sick

Bittersweet (Pictures)

Today, I went to a new doctor. I needed one closer to home, and one that wasn’t so insanely busy. I like my old family doctor, but it just wasn’t working out for me anymore. So, this new guy. He is totally cool. Spent at least 30 minutes with me, explaining what was happening and why I felt so bad. He drew diagrams and everything. Told me what he was going to do for me now, and then next steps to take if these didn’t work out. Basically, I have a chronic sinus infection. Chronic because it’s been going on for more than six weeks. The pain is due to all the drainage, my throat apparently looks like a cobblestone road, and the stuff that needs to drain is too thick and it’s all bunching up in my ears. Now I’m on this medicine called Pseudovent 400 for the next month. It is not an antibiotic. It should thin out the stuff that’s too thick to leave me alone. It cost me more than $50, so it had better work! If that doesn’t work, I have an antibiotic in reserve called Levaquin. I’ll be on that for three weeks. If THAT doesn’t work, then I’ll have to go in for a CAT scan, to make sure there isn’t a cyst or something harboring bacteria. So, here’s hoping that I will get better, and SOON. For real this time. At any rate, this new doctor is very cool. Any one who allows hair band music to be played in the office can’t be bad.

* * * * *

The past week was incredible. Spending my birthday and Christmas with Adam was perfect. PERFECT. He spoiled me, too. I spend a great deal of time alone, I forget how nice it is to have someone bring me a cup of Earl Grey with four sugars (yes, I know, Rosa, my SYRUP) just the way I like it. And it’s nice to have someone to cuddle with. I also forgot how many more dishes 2 to 3 people can create. I shudder when I look at my kitchen. He made this grog stuff in the Crock-Pot that smelled amazing, but I’m scared at how hard it will be to clean up.

Adam got me the last Leven Thumps book, so now I have all three of them. Win!

Christmas and all was really amazing for me. Sunday night, Aidan and Adam (adamselzer) got to bond. Here they are being cute together:

Aidan & Adam

They listened to Alpha Butt by Kimya Dawson a lot, and we watched Christmas stuff, and Adam and Aidan got into their stockings. We also had dinner at Outback Steakhouse, which was quite the yum. On the way to dinner, it snowed a bit. Here’s Aidan trying to catch a flake:

Catching a Snowflake!

Aidan would NOT go to sleep Sunday night. I finally just left him in his room. He got up and turned the light on and made a hot mess, which he will need to clean sometime soon. I went to get his stuff out of the closet. There are bells on the closet. The bells jingled. I heard him gasp and go “Santa?” It was the CUTEST THING EVER. But my child is way too smart, he figured out it was me. I hadn’t even been trying to trick him or anything, it just happened. But to hear that little gasp and … “Santa?” Awww.

Monday morning, we all got up and opened gifts. Adam got me a very pretty sweater and this Rent hardcover: [link]. (He also took me out to eat 39385349 times). Aidan really had a great time opening things.

Aidan Opens Presents
Here he is, opening one of his presents from Rosa (meimeigui)

I got this awesome tea from Rosa. One is cookie-flavored. Mmm.

Monday morning, Adam, Aidan, and I to my mom’s. On the way there, we stopped at a Flying J so Adam could get my stepfather some lottery tickets. Adam bought ten for Greg, and one for himself. Adam won $1 on the ticket.

Mommy’s was a lot of fun. Andy (crimsonghost_oh) and Chris (zenosidal) was there, and Aidan was running around and it was chaotic and crazy.

Piggy Back!

Dinner was yummo. Once again, my mac & cheese was a hit. But my dressing was too dry. πŸ™

newlifeinstpaul, this one’s for you:

Christmas Dinner

After dinner, there was a small exchange. Andy gave Aidan a Cleveland Browns fleece shirt, which Aidan LOVES, and he gave me a bag of Cheetohs. I’d been craving Cheetohs for quite some time now, so that made me happy. THEN he gave me a brand new HP Pavilion dv6000 Entertainment PC. Um… whoa? Of course, it’s an investment, which means I need to write a kick ass book. πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ It’s so nice not to be chained to my desk anymore. I am now posting from my futon, and I should probably go ahead and move to my bed. w00t!

Andy had to leave. We waited ’til Greg got home to exchange everything else. Aidan was really excited:

Aidan and Grandmommy's Tree

I would like to note the sweater he is wearing. All this time, I’d been trying to locate an argyle sweater for him. Come to find out, he already had one that my mom had bought him some time ago. I was right, he DOES look handsome in one!

