Home sick today. I was sick yesterday, but went to work anyway because I had stuff to do and was second-guessing myself. I left a couple hours early, and by last night, I figured I was better. And then I woke up this morning feeling crappy again (nausea, headache, general feeling of UUUUGH that is not from lack of a good night's sleep). I'm going to try to get some work done at home, though.
In other news, health "care" reform (which can really only be described as health insurance reform) is driving me insane. Article on Yahoo: "Snowe suggests scenario for government-run option." The text below the headline: "Sen. Olympia Snowe, the only Republican to support the Finance Committee's health care bill, said Wednesday she could foresee a government-run plan that would "kick in" if private insurers failed to live up to expectations."
1) You didn't support the bill until we made enough concessions so that the bill sucks.
2) We had to ditch a government-run public option, but now you WANT one?
3) NEWSFLASH, rich, privileged people: private insurers are currently failing to live up to expectations. Where the hell have you been?!
Look, I'm sick today. My head already hurts. Please don't make it hurt more by causing me to head-desk. Especially since at home, I have no desk.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
I find your lack of faith disturbing
Spike seems to be showing lots of Star Wars today. I might be too excited.
Me: You are part of the rebel alliance, and a traitor!
KB: How are you single?!
Me: You are part of the rebel alliance, and a traitor!
KB: How are you single?!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Anniversary
This month is a very important anniversary, one that I was seriously scared of never coming to.
As some of you know, I have a weird autoimmune disease. It's not something that's well-known, like lupus, but it fits the definition and the mechanism. Basically, if I don't take an antihistamine every day, I will break into hives. It's not environmental, it's not a reaction to anything I've ingested. It's not anything; I'm just actually allergic to myself. And I have been since April of 2004.
For a while, everything was under control as long as I took my antihistamine. But eventually, it wasn't enough, and I had to switch from pill to pill to find something that would keep the hives under control. One drug made me so sleepy, moreso than Benadryl, that I finally had to tell my jackass of an allergist that he had to switch me to something else, or else. Since then, I've been on Zyrtec, which is much more expensive than most antihistamines, and was for several years perscription only with a $45 copay.
Sometimes, though, I'd have what I call flare-ups, when no antihistamines can prevent me from getting hives and deep tissue swelling, known as angioedema. Some days, besides having God-awful hives everywhere, making me so uncomfortable, but I'd also have massive, obvious, and disfiguring swelling, and often somewhere very visible. Sometimes I'd skip class because my eyes were swollen almost shut, or because one of my lips looked as if I'd been punched in the face.
And the only thing that my allergist would prescribe for me for flare-ups was prednisone, a corticosteroid. I'd have to take massive doses to get my swelling to go down, but it would still take 8 hours to work. And by the time I'd been taking it for a few days, I'd have to taper the dose to avoid shutting down my adrenal glands. But while I tapered, my symptoms would worsen, and I'd have to up the dose again. I hated taking pred; I'd be exhausted all the time, but be unable to sleep, and I'd be really hungry constantly, and gain weight regardless of whether or not I ate. It was AWFUL. It's a terrible drug.
My illness fell into a pattern. I'd go about 4-6 months without any issues, just taking my antihistamine every day. Then I'd have a flare-up lasting 1-2 months, when I'd take so much pred, I'd often have to get refills mid-flare-up. I'd be miserable, legitimately depressed for those two months. While I couldn't prevent the flare-ups, I could make them worse by eating shellfish, nuts, or peanuts, none of which I'm actually allergic to, but none of which I can eat anymore. Eventually, the 4-6 months of peace kept being shaved down until it was really only4 months, and the flare-ups began to spill into 2 and a half months.
I finally switched allergists; as I had suspected, prednisone was a completely inappropriate drug to treat my illness; it should be used for acute swelling, not chronic swelling (for example, it worked wonders when I had mono, since my tonsilitis was acute). My new allergist even wrote me up a plan for which drugs to take if a flare-up started, specifically the order and the dose, and she told me that if after 2 weeks, I wasn't better, to call her. I can safely say that this doctor saved my life. I was at the end of my rope with this illness.
Of course, since I saw her, last October, I haven't had a flare-up. I've had hives, yes, but never lasting more than a day, and never recurring.
This month, I'm celebrating 1 year of no flare-ups, something that I've never experienced since flare-ups began back in the fall of '04. I kind of want my mom to take me out to dinner to celebrate.
It gives me hope that maybe in another year, I'll be able to eat the foods I love and miss, and that in another year after that, I can stop taking my antihistamine. We'll see, obviously, but the hope is there. I haven't had hope in so long.
