Humanity Overload and SURVIVAL!

This last weekend I went to the Jason Mraz concert at The Gorge Amphitheater and SURVIVED!  I knew this was a risk since I would be in a crowd of 7,500 people, but I took various precautions to limit my exposure and keep myself safe.

 

 

TICKET PURCHASE AND SEATING OPTIONS  The Gorge is an outdoor amphitheater so I anticipated much fresh air. I bought tickets in the General Admission area which is the grassy hillside behind the reserved seating and the fact this venue offered a roaming option made it very attractive. Believe me, I would have rather had purchased the front and center seats so I could be within winking distance of Mr. Mraz and sing, dance, and steal things right under his nose (the title of one of his CDs), but that would mean I would have been in an assigned seat, shoulder to shoulder with possibly stinky people. I couldn't take that chance. When my camping neighbors drove in and told me they had seats in the second row right in front of him I was jealous until I got a whiff of that woman's deadly stench and I said a silent prayer of thanks that I made the choice to be in General Admission. She was camping and bathed in stink! I can't imagine how stinky the non-campers were!


OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS  The Gorge is way out in the middle of a prairie-desert and hours away from civilization. There are hotels in the nearby city which is  thirty minutes away or you can camp. Camping options are at The Gorge, or at a nearby campground. I was told by a friend the Gorge Campground is one big drunken/drugging party. I'm not sure if the Jason Mraz crowd would be that rowdy, but it didn't sound like they had any security or supervision. I opted for the nearby campground and reserved a spot for Friday and Saturday night.

AIR QUALITY AND HAZE! A few weeks before the concert, friends started asking me if I was still going because of the forest fires north of the Gorge. Although the fires weren't near the Gorge (nothing much in the desert to burn!), the air quality in the eastern part of Washington was affected by the smoke.  I emailed the campground, but they said the smoke was intermittent and wasn't affecting any one's daily routine so far. A few days before Ticketmaster and the Jason Mraz Newsletter sent concert ticket holders warnings about the air quality with special precautions to be taken by anyone with lung problems or asthma. Oh great. Although I don't really have classic asthma, my issues are more like Reactive Airway Syndrome and in the past I've had trouble with campfires if the smoke was too thick. This worried me. I was afraid if the smoke was too bad on Friday, I'd be forced to leave and not see the show. I opted to arrive before the concert on Saturday knowing if the air was too bad I could drive out after the show.

Taken from my seat just as I got inside. See the haze?
Compare it to the photo above. I was a little disappointed
as I'd heard so much about the view and sunset.
Didn't see either because of the smoke.

SOLO  I also went to the concert alone. I considered asking friends, but most didn't know who Jason Mraz was, and more importantly, suppose I got really sick from the perfume, smoke or whatever and had to leave? As it was I changed my plans at the last minute and was thankful I didn't have to subject someone else to my restrictions. Still, it would have been fun to go with someone, but this is one of the choices a MCSer has to make to stay safe and to avoid being an inconvenience to others.

The fire smoke wasn't too bad. My sinuses stuffed up immediately and I had a headache, but that could have been caused by the smell of sagebrush from the prairie. I've never done well with sagebrush. Also, much of the prairie surrounding the Gorge was filled with agriculture, and therefore, pesticides. I think I did great considering.

CONVENIENCES  Upon arriving at the campground, I was able to choose any camping spot and move anytime which was nice. It was especially convenient when my camping neighbors arrived not ten minutes after me and smelled like perfume. Very nice people and big Jason Mraz fans, but very stinky.

This campground also provides a bus shuttle to the amphitheater which is located about two miles away. I wish I would have taken a picture of the buses as they were painted like graffiti. Very cool. This shuttle would be convenient, but not for someone with MCS especially having already met one of the poisoners since they were camping right next to me. So I opted to drive to the venue and park in the free parking. This might have been a hassle as I was warned once the show let's out nearly 5,000 cars will be trying to leave at the same time, but I figured I'd deal with that when the time came. At least I'd still be in my own vehicle and not sitting next to a French whore on a bus.

The parking opened at 2pm. I opted to leave the campground, give up my camping spot and go park early. It was either sit at the campground with little to do but watch unsupervised dogs crapping all over or sit at the parking area which was a field. There were also places to walk near the amphitheater and even a winery so it offered more entertainment and things to do for the next few hours.

I spent some of the time watching people arrive. The license plates were from three different states and ages ranged from babies (YES! Babies brought to the concert? Stupid parents...I hope they put earplugs on their child!) to elderly people and everyone in between. Very eclectic. Many of them stunk from twenty feet away. Some of the cars drove up and smelled of perfume and/or smoke even before the people got out of them. When this happened I closed all the doors of my van and went for a walk.

It would have been fun to carry my blanket, water and snacks and go sit on the lawn in front of the gate like everyone else with General Admission seats so I could get a good seat, but I didn't see the point. First, I would be sitting with stinky people and probably forced to move, but even if I got in early and planted myself in a great place, if someone stinky sat down next to me, I'd have to move! So I opted to wander around, look at the winery, watch the people lining up, investigate the Gorge campground, listen to Jason Mraz's sound check (couldn't see anything but the sound was really good at the winery), etc. For the first few hours most people were hanging out by their vehicles, sitting in lounge chairs, snacking and playing Jason Mraz tunes. When the gates opened, it was like a huge cattle call!

