Random things this morning

1. When you forget to take the trash bins to the kerb the night before, and the city is starting early due to the heat, it behoves you to get up at 5:00 AM to take the trash out and roll all three (trash, recycling, and yard waste, when in Lexington, have names, in order: Herbie, Rosiek and Lenny (for Lend a Hand). This is a somewhat perilous process in the dark, without anyone's knowledge, as you are also a klutz and liable to fall. But all went well. Still, at that point, you might as well stay up.
2. I have very short hair, but I have kept all my hair ties because they are extremely useful. I mainly use them to wrangle charging cords.  However, just now, I dealt with a sagging lumbar pillow that I have to adjust every single time I sit in the chair because the strap is stretched out by pulling it back and securing it with a hair tie. We'll see how it goes, but for now, it's at the perfect height for my back.
3. So far, I have used my extra time filing papers, mainly all the information the government sends me regarding my benefits. I know they're mostly duplicates of the notices they put on the portal, but still, some part of me thinks I should keep them. I also just had to change an asthma preventative inhaler that I've taken nightly for at least a decade (Breo Ellipta) because it's not covered by Medicaid. They cover Advair Diskus. Hopefully it will work as well. The pharmacist who works with my doctor helpfully advised me that the dosing is twice a day, though, so that was nice.  I spent 29 years with the same commercial medical insurance (UnitedHealthcare) when I was at Shriners. I knew my benefits intimately, and it was extremely good insurance: $150 deductible/$1500 out-of-pocket. Even though it was an HMO, it didn't require referrals as long as someone was in-network, and I never had issues with anyone being out-of-network in all that time. Since I've left, I've been covered by two Medicaid managed care organisations (Aetna Better Health of Kentucky and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kentucky), both of which use MedImpact for medications (all of them do, at least for our state) and then for two months I was on a assisted qualified health plan from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield where the state paid about $900 and I paid $500 for a $400-$500 deductible plan (medicine did not count like it did for my commercial plan, so I never hit it like I thought I would, or I would have gone for something cheaper, although medications were probably cheaper, and the first month of the doctors' visits were cheaper; the second month everything went up, including the premium, due to me pulling some retirement income out--to pay for the premiums and medical bills. It's been very hard to navigate all the changes. I'm highly literate, great with technology, and having been to university, an expert at red tape and bureaucracy (I always said I majored in red tape and minored in line waiting at the University of Kentucky); I  can't imagine how difficult it would be for someone without those advantages.
4. Today's agenda is fairly simple:
1. Work on as many chapters as I can, proofreading a talking book for the Kentucky Talking Book Library. I am woefully behind. I got chapter 3 done yesterday, which I was sent in April.  I got the whole book yesterday...fifteen chapters to go.  Life just has gotten in the way, and I should just buckle down now and get as much as I can get done while I'm off.
2. We need to put a large shop fan together to get some air moving in the house. It's a little oppressive out there, where the central heating went out last year. I am the only one with air conditioning in my room, and there have been other barriers to putting it in the rest of the house, so we've been relying on different types of fans and using my room as a cooling area for everyone occasionally.
3. I need to pick up some medicine at the UK pharmacy today.
4. My roommate's going over to friends' tonight, so it'll give me some chance to work on the book more. It's a true-crime murder mystery from the 1890s in northern Kentucky, so it's been pretty interesting, both from an historical and story point of view. 

Those are about all I can think of for now. That's a little rambling, I know. I'm just waking up, with no caffeine (I only drink soda on weekends, and I'm not a fan of coffee or tea; what can I say? It's terrible, I'm such an Anglophile and I hate tea.)

Rise and Shine

I was going to get up at 7:30 AM today because I have to get my friend up for class at 8:30 and I want to make his coffee first, but I was woken up by the garbage truck and the subsequent woo woo by one of the dogs who was also disturbed at 6:10 (I am in the front of the house with the window open). Yesterday I got up at 5:30 AM. Most of the time that I've been off, I've gotten up sometime between 6 AM and 7:30 AM, so not really sleeping in, but I need to get used to being more on the 6 AM side of that. I usually try to get to work between 7:30 and 7:45, as I clock in at 8 AM, and I have a bus I take from the stadium to the medical centre. I go back to work in 13 days. So even though the alarm was set for 7:30 today, I think from now on I'm going to set it earlier on weekdays.

Of course, yesterday I got up earlier, but about 10 AM, I was so sleepy, and I'd been so productive, I went back to sleep for an hour and a half. I won't be able to do that at all, so I'll have to resist doing that, too. Besides, that goes beyond a nap. That's a sleep. 😊

Today I have to stay up. I have PT at 2 PM. I want to do a lot of reading and studying. I may or may not have to go to one of the pharmacies we use--I have to call once they open. I do need to put some laundry away, and maybe do some, or at least get some of that out of the way this weekend. I'm keeping up on my room, and I need to see about moving back into my normal weekend chores. I also want to finish up the game notes from the last time we played. Now that it's not sweltering in the house (we didn't have air conditioning in the house, except for my room, due to the central AC going out), I'm hoping we can play the game again, now that I'm doing better, but I need to do those first.

