| THE HIVES: Live, in concert ... on my face |
[Apr. 6th, 2006|12:55 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Norwalk | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  irritated | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Radio tunes in my head | ] |
I'm having a medical ailment of mystery. I went to bed a bit itchy. I don't even have dry skin so I just itch-itch-itched away, really clawed over everywhere it itched, which was everywhere. I went to sleep with no clothes on because they felt itchy. I thought it was maybe because I had worked out and not taken a shower. No worries, I would take a shower tomorrow morning at the gym.
At 4:30 am, I woke up because I'd decided I'd had enough of the itching and I could find some cortisone. In the dark I felt bumps on myself so I flipped on the lights---my entire body, except my face, was covered in a pink rash. ACK!!! So I started googling all possible ailments. Seems most likely a food allergy (but what??) possibly coupled with stress. I'm quite capable of causing things to physically go wrong with me because of stress.
I feel asleep and refrained from itching. When I woke up, I was less blotchy but still rash/hive-some. I was now pretty light-headed and uh, spent a lot of time in the bathroom. When I came out, I looked up these symptoms. They said: Go to the emergency room immediately. So since I wasn't going into anaphylactic shock, I decided to go to a walk-in care (all the while thinking--this is going to be Expensive!!). I drove to Fairfield and when I got to the center, it was the wrong place! So I got directions over the phone to the Stamford hospital and went there (this is in the opposite direction of Fairfield). They don't have walk-in care! Despite the website saying it did. My mom did more research to find there were some places in Stratford and Bridgeport---that is back by Fairfield, yet beyond. I said no more and went home and that's where I am now.
The rash/hives has eased up but I am still itchy, they are mostly still there. I took a Benadryl becuase a lot of people online said to take one, even though I don't have itchy throat or eyes. But it sure made me drowsy!
What a sucky situation. What a sucky state. Blargh a blargh.
I'm gonna take a nap.... |
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| CHINA-logue |
[May. 7th, 2005|09:14 pm] |
Here's my attempt to detail my recent month-long trip to China. I am missing the first quarter of my photos, they are on Disc A, which is not currently in my zip code, so I'll add them later. But alas, for those interested in this sort of thing, here is my Chinese journal.
It all started with some major drama. My ride to Minneapolis and I had a falling out and I was left without transportation to Minneapolis less than 24 hours before I was to head down there.
My friend Emily came through for me and drove me to my friend Tanya's house, who kindly put me up for the evening. My flight left Minneapolis at 6:30 which means I was to arrive 3 hours early? I thought 2.5 would suffice.
I went to bed and had those wake-up panicks where you bolt upright thinking "Oh my God, what time is it?!?!?" Finally, the clock struck 3:30, so I got up and got myself ready for my 4 am pick up by SUPER SHUTTLE in Minneapolis. I tiptoed around the apartment and went downstairs to wait in the cold January air. Well, 4 am came and wait. So did 4:15. When the clock hit 4:20 I started to panic. I am without cell phone. I am locked out of Tanya's apartment. It is 4:20 am on a Thursday so nobody is up. At 4:30 I dial Tanya's apartment--her phone is off. I dial her roommate--no answer. And then I cry. I have my backpack brimming on my back, my suitcase dragging behind me and I walk down the avenue, sobbing outloud, hoping a saint with nothing better to do a 4:30 am will want to drive me to the airport.
I get about six blocks to a gas station and there's a CAB pulling out of the lot. Oh, if this is not a miracle! And, as it turns out, the airport is hella far from where I was right then. Like, $35 far. Blech.
So I curse SUPER SHUTTLE and vow to spread the nasty news of this service across the land. I arrive at the airport without anymore drama.
Not the same for my 3rd connection from San Fran to Beijing. I left my trash novel "Sex & the City" and my Go Mom! Planner aboard in a fit of short-term memory loss. Not the biggest concern, though I *was* 70 pages into the novel and the planner had all of my postcard addresses... the biggest problem was that my TICKETS were inside. So my mother gets the 2nd distressed call of the morning, all the while my brain is swirling with thoughts of "Who am I kidding? Travelling is supposed to be EASY! I am no traveller. I suck at this."
The tickets are reprinted and I am assured I can pick up my books when I come back to SFO and I embarrassingly neglect to tell the information people I will not come through and hope they will like my new donations + all addresses of friends and family.
I envisioned for a month that I would sink into my seat enroute to China with relief--turns out these seats are really small and packed in there--and I'm 5'1! Just the same, I watched terrible movies, tried to look at the ice & snow of the Arctic below without the guy by the window getting weirded out, and didn't really sleep since my plane travelled with the sun and decided to forego darkness the entire ride.
We arrived 1.5 days later in Beijing at 6pm (total travel time has escaped me this many months out). We landed and the flight attendants ran up and down the cabins spraying disinfectant--oh, I really am in a foreign land now, and thought of how my roommate Michelle would freak out about this. Little did I know, this very thought would cross my mind nearly daily. MICHELLE, if you go to China, BEWARE!!
