Chest and Bacne Issues

One thing I discussed with my dermatologist that I didn’t mention yesterday was the potential of other acne due to my shoulder pads. Apparently it’s quite common for football players to deal with a few F-able zits on their shoulders and back because of padding, sweating under them, etc. She was telling me a story of one guy who came in with such a monster that she had to cut it open and drain the thing with a surgical vacuum. That is freakin’ disgusting. There are some beasts like that on YouTube, but I can’t handle that stuff – Well, I guess one small part of me does feel better about myself, but the rest of me prefers to yack.

My dermatologist told me that once I’m wearing my shoulder pads on a daily basis that I need to take my entire face washing routine to my neck, shoulders, chest and upper back as well, and that I need to take my pads home once a week and scrub them out with a good antibacterial soap. I never would have thought of that, but really if you do think about it, those things have to be nasty after 5 days of use, even with Under Armor between the pads and the skin. I’m sure the pads are antimicrobial and all that stuff, but I’m still going to take her advice.

It’s 10:43 a.m., and I already worked 4 hours this morning. I just thought I’d brag a little bit. I was at the lot at 6 and worked til 10. That’s kind of when people start showing up, and they want everything out on the lot. I don’t know if I’m a blooming motor-head, but there’s something fun for me to be around all those shiny new cars. And I take pride in being the one who shines them. On a compact, I can now do an entire hand wax in about 20 minutes. Of course, I don’t do that on the new ones, but the trades that come in. I’m the man who gets the goods. For the new ones it’s easy. Just basically spraying them down and wiping the dust off – as you’d imagine, it’s really freakin’ dusty in the desert.

There was a lot more to do in Madison because of the humidity, dew point and all that. I’m ready for a nap. But first. A complete skin cleansing. These zits don’t stand a chance!

Dermatological Response

Went to the derm. We’ve come to a compromise.

I have always refused to “take anything” for my face funk, but this time my dermatologist drove a hard bargain. I was telling her (was my derm a her last time? It was once a he, but it’s been a her for the last few visits…new doctor) about my daily exfoliation, and she praised my effort. I then told her of the phenomenon of getting punched in the face and having beautiful skin, not clear skin, beautiful skin, after my shiner dissipated. She was telling me that my body kicked in with serious healing properties, and that the bruise being emptied through my lymphatic system probably pulled with it everything that was funky in the area, including the zittyness. The human body is amazing. Amazing.

Our compromise. She said that I needed to add a couple things to my exfoliation to see how it would help with fighting off the funkies, especially now that I’m playing football. She gave me a benzoyl peroxide face wash that I’m supposed to use every night, and I’m now supposed to use a toner and moisturizer during the day, and when I go to sleep. She said that if I wanted she could give me some kind of prescription to minimize the oil production on my face, but that I might get dehydrated easy – had to pass on that garbage.  I’ve always wondered if it would help to try any of the Proactiv products or something similar.

Anyway, I’m going to try what we settled on. There you have it. More stuff to tell you all about. Hopefully it helps. I have noticed a slight improvement from just exfoliating. The good thing is, and the reason that I see a derm, I have no deep cystic acne that could really harm my skin.

The Response

This has nothing to do with my dermatologist, rather the guy I referred to as a douche in the last post. He did text me back. It was more like an email in form of a text. And my phone isn’t smart, so it was like 15 messages long. I have too much of a heart to be pissed off. The short of it…he was sincerely sorry. That it’s been hard for him to deal with becoming somewhat of a dick over the past year, and that Maggie was basically his best friend and that he’s just trying to find a way to get her friendship back, but he keeps screwing it up.

This is tough stuff, people. I’m supposed to hate this guy, but I can sympathize.

The Douche That Won’t Go Away

Man. I tell thee what.

Remember that kid that I put the smack down on in Madison. So, last night, home-douche like totally showed up at Maggie’s house, and her mom invited him in. Apparently he was once a nice guy. And apparently Maggie has completely shut her parents out when it comes to information about this donk. No. Not dork. Donk.

