So, I was having some serious pain in my right shoulder.  How bad was it?  Bad enough to keep me from sleeping more than a couple of hours for 3 nights in a row.  Tylenol didn't have any effect.  After the sleepless nights I scheduled an appointment at Illinois bone and joint.  An x-ray turned up clean, so then I was scheduled for an MRI.  The films of my shoulder area kind of creeped me out, because the inside of my shoulder looks just like a steak.  I could see bone, muscle fiber, and little bits of fat.  The pictures of my spine were pretty cool, because I could see my spinal cord and the base of my brain.

It turns out that I have some mildly bulging discs in my neck, and some minor muscle deterioration in my right shoulder. Basically, the pain I've been having is just from the disc material touching my spinal cord, and not from anything going on in my shoulder.  So, it's like my shoulder is hurting from an injury that doesn't exist.  I'd started favoring my shoulder before discovering this, and now I've had to tell myself there's no point, and that I just need to use it normally.  Going easy on my shoulder would probably make the problem worse, because the muscles there would just grow weaker.  I've been doing some physical therapy to help improve my posture so that the discs will bulge a bit less and to also build up the muscle strength in my neck and shoulders.  The therapy has made both of my shoulders feel a little sore, but nothing like the flare-ups I was having before I started it. 

I think that telling myself that the pain is all in my nerves, and not "real" has actually helped, too. Pain is funny. I know this pain is real, and not imagined, but it's not the same as the pain I've felt from parts of my spleen dying from lack of oxygen, or from my lungs pressing against the surgical wounds in my chest as I breathe ... there's no emergency, no wound that needs to heal.  I just need to stand up a little straighter so that my spine and spinal cord have a little more room to coexist.

Dave just presented me with the perfect strawberry, and eating it has inspired me to make a list of my ten most favorite fruits.  Hmm, this is going to be difficult, because I don't think are any fruits out there that I wouldn't eat.

10. Mango - It's like a little bit of the tropics.  Dave is the one who first introduced me to it.  Thanks also to Kim for getting me hooked on mango and sticky rice.

9. Pineapple - Unlike most fruit, it is great fresh and out of the can.  I can also chug the juice, unlike most of my other favorite fruits.

8. Grapefruit - My dad is responsible for getting me hooked on it.  I used to sprinkle sugar on my grapefruit, but now I eat it straight.  Grapefruit juice was one of the things I craved when I was on fluid restriction.

7. Watermelon - The must-have summer fruit.  I can eat an amazing amount of watermelon.  It was also the thing I craved most when I was on fluid restriction AND not allowed to eat anything.

6. Apple - My lunch staple.  I like the mottled red/yellow varieties like Braeburn, Gala, Fuji, and Honeycrisp.

5. Nectarine/Peach - One has fuzz the other doesn't, but otherwise they're basically the same ... delicious.

4. Cherry - The fruit I buy when I want a special treat. Also my favorite yogurt, soda and candy flavor. 

3. Red Grape - The red ones taste better to me than green or purple.  I have to be careful how many I eat because something in them sometimes gives me a stomach ache.  Maybe the same thing that gives me red wine headache?

2. Banana - My breakfast staple.  Also excellent with ice cream, peanut butter and hot fudge.

1. Strawberry - I can eat these by the pound, standing at the sink and taking just enough time to rinse each one off before popping it in my mouth.  I don't even bother to cut the leaves off, instead I use them as a sort of handle, and eat around them.

Regularly updated list 2010. Rated on a scale of 1-5

Green Zone - 3.75 Entertaining action, I disagree with anyone who says it's "too political"
The Wolfman - 3  Silly but fun, Anthony Hopkins made me LOL
The Book of Eli - 3  Grim at times, funny @ others, Post-Apocalypse Lite (copyright pending)
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief - 2.75 Fun but teeny-bopperish, teens complain it strays too far from book

Also, I saw A Serious Man on dvd before the Oscars, and would rate it at about a 4.  Of the 10 best picture nominees, the only ones I didn't see were Precious, The Blind Side, and Up In the Air.  I bet no one cares about my picks but here they are:
best picture: Inglourious Basterds (Hurt Locker was #3 for me after #2 Up; District 9 is #4 and An Education is #5)
best director: Kathryn Bigelow for Hurt Locker
best screenplay (adapted or original): Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds (he's a troll , but also somewhat of a genius for dialog) is tied with Bob Peterson for Up ... you have to be pretty special to come up with a helium balloon-house & talking dogs
best actor: I didn't see Crazy Heart, so I can't say Jeff Bridges ... instead I'll pick Jeremy Renner from Hurt Locker
best actress: Carey Mulligan for An Education, no gimmicky accent or ugmo makeup; just an honest, totally believable performance
best supporting actor: Christoph Waltz as the Jew hunter in IB, for being scary & ridiculous at the same time
best supporting actress: I didn't see any of the nominated performances, so I'll pick from Melanie Laurent in Inglourious Basterds ... she may have been on-screen long enough to be considered a lead, but so was Christoph Waltz
best original music: Up, it's the only soundtrack I can actually remember (other than the David Bowie tune used in IB , but that doesn't count) and it makes me smile
best animated: Up (Pete Doctor looks like an albino Yeti , btw)
best documentary: didn't see any this year  :(
best cinematography: Inglourious Basterds
best sound: Hurt Locker (lots of 'splosions!)
best visual effects: I think I was actually slightly more impressed with District 9 than with Avatar-- District 9 looked all gritty and real, while Avatar looked all slick and fantastical.  I think gritty is harder to do.

My workplace had a new phone system installed today.  The company who sold us the phones provided staff training, which was done in small groups.  Meanwhile, the company's tech guys were working with our IT staff to hook up and test the phones.  The phones all have a speaker function that allows them to operate as a page system, which comes in handy whenever we have trouble with someone like this guy.  Anyway, as the trainer was going over the system, the intercom suddenly came on and we heard one of the tech guys say, "Testing page system, testing. You are a douchebag. You, are a douchebag."  I busted out laughing.  Not everyone in the room was so amused.

The wrong medicine was delivered on Thursday.  I saw my doctor and confirmed that it was the wrong stuff, and he faxed a new prescription to the pharmacy right away.  I've called the pharmacy and confirmed that they have the right prescription, and will not mail it to me until I confirm with them that I will be home to accept the shipment.  There was no way to get the medicine to me before we left on vacation, so it will just have to wait until we get back.  That actually takes all the pressure off, and I can talk nicely to the pharmacy staff over the phone.  "You need 5 days to process the prescription?  Okay, no problem."

After a good night's sleep, I woke up in Arizona this morning, 4000 feet above sea level, surrounded by red rocks, and without a care in the world.

Meanwhile, there's a month's supply of interferon going to waste in my fridge.