Love In The Asylum

1.Sceth, the freshman guy who adopted me last quarter, dragged me off to the bookstore this evening so I could spend my giftcard and he could swoon over books about theoretical mathematics. I got new books - Changing Planes, which is one of my favorite short story collections ever, and one of the MA: Spiderman books, although I'm not sure which. And on the bus home we ran into my roommate from last year, which was much less awkward than could have been. She was always a nice person, it was just that the drama got to be a bit wearing after awhile.

2. You'd think I'd know better by now than to eat foods I know I'm often sensitive to, and then be surprised when I react to them. What a novel concept, right? *itches*

3. colourofsaying made me watch Being Human, practically at knifepoint, and OMG I'M IN LOOOOOOOOOOVE. I mean, one of my favorite things in the world is supernatural/fantasy/scifi/superhero groups being all domestic with each other - if they published a book that was nothing but the Avengers going for take-out and playing video-games and bickering about whose turn it is to dishes I would be the happiest person on the planet (This perhaps explains why I love things like JLI and MA so much...). So a BBC show about a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost sharing a flat and having sitcom-y hijinks is so up my alley it isn't even funny. And and and I am so crazy about all of them already, because George is doofy and neurotic and Mitchell is all self-consciously cool and disaffected and ANNIE. OH MY GOD ANNIE. *draws hearts all over all of them*

There is a reason I don't go outside unless it is absolutely necessary between March and October - it's not because I'm a pasty agoraphobic geek who fears the touch of natural sunlight. It's because NATURE HATES ME.

It's ridiculous, I swear - I was sitting on the back porch with my mom talking and watching the rabbit hop around this evening, and after twenty minutes she made me go inside because my eyes were swelling shut. DO NOT WANT. So now I'm all doped up on allergy pills and still itchy, because nature hates me. I thought that kind of thing was only supposed to happen with animal allergies and stuff, geez.

Other than my immune system trying to kill me, it was a good afternoon though. We walked over to the main road and went to a burger place for dinner, and then we came back and just hung out so I could get some kitty and bunny time. Yay fuzzy pets. And they've been moving some of the animals around on the farm, so now the yard that butts up against my mom's yard has three animals in it - a pony, a mule (is it still a mule when it's crossed with a mini horse?), and the world's most asshole-ish donkey. It was too overcast today, but next time I'm there I'm going to get pictures, because the mule and the pony are about the cutest things ever, and the mule's a sweetheart. We gave her all the horse treats we had while the pony and the donkey were running around biting each other. :D

Next time we meet up (hopefully next week), we have plans to drag Lisa off to the Awesome Bead Store so that we can do a craft day. I want to start making hairsticks, Lisa does really neat earrings, and my mom wants to make me a stuffed dragon. It should be fun!

So my lungs ache from coughing so much, my nose won't stop running, and I have been sneezing so hard I actually woke myself up.

...this bodes well for my immune system's ability to cope with spring term in California. Yeah. (and no, I am not getting sick. I've done this enough to tell the difference! And besides, aside from my respiratory system trying to kill me, I feel perfectly fine.)

Antihistamines have been taken (I may have to go in for a second dose though >.<), and honestly, I'm almost kind of relieved about this? I mean, it really sucks and I hate it, but at least I'm used to dealing with this kind of allergy attack, and maybe it will mean this is par for this year and I won't get the horrible headaches of death like I did last year spring quarter.  Because those were nigh on unendurable (especially since they were so far out of my realm of experience), and one of the reasons I did so badly in my classes, and just...yeah, I never want to do that again. I would happily trade watery eyes and not being able to breathe for that.

In the meantime, I shall not let my body's attempted self-destruct deter me from my plans today, which include a swing through the student bookstore and an epic shopping trip to acquire wonderful groceries with which to fill my fridge. Go me!

Dear body:

Fuck you. No, seriously, FUCK YOU. It is JANUARY. Everything is DEAD. There is NO POLLEN. Combing my hair should not trigger an allergy attack two days in a row!

Gah, I hate having severe and non-typical allergies. Not as bad as having anaphylactic-type allergies (although I am uber-paranoid about any of my multitude of food sensitivities tripping over in anaphylaxis, like my mom's soft-shell crab allergy did), but it still bites in a huge way. Not only does my body conspire to make me miserable in a thousand different ways, not only do I have to be super OCD about using soaps/lotions/perfumes/laundry detergeant/ANYTHING, but I have to endure some truly frustrating conversations trying to explain this stuff to people.

Case in point, the following conversation I had with Girl I Know during dinner last week:

Girl I Know: *talks about plans to go shopping*

Me: That sounds fun, but I don't really like shopping that much.

Girl I Know: Really? But shopping can be so much fun!

Me: Yeah, but I'm allergic to clothes stores. So, you know, less fun.

Girl I Know: Oh, I used to feel the same way. You just have to find some stores you like, and go with friends and stuff. Then it's cool.

Me: No, I mean I'm actually allergic.

Girl I Know: *says basically the exact same thing she just said*

Me: NO, I MEAN I AM ALLERGIC. IF I AM IN LARGE STORES FOR MORE THAN HALF AN HOUR, I END UP DIZZY, NAUSEOUS, AND IN HORRIBLE PAIN. IT IS NOT FUN.

The best my family has ever been able to figure out (I had allergy testing done when I was a kid and they spent a year prodding me getting ready to take my tonsils out, but I guess they don't test for this stuff), it's mostly an extreme sensitivity to the sizing agents they use on clothes. Not to mention all the other chemicals they use to shine, starch, glue, prettify, and clean in big stores. Getting ready to leave for school last year was pretty much hell - for about two weeks straight, I was spending three hours every day getting dragged all over by my aunt buying new clothes and sheets and notebooks and other college/dorm room stuff, and then the next four curled up in bed with a migraine so bad I couldn't move. Good times.

In other news, I've been using jojoba oil on my hair for the last couple of weeks. And it is fucking awesome. Like, I wasn't entirely sure it was doing all that much, because I am a horrible judge of things to do with my body. But then I was running late and forgot to do it for a wash cycle, and my hair, it exploded into a giant frizzball! I think the fact that it has been raining for two days straight has something to do with it, but still, the difference was DRASTIC. It doesn't look bad, but it is way less tidy and manageable, and just, you know, FRIZZ. DO NOT WANT. So I think this experiment can be called a success. Will be keeping the jojoba oil.
 

Fuck, I love that I don't have class tomorrow until 3.15.