itchy and scratchy

Went for allergy shots yesterday after work, waited the usual 20min after the shots, no problem. I asked the nurse if I was in time - within 14 days - but then she said no it was 15 days. Within 14 days they can increase the dosage but after that they can't incr it, they have to stay at the same dosage as last time. Good thing I asked b/c she wrote the increased dosage down, then after my question, she croseed it out and wrote the saem dosage as last time. It's a good thing that I asked and she corrected it....
About an hr later, I was at home and was eating a plum. That's when I noticed that my mouth felt funny, kinda chalky aftertaste. Then my lip felt weird, then sort of swollen. That's when I realized I was having some kind of allergic reaction. So out came the liquid benadryl - I took the max dose recommended. Within 10min, I had hives on my face and my body was very itchy. Reared back after looking at my face in the mirror - scary sight. After about 20min, the swelling started going down. At first I thought I might be allergic to the plum I ate but I've had it before in the past week without any ill effects so it must have been due to the allergy shots. I haven't had a reaction like that to them before. The shots are the reason I have liquid benadryl in my medicinie cabinet.
The benadryl knocked me out. I'd planned to go to the laudromat, but thought it'd be a bad idea to drive after my benadryl dose. Good thing b/c I was alseep within 30-40min sometime around 8pm. Next thing I knew it was 2am. Had trouble getting back to sleep.

I was itchy off and on all day today. E asked me if I called the doc office. But I didn't b/c I figured they'd just tell me to do what I did - take benadryl, rest. Tonight I'm itchy again but no swelling. Just took some benadryl, smaller dose this time. Going to get ready for bed soon - that way I can be ready for when I pass out :)

brakes

I don't give out advice much - I do have one piece to impart today though - have a brake inspection done on your car at least once a year- the inspection is free at many places like midas/munro or any place that does brake/muffler work.

I had 30k mileage service done on my car a year and half ago. Had state inspection done Feb this year. I guess I can excuse the dealership who did my 30k service b/c maybe my brakes weren't in danger then. Those people who do the state inspection(namely valvoline in my case) should have noticed that my brake pads/shoes were worn. They didn't care enough to notify me of this. There is no common courtesy where this is concerned. You're on your bloody own. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed a loud noise coming from my car. It wasn't constant and sometimes happened when I braked but not every time I braked. It kept getting worse and more frequent. So I took it in to Midas last night. That sound I was hearing - apparently metal grinding against metal b/c my brake pads had worn down completely to the rotors. I had to have both front rotors as well as brake pads replaced to the tune $400 - incl labor and parts.

Just when I think I can get ahead, start making some progress (small) towards getting out of debt...something else comes up. It's like I'm fighting a losing battle. I was quite depresed about this yesterday. I'm glad I got it done though. I did briefly consider leaving to get a 2nd estimate someplace else. But then I thought about how late it already was (6pm) and that I probably wouldn't be able to get the work the same day.Then I thought that it wasn't worth $10-50 to me. I would surely write off such amounts if my brakes failed b/c I was trying to get a bargain price. Is it worth being maimed or killed or causing harm to someone else. Not in the least. I did talk to a few guys at work who told me that if it was just brake pads/shoes, it cost $100-200 and if I needed to replace the rotors then ~$400. Still cheaper than the dealer would have charged me at any rate.

It rained almost constantly today. Boy was I glad to have my brakes in top working order.

Check your brakes people, check your brakes.

totally old navy

I'm totally an Old Navy whore. I shop there a lot. So it's was bound to happen that I'd be wearing an Old Navy T-shirt with the name on the front when I went there last night. I kind of forgot. I try not to go in the store whenever I'm wearing their name-branded mechandise. I was in the store for about 15min before I realized my faux-pa. At first I tried to hide it by holding up the clothes(I was going to try on) in front of me. Then I decided to just rock the hell out of it b/c it's not like I could take my shirt off. Maybe I should just not buy anymore name-branded shirts.

