3 things, Sid

So we said goodbye to the kids from Bristol while they said goodbye to Chris and to each other. I was originally feeling cheated when Chris was killed off, but I guess if we are closing this chapter, it doesn't really make as much of a difference. And honestly, while Chris was my favorite, his funeral and the Jal stuff was the least interesting part of this episode. But let's get to the good stuff.

As stated, being a funeral episode and such, I was expecting some cheap shots for tears. And there were some touching moments, I liked the fish scene with Jal and Michelle, I thought the cliffside funeral and Jal's speech were nice without too much schlock. And I liked that Chris' dad wasn't a total villain, (and that 'arab' comment from the funeral director was brilliant). The real meat of the show for me was in the friend's goodbye. FINALLY, we did something with Anwar. His fear of turning into Sketch and being left behind while his friends go off to great things was touching, (and I thought he looked so nice in his suit). When his going away party idea was shot down, I felt the lump in my throat. I loved what they did with his friendship with Maxxi and how that wrapped up. It was implausible, but I thought quite nice.

The other tear-jerker was the Sid and Tony goodbye. BTW, Nicholas Hoult brought it this episode. I never thought he was a tremendous actor, but he toned it down and I thought it worked this episode. The second take, when he told Sid to lose the hat, and that he always loved him best .... it got me. Truthfully, I don't care what happens to Tony and Michelle. When he asked "We were good, weren't we?" I wanted to shout "No". When he wasn't emotionally abusing her, setting her up with his friend, cheating on her or stalking her, they were actually kind of boring. So I'm not sure if it's a bad thing if they go off to different universities. I appreciated that the writers didn't have them decide to go to school together (even thought that kind of happened with Maxxi and Anwar).

And with Sid. I really want good things for Sid. His comment about not being able to say goodbye was so true. So I understand that Cassie was the only goodbye he actually had a chance to correct. But I'm really done with Cassie. The writers really dropped the ball with her this season and I don't empathize with her like in series 1. I think she is selfish and immature. I think Sid has already done the 'chase her down and declare your love,' I mean, that was him the entire season. Also, I really think it would have been better if the whole NYC thing was more of the surreal story, and she was in rehab again or something, but no, they made it literal. Truthfully, I think it would be more fitting with Sid's character to have written her a letter and moved on. But he's tracking her down and then who knows? They'll get a loft in Brooklyn and become hipsters? Cassie's got the dress down. I guess a reunion scene would have been worse, so I appreciate that they cut before or maybe left us hanging....but really, having Sid walk around Time Square with her picture? Even for this show, it's a stretch.

And lastly, the closing scene made me go, "Oh yeah, Effy...," she really wasn't that memorable this season, but it was a nice transition bringing in the comforter and her grin, even if I don't tune in next season.

Overall, perhaps giving a decent send off to this group was better than splitting them off, making spin offs and bringing in even more characters. Clean break, etc.

Obviously, series 2 was not up to par with 1, but they managed to get a few good episodes and end it with less gimmick than expected. I thought the goodbyes were realistic in that they were rushed and separate and ambiguous. There was no memorable last hurrah or group ritual, and that felt right. With Chris gone, the only one left behind was Sketch, and that seemed appropriate.

The infestation

I have never been one to suffer extensively from allergies. Cat's make my eyes water and nose run. In high school I ate a habanero pepper on a dare and had some sort of allergic reaction that involved sweating, shaking, losing peripheral vision and passing out. Other than that, and the occasional 'seasonal' allergies (incredibly mild) I feel very lucky in the allergy department. I can't imagine how life would be if I had a deadly peanut allergy or was lactose intolerant or if I had to plan my day by the outdoor mold count. This lucked changed this weekend..... dramatically.

Friday I made good on my promise to clean out the disgusting office fridge, even though I have not used it once. I did this for several reasons: 1. I don't have much to do during the day, and this would be a nice diversion. 2. Cleaning out a fridge is a job that has a pretty clear end-point. 3. It was so gross I was afraid to use the water pitchers for fear of contamination and lately could not stand to be in the kitchen long enough to make coffee. 4. I am still somewhat new and figured this would earn me points somewhere. 

