Amen and Achoo

The ragweed woes continue. Ugh. I'm almost desperate enough to take something for it, but that has its own bad effects. It reminds me of a running gag in the movie I'm With Lucy (a cute little romantic comedy). The heroine has hayfever, and there's only one specific medicine that works for her, something that's getting hard to find. Everyone keeps trying to get her to use some other kind that they say is better, but she knows that only this one kind works for her. Then they suggest she get the 8-hour formula of that medicine because it lasts longer than the 4-hour that she wants. She goes on this rant about how it has to be the 4-hour because the 8-hour stops working after six hours, and then you have to go two more hours before you can take more. I feel like shouting, "Preach it, sister! Amen and achoo!"

For me, Benadryl is the one thing that really seems to work to make the allergy symptoms better. The down side is that it knocks me out. I can barely remain conscious when I take it, and I certainly wouldn't try to drive while taking it. I just resort to it when the allergy symptoms are keeping me from being able to sleep or when I'm too miserable to function, anyway, and then I try not to take it too many nights in a row because then I have a hard time falling asleep without it. I've tried the non-drowsy allergy medicines, but they don't work as well for me and they still make me drowsy. I'm less drowsy than with Benadryl, but also less clear of the allergy problems, so I'm not convinced it's a worthwhile trade-off.

Though, come to think of it, there is the possibility that the Benadryl doesn't actually clear up the allergies. It just makes me not care that I have allergies.

My other problem with all the allergy drugs is that they seem to linger in my system, probably because the dosage is set for an average-sized man and I'm a smaller-than-average woman. I don't take even the four-hour Benadryl less than eight hours before I'll need to drive. My other problem with the so-called non-drowsy stuff is that I've only found it in a 12-hour dose. It makes me drowsy enough that I don't feel safe driving when taking it, so I can't take it if there's a chance I might need to drive within the next 18 or so hours. The 12-hour thing also means that I can't take anything else on top of it. I'm trying non-drug interventions, like spicy soup and lots of tea, but I'm at the point of saying to heck with it, I have groceries for a few days and could survive without driving, but I need to work and am not focusing the way I am, so I may as well take something that will help a little and just not drive for a while.

In other news, it's time for a little TV talk! I'm already on record as liking Christopher with Lorelei on The Gilmore Girls, and that was sealed last night. I'm sure I wasn't supposed to agree with the things being said about Luke and Lorelei (how's that for vauging it up to avoid spoiling?), but I felt they were totally on target. Now we just need to find something for Rory to do other than sit around and pine for her boyfriend, and we'll be back on track. I can't believe that this supposedly very bright and incredibly driven young woman who's trying to pad her resume and make up for lost time at school is spending her summer just hanging out at home rather than doing an internship, having a job or taking classes.

But the real TV news from last night was Friday Night Lights. Wow. I may be in love. I tuned in mostly to see Mack Brown's cameo role (Hook 'em!), and it wasn't the kind of thing I thought I'd get into. I didn't get emotionally invested in any one character (unless you count the town itself as a character), but this may be a case of it just being so good I can't help but like it. I'm from a small, football-mad Texas town, and they so totally nailed all the nuances of the culture. I knew these people. It looked like a feature film, and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. I caught myself yelling during the football sequences like I was watching a real game, and yeah, I was bawling by the end of it. And to think, I remember when Peter Berg (the writer/director) played the gonzo orthopaedic surgeon on Chicago Hope. Even then, though, the episodes he wrote or directed did have a real zing to them. They're repeating the pilot tonight and Saturday night, so check it out if you haven't. It may not be for everyone, but it's very well done. I just wish it was in a different time slot because I'm afraid it's going to be killed where it is (and it's a pain to watch where it is). Oh, and Kyle Chandler still plays quiet stress very well, and looks good doing it. :-)

Now we'll see if I can focus long enough on much of anything to get any work done today.