New bag!; Gender issues

[asterroc]

I transfered my stuff over to my new bookbag - it's an Eddie Bauer much like the Targus bags you see all over the place. It's a backpack, with one pocket having a built-in laptop case, one pocket for notebooks/papers, assorted other pockets, and -what made the sale for me- external webbing for a water bottle. What's the point of the fancy laptop/papers huge jumbo bookbag if you throw your Nalgene in it, forget to tighten the cap all the way, it leaks, and since it's inside your beautiful new semi-waterproof backpack, the water gets trapped inside and destroys everything?

In more icing on the cake, as I put the old bag outside with a "FREE - zipper broken" sign, I found my freedom rings! Awesome, I'd been missing them for a while, and was sad. I'd taken them off the front of my bookbag, I forget why, but there was some event where I needed to look especially professional so I'd taken that and my Koosh keyring off, and I forgot I stuck them in the front pocket - I was expecting to find tampons and such when I cleaned out that pocket, but was instead pleasantly surprised. So they went on the water bottle webbing, yay.



As the evening wore on, the kids got older and the costumes got lamer (when they were there at all). I'm guessing why I got so many this year (15-ish, I had to break out the Kasugai gummies b/c I ran out of chocolate) was b/c of the signage I had out front. People around here probably only knock on the clearly celebrating doors, or those of people they know. I'd moved the glowing pumpkin to the front porch as it got darker, so they could still see where I live (the mylar balloon was a bat, and so was black). I was wearing pants Mom got me from Thailand, and my maroon Chinese jacket from Nga Boo. Almost a costume. It was comfy.

There were two kids in slightly lame costumes, normal black clothes and masks, must've been around 10 years old, and as they came up the stairs outside my apartment I heard one of them call for his uncle. When they knocked there was a woman standing behind them wearing a mask and a black dress, I presume the uncle was waiting outside. Then after I gave the kids candy "she" jokingly asked for some too, and I realized it WAS the kids' uncle! I was already grinning ear-to-ear (even the lame costumes made me smile at the wonderful greediness of the holiday) so I couldn't grin any further. I'm presuming he wasn't actually a transvestite ("into transvestitism"?), so I just thought it was awesome that he had the guts to dress that way for fun for the date. He had shapely calves.

My favorite was the 2-ft tall dragon who said nothing until I asked "are you a dragon?" and then replied "RAHRRRRR!" One of the only slightly bigger girls with him had to restrain him as he ferociously lunged at me. ^_^ My second favoritest was even smaller I think. His was a frog costume, looked like those footed/mittened PJs that I used to find so nice and warm but uncomfortable. He kept trying to reach into my bowl for more candy! I used up all my chocolate (I hope no one's allergic to peanuts, didn't occur to me until after I gave out most), and had to move on to Kasugai gummies (peach) and those disgusting flower candies / cough drops that my mom got for me. Other people like them, but I don't. I wonder if the kids' parents will throw them out or something b/c of the Japanese writing on them. I hope some like them. Who knows.

15-ish kids, some $10 on candy and balloon. I think it was a good payout of happiness for my investment. I grinned a LOT. That was nice.



Tomorrow I've got a GYN appointment in the morning before class, and then a general checkup in the afternoon after my office hours. I've never had a specific gynecologist, just had my yearly "womanly" exams done by my general practitioner or whatever nurse I was seeing at my school's health services. I've got a few specific questions though, including one about my hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). It's part of the whole process of acknowledging both inwardly and outwardly that I have this disease, and taking the appropriate steps for my health regarding it.

And I've had two flare-ups, same spot in my left armpit, since I stopped the Remicade. I emailed my derm, said I will make an appointment to speak with him in person about resuming Remicade maintenance treatments - I've heard that going back on it after being off sometimes results in allergic reactions, and I already had the one. Plus I want to ask him more about the culture done on my bacteria. I want to know more about what it's resistant to, if it really is MRSA, if it developed in me or if I got it from somewhere, if I need to be cautious about interacting w/ people w/ compromised immune systems, if I need to know anything for the future when I inevitably eventually get bacterial pneumonia or bacterial bronchitis, and so on. You know me, billions of questions always... :-P

Comments

[kadath.livejournal.com]

We didn't get anyone, 'cause we're on up a hill and on the third floor.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I'm on a pretty major street, so I always wondered why I didn't get kids before. I suspect in this neighborhood parents don't want to knock on random doors. Glad I put the stuff outside the door this time! :)

[kadath.livejournal.com]

It's just as well we had no one--no candy. They would all have gotten tea bags...since that's pretty much the only thing in the kitchen.

[l0stmyrel1g10n.livejournal.com]

i never get trick-or-treaters. my neighborhood is big houses, all hilly, no sidewalks, roads that people go tearing along, and the few side-streets where it's relatively safe to walk are inhabited by middle-aged WASPs. no kids.

[blue102.livejournal.com]

We didn't get a lot of kids, but the ones we did get were really cute, and on the younger side. (It kind of bugs me when high-school kids just throw on the basketball jersey they wore last Wednesday and go begging for candy... I know, I'm a curmudgeon!) My favorite was the two-year old with his face painted all red, who kept politely saying "I'm a devil. I'm a devil." Or the little Wonder Woman who looked right past the candy and into the house, yelling with glee "THEY HAVE A CAT!!!!". :) Or the little piggy in the stroller who could hardly keep her eyes open... okay, I can't pick a favorite. But there were some cuties!

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

I bet the kid dressed as a dragon was one of the dragons from PBS' Dragon Tales. It's one the 3 and under equivalent of Lost (or some other super popular show, Lost is the only one I know the name of). I would have even known which dragon they were. And now that damn theme song is stuck in my head.
Good luck with the Dr appointments.