Small Talk: The Polygamous Cul-de-Sac

[deirdra]

2 hours ago, LilWharveyGal said:

Have y'all ever seen the videos where decoy packages that contain a camera and a glitter bomb are left out for porch pirates?  It's by no means perfect justice but it is slightly satisfying.

My favourite was a box full of used kitty litter.  Though apparently now thieves just drive along behind delivery vans.

[Dustbunny]

4 hours ago, iwantcookies said:

Someone keeps stealing my packages that contain clothes. I mean seriously 😒. So far 4 got stolen. People have no shame!

I am looking at the tenants to try to figure out who is wearing my clothes?

wow that sucks, what's wrong with people.. keep your hands off other peoples stuff!

About a year ago i happened to walk over to my living room window just as a young man walked in between our house and the neighbors house (our neighbor is from the UK and had gone to visit family for a month so i knew they weren't home) something about him made me suspicious so I went out my backdoor and walked over to the side of the yard where he was heading and there he was unlatching the neighbors gate to enter their backyard, I walked to the fence and said "Hi.. are you looking for something?"

He looked startled, nervous and stuttered out something about looking for his dog so I said "what kind of dog is it?" he paused and said "umm a german shepherd" so I said "what's your dogs name?" he again looked nervous, paused and finally said "ummmm Rocky" I asked "is your dog male or female?" and he said "ummm female" every damn question I asked he had to stop, think and then answer, I said "Why are you going into my neighbors backyard, can your dog open latched gates?"  🙄

We happen to have two German Shepherds and by then they'd joined me at the fence.... he could see my dogs looking at him through the slats in our fence... he said that his dog probably went home and he'd check there...  he turned and walked away.

Our dogs are just a couple big babies that wouldn't hurt a mouse but he didn't know that. 😄

I'm pretty sure he was up to something and there was no dog.

[CalicoKitty]

Where I lived in California, mail theft and porch pirates were a daily occurrence.  It got to where the porch pirates would rent a UHaul truck to follow the UPS delivery man.  I finally rented a mailbox at a mail store and had anything of any importance delivered there, including packages.  I live in a much, much safer community now, but I still have all my important mail (insurance, tax info, legal stuff) sent to my box at the  UPS store.  That way I know it is safe.  The junk mail comes to my house.  The mail carrier at my home seems to have great difficulty getting mail into the correct mail box.  The USP store does not give me any trouble.

[Pickleinthemiddle]

2 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

Where I lived in California, mail theft and porch pirates were a daily occurrence.  It got to where the porch pirates would rent a UHaul truck to follow the UPS delivery man.  I finally rented a mailbox at a mail store and had anything of any importance delivered there, including packages.  I live in a much, much safer community now, but I still have all my important mail (insurance, tax info, legal stuff) sent to my box at the  UPS store.  That way I know it is safe.  The junk mail comes to my house.  The mail carrier at my home seems to have great difficulty getting mail into the correct mail box.  The USP store does not give me any trouble.

I got a PO Box for the same reason.  I didn't want important stuff walking off.

[TurtlePower]

6 hours ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

I got a PO Box for the same reason.  I didn't want important stuff walking off.

This kind of thing actually makes me angry. I cannot empathise with package thieves no matter what sob story they might have. They’re douchebags who deserve bad things to happen to them.

Where we used to live we had security cameras everywhere and signs that said “area under video surveillance”. We’d get notified anytime anyone came near the door and could speak to them if we weren’t home. We never had a problem. Nowadays we pick packages up at the post office or have them rerouted to a FedEx or UPS pickup location. It’s inconvenient, but, thieves (may they suffer greatly). 

