Earlier this week I mentioned getting the tetanus booster when I went in for a routine doctor visit. That was Monday morning.
Today is Friday morning.
Deeps noticed a large lump on my left shoulder.
Deeps: Uhm - what's wrong with your arm?
Me: Oh that? It's the tetanus shot.
Deeps: That looks bad.
Me: I think it might be getting bigger.
Deeps: Does it hurt?
Me: Yes. And it itches!
Deeps: Is that supposed to happen?
Me: I have no idea. I'm afraid to look it up on the Internet.
Deeps: You should probably call the doctor.
Me: Why? So she can take out my other arm?
So all week I've been walking around to my friends going "Hey, you wanna touch something gross?" and then make them feel the huge, hard lump on my arm.
Nobody has turned me down yet. That's why we're friends!
Labels: 2008, health, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Friday, August 08, 2008 at Friday, August 08, 2008 | | 
So I went into the doctor today for a routine check-up. Nothing major, but at the end of our friendly visit my doctor took one last look at my chart.
Doctor: Looks like we wanted to give you a tetanus booster shot in 2004, but you said you were current.
Me: I probably was.
Doctor: That was four years ago, are you still current?
Me: How bad is it?
Doctor: Not that bad.
Me: I'm a big baby about needles.
Doctor: A lot of people are.
Me: It's not that bad anymore?
Doctor: No, it's really not that bad.
Me: I think I'm due. I'll do it.
A few minutes later the nurse came in to administer the shot.
Nurse: So what are do you not need as much today?
Me: What?
Nurse: Which arm to you write with?
Me: The right. But I like to use both arms. Every day.
Nurse: Left it is!
Me: The doctor said it wasn't that bad anymore.
Nurse: It isn't.
Me: That should be on the side of the package.
Labels: 2008, health, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Monday, August 04, 2008 at Monday, August 04, 2008 | |
Deeps has been under the weather. He told me had a cold and felt a little nauseous. That was two days ago, but he's a lot better. Although he made some bad food choices last night - he opted to eat leftover Indian food his mother had made.
Just a tip, if you're recovering from any kind of sour stomach - this is not a smart move.
I started to feel a little queasy while I was out running errands. By 9:00 I was starting to spend some quality time unloading the contents of my stomach. At this time, around 6:30 I've been unable to even drink water. The consequences are extremely bad. In sickness and in health indeed.
The worst night of my life? Quite possibly. I haven't been this sick since I got food poisoning from the little Greek restaurant in the Wellington stop in Chicago.
So now I silently beg for quick relief. Sleep is elusive, talking is risky, and my ribs ache. Guess my master plan didn't really pan out.
Labels: 2007, health
By: Alyssa | Thursday, October 25, 2007 at Thursday, October 25, 2007 | |
I heard a terrible banging at the back door about an hour ago.
Deeps had gone out to
break up some of the ice that has formed on the steps. It's several inches thick.
I figured he was locked out.
Instead he was hunched over and bleeding.
He fell on the ice and somehow smacked himself in the nose causing a massive nose bleed. He's okay now, but there's blood all over the driveway and the steps and the back of the house. It looks a little bit like a horror movie.
I pulled him out of his bloody, winter clothes and parked him on a chair while handing wet paper towels. We patched him up in a few minutes, and then I convinced him to throw a little ice pack on his face.
I handed him a package of peas.
Deeps: Peas?
Me: Yeah, they're easy to move around so you can form it to your face.
Deeps: Fine.
Me: Are you okay? Did you hit your head?
Deeps: No, I just fell on my side.
Me: Why were on you the driveway? I told you it was deadly!
Deeps: I was trying to get to the ice in front and didn't want to track snow through the house.
Me: So you're tracking blood through instead.
Deeps: I didn't say it was a perfect plan.
And that is why my husband has had peas pressed against his face for the past twenty minutes. We have a real ice pack, but I find the peas to be more comedic.
I'm an excellent wife.
Labels: 2007, health, marriage, weather
By: Alyssa | Thursday, February 15, 2007 at Thursday, February 15, 2007 | |
I'm feeling much better today, thanks for asking.
But just so you know how sick I've been: I didn't watch LOST last night. I've been waiting and hoping and waiting for 33 years and on the night it debuts, I'm too sick to watch. I sacked out around 9:30 and slept like the dead.
On the bright side, I can breathe out of at least one nostril. Big progress if you ask me.
