SNOW!!?? WTF? It was just 65 the other day. Oh …

SNOW!!??

WTF? It was just 65 the other day. Oh well. The good weather burst was the perfect reminder that I should probably hit the gym before the weather REALLY gets warm. At least that’s how I’m trying to spin it to keep from maintaining my crappy mood from this morning.

Extraordinarily Shitty Mood! I had an 8:00am appo…

Extraordinarily Shitty Mood!

I had an 8:00am appointment with the optometrist this morning about my eye infection, and when I arrived at 7:55, nobody in the office had arrived, so I went two doors down to get a cup of tea. I don’t know why they make the tea SO FREAKIN’ HOT. I usually can’t drink it for about 20 minutes after I get it. So, I went over to the soft drink dispenser to add a few ice cubes. Well . . . things didn’t exactly go as planned, and my piping hot tea spilled all over my hand, and on the cuff of my fur coat. I’m not sure which pissed me off more. My hand is still tingling, so probably the hand. Maybe.

Anyhoo . . . so when I see the doctor, she has a few bits of bad news:

1. I keep my contact lenses in too long. I have extended wear disposable lenses, and I stretch the amount of time that they’re in, and I also sleep in them. I contend that my usage habits keep me from infecting my eye on a daily basis. She contends that I’m not allowing my eyes to breathe, and making them a breeding ground for infection. Of the two of us, I’m sure she’s right.

2. My right eye is infected, and it looks like something’s festering in my left eye as well.

3. I need prescription drops, and must wear MY GLASSES for the next four days. (The unhappiness is increasing by the second)

So, I go to CVS to fill my prescription and buy the OTC drops that she recommend that I use. I self-insure, and while I don’t have vision coverage (which means that I had to fork over $70 to get yelled at this morning), I have prescription drug coverage, which is helpful. Or so I thought.

When I received my prescription, I was told that I owed $53.07 — which was a very different amount than the $10 or $25 that I anticipated paying. I asked why a 5mL bottle of drops would cost so much, and why my insurance didn’t cover it, and the cashier who was the big and clueless type, of course had no clue.

I told him to hang on to it, and I went upstairs to my office to call my insurance company.

[Aside -- on the way upstairs, I stopped to get my daily dose of oatmeal, and they were OUT! If I wasn't already in a bad mood, the hunger pangs were certainly not helping to make it better.)

I won’t go into the specifics of my rant with customer service about how I’m unclear as to why I have insurance, since I pay a ridiculous amount each months, and always seem to owe money for one thing or another, and how nothing ever seems to be covered.

After biting conversations with three people, I found out that I have a prescription deductible. This is the first I’ve heard of having a prescription deductible in the 5 years that I’ve had this insurance. The customer disservice rep, whose name really was Shanikwa, was majorly unhelpful. I was a bit of a bitch, granted, but she wouldn’t have had a clue even if I’d been as sweet as pie.

So I returned to the pharmacy and reluctantly shelled out the $50 for these damned drops that had BETTER work.

AND I’m wearing glasses until Monday, when I have another visit to the optometrist, which will probably, somehow, cost $1,000.

Eye infection . . . YUCK! The last time I had a b…

Eye infection . . . YUCK!

The last time I had a bad eye infection, it turned out to be a corneal ulcer. The pain rivaled that of knee surgery, and required drops that contained hydrochloric acid to clear it up. Anytime acid in your eye feels better than your infection, you’re in dire straits.

This one is nowhere near as bad or painful. Just annoying. I have an appointment tomorrow morning, and hopefully she can give me some drops to get rid of whatever this is.

Jon (colleague) suggested that I might want to wear my glasses for a few days. While that makes perfect sense from a health perspective, it makes absolutely horrible sense from the perspectives of vanity and vision. I have no peripheral vision when I’m wearing glasses, and they look terrible. They’re the kind of glasses that you buy when you’re only planning on being seen by your pets. Not cute.

