Things I'd rather do than see the Lakers win the NBA Championship

-Swim in shark infested waters

-Intern for Samantha Harris

-Attend a GOP fundraiser

-Attend a GOP fundraiser w/ Limbaugh as the keynote

-Go to Costco on a Saturday 

-Listen to Avril Lavigne on repeat

-Listen to Nickleback on repeat

-Hang out with Heidi and Spencer

-Teach Sunday School

-Twitter w/ my coworkers

-Eat bugs

Maybe I should stop talking about my health problems.

So Saturday, I ventured out to play some tennis with my neighbors.  It wasn't a particularly sunny day -  in fact, it was pretty overcast and a little windy. ( Not that it matters, but I just want to include that I was the champion of the day, coming back being down 1 set and 3 match points to eventually pull off the win in the 3 set. It was epic, especially for someone like me, who feels I've actually gotten worse at tennis in the last year or so. But I digress.)

Later in the day I realized I was a bit sunburned on my shoulders. No big deal.  If anything, I was slightly ashamed I had been out in the sun for, oh, maybe 90 minutes on an overcast day and still managed to sunburn.  What developed later in the evening was more disconcerting, however.  I noticed my legs had these red bumps on them - maybe just razor burn, I thought.  But then my legs started to itch. And then my arms started to itch .  And then I went into the bathroom to take a shower and saw that my stomach was covered in this red rash.  My back was pretty bad too. Ok,  rashes, in any form, gross me out for some reason so I was understandably disturbed.  I could not for the life of me figure out how I got this rash, although I was beginning to think it had something to do with my sunburn.  But I'd never reacted to the sun like this before, so it was all the more confusing.  

Enter WebMd.  

WebMd has become a trusted friend of mine over the years, offering me confident diagnosis' House could be proud of.  I searched general sunburn rash topics and eventually stumbled across this little bit of info:

Sun-Sensitizing Drugs

Sun-sensitizing drugs are drugs that have side effects when people taking them are exposed to the sun. Some reactions are caused by exposure to the sun's UVB or "short" waves, but most are caused by UVA or "long" wave exposure.

There are two main types of sun-sensitizing drug reactions. They are:

1. Photoallergy. In this case, problems occur when skin is exposed to the sun after certain medicines are applied to the skin's surface. The ultraviolet (UV) light of the sun causes a structural change in the drug. This, in turn, causes the production of antibodies that are responsible for the sun-sensitivity reaction. The reaction usually includes an eczema-type rash, which often occurs a few days after exposure. The rash can also spread to parts of the body that were not exposed to the sun.
   
   
2. Phototoxicity. This is the most common type of sun-sensitivity drug reaction. It can occur when skin is exposed to the sun after certain medications are injected, taken orally, or applied to the skin. The drug absorbs the UV light, then releases it into the skin, causing cell death. Within a few days, symptoms appear on the exposed areas of the body. In some people, symptoms can persist up to 20 years after the medication is stopped. Among the most common phototoxic drugs are the tetracycline family, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen) and Cordarone (a heart medication).

This woman, whom I am sure is completely qualified to be giving medical advice, agrees:

Bingo.  As it would seem, I have diagnosed myself with a phototoxicity as an affect from the antibiotics I'm taking.  Wonderful.  Not sure how long this will last, but you better believe I am not going outside today, even if it is my day off and really nice out.  I don't mess around with rashes, ok?

On the mend

I think my meds are finally kicking in because my throat has gone from KILL ME NOW painful to MAYBE I CAN TRY EATING AGAIN. However, I have noticed I've been producing what seems like a ton of spit the last couple days, which I guess isn't that big of a deal, except I keep having to swallow it and now it's literally making me nauseous. I've resorted to spitting into my garbage can every 2 minutes because it's grossing me out. (TMI?)

I planned on going to Lake Powell over the holiday weekend, something I was very excited about since I've never been. Usually when people go to Powell they go for like a week, and in the past, I've always had to work. Some friends planned a weekend trip, which was perfect....right up until I got pretty sick. I figured I'd rather go when I'm 100%, and not spitting into a Coke bottle every 90 seconds. That's no fun for anyone. So I'll be sticking around this weekend. Shannon decided to make the drive up, along with my requested Sprinkles cupcakes. Hopefully I'm really well enough to eat one tonight or tomorrow. And hopefully the weather is nice so we can go to the pool or something. I need to build up a base tan before I hit Rehoboth this year.

Speaking of which, have I ever talked about my love/hate relationship with booking flights? I think it's pretty similar to the same feelings experienced by those who love to shop at Ross or Nordstrom Rack. Ironically, I happen to hate such bargain hunting adventures. Those stores are too chaotic and messy. I get overwhelmed too quickly and end up leaving in a fit of anxiety. It's just not worth it.

However, when it comes to buying a plane ticket, I will pour over every travel web site I know before I book a flight. Travelocity, Cheaptickets, Kayak, StudentUniverse, and about 10 more, to find the cheapest deal I can.

In my experience, it's all about timing and variables - like changing the airport or arrival time. For example, I know from hardcore consumer experience that flying into the Bay Area can be significantly cheaper if you fly into Oakland instead of San Francisco, which is actually good for me since usually I'm headed to Sacramento anyway. Oakland is easier to get to and you don't have to go over the Bay Bridge. Also, I know that Southwest doesn't offer a direct flight from Salt Lake to Sacramento- they always stop in Las Vegas. So, even though Southwest flights are cheaper, you end up spending 7 hours traveling from SLC to Sacramento by-way of LV, when you should just spend the extra money and fly non-stop on Delta.

