Lizette's Journals

I'm engaged!

I'm officially engaged Buzznet friends!

Panic Prevention

After a long hiatus from Buzznet, I finally made the decision to reappear and touch base with everyone. Hope all is well and life is good!

As for me, my long absence can be attributed to a couple of major things that had happened in my life in the last year or so (I think that was the last time I posted):
- I was VERY BUSY @ work but what else is new?
- I tried to take classes in order to change careers, and although I was enjoying this for awhile, I had to suddenly stop which I will explain later.

Apart from those 2 things, the one MAJOR change that has happened in my life is being diagnosed with panic disorder in August of this year. Alas, after many years of working too hard, not getting along with my boss, putting in long hours, and simply being stressed- my body gave out.

It all started in the beginning of this year, when my hair started to shed like crazy that I thought I was going bald, but at the time, I thought I was just exercising too much and lacking some nutrients. And around June, I had my first official attack during my meeting with my boss. We were not talking about any particular stressful topics at the time, but for over a year, I had always been on edge whenever I had to meet with the big boss, and that day was no different. Low and behold, while she was talking, I suddenly felt like I was having an out of body experience- the room started to shrink and expand like an accordion, I was dizzy, had pounding headache, and I was close to vomiting. At the time I had no idea what was wrong with me so I just ignored the symptoms, I figured it might have been a one off thing.

But then July rolled by and the frequency of the headaches and the panic attacks accelerated to a point where I thought I was going crazy. Until it got to a point where I had to take a leave of absence from work for 5 weeks, and sadly though I had just started taking a class that I thought would be fun to take at the time, I had to withdraw from it since I could not even get behind the wheel of my car.

For 2-3 weeks, I hardly left my apartment and my boyfriend and parents had to be brave and take care of me the whole time. I waited out the symptoms and night after night, I barely slept because of the attacks. My doctor kept giving me meds for the headaches and the nausea but the problems only worsened. The worst part was I could not get myself to even leave my front door without freaking out- and I endured all this as I waited for my lab results to come back. There was a period when I sat home alone, feeling helpless about not knowing what was wrong with me, when I actually thought "I can't live like this anymore." I think the moment I uttered those words was when I also realized that there was clearly something mentally wrong with me. Luckily that same day, my doctor FINALLY had a diagnosis for me and I immediately made an appointment with a psychiatrist and a therapist.

As I type this, I have been on meds and therapy for a little over 2 months. I can't say that I am 100% recovered, but I am a lot better than where I was back a few months ago. Everyday has been a struggle since, but I am learning and praying everyday that I get better.

You're probably wondering why I shared this with you- well I know that there are many out there who get stressed and sometimes even suffer from anxiety here and there. I just want you to know that you are not alone!

Take care and seize the day!

Can't seem to post pictures on Buzznet...

I noticed they've re-designed the site, but I've been trying for the last couple of days to post photos, and the ADD PHOTOS link/button just doesn't work! Is it just me or is anyone else experiencing the same thing? HELP!

Feelin' like summer's endin' too fast!!!

Hi Folks,

Can't believe it's the last day of July tomorrow--- pretty crazy huh?

I can still recall that in the beginning of the year, one of the things I was looking forward to was the big trip to the Philippines I was going to take with my family in July... and now I'm back and it's almost August. Pretty soon it'll be Thanksgiving and and then Christmas.

Well, the major "time panic" I'm feeling is because I'm planning on applying to Pharm Schools to get my Pharm D this coming November, which is about 3 months away from now. I remember in the beginning of the year thinking "I'll feel like a stronger candidate come deadline", and yet from where I stand, I feel weaker by the minute. I think it also has a lot to do with the fact that I'll be entering as a non-traditional student, which is just a fancy expression for "I'm older than most aspiring students".

Anyway, I don't want to end this post sounding all depressed, so I'll wrap it up by saying "HEY! It's PAYDAY tomorrow"!!!

I'm back...

Hi BuzzBuddies,

Sorry for the major lag. It's been very hectic few months to say the least and basically it has mostly to do with work. Yes--- good ole work--- the one thing that keeps kicking my butt and basically not allowing me to have a life.

Well, I just returned from a 2+ week trip to the Philippines after 14 long years of not setting foot there, and let me tell you, I wish I had taken this trip sooner. It was really relaxing for one thing, despite the intolerable heat that I could not get used to, but it gave me more reason to spend more time in a water somewhere and just chill. I have so much to say about my visit but I think I'll do most of the sharing through photos and captions.

I missed Buzznet a whole lot and can't wait to crack into my buddies' pages. Bye for now!

Here's a pic of one of the most breathtaking churches I saw in the Philippines. I'm not a religious person, but sights like these make me wanna attend Sunday services more often.

Car dealership blues...

I'm looking to buy a new car (Honda Civic EX with Navigation) for the first time by myself. I've had cars before but my parents always had a hand in the "wheeling and dealing" process. Anyway, I visited a car dealer today and it was so exhausting. I sat there for a little over an hour with my boyfriend getting quoted for an obscene amount of money... all the back and forth.... more back and forth... until finally they won't lower the price anymore. Unfortunately, I still think the minimum they'd go for is still a tad high so I grabbed a calling card and left with no new car. :-( *Sigh*

The search goes on... Now I just need to build more confidence as I approach more dealers.

Meet Charlie Chaplin...

Meet the new addition to our family: Charlie Chaplin. Can you see the resemblance?

I'm a fitness goddess...!!!

Well not really... I went for a llloooonnnggg jog today with my sister and almost had my butt kicked. I can seriously tell how out of shape I am, but my goal of getting toned and healthy starts now. Wish me luck!

Apartment hunting woes... (part 1)

Upon careful consideration, and many months of self-reflection, my boyfriend and I have both come to the conclusion that we are still too young to settle in to a suburban lifestyle. So... we decided to look for a new apartment in the city of San Francisco. I currently live in the Peninsula, approximately 10 miles south of my target city and I have to admit, as much as I love my 2-br apartment right now, I am ready to make a move to a funner and livelier part of the Bay Area.

My boyfriend and I have been looking for a new place for almost a month now, and I guess we never really thought it would be this hard. Here are some of the troubles we've come across:

San Francisco apartments are much smaller, older, and much more expensive than the newer, bigger, and cheaper Peninsula apartments. We just need to accept these differences.
Not all locations in San Francisco are safe. There are some really scary places where one can literally see people beat each other up while others just stand on the sidelines doing nothing. We need to identify the safe areas.
We need to be more observant and more stringent when viewing apartments- make sure there are basic things like hot water and heat. :-/

Wish us luck on our quest!

I'm a Buzznet slacker!

I've been away for a month now officially. I think my mini-Buzznet vacation was mostly due to frustration with how slow the site has gotten, even just to post a comment on friends' pictures. But I came to realize that there are a lot of people I will surely miss if I just ditched the site. Plus, there are tons of people who take some awesome shots here! Hopefully, the speed will get better.

How's everyone been? I've been working alot lately..! and I can't believe it's already September. Gosh... time is just flying. I still remember when I was a kid- I couldn't wait to grow up. Now that I am, I am wishing I was a kid again. HAHAHA... There's just no satisfying us humans sometimes.

On another note... I ate my last McDonald's apple pie tonight, 'cause tomorrow, I'm going to start working out again. I weighed myself this morning and realized, I need to get healthier. :-/

'Til next time!!!