing Is Anymore:

Though I am sure there are thousands more harsh truths about adulthood I will be continuously realizing, it has already taken me months to round up these gifs and photos (I know, I'm sorry), so maybe there will be a part two...But I wouldn't hold your breath.

~The Campus Curmudgeon

This Week in Words - Sixth Sense

Date: I don't remember - I should probably be better at taking note of that...

Time: Afternoon...Probably around 4:30

Place: On my way back to my dorm

"I can like, smell when rain is coming."

This Week in Words

This one was said by a guy with an amazing amount of sass, which made it awesome...


Date: I forget

Time: Afternoon

Place: Somewhere on the way back to my dorm

"I know I'm black, okay? Look at me."

Two Ingredient DIY Lip Gloss

Recently I found myself in possession of too much blush. I made a visit to my good friend Pinterest to see if I could make lip balm out of it, but Pinterest only had a few options. I thought I'd put one more how-to out there for people to put their left over or old blush to good use.

They all only require two or so ingredients, so this is super simple. All you need is pretroleum jelly and your old blush.

Cut off the cotton end of a cotton swab to mix the two together.

 Put a dab of petroleum jelly on a plate and use a knife to scrape some blush into the petroleum jelly.

 My blush isn't very dark so to get any amount of color it took quite a bit. Judge amounts based on how much color your blush has when you put it on.

VOILA! 

You have lip gloss!

Super easy, and looks pretty nice. Like I said, my blush was light so my lip gloss didn't have a lot of color. I probably could have added a lot more and still had a lighter lip color.

This is a weird angle for my nose but you get the idea....

Sincerely,

The Campus Curmudgeon

10 Things I've Learned Living with a Lung Disease

Fun fact: I have a lung disease. It's called Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia and it affects the cilia throughout my body, primarily in my airways. Basically, the cilia don't work. For anyone who isn't aware, your cilia are responsible for moving your mucus, and mucus is responsible for hoarding all germs and dirt that collect in your airways. So when your cilia don't work, your germ/dirt packed mucus just sits in your lungs and sinuses. Coughing is the only thing that moves the mucus. As you can imagine it's impossible (and probably fatal) to cough 24/7, so PCDer's, as we are called, have a constant abundance of mucus just hanging out gathering all the dust, germs, and dirt we breath in. 

PCD is genetic and incurable. Therapy and other medicinal treatments are our only option for controlling our symptoms, and even those barely scratch the surface sometimes. It's really hard to imagine a life without PCD, as I have found it consumes a lot of my time and even more of my energy. After 21 years of living with PCD there are some things I've learned, the following are just a few.

Side note: About half of those with PCD also have something called Situs Inversus Totalis, which is the condition where all your organs are backwards. Ex. The heart is on the right side of the body instead of the left, the left lung (two lobes) is on the right side (which typically has three lobes), etc. And as luck would have it, I have that, too.  

1) You Are Different

If you have ever subjected yourself to watching an inspirational movie revolving around someone and their illness or disability, you know that the underlying message is always "you are just like everyone else." Well I'm calling bull on that one, because if there is anything I've had to learn living with a chronic illness it is that I am different, and that's O.K. In fact, in most cases it's a really good thing to recognize, because the sooner you do, the sooner you can accept the fact that if you smoke, you die. If you try to be a pole vaulter, you die, etc. etc. whatever the case may be.

When there is an entire part of your body that just doesn't work, things are going to be different, life is going to be different. If you constantly try to keep up with others and find you can't, you will compare yourself to others, and you are going to suffer a lot more. Acknowledging your differences does not mean limiting yourself, it means accepting the fact that there are things you need to do that others don't, and those things change your lifestyle. 

You have to be aware of your limits and be cautious. It's hard sometimes to find the balance between being careful and letting your disease/disability define you, but taking care of yourself is your main job and always will be. You don't have the luxury of doing whatever you want whenever you want, failing to realize this can be depressing because you can feel inadequate. You're not inadequate, you just have to make your health a top priority when others don't.

2) There is Pain

This one's a bit dismal, but complete truth. There is pain. It becomes so much a part of life that breathing and feeling every last snap, crackle, and pop is just breathing, and you don't flinch anymore. Searing, stabbing, lingering, widespread, focused, burning, gassy, muscular, pressing, building, throbbing pain. Take your pick, you will feel one of them at some point every day. Whether it's just when you cough, when you inhale, when you exhale, when you sit in a certain position, it doesn't matter, it is there. Just the other night, I was laying in bed when I yawned and it felt like someone had shoved a stick up my nose.

