091 - She's a flu-zy

Today I got my flu shot, so tomorrow I pretty much expect to have the flu. Yeppers. Mr. Doctor can claim that it isn't actually the flu... all he wants to... but let's call a spade a spade... last time -- I came down with the flu. He tried to make it sound alllllllllll kinds of innocent... like it was just my body building up immunity... and that can sometime mimick the symptoms of the flu... Nuh-uh, mister -- I had the damn flu.

And why can I take ibuprofen but not aspirin? He went into great detail about the contents of the syringe and why I couldn't possibly have had the flu, but then he threw that out there and didn't explain it at all. He even said it with emphasis -- 'not aspirin' -- in an ominous 'or you will wake up with a set of horns sprouting from your ears' kind of way. I read the literature before I signed the form, so I knew everything he was telling me about the shot... but the aspirin thing was not covered. I mean, how long can I not take aspirin: 24 hours... or the rest of my life?

I also learned that sometimes it doesn't pay to be honest (like that life lesson hasn't bitten me plenty of times before). They gave us a form to fill out, and one of the questions was whether you've had the flu shot before... and if so, did you have a reaction to it... and if so, what kind of reaction? Yes, yes, and flu-like symptoms. The lady behind the table saw that last part and became concerned; she wanted me to consult with the doctor. I told her I lived through it, I didn't have any concerns, and I wanted to get the shot. She was apparently placated, because I'm an adult and she had a signed permission slip in her hand with my big girl signature on it.

So then the doctor looks at the form and asks me how long my 'flu-like' symptoms lasted. I told him it had been about four years since my last shot, I didn't remember. (Liar) He prompts me with 'One day? Two days?' Ummm... two days sounds like the right answer. Did I have a high fever? To tell him that I stayed home from work for two days with a fever in the 101 range (my normal temp is about 97.6) would have meant that I got no shot.

So I lied.

My morals can be flexible sometimes. In other words: Kristy says what Kristy needs to say in order to get the shot... So as the day goes on, karma begins to repay me for my fib... my throat starts to feel scratchy, and I feel a little run down. At the moment I feel slightly feverish, but not too bad. I'm hoping things won't get bad until the weekend so I don't have to be miserable at work (I have no vacation days to spare, and we don't get enough sick days to be worth a crap).

For some weird reason, I get blood drawn from my left arm, and shots in the right. I'll tell you what... that shot is thick, it felt a bit like getting anesthetized at the dentist's office (I can feel it going into all the little vessels in my cheek and it creeps me out), and my arm started to ache about two hours after I got it. I realized how stupid my choice was when I got in the car to come home and was faced with the harsh reality that I drive a stick, and I shift with my right arm. Ow. In fact, I do a lot of things with my right arm...

So, off the topic of flu shots, here's something I struggle with sometimes... I blog (obviously), and some of the people I know in real life read my blogs... so when I start making conversation, they've already heard some of my stories... because they read my blog. And that sucks. If they'd follow my blog, then I'd know who they were ahead of time and wouldn't bore them with my encore presentation (it cracks me up that re-runs are now called 'encore presentations')...

Then again, I do talk about other things...

Anyone else have that problem?