So should have done laundry yesterday. But after sleeping away most of the day I was just not in the mood. So I went shopping instead.
Laundry was not an option b/c it rained all day today.
I did some major rearranging/unpacking/cleaning today. Should have taken my inhaler before I started but I forgot and was just into getting stuff done. By 5 I was quite tired in addition to being wheezy. Made some good progress today. Cleared out most of the boxes and all that's left are the ones with books/CDs/DVDs next to the shelves they are going on. I'll be leaving that for another day. Going to bed early tonight. I'm really tired.

another week

It's been another exhausting week. Saw a couple movies this week. Saw "Little Miss Sunshine" and that was a great movie. I really enjoyed it and laughed a lot(at times the only person laughing but I'm no stranger to that :)

Last night went to see "Beerfest" with a new friend, GS, from work. Her pick, not mine. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I laughed a lot(again the only one laughing at times - which made GS laugh as well). I thought they had too many shots of women getting their tops ripped off but I guess that was for the real target audience for this movie i.e. college boys. Apart from that, there were some really funny moments. If you go see it, stay for the credits b/c the outtakes are also very funny.

August has been like movie month for me - I've seen 6 movies this month already and that's just the ones I've seen in the cinema. I guess I've just been trying to stay sane among all the clutter and moving drama that has been my life this month.

I did "play tennis" Wed after all - mostly with my non-dominant hand - in spite of my bruise which still hurt. S was not convinced about how great an idea that was. But I figured that since I can bowl with my left hand, why not tennis with my left hand. I usu switch to left-hand-bowling when my right hand fails me, gutter-ball-city. This happens when my arm gets tired and my wrists and elbow gets a bit achy usu after 2 games.

It took about an hr before I could get the ball to go where I wanted it to - towards the person I was playing with :). Much of the first hr was spent with me shouting across the court "Look out! Sorry." or "Watch out! Sorry!" and then to S "I'm going to kill someone". S was really nice about it and kept trying to reassure me that I wasn't going to kill anyone. Finally I got the hang of it and the 2nd hr went much better. I did use my right hand a little but I tried to stick to my left hand mostly. Thankfully, no one was hit by any of the missiles I launched across the court.

My bruise is much less noticeable now and only a little sore. I'll be glad when I can work out normally again. It's very boring at the gym when I can't do any arm/back machines. The leg machines take 10min. then all that's left is cardio. I missed being able to do my regular routine. So I skipped the gym yesterday. Meant to go walking this morning but was so tired I slept till noon today. Now I have to get my place clean and then organized.

elbows

I banged my elbow on the edge of my bed Sat evening just as I was getting ready to go out. Didn't have much time to nurse it (put ice). So I just left it. It was a little sore for a few minutes, but seemed to wear off and I forgot all about it. Sat night I went bowling. Mon, I notice that just above my elbow joint is tender to the touch. I wa telling E today that I think I have a hairline fracture in my lower humerus. Well, probably not. It'd probably hurt more than it does. It does hurt a lot though and today I noticed (after E pointed it out) that I have a big bruise forming there. I also have 3 other bruises on my arms (2 on one and 1 on the other) from the allergy shots I had last week. E also joked that I was in an abusive relationship with myself. Funny...for 5sec. I guess it is kind of funny, but not real fun. I did put an ice pack on it Sun and last night. Will do it again tonight.

I was going to play tennis tomorrow but I think I need to rest my arm for a bit, at least until the bruising goes away. I went to the gym today but only did legs and cardio. I went for a brisk 20min walk Mon. I have been trying to increase my exercise routine from 2-3days/week to 4-5days/week. Last Sat morning, I went for a walk with a friend from work and that was fun. We walked for about 40min. We're planning to make it a regular Sat am thing for as long as the weather is cooperative. I'm also going to walk on my own on Mondays after work, then Tues/Thurs at the gym for weight training/ short cardio workout. All that will give me 3-4 days of workout and I will just have to do 1 more. I'm also going to try cutting down on the crap I eat - no more late night oreos :)
I bought this bootcamp workout DVD - this is how delusional I am - thinking that it'd be great, I'd have fun, work out, get fit. Right. I couldn't follow it. Just like stupid aerobic classes, they start introducing dumb "grapevine" nonsense - I just can't follow or keep up. It's a little frustrating. Cause just looking at it, it looks do-able, like anyone could do it.

I ordered the split box spring for my bed last night. This weekend I really need to get all the boxes taken care of. I'm truly tired of seeing them.

I'm actually sleepy now so maybe I'll go to bed.

