Eczema

So the skin allergy has turn into eczema. "Inflammation of the upper layers of the skin." That doesn't say much, does it? Nor did the dermatologist. Again, just like my family doctor, he didn't want to speak to me more than the absolute minimum. I was trying to tell him about the mosquito bits but he didn't pay much attention. He looked at my mouth, started writing, looked again, wrote again. Then it was the prescription. The end.

Well, he did ask me what I've been using on the affected area. I showed him the Metronidazole cream from my family doctor. He said, stop using it, it made things worse, eh? Aaaaaaargh!!!!! What have my family doctor given me!?!?!?!?! Then I showed him the jar of Blistex daily lip conditioner. He smelled it and said stop using it either. It's got fragrance. (Huh? That's definitely NOT perfume!!!) No need for fancy cream or lotions, save the money and donate it to charity. Yeah right, I only use Oil of Olay. NOT anything near fancy. And, the medicine is gonna cost money too, right? He giggled, but stood his ground.

And then, just in case, I asked him how much the medicated cream would cost. He said, about $90. WHAT? $90?!?!?!! That's more than a year's supply of Oil of Olay!!! I whined. So he said, OK then, I can give you a smaller size, 30g instead of 90g. I said, will that be enough? He said, oh yes. Hey wait a minute! Did you just wrote me the largest possible size regardless of the amount I actually need? How much bribe did you get from the drug company?

If I can't use the Blistex stuff, I need new a new moisturizer. (The area itches when it gets dry.) So he wrote down the name Cetaphil. Not knowing what it is, I casually asked the phamacy if they have it. They're out of the smaller sizes and I ended up with this huge bottle. Oh well, I can use it as ordinary lotion anyway. But $14 (after tax) is super expensive for skin lotion!! The total bill came to around $49. Sigh... And! I'll need to apply sun screen separately. (The Blistex stuff is SPF30 but of course I can't use it anymore.) Luckily the pharmacy gave me a free sample of a good sun screen. But I was shocked to hear that the sun screen goes down first. Not the medicine. (Really? That sounds like a scam...)

And then, I started using the Cetaphil lotion as soon as I got home. How come it stings? And guess what? It's not thick enough. I have to keep applying every 30 minutes or so. I need an ointment instead of lotion. Again, that pharmacy unloaded the largest possible bottle on me regardless of my need. I didn't know there are other products in the line until I unpeel the coupon on the back. GRRRRR!!!!!!

At the end, I didn't have a chance to ask what might have caused the rash. Like, allergy. And if so, I'd like to get tested for it. Didn't have a chance to mention the diaper cream I used for 1 day. And didn't have a chance to ask about SebaMed products. Sigh... The overall impression of the dermatologist was, "I'm the doctor, you're not. Shut up. Now get out of here." No wonder why it only took 4 days to see him. Next time, (if there's a next time,) I'm gonna ask for someone else.

The rash around my mouth has spread all the way around and still spreading. The mosquito bites on my wrist are turning brown, but seem to be hopeful. The one near my belly button is also turning brown, but much darker and concentrated. The new one on my wrist is itching like hell, although no discolouration appears.

Store window

Not mine, though. Thanks Ms. X for letting me photograph it. (She doesn't want her name mentioned.)

Today... yet another mosquito bite mysteriously appeared 1 cm below the old one on my wrist, and it's been itching like hell. I wonder if I got it yesterday, because 1 day was how long it took for the other ones to show up. The rash on my face probably reacted to it and got even worse. I'll see what the dermatologist says tomorrow. The fact that it only took 4 days to get an appointment bugs me. If there's no line up, is he not good?

To Crystal (happy birthday)

Happy belated birthday! (Sorry I'm always late.) Hope you're reading this, because if you don't e-mail me, I can't reach you. (What happened to your hermit crab blog???)

Yup, I agree $14 (with tax) for a lump of strings is a little expensive. But I guess the sum is greater then its parts. Hope you haven't got this one yet. (^_^) Best wishes always~!