As some of you know, I have a weird autoimmune disease. It's not something that's well-known, like lupus, but it fits the definition and the mechanism. Basically, if I don't take an antihistamine every day, I will break into hives. It's not environmental, it's not a reaction to anything I've ingested. It's not anything; I'm just actually allergic to myself. And I have been since April of 2004.
For a while, everything was under control as long as I took my antihistamine. But eventually, it wasn't enough, and I had to switch from pill to pill to find something that would keep the hives under control. One drug made me so sleepy, moreso than Benadryl, that I finally had to tell my jackass of an allergist that he had to switch me to something else, or else. Since then, I've been on Zyrtec, which is much more expensive than most antihistamines, and was for several years perscription only with a $45 copay.
Sometimes, though, I'd have what I call flare-ups, when no antihistamines can prevent me from getting hives and deep tissue swelling, known as angioedema. Some days, besides having God-awful hives everywhere, making me so uncomfortable, but I'd also have massive, obvious, and disfiguring swelling, and often somewhere very visible. Sometimes I'd skip class because my eyes were swollen almost shut, or because one of my lips looked as if I'd been punched in the face.
And the only thing that my allergist would prescribe for me for flare-ups was prednisone, a corticosteroid. I'd have to take massive doses to get my swelling to go down, but it would still take 8 hours to work. And by the time I'd been taking it for a few days, I'd have to taper the dose to avoid shutting down my adrenal glands. But while I tapered, my symptoms would worsen, and I'd have to up the dose again. I hated taking pred; I'd be exhausted all the time, but be unable to sleep, and I'd be really hungry constantly, and gain weight regardless of whether or not I ate. It was AWFUL. It's a terrible drug.
My illness fell into a pattern. I'd go about 4-6 months without any issues, just taking my antihistamine every day. Then I'd have a flare-up lasting 1-2 months, when I'd take so much pred, I'd often have to get refills mid-flare-up. I'd be miserable, legitimately depressed for those two months. While I couldn't prevent the flare-ups, I could make them worse by eating shellfish, nuts, or peanuts, none of which I'm actually allergic to, but none of which I can eat anymore. Eventually, the 4-6 months of peace kept being shaved down until it was really only4 months, and the flare-ups began to spill into 2 and a half months.
I finally switched allergists; as I had suspected, prednisone was a completely inappropriate drug to treat my illness; it should be used for acute swelling, not chronic swelling (for example, it worked wonders when I had mono, since my tonsilitis was acute). My new allergist even wrote me up a plan for which drugs to take if a flare-up started, specifically the order and the dose, and she told me that if after 2 weeks, I wasn't better, to call her. I can safely say that this doctor saved my life. I was at the end of my rope with this illness.
Of course, since I saw her, last October, I haven't had a flare-up. I've had hives, yes, but never lasting more than a day, and never recurring.
This month, I'm celebrating 1 year of no flare-ups, something that I've never experienced since flare-ups began back in the fall of '04. I kind of want my mom to take me out to dinner to celebrate.
It gives me hope that maybe in another year, I'll be able to eat the foods I love and miss, and that in another year after that, I can stop taking my antihistamine. We'll see, obviously, but the hope is there. I haven't had hope in so long.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Red Sox fans
KosherBeef and I were discussing Red Sox playoff games, particularly ones we've been to (that's right, we've been to Red Sox playoff games; mine was better because Josh Beckett kicked ass and we actually won the World Series that year. I WIN). He was asking me if I remembered a moment from one of the 1999 playoff games:
Me: Sadly (and embarrassingly), I didn't start following the Sox for real until 2002.
lulz
(Yes, I'm embarrassed that I didn't get into the Sox till mid-2002. I know it's something that's silly to be embarrassed about, but it makes me seem very band-wagon, considering that we kind of sucked until 2002/2003. But I genuinely became a fan; I started watching games on my own, out of interest, and at this point, it's pretty easy for people to forget or just not know that I've only been a fan for seven years. However, I'm really not opposed to the idea of band-wagon fans, and I don't think that it's worse to become interested in a team when they're playing well than it is to be a fan because your family members were, etc. That's not to say that if you've been a fan since childhood, like my brother, that you've been indoctrinated/brainwashed, but that however we come to our teams should matter less than our actual support.
Also, although I didn't really follow the Sox before 2002, I certainly wasn't Sox-stupid. I'd go to games with my family, I had a massive celebrity crush on Nomar, and I remember watching Pedro's 17-K game vs. the Yankees in September '99. I don't just remember that I watched; I remember the game and how ridiculous his pitching was. So, there.)
