My only neurotic behavior consists of checking my favorite blogs every few minutes, hoping to find something new to amuse me. Other than that, I am as laid back as they come.
On the other hand, if one of my eyes turned entirely red, I probably would not postpone seeking medical attention. So I guess there are those who are more laid back than me.
That's funny about your co-worker's eye. Does she have any relatives who are physicians? I am convinced that my level of non-fussiness when it comes to health related issues is a result of dealing with my brother who is a physician. Nine times out of ten, when I complain about this ailment or that, his basic response is to suck it up and let my body take care of it. At this point, I am pretty sure that unless my eyeball was squirting blood, I would have done the same thing.
On a somewhat related note, over a month ago I had gotten some sort of bug which resulted in a pretty annoying hacking cough. After about two weeks, the cough, instead of getting better, got progressively worse. After seeing my brother, his response was basically to prescribe me an albuterol inhaler and to tough it out (with a nice dose of "stop being such a big baby" to go along with it). Two weeks after that, the cough didn't get any better and one night I woke up in a coughing fit which resulted in me throwing up. Turns out that I've got pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough which isn't life threatening but is pretty darn annoying and the symptoms can last for months at times. The irony is that whooping cough is highly contagious and now my brother is suffering from it. Had he only been a little more "fussy" about my condition and treated me with more than a suck-it-up prescription, he'd be breathing now cough free.
Did you determine what it was you came in contact with to give you contact dermatitis? And how did you come in contact with it in such a specific way as to make you think it was an STD?
What I'm getting at is, how did it happen that only your private parts, and not other parts of your body, came into contact with something with skin-irritating properties?
Can be taken to extremes, though. A good friend of mine was skiing at Mt Rose (Tahoe) once and he had a stroke while at the top of the mountain. He was partly paralyzed on one side, and lost vision in one eye. So, naturally, he skis down, drives to his condo in Tahoe City, packs, and then drives to a clinic in the foothills somewhere.
He's not paralyzed now, but is still blind on one side.
Actually, it showed up other places - one elbow, back of a couple knuckles, etc., but I'm a redhead and so get odd skin things that pass in a few days pretty regularly and tend to ignore them. Never had any show up on the ol' johnson, though, 'til this case and had just had the infamous crazy blonde end the relationship in supremely crazy fashion, which made me suspicious.
Actually, I think he said eczematic dermatitis instead of contact dermatitis. Desonide cream made it all go away.
FL, part of the reason I haven't seen a doctor is that I've had no real health issues (Yay, hearty Irish stock! We only get mental illness!). The only sicknesses I've had were things like stomach flu that a doctor can't help anyhow. I forgot that I also saw a doctor when I broke a toe, but didn't bother two years later when I broke the same toe on the other foot.
you leave some of that shit alone, and the next thing you know you're in serious trouble. So the individual choices look defensible
Once again, Labs, we are the same person. I've gotten over thinking that any given symptom is an indication that I'm afflicted with the most deadly disease that manifests in that way, but if I'm dizzy for two months, I want a doctor to tell me it's not a brain tumor. (In that particular case, the doctor said a wise thing: when you get older, there will be so many things wrong with you that you won't even notice this level of dizziness.)
yeah, I don't go to the doctor much--well, I'm currently uninsured (should get on that), but even when I'm insured--but I do think it's better to go to the doctor and have him/her say "This level of dizziness is nothing," so you know for the future, than not go to the doctor and two months later him/her, "You asshole, you were dizzy for two months and you didn't come in to see me? Now you're going to die."
I think I'm in the hearty pseudo-Irish stock camp (pot?); I had a small lump on my upper back. It was just a lipoma. Not even worth removing. But I think it took me ten months or so and a screeching from my mother while home on vacation before I got it looked at.
Why? It wasn't that noticeable or particularly annoying.
I suspect I may be an argument against intelligent design.
I was kind of thinking of new moles, in fact--they're exactly the sort of thing where you think "this is no big deal," but if you don't get on them right away they can kill you.
