May 4, 2008

  • this week is...the last full week of college.  i have six more days before finals week.

    i've had a lot of work to do, but i've been chipping away at it.  i was hoping to make more progress today, but all i could get done was my report for swimming.  i still have homework for cs 154 to do and i need to make some more headway in my 149 project.  i just turned in my 134 project, so that's set.  when i get my 149 project to an acceptable state, that will mark the end of my major stressors.  161 is going to be a lot of work, but nothing too supremely difficult.  same with 158A.  so yeah.  push through the next two days and it'll be downhill from there.

    my body is a different story.  a while ago i posted (also my sleeping pills are starting to kick in so if my sentences start to make less sense that's why) about some itchy bumps on my body and in my armpit.  well, as the days went on, a lot more of them started to show up.  the rash has spread to most of my abdomen, parts of my chest, both underarms, parts of my thighs, and it's moving towards my back.  they itch like nothing else, and i'm getting very little sleep anymore as a result.  if the itchyness doesn't keep me up, i usually end up waking up because i start scratching in my sleep.  i saw a doctor at the health center, and she thinks it's either Pityriasis Rosea or an allergic reaction.  i'm not too sure about the allergy thing, since if i were allergic to the soap i'd have the rash everywhere.  Pityriasis Rosea is caused by a virus and resolves itself after a few weeks, but that means a few more weeks of this.  some of the larger concentrations of bumps have sort of merged together into a large patch, which has a thick texture and makes it uncomfortable to bend over.  as well, the rashes themselves generate heat, which is raising my overall body temperature.  i wouldn't say i have a fever, but i'm dang close.  it's also kind of depressing.  i look at myself in the mirror and i look like those low-level monsters final fantasy games throw at you before a boss shows up.  the doctor said my rash isn't contagious, but i should swim with a shirt on so i don't freak people out.  it also burns at times, but that's caused by a lotion the doctor prescribed for me.  it tends to dull the itch, but sometimes i miss a spot, so the itching there gets worse without everything else as a reference.  one of the side effects is burning.  so yeah, this overall really sucks.  the last thing i needed was to contract some crazy illness that does nothing more than make my skin itch.  it's annoying as hell and there's nothing i can do for it, since Pityriasis Rosea has no cure except time.  i just hope it likes chlorine, because i can't miss another day of swimming.

    start the semester with psychological problems, end the semester with a medical condition.  all i need is to have all my teeth replaced and i'll hit the physiological trifecta.