Happy Thanksgiving!

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I like this stripped-down cover of the Neil Young classic

Really? The Librarian Missed This?

Worst thing about being off work for 3 months: They went and had an honest-to-God Scholastic Book Fair while I was gone. 🙁

Here's hoping they do it again. At the old building, we'd occasionally have a group called Books are Fun come by and sell books and various curiosities, but this was actually Scholastic itself.

I am so jealous.

Back to work and it was exhausting

Officially back at work. I worked two days, our lighter days at work, Thursday and Friday, while the temp who had filled in with me was still here. Thursday morning, I got up at 5:30 because I was afraid I'd oversleep (I set four alarms five minutes apart) and took most of what I'd brought home in July back in two rucksacks, one on my back, and one rolling bookbag.) I spent the morning watching a four-hour video training that was engaging. That afternoon. Then Kathryn (the temp, an excellent person who is going to come volunteer with us and once she can, hopes to come back and work for us. Everyone really liked her. Plus, she knows about Sarah Millican (the comedienne) and Cthulhu. She's read 71 books so far this year, which blows my reading challenge completely out of the water), and I took turns at the computer. After work, I did many errands, and by 10:45, I went into the bedroom, took my meds, got into bed, but didn't fall asleep till right before midnight, as I was still a little wound up. Friday I woke up on my own at 5:20 so I decided to go ahead and get up, I went to Kroger, got some things for lunch like peanut butter and jam (but forgot the bread, so wound up eating fig newtons and popcorn) and a couple of plants for work, and went into work a little early (I got there about a half an hour early, so I took an amazingly long time in the store, apparently.

Anyway, again, Kathryn and I took turns, covered each other's breaks, etc. Almost everything is the same. The only real surprise is that I am now a headquarters employee who clocks in and out, including for lunch, on the computer, which is taking some getting used to. But that will come pretty quickly. I also got my flu shot today. I learned I needed to stand more, maybe while I'm folding letters to go out, because it'll keep my legs from swelling, but also they hurt after a while if I don't. Plus, my watch makes a happy noise if I get up. It tries to tell me to get up every 45 minutes anyway, although I tend to ignore it. I will not be controlled by my machine overlord.

I left early this afternoon to go to PT, had a good session, including being able to do bridges for the first time in ages [arching the back by putting up the knees and putting all your weight on the shoulders], and doing 60 step ups (30 on each leg) which is amazing, giving I haven't been able to do steps in years. That's stepping up and down on one foot and down, but doing three sets of ten x 2 when you're not used to doing it is quite a workout. I then took the bus to my car (I'd taken the shuttle from the parking garage next to our building down the street to PT after changing from my jeans to shorts since he'd need to get to my incision for the massage part of the session). I came home, had a couple of things to do here, went to get dinner from Bourbon n' Toulouse, but went to the Sharkey Way location, even though it is across town and I hadn't been there before, because it has better parking (it actually just opened a drive through) and a vegetarian dish that the main Chevy Chase location doesn't have.

I went, got the food, and made a terrible mistake. I came back through downtown. I don't know what was going on at Rupp Arena, but the event caused a lot of traffic that didn't open up till I got onto Fontaine Road and then Chinoe. I was in bumper-to-bumper traffic. All told, I think the trip took an hour. The town's not that big.

We ate Sabbath dinner. I saved half of mine for today. I was so tired and uncomfortable. It was hard to finish. Afterwards, I took care of the dishes (my main chore, since he normally is the one who cooks), and then took my meds and collapsed into bed, exhausted, and I lasted 5 minutes, had trouble setting an alarm for tomorrow, and then I was gone. I woke up about 4:30 am and went to the bathroom, got a banana and some water, and got on the computer for just a bit. I'm going back to bed for a couple more hours.

I did snap a picture of myself in the break room in my new employee-appreciation gift t-shirt. It was supposed to be royal blue, and this was substituted, and while I look best in royal blue, I love this colour. Anyway, it's nice to be back, it's nice to see people again. But I'm glad Kathryn was here, and that I could ease into work this week. I hope I can do okay next week as I'll be back on my own. Goodness, I was so tired last night.

#14

I just read an entire book from my list in the last three hours, and I'm crying.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi [New York: Random House, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-/129-8840-6] chronicles the abrupt change in his life as a senior neurosurgical resident who is diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. It was very meaningful and well-written. Paul died in 2015, and the book was published posthumously. In it, he examines both questions of what it is to be alive and to be dying and his own experiences with both. It was very moving.

#13

Neurodiversity for Dummies by John Marble, Khushboo Chabria, and Ranga Jayaraman. Wiley, 2024. 324 pp.

I really liked this because it provided a great overview from a neurodivergent-friendly angle (at least one, and possibly two, of the authors have neurodivergent differences) of a group of conditions that included not only autism and ADHD, but also dyslexia, dyspraxia, and dyscalculia, as well as some comorbidities. It is for those with neurodifferences, as well as parents/caregivers, teachers, managers, human resources, and anyone trying to understand and interact, making things better for people who live in a world that wasn't designed for them but who have valuable abilities to bring to the table. It is very readable, like most of the 'for Dummies' books (I hate the titles, but the series is great), and covers a lot, but isn't an onerous read [which is great if you have ADHD]. It covers a lot of misconceptions, and also a lot of coping skills that neurodivergent people have used that then cause them problems later in life. It covers issues with relationships, whether platonic, romantic, or familial, workplace issues, school challenges at all levels, and becoming your own advocate. It covers building communities and finding others who 'get' you. And it covers learning to figure out how other people think and how the things you find tedious, like small talk, or don't understand, like innuendo or implication, play an important part in social interaction. (For example, autistic people often will not socialise with others unless explicitly invited, even though the others thought their implication was sufficient. Or, they may not realise that the nice person who picks up the tab for dinner thinks they are dating. One of the authors had this experience. I feel so much better about myself for doing this, not once but twice.)

