When I was eight years old

and I got glasses for the first time, I was amazed that the trees had different colours, because I had never seen individual leaves before. The variance in the green was wonderful to me.

Fast forward 41 years and I'm experiencing clear vision for the first time in years. I didn't realise how off my glasses and contacts were. The old glasses were way too strong in the far vision and not strong enough in the bifocal. The contacts were close to the right strength, but I also have astigmatism, and that was off by a bit, and I think that made all the difference.

I went to Simpson Optical, and to Dr. Denham, this time, because I specifically wanted glasses with magnetic sunglasses, as my Transitions lenses, while nicely convenient in that they changed to a darker tint in the sun, were useless for driving behind auto glass, which prevented them from changing but at the same time, didn't help with the glare and the light coming through the windows. These have those sunglasses, which are polarised and will also protect against UV light--which is good, as I have the very beginnings of cataracts, and UV light makes them worse. These are progressive bifocals like my others, but have an anti-glare coating which helps with computers and driving at night as well. All in all, I'm quite happy. My vision insurance covered quite a bit of the frames and lenses. The retail for my glasses (and the frames were not ludicrous) was over $1000. The insurance brought it down to $300 and a bit. I had enough on my flexible spending card to get it down to only $67 from my bank account. Not bad. I plan to take very good care of them, especially as I'm losing my job next April and I have no idea when I'll get vision insurance again. I am planning on using next year's benefit for contacts before I have to leave my job. Fortunately it 'refills' every January, rather than going from the time you last used it.

Okay, I'm heading to bed. I want to get up early. I rested some tonight and listened to some music. I'd like to get up early and go for a walk. I really need to start moving more; it's getting harder to, and I don't want to get to the point where I'm on some sort of Hoveround or something (not that that's a problem for other folks, who have disabilities, I just don't want to be disabled by my weight). That's something I can try to change, although I'm more an advocate for healthy changes rather than insane dieting or exercise. All things in moderation, as the ancient philosopher said.

I can finally see!

Including street signs (which were a little blurry but mostly readable)  and the small print on my phone (which was impossible without taking off my glasses and holding the phone up to my eyes). The new glasses fit perfectly and the magnetic sunglasses work great. Everything is so clear. :) I can even see the fine print on my eyedrops, which I had trouble with even while using a pocket magnifier. They also threw in the case (including a pocket case for the sunglasses), cleaner, and three microfibre cloths.I was going to go back to tortoise-shell after three pairs of purple frames, but they didn't have them in that, and I loved these. So purple it is. :)

Happy birthday

To the one person who is a constant force and presence in my life.  I love you,  YKWIA.

Bleh

So I'm awake. I've got cleaning clothes on. I've poured myself a big cup of soda. I have Pink playing on my phone. It's two hours after I'd initially meant to get up. I think I can still get things at least back into some semblance of order. First to tackle the dishes, of course. But the main thing I have to do is get up and start, and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment, as things passed a tipping balance a month or so ago. But I will get this done.

Well, I did water the plants today

And I have good reason to do some cleaning--Terminix will be here tomorrow to treat the apartment. I don't have trouble with bugs, but they like things neat for when they come in, and I have a lot of dishes to do. I came up with a plan of attack tonight when I got home, and I just got back from Kroger, where I got some caffeinated drinks, sponges, and some things I need for cleaning, and here's the plan:

1. Go on to bed (it's midnight now--I slept a couple of hours earlier before I went to the store, too).
2. Get up at 4 am...um, more like 6 am in reality
3. Load the dishwasher.
4. Do the plastic dishes and other non-dishwasher items.
5. Gather up Kroger bags, both plastic and reusable, that are strewn about, and put them in their places (the regular bags should go back to Kroger to be recycled, so I'll put them in a bag and take them out to the car.
6. Gather up the trash and recyclables.
7. Take them out.
8. Fill the ice cube trays.
9. Clean the toilet and bathroom sink.
10. Wipe down the counters and island in the kitchen.
11. Straighten up the living room and dining room.
12. Sweep the floors and mop the kitchen and bath.

That leaves only the bedroom to worry about, and I can close the door and do that later. :)

Wow, it's 6 pm and I'm home!

I don't remember when I was last home with the sun shining so brightly through the windows. YKWIA had an appointment tonight, but had to cancel it, so I dropped off something for him I'd gotten at the store (I was a block away from his house when he called), did a couple of things for him, and was home by about 5:45 or so. So far, I have changed into comfy clothes, unpacked the computer, started some music going from the phone through the speaker tower, changed a battery in my clock, and taken my blood sugar/medicine. Now I'm eating and listening to the music (Hozier). Some things I'd like to do tonight:

1. Water the plants inside and out.
2. Straighten up the living room.
3. Clean up the kitchen and make some zucchini, peppers, and onion before they go bad, so I can have it for lunch tomorrow.
4. Update my ledger.
5. Clean the bathroom.
6. Read.

I think that's doable, and would go a long way to making my life at home pleasant. So I'm going to go check the news and finish eating so I can tackle them.

UPDATE: Of course, did I do any of those things? No, I fell asleep for 12 hours, because apparently I'd been going, going, and going, and finally went plop. Oh, well, I got some much-needed rest, at least.