SEAT SELECTION  Once through security, ticket check, and in the amphitheater I watched people and tried to pick those that looked non-stinky. Yeah, right, HOW? Looks are always deceiving! I avoided those who were dressed fancy, women who wore lots of makeup and big hair, large men who tend to cover up their body odor with colognes. Most of the obvious stinky people headed to the reserved seats so that was fine. I finally found a spot, made friendly with a couple who was eyeing the spot next to me, sample-sniffed around them as discreetly as possible (I am a dog...). They seemed fine. When the next group started nesting on the other side of me I made small talk. No smell. Very friendly. Wholesome looking people. OK, this was fine. Feeling secure, I laid my blanket between them and thought to myself, So far, so good. Now to watch the people planting themselves in front of me. And behind me. Ready at a notice to move. No problem except someone about ten feet away smoked a few times throughout the night and, of course. the air blew it in my direction. I couldn't avoid everything so I hoped being outside would help.

Can you see Jason? Yeah, me neither. Even my binoculars didn't help much.
I used them to get a better view of the screens to the sides
of the stage. The disadvantage of the GA area is you feel
miles away from the stage!! But the sound was excellent and
he had all kinds of weird videos at the back of the stage to watch.

 

INCONVENIENCES  Once it got dark, it got freezing cold. I didn't expect that after 80 degrees all day and hot mugginess. I had been prepared earlier with extra sweaters, but I watched all these other people in shorts, tank tops and sandals and thought I was being over prepared. I have no idea how they survived! I at least had long sleeves and a coat. At one point I was looking through my binoculars and couldn't focus because I was shivering so hard.

Being cold makes one really, really susceptible to junk food! Those warm French fries were calling to me. Then that hot Chicken Teriaki Rice Bowl screamed to me to come buy it. I was thankful the lines were so long as I didn't have the patience to wait. It was either see a concert or stand in line for food. I never caved, but very tempted. I just wanted to hold something hot!

Also, sitting on a hillside takes some special knowledge. The constant gravity pull downhill makes your butt HURT PAINFULLY. I could not get comfortable. I now see why there is a mad dash to the terrace part of the General Admission area which has flat grass and angled cement walls to lean back on. You can see part of the terrace in my photo above as I was standing right in front of that area. I'll know this for next time.

Another issue was the restroom facilities. All outhouses at the campgrounds and the Gorge. I don't know what chemicals they use in them but I became very skilled at holding my breath while inside. Besides the chemicals, I think it's so gross to have urinals in them. Why can't men be taught to SIT when at a public toilet? It's very scary seeing all the wet at your feet and then having to make sure your pants don't drag in it when sitting on the throne. Eeewww...Hmmmm...toilet woes.

Jason Mraz was outstanding. I've been watching him for years in concert footage so I knew he was an excellent performer. It was wonderful.

I left during the last encore song and high-tailed it to my van and out of the parking lot. No problem. Got to the campgrounds and found a site with no one around, slept, awoke the next morning and my sinuses cleared when I was half way home! No lung issues. No nausea. Throat never closed up once. Only slight headache and I'm still clearing my throat and coughing today, the next day.

Would it have been nice to go with a group of people, for the whole weekend, camp next to nice, but smelly people, take the shuttle there and back, sit in line with the other GA ticket holders bonding in our love for Jason Mraz, and reserve the expensive seats right under Jason Mraz's nose? Yeah. Oh well. I do what I can do to survive.

I SURVIVED! Even with all the precautions and worry, being able to do something I haven't been able to do for a long time let's me feel like I'm normal. Who would have thought being "normal" is cause for celebration!!??

HOORAY!

Fester, Fester, Fester

Anger is exhausting, stressful, and all-consuming negatively affecting one's well-being.

I'm angry a lot. If not angry, then just plain irritable. Anything can set me off: entitled neighbors, disrespectful relatives, inconsiderate friends, and stupid people in general. Mostly people, but I've been known to get angry at nails, plants, rocks, and insects, as well, although less frequently. I once got mad at my van and slammed on its brakes. I'm sure the van learned its lesson.

I know a lot of it has to do with chemicals as I find I am less tolerant of anything if I'm dealing with an exposure. The more deadly the exposure, the more irritable I become. I can't control it. My only remedy is to cloister myself within my house, avoid people, and wait it out. I yell at the walls, pace the floors, chop down the garden, or do some physical labor in the privacy of my self-confinement. Detoxification methods help as they move the toxic load out of my body which alleviates the pressure on my brain. So does diet. When I gave up gluten I had a strange, unnatural wave of contentment wash over me. It's an ongoing battle to squelch the constant, rising emotion of anger on a daily basis.

Prior to chemical sensitivity I was incredibly good-natured, easy-going, and friendly. Getting angry or irritable lasted five minutes and it was over.

Some, however, hold on to their anger and resentment for a lifetime.

