Category: just life

onto the new year

2011 was good year, for the most part. it was the year we took a good look at our health and decided to change things. we ate different, we moved more. we also moved to a new country in april, starting a new adventure. we’ve seen old friends and made new ones. and we’ve tried lots of new things.

but the year ended in a more sour note, with both this never-ending crisis and sickness affecting our families in a cruel way. as for 2012, i only wish to have the strength to make this a good year, no matter what life throws at us.

i was thinking about this yesterday, while watching the pyrotechnic pitched battle taking place in front of the brandenburg tor. we were a bit far to see the actual city fireworks, but the display that surrounded us was equally dramatic and much more nerve-wracking. here’s what it looked like, straight from the boy’s phone (starts a bit before midnight):

new year in berlin from ana campos on Vimeo.

happy new year!

in germany just life

a little burnt around the edges

german classes, christmas markets and mittens warmed up by cups of glühwein, lunch concerts at the philarmonie, baking, christmas parties, daytrips outside berlin… it feels good to be busy, always on the run, but right now i wish life would slow down a little bit, just enough for me to process it all.

Post author By ana
Post date December 11, 2011
No Comments on a little burnt around the edges

in germany just life

busy days

coming back home after some weeks in a whirlwind of constant excitement and perpetual sugar rushes. it’s all so quiet…

just life

swab your cheeks!

amit gupta, the founder of photojojo (with who postcrossing had a long lasting partnership) found out some weeks ago that he had acute leukemia. it’s a very serious condition, and he needs a bone marrow transplant. problem is, amit is south asian, and south asians are severely under-represented in the bone marrow pool. he has little time left to find a donor.

so, i want to ask you to get tested. if you’re in germany, register here and get a free kit. if you’re in portugal, read this or visit your local hospital (might be faster). if you’re in the netherlands, go here. people in other places, please see this post. registering only takes a couple of minutes, and even if you’re not south asian, or amit’s match, you might help save some kid’s life.

i will send a thank you postcard to any person who does get tested. do it and then leave a comment below – or better yet, share it with your friends! but please do it fast, because time is running out for amit, and others out there!

ps – if you need further incentive to stop stalling, seth godin is offering a $10k reward to the donor that matches amit.

just life

orthopedic intermission

things haven’t been right for awhile. if i’m being honest, i think i’ve had back pain of some form or another for over a year… in the beginning i’d notice it more when we had to drive for long stretches (driving from portugal to slovenia), a persistent and nagging pain on my lower back that shot all through my right leg until it became uncomfortable to sit. then it started appearing when i had been sitting for awhile… which in my line of work is everyday. then 2 months ago or so, it got so bad i had to lay down, load on painkillers and just… wait. that’s the thing with backpain, everybody tells you to slow down and wait. most of the times, it goes away by itself.

mine did too, to a certain extent, but never fully. and then about 3 weeks ago, after a trip to ikea, it came back full force and with a vengeance. i could barely walk or turn in bed, and even loaded on painkillers, it was excruciating. so we got some heat patches, and took a trip home, almost directly to the emergency room.

an x-ray and an mri later, and my doctor told me i have a spinal disc herniation. basically, the cushion between my vertebras has been abused and is being forced out of its place and into my spinal canal, pressing on the sciatic nerve. this is what makes my leg hurt. it looks like this:

the treatment? well, after a week of rest, a cocktail of drugs and a shot of corticosteroids, i am almost as good as new, pain-wise. the doctor says this won’t ever go away, i’ll just have to learn how to live with it, which includes not doing heavy lifting or sitting for long periods, and strengthening the lower back. so i’m taking up light swimming this summer, doing some back exercises and just generally taking it easy. if you spend a lot of time sitting down, you should too!