Seeing All the Errors

Recently, one of my coworkers asked for some advice planning out a big trip this summer.  He's originally from Estonia and is in Baltimore as part of a postgraduate program.  His current position is temporary (I think he worked for Danfoss in Europe, though I'm not positive), so he's planning to take full advantage of his time in the US by seeing lots of sights.  He spends nearly every weekend traveling to different locations all over the east coast, so for his vacation, he's heading west.  His plan includes places like the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Las Vegas, Joshua Tree National Park, Disneyland, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, San Francisco, and more, all in two weeks.  Like I said, he's making the most of his time here.

While we were sitting at a table in the breakroom during our lunch hour, my Estonian coworker pulled out his itinerary to ask the group of us questions to see if we could offer any advice.  The first thing I brought up?  His itinerary's title of "West Coast Trip" was inaccurate: the more correct title would be "West Coast and Southwest Trip."  As soon as I pointed it out, I realized that I was correcting an insignificant problem, and one that he hadn't asked for help with.  I immediately apologized for being overly pedantic.  In good humor, he scribbled out part of the title, leaving only "Trip" behind.

I have been a pedant for most (if not all) of my adult life, but I think I've been even more scrutinous lately.  I know that I'm doing it because my job is to catch errors and flaws in writing and when you do that day in and day out, it becomes hard to "turn it off" when I'm not working.  In an effort to be less of a jerk, I'm trying to be more aware of my corrections.  So far, I'm starting to catch myself as I make the unnecessary -- and unwanted -- corrections.  Now I just need to be able to catch myself before I say anything at all.

The Itch Returns

My apartment looks like I recently went a coke bender and, no, I'm not referring to the cola.  There are piles of while powder all over the place: in the bathroom, in front of the couch, in front of the desk, down the hall, and plenty in the kitchen.

The substance is sodium bicarbonate or baking soda.

You see, on Monday, I was in the Larsen's backyard for less than thirty minutes, but that was all it took for the she-mosquitoes to feast on my delicious blood.  I knew I had been bit at least a few times, but by the time I got home, I counted twenty bug bites on my legs.

I took as much Benadryl as was safe, but it made little difference.  I woke up Tuesday night with my legs involuntarily twitching from the intense itching.  I looked up different remedies and decided to go with applying a baking soda paste.  Thankfully, the paste took the edge off enough that I wasn't fighting the urge to rip my own skin off.  But due to the way that the paste would dry and flake off, it meant that I needed to work from home on Wednesday.  Thankfully, my temporary manager was fine with that solution and I was able to regularly treat my bites throughout the day.  Enough of the irritant had passed through my system that I was able to return to the office the next day.

Since I'm still applying the paste when I'm home, it doesn't make sense to clean up yet.  I'm hoping to be through the worst of it by this weekend.

Sweat it Out

After serving as a feast for the mosquitoes on Friday and Saturday, I went to work on Monday as an itchy, uncomfortable mess.  And since I got bit on both ankles, every time I moved my feet, my shoes rubbed against a bite.  It was so bad that on my lunch break, I went to the store to pick up some anti-itch cream, which only helped a little.

Frustrated, I decided to go for a run after work to sweat out the allergens -- which is actually not possible.  It's a commonly held myth that you can sweat out toxins, like from poison ivy or alcohol, but since the liver processes toxins, sweating more won't squeeze the bad stuff out the body.  So saunas are out, but exercise is different because it increases blood flow, forcing your blood to move through your body, including through you liver, meaning any processing will happen faster.

So I covered my exposed limbs with bug repellent and I ran.  I ran nearly 7 1/2 miles, despite the over 80 degree weather.  For the first couple of miles, I thought I would have to stop because the itching was driving me crazy.  But I kept running and the itching subsided and I eventually made it back home.  After a desperately needed shower, I looked at my bites.  Amazingly, the redness and swelling had gone down on every bite.  By the next day, I was only barely aware of the bites that covered my right leg.

I don't know if my understanding about why going on a run helped my bug bites is right or not, but the results are clear enough that I know what I'm doing the next time I'm dealing with itchy mosquito bites.

Eaten Alive

Since I had work off on Friday, I went and visited with the Larsens for a Day Before Independence Day celebration.  Ian grilled hot dogs and corn on the cob and we ate fresh-cut watermelon.  Later on, the kids wanted to do some baking, so we made some double chocolate cookies that are always a hit -- I let each kid drop one cookie on the baking sheet and they were both eager to eat the cookie that they made.

While I was there, I spent a little time outside with the kids.  They love running around outside, but it's extra fun when a visitor does it with them.  I was only outside for about thirty minutes, but I got bit four times by mosquitoes, twice on my right leg (I was wearing shorts).  I thought the bug bites were strange, since I didn't notice too many bugs the last two summers, but didn't think much else on the matter.

The next day, I spent the bulk of the day at the Simcik's, helping them clean out their garage.  When they first moved to Maryland, a lot of their stuff was just shoved into the garage.  Now, after three years, they're trying to find everything a home.  I was happy to help and it was great to spend time with my good friends -- I even made a dessert that I hadn't tried before to share (it was really good).

Unfortunately, we were working outside and since it was hot, I was wearing shorts again.  When I made it home, I counted fifteen mosquito bites, ten of which were on my right leg below the knee.  In an attempt to fight against the itching, I took an antihistamine and went to bed.

The next morning, I was so groggy from the medication that I couldn't get out of bed. My church meets at ten, but I was in and out of sleep until after noon.  And while the allergy medication did help take the edge off the itching, it had worn off by the time I could function, so I never got to enjoy it.

While staying cool is important, the next time I spend time outside this summer, I'll either wear bug repellent or long pants.  Possibly both.