[Rabbit Hutch]

As truckers we rent a box at the UPS store, also.  We not only ensure we get our mail but also our packages.  When we come in for hometime it's like Christmas due to all of the boxes!  Boy, are they happy to see us, as we can be gone up to 3 months at a time.  😛

[LilyD]

Pre-pandemic, I was one of the few who usually was at home as I work from home. It didn't take too long for the delivery guys to realise this (apparently they get paid for each successfully delivered parcel and dropping it off with me when people weren't at home counted too)

For a while I literally felt like I was our local pick up point! I was about to tell to tell my entire neighbourhood to figure out a different solution (I honestly ended up with 22 parcels in one week and none were for me!!) when the pandemic hit. Well, that solved this little inconvenience for me.☺️

[Sandy W]

16 minutes ago, LilyD said:

Pre-pandemic, I was one of the few who usually was at home as I work from home. It didn't take too long for the delivery guys to realise this (apparently they get paid for each successfully delivered parcel and dropping it off with me when people weren't at home counted too)

For a while I literally felt like I was our local pick up point! I was about to tell to tell my entire neighbourhood to figure out a different solution (I honestly ended up with 22 parcels in one week and none were for me!!) when the pandemic hit. Well, that solved this little inconvenience for me.☺️

We once had a home with a basement apartment, great tenant, paid on time, no noise, claimed to be a taxi driver.  Almost every week there were parcels delivered, said they were "care" packages from mom.  Sometimes they sat for a few days before I could catch him at home, I was invited into his apartment when delivering a parcel to him, I noticed his furniture was far better quality than mine and the place was immaculate.  I was overjoyed to have such a wonderful tenant.  When he gave notice he was moving after about 6 months, I understood and offered to write a reference if he needed one.

A few weeks after he moved, we had a visit from the Federal police force drug squad,  turns out he was a kingpin in the narcotics trade and was constantly on the move. the care packages were drugs.  My husband also had work related parcels delivered to our home and when we told the RCMP this, they said they knew all about that, they had intercepted our parcels and examined them also.  We never did find out if he was caught. 

[Cetacean]

11 minutes ago, Sandy W said:

A few weeks after he moved, we had a visit from the Federal police force drug squad,  turns out he was a kingpin in the narcotics trade and was constantly on the move. the care packages were drugs.

Holy crap!  But I guess if I had to have a drugrunner as a tenant, it's nice to know they can be neat and tidy.

[Sandy W]

3 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

Holy crap!  But I guess if I had to have a drugrunner as a tenant, it's nice to know they can be neat and tidy.

The police said that they rarely did anything to upset a landlord, they didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

[spacefly]

I have been following an ex Mormon (AUB) on TikTok, he is super refreshing and interesting. The other evening he did a live where he listened to Nirvana for the first time and ate Sushi. @thefreshkingbenjamin is his name. I am learning so much about how actual crazy it all is. His last name is Brown, so maybe someone can do some sleuthing. I’m sure it’s a pretty common name though. 

Edited April 7, 2022 by spacefly
Fixed his @

[Pickleinthemiddle]

17 hours ago, spacefly said:

I have been following an ex Mormon (AUB) on TikTok, he is super refreshing and interesting. The other evening he did a live where he listened to Nirvana for the first time and ate Sushi. @thefreshkingbenjamin is his name. I am learning so much about how actual crazy it all is. His last name is Brown, so maybe someone can do some sleuthing. I’m sure it’s a pretty common name though. 

I believe I read this on reddit and this is Kody Browns nephew.  

[deirdra]

6 hours ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

I believe I read this on reddit and this is Kody Browns nephew.  

He looks like a relative (same male hair loss pattern as Kootie) and his FB page has links to "Bob's Floral" (Garrison's old Hawaiian shirt resale co) and the "Country Bakery" that Janelle has raved about on trips to Wyoming. Watching his tiktoks, he was a child labourer at his family bakery, the 3rd of 16 kids and must be ~33 now.

Edited April 8, 2022 by deirdra

[Yeah No]

That lost turkey I wrote about last Fall is back!  There are two more photos of her taken very recently on the Instagram page that town resident put up for her.  My husband saw her this morning and his dash cam caught her across the street from the Whole Foods, LOL.  I wonder where she went for the Winter (turkeys don't migrate) and why on earth she would come back to hanging out at the same major intersections she inhabited last year.  She has been captured crossing within the crosswalk and she waits for the light to turn green!  You can't make this stuff up!

