Exchurchmouse’s Weblog

Savvy has written about this young man who is an intellectual and apparently has the means to afford appropriate clothing and to feed himself – but doesn’t know how to properly use a bar a soap. Why is it – in this day and age – that people who have the intellect and means – not bother grooming themselves and making sure that their fragrance is at least neutral, if not pleasant for other people. It is an insult when people smell or allow unpleasant odors to remain in a space – especially when it is enclosed.

Dirt under the nails. Many skipped showers. Dragon Breath. Goat smells.

When I take the CTA train and sometimes the bus – I get whiffs of goat farms, port o’ potties, flatulence, BO and unfortunately, onions.

This afternoon, I heard my co-worker greet a man who walked into the office. She greeted him in Polish and he yelled,”Gas! Gas! Gas!” I was busy doing paperwork that involved some number crunching, so I wasn’t about to get up unless if it was serious.

He stormed to the back of the building wearing a sick mask. I was thinking that we were having a carbon monoxide problem and that we should probably be evacuated.

After he left, I asked my co-worker if there was something wrong with the building. She said that he was complaining about how our garbage dumpster stinks. She went outside to do a sniff inspection.

After she came back in, she told me that it wasn’t our garbage can – it was his garbage because they have two dogs and they put the doggy business their garbage.

Cute title huh? If you said that last night, I probably wouldn’t have smiled at that remark. Here is the scoop on what happened to me.

July 4 – I was out with my friend at a BBQ in the suburbs. They have a beautiful yard with a pond/lake view – but lots of mosquitoes. Guess who was too proud to put on bug spray? Me! I didn’t put any out because I didn’t want to touch any chemicals. Needless to say, I went home itchy.

July 5 – My index finger and two knuckles swelled up. It looked like my finger was extra bionic and strong, but really – I could hardly bend it. I spent half of the day trying not to scratch *To scratch or not to scratch, that was the question* I was so uncomfortable because the itching was very intense and because my muscle started to ache in my wrist. But, I put on the topical Benadryl and went to bed, hoping to sleep off the itchies and the pain.

July 6 – 12:23 a.m. I couldn’t sleep because the pain was really getting to me. I was beginning to wonder what bit me (6 or 8 legs?)and why I was too prideful to go to Northwestern U Hospital emergency room. I finally swallowed my pride and drove to NU Hospital.
12:30 a.m. – Arrived at NU Hospital. Dealt with some annoying security guards and a smelly fellow patient (boy, he stank so bad, he could have started a small country called Stankonia) and a woman complaining about the ER not having plates to put her unhealthy food on.

12:40 – A nurse called me into an examing room. I had one intern (probably, he said he was the lowest on the “totem pole”) and then one more experienced resident and probably his supervisor come in to take a look. They perscribed Prednisone and gave me a little pill Benadryl. I was very relieved to have gotten a positive diagnosis and not something like “Uh, you should have come in way earlier because you were bitten by a recluse/black widow spider.”

2:30 – I got home and went back to bed.

I have to work very late tonight, so I am glad, in a way that this drama happened overnight last night and not on a day when I have to come in early.

Right now, I feel fine, but now I am definitely hoping that I will be more watchful of these things because it could have been a lot more serious. I am very allergic to mosquito bites and I should have taken the right precautions and I failed.

So what is the moral of the story? Swallow your pride and use bug spray. Check yourself for ticks when you enjoy the outdoors. Go see a doctor if there is really big swelling and you are sore and uncomfortable because if it was dark, you probably couldn’t tell what bit you and it is hard to self-diagnose what you have been bitten with unless if you have done it several times.

Do I really have to fly to Ulaanbaatar to find this guy’s CD? Does he have a MySpace? Anybody help! Help!

God bless America….and apple pie…..and beer……and potato salad with sour cream, onion, mustard, mmmmm

I don’t feel well today. I have been trying to take better care of myself, but yesterday I developed a tickle in my throat at work and it hasn’t gone away. My stomach is stirring and it is not good because I am going to be honoring a traditional family tradition by going to the Ribfest at a nearby suburb. Some people may say that because I live in the city of Chicago and north of downtown – I have more opportunities to enjoy enjoyable festivals. However, I am going to be honest and say that I have had more fun at suburban festivals and even some bars than in the city. Don’t get me wrong – I love being in the city, despite my grumbling and honking and complaining about all of the humans that clog up my neighborhood. But there is a different quality to being in the suburbs that I can’t put my finger on. Perhaps I will go out again with my suburban friends and be able to really put feet on why suburban venues are more fun at times.