Whew.

Several hours and bottles of water later, I do believe I'm past the halfway point in my recovery from my inadvertent venture into chemical warfare with my bathtub. Thanks for all your thoughts and good wishes, y'all.

Still feel lightheaded and have a woozy tummy, plus achy eyes -- but other than that, I'm good old me.

Crazy.

When doing a debriefing with the mister, I realized that not only was I using Comet and KABOOM!, but also some stuff to zap the mold in the corner tile and Clorox wipes on the sink.

That's a lot of molecules floating around.

Remember Chemical Ali... just call me Chemical Jane. And heed my warning, y'all. Housekeeping is a dangerous, dangerous thing. Only engage in it when absolutely necessary.

However -- that damn bathtub has never looked better. Thank goodness.

Duh.

Friday Fun Fact:

When they tell you not to mix cleaning products, like chlorine-based Comet and Billy Mays' KABOOM!, they're not kidding.

I'm racing around, trying to get my house company-ready for my eight-year-old niece to spend the weekend and thought I would save a couple of steps and multi-task in the bathroom.

Inhale.

Spots before my eyes. Nauseated (or is that nauseous -- I can never remember which). And dizzy. Pale.

Whoa.

So. Don't try this at home.

I'm now going to go lie very still and take deep breaths of good old O2.

Whooooooa.

Duh.

It's official.

I am an Idiot. With a capital Id.

Thought I might do a little exercise in the office and threw in a workout mini-DVD into the computer player.

Which isn't built for mini-DVDs. The computer's not even reading that there's a disc in the player. And ergo -- I can't eject it.

See what I mean. Idiot.

Gotta figure out how to get the damn thing out without damaging anything else.

Suggestions welcome. Please. Help.

And mocking is fine as well. 'Tis deserved.

*goes off muttering*

Duh.

The melodious sounds of Neil Young are floating down my boulevard. Loudly.

Traffic's picked up in the 'hood. Cars coming and going. And going and coming.

And there are piles and piles of leaves dotting the landscape across the street.

That can only mean one thing.

My Merchant Marine neighbor is home.

Can the hammock be far behind?

Seeing him, chillin' on his front stoop, front door wide open, beer in hand, it just occurred to me who he looks like.

Duh.

Why this didn't dawn on me earlier, I'll never know.

Here's his doppelganger:

(Psssst... that's Chris Robinson, best known for being the lead singer of the Black Crowes and the ex-husband of Kate Hudson.)

It all makes so much sense now.

Duh.

How is it that I never realized until RIGHT NOW that Mick Jagger sings backup on Carly Simon's seminal "You're So Vain."

I'm listening to my Singer/Songwriter playlist on iTunes -- "You're So Vain" comes on and there, clear as a bell, is Mick's voice on the chorus.

Duh.

Wonder if this means that the song is really about Warren Beatty? Or if it's really meta to have Mick singing on a song about him?

Hmmm. That's making my head hurt. Time for caffeine and a NutriBreakfast. Then I'll ponder this some more.

It's going to be one of those days.