Here's a screenshot of her my husband took this morning:

 

[SunnyBeBe]

Hope the turkey is ok.  NC is having an avian flu problem right now.  Turkeys only right now.  Or maybe, she has fond memories of that spot. Lol Supposedly birds operate on instincts.  What a mystery.  
 

Great news before my weekend!  My mammogram results were normal!  Yaayyy. 

Edited April 8, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[Cetacean]

22 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Great news before my weekend!  My mammogram results were normal!  Yaayyy. 

Great news! Celebrate!

For what it's worth, to date, the avian flu has not affected wild turkeys.

[SunnyBeBe]

This is so odd, but today I took a rural route to my country place and 2 wild turkeys ran across the road on front of my car!  It must be the season. 

Edited April 8, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[Yeah No]

1 minute ago, SunnyBeBe said:

This is so odd, but today I took a rural route to my country place and 2 wild turkeys ran across the road on front if my car!  It must be the season. 

I was reading that they kind of hunker down and "roost" for the Winter so it makes sense that they would be emerging right about now.  Which reminds me, the bears are back too.  My friend said she saw one already in her backyard.  

[SunnyBeBe]

Bears can show up anywhere now.  I’m amazed at the locations.  My country place is pretty rural , so I keep in mind that it’s very possible, when I go outside.  I used to see deer in my backyard regularly, but none recently:(   

[ginger90]

There’s a hospital on Staten Island that has (had?) wild turkeys. They were vicious. My mother was in ICU there during hurricane Sandy. It was an awful time for many reasons, and the turkeys just added to the stress.

[lookeyloo]

On 3/31/2022 at 1:03 PM, iwantcookies said:

Someone keeps stealing my packages that contain clothes. I mean seriously 😒. So far 4 got stolen. People have no shame!

I am looking at the tenants to try to figure out who is wearing my clothes?

wow!  I think you live in NYC?  Could you use an Amazon locker if you've ordered from Amazon?  They seem to be all over the place, even here and we are suburban.

[iwantcookies]

38 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

There’s a hospital on Staten Island that has (had?) wild turkeys. They were vicious. My mother was in ICU there during hurricane Sandy. It was an awful time for many reasons, and the turkeys just added to the stress.

https://www.silive.com/entertainment/2021/11/you-chase-them-away-and-they-just-come-back-staten-islands-wild-turkeys-then-and-now.html
 

apparently it all started with someone releasing their pet turkeys into the wild

[ginger90]

1 hour ago, iwantcookies said:

https://www.silive.com/entertainment/2021/11/you-chase-them-away-and-they-just-come-back-staten-islands-wild-turkeys-then-and-now.html
 

apparently it all started with someone releasing their pet turkeys into the wild

Yup, and they are mean!

[ginger90]

 

Here’s another turkey article:

https://mrbellersneighborhood.com/2012/04/the-wild-turkeys-of-staten-island-university-hospital

[iwantcookies]

1 hour ago, lookeyloo said:

wow!  I think you live in NYC?  Could you use an Amazon locker if you've ordered from Amazon?  They seem to be all over the place, even here and we are suburban.

I don’t order from Amazon 

[Yeah No]

18 hours ago, iwantcookies said:

https://www.silive.com/entertainment/2021/11/you-chase-them-away-and-they-just-come-back-staten-islands-wild-turkeys-then-and-now.html
 

apparently it all started with someone releasing their pet turkeys into the wild

I took a look into it and those Staten Island Turkeys are a hybrid species of domesticated and wild turkeys and because they were originally kept as pets they're not living in their natural habitat.  So they are different from the wild turkeys in CT.  Ours are definitely not vicious.  They keep to themselves and have plenty of woods here to live in so they are not a problem in residential neighborhoods where humans live.  My town's forlorn little lost turkey is an exception preferring to live in town near major intersections.  At least she's polite and waits for the light to turn green before she crosses!  And she nearly always uses the crosswalk.  She's our beloved little mascot.  I worried about her all winter.  I know, I've completely lost my NY edge living in the "wilds" of CT, LOL.  😉

17 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Yup, and they are mean!

