Ah Friday again

I am so glad that it’s finally Friday.  I will get a couple days of rest and relaxation away from work and am very much looking forward to it.  Had a meeting with the boss yesterday and he thanked me for being such a workhorse this week.  At least he acknowledged that he sees what I am doing and at least told me that he appreciates it.  Even if it was just empty words, it was good to hear.  I always go above and beyond, it’s something I am known for.  It’s always noticed regardless of where I have worked.  I feel like it’s helped me a lot in my present position.  Sometimes it’s just the little things that turn out to make a huge difference.  Shame I don’t see huge payment reward for that but I look at it as just doing my job.  It also makes me feel good at times. 

This week has been such a whirlwind that I was shocked when I went to the fridge last night and discovered there was no Spaghetti to heat up.  That’s when it hit me that it was just so good I couldn’t stop eating it.  The freezer isn’t nearly as well stocked as I thought it was but I did find a Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo dinner that I had.  It started out good but I soon grew tired of it and wound up throwing the last few bites out.  I had a piece of double layer yellow cake iced with chocolate frosting for desert.  As I was eating it I kept thinking about packing weight on from WFH and being so sedentary.  I don’t want to blow back up like a blimp.  Not that I am exactly thin but I am lighter than I was during the pandemic. 

It probably doesn’t help the fact that tonight’s dinner will likely be a piece of German Chocolate Cake.  I will most likely wait to eat it until after my massage.  If I don’t have that then it will be a Grilled Cheese.  I know I don’t eat healthy but it’s like I told the doctor a long time ago.  There are two things in this world that I absolutely love.  The first is men and the second is food.  If I can’t have one then I am damn hell sure having the other.  Regardless of what I do I am still dying and damn I’d like to go out on a full stomach.  Sure would be nice to get some dick too but at least food is readily within my reach.  He smiled when I told him that.  My doc is a chubby short guy so it’s not like he can complain too much at me for my weight. 

Last night was over with way too quickly.  I took one extra sleeping pill and damn I was out.  Didn’t hear any banging of the cans this morning when the trash people came.  I woke up on my own but Rudy was right there and sensed that I was about to fall back asleep.  He stuck his cold wet nose against mine and damn that woke me up in a hurry.  I sure do love my Rudy wake up calls, they are the best and I hope they never ever end. 

It’s been a busy morning.  There is no time for lunch and I have 3 meetings today which is highly abnormal for a Friday.  There is a slight lull now and I think I am taking advantage of it and will run up to take a bathroom break and perhaps have a little relaxing time with the cats, that is if my phone doesn’t start blowing up. 

I do hate this extra on-call duty and will be glad when the mistake maker gets back.  Until then I suppose I will survive or die trying. Here’s hoping that today speeds by so that I can get on that massage table sooner rather than later!

Have an awesome weekend and take care!

What’s up Doc?

My doctor finally responded to my inquiry last night about the drug to treat this high LPA level.  He did concur with me that my odds of approval are slim in trying to get my insurance to cover the drug.  If a cardiac event were to occur the odds are low but not zero that it would kill me.  There is some family heredity that factors into the result.  Given all of that I am just going to keep on the current meds that I have and we will hope for the best.  I am sure that I will bring it up at my next visit but for now it’s just business as usual. 

I did think about the family part and thought my brother should probably know.  This way it would relieve me of any guilt for having not told him if something were to happen to him.  I wrote a short letter to him and am heading out later today to mail it.  Given our last interaction was when Gator died and it wasn’t all that pleasant I figure it’s just best to convey the results and suggest that he speak with his doctor to consider having the test ran.  This way he knows and I’ve done my duty.  If my brother is still the same as he used to be, he’s not seeing a doctor regularly and only goes to one when he gets sick or something is seriously wrong.  Maybe that wife of his has changed that but I seriously doubt it.  

I stuffed myself last night with Spaghetti & Meatballs.  I was full but kept eating just to polish off the dish, very bad thing to do.  I was miserable up until I fell asleep several hours later.  Talked with a friend on the phone and then worked on the letter.  That was pretty much my evening. 

Didn’t sleep the best and not exactly sure what position my foot was in but damn it hurts today, feels like I sprained something.  I felt fine before bed and haven’t had any events that would cause this.  Just noticed it when I woke up in the middle of the night.  Ah the joy of getting old and sleeping in odd positions.  Ye old body isn’t nearly as forgiving as it once was. 

Work today has been a nightmare.  It started shortly after I sat down this morning to begin work.  Things finally settled down around 11a when I was permitted to take a bathroom break.  Rudy bugged me for food and I took care of him.  I am about to head up to see about lunch and relax a bit, lord knows I could use it. 

Looking forward to the weekend.  No real plans but I know that I will manage to entertain myself and enjoy my time away from work.  Sleeping in sure does sound nice, especially after the day I have had today. 

Hope that all is well in your world.  Take care!

Time Off = Time to spend $$$

Hi and I hope your doing well!  I’ve really enjoyed my two days off, however as you can surmise by the title I have spent some money while I have been off. 

Thursday I went to the doctor and of course just my luck he was running behind.  I had an 11:30a appointment and I didn’t leave until 2p that includes seeing the doc as well as having my blood drawn.  I also had to get stuck twice because the first batch of blood they took spoiled after it was spun in the centrifuge.  Better that they caught it than calling me and telling me I had to come back because that would have angered me.  I do have a ganglion cyst in my wrist.  My doc wants to refer me to a hand surgeon rather than taking any action.  He told me that since it’s shrunk and seems like it’s going away if he were me he’d just leave it alone for now.  However, if it becomes bothersome or flairs back up then it’s best to have it out.  This reminds me of the long fight I had with a dentist years ago about getting my wisdom teeth out, eventually I had to give in because they kept getting infected but I fought it hard and wish in the end that I would have had all 4 pulled at once.  My fear here is not only the bill but that once the surgeon cuts that there could be damage done that can’t be undone.  Plus I am not crazy about seeing another doctor.  We also chatted about my neck rash and he told me that he could try one more thing but if that didn’t work then my best route would be to see a dermatologist.  Again as my luck would have it he didn’t call anything in so I am debating about asking him now or waiting another 3 months and bringing it up again. 

I had BBQ for supper and it was really good.  Then I came home and started work on some laundry.  I took care of updating my finances and paying bills.  Then it was off to surf for porn.  I wound up joining a couple more porn stars OF’s and damn I lucked out on some good content.  Rudy had to pry me away from the computer by nagging me because it was getting late and I needed to get up early on Friday.  I gave in, had play time with the cats and went to bed.  I don’t remember a whole lot because I was really tired.  I didn’t get much sleep and had no nap.  I watched a little TV and I passed out. 

Woke up early this morning went to breakfast at a fast food place.  It sure was good and I ordered so much that I brought home some left overs.  Then I left for my 9a appointment for car service.  Just an oil change and a cabin air filter.  They had to order the cabin air filter but then break time came so there was an hour added to my sitting time.  Then they took the long way on replacing the cabin air filter and that racked up a labor bill for me.  Long story short I spent the morning there and wasn’t back home until noon.  I wasn’t pleased with the bill just because it cost way more than I anticipated.  However, it’s not like I don’t have it, just didn’t want to spend it. 

I stopped off at Sam’s Club and wow there went some more money.  Just got home stuff like Kleenex, Toilet Paper, Water, Salt for the water softener and muffins.  Don’t you know I snagged part of the Salt bags on the shopping cart while lifting it into the trunk and a little salt escaped into my trunk.  When I unloaded I put that bag down upside down so salt didn’t get in the house.  Then vacuumed out the trunk, presto problem solved. 

It was a really nice day we were in the 70’s  I opened up the windows and the cats went crazy.  I ate some yogurt so I could take my antibiotic and then watched some TV.  I really wanted to work in a nap but then remembered I needed to get laundry done.  So I started working on that and wound up having an hour to lay down.  I did lay down but never went to sleep. 

Decided since it was such a nice day that I would venture out to a place that I have been before but it’s costly.  Damn I dropped $70 for dinner and that was just on me, I didn’t pick up any other tabs.  I got Chilean Sea Bass, a soda, a slice of Carrot Cake.  I didn’t get a real good look at the specials but when I did I saw they had Grouper and I would have rather had that.  The dinner was $45 that included a salad and it came with mashed potatoes and a side of vegetables.  The Carrot Cake was homemade.  The entire meal was all so good. I told myself to stop eating the cake because I was stuffed but then I got a refill on my soda and just attacked it and demolished it.  Then I suffered the whole way home but it was a good kind of suffering.  I wish I could eat that good every night!