Me: Sadly (and embarrassingly)
KB: We can't be friends anymore
lulz
(Yes, I'm embarrassed that I didn't get into the Sox till mid-2002. I know it's something that's silly to be embarrassed about, but it makes me seem very band-wagon, considering that we kind of sucked until 2002/2003. But I genuinely became a fan; I started watching games on my own, out of interest, and at this point, it's pretty easy for people to forget or just not know that I've only been a fan for seven years. However, I'm really not opposed to the idea of band-wagon fans, and I don't think that it's worse to become interested in a team when they're playing well than it is to be a fan because your family members were, etc. That's not to say that if you've been a fan since childhood, like my brother, that you've been indoctrinated/brainwashed, but that however we come to our teams should matter less than our actual support.
Also, although I didn't really follow the Sox before 2002, I certainly wasn't Sox-stupid. I'd go to games with my family, I had a massive celebrity crush on Nomar, and I remember watching Pedro's 17-K game vs. the Yankees in September '99. I don't just remember that I watched; I remember the game and how ridiculous his pitching was. So, there.)
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Shopping Edition
Think Weird Thoughts: Shopping Edition is brought to you by the checks I got from family members for my birthday.
Stores: Old Navy, Victoria's Secret, Baker's, Sears, oldnavy.com
Money spent: about $300
End result: Awesomeness
Old Navy highlight: Leonora wearing a ridiculous hat and warning me about cardigans with ugly gem-ish buttons
Most disappointing store: the Gap; it was a MESS!
Women's Studies class: the halloween store that's now in the mall
Stores: Old Navy, Victoria's Secret, Baker's, Sears, oldnavy.com
Money spent: about $300
End result: Awesomeness
Old Navy highlight: Leonora wearing a ridiculous hat and warning me about cardigans with ugly gem-ish buttons
Most disappointing store: the Gap; it was a MESS!
Women's Studies class: the halloween store that's now in the mall
Friday, October 2, 2009
Oh, hey, it's Friday
6:00 - alarm went off
6:25 - actually got up, got in the shower
6:35 - realized I would miss the train if I didn't get out of the shower
6:48 - realized that I only had thigh highs and that the tops would show with the only skirt I could wear to retreat, shit, so I had to wear something else
6:50 - when I was supposed to leave
6:56 - when I actually left
7:18 - when I and the train arrived at the station
7:45 - arrived in Boston, began walking to the hotel
8:05 - arrived at the Children's Hospital Vascular Biology Retreat ... so early that I was one of many 5 people there already and I knew no one. Had delicious continental breakfast.
8:30 - called and paid for my car repairs (YAY!), called CA to confirm that she could take me to my car
8:35 - people from lab arrived! Chatted while more lab people arrived till about 8:55
Retreat:
9:05 - first part of retreat began; was much too excited about the mints and water at every table, and the (I assumed complimentary and took home with me) hotel pens and pads of paper
10:3oish - coffee break; the coffee was amazing and they had Splenda :D And I had a bagel
11:15 - more retreat, finally figured out where our PI was sitting
12:40 - DELICIOUS lunch!! Omg it was amazing (Royal Sonesta, you guys. It was fucking incredible, even though I didn't love the actual ingredients of the entree)
1:45 - back to the retreat
3:25 - coffee break again! I played Solitaire on my iPod
3:55 - our PI finally got to present our research/ideas, which was awesome. She rocked
4:20 - our PI is finished, and I hurry out of retreat and walk back across the river to Boston (we were in Cambridge)
Work:
4:45 - refill the water bath, put in what I need to split cells
4:50 - head down to the animal facility; separate mice into new cages to get ready for new breeding set-ups on Monday
5:35 - split cells
6:10 - ran the fuck out the door
Afterwards:
6:15 - got to the station in time to get a ticket to go to Concord ... except some idiot can't use the ticket machine and won't let anyone ahead of him, and the train is All Aboard; conductors outside train say that even though I have a pass through Zone 2, I'll have to pay for the full trip, plus the surcharge for buying tickets on board
6:16 - unhappily boarded train, relieved that I at least had enough cash on me to buy a ticket
6:22 - amazingly kind/understanding conductor came around to check tickets and passes and when I asked for a ticket to Concord, she told me not to worry about it, since I had a pass (she was one of the conductors whom I talked to); was reminded that the MBTA is not all bad
7:06 - arrived in Concord, located CA after realizing that the place is CRAWLING with obnoxious CCHS teens who think they are so cool. I would know; I was one of them four and a half years ago
7:20 - arrived at the auto body; my beautiful car! CA and I gushed about Supernatural before I remembered I didn't have a coat and was cold
7:25 - IN THE CAR YAY!!!