The birds we find mean in my area are the Canada geese.  They are aggressive and take over entire parking lots and ponds.  Fortunately there are not too many around me, although I do know a few places here and there where they tend to congregate.  They will walk into the middle of a road and refuse to move.  They'll hiss and lunge at the cars going by and the cars will have to drive around them!  I was once on a road where there was no way to get around them so I had to very carefully and slowly drive through the flock hoping I didn't hit one or that they would attack my car!

[Pooky]

I miss sister wives!! Any idea when it's back? I have been following the introvert queen (iq) on youtube she covers the sister wives there are some really good episodes out there. They say pretty much the same thing we all say here too lol. Check her out it helps wan the time in between series! 

[Teafortwo]

Rash! Can anyone help? All advice appreciated.  I've had the most horrendously itchy rash on my legs, feet, hands and arms since April 4. Even the bottoms of my feet itch! The doctor seems to think it's viral not caused by a medication. The dermatologist told me to take zyrtec 2x/day. My regular derm is out of town til the18th. Oatmeal baths help but only temporary relief.This is literally making me crazy.

I was in the hospital for 4 nights starting Wed. for severe breathing problems. They ruled out everything else and said it was  related to heretofore undiagnosed GERD.  Now that I'm on 2 meds for GERD the breathing is vastly improved but this rash! And wondering is maybe because we tapered me off prednisone is why it's so bad tonight. Thanks reading and for any help.

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by Teafortwo

[CalicoKitty]

1 hour ago, Teafortwo said:

Rash! Can anyone help? All advice appreciated.  I've had the most horrendously itchy rash on my legs, feet, hands and arms since April 4. Even the bottoms of my feet itch! The doctor seems to think it's viral not caused by a medication. The dermatologist told me to take zyrtec 2x/day. My regular derm is out of town til the18th. Oatmeal baths help but only temporary relief.This is literally making me crazy.

I was in the hospital for 4 nights starting Wed. for severe breathing problems. They ruled out everything else and said it was  related to heretofore undiagnosed GERD.  Now that I'm on 2 meds for GERD the breathing is vastly improved but this rash! And wondering I'd maybe because we tapered me off prednisone is why it's so bad tonight. Thanks reading and for any help.

 

I am very allergic to all Proton pump meds for GERD.  Nexium, Aciphex, Prilosec, Prevacid---all of them give me a total body rash that is very itchy.  Cortisone cream helped a lot, and of course stopping the meds.  I used OTC cortisone cream until my doctor took me off the meds and gave me a stronger cortisone cream.  Zantac worked will for me, but it has been pulled off the market.  (I am not giving medical advise to you; I am just stating what worked for me.) I hope you get relief soon.

Adding to say:  You really need to contact the doctor that gave you the meds.

Edited April 12, 2022 by CalicoKitty

[ginger90]

6 hours ago, Teafortwo said:

Rash! Can anyone help? All advice appreciated.  I've had the most horrendously itchy rash on my legs, feet, hands and arms since April 4. Even the bottoms of my feet itch! The doctor seems to think it's viral not caused by a medication. The dermatologist told me to take zyrtec 2x/day. My regular derm is out of town til the18th. Oatmeal baths help but only temporary relief.This is literally making me crazy.

I was in the hospital for 4 nights starting Wed. for severe breathing problems. They ruled out everything else and said it was  related to heretofore undiagnosed GERD.  Now that I'm on 2 meds for GERD the breathing is vastly improved but this rash! And wondering I'd maybe because we tapered me off prednisone is why it's so bad tonight. Thanks reading and for any help.

 

How long were you on prednisone? What was it being used to treat? Was it topical, or oral?

[lookeyloo]

12 hours ago, Teafortwo said:

Rash! Can anyone help? All advice appreciated.  I've had the most horrendously itchy rash on my legs, feet, hands and arms since April 4. Even the bottoms of my feet itch! The doctor seems to think it's viral not caused by a medication. The dermatologist told me to take zyrtec 2x/day. My regular derm is out of town til the18th. Oatmeal baths help but only temporary relief.This is literally making me crazy.