Okay, it's really quiet. I've got a little time. I think I'll go make coffee and wash some dishes, so those are done, and then set an alarm for 8:30 AM and do some reading to get something off my list. Oh, and I can eat breakfast now. I took my thyroid pill over an hour ago. I have to wait to eat with that.

How I spend my time these days

I really thought I'd be bored while I was off, but that hasn't been the case. Okay, all of this may seem boring. Each day I write out a to-do list of what I need to get done, need to remember to do, or actually do that day that I want 'credit' for. This is a look at my activities over the last few days, from Wednesday through Sunday. I had them on to-do lists on my Kindle Scribe. Each day, I write out the agenda to keep my day in some semblance of order and then tick off the tasks as I do them. Remarkably, Amazon's algorithm can (mostly) read my handwriting and transcribe it into text; I just had to clean it up a little. So I'm keeping busy with a lot of little stuff, plus some posting to Facebook and blogging here. That bike is taking a lot of it, and appointments, plus resting afterwards. I haven't spent all that much time doomscrolling. You'd be surprised at some of the things I'm doing at two weeks out from surgery, probably. I think I did dishes at week one. It is one of my main chores for ages (my roommate cooks, I clean up, for example) and my roommate was so overwhelmed by taking care of me, the animals, and everything else that once he and a friend got the dishwasher working again and he got the backlog taken care of, I was able to do the regular dishes again. If there are more than I can do in just a quick washup and I want to use the dishwasher, I just sit in a chair and do unload/load it. He'd be happy to do it, but it's taken a load off of him, as he's suddenly been having to do everything else of late. I cleaned the bathroom the other day and surprised him. As long as I don't have to stand too long (and I didn't scrub the tub or shower or anything, just hit the important things), I'm fine. Anyway, here we go, plus a page of my handwriting. I think Amazon did a pretty decent job of transcription. I'm mostly staying in my room in the air conditioning (I'm the only one in the house with it, and have been all summer--long story, although there are some pretty high-velocity fans).

Wednesday

• wake up at 7 am
• get dressed, get ready
• telehealth with Kelley
• water plants
• make bed
• update Google Calendar
• update wall calendar
• go to PT
• ROMTech #1
• ROMTech #2
• put on duvet cover
• pack return
• drop return @ post office
• text with K
• post PT update on Facebook
• puzzle |
• watch 'Desperate housewives'@ dinner
• take morning meds
• take eve meds
• take thyroid medicine
• rest as needed |||
• ice as needed |||
• take Tylenol as needed |||
• keep eye on blood sugar
• take insulin if needed
• do finances/balance ledger
• drink water |||| ||||
• wake D
• read email
• do PT exercises

Thursday

• wake up 7:30 am
• get water ||||/ ||||/ |
• take thyroid medicine
• take Tylenol |||
• email Dr Newland
• make bed
• clean bathroom
• wash dishes
• get dressed
• eat breakfast( banana)
• take morning meds
• keep eye on blood sugar
• take insulin if needed (not needed)
• take evening meds
• watch 'Desperate Housewives' @ dinner
• work on blog backlog
• ROMTech # 1
• ROMTech # 2
• ROMTech # 3
• rest as needed |
• ice as needed |
• update tomorrow PT time on calendars
• clean up 'landing area' in room
• take Maunjaro (ER had asked me to delay it till now)
• puzzle ||||
• turn on/off plant light
• listen to music (Shinedown, Ella Fitzgerald, Rag'n'Bone Man station)
• word game |||
• fix aromatherapy diffuser/run it
• do PT exercises
• read email

Friday

• wake up 7 am 
• get water ||||
• put up bags (plastic)
• put up salt + pepper
• put up cup
• put up bags (reusable)
• put up dish items
• put up toilet paper
• put up paper towels
• cut up damaged apples (bad cat!)
• make coffee
• wake roommate
• get dressed
• turn plant light on/off
• run aromatherapy diffuser
• make bed
• listen to music
• take thyroid medicine
• take Tylenol |||
• take morning meds
• keep an eye on blood glucose
• more items from walker to purse
• blog
• put Tylenol from store run away
• go to PT which = ROMTech #1
• turn off battery pack for white rose garland on bed
• read email
• ROMTech #2
• text with J
• care about driving YES!!!
• Call Br
• care Bo
• start car-oil light on
• order pizza
• can Br again
• call Bo again
• have Shabbos dinner
• unload dishwasher
• put away dishes
• load dishwasher
• run dishwasher
• do other dishes (very few)
• take evening meds
• put on new phone case
• put new charger together/try out