Now that's weird

When I play music from my phone through a Bluetooth-enabled tower, it puts all the songs on the album in alphabetical order, but if I have it physically plugged into between the speaker and earphone jack, it plays it in the order they appear normally. Odd.

Okay, A should be calling any minute for a ride home from work. I should go put on street clothes, get him, come home, and go to bed, as I have to be over for the game at 9:00 am to prepare for company. Good night.

No wonder I'm having trouble seeing well

I was going through some papers up on the shelf of the computer desk and found a prescription from two years ago for the eyeglasses I'm wearing right now, and they are way too strong for distance, but too weak of a bifocal. If I understand these things, my right eye is listed as -8.00, the left is -7.25, and the bifocal for both is only +1.75. I don't have a copy of my current prescription from the other day (I need to ask for that when I go to pick up my glasses), but I do remember the right eye was -7.00 and the left was about -6.50 or -6.75, and the bifocal was going up to +2.50. Of course, while I know these are my last glasses, and the prescription is the last one I had for glasses that I filled, the actual bifocal on the glasses is 2.0--I know that because it can be read if you look at them carefully, and they said so when they examined them the other day. So I don't understand why the disparity. But it's probably helped some, too. Still, no wonder I couldn't see small print or my phone without taking the things off. Meanwhile, I checked the contacts I bought at my last appointment. The contacts that were giving me trouble are actually about the same as the new prescription, so I'm not understanding what's wrong, unless maybe the bifocal on them (they're multifocal) is off, but it's listed as high, so that should be good. I may try them again. Maybe the last prescription wasn't bad after all. But I know for certain that the exam for this one was good as far as my blood sugar, while the other was up. We'll see. And I'm not sure if the astigmatism numbers (the cylinder and axis on the prescription) change at all with blood sugar, so that could be part of it.

My parents

got married 50 years ago today. The marriage made it about 15 years, but still, strange to think that's what they were doing so long ago. I'm still trying to wrap my head around turning 50 next April (yes, if you're good at math, you'll figure it out. I was about eight when I asked, as I wasn't premature). Anyway, I think it worked out better that they're apart, and really, they probably shouldn't have been together (they'd broken up by the time they found out I was on the way, and got back together mainly to appease my paternal grandmother. My maternal grandparents were actually really cool for the 1960s and told my mom she could stay with them, have the baby, and not get married to my dad.

Yay!

1. Yesterday morning, I managed to get to the gas station even though I was over 12 miles on my gas light, and I got it to 3/4 of a tank. I had a sense of accomplishment all morning as a result.
2. Yesterday afternoon, before leaving for my eye exam, I tested my blood sugar and it was completely normal--105 mg/dL. I had my exam. Turns out my old glasses are too strong (as were the contacts), and so my prescription went back a little on distance and increased in terms of the bifocal so that I can hopefully read small print better (I've been having to take my glasses off to see my phone, and then hold it something like four inches from my face because I am nearsighted). These frames are also purple (I was going to go with tortoise-shell or something like that, but really, the purple was best on me, and they didn't any of what I was looking for in tortoise-shell). Because I was looking for a specific type of glasses (the one with magnetic sunglasses, and my insurance currently only works with one manufacturer that they carry in them), I had my choice of about seven frames. But I like my choice, and can have the sunglasses rather than the Transitions lenses, which don't turn dark while driving a car. I did get an anti-glare coating and progressive bifocals (that's what I'm used to). All told, the glasses and frames would have come to over $1000. My part, including the co-pay for the eye exam, was right at $300, most of which I was able to put on the last of my flexible spending card, so I paid about $65 altogether, which I didn't think was bad. They should be there in about two weeks (my insurance requires them to go through its labs).
3. After that I went to Meijer, which is in the same shopping centre, and got a cable for my glucometer and a few groceries. I came home and pretty much got ready for bed, as I had an early appointment this morning.
4. Today I got up really, really early (4:15 am!) so I could go get YKWIA up and drag him to my 7:30 appointment with my endocrinologist, since he had an appointment at 9 am [well, 8:45, as they called a day or so before and said be here then], and we were trying to get to both. Despite crossing a black cat's path (just kidding, although I did), everything worked out fine. My blood sugar in the office was 112; the hA1c was 6.8%, down from 7.4% last time, and at one point I was 10.4%. So I'm doing much better. Actually, at the level I'm testing now, my next hA1c should be in the area of 5.8-6.2, as it's running on average about 121 mg/dL. Of course, that's dependent on me keeping up the good work. And because I am doing better, I don't have another appointment until February. She did tell me to go down on the morning long-acting insulin by 5 units if I continue to have lows before lunch. I've already gone down 10 units, so that may be enough. She doesn't want me having to eat to keep up with my insulin, but rather reduce the insulin if needed, which (of course) makes sense. The worst part of the morning is since I needed fasting labs, I didn't have anything to eat or drink other than water this morning, so no caffeine, either. The best part is I still managed to get to YKWIA's appointment early, even though they'd called and moved it up by 15 minutes.
5. YKWIA bought me breakfast after our appointments at McDonald's drive-through since I had taken him. After getting to work, one of my (sometimes) supervisors bought her people lunch at Columbia's Steakhouse today and included me, since I help out in the scheduling department sometimes. I had a fish sandwich with giant steak fries. But the fried food didn't sit well on my stomach, I have to admit, and so I just ate dinner and it's almost 9:30 pm--I became really hungry just a little while ago. YKWIA and I went and got some groceries for our respective homes, and so I got some burritos and some veggie sausage/egg/biscuit sandwiches and had some of the latter for dinner, along with some string cheese and a banana.
6. I am so sleepy. I've been up for almost 18 hours, and I think it's time to call it a day. I need to be over at YKWIA's by 10 am tomorrow, and I have some things to do before then, so I'm going to try to get up early (but not nearly as early as today).

