Yay, managed an update today

First time in almost two weeks.

Oh, and thanks for all the happy birthdays.

The latest in MP news

During my UTI-induced sabbatical, the following things happened:

As about twelve thousand people informed me by email, Chioma Gray has been found. At age fifteen she ran away to Mexico with her boyfriend, Andrew Tafoya, who’d already been convicted of statutory rape in her case. The case was classified as an abduction. Well, recently Chioma called home, then flew back and reunited with her loved ones after five years. She married Tafoya while they were in Mexico, his lawyer says.

There’s been some new activity in the Jill Troia case. Police have long suspected a presumed serial killer named David Parker Ray in her case and are looking for her body again. Jill was 22 when she disappeared from New Mexico in 1995.

Police have launched a new search for the body of Jessica O’Grady. She was 19, a college freshman and pregnant when she disappeared from Nebraska in 2006. Her boyfriend, Christopher Edwards, was later convicted of her murder. The cops are looking under Christopher’s father’s back patio.

I found this interesting article about people in Japan who are missing because of the tsunami. If they haven’t been found alive by now, chances are they’re dead and will never BE found. The Japanese government is taking steps to have such people be declared dead much earlier than usual, like the US did in the 9-11 attacks.

And I found yet another article about kids being kidnapped in China. It’s a long one, but very interesting and enlightening. It’s a very sad situation over there.

Okay, back again

The “leave of absence” I mentioned before was occasioned by the fact that, for no apparent reason, I suddenly started sleeping for like 20 hours a day. Nothing could keep me awake for long. During the brief moments I was conscious, I paged bleary-eyed through my books, not even touching the computer for several days. When I finally did get online, it was only to sort through and delete most of the 182 emails that had accumulated during my sabbatical.

Yesterday I thought I was improving, because I woke up at 10:30 a.m. instead of 5:00 p.m., and went out to take care of some essential (and very frustrating) things. But within an hour of my leaving home I was desperate to return and fall face-down into bed again. I made an appointment to see Dr. Easley.

By afternoon I was suffering excruciating pain in my lower back, the likes of which I’d never experienced before. It was like the Headache had decided to take up position there as well. I was desperately sleepy but could not sleep, couldn’t do much of anything, kept crying out in pain. Finally I cracked and went to the urgent care center, since I couldn’t wait so long to see Dr. Easley. I thought they might give me a pain shot and send me on my way, but they actually tried to figure out what the problem was.

Turns out I have a urinary tract infection, which is probably responsible for last week’s somnolence as well.

I feel much better today now that Tramadol and antibiotics have been added to my regimen. (One of the antibiotics has turned my pee day-glo orange, though.) I will cancel the Easley appointment.