Books Read (2006)

Not all the books I read in 2006 but the most memorable:

To Die For...Linda Howard

Really Unusual Bad Boys...MaryJanice Davidson

The Undomestic Goddess...Sophie Kinsella

The Feeling Good Handbook...David Burns, M.D.

Comfort and Joy...Kristin Hannah

Reinventing Mona...Jennifer Coburn

Fashionably Late...Beth Kendrick

All Things Beautiful...Cathy Maxwell

Shadow Game & Mind Game...Christine Feehan

Smart Mouth...Erin McCarthy

The Myth Of You and Me...Leah Stewart

Dates From Hell & A Fistful of Charms...Kim Harrison

My Favorite Mistake...Beth Kendrick

Hex and the Single Girl...Valerie Frankel

Heiress for Hire...Erin McCarthy

Mouth To Mouth...Erin McCarthy

Back to the Bedroom...Janet Evanovich

Stupid and Contagious...Caprice Crane

Even Vampires Get the Blues...Katie MacAlister

Delicious, Irristible and Falling For Gracey...Susan Mallery

My Sister's Keeper...Jodi Picoult

Anybody Out There...Marian Keyes

My Point...and I Do Have One...Ellen Degeneres

Behaving Badly...Isabel Wolff

my place

My new apt still feels like just that - "my new apt". It doesn't feel like home yet. I wake up in the morning stil expecting to see the walls of my old apt but no, they're different and the walls are closer in since the rooms are smaller. Still sleeping on my futon. So I have to put it up and down every day and that is a pain. None of this is helping me settle in. Going to get my bedroom sorted tomorrow. Haven't hung any pictures up yet. I'm going to order the split box spring for my bed. Once I get that in and I can finally sleep in my bed again, maybe then I'll feel like this is my place.

Also need to move my shelves around and get the books out of the boxes and onto them. Fact is that I just have too much stuff and I don't know where to put half of it. A lot of it is unnecessary. It must be b/c I've managed to live without seeing/knowing the exact location of msny of them for the last 3 weeks. Got to get my clothes out of the suitcases and into the closets. Fewer closets as well.
At least my kitchen is more or less in order. I'm getting a kitchen island secondhand on the weekend and that should be a big plus space-wise. There's isn't much in the way of counter-space. And it has lower shelves so I'll be able to get my cookbooks out and put them there.

It's difficult to wind down in the evenings when I'm surrounded by all this clutter. I'm hoping to make a major jump into all this tomorrow and Sun.

I imagine that all the unrest I'm feeling is normal after living in the same place for 4yrs. It just seems like a lot all at once.

sanity returns

At approx. 11am today I got connected, finally. You know that cable tv ad - the one where the guy is on his knees hugging the cable guy and crying b/c he's so happy to get cable. Well that was me this morning. Well, without actually hugging the guy or crying but the sentiment was there. It was a close thing.
Now I don't know what to watch or surf so I'm online while watching tv - the best of both worlds.

I'm kind of sleepy and it's barely 10pm. Might actually go to bed early. Feels like it should be Fri already. I've been going to work earlier than is my norm (7:15-7:45 instead of 8-8:30). But I haven't been going to bed earlier. NO wonder I've been tired lately. Went for a brisk walk Mon after work. Went to the gym Tues then bowling later that night. Came straight home today, needed the rest. Tomorrow supposed to "play tennis" with a couple friends - by "play tennis" I mean hit the ball occasionally but spend most of the time chasing after the missed tennis balls :). In any event a good cardio workout.

Previously Unposted Blog entries...

...made after the move to my new apt:

8/1
First night in my new apt. Feels a little bit weird but I expect it’ll feel like home once I start getting rid of the boxes and get more of my stuff out. So far I’ve unpacked my computer, TV, and VCR. I’ve also opened the conveniently labeled “food” boxes. But that’s about it.

