Having my brain examined

Remember that race I registered for that takes place in three weeks? I've had the cold from hell for the last two weeks and have basically just been struggling to breathe ever since. We've also had lots of crappy, cold weather and ice falling from the sky.

OVER IT!

That said, my workouts the last couple weeks have consisted of coughing and blowing my nose and coughing...and blowing my nose. So you know, to say that I won't be completely ready for this race is an understatement. Luckily it's also a full marathon, so I have plenty of time to finish.

I planned to get back into it Saturday and do a two mile treadmill run to remind my body what this whole running thing is. I got on the god forsaken machine and almost instantly the dizziness hit. Yes, THAT is still happening and it makes it really hard to run both straight and upright.

Except way less fun-ny.

After being wrongfully diagnosed with Pastulous Eustachian Tube back in 2011 (oh God, it's really been four years!) I was forced to give up trying to find the cause/cure due to lack of funds, especially after my MRI and hearing tests didn't show anything amiss. Endless guessing at my expense just isn't my thing. I recently switched to a primary care physician closer to my house who has filled me with a newfound need to get this shit found out! 

Last week I had a visit with a neurologist. Talk about an amazing/interesting/enlightening experience. Dude knew his stuff, treated me like I was an intelligent being, and he wasn't too awful on the eyes. So far in this train wreck experience, I've felt like the doctors were literally guessing, with absolutely no confidence behind their "diagnoses." This time, though, I have a newfound hope.

Mmm..veiny.

In case you're like me and have a need to Google search ALL THE THINGS, I'm going in later this week for videonystagmography (VNG). Enjoy, fellow nerds! Results to come.

By far the best image found by Googling videonystagmography

Never again…please.

This has nothing to do with anything except that I just saw it advertised (not in a joking way) as I was beginning this post and I'm slightly horrified/mystified.

This is a thing. Discuss.

And now onto the good stuff.

I think I can finally write this post without having nightmares. It's no secret that it snowed here a couple weeks ago. It was a snow that everyone knew was coming, yet no one (in central North Carolina) was prepared for, as usual.

If you went to college or work at a college anywhere south of, probably, Pennsylvania, you know how universities like to cancel classes for snow, but employees still are expected to show up to work. Because, only the safety of those paying to be there really matters. Wouldn't it be fun if the whole world worked this way?

So, the snow was expected to start around lunchtime and hit us hard and fast. Classes were cancelled starting at noon, but employees were still expected to work a full day. I went into a meeting at 12:30 and it hadn't started coming down. When I got out of the meeting at 2, we already had a lot on the ground and it was coming down thick.

Ten minutes later, we all got a panicked e-mail from the university that all offices were CLOSED IMMEDIATELY! My coworker offered to drive me to the park-and-ride lot since it appeared the buses were all stuck and/or had stopped running. The 2-ish mile drive to the lot took an hour. Way to go, UNC! I was NOT your biggest fan that day.

So very annoyed.

The drive from there to my house (about three miles)? Another two hours. That's five miles in three hours. People were getting stuck trying to get up even the smallest hills. One street I finally got down after waiting behind a pickup spewing awful exhaust for a good long while.

Hating everything.

I definitely jumped a few curbs but really, it didn't get me anywhere any faster. My boss had to leave her car in a parking lot and walk home, which I was contemplating only because I was about to start ramming people. But I persevered. Once I got past the hilly street, past all the cars that were getting stuck, this was the rest of the ride.

Four-wheel-drive, I love you!

This is one adventure I never want to relive. I wasn't made to endure all this fluffy whiteness. This was enough snow for me for years, thank you!

The only fluffy whiteness I care for.

My run outside a week later was…interesting.