I got sweaters, pajamas, and a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble from my mom and Greg. Perfect. Chris gave Adam and me cute Longaberger Christmas accessories. Aidan made out like a little bandit, as usual. πŸ™‚ And you know what that little bugger insisted on playing with? This old parrot that repeats everything that he found in the garage. What the ever loving hell? Yes, he got tons of new toys and clothes (check out the two big bags by the tree. Both for Aidan, both full of toys), and he insisted on having that stupid parrot repeat everything he and everyone else said. Oh well. Kids. At least he was having fun. I should have gotten a picture of the parrot.

Greg scratched off the lottery tickets that Adam got him. Seven of the 10 were winners. Remember that Adam’s ticket had been a winner as well. Eight out of 11 lottery tickets bought at the Flying J were winners. What are the odds of that?

Later, Chris and Aidan (and all of the noisy toys, including the parrot) headed back to Columbus, and Adam and I crashed at my parents’. I slept horribly because I was in SO MUCH pain. My mom was warning me about taking so many ibuprofen pills, but I had to do something for relief. Christmas Day was kind of weird because it was the first year I didn’t have anything to open ON Christmas Day. It was still a nice day, sitting around and chatting and watching TV. The drive back was nice and clear. Adam and I got back to Columbus about 4:15 or so, and we spent the evening watching Arrested Development on DVD and drinking champagne. The champagne helped me get to sleep. The pain was still there, but I didn’t care as much.

Champagne

Yesterday, I got a package from Ivy (swankivy)! This girl knows me so well. It’s hard to believe that next summer, we’ll have known each other for ten years. Here was the funny thing. Adam was taking me out to breakfast, and on the way out, I saw the mail truck. Something told me to stop and go to the mailboxes in my building. Adam stayed in the car and made a phone call while I went in. The mail guy saw me and said “You’re Davis! I have a package here for you!” Woohoo! It was the package from Ivy, and it was full of cool stuff such as a Bananagrams game! OH MY GOD. I LOVE playing anagrams, and I love bananas. How freakin’ perfect, right? And… and… she got me this book that’s supposed to be p*rn for women. It’s actually pages of really good-looking men saying things like “The game’s on. That means there should be plenty of parking at the craft show, let’s go!” The best part is that many of the nice, sensitive things in there are things Adam already does for me. *feels spoiled* She also got me 100 sticks of Nag Champa. I haven’t even used all the Nag Champa that she and Andy got me last year, and I have more. This makes me VERY happy. There was a journal, a copy of Firestarter (the book) and some really cool stuff for Aidan. I can’t wait ’til he sees what she got him.

I started to get a bit sad because well, I knew that the next day, Adam would be going back to Chicago. I drank wine, and he drank this special Christmas ale that Andy got him, and watched more Arrested Development. I thought to myself that I could get used to this. I need to go and buy wine. There is this cheap citrus stuff at Marc’s. I can get a bottle for $3.49. Yum.

Today was bittersweet. I was excited about the new doctor, but really upset about Adam leaving. I was grateful for the week we got to spend together (which certainly wasn’t long enough), but angry that it had to come to an end. When will it be time for us to NOT have to say good-bye?

I know that every day is a day closer to when we’ll be together. I know that he is in Chicago pounding those pavements and doing what he can to get me out there ASAP, and building up this new ilfe for us. And I’m here to spend time with Aidan and prepare for yet another HUGE life change that is coming up for me. But now, it’s hard. The good-byes hurt more every time. And my apartment feels so empty now. Sunday night, it felt so perfect.

The good thing is that I have a new computer to customize. And a book to write. It just recently hit me that I got to have a one-on-one consulation with an agent and she helped me plot out a book. That is beyond awesome. Those’ll keep me busy until I see him again… it’s harder when I have no idea when the next time will be, though. πŸ™

Time to get off of here for now. The ole ear/throat pain is pounding, as usual, and work is NOT going to be easy tomorrow.

Ta ta for now.

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Merry Christmas!!!

I am at my mom’s (she’s still upstairs) posting from my BRAND NEW LAPTOP! WIN WIN WIN!!!!! πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

Andy is awesome. I’m mobile again!

It’s an investment, however, which means I need to start writing again. Having a laptop will make it so much easier. *grin*

Had a great Christmas Eve. Details soon. Adam’s right next to me on HIS computer. I might beat him with the posting here. πŸ™‚

Still in a lot of pain, but having fun anyway. Pix soon. Bye for now.

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Ow Ow F*ckity Ow

Adam is here, resting on the futon, doing something with his computer. We just got back from Upper Arlington, where we went in search of the crazy house. I found it very easily this time! Yay me.

