On Monday I had an allergy test.

It wasn't that big of a deal, but the shots in my arm hurt. I am NEVER getting a tattoo, that's settled. I'm a big wimp, I know.

At first I didn't have any reactions, to the skin tests on my back (they scratch you and insert a possible allergen), or on my arms (where they put the suspected allergen under the skin). I thought that was kind of weird, because I've always had allergy-like problems around the typic allergic times of year. Later that night, however, I had a reaction, and I started itching. Not in the injection site, but all over.

Two of the injection sites on left arm turned into red spots about the size of quarters. One on my right arm was about the size of a dime, but not as red. (I don't know what that one was.) The two on my left arm were reactions to mold. I'd always suspected I was allergic to mold, and now I have proof. Itchy itchy proof. It's starting to be less itchy now.

He gave me a new prescription nose spray (I liked what I was using already, and it's cheaper), and some eye drops. The eye drops are great, they really help the eye allergies. The reason I went in the first place was because of my eyes. People with keratoconus (such as I) have to be careful about rubbing their eyes; there's a link between people with eye allergies and keratoconus.

My mom's out of the hospital and back home now. They released her yesterday, after about a month of rehab. A home healthcare worker will come a few days of week to help her shower and stuff (which is better than my father doing it.. he tends to be a little rough. Her skin tears pretty easy.) She'll also have a physical therapist come a few days a week. I talked to her last night; she sounded pretty good, I didn't have much trouble understanding what she was saying. She says the dog, Princess, hasn't left her side. Princess missed her alot, she's definitely a mommy's girl.

That's all for now. I'll just be here, scratching.

So yesterday, I'm on my way to McDonald's for a small bite to eat, driving through one of the neighborhood roads in Lexington. I was going at or below the speed limit. In the other lane, I see this guy swerving on a bike. I thought he'd just got on the bike and was trying to gain his balance. BZZZZZZ! Wrong! He was drunk or something. He swerved in front of my car. I braked hard, but still bumped him and he fell off his bike into the road. He got right up, said everything was ok. I asked him if he'd been drinking. "No." "Are you sure?" "I don't drink." "I don't care what you do, but you're going to get hurt." He said he was fine and just left. WTF?? I watched him go down the street a bit, as wobbly as he was before. He was on something. I don't know what. I drove over to Bob Evans and used their phone to call 9-1-1 so someone could make sure he didn't get into heavy traffic. He was close to a major road, and that idea frightened me. I feel horribly guilty, like I should have insisted he waited there while I called an ambulance or something. He said he was fine, and I'm guessing he didn't want any run-ins with the cops. Some of the paint from his bike is on my bumper. It scared me.

In other weekend happenings, Jay and I walked the grounds of the Lexington Cemetery. It's the second largest cemetery in Kentucky. It was originally created in the 1850's, but there was a family burial ground there before that. Not to sound overly macabre, but it was fascinating. It made me thankful for advances in medical science, for starters.

There were SO many infants and children buried there. It was so sad to see families that had lost multiple children at different times. The gravestones themselves were neat to look at, too. I'd never realized that most gravestones are marble, but they age to look grey. Some of them had grown over with moss, but you could see remnants of their former glory. It'd be wonderful to be able to restore the older gravestones sometime, but it's such a huge place that it's just not feasible. Some of the older gravestones were in perfect condition, though. It makes you wonder who has kept them up?

We saw Henry Clay's memorial. There were some beautiful statue memorials, too. The creepiest one we saw was for a little boy that had died in the early 1900's. He was about 10 or so when he died, and his parents had erected an astounding statue of him. Even the cloth draped right on his pants, and the pupils of the eyes were deeper set to imply darkness. It was incredibly eerie, but beautiful, at the same time. It kinda hits you in a place like that: everyone dies. Each gravestone is someone's grief. Those mothers and fathers that watched child and child succumb to illnesses that would easily be cured today by a mild dose of antibiotics. The mothers and infants that died in childbirth that might have been prevented in the women had access to birth control. The military section of the cemetery had an unknown soldier, and people that had died in all of the wars since the Civil War. It's amazing how you can sense the growth of a city and of civilization at large through something as simple as a cemetery. It ties us closer to those who came before us.

