Rash and Decisions

My list of whinge-able items has begun to shrink. Much of the shrinkage is in direct proportion to the resolution of my little shingles attack. I’m two days completely off the pain drugs now, and while the skin is still sensitive (very sensitive at times) I can now easily tolerate most of the discomfort. The Prof claims I look like I have a world-class case of road rash though. The blisters are gone, along with much of the skin over the affected area. I’m left with scabs and crusties of various sizes, which I am hoping will disappear as fast as my skin did.

I’m lucky that the timing of the shingles attack was such that it will not affect my ability to get a PUVA treatment this coming week. Dr. Skin from Big City Hospital sent me a note stating that so long as I don’t have any blisters remaining, I can take my monthly CTCL treatment as usual. I’ll probably ask if I can cover the affected area with sunscreen prior to treatment though, since I really don’t want to get any kind of UVA burn over healing flesh!

My job at Big Box Pharmacy has become a major source of stress. Big Boss Who Can’t Make a Schedule to Save His Soul again failed to tell me about a shift change and I showed up last Monday for a shift that did not exist. I stayed long enough to get him to put a schedule together so I could write it down and departed. I’m frustrated by the lack of training, the lack of courtesy and the lack of professionalism. Big Box Pharmacy Inc. has also scaled back our hours again, and it would seem that I won’t be able to count on more than 24 hours a week there as of immediately.

I’d been putting feelers out at other potential employers in the area, and got a nibble at a local specialty pharmacy that provides medications for many local long term nursing homes and similar institutions. They’ve got a two week training program, have recently brought all customer service back in-house at the same site as the pharmacy, and have the potential for full time employment. I had an interview with them Wednesday, got a job offer (20 hrs/week plus every other weekend) and told Big Boss Who Can’t Make a Schedule to Save His Soul that I was accepting the position on Friday. I had originally hoped that I could work both jobs part time, but I do not get the impression that he wishes to be that flexible. Since the pay at the new job is $2/hr more, I would not lose much (if anything) in income if I’m forced to stay with one part time job. My tentative starting date is the Tuesday after Christmas, and the relief I feel at being able to move onward and upward from my current hell-hole (however slowly) is palpable.

Our cat shelter is once again in the midst of book-wrapping at Barnes and Noble this holiday season. Because my schedule has been so erratic I have been unable to do more than a handful of shifts. Book wrapping has been a great stress-breaker for me this year, and I’m hoping to fit more in (if only because I get a chance to relax and unwind for a little bit, totally away from pills and diabetic cats and presents I can’t afford to buy and doctors appointments I really don’t feel like going to).

Tonight The Prof and I are attending his department’s annual Christmas party. Now that I’m down to my goal weight I have a nice selection of items I could wear. I have an embroidered black velvet opera-length jacket I’d love to wear, but I suspect it’s too dressy for the occasion. I’ll need to poke around my closet and see if anything else tickles my fancy. It’s almost like going clothes shopping in there – I’ve got some nice things that I haven’t been able to wear for a couple of years.