I came home and opted to stop to fill up the tank because I plan a long drive for breakfast to attack that breakfast buffet, been looking forward to it all week long.  Anyway the lady in front of me kept having problems with her card.  I got out to see if I could help her and we struck up a conversation that would never end.  She went on and on and 20 minutes had gone by.  We were chatting about jobs and she has been unemployed for a while.  I wound up giving her my business card and telling her to consider applying where I work.  Then she got into all these jobs she has held in the past but she quit every damn one of them.  That’s when I wish I never gave her my card.  I think she is a bit loony and this is going to mushroom into a problem.  She kept trying to give me her resume.  I told her to go on line and apply for a job, she can put my name down but that is the extent of it.  I have nothing to do with making a hiring decision.  Then she went on to tell me she was going to email me her resume.  I told her again all I could do was pass it on to HR and they would tell me to tell her to apply on the website.  Finally I managed to tell her that I needed to get moving and then she drove away.  She almost backed into me as she was leaving her vehicle went into reverse and thankfully I was a considerable distance from her.  I just got a bad vibe after the fact that I can’t shake.  I hope she doesn’t turn out to be crazy and become a problem for me.  I didn’t promise her anything, she offered to give me a reward if they hire her and I told her I didn’t want anything.  This was on her merit and would be between her and HR if she applied for a position and landed it.  There is an incentive for me if she is hired and stays for 90 days then I get some money but honestly I wasn’t thinking of that.  I like to help people but damn you have to be so careful these days.  I’ve never given a complete stranger a business card.  I’m very glad that I work in a secure building and she can’t just come waltzing in because she strikes me as that type of person.  Please dear God tell me I didn’t just make a HUGE MISTAKE and invite a LOONY WOMAN to apply for a job where I work.  Not much I can do about it now it’s over all I can do is react if she become a problem.  Shame there isn’t a do over button in life because I’d do things differently if I could go back in time.  Everything happens for a reason just not sure why this happened other than I was trying to be a nice guy.  

In addition to the expenses I’ve mentioned I also did some shopping on Amazon.  Got some cardboard replacements for a toy that Mora threw up on.  Along with pen refills, eye drops and some other junk that I really didn’t need.  The cats just loved to see me opening boxes but they were sad when I threw them in the trash.  This place was cardboard city and I wasn’t about to let that continue to build.  I had been hanging on to boxes from when I ordered my iPad and since that worked out and I am keeping it time to get rid of the boxes.  Thankfully I did it on trash day. 

I am excited about the breakfast buffet but not excited about getting up early.  However, Rudy will wake me regardless so I will be up anyway.  It’s going to be back into the deep freeze tomorrow and that doesn’t exactly make me want to jump to traveling.  I would love to sleep in just one day.  Sunday it will be even colder and I need to make a Target run because the cats will be out of treats.  I thought about doing that today but just never got around to it.  I am tired of running and just want to lounge at home for a bit before I get back to it again.  Who knows maybe I will make the Target run tomorrow but I kind of doubt it.  I’ve plotted dinner for tomorrow night and that will require a little bit of travel as well.  I figure might as well live it up a little while I can.  Life will be back to normal come Monday. 

I am not looking forward to going back Monday not only because of having to dig out but because the boss schedule another meeting for a small project that I know will turn into a cluster.  However, right now I am just thinking about the weekend.  It’s nice not to be tethered to a phone and to hear my work email sound going off.  Wishing that I had scheduled more time off but hey I’d have to go back sometime.  Good news is that I did put in for 2 more days in 3 months so I can go back to the doc.  Speaking of time off I did think about the fact that if I did have surgery to remove the cyst that I would probably get some time off from that but it probably wouldn’t be more than a day or two at most.  It’s not major surgery but there would be stiches and that’s super inconvenient.  I hope this thing goes away and doesn’t flair back up for another thirty something years if ever again. 

Back to laundry and surfing for porn until I get tired or the cats beg me to come back upstairs.  Talk with you all again soon.  Take care and be well. 

Poked 3 times

Welcome … I hope the weekend is going well for you.  It’s not bad here but I’ve had a couple of issues crop up. 

Amazon never did show up with my battery charger.  I called this afternoon and they are sending a replacement shipment that is supposed to arrive on Monday.  The original unit is still in transit but there was a shipping issue.  I might wind up with two of them.  Although they told me I could send one back if I get two. 

My cyst was driving me nuts and I opted to try draining it on my own, this was a bad mistake.  I used a sterile syringe & needle.  I started by washing my hands and wrist with warm soapy water.  Then dried off.  Swabbed the cyst twice with two different alcohol pads and then busted open the syringe.  I poked it directly in the middle but the needle wasn’t fully in and when I went to draw back on the syringe the needle came out.  I got nothing but a flash of blood.  I poked it again from the side and was able to draw back on the syringe.  I got a little more blood but nothing else.  Finally my last poke I opted to stab it from the top.  I pushed and it hurt but I pushed some more.  I felt it in me and wanted to make sure that I was inside the cyst as much as possible.  I kind of wish I went deeper.  However when I pulled back on the syringe I got nothing but a little bit more blood.  To say that I wasn’t happy was quite the understatement.  All I did was make things worse.  The area is sore now and bruised a bit.  It did increase for a short time in size but has since shrunk.  This morning it’s all red and warm which means it’s infected.  I did a virtual doctors visit and found that it might be a fibrous cyst, not all of them are filled with fluid.  However, it is possible that my doctor may choose to try to inject a steroid into it to see if that will shrink it.  Most likely I am going to wind up getting referred to another doctor for the drainage or surgical removal.  Honestly I am fine with leaving it in just make it go back to being not a huge pain and so swollen.  At any rate I got some antibiotics and they are hitting me hard it’s almost like I am taking the medicine for an infected tooth.  1 pill 3 times a day for 7 days.  I will be at the doctors office on Thursday so he can touch it and hopefully I can talk him in to trying something first before throwing up his hands and sending me off to see a colleague.  I’m looking for relief sooner rather than later.  At least I had the foresight to recognize the infection and caught it in the early stages before it spread and put me in grave danger.  I know that shit moves fast and the sooner you act the better you are.  I am mad that I gave in to trying to fix this on my own but I was tired of suffering and going to the ER probably wouldn’t have yielded any thing different other than maybe some diagnostic testing. 

I did get up super early and got my shower and on the road.  I went to a place that is an hour and half away.  I got curious on the way down and discovered an energy facility.  They had the most amazing smoke stacks.  I’ve seen them before in the distance but never up close.  The smoke was billowing out but the bulk of it was stagnant.  I was enjoying the view and wish that I would have taken some photos and video.  I was in the country and there wasn’t anyone around.  Found out that the restaurant had a breakfast buffet on the weekends, that sounds temping.  However my eyes were set on a Philly Cheesesteak Omelet.  I had to wait forever for it to show up and it was red damn hot.  Tasted delicious but the steak could have been sliced a little thinner.  It was easily 5 or 6 eggs.  I got toast with it and had a soda.  It was $15 and I left a nice tip.  The waitress was really friendly and gave me a large soda to go.  The trip home was a bit of a challenge because my GPS headed me to a road that was closed.  I remembered where I came into town and took that way back home.  I was a little out of the way.  I was on some country roads that seemed like they would never end.  I decided to put my foot on the pedal and was up to 120.  I liked the speed but hate what I did to my gas tank.  That was a huge fuel suck but I did it twice because you know once just isn’t enough.  I wanted to get home to get online with a doctor about my wrist plus I had to use the bathroom.  This was a very enjoyable trip and I might make it again next weekend and try the buffet. 

The vehicle feels pretty good and is running well I think it enjoyed the trip more than I did.  I am interested to see where the battery is now.  I’ve been back out since coming home.  Stopped for cat food, medicine, mail and grabbed something to eat.  I’m giving the network time to go to sleep and for things to cool down a bit.  Then I will go back out with my meter and see what the health check says.  I still think that I am headed towards a new battery the only question is when.  If there is plenty of life left in it no shop will replace it under warranty but I know they would sell me a new one for cost and I am sure that’s up from when I originally purchased what’s in there now.  My late spouse had an SUV and the damn thing ate batteries, winter seemed to kill it quicker than anything.  Even after he passed I think I put at least one battery in it before I wound up getting rid of it. 

In other news I watched the latest episode of The Pit.  Lost it over a little girl passing away.  This show is so damn real it feels like I am in an actual ER.  Then I finished up the Netflix series Zero Day.  It got really good and I just had to watch to the end.  There was a couple plot twists that I never expected but the mystery was solved in the end.  I was all keyed up after watching it but managed to somehow slow things down and watched some Night Court and then I was out like a light until early morning when my bladder woke me up.  The next time I woke up was at 6:30a when Rudy was making biscuits on me.  He wanted his food, I just couldn’t believe morning came around so quickly.  It was a little after midnight when I turned the lights out.  I wanted more sleep but was also excited to get moving.  I didn’t get back home until 10:30a

Almost worked in a nap but I was tired and moved from the chair to the bed, that was enough to wake me up and I couldn’t fall asleep.  Watched some YouTube videos and then just got up and started moving. 

I’ve taken care of my work task.  I need to get up at 6:30a to do testing because of monthly patching.  I want to keep on schedule so that I make it to breakfast, the grocery store and gas station at my usual times so that I have the morning to rest.  I’ve been blessed with the fact that it’s been quiet all day but I have had some spam roll into to my work email account that annoyed me and made me think that I was getting work.  I could go all weekend without hearing the email alert for my work email account.  Here’s hoping that the quiet continues for work. 

Talk with you all again soon.  Stay warm and be well.

HOW Y’ALL DOING?

That’s the title of a book by Leslie Jordan.  I am currently listening to the audio book which is read by the author.  It’s entertaining and interesting at the same time.  I miss his acting he was a great performer.  Started the book last night and haven’t gotten terribly far.  But have plans to resume listening to it soon.  Glad that Spotify includes this in the price that I pay for my monthly subscription.  I don’t listen to audio books that often.  I know I could downgrade my membership and save I think a whole dollar but I’m happy where I am. 

