Laments of Dawn

Here it is- 5 am and I have been up for half and hour. Do I have a good reason for this? Am I an avid bird watcher, or have I taken on a second job as a baker or milk delivery-person? Or are one of the children sick, do you ask? No, alas, I am plagued, terror-stricken if you will, by something horrible; no, I do not mean the current state of affairs in Iran or even the US and world economy. Yes, Mosquitoes are my current affliction. Last night I finally got a mosquito net put up over my bed, so not only am I protected from future late night attacks, but I find myself inadvertently dreaming of safaris in the African wild, and unwittingly entrapped during any late night attempts to the Loo. However, alas, the damage has already been inflicted by many a night spent unprotected; 13- yes, I counted them; (at 4:30 in the morning there isn't much else to do) 13 mosquito-bites currently cover my unsubstantial form. To further aggravate matters, an annoying, but hardly life-threatening, allergy to mosquitoes causes the bites to swell in size until they resemble a welt reminiscent of a home-run hit baseball smashing through the stands and into the pudgy flesh of an unsuspecting fan. All this, the day before I am due to meet with a Realtor to see a prospective apartment here in North Germany for Mathias. Hopefully I will not find myself publicly scratching in a most unbecoming manner.

this is my super-cool bed with the much needed mosquito netting. No kidding. I sleep here.

In an attempt to alleviate my suffering and get some sleep, I found myself turning to the internet, yet again, for deliverance (good, but scary movie by the way). So long after the bites have become cortisone-resistant, I am seeking alternative methods of relief. Luckily, I found this site: http://tipnut.com/over-40-mosquito-bite-itch-relief-tips/ (the tip nut is quickly becoming as important a source of information in my times of need as Wikipedia has been for years), and am currently experimenting with various suggested remedies. Toothpaste normally works for me, but to my dismay I was on a particular bout of healthiness when I bought my current brand of all natural, organic tooth-gel, which apparently lacks the synthetic, itch-reliving properties of your everyday garden variety paste; or so it seems. It works great on my teeth still though. Deodorant was my second attempt, and once again I think my consumer choices have lead to my demise, because my extra-frilly, smells like aloe and leaves your pits moisturized, stick is giving me no help. Vick's Vapor-rub is up currently and the relief is subtle, yet I have high hopes for it still (probably because I am running out of possibilities in my room, and have no desire to venture 2 floors down in search of Epsom salt, meat tenderizer or baking soda).
All this and I've wasted an hour of possible sleep time, although I haven't scratched once (granted, it's hard to scratch and type at the same time). Perhaps I can get another hour of sleep yet....