Listening to CarTalk this morning, what did me in was how sad Ray sounded.

DH was barely holding it together listening while he worked in the garage this morning. He was super choked up. He was reading me a bunch of stuff on line when the news first came out and he kept losing it too. He was a super big fan. I got him a Car Talk towel in one of the fund raisers a while back.

Ended up having to take #1 son to the ER yesterday. First I took him to a walk-in clinic and the doctor there said he had to go to the ER. So off we went. 3 doctors looked at him there (well 1 head guy, 1 resident, 1 student). The resident lanced his lip 3 places but got no great results, so the head guy was brought in again. He had no more luck. They gave him a script for anti-biotics ($83!!!), and told him to swish with peroxide a bunch. Then they put a bandaid on the inside of his swollen lip! That lasted 2 minutes.

He is not a good patient and he wears me out. But he is off to the girlfriends again. He said he was coming to the office to help me, but we are here 5 minutes and I have to get him food, then back another 10 minutes and his ride shows up to take him to GF's house. The office is 20 miles closer to her house than home so going with me was obviously a ruse to get closer.

Short version: parenting sucks.

Mid-60s and sunny here in Utah. We lose 15 degrees tomorrow, with highs in the 50s to look forward to for the next couple of weeks. Time to stop kidding myself about winter, but gosh, this is near perfect weather for me.

Sitting in the walk-in clinic. If I'd remembered my co-pay was $50 I probably wouldn't have come...

I was just happily popping some bubble wrap, and I thought, "I wonder where the air in the bubbles is from." I mean, how sterile are the facilities where they make bubble wrap? What an insidious way to spread biological weapons. I think I just turned myself into a bacteriological loonie.

Now I need to contact the bubble wrap industry and threaten to write a bestselling book about the dangers of bubble wrap unless they pay me lots of money. "Don't pop the bubbles!" could become the next "Don't go in the water!"

Sitting in the walk-in clinic.

May they help quickly and painlessly. Hope all is okay.

My son had no insurance since he hadn't done what needed to be done to get it. So I brought him to the county health clinic. They were going to get him on Medicaid, but since they sent us to the hospital they are going to do it. But he needs to get a photo ID first. He has lost his identification again. Lost count of how many times now. And his phone, again for the billionth time. His picture on the ID should be interesting with the blown up half of his face, full beard, very long hair. Seriously, the boy looks homeless.

eta: at both the county clinic and hospital I made myself comfy with my Nook. Had to accomplish something in the hours of waiting around.

I gave him an LA Fitness card and told him he had no excuse not to shower.

How old is he now?

21 - 22 in January.

Horrible cough seems to be a side effect of one of the BP meds. Okay. That's the same med I don't want to take anymore anyway, because of the side effects. Doctor gave me a script for a different BP med, but I think I'll wait and talk that over with my regular doctor before I go playing Drug Roulette.

Good news is, my BP is back down to normal. 125/75 from 170/110 a month ago. Bad news is, drugs thus seem to be necessary to keep it there, at least until when/if I lose a significant amount of weight.

I don't like taking medicine. They all seem like a deal with the Devil, you only get the good from it by losing something else.

Hmmm, Laura, next time maybe let the GF take him for medical treatment? (That's one way of growing up in a relationship real fast. Sort of brings the whole 'in sickness and health' thing into focus.)

Zen, you're not the only one that I've run into with that exact reaction to BP meds, evidently one kind really will do that to some people. This is why medicine is an art, not a science.

I'm steeling myself up to balance my checkbook. It feels like Schroedinger's Bank Account at the moment, what with the massive transfer for the rebuilt engine last month....

21 - 22 in January.

Good grief! You can tell I am frazzled. The boy will be 23 in Jan.

Hmmm, Laura, next time maybe let the GF take him for medical treatment?

Yeah. Apparently the lip issue happened when he was at a party with girlfriend and he took off because he was freaked out. And since he didn't have a phone none of his friends or girlfriend knew what happened to him or where he went. When the GF found out where he was and that he was going to the clinic/hospital she took the bus/tri-rail to see him. It took her 2-1/2 hours. Gotta give her effort points. She showed up at the hospital with her skateboard that she uses to get to and from transport stops.

He was in quite a state when he arrived at the house with his face all blown up. All huggy. Asked me if he was going to die several times. Clearly under the influence. I didn't take him to the clinic until the next morning because he was not going to die, just was going to be miserable for a bit. Still will be for a while too since he is not so great about following doctor's orders either.

Ah, parenting. Any of you considering it, don't listen to me. They are created super cute and stuff so you don't kill them when they get older.