Okay, that's all folks. Hope you have a good weekend. Good night!

A strange combination

Tonight things were pretty bare in the cupboard when I got home about 9:30 pm after running errands with A. I wasn't really hungry,  but needed to eat,  so I had a small bit of a Dove chocolate bunny (we'd had them donated at the hospital last week and I've slowly been eating it) .  It's solid chocolate,  and very rich,  so I didn't have much,  and I didn't want to blow my blood sugar through the roof, as I have my eye exam tomorrow. But then I feel asleep,  woke up about 1:30 an,  realised I hadn't had my Lantus (long-acting insulin),  gave myself a shot,  and also realised I felt odd and should probably take a reading,  which I did,  with difficulty.  If I can't get enough blood out of my finger after three sticks,  is a sure sign I'm low,  and,  indeed,  I was 53. I ate the last bit of the bunny and then microwaved the one bit of real food in the house - - Gorton's grilled Salmon,  which is probably what I should have eaten in the first place. So I've eaten that and my glucose is up to 93. I'm glad I see my endocrinologist day after tomorrow.

I had a very vivid dream last night

A friend and I were participating in some sort of exercise where everyone had to work together to get through a series of puzzles or obstacles--sort of the opposite of 'Survivor', as the idea was the group as a whole had to get through, or at least the majority, through cooperative effort. Afterward, the sky turned a brilliant green (yes, green, very bright but a light shade), and there were stars and meteors. I remember being so happy that my friend could see the streaks of meteors (he has poor vision, and can't really see stars in the sky). Then the sky changed to a darker, more menacing colour of blue and purple, with hurtling explosions and things got scary. Apparently the world was going to end unless the correct person was edited out of the program creating the world, and it would be like they never existed. My friend had to sit down and carefully edit out first one person and then another until the sky turned back to 'normal'. I was one of the one sacrificed for the greater good. Even in my dreams I'm a martyr. *shakes head* Anyway, he finally got the right one and everything was okay again. I think it was brought on by a combination of the Perseid meteor shower last week (and I was lucky enough to see a fairly large one streak across the sky, even with the city lights), as well as being intrigued by the video game that just came out, No Man's Sky, which in all the news stories has a green sky (although not the vivid green of my dream). I slept throughout the night, dreaming, and stirred just a couple of times and then went right back into the dream.

I'm still here

Listening to: Linkin Park, A Thousand Suns

The weekend was okay, but not nearly long enough, I guess. We got to play the game. I started the notes today, but ran into some trouble with Windows Media Player on my laptop, so I'm going to try to use Groove Music, which is recommended for Windows 10, instead. It just stopped playing, then said there was a trouble with the file, then wouldn't start Media Player at all. Fortunately I still had it on the voice recorder should the file have been corrupted, so I have another copy as a backup.

Yesterday I got a phone call asking what I was doing after work. Apparently YKWIA's coffee maker went out before the first cup of coffee of the day, which is a crisis in that household. So after work we went to Meijer, found a simple yet very efficient coffee maker, and I put everything together and brewed the first cup of coffee. Apparently it has a warming tank for water, and makes the coffee from that, so what your pour in only replenishes what is used. So after I got it all together correctly, I had to put water in it and let it warm up, then could brew the coffee. I had to explain not to turn off the tank switch or unplug the coffee pot (he was somewhat dubious of the safety of this. Keep in mind he's from a family whose family house was so old it didn't originally have that new-fangled electricity in the bedrooms, and it was added later, running lines outside the walls. He also once destroyed a computer by unplugging all the cables to the computer before a storm, even though it was on a surge protector/battery backup, and at the time didn't realise that the VGA monitor cables screw in, so he tore the video part of the motherboard apart. He's always turned off the coffee pot AND unplugged it as a matter of course, so it didn't get accidentally left on, which is quite reasonable, really. But this one is different. I made him a couple of cups of coffee, fully expecting a call in the morning, even though I'd explained briefly how it was different than his last one. Well, apparently today he learned not to put the water in first (closing the lid to the brewer makes the water run on through), got cold water a couple of times, and coffee=coloured water at one point, and I have no idea what he was doing wrong, but he eventually got it right before I got off work. I am not allowed to ask what the problem was. He insists he did read the instructions. But the important thing was as a result, he needed coffee from teh store, and creamer, so I went and got some of that, and he splurged for dinner from McDonald's, too, so we ate. Then I dame on home.

