I Am Diseased
Place me under quarantine

The day after I got back from my camping trip, I found a little tick parasiting itself upon me. It was much smaller than any other tick I've found on me (wood tick), and looked a little different. I diligently Googled on how to extract it from my skin. I learned that you are NOT to use rubbing alcohol or petroleum jelly, or burn it off with a match. Instead, you're supposed to use tweezers and grab it closest to it's head as possible and slowly pull until it releases itself from your skin. I'm not sure I was patient enough, but I don't think I left the head inside me (ewwww). Then I went about trying to figure out what kind of tick it was, hoping it wasn't a deer tick because I'd rather not get lyme disease, thank you very much. The problem was, I really needed a magnifying glass and I didn't have one. But I don't think it was a deer tick because it has reddish legs and a reddish head. Deer ticks have black legs, apparently. I think it may have been a dog tick?? Anyway, I'm now on the look-out for a bulls-eye shaped rash.

A few days ago a weird rash thing sprung up on one of my fingers. It's really small and doesn't bother me too much comfort-wise, but it bothers me because I'd like to know what it is. I think it might be a very mild case of poison ivy/sumac. I remember gathering kindling from the woods one day while camping and noticing that my hands were itching/bothering me. Brighton immediately had me wash my hands with soap and water. So maybe that was it. If so, I'm glad you had me wash my hands right away, Brighton, or else it might be much worse! Up until now, I've never had poison ivy. And maybe this isn't poison ivy. I don't know. I tried taking a picture of it, but it wasn't coming out well. There's also a few lone occasionally itchy rash-like dots on my other hand (around my knuckles) as well.