packing up to go to Monterey with my BFF for a quick overnight road trip. Should be fun! Jellyfish and sea otters, here we come...

Liese, I am so sorry about Dave's dad.

I have a million papers to grade.

So, apparently it's against the law to help adult deer in NC. But the wildlife rehab folks say that if a deer is able to get up and around (which this was) and has access to food and water (which this does) they'll generally heal well on their own. If anyone in NC needs wildlife rehab info, especially on the weekend, CLAWS Inc. seems nice. [link]

My condolences, Liese. It sounds like he had a very peaceful and loving passing. Peace to the family.

Jesus, I had to wear non-sandals last night for the first time since May. DO NOT LIKE.

Whereas I'm going is it cool enough to wear boots yet? How about today? OH COME ON.

I may wear boots and socks today with summergoth clothing, because I'm going on a(nother) THREAT LEVEL: PUMPKIN shopping trip, and comfy feet would be nice.

My condolences, Liese.

I want ALL the fall weather, too. Boots and sweaters, please. Right now.

The other day, during a search and rescue meeting with the Chief, he got a call for help. A lady had found 3 prarie dog pups on her porch and wanted them remove. Umm, the team doesn't do that. At all. Chief directed her to animal control and she said she called them first but they were closed so she called Arapahoe Rescue Patrol. Eeeep.

I posted this on FB, but I'm soliciting opinions: when the fuck do you know it's time to go to the doctor for a sinus infection?

I've had bad allergies my entire life. (Like, Threat Level: You Are So Fucked.) So I don't know how to calibrate when it's time to see a doctor for sinus issues. When does "my sinuses are bothering me" turn into "this is probably a sinus infection and might eat my brain if I don't see a doctor"?

My sinuses have hurt for weeks, but let's remember: I have bad allergies and this is ragweed season. So yeah, that makes my sinuses hurt. Also my face is puffy in the cheekbone area, which I've been told is a sign of sinus infection, but I don't know if that's true. (This is puffy beyond fat face; I know what my face normally looks like, and this is puffier than usual.) And my snot is green-brown, BUT, again, I have bad allergies and I honestly can't remember ever in my life blowing my nose and having non-disgusting snot. (What color *is* it supposed to be, if you're healthy? I'm totally serious.)

But also I've been really run down and exhausted for about a week, and I can't track it back to anything else, so putting it together with the weeks of sinus pain and the puffy face and the gross snot, I thought maybe sinus infection.

But I seriously don't know if that might be in the ballpark. So, internet people who are in no way licensed to diagnose me: go ahead and diagnose me! Should I call the doctor? I really don't want antibiotics, because they fuck up my stomach and magical ladyparts, but I also don't like feeling like hell. So.

I think the latest wisdom is that antibiotics are not always useful for sinus infections. Even so, if I were in your situation, I would go to the doctor because I would want to know if I had an infection or not.