June, July and Early August

After the chaos of the fire and attempting to deal with all of the insurance bullshit things did NOT settle down like we'd hoped. Shortly after the fire, we found a temporary apartment to live in, and got new aquariums. For your information, it is possible to fit a 55 gallon aquarium tank, stand and hood, and 29 gallon tank and stand in a Civic at the same time. It was sort of like playing Jenga in a car, but we made it work. The fish got set up and we more or less got settled into the apartment. Temporary rental furniture wasn't exactly wonderful, but it worked.

One good thing that happened was Erin's bridal shower. We had a great time and it was a nice break from everything else. After that, Katie and I disassembled our apartment and started packing. Our lease was up at the end of July, so we had a ton to do. In the midst of the packing and move to Anthony's temporary place, his motorcycle was stolen. Right out from in front of his apartment complex. In order to save a bit of money and because he wasn't really riding it often, he only had PLPD insurance on it, not full coverage. So of course the insurance wouldn't replace it. (sighs)

I also was incredibly frustrated when in the last few days before my lease was up, I got an infection in a cut I didn't realize I had. It made painting the apartment back to white and lifting heavy boxes a really big pain. By friday it had gotten so bad that I decided I should see a doctor on monday. But saturday night I was in excruciating pain to the point of tears, and went to the ER. I had to wait forever of course, thanks to an onslaught of people coming in with heat stroke/dehydration. But I finally got seen, given Morphine, and I napped on and off for a few hours while I waited for a surgeon.

I've decided I am completely unimpressed by Morphine. The drug, not the band. I am in love with the band. The drug made my shoulders tense and I felt like a slug. I had no ambition to move or do anything. It did take the edge off of the pain though, so that was a huge help. I got seen by the surgeon, they cleaned up the infected area and sent me off with a prescription for antibiotics. I spent the next few days recovering, and was starting to feel great, when I woke up one morning covered head to toe with a rash. I had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics, but luckily it wasn't a serious reaction, just annoying. I now know I shouldn't take amoxicillin.

The rash cleared up in a week, and things were starting to look up. We were trying to figure out a place to move once our 3 month lease was up. My parents went on vacation for a few weeks and I had my mom's car while they were gone. I went home a few times to check on the plants, get the mail and make sure the horses were ok. On the way home one evening, I stopped to find a birthday gift for Erin. I turned left at a light, and got hit by a car. A woman ran a red light and slammed into the rear passenger door of the car. I was alright except for a burn on my arm from the air bag, and some really sore shoulders. The car was totaled though. Anthony came and picked me up, and the car was towed away. I came home, and got in a hot bath with tea and chocolate and stayed there for a few hours. I wasn't at fault, and there was a witness to prove it, but I felt horrible that I totaled my mom's car.

It was officially the summer from hell.