I can't believe I slept through LOST. It was probably the episode when they answer ALL of my questions: what's with Dharma? Why Claire's baby? What's with Desmond? Where is the
magic turtle?
That's probably the DayQuil talking.
Labels: 2007, health, television
By: Alyssa | Thursday, February 08, 2007 at Thursday, February 08, 2007 | |
I thought I'd dodged a bullet.
I was in Florida during the worst of Deeps' cold. Of course, it lingered. And I could have, maybe, quarantined myself.
Now I have the dreaded mysterious cold which has been dubbed the
Asian Cat Flu*. Posting may be a little light for the next few days as I slog through the massive amount of gunk in my head.
I am disgusting.
Drink your fluids, sleep, and be sure to find some ninja movies. That's the best cure I can offer.
Also,
blogging about your colds gives you interesting data points. Like apparently we get this in early February. Weird!
*Asian Cat Flu is neither the flu nor cat-related. It is, however, gross and makes you sound like a very old, possibly dead, man.Labels: 2007, health, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Monday, February 05, 2007 at Monday, February 05, 2007 | |
My dentist was very concerned about my pain issues. But I think he was focusing on the wrong stuff.
He talked to me at length about the possibility of a root canal if I felt any extreme pain.
I tried to get him to quantify the pain for me, but he had a tough time describing it.
Me: Is it like, mind altering and life changing?
Dentist: Yeah, that’s a good way to look at it.
Me: But not stuff like being sensitive to hot and cold.
Dentist: No. Sensitivity to hot and cold is normal, but like really excruciating pain is a problem.
Me: I’ll keep that in mind.
Dentist: Look, you’ll know it if it happens.
Me: I like how you’re selling it to me.
What he kind of underplayed wasn’t the hot and cold, although I’m certainly sensitive, he didn’t mention that my face would feel so sore and tender and bruised. That I’d feel like I went a few rounds with some guy with the name Macho or Sugar in his name.
Today it is smoothies for me and
more chicken soup for Deeps. Between the two of us we’re like one normal person.
Maybe normal is a relative term.
Labels: 2007, filler, health, marriage
By: Alyssa | Monday, January 29, 2007 at Monday, January 29, 2007 | |
Hello!
I’m in Florida right now.
For business.
I’m not kidding.
It’s been raining since I arrived and I briefly saw the sun as I moved from one meeting to the next. I don’t really write about my job or anything, I think that’s best for everyone. But I thought I’d share a bit about my first trip (ever!) to Florida.
The weird thing about doing business in Florida is that everyone assumes you are here on vacation.
Let me make it clear, I’m not here on vacation.
In fact, I’m here with the only other person at my company who is surlier than I am. He asked if I’d blog about him and I said I might. I told him he could pick his blog name. He didn’t come up with one, but after several suggestions we agreed on Driver.
So Driver and I are here in Florida on business. And everyone is on vacation and it is weird.
Ultimately, if I had to be away from Boston and in Florida during some freakishly cool and wet weather, I guess this is a good time. I’ve heard from Deeps that is about 10 degrees and he has some kind of weird cold thing. I’m hoping it isn’t the
Asian Cat Flu.
I hear it might be going around.
More dispatches when I get home tomorrow. I will say this: when I read several of
Carl Hiaasen’s novels I thought he was exaggerating the wackiness of Florida. But from my limited exposure, I’m not sure it’s much of an exaggeration.
I come really like a weird place like this.
Tomorrow: Why is Florida burning? and Oh God, I think we’re in Disney World!
Labels: 2007, health, travel, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Thursday, January 25, 2007 at Thursday, January 25, 2007 | |
So I went to the dentist yesterday.
I have negotiated with my dentist and basically we’ve agreed to a 3x a year cleaning schedule to help stave off heinous tooth problems in the future.
I dealt with a lot of icky gum problems last year and at my last cleaning in 2006 we discussed what was in store for 2007 – just regular cleanings. Huzzah!
Then I spent all of the money from my flexible spending account on eye glasses and contact lenses since Deeps got his swanky new glasses last year. And I had no major dental worries.
Until today. Of course.
Apparently my famous pimp tooth – home to my first ever cavity at the age of nine – has developed a problem. It’s one of those teeth in the far back – so far back you can’t really see it.
First I had a regular filling. About 12 years later it fell out. Then it got fixed with a gold overlay. I kind of protested but my dentist told me to stop being a baby. I told her I didn’t want a pimp tooth. She thought that was hilarious.