Porsche

My cousin bought a Porsche. I wonder what made him spend that much money. Yeah, he's rich and lives in a different world. Wish I could be like that. Doooh! Forgot to take a Pinky picture with that car!

Referral

Finally! My doctor wrote me a referral to a dermatologist. I hope it's not too late. If that rash spread to my whole face, it's his fault! After hearing what Joe told me, I tried to ask for help on the residual effects from the accident, but he:

1. said it's been too long and there's not much hope for improvement.
2. Homework: I need to dig up the card of the neurologist I've seen. (Wait a minute. So I'll have to come back just for a referral, and he gets paid for doing nothing? That's not right!)
   
3. Seemed like he was trying to end the conversation.

I know, I know, my 15-minute appointment went overtime, but is that what a doctor should do? I saw only one patient in the waiting room on my way out. It wasn't like half a dozen people were waiting.

That's it. I'm switching. Anyone knows a good family doctor? (Female preferred.)

Rash

Although still itching slightly, the mosquito bites on my wrist are lightening, but not the one near my belly button. The rash around my mouth is not going away, and it spreads. Definitely need to go trash my doctor's office.

Stomach...

Stomach cramps at the end of the vampire... Quite unusual... Not sure if it's just the body's self-cleansing mechanism, or something I ate... Either way, not fun...

We broke the record for the hottest and wettest July. Wonder if we've past the point of no return for fixing the earth... (>_<;)

(This photo was taken on an earlier day at my chiropractor's office...)

Homework (boxes)

Messerschmitt KR200 for Pinky. Funny looking classic German 3-wheeled car. I think there's one in Mr. Bean.

Raspberry (3)

Actually the harvest has be on-going. Most of them aren't sweet enough, though.

Rain

Rained all day, non stop....

Spreading?

Hmm... the mosquito bites and the rash seem to be spreading... Looks scary, but at least the skin is smooth. They still itch. Nooo, I have NOT scratched them! Reactine helps too. I've been saying it for a while. Do I really have to go trash my doctor's office?

Homework (boxes)

More boxes...

Hare Hare Yukai dance

Seems like it's the most popular thing...

Evangelion version.

Old Gundam version based on the earlier end credits, with fewer dancing shots.

The original, with English lyrics.

Live version, chased by police.

Success!

At a graduation ceremony. Boys school?

Michael Jackson version.

OK, that song should be stuck in your head by now.

Oil change

Not feeling well but didn't want to skip the appointment. There's a Fujiya near by. Couldn't help it. Every time I take my car in, I end up buying a lot of discounted (expired) Pocky. Although expired, they're still good. But you can definitely tell when it's fresh.

Black Friday today

Luckily, nothing unlucky happened. It's just another normal day. yay~ (^_^) Oh, maybe not completely normal. It was "boxing day" at work. Made boxes all day. Yesterday's homework... blouses.

Too hot to sleep

Oops! Passed midnight and missed the date stamp! Well, the photo was taken a while ago and has nothing to do with the title. The poppies are long gone.

Yes, couldn't sleep well last night. The heat was worsen by the neighborhood skunk patrolling the area. Aaargh! Apparently today was the hottest day this year (so far).

I was so glad my employer's portable air conditioner worked! Otherwise her place would get so hot, it's impossible to work.

The rash around my mouth started itching again today. It's more like, on the edge. Seems to be spreading. Hope I can get up early enough to go trash my doctor's office. (Just kidding.) Either way, I'm so glad it's Thursday. I need a chiropractor badly...

Too hot to cook

It finally feels like summer! But gets too hot all of a sudden. 34 inland and 28 along coast? It's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow. 30 degrees! Oh~ it's gonna be bad at work. If the forecast is right, tonight will have a low of 16. That's a 12-degree difference. Sigh... Thought only deserts have extreme day-night difference.