APPARENTLY, he wanted to come over and apologize, which equated to him trying to kiss her after she accepted his apology while they “hung out” for awhile. She asked him to leave immediately, and I wish she wouldn’t have told me, but had she not and I eventually found out…? My face was on fire when she called and told me. I think the whole thing is turning into one monster zit. Forget the chin zits. My whole face. One giant pepperoni. The thing that sucks, is that I’m gonna have to deal with this. It’s not an option. Clearly my gal digs me, but I think I should have beaten this kid within an inch of his life. One of the reasons I didn’t was because I kept thinking of his parents after punishing him the first time…that’s so freakin’ weird.

So. I made Maggie give me the guy’s phone number. Yep. I texted him. No. I was sober. As I’ve mentioned, I’m not a drinker. Doesn’t interest me…but kickin’ this guy’s a** again TOTALLY does.

I sent him a message last night around 1 a.m. their time in Madison:

Dude. Did we not finish this? Do I need to come back to town and finish what I started?

He didn’t respond. He won’t. He knows I’ll fly over there and put the hammer down on his front lawn. He also knows my cousin and his crew will drop the boom upon request with no questions asked. Honestly, if it were any other dude that had an interest in Mags, I’d be totally cool with it–in fact, I know that’s an inevitability. I welcome it. It makes me feel even more lucky to have such an amazing girl, but this guy…

Gotta let it go, now.

Had some information come to the house yesterday about Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. I know it’s tough to get in there, but maybe I can at least get my parents to trek over there for an official visit! It’s only like 7 hours by car. I’ll end on that positive note, and now go wash my face. My appointment at the derm is tomorrow. I’ll be in touch.

I Have Reached a New Low

I have watched Moulin Rouge twice in as many days. I watched it last night, and this afternoon, it started playing in the Bluray player when I turned the system on and went to the kitchen to make a sandwich…when I came back, I just plopped down and reveled in it once again… sappy… sexy… is this what great relationships do to a kid that is pumped with testosterone?

Speaking of testosterone, I was introduced to a long-lasting tradition at our school recently when I was told to pick my song for our football team’s pre-game mix. No. Not steroids. I could see where your negative minds were going there. I’ve already got acne problems. I don’t need acne on steroids. Anyway, I never knew that the seniors got to choose a song to go into the mix. I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with the goods, and I think I’ve got it. I’m going to make my addition “Come Alive” by the Foo Fighters. Are you familiar? You should be. Here’s a listen. Personally I think this diddy would be THE BEAST to get me worked into a frenzy. Something about the calm leading up to the storm, and then the storm being of a F5 tornadic variety. Not that I’ve ever even seen a tornado in real life. But I can imagine.

Chin zits are doing much better. The Q-tips have helped take some of the sting out, and just having the chinstrap off for 3 days has helped immensely. My chinstrap pad should show up tomorrow, and I’m really thrilled to give this thing a shot. I’ll be able to try it out sometime next week when we resume workouts. We’ll just be in the weight room working up a sweat, but I can grab my gear and give it a wear.

Speaking of weight rooms, yes, I have been working on my own all summer. I’m already 12 pounds heavier, yet leaner than I was in May. That’s awesome! I won’t even tell you how low my bench press was back when I started working out, but let’s just say it’s over 200 pounds now. Not that that’s something to brag about, but it’s a start. It’s more than I weigh, so it’s not bad. Our strength and conditioning coach doesn’t really care about that crap anway…he’s all about squats and power cleans. The power lifts and plyometrics. We should have a good season.

OK. I’m gonna wash the face, and get ready to hit the sack. Gotta work early tomorrow.

