Rat thoughts

Bike chain fail.

If you're going to chain your bike to something useless like this ashtray, at least run the chain through the wheels so someone can't just ride off with it.

Sounds like it should be a Furry show.  It's not.



A few weeks ago my roommate's dog somehow tore a nail and had to go to the vet for surgery.  Now she's missing the nail and it shows no signs of growing back.

We got lucky the other day after that really bad thunderstorm and had only minor damage to the fence.  Others weren't so lucky.



Woodchuck!  (aka Groundhog or Marmot)  He was just staring off into space when I snapped the photo.  I tried to get his attention so he'd look at me, but that scared him off.  They're almost as cute as bunnies when they run away.



I saw this license plate in town and had to snap a photo.

I'm not sure what I did to cause it, but my back started hurting like hell yesterday.  I went to bed about midnight and got up around 3 in the afternoon.  It's still bothering me but I'm hopped up on Tramadol now, so it's not hurting too bad.

I don't know which is worse, the excruciating pain in my back or the side effects of the Percocet.

Ended up spending a hefty portion of my tax refund today.

My AeroBed was just about gone, so I had to buy a new bed.   I found a nice Sealy Posturepedic mattress and box springs on sale for $330 at Nebraska Furniture Mart.    Since I didn't have any sheets or anything to fit it, I also picked up a "bed in a bag" set at Wal*Mart: sheets, pillow cases, pillow shams, comforter and bed skirt for a mere $30.  I think I should buy some new pillows too, the ones I have are kinda nasty.  And where the heck do you buy those funky flat pillows that go into pillow shams, anyway?

We also picked up a new stove, a Magic Chef with a glass cooktop.   It's not the model I'd have liked to have gotten (that would be the $2000 Jenn-Air with the grill), but for $370, it was practically a steal.  Besides, I still have a really great gas stove in my PODS container which will go into my home, whenever I get around to buying one.  (There's no gas here so it wouldn't work here anyway.)  So far it's proven to be MUCH better than the old stove (how old was it?  It was avacado!); I nearly burned tonight's dinner because I didn't realize the stove could heat up that fast.

My SO also took me to a local sporting goods/military surplus store.  I was tempted to splurge $400 for a leather bomber jacket, but they didn't have one in my size.  I've always wanted a leather flight jacket, but never got around to buying one since it was too warm in California to ever really need a jacket.  But with the current temperature of 9.7ºF, I could use something a wee bit warmer than the windbreaker my last job gave me.  I may end up ordering one from Sporty's Pilot Shop.

But while looking around for something to keep his head warm, I found some fur-lined aviator caps, in my size even (7-6/8, i.e., freaking huge).  I was tempted to buy the $40 leather version, since it's the more traditional look (and would go great with a leather jacket), but I went with the much cheaper synthetic.  I'd bought a balaclava a couple weeks ago, and it kept my head crazy warm, but it was really inconvenient to put on and take off and it tended to fog up my glasses, especially if I tried to wear it while driving.  And of course, the thing made me look like a terrorist or something; I always got funny looks walking into a store.  This aviator cap has fur-lined ear flaps that keep me nice and warm, but when I get inside I can tie them up to the top of the cap.

My right eye is beginning to bother me again.  It keeps happening the first week or so of every month.  At first I was wondering if it had something to do with the farmers next door spraying something on their crops, but the fields have been fallow since harvest time in October.  I'm still taking the Doxycycline, which I think has been helping to moderate the events.  This one doesn't seem to be as bad as some past events.  At least, I don't feel like clawing my eyes out yet.  I just wish I knew what the hell could be occurring on a monthly cycle to cause this.  (Don't say the moon.  Yes, it seems to occur just after the full moon, but there's no reasonable explanation how the moon could affect my eye)

For some reason I keep having a recurring pain in my right eye.  About 4 times in the past 2 months, my right eye has turned bright pink, swollen and extremely painful.  The problem lasts for a few days, then goes away on its own.  I don't have any insurance, so I can't afford to go to a doctor (and eye doctors have done very little for me in the past).  I'm pretty sure the problem isn't allergies, because only one eye is affected, my left eye is fine.  That means it's probably an infection of some kind.

Unfortunately, I'm almost totally out of ofloxacin, an ophthalmic antibiotic.  Worse, I'm also critically low on proparacaine, a pain reliever drop.  The later is nearly impossible to obtain, since eye doctors seem to be very reluctant to write prescriptions for pain killers.  Masochistic bastards.

I am pondering trying to make some kind of herbal eye drop.  I was thinking of using myrrh as an antibacterial and perhaps peppermint (or just menthol) as a numbing agent.  I've gotten peppermint soap in my eyes before and it stings like mad for a few seconds, but then it quickly goes away as the menthol numbs the eye (regular soap stings for a lot longer).

I need to find a reliable herbalist in Omaha.   I know of a great place in California, but that doesn't help too much here (though perhaps they can take an order over the phone and ship it out to me).  I wish I'd kept some of my herbs, as I had a supply of myrrh (which, because it is a resin, doesn't go stale like most herbs).