Not too long ago I ran into an old friend I hadn't seen since college. We made small talk and did some minor catching up using the people we were with as an audience for our memories. Then out of the blue my old friend assumed a tone of hostility as she began reminiscing about a package she sent to me when I was living in Switzerland. Her voice became very loud as she told us how she couldn't believe back then I wanted her to send me...peanut butter. She laughed sarcastically at how self-centered I was and how the postage on the jar of peanut butter cost three times as much as the actual peanut butter. Her fake laughter contradicted the obvious resentment she felt. She kept yelling repeatedly, "THREE TIMES AS MUCH AS IT COST!" I was embarrassed. I stared in disbelief trying to remember the peanut butter, but only remembering how wonderful her letters and packages made me feel at a time when I was incredibly homesick. She looked at her friend and my friend and yelled, "Can you believe she would do that?" Our friends stared at her as surprised as I was at her hostility.

I asked her, "If it was so expensive and such a hardship, why did you send it?"

She ignored my question and continued to laugh hysterically explaining she had asked me in a letter what I missed most about living in the United States and I had jokingly replied, "Peanut butter." For some reason she felt obligated to send it to me. And it was my fault. My thoughtlessness was to blame. I was shocked this small gesture of kindness I so very much appreciated at the time was a lifetime's source of anger and resentment for her. I had no idea she felt this way. I was amazed she blamed me for it instead of herself. I wonder over those years how often she thought about it and how much anger had built up over time. How did this anger affect her health over the years? I have vague memories of the peanut butter, but her resentment has totally changed my perception of our history together. Maybe she had become chemically sensitive?

We all have experiences in our past we'd like to forget. Some of us dwell on them, others go through years of counseling, and still more forgive, forget and live their lives to the fullest.

Jason Mraz has a song on his new CD Love is a Four Letter Word called "Living in the Moment". It's my new theme song. I love the words:

If this life is one act
Why do we lay all these traps
We put them right in our path
When we just wanna be free
I will not waste my days
Making up all kinds of ways
To worry about all the things
That will not happen to me
So I just let go of what I know I don't know
And I know I only do this by

Chorus:
Living in the moment
Living my life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
I got peace in my heart
Got peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home
I'm living in the moment

I'm letting myself off the hook for things I've done
I let my past go past
And now I'm having more fun
I'm letting go of the thoughts
That do not make me strong
And I believe this way can be the same for everyone
And if I fall asleep
I know you'll be the one who'll always remind me
To live in the moment

(Chorus)

I can't walk through life facing backwards
I have tried
I tried more than once to just make sure
And I was denied the future I'd been searching for
I spun around and hurt no more by 

(Chorus)


Video:

I am rendezvousing with the Mraz Man this weekend and hope to soak up all that positive spirit of his!

I haven't been to a concert in about thirteen years. Wish me luck!

Manipulation, Coersion, Corporate Corruption and Other Shiftiness

Advertising is all about capitalism and the bottom line. How much money can be made regardless of who is being manipulated and used, and regardless of product quality vs. common good. Corporations push their bad products through advertising attempting to make us believe we NEED useless, unhealthy or unnecessary stuff. It doesn't matter if the item will waste our money, pollute the environment or make us sick as long as the corporation profits. Unfortunately the world is overpopulated with ignorant suckers who buy into the sales gimmicks. For the rest of us we have to suffer the indignity of being treated like morons.




Online advertising hasn't quite figured out the Internet yet which is so weird to me. Advertising companies still approach marketing as if we are still in the 1950's, a captive audience sitting in front of our television sets with no access to information. In reality, we are able to log on the Internet and search for anything we want. Why are we forced to watch commercials for products we don't want? Why don't they take the next step and create consumer participation commercials where we can select topics of interest and products we want to learn about? How hard can it be to create some kind of program so if I log into Hulu.com I can, in advance, select products I might really be interested in buying? Instead we are still forced to watch 30 seconds times three of drivel that make us want to run to the bathroom and vomit. What a waste of time.

 

And then there is spam. Someone needs to figure out a way to control spam and make it useful. Why am I getting daily messages to Enlarge Your Manhood!  I DON'T HAVE A MANHOOD! Or Fucbook. Actually, Fucbook makes me kind of laugh, but it irritates me that deleting this spam daily wastes my time and no one has figured out I'm not interested.




 

Commercials that make me scream and scratch my eyes out:

 

Drugs. Viewers don't even need to know what the drug is for. All they have to do is ask their doctor if they need it. "Is Viagra right for you? Ask your doctor." How is pushing drugs legal?  I bet the drug companies are hoping people are so stupid their brain will get foggy half way through so they can't hear the side effects. My most recent un-favorite commercial is the one for the ADHD drug Vyvanse which includes the side effects hallucinations, serious heart problems, stroke, fainting and sudden death. Hey, just a precaution: stop taking it if you drop dead. Who is dumb enough to take this drug? What parent is stupid enough to approve it for a child? One of the warnings is to contact your doctor immediately if you have "change in thoughts." ??? So if you think, that's a bad sign? Makes total sense to me!

 

Promoting Addictions.  How is it fine to have commercials for alcohol and drugs, but not cigarettes. What about Five Hour Energy? The latest commercial for Five Hour Energy is all about a doctor survey. Of course, there is fine print right on the screen but it flips too fast for the human eye. Nice. It could say anything disclaiming what the pretty lady is saying aloud. At the end she asks, "Is Five Hour Energy right for you? Ask your doctor." It's being marketed as a drug.  And then there is junk food...