I found out that my endocrinologist appointment is apparently Friday at 7:30 am. I thought it was the 29th, though, so YKWIA had made a fairly urgent appointment with one of his doctor's at 9 am that day. I might be able to make it work, but it will mean getting him up at an ungodly hour and taking him first to my appointment, and then his. Thank goodness for that coffee maker, is all I can say. I'll call tomorrow to make sure the appointment time is correct. I actually spoke to one of the nurses today about whether they had a code to put into the OneTOuch Reveal program, and she was unfamiliar with it (as a professional office, they use a different program entirely) and she said she'd ask the rep when they come in a couple of weeks.

I suspect they're going to have me go down a bit on my insulin. I'm on quite a bit, after all, having gone up on the Lantus slowly until my blood sugars got more normal, but now I'm going low in the morning sometimes, unless I eat a mid-morning snack. I went down to 58 this morning right before lunch, so I ate a piece of bread with peanut butter on it. By the time I normally leave for lunch, it was up to 68, which was still low, so I didn't use any rapid-acting insulin for lunch. I'm also tracking my insulin this week to see if the program will notice patterns. I've taken down the morning long-acting insulin by 5 units; I think it needs to go down at least 5 more, but keep the nightly dose the same, as that affects the morning blood sugar levels, which with me are usually higher (today, uncharacteristically, was only 103 this morning). I am also happy that now that things are more normal than they were (I'm averaging about 129 over the last two weeks, with good control), that the eye doctor's office called, and where I was on the waiting list, they've moved my appointment up to Thursday at 4:45 pm. That's a better time for my blood sugar than the morning appointment I had, and now I won't have to wait until September. So I went ahead and told my bosses of the new appointments and they were fine with it. Thursday and Friday are slower, anyway, and I can come in early tomorrow and Thursday to offset any loss of time.

Today at work I was asked if I had any trouble with the revenue cycle people taking over the referrals, which is really who should be doing them, and with an eye towards transition to the new medical centre, they want to take it off my hands, which is fine with me--it's the least favourite task of my job, to be honest, particularly calling insurance companies to see what a referral entails for their company. I still have the charges to put in and the reconciliation of charges to do. Probably at some point they'll take over the monthly audit; I think that's really supposed to in that area, it's just I was the one who started doing them when they were instituted, so I have been. But since neither my librarian job nor the data entry position are going to the new building, they're having to examine what to do to carry on some of my tasks. The facility charges won't be an issue--that's something only a hospital can charge, and they'll be an ambulatory care centre. I don't know about the cast and procedure charges I put in--they may have to be done by somebody else. And the reconciliation of charges will probably be taken over by surgery, as it is their charges.

I also spoke to the administrator today about items in the library and have a better idea of where we need to go with breaking up the library. I'll take the ideas to the library committee meeting next month. I also have a better idea of the algorithm for disposing of hospital property and the level of services available in the new building (the latter, may be a real issue for them, as they won't be able to get free interlibrary loans unless they come up with some sort of agreement with the folks at the university). I also have an editor interested in a short column on closing a library, so I'm going to write up something on it before January and maybe get it published, too. The last two books of my order came in today, so I'll catalogue them tomorrow, and that will be it. We may be able to break the newer books into appropriate offices (i.e., Green's Hand Surgery to the doctor who specialises in that, the gait analysis books to the motion laboratory, the family resource centre books to care management, etc.) The journals are actually the big issue. I really don't want to have to recycle a lot at the end of everything. I have orthopaedic journals, some of which have very good runs (I have the Journal of Bone and Joint SUrgery back to the early 20th century, as in during World War I, for example. There's also (randomly) an 1832 book on fractures. Really. And I found out that they did find a place for some historical proceedings that had been donated by a former board director, so that's great.

I'm trying to do what I can to lessen the blow of losing the library as much as I can. Considering that when it closes, it will have been in existence for 30 years and was relied upon for information needs, articles, and a host of other things, it will be sad to see it go. And of course, I go with it. :( But I'm trying to keep a stiff upper lip on that front, and in the meantime I keep looking for a position. I check my sources every day or so.

Okay, I guess I should wrap this up. Sorry I didn't blog for a couple of days. as life was rather busy. Hope you have a good week.

Interesting thing....

So, I gave my old OneTouch Verio IQ to a friend, meaning that the cable that was with it had to go along, because not only is it used to connect to a computer, it's part of the charging assembly. Fine, my new one has Bluetooth, plus a standard USB cord will work, per the directions, right? And I have lots of USB cords hanging around the apartment. So I'm good to go, right?

Argh. I just got an education in USB and USB Micro and Mini connectors thanks to a guide by Cables to Go, which they very helpfully put up. Why, you ask?

The Bluetooth on the meter does work, but is apparently designed so you have to unpair and re-pair the meter with the phone each time you go to upload a test, which seems a little silly. Then I got one that refused to go...it just said there were no more new readings, but there was one, plain as day. So I thought, well, I'll just upload it with a cable.

Apparently, although the manual says a 'standard' USB cable will work, only Micro B cables will plug into the meter. Also apparently, all of my USB cables were either B (printer), Mini B (5-pin) [most everything else], or in the case of my camera, Mini B (4-pin). The only Micro B cables I have happen to be the charger for my Kindle Keyboard and the cable that goes to the portable charger that stores the charge and can then be used to charge the phone. (my phone, incidentally, uses a Micro-USB 3.0 charger, that has both the regular Micro B pins plus some others, so you can use a Micro B charger, it's just slower than the 3.0 one that comes with it. So, of course, that was definitely a no-go.)