I went through the maze of customs and walked by my friend Jaimie twice. She looked awkward from losing 20-25 lbs, yet wearing her now-too large clothing. China's clothing just doesn't know how to take a 5'10 woman at any size. Jaimie greeted me with a "Let's Go!" demeanor... so we did. We bought shuttle passes and Jaimie just jumped on one, with me to follow. I had noticed the signs said they went certain places. Jaimie assured me she knew where to get off. Sidenote: She had been in Beijing not 24 hours and with her previous navigational skills, I maybe should have been more skeptical... thank you jetlag for supplemental disregard!
So we drive and drive through Beijing, land of no skyscrapers, it reminds me of Saint Cloud in that it is just hugely spread out and not built up and everything's written in Chinese... okay, that's not very SC. Jaimie repeatedly told me I was getting off easy by starting my Chinese travels in Beijing, how it was not "real China." I thought this was China enough for me so far!
Well, it became clear that we were not going in the right direction. Jaimie clumsily asks for help and an English-speaking Chinese woman (best bet for finding someone who speaks English--ask a college-aged Chinese woman) tells us yes, we are not going the right way.
So we get off and Jaimie, still confident says, oh, we'll just hop on the train. So hop we go... in the complete opposite direction. If we went the other direction, we'd be there in two stops. The way we went---about 10 stops. It basically circles the city in the opposite direction.
Jaimie apologizes and I don't care. I am too jetlagged and culture-shocked to care. I learn something very important--if you put it on the ground, it's been peed on. This will become more and more apparent as the travels progress.
We arrive at the hostel around 9:30 pm, about 3 hours after I landed. Oh well! I meet Rob and greet a goateed Matt. I don't remember much after that. I think I was sleep (in the LUXURY bed with PILLOWS... Matt Jaimie and Rob are all enamoured with the fluffiness and warmth of this hostel room. I think they're trying to scare me).
The next day it's off to the Great Wall. I get crash course (nearly literally!) in Chinese driving. Mob rule is what the tourbook said and they ain't lying. I feel like traffic lanes are suggestions. The goal is to get there without slowing down, which means passing with any means possible. Never look over your shoulder. Merge without looking, a honk will indicate stop merging. Oh and cars, buses, bikes, scooters, pedestrians, and animals all share the road. Jaimie tells me there is allegedly a thick manual for driving in China. I believe the Chinese have burned this manual for heat--Lord knows they need it! And what fascinates me--no accidents! I see two accidents the entire time in China. I tend to see like 2 a week in the United States.
After humming to self and staring at shoes for an hour, we arrive at the Great Wall. Well, not really. We arrive at a tiny farm or village. Ahead on the road, about 30 Chinese locals await the tourists. We start walking and I laugh to myself as the locals fall right in step, each on targetting a different tourists... too many locals means a few drop back for the next batch of tourists. A middle aged woman with bizarre teeth latches onto me, asking me questions in English, but I don't think she knows what I'm answering. I start asking her questions and Jaimie laughs at me.
After a brutal hike up the mountain, we arrive at the wall. I have a photo of Matt hunched over, trying to catch his breath... that's just 'cause I didn't want that photo taken of myself! The view is pretty spectacular and I find myself repeating drivel in my head like "I'm at the GREAT WALL. I'm AT the Great Wall. I'M at the Great Wall." By the time I actually mount the wall, I am wiped. We heard about a 4 mile hike--I feared that meant *starting* when we got on the wall. So we walk and realize that this wall is not what is looks like in pictures--or it is if the pictures make it look incredibly steep with very narrow steps and very low ease of use.
We stop a lot. A LOT a lot. I start to question whether 5 hours to complete the hike is too short of a time now. My guide is there to tell me things in hard-to-understand English and to attempt to hold my hand on the steep and narrow sections. I take full advantage of this later.
The further we walk, the wall starts to deteriorate. Oh at one point, we cross the path of a videographer (real word? questionable) shooting footage for the next J. Lo flick. Anyways, back to the deteriorating wall--yes. Steeper steps. Less stable footing. More PAIN. We guess we hit the halfway point and the guides tell us we can power on (by this time, the wall has no sidewalls, is all crumbly-like, and well... is still frickin' steep as Hell!) or take a short cut. I practically leap off the wall in anticipation of the shortcut. Jaimie and Matt join me, Rob & tagalong Christian go for the wall. Rob is 65. WHATEVER!
So we skid down the hill to a valley and walk through empty farms (it is January). Chinese farms are pretty old school. That's cool, I guess... The hike is still pretty long and strenuous and I think GOD for getting me off that Wall.
After awhile we are supposed to get on the wall again. This is where the guides leave aka ask us to buy their souvenir books. I have in my head that I want a t-shirt, but catch on to Jaimie's stalwart refusal to buy anything from them. I feel kind of bad, tipping is a big no-no in China so I just eat my tropical trail mix and walnuts and give them the raised eyebrows like "Real sorry, but I won't be buying anything." The hang around for about 20 minutes... at one point, we (Jaimie Matt and I) start speaking in Pig Latin. It was quite funny to see the confusion wash over the faces of the locals, who had previously looked like they weren't listening to us. Turns out, they know a ton of languages. But not Pig Latin!! Note this, tourists!
