Sunday, July 23, 2006

What I learned this weekend....

Easy money can come with a price.

My good friend Kelscraggly works for a company that is privvy to new clinic study information before it's released to the public. The most recent study was allergy related and Kelscraggly thought I would be interested.

To qualify it was necessary for me to stop taking my allergy medicine for 3 days, go to Iowa City to get tested, and if I qualified for the study I could be eligible for the $300! SIGN ME UP! Help science determine if there is a better way to fight Ragweed and make some moola? Hells yes! Mr. Chep was concerned about me stopping my allergy medicine - but I assured him I would be fine.

That was Monday. On Thursday I went down to IC for the first step in the study. I read all the rules of the study and donated my arm to science. They placed 3 drops of stuff (yes that's the scientific term) on my arm and scratched my skin to let it "sink" in. This was the test to see if I was allergic to Ragweed. So I wait for something to happen. All of a sudden part of my arm starts to burn and itch. Holy good god. Talk about ITCHY! Much to my dismay - that was not the ragweed. Come to find out - Chep isn't allergic to ragweed. Huh. Ah well. At least I know what it isn't. There are only a hundred other things it could be....Kelscraggly says she will take me down sometime and we'll figure it out. NO kidding...I'd like to know why the heck I am taking the allegra.

As soon as I came back from the study I started back on my allergy medicine. Come to find out - it wasn't soon enough. I am now suffering from a stuffy head, sinus pressure and coughing like MAD. Grrr...

So two lessons here.
1. Allergy medicine is my friend.
2. I am not allergic to ragweed.

Saturday my friend "M" had a party at her house in IC. She had her husband have a beautiful house situated on a pond. Houses in their neighborhood are fairly close together. The people in the house 2 doors down leave the blinds open and walk around nude. We had a few "shows" before they realized it would be a good idea to shut the blinds.

Later that evening - the sirens were blowing and the firetruck whizzed by the house. So "S" turned on the scanner to find out what happened ("S" is an EMT). There were no flames - but an a LOAD of smoke. Come to find out the homeowner (who was not home) left a pot on the stove and it melted. The firemen had to "break-in" the house to remove the hazard and air out the house. In case you were wondering - the firemen left a note about the fire and what happened.

Lessons here:
3. If you walk around nude in your home...close your blinds.
4. A melted pot makes an assload of smoke.
5. If you are not home and the fire department enters your house - they leave you a note on your door!

I spent today on the couch (coughing up a lung) and checking the Mackinac Race results. My uncle's boat's name is Majic. No results yet, but I keep checking.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend - and maybe you learned a little from my post today!

3 comments:

Angeline Rose Larimer said...

Wow! Just checked on your uncle, and he was 7th. Good going!

Sorry about the coughing and hacking and nude people (unless they were worth looking at).
I'm also glad to know firemen will go into your house even if you aren't home. I've often wondered about that. I'd rather come home to a note than a living room full of burly men with expressions of "dumbass" on their collective faces.
"Sorry. I meant to wax my eyebrows, and I guess I just forgot."
Not my worst nightmare, but certainly a possible one.

:) Thinking of ya!

Rain said...

new word...assload. thanks.

Jennifer said...

I am dying to know to whatm thou art allergiceth, dear Chepner.

I do confess to knowing that firemen are pretty good about entering when necessary. Some story some guy told me involving an iron and a few too many bong hits. I think.

Who irons? Sheesh!