Work +4 weeks and the Station Fire

Back to work full time for a month now. Things still are going well, not seeming nearly as strange as it occasionally did at first.

Did a TV interview about TMS and depression with Dr. Cook for KABC on Thursday morning. The Station Fire in La Canada Flintridge bumped the segment from both Thursday and Friday newscasts. Hopefully it will air during a less urgent news period in the coming days.

The Station Fire necessitated working from home on Friday just in case I needed to evacuate the house and pets. Friday was okay, but Saturday brought mandatory evacuations within 3/4 of a mile of our home. We opted to take the pets, 5 cats and a dog, and many valuable/irreplaceable items to visit friends in Pasadena overnight.

Evacuation area is still in place, but the fire is no longer actively threatening our neighborhood, so we came home this morning. Despite the stresses of the fire, displacement, and return home, I haven't been mentally slowed or experienced the physical exhaustion and somnolence which has characterized my depression during stressful situations.

Read another novel, Working for the Devil, by Lilith Saintcrow. Interesting post-nuclear society, with psionics, vampires (off camera), and Mafia families as major factions. When I bought the book, I saw that there were at least 4 more in the series about Necromance and bounty hunter, Dante Valentine.

Work +3 weeks

Settling into normal rhythms in the office. Remembering how to do most things when they arise. Splitting work between Mac and PC.

District 9 was outstanding! It felt more like television news and documentary footage rather than sitting through a movie.

Work +2 weeks

2 full weeks in the office. It doesn't feel quite so strange. Making progress on clearing some lingering projects off my desk. Spoke with a few faculty members this week. They were glad to see me back at work. Went to a departmental seminar Friday and saw a few more folks for the first time in quite a while.

Work +1 week

Back to work for a full week, 5 full days. Still trying to find my depth. Some of the routine activities, like ordering a book, required a little brushing up. Other activities continue to be as familiar and comfortable as an old glove.

Several people, faculty and staff, have mentioned seeing the piece in the Times. All have been supportive.

Back to work

I went back to work, full time, on Monday, August 3.

My very sincere thanks to Dr. Cook and the Semel Institute at UCLA for the TMS therapy and to Kaiser Permanente, my medical insurance provider, for paying for the treatments.

I appreciate the support of my friends who've been following the process through this blog.

The support of my family cannot be understated, without them, none of this would have been possible.