Ok, so I was trying to look up a friend from high school, and stumbled across a white-only personals board. I'm not going to link to it, because I don't want trash like that getting any traffic on my account, but wow. Whenever I let my guard down and forget somewhat about the inequities in life, I run across crap like that. Her list of requirements:
"1) Aryan 2)
Intact (uncircumcised / dealing a full deck of
romantic cards) 3) Employed 4) Not addicted to
any hard drugs 5) Tall and sturdy, with good
bone structure (I'm tall -- needs to be bigger than
me) 5) Free of catastrophic genetic deformities,
and diseases 6) Above average intelligence 7)
Unattached, and not promiscuous 8)
Demonstrates some kind of an artistic/intuitive
side And finally, No Jews. Just Right-Wingers
need apply."

What the hell????? That wasn't the worst part of the personal ad, either. *sigh* I just don't understand. I'm not trying to knock anyone's freedom of speech, but I honestly thought humanity was beyond that. :(

I think I've died and gone to concert heaven.

As if Ben Folds and Ani Difranco both coming to the Univ. of KY in one school year wasn't enough, look what thedent.com (the big Tori Amos fansite) says:
___________________________________________________________
Summer Tour Date announced for PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel,
NJ on August 22, 2003!
Posted Tue, Apr 22, 2003 - 12:03pm ET | Tour
There is a listing at artscenter.com that says that on August 22, 2003,
there will be a show by Tori Amos with special guest Ben Folds at the
PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ! It appears that Tori will be doing
about a month or so of dates in August with Ben Folds as a special
guest. The web site says that tickets go on sale Sat, April 26, 2003,
which is this coming Saturday. The link at artscenter.com points to a
listing for this show at CC.com that says the tickets will go on sale at
9:00AM on April 26, 2003. So it looks like this is the first date we have
for the summer. I am sure many more will follow! Thanks to Dawn, Mike
D. and Kate for first telling me.
___________________________________________________________

This will kick SUCH MAJOR ASS! And the shows in Holmdel is on Tori's birthday. Beth, you'd better go. hehe.

I'm getting an allergy test next Monday. No Claritin for four days before that. My life will be miserable. MISERABLE!

Anyhow. Last weekend I went home to WV for Easter. I took mom out of the rehab part of the hospital (no, no drug rehab, physical rehab) on Saturday. We went to see Grandma in the nursing home (she was just in temporarily at first, but I think she's going to have to stay there. She's really losing it mentally as of late.) It's really sad. If you'd just talk to her for about five minutes you'd never know anything was wrong. Any longer than that and she repeats things ad nauseum. I think we heard 10-15 times about how Uncle Chuck can bring in furniture for her and fix her up a nice room. We were there for about an hour and a half. It seems like a nice place, for what it is. When we got there a nurse was talking to her and comforting her because she was upset about something or another. You'd have to have the patience of Job to work in a nursing home.

Anyhow, Mom and I went by the house, and since she can't walk up stairs yet, we had Princess (the dog) come down to the car. She was so excited to see Mom. The next day when I came there to drop off Dad's car, Princess thought Mom was there again and kept trying to run down to the street to see her. It was sad.

It was alot of work hoisting the wheelchair in and out of the car, as well as helping Mom from the car to the wheelchair and back again (sure, she's 110 lbs. But when it's dead weight, it's hard to move). She's regained a good deal of movement in her left arm, though. Three weeks ago she couldn't lift it at all. She's really working hard in physical therapy. She's eating better, too. We went to Lorobi's and she ate an entire grinder by herself, and a piece of pizza. I was proud of her. hehe.

