Monday, January 25, 2010

Wanna See Something Terrifying...???

Ok, here is the deal...
Ya'll know how I get seizures triggered by driving? Well, on top of that I get really nauseated car sick too - which makes living in the mountains kinda nutty, but I love it here as long as I don't have to move up and down the roads too much, or really almost ever. I recently had an offer to interview for a "job" over seeing a beautiful magical campground in Hot Springs, NC that sits on 38 acres, with a big fishing creek and giant waterfall, hiking trails and funky campers on the warm weekends. I would be able to live there with free room and board in exchange for the duties of checking people in, taking reservations, taking people's gear to a "gear deck" for them to then hike to their campsites from. I can even have a donkey there to help me out!!!
But here is the catch.
I have to go meet the owner in order to seal the deal, you know the whole shake a man's hand in order to confirm you are the right woman for this awesome task.

LOOK AT THIS MAP below.... cause that is the insane curvy puke road i would have to go on to get there for this nominal handshake moment...
really look closely, the road isn't thick, that is the road switch backing into itself like a zig zag stitch on a sewing machine....


View Larger Map

And I am so scared to do it, it makes my eyes water, like maybe i am going to cry to even think about it. Knowing 2 or 3 miles is torture, 32 miles seems like an eternity. Of what I dont even know, but it's usually not good. Spiral into personal hell?

Sometimes when I think about not being able to drive, in relation to great opportunities such as this perfect nature related job, all I can think is "What a rip!"
Must...make...self...get.....to Hot Springs! Help!

XoXo

12 comments:

Liberty said...

crap :-(
my heart totally goes out to you - what a decision to have to make.
If you do go, I am crossing my fingers that it goes as well as possible.
when i used to get awful motion sickness, i would take w hole bunch of ginger powder pills ahead of time and also took the homeopathic remedy Tabacum (can't recall the potency though).
thinking of you and holding healing thoughts!
it does sound like a perfect-for-you job!!!

mara said...

maybe a respirator would help, like painters use, so you could breathe better...That does suck, I hope you work it out...

Miss Voodoo said...

Maybe I should have someone punch me in the face and knock my ass out - then speed race there and drop my body off in the woods- i can wake up kinda like Sleeping Beauty??!!

Stephanie Rogers said...

Ginger always helps me - I tend to get carsick on windy roads. Got used to it a bit after being here a while (moved up here 7 years ago from Florida), but your situation is obviously a bit different. Wish I could help in some tangible way.

Gratuitous said...

If somebody punched you in the ass would it knock your face out? Seriously though, perhaps sedation (the Ramones comes to mind) is the answer, like a wild animal needing care. Although your future boss might look at you askew when you arrive all glassy-eyed and slurry, when you explain about the sacrifice you made, well, he'd just have to give you that job/life.

Panne said...

have you explained your limitations to the owner?

also where will you be living while there? i doubt it's chemical free...

sedation would be the way to go in some ways, but being chemical sensitive and eating chemicals doesn't seem to add up.

there is also the big risk that the movement would still affect you even if you were sleeping. your driver would have to monitor you the whole time and be prepared to take necessary measures to keep you from drowning in your own puke.

if it were just a psychological condition that caused the problems you might be ok being sedated.

you would almost have to stay over night. getting double dosed twice in one day doesn't sound good for anyone healthy, even by homeopathic means.

what about hypnosis??? 1 hour of hypnotic sleep is equal to 6-8 hours of normal sleep. you'd wake up perky and ready to roll. better than looking like you've been hitting the bong.

dealing with physical limitations myself i know where you're coming from. with the mind still intact and the body not being able to perform the tasks it starts to weigh in to the point you feel the life force being crushed out of you.

don't ever give up. sometimes things look like they are impossible. the reality is you just need to find that one angle that opens the opportunity. it may take way more time to accomplish your goal, but time is irrelevant when it comes from necessity.

"never underestimate the powers of the handicapped!"

Miss Voodoo said...

Hey Stephanie -
I thought I would have adjusted by now too - i think i have been here over 8 years, 9 years?? I did pretty good till I started having seizures in 2006. MAJOR bummer.
I have a homeopathic for nausea, but it's not for nausea caused by car sickness...by Newton Homeopathics. It freakin rocks for it's designated purpose.