Well it’s Friday and after today I will be on vacation for a week.  My day is essentially done unless something comes waddling in.  I am just on standby.  Kind of like having a day off but being trapped at home.  Not the worst thing in the world. 

I’ve already worked with my finances and booked a haircut appointment this morning so not terribly shabby.  Haircut is on Monday afternoon.  Tuesday I’ve promised myself that I will make the trip to the buffet to check out their taco bar.  Not sure if that will actually happen but right now it’s on the list.  Thursday is doctor day and I could easily stop by my favorite Italian place afterwards for a quick bite to eat and get some nice take home food.  That leaves either Wednesday or Friday to make the adventure to the other buffet place that I hit up last time, it is only an hour away but feels like you have traveled two hours and you will never get there. 

Planning on getting up at a decent hour tomorrow, showering and then heading off to some fast food breakfast.  Cinnamon & Raisin biscuits sound pretty good and I might as well enjoy them while they are available because like Thanksgiving they will be gone before you know it.  Then I plan to head out to see my friends at their shop.  My vehicle burped when I had the coolant flushed and it needs a top off, I am running just below the minimum line.  They should be able to knock that out quick or so I hope. 

Had an enjoyable evening with the cats.  Mora made sure that she got her belly rubbed.  Rudy made sure that I stuck to my routine of playtime after I took care of brushing my teeth.  I’ve stopped passing out cat nip and they don’t seem to be upset about it at all.  Can’t miss a treat time though, Mora is on top of that.  She was nagging me last night at 5:30p and they don’t go out until 6p but I got worn down and gave in early.  Besides that I wanted my Dark Chocolate Covered Blueberries which I indulged in a bit too much.  Damn they are so good!

It’s in the 30’s this morning but word is that by noon it should be back in the 60’s.  No rain for the weekend which is good news.  I’m off to play on the computer and then probably head up to be with the cats for a while to watch some TV.  Hoping for a great day and even better weekend and vacation.  It is the last big hurrah this year for me so I am going to try my best to make it count.  I kind of already feel the lazy creeping up on me with the I’ll do it tomorrow saying.  Tomorrow never seems to come in those situations.  So here’s hoping that I can shake that before it gets set in. 

Have a great day and an even better weekend!

Moving Along

The week is moving right along and I am happy that tomorrow is Friday.  Saw a few new restaurants that have opened up in my area from browsing on social media.  Thinking of checking one of them out over the weekend.  Also the place that I go to for deep dish pizza has an even deeper dish pizza.  I’m thinking of trying that over the weekend as well.  If I don’t make it the pizza is for sure on my must try list. 

My wake up cat thought that I needed to be up at 6a so he tried his best to wake me.  I told him we had one more hour to go.  I know that it makes his day or so it appears when we see each other first thing in the morning.  I enjoy it as well.  However, I don’t want to get up until I have to and he knows that.  I always tell him the night before what time to make the biscuits. 

We have had yo-yo temperatures where it drops into the 50 and 60’s but is back up to the 80’s and 90’s during the day.  Plenty of sunshine and there has been some rain sprinkled in.  My lawn can attest that it’s only sprinkles because it’s crispy fried for the most part.  I think that Summer is fighting out it’s last days before we ring in fall.  In looking out I see that some leaves have already started to fall from the trees.  That will ruin my clean gutters but they can be cleaned out again.  Watching a tree across the street slowly start to turn.  When it goes it’s a nice shade of red and very photographic.  I’ve got photos of the tree from when it was planted up to present day.  Not exactly sure why I photographed it when it was just planted but I did.  It’s my favorite tree in my view.

Getting ready to eat lunch today I heard a meow.  Rudy was eating.  I know that Mora was on my bed.  I looked around the front and back yard but didn’t see anything.  Checked on Mora and she talked to me but I honestly don’t think it was her.  I think either I’m hearing things or there is another cat around outside that I don’t yet know of.  I know that we had a stray come by and trip the camera a couple weeks ago but I haven’t seen it since. 

My rash is sadly still there.  It itches a little bit but the breakout I had is gone but the redness remains.  I don’t know that it’s an allergic reaction and since it’s not really responding to the anti-fungal cream I don’t think it’s fungal.  Based on my research that leaves one thing which is a bacterial infection.  It’s not going to get any better until I get antibiotics be that a cream or pills.  I’m waiting to finish my steroids and plan to take new photos and update the doc to see what the next course of action is.  I would rather my doc figure this out than push me off onto a specialist.  However, I think that he will be all too quick to throw up his hands, at least that is what I think.  I hope I’m wrong.  Bottom line is that I want my pasty white skin back. 

The boss called me yesterday and told me about a couple projects that we are doing.  He asked me if I wanted to be involved, not leaving me much of a choice like pick 1 or pick both but you have to pick something.  I told him both but as per usual his ears were clogged and he said sleep on it and we can touch base tomorrow.  When he asked about it today I changed my answer and told him that I’d like to be involved with 1 of the projects.  Hearing that he told me that he was going to have me lead the entire project.  This is a project where several of us told him that he’s doing it wrong and he refuses to change.  Perhaps he wants someone to blame so he set me up, at least that is kind of how it feels.  He didn’t provide a lot of information other than I would be “involved” when he was pitching this to me.  Had I know I’d be the lead of the project I would have never ever consented.  However, it’s too late now cats out of the bag.  I don’t feel bad about the project it’s just that I am the one who will be doing all the damn work.  I’m not super excited but I am not afraid either.  It seems pretty simple from as best as I can tell.

The Mendes Brothers story is on Netflix as a 8 or 9 part series.  I plan to dive into that.  I like knowing what I am going to watch rather than surfing for content. 

Well time to throw on some pants, gather and take out the trash.  Then it will be sitting with the cats and watching TV as I keep an eye on work in case something comes up.  My schedule is wide open for the rest of the day.  Tomorrow isn’t terribly busy but I do have some things to take care of in the morning. 

Hang in there, one more day and then the weekend is coming.  Take care!

Day 1 - McDonald’s

I was able to keep my time off a secret and not remind anyone.  I’m sure Mr. Mistake Maker is beside himself because I left him with a ton of work to do.  Of course I will be going back to a ton of work but that is not for 11 more days. 

Had a bout of insomnia last night and was up from 2a until 4a.  The cats just blocked there faces using their paws and I watched TV until I got drowsy and fell back asleep. 

Rudy let me sleep in for 30 minutes and I was so thankful for that.  I got up and got going as if it was a normal day but then after breakfast I was able to return to watching TV and eventually drifted off to sleep for a bit. 

Got my shower and put on that new cologne, which I could hardly smell.  I went light on purpose just in case.  Had a little time to waste before I headed out. 

Stopped off at the bank to cash a check and they have a money storage machine.  It looks like a printer but it dispenses and takes cash.  Pretty cool.  I guess the days of having cash in drawers is gone. 

I made it to the doctors office with plenty of time to spare and they made me wait my turn.  I went down my list and yes I told the doctor about the chest pain I had.  He of course ordered an EKG, which came back perfectly normal.  However, he informed me of all of my risk factors that tilt in favor of me having a heart attack.  That was kind of scary.  However, since the EKG came back normal were just observing and he won’t take any further action unless there is a repeat episode. 

I complained about my tremor again and sounds like I will be headed to a Neurologist in the long term.  I honestly think it’s a side effect of the anti-depressants I am on but also coupled with my knotted upper back I think they feed on each other and that’s why I have the issue. 

Of course no doctors visit would be complete without a prick.  Yeah I’m talking about blood work.  I got a lady who was all pissed off that Burger King ripped her off at lunch and she took it out on my arms, missing both times.  Someone else stepped in and I got pricked 3 times before they got their blood.

On my way home I couldn’t decide quite what I wanted to do.  I could hit up Sam’s, I could stop at a shoe store or I could just get the mail and go back home.  I opted to grab the mail and go home. 

Got my car insurance renewal and damn prices went up again.  I have a very short time to pony up the money or look for new coverage.  I am going to do some shopping just for my own peace of mind. 

Meanwhile I am dealing with my newest problem.  I ordered some Shampoo & Conditioner on-line over the weekend.  It should be here by now.  UPS noted that the package was damaged in transit, the box was empty and has been discarded.  They notified the shipper.  I’ve called the shipper and left a voice mail yesterday.  No phone call back by this afternoon, so I sent an email.  I’ll bet you if I file a dispute with the bank to claw back my money that will get their attention.  I’m giving them a day to reach back out and if they don’t then I’m going to reach out to the bank.  I either want what I paid for or my money back. 

My neighbor got his roof done today.  The cats were all upset by the noise.  I am hopeful that was the last straw holding them from putting their house up for sale.  I’d like to see them leave sooner rather than later.  Time will tell. 

I am really tired but I’ve managed to stay awake.  Had McDonald’s for supper and it was good.  Loaded with salt that I could taste which is why I only eat it once in a blue moon.  It satisfied my craving. 