Bad news is that the movers couldn’t fit my queen box spring through the stairwell, they tried but no-go. At least I have my futon to sleep on in the meantime.
My landlord stored it in the garage for me until I can decide what to do with it. I’m going to try to sell it.
A couple people suggested had some suggestions:
a) cut the boxspring in a couple places so it’ll fit through, then wedge it back together with metal screws and clamps…my problem with this is that is sure to destroy the integrity of the boxspring itself and how safe would it be after that. Plus I think it’d have to be cut all along one side for it to fit.
b) use pulleys/ropes to pull it up to the 2nd floor through the porch windows(which would have to be removed)…ok so the windows aren’t wide enough and the entire frame around them would also have to be removed for the boxspring to fit through-again not a viable option.
My only real option is to buy a split boxspring which is ~$150. I might be able to get it interest-free, then I can pay it off over a couple months rather than all at once – got to stop using the credit cards at some point

8/2
Got a few more boxes unpacked. They put all my smaller boxes in 4 huge boxes (I could fit inside one easily) and they take up a ton of room. I’m exhausted.
Had to buy a new toilet seat – the one that was there was one of those soft ones (eewww). I hate those. Don’t like the way they feel plus I worry about how porous the material covering is, can you really disinfect that, I doubt it. I wanted coated wood or plastic. Plus it had a tear and I kept thinking about all the bacteria living in said tear coming out to have a party on any part of me that was touching the seat. Yeah so $10 and 20min of sweat = totally worth me not having to have kittens every time I needed to go.

Went over to a friend’s house for dinner and a dip in the pool…well I dipped my legs in. The rest of them all went in. I don’t have a suit, should probably get one. My punishment for not going into the pool = 17 mosquito bites on my legs and 12 on my arms. Crazy and itchy and I’m so not going there again in shorts.

8/6
10 days without cable or internet can drive one a little bit barmy. Only 2 more days to go. I got most of my laundry done today. Except for curtains - those from my old apt (which don’t look dirty at all but I know I only washed them once since I first put them up) and the ones that were up when I moved in my new place. I had to take the ones they left down – at least 10yrs worth of dust was on those curtains. I have never seen that much dust in one place on fabric before. My allergist would have kittens if he knew I slept right next to that much dust for 2 nights in a row. It’s no wonder that I needed my inhaler for a few days. I attributed it to my move/cleaning at first. But it must have been sleeping next to all that dust. Disgusting. I haven’t needed my inhaler since funnily enough. They are pretty good curtains though not a color I’d choose myself (maroon). I may have them done at the laundry mat so I don’t have to mess with all that dust myself (my Mum’s suggestion). My curtains aren’t quite long enough so I may have to let the hems out or something. Either that or just do without curtains(at this moment the most likely scenario)

I also unpacked a couple more things and have finally gotten all the stuff out of the huge boxes. Many boxes are still around me but it’s getting there slowly but surely.

Still no idea when MCI will deign to transfer my landline, even though I called the buggers 2 ½ weeks ago and waited a full hr before I could talk to a person. They’ve had ample time. I tried to find out about it last Tues and after a 45min wait, found out that that dept is busy and will call me back. Hah! Just as I expected, they didn’t call me back. I’m just going to cancel it which will probably require another freakin hr of hold time on the phone. I can’t call tonight as my cell needs to recharge after my talk with my family. I may try one of those online landline things instead or I might just wait and see how I do without the land line for a bit. I only really want it for my weekly talk to family – I don’t use any of the other features and all other long US long distance I can use my cell for. As is I only use ~200 of my 450 minutes, so I think I can manage with just my cell. The only problem would be getting it charged up. After an hr of talk it starts beeping to be recharged.

I’m tired of my cell phone – it’ll be 2 yrs in Oct before my contract is up and couldn’t come fast enough to suit me. I really don’t want to sign another 2yr contract. 2 yrs is just too long to have the same phone. I may end up signing another one to get the best deal if I find another really cool phone that I must have :)
I have seen a few cool-looking ones online. I have to see what they feel like in person. Like the cool blue razor I saw. I like the look of it and the color but the keys feel weird to me. I think I want a flip phone. My first cell was a flip-phone and real user-friendly. Good ole Motorola. My cousin C wants me to switch from Verizon to Cingular but I don’t really want to switch. Apart from S, she’s the person I talk to most often and we currently all have Verizon which makes it convenient for me cause then none of those minutes count toward my monthly total.

Still have a few change of address notices to take care of – mostly ones that don’t allow me to do it online/by phone easily.

Got to get to bed early tonight. Have been waking early but not going to bed until after midnight. Not very good. I’m aiming to get to bed by 11:30pm tonight.

Tonight I watched “The Wedding Gift” – much sadder than I realized it would be, worth seeing for sure, very well acted. On that note, I’m off to bed.

