Confessions of a One-Track Mind

My sleep schedule, which hasn't been what you'd call "normal" for a long time, is now so FUBAR it's almost a time zone unto itself.

Between 11AM Friday morning and 2AM Sunday morning, I had 2 hours sleep, total. Sunday, I came home from church and crashed. Got maybe 7 hours sleep, off and on. (Barking dogs. Srsly, I want to shoot every dog in a two-block radius.* They're hellhounds, all of them.)

So yesterday, Monday morning, I woke at 12:30AM and was up until my return from jury duty (4PM), when I got horizontal and slept for 3 hours. In bed at midnite, slept 5.5 hours. And then off and on all day today, several naps between 11AM and now. Interrupted, again, by the hounds of hell.

I have a headache. I should say, I'd had a headache: It's been around since last week, and just keeps racheting up the intensity. I suspect that its roots are dental in origin, no pun intended, but whatever it is, I'm having movie-reference flashes, especially to Blade Runner---it feels like Rutger Hauer is firmly squeezing my skull. It'll go squish! any moment now. (Or possibly the brain-eating scene in Hannibal, because I can feel my IQ dropping.)

Maybe I'll eat something before I crawl back to bed....

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* I also really wanna pop the fuck-nugget on the motorcycle who keeps roaring around the block. Why the fuck aren't you home watching Sons of Anarchy?

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I feel like freeze-dried shit. Don't know if I've picked up a bug, or what. Have felt queasy for the last couple days. Yesterday, I ran around for a two hours (Publix, pawnshop, bank), came home, had some soup and crackers and conked out for three hours. Up til daybreak, slept til noon...and I feel like crawling back into bed and staying there.

And I know: I've gotten awfully boring. I was rereading some entries from a couple years back, and I used to have a lot more folks commenting. Either people are leaving LJ, or they're tired of my kwelling and aren't bothering to fake it.

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Got GK's CARE package on Tuesday, simultanelously with an attack of IDK...sleeping sickness? Bitten by a tsetse fly? (Hey, after the poisonous spider bite, nothing would surprise me!) Anyway two and a half days of mostly sleeping, waking to shower and fall back to sleep again. Blergh. I feel like refried shit. Hope I perk up by Monday.

The Nook is fabu. Was a little nonplused to find out that it isn't illuminated, as I'm accustomed to from the iPhone. Still, I've been happily engrossed. I'm currently in the middle of "Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter", which is rather different from the movie---better, I think. At least so far.

In addition to the Nook, GK's flat-rate box also included single-serving cups of chocolate-peanut butter, a small summer sausage, some licorice, a black cami, a dark grey "silk" blouse, a pair of licac pajamas----all of which fit. The PJ's really surprised me in that respect, since the top is 18/20, which I don't claim to be, and the bottoms are 22/24. There's also a handsome square aluminum bowl with a dragonfly perched on it, just the thing for my coffee table.

I'm going to go crawl back into bed now. Have a stellar weekend, y'all!

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Tossed and turned and moaned and groaned trying to get comfy in bed. Left Hip hurt abominably. Ibuprophen is my friend. Note to self, do NOT try to sleep at J's again until she has a new couch, which is alledgedly going to happen in the next couple of weeks. Although I have noticed, it seem to only be here at home that I hurt....

OTOH, she's STILL going round and round about the grant that was supposed to get the dog training company official premises since November. And it's been longer than that since I saw a nickel out of the biz. Speaking of dogs, I signed up to give a presentation about service animals at church this Sunday, which means I need to get my ass in gear and actually write something.

I should also gear up and start doing laundry---unearthed a lot of bedding while excavating my bedroom, and I've been climbing over piles of it for a week now. Fortunately, that's not ultra time-consuming, so I can run back and forth from my desk to the garage.

Although, come to think of it, I'm getting peckish. And I've got an arse-load of stuff on my DVR that needs to be viewed and cleared. Ah, well---thanks to my mid-day nap, I'm sure to be up all night!

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Here it is, 6PM and I don't have to take any pills! I finished the last of my antibiotics this morning, and promptly canceled all the alerts I've had on my phone. SO glad that's all done!

Was watching an interesting show about post-pandemic life this afternoon. It struck close to home that after living through the outbreak and relocating from Los Angeles to pastoral Colorado after months of migration and dangerous conditions---near-starvation, exposure, thieves and so on, what killed the protagonist was blood poisoning from a cut he got farming. No antibiotics in the post-apocalyptic world....

As the narrator said, the ecosystem would refresh itself after the burden of human population was taken off it, but without the level of technology we're used to, life expectancy would probably drop to was it was in the late 19th century, which was the last time we had a comparable standard of living.

