#either that or they're getting inflammed which like i said i'm working on it

[alphabetcompletionist]

if you people have actually been going after those roleplayers i'm wildly upset with y'all. quit it. yeah my general tone's a bit harsh i'm workin on it. i make a post going 'theres weird stuff going on that i don't wanna be part of, which is just a taste thing' (and yes it has been knocking on my door before i just haven't answered). that's not an excuse to bash them directly. i can only assume that's what's happening cuz i'm being bashed directly.

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26/26

[kaileeandag]

All About Clarissa-As Told by Clarissa!

Um, h-hi. My name's Clarissa and when my story begins, I'm 14 years old (I'm 16 as of 8/10/2023.) I'm the oldest child of three, having a younger brother, Ben, and a younger sister, Freydis. They're twins, but Ben is older by about two minutes.

I was named after my deceased paternal grandma Clarissa, who passed away in 1996. My paternal grandpa Clarence has remarried since then, but he says he didn't date again until 2008, when he began dating my grandma Karen. Don't worry, grandma Karen is cool.

When I was 3 months old, grandpa Clarence noticed that for some reason, I didn't want to be snuggled and I'd scream if he tried. He felt something was wrong, so he called my parents to say he was taking me to the hospital. It turned out that I had something called Bacterial Meningitis. That means the Meninges, the three membranes that line the skull and vertebral canal and enclose the brain and spinal cord, were inflamed. It's a good thing he got me to the hospital in time because the doctor said if he didn't, I wouldn't be here right now. The only thing that happened afterward is that I lost all hearing in my right ear. I wear a hearing aid, but my parents are trying to see if I qualify for a Cochlear Implant. No more hearing aid if I'm able to!

Back to my story. When I start my freshman year, a lot of kids make fun of me for being part Asian. Of course, most of them get the type of Asian I am wrong, thinking I'm either Chinese or Japanese. Many of them say racist things to me and it makes me pretty sad. When I told my family I wanted to quit school, they weren't surprised that it was due to bullying. My uncles Thomas and Kyle, my dad's younger brothers, said words hurt more than any physical wounds and they are still hurt by mean things kids said to them when they were young.

After telling everyone that some of my brother and sister's friends are being teased as well for their Asian heritage, my maternal grandpa Hyun-jik suggested that I do a big project about Asia. So, I got to work and gathered a lot of information about some Asian countries like the Koreas, China, Japan, and Indonesia. I also included info about Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand since there's some people of those heritages in town.

Okay, onto something a bit better. A year before the pandemic, my family went to Seoul. I was happy to see there was still Toys R Us out there, so naturally we had to go. I bought a Mimi doll (she's more or less the South Korean Barbie equivalent) and some other cool stuff, like Secret Jouju toys and some Korean language Pokemon cards.

My family also went to a big amusement park in Yongin called Everland-they even have a wooden roller coaster! It's called T Express and I am proud to say I rode it five times in one day! Later on, I found out that T Express is the tallest wooden roller coaster in the world. How cool!

There were also a lot of vendors selling food out of stalls or carts. I tried a pancake like treat called Hotteok. It comes with a variety of fillings, but I chose green tea. It was delicious! I also tried Tornado Potatoes, which is a whole potato that has been spiral cut and put on a skewer, but not before being brushed with a variety of seasonings like onion, cheese, or honey. I guess there was a honey butter boom in Korea sometime in the mid 2010s. I also tried Gyreran-ppang for the first time. It's basically an oblong pancake with a whole egg inside, but it can be topped with things like chopped parsley and diced ham.

Overall, South Korea was fun!

Anyway, I have a project to make, so I have to sign off.

annyeonghi gasipsio!

That's a formal way to say 'goodbye' in Korean, by the way.

[meditating-dog-lover]

Health update

Today was a productive day.

I booked an appointment for a mineral scan, requested my dental xrays and gum charting copies, and am in the process of scheduling an appointment for a psychiatric evaluation. I can't wait to have that booked because I know it will help me.

I broke my fast at 9:30 with a coffee, banana, some dark chocolate and walnuts.

They had Panera catering at work today. So lots of sandwiches, salad, bread cookies, and juice. I had some Caesar salad with some dressing and bread. I am pretty hungry today so I'm happy they brought that. And even though I am trying to eat "anti-inflammatory" some bread and Caesar dressing is not going to do anything, especially when the bulk of my diet is anti-inflammatory. But I did not feel like a sandwich (I didn't like any of the options they had and I'm tired of white bread) or a cookie. I've been craving less sweet stuff. So I'm also tired of baked goods and milk chocolates.

I do like to treat myself here and there, but want to do it where I don't feel not well or like I ate too much junk and sweets after that. I had one of those small milk caramel blocks from Whole Foods the other day and it was too sweet. Same with the brownies my mom and I had last week. It just doesn't hit the same. It's too "sugary".

I've also been eating less white bread. I had some today and I liked it, but I don't want to have way too much. But at the end of the day, I'll let myself have some junk here and there, as long as the bulk of my diet is healthy and diverse and anti-inflammatory.

I'm sick and tired of taking supplements. The only real need I think supplements have are to fill nutrient gaps. Most of us do not get enough D3/K2 or omega-3 and magnesium from diet alone. So I do supplement with these. However, for more gut health-focused supplements, I really do think diet is the better solution. For probiotics - Greek yogurt (the yogurt I have has the bacteria species names written on the container, and they're similar to the ones in probiotic supplements). For gut lining and anti-microbial effects - aloe juice. And for digestion - ginger (I am doing more research on this and I'm not a huge fan of ginger. Tropical fruit are also a good source of enzymes, but I also don't like those and prefer berries).

Even for hormone balance, correctly cycling my food and fasting, as well as managing my stress, will work better than any supplement. As I said I am tempted to return those 2 hormone balancing supplements I purchased).

I am drinking aloe juice because I would rather have the actual natural aloe vera food source rather than a gut support powder that tastes like old black licorice or fake orange (these contain aloe combined with other gut support ingredients). But I am on the lookout for a food/drink that is a good source of natural enzymes that support digestion.

I'm doing blood work and an h pylori breath test in a few days. I hope my blood sugar and thyroid hormones are within good range. I've been taking a multivitamin that contains plenty of absorbable iodine and chromium. Although I don't think gut issues is the source of my skin inflammation, I hope the h pylori has been killed off because that does cause a lot of issues, including inflammation, stomach cancer, and reducing stomach acid levels which can negatively impact digestion. I know something like lemon juice and apple cider vinegar help with that, but I'm not a fan of either and they're bad for teeth.

I'm looking forward to my blood work, h pylori breath test, my mineral scan and psychiatric evaluation. I hope my breath test is negative and my mineral scan looks good, because this will show that I'm finally able to properly digest and absorb nutrients.

My skin is much better. My hands are still a bit inflamed, so I applied a hint of steroid cream to them last night and this morning. I applied some petroleum jelly too. But they're looking better.

I'm trying to add in more healthy foods to my diet. I'm a picky eater. I added broccoli as a calciferous vegetable source. I'm looking into ginger. I switched to an anti-inflammatory spicy may condiment that has avocado oil rather than canola oil. Next I'm looking into an anti-inflammatory crunchy snack I can have when I go to therapy (those are long days and I get hungry). It doesn't have to be perfectly anti-inflammatory and healthy since it's not something I have everyday. But I can look around.