7:48 - arrived at CVS, bough first aid materials for my minor injury (old burn) as well as THREE KINDS OF CANDY!
8:00 - got home
...
9:31 - have headache from not eating anything healthy since second coffee break and feeling slightly queasy from too many Tootsie Rolls. TOTALLY WORTH IT.
6:25 - actually got up, got in the shower
6:35 - realized I would miss the train if I didn't get out of the shower
6:48 - realized that I only had thigh highs and that the tops would show with the only skirt I could wear to retreat, shit, so I had to wear something else
6:50 - when I was supposed to leave
6:56 - when I actually left
7:18 - when I and the train arrived at the station
7:45 - arrived in Boston, began walking to the hotel
8:05 - arrived at the Children's Hospital Vascular Biology Retreat ... so early that I was one of many 5 people there already and I knew no one. Had delicious continental breakfast.
8:30 - called and paid for my car repairs (YAY!), called CA to confirm that she could take me to my car
8:35 - people from lab arrived! Chatted while more lab people arrived till about 8:55
Retreat:
9:05 - first part of retreat began; was much too excited about the mints and water at every table, and the (I assumed complimentary and took home with me) hotel pens and pads of paper
10:3oish - coffee break; the coffee was amazing and they had Splenda :D And I had a bagel
11:15 - more retreat, finally figured out where our PI was sitting
12:40 - DELICIOUS lunch!! Omg it was amazing (Royal Sonesta, you guys. It was fucking incredible, even though I didn't love the actual ingredients of the entree)
1:45 - back to the retreat
3:25 - coffee break again! I played Solitaire on my iPod
3:55 - our PI finally got to present our research/ideas, which was awesome. She rocked
4:20 - our PI is finished, and I hurry out of retreat and walk back across the river to Boston (we were in Cambridge)
Work:
4:45 - refill the water bath, put in what I need to split cells
4:50 - head down to the animal facility; separate mice into new cages to get ready for new breeding set-ups on Monday
5:35 - split cells
6:10 - ran the fuck out the door
Afterwards:
6:15 - got to the station in time to get a ticket to go to Concord ... except some idiot can't use the ticket machine and won't let anyone ahead of him, and the train is All Aboard; conductors outside train say that even though I have a pass through Zone 2, I'll have to pay for the full trip, plus the surcharge for buying tickets on board
6:16 - unhappily boarded train, relieved that I at least had enough cash on me to buy a ticket
6:22 - amazingly kind/understanding conductor came around to check tickets and passes and when I asked for a ticket to Concord, she told me not to worry about it, since I had a pass (she was one of the conductors whom I talked to); was reminded that the MBTA is not all bad
7:06 - arrived in Concord, located CA after realizing that the place is CRAWLING with obnoxious CCHS teens who think they are so cool. I would know; I was one of them four and a half years ago
7:20 - arrived at the auto body; my beautiful car! CA and I gushed about Supernatural before I remembered I didn't have a coat and was cold
7:25 - IN THE CAR YAY!!!
7:48 - arrived at CVS, bough first aid materials for my minor injury (old burn) as well as THREE KINDS OF CANDY!
8:00 - got home
...
9:31 - have headache from not eating anything healthy since second coffee break and feeling slightly queasy from too many Tootsie Rolls. TOTALLY WORTH IT.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Kaplan rocks
I work for Kaplan (okay, I'm still an employee, but I don't work and I don't get paid because I can't pick up any classes and I'm always busy when sub dates come up, but whatever). I like being a Kaplan employee VERY much (this is both true and a shameless plug; work for them and you will understand). And I like my supervisors at Kaplan. I'm realizing that a lot of this sounds sarcastic, but it actually isn't.
This is an email I got during lab meeting from one of my supervisors, D.:
This is an email I got during lab meeting from one of my supervisors, D.:
As a quick follow-up to my e-mail from earlier today, I mistakenly wrote "Thursday, 10/5" as one of the dates we needed subs. October 5th is neither a Thursday, nor is it a Tuesday, which is what I originally meant to write. The sub dates that were listed as Thursday, 10/5 were actually supposed to be listed under Tuesday, 10/6.
Can you tell we're close to the October SAT?
I think the reason I think this email is awesome is because D. doesn't pretend that it was someone else's mistake, nor does he just send out a quick correction. I like when people can make fun of themselves. It's good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)