Note to self, get a tetnus booster shot before the next catastrophe....

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The foot is definitely better; at the risk of TMI, it isn't oozing any more. Mb, bless her, has just dropped off some Neosporin. Now, I can put a bandage over my sore spot. That means I can wear shoes, which means I can go places and get things done. (Because of where it is, I need cushioning between me and the shoe.)

For the last 24 hours, I haven't had it bandaged just wandering around the house, partly because of the lack of Neosporin---taking the dressings off kept pulling the scab loose. It's tender if the sheets hit it, but not screamingly painful. I'd call that progress.

I haven't been to bed yet---SO screwed up! meaning I'm liable to be doing a midnight Wally World run. And god knows about the library books. Not today, that's for sure. I'm at that so-tired-I'm-falling-over-but-can't-cleep stage. Not driving anywhere like this....

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Yesterday was definitely Friday the 13th all over the damn place. I hadn't realized, but when I found out, I was so NOT surprised.

Went to breakfast with Mb, a place I hadn't tried before, but she said their omelets were good. An omelet sounded wonderful, so I got one with tomato, mushroom and onion with cheese. There was ample cheese, but I was quite pissed by the paucity of vegetables, since each item had a surcharge. I bitched to the manager about it, too, but he kind of shrugged it off. Last time I go there!

Then Mb discovered her car was in dire straits---her serpentine belt had given up the ghost, which required SO to come and pick me up and deliver me to my foot follow-up appointment while Mb dealt with the car.

I don't think I'm going to be going back there, either. Not only did I get hit up for another $70 for the visit HE mandated, when I asked questions about other things, he tacked on an additional $30, saying that the more complicated my case is, the more it's going to cost. I don't think this is ethical---I'm not even sure it's LEGAL---basically, I'm being punished for not having insurance, and I don't have to put up with that shit.

The culture results came back---it's NOT MRSA. It is strep, just not that variety...ironically, it IS resistant to Clindamycin, which is the $65 stuff I'm on. Still, with that kind of investment, I'm going to take it til it's gone. It can't hurt! Meanwhile, the foot is continuing to improve; this morning when I got out of bed, I was able to trudge to the bathroom without hanging onto the bed for a moment while waiting for my heel to stop hurting.

The...award? for the worst Friday the 13th goes to Bunny, who wrapped her vehicle around a pole on her way home from work. Not her fault, someone ran her off the road, I'm told---but it does put my irritations into perspective. She's shaken up, and I'll bet she's sore all over today, and I'm very glad it wasn't more serious.

dine, I've got "Breathe" on now, and it's quite nice. Thanks again!

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So far, I've had two doses of each of the antibiotics, and I can hardly believe how much better I feel. For one thing, my appetite is back. I no longer have that feeling of, "Oh god, NOT food", which I regard as highly wrong. Gone is the low-grade fever and malaise.

The foot is still sensitive, naturally, but between painkillers and something to address the infection, it isn't as bad as*, like Mama used to say. The fact is, at this point, it isn't the toe that hurts, it's everything else, in particular my heel. I'm hoping that by Thursday or Friday, I'll be able to drive. I have overdue library books.

I'm working on a modest crossover...not sure where I'm going with it, yet, but it's a sign that my brain is functioning again. Yay!

o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

* Like Sunday, when I was excruciatingly aware of how many bones there are in a foot, and how, for the most part, they have two ends which grind against other bones.

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I have two kinds of antibiotics and some very welcome hydrocodone. They did a culture for MRSA and I get to go back for a follow-up on Friday, ka-ching.

The doc shook his head, said it was "Pretty bad", but that I'd done the right thing by not disturbing the site. He cleaned it lightly with hydrogen peroxide and dressed it again---his version did not involve duct tape.

(ETA, the iPhone came in very handy. Because the whatever it was was in a very inconvenient place to inspect---my days of being THAT double-jointed are over---I got in the habit of taking arms-length pix with the iPhone, and thus was able to show Dr. K. a time-lapse chronicle of it from Thursday til the present.)

He's concerned about a few things, like my blood pressure, which was a staggering 150/100---on the other hand, I've been in constant pain for most of the last week, so that may be circumstantial.

Right now, I'm just going to take my meds and spend the next few days taking an Egyptian vacation,, cruising down de Nile. And then we'll see....

The very nice news, though, is that since my last visit there in June of 2009, I'm down 40 pounds!!! I was expecting to hear maybe 20-25, but 40?! GO, ME!!!

