Renata Carmen Writes

5/21/2020, 7:20AM - I should be in bed still, next to my man sleeping past nine, like the night owls we are. Instead, I find myself bowled over with pain, gingerly sipping sparkling water and clinging to my bong like it's a life-preserver. My IBS has been flaring up again in ways I haven’t experienced since the initial onset of my Fibromyalgia in 2011. It feels like I swallowed poison, or a nuclear bomb went off in my abdomen. The pain is sharp and intense, and makes me cry out when it grips my insides with clawed hands. But, chaos has no mercy, and this is my burden to bear. Like Paul, I’ve asked God/Chaos/whoever/whatever’s up there to take it away. But, this is my roll of the dice, and there's no taking it back this karmic go-around. It’s exhausting, to be honest. I can barely keep my eyes open. The only things keeping me awake right now are pain, nausea, and the feeling I may need to use the bathroom. Again. For the millionth time in the last 35 minutes. Before 2011, I did...

I'm not a medical professional, but I've been fascinated with the study of biochemistry and how the body works in general since I can remember. I'm on a quest to distill as much factual, well-researched information about the novel COVID-19 virus as possible. Here, I share my findings with you. Together, we can maneuver the noise and misinformation floating about, and seek the truth. Even if that truth is a bit scary and not necessarily what we want to hear. We cannot fix something or protect ourselves from it until we know and face the truth about it. Notes on “What Doctors Are Learning From Autopsy Findings of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Patients.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzKvIYwqQkE TL;DR Version: - COVID damages the body by directly attacking the ACE2 receptors on cells found throughout the body, as well as indirectly through inflammation and blood clots - This combination of clotting and immune response can cause all kinds of symptoms and lead to organ failure, gangr...

     Every week day, at about 4am, a neighbor down the street starts his car up before his morning commute. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a problem. It would simply be a mundane part of someone else’s routine that would go unnoticed. However, this gent is a gearhead, like many in the neighborhood. One who likes vehicles with exceptionally loud, throaty, large displacement engines. As a fellow speed freak and car lover, I get the affinity for such creations. I’ve worked on Nascar level race cars at Irwindale, and clung to the chain link fence at Pomona while top fuel cars fly by at hundreds of miles per hour. It’s more addictive than sugar, and twice as sweet. What I don’t get is people who feel the need to drive the loudest car in the neighborhood when they’re one of the first to get up. It wouldn’t bother me as much if he didn’t sit there warming it up for at least 20 minutes before heading off. Idle? More like a minor earthquake!    ...