Worst Times of 2021

 I'm doing a best-of and worst-of 2021. I figured I'd start with the worst so that I end on a positive note. It really was not a terrible year like some people seem to think. We finally felt comfortable enough, before Omicron and before Delta, to venture out in the world again. In 2020, the year before, we may not have had a very long lock-down period here in Arizona, but for us, the whole year was staying home. This year we went to the Total Wine & More a few times, the MyBeerWine store once or twice, and before my birthday last June, met up with a co-worker friend for drinks. That's it, though. With the spread of COVID variants, it just wasn't a good idea, despite being vaccinated, to go anywhere that often. We got our first vaccines in April at the Mesa convention center, then the 2nd shot a few weeks later, was also in Mesa. Our booster came in October, at a CVS pharmacy. We are as vaccinated as you CAN be right now but we do not want COVID. If even I don't have any symptoms, I am worried about long-haulers. Man, people be getting kidney disease 'n shit. So home, we are. But that doesn't bother me as much as I always thought it would. I enjoy my little family and being with them. My days are fairly routine, but thats good for me and my bipolar disorder. I am pretty happy. So this list, the worst times of my 2021, will be rather difficult. That being said, here they are:

- Sometime in September (I think) me and my mate got into a big fight. I was in a mixed episode, and felt angry. Everything bothered me. I felt rage, jealousy, darkness. I wanted to hear dark music. I wanted to be by myself. I hated people, I hated the world. And one day, I just wouldn't stop running my mouth at her, so she sprayed me with a water bottle and somehow we ended up on the floor wrestling. I felt so terrible and awful immediately afterward. I snapped out of my pettiness and angst, and started trying to use better strategies to deal with my "mood". I felt really bad. I am not a violent person, I don't wrestle people. I'm not USUALLY a jerk, either. That day, I was, and it still bothers me that I was like that, to this day.

- Sore arms after COVID shots. The first shot didn't hurt that bad but the 2nd one hurt like crazy, and I even got a little sick afterward. The booster hurt moderately and I started to feel kind of icky but it went away. It was so worth it though.

- A new pain introduced itself this year. I call the area my "Pelvileghip" That's pelvi-leg-hip because where the femur meets the pelvis has a problem, down by my crotch area. It pops and clicks and feels like it's rubbing. It's tender and sore, and I read it might be osteoarthritis of the hip. A couple tylenol helps the pain. The funny thing is, I have a bad back and my back hurts when I stand for too long, but my pelvileghip hurts when I sit for too long. I just can't win with these body parts.

- Goose, the oldest cat, is going blind. We've had to move things around and make it easier for him, with hits access to the fountain water on the counter (We'd put them on the floor if the power outlets in the bathrooms were toward the floor, but they are at the counters). We put lights up around the house at night so he can find his way since he really can't see in the dark. Poor buddy.

- My mate's father in Nevada has Parkinson's disease, and just the other day ran the car into a median in the snow and totalled the bottom of it, on his way to the casino. It's dangerous for him to be driving. We're hoping her mother took the keys and cash away. Gotta keep him safe. Her mom is super worried now though, and hopes she doesn't have to retire soon.

- My mate was having some problems at work. Her supervisor and team lead were harassing her/micro-managing and it was getting out of hand. Her stress level went through the roof and she had problems sleeping and having really awful anxiety. It was no good. 

That is all I could think of that went even sort of bad this year. It really was a decent year. Coming up... the best times of 2021.