I haven't tried the charger cable yet, but the Kindle cable worked fine. I was able to transfer the reading without any problem. But in the process I learned a lot about connectors. And now, maybe you have, too.

I've been working on my health today some

For one, I made an effort to walk around the hospital regularly, as I've had a lot of back pain lately, and while that hurts worse when I stand or walk, the only way to help it, really, is to build up my core, which walking will do. So while I didn't overdo it, I reached my activity goal for today (my phone keeps that as well as my steps) and then some, and I walked 6,865 steps, which is better than I've been doing with this flare-up.

I also was careful today with sweets and took all my medicine with me, in their bottles (I threw them all in the backpack) so I could fill my pill box properly. As a result, my blood sugar was very good today. I'm still having problems with my ankles swelling; when they get big on a day I don't take my diuretic, like they did yesterday, it takes a day or two to get the fluid off of them).

But primarily, there was the meter issue. I see the endocrinologist in a couple of weeks. My values have been good on my blood sugar, for the most part. I should have a lower hemoglobin A1c than last time, and last time was an improvement. I hadn't transferred my results to the computer in awhile, though, and I like to so that I can print a report for her. But I discovered when I tried to bring up the software that it 1) didn't work anymore, with a runtime error and 2) wasn't being distributed anymore. So I couldn't just uninstall and re-download. Instead, Lifescan has created a combination web/mobile application called OneTouch Reveal, which allows you to upload values and find patterns, create reports, all the stuff the old standalone software did and more, and presented graphically and in an easily understood format. My meter, a OneTouch Verio IQ, has a cable that came with it that plugs into the USB port of the computer, and I used a downloaded transfer utility that they have you get (it's free) to transfer several months of readings across to the new web interface. I also downloaded the mobile application. I was very happy with the results. There is also a provision that if you get a code from your doctor's office, they can share the information with them, which is presumably more secure than my e-mailing the logs to the doctor, which is what I had been doing. So I have a call into the doctor's office for that. But along the way, I discovered a new meter that connects and syncs with the mobile application (which in turn, syncs with the web interface), so you don't even need the cable. That way, you can update frequently. It is the OneTouch Verio Flex. I checked, and it was available at the pharmacy for $20, and it's a flexible spending item, so I was able to go ahead and get it after work. It uses the same strips and lancets as the IQ, so that doesn't change. I've set it up, taken my first test, and paired it with the phone so I've already sent that one to update the database. Here's how the two meters stack up:

OneTouch Verio IQ
• PROS:
  1. Colour display
  2. Test strip port light that shines on the strip when you're testing
  3. Rechargeable battery
  4. Tags (before/after meal) can be made when you take a test on the meter itself
  5. Can use an included standard USB cord to download results to a computer
  6. Can browse results in multiples by day
  7. Alerts when high or low patterns are indicated
  8. Case zips to contain lancets, solution, etc.
• CONS:
  1. Must be charged regularly, either by using the USB cable in a computer, or using the enclosed power adapter with the cable.
  2. No way to communicate directly to phone; must use cable.
  3. Small lettering on menus.

OneTouch Verio Flex
• PROS:
  1. Can use Bluetooth to pair/connect directly with mobile application
  2. Can use a standard USB cord to download results to a computer
  3. Large numbers, easy to read screen
  4. Indicator easily shows whether high, low, or normal in range
  5. Small, compact case, so whole thing lighter, and it fits in a purse flat and easily
  6. Doesn't have to be recharged regularly, so no need to carry cord in case
  7. Holster comes out of case and can be clipped on belt and still hold meter, lancet, and strips
  8. Lightweight
• CONS:
  1. Monochrome display (the colour used to indicate high, low, or normal is part of the meter, and then an arrow on the screen is the indicator)
  2. USB cable not included
  3. Battery is a standard watch battery. While it doesn't need to charge, it does need to be replaced--but on the othe rhand, most meter batteries last awhile
  4. Tags are assigned in mobile application, not on meter
  5. No menus, patterns, etc., although it does allow you to go up and down the results
  6. Pouch for lancets doesn't zip--I have mine in a Ziploc snack-sized bag tucked into the pouch.
  7. Not as hefty, but also seems more cheaply made

I hope the above might help if you're planning on getting a meter. Here's what I decided: I'm going to go from now on with the OneTouch Verio Flex, because I have a phone with the mobile application and can sync easily. I'm going to give the other meter, the OneTouch Verio IQ, to a friend who has asked me to check his sugar a few times, so he can have one of his own and I don't mess my results up with his. I went ahead and gave him the new lancing device from this kit and kept my own (both of these come with a OneTouch Delica lancing device, so they're the same). I put some lancets in his pouch, along with a bottle of strips, so he should be good to go, and if the doctor wants him to start testing regularly, the strips would be covered by his insurance. I'm going to give him the user manual as well (I have the original papers and box). So it won't go to waste. It would be helpful to him, I think, because of the colour display and the light on the strip port. He doesn't have (or want) a cell phone, much less a smart phone, so that should be fine for him. The bulkier case shouldn't be a problem for him, as he'd mostly be using it at home. So it's a win-win scenario.