 

Junk food commercials. The products that are marketed to sound healthy are especially irritating to me: Lean Cuisine, Kool-aid, Pop Tarts, chocolate milk, cereals targeting children. Does no one read labels? Are all those chemicals really healthy? Is it the artificial FRUIT flavoring that makes them healthy?



Household products and chemical cleaners. Especially the ones by Johnson & Johnson, a family company. I take that slogan to mean "we want to poison your family." They also manufacture drugs. Or the air freshener commercials. If your house doesn't stink like spring time or mountain freshness, you are a bad, bad person. Never mind the chemically sensitive person choking.

 

Cologne and Perfume. Actually these just make me feel sick to my stomach. I cannot figure out why people want to pay money and smell so bad. And the commercials are always geared to suggest if you use this stench you will be popular, beautiful, and rich. Sad, sad, sad. It's the same with commercials for hard liquor. Only the very cool people drink and stink.

 

Animal feces.  Why does anyone think I want to hear about a constipated dog? Does someone really think a cat digging in kitty litter is cute?

I think what irritates me the most is the assumption that I am so stupid I can't think for myself and the sales gimmicks and false advertising they use to sell me the product will make me run right out and buy something I don't need or want.

 The Winners...

I do have a few favorite commercials, not because I think the product is good or needed, but because they make me laugh out loud or are clever. The good ones are so infrequent they stand out so far above the rest it makes one wonder why advertising is so lacking in creativity. Here are my favorites:

 

Geico Insurance "Easier Way to Save"  "There he is..." LOL!

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo10WRKsLJ4  

 

Fiat "Seduction".  From the 2012 Super Bowl. Very clever and sexy.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpi2IAec9Ho

 

Toyota "It Just Looks Fast"   Old commercial that was shown in movie theaters years ago...LOL

 

 

Gerber Collision.  I heard this on the radio a few days ago during my last excursion into civilization.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyGsJO6Bek0

 

HAHAHAHA  Pretty funny. Or sadistic. Depending on how one looks at it. I've heard it twice and LOL both times. It makes me smile.

 

Happy Stuff: I'm Surrounded by Morons

 

This is so funny. Very French. Very tragic. Enjoy.

 

 

Laughter is good.

Water Therapy

In my last apartment I had a sauna off the bathroom. I know that sounds decadent. I was living in the basement of a man's house that was converted into an apartment with a private entrance. He had built the sauna for himself before the basement was a rental. Renting the apartment to me, he lost the use of it, but that was his choice.

I'm not one for saunas sitting in a small enclosed space sweating to death. I feel like I'm suffocating and with my constant desire for clean, fresh air, the heated air was often intolerable. I much prefer a hot jacuzzi out in the fresh air so at least my lungs would stay cool. I didn't use the sauna for several years and only after I was diagnosed with MCS was it suggested as a treatment type. I found after a bad chemical exposure I could sit in that sauna for thirty minutes and many symptoms would either go away or never show. If the air got too intolerable, I would crack the door open and breathe the fresh air through the opening.

After thirty minutes of sweating, it's optimal to jump into cold water. That's how the Swedish do it. They build their little bake houses right next to a lake or river.  I would jump into a cold shower, not more than five feet away. Brrrrrr...It's definitely a shock to the system, but like swimming in cold water, very invigorating.

The premise is the sauna opens all your pores, sweats out all the toxins and the cold water closes them quick and tightly squeezing any remaining toxins out so they can't get soaked back up by your skin.

You can do this in your shower! Same technique only without the need of a sauna. Shower in the hottest water tolerable for 15-20 minutes. I love being warm and toasty with a shower massaging my skin. Then turn the hot water off completely and stay under freezing cold water for as long as possible. Be sure to turn around so your whole body is exposed. I guarantee you will gasp aloud! Some people cool the water gradually, but I've never been able to do it. It's cold turkey for me or not at all.  It's like an internal massage, forcing your blood to the surface, and retracting it back to your vital organs which energizes and invigorates them. Alternate hot and cold a few times. Your whole body will tingle.

I read it is really good for healing, too. Exposing injured body parts to hot then cold then hot water expedites healing. Hydrotherapy is used by cancer patients and those suffering with depression. Cold water in particular is thought to activate the nervous system and lower brain temperature so this is especially beneficial for depression and it works very similar to electric shock therapy or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), another treatment used for depression. As a treatment for depression, it is suggested to slowly cool the water as extreme cold can actually negatively affect the brain and worsen a depressed person's mood.

At the conclusion of any water therapy, like massage, drink lots of clean, fresh, filtered water to keep hydrated and to clean toxic residue out your system.

Water

Water has to be the most taken for granted commodity we have and the number one most wasted resource.  We wash our cars, clean our houses, water our plants, drown our lawns, bath our bodies with it, and, of course, drink it. Have you ever imagined what it would be like not to have access to water? This is a reality for millions in underdeveloped countries.

The myth is each person needs to drink eight glasses of water per day. I can't count how many times I've tried this and it never works. I end up peeing every ten minutes. Still, every so often over the years I'd read about the latest health tip or diet and attempt another self-drowning. Drink four gallons of water a day and you are guaranteed to lose weight! All this does is force me to stay within ten feet of a toilet all day.

The daily water requirement depends on many factors. A couch potato doesn't need as much water as a marathon athlete. People living in Washington State during the rainy season don't need as much as people living in Arizona during the summer. A frutarian doesn't need as much as a potato chip junkie. I venture to think anyone with a healthy diet doesn't need as much water as someone eating chemicals, salt, saturated fats and junk food.