I was in the hospital for 4 nights starting Wed. for severe breathing problems. They ruled out everything else and said it was  related to heretofore undiagnosed GERD.  Now that I'm on 2 meds for GERD the breathing is vastly improved but this rash! And wondering I'd maybe because we tapered me off prednisone is why it's so bad tonight. Thanks reading and for any help.

 

Oh dear!  If you are up to it, maybe google all the meds you are on and see if any have the side effects you list.  I ended up getting that rash from Tylox years ago when I had my hysterectomy.  turns out, for me, I'm allergic to codeine.  But, something in what you are taking could be the culprit.

[iwantcookies]

I agree you are probably allergic to the meds or maybe even the detergent used to wash the sheets. 

[Teafortwo]

21 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

Adding to say:  You really need to contact the doctor that gave you the meds.

Thanks, yes, but she is on vacation too just like my regular dermatologist. I asked a friend for a referral to her derm (in my neighborhood) and that one was out for knee surgery. It's maddening! The rash predates the GERD meds; I was on 40 mg prednisone for 4 days, then 20 mg for 2 days and 10 mg for 2 days. However, I was also on high-dose prednisone (60 mg for a few days followed by tapering, for a total of 10 days) from March 3- 12. That was to shrink nasal polyps so the sinus doc could do nasal endoscopy and get a CT scan of my sinuses. Things went haywire on March 24 - I had an episode of what my internist thought might be DVT (turned out not, thank goodness) and spent about 6 hours in the ER. The derm thinks the hives are either a virus or possibly auto-immune so will get blood test (she wrote me a note during her vacation). I've been using calamine lotion and the oatmeal baths, and ice packs.  I might have caught a virus from the ER on March 24, that did not show up until 8 days later. They tested for all kinds of viruses when I was in the hospital - all negative. But on the pathology report of the rash biopsy, the pathologist noted it could be covid, just not at a level detectable by a covid test. All I know is both feet are swollen now and I can't worry about one more thing, I just need to stop the itch! (why I got a biopsy for rash? history of cancer along with the disturbing breathing problems). I felt like I was on an episode of "House."

Edited April 13, 2022 by Teafortwo

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, Teafortwo said:

Thanks, yes, but she is on vacation too just like my regular dermatologist. I asked a friend for a referral to her derm (in my neighborhood) and that one was out for knee surgery. It's maddening! The rash predates the GERD meds; I was on 40 mg prednisone for 4 days, then 20 mg for 2 days and 10 mg for 2 days. However, I was also on high-dose prednisone (60 mg for a few days followed by tapering, for a total of 10 days) from March 3- 12. That was to shrink nasal polyps so the sinus doc could do nasal endoscopy and get a CT scan of my sinuses. Things went haywire on March 24 - I had an episode of what my internist thought might be DVT (turned out not, thank goodness) and spent about 6 hours in the ER. The derm thinks the hives are either a virus or possibly auto-immune so will get blood test (she wrote me a note during her vacation). I've been using calamine lotion and the oatmeal baths, and ice packs.  I might have caught a virus from the ER on March 24, that did not show up until 8 days later. They tested for all kinds of viruses when I was in the hospital - all negative. But on the pathology report of the rash biopsy, the pathologist noted it could be covid, just not at a level detectable by a covid test. All I know is both feet are swollen now and I can't worry about one more thing, I just need to stop the itch! (why I got a biopsy for rash? history of cancer along with the disturbing breathing problems). I felt like I was on an episode of "House."

Tea, I'm with the others here, I think this sounds like a mild allergic reaction.  A rash and breathing issues are the signs.  I wouldn't wait to see a dermatologist or continue to assume it's viral at this point.  I think you should see your primary doctor about this (or even urgent care if you know a good one).  To be seen faster, tell them you are having symptoms that might be an allergic reaction.  That will get you in faster and they'll prescribe an itch cream.