Wait, which one? I see "tblog" being blocked, but are you thinking of tbogg (which is no longer on the blogroll)? I mean, have you just pwned yourself?
I like teasing hypochondriacs. A favorite, "I was reading about this new deadly disease that they say is going around. The creepy thing is that there aren't really any symptoms. The disease, in fact, makes you feel healthy and then, blam, you die."
this is fairly comprehensive; this is a good quick reference.
And I'll bet you were wondering how to spend your evening.
-----
Reason for the strikeout: I was going to try to include two links, but your comment spam blocker killed one of them. No joke. Is this Alanis-ironic, or ironic-ironic?
Ah, all the dot info sites are blocked. Maybe if I knew how to write regexes, I wouldn't have to do that. Then again, maybe we should just disable comments, so people don't keep having WTF?? moments.
I don't remember adding that specific site. Could have been part of the automatic update, and each morning I end up de-spamming and adding a bunch of domains that I don't really look at.
It WAS pretty sweet when he found out he had whooping cough. I couldn't help laughing my ass off when he told me in between coughing fits. It was actually a pretty funny scene, two guys going at each other with whooping cough.
TO refer back to the beginning of the post, I work in an office of fussy sitters, each with their own set of preferences and a chair that suits them. Occasionally the cleaning crew at night will mix them up (how they do this I do not know, since we all have separate high-walled cubes) and the howls of indignation in the morning are something to hear.
Some people go so far as to write their name in white-out upon their special chair somewhere, but I think that is going a bit too far.
Neurotic does not equal fussy, does it? If you tend towards, say, avoidant disorder, you might be likely to put off the doctor's visit for eccentric reasons of your own.
there are people in the world who are genuinely laid-back, and truly not fussy.
With a very few exceptions, I'm one of those people.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 12:17 PM
How complicated is a chair purchase? Here's your algortihm:
1) Does it have a horizontal surface on which to sit, appropriately sized for the length of the adult leg?
2) Does it have a vertical surface against which to lean?
3) Does it have a rotating mechanism with which to pivot?
4) Does it have some mechanism for moving the horizontal portion up and down to accomodate individuals of various heights?
5) Of those objects to the answers from questions 1-4 were each "yes," which costs the least?
Boom. You're done.
Posted by Chopper | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 12:19 PM
Also, I've had a similar thing happen to my eye. Didn't even bother to go the doctor. It cleared up in a few days.
Posted by Chopper | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 12:20 PM
My only neurotic behavior consists of checking my favorite blogs every few minutes, hoping to find something new to amuse me. Other than that, I am as laid back as they come.
On the other hand, if one of my eyes turned entirely red, I probably would not postpone seeking medical attention. So I guess there are those who are more laid back than me.
Posted by My Alter Ego | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 12:32 PM
That's funny about your co-worker's eye. Does she have any relatives who are physicians? I am convinced that my level of non-fussiness when it comes to health related issues is a result of dealing with my brother who is a physician. Nine times out of ten, when I complain about this ailment or that, his basic response is to suck it up and let my body take care of it. At this point, I am pretty sure that unless my eyeball was squirting blood, I would have done the same thing.
On a somewhat related note, over a month ago I had gotten some sort of bug which resulted in a pretty annoying hacking cough. After about two weeks, the cough, instead of getting better, got progressively worse. After seeing my brother, his response was basically to prescribe me an albuterol inhaler and to tough it out (with a nice dose of "stop being such a big baby" to go along with it). Two weeks after that, the cough didn't get any better and one night I woke up in a coughing fit which resulted in me throwing up. Turns out that I've got pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough which isn't life threatening but is pretty darn annoying and the symptoms can last for months at times. The irony is that whooping cough is highly contagious and now my brother is suffering from it. Had he only been a little more "fussy" about my condition and treated me with more than a suck-it-up prescription, he'd be breathing now cough free.