Hydration is a requirement for life. Humans can survive up to six weeks without food, but only two days without water.

Those of us lucky enough to have easy access to water can get it straight from the tap in our homes or we can install water dispensary machines and have water delivered regularly. Stores carry numerous brands of bottled waters and some even offer bulk water from water filtration machines.

Water contamination is a constant threat. Industrial waste, human sewage, animal sewage, garbage, and bacterial pathogens are just a handful of pollutants that may render our water sources unusable. Without chemical treatments we are subjected to any number of deadly, water-borne pathogens; and with chemical treatments we are poisoned. Chlorine is the most widely used water treatment to reduce disease-causing bacteria. Fluoride is commonly added to the city water supply as a free cavity prevention practice. Our only choice is to move to property with a private well, but even then state regulations will be monitoring what you do or don't do to your own water supply.

Bottled water uses plastic materials for containers that leach PBCs, BPAs, HDPEs, PPs, PVCs, and PETs into the water and it is said most bottled water is just tap water bottled so add in the chlorine and fluoride and you are drinking one toxic cocktail! Truth be told, it's probably safer to drink tap water than some of these bottled waters!



Jason Mraz water bottle

Consumers can now buy glass or stainless steel water bottles and refill them with their own filtered tap water or buy filtered water at the store. Many restaurants offer free filtered water through their soda fountain machine.

Musician Jason Mraz is a self-made spokesperson for water quality and conservation and promotes a variety of these types of re-fillable bottles. He has also teamed up with Brita and their FilterForGood Music Project  during his "Tour is a Four Letter Word" tour promoting safe, re-usable containers and reducing plastic water bottle waste. At his concerts the Brita tents offer free filtered water and prizes. He also wears suits made from recycled plastic water bottles to music awards. I love Jason Mraz.


Suit made from water bottles!

 

For those of us who are chemically sensitive, tap water can be intolerable. Bathing in chlorine is enough to asphyxiate a MCSer and drinking fluoride can make us very sick. What about all the unknown chemicals haphazardly added to our water without our knowledge?

The first winter I first moved into my house, I started getting sick. At first I thought it was some kind of virus even though I knew that was improbable with my superhero immune system. Was it food poisoning? Mold? Cat urine bacteria from the old rugs I removed?  With every bout of illness I made an excuse before I realized I was getting sick on the same days every month like clockwork. I started logging illness episodes on a calendar. The afternoon of the 21st the nausea would build. My fast remedy for any illness was a nice, hot bath.




After the bath I'd get sicker and head to bed with cold sweats, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea and migraines. My head would spin and at times my sight would blackout. The 22nd I'd be miserable in bed all day and the 23rd it would all be almost gone by the evening. The 24th I was fine, if not a little exhausted. I was sure this was what it was like to be poisoned. Off-hand I mentioned it to a friend and she had read an article that stated if it's like clockwork it's either industry or water, something on a schedule.

Hmmm...water. But I used a Brita Water Filter. The water looked fine, unlike my last home where the water came out blackish-brown at times. Or the previous home where the water smelled like something died in the pipes (this is normal in Phoenix, Arizona!).  I did remember someone telling me when I first came to this town never to drink the water as it was toxic. I laughed and told him it couldn't possibly be worse than the water supply I left. Maybe I was wrong? I didn't really start taking it seriously until one night in the middle of a poisoning I decided I needed to drink some water in hopes of flushing whatever it was out. I passed out on my kitchen floor. Time to get serious.

The next month I planned and prepared for my experiment by buying ten gallons of filtered water from a machine in a store in another city. Between the 18th and the 25th I was allowed no tap water from my town's water source. No bathing, no hair washing, no dishwashing, no hand washing, no clothes washing, no tooth brushing, and when I flushed the toilet I timed it so the lid was down, the window opened and I ran out of the bathroom and closed the door. No touching water or even breathing water vapors.

And no illness! The first time in two winter seasons. Ah ha! It IS the water. On the 25th I was dying to take a bath and do the dishes. I became slightly nauseated and with that grabbed a gallon of filtered water and rinsed all that tap water off. The nausea slowly subsided.

A friend of mine who used to treat his division's well water told me to find out when they treat the water. He explained all the tricks water departments use to make sure they pass inspection, none of them are proper or legal.

First, I called the town's water department. I explained my water-associated health problem and that I was in the market for a whole-house water filter. I wanted to find out what chemicals are used in water treatment so I would be able to select a filter that would work on those particular chemicals. I didn't want to sound threatening or accusatory as I didn't want to put him in a defensive mode. I wanted his help. Telling the guy the water was making me violently ill and passing out DID get his attention. He apologized profusely and agreed to send me water treatment results.

As I waited for those documents, I called the state water department. The first woman was defensive, rude and unhelpful, but she passed me onto another employee who while on the phone went through some of my town's documented water issues. She sent me this documentation.

I continued to wait for the water treatment results and opted to see the local doctor. I had hoped another one of his patients might be having the same issues. I did NOT tell him I was chemically sensitive. Within five minutes his medical assistant told me it was all in my head! The doctor on the other hand, nodded condescendingly as I explained, studied my list of symptoms and prescribed headache medicine! SO. INCREDIBLY. USELESS.