So now, nearly ten years later the pimp tooth needs to be upgraded to a gold crown (pimp crown). I guess there was some decay under it and my tooth chipped and well… bad things are in store for me. My best case scenario is just having a crown put on (installed?). My worst case scenario involves the crown and a root canal or maybe an implant.
I pondered all of these things carefully before making my next move. My dentist was kind enough to explain to me all the costs involved and what my insurance would and would not cover.
Dentist: So is this something you’d like to address in the near future?
Me: I had planned on installing a patio.
Dentist: But now you’re getting a gold crown.
Me: It isn’t the world’s greatest trade-off.
Dentist: Not really.
Me: I can’t sit on my gold crown and drink gin and tonics and complain about mosquitoes.
At least my dentist finds me amusing. I live to make them laugh.
I told Deeps about all this and how annoying it is. Luckily, I’m not in pain, we have insurance and the cash to cover such emergency expenses. At least, that’s what Deeps reminded me as I grumbled about flossing and fancy toothbrushes.
Me: You know, the crown alone cost more than my first car.
Deeps: Wow.
Me: And if I have to have a root canal on top of that – it will cost more than my second car.
Deeps: You can’t think about it like that.
Me: Yeah, it’s depressing to think I have two crappy cars in my mouth.
Deeps: That should be the title of your first blues album.
Labels: 2007, health, marriage, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at Wednesday, January 17, 2007 | |
I’d read somewhere that kidney stones were hotter than Wiis and PS3s – combined – so I had to get one.
We were enjoying a quiet evening at home, packing for our visit to Indiana when a sharp pain struck my left side. Look, sometimes a sharp pain strikes – I’m getting older. It happens.
But this was persistent and the pain was sharper and more forceful. The pain became so sharp that I had to sit and take a few deep breaths – yoga style. I took a couple of ibuprofen and hoped I’d just pulled a muscle or something. I drank a lot of water. I waited to see what happened.
About an hour later, the pain wasn’t any better it was still sharp and sudden. I took my temperature and realized I had a low-grade fever. AT this point I thought I should start looking at the Internet to determine if I had something like appendicitis – because I didn’t know where my appendix was. I do now!
FYI, your appendix is on your right side but the pain was on my left side – near my kidney. Ah ha! I’ve seen this on TV – kidney stones. I finally told Deeps we should probably go to the emergency room – just in case.
Hours later were still waiting in the ER when the angry couple came in – she was announcing that her husband was dead to her and that their marriage was a lie. He was trying to see something about… I think he said he was bleeding. Whatever – they were fighting and she was totally freaking out everyone - especially the two small kids who were waiting for Grandpa to be released.
And on the waiting room TV was To Catch a Predator on Dateline – basically the stuff of nightmares. After talk of condoms came up on the show, someone finally changed the channel to the ever-wholesome NCIS. Nothing to see here except dead bodies, people. This is your new Saturday night lineup! I wandered around looking for a bathroom while Deeps waited to hear if my name was called. That would take a few more hours.
Eventually a young fresh-faced doctor examined me. Let’s just say we were on rather intimate terms rather quickly as he wanted to rule out I didn’t have problems with my inside parts. I was poked, prodded and then out came the needles. They took blood, gave me some pain killer in a saline drip and parked me next to my worried husband.
We waited some more. After a zillion tests including a CT scan and some X-rays the doctor announced they didn’t find anything. The working theory was that in the 7+ hours that I waited at the hospital I probably passed the small kidney stone. I had all the symptoms of having a small kidney stone but didn’t actually have a stone visible. Guess all the water drinking did pay off in the end.
We were released around 4 AM. Deeps and I drove home in a daze to finish packing for Christmas. Our taxi was scheduled to arrive at 8 AM to drive us to the airport.
After our nap, we got ready in hurry and hauled suitcases to the front porch. The taxi was late, my husband was a little grumpy, I was exhausted and we settled in for a fun-filled journey through airport security. It was a very Merry Christmas indeed.
Labels: 2006, health, marriage, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Thursday, December 28, 2006 at Thursday, December 28, 2006 | |
Guess who has the evil eye?
What if I added "again" to that question?
Yep. I have pink eye for the second time in about three weeks. Totally bizarre. I've called the eye doctor per my GP's advice. So there's that.
In other weird news I spotted a giant coyote on my way to work yesterday. We were driving near the big Alewife T station, approaching the back entrance when I spotted a big dog in the distance.
