Em left yesterday.Big heavy sigh…There is something so great about old friends and her in particular. I miss her terribly. Hadley adores her and would just follow her around from room to room and randomly say “Emmie, I love you.” Hadley calls her “Emmie” and has since she was a baby. Recently she discovered that Emmie’s name is actually Emily so she corrects me when I say Emmie. Hopefully that will go away because we love calling her Emmie.

I’m still fighting SOMETHING but at this point since doctors are impossible, I am trying to figure out the puzzle on my own. I went in to the doc on Friday and they did a strep test, ran bloodwork and urine. She wants to check white cell count and a bevy of other things. I thought perhaps I was sick with a cold and really sore throat but it is has been a week and the throat issue hasn’t subsided completely. After doing research (I love the internet) and picking apart my symptoms, I am guessing that it is some sort of infection in my throat, like a sore, which is common in Lupus as well as AIDS patients. They call it esophageal candida. We’ll see if my diagnosis is correct. Something’s gotta give.

When I went in on Friday, I asked about Lisa, my favorite receptionist. She hadn’t been there in a few months. They told me she left and I felt like a kid who couldn’t find her mom at the mall. I just sort of stopped. I had major problems getting this appointment and suddenly I was faced with a future of Candi and Cami dealing with my illness. Lisa was one of those people who INSTANTLY made you feel better, whether you did or not. When we first moved here, I literally picked my rheumatologist out of the phone book. (which ended up being fate because she is one of the top rhematologists in Seattle). Anyway, Lisa answered the phone and I spat out my whole life story. That I had just moved here a week ago, had a two year old and a 6 week old, all of these symptoms, etc. She very calmly and soothingly said “You’re going to be ok.” And I believed her. When I’d call she’d immediately say “Oh Hi Emily!” She was professional, confident and had an air about her that made you feel good. I will miss that. I was a royal bitch when I came in to this appointment to the front desk girls and felt bad about it driving home. In my doc visit, I told my doctor I thought they were less than stellar. She appreciated my feedback and proceeded to tell me Lisa quit unexpectedly and these girls were thrown into it. So…I will try to be more understanding and cut them a little slack. Just a little though. I sort of smiled to myself because I felt like an old timer. The new receptionists aren’t up to par and then the doc told me the phlebotomist was out and I sighed “Well, who is here today. She’s not like a trainee, is she?” I am becoming a professional patient.

Em and I went to Barnes and Noble to wander around on Saturday and I bought Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities. I started it on Saturday and finished it last night. The author, Alexandra Robbins, went undercover for a year to get the scoop on sororities. It was an interesting read. Nothing I didn’t already know. I rushed at the University of Kansas and became a Gamma Phi Beta. I was president of my pledge class and everything. They kicked me out second semester of my freshman year though because my grades sucked. Fuckers. BUT, it turned out to the the best thing to happen ever. They had the nerve to send me a bill for $800 for dues or something. I told them them where they could put their bill. The book shed light on the rampant alcoholism, drugs, racism, eating disorders and general cattiness present in sororities. Shocker.

Speaking of books, I laughed out loud when I saw that Oprah’s book selection was A Million Little Pieces. It was already next on my list! Is Oprah’s audience ready for that? I haven’t read it yet but I know it ain’t her usual fare…Here is the first sentence of the review:

The electrifying opening of James Frey's debut memoir, A Million Little Pieces, smash-cuts to the then 23-year-old author on a Chicago-bound plane "covered with a colorful mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood."

I just can’t help but laugh picturing all of these women reading it and being horrified. Snicker snicker…ah…it’s the little things.