Chin Acne and Q-Tip Treatment

It’s certainly not a cure, but considering the “cause” of my chin zits, these frozen Q-tips have actually helped. It doesn’t really do anything to fight against the zit, but it takes a little red and swelling out of the sucker, and at public offerings, such as church this morning, I was feeling much better about the volcanic nature of my face.

In my proactive fight against these new chin zits, I made a little online purchase Saturday, and it should be here early next week. A chinstrap pad made by Under Armor that I’m really stoked about. It doesn’t take a lot to excite me, what can I say? The chance that this might help, and that it’ll feel better than the stupid “pad” that’s already in my chinstrap… I wonder if the pros ever have their chinstraps customized? If I had the money, heck yeah I’d do it. Have it made with a comfort gel, like those insole inserts by Dr. Scholl’s. Man, I’m a freakin’ weirdo.

I worked a bit yesterday and today. Loggin’ hours and makin’ scratch. I must admit, it wasn’t as enjoyable as working with my cousin in Madison. We always had great conversation and got a lot of stuff done. Everyone here, the other two guys doing what I’m doing, were buried in their headphones and iPods just doing their thing. I’m more social, I guess. I think work environments are more enjoyable when they are social…but that’s me…Maybe a bit old school?

Back to my zits for a moment. Remember a few weeks ago I wrote about starting a daily exfoliation? I have to say that my skin looks better overall than it has in about 2 years. It just seems like it stays much cleaner during the day, and isn’t as greasy. I guess oily is a more accurate description, but it’s all the same to me. I have my appointment with my dermatologist on the 30th, so we’ll see what else might be recommended and I may have to give it a shot. Though I won’t take oral meds. There’s gotta be something that I can just add to my daily cleansing. I’ll give that a try. I know I’ll need something when that helmet becomes a 5 day a week accessory.

Chin Acne has me Down for the Count

Wow. I’m gonna have to figure something out.

These new zits on my chin are clearly from my chinstrap, but as bad as they are with the helmet off, they’re worse when I’m locked into that thing. I was chatting with my QB, because I noticed he put a wrist band over his chinstrap. He kind of laughed, called me a rookie, even though I’m older than him, and let me know that I’d be dead in the water without it.

Apparently, sliding a thin wristband over it will help to reduce some of the discomfort, and they’re much easier to keep clean. I just know that after an hour this morning, my chin was in excruciating pain and my whole head started to ache. The good thing about such aggravation on the football field is that you always have a chance to take out your frustration in little doses. Needless to say, I’m gonna have to figure something out, because I won’t be able to play focused if my face is aching like this. And I will be playing. It’s already looking like I’ve pushed my way toward the front of the depth chart. That’s cool, huh?

I recently learned of another great way to deal with those single pimples that just drive you nuts. You can saturate q-tips with visine, then stick ’em in a baggy and freeze them. I’ve yet to try it, but I’ve got some in the freezer right now for my chin. My forehead isn’t too bad, surprisingly, but I think it’s a little more familiar with being irritated thanks to a pretty extensive hat collection.

I’ll be starting some work tomorrow. I figured it would make more sense to go in early on weekends when they offered me the opportunity. I’ll keep rolling with it for awhile to see how it’s working out, but once school starts, I have a feeling I’ll want to sleep in on Saturdays–then again, might as well get up, get some hours in and cut out to enjoy the day. I’m also going to apply for something with the Cardinals. I’m sure those are pretty lucrative positions, just to be in the dome, but I’m gonna put it out there.

It’s Quiet

It has been one amazing summer. Still have a cool (really hot) three weeks until school starts, and I guess it’s time to start getting focused. I got hit with a wave of desire today. Right after camp this morning, I came home, showered and took Maggie to the airport. I drove home in silence, just thinking about a few things. As I sit here with my computer, I feel completely content with some alone time. I miss my gal, but I take comfort in just knowing that the feelings are mutual.

