Saturday, October 07, 2006

Roommates....Finally One Reason It Wouldn't be Bad to Have One

I've had my fair share of crazy roommates over the years. In college it was a girl named Lori. She was super-religious to the point that she made a huge deal out of me wearing my cotton robe (a gift from my mother, so you know it wasn't sexy) into the kitchen in the morning when her boyfriend was in our kitchen. Since her boyfriend was always at our apartment, I thought it was a ridiculous complaint. Perhaps he shouldn't be there at 9 a.m. Once when I came in the kitchen to get some ice in my robe, she grabbed her boyfriend's arm to storm into her bedroom.

It didn't help that despite her "Christian convictions," she was selfish and rude. Lori and her boyfriend would help themselves to any baked goods I happened to leave in the kitchen, yet she'd bake a cake and store it in her bedroom until she had to dispose of the uneaten portion away. She practically called me a slut one night because she saw me kissing a guy, and upon questioning, I couldn't tell her his last name. Of course, her ridiculousness only provoked me (I was only 18...). Once I did crunches in our living room floor in a sports bra and shorts just to make her mad (her boyfriend was there). Another time a guy spent the night with me (but nothing had really happened) because he had drank too much to drive, and the next day I let him make me french toast in his boxers--knowing that she would come in from church (which ironically she never invited me to) to see this half-naked, very attractive football player in our kitchen. I knew what she would assume and of course didn't correct her. It was too much fun to see her get mad and flip into spiteful judgmental mode.

I enjoyed living alone after that, but finally did the roommate thing again to save money while I was in law school. This roommate was the other extreme, once calling me while driving drunk at 2 a.m. to ask me to get her sheets out of the dryer and put them on her bed because she was bringing a stranger home with her. Her friend also brought home a stranger, and I don't even want to know what they did in our living room. While I didn't pass judgment on what she'd done, I didn't like strange men in my apartment (I later found out one of them was a convicted felon...nice). And I didn't like being kept awake all night long. So I've been very grateful to live alone the last three years.

But Thursday night, I would have liked to have a roommate. I stopped at a gas station after work and bought a Kashi peanut butter/chocolate bar. I ate it on the way home. While eating some popcorn, my back started to itch. Then my throat started itching, so I took a Zyrtec, thinking my allergies were coming back. But then I started feeling sick and having difficulty breathing. I just thought I getting a cold, but then I realized I'd gone from fine to sick in about 20 minutes. A look in the mirror revealed a swollen eyelid, places all over my back that looked like bug bites, and swelling around my mouth. Then I noticed that my mouth was going kind of numb. I called my mom, and she could hear my breathing difficulty. She wanted me to go to urgent care or the ER. I hated to go to the ER given my horrible health insurance, and I think the people at urgent care are a step above monkeys--plus I feel like I'm swimming in germs when I'm there. So I went to Kroger, talked to the pharmacist, and swallowed a fifth of the bottle of Benadryl. Within ten mintues I felt better, although I pathetically wandered around Kroger (at least I needed some groceries) until I felt like it had all passed (thinking it would be best to be in public if I passed out or something). Unfortunately the emergency dose of Benadryl made me really sick, and I was afraid of going to sleep--because I didn't want to miss Grey's and was afraid I might start having trouble breathing again. So for once, it would have been nice to have a roommate or a McDreamy/McSteamy around.

10 comments:

Aaron said...

Might I suggest an epi-pen? A friend at work as a severe allergy to peanuts. There's a long line of volunteers at work awaiting the opportunity to stab him in the leg with it. I've got first dibs!

So did you ever figure it out? Was it the Kashi bar or what?

Ally said...

I think it was the Kashi bar. I rarely eat those kinds of bars anymore, and this one was a new one with a list of ingredients that sound really funky. I can't imagine it was the peanut butter or chocolate since I eat both of those on a very regular basis. Maybe it was the soybeans in it or some of the ingredients with really long names. Regardless I'm keeping the bottle of Benadryl in my purse for now and might ask for an Epi-pen next time I see a doctor. It was definitely a bit scary.