We also went to Walgreens, where I bought the big 500 count bottle of Ibuprofen 200. My throat. My ears. I get about ten minutes of day when they’re not killing me. Other than that, I have to load up on the drugs to at least take the edge off, even if the pain never goes away. I can’t even swallow without flinching anymore. I don’t know what else to do.

Actually, I am tempted to ask my co-worker if she can get her father, an ear-nose-throat specialist, to recommend someone I can go to. I’ve been suffering from this for almost three months now, have seen two doctors, gone through three different rounds of anti-biotics, and I’m taking pain pills and putting in that nose spray stuff, and nothing’s helping. Every night I can expect to be in near tears because of the pain.

Other than that constant pain, I’ve been having fun. Adam got here on Thursday, my birthday, which made it a good day automatically. But I had a fun half-day at work. People gave me gifts and cards, and Heather bought me cocoa and a donut from Tim Horton’s. Yummy. Adam took me to lunch at Brio, where I had the Garganelli Carbonara. That evening, we went to another free screening of Juno (where I got a different t-shirt!), and then we had ice cream at Jeni’s Ice Cream. They serve weird flavors there, like one with cayenne pepper and one with goat cheese. I had the Belgian Chocolate ice cream. It was good.

Saw The Golden Compass also. Win.

Now that it’s Sunday (Semagic has an auto time updater), I’m gonna go try to rest. Aidan’s coming over tonight and well, there is no rest when Aidan’s around. Later!

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Countdown

The season has officially started for me. I saw How the Grinch Stole Christmas last night. The CARTOON one, not the Jim Carrey one. I’ve never actually seen that one. Anyway, for some reason, I thought I had the DVD, but I don’t. I go through this every year. I think I have the DVD and I realize I don’t, then I get surprised that I don’t have it. But last night, Aidan and I went over to my co-worker Heather’s house and we hung out, watched movies, and had a nice, relaxing time. It is amazing how traditions happen without even us realizing it. Apparently, Aidan and I ate McDonald’s last year. I said the same thing about the season not starting until I watched The Grinch. I didn’t remember any of this, but Rob, Heather’s husband, did.

Thursday, another co-worker and I went to see a free screening of Juno. We got tee-shirts and punch cards. It was rad. Like the movie.

In five days, the busiest days of the year will come into fruition for 2007. My birthday is December 20, and on that day, Adam’ll be flying in to town. Christmas is December 25, and then Aidan’s birthday is December 30. Life will be a bit busy.

I have a huge To Do list. Today, I have Aidan, and we’re under a winter storm warning, so I’m taking it pretty easy. I’ll be hitting the ground running sometime tomorrow.

Here’s the stuff I need to do:

– renew driver’s license (12/20)
– renew license plate tags (12/20)
– clean my room (that includes finally unpacking my clothes from my Atlanta and NYC trips, changing the sheets, and general tidying up)
– finish Christmas shopping (Aidan’s all that’s leftβ€”I want to get him an argyle sweater!)
– Christmas cards
– insulate windows with some of that plastic stuff you use with a hairdryer
– hair
– clean little Lucy’s litter box (thorough cleaning, not just litter exchange)
– burn a Christmas CD
– wrap gifts
– get groceries

It doesn’t seem like a lot, but when I’m at work all day and have limited evening time to do it, and a low tolerance for crowds, weather, and foolishness, believe me, it’s a hassle. But I’ll get it done. And I’ll be able to relax once Adam gets here. I hope.

Unfortunately, my sore throat hasn’t gone away despite the fact that I’m almost done with this round of anti-biotics. It’s a weird sore throat, too. It’s not scratchy, like a cold. It feels like something heavy is sitting on it. Sometimes it feels like the heavy thing is pushing something sharp into the glands or something. Or that something is sitting on my eardrum and poking it. Some nights I can’t even swallow, it hurts so much, and it moves from one side to the other. Today it’s on the right. A couple days ago, it was on the left. I’ve been downing the Naproxin Sodium like crazy for some relief. I don’t know what else to do. I might have to suffer with this indefinitely because the doctors never seem to bother looking further into this before writing me off with another script and if I put in one more anti-biotic I will seriously screw my body up. Time to switch up the pain relievers so I won’t get too tolerant. *sigh* Tylenol, here I come.

(Aidan just now, as he is watching Tom & Jerry: THE CAT DIDN’T FINISH HIS SONG BECAUSE THE MOUSE BURNED HIS BUTT!)