We have to travel a bit more of the wall, including this very hairy climb down more of the mountain and a suspension bridge. Matt Jaimie and I chill there til Rob and Christian arrive. Then we don't know where to go. After some speculation, we do arrive back at the van and I'm mixed with relief to be off the damned wall, and dread to be back in the van aka Chinese Traffic Death Mission. Not really. But kind of.
That night, Rob and Jaimie are on the hunt for Beijing Duck or Peking Duck. We walk in on some insanely fancy restaurants. I think I am wearing what I climbed the wall in. After a lot of speculation again (and finding a restaurant that charges 3500RMB (about $425), we settle on this still fancy restaurant, but fancy for China, meaning we Americans can afford it. We are very nearly seated in the front until the manager runs out and reprimands the hostess who brings up to the way way back of the restaurant (we actually walk outside for a bit to get there). We order a ton of food and I get acquainted with the idea that my dish is everyone's dish and we just grab off the plates on the lazy susan. Ok!
Chinese food is not a big deal. When I first went to Europe, I was overwhelmed by the food. Here, the vegan food is not so different than American so all was well. I'm told the meats are where the exoticism starts... sorry I missed it!
Well, I head to the bathroom, fearing these squat toilets that Asia loves, and find, alas, a Western toilet! Releaved to sit down, I do my business only to find this toilet does not flush. Seriously? I try and try and try and it's taking a long time and this thing ain't flushing. Embarrassed, I walk out to about 3 people waiting. Never go to this restaurant again!
My jetlag is like, kind of smoothed out, but not really. I like to sleep at 7pm and wake up at 3-4am. So it's not the times I slept at home, but it's not China time either. Jaimie is on a mission to change this. I'm on a mission to kick her in the face.
The next day we head out to the Summer Palace. I don't really know Chinese history (and there's a lot, I'm told!), so beyond the Wall, I'm lost. The Summer Palace is where the Emporess would summer and hold parties for the elite. I do love Chinese architecture and there was a plethora here. Too bad my camera card only had 25 pictures. Too bad I had just found that out.
I am pretty exhausted. My 2nd or 3rd day there and I am bushwhacked from the time change, the culture differences, and the WALKING. Yeah. Chinese people walk everyone. There's much to learn, Americans! So the Summer Palace is mildly amusing. When do we sit down? Oh yes, another important note--severe lack of benches in China! Wanna sit down? Squat on your haunches. Is that uncomfortable? Too bad for you! Do NOT sit on the ground. You might as well be sitting on someone's piss. And you probably are.
That afternoon, we swing by TGIFridays. I kind of freak out there. Jaimie Matt and Rob are in total heaven and salivating everywhere. I think--am I seriously at TGIFridays in China and did I really just spend 72RMB on a meal (in China, that might as well be $72 the way everything else is priced)? So I am not very enthusiastic there. And no fries! Booooooo.
That evening, Jaimie and I explore the market. Holy Hannah, my mood turns around. THIS is what I was waiting for. CLothes, gadgets, electronics, EVERYTHING you ever wanted and never really needed--all negotiable! I buy a 256MB card for my camera for $40. I'm told this is an awesome deal. Guess what is $40 in America?.. oh, hindsight. I am seduced by fashionable clothes and wonder if they will chastise me if I don't buy my size... hey, I'm on the China diet, it will for sure fit when I leave here, right? (post-trip answer: NO!!)
I go to bed fantasizing about shopping. The next morning, Jamie drags Rob and I out of bed at some harsh hour to go see this sunrise flag-raising ceremony. Jaimie's lack of directional ability rears its head again and forgets that the subway is really like a mile away. So this 15 minute trip really takes about 45 minutes and we miss it. We do get to see Chinese police trompin' around (note: all young males). Nothing is open. We squat (or in my case face humiliation and SIT ON THE CURB) and freeze til something opens.
We go to a museum and it has a pretty sweet wax museum. WAY better than Gettysburg wax museum so there! I see that tall basketball player, Yao. They love Yao. But more than Yao, they love MAO.
Next we got to Chairman Mao's land, the Forbidden City. Not too much after getting in there, I see a dude urinate on one of the walls. Not like off in a corner, just about 15 feet from a door. Seriously. China! Jaimie and Matt are in want of seeing everything. I'm in a want of a LazyBoy. Seriously, they should tell you to get in shape before you go to China--or did they?
I am excited to SHOP. So we shop. And I don't buy so much. I buy some radical leg warmers. And that's about it. Jaimie tells me about the magical lands of Guilin and Yangshao so I save my money.
That night we head out of town. Next stop Xi'an.
TO BE CONTINUED. WITH PICTURES. |
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