The water treatment results arrived with a note stating he could only find two documents from two different months, both from last year. I found it really strange and suspicious records of the test results aren't kept on file? According to the official notes they tested the water on the 22nd in both instances. Which means they are treating the water on the 21st to comply with the testing on the 22nd. Later someone in town who knows someone who knows someone who knows the person who does the water treatments (it's a small town) heard they don't measure the chemicals. They just guess how much and dump them in. Great.

So...I called the water guy back and innocently told him I thought it was interesting the testing is done the day after I'm sick (hint, hint!). I also asked why I'm only sick in the winter and if there is a particular chemical used only in the winter. He told me they have a special chemical they add to the water only in the winter to break up the mud washes from the winter rain storms. Unbelievable. There must be a chemical for everything!

At this point I wasn't sure what to do. I doubted a water filter was going to eliminate an anti-mud chemical as most of them are designed to filtrate only chlorine and fluoride. Most water filters, even industrial strength types, can't even filter out all the medications from human sewage that goes through waste water treatments! Eewwww...Yep, we are all on birth control pills. No wonder so many have fertility issues!

 

As it turned out, I never got sick again. I think I scared the beejeebies out of the water departments and they made some changes to their lackadaisical treatment protocols.

Currently I still do bath, brush my teeth, wash my hair, water my plants, wash my dishes and flush my toilet with city water. I drink and cook with filtered water I buy from out of town.

It takes a whole lot of effort on a daily basis not to get poisoned in our society.

Pain, Potatoes and Positivity

The Three P's. I'm into the alphabet lately.

I've been sinking into negativity for the last two weeks. It might be because of the construction worker overload, or my horrid neighbors, or my lack of income, or my painful arms, but maybe it's just my bad attitude and cheating on my diet? OK, time to confess.

 

Potatoes! Damn. Might it be potatoes? I've never had a problem with potatoes, but they are nightshades. One of the most common side effects of nightshades is pain.  It is said if you can stay away from a food for over a month, then eat it, you should be able to tell if you react to it. I've never really eaten a lot of potatoes and it's been at least six months since I've been near one.

They are NOT ALLOWED on the Paleo/Hashimoto's diet due to the negative effects of starchy carbohydrates on blood sugar so I gave them up. Just to eat something different, I tried some last week and again this week. Yum. Homemade French fries or rather potato slices baked on a pan of olive oil. Not really fried, but still tasty. Didn't seem to have any reaction, but was I really looking closely at my symptoms?

I've been in pain for the last two weeks and it does get worse when I eat a potato. Coincidence? Hmmmmm... I had a baked potato yesterday and last night I awoke in the middle of the night with my whole body burning and in pain. And the negativity is always a clue although I am quick to blame it on any number of things besides food. Ponder, ponder. It's always such a mystery.

So let's see if I can get my diet back on track and force feed myself some positive attitude to see if it makes a difference:


The "Secret" Reinforcements:

1.) I am grateful for all the money that comes to me easy and frequently.

2.) I am grateful for my perfect health and feeling wonderful everyday.

3.) I am grateful for all my wonderful fragrance-free friends.

4.) I'm grateful for all my energy.

5.) I'm grateful for all the wonderful activities that keep me busy, entertained and cheerful year round.

6.) I'm grateful construction workers are helpful, kind, respectful, trustworthy, professional and down right joyous to be around.

7.) I am grateful for my perfect neighbors who are kind, considerate, respectful and responsibly train and socialize their pets so they can live in a neighborhood without being an obnoxious nuisance.

Gratitudes:

1.) I'm grateful for my house not falling down around me. It's much, much, much older than I am with just as many creaks, but it's still strong and reliable.

2.) I'm grateful for Peter's fortitude and positive spirit.

3.) I'm grateful I found this diet that I am religiously following.

4.) I'm grateful for my willpower.

5.) I'm grateful I'm not in debt.

6.) I'm grateful I get to see Jason Mraz in concert this month. YIPPEE!

7.) I'm grateful for my garden growing like crazy.

8.) I'm grateful for my vehicle that keeps on working.

9.) I'm grateful for my income.

10.) I'm grateful to be self-reliant and independent.


Update: I've been potato-free for almost a week now and I still have pain. It started going away so I got a little too confident with lifting things and typing more and it came back. I'm taking it easy for a little longer.

Bad Construction Karma = Me

Saint Barbara

I've come to accept my bad construction karma. It's just the way it is. Any project will cost me twice the amount of money as any other customer and there is something about me that makes men want to rip me off.  I have addressed most of my construction issues in my former post from July 2012 entitled, "I'd Rather Smell Like a Man."


I just need to process my latest bad experience now.


Why I have to hire construction workers:

1.)  I own a house. I'm seriously wondering why this is a good idea. I know with owning my own home I don't have to deal with stinky, stupid landlords and I have control over what happens, but at the same time, I never had to deal with construction before so I am now questioning if owning my own house is safer than renting? It's nonstop. Relentless. Get one thing done and another problem rears its ugly head demanding to be fixed. So is home ownership worth it? Wouldn't it be safer, less expensive, less stressful, and less toxic to rent and not be responsible for maintenance?

