A Shock to the System

My left eye has been twitching on and off for the last week and a half.

It's annoying. At first I thought I might have something in it, and that's what was causing the aggravation - later realizing that no matter how many times I flush it out, the problem lies elsewhere.

I mentioned it at a party - a choice topic for any occasion, I know - and someone said I probably had a deficiency in sodium. This makes sense, I responded, as I had given up salting my food over a year ago. There went all that sodium and maybe my body was finally flushed of the tons and tons of salt I would slam into it. Afterall, was it necessary for me to salt my ramen noodles, my eggs, my popcorn? No. My heart thanked me, I'm sure. However, it was brought to my attention that it would be unlikely that I wasn't getting enough sodium in my diet.

Truth.

WebMD was more frightening than helpful. In the past four years, I was able to successfully diagnose a situation with the online helper. This time, WebMD fears I have developed Epilepsy and was having mild seizures. I was, after all, experiencing the phantom smells.

Odd.

My mother thinks it happens to be a potassium deficiency. This makes sense, as I rarely eat fruit - especially bananas [thanks for the spelling lesson, Gwen] - or my leafy greens. My mother suggested picking up the habit, or a bottle of supplements. I may have to agree with my mother.

However, WebMD had never steered me wrong. Be sure to check into CNN in the next few days to see who wins this war.

Another website suggested Blepherospasm was the culprit, which is cause by stress, fatigue, or caffeine. This also may be the strong option. It recommends I flush my eye with water [been there] or place a hot towel over it.

Relaxation.

Again, I'm sure Fox News will do a full report, as will the Chicago Sun Times - this is, afterall, front page, headlining news.

Copycat Copy-Do

In my first entry I mentioned that I was copying Elaine. WELL - let's just say I'm apparently copying her too much.

Yesterday afternoon, the 25th, I was in a car accident.

"What?! NO! Can't BE..are you ok?!"

Yes. Yes, I am. Someone ran a light, I ended up close behind them [as I had the right of way] and couldn't slow down. They thought I was tailing them so they, in their truck, slammed on the brakes - I slammed on mine - and I collided with their back end.

I'm ok - The Saturn, however is not. She was towed to a place. I never even named her. In two days, the adjuster will be talking with me to see how things go. We're praying that Saturn, Nameless will not be totalled - it would be horrible to not get it repaired.

Said other driver got out of his truck, and explained to me and two police officers that I was tailing him and he slammed on his brakes. Nothing was in his path. I held my tongue when the kid said it to me - I say kid loosely, as he was 18 years old - knowing that the person who causes the accident is usually held liable. It made me wonder, because the situation was detailed in Driver's Ed - Don't slam on your breaks hoping someone will run into you....you're the liable one, it doesn't matter if the other driver was following too close. At least when I was in Driver's Ed, this was made clear.

The kicker in this situation: I was on my way home from the Saturn Dealership where they performed $500 worth of maintenance on the car, replacing a serpentine belt and the oil. Yeah. Ouch.

All-in-all, I walked away only with the accident report, no citation or warning. The kid: I'm not too sure. There was talk of charging him with wreckless driving, taking his license, issuing him a ticket, all or none of the above.

I regret that I wasn't able to attend Alli's party that evening. I regret to inform that I won't be arriving in Chicago for quite some time [I had planned this weekend] - it all depends on the car, any assesment, any repair.

Next on the list, according to my Elaine schedule...being pick-pocketed. Let's cross our fingers, ladies and gents - I don't want this one to happen.

Obsessive Compulsive Hand Washing

I cannot stop washing my hands.

I think I may have a slight compulsive tendency, not so much in the area that I perform rituals because I think my mother's going to die or God will be mad at me, but it might be a little more Howard Hughes-ish.

I notice as I'm cooking - especially with eggs - that I wash my hands every time I put the utensil down or am near the sink. But I also notice that I tend to wash my hands a lot during commercial breaks when I'm watching TV. I also have the urge to do so when a drive-through window person touches my hand when I hand over my card, which is odd because I know they're in there handling my food and it doesn't phase me.

I believe everyone knows that I have to ask every time I walk away from the car if it beeped. I still lose sleep over it. And it wasn't just with this car, my last one didn't have the key-less feature where all I had to do was press a button and feel safe about it. I used to, and still tend to, get out of bed in the middle of the night and check all the doors to make sure they're closed tightly and locked.

I also have to shower the same way every time I step in and dry off the same way wen I've finished. Brushing my teeth before a shower is a must.

Yes. I recently watched an MTV NewsDoc about OCD. But I think the thing I've noticed is that we all have our little tendencies to perform rituals throughout our everyday lives, so I know it's not the full-blown disorder. What tendencies do you have?

A New Beginning

This is only being created because I am a follower, Elaine is cool, and because when I gain a small fan following, I'd like them to read this blog rather than my xanga or my useless myspace. Honestly, who uses that one?