Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Beware the Ides of March

which has nothing to do with this post, other than the fact that it is, indeed, the Ides of March today. Personally, I think the day to beware is April 19th--the Romans had two of their most stunning defeats on that day (they lost one emperor in a bog, another was killed, stuffed, and put up in a temple, at least according to my Classical History professor). That's also the day of Waco, the Oklahoma City bombing...well, you get the picture.

Anyway, have I mentioned lately how much I love my doctor, Dr Nesbitt? He's always so nice (perhaps because he's Canadian?) and really treats me as a person, plus he has a great sense of humour, and he knows what it's like to deal with weight problems. He was quite excited that I'd lost four pounds in a couple of weeks since my last visit; the metformin should help me lose some weight. I got the lab work back and I'm definitely diabetic, with a hemoglobin A1C of 7.1 (the norm is about 5.0), so he upped my metformin but kept it in the little pills I take twice a day, rather than giving the once-a-day kind that are more expensive and the size of a nickel around and about as thick as five nickels stacked upon each other. I hate the big pills; they gag me. Dealing with big pills was part of the reason I went off the stuff in the first place. If that doesn't work by itself there are some other drugs that can be paired with the metformin to try. He's not planning on putting me on insulin unless absolutely neccessary. Almost everything else came back normal; my cholesterol and triglycerides are fine, good hematocrit, etc. My liver enzymes were a little elevated but meds can do that, and I'm certainly on enough. I've been referred to an ophthalmologist and a podiatrist to get checked out for diabetes-related problems. So, now I'm getting that under control, plus dealing with my dental and mental health issues, so I'm finally taking care of myself and thereby increasing my quality of life (and possibly length of life as well). Thank the Gods for good healthcare and a flexible spending account. Now if I can just get a professional level job with enough hours to allow me to work just one job. :)

After a lot of rain, yesterday and today have been quite sunny and although a little cool, very nice. Spring really is just around the corner.

Today I should get paid at one or two of my jobs, depending on when the Speedway cheques come in the mail, which is good, because I'm taking a trip to Harrodsburg this evening and really need gas. I'm running on fumes and thought I was totally broke but when I dug around for change so I could eat breakfast (I brought my lunch, but wanted a little something), I found three dollar bills in one of the compartments, which should give me enough gas to actually pick up the cheques and cash them. Yay! Tomorrow I get the big paycheque from the hospital and so far only $100 of that is spoken for (electricity). Hopefully that will last me a little better. The only reason why I'm strapped at the moment is that I had some small paycheques for job #2 and #3 and paid my rent with money from those and job #1 in the last pay cycle. There was a little extra for gas and groceries but not enough for two weeks of gas. I'm going to put some extra money on my gas card and get a debit card for the cafeteria (it's a new programme where you buy a card for a dollar and then charge it up as you like, and it saves time when going through the line. I figure it will help with budgeting, too) so I don't have to rely on having cash on hand.

Well, that's it for now. Hope you have a glorious day.

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