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dooce® - dooce.com

Oxy Moron

So it happened today, the adult-onset pimple.

It's on my right temple, directly next to my right eye. And all day long I'm going to look at people's noses in hopes that they will in turn look at my nose, a nose with no pimples, instead of into my eyes. If they look into my eyes they're going to see the pimple sitting right there and they'll have no choice but to sound warning sirens in distress because, seriously, this pimple is threatening to annex Canada.

The most disturbing thing about this pimple is that it just came out of nowhere. I haven't changed moisturizers or cleansers; I'm not on my period; I don't even have a mid-term in the morning. And really, what defense is there against a pimple that has no reason to be there in the first place? It's like trying to understand a criminal who has no motive, someone who just likes to kill or maim because he can. This pimple is pimpling just because it can.

Tonight I will see my mother for the first time in a week, and when she first greets me she's going to remark, Heather, you've got a pimple! as if the damn thing just up and landed on my face the moment she walked in the door. I've never understood this, why mothers have to POINT OUT the existence of a pimple. It's like telling someone who is ugly that they are ugly, as if the ugly person doesn't already know it, as if they aren't painfully, excruciatingly aware already of their own bitter ugliness. You'd just never do that, and so I think pimpled people deserve the same mercy, because chances are, if you're not in a coma, you know you have a pimple.

And I know I'm not supposed to touch it, that touching it is the last thing I should do to it, but all I can think about is touching it. And somehow the urge to touch it is overriding the fact that that I know that touching it ensures at least a 14-day pimple life, from first touch to final craggy scar. Because you can't ever get it all in that first touch, no. It takes anywhere from 4 to 2004 touches, each touch more fevered than the last, each one believing that it will be the last touch, but really, in real life, it's not even halfway through to the last touch. And seven days into touching when you finally reach that last touch, the one that hits the pulsing, healing lava flow of blood, you're left with a gaping, boogered canyon on your forehead that won't erode or even accept a basic Maybelline concealer for at least another seven days, the fucking nerve.

And I guess this is what I really hate about the adult-onset pimple, it's that it's a lone warrior, a renegade, the Dirty Harry of facial blemishes. If it were acne or part of a juvenile brigade of pimples, everything would sort of blend in and people wouldn't have the urge to make subtle brushing movements with their hands at their temples, letting me know silently and politely that I've got something, perhaps a crumb, maybe even mustard right there next to my eye. And what am I going to say to these people but I'VE GOT A FUCKING PIMPLE, ASSHOLE.

01.09.2003 Daily, Misc comments closed

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  • little miss s said:

    Okay...so we've already got the biggest pimple of a President in American history, threatening to annex us. Now, the lesser known Dooce pimple too.

    Is it a whitehead? We need a little more snow up here.

    01.10.03 - 08:18 AM / 1
  • QuesoDiablo said:

    Well feel lucky because I beleve the worst form of th adult onset pimple is the monstrous ass-pimple. Totally hidden and no one can know its there but you can never stop wondering why it decided to show up on you ass in the first place, not like the face which although no one likes to get them on there's there is that un spoken agreement that thats where there're supposed to be.

    01.10.03 - 08:27 AM / 2
  • Lin said:

    Ach, the dreaded adult pimple. When will I have to stop buying acne medication..when I'm fifty?

    01.10.03 - 08:28 AM / 3
  • the mighty jimbo said:

    bite me dooce. one little pimple. i weep.

    i have been fighting an extended guerilla war with little red suicide bombers since i was 18. i had clear skin in high school. my skin had to revolt in adulthood.

    how's that for a genetic royal screw.

    so pardon my lack of sympathy when you find one rogue complexion terrorist on your noggin.

    i've waged a war with everthing short of kerosine.

    my face is like isreal. sure, i have some days or weeks free from attack. but when i least expect it, bang! three of the little red bastards explode themselves right on my forehead. or the razor that scrapes upon my neck sends the hair folicles into an uprising and they attack with the little mosters for a week until the skin heals.

    i would kill to have completely clear skin for a month solid. sadly, it rarely happens.

    but i gotta admit, its strangely gratifying to pop those little fuckers.

    01.10.03 - 08:30 AM / 4
  • Danika said:

    What about getting a pimple on your leg right where your pants rub when you walk because your jeans are just a little too tight due to gaining just a little too much weight. Not enough for new pants but enough for the pimple to fucking hurt whenever you walked or moved while sitting.

    Not that it recently happened to me... :)

    01.10.03 - 08:33 AM / 5
  • aubs said:

    They need to teach you that in 6th grade health class when they're discussing adolescence and all the 'changes' in your body. Some teacher needs to take a stand and say "get ready, people, these pustules are going to be your nemesi for the rest of your life." I wish I had stock in Clearasil.

    01.10.03 - 08:34 AM / 6
  • dooce said:

    Jimbo: you might want to try birth control. it works wonders on acne.

    01.10.03 - 08:34 AM / 7
  • A Diff Erika said:

    How bout you normally have a pimple free ass.Then after months of not getting any you finally get a man and you get a big red monster on your ass. Sexy right?