Posted by D | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 12:37 PM
I have seen a doctor exactly four times since 1992.
1. Got two stitches put in my scalp.
2. Had same stitches removed.
3. Thought I had contracted an STD that turned out to be contact dermatitis (wasted visit).
4. Oral surgeon for wisdom teeth removal.
I'm a big believer in letting one's body take care of ailments.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 12:45 PM
RE 6
I am too but my wife isn't so I go to the doctor alot.
Posted by Joe O | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 12:51 PM
RE 6, pt. 3:
Did you determine what it was you came in contact with to give you contact dermatitis? And how did you come in contact with it in such a specific way as to make you think it was an STD?
What I'm getting at is, how did it happen that only your private parts, and not other parts of your body, came into contact with something with skin-irritating properties?
Posted by My Alter Ego | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 1:03 PM
[redacted]
Posted by [redacted] | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 1:08 PM
Can be taken to extremes, though. A good friend of mine was skiing at Mt Rose (Tahoe) once and he had a stroke while at the top of the mountain. He was partly paralyzed on one side, and lost vision in one eye. So, naturally, he skis down, drives to his condo in Tahoe City, packs, and then drives to a clinic in the foothills somewhere.
He's not paralyzed now, but is still blind on one side.
Posted by Fred | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 1:11 PM
certain types of prophylactic can cause contact dermatitis, as my, er, good friend can attest. Try explaining it to your girlfriend, however.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 1:20 PM
Actually, it showed up other places - one elbow, back of a couple knuckles, etc., but I'm a redhead and so get odd skin things that pass in a few days pretty regularly and tend to ignore them. Never had any show up on the ol' johnson, though, 'til this case and had just had the infamous crazy blonde end the relationship in supremely crazy fashion, which made me suspicious.
Actually, I think he said eczematic dermatitis instead of contact dermatitis. Desonide cream made it all go away.
FL, part of the reason I haven't seen a doctor is that I've had no real health issues (Yay, hearty Irish stock! We only get mental illness!). The only sicknesses I've had were things like stomach flu that a doctor can't help anyhow. I forgot that I also saw a doctor when I broke a toe, but didn't bother two years later when I broke the same toe on the other foot.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 1:29 PM
(Yay, hearty Irish stock! We only get mental illness!).
We may be cousins.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 1:34 PM
D, that's so awesome that you gave him whooping cough (sorry you have it, though).
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 1:45 PM
you leave some of that shit alone, and the next thing you know you're in serious trouble. So the individual choices look defensible
Once again, Labs, we are the same person. I've gotten over thinking that any given symptom is an indication that I'm afflicted with the most deadly disease that manifests in that way, but if I'm dizzy for two months, I want a doctor to tell me it's not a brain tumor. (In that particular case, the doctor said a wise thing: when you get older, there will be so many things wrong with you that you won't even notice this level of dizziness.)
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 1:53 PM
yeah, I don't go to the doctor much--well, I'm currently uninsured (should get on that), but even when I'm insured--but I do think it's better to go to the doctor and have him/her say "This level of dizziness is nothing," so you know for the future, than not go to the doctor and two months later him/her, "You asshole, you were dizzy for two months and you didn't come in to see me? Now you're going to die."
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 1:57 PM
verb or two missing.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 1:57 PM
I think I'm in the hearty pseudo-Irish stock camp (pot?); I had a small lump on my upper back. It was just a lipoma. Not even worth removing. But I think it took me ten months or so and a screeching from my mother while home on vacation before I got it looked at.
Why? It wasn't that noticeable or particularly annoying.
I suspect I may be an argument against intelligent design.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:00 PM
Jesus, people, you're all going to die.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:01 PM
But, because we are not at a clinic, we will have more time to comment!
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:05 PM
I was kind of thinking of new moles, in fact--they're exactly the sort of thing where you think "this is no big deal," but if you don't get on them right away they can kill you.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:05 PM
And why is the spam filter blocking links to a blog that is on your freaking blogroll?
