In The Twitch Of An Eye....Or The Loss Of A Credit Card

For the last 3 days I've had this unbelievably annoying twitch in my right upper eyelid, which feels like involuntary shock treatments to my eye. As far as I can tell, it's caused by a myriad of different reasons. However, it happens to women more often than men, and more frequent as you get older in age. Oh Joy! I needed a new reason for going insane. Some of the causes are:

excessive blinking (I'm on the computer day and night. Hello.)
excessive irritation (I live in West Texas.)
emotional stress (I have children and a husband. Hello.)
excessive exposure to bright lights (I have blue eyes.)
fatigue (I don't officially exercise, only in theory and thought.)
dry eyes (I live in the desert of West Texas)
air pollution
exposure to wind (see above)
allergies (see above)
fill in the blank

I get somewhere around 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night for at least 6 of the 7 day week. I live on allergy medications, spend whole days on the computer, I'm on eye drops for dry eyes, we have no pollution but we have the West Texas equivalent... Dirt, cattle, oil and gas. We almost always have high winds which irritates the eyes. There is no way out. Last night it was irritating me so much I finally decided to use surgical tape in hopes of keeping *the twitch* still. Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention. It helped about 50% which was better than nothing. It's like having the hiccups for 3 days, right? Only it's your eye having the hiccups and after a while it really grates my nerves like cheese on a grater.

So I decided to take the surgical tape off. You know why. I wanted to see if it was still twitching like I was hooked up to electricity (and not in a good way). Can I just say "OUCH"? Do you realize how many little tiny, fine hairs we have above our eyebrows (including said brows)? Please don't try this at home. You. Will. Regret. It. Perhaps use regular old scotch tape, if you must. Yes, my life is a progression of *lessons learned*. Do not use surgical tape under any circumstances. Oh. Wait. Maybe I'm the only one stoopid enough to do that to begin with. Never. Mind.

One of my closest friends had emergency surgery last week and will be is supposed to be down for the next 5 weeks, so I drove her around today so that she I could run her all of her errands with her. That's what friends are for. I was freaking out that she was walking so much and lifting things like small bottles of shampoo. I fretted over her like an old mother hen, so I hope she didn't think I was smothering her. But, since she was in Galveston during The Great Cartwheel Incident (the one who took the pictures actually), she pretty much knows my *modus operandi* by now. I tend to take everything to the limit and often beyond. (I'm so sure you can't see that in my blog.) So I drove her around to get her errands done in *hover mode*.

After I deposited her safely back at home I went to run my own errands. I stopped in at Walgreens and used my Credit Card. I stopped for gas since my gas light was blinking (as in Danger!) and I used my CC. I went to Academy and bought a few things with my CC. However, the woman behind me in the checkout line was breathing down my freaking neck crowding me, which really agitates me when it happens. Like you're obviously not moving as quickly as possible but this person is all up in your space, which I  DO NOT do to people. It's rude and it's creepy. So, instead of placing my card back into its slot in *le wallet*, I just put it inside my wallet loose and headed for home. I then decided to stop at a store on that side of town, which is not in a very desirable area. I only got 2 cartons of juice, so I paid cash. I believe that is where I wasn't paying close enough attention to what I was doing.

When I finally arrived home at almost 6:00 PM, I announced to Mr. Snoots that I wasn't cooking again tonight. I've been cooking for my friend and her hubby (which has been a total pleasure and I made enough for her to have leftovers for lunch, freeze some for the future and the same for us, for a week. I've made Stuffed Manicotti in meat sauce, Chicken Tetrazzini, Potato Soup, and tomorrow I'm taking them Shepherd's Pie. I'm a little weary of cooking at this point. I wanted to blog instead, okay? So Mr. Snoots said to just order from the Blah Blah place that delivers, but order online. Uh-Huh. That's when I made the discovery.

In a sheer panic, I emptied my purse on the floor. Not there. Emptied out said wallet. Not there. Checked jeans pockets. Not there. Went out to car and checked it thoroughly. Not there. Checked all of the above again. Still not there. Then it hit me upside the head like I'd been smacked with a brick. I called the market in the questionable neighborhood and they had not had a card turned in. Oh. Dear.

When I told the mister, he said call them immediately. I said I had to order dinner first, so I used the card he was issued on my account and finished that task. I checked everything again (including the bags of the items I'd purchased) Still nothing. After a few colorful words that I'm sure the neighbors must have heard, I caved. I called the CC company. All I can say is, thank gawd this woman spoke excellent English and treated me with great courtesy. Yes, I  was fragile and might have sounded a bit maniacal panicky, but she handled me with kid gloves great ease. However, I wondered if she was calling the guys with the nets and straight jackets while I was busy blabbering on. It probably wouldn't have been a wasted call at that point, I admit. Becky from VISA, I thank you for your understanding, kindness and patience. You surely must have taken Psychology 101.

She carefully informed me that I would receive my new cards sometime within the next 10 to 30 days. Sadly, I am going to be without credit card for almost a week (which has not escaped the attention of Mr. Snoots). I was supposed to leave for San Antonio to visit my good friend and her hubby this weekend but now it will have to wait until the middle of next week or later. Hubby is not interested in letting me have one of his other credit cards but I can't exactly blame him for that, given my current record.

Gawd, I hate getting old and feeble minded.....

Oddly enough, my eye twitch seems to have subsided. For now. How weird is that?