Pragmatik

Fall is hitting Baltimore, and the lower humidity is bringing out the things that turn me into a ball of snot, toting around hankies. I have been lucky and not had such a widespread occurrence of these “bad allergy days” as I call them in recent years. Not even in Southern Illinois, with the whole National Forest down the street. But, to be fair, my apartment there was not made for airflow, just the climate control system. There was never any fresh air there. But this fall, I have these days pretty often. It’s not fun. My nose is peeling, and my pocket gets wet from the used hankies (eeeewwww).

When I finished college and moved out, I didn’t have to take daily doses of antihistamine anymore. I grew up popping those pink pills. They made me gag when we had breakfast at McDonalds on vacation, when I tried to take them with a big white straw with a yellow and a red stripe, stuck into my carton of milk after I ate those lovely little hotcakes. Everyone assumed that I had like the worst year-round allergies. Turns out its just cats and dogs that make me go that crazy. After college, I walked around Boston breathing without drugs, and I wondered if the coffee habit I’ve had since I was 8 or 9 had anything to do with those pills….

Fast forward to now, back in Baltimore. Band nights used to have me snotting. Drugged up Monday night, feeling like crap Tuesday. But now it’s coming regularly. I was up until 3:30 the other night, with snot and stress. Yesterday, I took a Benedryl at 1:00 in the afternoon. Did something mindless. At 2:02, I noticed that the world was moving slowly, very slowly. That it felt like someone put a warm blanket on my shoulders that had me leaning forward and fighting to stay upright. One nostril cleared, and I realized that the Benedryl was working its black magic. I walked past my bed, took the red fleece blanket off the bottom, grabbed my pillow. I crawled across the diagonal and snuggled up with my clothes on. I just wanted to chill for 1/2 an hour. Next thing I know, Mr. I Never Take Naps is waking up at 4:30 screaming, “Oh $#it, I gotta make dinner!”

I usually show up at band practice with a sixer of something fantastic or some vintage sodas. Yesterday, I forgot my sweater and glasses in the drug fog and had to go back to my apartment, started running late. I called ahead and asked Dan to make some coffee (because Dan is awesome). We got hyped up on coffee and jammed our rears off, throwing the idea into the air that maybe we should be a “jam band” since we don’t have a singer. But then the drugs had me slowing down and foggy, and I had to call it a night early.

I woke up today, feeling like I drank a lot last night because I had to take more and still fell asleep with my mouth open. All I drank late at night was a lot of water and a cup of organic tea. Already through one hanky, and I think I need to take medicine again for a Benedryl Tuesday. Oh well. At least this kills my appetite, and my fat ass could use to lose some unemployed pounds.

I hope I don’t have to go get on one of those prescription anti-snot drugs. I figure that, by the time I’m middle-aged, they will have people taking pills for green eyes and brown hair, and I’ll be on all kinds of prescriptions. So I’m enjoying the time when I don’t have any daily medications to take, just my coffee problem.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at 10:24 am and is filed under Personal, Photography, Random, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.