Crocs' Epic Fail

I love Crocs.  I really, really do.  Ever since my mom bought me my first pair four years ago, I've worn one pair or another pretty much every day.  Largely it's been the Endeavour (the closed version of the original), but in the past two years I've branched out: Troika, Alice, Celeste, Mammoth,Gretel... and I love them.  However, the Lily-- never again.  Most uncomfortable shoes ever.

I've tried them with hose, with socks, with tights, with bare feet... nothing helps.  They. Are.  Rubbish. 

Blech.  Don't buy these.  Buy pretty much any other, but these. 

Sicko

Boy, oh boy.  I've gotten off pretty lightly this year on the under-the-weather scale.  I've had some doozies-- last summer/fall, and a bit over January. But two weeks ago... that's when the stuff really got me.

I thought  my head was going to explode, face first.  My ears were near to bursting just with breathing.  The pressure was so bad it even hurt to move my eyes.  Couldn't breathe.  It was baaaaad.

And I couldn't even take anything for it, because of my other meds.  I inhaled some Vicks VapoRub (a nice little steamy bowl of hot water and a spoonfull of the smelly stuff), which didn't really do much good because I couldn't breathe in the first place.  And I took ibuprofen, which might have helped with the pain if it wasn't caused mainly by the pressure.  Wowzer.  I was in trouble. 

I got nothing done that week.  I barely made it to the classes I'm paid to go to... at home, I was laid in my bed, or laid on the sofa.  I couldn't even read, so I either listened to my iPod softly, or the tv.  Not watching it, just listening. 

Luckily, that's over now.  Except that now I'm running a low fever.  And I can't get it to go away.  It's wiping me out, man, even though I don't feel bad otherwise.  Where is this settled in that it keeps my fevery but I don't feel it?!  Grrrrr.  Last time this happened, it turned into tonsilitis eventually.  My sister had hers turn into strep.  So... I'm plugging along and hoping this doesn't actually turn into anything. 

Sorry for whining.  I just had to complain a wee bit.  Yes, it actually does make me feel a little better, just to complain and get it out.  =)

The Light Box

After six weeks away, I can tell.  I was sceptical, but it really has helped my SAD this winter.  So I'm glad to get back to it for the rest of the winter.  For those of you who can't really picture what I'm talking about, here you go:

I get to sit for half an hour or an hour, for a total of five hours a week.  I read my book club book, or write letters, or just listen to music.  It's my 'down time', and it's great.  I can make coffee or tea, or bring in my lunch, or whatever I feel like.  And it really has made a difference.  I haven't noticed the darkness having the same effect on my mood (which still isn't great to begin with, so it could have been so much worse...), and I haven't  been as much under the weather (until this last month when I've been away from the light box).

Oh, yes.  I am now a believer.

Eight Days a Week: I Luh-uh-uh-uh-uhve You

On this day, I was actually quite miserable.  We slept in late, which was good, but as we were getting ready to go out poddling again, to some fancy spots and do some shopping, my back went out.  In a major bad way.  Suddenly, I could not move.  And it hurt so flippin' bad.  My back goes out from time to time, and it usually lasts a couple of days.  This time, it ended up hanging on more than two weeks, and not even three strong prescription painkillers from my GP made a dent in it.  Oh my life.  It was misery.  But dammit, I was in Paris.  And I was NOT going to sit in the flat and do nothing.  So.  Out I went.  Just really, really slowly.  And while I was moving, it was better.  It was when I stopped that things got sticky.  And starting again?  I don't even want to think about it.  Anyway.

Other than that, this was a lovely day.  Poddling around.   Buying famous French tea and macaroons.  Being served coffee by Sulu.  Just taking in the sun and sights.  Come along, see for yourself...

