Michelle's first visit to the surgeon

I met the doctor who will be doing my thyroid surgery today. Really nice guy, about my age, not at all fazed that I was recreationally familiar with ketamine -lol. I was taken way off guard when I was signing the release forms and realized he plans on taking out my whole thyroid. The whole damn thing! My endocrinologist led me to believe this was a partial removal which might allow me to live without medication-that ain't gonna happen if they take the whole thing out. So my doctors will have a chat and let me know what's what. oy

angry birds for PlayStation

I have been playing Angry Birds on PlayStation 3. Here's the deal. I am not a button masher so this game is perfect for my boyfriend and I to play together. I also think it's easier than the i Pod version. You get more birds for ammo per level which is a big help. I really really heart this game. It is great fun and after a couple of hours you can get as sketched out and jittery as though you are coming off a chemical high without all the nasty expense and shady deals. Die pigs die!

drugs? yay!

I have noticed that I am feeling particular well lately. Last term I was very sensitive and temperamental, this term I am more even-tempered and go-with-the-flow. Partly this is due to the fact that I much prefer the structure of this term compared to last term. Everything was sooo introductory last term, and now we are actually getting our hands dirty - doing stuff. Yay stuff! Mostly it is due to the drugs I think. My metabolism is better regulated and so are my moods which makes Michelle a much happier, more productive, and easier to get along version of herself. soooo? Yay drugs!

bright idea

"Our goal this year was to utilize experienced traffic officers who had good screening skills and also had an interest in arresting drunk drivers," said Riffel, who also added that officers paid special attention to areas where people would likely be drinking, including bars and lounges.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/breakingnews/Checkstops-more-effective-in-nabbing-DUIs-113021634.html

This quote from the  WFP is my new favourite reading passage of 2011.
 This year, the cops monitored bars for drunk drivers - that is genius!

the real caramilk secret: pseudo-event

In the summer of 2010 Caramilk launched a national campaign.
http://www.caramilk.ca/en/HowToPlay.aspx

Specially marked Caramilk bars with golden keys were sold with with a validation key.  A valid key entitled the bearer to a free trip to Toronto, and a chance to try their "golden key" on the vault containing the Caramilk secret. If the key opened the lock then the winner would receive $125,000.00, the Caramilk secret which they were to safeguard for six months, and another $125,000.00 at the end of their six months.

In the fall of 2010, at a lavish ceremony, Lisa Landry was given the awesome responsibility of keeping the Caramilk secret intact for six months.

Phew! It was a big build up to the ceremonial passing of the pseudo-torch. Did it work?


From a personal perspective, I remember when the bars with the mystery packaging came out. I bought one (even though I don't like this bar) to find out about the game. When I realized that the chances were really slim, and required phone calls and verification, I said meh. I am an instant gratification kinda girl.

I tried to find press coverage of the Caramilk ceremony and I did find a couple of newspapers with items about the contest/ceremony including the Globe and Mail and the Ottawa Citizen. Mostly the coverage was clearly labeled as a press release by the paper. I also found several blog entries about this pseudo-event but I am very certain that these blog posts were subsidized by Cadbury as they were little more than advertisements for the event.

It is difficult to gauge the Twitter impact as the site is not allowing me to view posts older than 5 days but the Caramilk Facebook presence is massive. They currently have 38,686 friends so they must be doing something right.

In the end I think that this pseudo-event worked extremely well. The change in their packaging for the summer made the Caramilk bar very visible to the consumer and refreshed interest in the merchandise. I think that the ceremony itself was a bit of a lame duck with not very much press interest, but I don't think Cadbury cares nor do I think they should care. The real secret of the ceremony was that it was an excuse to sell more chocolate bars - I am willing to bet it worked. Nice!

Big fat deal.

This is the latest installment on the continuing saga of my Graves disease.

This is some crazy yo-yo condition. Last month I was pretty lethargic, and when I saw my endocrinologist he told me that my thyroid numbers had plummeted and I needed a new medication to bring up my levels. So now I am taking drugs to keep my thyroid levels down and bring them up as well - say what???

As an added bonus, and a thank you for playing our game, I gained 10 pounds in one month. A new record high!!! Whoo! Ya!

I am now 190 pounds which is 10 pounds shy of my heaviest weight ever.

It is so disappointing for me. Over a decade ago, I lost all of my extra weight and maintained it for years. I vowed never to get this heavy again.

I do not feel in control of my body and it is very disconcerting. I have trouble looking in the mirror or being on camera, and my clothes don't fit. Blaaa!

To add fuel to the fire, my brother is gettting married at the end of February and I don't know if I will be able to fit into the bridesmaid gown.  I am also really looking forward to seeing all of my relatives so they can tell me how fat I look. Yay!

People close to me are being amazingly supportive (special shout out to the most excellent boyfriend) and I am really striving to keep my sense of humor about the whole thing. So I am fatter than I would like to be, so what? Me and millions of other Canadians - big deal.

The good news is that the new medicine is working and I am feeling much less lethargic.
So positive thoughts, work on things I can control, screw the rest.

Happy 2011 everyone!