The skin I'm in

I have a definite love/hate relationship with my skin.

I have very fair, English/Irish skin that burns easily and I am speckled with moles and freckles galore. Growing up with friends who turned a beautiful golden color every summer while I blistered and turned into a baked lobster was serious torture. I remember one summer that I spent with my friend Shai down in Holden Beach, NC where I fell asleep on a raft in the ocean and woke up with sun poisoning so bad that I still have a permanent scar on my lower back from it. Seriously, I looked char-broiled and my skin right above my bikini bottoms turned almost black.

As I got older, I realized that the sun worshipping had to end so I began slathering myself with SPF 50000 and hiding inside like a vampire. Not exactly practical, but I do feel like I probably saved my skin from any further problems.

But you know how you always want what you don't have? You have curly hair, but long for sleek, straight locks? Blue eyes but want green eyes? Well, every summer I go through Suntan Envy like nobody's business. But I guess I need to get over that, because with all these new skin issues I've developed I will probably spend the rest of my life in hermetically-sealed bubble.

Over a month ago, I developed an itchy rash over my arms and chest...took some steroids and it seemed to go away. When I went to the dermatologist last week, I had her take a look at my neck because it has been itching like crazy. She thinks I have some kind of weird excema - no visible rash, but itchiness like you wouldn't believe and it's probably some kind of reaction to something in my environment since I only itch on my arms, chest, and neck - areas exposed every day. She told me about some lotion I could buy at the drugstore and then gave me a prescription in case that didn't work.

It doesn't work. I have been clawing at my neck for two days continuously to the point I'm scared that I'm going to draw blood. So I guess I'm going to have to break down and get that stupid prescription filled. And with my luck, the lotion will smell like ass.

On the positive side, I had a very garbled message from my dermatologist's office today that the mysterious growth on my arm was...drumroll please...a wart. Nothing more. Although I am seriously skeeved out at the fact I had a huge wart on my arm. But you still love me, warts and all, right?