Cynical

/ birthday, grrr!, sick

This month, I will have another birthday. I’ve been getting loads of mailings from places. They’re in nice, brightly colored envelopes. Some of them even look like cards! And they usually have printed on the outside:

A Birthday Gift For You!

I open it, to find a coupon for $5 off a $20 purchase, or $10 off a $75 purchase!

What the ever-lovin’ hell?

Call me bitchy, but those are not gifts, those are coupons. A gift is $5 toward merchandise worth $5 or less. A gift is an ornament or a gift card for a pair of socks. A coupon for something I wasn’t going to spend money on anyway is NOT a gift, it’s a ploy to get me in the store to spend more than I ever wanted or planned, or a way for me to *think* the company is wishing me well when all it’s doing is trying to make more money.

They can keep those birthday wishes. And stop killing the trees they’re printing those “gifts” on while they’re at it.

* In case you can’t tell, I am in a BAD mood. >:( And as predicted, my sore throat is back, full force. I’ve given up on getting better, of ever being okay, on everything.

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In Sickness and In Health

/ adam, ronni, sad, sick

One hard thing about being in a long-distance relationship is when one of us gets sick, and the other can’t be there. I was sooo sick Sunday night, and yesterday, and I felt so alone and I felt like crying because no one was there to hold me or rub my back. I can’t wait until I don’t have to be alone when I am sick anymore. And I can’t wait until I can take care of him as well.

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Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

/ ronni, sick

I went to the doctor on Thursday, because having a sore throat for two months is not fun, no matter what some deranged person might lead you to believe.

So, there was the sore throat, the headaches, the coughs. I got put on an antibiotic, which I started taking Thursday night. By Friday night, I was already experiencing side effects, but they were mild enough that I soldiered on. By Sunday night, I was doubly sick, shaking, weak, sweating, and exhausted. The sore throat and the coughing had subsided a bit, but now I’m dealing with something that is much worse.

So I’ve decided to stop with the antibiotics. Which means the sore throat and coughing will likely come back. However, I can go to work with a sore throat and while coughing. I cannot while vomiting, shaking, sweating, and worn out from the whole thing. And I cannot afford to take another unpaid day off from work.

It’s annoying. People there are so quick to tell people to go home when they’re sick, not even realizing that some of us don’t get the unlimited sick time that they do. The only reason I stayed home the past two days was because I was scared to drive, feeling as weak as I was.

So whether or not I’ll ever get better for good remains to be seen, but at least I won’t be living in the bathroom anymore. For now, at least.

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Happy December/Holiday Wishes Meme

/ christmas, meme

The first day of my favorite month is finally here! This is the month of Christmas, my birthday, Aidan’s birthday, getting to see Adam twice, NYC, good food, family, presents, songs, pretty decorations, pictures, and all sorts of other happy things.

The Broadway strike is over, which means I am definitely going to get to see RENT! How excited am I? Oh, you just can’t even imagine. I’m going to see RENT!!

I’m ready to put up decorations. Unfortunately, I’m going to be doing some MAJOR digging to get them out, and some rearranging to get them in place, but it’ll be worth it, once my place is all festive and pretty-like.

I love December.

Time for the annual Holiday Wishes meme.

Step One
– Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered… whatever you’re comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fun (“I’d love a Snape/Hermione icon that’s just for me”) to medium (“I wish for _____ on DVD”) to really big (“All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.”) The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
– If you wish for real possible things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it’s your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
– Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ, or link to this post (it’ll be public) so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two
– Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here’s the important part:
– If you see a wish you can grant, and it’s in your heart to do so, make someone’s wish come true. Sometimes someone’s trash is another’s treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don’t want or a gift certificate you won’t use—or even know where you could get someone’s dream purebred Basset Hound for free—do it.
– You needn’t spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn’t to put people out, it’s to provide everyone a chance to be someone else’s holiday elf—to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not—it’s your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just…wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you’ll have the joy of knowing you made someone’s holiday special.

1. Southwest Giftcard(s). Anything to help me see Adam more often is a GOOD thing! 🙂

2. Anything from my Amazon wishlist

3. A 35mm zoom camera. I lost my old one sometime last year, and I miss taking film pictures.

4. Telephoto lens for my Canon Rebel XT DSLR camera.

5. And finally…. Who can’t use extra cash? 🙂
Acceptance Mark (lilrongalATaolDOTcom)

Happy Holidays, everyone! 🙂 They’re upon us! YAY!

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Today For You, Tomorrow For Me (Pictures)

/ adam, atlanta, family, pictures, ronni, sick, thanksgiving, vacation

To be honest, I don’t feel a heck of a lot like writing, but I’m going to babble on a bit until the generic Nyquil kicks in and hopefully puts me to sleep.

I’ve been non-stop sick for the past six or seven weeks and today, my throat feels like it’s on fire. My ears are burning too. And I’m having periodic coughing fits, especially when I lie down. This started (again) Sunday night, so it’s been a week—way too long for a sore throat. I have to clench my hands when I swallow, it hurts so badly. I went to Urgent Care a few weeks ago, got a z-pack, but I don’t think it worked because I vomited up the dosage the first night. Plus, the doctor MAY have taken five minutes to look at me, so I doubt his diagnosis was correct. I am going to have to suck it up and go out to Stonecreek after all, I think, even though it’ll kill my gas mileage for the week and I’ll have to take some unpaid time off of work. I’m thinking it’ll be worth it so I can stop feeling so sick. ‘Cause on top of all that, I’m battling a migraine.

YAY Leaves!

Still, sick or not, I had a wonderful time in Atlanta with Adam’s family. I flew in Monday night (November 19th), and stayed until yesterday. Nice, long, relaxing vacation. And I do feel very relaxed and at home at the Selzer’s. While there, I got to spend lots of quality time with the family, eat good food, and celebrate Thanksmas. Because most of us kids can’t make it to Atlanta for Christmas, Adam’s mom combined Thanksgiving and Christmas into one really fun holiday. I got spoiled. Rotten. And…not only did Adam and I get our first ornament together, but I also got my very own stocking with my name embroidered on it. 🙂

Here’s the ornament:
Our First Ornament

Among the gifts I received:

– An electric throw, which I am using now. This will totally help me save on energy costs this winter.
– Rent DVD
– Woody Woodpecker DVD
– Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (and lots of other books)
– A cute tee-shirt that says “Life is Simple. Eat. Sleep. Read.” PERFECT!
– A cute hoodie with the snowman from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Under him it says “Ice Cold.” Again, perfect.
– Monkey Pajamas:
Monkey Pajama Girls!

It was very beautiful there. The fall colors were at the tail end of their peak, and most days, the weather was very nice. Check out the photos:

Thanksmas 2007

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