Deeps is a little skittish around animals - he wasn't raised with any pets and I think large animals make him nervous. This coyote wasn't quite as small as I've seen in the past near my parents' house in Indiana. I wasn't inclined to say anything to him about it, but then he said that the dog looked sick.
Me: He has mange.
Deeps: Oh yeah?
Me: Lots of coyotes do.
Deeps: That's a coyote?
Me: Yeah.
Deeps: So I've finally seen one?
Me: Yep.
Deeps: And now I'm going to drop you off just a few hundred feet from the coyote to walk to the station?
Me: Of course!
Deeps: Can you out run a coyote?
Me: He's probably more afraid of me than I'd be of him.
Deeps: I finished listening to the
This American Life Halloween episode where the lady is attacked by a rabid raccoon.
Me: I'll probably avoid that.
Deeps: Fine, but if you're attacked by wolves commuting to work don't blame me.
Me: I think it's much more likely I would be attacked by a pack of tourists.
Deeps: And you have no idea if they are vaccinated against rabies either.
Me: Exactly.
Labels: 2006, health, marriage, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, November 15, 2006 at Wednesday, November 15, 2006 | |
I have had to wear glasses since the…. I think the fourth grade. Thanks to my mother and father I’m pretty vision-impaired. Not blind, but without glasses or contacts I’m able to vaguely distinguish shapes and colors – unless they are directly in my face.
Yesterday I popped my contacts in and noticed that my eyes looked a little red, but no big deal – sometimes that happens. At work I had a meeting around 10 AM and someone mentioned that my eyes looked bloodshot and asked if I was okay. Someone else suggested I had an allergy problem.
Nope. Not a sniffle or a sneeze. And my eyes felt okay. After the meeting I stopped by the ladies room to check in the mirror.
I looked like a crazed, bloody-eyed killer. I’m talking way beyond a little red – my eyes looked like I’d been on a 9-day bender/murder spree.
I was all weirded out and self-conscious about it for the rest of the day. After the
Blogtoberfest event (which was thankfully dimly lit) we stopped by the ol’ CVS to get some Visine. I am happy to report that I’ve gotten some of the red out but still look kind of scary this morning.
I’ve busted out my old-school eye glasses for work today so that I might give the eyeballs a rest. God knows that if I roll down to the in-laws tomorrow with bloodshot eyes, I’ll hear about it. They’ll assume that they don’t have any grandchildren because I’m a lush.
Labels: 2006, health, internet
By: Alyssa | Friday, October 20, 2006 at Friday, October 20, 2006 | |
Operation RecoveryI’ve done all I can to get over this stupid head cold. Last night I had donuts for dinner in a fit of weird hunger and possibly rage. I’m tired of being cooped up at home. Why donuts? Why not donuts? I can barely taste anything but I figured I might be able to taste some sugary, donuty goodness. It’s a nice change of pace from toast.
Anyway, full of donuts and NyQuil I
recorded my latest podcast. I’m happy to report that while I’m still a little stuffy I have lost most of my scary old man voice that comes with any cold I’ve ever had.
Is the lady of the house home? Speaking. Sir, you cannot be serious!
Good news - I think I've got the feed working so that you can
subscribe via itunes. If you're so inclined.... and if I ever make one of these things again.
Labels: 2006, health
By: Alyssa | Sunday, October 08, 2006 at Sunday, October 08, 2006 | |
My friend JonI haven’t been to work since Tuesday but I dragged myself out of bed to go to see
Jon Stewart. I can rationalize this because I was a) getting better and b) not infecting my workplace – just a bunch of strangers at the Wang Theater. (tee hee)
First, a few observations – my cold-addled brain was stunned by the number of swankily dressed, elderly women ushers we encountered. They must have been stunned by the jeans-wearing, unwashed (and unwell) masses that pushed through the doors. The theater is beautiful and baroque – completely over the top and lovingly restored – and we all came to see a funny guy curse for $55 a head (plus fees).
The show itself was short at 75 minutes. We saw him at the Orpheum a few years ago and the show was longer and included more bits about his life in addition to his material about the war, the president, and gay marriage.
We laughed, we had a good time – but the show material wasn’t radically different from what we heard a few years ago. That’s a tiny bit disappointing primarily because we paid such a handsome sum for the opportunity to see him perform live. Still it was a good show and I’d say if you’d like to see him live you should. If you are a regular viewer of the show you’re going to hear some material recycled, but those are the breaks.