We went back to the hospital, and sat on the patio for awhile. It was a beautiful day. After I left the hospital I went to play poker at Craig's. I won about $4. (It's a nickel ante game). The next day Dad came back (he'd been camping), and we took Mom out to dinner, and then he took her to a movie. It was a nice time. She really enjoys being out of the hospital. She'll be out for good in about another week. Then she has to go to physical therapy two or three times a week for a fwe months.

Ok, it's about time for me to go home from work. Have a happy fun day.

Tonight we saw Ani Difranco again, and once again, it was a great show. Bitch and Animal rocked again (and were very well received), and Ani's show was great. She's just so vivacious, for lack of a better word. Our seats weren't quite as good as last time, but pretty darned close (3rd row, about 6 seats from center). Aimee thought she saw a girl we knew from St. Albans in the lobby, and when I went back out to the bathroom to wash my glasses, I found her and talked to her. It's so weird. I have pictures of Erin at my fourth birthday party (at McDonald's). We knew each other from dance class (the irony: dance classes are usually given to young girls to instill grace and feminity. Erin and I are two of the least graceful/feminine people in the tri-state area.) Anyhow, after the preschool years, I didn't see Erin again until we ended up at the same junior high, and then high school. She went to UK, and we lived in the same dorm freshman year. It's just so weird how lives intersect, even in insignificant ways. And I think seeing people who have fleed St. Albans to Lexington strengthens my resolve that I made the right decision so many years ago.

But anyhow, I babble. If Ani Difranco and/or Bitch and Animal are coming to your area, go get tickets! (and then go to the show, of course. Or buy the tickets, buy me a plane ticket, and I'll go. ok?) I'm kinda sad that my Ani concerts are over for the time-being, but we'll see her again in June.

Last night Aimee and I went to Louisville to see Ani Difranco at The Palace. We did everything in our power to try to be late, so we'd miss the opening act, Bitch and Animal. However, our efforts were futile, and we got there a few minutes before they took the stage. (I even forgot to take directions, but found it by luck in about five minutes off the interstate.)

In retrospect, we're glad we made it in time; they were really good. Kinda lewd, but provoking and funny lyrics. We really weren't expecting much. Last year another band on the Righteous Babe label opened for Ani, Drums and Tuba, and they were so bad I had to leave half way through because my ears hurt. Awful awful awful. Bitch and Animal were a neat surprise. hehe.

Ani's show was great. We were in the 3rd row of the pit. We even had special bracelets to designate that we were allowed in there. Being so close was a great experience. We caught facial expressions, all the cool dance moves, that kinda stuff. My eyesight anymore kinda sucks when it comes to fine detail, which makes sitting farther away even suckier. But our seats last night left little to be desired.

Once again, I was struck by just how tiny she is. She's short and skinny, but she can really command attention. Being that close to her makes it hard to believe that she's in her mid-30's... I'd be willing to bet that she still gets carded on a regular basis. Her face appeared unlined, and she moves like someone in their early 20's. The only time I would have thought she was her true age was with some of the facial expressions she made during certain songs.

During the course of the concert, Ani quoted Mark Twain as saying, "Love your country always. Love your government when it deserves it." I like that quote, and that stance. You don't have to be blindly patriotic to honor the fact that most of us have it pretty good here, compared to others in the world. That doesn't mean you agree or even approve of the government and/or its actions. It's an interesting concept to ponder.

On the home front (HA! I'm so witty), the sellers have agreed to pay for all the repairs we've asked them for. That's a happy thing. Look at pictures of the house here (They're the same ones I had up a couple of weeks ago).

That's all I have for now.

I usually turn on the tv in my bedroom while I'm getting ready in the morning. So I did that this morning, but couldn't find my remote control. It was on Comedy Central, and the movie Toys is on. hehe. What starts playing a second after I turn it on? Tori Amos' "Happy Workers". hehe. I really like that song (although I've read somewhere that she doesn't.)

As I've said before, I adore animals. I think we should treat our pets humanely, but this is ridiculous.

