Portland, where they issue the flannel, Birks, golden retriever, and Subaru at the border?

You misspelled "Vermont."

I'm talking it's Saturday night, you're out dancing, looking to meet the laaaaydeeez...and you're wearing a t-shirt that has faded into illegibility over a long sleeved t-shirt that has holes in it, over some jeans that haven't been washed in a week, and a pair of tevas. And bedhead.

You just described my entire neighborhood. Which -- remember when I took you to the adult bookstore and the (meager) leather shop? That's the neighborhood that I moved to when I moved in with The Boy.

Which is fitting.

ION, I am back from the doctor. I have De Quervain's Tenosynovitis. He's treating it initially with one of those decreasing-dose steroid packs (6 pills the first day, 5 the second, etc.), along with putting ice on my wrist and using a brace (which I have been doing). If it isn't markedly better by the 30th, then I get a cortisone shot.

Those damned steroid packs give me the munchies like I'm a big old pothead. But if they help, then bring it on.

He also prescribed 2 weeks worth of Ativan for me without any quarrel, when I explained how I've finished tapering off my Zoloft, and, although I know it's normal, I'm having MASSIVE mood swings and panic attacks.

And, finally, ever since I got over the recent Really Bad Cold(TM), I've had a lingering cough and intermittent tight chest that gets MUCH worse with exertion. I asked my doctor if my asthma had returned, and he said that it's not *chronic* asthma making a return; it's post-infection asthma, which I didn't even know existed.

It's more common with pneumonia, but he said it's not unheard of after a bad cold, especially since we're still in the middle of bad allergy season. So he gave me an albuterol inhaler to use before I exercise, and said that the asthma should be gone within a couple of weeks. t edit The steroids should help with the asthma, too.

I am LOADED with drugs now. Woo hoo!

Well, Jilli, it's especially prevalent among the dykes. The whole crunchier granola hipster grunge dirty hippy I don't comb my hair I'm cool because I pay someone to cut my hair to make it look like my hair hasn't been cut in six months kinda look. All that jazz. What can I say. We were in Portland, where it's even MORE so, and me and my J-Crew-East-Coast self were mourning the culture shock. I was all "Where's my dykes who look slick and fierce and like to hang out with fancy gay men who want nice things and fancy drinks??"

Which leads straight (eta, anticipating Frank -- okay, fine, DIRECTLY) to the image of the CUTEST EVAR!!1! dyke couple I saw on Valencia Street on Saturday, just after parting from Suela and Perkins. It was hotter than blazes, and they were both done up in high '50s stylish white trash drag:

• The shorter, slenderer woman had what looked like a Louise Brooks bob all gelled and slicked back with the bangs combed up and back for a mini-pomp, no makeup at all, a light blue cotton button-down shirt, and dark blue dungarees. She looked like the prettiest, toughest little badass gas station grease monkey you've ever seen.

• Her tall and curvealicious partner was in a denim halter top, denim wiggle skirt, and denim anklestrap wedges, with bright red lips, cat-eye liner, and masses of black hair swept up and adorned with five or six white silk flowers.

They were arm in arm, looking gorgeous and knowing it, and heads were turning in admiration all up and down the block.

In short, meara needs to pack up all her dress-up clothes and come down to SF for a visit, stat.

um that sounds hot. Maybe I should move up to SF. I wait, they were lesbians, they probably wouldn't be into me then. Oh well.

Crazy morning. Teleconference just got bumped 15 min. Now waiting. Sigh.

Nrgh. JZ - I've seen that couple around before. And "nrgh" is pretty much my reaction, every time.

Part of the reason why I'm so looking forward to the MSI concert this Friday is seeing what sartorial shenanigans the babygoths will get up to. The MCR concert trended a little gothy-industrial - I'm hoping this one will trend more gothy-punk.

(The memory of the babybat at the 2nd MCR concert who was OFFENDED that I had the same armwarmers as her - an OLDER person? Wearing HER armwarmers?? - still makes me cackle.)

(The memory of the babybat at the 2nd MCR concert who was OFFENDED that I had the same armwarmers as her - an OLDER person? Wearing HER armwarmers?? - still makes me cackle.)

Oh BLESS. I would have been so very tempted to pinch her wan little cheeks.

augh I have to call a plumber augh!

Oh BLESS. I would have been so very tempted to pinch her wan little cheeks.

smonsterbite pointed her out - I was too high from the awesomeness of the concert to really grok it, but I was very Earnest at her. I figured it was apropos.

Teppy, looking at your link, that sounds exactly like what happened to my hand last year. Only the doctor (actually, it was a PA) didn't seem to recognize it. They took x-rays, but since nothing showed up, she shrugged it off. It took nearly a year for it to settle down. I wish I'd pushed a little harder on that.

I wish I'd pushed a little harder on that.

I'm relentless when I'm sick. Fortunately, I also have a doctor who (1) is really good, and (b) always listens closely to me and takes my self-described symptoms seriously.

There is nothing more frustrating than a doctor who won't listen/help when you're legitimately goddamn sick, you know?

There is nothing more frustrating than a doctor who won't listen/help when you're legitimately goddamn sick, you know?

Very true. Maybe today was good doctor day. K-Bug saw her oncologist for her annual histiocytosis checkup. Ok, so it has been two years this time, but she has had the same doc since she was diagnosed 16 years ago. Dr. B is fantastic and has a son K-Bug's age, so we always spend half the time just comparing kid notes before even getting into the real medical stuff. She must have had a light schedule today cause she talked with us for almost an hour, going over life and medical - offering ideas for health in college and good eating and lots of other things. A funny fact - her son is going into the same major as K-Bug with the same interest in Sports Medicine. Dr. B also told K-Bug that she could call if she has a medical question and isn't sure who else to go to - even if it isn't directly related to the histiocytosis.