Friday, February 13, 2015

Been Busy, Dream Bit, and Short Q+A

Things have been really busy with school and associated things.  I am hoping in a few weeks things will settle down a bit.  I like to get as much work don as I can when I am not feeling too bad.

I wanted to explain something that some people don't seem to get.  Some people seem to not understand that I am allergic to other things besides pollen.  I sometimes get asked 'Why do you still have allergies when there is no pollen?'  That's because I am allergic to so much more! - dust, animals, smoke, feathers, molds, and many other things.  The good thing is that many of those things I can avoid and/or get away from, so that I can recover from being exposed to it.  I still have allergies this time of year, but they don't usually knock me out of commission like they often do at other times of year.

Two nights ago I had a dream where I had allergies.  The only thing I can remember from it is that anytime I tried to talk I sneezed instead.

I have a few questions to answer, so here we go:

Q: When you do teach, does the sneezing make it difficult? And how do your students react? Can you go into more details about your response to the last question you answered about during class?
A:
It certainly can.  That's why I am lucky that I can do other things most of the time, like paperwork, making tests, grading tests, setting up labs, holding office hours, etc.  I do have to do some teaching, and of course allergy attacks then can be embarrassing, but because of all the above, it doesn't happen too often.  The students either giggle a bit or act bored or start looking at their phones or something til I am done.  I am not sure what you mean by the last part of this question.  Can you ask me a more specific question?

Q: I think it's great that you and Allison found each other and she helps you feel comfortable with her! Did you have some sort of discussion about how to work things out with your allergies, things to do or not do, expectations regarding them and intimacy, etc? 
A: Yes, but it wasn't just one talk.  We worked it out as time went on.  It helps that she is a very understanding person, and that she also has allergies.  She is very allergic to cats and ragweed, and somewhat allergic to dust, so she can understand the avoiding thing and the idea of being able to do some things and not others.  She was very accommodating and very willing to work with what I needed, in general and in being intimate.  Its really great because she is the first person I have dated that has really been like this.  Some others made an attempt, but gave up and some others didn't even care. 


That's it for now.  As always, please leave comments and feel free to contact me.

5 comments:

  1. So sorry you have to deal with all that, Kate. What does a typical day look like for you, allergy-wise? Like how often do attacks occur- can you explain a typical day for you and when you are affected? How does your partner help or comfort you during those times, as well?

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  2. You mentioned a year ago being stuck outside can be really bad for you and make it hard to communicate. Can you tell us about a time/times when this has happened? What was it like for you and what did you do?

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  3. Hey Kate! How are you doing now that spring is on its way? Hope you're doing alright and that we hear from you soon!

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  4. Kate, when you got your job did you have to tell them upfront about accommodations you would need due to your allergies? How was this discussed between staff and worked out?
    Also, you mentioned that past relationships haven't been very understanding....can you go into more detail about that?
    Hope to hear from you and that you're doing ok now that spring is here!

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