laceblade

I haven't had much to say lately, because I've just been at work and reading lots of books.

Fooding
I baked cookies a few nights ago. They looked like they had been cooked too long, but I did it exactly as long as the recipe told me to, and they're supposed to be a "crispy" recipe. Also, they were really small. Still, Antoine and I thought that they tasted really, really good.

I also just made soup on a whim. I was going to boil some Asian dumplings, but the back of the box told me I could cut up vegetables and throw them in too, to make soup. "I can do that!" I thought, and I did! Onions, mushrooms, green onions, some spices, and some chili sauce. It turned out all right, I guess, but I think I'll try and find a soup recipe before I try again, :)

Why don't people tell patients about potential side effects? THAT'D BE GREAT, KTHX
While I was at my parents' house during break, my dad assured me that Prilosec is meant to be a short-term drug, and I had been taking it for about 6 months. He told me to stop taking it, and if I still had problems, I should see a doctor. So, I stopped taking it for about five days. Every day, I felt terrible, no matter what food I ate. It felt like I was constantly about to throw up, but not in my stomach - more in my chest and throat. Dad told me to start taking the Prilosec again and see a doctor ASAP.

So, that's what I did on Thursday. After explaining things to him, his theory is that the acne medication I had been taking since either high school or middle school (minocyclene) has the potential to chemically burn a person's esophagus in the long-term, and that that is what happened. Fortunately, a couple weeks before this meeting, my dermatologist had prescribed a different acne medication for me, as minocyclene was doing jack, and I've been very unhappy with my face lately!

So now, I have to take Prilosec for 2 months straight (which is scary to me, as both the doctor and my father have explained to me why taking Prilosec long-term is really bad for you!) to get rid of anything bad, and let everything settle down, and allow my body to adjust to the new acne medication. If the pain immediately starts again after I stop taking Prilosec, or while I'm still taking it, then I need to go to the doctor so that they can stick a long thingie down my throat and see if I have a stomach or esophagus ulcer. WTF ULCER. How do people even get ulcers? I don't know.

I don't get squeamish about blood or broken bones, but the thought of people sticking cameras down my throat makes me want to throw up. I asked the doctor if they could knock me out, and he said no, because they want my gag reflex in case something goes wrong. THAT MAKES ME FEEL SO MUCH BETTER.

Yay!
Anyway, the high today is 0 degrees, but Anime Club (well, hopefully, anyway! It better not be just me!) is going to put up some fliers on State Street, and then watch some anime. Hopefully I don't die in the cold.

Media Update
I hope to write more extensively about these things at a later date, but for now, an update on the things I've been watching and reading:
--Volume 1 of Ex Machina comic by Brian K. Vaughan = win, but based on first volumes alone, I prefer Y: The Last Man

--I read the Magic Knight Rayearth manga. I have to say, I wasn't very impressed. I don't think that the series does anything that Sailor Moon doesn't do better. Speaking of Sailor Moon, I'd really like to reread it sometime soon. Since I've been going on a manga binge, reading all kinds of stuff, I'd like to see how well it holds up. (Please note that the Sailor Moon manga is much better than the anime!).

--I burned through the second Song of the Lioness book by Tamora Pierce - the series is so fun! But, I'm kind of slogging through the second Westmark book by Lloyd Alexander, The Kestrel. I have yet to see any of the dealings with PTSD that everyone was raving about, so I hope the second half pwns the first half.

--Buffy and Angel have both been really, really good lately. I wouldn't have thought that vampire flashbacks would be so fun. Bethany, you might want to check out Angel, season 2 (or at least, the first two discs so far!). Lots of stuff about Darla and Angel's past. It's pretty cool.

I haven't blogged in a while, so I will even though I feel like hell.

My mom's retirement party was on Thursday. We took over a small bar downtown and filled it with family and Mom's former co-workers (lots of nurses, a few doctors, and some people from pharmacy who work with my dad). It was an awesome time with nice people and good food. I really hope that when I retire....or even just throughout life in general, that I am as well-liked as my mom by co-workers and everyone else I encounter. I think I might be too cynical to achieve this, but oh well.

On Friday, I spent time with various friends and family, and also spent time getting things done, like cashing in jars full of change and taking my final stack of books back to the library (I was very sad for the ones that were still unread!). I came back to Madison yesterday. Luckily, the roads weren't scary at all while I was driving on the highway, but as soon as I hit Madison, there was an immediate change due to snow and frozen stuff on the roads. I passed a bunch of accidents on my way in. I got home and immediately shoveled snow and scrubbed down the bathroom, and then Antoine and I ordered pizza and spent the evening together, which was nice.

This morning, though, and all day long, I have felt absolutely horrible. My stomach aches and it keeps feeling like I'm going to throw up, but I haven't. My body feels sore all over, and I haven't eaten much. I also feel pretty weak..... :/ So, I didn't really do very much today. In very small chunks, I've managed to clean parts of my room (but still have lots to do, and lots to unpack). I'm really glad that I cleaned the bathroom yesterday, though, because taking a shower in it felt nice.

I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow....I had hoped to go out and get groceries, and purchase my books for classes, but we're supposed to get lots more snow tonight, and freezing stuff all over the roads again tomorrow, so I think I'll wait, :/ At least my room might get clean! If I don't feel sick any more...and I pray that I don't! This sucks!

Lastly.....the first episode of the anime Nodame Cantabile was released with subtitles, and I watched it. I'll have to watch a few more episodes before passing judgment, but I think that it might be a fun series to watch. If nothing else, the music is making me long to play the piano again.

Speaking of anime....they're making L.M. Montgomery's "Emily of New Moon" into an anime! Anime News Network with some information. I found it amusing, anyway.

Current Music: