Wednesday was the first good weekday I've had in ages.

Somehow between the last time I was home and now, Mom managed to acquire a shitload of er, presents for me. I'm not entirely sure why, I think she was getting deals on stuff, along with some stuff she picked up on vacation.

So now I have:

(a) New dichroic glass earrings

(b) A blue glass moon

(c) A big pink-and-gray, double-chained necklace that got all the women I saw the entire day drooling, it seemed

(d) A silver claddagh toe ring

(e) A pink buttondown shirt

(f) An Italian charm bracelet with my initials, a green heart, a bull and a shooting start charms.

Hell, that alone perked me up.

I also got my hair redyed and *sigh* retrimmed Wednesday morning. I'm not sure how I feel about the latter, but it is nice to have my hair formally styled.

I went by the eye doctor's to see about getting my glasses readjusted again and getting new clip-ons (non-matching the glasses). Turns out they're trying to order me one of the old kind, but Mom (who was in for another errand) insisted I get a spare in case I did this again.

After that, Mom (who'd gotten an Italian bracelet too) wanted to go by the local store that sold them to ask how we were to make them shorter, and we got more charms (1 for her, 3 for me- she only wanted one!). I now have my high school and college charms, as well as another heart.

So by this time I was feeling pretty chirpy, even if I had the dreaded confirmation appointment ahead of me. (This link will become particularly relevant later on, so make sure you read before we continue.)

So I go in and am first met by the woman I talked to on the phone- MUCH nicer in person-sounding, we had a gossip session about Italian charm bracelets since I'd just gotten mine and noticed she had some. The nurse was stuck with a late patient, so she put me in a room to "watch the asthma video" until she was done. I also got handed a fat folder of papers, then was handed more papers. The video was, well, not much of an upper, especially since while listening to all the "I regularly take all my medications, I clean my house constantly, I'm really going to manage my own care as a sickly person now" talk I kept thinking, man, they don't even consider the idea that I might not have it here, huh? Well, those thoughts alternated with "Uh, I don't have problems with cigarette smoke, pets, pollen, air, etc., etc., etc.," that they were mentioning in the video. Nurse #1 was all "Huh, that's odd. Well, good for you." I'm still thinking, how can I have asthma and not get bothered by, say, being around Dave's family? They smoke, have pets, and are repainting the house, and I don't cough.

On to Nurse #2 (the one in charge of things at this clinic), who was very nice and we gossiped about shoes. I told her the weird setup of this whole thing, she was shocked and puzzled as well. She had me breathe into a machine, and pronounced that my lungs were not only quite healthy (which they shouldn't have been, I guess), they were actually blowing OVER capacity for my size.

A-hem.

So she goes out to consult with the doctor/specialist, and then the doctor comes in and checks me out some more. According to her, if I had asthma, I'd be feeling stuff in my chest, having chest issues, etc., that would all be below the neck.

Since all my coughing issues seem to be throat and up (tickle in the throat, stuffed nose is what brings on the cough from hell), she figures it's postnasal drip and some kind of allergies and NOT asthma. I've been put on nose spray and Claritin and taken off of one of the inhalers (the other seems to work, so that'll stay for now).

You hear that, folks? I DON'T HAVE ASTHMA!

PHEW!

I am loving the relief of finally having SOMETHING to not stress about!

After all of that, there was some more celebratory shopping- Mom buying me more buttondown shirts and a culotte-ish outfit- some eating out, and general delighted happiness on my end.

For a change.

I even heard a rumor of a possible roommate- my mom's coworker's daughter's friend is moving here and supposedly is desperate for somewhere to live. I should have Mom follow up on this, though she said she had her doubts because the coworker's daughter (who I knew in 4-H years and years ago) is likely to be over a lot and is generally a blabber and would tell her mother about how I'm a slob. I don't think I care all that much.

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