Magic blog

I think this blog is somewhat like the genie in the lamp. I wrote a few posts back that my ennui had something to do with too much routine, and not enough change.

There are a couple of things that have coalesced over the past few days, to make me wonder that this is indeed the magic blog. Now I just need to know how to make it work consistently, so, you know, when I type in "I would like to win the lottery and be fabulously wealthy and not have to think about working.." - and it happens. I'm getting to work on that. And when I figure it out, I will let you in on the secret. I promise.

Saturday I started to have itchy feet. It's somewhat poetic eh? I mean this in the literal sense, however. Itchy feet. All the time. Won't let up. I did not sleep a wink Saturday night and Sunday night. And there is not a speck of hyperbole in that last statement. I googled itchy feet, and doing my own self diagnosis, deduced that I may have mushrooms growing down there. (Better known as athlete's foot.) However what tripped me up, is that I had all the sensations of the condition, but none of the physical manifestations. I found some ointment, and decided to give myself the treatment and hope for the best. I also made sure that itchy feet is not also a sign of pending doom, in case my self-diagnosis was mistaken. Experientially, itchy feet can lead one to pending doom, I can report. Having severe and intensely itchy feet, is probably the worst form of torture than anyone can endure. And having not one minute of respite from the itchy feet for over a 48 hour period can exacerbate the situation. There was nothing that would soothe or mask the sensation. Not an antihistamine, or a anti-itch ointment, oatmeal foot soak or foot powder would offer me one minute of calm. Last night, my itchy feet made me cry, and I seriously considered walking in the snow, to freeze my feet to gain that much desired state of "not-itchy". It was at that point that I knew if I had another sleepless night that I would go to see the doctor the next day, because my itchy feet were quickly becoming a serious health risk.

Let me back up a bit. Yesterday morning, when I decided that I was not going to fein the act of sleeping any longer, I decided that this morning would be the morning I quit smoking. I had made this plan a few days back when I set my quit day for Monday, and bought a box of the nicotine patches. I was so determined that I was going to keep my promise, so drugged on Benadryl and having no sleep in the previous 48 hours, I plunked the patch on to my arm. Can you say head rush boys and girls? I started to wonder if I would be a risk driving my kids to school.

So thats how my day started. Then I head to work. My company is undergoing a complete renovation process. Expanding space, tearing down walls, ripping up flooring, painting, tiling, everything. Much of the serious work was completed in the two weeks prior, they are now at the crack/filling/priming phase. There are a number of new offices that have doors, and a main open concept space where I will eventually be moved. Management deemed it sane to work in the new offices so we could shut the door...but otherwise, it mostly feels like camping. At work. Oh, and I got a new computer yesterday too. So I was moving in to my new computer as well.
In all this chaos, and I had itchy feet, and I was a new non-smoker.

My place of work is across the street from a pharmacy. I took the opportunity to speak with the pharmacist about the mushroom treatment cream that I was using. I asked him how long I should expect for the treatment to take effect. He said, "oh about a week". I think the expression in my eyes was so marked that he said "but there are other products that work faster". So I got the goods, went to the Dollarama and bought some face-cloths and went back to the office and did a full clean, dry and treatment right in the bathroom stall.

Fast forward to last night. Midnight. I had resigned myself to the possibility that I would go on my third sleepless night. So I parked myself by the television. This was after I nearly walked in the snow. I had tried using some medicated foot powder, but I think it reacted adversely, and flared my symptoms. I had to do something. The itch was so intense that I was literally in a frenzy. I made an oatmeal soak and that really eased the flare. I then curled up on the sofa and next thing, I heard my alarm. I fell asleep! I got a whole 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep! And then I realized that my feet felt normal. I was thrilled, that I bounded up and put on my new patch. Today, the feet were sore. I really battered them over the past few days. No surprise. Throughout the day, they were mildly itchy, but nothing compared to the past few days. Things were looking up! And now I am dealing with my post meal craving.

So, note to self, be mindful of what you request on your blog. It could be what you've wanted!