I love all the stalls along the Seine, selling books and art and souveniers and stuff like that.  One thing I wanted to buy while I were there, if I could find it, was a Babar book.  If you didn't grow up reading about Babar and Celeste and their adventures, you missed out.  I loved those books, and since they are French... well.  I had to have one.  And I found one!  A hardback.  And a good price. I was so happy!  I also bought Paige's Christmas gift at one of these stalls... and some goodies for me, and to give as gifties.  Yay for shopping!

These titles cracked me up, though.  It somehow doesn't have quite the same affect... oh well.

I bought tea here, for myself and as a gift.  I wish I had thought to take a photo inside.  It was tea-heaven!  I could have stayed in there sniffing blends for hours.  If you like tea, go here when you are in Paris.  No questions-- just go.

And if you like nice pastries and goodies, go here for the macaroons-- Laudree.  It is not cheap (yikes!) but they have loads of flavours, and they are the best in Paris.  The line was out the door!  And their packaging is so darn cute !

Decisions, decisions! I got one of eight different flavours, in a lovely wee box.  Worthwhile investment.  I even shared some of them... though I hated to give them up. ;)

I told you the line was long!

I felt very chic with my fancy shopping bags.  So we went for coffee, to be even more Parisianne.  And because my back was killing me.  But mostly because that's what you do in Paris-- drink coffee outside at cafes.

Kristianna and I both were thrilled that Sulu was our waiter.  He was great.  =D

This is me, being all Parisy.  Life is boring, and I'm too chic for it all.  Obviously.

And this is the real me.  ;)

This is the last photo I have from this day, so I think my back must have driven me home.  I remember watching Ratatouille (because it's set in Paris, of course) with Kristianna one night... that might have been this night.  I honestly don't remember... and I don't have my journal from then with me here.  So... I'll just say we went home, and ate and drank and watched films and talked and laughed and slept eventually.  Because that sounds good. 

Ah, Paris... Ain't Got Nothing But Love, Babe... Eight Days a Week

Still Alive...

In the past several months, I have had my share of ups and downs health-wise.  Since some of you know already, and several of you know only bits and pieces, here's a little run-down. 

I finally have a GP who is more interested in finding out what's causing my symptons rather than just treating them.  It turns out that, while my iron is often low and even very low, there are reasons for it and ways to fight it.  I'm on a miracle drug now a few days a month *ahem* that has transformed my life.  Far less pain, far less mess *ahem*, and far less low iron.  Thank you, mefanemic acid!  I don't even care that no one know how or why it works-- it works, and I love it.  Of course, I had to get my iron back up to normal-type levels (which for me is always slightly low anyway), which meant about ten tons of iron pills. 

Also, my GP is wonderful and kept testing and retesting all sorts of things.  Not just my iron for once.  And finally, after three years, I have a diagnosis that fits so many of my complaints:  the very low heartrate, the exhaustion, the depression (well, part of it), the near-constant under-the-weather-ness, and loads of other little things.  Yup.  My thyroid is underactive.  I had one doctor suspect that when I was in hospital overnight that time two years ago, but no one else ever followed up on it.  Turns out, my levels are low low normal, but my TSH is off-the-charts high.  So.  Over the past months and months, we've been figuring out what dose I need.  I still don't feel great, but there's hope, at least.  And because it's an ongoing forever-and-ever condition, the NHS now kindly gives me ALL my presciptions for FREE!  Bonus. 

I've been on anti-depressants since May.  I don't really notice that they've made any difference, but I'm chalking that up to either so many other random issues that lead into me feeling bad OR I don't notice what they are actually doing.  Either way, I'm going to stay on them til I get my thesis turned in.  If I don't need them, they aren't doing any harm.  If I do, now is not the time I want to find that out.  =D

