De-Stress

The Counseling Center at Texas Women’s University came up with 52 things to relieve stress.

A must read.  My favorite is number 14.  The hardest for me to do is also number 14.

Lensing Transition

I saw my optometrist this morning.  Is it anyone else’s experience that the offices of optometrists are staffed by only the most attractive women aside from the doctor himself (unless the doctor is also a woman, in which case she is attractive as well)?  I used to work in a surgery clinic that had a plastics department.  The girls there were pretty, but not nearly as stunning as the girls who work in optometrist’s offices.  What’s the deal there, I wonder?

Regardless, I got new frames and lenses today.  I’m actually less far-sighted than I was, somehow, so I’m guessing that’s good.  But I’m excited to get my new glasses in two weeks.  I like the look of them.  I’m also finally getting transitions lenses, which many of my friends have gotten and found convenient. I’m looking forward to not having to carry around two pairs of glasses.

And for the record, all of the women I met this morning were married.  Except for one, but she had kids and a boyfriend.  Typical.

Learn to Sneeze

More on Shaving

In the neverending quest to get a better shave, Lifehacker has posted three videos about traditional wetshaving.  While I probably technically wetshave myself every other day or so and some earlier tips have helped improve the business of shaving in the Yocum Household of Redlands, it could be better and more comfortable.  If I can get up to shaving once a day without pain, it will be a good day.

Besides, are there any women in the world that aren’t a sucker for their man shaving in the bathroom in a Paul Newman kind of way?  I’m still working on finding a woman that will call me her man, but the shaving bit should bit a hell of a lot easier.

Truth and Inconvenience

I definitely want to see this.

Tips for Living (for Men, apparently)

Number 5 is the most of interest to me as my nose gets stuffed regularly.

Enjoy!

The Tyrrany of WebMD

I’m sick today. There’s been a cold of some kind going around work and it hit me. I think I’ve had it for a while, but this came in full force since late last night. It was something of an adventure.

At midnight, not being able to sleep from the coughing I was experiencing, I decided to chech my symptoms on WebMD. This was a mistake.

Upon saying I was experiencing symptoms in my chest, and that it was congestion, the program asked a number of questions including if it felt as though there was a weight on my chest. Since it did feel that way I said so.

I was immediately advised to call 911 as I was having a heart attack.

I was clearly not having a heart attack, but in the haze of midnight sickness, I completely freaked out. I didn’t call 911, but did call the local hospital emergency room to see if they could advise me better over the phone. Naturally, they couldn’t give any medical advise over the phone, but suggested that if I were in pain to come on in and get checked out.

The time was now 12:45. I decided to try and calm down, clearly not having a heart attack nearly an hour after I was told so by a non-sentient web site. Still not able to get to sleep and now not at all tired, I drove to the local Sav-On to get cough & cold medicine. The pharmicists on staff were the most helpful people of the night and helped me find a good remedy. While I should have gotten the stuff that also fights fever (which I’m in the middle of at the moment), it has relieved all other symptoms leaving me feeling nearly normal (aside from the fever, which I’ve taken other stuff for).

I didn’t get to sleep until nearly 2:00 a.m. last night when the Robitussin really kicked in and knocked me out fairly well. Having called in sick to work, I was advised to go ahead and attend my dental appointment by the staff there as the hygenist was properly attired to not contract whatever I had (clean bill of health, there). Since then, the day has been mostly drifting from sleep to wakefulness and getting comforting thoughts and comments from friends online.

Next time, though, I’m steering clear of WebMD.

Technorati Tags: cold, webmd, health

Feeling Weird

Today, I’m feeling weird. I had an Ultimate Double Cheeseburger last night from Jack in the Box and today, I’m just feeling a little bit wacked. Not bad enough to stay home from work (like the banking industry and some public sector jobs are doing today), but it’s not a pleasant feeling inside me today.

I think that’s the last trip I take to that establishment.

Eating Better?

There may be something to this eating better thing.

This weekend, I had Carl’s Jr once a day mostly due to not having much food I had time to prepare in the house and not having any time to prepare any food even if I had gone shopping. After three days of Carl’s, I didn’t feel all that great. I wasn’t sick, but my energy level was definitely not where it usually is, even when it’s low.

Yesterday, my lunch consisted of a chicken, rice, and veggie dish with some Thai seasonings that was quite tasty. I’ll probably purchase that again some time, but there are other dishes to explore at Trader Joe’s that I’d like to sample. Dinner was a small pizza (went out with a friend), but it had chicken on it and very little sauce, so it had a chance of being healthy. That’s to say, I tell myself it was healthy.

Today was a burrito for lunch and I’ll have something else for dinner (probably what I planned for lunch since the burrito was a surprise from a friend).

I feel great, too. At least compared to Monday afternoon.

So I submit, I think there’s something to eating healthier. Or at least not eating total crap.

Back Pain

For the last few months, I’ve been listening to my friends complain about back pain. I could never relate as I do not suffer from chronic pain in any area of my body, really. I have other chronic annoyances and discomforts, but not generally painful ones and not at all in my back. It’s lead to the feeling of not being able to relate to my friends when their pain gets incredibly harsh. For some, that happens often.

However, this morning, I awoke from my night’s sleep with pain in my back. I went about my morning’s tasks of exercise, checking email, watching the news, rituals of cleanliness and appearance with pain in my back. The only relief I had was while resting between my sets of crunches. At that point, my back was flat against the relatively hard floor and I felt waves of relaxation more overwhelming than the pain itself (which, in reality, wasn’t that bad).

So this may not be chronic, but it’s the first time since high school where my back was in pain like that. I don’t want chronic back pain, either. But it would be nice to be able to say, “I know what you mean” or just sympathize in general when my friends are in this pain as well. I don’t like not getting it when it doesn’t have to be that way.