I decided to drop my summer term class after all.  It had nothing to do with the teacher and it had nothing to do with being assigned to read books before the class even started.  (Actually, I’m going to keep reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy since they’re already on my radar.)  I simply decided that I need a break from something.  I’d prefer to take a break from work (not my new job, just work in general), but since I can’t, school is the next best thing.

I have too much going on all at once to have to worry about an accelerated class too.  Changing jobs has taken a toll on me.  I really like my new position, but it has taken some getting used to, especially as far as the schedule is concerned.  I can dictate my own schedule, but I have existing appointments I have to work around so I’ve had to work 11-hour days a couple of times since I started.

Trying to figure out my health is taking a toll on me too.  I’ve noticed that I’ve been feeling a lot worse lately, which is in line with IBS.  (The more stress you’re under the worse IBS becomes.)  The more and more I’ve started to pay attention to the things I eat, I seem to feel icky after I eat anything with gluten or anything with dairy.  I haven’t been able to pin it down to one or the other yet.  (Corey thinks it could also be sugar.)  I’m slowly going gluten free, but I don’t want to go completely gluten free until I’ve talked to my gastroenterologist tomorrow.

My regular doctor told me I should know after two weeks of being completely gluten free if I feel better, maybe not completely better, but remarkably better.  I’ve decided to go gluten free for two weeks (starting this Sunday) and still eat dairy.  If I don’t feel much better, I’ll also cut out the dairy for a couple of weeks.  Then, I’ll introduce gluten back into my diet to see if one or the other (or both) are the culprits to feeling bad after I eat.  If neither going off of gluten nor dairy helps, then I’ll cut out the other allergen foods and work from there.

It’ll be nice to not worry about school while I’m figuring out my new job and figuring out my new eating lifestyle.  Plus!  I get to read what I want for 10 weeks. I’m hoping to up my number of books read drastically during this little hiatus.

I saw my doctor again today.  He confirmed that it’d be beneficial to go off gluten for a bit to see if it helps.  He said I don’t need to worry about seeing an allergist because sometimes their tests aren’t the most reliable.  He just suggested that if going off gluten doesn’t work, then I should try going off of the major allergy causing foods, like dairy, nuts, soy, and eggs.  He’s also referring me to a gastroenterologist to see what he thinks because there’s still a possibility I do have Celiac since my blood test was positive.  He also said I could just have a sensitivity to gluten, which is much better than Celiac.  It means that I’ll feel badly when I eat gluten, but gluten won’t cause the same kind of damage it does to people with Celiac.  I could also have colitis or IBS.  Hopefully, the gastroenterologist will be able to give me some answers.

As you can see, I have a few options to try.  We’ll see how I feel after I give up some yummy foods. Now, it’s just a matter of stocking my house with gluten-free things.  I’m going to go simple for the first little bit by just eating veggies, fruits, and lean meats.  Then, if I notice that not eating gluten helps me feel better, I’ll add in the gluten-free carbs.

*****

My spring term class officially ended yesterday.  I didn’t have a final exam; I just had to hand in a final paper worth a sixth of my grade. Depending on how I do on my paper, I’ll either have a low A or a high A-. I’m really happy with how well I did in this class.  It definitely wasn’t the easiest class since it focused mostly on principles of literary theory, but I did learn a lot.

*****

My new class starts on Monday.  My teacher is pissing me off more and more.  The main reason is the assignment to read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy before class even starts.  In her first e-mail, she told us we had until the end of the first week to get them done.  In subsequent e-mails, all sent this week I might add, they now have to be read by Monday. I’ve only finished The Hobbit so far.  I’ve been too busy with my current homework, new work schedule, and everything else life has thrown at me to spend the time I need to get the other books done.  Luckily, I get to choose the book to focus on during the class so I’ll just choose The Hobbit.  I still need to read the other three books because she said we might draw on them during the term for more information.

Finally, she signs every one of her e-mails as “Sister” blah blah.  I know I’m going to BYU, but do teachers really have to go by Sister or Brother blah blah (unless they’re religion teachers, of course)? I had to send her an e-mail yesterday and I deliberately called her Prof. blah blah.

I’m actually considering dropping this class, not because of my teacher, but because I’ve just been so busy with everything that I’m a little stressed out right now.  Plus, I’m a little overwhelmed with my new job.  Starting a new job and a new accelerated class at the same time doesn’t seem like a good idea.  The only problem with dropping my class is that I can’t take it in the fall because it conflicts with my other classes.  The soonest I could take it is in the winter.  Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but it directly corresponds with the class I just took so I don’t want to let too much time pass by before I take it.