Dietary restrictions

A couple of months ago, I was sitting at my desk at work, scratching my arms through the final several hours of my shift. It wasn't until I got home and changed out of my work clothes that I noticed my arms and upper body were covered in hives.

I hoped they would go away and went to bed. When I woke up the next morning, a good number of the hives on my upper body had gone away, but new ones were on my legs. As the day progressed, the hives returned to my chest. Concerned, I went to the urgent care clinic, where they determined I was most likely having an allergic reaction to something I ate. I'd never had any sort of food allergies, but I recalled the itching started a few hours after I had eaten dinner -- pad see ew with chicken and a side of fried calamari.

I was given doses of steroids, antihistamines and antacids and sent on my way. So the meds did their stuff and I later consulted with my physician, who thinks I've probably developed a shellfish allergy. I think I'll see an allergist to see if this can be confirmed, but I'm going to be really pissed if that's the case. I guess things could be worse -- I recently spoke to someone who developed a wheat allergy when she turned 30 -- but it kind of sucks that I've been able to enjoy shellfish for all these years and might be forced to give it up. (But I did just realize this might be a continuation of problems I've had since my 30th.)

And just the other day, I was joking to my sister as we prepared for a family picture that it takes me a good 30 seconds to get my body to sit down on the grass.

In the meantime, I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to have just a teensy serving of shellfish to see if I can without having another allergic reaction. Because although my last incident wasn't at all life-threatening, it was mighty uncomfortable. I still have most of the necessary medication (alas, I'm out of the 'roids), so I think I'd be OK.

But I'd really rather not die.

Ye Olde Cheeze Whizze

Spotted at one stand at a Renaissanse faire I attended (don't ask) over the weekend: nachos (in peasant and royalty varieties).

I will say the knight battles were impressive, though I was sorely disappointed we could not find the trebuchet.

It seemed like a good idea at the time

I have a 5:40 a.m. flight Tuesday to the West Coast, which will come after I work late Monday night. It's probably wisest to pack before work and just head straight to the airport after I get done, but we'll see what I wind up doing.

In any event, I'm pretty sure I'm going to regret this scheduling, just as I'll probably wish I hadn't booked a red-eye home Saturday night since I have to work Sunday, too.

The things I do to maximize vacation time ...

T-O-O F-U-N-N-Y

I meant to post this months ago, but there's this site promoting an Australian bank that is one of the most amusing, addictive and impressive marketing gimmicks ever.

Knock yourself out trying to get the kitties to sing dirty lyrics.

And the tune is pretty catchy, too.

Funky footwear

I was harassed by a shoeshine guy -- one who already had a customer, mind you -- the other day for having dirty shoes. How this works as a sales tactic, I'm not sure. But it did lead me to realize I do pretty much wear the same shoes every day, even though I have many other perfectly good pairs at home.

In the past, because I bought somewhat cheap shoes, I went through them fairly quickly. But this current, dirty pair has held up remarkably well despite near-daily wear for more than three years. So I suppose it's time to go out and by some shoe polish, lest I'm accosted by another shoeshine guy.

Note to self...

... accidentally showing up two hours early for a baseball game when it's 40 degrees is not a good idea.



But I did get to see my first game at Wrigley Field, which was very cool -- in both senses.

(Confession: I endured for seven innings, then left, so here's how the game turned out.)

About town

My Saturday morning included:

Cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin


The cool (relatively new) Kogod Courtyard at the National Portrait Gallery


And the reason for a massive spike in attendance at the gallery:

A bumper crop of tourists

Spring has officially arrived in D.C. with the Cherry Blossom Festival, though I'm still undecided if I'm going to fight the crowds to go gawk today.

It's tough for me to get my head around celebrating spring in March, having spent most of my life in Central New York and then seven years in Oregon. At this time of year in Central New York, you're still very much in winter -- I think they got five or six inches of snow yesterday. In Oregon, you're still a good two months (or more) away from the end of the gray and the rain.

Here, it's been warming for weeks and everything is starting to bloom. Weird.

Going down the drain

Another in the occasional series of toilet-related posts:

It seems even millionaire athletes are impressed by high-tech toilets. (Yahoo! Sports)

But Olympic athletes are not athletic enough to handle squat toilets. (The Guardian via Deadspin)

I feel vindicated.

Earlier toilet coverage here and here.

Nice way to earn a living, I suppose

I am really tired (no pun intended) of someone at work who spends the second half of every workday falling asleep.

Maybe there are issues I don't know about that prevent this person from getting a full night's sleep every night. Perhaps it's mild narcolepsy. Regardless, why am I working so hard when someone else is taking a snooze?