clogged

I don't know how much longer I can stand this. I'm going to complain about something that is very trivial and is not even an illness or anything. It's my fucking allergies. I think it's been about 7 or 8 consecutive days now that I have spent at least half a day completely congested, or congested with a runny nose as well. This means I can't taste my food, I breathe through my mouth, and I am in danger of inhaling my food when I eat. Also I am really fucking uncomfortable and tired. Feeling like shit makes you tired. Now I know there are so many other ailments and issues that are worse - Lupus, fibromyalgia, arthritis, etc. but it doesn't change the fact that my present experience is one of misery and discomfort.

I have allergies in some form pretty much all the time - a runny nose, itchy throat, itchy mouth, itchy tongue, a little asthma, sneezing, hives once in a while on my face or body or both, itchy eyes, sometimes my eyeball swells up such that I can't close my eyelids all the way because I look like those fucked up goldfish in the Chinese restaurants with the bubbly eyes. So most of the time I have at least one of those symptoms going on and I've had this pretty much all my life so usually I take a Benadryl and/or go to bed and life goes on. Usually I don't even notice it, especially the runny/stuffy nose and itching part. That's kind of constant. Anyways, when I get a combo of these symptoms or one of them really extra bad, that's when I just want to be sedated or something. Right now I am just really sick of that cat-in-my-sinus-cavity feeling. I'm over it, please make it stop. Neti pot helps but the snot all comes back and I can't be pouring water into my nostril while it drains out the other continuously because there are other things I need to do but stand over the fucking sink with a plastic blue pot shoved up my nostril.

Sometimes walking briskly outdoors helps clear it but I haven't figured out how I'm going to do that and write a dissertation at the same time.

lightrail

Lightrail FAIL that is. I was excited last year that a light rail system would connect Seattle's downtown to the airport. When I first moved here I couldn't believe they had absolutely no light rail or subway system. What kind of city is this? Just buses that occasionally stop to pick you up and once in a while run on time? Seriously? What a crock of shit. Oh and if you want to commute by bike instead, well good luck navigating narrow roads with pot holes the size of the Grand Canyon

The light rail was lovely but at its grand opening didn't even reach the airport. That didn't happen until months later. I thought, better late than never. Well turns out it doesn't actually go to the airport terminal. Below is a piece from a news article in the Seattle Times.

Baggage carts are available for a $4 rental fee [are you fucking kidding me? $4?], and might be helpful for the quarter-mile walk [wtf?] west across a fourth-floor skybridge and through the parking garage to the terminal.


Not an option for all

Nancy and Rod Black of Yuma, Ariz., journeyed 49 miles on transit trains earlier this week... Nancy Black says she prefers light rail, but says the lengthy walk from the airport station to the terminal might be a hardship.

"What if you can't walk? That is a question," said Black, who has arthritis and uses a cane.

People-movers were not built, because those would cost millions, nor do the Port and Sound Transit keep electric carts, rental wheelchairs or pedicabs at the station.

This city suffers from TERRIBLE planning, shortsightedness and paralyzing indecision among lawmakers. Mark my words, the Alaskan Way viaduct and 520 floating bridge, both of with are in need of serious repair, are going to crumble and cause accidents before the city gets around to actually doing something to replace them. Stop it with the townhall meetings and votes and new plans and more votes and all this other bullshit and just do something for Christ's sake. This city's infrastructure is an embarrassment in so many ways.

teeth

I've had sensitive teeth and gums most of my adult life. I found out what's compounding the problem is what I eat. Here is a list of acidic foods that are bad for that part of your teeth where there's no enamel, down under the gumline:

tomatoes
lime/lemon
ceviche
pineapple or its juice
balsamic vinegar
anything carbonated
juice especially things like pomegranate grape and anything citris

If you know me well you'd know that makes up half of the foods I eat/can eat thanks to my allergies to most fruits. So I have to eat tropical fruits but if they are going to make going to the dentist torture that's going to have to come out of my diet. I'm not sure what fruits that leaves that I can eat without one form of self damage or another. Bananas. Boring bananas. I use balsamic a lot, like a lot. Ceviche is one of my favorite things in the world because of all the lime, which I can't eat. My favorite thing to drink is juice mixed with club soda. I can no longer drink either of those. Same with coffee and tea, my other favorite drinks. She says it's ok if you rinse with water immediately after so I guess I'll do that because I need a source of caffeine or this dissertation is not going to happen. Let me just say, in the spirit of Dr Seuss, that today is a sad day, a day that is sad in many ways. Today I'm going to let myself get stoned the entire day and eat out and eat whatever I want because this, this was traumatic. I floss with the floss doubled over several times a day, I use a Sonicare more than 2x a day and I use mouthwash after that. I thought there was nothing more I could possibly do for my teeth until now. But this diet change is going to seriously suck balls. Anyways my neck hurts so I'm going to lie down before I eat and get some work done.