Over the summer, I wound up with tonsilitis.  It. Was. Horrible.  I don't know what happened or where it all came from, but I was pretty ill for a pretty long while.  Which is even worse when the summer weather actually feels like summer, which isn't all that often here.  I had a sore throat.  I lost my voice.  I coughed for weeks non-stop.  Like a serious barking hacking hurting cough.  My sinuses hurt.  My ears hurt.  I was flippin' miserable, and nothing OTC was doing any good.  When I could finally get into the GP, she looked at my hurting ears and said they were a little red but nothing major.  She listened to my lungs and said they were clear, so no biggie. Then she looked at my throat and just said, 'Oh.' That actually made me laugh, which made me cough like crazy.  So she gave my antibiotics (the first I've had to take in years) and a strong codeine cough syrup so I could sleep (which I hadn't done in weeks-- thank goodness Kenny was away on holiday for the worst of it!).  And eventually I got better.  But my friends here can tell you how bad it was.  It was bad.  I sounded horrible.  At least I wasn't contagious.  And I'm lucky I have such a great flatmate.  He knew I wasn't feeling well, so he bought me this little treat: 

Oh my life, best 'instant' hot chocolate.  Ever.  It's like drinking a melted chocolate bar.  The good stuff.  Thanks, Kenny.  =D

Of course, that was before he saw this: 

Kidding.  He never saw it.  I did manage to get it largely cleaned up before he came home.  I just can't be bothered doing the washing up when I feel fine, much less when I feel lousy.  I did, though.  Eventually. 

This, on the other hand, took much longer to deal with...

I have been much better this winter than I usually am.  I am normally just under the weather all winter, with sniffles and sore throats and minor coughs and headaches and stuff like that.  It never gets bad, but it also never quite goes away.  This year has been much better.  My nose still runs all the time, especially when I'm outside, but I'm just used to that now.  I have had the odd migraine or upset tummy from time to time, but overall my health is largely better.  Thank God for that. 

Pearlies

It took nearly five years, but I finally got on with an NHS dentist in Aberdeen.  Most of the dentistries here have gone private, because they didn't like being restricted in what they could offer to patients (and they wanted more money, I assume).  The building above is where my dentist is, and they do both NHS and private service.  So I suppose if I don't like the options I get as an NHS patient, I can opt to pay for something else.  Yeah, right.  =D

This dentrist is in the converted Grandholme Mills.  These originally were linen mills, but were bought by the Crombie family (whose cloth is famous. You've probably heard of it.  They even supplied the Rebel greycoats.  I knew I belonged in Aberdeen!).  Crombie has now moved their production to Leeds, but the mill has been refashioned into trendy flats, restaurants, a dentistry, and I'm not sure what else.  It's pretty cool.  I'd live there. 

Except that it's not very easy to get to.  It's in the Bridge of Don, so over the river and through the woods, literally.  I take the bus part of the way, and then have to walk 15 minutes or so along the river, past woods and open fields.  It's lovely when the weather's nice.  I can't wait to see what it's like when the weather's bad.  The walk is completely downhill on the way there, and uphill all the way back.  Brilliant!  *sigh*  At least it's basically free....

Anyway.  I finally got in for my first initial assessment.  I had been told in Seattle a few years ago that I would need a root canal.  I've been waiting til I got on with a dentist, of course.  But they took x-rays and all that, and nothing showing up.  Nothing.  They did a quick clean and sent me on my way, with my perfect pearly whites.  Okay, so they aren't exactly white... but I'm not about to give up coffee, or red wine!  =D

Bad Blood

No, I'm not caught up in any Hatfield and McCoy type feud... yet. You never know.

I got a letter back from the Surgery (which here is the doctor's office, oddly enough) to ask me to make an appointment 'as soon as I am able' with the doctor I saw last week to discuss the results of my blood test. I called them to find out if I needed to go in before next Thursday, when I already have an appointment scheduled. No, just wait, they said. Could they tell me what the result was? No, just wait, they said. Grrrr.

I'm betting it's my iron again. Any takers? ;)

Friday Fragments

Mrs4444 does Friday Fragments every week, and always invites people to join in. I thought I'd finally take her up on that. So here are mine for this week... and check out hers, and the other links!