I plan to grab breakfast out tomorrow and then get my facial.  After that if I feel like it I will hit up Sam’s Club and the cat food store.  If not I will probably come home and take a nap, then go back out.  I don’t know where I want to eat dinner at tomorrow.  Thought about driving to a pizza place and getting pasta instead.  Perhaps something else will tickle my fancy, I just know that I won’t go hungry. 

Started watching Part 3 of That 90’s show on Netflix.  It’s pretty good, sure beats YouTube and commercials.  I’m not a fan of commercials but I don’t pay for YouTube.  I’m thinking of changing that. 

Well won’t be long and I’ll be winding down for the day.  Both cats are passed out cold but just wait magically they will both wake up just before I am ready to get up and move to the bedroom.  Rudy’s got to have his play time. 

Hope your day went well, thanks for stopping by.  Take care!

Day 2 - All Done

Happy Friday! 

I watched Young Sheldon last night.  I was surprised I didn’t cry.  Funerals be it IRL or on TV just crush me.  I’m pleased with the way the show ended.  I will miss it and all of the characters.  I look forward to seeing Georgie and Mandy continue on in their spin off series this fall.  I also watched Chicago PD and damn just went it got good it was over with.  I will be anxiously awaiting next weeks episode, hopefully it picks up where this one left off. 

I accomplished the things I wanted to today and feel good about it.  The movie almost didn’t happen because I was lazy but I forced my self to get moving.  I was so happy to have seen The Blue Angels movie.  It provided quite a bit of insight into what they do and how much training and flying they do, as well as the time they spend away from their families.  If your looking for a movie to watch in a theatre near you, I recommend this one. 

After I was done with the movie I didn’t make the trip to the new place for fish.  Instead I went to Olive Garden.  Sat at the bar, had the worst service but the best meal.  Ordered a Pina Colada and it was just okay, didn’t really compare to what I get at Red Lobster.  The place was packed at 3 in the afternoon, I was shocked to see it that full. 

Headed home after my meal, my stomach was full and I didn’t feel quite the best.  Plus there was storms pushing into the area.  Sat for an hour with the cats.  Then back out and I hit up Sam’s Club.  For the first time they didn’t have my printer ink.  I was on the fence about buying it but they kind of made the choice for me.  I’m not out but I always like to keep a supply on hand.  I have long thought of moving away from an ink-jet printer and moving to a color laser.  They have come down in price and you get better quality not that I’m printing anything that important. 

Now I’m home for the day, resting up for the weekend.  I’m a little worried because my blood work results have not been posted.  Normally they are available hours after I leave the doctors office.  By the time I decided to call they were closed.  In my mind I think there is something wrong and bad news is coming but who knows it could just be a computer glitch.  However, I am interested in the results regardless if there is good or bad news.  Now I’ve got something to stew about until Monday when I can call and inquire if they aren’t posted over the weekend. 

Saturday this sounds silly but I’ve got plans to hit up the office tomorrow.  There is a door that has been acting up and I should have gone in a couple weeks ago to look at it.  I won’t be in at all next week since I am on-call and figure Saturday morning is the perfect time to look at it.  Next to no one will be around so I should be able to slip in and out if all goes well.  Of course no good deed goes unpunished, which seems to be the case for me.  I want to get up early, go out for breakfast and then drive in.  Hopefully, it will be a quick thing but it’s not like I have anything else going.  I could do it tonight and knock it out of the way but starting first thing sounds best to me.  It’s not like I have to do it all.  I just am trying to avoid getting called to make an emergency trip in on the week I am on-call.  

Need to knock out some laundry and the dishes.  Plan to hopefully take care of the issues I found outside of the house when I was spraying last week.  Thinking of making a trip to Red Lobster for fish.  Their flounder is good but I would much prefer some cod.  Then the usual trip on Sunday to the grocery store and getting ready to go back to work on Monday.  I’ve not peeked at email yet and I’m sure there is plenty waiting for me. 

Back to relaxing and hoping for a nice evening with the cats.  That kind of depends if they decided to get into mischief.  They have both taken spells today and slept with me, letting me hold them.  I savor and cherish those moments.  It’s even better when they have their purr motors on. 

Hope you have a super weekend and all is well in your world.  Take care.

Day 1

Hello and welcome in.  I hope that today was a good day for you!  I’ve accomplished all that I wanted to for the day. 

Made it to the doctor.  The lady drawing blood today missed my vein and then poked and prodded with the needle to try to find it.  That hurt like hell.  However it was only the start of the pain.  She switched arms and then my big mouth started telling her about the time that they took blood from the back of my hand.  Damn if she didn’t do that next.  It worked but wasn’t pleasant. 

Home to check on the cats.  Lubed up the garage door with garage door lubricant.  Just regular maintenance hoping to ward off evil, it’s worked pretty good for a while.  I never knew that you were supposed to do that until the first time I called for garage door service when the spring broke. 

Out to get my haircut, I was early and that worked to my advantage as they took me right away.  Then off to eat at Outback.  It was just an okay meal.  I didn’t get the over the top experience that I am used to but it’s fine. 

Made it back home and while I did drive in a fair amount of rain, there was no hail and I am so thankful for that. 

Got the trash set out and working on laundry.  Surfing the net.  The cats were here with me but left a short time ago.  I guess they have given up on pestering me and I’m fine with that, just as long as they aren’t getting into trouble elsewhere. 

Rudy loves my new pillows.  They arrived yesterday and I got the allergy covers on the as soon as I pulled them out of the box.  He has already slept on top of one of them.  Interestingly enough the Amazon box was quite the play toy for them, normally they don’t bother with boxes but they jumped in this one and started playing with the sheet of paper stuffing that they included.  I’m fine with it, it’s a free toy but once it looses it’s luster I will be sending it to the trash. 

Young Sheldon’s season finale is tonight and I already know I am probably going to cry, I may put off watching it.  I’m sure I can find plenty to keep me entertained. 

I found that there is a movie about The Blue Angels that I believe started playing in theatres today.  It was filmed in Imax.  It’s on my list for early tomorrow afternoon because it will be less crowded and it’s cheaper.  I also plan a spin through Sam’s Club.  I was going to check out the new place I found for Fish but that will largely depend on how I feel.  It doesn’t take long to burn up a tank of fuel.  Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow as well and I do not look forward to it.  I think were all going to float away if it doesn’t dry up soon.

I’m eager to see the results of my blood work, hopefully my A1C is well in tolerance despite my appetite and sweet tooth.  All I can do is hope for the best. 

I see that it’s treat time so I suppose I better get to passing those out or there will be trouble brewing.  I made a few subtle changes on the blog, hope that you like them.  Talk with you all again soon!

Yay–Friday

Good Morning!  Yesterday just got away from me.  Work kept me jumping especially in the afternoon.  Today by my schedule is a normal calm Friday, that is unless all hell breaks loose.  I plan on coasting through the day just to get to the very end.  It’s been one long and busy week.

Saw a movie earlier this week called 999, it’s about a bunch of rogue police officers who commit robberies.  I don’t remember which streaming platform I saw it on but it was decent and kept my interest. 

Caught the 2 episodes last night of Young Sheldon.  I love that kid, he always cracks me up.  It’s sad that the show is ending but I realize that it’s reached it’s natural progression and can’t go on forever.  I’m interested to see what happens with the spin off about Georgie & Mandy Cooper.  This all started from The Big Bang Theory.  That’s pretty remarkable at least to me.  I believe on Monday CBS is airing the first two episodes of Young Sheldon to pay tribute and we can all see how this started. 

Spent time with Mora & Rudy last night.  They got brushed again.  Mora was really craving the attention.  You give her a little bit and she just can’t get enough, hence her name Mora, always wanting more a this and more of that.  She has me trained pretty well.  She stared at me from 5:30p last night until I caved at 5:45p.  I told her that treats weren’t until 6p but that didn’t stop her.  Funny thing is that Rudy can be dead asleep but you say the T word and he’s up and springing to life.  It’s the funniest damn thing. 

Plans for the weekend are kind of limited to Saturday for eating out.  I plan to hit up the local breakfast place and have some of that Greek Brunch Pizza thing again.  Then off to see some friends.  Need to do some cat food shopping and figure out what I want for dinner and where to go.  Sunday is Mother’s Day and I plan to hit up a chain restaurant for breakfast.  Restaurants around here will all be packed to the gills so if I am successful at getting Breakfast out I will consider the day a success.  I will hit up the grocery store and fuel up the vehicle.  Probably not go out for supper since every place will be packed, unless I grab some KFC or something like that.  It actually sounds like a good idea.  I can taste the cole slaw now.  Love that stuff. 

Got a whole 3 days to work next week.  Thinking of finishing the back gutters on Friday by putting up the netting.  Might break out the power washer and clean the deck off, kind of depends on my mood and how I feel.  Thursday next week is reserved for a doctors appointment, just my regular 3 month check up.  I’ll probably go out to eat and loaf the bulk of the day.  Nothing like resting, it’s my favorite thing to do.

Here’s hoping that you have a great weekend.  Be safe and take care!

V-Day

Morning & Happy Valentine’s Day!

Made it home early yesterday.  The phone was blowing up on the drive home but as per usual when I got home and looked it was largely nothing but back and forth messages that required no action from me.  I still logged in to file things away and double check to make sure there wasn’t anything looming.  Then went on with my evening. 

