Saturday, January 30, 2016
So, let's see, I've got almost a week to cover.
I don't remember much about Monday. See? That's why I have to update frequently here, or I just lose days. The week before, my back had been bothering me a lot. A few days I had worn the back brace, but by Saturday I was just carrying it up and down stairs with me in case I needed it. By Monday there were just a few ouches when I moved wrong, and that's about all I remember about Monday, --- except that Monday evening, late, I started coughing. A dry cough. Every few seconds. When I went to bed I was afraid the cough would keep me awake, so I put Vicks Vapo-Rub on the soles of my feet under socks, which is supposed to stop coughs, and has always worked before, but didn't help this time. All it did was keep Jasper off the bed.
Tuesday, Daughter, Nugget, and I went to a nearby Peruvian restaurant, Inkanto, on route 35 in Hazlet, for an early dinner. It was very good, I recommend the place. I was still coughing. I didn't feel sick. I described it to Daughter as feeling like there was a popcorn husk stuck far back on the back of my tongue. That tiny spot of irritation that just won't go away.
Tuesday night, my soft palate got that hot burny feeling. Uh oh.
Wednesday I woke up to body aches all over, hot dry throat, stuffed up nose, pounding headache from side to side above my eyebrows, and sneeze sneeze sneezes, in between the coughing. A lot of phlegm, but it was nicely clear. From coughing so much, my belly and ribs hurt when I coughed. Maybe a slight fever, not enough to worry about. Still, the worst part was the feeling of impending doom. I can't emphasize that too much. It was obviously just an ordinary cold virus, a head cold, but I felt like I was going to die. It wasn't in my chest, but I was so afraid I was headed for pneumonia. Doom! Doom! Morbid doom! Tomorrow I will be dead!
I filled the bathtub with the hottest water I could stand, climbed in, and read a book. Did that in the late morning, and again in late afternoon. I figure if the purpose of fever is to kill invaders, I'd help it along. I did feel better for a short time after each soak. But still, doom!
Bed early. Slept well, because the sneezing and coughing seemed to have lessened.
Woke Thursday feeling a lot better. Still headaches, still stuffy, but my body felt a bit better, and the hot spots in my throat had cooled down. Spent the day wandering the internet and reading stuff.
Friday, just yesterday, I felt absolutely wonderful! I was going to live! My back was not only all better, but I'd never before been so pain-free all over, an unusual state for me. I haven't felt this well in ages! No stabs, no aches, no burning spots in my thighs. My legs were even listening and obeying when I spoke to them. My nose was running, lots, that thin stuff that dribbles down your upper lip and drips on everything before you can get a tissue up, but hey, I'll take that.
Today, I woke to a very dry burning nose and throat. Sigh. I guess this is the second phase. Friday was just a tease. Lots of phlegm in my throat, thick, nasty pale yellow-green-gray greasy grimy gopher guts. I've spent the day snorking and choking to get it up, down, and out. Dry coughing a lot again.
------------------------------------------
As if that wasn't enough...
I rarely shut down the laptop. Every night I disconnect from the wifi and then just close the lid. In the morning, I reconnect, it asks me for my password, and then torques back up to where I left off the night before.
This morning, I opened the lid, and nothing happened. Light blue screen.
I waited.
Nothing.
I waited some more.
Nothing.
I closed the lid, waited a few seconds, and opened it again. This time I got the hardware Toshiba logo, and the spinning circle.
I waited.
Nothing more.
I made breakfast. Ate breakfast. Made instant coffee. Drank coffee.
Still nothing more. Spinning circle on Toshiba screen.
I pressed the off button, the laptop turned off, I waited a few seconds, then pressed it again, and it started. Got the Toshiba screen, then my usual sign-in screen asking for the password, gave it my password, then, slowly, gradually, a windows screen came up --- but it isn't mine.
It's acting and looking like it has never met me before. Half the icons on the left side are missing, and there's no rhyme or reason to what's left. My widgets on the right are missing. There was an icon for Firefox, so I started that up, but Firefox acted like it had never heard of me and wanted me to set up a new account. When Firefox started, all my bookmarks are missing. All my settings are missing. Same with Goggle.
I was able to get to my Yahoo and Gmail email accounts, so I'm not dead in the water. There's that, anyway.
I don't know a lot about how PCs work, but if this were big iron, I'd say my directory has been corrupted. I'm beginning to suspect that after I closed up last night, Windows decided to update itself, and got interrupted partway through.
Back to the friendly service guys on Monday, I guess. I still have my little notebook, or note pad, or whatever that thing is, but it's annoying to type much on, so if I disappear for a while, it's the laptop that's in the hospital, probably not me.
.
Showing posts with label illness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illness. Show all posts
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, September 26, 2014
3980 Sniffle update 2
Friday, September 26, 2014
Along about Wednesday, I was pretty much over everything, except that as usual my sinuses are still complaining. A LOT of thick phlegm coming down from the sinuses, down to sit on top of the soft palate, and choke me. I'm snorking and glurking to get it down and out, and if and when it escapes and goes on down the back of my throat and hits the epiglottis, I cough. And choke some more.
But I don't think there's any active infection any more.
I've learned by experience that when it's just the sinuses, I can't use a decongestant. If the sinuses get too dry before they've finished complaining, I'm inviting a bacterial infection. So I just have to wait until they calm down on their own. This is all a result of a massive sinus infection in the early '80s, that scarred stuff up in there so they don't drain right. Hot drinks can help, but not much else. A neti pot would make things worse, since I don't drain right.
I finally caught up with Daughter on Tuesday (they had been out almost every day since the Friday before), and she said they'd all been sick all weekend. (Not as sick as I had been, I guess, because it didn't seem to have slowed them down any. No, I don't know where they went or what they'd been doing - I'm not allowed to ask.)
I cracked Hercules up by mentioning that on Sunday I was sneezing so hard I gave up on underpants.
.
Along about Wednesday, I was pretty much over everything, except that as usual my sinuses are still complaining. A LOT of thick phlegm coming down from the sinuses, down to sit on top of the soft palate, and choke me. I'm snorking and glurking to get it down and out, and if and when it escapes and goes on down the back of my throat and hits the epiglottis, I cough. And choke some more.
But I don't think there's any active infection any more.
I've learned by experience that when it's just the sinuses, I can't use a decongestant. If the sinuses get too dry before they've finished complaining, I'm inviting a bacterial infection. So I just have to wait until they calm down on their own. This is all a result of a massive sinus infection in the early '80s, that scarred stuff up in there so they don't drain right. Hot drinks can help, but not much else. A neti pot would make things worse, since I don't drain right.
I finally caught up with Daughter on Tuesday (they had been out almost every day since the Friday before), and she said they'd all been sick all weekend. (Not as sick as I had been, I guess, because it didn't seem to have slowed them down any. No, I don't know where they went or what they'd been doing - I'm not allowed to ask.)