Okay, on that note, time to unpack everything an get ready for tomorrow. Good night.

Well, that doesn't make sense

This morning I managed to make myself presentable in general but forgot to refill my pillbox with my oral meds, and while I had my potassium bottle with me, I did not have the diuretic that went with it, so I'm not supposed to take it. As expected, I swelled up like an overstuffed balloon, especially my ankle--and especially the one that was broken when I got hit by the car almost four years ago. What I don't get is I weighed myself this morning and, curious, was wondering how much water weight I'm keeping on me now that I'm as tight as a stuffed sausage--and I weigh two pounds less than this morning. I give up on trying to figure it all out.

Last night I got home at 11:30 pm after running many errands for others; tonight I got home at 11:30 pm after helping a friend with various things, including cooking. (I made pesto by hand, because the blender is somewhat dubious at the moment, with a mortar and pestle and lots of stirring) It was nice, however, that when I got out of the car, I looked up, knowing the Perseid meteor shower is going at peak, just in case, and a lovely shooting star went right across the sky, one big enough to make it through the light pollution here at what used to be at the edge of the city, but which is now merely outer Lexington. Yay! I forgot to make a wish, though. :) My main wish at that moment was to come in and get a shower--it's very humid out there, even now, and I've been sticky most of the day.

Today I rescheduled one appointment and then starting calling opticians around Lexington. See, last year I got an eye exam, but my blood sugar had been running high, and so when I wore the contacts and the glucose was back in the normal levels (as it usually is these days), things were blurry, so I've been wearing my glasses that are between 2-4 years old. But today I found out that it's not a revolving year; my benefits kick in each January. I can get new frames every other year, and new lenses every year, so I'm eligible now, even though it hasn't been a year since I got the contacts. I still have about $258 on my flexible spending card, too, so that should help. I usually spend some extra on my glasses than the insurance because I get progressive bifocals and (usually) Transitions lenses, which turn dark in daylight. However, a serious drawback to the Transitions lenses is even though they are good when you are walking around outside, they are absolutely useless when you're driving and it's sunny. See, the auto glass prevents the transition, but doesn't block out the UV enough to help protect your eyes from damage. What I need are sunglasses. But I don't want separate pairs of prescription glasses and prescription sunglasses. Years ago I had a pair that had a magnetic clip that affixed the sunglasses to the glasses frames. I called around to see if anyone still carried those. My normal optician stopped carrying them three years ago. I tried another in-network group, and they didn't, but they suggested their second location, and I hit pay dirt with them. I have an appointment on September 2nd, and am on the call list should there be cancellations between now and then. Yay, again!

Okay, it's after midnight. I am ready for bed. Tomorrow promises to be a fairly long day, too, as a friend has an appointment after work and then we were going to go over some bills. I'm going to try to finish the notes tomorrow during his appointment--I just got a start on them last time, but then we did a lot of visiting and not a lot of action, until the end, so it should go pretty quickly. Investigation is what really bogs me down in the notes, because of all the details. This was mostly interactions and then one of Brenda's characters was attacked by someone towards the end of the game and fought him off. So I might be able to get it all done in that hour-long appointment. If not, maybe I can do most of it and have a little of Saturday to finish up. We'll see. I'm glad we're playing again, though. Okay, good night for now. Hope you're having a good week.

They're lovely birds

and given this information, I'm glad that my city is fairly tree-loving.

Cardinals may protect people from West Nile virus

Indeed, both the city I currently live in (Lexington, Kentucky) and my hometown (Danville, Kentucky) are both designated Tree City USA cities. Even so, we could do better.

I'm at the first of two appointments today

and I brought the laptop with me, since each may take awhile. Unfortunately, the first used to have free Wi-Fi, and it still shows up even though they moved to a different part of the building, but no one in the office seems to know the password, so I'm using my phone to get online instead, using my hotspot that comes with my data plan.

I catalogued 22 books this morning and processed them. I think I have about six or eight more to go. I would have pushed for those but my blood sugar dropped to 62 so I stopped and went to the cafeteria for some orange juice, and then when I came back went to my normal afternoon tasks since I was missing part of that time. But I got everything that had to be done today finished, yay. The rest of the week should be normal in terms of time; the only other appointment is after work on Friday, and the second appointment tonight isn't till 6:30 pm. I'm going to try to work on the game notes at the next one, which is longer. This one is shorter...in fact, he just came through the door. Better, close up shop for now.

I am getting a little frustrated with myself

I came home today, right after work (for a change), with the best of intentions. I was going to conquer the clutter and mess by which my apartment is currently under siege. If anyone were to judge by my desk at work, they would think me a neat freak--I always make sure everything is put away each day and than only papers being used at the moment are on top. But at home, well, I'm pretty much a hoarder, and it's a small apartment with lots of books--more than in my library at work--and I've never been particularly neat. The one complaint my parents ever had about me was that I was reluctant to clean my room. And when you live alone, it's easy to come home and just plop stuff down on the couch or dining room table. But it's reached a point where I need to purge the messiness, as I do on occasion. So that was my goal today--to at least get part of the stuff in some semblance of order and get rid of what wasn't important.