Gratuituos -
Sedation sounds really nice, if it would actually work like it's supposed to! lol If I were a wild animal, I would be the scary one that you keep shooting with tranquilizer darts and it keeps growling and coming towards you till you've got so many of those things shot that the wild animal goes into a coma.
A donkey would be a big help right now - no gas, no car, no rush, no charging up in a plug somewhere, never fast enough to feel the curves. Not to mention, animals help keep me calm because even though the condition is not anxiety related, it causes anxiety now because it has been such a bad experience. I totally need a medical animal - like those ladies who have monkeys grocery shopping with them.... or pigs on planes.

Panne -
I did tell the owner that I was not able to drive in a car due to seizures and that this would be a bonus to his job needs (aka I would REALLY be there all the time) but that i could not travel to meet him easily. Alot of people don't really "get" this right off, because they think of things like I can just ride as a 'passenger', i can 'close my eyes', i can play 'soothing music', or i can just 'be calm and make it through'. The seizure part is a concept people take a little while to grasp in relation to the motion of driving, and don' realize that once i have one it can be disabling for a while after (depending on the severity).
As far as the campgrounds being chemical-ish - he said for any job i do there I can use anything i want (no chemicals, donkey for hauling gear etc) - the place i would stay in would be above the 'check in shop' and has all hardwood floors, and a wood stove for heat - no paint or anything new.
My plan was to stay overnight when meeting him, cause there is no chance in all the hells in the universe that i would drive that back and forth in one day - i would prefer to not drive that one way more then once in a year!!! Once I get there I may hold onto a tree and people will be trying to rip me off as i scream "NO WAY am i going back down that road, NO way!"

I really like that you said this:::
"don't ever give up. sometimes things look like they are impossible. the reality is you just need to find that one angle that opens the opportunity. it may take way more time to accomplish your goal, but time is irrelevant when it comes from necessity."

Some goals do take me way longer, and i have gotten to where i only notice how long it takes when other people are involved, because i normally measure these accomplishments on my own terms which seems tremendous awesome feats of bravery! On other people's terms it may seem like "WTF, it takes you 8 hours to go 32 miles?"
It's all about how accomplished we are in our heart and soul - not by the standards of the outside world. (And by the looks of youtube comments these days, who wants to be judged by the outside world anyway! Nutballs!)

Anonymous said...

This might sound crazy, but here's my way-out-there idea:

Do you know of anyone with a truck that would let you ride in the cargo area? That way, you'd be in open air, and being the mountains, maybe there are some negative ions that the fresh air would provide you, and keep you more "at one" with your natural surroundings, even as the vehicle were moving? That way, perhaps it would be less like a car ride, and more like an electric donkey ride?

Stay as out in the open air as you can, so it won't feel like a car trip. Have a cell phone on you to call whoever is driving if you feel a seizure coming on- or just pound on the glass between you both to get him/her to pull over.

That's my idea. Go cargo.

Miss Voodoo said...

Amestress!
ha. The open air thing is not a bad idea, I seem to do ok on a bicycle... far better then a car. Today I am going to take my electric bike for a test ride to see how far it really will go with my personal body weight. It is supposed to go 20-24 miles for a person weighing 170, but i weigh about 100 pounds and may be able to make it much further.
IF by some miracle my bike goes over 32 miles AND it warms up outside and gets sunny, there is a chance i could make the trip on the bike. But i have to see how i do.
My preference, would be to already have a donkey that way the trip would be slow and low keyed and I could pretend to be in the olden days to distract myself. :)

Miss Voodoo said...

Amestress...
PS--- Electric donkey ride !!!! lol I will forever think of that in a car.

Susie Collins said...

You'll never know until you try. You'll know immediately if/when it's not working-- that's when you stop trying. But until that moment of knowing it's not working, you try.

What do you think about asking for two overnights, and have the interview on the full day when you are not traveling at all. Then you have a full 12 hours to make each leg of the journey. Plus you get a full day there to see if it's the right fit for you.

Good luck!

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