So...what is that little speck to the left? Why, none other than a kidney stone. I had the pleasure of dealing with this issue again this weekend. Almost five years ago I went to the ER sure I had something very wrong. I couldn't stand up I was in so much pain, and I wasn't sure what was happening. This time around, I knew. The back pain, the cramps that got consistently worse, and the overwhelming urge to pee...it brought it all back. So, I procured some pain meds (I refuse to tell how...apparently it's a federal law not to give them out to those they're not prescribed to) and began peeing into a strainer. Sometime late last night, I saw what I thought was sand...turns out, those little granules were responsible for all my pain. I'm hoping I can go at least another 5 years until dealing with these annoying stones again.