Some pains are not a big deal anymore and don't even bother me, others are still a little shocking. At the end of the day it's about 40% attitude, and 60% sucking it up and doing what you have to do, despite the pain, and however much you want to stay in bed.

3) People Will Think You Make Up Half the Words You Say

When your disease is rare you can stump even the most educated medical professional. Once I was at the dermatologist's and one of the resident students saw I had Situs Inversus, and he started asking questions. He kept leaving the room, coming back, asking a question, then leaving again. He hadn't seen Situs Inversus since med school, and that was in a cadaver.

When I tell people I have PCD they look at me like I have six heads, as if I have oodles of time to sit around and make something like that up. There are far too many doctors and nurses who don't know what PCD is, and they typically only have the tiniest idea what Situs Inversus is. If doctor's don't know what it is, you can imagine how confused the "Average Joe" is. Primary, Ciliary, and Dyskinesia put together are bit confusing, especially since Dyskinesia just sounds fake. Augmentin, Prednisone, Azithromycin, Xopenex, Levofloxacin, vest therapy, PFT, and many more are all part of your vocabulary from a very young age. You know you're a PCDer if reading medicine bottles was part of your elementary education.


4) Your Health Relies on Trusting Yourself

My mom keeps a binder and records everything that is discussed during doctor's visits, as well as every time we get sick. This means when my doctor suggests something, my mom can flip through her notes and know if we've tried that before, if it worked, etc. Knowing your body, it's limits, and what it responds to is critical to keeping a status quo of health. Trust yourself. You know the patterns, the signs, the things you can handle. Trust that, with the help of your doctor, you can both figure out what works and what doesn't.

5) Your Medications Rule You

This is another dismal one. Unfortunately, I've found that skipping a treatment = two days of recovery. Forgetting the allergy pill I take regularly means feeling extra junky the next day. You aren't aloud to forget you have an illness. Sometimes it's easy to forget that you're body is not prepared to survive on it's own.

6) Roll With It

This one is pretty simple. I've found that fighting doctors, and procedures, and worrying about surgeries does no good. Roll with it. Do as you're instructed and, chances are, you will be just fine. :)

7) Lying = Fewer Lengthy, Awkward Conversations

Remember when I said people look at me like I have six heads when I tell them I have PCD? Yeah, I've learned to lie. When I cough I sound like I've been chain smoking since birth, and I get super weird looks. I've been asked by kindly old ladies if I'm sick, and I lie and tell them I have a touch of a cold just so I don't have to explain PCD. I realize this doesn't do much in the way of spreading awareness, but as a kid, or just someone who likes to avoid lengthy human interactions, lying seems easier.

8) One Thing Stops Working, It All Stops Working

Being sick all the time means lots and lots of medicines. Lots and lots of medicines means side effects. Side effects means no other part of your body is willing to function properly. Extensive exposure to medications leads to constant damage, or at least, that's what it feels like. GI issues seem to be the biggest problem,which is just a joy.

Also, that whole 'diseases come in three's' thing? Yeah, that's real. As I got older more problems cropped up, each one more frustrating than the last. There are times when you just feel broken. Fighting that feeling is hard because the root of all your issues is genetic, chronic, rare, and incurable.

9) You Have a Health Card, Play It.

In college they always force everyone to participate in the devil's favorite form of torture - ice breakers. Don't deny it, they suck. I have found, however, it's actually pretty great playing the health card and flooring everyone with the fact that my organs are all reversed - Sorry third nipple dude, I win.

10) Don't Be Scared 

Between the aforementioned pain, doctors and nurses asking all sorts of questions and requesting all sorts of testing, weeks of sickness that seem to break you down, therapies that are time consuming, medications that cause more issues, procedures and surgeries, and the constant threat of hospitalization due to the tiniest bit of any illness, living with a lung disease can be pretty scary.

The following is a music video for the song "We're All a Bit Scared" by YouTube artist Tom Rosenthal. I find this song oddly comforting. The lyric "don't be wet" is a way of saying be strong, or don't have a weak character. The artist is the one holding the baby :).

PCD is what I have, not who I am.

~ The Campus Curmudgeon


October is PCD Awareness Month!  http://www.pcdfoundation.org/ 

This Week In Words - Probably True

I've been MIA.....My apologies.



Date: 10/14/15

Time: 11-ish

Place:  Outside classroom 225

"There's a rumor going around that Leonardo DiCaprio is immortal."