I cracked Hercules up by mentioning that on Sunday I was sneezing so hard I gave up on underpants.
.
Saturday, March 09, 2013
3698 White guys can't shake.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Latest video virus, Harlem Shake. It's disgusting. Buncha guys bouncing and kicking and throwing their arms around. That's NOT the Harlem Shake! It's like people who think belly dancing is just wiggling around. I want to slap them. If that's what you want to do, do it, but don't call it something it's not!
THIS is the real Harlem Shake:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrTqyGp2beU]
Note the shoulders. That's an integral part of the dance, and that takes practice.
--------------------------------
In an email from the township: "Alternate side parking: If snow falls on an even day, parking is permitted on the odd-numbered side of the street. If snow falls on an odd day, parking is permitted on the even-numbered side of the street."
This has left me confused. Badly worded, difficult to remember. Wouldn't "even=even odd=odd" make more sense if you want people to remember? Also, what happens if it starts snowing at 5 PM and snows continuously until 5 AM? Which side should you park on to avoid being towed? No matter where you're parked when you go to bed, it's going to be the wrong side for half the time.
---------------------------------
I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I have been sick continuously since the hurricane, since late October. Head cold, chest cold, pneumonia, bronchitis. I finished the bronchitis antibiotic about five days ago, and three days ago I seem to have started a sinus infection. I've been sick for more than four months. I feel stronger than I did after I got out of the hospital, but I still don't want to do much. (And yes, I'm quitting smoking, since late December. That adds stress and makes me nasty mean.)
NJ hates me. NJ is trying to kill me. NYC pollution blowing across the bay is destroying my immune system.
.
The end move in politics is to pick up a gun.
-- Bucky Fuller --
---------------------------------------------------------------
Latest video virus, Harlem Shake. It's disgusting. Buncha guys bouncing and kicking and throwing their arms around. That's NOT the Harlem Shake! It's like people who think belly dancing is just wiggling around. I want to slap them. If that's what you want to do, do it, but don't call it something it's not!
THIS is the real Harlem Shake:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrTqyGp2beU]
Note the shoulders. That's an integral part of the dance, and that takes practice.
--------------------------------
In an email from the township: "Alternate side parking: If snow falls on an even day, parking is permitted on the odd-numbered side of the street. If snow falls on an odd day, parking is permitted on the even-numbered side of the street."
This has left me confused. Badly worded, difficult to remember. Wouldn't "even=even odd=odd" make more sense if you want people to remember? Also, what happens if it starts snowing at 5 PM and snows continuously until 5 AM? Which side should you park on to avoid being towed? No matter where you're parked when you go to bed, it's going to be the wrong side for half the time.
---------------------------------
I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I have been sick continuously since the hurricane, since late October. Head cold, chest cold, pneumonia, bronchitis. I finished the bronchitis antibiotic about five days ago, and three days ago I seem to have started a sinus infection. I've been sick for more than four months. I feel stronger than I did after I got out of the hospital, but I still don't want to do much. (And yes, I'm quitting smoking, since late December. That adds stress and makes me nasty mean.)
NJ hates me. NJ is trying to kill me. NYC pollution blowing across the bay is destroying my immune system.
.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
3690 The Collapse
Thursday, January 17, 2013
So, I was let out of the hospital two weeks ago yesterday, and I think I've been 100% for at least the past ten days. Full of energy, but I'm being good and not trying to do too much, as they'd warned me not to try. It's only now that I realize how weak I had been for quite literally months. My strength had been ebbing since the hurricane in early November, and the subsequent 11 days with no heat.
The Nugget had started nursery school in like September(?), and as expected she's had one cold with and without ear infections after another. She and I traded back and forth. She got better between bouts - I didn't. I went a little more downhill with every cycle.
By late November I was having difficulty getting up if I had been sitting on the floor. By mid December I had difficulty getting out of the tub after a bath. By late December I was having difficulty going up stairs, even if it was just one step. I had no strength in my legs.
Whatever was going on seemed to affect my thinking, too. The weakness having come on so gradually couldn't have been all of it. I noticed, but I just chalked it up to ... age? I don't know. Mostly it was that I had lost the capacity to care. Is that depression?
By the time of my Thursday, 12/27, post, when I said I'd been sick for so long, I hadn't slept in like three nights, because of the coughing. That night I coughed so hard I did something to a rib in my back. It hurt so very badly when I coughed. Friday morning I went over to Daughter's house hoping for massage or something, and she insisted on taking me to the ER.
Some weird stuff happened there. I kind of tuned out and let go, so I don't know a lot of what went on that day. The ER was very busy. I was on a stretcher in the hall from late morning until sometime in the evening because they didn't have a room or something, but I didn't lack for attention from nurses, doctors, x-ray technicians, vampires.
At one point someone left a file folder on my stretcher. MY name was on the outside. Daughter opened it, and was reading a form in it, when she said, "This isn't your name." She flashed a page at me. All I saw was "DIABETIC" in large letters across the middle of the page. Daughter ran off and gave the folder to a nurse, and there was some fuss, and then I lost interest. But somebody had screwed up badly.
For the next three days, that mistake haunted me.
Next post....
---------------------------------
One of the reasons I haven't updated before this is because after several weeks of good behavior, my laptop is choking again. I started this post at 7:25. It is now 8:45. I've been getting hanging scripts which kill Firefox. I've had to restart twice. I just plain haven't had the patience to fuss with it. I assume it's the "updates out of phase" thing again.
.
“Elitist” is redneck code for “educated”.
-------------------------------------------------------------
So, I was let out of the hospital two weeks ago yesterday, and I think I've been 100% for at least the past ten days. Full of energy, but I'm being good and not trying to do too much, as they'd warned me not to try. It's only now that I realize how weak I had been for quite literally months. My strength had been ebbing since the hurricane in early November, and the subsequent 11 days with no heat.
The Nugget had started nursery school in like September(?), and as expected she's had one cold with and without ear infections after another. She and I traded back and forth. She got better between bouts - I didn't. I went a little more downhill with every cycle.
By late November I was having difficulty getting up if I had been sitting on the floor. By mid December I had difficulty getting out of the tub after a bath. By late December I was having difficulty going up stairs, even if it was just one step. I had no strength in my legs.
Whatever was going on seemed to affect my thinking, too. The weakness having come on so gradually couldn't have been all of it. I noticed, but I just chalked it up to ... age? I don't know. Mostly it was that I had lost the capacity to care. Is that depression?
By the time of my Thursday, 12/27, post, when I said I'd been sick for so long, I hadn't slept in like three nights, because of the coughing. That night I coughed so hard I did something to a rib in my back. It hurt so very badly when I coughed. Friday morning I went over to Daughter's house hoping for massage or something, and she insisted on taking me to the ER.