    01.10.03 - 08:34 AM / 8
  • Funtime Ben said:

    I feel your pain. I'm currently battling an underground pimple, which no one else can see, but which I am compelled, as if by the laws of nature, to squeeze. By squeezing it, I realize I will make it a very visible ghastly red bump, but I have to squeeze it, for squeezing will bring me solace.

    (squeeze)

    01.10.03 - 08:38 AM / 9
  • annie said:

    can you try a new, funky hair style?

    01.10.03 - 08:40 AM / 10
  • QuesoDiablo said:

    Or a large colorly embroiderd eye patch ?

    01.10.03 - 08:41 AM / 11
  • the media said:

    so much drama over a fucking pimple. you've got too much time on your hands. drink or something. yeah, kill it with alcohol.

    01.10.03 - 08:47 AM / 12
  • Anna said:

    I finally admitted defeat in my battle against adult onset pimples and went to a dermatologist. Those nasty fuckers were no match for my cream wielding skin doctor. Also: A friend of mine enjoys getting pimples, and says she could sit around all day popping them. She's really not joking.

    01.10.03 - 08:48 AM / 13
  • the mighty jimbo said:

    that's a good idea dooce! but do i actually wear the condom as prescribed or actually pull it over my head?

    01.10.03 - 08:51 AM / 14
  • jen said:

    jimbo - i think dooce means the birth control pill. it does do a face good. i have a few daisy packs to donate if you want.

    01.10.03 - 08:59 AM / 15
  • Queso said:

    perhaps jimbo was quietly trying to point out his gender? perhaps..and Jimbo i would say pulling it on over your head when you sleep at night might work perhaps the spermicides with kill the pimples

    01.10.03 - 09:02 AM / 16
  • A Diff Erika said:

    Acutane is magical. Cleared my adult acne forever.

    01.10.03 - 09:02 AM / 17
  • buckosmack said:

    oh honey, lance the little bitch and let's be on with it. as for mommy, are you telling me there isn't at least one so-called pimple on her, um, character that you might be able to call out in a 'tit for tat' moment that might get her to think before she speaks next time?

    01.10.03 - 09:05 AM / 18
  • melanie said:

    jen, i think jimbo was being funny, not daft.

    anyhoo. minutes before my first day of teaching freshman comp at the university of colorado this fall, i got my period, spilled coffee on my boob, and watched in horror as The Biggest Pimple In the History of Pimples sprouted on my face. i'm not kidding - that thing staged a bloodless coup in two seconds flat. it was on the right side of my nose, right below my eye. i had to teach with that thing on my face for two weeks. i think it was sent to implant a microchip or something.

    so, i feel your pain.

    01.10.03 - 09:08 AM / 19
  • shy said:

    i hear you on mothers... my mother will take it one step further and begin to lecture me on eating too much greasy foods. or chocolate. or whatever the wive's tale of what causes adult-pimples. i have one now too.

    01.10.03 - 09:09 AM / 20
  • julie said:

    if you have to touch it, do so with a cotton ball and some tea tree oil or rubbing alcohol a few times a day. that'll zap that sucker quickly.

    01.10.03 - 09:18 AM / 21
  • Glovia said:

    Why you always gotta talk about such sensitive subjects.

    01.10.03 - 09:30 AM / 22
  • lola said:

    julie's right. Tea Tree oil is a magical treat. It dries the shit right out of those face boils. And before I discovered the wonders of nature, I used retin-A and it worked just dandy. There was the side-effect where my entire top layer of skin peeled off my face. But at the time, I would much rather have been scaly than pimpley.

    01.10.03 - 09:33 AM / 23
  • Chip Tijuana said:

    What you really need is a good pair of wrap around shades, something a la Corey Feldman or Randy Macho Man Savage. Not only will they cover the blemish but they will give you a unique style that hasn't been seen since the early 90's

    01.10.03 - 09:47 AM / 24
  • Anonymous said:

    antibotics. take amoxicillan (spelling maybe wrong) couple days. it'll kill all pimples that are on ur body.

    01.10.03 - 09:50 AM / 25
  • in the dark said:

    So where do you get retin-A, Acutane, tea tree oil, etc?

    01.10.03 - 10:11 AM / 26
  • LK said:

    ditto on the tea tree oil, it does work great. of course, if you have some extra money to spend, go visit a dermatologist and get a tiny shot of cortizone in the sucker. it'll magically disappear the next day.

    as for the antibiotics comment... that's a no-no. people who take antibiotics for every little thing can breed super viruses.

    01.10.03 - 10:13 AM / 27
  • LK said:

    PS tea tree oil is available at almost any health-nut place as well as your local Body Shop in the mall. As for the Retin-A and Acutane... you need a doctor's prescription.

    01.10.03 - 10:14 AM / 28
  • Pimplemint Pattie said:

    Is this one of those throbbing pimples? Why do they throb? Maybe if you wear your hair over the pimple, your mother will say, Heather, your hair is in your eyes.

    01.10.03 - 10:18 AM / 29
  • April said:

    If spraying Windex on it doesn't work, stick a Bandaid on it and say you cut yourself shaving. Who cares if no one actually shaves their forehead...

    01.10.03 - 10:27 AM / 30
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