Monday, November 23, 2009

Overheard in the Office:

Me: (in a sing-song voice) "Papertowel-papertowel-papertowel! Oh, pass the paper towels please!"

RX: "Here."

Me: (blows nose with a skull-vibrating *POP!*) "Ahhhh. I love it when you can feel it come out by the roots all the way up in your forehead."

RX: "Tamara, have we discussed 'oversharing'?"

26 comments:

Patrick said...

Wow, I thought I was the only one.

Bram said...

I assume this followed by a color-check. Are we running clear, yellow, or green today?

Joanna said...

I once read about a medieval ettiquette guide that advised against looking into one's handkerchief after a sneeze "as though rubies and pearls might have dropped from your head."

Learn it. And for God's sake, live it.

Anonymous said...

"Learn it. And for God's sake, live it."

I thought, for good health, one was to check the color, or the roots?

Shootin' Buddy

Laughingdog said...

I always do a color check, especially after those occasions when it felt like a marble came out of my nose. One, you have to be sure a sinus infection isn't setting in again. Two, maybe there was enough pressure in my head to form an actual marble.

Joanna said...

Or, to quote Calvin: "Phew. No brains."

perlhaqr said...

Bram: Sadly, red roughly 75% of the time. Maybe I should move somewhere with some humidity.

Matt G said...

Excretions and discharges are generally considered to be off the Polite Conversation Topics List.

If you fail to heed this warning, and take your actions to their next logical conclusion, you'll be having conversations in which you're discussing how you "could see some corn in there."

theirritablearchitect said...

Never heard it described quite like that before, but, I'd say I've had more than a few like that myself.

Pretty funny.

breda said...

In the Fallacy house, we call that the "snotbomb"

Brad K. said...

1) More saline nasal mist. If you do the neti pot thing daily, saline nasal mist is like a mini-neti, and can fill in between times.

2) @ Bram, my doctor told me, about saline nasal mist (non medicated salt water), "Twice in each side, once an hour, and blow." It will clear up to a sinus infection, help relieve allergy symptoms. It helps clear up "dry cough" and associated throat tickle from desiccated . . um, sinus "drainage". I was told over the weekend, that, like hand washing and sanitizing, it can help avoid catching flu and colds.

3) Lots of hot liquids. Green tea and herbal teas with honey (I like Celestial Seasonings Honey Lemon Ginsen, or green decaf). Keeps fluids up, soothes the throat and stomach, is a comfort item for the tummy.

4) Lots and lots of fiber. Oatmeal is good. Psyllium husk (what the sugar and flavor in Metamucil convey) is better, but *don't* try to double-dose. No one likes surprises.

5) @ Matt G - Lots of fluids. Avoid constipation, corn or not. Thanks for the visual image, there. Although corn can be right handy, for timing the transit time (should be under forty hours, twenty four is right good).

6) I, too, like paper towels for blowing the nose. They don't irritate the skin on the side of the nose like Kleenex and other "tissue" does.

Anonymous said...

MITINTK.

On a Wing and a Whim said...

Clearly not enough has been discussed on 'oversharing' when the next step is to overshare with the world.

:-P

Anonymous said...

Speaking of health and fiber, we got a new mega-mart moved near the neighborhood. I saw something new there, rolled WHEAT, not rolled oats. Treat it like cracked wheat, soak overnight, cook in the morning. Good & interesting hot cereal. I need to buy some more, in bulk (pun intended).

B Woodman

Weer'd Beard said...

Another +1 on the color check. Funky colors can mean infection and one MUST check for blood.

Plus blowing a big one and not looking at it is like reeling in a HUGE fish and not looking at it.

Anonymous said...

If you think it's butter, but it's snot...it's Chiffon!

Anonymous said...

Plus blowing a big one and not looking at it is like reeling in a HUGE fish and not looking at it.

Only if you intend to eat it.

Hey, don't look at me. Tam already took us down this road.

Darrell said...

I was on the downhill side of a bad sinus infection once, and blew my nose first thing one morning. I felt something give just a bit, and kept blowing. Dang, it felt like I was blowing a mouse out of a pipe. What finally came out was the size of my thumb and bright orange. Very gratifying to get it out.

As stated above, we already headed down this road... :P

OrangeNeck said...

I do a color check and if it's green with blood swirls, then it's time to see the doctor and get some antibiotics.

Roberta X said...

H'mmm. Have ANY of you discussed oversharing?

About the Neti pot: you cannot convince Tam it is a good thing. If she thinks I'm going to use mine, she avoids passing by the loo, even if the door is shut. Claims to find even the idea of them shuddersome.

Paper toweling is actually too rough to use a lot; try cloth hankies (yeah, gross, but gentle) or the tissues with lotion. Trust me, I fight dried-out nostrils all winter long.

ibex said...

Cloth tissue is gross indeed. What works best for me is actually Charmin TP. If it's gentle enough for back there, it's gentle enough for my nose, too.

ibex said...

Also, I can snicker at the people who've called me "assface" before.

Anonymous said...

Polish handkerchief: a finger along side the nose and out it goes. Outdoors use only, pliz.

Make sure you don't blow out an eardrum or impact snot up the Eustachian tube, either. Watch the impact area, too. Don't want to land a lickable fur-treat on the dog, or upon irritable companions.

Became proficient in act, when doing year round bicycle commuting. Also, the only time in my adult life when I shaved my mustache. Hairy upper lip is a nuisance under mucoid drippy and frozen circumstances.

Otherwise, the pneumatic nasal clear has a lot to recommend it.

BTW: ref cycles -- the Gibson novel Virtual Light. Now there's some gear.

John the Red -- nosed, in the NW Ohio humid cold winter.

Bram said...

Anonymous - the technical term for that is "snot-rocket."

ibex - If you have a beard that comes in stubbly and fast, TP is no good.

NotClauswitz said...

I had that in Hawaii - I thought I caught a line-drive when I blew my nose.

Gewehr98 said...

I get chastised for using up all the hot water and making horrible noises in the morning shower. Steam is good for evicting those magic nose goblins.