I can't breathe - it must be summer :/

[floatingleaf]

My allergies are trying to kill me. It's been hellish for the past week or so - there are times I go through a whole packet of tissues within an hour. Nothing seems to work on a permanent basis. The regular loratadine tablets I used to take in the past barely make a difference. I found some homeopathic anti-allergy pills at Whole Foods, and they seemed to be helping at first, but now I keep sniffing even while taking them - plus, if I do indeed take one every four hours as indicated on the package, my throat gets so horribly dry by the end of the day I just want to swallow a lake or something. Which, of course, in turn makes me run to the loo every 20 minutes or so.:/ Oh, and btw, the pills are supposed to be "non-drowsy" - but pretty much every time I pop one, I am ready for a nap. I just can't go on like this. My nose is red, my eyes are itchy, and I am very self-conscious in public; what if I don't manage to whip up a tissue fast enough and someone is going to see me with snot running down my face?... (quite literally, thank you very much) And when I have a bad flare-up (which has happened at least three times this week), it does come down FAST. Sometimes I barely feel a tickle up my nose before there's a veritable FLOOD rolling down the back of my throat (yeah, disgusting, I know - tell me all about it, anytime). I cannot sit through a meal without having to get up and blow my nose at least five times (not to mention I can barely taste my food either). I know there is stronger medication, like Claritin; but the last time I tried it, I found it too strong for me (namely, it made my nasal passages & throat feel like a desert, in addition to giving me a headache). So I'd have to get pretty desperate before I try it again. I just bought the much-advertised Allegra at the pharmacy today - it's a 12-hour relief, supposedly, so I'm going to start it tomorrow morning and see what happens. Crossing fingers is much appreciated.:)

In light of the above, I haven't been very enthusiastic about much of anything. My favorite evening pastime seems to be lying down with a book (and a box of tissues within easy reach, lol). At work I sort of muddle along, either drinking coffee to stay awake (even though, theoretically, I don't drink coffee anymore) or taking naps in the loo. The fact that it's damn cold in the office doesn't help either. I have said this before, and I am going to say it again: most American offices are entirely out of touch with reality when it comes to the A/C. I mean, the point is, theoretically at least, for the employees to be comfortable, right? Well... when you need to go outside during your lunch break, into the sweltering summer heat, just to warm up for a few minutes, because your teeth are chattering, that's hardly comfortable, in my extremely humble opinion.:[ But what do I know. Though, on the other hand, if they weren't so hard-headed about it, they could probably give us raises with all the money they would save on the electric bill... *sigh*

Yeah, I am pretty grumpy, as you can see.:) But enough whinging. If this is my only post of the week, then I want to at least mention the two movies I saw last weekend (I did mean to post more than once during the long weekend, but somehow that didn't happen).

1) I'm really not sure why I hadn't seen this before. I do love historical drama, especially if it's based on a true story, and I did know about this movie through the throng of Orlando Bloom fans in my online LOTR fandom circles.:) I guess I just wasn't on a mission to see every film with Orlando in it (at the time, I was too busy trying to see every film with Viggo in it :D). But in the so-called meantime, I have developed a mild crush on Heath Ledger - and yes, I am on a mission yet again (LOL). Anyway... I really loved the film, and I found its message quite valid and timeless, if depressing (namely, you can be extremely popular and widely celebrated as a fearless defender of the underdog - but they will hang you anyway, because the establishment always wins). It actually made me cry. And it taught me a bit of Australian history I had been entirely unaware of. Which, being a major history geek, I highly appreciate. And Heath was wonderful (just for the record :D).

2) Shank - a gay love story between a British teenage gang member and a French exchange student. Quite disturbing at times and difficult to watch, but I think it's an important movie. It deals quite honestly with the violent anti-gay attitudes among teenage gangs, and the resulting issue of internalized homophobia. Cal, the protagonist, knows he is gay, but hides it carefully from his fellow gang members and hates himself for it - until he meets Olivier. And how do they meet? Well, Olivier looks very twinky, so Cal's best buddy & co. decide he's the perfect target for some customary gay-bashing. Just business as usual. Except this time Cal just cannot bring himself to participate. He actually defends Olivier - to the extreme perplexity and displeasure of his mates - and then follows him home to apologize. And a very strange romance ensues. Of course, from that moment on Cal becomes a target himself. Interestingly, his best buddy from the gang is a classic self-loathing closet case - much worse than Cal, because he hasn't actually admitted anything to himself as yet, and is therefore extremely enraged by Cal's "betrayal" (as well as jealous, due to his own unacknowledged crush on Cal - which becomes apparent in one of the most disturbing scenes of the film). Which only ptoves, yet again, that men who are TRULY straight and confident in their masculinity simply have much less (if any) motivation to engage in gay-bashing. They have nothing to "prove", so they mostly don't give a flying fuck either way. It's the closet cases who are truly dangerous (good example: some famous fundamentalist preachers, screaming at the top of their lungs about hell and damnation, later found in compromising situations with gay escorts... and so on). And that is why teaching kids that there is something wrong with homosexuality is extremely harmful. Which was the chief message of the film, imo. There is more to it besides that - but I don't want to give any more spoilers in case anyone actually wants to see it (though if you can't handle looking at realistically filmed gay sex or violence, you probably don't).


Wow. That was a long post.:) Time to pop another allergy pill (for all the damned good they're doing, which is none) and tumble into bed. Wish me luck in being able to breathe through the night...

Comments

[floatingleaf.livejournal.com]

Thanks.:) I have a dry/sore throat now because of the allergy medicine, LOL. Still, it's better than not being able to breathe through the snot...