But like many middle-aged people (I never thought I'd describe myself that way, but it is true), I have some back problems. I did a lot of bending, lifting, twisting, etc., this weekend. I guess I overdid it. One of the problems with having a truly sit-down job is that I don't walk enough (I average about 5,000 steps or just over a day, rather than the 10,000 you're supposed to walk), and my core and back are weak as a result. Then you add a generally sedentary lifestyle and bursts of activity on the weekends, and it's not pleasant. I came in today, took some Tylenol Arthritis medicine, slathered the Kroger equivalent to Ben Gay (which is very strong) on my back, and stretched out for a half-hour to see if I could get some of the tension out, doing various stretches I'd learned in physical therapy. That seemed to help, but as soon as I got up and gravity hit, it hurt again. Even sitting hurts at the moment. So I went back to the bedroom, slept for a little while, and got up just now to take my evening meds and prepare for actual bedtime. I hate to do it, but I think I'm going to have to take a mild muscle relaxant my doctor prescribed for flare-ups. I've never missed work due to my back or neck, but I do occasionally have these periods of pain.

My plan is to get up VERY early--4:30 or 5 am, do some walking, if I can tolerate it (to help strengthen the back), do some of the stuff I planned to do tonight, and then go into work early, as I have an appointment later in the day. I'm going to try to get up and walk about some more at work; I'm at my highest weight ever and that scares me a bit. I'm going to try to satisfy my sweet tooth with yoghurt or fruit for awhile, which usually works, as I've been eating too many sweets (I was about to say I'd done well today, but then I remembered a small serving of ice cream I had this afternoon).

Oh, well, here's to doing better tomorrow. At least we did play the game (and I think we all enjoyed it) yesterday, and we're back in the swing of things. I did stay late last night trying to update my desktop (which is at YKWIA's, on loan) to the Anniversary Update of Windows 10, but it got almost to the end, and then reversed the installation back to the previous version. I'm not sure why--I'll have to do a little research. But it was a bit annoying; the laptop took a long time, but it did fine. Oh, well. Hope you have a good night.

Just got in

from getting A home from work. I've spent the day running people to various appointments and to the grocery store, and I got home after 7 pm, ate, and then around 8:30 just crashed. A had to call me twice to wake me up before it was time to leave, and then I was befuddled enough to go to the bathroom and start getting clothes on when I realised my bedroom blinds were still open and the light was on. Sorry about that, world and neighbours. But I quickly cleared up and actually think I have figured out the light timings on Richmond Road going downtown now. Basically just slow down if the next light is red, speed up if it's green, and if you do it just right, you don't sit for any length of time. As I was turning into his workplace, I saw a van that was playing loud music and they had a TV in the back with the screen on that had to have been at least 32" or maybe even 40". It was a little disconcerting. That can't be good for anyone driving behind them in terms of distraction--even those little DVD player screens can be a little odd at night.

Tomorrow is the game, yay! I need to get up early, get my laundry together, head over there, clean house, and then we can play around 1 or 2 pm. Brenda's son doesn't get off work till late, and I don't have to get A until midnight, so we can play as long as we'd like, really. We usually play till somewhere between 8 to 10 pm. Of course, the game master has had four months or so to plot our demise (or worse, as in Cthulhu, dying is much easier than living with the results of some of our adventures). We had one character who's locked away because his skin is now transparent, for example.

To that end I should head back to bed, but first I wanted to see if you'd seen this....

Refugee Olympic Team to Shine Spotlight on WOrldwide Refugee Crisis: Ten Refugee Athletes Will Act as a Symbol of Hope for Refugees Worldwide and Bring Global Attention to the Magnitude of the Refugee Crisis When They Take Part in the Olympic Games Rio 2015 This Summer

They paraded in the opening ceremony under the Olympic flag right before Brazil at the end of the procession. Here's wishing them success. I think it's an excellent move. I'm not much of an Olympics watcher (I used to as a kid, but one, I'm not really into sports, and two, it's a lot different than it was then). So I didn't see the opening ceremony. But I thought this was great. Of course I wish success to Team USA, and hope that all the athletes do their best without injury. And I hope these Olympics go off without violence or anything like that.

Are you an Olympics junkie? I pretty much limit my watching (when I catch it) to gymnastics in the summer and ice skating in the winter, but that's about it. But I know people who will be watching on any device they are near.

Okay, morning comes early--I'm supposed to be over there by 9 am. Good night.

Today

I did a lot of stuff at work,  went to a friend's appointment,  watched 'Bones'  in the waiting room, got my allergy shots,  paid my rent,  spent the longest time ever in a Drive-Through at Captain D's (We could have gone inside and eaten in the time it took,  they messed up the tea with sweetener,  and I was asked three times what sauces I wanted,  when it was just vinegar), listened to platypus noises and classic Catherine Tate sketches on YouTube,  and now it's late and I have to get over at a friend's by 7 or 7:30 am for an appointment.  And my phone just reminded me it's time for bed.  So,  good night.  Happy weekend!