Some weird stuff happened there. I kind of tuned out and let go, so I don't know a lot of what went on that day. The ER was very busy. I was on a stretcher in the hall from late morning until sometime in the evening because they didn't have a room or something, but I didn't lack for attention from nurses, doctors, x-ray technicians, vampires.
At one point someone left a file folder on my stretcher. MY name was on the outside. Daughter opened it, and was reading a form in it, when she said, "This isn't your name." She flashed a page at me. All I saw was "DIABETIC" in large letters across the middle of the page. Daughter ran off and gave the folder to a nurse, and there was some fuss, and then I lost interest. But somebody had screwed up badly.
For the next three days, that mistake haunted me.
Next post....
---------------------------------
One of the reasons I haven't updated before this is because after several weeks of good behavior, my laptop is choking again. I started this post at 7:25. It is now 8:45. I've been getting hanging scripts which kill Firefox. I've had to restart twice. I just plain haven't had the patience to fuss with it. I assume it's the "updates out of phase" thing again.
.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
2746 Sick?
Saturday, January 16, 2010
I was not very sparkling at dinner last night. Anyone looking at me would have thought I was either tired or sad.
When I got home, I had a heaviness in my upper abdomen; I wondered if something I had eaten was getting nasty at me.
I got to bed about 2 am, and slept very badly, waking at about 8 am and unable to get back to sleep. Do you ever get that feeling of foreboding? I had it.
I feel icky today. I have boosted the thermostat to 78 and put on a long robe over my clothes, but I'm still freezing. The skin in the center of my body feels hot and dry, but the battery thermometer says 98.2, and the old mercury thermometer (which I trust more) says 98.55, so I don't have a fever.
I have pain across the small of my back, above my hips, more on the right than the left. I have a rock of pain under and behind my left ear, from the point of the jawbone to the center of the back of my head. There's pain across my eyebrows. My upper back feels very tired - I can't hold my shoulders back; my shoulders ache, feel like they've been beaten. They curl forward. I slump. My feet smell very salty.
No snuffly nose, though.
I was so cold and miserable that I climbed into bed, fully dressed and under the blankets, at 1 pm, and slept until after 5. There goes the dinner and movie that was scheduled for this evening. I'm not too distressed about missing that. This group is run by guys, and they planned dinner in the food court at the mall, and the movie is "The Lovely Bones". I read the book long ago, and couldn't understand why it was so popular, and then I read a review that didn't make the movie sound any better, so, eh.
I hate feeling like this with no explanation.
---------------------------------
Another blogger has written about An Innocent looking to buy a car in New Jersey. The kid was likely to be eaten by sharks.
It reminded me of my shopping for a car for Jay. He had slid on ice and wracked up his Subaru, and we needed a small cheap car ASAP for his commute. We had just received a check from his father for Christmas, so we decided to use that. $X,000 was the absolute limit (I forget what the number was).
I did exactly what what the Innocent above did, but with one slight difference. In the end, I was the shark.
I called every dealer, new and used, in the phone book. I said "I'm calling every dealer in the book, looking for a car. I have exactly $X,000, which must cover all costs. I need a car immediately. What do you have?" I just wanted to find out what was available at that price.
Most offered huge gas-guzzling 10+year-old junkers with high mileage, until a salesman at the Chevy dealership offered a little red three-year-old Chevy Cavalier with less than 60,000 miles on it, that they had just taken in on trade. It was just in, not yet "detailed". Wow.
I reiterated the limit, which would have to include taxes and registration, and the salesman assured me that was the price. I accepted his offer ("I accept your offer of ...") contingent on examination and test drive that afternoon - and then I told him that having called so many dealers and not trusting my notes, I had recorded the conversation (NY requires that only one party be aware of recording), so is there any part of his offer he wanted to amend or rescind? He said no.
We went, we looked, we tapped, tweaked, and prodded, we test-drove, and when it came to the paper-signing part, the manager came over and said that the price of the car was --- a whole bunch more, but "we might be able to bring that down a bit. "
I said, "Is this man (the salesman) authorized to strike a deal?"
Manager, "Yes. You can talk with him."
Me, "Then there's nothing to talk about. We have already agreed on $X,000 total."
Manager, shaking head, "No, we can't possibly sell this car for that."
Me, "You already did. I'm sure you know the legal definition of offer and acceptance. Your man offered it for $X,000, and I accepted, and I have the offer and acceptance on tape. We have already agreed on the price. There is nothing more to discuss."
The look on the manager's face was priceless. The salesman slumped in his seat. We signed the papers, and drove the car off the lot right then, just to make sure we got the whole car, if you know what I mean.
It was an absolutely fantastic deal, seasoned by the knowledge that the salesman had tried to trick us in to see it, and didn't know who he was tricking.
Several years later I sold the car to The Hairless Hunk. It's probably almost 16 years old now, and still running fine.
I wish I was running as well.
--------------------------------
Update, 9:00 pm. 99.8. Shivering. Yeah, sick.
.
Flip Wilson, as Geraldine: "You don't have to be a thing of beauty to be a joy forever."
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
I was not very sparkling at dinner last night. Anyone looking at me would have thought I was either tired or sad.
When I got home, I had a heaviness in my upper abdomen; I wondered if something I had eaten was getting nasty at me.
I got to bed about 2 am, and slept very badly, waking at about 8 am and unable to get back to sleep. Do you ever get that feeling of foreboding? I had it.
I feel icky today. I have boosted the thermostat to 78 and put on a long robe over my clothes, but I'm still freezing. The skin in the center of my body feels hot and dry, but the battery thermometer says 98.2, and the old mercury thermometer (which I trust more) says 98.55, so I don't have a fever.
I have pain across the small of my back, above my hips, more on the right than the left. I have a rock of pain under and behind my left ear, from the point of the jawbone to the center of the back of my head. There's pain across my eyebrows. My upper back feels very tired - I can't hold my shoulders back; my shoulders ache, feel like they've been beaten. They curl forward. I slump. My feet smell very salty.
No snuffly nose, though.
I was so cold and miserable that I climbed into bed, fully dressed and under the blankets, at 1 pm, and slept until after 5. There goes the dinner and movie that was scheduled for this evening. I'm not too distressed about missing that. This group is run by guys, and they planned dinner in the food court at the mall, and the movie is "The Lovely Bones". I read the book long ago, and couldn't understand why it was so popular, and then I read a review that didn't make the movie sound any better, so, eh.
I hate feeling like this with no explanation.
---------------------------------
Another blogger has written about An Innocent looking to buy a car in New Jersey. The kid was likely to be eaten by sharks.
It reminded me of my shopping for a car for Jay. He had slid on ice and wracked up his Subaru, and we needed a small cheap car ASAP for his commute. We had just received a check from his father for Christmas, so we decided to use that. $X,000 was the absolute limit (I forget what the number was).