8/9
Ok so it’s official that I’m going stark raving mad now. The stupid cable guy did not ring my doorbell and left a note. No call. I left work early for this, had to explain to my boss and now I have to wait another fucking week for cable. Moving is hell. I’m sick of all the shit involved. Really sick of it now. Still no home-fucking-phone. NO damn cable or internet. Stupid boxes everywhere (cause I just can’t face unpacking). The worst thing about this all is having to explain all this shit to people. I’m tired of explaining. I forgot to mail a check to one of my credit and have a stupid $29 late-payment fee to show for it. I just forgot. I wrote the check out and forgot to mail it. I’ve never done that before. I’m normally very meticulous when it comes to stuff like this and just couldn’t believe it. It’s a good thing that I am somewhat obsessive and often check my accounts. I just checked it and then saw to my horror that it hadn’t been paid as I’d assumed. It’s all so very annoying. As it is I can barely stand to be in my apartment right now. I must go do something. I don’t have a lot of money right now but what’s new. I just have to get out.

Direct From Moving Hell

It's 7:12pm and I'm at the library. Why? Because I currently have no cable, no phone, no internet at my apt. Only boxes and more boxes. Only 4 local channels without static and audio (just when I finally found a few shows I wanted to watch regularly).

I left work at 2pm today just so that I could get home in time for the cable guy who was due 2:30-4:30 (they always give you shitty time windows). Anyhoo, I'm home and waiting. It's 4pm, still no sign, no doorbell. I go downstairs to get something out of my car and that when to my horror I see.......pink note from cable guy...saying He came at 3:11 and missed me. Missed me? Missed me! I was freakin there! I left work early, had to explain this to my boss. Now not only do I have to wait until next week 8-12am (at another shitty time), I also will have to explain this shit to my boss tomorrow.

Also called stupid MCI who still have not connected my landline (then at least I would have had internet). The last time I called, I waited 45 min and then someone hung up on me. Yeah. Then today waited 25min and they made a report about my pending move order...pending my ass. I called these effers Jul 18th to move my damn line so that by the time I moved or at the very least by the end of my first week there, I'd have a phone line/internet. It's Aug 9th, still no line. I told them that I hope they are not intending to charge me for all the days when I haven't had a phone i.e. all of august.

It's very frustating and I swore out loud in my apt for at least 5 min. My new neighbor prob thinks I'm nuts. Not that he didn't get that impression anyway when he came in and saw me waiting at the foot of the stairs(sitting just inside the screen door) waiting for the stupid cable guy. When I called at 4pm after I found the stupid note from the cable guy, they acted like I could still get connected today. So I waited some more. Then I called back at 4:45pm after waiting on my stoop the whole time b/c if they tried to call me, they were probably using my home tel number which as of this moment does not work. So neighbor meets/sees me for the first time talking (while trying not hyperventilate) to the cable people about why the guy didn't come back. By that time, they told me that the guy was "out of the service area". Now I have to go through this shit again.

I just had to get out of my apt. Away from the boxes.

Another thing that has happened this week is that I forgot to pay one of my credit cards, one I usu pay in full every month. The stupid thing about it is that I wrote out the damn check, then forgot to mail it. It's a good thing that I'm a little paranoid and check my accounts every so often else I wouldn't have noticed it. I could kick myself or something or someone but I just have to let it go. I paid it and the stupid late fee so it's done now. I'm normally very meticulous when it comes to bill paying. I've never forgotten one before.

I talked to my cousin and she helped calm me down a bit. I need to buy a hands-free ear piced for the car. I accidentally broke the one I had. I dare not risk talking while driving b/c I know someone who got a ticket ($200) for talking at a red light. So not worth it.

I have been writing blog stuff at home, it's saved on my pc and when I do get connected again I may post it all in one go.

It's only been 10 days without cable/internet and I feel like I'm gonna go postal on someone. I shudder to think how I'm gonna feel after 17 days. But there's nothing I can do about it except deal with it. Accept it.

Going to circuit city to find a hands-free set. I bought one from RadioShack but it sucked big time - it was very uncomfortable and I couldn't figure out how to change it to work on the ear I preferred(right side). So I returned it. Hoopefully I can find one I like better.