ArthritisFriend.com Is Back Online!!

Take that hacker dude!

For those who went to the site the last day or so, you may have noticed a major change in the look and feel of this site. No, arthritisfriend.com did not go through a site redesign. We were attacked by some punk hacker.

I’m not sure if I should be honored or offended.

My mom, who is a frequent visitor of my blog, was the first person to spot the abnormality. Thank you, mom! Then, I got a text from my brother last night while I was at my arthritis support group meeting letting me know that something had gone awry.

Luckily, a call to my server host tech support department allowed me to restore my site to its previous glory. Thank you, Stephen the Tech Guy, for such a quick turnaround!

Some memorable quotes from my conversation with tech support:

Stephen the Tech Guy: Wow, I haven’t seen this one yet.

Stephen the Tech Guy: Is your site controversial?
Me: It’s about health and wellness.

And to the punk hacker who infiltrated my wee little blog: I hope you learned a little bit about arthritis while you were hacking into my site. And I hope, eventually, you learn a lot about karma.

Arthritis On A Summer Day

There are many ways to deal with chronic arthritis pain.  Today I choose to write about it in a very simple way, by composing a haiku. Yep, I said “haiku.” I blame the haiku idea on feeling generally quirky today.

Mission accomplished: I entertained myself. Bonus points if: I entertain you. Write your own chronic pain haiku in the comments. Let’s have some fun with this!

Jasmine blooms

Inflammation aggravates

Pharmacy closes soon

Bedtime Snack

It’s 10:33 pm on Tuesday night and I’m about to have my bestime snack: Advil, Plaquenil, Sulfasalazine, Celexa and a peanut butter cookie. DEE-licious.

Drugs on my night stand.

G’night.

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Update 6/4/09: People have asked and the chef has hinted at wanting credit… Chocolate chip, peanut butter cookie was baked by my boyfriend.

Everything Is Amazing, Yet Nobody’s Happy

Comedian Louis CK does an excellent job of helping us all gain some perspective. There are a lot of things in each of our lives that make life difficult, but if we step back and look at the world we live in, what we have available to us is pretty darn amazing.

Appreciate all the good things in your life today: medication, friends, family, technology, Clive Owen movies, rheumatologists … I could go on and on. Have a splendid day!

(If the flash player doesn’t work for you, click here to view the video.)

If you like this post, please click on a link below to share with others. Thank you, arthritis friends!

Annoying Arthritis Moment of the Week

We all have them, right? For me, they sometimes occur several times a day. I’m talking about small incidents that sprout into a slap across the face that translates to, “You can’t do that, you dolt! You have an f’d up immune system.”

Yesterday, at lunch with co-workers, I couldn’t complete a seemingly simple task. I tried to cut off a piece of pizza with that server/spatula thingy (not a knife) and after what seemed like two long minutes (it was probably 15 seconds) of frustrated slicing with a dull object and no wrist strength, I finally gave up and asked my co-worker to finish what I started. I felt defeated. 

Defeated! I realize this sounds completely ridiculous. But it’s inane times like these that I often get most frustrated with my arthritis. A day of 24/7 dull pain? No problem. Can’t separate a piece of pizza piece from the others? I become seriously annoyed.

I can’t be the only one who feels like that. Am I? Bueller?

New T-Shirts: Check Them Out!

I created these chronic disease slogan T-shirts because I wanted to have something fun to wear at Arthritis Foundation events, like the Arthritis Walks or next year’s Juvenile Arthritis Conference. Plus, I always find that laughter Enbrel is the best medicine. Laughter is a veryclose second!

Humorous Arthritis T-shirts

Browse, comment, buy and enjoy! Tell your friends. I’m often adding new slogans, so check back frequently.

My favorite slogan of the moment: “My immune system attacks itself. What does yours do?”

Check out all the tees here.

Sometimes Laughter Is The Best Medicine

I created a few arthritis-related T-shirts and hope that they provide a giggle or a smile. I sported the “My Rheumatologist is My Hero” tee at the JA Conference this past weekend. These shirts are great for arthritis walks, arthritis camps, support group meetings or the gym! Be sure to check back, I’ll be adding more in the coming weeks. In the comments, let me know if there is a slogan that you’d like to see featured!

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