I’m going to run by the car lot later today that I’ll be working at beginning next week, and meet some more of the people and kind of see how they do what I’ll be doing. The good thing is that I’ll actually be making more here. Because I have absolutely no overhead (awesome parents), I’ll be able to just start putting stuff away. I’m actually looking into some good ways to invest my funds. I’m thinking I may start offering some of those micro-loans. Yeah, I’m 17. Yeah, the economic climate at present doesn’t make me want to invest in anything other than people. Yeah, I’m in a weird mood.

Football

Let’s flip this b. Yep. I’m already starting to breakout a little bit from my helmet. Fortunately I have no issues from my shoulder pads, but I’ve only had them on for a couple of days. Beyond the new zits that have popped up on my forehead and chin, football is going really well. It’s hot, regardless of the fact that we’re out of there well before noon. My buddy was right, it was a little strange catching the ball the first time with helmets, and even stranger with the top pads on, but that’s why we’re out there right now.

What I have really enjoyed so far is getting physical with the guys on the other side of the ball. We bumped a bit in 7 on 7, but this is good stuff. I come to hurt ya if you’re gonna try and bump me at the line. Illegal hands to the face? I don’t see any referees in practice. And I love blocking for the running game. I guess being such a huge fan of Fitz and Boldin over the past several seasons I’ve learned from some of the best. Once we get full pads on for August practice, it’s ON!

Dang it. I just nailed an underground zit on my chin. I need some ice.

Sun-Kissed and Zitless

Maybe that’s a bit misleading. I’m not entirely zitless, but the Grand Canyon must have some miracle cure. We enjoyed the sun, did a lot of hiking and even more canyon gazing at sunrise and sunset. We got there Friday, mid morning after leaving at 6 a.m. It was really fun for me to see Maggie viewing the Canyon for the first time. And I feel overwhelmed every time I see it anyway, so it was a really enjoyable experience, just pulling into the National Park area.

I’m trying to figure out how my skin is doing so well, when I thought I’d come back from the Canyon disgusting and covered with more zits. Especially in that dreaded T-zone. If you’ll remember, my nose had been giving me problems in Madison, but ever since I got punched in the eye my face has just gotten clearer and clearer. I think that’s a total coincidence, and I’m sure the combination of exfoliating my skin daily and being back in a drier environment has a lot to do with my current skin clarity.

I’m not just chomping at the bit about our camp tomorrow, I’m gnawing on it. This will be my first day in a helmet. How funny is that? I thought I’d be nervous, but if they called right now and said we were starting tonight, I’d be there in a heartbeat.

One of my buddies was telling me that the biggest adjustment I’ll have to make is all the crap in my field of vision while trying to catch a ball. He said that it’s really weird because you lose a lot of your peripheral vision that you have without the gear – that you really gotta snap your head around on certain routes, or the ball will be on you more quickly that you can handle it.

Anyway, we’ll work in helmets tomorrow, then add shoulder pads on Tuesday. Maggie is funny. She said she wanted to come watch. I’d love to have my gal in the stands, but we’ll be on a practice field and I don’t think I can handle the abuse from my teammates. I’m gonna tell her that she can swing by on Tuesday in my mom’s car and sneak a peek.

I just looked in the mirror again. My face is seriously looking pretty good, but we’ll see how long that lasts with the advent of my “helmet days.” Mags and I are off to see Inception. I’m really excited for this one!

Home Again…

Might I mention how nice it is to be back in my own bed. And have my sweet girl in the guest room. I’m a happy boy. I gotta share something else. My black eye is healing up, and the bruise is draining nicely. Get this. My skin in all the bruise area hasn’t looked this good since I began adolescence. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND!!?? Please explain this to me!?

My left eye, temple, cheek…all as clear and soft as a baby’s butt. A baby’s butt with no diaper rash. Maybe there’s something to getting hit in the face? Or a legitimate healing with the body doing it’s work.