-- What is the point of washing dishes if you don't rinse them? I hate doing the dishes, but I don't want to use the dishes my flatmate washes (though I very much appreciate that he does wash them). It's a very British thing, apparently, to fill the sink with soapy water, wash the dishes, and then set them on the rack to let the soap slide off. Seriously? The soap just dries on the dishes, people, and you end up with soapy coffee the next day. I don't get it.

-- Statistics say we wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time. What would happen if we were to cut out that 80%? Would we then wear 20% of our significantly smaller wardrobe?

-- I hate ironing, and put it off til the very last minute. That means that about 50% of my wardrobe (well over my 20% from the previous statistic) now needs to be ironed before it can go back in rotation. I wonder what that does to the statistics....

-- I am quite proud of myself for resisting the latest time-sucking distraction on Facebook, even though all my friends are playing it and inviting me. I have enough things on there to keep me from doing what I should be doing. I don't need Mafia Wars to add to that (sorry, friends!).

--Apparently, I have my own line of skin care products. I was quite pleased to see them in Boots, and I have since bought them. Granted, they are 'purely for young skin', and my skin isn't exactly young, but... they have actually worked better on my very aggrivating combination skin than anything else I've found. And no, this isn't an advert. I'm just saying.


-- I have mixed feelings about anti-depressants. On the one hand, being told that I should take them makes me feel more depressed, ironically. On the other hand, anything that is going to help me get back to my normal self can't be bad. Right?

Optical Update

So I ended up deciding to go with glasses number one (because of the price, and because I was more comfortable with them... the smaller frames are less intimidating to me). Jen and I went back to Target to order them-- $70 frames, not too bad.

Or so I thought.

My grand total was going to be $375! For one pair of glasses. I know I have bad eyesight and need mega-thick horrible frames, but sheesh.

So I'm waiting. If I get back into Chicago before I leave, I'll try to get a 2 for $70 pair. If not, I'll get a 2 for 75 pounds set at SpecSavers. If that happens, look for another chance to vote. That time I'll be totally on my own, without my sister to advise me... and you'll be the judges. For real.

Thanks for your help so far... I'll try some more like number 6, wherever I go next. Darn expensive Target!! =(

A Long Week For Me...

The first time Kenny and I saw this advert, we both sat there, quite bemusedly, trying to figure out what exactly was being advertised: an electric or gas provider? an environmentalist group? sellers of electrical gadgets? And then... oh how we guffawed. Classic. Did you 'see' it coming? Get it? SEE it? Ha ha. I kill me. ;)

Anyway, my eyesight IS that bad, so I didn't make any mistake: I made an appointment at SpecSavers. A week ago, I went in for my check-up. It was fine-- but they had failed to inform me that you have to make a separate appointment for contact fitting (even though when I had originally made the appointment I specifically said it was for new contacts). So I had to make another appointment, for as soon as possible. The lady said there was one open the next day, so I said 'Yes, please!' She wrote me out an appointment card, which I tucked into my folded-up copy of my glasses prescription, and I toodled on home. The next day, I showed up for my appointment... for the receptionist to tell me I wasn't in the books. Impossible, I thought. 'But I have the card!', I said. And pulled it out, to look at it for the first time. And, of course, noticed then that the date written on it was for Wednesday... and this was Tuesday. Oh, I was so embarrassed, and annoyed! I had just remembered what the lady had told me and never thought to actually look at the card. Sheesh. Lucky for me, the same doctor I had seen the day before (a young, cute one, as luck would have it) was standing in the doorway, chuckling at the whole situation. He very kindly offered to see me then, as he was free, unless I just wanted to come back tomorrow. I graciously accepted.

This doctor was really nice. He seems really young to me, which makes me think I must be getting old, ha. I am used to being treated here like I am wasting the doctors' time, that I am a burden and a bore. This guy, he started out kind of distant and disgruntled, but y'all know me. I can't help myself. So by the time I left, we were on pretty chatty terms, cracking jokes and all. It was nice. Which may be why he worked me in on Tuesday... a little friendliness goes a long way, that's all I have to say. And a good rapport with your doctor always makes it easier to both take the 'bad news' and follow his (or her) instructions. Even if I wasn't very happy about it.