I did exactly what what the Innocent above did, but with one slight difference. In the end, I was the shark.
I called every dealer, new and used, in the phone book. I said "I'm calling every dealer in the book, looking for a car. I have exactly $X,000, which must cover all costs. I need a car immediately. What do you have?" I just wanted to find out what was available at that price.
Most offered huge gas-guzzling 10+year-old junkers with high mileage, until a salesman at the Chevy dealership offered a little red three-year-old Chevy Cavalier with less than 60,000 miles on it, that they had just taken in on trade. It was just in, not yet "detailed". Wow.
I reiterated the limit, which would have to include taxes and registration, and the salesman assured me that was the price. I accepted his offer ("I accept your offer of ...") contingent on examination and test drive that afternoon - and then I told him that having called so many dealers and not trusting my notes, I had recorded the conversation (NY requires that only one party be aware of recording), so is there any part of his offer he wanted to amend or rescind? He said no.
We went, we looked, we tapped, tweaked, and prodded, we test-drove, and when it came to the paper-signing part, the manager came over and said that the price of the car was --- a whole bunch more, but "we might be able to bring that down a bit. "
I said, "Is this man (the salesman) authorized to strike a deal?"
Manager, "Yes. You can talk with him."
Me, "Then there's nothing to talk about. We have already agreed on $X,000 total."
Manager, shaking head, "No, we can't possibly sell this car for that."
Me, "You already did. I'm sure you know the legal definition of offer and acceptance. Your man offered it for $X,000, and I accepted, and I have the offer and acceptance on tape. We have already agreed on the price. There is nothing more to discuss."
The look on the manager's face was priceless. The salesman slumped in his seat. We signed the papers, and drove the car off the lot right then, just to make sure we got the whole car, if you know what I mean.
It was an absolutely fantastic deal, seasoned by the knowledge that the salesman had tried to trick us in to see it, and didn't know who he was tricking.
Several years later I sold the car to The Hairless Hunk. It's probably almost 16 years old now, and still running fine.
I wish I was running as well.
--------------------------------
Update, 9:00 pm. 99.8. Shivering. Yeah, sick.
.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
2294 Progression and other bits
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Still sick, but it's different now. My throat isn't sore, and my muscles feel a little better, but the coughing has kicked up to where I can't talk without coughing, and when I cough I wet my pants. Add a mild diarrhea and a strange weakness in my legs (I'm walking like I'm drunk), and I'm still miserable.
People have asked "What are you taking for it?" and offer me Z-Packs and decongestants, and recommend aspirin. I believe this is a virus, so antibiotics are counter-productive. There is no congestion. I'm coughing because the back of my throat is super dry. I'm not taking aspirin for the fever, because I believe fever (as long as it's not out of control) is the body's way of fighting invaders - a way to make the body inhospitable to colonization. So I'm doing hot soaks, gargling with mouthwash, sucking on honey-lemon drops, and resting. I slept 13 hours last night. I figure I've got two more days of miserable, followed by two weeks of coughing, and then it will be over.
--------------------------
I assume by now everyone has heard about the woman who was ticketed for breastfeeding her baby and talking on the cell phone at the same time, while driving her other children to school. The baby's head was resting on the steering wheel (think "air bag"). She says that when she gets out of jail, she'll probably do it again, because when the baby's hungry, he needs to be fed.
She's an idiot.
--------------------------
In other news, there's the saga of the the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition family in Atlanta whose deteriorating one-story ranch was replaced by a $450,000+ castle.
I always wondered about that show - when a modest house is replaced by a mini-mansion, the taxes have got to go up, utilities have to be much higher, and how do the families manage the taxes and general upkeep? Well, it turns out that the show gives them enough money to pay the taxes for 25 years (around here, for a house that size, that's over $200,000). Plus this family in Atlanta was given college tuition money, and a car, and I don't know what else.
So, they've got a brand new $450,000+ 5,000+ sq ft house with no mortgage, 25 years worth of taxes, and tuition money.
What did they do? They went to the bank and got a $450,000 equity loan on the house, ostensibly to start a business, which apparently was never started.
So, let's see. They have $450,000 from the bank, cash for 25 years worth of taxes, and who knows what else. They never made any payment on the loan, and are giving the house to the bank, and walking away with the money.
Ya gotta admire the gall. They can buy another reasonably-sized house and still have a half a million left over. Neighbors and the community volunteers who worked on the house are justifiably pissed.
Apparently it's not a rare problem. Other recipients of the show's largess have done the same thing - used the house for collateral for loans they can't repay.
So, now, how do I apply for the show? I could use a quick half-million....
.
Still sick, but it's different now. My throat isn't sore, and my muscles feel a little better, but the coughing has kicked up to where I can't talk without coughing, and when I cough I wet my pants. Add a mild diarrhea and a strange weakness in my legs (I'm walking like I'm drunk), and I'm still miserable.
People have asked "What are you taking for it?" and offer me Z-Packs and decongestants, and recommend aspirin. I believe this is a virus, so antibiotics are counter-productive. There is no congestion. I'm coughing because the back of my throat is super dry. I'm not taking aspirin for the fever, because I believe fever (as long as it's not out of control) is the body's way of fighting invaders - a way to make the body inhospitable to colonization. So I'm doing hot soaks, gargling with mouthwash, sucking on honey-lemon drops, and resting. I slept 13 hours last night. I figure I've got two more days of miserable, followed by two weeks of coughing, and then it will be over.
--------------------------
I assume by now everyone has heard about the woman who was ticketed for breastfeeding her baby and talking on the cell phone at the same time, while driving her other children to school. The baby's head was resting on the steering wheel (think "air bag"). She says that when she gets out of jail, she'll probably do it again, because when the baby's hungry, he needs to be fed.
She's an idiot.
--------------------------
In other news, there's the saga of the the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition family in Atlanta whose deteriorating one-story ranch was replaced by a $450,000+ castle.
I always wondered about that show - when a modest house is replaced by a mini-mansion, the taxes have got to go up, utilities have to be much higher, and how do the families manage the taxes and general upkeep? Well, it turns out that the show gives them enough money to pay the taxes for 25 years (around here, for a house that size, that's over $200,000). Plus this family in Atlanta was given college tuition money, and a car, and I don't know what else.
So, they've got a brand new $450,000+ 5,000+ sq ft house with no mortgage, 25 years worth of taxes, and tuition money.
What did they do? They went to the bank and got a $450,000 equity loan on the house, ostensibly to start a business, which apparently was never started.
So, let's see. They have $450,000 from the bank, cash for 25 years worth of taxes, and who knows what else. They never made any payment on the loan, and are giving the house to the bank, and walking away with the money.
Ya gotta admire the gall. They can buy another reasonably-sized house and still have a half a million left over. Neighbors and the community volunteers who worked on the house are justifiably pissed.