2.) If I just let the repairs go, my house will fall apart creating twice the problems which may also contribute to air space contamination and health issues.

3.) For a woman, I think I'm pretty strong, but I'm not as strong as a construction worker so it takes me twice as long to complete a project. If at all! Some things I cannot do because I can't lift it or move it. I watch men handle drills with one hand and drill a screw in seconds. It takes me holding the tool with two hands and using all my weight to push and often I STILL can't get the damn screw in the wood!

4.) I'm usually not as skilled or knowledgeable as a construction worker so I screw up more often so it takes me twice as long and twice as much money to complete a project.

5.) The chemicals they use for whatever they are doing are toxic and make me ill. Since they can usually complete a job in half the time, I'd rather they breathe the fumes instead of me.

6.) I don't have most of the tools and they are too expensive to buy or rent. Even the ones I could rent, many of them are too heavy to lift or move, let alone handle them!

7.) I want things fixed or improved to make my life easier and more enjoyable.

8.) I don't always have the energy or stamina to do physical labor, especially big projects.



The problem with hiring construction workers:

1.) Most of them stink of chemicals. Even if they say they don't, they do.

2.) Most of them are unprofessional, untrustworthy, and incompetent sleazeballs.

3.) Their sleaziness often costs me twice the money.

4.) Their incompetence costs me twice the time.

5.) The whole experience is more often than not very stressful.

5.) I can't concentrate when they are here working so this is a huge imposition on my time affecting my income.


Obviously my very good construction experience was followed by a very bad one and I am processing. Processing helps me not to seek revenge, and therefore, put myself in the line of fire. I've been shopping for a gun. Well, to clarify, this latest construction worker was a master manipulator and come to find out, a convicted felon. I was warned by the police not to mess with him. Great. I'm trying very hard to fly low and avoid being a target, but I'd really rather rip this smug, condescending, arrogant, ignorant slimeball a new asshole and report him to the powers than be. The Labor and Industries representative said if I report him for ruining my roof eaves with a lousy paint job they will fine him $1,000 for every address I can provide because he isn't a licensed contractor. I know of four addresses he's worked at. I can find more in this little town. Every time I see his truck out in front of a neighbor's house I wonder if he's pretended to know what he's doing with them, too. Yeah, I know. Out of all the people I hired or got quotes from this summer, he's the only one whose license I thought I checked but didn't. Damn. I've been bad mouthing his name all over town. If he shows up at my house unhappy with my anti-recommendations, I want to be armed. Besides, I'm American. Guns R Us.

But a gun isn't going to help me if he chooses to seek the ultimate revenge. What would the ultimate revenge be? What am I most afraid of? Perfume. Cologne. My greatest fear is if he completely understood the ramifications of perfume exposure and throws perfume on me or on my property. I find that so strange that is my greatest fear. Let him beat the crap out of me or shoot me with a gun, but perfume exposure scares the bejeebies out of me. I'm sure this is totally incomprehensible to the average, non-chemically sensitive. I'm hoping as sleazy as he is, he's also not real smart and he didn't register or understand the seriousness of my fragrance-free requests. One of his workers smelled like a toxic waste dump and I told him to get off my property.


So what to do? Continue to lay low or demand my money back and deal with whatever repercussions come flying my way?


I decided I needed some kind of divine intervention so I checked online to find out who is the patron saint of construction. Saint Barbara.

BARBARA?

BARBARA?

Wow.  I should have known. Barbara was the name of my evil babysitter. Barbara was the name of that ugly doll I hated and gave to my little brother in hopes he would tear her head off. (I named her after my evil babysitter.)  Barbara was the name of my wicked stepmother. I have bad Barbara karma, too.

I am so DOOMED...

Ocean Adventures, Part Ten: The Rock

This was the first beach I went to for my New Year's Resolution this year, but this is the ONLY time I've ever seen it when the tide is out. Here is the photo from March:

Cold, cold, cold, gray, gray, gray, windy, windy, windy, wet, wet, wet. BRRRRR!!!!

Today the tide was out and I was able to not only walk around the rock, but climb on top of it without waves crashing over me. View of the rock from a distance:

 

 

View from on top of the rock:

 

 

 

Pools with little critters left on top of the rock:

 



 

 





The skies don't get any bluer than this!

 

 

Well, unless the view is from the east!



 

 

No adventure, but the fresh air, wonderful ocean smell, sound of crashing waves and scenery were pure joy! I was so tempted to jump in the water, but it was COLD! And I didn't have a towel with me. Maybe tomorrow....



The Rabbit God

On the way home from my last ocean adventure I stopped at a yard sale. I bought a Rabbit God for Peter. I love him. Peter idolizes him.



Every time I see him out of the corner of my eye I think we have an intruder in the yard!

 

He's a little worse for wear as it looks like he's been in a fight and someone took a bite out of his ear. I like it. It makes him look mean and powerful like a Rabbit God should. I'm sure his opponent looked worse. It was probably a dog and the Rabbit God kicked his mangy ass.




I looked online and found all kinds of information on rabbit gods and goddesses from nearly every culture.





The Chinese Moon Goddess, Chang-E, has a court of white rabbits that keep her company.


There is even a rabbit constellation. His name is Lepus and Orion hunts him in the night sky.

