Birds talk in their sleep. At least the pair-a-tweeters do. I wonder if that means they have a sleep disorder? Probably not. It probably only means they don't sleep very deeply. After all, when stuff is out there trying to eat you, I guess you don't want to be dead to the world.

K-Bird doesn't seem to talk in her sleep. She certainly takes naps though. In fact, I think she's a little tired because she hasn't been able to nap as much during the day with me at home. In the wild, Senegal parrots sleep in hollowed out trees, so maybe they can sleep more deeply at night....

Truthfully, it's a little hard for me to stay awake in the afternoon myself, with the dog sprawled out on the floor, snoring. Yep, he takes up a lot of real estate. And in the late afternoon all the birds have their heads under their wings. I try really hard not to take naps.

Yesterday, I was wound up enough that it wasn't a problem. There was no way I was going to be able to rest after having to duke it out with the insurance company. It turns out that the magic words aren't really "please" and "thank you" but "lawsuit" and "Insurance Board". Sigh. Happiness is being at peace with everyone. Maturity is knowing how to threaten people effectively.

The result of all of this aggrevation is that I have my MRI's, all 3 of them, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. They're going to do them all at once. They said to expect to be there about an hour and a half. I hope I won't be in the tube that whole time, but even if I am it will be worth it if it leads to a firm diagnosis.

Also, I got paperwork in the mail today to apply for short term disability at work. That looks like a real nightmare, pages and pages of documents to fill out. I guess I'll start it early in the morning when the trembling in my hands is likely to be at it's least bothersome. Also, I got a fact sheet on the Family and Medical leave Act, informing me that I am eligable to have my job held for me, without pay of course, even if my disability application doesn't go through, for as long as 12 weeks (Thank you, Bill Clinton!!)

My first mentor called me today to tell me that she resigned. She's got another job with ING where they'll let her work from home. She has years more experience than I do of course. She said my health is the subject of much debate and speculation, but that I shouldn't be upset, it's just like they all have a case clinic that came to life. The debate and speculation is in a whole seperate part of these people's brains than their general wishing me well. And the place is so dull with so little to talk about I'm sort of glad to be the thing that gives somebody a break in the day.

I've had an MRI of my lower back before. I had it right after the numbness first appeared in my legs and feet. When it first showed up, it was on both sides. That was 7 years ago, when I was still at GMAC. The right side "came back to life" but the left side never did. Still I had enough function, except for all the times I fell and reinjured myself, to get around most of the time, since the numbness is only on the outside of the left leg and the last 3 toes. Well, it hurts sometimes, but mostly it's numb. The general opinion about that seemed to be "Wow, you've got a hell of a scoliosis back there. Huh." The orthopedist I saw at the time said the problem was caused by "age". "How many other 33 year old women do you have as patients walking around with a quad cane?" I asked. He was non-commital, and after awhile, I just gave up.

I had one of my head after one of the approximately 50 million times I lost consciousness for a few minutes. This was in MA...maybe 4 or 5 years ago. I know that I have a brain in there, because I saw it on the film. But no one ever said anything about that MRI one way or the other. I might have gotten fed up with that doctor too, and quit going, but I think it was clear.

I've never had one of my neck, which is where Dr. Doglover thinks the problem is. I've also never had one with any contrasting medium used, which is what I think the plan is tomorrow. But I still don't hold out any hope that any conclusive thing will be found or understood. I just want to get the tests over with and get through the whole process so I can get my life off of hold one way or the other.

Once I have a plan, I can rest more easily....but I guess sleeping with my head under my wing really would cause a neck problem!!