Banning declawing? No, it's not a pleasant thing to do to a cat, but it's better than having to put it to sleep or give it away because you can't fix the behaviour. In a perfect world, it wouldn't be necessary. But this is not a perfect world, as we're all well aware. So stupid.

Christ in a sidecar. It's thundering so loud it's shaking the floor and my monitors. Freaky.

Yesterday evening I made my first real adult purchase: a queen mattress set. Jay and I had looked around a couple of different places, but on Sunday we found a place that was going out of business (more or less), and had all their stock on sale for 40% off. I got a Simmons Beautyrest Plush (the ones in the commercial where you can drop a bowling ball on the bed, and it doesn't knock over the glass of wine.) It's probably about a $1200 mattress, but I got it for $500, which is still is a lot of money, but mattresses are expensive. I could have bought one of those cheap $200 sets, but I think it's worth the extra cash to have a comfy mattress.

Now I just need to buy a bed for this mattress to go on. I'll most likely get a sleigh bed (like this one). Geez. I'm such an adult. hehe.

Well, dammit.

I completely forgot that Spike Lee was going to be at UK on Friday to speak. Bleah! I really really wanted to see that. I suck.

This weekend kinda sucked, in the way that every decision I made seemed to be a bad one. Friday night Jay and I stayed home and made dinner. It was a meatloaf. We cooked it for about an hour, cut it open, and it was still very raw. So I put it back in for another half hour. It was dry and burnt. Bleah.

Saturday Jay and I went to this furniture place I'd heard about a few times, called Colliver's. It was in the middle of nowhere, in Flemingsburg, KY. About an hour and a half one way, maybe a little less, out some tiny winding country roads. It was supposed to be really cheap, etc. We get there, take one look the price tags, and realize our version of "cheap" is way different than most people's. It was good quality furniture, but a little too good. We just couldn't afford it.

We get back into town, and go to a few different stores. We decide to get a bite to eat. There's this local steakhouse called Columbia's that has a special a few times a year for $9.99. An 8 oz. steak, fries, and a salad. Sounded good. Ewww. The steak was in this pool of rancid tasting garlic butter (nothing like the stuff you get at Papa John's.) It tasted like it'd been marinated in this stuff, too. It was horrible. It was good quality meat, but it tasted putrid. I covered it up with some A1 and ate a little bit of it. We then went to see Spirited Away, which was ok, but freaky.

Otherwise, Sunday was ok. I found a good deal on a mattress, so that's cool. We looked at some more futons, too. And had stuffed peppers.

Today is the third anniversary of the day Jay and I started dating. April 7, 2000, after the Kids in the Hall show. Aww.

Here are pictures we took of the new house when we had it inspected today.
I didn't get any of the basement, but here's the upper level and the yard.

Keep in mind: this is not our furniture. Nor our decorations.

This pretty much sums up on my feelings on the war

I think I've had close to 80 oz. of water today. And it's only 4 pm. Allergy season = allergy medication = alot of thirst.

Currently I am listening to the Toad the Wet Sprocket album P.S.. It's a greatest hits kinda thing. I recommend it.

I am very hungry (despite having had enough water to fill a bathtub.) Tonight I am going out to dinner with a group of people in honor of my friend Dana's presence in town. She goes to medical school at Emory in Atlanta, so we don't see her often. We will be having Mexican; in particular, I will be having a chicken quesadilla. Mmmm. Hungry now. Must wait!

I had this horrible nightmare last night. I was in high school, and I ratted on some group of people for doing something. Suddenly, I was shunned by the entire high school. I was going to go to the prom with my cousin Shelly, but she wouldn't be seen with me after I was shunned. When I leave the high school, I'm kidnaped by some sort of terrorists related to the people I ratted on. Patrick was there, but he was with the terrorists (well, he was forced to be with them). We kept escaping, but they kept finding us. I knew I'd have to get a new car with a new license plate. I tried to reason with one of them, and ask provoking questions about whatever they were doing, but then the president got shot right in front of me. Finally, I think they captured most of the people that kidnaped me. It was awful. Bleah.