Sigh. I finally did it. After months of deliberation, I finally wrote a letter enclosing contact information for my skin clinic to the lady at work. Jesus. I must have written the letter ten different times– just couldn’t get the tone right. In the end, I kept things brief: I just told her I had struggled with shitty skin for 15 years and this place helped me…

I put the envelope on her desk during lunch, and then the rest of the afternoon, I walked around on pins and needles. I know, what was the big fucking deal really? I don’t know. I guess it’s such a personal and sensitive subject: I didn’t want to hurt her feelings and yet I felt so guilty having sat on a possible solution for so long… I was so nervous my hands went numb.

In the end, she sent me a quick email thanking me for the contact and saying that she appreciated help from people who knew what a pain all of this was. What a relief. I hope the clinic helps her.

In other news, a few of my friends are going through some tough times right now. My best friend from high school is having a hell of a time dealing with the loss of her father a couple months ago, all while juggling the pressures and stress of veterinary medicine. She has shit insurance also and I sometimes forget that outside of California, coverage isn’t so great when it comes to mental and emotional health services. Thankfully, my days at LifeLine Shanghai came in handy today. I browsed the site for their international headquarters and came across a link to Befrienders Worldwide, which offers hotlines offering emotional support. Thank goodness for nonprofits I tell you.