So the fitting appointment is only supposed to take ten to fifteen minutes, but the doctor wanted to re-check a few things. He took the measurements, and all that stuff. But then, again, we did the stain test (which tickles me, when everything goes all yellow for a bit)... and that's where things got a little hinky. Apparently, my doctor informed me, my eyes are really dry. They don't seem really dry to me, except in the mornings when they are really goopy and sticky, and sometimes at night after a long day. But if he says so, it must be. And he tells me that because of this dryness (which is probably due to long days, every days in my contacts, as well as wearing them when reading and writing-- because you blink less when you are focusing on something. Who knew?!) I have loads of little, bitty scratches all over my eyes. It's the kind of thing that isn't bad now, but can't be let to go on... it could cause big problems if left unchecked. Sheesh! And I had no idea.

What, you may ask, is to be done? Well, this is where things got bad for me. Not so bad at first... he gave me some fancy-schmancy contacts that don't dry your eyes out like others (and, of course, are more expensive) to try on. They felt great, and wearing them allowed the doctor to tweak my prescription to perfection. And then I had to take them out, and throw 'em away. Boo-hoo! What a waste. That's when I got the bad news... but thankfully, because I am on friendly terms with this doctor, we got to negotiate a little. He told me he didn't want me to wear my contacts for a while. A while?! What do you mean, a while?! I wear them all the time. I don't go out without them. I hate wearing my glasses-- it is in part thanks to my poor scarred psyche from being the only kid with glasses in elementary school, and having, as many of us did, really bad frames, and in part it's the annoyance of how they fog up, or slip down... not to mention having to squint in the sunshine. So the good doctor and I came to an agreement-- I would not wear my contacts for one whole week. And I would get this stuff from the chemist to put in them every night before I went to bed-- thick, vaseline-like stuff to lubricate them. And then I would come back in a week. IF my eyes were better, if the lube and the rest had worked at all, then I would get my one-month trial pair of contacts. Still, there will be more to negotiate: how many days I'm allowed to wear them, how many hours each day, stuff like that. And then, hopefully, I'll go back once more before I come home, for one more check of the contacts, and to see if my eyes are holding up and-- even better-- healing up.

If I have to give up wearing contacts, I swear... I'll be going into debt to get laser correction surgery. I can't go back to wearing just glasses. I just can't! And I won't. No sirree. Not even if they are this kind, which would solve at least one of the issues I have with wearing them:

Fever!

Okay, I know the video is random, but it's funny and it kind of relates-- this song has been running through my head on and off since Sunday.

Why this song, you ask? Well, because I have been running a fever since Sunday. Not a very high one... right around a degree (which, incidentally, puts me just about *normal* for most people, ha). It's annoying me. I don't have any other complaints, so I don't feel sick (except for headaches, but those come from staring at books and computer screens and stressing and not drinking enough coffee and....)... but it does affect me. Makes me feel more tired than usual, and kind of glazed over (not in the good way, like a Krispy Kreme doughnut, either!), and I have to work harder to keep focused on anything. So work is moving pretty slowly. I called the doctor, and since it's not very high and I don't have any other specific complaints, they can't work me in until next week at the earliest. Gotta love socialised health care, ha! Anyway, I've been taking paracetemol, which brings it down for a while, but it always goes back up. I had a similar problem at Christmas, but then it ranged between a degree high and a degree low-- at one point, we figured out that an ME would have found I'd been dead for about an hour. =)

Basically, I'm just griping. Just thought I'd share. And I'll leave you with one more song that's been running through my head, as well... for the same reason as the first, and because I just like this guy. Well, his music, anyway... his personal life is another story. But enjoy, just the same! =)