Apparently it's not a rare problem. Other recipients of the show's largess have done the same thing - used the house for collateral for loans they can't repay.
So, now, how do I apply for the show? I could use a quick half-million....
.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
1757 Bleck
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Arthur Schopenhauer: "Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."
------------------------
There's a commercial for an album of Christian songs, and the song they lead with is "Our god is an awesome god...". That construction is rather odd. It implies that there are several gods, and the one they worship is from the awesome subgroup. Weird.
-------------------------
I'm sick. Slight fever, abdominal cramps, nausea, aching joints and bones. I felt so sick when I went to bed last night I gave the cats extra food, put the phone and a basin on the bed, and put some clothes in a bag, just in case I had to go to the hospital in my robe. As it happened, I just felt very sick, but nothing interesting happened. I felt a little better this morning, but as the day goes on I'm getting yuckier again.
I spent Monday afternoon with Daughter and had a quick after-work drink with my man. I hope I didn't give them anything.
.
Arthur Schopenhauer: "Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."
------------------------
There's a commercial for an album of Christian songs, and the song they lead with is "Our god is an awesome god...". That construction is rather odd. It implies that there are several gods, and the one they worship is from the awesome subgroup. Weird.
-------------------------
I'm sick. Slight fever, abdominal cramps, nausea, aching joints and bones. I felt so sick when I went to bed last night I gave the cats extra food, put the phone and a basin on the bed, and put some clothes in a bag, just in case I had to go to the hospital in my robe. As it happened, I just felt very sick, but nothing interesting happened. I felt a little better this morning, but as the day goes on I'm getting yuckier again.
I spent Monday afternoon with Daughter and had a quick after-work drink with my man. I hope I didn't give them anything.
.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
1313 Ankle Bites
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Saturday, while going down a steep section on the falls trail, I stepped wrong on a loose stone, and my left foot got tipped too far, putting some stress on the outside of the ankle. It hurt for a minute, then was ok.
It has been ok, up until this afternoon. I was walking to the kitchen, and it suddenly started hurting really badly, with every step, on the outside back of that big bone. Stop walking, and it stops hurting. No swelling, no redness, no "lumps".
I have since discovered that it doesn't hurt to walk if I'm barefoot or wearing flat-soled shoes (like flip-flops), AND it doesn't hurt if I walk way up on the balls of my feet. It hurts only if I try to walk with a slightly raised heel.
Weird. Ok, Flat sandals for a while.
.
Saturday, while going down a steep section on the falls trail, I stepped wrong on a loose stone, and my left foot got tipped too far, putting some stress on the outside of the ankle. It hurt for a minute, then was ok.
It has been ok, up until this afternoon. I was walking to the kitchen, and it suddenly started hurting really badly, with every step, on the outside back of that big bone. Stop walking, and it stops hurting. No swelling, no redness, no "lumps".
I have since discovered that it doesn't hurt to walk if I'm barefoot or wearing flat-soled shoes (like flip-flops), AND it doesn't hurt if I walk way up on the balls of my feet. It hurts only if I try to walk with a slightly raised heel.
Weird. Ok, Flat sandals for a while.
.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
1251 Cilantro Again
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
I'm getting dozens of search hits on the cilantro post. Why? What's going on that so many people all over the world are suddenly searching for cilantro soap?
---------------------------
I hadn't turned the TV on at all today. Instead, I had radios in the kitchen, bedroom, living room, and den all tuned to NPR. Very commendable, but the disadvantage is that I didn't notice time passing. I've got BBC news on the TV now, and I think I'll leave the television on. Gotta get some stuff done this evening.
----------------------------
I had hoped to see The Man this evening, but he's in a far southern state on business. He's trying to tie up all loose ends before the Maryland Mensa gathering at the end of the month. He had warned me that his work schedule had been a problem in relationships in the past. Between his work and travel, and his social, sports, and other commitments, yeah, I see a potential problem. He lives too far away for impromptu visits in free moments.
I guess that will eventually be the test. Can I be patient? Will he arrange more time for me? We'll see. Maybe it will get to the point where I become important enough to schedule into his life. Maybe not. Too soon to tell. I don't know him well enough yet to know how driven he is.
He IS trying to ensure that the gathering weekend is without conflict or stress, so accept, Silk. Don't fuss.
----------------------------
It's just as well that I have more time to kick this cold. There's nothing left but clear sinus drainage, but that's more than enough. It's not neat or pretty, and when it settles in the glottis/epiglottis/whatever, it sends me into paroxysms of coughing that pretty much flatten me. Throat, chest, and nose are fine.
.
I'm getting dozens of search hits on the cilantro post. Why? What's going on that so many people all over the world are suddenly searching for cilantro soap?
---------------------------
I hadn't turned the TV on at all today. Instead, I had radios in the kitchen, bedroom, living room, and den all tuned to NPR. Very commendable, but the disadvantage is that I didn't notice time passing. I've got BBC news on the TV now, and I think I'll leave the television on. Gotta get some stuff done this evening.
----------------------------
I had hoped to see The Man this evening, but he's in a far southern state on business. He's trying to tie up all loose ends before the Maryland Mensa gathering at the end of the month. He had warned me that his work schedule had been a problem in relationships in the past. Between his work and travel, and his social, sports, and other commitments, yeah, I see a potential problem. He lives too far away for impromptu visits in free moments.
I guess that will eventually be the test. Can I be patient? Will he arrange more time for me? We'll see. Maybe it will get to the point where I become important enough to schedule into his life. Maybe not. Too soon to tell. I don't know him well enough yet to know how driven he is.
He IS trying to ensure that the gathering weekend is without conflict or stress, so accept, Silk. Don't fuss.
----------------------------
It's just as well that I have more time to kick this cold. There's nothing left but clear sinus drainage, but that's more than enough. It's not neat or pretty, and when it settles in the glottis/epiglottis/whatever, it sends me into paroxysms of coughing that pretty much flatten me. Throat, chest, and nose are fine.
.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
1248 Highway Signs / Habitat
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
New York has a law that loose loads in a truck or trailer must be covered, with a tarp or otherwise, so that bits don't blow out on the road. Driving to Rochester, I saw several several of those highway department mini-lightbulb signs along the Thruway, saying:
Panel 1: "Uncovered loads"
Panel 2: "Will be enforced"
Huh?
I don't think what it says is what was meant.
But I guess it's still better than one of the signs, that said:
Panel 1: "Untarped loads"
Panel 2: "Will be enforced"
Untarped? "Tarp" is now a verb?
I guess any word can be verbed.
-----------------------------------
One small town along the northern reach of the Thruway has a public relations problem. Just before the exit was a large "Attractions at next exit" sign. Below the header, the sign was a vast expanse of blank space.
