7 posts tagged “blather”

I had a regular eye checkup today, and they dilated my pupils. This has to be one of the most uncomfortable procedures I've been through. I came out three hours ago and I am only regaining the ability to see somewhat clearly.

When I first emerged I couldn't keep my eyes open because everything was so bright. Thankfully the eye doctor is half a block away from our apartment or I wouldn't have been able to drive home.

The worst thing is, there is very little you can do when you can't see. The dilation also messes up your short-range vision, so you can't watch TV, type or read. I just closed the shades, put a pillow over my head, and napped for an hour.

Thankfully, I'm recovering now, which is a good thing since we are going to the San Francisco Ballet tonight. Gotta get us some culture.

We got most of our Christmas shopping for other family members done today. Every year I say to myself, "Next year, I am going to get all my shopping done in November and mailed on December 1!" And every year it turns into a last-minute rush. This year we were out of town for almost all of November, then dealing with that winter crud we all picked up. We had our "holy crap" moment a few days ago when we realized we had exactly one weekend to finish our shopping and get packages mailed.

We also got our tree. I was disappointed that we didn't get down to the tree farm in Half Moon Bay like we did last year. We had planned that for last weekend with some friends but we were all still sick so we cancelled. So we ended up going to a tree lot about a mile away. Hardly the same as cutting your own, but the upside was that it was easy and we also found a really nice little tree. Came home, threw on some Bing Christmas caroles, and decorated that sucker right up.

Oh, of course it wouldn't be a tree decorating without having some sort of crisis with the lights. We had picked up an extra strand out shopping today because I figured that at least one of our existing strands would be burned out. Well it turns out we only had one existing strand, and it was the kind with that white cord. I don't know why we had white cord last year, but it definitely clashed with our tree this year. So I jumped back in the car and sped over to Target. And even though I had to park in their Christmas spillover lot a mile away, it was still worth it because I picked up a couple other Christmas items for the family. And some toothpaste. We were all out, so that was kind of crucial.

I finally felt good enough to go back to work today after being out sick since last Friday. I'm still nowhere near 100 percent, but well enough to make the commute, answer the phone, move my fingers over the keyboard, and annoy my coworkers with bouts of coughing and throat-clearing.

I would like to reiterate that this is one nasty, icky little bug. How nasty and icky? Well, Paris Hilton's limousine seat is like a freakin' surgical room in comparison.

We took Harlan to the doctor yesterday at he it turns out he has -- ta da! -- pneumonia. Lovely. It's actually not terribly serious and slamming amoxicillin shots three times a day for the next 10 days should take care of it. At least he's in great spirits. You can make Harlan sick, but it's hard to bring him down.

Well, this is not fun.

Far from starting to get better, I'm actually getting sicker. I believe this now ranks as one of the worst bugs I've ever had in my life. I actually felt slightly -- ever so slightly -- better last night, but in the middle of the night I broke out into chills. I woke up aching all over. My abs and back are sore from coughing fits, and I'm sweating profusely as I type this.

Mom called last night to say she and Dad are still sick and that they think it's been 15 years since they were this sick.

I don't see how I'm going to be in any condition to go to work tomorrow unless I make a recovery to rival that of Lazarus himself.

I figure that's what I must have since I've been sick for four freakin' weeks now. It feels like a cold with a moderate cough and massive sinus pressure.

After fighting it for 2-1/2 weeks, I saw our old family doctor in Seattle. He diagnosed it as a bacterial infection and gave me a short course of antibiotics and a prescription nasal spray to handle the sinus swelling. Sure enough, after three days I felt significantly better. I figured another day or two of recovery and I'd be 100 percent.

Sadly, the bug, tough little bastard that he is, got up off the mat and got back in the fight. So after several days of a worsening condition I went to our local doctor here in Albany.

At this point I feel as bad as at any point over the past 3-1/2 weeks. This doc says he can't detect any signs of bacterial infection. He says it's purely a sinus issue and that I should count on using that prescription nasal spray all winter. I say, "That's funny, because not only is my head stuffed up but I feel like crap. I can't exercise, I can't play with my kid, I probably shouldn't be going to work."

Reluctantly, the doc gives me another antibiotic prescription, but advises me not to take them unless I don't feel better in 2-3 days.

Last night, I shot more stuff up my nose than Paris Hilton. But this morning I felt even worse. Sorry doc, I ain't waiting another day or two. I completely understand the logic behind not using antibiotics. But I've been ill for a month. I think that counts for something. Gulp. Down went the first two amoxicillin. C'mon, modern medicine, don't fail me now.

At least I'm not bleeding from my eyeballs. Yet.

I killed my old Vox page. Yup, killed it dead for looking at me wrong. Now I'm reborn as myself, not some lame handle dreamed up on the spur of the moment while sitting in the office. Thankfully the old page had all of three posts on it, and a smattering of photos and the like.

May it rest in peace.

Is this thing on?