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:06 PM
Really? Cool!
(Um, I'll look into it.)
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:08 PM
Wait, which one? I see "tblog" being blocked, but are you thinking of tbogg (which is no longer on the blogroll)? I mean, have you just pwned yourself?
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:10 PM
Christ, I think it's the phrase w h a c k a m o l e that is getting me blocked. I love that phrase.
Or not, since that wasn't working with the links. Search the rabbit blog URL for that phrase.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:12 PM
Rabbit blog! Rabbit blog! Rabbit blog! Without the dang-blang space!
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:13 PM
According to the blacklist log, it's blocking tblog dot com.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:16 PM
which takes out links to Havrilesky's blog.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:19 PM
So it does. Ok, I'll allow it and hope we don't get spammed.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:25 PM
Tblog away!
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:28 PM
Jesus, people, you're all going to die.
Well, yes, all us people are going to die eventually. With any luck, we'll stay dead, too. Jesus, on the other hand...
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:31 PM
Jesus will come again in glory, and then doze contentedly.
Posted by Standpipe Bridgeplate | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:36 PM
I like teasing hypochondriacs. A favorite, "I was reading about this new deadly disease that they say is going around. The creepy thing is that there aren't really any symptoms. The disease, in fact, makes you feel healthy and then, blam, you die."
Posted by Michael | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:41 PM
32: Glory, huh? Sounds like a hooker. Jesus. He never changes.
Posted by Michael | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:43 PM
So it does. Ok, I'll allow it and hope we don't get spammed.
Regular expressions! You need a regular expression!
Just don't ask me which one.
(also, mtblacklist doesn't make it very clear how to enter regex's versus normal strings)
Posted by tom | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:48 PM
Yeah, I should really learn more about regular expressions.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 2:50 PM
this is fairly comprehensive; this is a good quick reference.And I'll bet you were wondering how to spend your evening.
-----
Reason for the strikeout: I was going to try to include two links, but your comment spam blocker killed one of them. No joke. Is this Alanis-ironic, or ironic-ironic?
trying again, this time with html trickery:
http://www.regular-expressions.info
Posted by tom | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 3:01 PM
Ah, all the dot info sites are blocked. Maybe if I knew how to write regexes, I wouldn't have to do that. Then again, maybe we should just disable comments, so people don't keep having WTF?? moments.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 3:03 PM
Seems like a good idea to block all dot-info sites; they spam me all the time, and I'm not sure I've ever had a legitimate link to one.
What'd tblog do, d'you know?
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 4:12 PM
I don't remember adding that specific site. Could have been part of the automatic update, and each morning I end up de-spamming and adding a bunch of domains that I don't really look at.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 4:22 PM
Ogged,
It WAS pretty sweet when he found out he had whooping cough. I couldn't help laughing my ass off when he told me in between coughing fits. It was actually a pretty funny scene, two guys going at each other with whooping cough.
Posted by D | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 6:17 PM
Some people, when confronted with a problem, think, "I know! I'll use a regular expression!". Now they have two problems.
——
I once had a broken arm for two months and didn't know it.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 6:58 PM
TO refer back to the beginning of the post, I work in an office of fussy sitters, each with their own set of preferences and a chair that suits them. Occasionally the cleaning crew at night will mix them up (how they do this I do not know, since we all have separate high-walled cubes) and the howls of indignation in the morning are something to hear.
Some people go so far as to write their name in white-out upon their special chair somewhere, but I think that is going a bit too far.
Posted by winna | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 7:55 PM
That last sentence is embarrassing. Please forgive my use of the same phrase twice, O Lords of the Elements of Style.
Posted by winna | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 7:57 PM
Neurotic does not equal fussy, does it? If you tend towards, say, avoidant disorder, you might be likely to put off the doctor's visit for eccentric reasons of your own.
Posted by ac | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 7:59 PM
I forgive, this time.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 09- 8-05 9:02 PM