*P*M*S*.. ie: Time to Whine

Speak Up, Dammit!

So yeah, I'm PMS'ing something ferocious this month. But I can seriously see a future problem forming. First, let me explain one of my biggest frustrations: not being able to understand somebody. Having to repeat "What?!" fifty friggin million times, and feeling more stupid and frustrated with each repetition.

Now, this frustration stems from a hearing loss that started back in the days I was in a band, and was finished up by my years on the airfield in the Navy. I can hear most tones in and of themselves, but when it comes to speech discrimination... i'm lost.

Hence, when somebody has a deep accent... mumbles... or talks too low, I can't hear a damn word they say. And when there's a moderate amount of background noise, even with normal speech... I'm equally lost.

Fear of Yelling?

So our new girl at work speaks very, very, VERY softly. She explains that she always feels like she's yelling if she speaks any louder. All find and dandy, but when I'm not in the mood to ask "What?!", "I can't hear you", "Please speak up" and turn down my radio (which is on pretty low as it is) to try to hear what the woman is telling and/or asking me... and when I'm in a pissy mood as it is (ie: PMS'ing), then I get pretty damned irritated.

It Can be a Deal-Breaker

This actually reminds me distinctly of a guy I met online a few years back. We'd really only got to the "talking on the phone" point... and it never got past that. He was a nice enough guy, but he kept on irritating the crap outta me simply by the way he talked. He spoke in a slightly different cadence than my ears are used to following... which would be okay in and of itself. It usually doesn't take too long to pick up a new speech pattern or accent as long as I have time to get used to it. Except he also kept slipping into this very low tone... which I'm sure he felt sounded sexy as all get-out, but I couldn't understand a word he said. I'd explain the problem, and he'd pick up his tone for a little bit, but then inevitably fall back. After several frustrating conversations, I simply wasn't interested in talking to him any further.

General Discontentedness

As for today... well, I recognize I'm in a pissy mood, and though I have this overwhelming desire to crab at my new coworker for being incredibly inconvenient, I will simply keep to myself until I get over it. It's not like she's doing it just to be contrary. I've noticed this attitude in myself for the past few days... definately PMS. Things that normally don't bother me are bothering me. It's like I feel as if the whole world is out to irritate me or be rude to me or some such silliness. I hate feeling like this, though... so I just do my best to ride it out. It'll be over soon enough.

And My Body Has a Thing or 2 to Add

Doesn't help that I feel like crap, too. Fought a migraine all over the Holiday weekend, and missed work on Tuesday with it, to boot. Something else to thank my hormones for. Yesterday, I didn't hurt so much as I still had plenty of "dopey drugs" running through my system. I dragged all day and had no hope of focusing on anything... and what's worse is that Mom was battling a pretty bad migraine, herself, yesterday. Plus, her body decided to add dizzy spells to the mix. Of the two of us, I was actually feeling better. So I drove us to lunch... and ended up driving her home, too, cuz she was too dizzy. She's at work again this morning, so I can only hope she's feeling better.

Today... well, I just feel like crap in general. And lemme tell you that the only good thing about bloating is that I have NO appetite whatsoever, so I can lay off the munchies. Not that you could tell from my current resemblance to a whale. I still feel drugged, but I haven't taken anything for a few days now. And I woke up feeling the threat of a sore throat. If I were getting sick, that could help explain the general crappiness, but that particular phenomenon has happened quite a few times in the last several months. I'll feel on the verge of getting sick, and then nothing. Either it's my imagination, or my Vitamin C pills are doing wonders. I honestly haven't been really sick-sick for at least about a year.

Of course, I knock on wood every time I say that. I kept expecting to get hit with the flu this last season with all the flu shot shortages. And the sickness raged all around work... me, not a thing. I'm still expecting SOMETHING to catch up to me, though. But I guess it's well enough that I'm not getting sick these days, considering how all of my sick days are used up by migraines, so it all works out.

Amway, I need to go back to stretching out my few tasks for the day so I can look busy... and (the much harder job) work at keeping my crabbiness to myself.