There are other rabbit-associated deities: Kalulu, Gluskap, the Jade Rabbit, Hu Tianboa, and Ostara, the goddess responsible for the Easter Bunny. 

This morning I look out the window and Peter is lying at the Rabbit God's feet paying homage.

 

 I made an offering to the Rabbit God of some nasturtiums, one of Peter's favorite edibles. See Peter smiling? He's feeling very special in the presence of his god.

 

 

I patched up his ear. Hopefully, once the patching cement dries it won't look so obvious, but at least it'll keep his ear on. Scars are ruggedly handsome.

Long live the Rabbit God, protector of little bunnies and bunny lovers everywhere!

Ocean Adventures, Part Nine: I'm Official and Legal!!

I got my shellfish and seaweed recreational license! Along with it I bought a tide tables book and in order to figure out how to read it I went to the mud flats to compare the water levels. At 11:05am this morning the low tide was at its lowest at 2.7 feet. I was disappointed to find the oyster beds were totally covered. No indication at all that oyster beds were even there! I didn't attempt digging as I don't think the tide was out enough. Instead I strolled through the mud in the sun for some vitamin D therapy.

Unfortunately, my camera died this morning so I have no evidence.

 

The next low tide not in the middle of the night is Friday the 14th at 6:08pm at 0.8 feet. This is as low as it was when I discovered the beach so I am anticipating fun times and lots of clam digging excitement. I'll go again on Saturday at 6:30am when the tide will be at -0.2! NEGATIVE! I was told a negative reading is the best as the tide is REALLY, REALLY low. My neighbors who are from California plan to go with me that night when at 6:52pm the tide will be at 0.3.

Such an adventure! Hopefully my camera will be working. I think it's the battery.

Ocean Adventure, Part Eight: Mud Suck and Aphrodisiacs

Anytime I head to the ocean I always pass this beach that is less beach and more mud flats. When the tide is out, it's one long stretch of brown-gray sludge covered in flat ocean grass and seaweed.


I often see people out there with buckets and I've been told they are gathering seaweed. So, on my way to find an ocean adventure I thought it's time to discover what they are really doing once and for all.

 

When I arrived the tide was WAY, WAY out. After negotiating the rock wall that separates the highway from the beach,

I surveyed the area. I could see a small group of people with buckets to my left and another group to my right.

 

Since I'm normally driving down the highway unable to really look, I had never noticed just beyond the flats was something...? I decided to start there.

 

Hmmm...interesting. I had no idea what I was looking at but something was being cultivated in rows.

 

Lots of rows. A seaweed garden?

 

It went on for about two miles in both directions.

This close to the water the mud was so deep if I stood too long to study or take a picture I would get sucked down and the suction made it hard to remove my foot. I was a little worried I'd get stuck and the tide would roll in quickly. What would I do? Both groups of people were so far away I doubt if they could hear my screams. I guess someone would find my drown and dead body when the tide went out again. I really didn't look at the rows close enough since I was preoccupied with staying alive.

 

 

The group of people to my left looked closer so I started trudging through the mud toward them. It was slow going. Any time I leave footprints I always think of that story about Jesus carrying me and wonder: if he is really carrying me, why is this so difficult?  Have I been abandoned?

 

Along the way I saw all manner of seaweed from soft wispy kind,

to bulbous piles,

 

and also strange little mounds in the mud. I have no idea what I'm looking at, but I'm sure it's something fascinating.

As I got within fifty feet of the group, they started heading away from me!

"No, stop, don't run away! I'm trying so hard to catch up to you!"  I'm sure they thought I was crazy. Finally I did catch up to them and they were VERY informative.

They were gathering butter clams and oysters! I guess between two markers unbeknownst to me, this is a public beach. With a clamming license, one person can gather up to 18 oysters and 15 butter clams.

 

They also must be a certain size and the oysters must be shucked and their shells left on the beach for baby oysters to attach.

The seaweed rows are oyster beds! Ah ha! If you look closely at the above pictures you'll see the oyster shells attached to the rows, but the public can gather the oysters that are laying on the mud or under the mud. You need to bring a bucket, a shucking knife, and an oyster-raking tool.

 

(Oh! Is that what I have? All this time I was using it for gardening!)

 

Knowledge is power and this made me very aware of the crunching beneath my very thin beach boots as I walked. I was a little worried those sharp shells would cut into my feet.

 

The oysters are all over! On top of the mud, under the mud. Oysters are expensive and all this time I had an opportunity to gather them for free!

What was embarrassing to me is these people were from the Midwest and on vacation. They knew more about my area than I did! Of course, the man was a former marine biologist who used to work in the area. I have lived in the oyster capital of the world for the past seven years and this was the first time I had ever seen an oyster bed! How does this happen? Anyway, this new discovery inspired me! I felt the urge to run home, buy a license and come back outfitted for clamming and oystering, until I reminded myself I was Resting, Relaxing and Recuperating. Not a good idea to shuck oysters with bad arms and crippled hands. Next time!

After being educated on the advantages of living near the ocean, I thought I'd trudge back to the oyster fields for another look...by the time I got there it was nearly all under water! Tide was coming in...time to head back to land...fast!

 

 

What a lovely adventure!

 

Update: I drove by this beach today with the tide half way in and there is no sign of oyster beds. Everything is under water. I think I just lucked out at the right time to see the tide way out and the oyster beds showing.