Kimberly said...

allison, I'm so sorry to hear you were sick. it sucks being alone when you're sick too. i just like to have someone listen to me whine. You don't even have to do anything, just feel sorry for me and somehow that helps :) Your story reminded me of Will Smith's character in "Hitch" by the way after he ate the fish :)

I have also definitely been there on the roommate challenges, but the good ones definitely make up for it in my opinion!!!

Anonymous said...

Ally!! wow... I bet it was the peanuts / peanut oil in that bar.. I love love love shrimp and I've never had an allergic reaction to seafood.. then I was on a date with Mr. Gainesville, in Ocala.. we had dinner at Carrabas.. I ordered the shrimp. Next thing I know, my lips are getting numb, I start slurring my words. Mr. Gainesville smelled my iced tea to make sure I didn't add vodka (ew).. it turned out to be the shrimp... I felt my throat closing. It lasted 20 - 25 min, and then started to subside. I've had plenty of shrimp since then, and no reaction. WEIRD.
As far as Lori.. why did she have a guy in your apt in the early morning? Did he spend the night? Is she a hypocrite??!!

Anonymous said...

ps... I LOVE the things you did to set her off.. haha

cdp said...

I was going to say the same thing about that scene in Hitch. Too funny. Also highly amused by your characterization of te urgent care people as a step above monkeys. I fully concur.

I once had a roommate who was so infuriated that my boyfriend called twice (in a two hour period) while she was on the phone with her mother that when her marathon conversation was over, she picked up a plate from our kitchen and launched it at me in the living room. People are just weird.

Also funny that you didn't want to go to sleep even in your sick condition because you didn't want to miss Grey's. I love it!

Ally said...

Kimberly: I'm glad your roommate experiences have been more positive than negative. I've had about four or five roomates and only two good ones, but that is probably a result of the randomness in which I found them or was matched with them.

Jordan: The Carrabas scene sounds like something out of a movie with the slurring words and vodka check. Did it clear up without any medicine? I just ate a ton of peanut butter (I'm making a peanut butter pie and peanut butter brownies for a dinner party) and feel fine, so who knows? As for Lori, I never meddled in her business. She made a point of letting me know that she and her boyfriend weren't having sex and that even when they took naps he slept in the floor (I think). We were on opposite ends of the apartment, and I really never paid attention. As for being a hypocrite, she (like most of us) surely was--and her ugly, judgmental attitude only pushed me away from Christianity. My experience with her is a good reminder to me of showing others Christian love rather than judgment.

Cindy: My law school roommate would talk to her mother five or six times a day--often for an hour or two at a time, so I can empathize. And yes, people are weird, myself included!

Anonymous said...

Ally - So sorry to hear about your allergic reaction! My roommate has the same problem and after resisting for months (until the 5th time it happened), she finally got an epi-pen.

I guess it is a good thing to have a roommate in case things like this happen. My roommate and I generally don't have any problems, mainly because she travels for work all the time and we are in our thirties. However, she can be passive aggressive, which is scarier than actually calling each other out on things.

Unknown said...

My wife had an allergic reaction to Kashi cereal where she broke out in a rash. I have since decided that Kashi is some foreign word for "Crap in Box". Now I don't have a lot of love for health food stuff, but I think after reading your entry and seeing what happened to my wife that my description is not far off from the truth.

I hope you are feeling better now and have learned a valuable lesson about eating such dangerous substances without supervision!

Anonymous said...

Wow! I googled "Kashi bar allergy" and your blog came up. Thanks for sharing what happened here, there's a sense of relief in knowing I'm not alone.

I have had some weird allergy episodes in the past months, and the last one followed a Kashi Bar. First the itching, and then later on in the day (The MD said it could happen up to 24 hours after the food was eaten) my tongue swelled up to the point where I had to go to the E.R. (Benadryl didn't do much good.) I now carry an Epipen, and I'm undergoing testing to figure out the allergy.

Get an Epipen! NO more KASHI for me.