Mb and I popped into Publix so I could get my meds. Getting out of Mb's car, I had a slipper malfunction. These are ratty old plush mules---leopard print---and they were litterally the only footwear I could get my bandaged foot into. Well, the sole separated from the upper and the foam sandwiched in the middle came out. I grumbled, pulled the duct tape out of my bag, and made a crude repair---but I'm going to need some new slippers. *le sigh*

I got a few foodstuffs, hoping that my appetite will come back---seriously, I think I've had maybe four meals in the last five days, and small ones at that---and some real gauze for dressings. I also found a 25' extension cord to replace the purloined one. Oh joy, maybe now I can do some frackin laundry! Which would be a Good Thing, otherwise I'm gonna have to go commando to Friday's appointment.

Season finale of Justified tonight...I'm half looking forward to it, because there are so many wheels-within-wheels spinning---on the other hand, no more til NEXT SPRING, wah!

Okay, I'm gonna go prop my foot up, wait for the pills to kick in and watch today's Adam-12. Which reminds me, thanks, karaokegal, for the pimpage.

And thanks, dine---I found your CD and the dragon card in my mailbox today, which is the first time I've checked it since last Thursday. I'll give it a listen soon and let you know what I think. It certainly sounds intriguing.

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Okay, for starters, I have a doctor's appointment. Granted, it isn't til tomorrow afternoon, but I'll live. And, because I've been there previously, it'll "only" cost me $70 instead of $120. It's been a little under three years since I was there last; according to the gal I spoke to, my returning patient status would've "expired" in June....

Even better news, the damned thing drained overnight. I took off my improvised dressing this morning, and it was soaked with...stuff. (The adhesive bandage strips I had didn't begin to cover this thing, so I MacGuyvered something with tissues and ducttape. Worked like a charm.) I stuck it in the shower and washed it off with some antibacterial soap. It feels a little less like my foot was caught in a bear trap, and I'll keep popping antiinflammatories.

Thanks, everybody, for all your love and well wishes! It helped, believe me!

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Okay, good news, y'all. Mb is going to chauffer me to a walk-in clinic tomorrow morning. I'll keep you posted about how that goes. Hopefully they'll drain it and give me some antibiotics and maybe a pain pill or two and this misery will be done with. Fingers crossed, please?

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Thursday night is my happy time. Between Missing and Person of Interest, I'm oh-so-thrilled. This week in particular, Missing made me squee. As I said to J, ( I love being right! )

Person of Interest wasn't amazing this week. It was good in that it tied up some loose ends, ( but )

Real life is not fun. I have a gigantic carbuncle on my right pinkie toe. At first, I thought I was getting a wart, because it was a small, hard bump that didn't hurt. However, it's grown to the size of a hazelnut, and I'm miserable. The skin on my whole foot feels too tight, and my bones ache.

After browsing WebMB, I figure it'll drain on its own, hopefully within the next couple of days. If it hasn't, or if it looks like it's doing anything alarming, I figure I'll find a walk-in clinic before next weekend. Or even the ER, although my healthcare plan is still "Don't get sick"---so I'm trying to let nature take its course. If there's one good thing that can be said about it, it's that I have almost no appetite.

In cheerier news, I've got a small smut fic written and in the process of revision. I'm at the point where I'm happy to have written anything, since I've been in a slump.

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Last night, Mb and I wandered over to the mall for a little while...it was nearly deserted on a Monday night. She bought me a slice of pizza at Sbarro, which was good at the time, but it or something is really cleaning me out today, and I suspect heat-lamped 'za. Still, I've got laundry in the works, so I haven't been completely useless today.

Also, I went to smartusa.com to look at Smart Cars, and discovered to my utter delight that the houndstooth car I featured a picture of the other day is a real option, not just something they did for the car show. No paisley or leopard print among the wraps they offer, but there are some rather nifty options such as woodgrain, harlequin diamonds, a splash patters, and a red snakeskin that's kinda fun. Of the available wraps though, the houndstooth is still my favorite.

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Did get to the food bank with Mb, but not much else. Went to WalMart to deposit cash/check, went around in circles trying to remember what I needed---light bulbs, damn it, as two of them have blown in the last two days---did get bathroom tissue, the mega pack, so I don't have to worry about that for a while.

Saw some $3 pants on the clearance rack and had to speak sternly to myself. I don't NEED another pair of black pants---or grey ones, for that matter. Didn't get any clothes, yay me, I have plenty. Tried on a shirt I've had for eons---was way too small when I got it, it now fits nicely, and I just realized I've already got some shorts that will work with it, I don't NEED new ones.