More insight to my own personality . . . For thos…

More insight to my own personality . . .

For those who don’t know me, I’m a direct person with a dry sense of humor. I’m also pretty sarcastic. Okay, very sarcastic.

It’s funny, because lately my friends have been making references to my directness. Not directly, ironically, but through interesting comparisons. One of my friends always calls me when “House” is on because I remind her of his character. I love that show, and granted, the man is a genius, but I’m positive that his genius is not the point of comparison, but rather, his aggressive, direct, sarcastic, unorthodox tendencies.

And then I thought of other comments made in passing — the “I can’t believe you said thats,” and the observations: “You don’t mince words, do you?” (Of course some people incorrectly say “You don’t MIX words,” but when I think of it, they might be right. I don’t mix words either).

The interesting thing is that I have no rebuttal, because they’re absolutely right. I’m all of those things. And I kind of like it. But I feel like I have to defend it.

I reached a point some years ago, where I decided that I wouldn’t hold back with anything that NEEDED to be said. Note the emphasized ‘NEEDED.’ I’m not unnecessarily direct, nor to I intend to hurt anyone’s feelings. In fact, I can be quite diplomatic when appropriate — and diplomacy is often appropriate. I prefer to think of myself as a clear communicator.

I’m not the kind of person that, if someone asks if I’m mad at them, I will say ‘no’ if I am, indeed, mad. In my mind, to lie is more offensive than to tell the truth. It’s not a white lie. It’s called “punking out.” If a person cares enough to notice and ask, I think we have a duty to step up, confirm their suspicion and tell they why. It gives them something to refute, and something to think about. It’s not going to change things, necessarily, but it will take away the mystery. But, wanting to clear up the mystery can be a double-edged sword. They shouldn’t ask if they don’t really want to know.

Once again, nobody asked, but I thought I should tell you anyway. More later. Gotta work.

Busy day, but time to blog I woke up at 5, knocke…

Busy day, but time to blog

I woke up at 5, knocked out an article and an edit, and arrived at the client’s office by 8. Long day already.

Now the dilemma is what to eat for lunch, and whether I feel like being social, or eating at my desk.

Decisions, decisions.

Funny . . . When I tell people about my crab all…

Funny . . .

When I tell people about my crab allergy, how many of them think I’m telling them that I’m allergic to crap. WTF????

Is it Monday ALREADY??? Had a very busy weekend -…

Is it Monday ALREADY???

Had a very busy weekend — as usual. Fun, though. I ate my way through the entire weekend, which I’ll be paying for later. Caught up with a group of ex-coworkers for dinner in Evanston, which is always nice. It’s great to see them and think about how long it’s been since we all worked in the same environment. I hardly ever get a chance to see them, but when I do, it’s always a wonderful time.

Saturday is a blur. I went to three birthday gatherings and a dinner party, of sorts. Whew! The first of the parties began early. 10:00 am, to be specific. It was the party of the a friend’s two-year-old. It kills me how little kids parties last for a maximum of two hours. I guess, for them, it’s just enough time to play, fight over a few toys, become overstimulated, eat a bunch of sugar, crash from the sugar, become irritable, wet their pants, and start screaming. How grueling!

Jennifer’s b-day gathering was at Del Toro — even though I couldn’t eat due to severe stomach upset. I especially thank her for the neck massage at the table, which significantly reduced my neck cramps and immobilization. Who’d have thought such a thin girl would have such strong hands??? This morning, I have the startling ability to turn my head freely, and am no longer concerned that I’d somehow contracted Spina Bifida.

One of Jen’s friends is having a benefit for her mother who passed away last year, and she’s trying to find auction items. She asked if there’s something that I can do to contribute to the auction. She thought that someone might bid on a mention in the column. Somehow I don’t think that would rake in the bucks. Most people that I know fight being included in the column — even the ones with uninteresting stories. If anyone has read the column, I can’t imagine that they’d pay money for inclusion. Hell . . . if they want to get a shout-out, all they really have to do is date me or one of my friends, and screw us over. That’s a sure placement, and it won’t cost them nearly as much. But then, I guess they couldn’t write that off at the end of year, could they? Oh well . . . if anyone can think of anything that I could auction off that’s column-related, please let me know.