Interesting that they mentioned Covid.  I have been having weird symptoms my primary dr. says remind her of fibromyalgia.  I think there are a number of possible reasons for them such as side effects from taking Prilosec on a long term basis, which I seem to have successfully weaned off of in the past two weeks.  Plus probably the associated B12 depletion and anemia caused by the Prilosec.  I have bumped up my supplements now and things seem to be improving slowly.  But I always suspect that perhaps some of this is due to maybe having had an asymptomatic case of Covid and not knowing it, and this is my form of "long Covid".  I still want to get one of those antibody tests that tells you whether you've actually had the virus (as opposed to having vaccine antibodies).

Interestingly I got my 2nd booster shot yesterday and was worried about feeling lousy afterward, but I actually feel better.  Meanwhile my husband is asleep in the recliner a day after his shot.

 

[lookeyloo]

3 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Tea, I'm with the others here, I think this sounds like a mild allergic reaction.  A rash and breathing issues are the signs.  I wouldn't wait to see a dermatologist or continue to assume it's viral at this point.  I think you should see your primary doctor about this (or even urgent care if you know a good one).  To be seen faster, tell them you are having symptoms that might be an allergic reaction.  That will get you in faster and they'll prescribe an itch cream.

Interesting that they mentioned Covid.  I have been having weird symptoms my primary dr. says remind her of fibromyalgia.  I think there are a number of possible reasons for them such as side effects from taking Prilosec on a long term basis, which I seem to have successfully weaned off of in the past two weeks.  Plus probably the associated B12 depletion and anemia caused by the Prilosec.  I have bumped up my supplements now and things seem to be improving slowly.  But I always suspect that perhaps some of this is due to maybe having had an asymptomatic case of Covid and not knowing it, and this is my form of "long Covid".  I still want to get one of those antibody tests that tells you whether you've actually had the virus (as opposed to having vaccine antibodies).

Interestingly I got my 2nd booster shot yesterday and was worried about feeling lousy afterward, but I actually feel better.  Meanwhile my husband is asleep in the recliner a day after his shot.

 

My friend's daughter got Covid before vaccines, and had a bad case of "long Covid".  Her first vaccination seems to have cured her.  She said it was like a miracle.  I know it doesn't work like that for a lot of people but she is convinced.

[TurtlePower]

19 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

My friend's daughter got Covid before vaccines, and had a bad case of "long Covid".  Her first vaccination seems to have cured her.  She said it was like a miracle.  I know it doesn't work like that for a lot of people but she is convinced.

I had long covid and got “better” after the vaccine — I cannot scientifically explain it. It didn’t fix my dairy allergy, however (which I developed during long covid). Maybe that was just coincidental and had nothing to do with covid. I’ll never know (not like it matters why) but I have heard of similar, strange things happening to others who had long covid. 

[SunnyBeBe]

Can someone tell me if it’s possible to find IPad charging cords in a regular store like Walgreens or Walmart?  My current one has broken and I need to pick one up today.  I can’t determine which ones work by looking on line.  

[CalicoKitty]

Walmart would probably have them.  Also office supply stores like Office Max/Depot or Staples.

[iwantcookies]

58 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Can someone tell me if it’s possible to find IPad charging cords in a regular store like Walgreens or Walmart?  My current one has broken and I need to pick one up today.  I can’t determine which ones work by looking on line.  

Target for sure has them. 

[SunnyBeBe]

39 minutes ago, CalicoKitty said:

Walmart would probably have them.  Also office supply stores like Office Max/Depot or Staples.

Thanks.  I’m trying to avoid Walmart, but….I’ll do what I have to.  The office supply places aren’t on my route, but…..I suppose I can make a detour.  

[SunnyBeBe]

Update: got a charger cord at Family Dollar!

[Yeah No]

12 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Update: got a charger cord at Family Dollar!

Excellent!  I was going to suggest Big Lots if you have that near you but that works!

[SunnyBeBe]

Hmmmm…..there is one around, but not on the route I was taking……was trying to avoid certain parking lots too.  Certain parking lots have become quite risky due to angry and aggressive drivers.  
 