One other observation – people came to the show late, like really late. The show was slated to start at 7 which is early (he did a 10 PM show as well) and around 7:15 he came out on stage. People – lots of people – were still being seated in the dark well past 7:45. Again, I was surprised because you pay a lot of money to see him and you show up so late? It’s a holiday weekend; traffic coming into Boston wasn’t that bad. Maybe there was a snafu at the parking garage.
Anyway, we had a good time and I managed to get home without coughing my head off. So that’s the mark of a good evening out. Nobody died, nobody exploded in a ball of head goo and nobody learned anything.
Labels: 2006, health
By: Alyssa | Saturday, October 07, 2006 at Saturday, October 07, 2006 | |
Shut inSo my weird cold hasn’t really gotten much worse, but it isn’t any better. My throat still hurts and my ears are stuffy and head is foggy.
And I’m totally bored sitting at home on the last warm day of the year watching crappy, crappy television. Luckily, there was an
American Ninja (2 if you’re interested) movie on so that was an excellent napping opportunity.
The most surprising part of my day at home is that it’s really freaking loud on my street. People are working, the mail man clomps across the porch, and I’m not sure what my neighbor is doing but it sounds like he’s building some kind of giant wood chipper that is fired with something totally medieval.
I hope to be better soon. Or worse.
Labels: 2006, health
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, October 04, 2006 at Wednesday, October 04, 2006 | |
After a lackluster day of sitting, quietly and sipping broth and tea at work I came home with my low-grade fever to figure out my next step. But then Deeps suggested that we order some Thai food because it would make me feel better to have some awesome Tom Kha Gai.
I also got some spicy chicken dish that I usually love – and I loved tonight. When the food showed up I thought, “Yummy! Food!” and I ate soup and some rice and some spicy chicken stuff… it seemed like such a good idea at the time.
But now I feel all hot and nauseous – could be the ick or the Gilmore Girls that I’m watching. Ooooh no! I’ll have to save that for my next podcast. I think I’m breaking up with the Gilmore Girls.
And my head is throbbing. But I will be okay for Jon Stewart. We love him and I spent four million dollars on those tickets. I don’t care if Deeps has to pour me into a Dixie cup.
Labels: 2006, health, television
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, October 03, 2006 at Tuesday, October 03, 2006 | |
I am Patient ZeroI didn’t think I’d be contagious over the Internets and yet I can’t help but wonder when I realize that many of the bloggers I like to read on a regular basis are sick.
Evidence:
Plain-JaneCitySlicker MomThe CupCakeTentGrumpy FrumpJurgen NationMilkweed HillAnd of course
my husband (who does not have a blog, but has been contaminated by me)
The Asian Cat Flu strikes again! Please wash your hands after reading this post.
Labels: 2006, health
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, February 08, 2006 at Wednesday, February 08, 2006 | |
Rest in PeaceMy husband is sick.
And like many men – not all men, but many – who are sick he’s a big fat baby. When I am sick I do not require anyone to take care of me. I like to hole up in a dark place (my bedroom), drink diet ginger ale, eat Cheerios and watch bad television while slipping in and out of consciousness.
My husband wants me to take care of him. He won’t take care of himself. God forbid the man stay home without me a) strongly urging or b) forcing him. He doesn’t take medicine very regularly and he won’t sleep. And he won’t shut up.
We’re in day four of the cold and he’s on my last nerve. I know – I’m a bad wife. But seriously, he’s an adult person.
Deeps: What have you done to me?
Me: I’m sorry I gave you the cold.
Deeps: I’m going to be dead tomorrow.
Me: No you’re not.
Deeps: This isn’t a cold. It’s some kind of crazy disease. Like…. See, there is something wrong. The cat won’t even look at me.
Me: You hate the cat. That’s why she won’t look at you.
Deeps: I have the Asian Cat flu. The cat is trying to kill me.
Me: I don’t think that’s it.
Deeps: Oh God, you’re in on it together.
And he’s extra bitter because I made him flush his brains out with the SinuCleanse three times yesterday.
While he’s still sick I’m trying to get better, keep the house running, go to work and prepare for our friends’ weekend visit.
They’re coming with their two adorable kids and we don’t want to be sick and gross when they get here. Well, I don’t. I can’t say the same for Sickly McWallows-in-his-own-filth. But I feel confident he wants to see everyone without having something creepy oozing out of his nose.
That’s just a guess. Meanwhile, I will try to be a better wife and caregiver. And hope that my patience with my patient can stretch for another few days.
