Handshakes

I was going to write a post about stress, but that one is just going to have to wait a bit. Let's discuss handshakes instead.
Right now my right hand and wrist are throbbing. Thankfully, I have pain killers in my purse, so I know the pain will end soon. This could have been prevented if someone had taken a hint. They bring new hires around at work and introduce them to everyone. This is someone I will probably never see again and will not remember my name 20 minutes from now. Never the less, they are introduced and 9 times out of 10 these new hires want to shake your hand.
Not many people know I have been diagnosed with Fibro here at work. Mainly because I am trying to get ahead and don't want these people thinking I would not be able to do the job. I would not apply for a position I don't think I could physically handle, but I don't need the label stuck on me. I've been trying to come up with different ways to shake hands without subjecting myself to the 7 levels of hell afterwards and for the most part I've found that shaking with my fingertips works best. I might get a strange look, but the people accept the shake and move on.
Of course though, along comes a person that needs to be hit by a clue-by-four and decides they should still give the hearty squeeze and pump my arm up and down. :::sigh::: I know, I'm young-ish...I shouldn't have a problem shaking your hand Mr. New Hire, but for gods sake let go of me before I gnaw my hand off at the wrist!!
So, now I'm going to have to decided do I endure the pain and pop more pills, do I tell people I don't shake hands and get strange looks, or do I start hiding under my desk when I hear them coming around with the new people?

Bookstore Fail

Hubby and I had a date night last night. Nothing big, we went to Outback and had dinner then went over to Border's to browse around.
Now I've been reading a lot online about Fibro, but these websites only have so much bandwidth so they really can't post a book's worth of info on the web. So I've been looking online at books to buy. Unless it's an author I know though, I usually prefer to look at the books before I buy them.
So, last night I wander over to the health section and start looking for the Fibro books. (this is where the fail comes in) Where do I find them? On the shelf that basically sits on the floor. I had to get down on the floor to actually look at them, and the get back up. That's painful!! Yes, the occasional non-fibro person may buy these books, but for the most part it's going to be people with Fibro that want to buy them.
Now I know that the people at Border's did not set out to cause people with Fibro pain, or make things inconvenient for them. They are following some sort of plan-o-gram I'm sure. It just annoys me though that corporate drone-ism overcomes actual caring about the customers and knowing what they sell and why.
Oh-well, I told the guy at the checkout about the bad placement. He said he would tell the manager. Next time I go in we'll see if it did any good.

(cross posted on my old blog)

I was going to write about...???

One the symptoms of Fibro is memory issues. My short term memory has gone to hell in a handbasket. It's made even worse by the fact that I'm ADD so I was always kind of out in la-la land. I've started making lists. I have lists all over the place. But then I have to try and remember where the heck I put the lists. It's a self perpetuating cycle of doom.
I keep a cute pad a paper in my purse so when I'm out and I remember something I can try and write it down. So far I've only remembered once that I actually have a pad of paper with me.
I have post-its all over my desk with notes to myself. Notes to call so and so, noted to check on something in the system, notes to remember something at home. If the environmental people ever get wind about me they are going to stage a protest in my front yard.
The one that is the best though is when I email myself from work to home to try and remember something. I'll read the email and then go downstair to do whatever the note reminded me...forget...go back upstairs re-read the note...go downstairs...it's great exercise. (don't laugh, I've done that twice now)
There was something else I was going to tell you about my notes, but I forgot.