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New York City… Center of the Universe (Pictures)

Times Square

Hey there! I’m safely installed in Columbus, and plan to remain in Ohio for the rest of 2007. After last night’s/this morning’s travel fiasco, I can say I’m relieved that I don’t need to fly anywhere for awhile. I’m sure the bug will be biting in about a month or so, though.

Anyway, if you’re a regular reader, you know that my adorable fiancΓ© Adam (adamselzer) flew us to New York City for the weekend. The arrangement was to meet at JFK airport at about 8:25pm or so. Well, both of our flights got delayed due to weather, and when Adam landed (about a half hour after I did), there was some drama in actually finding each other. After a long, long subway trip to Brooklyn (where we were staying), we finally got to our destination, and crashed.

And then I couldn’t sleep. Blah.

You know you want to see pictures!

Woke up Saturday morning, and my digestive system was acting quite unstable (due to the meds I’m on). However, I was not going to let that stop me from seeing New York. We hopped on the subway and got off at Times Square. That subway station is crazy. CRAZY. Apparently, my face when I first saw Times Square was a big, open-mouthed smile, probably not unlike the face I made when Adam proposed to me. I mean, WOW. Lots of flashing lights and signs and big billboards and people and people and people.

Times Square

Oh my Lord, were there people. Not too many in Times Square. 5th Avenue, however, was another story. Quite.

THERE WERE LINES TO GET INTO ABERCROMBIE & FITCH.

Not even right.

Anyway.

Rent!
Guess what! πŸ™‚

Rockefeller Center
The biggest ass Christmas tree I have ever seen.

Me at Rockefeller!
There’s me! πŸ™‚

Penny Harvest Field
Penny Harvest Field
http://www.commoncents.org

Adam
Adam

Central Park
Central Park

Remembering John Lennon
Remembering John Lennon
** see wlotus‘s LJ for a really excellent shot.

Central Park
Central Park

Adam & Me in Central Park
Adam & Me in Central Park

Wanda & Me
I got to meet and hang out with wlotus!!!!! She is soooo much fun! πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

Bright, Shining Star
Pretty star on 5th Avenue

The Time
I dunno. It’s just cool.

Times Square
Times Square, at night.

Wanda, Adam, and I took a break from all the walking and stuff to see the movie Juno.

YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS MOVIE. It is brilliant, amazing, funny, just… it’s so good. Everyone should go see Juno. I can’t stop quoting it.

Rent was amazing. Troy Horne was amazing as Tom Collins (I didn’t get a chance to say hi to him, unfortunately, watchwhat), and the actress who played Mimi really did a great job in that role! I enjoyed it a lot and REALLY want to see it again. Really, really. πŸ™‚

Yesterday, Adam and I CRASHED. We spent the day hanging around the flat and napping and watching Christmas cartoons. We walked around the corner and got lunch at a deli. That night, we hung out with Nadia, and I left for the airport at 8:30ish. Hired cars are a beautiful thing in NYC. Cheaper than cabs and WAY quicker than subways and trains. Anyway, my flight was to take off at 10pm. We had no crew. The crew was stuck on a delayed flight from NC. We didn’t take off until about 11pm. Got to Columbus and couldn’t land because of really bad fog. So, we circled and circled and circled until the fuel ran out, then we flew to Cleveland. Sat in the plane for a few hours until the fog in Columbus lifted. I couldn’t sleep at all so I ended up calling confusified and talking for more than an hour. I was dropping my stuff on my floor at home at about 4:35am.

I flew jetBlue for this trip, which was a new experience for me. I’ll tell you what, if I’m going to be stuck inside a plane for whatever reason, I’d want it to be a jetBlue plane because they have DirecTV and XM Radio at every seat. You know how I don’t have cable? Boy did I get my fix last night/this morning! I watched American’s Most Smartest Model, ET, House Hunters (and other assorted HGTV shows), and I flipped between South Park and oh Lord, I don’t even know what else. Plus, the flight attendants passed out water and snacks. And jetBlue has GOOD snacks like Doritos and organic chocolate chunk cookies. The entire plane is leather seats, lots of leg room, and they even give you free headphones. I rather enjoyed flying with them, and I’m sorry that they’re leaving Columbus next month. No more jetBlue. πŸ™

This trip has completed numbers 65 and 74 on my 101 in 1001 list (which needs to be updated big time)!! YAY!

I can’t even believe how much I have traveled this year. Chicago in February, Chicago and San Jose/San Francisco in May, Chicago in June, Atlanta in August/September, Chicago in September, San Francisco in October, Atlanta in November, New York City in December. Am I missing anything? πŸ™‚ I’m so glad I have friends who like to send me places. πŸ™‚

See ya!

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