When Teeth Wear Clothes

Today, I was up early to get to a school councilors appointment. It was not a good scene, as I felt awful when I woke up (the work of the cold-from-hell) and had a difficult time waking up, and staying that way. Luck was with me though, because I made it to school, checked in at the front desk, and got to a table before falling asleep for half an hour. The clock read 9:15 a.m. when I woke up, which was 15 minutes after they should have called me in to see the councilor. It seems their computer system was on the fritz, so the lady I was there to see never got notified that I was waiting for her. At least I was able to nap. There was a happy ending. All my paperwork for getting my AA degree has been turned in. It'll be a while before I get the actual sheet of paper though, because I missed the Spring/Summer deadline. Therefore I get to wait for Fall graduation. That's fine. There is no rush.

Afterwards, I went to a local place for lunch, then went over to the mall, which I haven't been in, in something like 3 years, to see what the remodel looked like. The place is now a rabbit warren, huge, confusing, and oddly more inviting. From there I went to work, and made the mistake of snacking on some almonds. I like almonds. I eat 5 or 6 of them, and I'm not hungry for hours. Which is good, because I'm generally so busy at work, that I don't have time to actually eat anything more substantial. Almonds are good for you anyway.

There is a downside however. Almonds have a little brown skin, which sometimes slides off the nut while you chew. Um... they're very good at getting stuck in between your teeth, in between your teeth and your gum line, and in my case, very good at adhering itself to one of the small front teeth. Not the ones right in front, but to one of the ones to the side. It must have been there for hours, because I ate the almonds right after I got to work. Yes, I feel like crap, but I did a lot of smiling today, and joking and... not one person said,"Uh, you've got a little bit of something stuck to your tooth there." Which would not have been so bad if we hadn't had a Friends of the Library meeting today. These are the people who run book sales to help fund the library. These are the people who volunteer to help shelve when we need help. These are the people who stop in just to say hi. And not on of them told me that one of my teeth was wearing a very becoming brown jumper. Even stranger, was that the Directer (yes, that would be my boss of bosses) was there for said meeting, and yes, I smiled at him too, and did he tell me that I have a little something on my tooth? Nope. I didn't find my little hitchhiker until I went to the bathroom, LONG after everyone had left and I'd closed up for the day. I was already having a bad hair day. You know, one of those days where you stuff your hair into a ponytail because everything else you've tried makes you look like you're wearing a wet rodent, and even the ponytail is a failure? I'm sure I looked like someone who'd stumbled out of the backwoods after having been hold up in a cabin for the winter. Yes, when teeth wear clothes, you know you've really reached your limits. Thank God I've got tomorrow off. I don't get paid, but I don't care at this point.

Maybe Saturday will be better. That's when I go back to work. :)

The Cold From Hell

I wish I was kidding when I say that. Unfortunately I am not. On the Friday before Easter, about halfway through my workday, I started getting a headache, which was quickly followed by tender skin, achy joints and the distinctly 'oh god, this is going to be bad' fever just to top everything else off. By the time I got home, my headache had flared to the point where I was having trouble thinking, and staying upright. Mom made tacos for dinner, and I ate some even though I was not in the least bit hungry. The next morning... okay, I don't remember much about the next 4 days or so, except that I had a fever, felt awful, and had a severe headache. When I say severe headache, I mean my entire head from the neck up. Ears, nose, entire cranium, and eyeballs all felt as if the nerve endings were aflame It was without a doubt the worst headache I have ever had in my life. You can't sleep, can't move, can't eat, can't drink. Which you eventually find is just fine, because you really haven't the energy anyway. I was positive I had bronchitis or some equally evil form of respiratory infection, and went to the doctor. He looked me over and declared that I had the worst cold he'd ever seen, and put me on some rather heavy duty decongestants to help get all the crap out of my head. (Dad would point out here, with surprise, that he'd though my head had been empty for years! Hah Hah Dad. Hah Hah.) Its working, but slowly. My left ear for instance feels like someone had jammed a disembodied finger into the canal and abandoned it there for unknown reasons. This of course is causing my throat to hurt, but overall, I am better.

Mom isn't. She caught the same thing I did, but she's got a sore throat, along with congestion, headache, probable fever and so on. She's been sleeping a lot, and drinking lots of fluids. This cold from what I've been told lasts for nearly 3 weeks. It creeps in slow and heavy like fog, lulling you into the belief that it'll burn off quickly. In reality it sinks its claws in and throttles you for nearly 3/4's of a month. I thought it was a flu, or some other such thing, but no. Its just a cold gone rogue. Forgive my language, but the damn thing is a real bitch to fight your way through, not to mention the recovery, which is NOT swift in any sense of the word. The cold is reluctant to let go of you, and fights you every step of the way. Thus my rather wimpy status. I come home, and fall asleep for an hour. Monday was really bad. I got home, sat down on the bed, went to check email on my laptop, and woke up 4 hours later. So much for getting school work done. :P

Anyway, I am on the slow road to Mendsville, while Mom is probably slowly getting better. If she's not better by the end of the weekend, I will have to force her into a car, and take her to the doctor. From what I'm hearing, not everyone is able to kick this thing before it turns into something much more ominous, such as a sinus infection, or in some cases, strep throat. Mom does not have a high opinion of doctors, so its always a struggle to make her go when she should.

Just updating. I'm not sure anyone reads this blog. I so seldom have the time or feel the need to sit down and chronicle my everyday life. But since Mom wasn't positing I figured I'd give everyone an update. And yes, our Buff Orpington is nearly healed. All the big holes are pretty close to being nothing but scars. Her feathers are even growing back in! :)