Just a Number...

I have certain numbers that I love. They're particular numbers that I always like to come across or have things added up to. Any other numbers are just numbers to me.

Some of those favorites are 13, 43, 7, 10, 23, 61, 5, and 313. There's a few others that I can't recall right now.

But if I get a number and I don't particularly like it, I try to change it to a number I do like. For example, suppose I get 68. It's just some random number to me. So, my mind starts changing it, right? I go something like this - 6 + 8 = 14. Still don't like it. 1 + 4 = 5. Now, that's a good number. 68's okay now.

Another example would be 1434. 1 + 4 + 3 + 4 = 12. No. 1 + 2 = 3. That's good. And I keep doing this until it works out.

:)

It's kind of random and crazy, I know. I only caught myself doing that within the last couple years. I've just been doing it automatically for years. Can't change it. But it's not that bad really. Just something that makes me ME.

People use numbers for all kinds of things - money, codes, measurements, age, etc. They're all just a number. Yet sometimes, it becomes something more.

Today, my new favorite number is 20. I've never really like it before, but I'm starting to now.

It's been an extremely good day.

Note to Self...

Umm, just a little warning first - this is going to be something of a rant. I'm not one to complain most times, but this is something that needs to be said to keep my sanity in a way.

Now, I've been quiet for a while, haven't I? Hmm ... I got a good reason if that helps. Well, I try to have a good reason or at least a reason for everything I do. And I'll explain things here as much as I can.

Back to the heading...

Note to Self - Beware of Pills.

And so I begin.

During my Spring Break, I went to the doctor for a checkup on a few health issues. I was given some antibiotics to take at the time and referred to a "specialist" to see a few weeks later. I took the antibiotic as instructed. I decided to take them in the morning, for that's when I take my vitamins and the occasional if necessary Tylenol. Lo and behold, the health issue started to get better a little bit by the end of my Spring Break.

I went back to school for a week then came back home on that weekend to watch my brother in the high school play, My Fair Lady. He was good and I enjoyed it. Drove back to school Sunday afternoon. Monday morning, I woke up with a bad sinus infection. And I was taking the antibiotics at the time.

Now, around this point, I was beginning to have a slight stomachache every time I ate something. I kind of ignored it at the time, thinking it wasn't anything major. I've had ulcers before and I tend to like some spicy food, such as barbeque sauce with a cheeseburger, so I wasn't really concerned with it as I was with the sinus infection.

Nevertheless, to fight off a new health issue, I began to take some more medications, mostly Sudafed and Tylenol, but being very careful with how much I took and when I took it. After a few days, that stomach problem got worse and the sinus infection would not go away. By the end of that week, both issues got much worse.

I stopped taking the antibiotics and eventually got off the Sudafed and Tylenol as well as the vitamins. I stopped everything, being content to just let my body heal itself. At this point, I could not eat very much anymore. I mostly had to stay on liquids and take chances once in a while to eat a little something when I was hungry.

Second week went by. Much of the same continued to happen with the stomach yet the sinus infection was slowly disappearing.

I had that doctor appointment with the "specialist" coming up and that occurred at the end of the second week. So, I came back home again. Saw the doctor for a short time and got some new prescriptions to try, one of them being a new antibiotic. When I mentioned my stomach problems, he merely told me to wait a few more days before taking his prescription, but I should be alright. Heeding the doc's advice, I went to the pharmacy to pick up my new prescription to start on in a few days. I waited around a bit and they were ready. The pharmacist began giving some basic instructions about the prescriptions. When she got to the new antibiotics, she said to not to take it with any dairy products or vitamins or any other medications. I think she said something more, but I can't remember at this point.

Now, the antibiotics I was taking is the same variation of the new ones. Yet the instructions I just received were not given to me about the first antibiotics. Just to clarify, I asked if the same instructions applied. She said yes. I then asked what would happen if the antibiotics were taken along with what it was not supposed to be taken with and mentioned my stomach problem as well.

It turns out I burned a hole in my stomach.

Not a hole literally. But the insides of my stomach have been "burned" in a way. And every time I eat something, acid is produced like normal to aid digestion, but the acid keeps the wounds from healing, keeping me from being healthy again.

So, I'm now on my third week. I still have a burned stomach. I've lost over 10 pounds. I'm hungry, but cannot eat anything without pain. I'm very reluctant to take any more medication because that is what got me here in the first place. And school never stopped to allow me to take a rest for a moment.

I'm sick of the sickness that I feel. It's a mystery to me.

Note to Self ... Beware of Pills. Always!

Ahem. Thank you for listening if you stayed with me this far.

Finding "Wishbone"

Growing up, I was a big fan of the "Wishbone" books and TV show, which ran from 1995-2001. I believe it was my first TV show obsession along with "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers." I mean, I joined the Wishbone Fan Club! And I've never done that for any other TV shows thus far, though Supernatural's getting pretty close. Back then, every single day right after school, I would turn on the TV to watch "Wishbone" and sing the tune -

What's the story, Wishbone? What's this you're dreamin' of? Such a big imagination on such a little pup. What's the story, Wishbone? Do you think it's worth a look? It kinda seems familiar, like a story from a book. Shake a leg now, let's wag another tail. Sniffin' out adventure, with Wishbone on the trail. Come on, Wishbone. What's the story, Wishbone? What's the story, Wishbone? What's the story, Wishbone? *Woof!*

Wishbone took me to the center of the Earth, to old London, to colonial America, to Mount Olympus, to many Wars, to the old West. He showed me the Knights, the Indians, the Prince, the heroes and villains of old, the common man who lived long before I did. It was here that I learned to love stories as they are.

Even though I loved the show and wanted to buy its merchandise all the time, my younger brother hated it. I always tried to get him to read it, even for a little bit, but still he refused. Of course, he pulled the same thing with Harry Potter, but I won that battle shortly and now he loves the books and the movies. Anyhow, Wishbone was a great part of my childhood.

Yet somwhere along the way, I just stopped reading them. I don't know why. Maybe I couldn't find anymore new books, even though there were some out there I didn't have. Maybe I was influenced by my brother. Maybe I thought I got too old for it. Maybe because by 2001, I underwent a life-changing surgery and diverted my entire focus from the imagination to reality.

Now, I seem to have retain some of that innocent child that disappeared several years ago. (Although, some would vouch that I wasn't really that innocent, even though I tried to be. *wink*) I have started researching for the books and movie episodes that I don't have, finding a way to complete the unfinished set.

Not much have been accomplished in the last few weeks I've been looking, for the books are out-of-print and the movie episodes are rare.

But it's something I'm working on finishing. Everything in its own time, right?

Happy Cows Universial?

Being on the West coast - smackdab in the middle of California - there is a general promotion to consume products primarily made in California. It's supposed to be a way to help the economy I figure and to take pride in residing in a state that generates a lot of products for the marketing world at large.

Yet there is one specific promotion I always see on TV as far back as I can remember. It has many variations on the context of the commerical, but one thing is always the same: the tagline announced at the end. The tagline says -

"Great cheese come from Happy Cows. Happy Cows come from California. Real California Cheese."

(I know it from memory now and can do a great imitation of the announcer. *winks*)

I wonder if anybody else in the nation or even the world actually have the Real California Cheese from a Happy Cow in a grocery store nearby.

Outside of California, of course. :)