That’s -36°C !!! Where do you live ?
I assume somewhere in the polar regions of Mars! 
Northeast Wyoming!
It’s alright, though, summer will make up for it with 100°+ temperatures…
I was supposed to get a 90-minute massage this morning. Last night I got a text from Massage Envy that they were going to be closed today due to “expected inclement weather” and that I should call to reschedule. I had been looking forward to having a nice, relaxing massage, which I have been denied because of the threat of barely subfreezing temperatures and a few inches of snow.
The dangers of living in the South, where everything shuts down because of weather which in Chicago would be called “Tuesday”.
Yesterday I woke up to a pile of bloody tissues on my bedside table. Apparently my nose bled all night but amazingly did not get on anything else.
Went to work.
Bit the inside of my mouth and bled for about 10 minutes (on Eliquis - blood thinner).
Got in my car, drove home, and had to park down a hill behind my house because the town I live in is replacing all of the water lines. It’s a huge mess but I get it. This will soon pass. Although we will be living in a state of chaos for awhile with the state of the roads.
Try to get out of the car and I am locked in. Nothing I did made the situation any better. I am freaking out and momentarily considered calling 911.
With some difficulty I manage to crawl out the passenger side to discover that my door handle is sticking.
Kind of fixed it temporarily.
Took it to the garage this morning where I had a scheduled oil change and they lubed it up so hopefully that is the resolution lol.
Been using saline solution and saline nasal gel and the bloody nose seems to have stopped.
The inside of my cheek will just have to heal itself at some point.
So I am now back to my “baseline” state of anxiety at the moment which is actually a bit of a relief.
With the problems I’ve had getting my medications (I have switched to a new pharmacy and a new psychiatrist as a result) I had to do without some of them for a while. I finally have all four and I take them every day at the specified time.
My neurochemistry is still not back to usual. I am having trouble focusing and great difficulty starting tasks.
I received a letter from my Medicare part D provider. It said to fill out the enclosed form and return it in the provided envelope in fourteen days. I finally got around to filling out the form tonight. It turns out that all the information I need to enter is pre printed on the form. It also turns out that I was supposed to mail it back by yesterday at the latest. I am unhappy about this.
Also, I know where my mailbox is in this building. I have no problem receiving mail. I do not know where to put outgoing mail. If I can manage to shower and get dressed tonight, I will go downstairs and try to figure that out.
We have a new on-site manager at our apartment complex, seems like a nice guy. However I was a bit nonplussed by his reaction when I raised an issue with him this afternoon.
Last week when the garbage was picked up a big bag of shredded paper broke open and scattered all around the dumpster area. I figured the landscaping crew would take care of it on Monday, but no such luck. The area around the dumpsters is still littered with shredded paper, and bits of paper are beginning to migrate to the planted areas next to it. It looks like crap.
I mentioned the problem to our new manager. He said, “Yeah, well, it’s the garbage company’s fault, all that stuff fell out when they emptied the dumpster.”
Uh-huh…“So could you ask the landscaping crew to take care of it?”
“Well, I’ll mention it, but their job is more focused on taking care of the lawns and plants.”
“Do we have access to a shop vac? That would make it easy, you could clean it up in 5 minutes”
“No. I may have to think about getting something if the landscapers won’t do it.”
I thought about saying something along the lines of “isn’t that what they get paid for?” but decided to leave it at that.
Tell the landscapers that they’re leaves from a rare Finnish Pine-Oak and they’ll rake them up.
Good news!
I filled out the form and took a shower. I was unable to find a mailbox for outgoing mail. I went back upstairs and the keypad on my door is not working and I can’t get into my apartment. I called the emergency maintenance number and they are not answering.
Good times
Oh I also realized some things while in the shower. I have an increased craving for sugar and a reduced amount of willpower to fight the cravings. I am having anger issues and impulse control issues. I am obsessing over a few things- this is both a symptom of great anxiety and a technique to fight the anxiety. I feel a general lack of self control. I really only feel normal while I am working. I am unsure how long I was without which medications. I am unsure how long I have been back in them. Things are not good right now
Update-
I spent the night at a cousin’s house in New Jersey. My Gobhi set the whole thing up and drove me from the train station to my cousin’s house. I was unable to stay with Gobhi due to her mother spending a few hours ranting against as soon as she found out I was locked out.
I called building management at 9 as soon as the office opened. The number I had been calling last night, the number I was told to call when Gobhi texted another person in building management last night, is the standard maintenance number. I should have been calling an entirely different emergency maintenance number. The building website, where I filed a maintenance request last night, doesn’t give any phone numbers. The recording I got when I call the standard maintenance number does not mention the existence of a separate emergency number.
I entered the emergency maintenance number in my contacts. I am home now. I missed my pills last night. I had to sleep without my c-pap. I am going to take a nap now.
Truly A Mini Rant
The only good thing to happen at the Rite Aid that filled my prescriptions for a few months was the time I found a bunch of candy at a deep discount. Tonight, I finally opened the big bag of Hershey’s hot cocoa kisses with marshmallow flavored creme center. I cannot taste the marshmallow creme at all. The chocolate is good. They were over 50 percent off. I will eat them. But, I expected to taste marshmallow.
It’s difficult. What we think of as marshmallow is mostly just the flavor of sugar, with some vanilla. That’s not a flavor that really stands out when paired with other flavors. Hence why marshmallows are usually cooked or straight-up burnt when topping sweet potatoes, or before going into a s’more. Then you get more of a caramel flavor from the burnt sugar than anything.
Marshmallow on its own is more of a texture than a flavor.
So a marshmallow “flavored” creme center is kind of worthless. The flaw is more in the concept than the execution. It’s like saying a flavor is supposed to be purple.
A three fer in financial missteps. Bad bad bad dumb dumb dumb
People who put marshmallows on sweet potato casseroles are WRONG. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
And now the rant: I had my first round of chemo this morning. I felt fine until around 2:30 when Fatigue walked up to me and punched me right in the face. I had similar side effects from my autoimmune ITP treatment but that was back in the '90s and holy shit I forgot what feeling bad was like. One nap later and I’m kind of humanish again. Until the nausea meds wear off.
Still, it’s better than the alternative. My body’s gonna learn not to try to kill me.
I can’t stand mashed sweet potatoes anyway. Might as well dress it up with paint thinner or dogshit from my perspective.
Slice them up and candy them properly, some brown sugar and butter, now you’re talking. My wife’s grandmother is a wizard with that. And I always like a good savory sweet potato (like properly breaded fries, so crazy good and crunchy).
Yeah you show it who’s boss!!!
(Seriously though, my heart goes out to you, hope you get through it okay.)
Re Sweet Potatoes Topped With Marshmallows
Even when it is made well, this dish is pretty forgettable. The best sweet potatoes I ever had were made without marshmallows. They also had chopped walnuts mixed in. This was a Thanksgiving in high school. The dish was that good.
Sorry, I forgot this earlier.
Re Chemotherapy
Is marijuana legal for medical or recreational use in your state? I have never partaken, but everybody knows that THC helps fight nausea and increase appetite.
In any event, you will make it through this.
I called my Medicare D provider about the form they sent me. Due to all the problems I have been having lately and the fact that I cannot find a place in this building for outgoing mail, I didn’t send the form back in time. After navigating an automated menu, getting a human, and being on hold for several minutes, I was told that if all the information on the form was correct I could just throw it out.
Sigh