Saw “Failure to Launch,” and went to yet another early dinner party on Sunday at Tracy’s house, and heard all of urban cougar tales of the wild.

Sunday evening, I finally got to relax and have some quality Gina-time (QGT). I don’t get enough of that, and since next weekend is already booked, I think I need to allocate at least two nights this week to QGT. Nights when I don’t make plans, don’t answer the phone or return text messages. Of course the QGT goes out the window if I have work to do.

Failure to Launch had promise, but a LOT of plot problems. It’s almost as if the editor didn’t take into account the storyline when cutting scenes. Some of the weirdness was unexplained and disconnected. However, it did give me more column fodder, which is always good.

And since nobody seems to comment on the site anymore, I guess I won’t find out what anyone else did this weekend. (Did you like that? I’ve done the very thing I hate — instituted the Sarah B. [alias my mother] guilt trip. But, although I hate guilt trips, and often become obstinate in the face of guilt, I can inflict it so well.]

New column today! Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIF…

New column today!

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIFER!

Limited neck mobility It seems to happen, more fr…

Limited neck mobility

It seems to happen, more frequently than it should, that I fall asleep while sitting on the couch, working on my laptop. Does anyone have any idea of how painful this is?

I’m one of those people that sits with my legs contorted underneath me, so I’m already sitting like I’m a cast member of Cirque de Soleil. I’m usually working on writing something that’s extremely boring — unless I’m writing my column, which I love — so it’s easy for me to become tired of the subject matter. My couch doesn’t have an extremely high back, so my head bobs — usually to the right, and somehow, I pass out.

I wake up several hours later, moving like the poster child for Scurvy. It’s not cute. Really, it isn’t.

I need a better schedule, and maybe I wouldn’t pass out on the couch so often. Here’s a day in the life of Gina:

6:00 am — Wake up and either exercise, or contemplate exercising
8:30 am — Show up at my client’s office and try to be as productive as possible
5:30 pm (or thereabout) — Leave my client’s office, and either go home, to the gym, or to any of my various activities or obligations.
8:00 pm — Write, write, write, and occasionally get some quality time with my boyfriend (alias TiVo).
9:00 pm — Talk on the phone for a while. Allow my mother one guilt trip.
10:00 pm — Resume writing
1:00 am — Fall asleep. This is usually by passing out during writing or reading.
2:30 am — Wake up, pissed off because I passed out in the living room, with all of the lights on, and I’m in pain. I’m mad that I’ve awakened the cats, who think it’s time to party. Threaten the cats, and kick them out of the room.
3:00 am — Fall back asleep
6:00 am — Start all over again

Now that I’ve typed this, I realize that my schedule is completely normal. Right?

Bizarre evening At the end of my (very) long day,…

Bizarre evening

At the end of my (very) long day, I went out to meet friends and ran into an ex. He was the last person I was expecting to see. I hadn’t seen him in several months, and it felt like a combination of surprise and a punch in the stomach. I like being prepared for these things, to the extent that I can.

We ended up talking for a while. We had a good conversation, but I’m surprisingly very sad today.

Just now, a woman brightened my day by giving me an unexpected gift.

She works for the company that provides plants to my client’s office. She’s really nice, and we talk and joke whenever she comes in. Last week, she forgot to bring money to get out of the garage, so I just gave her $20. I didn’t really think about it, because I know how it is to be absentminded and forget to bring cash (or even a wallet for that matter). I didn’t expect to see it again, and really didn’t care.

Today, she handed me a small package with my name on it (I didn’t even know she knew my entire name) which includes a sweet card, a bar of Godiva chocolate and a $20. It’s nice to be thought of.