Monthly Archives: September 2014

Giving Me a Boost!

The night before we flew out of DC, we had dinner with both parental units at Carrabba’s. As I’ve mentioned before, my parents don’t eat a western diet. They’re traditional Chinese that way. So anyway, they’d never been to Carrabba’s before. During our meal, I looked over, and my mother was scarfing down a huge plate of spaghetti bolognese! Holy shit. I was like, “Damn, they must make a crazy tasty spaghetti.” Mom laughed and said she never eats Italian because of my dad, and wow, that pasta was so good! Seriously, the portions there are huge. All. Gone. That’s the weird thing about co-dependence. You sometimes give up so much of what you want to do to accommodate the other person. It’s not that dad specifically made those demands, but over time, mom saw a preference in her partner, and she started adjusting– initially because she wanted for him, but over time, this becomes a pretty slippery slope. My mom-in-law, for example, she used to have all these dreams of traveling. Her husband hates to leave the house. Now, they’re both too old to get around much at all. And with my mom… Jesus, such a simple joy from going out and eating pasta! Just reminds me that it’s important to be giving, but you also have to nourish your own soul to make sure you get what you need for you. That’s right: always be looking out for number 1!

So my interview the day after returning to the Bay Area went well. I still prepped my brains out, but I was less nervous. The director had been at the organization for over two decades!! He just started off the conversation asking if I had questions for him…. oh, do I have questions! Apparently, he liked what I asked, because he commented that in his 25 years, no one had asked him that particular question (What’s your proudest accomplishment or project?). Not unusual to me, but I dunno, he seemed impressed. Then I had a host of others, and he made another remark that he got a good sense for how I thought, based on my questions. Eekkk!! I’ve had people say something similar to me before (L from the airplane), and it always makes me a little self-conscious, even if I think they mean it in a good way. At the end of the conversation, he said I seemed like someone who gets things done. Ding, ding, ding! Music to my ears! Almost automatically, I chimed in that I was ESTJ– THE personality for getting things done. And to my surprise, he knew the Myers-Briggs reference and said he was pretty sure that was his profile also!! Later that evening, he emailed me to confirm. That’s right, ESTJs unite!! I was happy to receive his message. Sadly, I’m still waiting for word on the gig…

Itchy Britches

OMFG, today was the craziest day ever. Lately, meaning for the last few months, Martin has been scratching and biting around his tail like crazy. Seriously, we’re talking compulsively biting and scratching. We’ve never had an issue with fleas, but I took a real close look anyway as soon as he started scratching there. Didn’t see a damn thing, so I figured it was some kind of allergy. I switched his food, and his coat got better, but he was still super itchy. So then I determined that maybe the issue wasn’t a food allergy but rather, an environmental allergy. I didn’t know, but what else could I change about my environment? Nothing, so I just left the issue status quo.

Then, I started getting bug bites all over my body. I blamed the skeeters, because Bubbey always leaves the doors wide open to cool down the house. I’d wake up in the middle of the night, jarred from my slumber by this annoying buzzing. I would jump up in bed, turn on the light, and start hunting. Even though I would often find and kill the critter, the damage was already done. Those fuckers ALWAYS got me.

Last month, the situation worsened: Martin started scratching even more, and the fur on his rump started balding, and the skin was dry and scaly. I too was getting bites all over my legs– on my feet and between the toes even. I just assumed that my feet had found their way out of the blankets while I slept or something. Since I still couldn’t SEE the fleas, I figured mosquitoes or spiders were the culprits.

Well this morning, I awoke to clusters of bites on my thigh and in the back of my waist. And I was itchy as hell!!! WTF? I started thinking that maybe I was getting shingles again, triggered by all the job hunting stress. So I made an appointment to see the doctor, and I decided to take Martin to see the vet. What do you fucking know??? Fleas. According to the vet, fleas are the worst they’ve been in well over a decade. Something about the drought and crazy heat. I dunno, but shit. Now I feel so damn dirty!! And on top of that, Martin has flea allergy dermatitis, meaning all the irritation is an allergic reaction to the bug bites. Ugh!!

So I did a shit ton of laundry today (screw the drought, this is an emergency), and then I even got the carpets steam cleaned for the first time ever… since our carpets were installed in 2010. I know. But my parents just never got their carpets and rugs professionally cleaned. They used their own Bissell. Meanwhile, I put Frontline flea treatment on Martin, and I vacuumed the shit out of the house. One other lesson I learned? You know how I used to be totally OCD about vacuuming every damn day? Well, the therapist had convinced me that it was overkill (and irritating to John), so I cut it back to a few times a week. Well turns out, vacuuming actually picks up all the fleas and their eggs… so shit, I should have never let up on that habit.

The good news is, there is relief for Martin. He’s gonna start taking oral meds that will lessen his allergic reaction. Meanwhile, where’s the human equivalent for me, because I am fucking scratching this shit up raw. Soooooo itchy. To kill the irritation, I like to take hot, short showers. Well, the doctor told me today that heat makes the area even itchier. Huh?? Why is this shit messing with me?

I changed all the bedding, and I’m going to shower again tonight before bed. Shit, I sure hope I won’t have to resort to spraying myself with OFF at bedtime.