Labels: 2006, health
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, February 07, 2006 at Tuesday, February 07, 2006 | |
Do not attempt at homeLast night I blew my nose. Which isn’t unusual given my abating cold.
But apparently I blew my nose so hard that I gave myself some crazy bed spins and collapsed into a chair.
So – don’t do that, okay?
In other news, next week I’m announcing my !4 More Years! of the Big Red Blog contest to celebrate the blog’s four-year anniversary. I’ll be soliciting feedback and entries from readers – and I’ll be sending out books (to be named next week) to the “winners.”
Oh Internets, you’re all winners to me.
Happy weekend!
Labels: 2006, health
By: Alyssa | Friday, February 03, 2006 at Friday, February 03, 2006 | |
Blogging my coldSo I’ve had a cold for a few days. I haven’t been typing – but I wanted to let you know that I care so much for you, Internets, that I’ve been keeping track of my adventures to share.
Saturday 8:15 AM: Hmm. My throat kind of hurts.
Saturday 9:10 AM: I’m going to bed, to rest up.
Saturday 4:30 PM: ZZZZ.
Saturday 9:30 PM: I should probably not touch anyone or anything. But you’re having a very lovely party.
Sunday 10:29 AM: I’m just going to watch this ninja movie. Oh god, he’s going to know I’m sick.
Sunday 11:00 PM: I’m probably not going to work tomorrow.
Monday 3:41 AM: I wonder what Joey Lawrence is up to. Oh, I guess he’s dead. They didn’t even show him getting killed. Is that the guy from Dr. Quinn?
Monday 5:39 AM: If I can breathe through one nostril I can go to sleep.
Monday 10:26 AM: Deeps, this is an emergency: I need Puffs Plus with Lotion – at least two boxes; DayQuil and NyQuil. And some Lorna Doones. Stat.
Monday 7:38 PM: You should totally wear the yellow tie with the blue shirt.
Monday 10:59 PM: How do you think I feel? It’s like someone stepped on my face.
Tuesday 2:34 AM: Well – that was restful 3 hours of sleep. I feel totally good. I can probably go to work in a few hours.
Tuesday 2:38 AM: Who am I kidding? What’s on TV?
Tuesday 4:00 AM: I think I can break up some of this congestion if I can breathe in some steam. I’m just going to boil a little water and breathe in the steam.
Tuesday 4:08 AM: I think I read something about shooting water into your nose to relieve sinus infections. Maybe I should Google that.
Tuesday 4:19 AM: I’m just going to stop doing weird experiments with my nose because this is going to end in tragedy. And I don’t want to end up on the news.
I stopped keeping track at this point because I just kept watching bad television while blowing my nose.
Labels: 2006, health
By: Alyssa | Thursday, February 02, 2006 at Thursday, February 02, 2006 | |
I have the IckIt isn’t the flu – it’s like a lame cold. I’ve lost my voice and I’m a little stuffy – but otherwise, okay.
Despite my steady diet of Halloween candy and horror films, I haven’t recovered yet. I guess I might have to cave and take some Robitussin.
Gah.
Labels: health
By: Alyssa | Sunday, November 06, 2005 at Sunday, November 06, 2005 | |
Fever
Oh my God have I been sick.
Whew.
I’m just now coming out of the cold medicine haze that I have been in since Monday. Yes, last freaking year. A week ago. Ye Gods was I sick.
I would like to write about Christmas and the adventures but honestly, I’m drawing a blank right now. My brain is still kind of foggy and my head is still stuffy. I am happy to report that I used up two “family-size” boxes of Puffs Plus with Lotion in two days.
The good thing about having some god-awful plague-like illness for the week following the holidays is that you totally miss out on the post-Christmas depression. I hardly knew ye. Perhaps I will pencil that in again for next year.
I also got to enjoy the last hour of a lot of questionable television this week. I watched too many hours of
Spongebob and
Cops and
Animal Precinct and all manner of monster movie. Including back-to-back appearances by
Randy Quaid as a sheriff and a demented doctor. Good stuff.
I also watched a fine film about a man who enters a contest to become the lead singer of a boy band only to arrive at a remote island and discover said band is actually a group of
undead zombie guys from the 50s. I cannot make this up. I’m pretty sure I didn’t make it up.
I hadn’t seen the sun until yesterday when I ventured outside to visit a friend for a few hours. I think it might have been too soon – I sported a clean pair of gym pants and a ratty pony tail. I don’t think any of these people had ever seen me look so stunning. Luckily, they were really hung over.