The two furry beasts spent the day in bed yesterday.  I checked on them in the morning and the afternoon.  It was like they never moved.  However, the garage door opens, they hear it close and keys in the door.  They both greeted me at the door and weren’t crazy about moving out of the way to allow me to enter.  However, I compelled them.  One I got settled the first order of business was passing out food. 

Don’t you know they had their 3 cans of food yesterday.  An hour later when I ate supper they were both begging for food.  Funny thing is I put down a can that they passed on last time.  This time they gobbled it up like they were really starving and hadn’t been fed in days. 

My shoulder/neck was still bothering me but I sat on the couch and we spent a normal evening together.  Me passing out attention, watching TV and then passing out treats and back for more TV.  Surfed social media and back to the TV.  Then time for bed and a date with the heating pad. 

The heat felt so good on my neck and shoulders.  I felt really good when I woke up this morning but I feel some lingering pain, hopefully it will dissipate. 

Got one meeting to attend in awhile from now.  That is all that is left on my plate.  All of my other tasks have been knocked out with my early morning punch, as per usual.  I like to get things done so that I either have room for something else coming in or so I can goof off the rest of the day. 

It was a boring damn day yesterday being holed up in my office.  My work computer kept giving me problems so that made the day slightly interesting and I managed to fix it.  I installed an update to a program that didn’t play well with my system.  Had to remove the program and roll back to an earlier edition, then all was well. 

Lots of people were surprised to see me yesterday.  I was asked more than once why I was in the office.  I said because it’s Tuesday.  That evoked some laughter.  I don’t talk about my attendance much as I don’t want to spoil the good thing I have going.  I know that some day it will come to an end but for now I am riding it for all it’s worth.  We have a mandatory in person meeting next week but I will be attending remotely.  I will be in the office but I am not congregating with others mostly for the fear of COVID.  It’s back in our office and we have a few people out.  I can’t believe they have the gall to call a mandatory in person meeting.  It’s just to update us on financials, we don’t expect anything else but then again you never really know until the meeting is over.  They have these once a quarter, but the funny thing we aren’t even through with Q1 and this is a meeting about Q1.  Whacky?  I know.  Hopefully, it’s all good news. 

We had a full breakfast served yesterday with lots of hot food.  I stayed away from that as well.  I skipped that as well.  Besides that I ate at home before I came to work like I always have.  I don’t get people coming to work and then eating breakfast daily.  I can understand a rough morning and not having time for breakfast once and awhile but not as the norm.  That has always rubbed me the wrong way.  We get this ‘treat’ once a month and it always varies as to what they serve.  It’s a post pandemic benefit to promote collaboration and mental health, so you see and interact with others. 

Rudy was really on the job this morning.  I woke up around 3:30a because the internet went out and my Alexa stopped my White Noise.  Complete silence isn’t something I can stay asleep in, need some kind of noise.  Managed to get back to sleep for a little bit, then tried Alexa again around 4a.  It was back on.  Rudy came to join me and tried to coerce me out of bed but I told him it was too early.  I ignored my full bladder as well, just wanted to get back to sleep.  Rudy was back around 5:30a and again at 6a.  Where was he yesterday when I needed him to wake me at 6a?  Fast asleep.  Today he was his normal self.  He got me up 5 minutes before the alarm was going to sound.  He is always pleased to see me in the morning, I think mostly because he knows he is going to get some food.  He does this little dance while I use the bathroom and he keeps bugging me to hurry up.  Once the food is down he is calm.  He always eats first and then Mora comes in.  I usually have to call her and we eat together, but she is much quicker than me and is done long before I am even 1/2 way done. 

If it wasn’t for the news reminding me I would have forgotten all about today being Valentines Day.  I thought about it yesterday but not much.  It would be nice to have someone to celebrate the day with but I got my kisses from Mora & Rudy and I am satisfied.  Happy they are both here to keep me company and keep life interesting. 

Looking forward to having the rest of the week off.  Outside of going to see the doc tomorrow and wanting to hit up Sam’s club, I have no other plans set.  I am sure that I will manage to find some place to go or something to do but it all depends largely on how I feel.  If this neck/shoulder thing is still going on I will give in and take that Muscle Relaxer that knocks me out to bring an end to this.  I hate to be doped up and sleeping my life away but if it means an end to the pain then so be it. 

Finished off that pasta last night.  My stomach wasn’t terribly happy with me this morning about that.  Not sure what I am having for supper.  Looking forward to some hard boiled eggs for lunch. 

Have a great day and I will talk with you all again soon. 

Bored

I hope that you had a good day.  My phone, Rudy and my body all woke me up at my usual time.  I got up to feed the cats and returned to my room to watch TV and hoped to be drowsy to return to sleep.  However, that didn’t work out well for me.  I did return to bed but the cats were hogging most of it, which is normal during the day when I am normally up and working.  I knew what time I had to get moving by and did that.  I had breakfast and had to fend off Rudy who thought he was entitled to a second breakfast.  I watched a little more TV and then got my shower and left for the doctors office. 

The apps all say that it takes about a half hour to get to the doctor but my experience has been more like an hour.  I left allowing a full hour to travel.  As luck would have it for me, it started to rain just as I began my drive.  I’m not a fan of driving at night or when it’s raining.  However, I continued on my journey and arrived safe with 20 minutes to spare. 

My physician was pleased to see me and elated when I told him I lost 20 pounds.  He asked me what was different and I told him that he changed my medicine.  He asked me if my diet changed and I told him no.  For that reason alone I feared that the well controlled A1C numbers we were getting would be no more.  Sure enough the results came in a couple hours after I got home.  In June I was at 5.7%, In August 6% and today 6.4%.  Way back in January I was at 5.8%.  I haven’t heard back from him since the results were published but I know that within a few days I will get a note.  We talked about it in my visit and he said that if need be he would increase one of the 3 medicines that I am already on.  He doesn’t want me to go back to Glipizide because it is what caused the weight gain combined with my sedentary lifestyle.  The visit didn’t take very long but he always takes his time and I never feel like I have been rushed out of his office.  There have been times when we chatted for longer than 30 minutes but that is not the norm.  I also got my Cholesterol checked and it’s actually doing really well from what I see.  The Fish Oil I have been taking is working, which is good to know that I am not wasting my money. 

I made the drive back, stopped at the post office.  I had hoped that my vehicle title would be waiting for me but nope not there.  I am waiting until tomorrow and if it doesn’t surface I will be driving to the credit union to get some answers.  I really think someone fell down on the job and unless I speak up I will never get my title, despite the loan being paid off.  I need that document in order to be able to sell the vehicle.  That will happen eventually.  My new car fever isn’t going to leave me anytime soon and my goal here is to build up a reserve of cash on top of what I already have.  As long as I can keep my desire for a newer vehicle at bay then I think I will be okay. 

I came home after the doctor.  I thought about going out in a few hours for dinner but the rain kept falling and I just opted to eat the store made Mostaccioli.  I was greeted with a surprise when I got home.  One of the fake plants in the living room was turned over.  Not sure if there was a scuffle or if the cats were just playing but I knew it was one of them.  Someone also got sick so a double mess to clean up.  I also had to take out the trash, which I put off for a little bit but Mora started nagging me for supper and that’s when I took care of that task as well as feeding both cats and myself. 

It feels so good to just sit at home and do nothing.  I can talk myself into it easier than I can talking myself out of it.  I know I will feel better if I leave and get out but it’s just easy to stay here since that is what I do the majority of the time.  The cats seem to like it.  Mora drives me crazy because she turns into a Velcro cat, meaning that she is attached to me.  She wants attention, which is fine.  Then it’s food or treats.  Then enough time passes she starts bugging me for cat nip.  I love her but damn there are times when I wish she would just leave me alone.  Her brother isn’t as high maintenance as she is.  I do think she is quite happy that I took her and her brother in and is just expressing her love. 

Tomorrow is get out of the house day.  I’ve got a haircut booked because I look like a shaggy dog.  My hair grows quickly because I was blessed with a double crown.  I keep it short but after about two weeks I could use a cut but usually wait it out for 4 weeks or longer sometimes.  I plan to start my day out by going out for breakfast.  Then moving to some shopping at Target and possibly the cat food store.  I will also need to hit up the gas station my tank is just below half way and the longer I wait the more it costs.  Gas is cheap right now but who knows how long that will last for. 

One minor struggle I am having is buying a writing instrument.  It’s a piece that I have had my eye on for a long time.  It started at $300 and quickly shot up to $500.  Right now it’s at an all time low of $438.  I promised myself that would be my gift once my vehicle was paid for.  I’ve got the money to spend it’s just shelling out that kind of money for a writing instrument seems rather silly to me.  I am in to collecting and using fine writing instruments.  Rollerballs are my instrument of choice.  Fountain Pens are nice but they tend to be messy.  In the back of my mind I think that I will be punished if I buy this in that something else will go wrong and I will wish I had saved my money.  I try to buy physical things to help fill a large void in my life and noticed that pattern several years ago.  That joy it brings is very temporary and the emptiness returns, plus I will manage to think or see something else I want.  I am smarter now with my money since I am my sole support system.  However, telling myself no isn’t something that comes easy.  Yet, I still have an Amazon shopping list that I keep adding things to. 

