Keep on keepin' on

Welcome to another blog post from my iPhone on the train. Somewhere between the smelly person in front of me and the snoring man a few rows back I am finding my focus aboard Calgary Transit once again. It has been an incredibly turbulent few weeks which is why I haven't posted in so long. I got the news that I had to leave my apartment 4 weeks ago on Friday night, which was devastating, and I was moved out and into my new place by Sunday afternoon. Talk about gettin 'er done. But I am now all settled in my new condo (which I absolutely adore more than I ever dreamed I would) and we had the official inspection and move out of our old apartment last Tuesday. Glad that whole stressful chapter is behind me. I also transferred locations within my salon last week. Working way up north when it would sometimes take me 90 minutes just to get to work was really wearing on me (and the little free time I already had) so I am much, much happier to be working at a mall in the south that takes me 15 minutes to drive to. The staff there are so wonderful and I've truly never felt that I fit in so quickly. Another major change I've had to face in these last few weeks is that I found out I have developed celiac disease and a lactose allergy/sensitivity. I have yet to be officially diagnosed as it requires an extensive amount of blood work and allergy testing (not exactly my forte) but I did speak with a doctor who explained that given my symptoms and reactions to dairy and wheat, that is almost certainly what it is. He said its something he's been seeing a lot of in people my age, probably to do with all of the chemicals and hormones added to the foods that we eat nowadays, and that I may eventually grow out of it, but based on my history it's probably something that I have been suffering from minorly for my entire life. Party hey? To make a long story longer I have completely cut wheat and dairy out of my life cold turkey since I found this out 4 weeks ago. No more bread, pasta, cheese, milk, yogurt, chocolate (I know) or many sauces containing balsamic vinegar or worcestershire..it's been a learning experience. Grocery shopping now takes me three times as long and costs me double what it used to..and attempting to eat out at restaurants or fast food joints is an unimaginable struggle. I've learned to cook a lot of my own staples that I'd otherwise took for granted. What a fun year this is shaping up to be! At least it's not uneventful... Anyway.  School is still clippin right along..I'm still loving it.. I just can't believe it's possible for a person to even function when they are as mentally, physically and completely exhausted as I am right now. I'm so grateful to have such an incredible support system behind me..between FaceTime sessions with my family in BC and the support from my boyfriend and all my wonderful friends..it's actually kind of sad to see the toll this school year is taking on all of us. We started with so much energy and passion..and now we just walk around like zombies following any scent of coffee that we may catch. Most of us are doing 80+ hours a week between school and work, one of my friends even goes to school for 36 hours a week, is a flight attendant at westjet, AND a server at moxies. How he isn't dead yet, I have no idea. It's going to be really rough pushing through all the way until December with no breaks at all. But the sun is still shining and the weather is getting warmer, which means the days are getting longer, and that makes us all feel a hell of a lot better. It's not even half over yet. Onwards and upwards! Take care of yourselves darlings. xo ac