Maggie and I haven’t really been doing much of anything. It’s so frickin’ hot here, it’s not even funny. I was starting to get used to the 80s and humidity, but coming back to the triple digits. Geez. Maggie can’t remember ever being in heat like this. Needless to say, we’re planning to spend tomorrow poolside and then Friday we’re heading up to the Grand Canyon. Maggie’s never been, and you can’t come this close and not enjoy one of the coolest places in the world. My folks are gonna come, and my siblings are staying here in Phoenix with some of their friends, so it should be a pretty relaxed trip. And it’ll be a whole lot cooler there.

Maggie is going to stay through next Wednesday. I have camp, but I’ll be free in the afternoons. Our camp days start at 6 a.m. and only go to 10 a.m. due to the heat. Later next week, I’m actually starting a job at a dealership here just doing pretty much the same thing I was doing for my uncle in Madison.

I have decided I’m going to see a dermatologist about my face again. I haven’t been in awhile, and last time I just complained about being prescribed stuff, so I thought I might enter the sitch with more of an open mind. I figure I owe it to my face, and I think it’s only going to get worse as the football helmet becomes part of my daily routine. Anyway, I’ll let you know how it goes. Won’t be until at least the week after next, so…

Off to bed. Got a busy day of lying under an umbrella by the pool tomorrow.

Dramadison.

I’ve got a little something to accompany my zits.

We’re all geared up to head out tomorrow, but I couldn’t leave Madison without a little drama. I mentioned a party. This was a bash. And do you remember the ex-boyfriend of Maggie’s that I mentioned probably a couple months ago? Well, the whole time I was here, we were able to avoid him. Apparently he had been on some huge trip with his parents, but he was back and at the party.

Maggie and I aren’t all PDA like a lot of people our age. We appreciate our space, but we definitely enjoy our time together, so when we got to this party, my cousin immediately told me that the dude was there and that I’d want to stay close to her. Maybe I’m slightly sadistic, because I wanted to see how this guy reacted to Mag’s presence. I didn’t wanna be all over her, but at the same time I didn’t want to give him the green light to open his mouth, or start harassing her like he always seems to do.

I was hanging with my cousin and some of his buddies in a different area of this house, and Maggie and my cousin’s gal were out by the pool, where a few people were swimming and hanging out. I didn’t see everything go down, but apparently dude went out, was harassing Maggie about me and then someone I didn’t know approached me inside and said, “Hey man. Are you Maggie’s boyfriend?”

“Yeah, nice to meet you.”

“You too, but (insert douche name) is pushing up on your lady. I can’t stand the guy, so I thought I’d let you know. If you wanna beat his a**, there are about 20 people here who would like to see it happen.”

I took off. When I got outside, I did my best to play it cool. Maggie was relieved to see me, but I could see that we wouldn’t get out of the scenario without a little drama. Long story short, he was a complete douche. He tried to be clever, and I wasn’t having it. When he introduced himself, I was kind, then I suggested to Maggie that we go back inside – I asked her if she wanted to go back in.

As we turned to leave he said it, just loud enough:

“Nice face, bro.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

“Your a d*ck, man. As far as I know, Maggie has been nothing but nice to you, and for some reason you think it’s acceptable to treat her like crap.”

I could tell he was ready to duke, but he wanted to push a little harder.

“The b*tch is a tease, man…I’m tellin’ ya now”

I popped him. It put him down, but he scrambled back to his feet and threw a wild one and caught me right on the eye. Then I laid the smack. Maggie was screaming to stop, all the guys were screaming to go and I did, until I could tell I was really gonna hurt the kid. His buddies finally came running, a bunch of people separated us and I laid it down:

“Don’t f*** with her anymore. Are we cool?”

“Yeah man.”

We actually shook hands, then I apologized to Maggie and we left the party.

This morning I woke up with a few new zits, and a shiner on my left eye.  I went over to see Maggie and join her for church, and her mom gave me a huge hug, and I could see her dad grinning about my eye. Apparently the story spread quickly.