The last writing instrument that I bought that cost what I call serious money, which is a few hundred dollars was during the pandemic.  Amazon delivered the package to the wrong address and I had to go fetch it.  That pen isn’t made any longer but is still being sold here and there, it’s appreciated a little bit in value.  I don’t trade or sell I just keep what I buy.  Who’s ever hands my collection falls into probably won’t appreciate it for the value and will probably part with it for pennies.  My favorite brand is Mont Blanc and that is what I have the most of.  I wish I had a less expensive hobby but this is more like an addiction.  I just love pens and I know I am not alone.  Regardless of sexuality there are plenty of people that have the same interest. 

If I bought everything that I really truly wanted then my bank account wouldn’t be as large as it is right now.  I like seeing the money in the bank but I also want things.  What a dilemma.  It’s just a simple money problem, to spend or save.

What I truly need money can’t or should I say shouldn’t be used to purchase.  What I truly need are friends and a companion.  That’s the void I am trying to fill.  I know it and trying to fix it all is overwhelming.  I just wish I wasn’t all alone.  Wishing won’t make the problem go away.  I also don’t want to get hurt or argue with anyone and I know that is just part of life.  There is good and bad in every situation.  I’m not happy and haven’t been for a very long time.  I still manage to go on and hope that a dumb dating app will help me and if not that the few times I’ve outright asked a guy out.  If they say yes they never follow through and that makes me wonder what am I doing wrong. 

Well, we solved one problem I am not bored anymore since I’ve been pecking away.  I need to wrap things up, get ready for bed, watch some porn and hope that my insomnia leaves me alone so that I can follow through with my plans for tomorrow.  I haven’t peeked at work email but I will need to do that tomorrow night because I will be back on call starting on Saturday.  I don’t plan on staying home all day, so I hope that people leave me alone. 

Here’s hoping for a great Friday and weekend for all.  Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your visit.  Take care and be well.      

It’s November

Not sure about you but I am glad it’s November.  Were closer to Thanksgiving!  That a holiday I can get behind – eating something I love to do already.  I’ve not heard from my Turkey Friends (aka Thanksgiving Friends) and I haven’t made any reservations.  For the past couple years when it comes to this time of year I am ready to tell them to fly away.  If they invite me I will probably go over just because but it’s tempting to stay home.  I get tired of hearing the same old stories and seeing their clergy and the dog they bring along.  I liked it much more when it was just us and there was only a neighbor or two that stopped by.  Now they are trying to impress their pastor, his wife and their kids and it’s just gotten out of control.  This started as our tradition but has quickly become something else and I am just not happy about it.  I can’t really say much since it’s a free meal and typically it comes from a favorite restaurant, so it’s not like anything is going to be bad.  This year I am hell bent on just staying silent unless I am called upon, something I haven’t done in years past.  If it all comes together, great and if not well then aw shucks. 

I look forward to the grocery store putting out single holiday meals, that is usually good enough for me but their dressing isn’t anything that I truly enjoy. 

Another cold night and the neighborhood was mostly dark again but everyone was at the parade so no worries about kids roaming around.  The cats and I just sat around and watched TV, hoping that the phone didn’t chirp and it was mostly quiet.  There were a couple of emails but nothing that needed immediate attention, which I was thankful for. 

I’m still having some issues with my external drive that houses my porn archive.  I downloaded a utility to repair it but that caused my desktop to hang.  I wound up installing it on my laptop and it’s running there with no issues.  Very strange but there is more security on my desktop since it’s my primary machine. 

Had some Chicken Noodle Soup and two Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches for supper last night.  Not bad but it left me wanting more.  I resisted but I kept hearing a Churro Ice Cream bar calling my name.  I plan to have that tonight and it will probably be just as good as it would have been last night.  I see the scale starting to tip in the wrong direction and that’s not what I want.  I don’t feel lighter at all but 16 pounds is a good start for doing nothing other than not taking a drug that promoted weight gain.  My fear is that my sugar will be out of control and my doc will have me start to start back up on that drug but in a small amount.  It did a great job at controlling my sugar but since being off it, I have only had 1 time where I felt my sugar drop and the need to eat food.  I see the doc the week after Thanksgiving so who knows what the scale will say then. 

I saw a joke the other day that said the human body is 80% water, if that’s true then I am not fat, I am flooded.  I’m telling that one to the doctor just to see his reaction. 

It’s lunch time so off I go to eat some PB&J and be with the furry kids.  Here’s hoping that the rest of the week will be largely uneventful for me, not looking for any drama or problems.  Stay warm and be well. 

Rest of the weekend

Morning – Just a recap of how the rest of my weekend went. 

Friday … I was supposed to get a replacement gas shock installed for my hood.  The part didn’t come in but instead of calling & telling me, my friends made me drive out.  They are supposed to call or text when the part shows up, but I am not holding my breath.  With parts and the supply chain it’s all one big gamble.  What is available today isn’t tomorrow.  Then to add insult to injury we didn’t wind up going to lunch.  That was really disappointing.  Especially because it was tough to get motivated to get out of the house.  It was one of those days when I just wanted to be lazy.  I also had breakfast out but asked for 1 less pancake but got charged as if I had 3 instead of the 2.  That wasn’t fair but no point in arguing over it. 

Saturday … Wow this is kind of tough trying to recall the past few days.  I went to Red Lobster for a bite to eat and to grab the mail.  I made it a lupper meal but had it around 3:30p  They weren’t busy and I was able to get right in and get a table.  Biscuits seemed extra good.  Wish I would have had a Pina Colada.  I didn’t really do anything else but veg with the cats.  Morea got sick. 

Sunday … Made it to breakfast, Target, The Grocery Store & The Cat Food Store, time for Hairball food.  They seem to enjoy it.  Then had McDonald’s as a treat for supper.  It wasn’t good for me but boy was it good.  Got the trash taken out, water fountain changed, toothbrushes changed and litter boxes filled with fresh litter.  Spent a lot of time with the cats.  They enjoyed it.

Not super excited about being back at work.  Already managed to point out some mistakes my co-worker has made.  I am caught up, was surprised but this time after being gone for 2 days I only had 88 emails to come back to and a good portion of that was nothing but trash.  I am going to head up in a bit for an orange break and to see the cats.  I’ve seen our Groundhog the past few days (morning, afternoon and evening).  I should call the trap guy back but honestly I don’t want to mess with him, since it seems like he’s more after my money than he is the groundhog. 

We got rain yesterday and I was caught in it during a couple of my ventures out.  It was amazing that I could park in the garage, go out not even 30 minutes later and the humidity was so high the car was bone dry.  There were still puddles on the ground.  It was HOT yesterday. 

Good old Amazon has changed their shipping from UPS to their own carrier for prescriptions.  I’ve got some new medicine and had the doc send it there because it would be cheaper.  Of course they have managed to screw up the delivery.  Some how it wound up in the wrong carriers stream but not until it got close to me.  Now it will be days before I get this.  I was supposed to have it on Saturday.  I was told yesterday afternoon that I should get an email today letting me know when it will arrive.  They did offer to cancel the order but that means I would have had to the doc call it in to a local pharmacy and then shell out more money than if I was just patient and wait.  It’s not life sustaining but it’s something new I wanted to try.  I’d like to get it today but I think it’s probably a safer bet to say that I will have it mid-week.  I need to place another Amazon order but I honestly don’t want to.  I hate shipping mess ups.  UPS is the one carrier that has the best success rate for me, but they aren’t perfect.  It would be nice if they switched back but I know that won’t happen, the long term plan always was to migrate away from UPS for shipping.  Truly sad for me. 

This is a 5 day work week for me.  My boss is working from his childhood home visiting his mom.  That will last for a week.  Then he should be off on vacation for either 1 or 2 weeks.  That will be super great.  This weekend is a 3 day weekend, since next Monday is Juneteenth.  One more holiday next month and were done until September.  Speaking of which I timed my next doctors visit to co-inside with the Labor Day weekend and my Birthday.  I will have a 5 day weekend to look forward to then.  I still have gobs of time to burn so I will need to put in for a week or two.  Part of me wants to get a dumpster and clean this place up.  The other part of me wants to travel.  I also have a great idea of just pissing a week away and lounging around the house. 

I think it’s going to be a long day because it’s kind of quiet.  That’s okay by me, at least I am no longer on-call.  My 2 week journey of hell is done.  Something I never want to repeat.  Here’s hoping it is a great day & week for all of us.  Talk with you all again soon. 

The Doctor

My visit today was really quick, everyone was on their A game.  I spent as much time as I needed with the doctor and it didn’t feel like I was being rushed along.  I managed to remember everything I wanted to talk about.  I’ve gained some weight since last time, only 4 pounds but it’s going the wrong direction.  Turns out one of the medicines I take to control my blood sugar is preventing me from loosing weight.  The solution is to switch drugs but were talking to an injectable, even though it’s only 1 time a week the thought doesn’t thrill me.  Plus all of the injectables are brand name and that means money.  I am going to check to see what insurance will pay and then if there are any rebate programs.  I may make the switch.  The doc said that these medicines actually promote weight loss and were talking like 50 pounds pretty quick.  That would for sure make me happier. 

