itch

So... I don't know if I've shared this or not. My ankles have been acting up lately. Old injuries, not helped by the cold, dance class, and jujitsu. So, on November 13th, I was achy everywhere below the hips and so I put something called Zheng Gu Shui (water for the bone) on my ankles and knees. It was amazing and stopped hurting right away. I'd put it on every evening because it would take the night to feel better and then the rest of the day to start hurting again. On the tenth day, I thought... "Gee I must have gotten a spider bite or something, the back of my knee is really itchy." By the next day, both knees were bumpy and itchy. It spread to my ankles and then to the tops of my knees. By day five, I had scabs in some places on my ankles, mostly from scratching in my sleep, but some from scratching during the day. It resembled poison ivy in terms of the itch and look of the rash, except without the oils. However, I was happy because ten days of ZGS had greatly relieved my pain, and when it came back, I occasionally thought "If it gets any worse, I'll use ZGS without regard to a rash." Luckily the pain didn't get any worse, because by day 6, I decided its 10 times itchier than poison ivy. If you scratch poison ivy, it hurts because you injure the skin but the itch is satisfied. With this, if you scratch, sometimes it injures the skin but no matter what you do, nothing satisfies it. When you're done scratching, you just let it sit, and then you feel heat rushing into your foot and it feels like your foot is on fire until you scratch again. Supposedly, according to this website that researched it, ZGS has caused no known cases of allergies, but occasionally causes a rash (I guess as a side effect). Antihistamines did nothing to help me, so I thought of buying an anesthetic. Since I've never heard of over-the-counter anesthetics, I settled for (under Anissa's instruction) Aveeno cream with hydrocortisone. This stuff is a God-send. I have officially decided I'm going to fall in love with hydrocortisone and marry it.

In other news... I hate Mason Gross and I think he should die. Well... his school. Far as I know he's already dead. The teachers I have are pretty decent, even Marshall Jones, but for liberal arts students who have decided to do something with their degrees in case theater doesn't work out for them, the major requirements are asinine. If I hadn't already put 7 semesters into this, I'd change my major tomorrow. I know that there are great theater experiences out there, but this semester I have found very few and I don't want to work in a field that has so many people who check out and go to mars every day. I want to be able to sleep when its dark out, and get 8 hours of sleep a night, and eat food that isn't cucumbers-and-dip-on-a-bagel because you don't have time to go food shopping because the stage manager owns your life. I want to be able to do my homework when its assigned, and I don't want to fight off silverfish while I'm waiting for my cues. If I work in a theater after college, I want to be able to breathe while inside, without having allergies to the air. I don't ever want to see paint hanging from the ceiling in strips because water leaks through the wall and loosens it. Rutgers has too many of those types of buildings. I want to be able to eat my meals sitting down and sleep lying down and do my cooking standing up.

Ok. I'm done complaining I think. Thanks for listening.

No, I'm not. I have one more thing. I'm not taking it as well as I thought I would, and I'm not taking it as well as it looks. I think too much and also think too little. Molly knows this and comes to sleep on my lap.