Anyway, my brother (and his gang) came home for dinner tonight. It was too hot to cook so we ate out. Or maybe it was just an excuse for my dad to eat out. He always prefer eating out. However, the food in the photos... looks better than they taste.

Ajisai

Geeze... I never know its English name Hydrangea! Oh well, I'm only ESL. (Stop using it as an excuse!)

Anyway, the point is the colour shift in these photos. Pretty bad, eh? Neither one shows the correct colour. (Although I tried fixing it in Photoshop, there's only so much I can do.) When I focus on the Pinky, the camera shifts the hue towards it. So the one on the left is tinted orange, and the other one blue. Yeah, it's about 5 years old, but still takes good enough pictures. (Except for a few dead pixels, and too bulky.)

BTW, the rash around my mouth has calmed down a bit. The itching stopped. Last night it was pealing quite badly. Normal skin texture hasn't return yet. And the area has become darker. Sigh... I seriously hope this is not permanent.

Infected?

Did a little research on Metronidazole. As far as I know, my rash was caused by expired lip balm. Why did my doctor give me that cream? It's for bacterial infection! If this doesn't get better by Monday, I'm gonna trash his office. (Just kidding.) But the mosquito bites are still looking like bruises, although the swelling has gone down.

Durian

Durian... You either really love it, or really hate it. Well, I love it but not crazy about it. The ones available locally are mostly frozen and no comparison to the fresh ones. Because they've been frozen, there's almost no smell. (Fresh ones smell pretty strong.) Frozen ones have one good thing, though. It's like eating ice-cream~!

Homework (fan)

I finally went to see my doctor about the rash started by the expired lip balm. He gave me some free sample of "anti-Rosacea" cream. (Wait a minute, I don't think I have Rosacea!) I asked to be referred to a dermatologist, but he said, they're gonna give you the same thing anyway. And of course he didn't give me the referral. Grrr... was that his male ego or was he trying to save money for the government on the expense of his patients? C'mon, it's on my face! Around my mouth! What if it leaves a scar of discoloration?

I've been using the Blistex jar stuff to keep the area moisten, for dryness leads to more itching. My doctor also told me to "switch" from Blistex to the cream. But it's supposed to be used twice daily only, and doesn't moisturize. Does he really know enough to treat this? Either way, I was agonizing at work.

My employer had some experience with skin problem too. So she recommended Cortisone cream or zinc cream for my rash. I ended up using the zinc cream because she strongly recommended it. But... but... it's actually a diaper rash cream! So... putting stuff on my face normally to be used on the butt...! And it smelled suspicious (as in "not fresh"). However, it did a better job on moisturizing. Not sure if it's actually curing the rash, though. Guess I'll find out in a day or two. (T_T)

Haircut

Finally got a hair cut today. It's been 6 months. As usual, the "nice fresh cut" look only lasted an hour. (>_<;)

One more bite...

... 2 inches below my belly button. How the heck did the mosquito bit through cloths? The allergy around the corner of my mouth flared up again. It's probably related to the bites.

Happy Canada day!

Road trip to Bridal Falls, Harrison Hot Spring, Hope, and Alexandria's Bridge. Thanks for driving, Steven! (^_^)

Bridal Falls was awesome! Lots of mosquitoes, though. Harrison Hot Spring was much smaller then I thought. (Forgot to take pictures... aaaargh!) Hope... I think I was asleep. Was that the railway tracks by the Fraser River? Alexandria's Bridge was interesting in a way that it leads to a dead end. There were people fishing and they were trying to sell us their catch. $20 a salmon. A good deal, but didn't think it would last the return trip without refrigeration.
... and some souvenirs from Bridal Falls. Aaaargh itching like hell~!!!!!! Can't imagine how bad it could get if I wasn't wearing a long sleeve shirt. The lower bite falls right on top of my old IV scar. It was quite unusual that these bites only turn red and swell up the next day.