4 posts tagged “random”
I've been in pain since Friday afternoon. It hurts so bad that I went to the urgent care center yesterday, and I plan to get a second opinion from my primary care physician in the next day or so. In the meantime, here are my symptoms. What do you think I have?
- Friday afternoon (around 2pm), I was sitting at my desk at work and suddenly got a sharp pain in my right side, just under my ribs, like a stitch that you get when you’re running. It hurt only upon inhaling, and changing positions did not help. The discomfort continued into the evening but did not interfere with my activities (in fact, I went to the Eric Clapton concert with Mr. G, which I will post on later).
- Saturday morning, my side still hurt, and the pain increased as the day wore on. Again, changing positions or stretching did not help. By evening, the pain was constant and no longer caused only by inhaling. In fact, the pain was worst when I exhaled, especially when I coughed, sneezed, or laughed. I did not sleep well that night, waking up often due to pain in my side.
- Sunday morning, my side was slightly tender to the touch, and the pain had not abated. In addition, my right shoulder was feeling achey. I went to the urgent care center, thinking that my symptoms could indicate a gallbladder attack. However, the doctor said that my gallbladder was fine. The nurse took my temperature but did not tell me what it was, so I assume it was also normal. The doctor then gave me a possible diagnosis (to be verified only with the appearance of a symptom that I do not yet have) and instructed me to take Tylenol for the pain. I took some as soon as I got home; it helped for about an hour, and then the pain came back. I stayed in bed almost all day and felt better in the evening, but after sitting at the computer for about a half-hour, I started to hurt again. The pain got worse as the evening drew on and when I laid down to go to sleep, I had three very sharp pains that made me gasp. I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but when I turned on my left side, the pain went away. I ended up sleeping very well.
- Today when I woke up, I felt that the pain was gone. However, by the time I was ready for work, I was in mild pain again. Now the pain in my side is duller and it feels a little deeper than before. My shoulder still feels tense and achey. And it is still painful to breathe deeply or to laugh.
Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I woke up early this morning and the bed was shaking. I thought that maybe Pepper was taking a very vigorous bath (hee), but she wasn't even on the bed. And Mr. G was laying there like a log. I figured I must still be dreaming, so I went back to sleep. And then 20 minutes later we woke up to the news that we'd had a moderate (5.2-magnitude) earthquake!
When I was living in Peru, I remember waking up in the middle of the night and going out to the dining room, where all the plates were shaking and the room was tilting side to side. I have no idea what the magnitude was, but it was pretty scary for a little kid. I know that there were other earthquakes during the years we lived there, but that's the one I remember.
You'd think that, having experienced a terremoto before, I would have recognized what the bed-shaking meant. But we just don't get earthquakes around here! And I thought animals were supposed to warn you about this kind of thing ... Pepper, you failed!
I love Christmas. I love the lights, I love the food, and I love spending time with family. I love hearing the Christmas story, and I love singing Christmas hymns. I love thinking of the perfect gift for someone I care about, I love wrapping that gift with perfectionist care, and, yes, I love opening presents with my name on them! I love almost every Christmas tradition. But this year I'm doing one thing differently: I will not be sending out Christmas cards.
I wrestle with this decision every year. And every year I persuade myself to send out "just a few" cards, which always ends up being more like, oh, 80. I try to make each card personal, but the process of coming up with an original thought for each one is, frankly, nothing short of arduous. Nevertheless, every December (until now), I push through, rationalizing that at least that thought is in my own (cramping) hand, and not in Times New Roman. Invariably, by the time I drop the gobs of envelopes into the mailbox, my Christmas cheer has worn thin and I just feel bad that my good wishes have ended up becoming a chore.
Even so, I still feel a little guilty about my Christmas card strike, because I truly enjoy receiving stacks of seasonal snail-mail greetings from friends and family. In fact, this year's first card arrived just after Thanksgiving; it was a photo of Mr. Guycita's best man, his beautiful wife, and their two gorgeous little girls. This type of card is my favorite—I think it's so much fun to see everyone's family grow (and grow up)! Of course, I like traditional cards, too, and I eagerly look forward to reading the chatty Christmas newsletters that are sometimes tucked inside.
But ... we don't have any kids. And we don't really have any news. So this year, consider this our Christmas card to you:
... in the Target toy department:
Little girl: Mommy, I love this! Can I get it?
Older mom: No, you cannot. And do you know why you can't have that?
Little girl: Because you don't care what I think?
Older mom: Right. And why don't I care what you think?
Little girl: Because ... (long pause) ... this is a dic-tay-ship?
Older mom: That's right. This is a dictatorship.
As soon as they turned into the next aisle, Mr. Guycita and I burst out laughing. We got the distinct impression that this was not the first time the mom had to lay down the law on begging!
