Late September Monte Report

Cute bird of the week: a Townsend's Warbler! It's a common bird, but fun to see anyway.

September was much like August: status quo. No new information regarding the Celiac Disease. Results will have to wait until I see my doctor in person next week. I did get the bill, though, and I got thoroughly hosed by the insurance company. I thought I'd get away with a small copay, but I thought wrong. Way wrong.

One concern, shared by my psychiatrist, has to do with my lack of motivation on the weekends. Work keeps me up and running M-F, but with little structure on the weekend, I tend to find myself home bound when I "ought" to be out hiking and birdwatching and otherwise enjoying nature. The doc thinks one of my meds (Celexa) is suppressing my dopamine too much, which can lead to a lack of motivation (it also helps relieve anxiety and depression, which is why I take it). So I'm experimenting by not taking it on the weekends. We'll see if that helps. It didn't help last weekend, but that was just my first attempt.

Stress at work has been relatively low the past few weeks. Staffing has been pretty plush, and I'm working on a lot of fun projects. My direct supervisor is taking a week off in October, and I imagine I'll take a fair bit of Xanax that week. But I think I'll get through it without too much trouble. I'll let you know next month how it went.