Tag: allergies

pollen, pollen, everywhere

Atlanta looks like it has been drenched by a heavy dose of yellow curry powder; but it’s pollen, and it is everywhere. As a result, my sinuses decided to mount a full frontal assault, and I have felt like shit for the last three days.

I knew something was up, when the first physician I saw after getting a job here in Atlanta told me that the best way to deal with allergies as bad as mine was to move away from Atlanta. I’ve had sinus problems my whole life, but never have they been as severe as they have been since I’ve lived in Atlanta.

Moving for me is not really an option, since I do love this crazy place, so I guess I have to deal. Unfortunately, Claritin D is barely cutting it, and the end of my nose feels like it got in a knife fight and lost. I only hope the worst has past, but after what I saw today, I don’t know; I literally saw a cloud of pollen descend over the parking lot at school, and envelop us. It was horrifying; I think I actually head my sinuses weep.

I am going to try and avoid Afrin as long as I can, but one hour of sleep a night because of inability to breathe at all, may make my deal with that devil one that I can’t refuse. Ugh. I hope it doesn’t come to that, as it is supposed to rain tomorrow, and hopefully, take all of this demon dust away. Fingers crossed. To all other sufferers out there, know you are not alone, dear friends, and I feel for you and your suffering as well.

just a few random thoughts

  • Last night, I was invited to partake in a great “bad beer” podcast, and it was a LOT of fun. I really miss hanging out with the people that were a part of it (my old trivia group for the most part), and it was great to finally meet one of the bloggers I have known URL for a while in person. I hope that we get to do more of those types of things in the future. It was funny that our podcast was talking about how bad chelada style beer was, when I am kind of a fan of Miller Chill. In fact, I actually really like it… so long as it is cold. The other beers we tried (Bud Light Lime, Tequiza, and Michelob Ultra Lime and Cactus) were all gross. I’ll let you know when the podcast is up, and you can here the silly fun we had drinking bad beers.
  • I have been having random fits of sneezing. The allergies in Atlanta are nuts, and this year is no exception. I guess there is something to be said about consistency; regardless of how annoying it may be sometimes.
  • On Tuesday night, I went out to dinner with some friends at a new local restaurant, and I did something that I have not done in a LONG time… I left the waiter zero tip. Hear me out… I waited tables for 5+ years at various restaurants, all of which served alcohol. I have NEVER in my life ever told someone that they had to pay for a drink that they determined to be undrinkable. In fact, I often apologized for something that I had no part in; I never was a bartender, and I never made those drinks. However, we always made it right, and made sure the customer was happy each and every time. I ordered a drink that was absolutely disgusting (which shouldn’t have been), and it was a simple bar mistake. I stand by the fact that this is something that I should not have had to pay for; yet, he made me pay for the drink (even though he took the totally full beverage and poured it out). Unfortunately for this establishment, this is a lesson that I have learned about that place, and as such I will not be drinking there ever again; which pretty much means it has moved itself to the bottom of my list of places to go eat. It sucks too, because being a local restaurant, I really want to support it, but I can’t control how restaurants treat their patrons. Having been a waiter myself, I put up with A LOT of mistakes without saying a word, but this was just ridiculous. Oh well… there is sure to be a yelp review to come about the experience!
  • I have to say, that I was a little surprised by who won AI last night. Oh well, the proof is in the pudding; we’ll see when they release their records, right?! George Michael’s performance on the show was AMAZING. Also, is it me, or is Carrie Underwood completely unstoppable? I mean, she is F-I-E-R-C-E fierce! Not only is she beautiful, but she can sing the shit out of anything!! Maybe I need to download her records…
  • Speaking of amazing music, the song that I featured last week, Just Dance, by Lady Gaga, is one of the most amazing songs ever. Seriously, this song is going to be my song of the summer. I have had it on repeat since last week… Loves it.
  • That’s about it… I guess. Anything going on with you that you want to talk about?? Anything questions you want to ask me that are just burning in your brain? Let me know!

bloody noses and REALLY itchy tattoos

This little cold snap has led to both sides of my nose bleeding now. It’s just fantastic. My nose has always been sensitive to the air in Atlanta, but it usually only bleeds on one side. It was nice to wake up this morning with several napkins covered in my blood, making my side of the bed look like a crime scene. I guess it could be worse, right?

Other than my frequently bleeding nostrils, I have been having a major issue with my red panda tattoo lately. As you may recall, I got this tattoo a LONG time ago, and it has long since been healed. However, recently, I guess my body decided that it was allergic to blue ink, and as such, I feel like I have industrial strength poison ivy on my calf. What’s strange, is that it waited this long to have any reaction. My other tattoos have had random flair ups of itchiness, but it has never been anything like this. I read that it can take up to five years for your body to stop reacting to allergies from ink, and I really, really hope that isn’t the case for this one. If anyone has any advice, or similar stories, please share, this shit itches!!!!