Thursday, February 10, 2005
 

I Don't Even Qualify As A Guinea Pig

I'm signed up with my university's volunteer testing program, since compensation is usually involved. To my disappointment, I've only been solicited twice. The first time was "because you indicated that you were a smoker," and I received about 4 copies of the message, so I assume that error was involved. If there's one bad habit I don't have, it's smoking. I got another one today, this seeking high blood pressure volunteers.

That's amusing in my case, since my systolic pressure often doesn't top 100 (this is further exacerbated by several medications I'm on), and I'm known for fainting in the mornings, after bending over, when sick, etc. When I was in the hospital, a NP tried to take my BP (NP, BP-- that looks weird when I type it, a fact I'm sure you're fascinated to know) with an electronic cuff, and my pressure was so low it failed to register on the machine; he had to resort to the old-fashioned method. Incidentally, that was the same morning it took about 5 tries to find my pulse. My argument was that I was clearly dead and should be allowed to go back to bed (6:45 AM is not a Happy Time). My body temperature is 96.7, anyway, so you can tell I'm wasting away here.

Get your BP checked, people. High blood pressure is the silent killer.

Moving on. Nothing particularly exciting at work today: no geriatrics throwing coins at me, no one having a swearing fit. The Stinky Family did come in; their odor is so pungent that you can smell them coming, and we have to disinfect surfaces they come in contact with. It's something more powerful than BO; I'm not quite sure how to classify it. I neglected to gather much empirical data, as I was ducking behind a pillar behind the desk to gawk at them from a safe (though not completely safe) distance.

Started Nexium today. Check out their website; it's really bad (for example, click on "about Nexium" and see what happens).

Reading: almost finished with Smashed, which is pretty mediocre.
Listening: white noise
Current Obsession: stupid body that won't cooperate
Alice: Isn't in here with me, which probably means I need to go on an Alice Hunt.

Elvisette philosophized at 11:22 PM