first of all, my apologies to miss j.d. i didn't realize you were la vagabonde. i remembered you said you were starting a journal here, but i guess i spaced after that. not surprising. so now your link is up there and i will swing by and read, tho i don't always leave messages, but i'll be lurking nonetheless.

ok, here we go....

for the first time, i sat down and watched part of american idol. i watched it last year, but was quite disappointed by the time they got to the final two. not that they were bad, but they were average.

i didn't watch all of last nights show, just the first several singers. man, that mandisa and paris have quite the pipes on them, and i absolutely love that type of music.

don't know if ya'll know, but almost every year north carolina has someone in the final list. fantasia is from high point and now makes her home in charlotte, and of course, clay aiken is from raleigh, tho at the time of the show he was attending unc here in charlotte. i think there were a few more, but i can't remember now.

this year, three of the finalists are from nc. chris, that pickler chick, and bucky covenington. bucky's from rockingham, the pickler girl is from albemarle, which is about an hour-hour and a half from here. chris is from waxhaw, which is out of our tv veiwing area.

i just have to say...i hate bucky covington. i'm surrounded every day of my life by bucky fucking covingtons. i have been surrounded my whole life by bucky fucking covingtons. if anyone ever wonders what guys in the south are like, they only have to look to bucky. yep folks, welcome to my world.

the pickler chick must just be stupid. she lives in a coastal state, less than four hours from the fucking beach, and she's never heard of calimari? i'm quite sick and tired of our local news constantly talking about these two. enough already.

but now chris is my kind of man. alternative rocker ala Live or Staind. a few years ago, johnny cash took a nine inch nails song and johnny cashed it. ick. it was great to see chris take a johnny cash song and alternativize it.

******

enough of that crap.


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about a month ago, my doctor put me on a new med. i remember when they were having the clinical trials for this med a little over ten years ago. it was touted as having all the benefits of prednisone without all of the horrible systemic side effects.

two weeks ago i got up in the middle of the night and saw something on my bedroom floor. i thought, i'll get it on the way back to bed. but when i came out of the bathroom, it wasn't there.

i used to have these sorts of things happen when i took prednisone. i call them "reality dreams" i think i'm awake, when i'm really asleep. it's quite the scary stuff.

monday before last, i had a total and complete meltdown. i cried uncontrollably for two days.

again, i used to have these sorts of things happen to me when i took prednisone.

this monday, my knee swelled, became stiff and i couldn't straighten it out without pain.

yep, i used to get this all the time with prednisone.

i called the doctor yesterday to tell him about the knee. he said it didn't make any sense to him because prednisone is given for arthritis and joint problems. but i've taken steroids for 24 years and i know what my side effects are. one doctor even told me that too many years of it would cause the opposite to happen as far as joints go. i NEVER have problems with my knees when not taking a steroid.

i don't think this doctor realizes how many years i've taken this crap. i practically spent all of my twenties on it. 125 mg IV two to three times a day when hospitalized (which was usually two to three times a year, for eight years, you do the math) and averaging about 80 mg by mouth a day when not in the hospital.

granted, this new med doesn't have quite the side effects, tho i have managed to gain a few pounds around the middle(another steroid side effect) but my hair doesn't fall out like it did and the other side effects are minor in comparison.

but, man, i hate it when a doctor makes you feel like a crazy person.

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well, as most of you know, i've been submitting my little heart out. i don't really expect much. really. but since i didn't submit a damn thing all of last year, i thought i'd crawl back on the horsey.

many thanks to nettergirl for her circle ezine. what a wonderful publication and i have a non-fiction piece i'm going to write for that(jd, this is probably a great place for some of your travel adventures).

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considering the weather, how's it's been changing and yes, even shape shifting (ok, that's a stretch, but thought i'd go with it) we shouldn't be surprised that mother nature is a woman. after all, it's a woman's perrogative to change her mind.

i'm sick. filled with mucous and drained.

wish the lady would cut us a break.


all righty, that's it. see ya!