Anyway, since I have 13 out of a goal of 15, I'm ahead for the year, which is good, as I go back to work Thursday and I won't have as much time to read. Even with the time I've had, I haven't gotten through all the other library books I've checked out.  Here's what I have out right now:

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet and Action Plans: 4-week meal plans to heal the immune system and restore overall health by Dorothy Calimeris 

Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Dummies by Artemis Morris 

Anti-Inflammatory eating made easy: nutrition plan and 75 recipes for a healthier body by Michelle Babb 

Autism Adulthood: insights and creative strategies for a fulfilling life by Susan Senator 

Confident Coding: learn how to code and master the essentials by Rob Percival 

DASH Diet for Dummies by Sarah Samaan 

E-Z Spanish by Ruth J. Silverstein 

The Electricity of Every Living Thing: a woman's walk in the wild to find her way home by Katherine May 

Enjoy German by Heiner Schenke 

German for Dummies by Wendy Foster 

Gut Feelings: healing the shame-fueled relationship between what you eat and how you feel by Will Cole 

Hebrew for the Rest of us: using Hebrew tools to study the Old Testament by Lee M. Fields 

How to be Human: an autistic man's guide to life by Jory Fleming 

A Little Less Broken: how an autism diagnosis finally made me whole by Marian Schembari 

Mind Your Gut: the science-based, whole-body guide to living well with IBS by Kate Scarlata 

Off the Spectrum: why the science of autism has failed women and girls by Gina Rippon 

On Book Banning: or, how the new censorship consensus trivializes art and undermines democracy by Ira Wells 

The Pattern Seekers: how autism drives human invention by Simon Baron-Cohen 

Take Control of Your IBS: everything you need to know to feel better by Kirsten Jackson 

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi 

The White Storm: how racism poisoned American democracy by Martin Gelin 

Plus, I have two on hold: 

The trouble of color: an American family memoir by Martha S. Jones 

Unmasked: the ultimate guide to ADHD, autism and neurodivergence by Ellie Middleton

My roommate says I'm hoarding books, and he's right. I've had some of these out for a while. So I'm going to go through a lot, especially the diet books, and see what I can do to take some back before Thursday. Most of those are recipes, anyway.

But, hey, I'm up to 13; that's better than a book a month. Since I struggle to read these days, that's good. And while my roommate came up with the answer a long time ago, this puts it succinctly. It's probably why I do mostly non-fiction now. I spent my entire childhood wrapped up in fantasy books and a fantasy world. I got pulled out kicking and screaming from that world in my 20s, and I needed to be, but I've never quite recaptured that immersive story, the magic, while being firmly grounded in reality again, at least not like it was.

Wow...a keiki!

So if you've been around me in the last few years you know I grow orchids. Well, I had one I'd gotten a cut rate that stil had some blooms on it that bloomed for some time, and the stems stayed green for a long time (one still is), so I didn't cut them back, as stems can sometimes branch off and bud from there.

What I did not expect was this. I have a stem that had turned partly brown, and I'd meant to cut that part back because it was a little unsightly, but hadn't, and now there is a keiki, or orchid baby on it. It might be hard to see against the African violet behind it, but it's there. Now, keikis are sometimes meant with dread because they often indicate the parent plant is stressed and may be about to die. I'll check on it. It does have new leaves coming out, too, so that's a good sign. I'll check the root system and make sure all is well. It doesn't mean a death sentence. And those stems had come from the base, which is good. Phaelenopsis do make keikis that aren't death knells. But I've never had one before, so I'm a little excited. 😀🥰😁🙃

#12

The DASH Diet Mediterranean Solution: The Best Eating Plan to Control Your Weight and Improve Your Health for Life by Marla Heller. Grand Central Publishing, 2018. 272 pp. ISBN: 9781538715253.

I liked this so much that while I checked it out as an e-book from the library, I've ordered a copy from Better World Books to have for myself. Although it does have some intriguing recipes, it is mainly a discussion of the basics of both eating philosophies (I hate using the word diet, as it's so loaded, but yes, diets), but as a mashup of both, including meal planning suggestions that are not just here's what to eat but what type of food to plug into in a way that I haven't seen done as well in other books.

Despite my weight loss to be honest, I haven't learned to eat as well as I should. These two plans are considered among the healthiest of all diet plans and are good for lifelong health. Also, they're good for pescetarians, actually founded in that type of eating primarily, although people can eat lean meats as well. I'm looking forward to getting my copy, plus, unlike Amazon, BWB donates a book each time you buy one, plus I donated $1 to their literacy programme and another to another book-related charity.

Since I had revised my goal to a more realistic 15 books for this year, I may very well reach that goal. Yay!

Things seem a bit empty...

I haven't been on Facebook much lately, but I should have said, part of my bedroom is now empty because they came and took the ROMTech bike away the day before yesterday. That part of my therapy is now over. It's been a big part of my day for three months now, so it's weird. But I have more floorspace. 😀

After the rain...comes rainbows

Yesterday I did a whole slew of errands, which meant driving in heavy rain, which I find nerve-wracking, almost the whole day. Finally, at 5:42 PM, while I was going to get my holds at the Tates Creek branch of the Lexington Public Library, I was rewarded. It immediately disintegrated after I took this, so I was lucky. 🥰🌈

I stopped at the circulation desk and asked if they wanted a copy. The librarian gave me her work email, so I sent it to her.