I pulled out all the expired, rotting and unlabled food and threw it out. Then I wiped down the inside and all surfaces with a diluted Clorox solution. The fridge finally looked passable to biohazard inspectors, and the odor was diffused. I was feeling pretty good about the job as a whole.

Later that night I went to Rob's for dinner and to watch Sweeney Todd. While watching the movie I began to notice that I itched. It started in my head and I thought perhaps my new shampoo was irritating my scalp. Then my arms and stomach really itched. I didn't think much of it, but soon couldn't sit still. The itching spread to my neck and chest. I decided to change into pj's. Rob commented that I was kind of splotchy on my neck and chest. I blamed it on scratching but then noticed all these white bumps. They were everywhere! Rob instantly identified them as hives and blamed himself for infecting me with whatever he cooked for dinner. This was soon ruled out as I remembered scratching my neck at work once or twice and finding what I thought was a bug bite on my elbow before dinner. 

I was in misery. I took some benadryl, but it obviously took a few hours to kick in. It was like I was compelled by a dark evil force to scratch my own skin off. My body had turned against me and was winning the fight. Rob literally had to restrain me from scratching until I bled.... it was that bad. 

Finally the benadryl knocked me out. When I woke up the next morning, the itching didn't seem so bad. But it's kind of like ants. You see a single tiny ant in your corner, then you lift a rug and all of a sudden they are everywhere. My foot began to itch and before I knew it, I was back to itch city. I bought some more benadryl and hydrocortisone cream. Here is what I don't understand about benadryl: I can never stay awake long enough to tell if it works. Both times I took it, I fell asleep still itching, but I obviously still fell asleep. I sat through dinner, but by the time we got home I was in full itch mode. My body was jerking around from my attempts to avoid scratching. I had taken the maximum amount of benadryl and was in no better state. I was starting to crack. I weighed going to the ER, but decided to try calling my Dr's answering service. After several tries and explanations that no, this cannot wait until the next business day, unless you think I can survive for 48 hours without any skin, I finally got a call from my MD. Kind of loopy on benadryl (actually wal-dryl to save money), I described the symptoms best I could. After calculating the amount of wal-dryl in my system, he called in a prescription for steriods and recommended a different cream that could quell the itch better than hydrocortisone. I took a cocktail of wal-dryl, prednisone, hydrocortisone and generic SARNA cream and passed out, but not before observing all the interesting characters in Walgreens on a Saturday night. 

Today the hives have lessened, but still flare up every so often. I feel kind of freakish with oddly appearing and reappering splotches all over. Case in point -- they randomly popped up in my eyelids for a couple hours over dinner last night. 

So by process of elimination I would hypothesis that the cleaning solution most likely caused the outbreak. I did not eat anything I hadn't eaten multiple times before, nor taken any new medicine. The only unusual substance was that cleaning solution. Rob suggested something in the fridge, but I didn't eat or really touch anything directly. 

I have learned several things from all of this.

1. I sure as hell will not volunteer to clean ANYTHING again. If I find myself in a janitorial situation, I am wearing surgical gloves, a mask and an asbestos suit.

2. I will no longer scoff at those who complain about skin conditions. I don't really remember having chicken pox, but I will wager this was worse. Worse than camping in Minnesota and being eaten by mosquitos, worse than New Zealand sand fly bites. 

3. I am not going to feel guilty about describing how much pain/agony I am in to the answering service operators. I can't imagine a serious case of hives would take a physician's time away from a life threatening situation. I need to get over this hang up of 'bothering' medical professionals with my complaints... it's part of their job.

4. Hives are almost magical. They can appear, disappear and then reappear ANYWHERE in the body. 

5. You can better believe I'll milk this at work tomorrow. It's got to be good for a free lunch or after work drink.