PS I found out YKWIA did not realise that Catherine Tate was Donna Noble on 'Doctor Who'. He doesn't tend to recognise actresses and actors in different roles for some reason. He had the epiphany today. An artist, he's a very visual person, but he has no filter, really. If an actress is blonde and then changes her hair, he won't recognise her, because he sees her as a whole rather than being able to differentiate the parts. He has that issue in languages, too. When we were in Hebrew together, I was horrified to learn he couldn't pick out the pattern (he has dyslexia) in terms of conjugation and declination, but rather had to memorise each and every form separately. Despite this, he has a facility for languages and has studied several, all with a variety of different endings for various words. Hebrew, of course, is even more of an issue because unlike Latin, Greek, etc., it's not just the endings--rather there is a root of about three letters and everything--and I mean everything (prefix, suffix, vowels, emphasis) changes. I'm just amazed. He also does lower math incredibly fast using a system of colours and shapes in his mind that boggled the mind of a friend (she almost understood it, and it nearly broke her)--and she's now an engineer with NASA. But he has trouble with the concept of 1/4 = 1 divided by 4 = 0.25 = 25%. I don't think he went past geometry. On the other hand, I've used algebra exactly once post-college, so hey, it hasn't been a great handicap for someone who majored in history, philosophy, and art. I truly envy his memory though, which is nearly eidetic, and of course he's brilliant and has an IQ that's through the roof, and I often feel pretty stupid by comparison and have to remind myself that I test pretty high myself. If he'd been able to do math better, he'd probably be some sort of mad scientist--it was what he wanted to be when he grew up.

So the night before last

I wasn't online because it was time to do the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, and my laptop, for whatever reason, is always really slow at updating. When I took it from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, for example, it took a grand total of about 24 hours to install the new operating system. Regular updates aren't a problem, but this was a large file and changed some features. So at first it seemed to download way too quickly, and then got stuck on preparing for installation, and in fact, it had failed. I'm not sure what I did to get it going again, but this time it downloaded (slowly, and this was on an Ethernet connexion and not Wi-Fi). It was doing the preparing to install thing again, so by that time it was late and I went to bed for awhile. When I got up and came back to it, I started the installation, then went back to bed. A couple of hours later it was at 50% installation. By morning though, I just had to restart, and it was on its way. Since then I've tweaked the tiles on the start menu and gotten rid of what I don't use, while reordering what I do. I also updated Chrome, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and my anti-virus software (dropping back to the free version of the software; I just couldn't pay $70 or so for the two computers this year. I have not updated the desktop, which is over at YKWIA's, but I will try to do that this weekend, if I can find a time when he's not on it or needing it. It shouldn't take nearly as long as the laptop; maybe an hour or two.

I'm excited about playing the game this weekend, too. I've missed it--we haven't played since late April, and we usually play weekly. We've been playing this ongoing campaign since July 1991, so we've recently reached the 25-year mark. Yay!

Yesterday I got caught up in 'branding' my social media sites for the job search, and updating publications on LinkedIn. I'm up to 38, with one more recently submitted, and while most of those are book reviews, I've done a column, a book chapter, several stints as librarian selector for Doody's Core Titles in the Health Sciences, in two different subjects, and two different sections of a book meant for collection development as well. I also have a finding aid from before I became a librarian, as part of an internship in state publications, under my former name. So it is varied. I would like to frame a research study or write an entire book at some point. I may write an article about shuttering our library, as there isn't much on the subject out there in the literature.

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. I left her messages on her voicemail, e-mail, and Facebook, but I'm not sure she got them. I hope she had a good day.

This morning I saw my podiatrist and ordered some shoes, this time ones that will be good for exercising and walking in, rather than work shoes. Tonight I helped YKWIA with a few small things, did a short grocery run for both of us, and got home about 9 pm, right before dark. I've eaten some bread and cheese and now I think I'm going to take it easy, cool off (I've been warm all day), and maybe read and listen to some music. I got my work done today, but for whatever reason wasn't feeling particularly motivated--I just soldiered on anyway. Tomorrow I must pay some bills, including my rent, take YKWIA for an appointment in the afternoon, and get my allergy shots. I'm up to the green phial; I'm hoping to build up as quickly as I can. I was near the top of the build at one point and then life got in the way--I had to fall back down to silver and start almost over again. Even missing one week is an issue at this point. At my last visit, my allergist actually was telling me about new single-allergen sublingual immunotherapy, which I guess is an indication that I should make the time to come in more often. They're open late Wednesdays, at least. I'm going to stop by tomorrow just because I'll be in the area--down the street about a block--but normally I'm shooting for mid-week. Unfortunately, that doesn't always work. :)

Okay, I think I'm going to go relax before going to bed. I may turn in early--I didn't get much sleep on the night of the update, and I didn't sleep well last night, either. And two nights ago I had a horrible dream where there was a transgender uprising in response to oppression and Muslims were being rounded up like cattle. I think I'd read too much about Donald Trump that day. I count any dreams of oppression and violence as a nightmare, don't you? Hopefully tonight will be more pleasant in the dream department.

Wow

I just went from one side of town and back during a robust rainstorm.  The lightning and thunder weren't too bad,  but there was lots of standing water and it was very hard to see even with the windshield wipers going full speed.  I'm glad to be home,  even though I am a bit damp (well,  more than that) from the dash into the apartment building.  I'm glad the pharmacy has an overhang above their drive through,  though.  :)