So, how was your evening?

I hope it was better than mine. You see, I hurt my right foot somehow the other day (or so I thought—keep reading), and the joint of my big toe started to swell up. I started icing it, but that didn't really seem to help. I've been limping around for days now, unable to even put on a shoe. I tried to make an appointment with my doctor, but the scheduling desk said he wouldn't have an opening until the 19th. Great. Anyway, my mom saw how red and swollen it was this afternoon and basically ordered me to go to the emergency room.

So I struggled into a pair of flip-flops and drove over there, where I got to sit around for more than an hour before I even got shown to a room. Good thing I took a nice, thick book, huh? Once I got into the room—which was freezing cold, of course—I got to sit there for another eternity or so. The doctor finally showed up, asked me some questions, looked at my foot, and decided he was going to slice it open to check for an abscess. He didn't find one. No, instead, he thinks I have...gout. Which meshes nicely with my curmudgeonly outlook on life and my disdain for the music the kids are listening to these days.

That's bad enough, but until it clears up I have to cut red meat, nitrates (hot dogs, sausage, etc.), and booze out of my diet. I might as well just not get up in the morning. Ugh. Well, hopefully I won't be as gimpy by this time next week.