Last night I realized that I was out of one of my medications, so I put an order in at the Walgreens up the street from my house. As I can’t drive, I had to convince myself that walking to Walgreens wouldn’t result in a living hell of pain in the abdomen, and let me tell you, it takes quite a few pain killers to do that kind of convincing.
All day, I was trying to psych myself up for the journey, which would also require a shower. I have come to dread showers as they always result in one part of my body (the part under the water stream) being nice and warm, but the other part being very wet and very cold. My old house had a ceiling heater, which kept the air in the bathroom warm while I showered. Ordinarily, I take baths here, but it’s a pain in the ass to rinse all the soap out of my hair in the bathtub now that my hair is long.
It’s a toss-up. But around 7 tonight, I was pretty much sedated enough to not care too much about the coldness of the shower, and I knew the pharmacy closes at 9. It gets dark at about 8:30, and I don’t want to be caught outside in my lousy neighborhood (not my block, but maybe 3 blocks away, things get a little sketchy) after dark. It was time to shit or get off the pot. Cook or get out of the kitchen. Paper or plastic. So I showered and scrubbed all the grime away, put on some clean clothes and some shoes. Before putting on a jacket, I looked outside to determine the weather.
Cold and wet. My aunt Cheryl on Sunday told me that it was supposed to get up into the high 80s tomorrow (Wednesday), and the small clips of local news I allowed myself to watch (for reasons that local news blows HARD, I don’t watch the news, ever) led me to believe the same thing. I still believe it, even after this evening’s adventure.
I put on my windbreaker/rain jacket, which is the only non-winter coat I have with a hood and put a disc in my cheap-ass portable CD player that I don’t mind if it gets stolen, and set out. Of course, as soon as I was half a block away from my house, it started raining really hard. But I grew up in Seattle, and didn’t even bother to put up my hood. My hair was still wet, so it wasn’t like the rain was going to wreck hours of personal grooming or anything.
When I was on my way to Walgreens, I decided that I would pick up a bag of pretzels, and some other over-the-counter stuff for this hideous chest cold I have. The rurther from my house I got, the further over I stooped in pain. By the time I got to Walgreens, I was just about bent in half. I got a shopping cart for something to lean on, and headed down the aisles, wondering how I was going to carry a bag of pretzels and other crap all the way home.
In the summer aisle, I found a really cheap foldable cooler that had a shoulder strap, perfect for carrying pretzels and other stuff, and put it in the cart. I stalled getting to the pharmacy section because I knew I’d have to walk a lot farther once I had my prescription in hand. I was already feeling a little woozy, which is a withdrawal symptom of that particular non-opioid drug. I picked up the pretzels, some bandaids, cold medicine, and a couple of other sundry items, then slowly pushed my way back to the pharmacy.
When I reached the counter, I was met with a staff I had never met before. So you understand, this is an extremely odd occurrence. Since August of 2006, I have been to this particular pharmacy on a regular basis-at least 1 or 2 times a week. When the girl who finally came to the counter asked for my name, she started typing it into the computer, then walked away to take a prescription somebody was dropping off. She had a pretty long conversation with that person, told him that his prescription would be ready in about an hour.
When she got back to the counter, she informed me that NONE of the three prescriptions I had filled last night were ready; that I had to come back later. I told her that no, I would stand there and wait while she prepared them. There is no reason that a 24-hour old prescription should not be ready at a 24-hour pharmacy. So I stepped to the left of the register and stood at the counter for about a half-hour, during which there were at least 5 other customers in the same boat as I was.
The good news is, I got to take a break from walking. The bad news is, the only pharmacy within walking distance totally sucks now.
You know how you aren’t supposed to take a walk in the rain and/or cold with wet hair or you might be more susceptible to viruses?
That goes double; nay, TRIPLE, if you already have a cold.
Good times!!
I only waited around for the one prescription I was totally out of, and was giving me withdrawals, so I’ll have to go back in the next couple of days.
If I had any booze in my house, I’d make myself a martini and put it in a martini glass, put on a tattered wedding dress and sneakers, and lots of heavy, heavy makeup. Then I’d put a bathrobe on over the tattered wedding dress, and I’d say, “Ain’t life grand?” Just like Miss Haversham.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
WHOA Holy shit! I heard helicopters earlier, and at the end of one of the shows I’d Tivo’d tonight, there was a little clip of the local news-apparently one of the apartment complexes just two blocks away pretty much burned to the ground tonight.
Maybe I should open my blinds more often. Although I hesitate to do that. When I can see out, others can see in, and I’m not crazy about that idea unless I’m in the kitchen. I always keep the kitchen blinds open. I don’t know why, and I refuse to try to explain it. Hmmph!
To reward you for reading this pointless ramble, here’s a funny photo of me with the chicken pox when I was 10 or 11. I have just recently rediscovered it, and it makes me laugh every time I see it. I hope it does the same for you. It’s just so pathetic! But, as I pointed out to several friends, it does explain some of my mystery scars about the face and head.