I didn’t mention this, because I was very disturbed by it, but I had an incident a couple of weeks ago (on a road in Raleigh, not a parking lot) where a driver in a large pickup truck targeted me for no real reason and almost hit me twice!  After doing so, he pulled in fron of me and slammed on his brakes trying to make me hit him! I didn’t, but it was traumatic.   I changed lanes and took a side street to get away.  Other drivers were taking measures to get away from him too!  It was so out of nowhere that I wonder if it was a case of mistaken identity.  Blowing horn, hand signals, etc.  But, I didn’t do anything to provoke this guy.  Road rage is real!   
 

About the same time this happened, a middle aged, professional  lady SHOT and killed another woman driving a car in a Raleigh parking lot, due to a fight over a parking spot!  She hit a couple more cars too, but the drivers in those cars were not hit by bullets.  The lady she did hit was shot in the back!  She is now charged with murder! Such a terrible waste over nothing.  

[Yeah No]

6 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Hmmmm…..there is one around, but not on the route I was taking……was trying to avoid certain parking lots too.  Certain parking lots have become quite risky due to angry and aggressive drivers.  
 

I didn’t mention this, because I was very disturbed by it, but I had an incident a couple of weeks ago (on a road in Raleigh, not a parking lot) where a driver in a large pickup truck targeted me for no real reason and almost hit me twice!  After doing so, he pulled in fron of me and slammed on his brakes trying to make me hit him! I didn’t, but it was traumatic.   I changed lanes and took a side street to get away.  Other drivers were taking measures to get away from him too!  It was so out of nowhere that I wonder if it was a case of mistaken identity.  Blowing horn, hand signals, etc.  But, I didn’t do anything to provoke this guy.  Road rage is real!   
 

About the same time this happened, a middle aged, professional  lady SHOT and killed another woman driving a car in a Raleigh parking lot, due to a fight over a parking spot!  She hit a couple more cars too, but the drivers in those cars were not hit by bullets.  The lady she did hit was shot in the back!  She is now charged with murder! Such a terrible waste over nothing.  

A lot of stuff like this must be happening all over the country these days.  Even in CT we are hearing horrifying stories every day now.  It's very disturbing.  Your truck story reminds me of the one I told here in this thread back in February about being followed by some angry driver on the road.  All I did was have the "nerve" to change lanes in front of him not knowing he was also changing lanes at the same time.

[Gramto6]

42 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

A lot of stuff like this must be happening all over the country these days.  Even in CT we are hearing horrifying stories every day now.  It's very disturbing.  Your truck story reminds me of the one I told here in this thread back in February about being followed by some angry driver on the road.  All I did was have the "nerve" to change lanes in front of him not knowing he was also changing lanes at the same time.

Kind of makes me glad I live in a state  with a total population of 1.1 million people.  Yeah, a lot are gun owners and survivalists, but they don't get in your face about any of it unless you get in theirs first. 

[xwordfanatik]

Stephen King wrote a short story regarding road rage.  I haven't experienced anything really freaky like some of you here have, but just reading that story was scary enough.  

These type of events do seem to be happening more often nowadays.  They make a lot of us extra vigilant and careful out there.  No wonder many of us are mostly hermits (me included.)  Take care, everyone.

[Teafortwo]

It seems that I have vasculitis, an auto-immune disorder. I'll know more about it next week after I see the doctor and we discuss results of bloodwork. There are different kinds. I am praying this isn't true but my internist and gastroenterologist, both of whom I saw in the past 2 days, read my rash biopsy report and some other bloodwork results, plus a review of my various symptoms, and concurred. 

I've been very lucky to be healthy my whole life, never spent a night in a hospital before last week except for a couple nights when I was 11. This is going to be a radical change in the way I see myself. I hobbled to the drugstore today on my very swollen feet, to pick up some high-potency steroid cream for the rash (finally was prescribed something other than oatmeal baths and calamine lotion - after calling the on-call dermatologist in the middle of the night on Thursday when my mildly swollen feet (and calves) blew up and I panicked).  

I've never taken my health for granted; I always felt that it was something very precious, particularly once I got past 50.  Just over 2 weeks ago, I was walking at least 2 miles a day as many days as I could (given the staffing crunch at work that limited my free time). There is a treatment for this and it could go into remission, but this is a very sobering experience. I'm okay right now after doing a couple of nebulizer treatments today and last night, and taking medicines for GERD, but I had a very rough time this morning with severe stomach pains on top of the breathing issues.