It's like a game to me and right now I'm in an intense battle for my ticket to Baltimore for my family's beach trip. 21 days is usually the cut-off for the cheapest flights - booking less than 21 days in advance pretty much screws your chances of getting a decent rate, especially on coast-to-coast flights. So, this means I have approximately one week to play the airline odds. My goal is to not pay more than $350. Usually, I'd shoot for getting something under $250, but because I have to fly in to Balitmore (instead of D.C. or maybe Philly) and at certain times to meet up with the rest of my family, my varibles aren't so varied.

Wish me luck.

Not well

I have strep throat and it is quite possibly the most miserable thing ever. EVER.

I don't get sick very often, but when I do, it's horrible. I've been living off Ibuprofen, cough drops and Jamba Juice for the last 3 days. Luckily I got some antibiotics so hopefully those start kicking in and get rid of this.

Update: I just read on webmd that anitibotics don't necessarily get rid of symptoms. They just prevent spreading it to others. According to them, I still have 2-10 days of suffering. Fun.

Taco carts = Growing Economy

So there I was, watching the local news last night and the lead-off story wasn't about some car that ran into a house, or that girl who was was kidnapped by her parents for getting baptized into the LDS church. 

No, no. The journalistic geniuses over at KSL lead with a story on taco carts and happened to feature my taco cart of choice, Awesome Tacos!  Someone over there deserves a raise because it was the best story I'd seen on KSL in a while.  Oh, they mention stuff about the economy too, I guess. You can see the clip here.

If I had a clothing line I'd call it, "Short Chicks Need Not Try On"

I walked down to the Gateway today to try and find some new additions to my work wardrobe since I will be starting a new job next week.  I'm not a big shopper so this wasn't really a pleasant excursion for me.  Not that I don't like having new clothes... trust me, I do.  But the process of it all is just exhausting to me.  Never mind that probably 12% of the merchandise out there might be considered a fit for a lurpy body like mine.  So I work twice as hard as everyone else when I shop, and only see 1/4 of the results. Lame.

I went to Express first, only because I have an Express credit card (?) and was sent a 20% discount coupon for having it.  Coupon or no coupon, I hate Express.  I don't even know why I spent the time to look in there.  I actually found some cute suiting pieces that were on sale and asked the girl she could get me my pant size in a long inseam.  The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Hi. Do you have these in a long?"

Her: "No, we don't. I'm sorry."

Me: " Oh, but you have those grey ones in long. Do they not make this color in long?"

Her: "No."

Me: "Oh, really? That's weird. Why wouldn't they do that?"

Her: "I don't know.  We have them in regular. You could take out the hem."

Me: "Uh, no. They'd still be way too short.  Wait though, they all come in short.  Why do they come in short and not long?"

Her: "It's probably because normal American women aren't that tall."

Me: "Well that doesn't really seem fair or logical.  I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to make pants longer so the tall people could be able to wear them and the short people could hem them? I mean, that makes more sense to me, don't you think?"

Her: "I don't know."

Express struggles.

I tried BR, Anne Taylor, Anne Taylor Loft, and J. Crew.  Nothing. I eventually dragged myself into Gap where I found some pants that were on like, super clearance.  They were long enough, too. So, not a totally wasted outing.  

On the walk home, I stopped by the local taco cart for some yummy chicken tacos.  They were delicious.  Taco carts are such a great idea.  You need to be careful, though. There are a few around downtown and some are really sketchy.  My taco cart guy is legit. He sits right outside the very North end of the Gateway on 400 West. His cart reads, "Awesome Tacos".  And they are awesome. That's a promise he can deliver. He's a really nice guy and I hope he sticks around there for the summer.  I got two chicken tacos and a Coke for $3.50.  I mean, really. Can you beat that?

This one goes out to all you Californians out there.

*Thanks, Heather

Relocation

I've mentioned before that I'm kinda obsessed with house/apt. hunting.  Even when I'm basically happy where I'm currently living, I occasionally drive around a neighborhood I'm presently obsessed with and look for places for sale or for rent.  

Right now you could say I live downtown, but I categorize it more on the edge of Rose Park, although we are still on the east side of I-15. It's actually a great location: seconds from downtown (I can walk), close to the freeway, and around the corner from a 7-11.  Pretty ideal.  But, I've recently fallen in love with a section of Salt Lake City known as Capitol Hill.  It's this quaint little neighborhood right along the Capital building and I love it.  Lots of big shady trees, really old homes with lots of personality and charm, sidewalks, and gardens.  It reminds me a lot of some of the neighborhoods I saw around Europe - lots of small streets, with little cottages tucked away among vine bushes and slate walkways.  One of the girls I visit teach lives conveniently in this neighborhood (as do a lot of people in my ward) and I basically drooled over her house last night as we talked about something relating to perfecting the saints...or serving our fellow sisters....I'm not sure.  I was too concentrated on her original hard wood floors and built-in bookcases.  

Really, I'm not way serious about moving. Moving is not fun, but if I come across a little gem of real estate on Capitol Hill, I'd seriously consider it.  I'd just need to get my roommates to come with, which would be next to impossible.  Who knows, if I can find something amazing for a good price, maybe it would be time to consider living alone.  I actually wouldn't mind living alone. In fact, if I could afford it, I'm sure I'd be living alone now.  

Anyways, I dyed my hair and now it's too dark. I don't like it. Hopefully it fades a little over the next couple weeks.  

I also saw 17 Again tonight. Ok, Zac Efron? Yes, please.  I'm going to go ahead and use this blog to publicly proposition him to be the father of my children.  There I said it. I'm not even ashamed.  Zac, if you're out there, it's brianneolsen@gmail.com.