Shingles Update Update and Melbourne

Man, shingles takes forever to really go away. Even the worst of it has been over for a little while and I'm no longer contagious, there is still lingering pain and tingling in the nerves in my scalp and around my right eye. Sometimes, the odd sensations makes it hard to sleep. Literally, it can feel like a little worm is crawling around under my skin, and I want to scratch but get no relief even if I do. Sometimes it feels kind of numb. I'm also slowly weaning off of steroid eyedrops to make sure that my eye fully heals and has no lasting damage. The irony is, if you're on steroid eyedrops too long, those can damage your eye too. 

School is back in session, but I only taught one day this week. It was good to be back even though I got a lot of funny looks and questions from kids. It doesn't look like I was sick; it looks more like I got into an accident or a fight. 

We went to PAX AUS in Melbourne this past weekend. It was less fun for me this year, still dealing with shingles issues, and Penny having a not-quite-ear-infection (clogged ear/sinus, but not infected). I'm glad I went because we got to see a friend who had moved away, and spend short quality time with the cousins, but it was all pretty exhausting. Mike got to have a little more fun than I did, which is fair since it was also his birthday weekend. The only fun I really stole from him was his actual birthday dinner. We were all supposed to go out for lobster ramen to celebrate, but Penny was not feeling well, so he stayed back so I could go with our friend to get the amazing lobster ramen. I felt a little guilty, but he cares less about food, and got to game all day and then again after the dinner when I came back, so I don't feel that bad. Sometimes, parents have to share the load somehow, even on a birthday weekend. We kind of owe him a special dinner with all of us. 

We were all supposed to go away again this coming weekend for the Div II Nationals tournament in Nelson Bay, but after this last weekend I decided I couldn't do it - juggling Penny, shingles pain, and going away the second weekend in a row. So Mike will still go to play with his team, but I will hang back and just have a quieter weekend with Penny. 

This is not how I wanted to spend my last months and weeks here. I hope that all the symptoms go away soon. The best I can do is just relax whenever I get the chance, and less stress should theoretically help.

A couple of our regular shows are back after what seems like forever. None of them seem as captivating as they were a few seasons ago, though. I'll still watch, but we are kind of looking for that next big exciting drama/hilarious, relatable comedy. 

I can hear Penny and Mike outside, which means I have a few seconds to warm up dinner.