There is a remote possibility that this was caused by covid that did not show up on tests (covid is a vascular disease, after all). My allergies were always my biggest fear about covid - when I read about "cytokine storms" that the virus can cause, it sounded like that would affect someone with allergies in particular and I could see that happening to me. Where the body, in attacking the viral intruder, ends up attacking itself. One of the reasons I was so careful to isolate, not see people indoors, etc.

My co-workers really stepped up while I was out. I only worked a few hours yesterday, my first day back. I had felt better by Wed. (except for the rash) and told my manager I wanted to return on Friday. After the bad night on Thursday, I called my internist yesterday morning and by a miracle was able to see him in the afternoon so I left work early. My manager has been great, telling me to take as much time as I need and "the team" will cover me. But I'm running out of sick days and it would soon become leave without pay. I managed to do a little work today.

Guess this puts things in perspective and I shouldn't ever complain about my co-workers again (no guarantees that I won't though LOL). They are still interviewing people so we are still as short handed as we were all during March.

[sharkerbaby]

12 hours ago, Teafortwo said:

It seems that I have vasculitis, an auto-immune disorder. I'll know more about it next week after I see the doctor and we discuss results of bloodwork. There are different kinds. I am praying this isn't true but my internist and gastroenterologist, both of whom I saw in the past 2 days, read my rash biopsy report and some other bloodwork results, plus a review of my various symptoms, and concurred. 

I've been very lucky to be healthy my whole life, never spent a night in a hospital before last week except for a couple nights when I was 11. This is going to be a radical change in the way I see myself. I hobbled to the drugstore today on my very swollen feet, to pick up some high-potency steroid cream for the rash (finally was prescribed something other than oatmeal baths and calamine lotion - after calling the on-call dermatologist in the middle of the night on Thursday when my mildly swollen feet (and calves) blew up and I panicked).  

I've never taken my health for granted; I always felt that it was something very precious, particularly once I got past 50.  Just over 2 weeks ago, I was walking at least 2 miles a day as many days as I could (given the staffing crunch at work that limited my free time). There is a treatment for this and it could go into remission, but this is a very sobering experience. I'm okay right now after doing a couple of nebulizer treatments today and last night, and taking medicines for GERD, but I had a very rough time this morning with severe stomach pains on top of the breathing issues.

There is a remote possibility that this was caused by covid that did not show up on tests (covid is a vascular disease, after all). My allergies were always my biggest fear about covid - when I read about "cytokine storms" that the virus can cause, it sounded like that would affect someone with allergies in particular and I could see that happening to me. Where the body, in attacking the viral intruder, ends up attacking itself. One of the reasons I was so careful to isolate, not see people indoors, etc.

My co-workers really stepped up while I was out. I only worked a few hours yesterday, my first day back. I had felt better by Wed. (except for the rash) and told my manager I wanted to return on Friday. After the bad night on Thursday, I called my internist yesterday morning and by a miracle was able to see him in the afternoon so I left work early. My manager has been great, telling me to take as much time as I need and "the team" will cover me. But I'm running out of sick days and it would soon become leave without pay. I managed to do a little work today.

Guess this puts things in perspective and I shouldn't ever complain about my co-workers again (no guarantees that I won't though LOL). They are still interviewing people so we are still as short handed as we were all during March.

To be fair, it is just as possible that it was caused by the vaccine as well.  Both are rare but vasculitis has occurred with approximately the same frequency in post covid patients as in post vaccine patients.  Vasculitis doesn't present in precisely the same manner post infection vs post vaccination but the delay to onset is similar.

[iwantcookies]

Happy Passover and happy Easter! 
 

 

[SunnyBeBe]

Another Turkey story!  My mom cooked a Turkey for their Easter meal.  Today, she threw some Turkey scraps out near the property line at the forest.  She soon looked out and saw that  4 wild turkeys zoomed in and and were attempting to eat the Turkey scraps!  So bizarre!  🤷‍♀️

Edited April 18, 2022 by SunnyBeBe