No one would sit by me for a long time. I just sat there, clutching my tissues and drinking ginger ale and listening to them talk in normal voices. I still sound like a cross between
Harvey Fierstein and
Kathleen Turner.
But I’m much better and I’ll probably make it back to work tomorrow. I never thought I’d be looking forward to returning to the old office space, but I’ve been stuck in this house for a week and while I enjoy the company of the couch and my television – I think I need to get out a little.
I heard there are some wicked after Christmas sales that I’m missing out on.
Labels: health
By: Alyssa | Sunday, January 02, 2005 at Sunday, January 02, 2005 | |
Beware the six pack
I must say, I was totally caught off guard by this.
Usually I get a nasty cold in October, I sound like a scary old man back from the grave and then I get over it. Then that’s it. Sometimes I get a sniffle or something, but you can count on me for a good cold every late fall and then I move on with my life.
It used to be that every time I went home to visit my parents and sisters and their kids, I’d catch some heinous thing. Every single time.
Those kids are like biological weapons.
But then they got older and I stopped catching stuff from then. But then the new batch came and now that there are six children of varying ages that all demand attention and affection. And God help me, I try to deliver. Unfortunately, two of them threw up on me (well spit up – but what’s the difference?) and one blew giant snot bubbles at me.
So for the first time in several years, I have caught something from the children. The six pack was no match for my immune system.
To that end, I have avoided speaking because my throat hurts. My head is throbbing and I haven’t gotten any of the 9 kinds of cold medicine in my house to take the edge off of that. On the bright side, I’m enjoying some quality TV time – yesterday I watched
Robocop and
Cobra.
Both are excellent films for watching while sick and possibly under the influence of powerful cold medicine. I found them both hilarious and lacking in plot, but not lacking in the shooting and blowing up of things/people.
This morning I watched the last half of
Flowers in the Attic and then napped until I started watching a little mini-marathon of
Skulls movies. So many bad movies, so little time.
Sorry for the most boring entry since that one I wrote about the cat.
Labels: health
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, December 28, 2004 at Tuesday, December 28, 2004 | |
I had a cold
To quote
Steve Carrell, I’ve had a cold. It was bad. It took a while to recover.
Oh yeah, and I had a massive product launch that required lots of extra work.
Snow Day
We had a big storm which was
bizarre and amazing. Now, I’ve spent most of my life in and around the mid-west where we don’t necessarily get a lot of snow but we get the bitter cold. But the big snow isn’t totally unusual – and I’m a power shoveler. Who knew how much I could shovel?
Deeps and I dug out of the house, trotted down the street whistling “Hi Ho” and shoveled out the Subaru. It took well over an hour.
More snow is coming this weekend. Well, snow if we’re lucky. If we’re not lucky, it’s rain and ice and sleet. Oh my!
No Snow Day for you!
I actually work at home several days a week, so I didn’t really have a snow day. People were kind enough to not call me too many times and I did go shovel until my shoulders ached. But in the end, I still worked and built mammoth spread sheets and answered emails.
On the bright side, when you work from home you can wear your lovely pony-tail to the side hairdo and clothes that are not clean and do not match. You really don’t need to wear pants.
Netflix
But what’s a blizzard without movies. I finally caved and joined the ranks of tens of other Americans and joined Netflix. You thought I was going to say I bought Duck Tape. Well, I didn’t. If another attack happens I have a can of corn and 2 double A batteries. I’m going out fighting.
Anyway, Neflix is interesting. I like anything that is brought directly to my house. Sadly, one of the first 3 movies I ordered was lost in the mail. Ironically, it’s a movie I’ve seen half of like 5 times. It’s always on really late at night on TCM and I fall asleep before I get to the end.
Curse of the Demon– they ain’t lying.
It should arrive by tomorrow. We shall see.
Labels: 2003, health
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at Wednesday, February 19, 2003 | |
So we've sprung forward! Yaay! More light! Less dark!
And ultimately (at least for a few weeks) that means less sleep for me.
But I'm not alone. The National Sleep foundation released a study saying that about 60% of Americans suffer from symptoms of sleep disorders at least one day a week.
I've been an insomniac for about 15 years. As a kid I apparently slept like a log and had no problems sleeping long and hard all through the night. I slept in the car, at school, at home, in the living room, at my desk -- everywhere. Now I sleep lightly for a few hours each night. If I can get 4 hours without interruption I'm thrilled.