Came home feeling "off"...queasy from the heat and a headache---! I still have the headache, despite a nap. I'm not decaffeinating, so it isn't that...mostly it feels like my temples are in a vise, but there's also an ache at the back of my neck. I'd just as soon go back to sleep, but I doubt that's gonna happen.

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Woke up this morning and took two Excedrin alongside my daily vitamin and iron pill.

Still feel like someone has stapled my right eyebrow to my skull.

May crawl back into bed; I think some of it is sleep deprivation. That damn dog barking til 4AM the other night set off a domino effect with my sleep schedule.

Would be nice if I could rejoin the dream I was having, about getting a very pretty emerald green dress made for me: The fabric was a stretchy metallic microfiber with little scrollwork ribbons outlined in black. It was going to be a long dress, possibly this one with less bling:



I especially love the sleeves, which are elegant AND would conceal my droopy underarms. And green is good color for me, especially that kind of jewel-tone.

Of course, going back to sleep won't get anything done around here. Yesterday was not too productive; I scrubbed a toilet and did dishes, neither of which translates to ridding this place of clutter.

The obnoxious neighbors have a motorcycle, and they're revving it in their driveway, which is right outside my office window. God, why are You doing this to me?!

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It rained all day yesterday, and I had a digestive upset pretty much all day. Had to make a caffeine run, and just scooted up to WinnDixie...didn't even feel like going the extra mile-and-a-half to WalMart...two school zones in that distance, and just NO.

Got back with some cheap sustanence and checked my mail. Was momentarily puzzled by the sight of a puffy manila envelope in my mailbox. I couldn't think of anything I'd ordered, other than that skirt last month, and I've had that for a while. The return address told the tale: It was from dine, though I still couldn't imagine what it was.

Got it open and discovered THIS:


which I'd recently lusted after while it was listed on eBay. I'd written it off as pie-in-the-sky, and was astonished and thrilled that it landed in my mailbox. Thanks again, Dine!

Of course, now I need to summon the energy to clear off my dining table so I can install it. Wasn't up to it yesterday, and I'm still lethargic today; I got up, had breakfast, took a shower and washed my hair (as they're predicting ultra low overnight temps tonight and I badly needed a good scrub), watched The Dog Whisperer, and fell asleep for another 3.5 hours. A sleepless night tonight is a foregone conclusion.

Had some odd dreams in the course of said nap: First one was of running into Jensen Ackles, who was in a stage version of "Rocky Horror", and wearing a Riff-Raff wig: Long, scraggly, thinning. He reminded me that we'd met before, around Christmas-time, something about bowling with his sister? IDK. I hadn't wanted to bring that up, as he meets so many people, and I thought it would seem gauche. But he remembered me, and we chatted plesantly and made plans for a get-together at a later time.

The other was something about being in a building that was partially used as a church. Something about selling a set of Barbie-type fashion ice skater dolls on eBay to settle some debts that Castiel was really responsible for. (The girl doll was blonde and wearing a glittery red ensemble, the male doll was wearing something that looked like Chippendales Go to the Icecapades.) He didn't seem to think it was a big deal, but I was exasperated because they were worth a lot more than a hasty auction was going to bring in. The owners were making a sacrifice for him, and he was indifferent. I left and went up to the second floor. I planned to go up to the attic, where I had a sanctuary, but I realized several people from the church had seen me, and I didn't want them to follow me to the attic and find it, so I went into an open room where I could say I'd gone up for the view from the window there.

Here's hoping I feel better over the weekend so I can make progress on the dining room....

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I'm in a thoroughly evil mood. I'm sad and overly sensitive, and if I need hand-holding, it's to keep me from slapping people who make light of my feelings or contradict me in any way. Right now, I'm not logical, I'm not entirely sure I'm sane---I went to WalMart Friday evening and was hallucinating Kat everywhere---and it takes very little to set me off.

I'm also recuperating from my annual case of tonsilitis. Usually that's accompanied by a full-on head cold and respiratory congestion, but this time it was 95% tonsils. I've slept about 16 of the last 48 hours, which I guess I needed, and I still feel like crap.

GK arrives tomorrow (en famile), will be in a hotel, as hubby's job pays for it, at least the first few days when he'll be working. There's supposedly a hot tub on the premises, which would be divine if the weather would warm up. (She was saying on the phone that she checked the local Florida temps on line, and that we're as cold as she is in Massachusetts!)

And IMO FWIW, Valentine's Day SUCKS.

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* And if you don't know what I'm talking about, the answer is in "An Answer to Prayer", which I posted a couple days ago. And it's being ignored. I'm getting more response from the Pit of Voles, which doesn't lighten my mood any.

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