random ramblings: aerators and more

well i just saw on the local news that our reservoir levels have risen from 49% to 80% of usable water since september. they say that we're still in drought conditions though so unfortunately water restrictions are still in effect here. it's just so weird, like something i associate with california or arizona. anyway, last week, while i was out of my apt. maintenance came in and put fucking aerators on my kitchen sink faucet, bathroom sink faucet, my shower, as well as a water saving device in my toilet. it is so annoying and in my mind, counterproductive. i'm all for conserving water and doing my part not to be wasteful. but come on. if the water pressure is so low because it lowers the volume of water flowing through the tap, the normal response will be to run the water longer...like when i wash my hair or do my dishes. in the end, i'm probably using about as much water because of that. it's obvious though, that even when the drought ends, my apt. management won't remove the aerators. i guess this isn't the first time i've had to deal with those h2o saving devices. they had them in all of the dorms at college too and what sucked was that in the old dorms whenever i was showering and someone in the same bathroom flushed the toilet, the shower water pressure would drop momentarily and then let out a burst of hot water. thanks a lot for burning my ass. usually people were nice and yelled "flushing" so that anyone in the shower had a chance to jump out of the way. god that was so long ago and i'm starting to feel old.

actually i probably just sound whiny and PMSed. but i have a real concern. when i first moved here i installed a shower head nozzle to make things easier on me with my arthritis, so showering isn't so painful. it's just like the disabled shower stalls you see at the gym locker rooms. anyway, for them to remove it is rude. then again, my landlord doesn't know of my disability. oh well. at this point i'm taking long baths anyway to de-stress since there's plenty to be stressed about. maybe i'll stop losing so much hair by taking baths instead of standing under those pulsating shower heads. it's like i'm shedding right now. anyone random reading my diary must think this is really gross. unfortunately it comes with the territory of autoimmune problems. like lupus. i'm only 28 and i don't want to go bald. maybe i'll just have to shave or go with a really short do and that's so not me. or maybe i'll have to go back onto that bastard drug prednisone. but save the prednisone story for another day b/c i could go on and on about what an evil drug it is. it gives with one hand and takes (greedily i might add) with the other.

oh and now that my toilet has a water saving device, i hope i don't have to worry about it not flushing efficiently and subsequently clogging up. the person i stayed with in seattle has one of those water saving toilets at her apartment. while i was there helping cleaning the apt, i dropped in a bunch of paper towels that i'd used for dusting and flushed them. lo and behold, later when i really had to pee, the damn thing backed up and overflowed. i thought "oh fuuuuuuck!!!" it's funny now, but we were both on the verge of tears b/c it was so weird...we had to go out and hunt all over town just to find a plunger. qfc was out of them, bed bath and beyond had one that ridiculously overpriced, target didn't have any left, walgreens only had the rubber cup but not the stick, and finally safeway had one. it was so bizarre considerig that it's a big city. we started to think that maybe something really weird happened that day and that all the toilets across town backed up. of all things, who would think it'd be that hard to find a plunger?

anyway i am incredibly tired. i'm always tired. my illness saps energy from me and it always feels like there's a vacuum cleaner sucking the vitality out of my bloodstream. it makes me feel like an anomaly b/c no one my age can relate. maybe i'm anemic too. i need to make an appointment with my rheumie. i'm glad to be getting care at hopkins but the three hour drive to baltimore is a hassle. at least i'm getting acupuncture monday and i think it's helping ever so subtly. off i go to bed....