Speaking of happiness we talked about my depression and how I think that some day the cats won’t be enough of a deterrent.  He’s worried about me.  He talked about maybe switching up my anti-depression meds to something old school.  It would help with my insomnia but those meds also promote weight gain.  So it’s kind of a double edge sword.  I talked about being institutionalized and told him that isn’t something that I want.  He said no one looks forward to it.  The up side is the time off from work but the downside is your locked up.  I told him that I am smart enough to know when to call for help. 

What I was encouraged to do is to get out more.  Make some friends, go for a walk – occupy myself but with things that involve others.  Potentially going into the office more often than I do.  I get it those things will help me feel better.  When I am around other people that know me and I interact with them I tend to feel better so it’s not a surprise that he suggested that.  I’d love to follow his advice but the making friends part is a bit on the difficult side. 

I didn’t really spend any money today.  I ate both of my meals at home.  I thought about going out and potentially hitting up some friends but wound up taking a nap with the cats.  Watching TV and just relaxing. 

Tomorrow I will for sure be getting out to get my car worked on, hopefully going to lunch.  I might even go out for breakfast.  I wanted to hit up the movies but show times didn’t really work out for me.  Hopefully I either can work it into the weekend or what I want to see comes to being available at home.  I’ve got to for sure get to Target I am low on cat treats.  Morea needs some hairball food, it’s the next step to trying to combat her throwing up.  I brushed her last night, just her and it looked like I brushed three cats.  There was a lot of fur.  I had a thought to get her to the vet for a bath and shedding treatment, that would probably do her a world of good but I don’t know that she would tolerate it well and I don’t know how much actual fur she would loose.  I know she would smell funny and that isn’t a good thing. 

Hope you had a great day.  I am headed back to the TV.  Hopefully, I get some decent sleep tonight, that wasn’t the cast last night but I did have a soda like 30 minutes before I went to bed.  Not a great idea.  Tonight it’s all water.  I want soda and sugar but I am trying to “be good”. 

Oh my blood work also came back hours after I got home.  I was surprised it’s never done that fast.  A1C is 5.8% which is good.  All of the other levels that were measured are well within tolerance.  I had him check my Thyroid, it just barely squeaked by into the normal range. 

Talk with you all again.  Be well and try to stay cool.     

WHAT A MESS

THURSDAY … I saw the doctor. Minimal wait time and a decent visit. First time w/o a mask in 3 years, that felt so good. I talked about my exhaustion in that if I sit still for any length of time I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat and have no control over it. It doesn’t happen when I am busy or concentrating on anything. I talked about my feet, they turn light purple when I first go to get up and moving in the morning. It’s been that way for a bit and I have neglected to mention it but this time I wrote things down ahead of time. Like an old person who forgets things. It’s very helpful. We talked about Testosterone and I got my level checked. That could account for a lot of symptoms I have and have been having for a while.

I came home to see the cats afterwards. Rested up a bit and then made my trip to the hardware store. They didn’t have an exact match. I got some jerry-rigged thing and dropped a fair amount of money. I got two just in case I got the hot side in and the cold side went out. Then I came back home.

Spent more time with the cats and then I opted to venture out for supper. It was not a very good meal. To top it off it was raining and dark when I left the restaurant. I happened to turn my head as I was driving, it was the wrong time. I hit something metal that was in the roadway. That of course caused concern that I did some damage. Thankfully, I didn’t see anything.

Once I got home, I reviewed my doctors’ notes and my after-care summary. I saw that he noted that I had a 1+ pulse in my leg. The number and plus sign were in red, which caused some concern. I did some research and that’s not the # for a pulse that you want. A 2+ seems to be normal and if you just finished a run or a workout then a 3+. 1+ means that it’s weak and varies. That would explain why my feet turn purple. However, when he felt for a pulse it was mid-afternoon and I was sitting down. My feet have bothered me a little bit but now that I saw this 1+ thing I am hypersensitive. From the Google Machine it sounds like I have PAD (Peripheral Artery Disease). If you fuck with this and let it go you can lose your limbs. My doctor didn’t officially diagnose me with this. From what I see on the net it sounds like I need to see a vascular surgeon and have some testing done and may need a stent placed to fully restore blood flow. As you can imagine it has caused some worry on my part. I don’t want to lose limbs regardless if it's legs or arms. I need what I was born with and prefer that they all stay functional.

I bought a supplement that was delivered to my door on Friday morning. Its L-Arginine and it’s supposed to help with blood flow and vascular function. It’s been used to help treat ED and my hope is that it helps with my feet. I’m using my massager on my waist, legs and feet at night time. Trying to walk a bit more which they say will help, any kind of exercise that involves movement. I’m also going to be adding in some additional krill oil, I’m on an Omega 3 supplement (fish oil) but it hasn’t really helped with my Cholesterol. My hope is that it will help get some of the build up of plaque out of my legs. There’s no question with limited blood flow that it’s from Atherosclerosis. If it’s in my legs it’s in my body and over time it raises your risk factors for heart attack and stroke. The blood doesn’t flow as well, the heart has to work harder and in some cases the heart enlarges. It is just not pretty. Look I know were all dying but I am trying to turn things around and find some happiness, if I fail then fine beam me up otherwise give me a chance to see if I can find love & happiness. 51 going on 52 is not an age that I want to die at.

I do plan on pressing my doctor for his thoughts since he really didn’t say anything to me in person. It’s uncommon if there is/was a concern that he wouldn’t say something. If things get worse I will for sure get to an ER. I’m not looking for emergency surgery, I mean if I am going to have to have a procedure I prefer to schedule it vs having it done on demand because it’s critical.

FRIDAY … It was a very cold and rainy day. The kind of day where you just want to go back to bed. Yep, that’s what I did. It felt so good and the cats of course joined me. We watched TV for the bulk of the day. I ventured out for a haircut and had plans to do other things afterwards but it was so cold I just wanted to get back home. I ventured out a bit later for Wendy’s Chili & a Burger really sounded good and it hit the spot.

I came down and tried to put the water softener back together. I tried the old hose as well as the new jerry-rigged thing I purchased. Both leaked and I gave up and walked away. Time to call a plumber, which is what I didn’t want to have to do but chances are good that I would be back up and running and way less frustrated. All I need is for the hose to be fixed, turn on the water to ensure it doesn’t leak, then I can purchase salt and I will be back in business. I got a recommendation from a friend on who to call and I will be checking in to that during the week. I can only imagine that this is going to cost me easily a couple hundred dollars.

SATURDAY … I was determined to get back to Cracker Barrel just to see if ‘the guy’ was still working there and what if any reaction I’d get from him. Turns out yes, he is still working there and I got a hello but nothing more. He wasn’t my waiter. I was kind of hoping that he would be my waiter so that I could ask him if his phone was broken. I also thought about going off on him. I’m not very pleased with him and he did hurt me. I didn’t expect him to turn out to be a dud/flake/chain yanker but turns out he said yes but never followed through and it’s not going to happen. I’ve given up on him. I don’t plan on going back for a while it was nice to see him but also kind of painful. After that I drove to my friends place to have them check out my car just to be sure there wasn’t anything wrong and thankfully no damage. I stayed much longer than I planned and we had a great time. I made plans to go to lunch on the 10-year anniversary date that is coming up of my spouses passing. Since I got a yes, I took that Monday & Tuesday off. It’s my next turn to be on-call but fuck it, you can work without me for 2 days and then I will come back, dig out and life will go on. Were getting into busy time so after this I don’t have anything else on the books at the moment. Of course, if I have a health need, I will deal with that.

Came home spent more time with the cats. Turns out Rudy is a trash digger. He much like Momma likes Q-Tips. He was playing with one in my bed. The only place they exist are in the bathroom trash can so he had to dig it out. I’m not happy about that but glad that I learned so now I will have to start disposing of my dental floss in the kitchen. I don’t want either one of them getting into that and thinking it’s string and something to play with. Q-Tips don’t bother me at all but I do keep my eye on him when he is playing with it.

I had a mailbox full of election cards, invites to church services and it was all junk mail. I got to throw it all away at the post office. Then hit up a local Mexican place that I haven’t been to in a while. The food was okay but it seems that it is now greasy Mexican. I wanted to stick close to home since I’ve been running around a lot. Hit up the Hallmark Store, my doctor lost his dog and we chatted about that. Then I hit up a car wash and came home.

SUNDAY – plans. Wake up early hit up the new breakfast place, hit up Target and the grocery store. Stop by the gas station to fill up. Then home, laundry & cleaning the house. I’ve not peeked or had the desire to peek at my inbox at work. That will be a complete surprise on Monday morning which I don’t look forward to but hell I knew it was coming, that’s the only part that sucks with taking time off, you have to go back eventually. I plan to venture into the office this week at least 1 day. All of this sitting around and not moving has worked to my detriment with packing on the pounds and now my leg and who knows what else. I need to get active but that requires energy and motivation which I lack. I’ve got a treadmill and I do have intentions of trying to move more be it on that or just getting out on a nice day and going for a walk. I hope that my intentions turn into a reality, I really don’t want surgery or to lose a limb.