Insomnia, at least for me, is something I have learned to live with. I can manage it pretty well most of the time, but every once in a while I fall off the wagon and go through a prolonged spell of sleeplessness. It's not good. The fastest way to break a human being is to deprive her of sleep.
Anyway, about this time of year I get a little turned around for a few weeks. Daylight savings does that to me.
I blame Indiana for this phenomenon. We never had to change the clocks. The state decided to abstain from participating in Daylight savings and so half the year we were in the Eastern Time zone and the other half in Central.
I never had to change my clock until I went to college.
And so with a heavy heart I spring forward this year. In a week I'll be fine. But at least for this week, as my alarm sounds each morning I'll wish I could hit snooze for a few minutes more.
Movies, movies, movies!Over the weekend we rented a fine little film called
Session 9. It's creepy and atmospheric without being overly gorey or contrived. I think you can see where it's heading, but the journey is enjoyable.
This was clearly a very low budget movie, but I really liked the creative use of camera and lighting by the
director. I strongly encourage people who enjoy a suspenseful, psychological thrillers to check out this film.
We also went to the movies which is really becoming a challenge. The movie we wanted to see was sold out at 9:30 last night so we went to see it at 11:45 this morning. The jury is still out on my opinion of the movie. More on that later...
QueenieI’m not the only one voicing a little sadness over the loss of the Queen Mum. Now I’m disappointed she’s passed on because I’ll miss those lemon chiffon duds of hers. I think others might be
taking it a bit more seriously.
The last entry about my eyeballsMany people wrote in to voice their concern over my pending blindness. Happily I can report after a weird experience in dilated eyes – the peepers are healthy and happy. No worries and my prescription probably won’t change much until I’m about 40. Good news!
Labels: 2002, famous people, health, movies
By: Alyssa | Sunday, April 07, 2002 at Sunday, April 07, 2002 | |
First, I might be going a little blinder. This might be alarming for people who don't know me and assume that I have 20/20 vision. That's what you get for assuming! I'm just about bat-like without glasses or contacts.
But I've developed this annoying little spot on my eye. At first I thought I had a micro spec of dust on my contact lens, but when the itty bitty spec showed up on my right eye while I wasn't wearing my contacts. I flushed out the eye, put in some drops and nothing has worked. Now little tiny spec is driving me slowly crazy. So I'm off to the doctor today.
It's like this weird little tiny blind spot. The best way I can describe it -- you know how kinda crappy laptop monitors are all pixels and how sometimes one single pixel goes out? That's what it looks like to me. Weird. Anyway, I'm calling the doc today to find out what the damage is.
Hopefully I'm not going all blind again like I did when I had the worst case of conjunctivitis ever!
And the other thing...I'm in love with two new TV shows. The Osbournes over on the MTV is excellent. Seriously, TWOP said it best when they wrote Ozzy is both 7 and 87 at the same time. HI-larious. It's on Tuesdays at 10:30/9:30CT. I'm also intrigued by Andy Richter Controls the Universe. I've only seen one episode, so the jury is still a bit out -- but I like what I've seen. Andy's on over on The Fox at 8:30/7:30 CT.
Good TV is hard to find, hence I'm bummed about my blown eye pixel or whatever this thing is.
And Now for the WinterI knew it was too good to be true.
Now I'm looking at a steady falling of snow. We're almost a full week into spring and all we've gotten for it -- frigid temps and falling snow. Yaay!
If only my landlord would be a bit more generous with the heat.
The Big OLots and lots and lots has been and will be written about the Oscars by people who are smarter and have more cred than me. Let me just say, a couple of things. Yaay Denzel. Boo everything else, except that neat little number by the Cirque.
Maybe everything else wasn't bad. I only watched about 15 minutes. But seriously, do the Oscars need to be 5 hours long?
The Fu FluThere's this like cold/flu thing going around my office and it's been spreading like wildfire. I call it the Fu Flu because it's so bad it's like some kind of mystical kung fu flu. Even the mighty who are like "I never get sick" are falling. I have not yet become a victim despite Deeps coming back from NY with it. And everyone around me has had it, but I've been enjoying this weird peppery tasting Tang thing called Airborne. So far I have weird breath but no Fu Flu. Beware the Fu Flu and be sure to drink your OJ.
Thaw-tasticOnce I thaw a bit later this week I'll be posting some exciting news about a celebrity encounter and my new crappy digital camera. Who knows -- there may be photos.
Labels: 2002, health
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at Tuesday, March 26, 2002 | |
