whaaa happened?

when i moved into my current abode late last July, i noticed that there were a few spots on the living room ceiling that looked like they had been patched over. no big deal.

last weekend, a hole (yes, a hole) about the size of a dime appeared in one of those spots. took a picture of it, sent it off to my landlords. conveniently, they were out of town until the 16th. not a problem until last night, when my housemate Tiffani noticed water coming through our roof into the living room. okay, not good.

upon closer inspection of the ceiling, the area around said hole was damp, and i could feel a draft from somewhere. well yeah, from outside, but somewhere through the ceiling. as i was on the mini-ladder, a tiny chunk of ceiling came flying at me (i think there was a gust of wind at the same time) and managed to put a good scare into me. i did not expect flying ceiling bits.

the remedy: i taped a gallon-sized ziploc bag onto the ceiling around the hole, then emailed our landlords last night. i proceeded to check on the bag about 5 times throughout the night; fortunately, as of this morning, no more than ~15ml of water had collected in the bag.

my landlords called this morning saying that they had contacted the homeowner's association who should be able to check out our ceiling this coming week. in the meantime, i'm hoping that this break in the rain lasts for a while longer!

i am trying to think rationally about this, but it's hard.

my ankle feels SO GOOD today. i can even jog without favoring my left ankle at all! now just a few days ago, i couldn't do this. i find it hard to believe that it's because of the cortisone injections i got yesterday because those were so superficial that it's hard to imagine that the cortisone penetrated all the way through my scars (still don't like the word "keloid") to the joint itself.

i should wait until tomorrow or mid-week next week until i get too excited, but did i just have such a good night of sleep that my ankle decided to heal at super speed overnight? i doubt it - i didn't get great sleep. refer to the "hole in the ceiling" post above.

made it to the dermatologist this morning, and she confirmed that i have keloids. doesn't know why, but she does know that it needs treatment, and that it's good that i started treatment now instead of in a couple of months when they've just hardened/solidified more.

so, i got cortisone injected into my scars today. they bled. they oozed. they didn't hurt then but they do now. i think there were 11 or 12 needle pricks in all. how annoying! she kept apologizing each time she stuck me, and i really think it hurt her more than it hurt me. i tried to tell her that! she was very sweet and very young - maybe my age? a bit older? wow, could she even be younger? i hope i'm not yet at that point where doctors are younger than me. i'm just now getting over the fact that pro athletes are younger than me! tangent...

don't know how long i'll need the injections, she said it's hard to predict how reactive the tissue will be to the cortisone. but at least once a month for a few months. i'll get one more injection in before Denver, so i hope the cortisone starts working soon!

got my new hockey pants from hockeymonkey on wednesday. i ordered the ccm 852s even though the 862 were the same price for "higher quality" pants. my reason: the 852s have silver lettering and the 862s have gold lettering, which i consider to be too flashy. i'm anything but flashy.

i called to get a return authorization today but was told that they sent the 862s because the 852s are gone, and they don't think they'll get more in since new models are coming out. so if i bother to go through the process of returning them, i need to find the pants i want elsewhere. which isn't that big of a deal, but i am trying to figure out if it's worth my time to return them just to get the silver.

i have a feeling i'll just stick with the 862s and be embarrassed about the gold.

check this out. (thanks, Viv) my thoughts:

1. they did that.
   
2. a standard basketball rim is only 18" in diameter.
3. she went through that.
4. she let them do that.
5. the dudes aren't even concerned that she seems to have hurt her head.
   

when i was visiting with Lily and Axel last night, little Axel was trying to say my name. turns out he doesn't have many "j" words in his vocabulary, because he couldn't quite get my name right. it was very cute seeing him try, but every time it came out as something that sounded like "cheddar". which is fine by me, because i love cheese, and cheddar happens to be my favorite cheese.

i mentioned this story at dinner tonight, and my fellow Burninators have decided that "cheddar", or "chedda" is a very appropriate name for me. but like as to officially burninate, it's got to be "cheddanator".

*grin*

and yes, it was a bit of a drive to go to dinner, but you know what? for as good a time as i had seeing so many of my friends, i'd do it 100 times over. thanks, buds, for keeping me smiling and laughing. you rock. and rule.

finally had my primary physican's office fax over a referral, so i get to see a dermatologist tomorrow. yay. no, really - yay! i want to get these scars (i don't like the word keloids) taken care of asap because then i can be more comfy in my skates!

Viv reminded me that it's St. Patrick's Day today. i had gotten so wrapped up in the fact that it's Liz's bday that i had completely forgotten about St. Patty, and therefore have no green on me. but, i'm listening to the Dropkick Murphys now, so maybe that partially makes up for my forgetfulness.

who really cares about St. Patrick anyhow when there's Liz, Master of so many things. happy birthday, Liz!

my brother and i have joked for a long time that i need a bubble. like the bubble boy, only i'd be bubble girl. throughout my entire life i've been seemingly extra-susceptible to colds that go around. i'm allergy ridden. i have had weird/rare illnesses. i'm kinda clumsy. all valid reasons why i should have a bubble.

until the GAB, i had never broken a bone. well, i've never been diagnosed with having broken a bone. i'm pretty sure i broke my tailbone (yes, go ahead and laugh - i do...now) a few years ago but never bothered to get it xrayed. why do so when there's nothing the doctor can to except give you a donut pillow to sit on and i already borrowed one of those from a friend?

if i don't have a bubble, i at least need a better hobby than turning scars into body art! though i am pleased with the angry scar.

wow, no kidding this is an angry scar! 

forgot to mention that before i left Monterey this evening, some friends stopped over to visit. it was nice to see them - it had been a couple of months since i've seen them. the husband is a dermatologist and he looked at my angry scars. he said i need to see a dermatologist right away to get cortisone injections so they don't keep growing. sigh. just when i thought i was done with trips to the doctor! of course he offered his services, but i always feel awkward and i hope to get it done soon in santa cruz. it is nice knowing doctor friends - lots of free advice from a trusted source. :-)

so with a phone call to my physician tomorrow, a whole new chapter in the GAB saga begins. i hope it starts with a phone referral instead of having to go see my primary physician!

watched "finding nemo" on friday night for the first time in a while and wow, what a great movie it is! as Dory was singing "just keep swimming, just keep swimming" i sang along but sang it as "just keep skating, just keep skating..." i'm so anxious to skate with my friends again!

went to work on saturday morning for a bit, then drove over to Power Play to pick up my clean gear! clean gear! woohoo! some of the things that i had cleaned are actually old, but i'm hoping to sell them. but i got my gloves back (both pairs!) and they smell oh so fresh! i was putting my gear in the car and heading back in to shop for pants when i ran into Susi. we talked for a bit and per her suggestion, i might try having my skates sharpened at 7/16" instead of the standard 1/2". still have to decide on that one.

after Power Play i drove home to Monterey and spent the weekend hanging out with my folks. it was good to see them...i hadn't been down in a few weekends. my dad was looking like a pirate because he had cataract surgery on his left eye last week and was wearing a very piratey eye patch. are all eye patches piratey? anyhow, he'll have his right eye done this week and then he will be able to see sans glasses. so weird to see him that way!

i had a great nap on saturday afternoon. for some reason, even if i'm not tired, i can always sleep when i'm at home. we puttered around in the evening - no movie because my dad couldn't focus on the tv for too long with just one good eye.

i slept in again today (woohoo!) and i think i'm almost officially over this nasty cold. hopefully my throat won't be sore at all when i wake up tomorrow. made it back home in santa cruz after a lab stop, then watched the sunday fox shows.

that's all. a nice, mellow weekend. too bad the sun wasn't out more!