This is my first time in front of a computer since I walked away on Wednesday afternoon. There was plenty of porn to download, who knows when I will watch it. I’ve got quite the backlog but it’s nice to know that there is fresh content. After this it will be time to venture back up, wind things down for the night, watch some TV & relax. Sunday morning will be here and Rudy will be making biscuits soon. He tried that this morning to wake me up and when it didn’t quite work, he curled up next to my head but kept his distance and just waited on me. He’s got a quiet motor where you just barley detect a purr. Morea has the loud motor like all of Momma’s family but she is more like gravy in that once she gets comfortable in a spot she doesn’t want to move unless it’s necessary. Once Rudy has done his job of waking me up then she rises and it’s a race to see who can get to the kitchen first.

I hope all is well in your life and that you haven’t missed me too much. Thanks for stopping by. Talk with you all again soon.

Medicine Man

Happy Thursday!  One more day and then were back at another weekend.  Last night I had Pepperoni Pizza Mac & Cheese, added a couple light dabs of hot sauce.  It wasn’t bad and had some zing to it.  I finished with an Oreo Ice Cream Bar which was enough to cool down my mouth.  Rudy tried to take it away from me but he never had a chance.  I’m guessing someone introduced him to Ice Cream considering he goes nuts when I have any.  He looks so sweet when he begs but I can say no to that face, it’s something that I’ve learned over the years.  It’s difficult at times but it’s all about making an informed decision that is for the benefit of the animal. 

We watched some recorded TV to help empty out the DVR.  It was an okay evening.  I got my Social Media hour and the cats did their usually sleeping routine.  I got a shower, left the curtain open because I knew as soon as the door was open Rudy would want to jump in.  He was curious about it but didn’t jump in.  I closed the curtain and that seemed to make him even more curious. 

I got super sleepy and went to bed by 10p.  There were storms overnight that woke me up.  Rudy wanted food when I got up in the middle of the night or so I think.  he was crying for something but I don’t know him well enough yet to know exactly what he wants.  I just ignored him and went back to bed.  He was climbing all over me just before it was time to get up so I let him do that and then I got up. 

I knew it would be a bit of a crazy morning and I was right.  I just took it one task at a time.  Eventually I got caught up.  Then I got some bad news about a solution that I had put in place to solve a problem, turns out it created another problem.  Now things are going to get super complicated but I suppose that is the way it goes.  It’s about people thinking they are special and not wanting to have to do extra work but who cares how much extra work it causes me, no one. 

In checking my email I saw that Amazon got a new prescription for me.  I didn’t ask for anything but the Dr.’s office took the liberty of calling in some Sudafed for me.  That voided out the old refill I had that I was all set to purchase.  Now I’ve got to wait for Amazon to sort it out before I can refill it.  If I go off of what they are saying it’s like they no longer are able to fill the script but I am hopeful that by giving them a little bit of time that this will sort it’s self out. 

I am not so in love with the new Pharmacy Benefit that my insurance chose for me.  Before all of this everything I take except for my sleeping med was able to be auto refilled.  Now only part of the medicine I take is able to be auto refilled.  So I have to police this.  I am so not happy about it.  I requested a refill of 2 medicines they are of course hung up at the doctors office.  I don’t think they actually contact my doctors office but rather just say they did.  Normally refills if submitted properly are authorized within 24 to 48 hours.  I had to send a special message to get these refills taken care of.  What a mess. 

I checked on that mystery package and it for sure is my UPS batteries.  Not exactly sure why I have to sign for it but whatever.  They told Amazon that it shipped and the carrier picked up the package.  However, the FedEx app says that the label was created.  It’s supposed to be a 1 day delivery so I’ll just have to keep an eye on it as to when it actually ships.  My hope was to have it by tomorrow but something tells me it won’t surface until next week. 

As I’m typing this out I just got a pop up on my phone, looks like my local pharmacy is filling the Sudafed prescription, apparently Amazon can’t or won’t fill it.  That kind of sucks.  I don’t like going to the pharmacy.  Especially for this because I hear all the time you don’t need a prescription for this if you take it as directed.  Yeah well I tried that once and State law won’t let me have it w/o a prescription.  I am miserable without it so I will jump through some hoops to get it.  Not exactly what I want to do but as long as I have it, that is what matters to me.  I’d much rather prefer a 90 day supply to keep me out of the pharmacy but I can hammer that one out at my next visit. 

For curiosity purposes I did price a ticket to Charlie’s show.  Good seating in the shade is about $200 and that’s semi-close to the stage.  That’s a lot of money for an hour or two of music.  Even if it’s live.  However, I am a huge fan so I’d probably pay that but then you have to deal with all of the surcharges they tack on and by the time your done it’s way past $200.  Again I’ve got no plans to go and I’m a little sad about it but it will be okay. 

I am headed up for a quick break.  Today’s gather and set out the trash day.  It’s cold, rainy and just not a good day to be outside.  I’ll get the job done but I am in no hurry.  I’ve really got nothing going until later this afternoon when I have to sit through a meeting that hopefully won’t last more than 30 minutes.  Then I can move freely about the cabin or so I hope. 

The cats hear the basement door open even though it doesn’t make a sound.  They race to meet me it’s like I am coming home from being away but with a lot more fan fare.  When I come home from being out Rudy meets me at the door.  Morea sits and waits for me to find and say hello to her, it’s like she doesn’t care that I am back.  They do keep life interesting around here but I am looking forward to getting out over the weekend. 

Hope all is well in your world.  Talk with you all again soon! 

 

Cat Dad Again

Hello and welcome back for another ride on my adventure train!

I had some problems sleeping last night, over the prospective cats.  My mattress topper moved and I wound up sleeping in an odd position so my neck hurts.  Terrific just how I wanted to go through the day. 

I made it to the doctor and as my luck would have it, he was running behind.  It’s okay I took the day off work so other than having a full bladder I was okay.  I finally got to see him and as overwhelmed as I was I managed to forget to tell him 2 key items.  At least I remembered the most important thing that was my medicine list and what needs to be refilled since my Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) changed.  They sent me like 5 or 6 emails call your doctors office, your order was cancelled.  I saw that as I was waiting for the nurse to come get me and walk me to the lab.  I thought to myself what timing, at least I have nothing to call about because he is going to submit all new prescriptions. 

I was actually kind of surprised I was allowed to leave based on some of my statements to the doctor about not wanting to go on with life and not really having a reason to get out of bed.  However, the cat adoption thing might be what saved me.  The doctor said that cats seem to be therapeutic for me and that I should consider at some point getting at least one more. 

Later in the afternoon I had the 2nd meet and greet.  The lady said you actually showed up that is a good sign.  I guess some people are no call/show.  I was raised differently.  That is a mortal sin at least by the standards I was raised by.  I was quite transparent with all of my issues and concerns.  I managed to get out of the home visit and can pick them up from the pet store but I need to send the lady a photo of them in my home.  We agreed that 1 to 2 weeks should be enough time to make a final decision.  Both cats were all over me, which is not typical for them.  I got my face and hand washed.  I so miss that.  They each got a 3 year rabies shot and they aren’t due for another one until November.  There is no reason to go to the vet unless I want to or of course if they have a problem.  My name is going to be primary on their microchip and the shelter will be a secondary contact, that covers if I happen to drop dead all of a sudden or get seriously ill.  I can give them back at anytime for any reason.  The lady even said that she would come to my house to feed them if I really wanted to travel.  I’d probably board them or have a friend come over.

The adoption is set for the early morning hours on Saturday.  We were going to schedule it for tomorrow but since it’s Friday the 13th she didn’t think it was such a good idea, but I told her it’s a date.  I forgot about going back on-call but chances are low that anything will come in and if it does whatever it is will have to wait until I get home unless I can punt it to a co-worker.  I have no worries. 

I only plan to tell a select few people the news and want to keep it under wraps as long as I can.  I just feel funny about telling people as if it will jinx me.  I have no plans to give them back but still I am going to fully use the 2 week trial plan just the same..

It wasn’t as difficult as I thought to finally throw out the old litter.  I am sad a little bit about it but I knew it wasn’t going to be something I hung onto forever.  It might sound strange but I took a photo before I touched the box so I could memorialize the way Gator’s paws were in the litter.  I haven’t done that for any other cat. 

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me, lots to do to get ready for these beasts to come home.  I need to go buy food, treats and look at bowls.  We used a feeder for dry food here but it did draw in the ants.  Considering I have the exterminator coming I am not terribly worried about it but will ensure that he uses the same care he has with Gator.

I have lots of mixed emotions right now and part of me thinks what the hell did you just do.  The other part of me is like yes were getting 2 cats.  I hope that they adjust and we can all be comfortable here.  We will have a full 3 days before I have to return to active work and then I am working from home for 1 day.  I will worry about them when I go in on Wednesday but I know I will look forward to coming home to them, just like I would when I came home to Gator. 

I like being all alone for the freedom and I will enjoy being all alone while it lasts.  I did almost walk away from them but just couldn’t bring myself to do it.  No one else has inquired about them which was really a shock because everyone sees them, they seem so interested.  I guess this is the universes way of telling me it’s going to work out and things will be okay.  As long as things work out for them, hopefully I can meet a Mr. Right and my life can turn a different direction as my luck changes. 

Looking forward to my massage tomorrow hoping that I can get rid of all of my knots.  Need a bit of time to chill and then I am headed to bed.  Here’s hoping that I can turn my brain off and get some much needed rest.  Regardless of what lies ahead morning seems to always come around fast. 

Hope all is well.  I will keep you posted on how things are going.