------------------------------------
I got up in good time this morning, groomed and dressed in grungies, located my work gloves, and headed for the Habitat for Humanity project. Only problem was that I couldn't stop coughing. I feel fine, don't feel sick, but as usual at the end of a cold my sinuses are in major flush mode. The least little bit of gluck down the back of my throat will make me cough, and this gluck is the consistency of rubber cement, so there's nose blowing, schnuffing, choking and coughing. I had taken a cough suppressant, but I don't think it affects this kind of cough.
Anyway, I walked into the old house where they're tearing out walls, and within minutes started coughing so furiously I couldn't even stand. I had anticipated a problem and had taken some dust masks along, but they didn't help. Choked out my apologies and left.
I'm unhappy about that. The work schedule goes until the end of the month, so I hope I'll still have an opportunity.
.
New York has a law that loose loads in a truck or trailer must be covered, with a tarp or otherwise, so that bits don't blow out on the road. Driving to Rochester, I saw several several of those highway department mini-lightbulb signs along the Thruway, saying:
Panel 1: "Uncovered loads"
Panel 2: "Will be enforced"
Huh?
I don't think what it says is what was meant.
But I guess it's still better than one of the signs, that said:
Panel 1: "Untarped loads"
Panel 2: "Will be enforced"
Untarped? "Tarp" is now a verb?
I guess any word can be verbed.
-----------------------------------
One small town along the northern reach of the Thruway has a public relations problem. Just before the exit was a large "Attractions at next exit" sign. Below the header, the sign was a vast expanse of blank space.
------------------------------------
I got up in good time this morning, groomed and dressed in grungies, located my work gloves, and headed for the Habitat for Humanity project. Only problem was that I couldn't stop coughing. I feel fine, don't feel sick, but as usual at the end of a cold my sinuses are in major flush mode. The least little bit of gluck down the back of my throat will make me cough, and this gluck is the consistency of rubber cement, so there's nose blowing, schnuffing, choking and coughing. I had taken a cough suppressant, but I don't think it affects this kind of cough.
Anyway, I walked into the old house where they're tearing out walls, and within minutes started coughing so furiously I couldn't even stand. I had anticipated a problem and had taken some dust masks along, but they didn't help. Choked out my apologies and left.
I'm unhappy about that. The work schedule goes until the end of the month, so I hope I'll still have an opportunity.
.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
1243 SOS - Please, Someone, Save Me!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
I'm sitting in a hotel room in Rochester, NY, suffering an optical migraine, and wishing I could be anywhere else.
I arrived about 7 pm and went directly to the father-in-law's house. Jay's father. I guess he's technically not my FIL any more, I don't know, I sure can't call him my late FIL, and "my late husband's father" is so awkward. Well, anyway, most of the first and second level blood clan was there. Youngest sister (YS) and her husband (YSH) and two daughters, middle sister (MS) and her husband (MSH) and two daughters, and eldest sister (ES) and her husband (ESH).
Of them all, I like ESH best. He's smart and reasonable. ES is also nice, except when she gets insistent, and usually any unpleasantness blows over quickly. She's very like her father - figures that once she's thought something out, she's obviously right and any additional information is superfluous. She'll ride right over objections. Other than that we get along ok. She appreciates all I did for her little brother.
MS I don't know at all. Oddly, Jay didn't seem to know her well, either. It seems like they would have been close in age (ES and I are the same age), but I get the impression there may have been some odd family dynamics. MSH is nice, but I have had very rare opportunity to talk with him - I don't push in, and he's reticent in mixed male/female company. MS completely ignores me.
YS and YSH and their daughters seem to dislike me strongly. I do hold some very small animosity toward her from back when Jay was ill. They live only 30 minutes down the road from us, and several times when Jay fell during the night and I couldn't get him up, I called them to ask for help, and not only did they not answer the phone, but they didn't return the call. (That was before I invented my version of the fireman's lift and could get his 6'3" 245 pounds off the floor and onto the bed myself.)
Before Jay and I were married, when Jay's father came down our way to visit, he always stayed with them. After we were married I suggested that he could stay with us half the times. Pow! We got him 100%! YSH didn't like him, and grabbed the opportunity to pass him off entirely on us.
When I took Jay to the hospice wing when he was in the final stages, I called YS and said that if she wanted to see him before he died (she didn't visit him at home the whole last year) she should come now. Her response was "Oh, well, we've heard that before", and she didn't come.
Jay always said YS seemed to have no opinions of her own. She is in thrall to her husband, and likes or dislikes as he dictates. Jay and I found the two of them incredibly boring. Their only topics of conversation are their girls and not-so-amusing stories abut their animals - an iguana, somewhere between five and seven cats, and three greyhounds - and the three greyhounds go with them everywhere, regardless of their host's preferences.
I wonder if they've ever had an original idea between them.
Anyway, they weren't as polite in their ignoring of me as MS. MS simply didn't see me. YS and YSH, and their daughters, actively shut me out. They didn't look at me, literally turned their backs, ignored any comments I tried to contribute to conversation. It was a very obvious shunning.
Ok, I can see where there might be some old wounds that haven't healed. Jay and I did not initiate contact, back when, as much as maybe we should have (but good grief, they're so BORING!), and there were a few incidents. But nothing that should earn me this animosity.
There's only one thing I can think of, and it bothers me that I even think it, but it's there. I am in the old man's will to inherit Jay's share of his estate. I have not seen the will, so I don't know whether the estate is distributed among the four siblings (three sisters and me), or whether it's shared among the grandchildren, too, and I have no idea how much is involved (although I suspect it is considerable). Worse, ES and I are named as the executors.
I know enough about YSH to know that this galls him to the core. That I am in the will, set to inherit as much as his wife.
I really think that's it.
Happy 90th birthday, Dad. Please have many more.
.
I'm sitting in a hotel room in Rochester, NY, suffering an optical migraine, and wishing I could be anywhere else.
I arrived about 7 pm and went directly to the father-in-law's house. Jay's father. I guess he's technically not my FIL any more, I don't know, I sure can't call him my late FIL, and "my late husband's father" is so awkward. Well, anyway, most of the first and second level blood clan was there. Youngest sister (YS) and her husband (YSH) and two daughters, middle sister (MS) and her husband (MSH) and two daughters, and eldest sister (ES) and her husband (ESH).
Of them all, I like ESH best. He's smart and reasonable. ES is also nice, except when she gets insistent, and usually any unpleasantness blows over quickly. She's very like her father - figures that once she's thought something out, she's obviously right and any additional information is superfluous. She'll ride right over objections. Other than that we get along ok. She appreciates all I did for her little brother.
MS I don't know at all. Oddly, Jay didn't seem to know her well, either. It seems like they would have been close in age (ES and I are the same age), but I get the impression there may have been some odd family dynamics. MSH is nice, but I have had very rare opportunity to talk with him - I don't push in, and he's reticent in mixed male/female company. MS completely ignores me.
