Except for the sneeze, true story. I was on the Q train listening to my iPod when I noticed that the subway announcements sounded particularly clear. Actually the first thing I noticed was the announcer joking along about the subway fare hike, and then continued to do the transfers announcement. Then I looked over to my left and saw that there was some guy (crazy? Not crazy?) who was doing subway announcements. He got off before my stop.
I have a bottle of anti-inflammatories that I was prescribed when I sprained my thumb. I wish I had a way to measure exactly how much pressure I’m exerting on the cap in order to open it, because I know it’s that much. Seriously, I feel like if I just turn it enough without pressure the cap will just come off. I remember back when medicine caps really truly were difficult to get off. Will that be something that makes me old? Or does it already? “Back in my day…!”
First time I went to the ER they asked me to rate my pain. It took me a while because I was trying to think of it in terms of most painful thing possible. I mean, if there’s a magnitude pain of 10 out there it’s probably something like organ failure and/or multiple gunshot wounds. Bearing that in mind, where would the pain of my sprained thumb fall? Oh shoot, they need an answer! I said 5 because it was kind of painful but not over a thresh hold of real pain. In another doctor’s office I saw the pain scale illustrated with smiley/frowny faces.
Then I found out that it’s something for insurance purposes because I’m guessing insurance companies need numbers so they can make a definitive decision about the state of a patient’s case.
The first doctor’s office I went to see about my sprained thumb had a lot of paperwork to fill out (I imagine most doctors do), but the list of ailments or medical history was crazy long. I didn’t mark down a single one, because I don’t really have any regular ailments even headaches. It just seemed weird to do that, it felt like I just took a true/false quiz and answered all one answer so that I’d get 50% of them correct. I kind of felt like a relief to fill in something in the allergy section (Amoxicillin), but other than that I didn’t have anything bad to put in.
That doctor ended up giving me a better brace that also went around my wrist, but he referred me to a hand specialist he knew who I went to yesterday. There they gave me this cool custom molded plastic splint for my thumb. They actually cut out a small rectangular piece of plastic, softened it in a machine and shaped it around my hand, then affixed velcro spots on it so that it could be strapped to my hand. Pretty awesome. Basically though the doctor said I should try moving my thumb around more to get its motion back, and that the ligament I sprained heals very slowly. Now that I’ve gotten the official analysis I feel free to use it more which is a relief.
Still, I have to re-teach myself to use my right thumb for my spacebar thumb, because even though I’m use to it now with my left thumb, it doesn’t feel natural.
Excuse me Band-aid is the brand name, I meant “adhesive medical strip smell.”
Yesterday and today I started noticing the splint getting this smell. Today I spent a while trying to remember exactly what smell it was. All I could think about was how they say smell is the sense most that most powerfully connects memories. After thinking long enough I realized it was band-aid smell. It’s been a while since I’ve had to wear one long enough to get that smell.
Right now my thumb is doing better but I’m still spacebar-ing with my left thumb and not holding my mouse with my thumb. I’ve gotten pretty comfortable doing them that way, but I can’t wait until it’s back at 100%.
So I’ve been learning to deal with my lack of a right thumb until it’s all healed. Most inconvenient things are taking a shower (can’t get the wrappings wet, though last night I took them off for my shower), going to the bathroom and using a computer. My right thumb is my spacebar thumb, so it really messes up my rhythm to have to use my left thumb, but I’m slowly getting used to it. Also I’m getting better at using a mouse without my thumb. Zipping zippers and doing buttons is a pain too. Hopefully it won’t take long to get back to normal.
I’m usually pretty grossed out about spitting, but hochhing up a huge thing of phlegm after you’ve had a cold for a while is one of the most satisfying feelings you can have. For days your throat has been gross and all of a sudden you feel like you’ve either cleared it finally or emptied out half of the contents. Hell yeah.
I try to take as little medicine as necessary, and there are times I wonder if medicine works at all. Yesterday wasn’t one of those days. I was sneezing my butt off feeling gross and icky when I was at work. I felt so crappy I was going to skip my Japanese class even though I had already missed one the previous week because I was out of town. Then another second later I realized I wasn’t sneezing at all so I went to class. That was the first time I had a “This stuff just kicked in!” sort of moment. So I know at least my cold medicine works 
I’ve never had trouble in any work environment with people pilfering my food or juice, but for some reason I still thought of this. Oh wait, I remember it’s because my cold is nearly gone and I was drinking from the carton while I was at home. I don’t drink from the carton while I’m at work unless there’s only a little bit left and no one is around.
Yes this has happened to me (at least through panel 5), and from here on out whenever I have a cold I’m sure my friends will remember this one (assuming they read this comic). This is a pretty disgusting topic so I’m not going to comment anymore.
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