YS and YSH and their daughters seem to dislike me strongly. I do hold some very small animosity toward her from back when Jay was ill. They live only 30 minutes down the road from us, and several times when Jay fell during the night and I couldn't get him up, I called them to ask for help, and not only did they not answer the phone, but they didn't return the call. (That was before I invented my version of the fireman's lift and could get his 6'3" 245 pounds off the floor and onto the bed myself.)
Before Jay and I were married, when Jay's father came down our way to visit, he always stayed with them. After we were married I suggested that he could stay with us half the times. Pow! We got him 100%! YSH didn't like him, and grabbed the opportunity to pass him off entirely on us.
When I took Jay to the hospice wing when he was in the final stages, I called YS and said that if she wanted to see him before he died (she didn't visit him at home the whole last year) she should come now. Her response was "Oh, well, we've heard that before", and she didn't come.
Jay always said YS seemed to have no opinions of her own. She is in thrall to her husband, and likes or dislikes as he dictates. Jay and I found the two of them incredibly boring. Their only topics of conversation are their girls and not-so-amusing stories abut their animals - an iguana, somewhere between five and seven cats, and three greyhounds - and the three greyhounds go with them everywhere, regardless of their host's preferences.
I wonder if they've ever had an original idea between them.
Anyway, they weren't as polite in their ignoring of me as MS. MS simply didn't see me. YS and YSH, and their daughters, actively shut me out. They didn't look at me, literally turned their backs, ignored any comments I tried to contribute to conversation. It was a very obvious shunning.
Ok, I can see where there might be some old wounds that haven't healed. Jay and I did not initiate contact, back when, as much as maybe we should have (but good grief, they're so BORING!), and there were a few incidents. But nothing that should earn me this animosity.
There's only one thing I can think of, and it bothers me that I even think it, but it's there. I am in the old man's will to inherit Jay's share of his estate. I have not seen the will, so I don't know whether the estate is distributed among the four siblings (three sisters and me), or whether it's shared among the grandchildren, too, and I have no idea how much is involved (although I suspect it is considerable). Worse, ES and I are named as the executors.
I know enough about YSH to know that this galls him to the core. That I am in the will, set to inherit as much as his wife.
I really think that's it.
Happy 90th birthday, Dad. Please have many more.
.
Friday, May 11, 2007
1242 Taking My Rotten Chest to Rochester
Friday, May 11, 2007
I am so sick. Miserable. We're in the "coughing so hard I wet my pants" stage now. Last night Miss Thunderfoot was so worried about me she kept patting my hand every time I managed to fall asleep. (Thank you for your concern sweet kitty, but sleep is a GOOD thing....) I can't believe I have to drive to Rochester, a six-hour trip, tomorrow.
Calling Jay's eldest sister and telling her I have to cancel because I'm sick is simply NOT an option. Two of Jay's three sisters don't like me, I don't know why, and the third, the eldest, does at least think I was very good for Jay, but she has the kind of management personality that will not accept "no" as an answer for anything she wants, and she can get bitchy. She can be maddening.
So telling them I'm sick won't fly. I'll have to go and show them that I shouldn't be there but cared enough to make the effort.
A nice neat package of virus. Perfect gift for the father-in-law's 90th birthday. I'll stick a bow on my nose.
I'll go to the party at the church, and a backyard picnic, but I probably shouldn't go into his house.
I haven't been out of my house all week, so I haven't got a card or gift, either. I'll have to do that this evening, which means going across the river to the mall. Most of today has been spent waiting for the yearly visit from the furnace cleaning guy, and I'm already tired. I have NO ideas for a gift. What do you get a 90-year-old who has everything, can't see well, can't hear well, has no interests, no short-term memory, and flakes out by 4 pm every day anyway? He won't notice if I get him nothing, but the sisters will.
I want to "call in sick", and not just because of the cold.
.
I am so sick. Miserable. We're in the "coughing so hard I wet my pants" stage now. Last night Miss Thunderfoot was so worried about me she kept patting my hand every time I managed to fall asleep. (Thank you for your concern sweet kitty, but sleep is a GOOD thing....) I can't believe I have to drive to Rochester, a six-hour trip, tomorrow.
Calling Jay's eldest sister and telling her I have to cancel because I'm sick is simply NOT an option. Two of Jay's three sisters don't like me, I don't know why, and the third, the eldest, does at least think I was very good for Jay, but she has the kind of management personality that will not accept "no" as an answer for anything she wants, and she can get bitchy. She can be maddening.
So telling them I'm sick won't fly. I'll have to go and show them that I shouldn't be there but cared enough to make the effort.
A nice neat package of virus. Perfect gift for the father-in-law's 90th birthday. I'll stick a bow on my nose.
I'll go to the party at the church, and a backyard picnic, but I probably shouldn't go into his house.
I haven't been out of my house all week, so I haven't got a card or gift, either. I'll have to do that this evening, which means going across the river to the mall. Most of today has been spent waiting for the yearly visit from the furnace cleaning guy, and I'm already tired. I have NO ideas for a gift. What do you get a 90-year-old who has everything, can't see well, can't hear well, has no interests, no short-term memory, and flakes out by 4 pm every day anyway? He won't notice if I get him nothing, but the sisters will.
I want to "call in sick", and not just because of the cold.
.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
1240 Cold Progress
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Cold has gone from "wet" to "dry" phase. Dry throat, dry burning nose, heavy cough with nastiness.
Time to move from decongestant to expectorant? This is another time I miss Jay. He always told me what to take, and he was always right.
I just hope it doesn't go into my sinuses. That hurts, and lasts so long.
.
Cold has gone from "wet" to "dry" phase. Dry throat, dry burning nose, heavy cough with nastiness.
Time to move from decongestant to expectorant? This is another time I miss Jay. He always told me what to take, and he was always right.
I just hope it doesn't go into my sinuses. That hurts, and lasts so long.
.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
1238 Sick
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Sick. Cotton chest, fire throat, pounding head, torrent nose, knotted muscles. Misery. No museum today. Long hot bubble bath.
Sick. Cotton chest, fire throat, pounding head, torrent nose, knotted muscles. Misery. No museum today. Long hot bubble bath.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
1236 Not a Museum Day
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
I planned to go in to the museum today to attempt to beat the membership data base into submission, but the Hairless Hunk arrived to work the side yard some more, so I used that as an excuse to stay home. I'll take any excuse.
Besides, I developed a hot spot in my throat last night, and today it's a full-blown sore throat. Bleck.
It really hurts now, because I spent the last 2 1/2 hours on the phone. The Man, then Daughter, then Roman.
At least I remembered to hit the "record" button for Boston Legal.
I can watch it tomorrow while I'm lying in bed choking on strep.
.
I planned to go in to the museum today to attempt to beat the membership data base into submission, but the Hairless Hunk arrived to work the side yard some more, so I used that as an excuse to stay home. I'll take any excuse.
Besides, I developed a hot spot in my throat last night, and today it's a full-blown sore throat. Bleck.
It really hurts now, because I spent the last 2 1/2 hours on the phone. The Man, then Daughter, then Roman.
At least I remembered to hit the "record" button for Boston Legal.
I can watch it tomorrow while I'm lying in bed choking on strep.
.
Friday, March 23, 2007
1180 Daughter Is Sick
Friday, March 23, 2007
I got a call from Daughter about 2pm. She was calling from the floor in her bathroom. She thinks it might be her milk sensitivity, because she ate some butter last night. I think it's Norovirus. At any rate, she's rapidly heading for dehydration, sounded very weak, was too weak to make it to the kitchen. She's afraid to eat or drink anything anyway, because the reaction is so violent.
I told her that I'd come, but I couldn't get there inside three hours, so she should call Hercules at work and tell him to come home, NOW.
Hercules, like many men, refuses to see illness in his mate. Plus, he doesn't like his schedule disrupted. She didn't have to tell me this - I see it on my own. At any rate, she was afraid to call him, afraid that he would be annoyed and unsympathetic.
So, in my role as new mother-in-law, *I* called him and told him to get his tail home, NOW!
He did. Wasn't that sweet?
He called at 3 to say that she's still on the floor. She had pulled two rugs under her, and she got cold, so she pulled a towel down on her. I told him to watch her, make her drink something, and if she gets unresponsive or incoherent, to call 911.
"Why is she still on the floor?"
"She wants to be close to the toilet in case she needs to throw up."
"In bed with a basin, or a large bowl, might be more comfortable."
"Oh. Yeah."
Men!
He is to call me at 7 pm to report her progress. If it's Noro, she should feel a little better by then.
Norovirus is highly contagious, and I almost hope he gets it. He might have a little more sympathy.
I was supposed to go to a movie with Mensa this evening ("Some Like it Hot", believe it or not, I'd never seen it), but the organizer called to say that the Bardavon had canceled the showing. I don't know why it was canceled, but it makes me more comfortable. I'd prefer to stay home while Daughter is sick , just in case, or at least if I'm out, be somewhere that the cell phone is not disruptive.
.
I got a call from Daughter about 2pm. She was calling from the floor in her bathroom. She thinks it might be her milk sensitivity, because she ate some butter last night. I think it's Norovirus. At any rate, she's rapidly heading for dehydration, sounded very weak, was too weak to make it to the kitchen. She's afraid to eat or drink anything anyway, because the reaction is so violent.
I told her that I'd come, but I couldn't get there inside three hours, so she should call Hercules at work and tell him to come home, NOW.
Hercules, like many men, refuses to see illness in his mate. Plus, he doesn't like his schedule disrupted. She didn't have to tell me this - I see it on my own. At any rate, she was afraid to call him, afraid that he would be annoyed and unsympathetic.
So, in my role as new mother-in-law, *I* called him and told him to get his tail home, NOW!
He did. Wasn't that sweet?
He called at 3 to say that she's still on the floor. She had pulled two rugs under her, and she got cold, so she pulled a towel down on her. I told him to watch her, make her drink something, and if she gets unresponsive or incoherent, to call 911.
"Why is she still on the floor?"
"She wants to be close to the toilet in case she needs to throw up."
"In bed with a basin, or a large bowl, might be more comfortable."
"Oh. Yeah."
Men!
He is to call me at 7 pm to report her progress. If it's Noro, she should feel a little better by then.
Norovirus is highly contagious, and I almost hope he gets it. He might have a little more sympathy.
I was supposed to go to a movie with Mensa this evening ("Some Like it Hot", believe it or not, I'd never seen it), but the organizer called to say that the Bardavon had canceled the showing. I don't know why it was canceled, but it makes me more comfortable. I'd prefer to stay home while Daughter is sick , just in case, or at least if I'm out, be somewhere that the cell phone is not disruptive.
.
Friday, January 05, 2007
1058 The Medicine Chest
Friday, January 05, 2007
I started to respond to a comment on an earlier entry, and that reminded me of something else, so here I am, still soupless.
A friend swears by NyQuil. I get sick so seldom that there's never anything in the medicine cabinet when I need it, or it's long past the expiration date. The e-date on the Contac box, for example, is 06/2000. My NyQuil e-date is 04/2005. Kate recommends TheraFlu (sp?). Is that the stuff that you fizz in water, like Alka-Seltzer? I had a box of fizzy tablets in there, I forget what it was exactly, but when I opened the box, all the packets were all swollen up. I popped one, and it exploded white powder. I suspect that e-date was expired, too.
So, after this is over, I'll go out and restock the cabinet, and that alone will keep me healthy for another five years, or at least until everything has well expired again.
What that reminded me of - I have a pretty complete first responder kit in the back of the van. In the middle of all those sensor woes in early summer, I decided I should move it to the Aerio, since I wasn't driving the van. When I pulled it out of the van, I checked it.
The BP cuff, stethoscope, thermometer, gloves, masks, flat-nosed scissors for cutting clothing, packets of alcohol, various creams and so on, all the interesting stuff one would think, were all still there. But ALL the bandaids, gauze, pads, and tape were gone. Disappeared. All of it. There was quite a lot in there, back before all those service visits.
Very strange. Doesn't make any sense to me.... I guess someone needed to restock their first aid kit.
.
I started to respond to a comment on an earlier entry, and that reminded me of something else, so here I am, still soupless.
A friend swears by NyQuil. I get sick so seldom that there's never anything in the medicine cabinet when I need it, or it's long past the expiration date. The e-date on the Contac box, for example, is 06/2000. My NyQuil e-date is 04/2005. Kate recommends TheraFlu (sp?). Is that the stuff that you fizz in water, like Alka-Seltzer? I had a box of fizzy tablets in there, I forget what it was exactly, but when I opened the box, all the packets were all swollen up. I popped one, and it exploded white powder. I suspect that e-date was expired, too.
So, after this is over, I'll go out and restock the cabinet, and that alone will keep me healthy for another five years, or at least until everything has well expired again.
What that reminded me of - I have a pretty complete first responder kit in the back of the van. In the middle of all those sensor woes in early summer, I decided I should move it to the Aerio, since I wasn't driving the van. When I pulled it out of the van, I checked it.
The BP cuff, stethoscope, thermometer, gloves, masks, flat-nosed scissors for cutting clothing, packets of alcohol, various creams and so on, all the interesting stuff one would think, were all still there. But ALL the bandaids, gauze, pads, and tape were gone. Disappeared. All of it. There was quite a lot in there, back before all those service visits.
Very strange. Doesn't make any sense to me.... I guess someone needed to restock their first aid kit.
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