Saturday

• wake up 7 am
• take thyroid med
• take Tylenol |||
• put trash bag in container
• launder clothes
• make coffee
• wake roommate
• get dressed
• caffeinate
• listen to Shinedown
• ROMTech# 1
• check email
• check Facebook
• breakfast (apple slices)
• keep an eye on blood sugar
• take morning insulin (both types 20 units)
• turn plant light on/off
• let dogs out/in (carefully)
• rest/elevate leg after exercise
• clean houseeshoes
• run aromatherapy infuser
• take morning meds
• have lunch (baked potato)
• take nap
• read 'Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes'
• ROMTech# 2
• clean out left bedside table drawers
• check Havdalah time.
• ROMTech# 3
• blog Rabbi Kleinbaum's drash
• puzzle
• fold laundry
• put laundry way
• call Chandler pharmacy and cancel insulin autofill
• switch over to Ella Fitzgerald for music
• elevate leg ||
• put on cover screen protector
• do PT exercises
• watch 'Desperate Housewives' @ dinner (sandwich)

Sunday

• wake up 630 am
• take thyroid medicine
• scan news/email/Facebook
• caffeinate
• make coffee
• wake roommate
• listen to Shinedown
• finances
• rest 930-10 an
• turn on/off plant light
• ROMTech #1
• rest/stretch 1030-1230
• take Tylenol
• clean air conditioner filters
• keep an eye on blood sugar
• eat breakfast (banana)
• make bed
• get dressed
• do PT exercises
• ROMTech #2
• take morning meds
• puzzle ||
• ROMtech #3
• listen to audiobook ('Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?')
• ROMTech #4
• eat lunch (sandwich/apple)
• dinner (fish, rice, salad, watermelon)
• watch 'Desperate Housewives' @ dinner
• ROMTech #5
• unload dishwasher
• load dishwasher
• run dishwasher
• wash dishes in sink
• leave pot to soak
• clean stove
• listen to Ella Fitzgerald on speaker via computer
• charge phone, watch, earbuds, speaker
• take eve meds
• take pain med 'cause pain = couldn't sleep

There you go. That's my life in minutiae right now. Is it boring? Oddly, no. Should it be? I'm not sure. I'm starting to have blocks of time I can fill with other things. Audiobooks are looking like a plan. I'm open to other suggestions, as well. :) Today, for example, I have no appointments, and I am only going to do the bike three times, and wait to start until a little later in the day, maybe noon.

Today

I have: 

1. Washed the percolator and hand-washed dishes.
2. Emptied,  loaded,  and run the dishwasher. 
3. Made coffee for my roommate. 
4. Woken him up.
5. Stripped the bed and laundered the bedclothes in the washer. (They're in the dryer right now).
6. Sorted and folded laundry from yesterday. 
7. Woken my roommate. 
8. Let out the dogs several times. 
9. Listened to music.
10. Tightened a loose leg on the living room farm table. The dogs keep knocking into it as they play.
11. Mended two blouses. Why does my sewing kit,  which has 22 spools of thread,  not include navy? I even have chartreuse.  I have never worn chartreuse in my life. But at least those three years of home oeconomics/Future Homemakers of America membership paid off.
12. Taken my oral meds and insulin.
13. Taken items to the car.
14. Took books back to and picked up a hold from the library.
15. Gotten a new library card (my key one wouldn't scan anymore).
16. Taken items to my storage unit.
17. Retrieved the old game notebooks so I can look for something.
18. Went to the store for tea and soda.
19. Finally caffeinated/browsed the web.

Not bad so far.  Things also on my list today:

1. Water plants.
2. Clean bathroom.
3. Print something from the desktop.
4. Read.
5. Straighten up room.
6. Break down cardboard boxes and take them out to the recycling bin (also known as a Rosie here in Lexington).
7. Find the missing game-related information.
8. Zoom with my roommate to test something.
9. Dust some bookshelves.
10. Watch 'Midsomer Murders' during dinner.
11. Feed the dogs and cat in the evening.

Thursday [I was off] I:

1. Made coffee for my roommate.
2. Woke him up.
3. Let the dogs out several times. Fed the dogs and cat in the morning (I usually do evening).
4. Caffeinated and browsed the web.
5. Listened to music.
6. Took a friend out to the Indian restaurant (Masala) for his birthday.
7. Went to the store.
8. Watched 'Midsomer Murders' during dinner.
9. Cleaned the percolator and washed any plastics.
10. Took my meds (morning and night).

Friday [I was off] I:

1. Made coffee for my roommate.
2. Fed the dogs and cat [morning and evening] and let the dogs out several times.
3. Ran dishwasher.
4. Woke him up for class.
5. Caffeinated and browsed the web.
6. Listened to music.
7. Took a friend to get his hair cut.
8. Did a lot of laundry.
9. Picked up some meds.
10. Took expired meds to the pharmacy for disposal.
11. Cleaned the percolator and washed any plastics.
12. Took my meds (morning and night).

Saturday I:

1. Slept in.
2. Made coffee for my roommate.
3. Fed the dogs and cat [both morning and evening] and let the dogs out several times.
4. Ran the dishwasher.
5. Caffeinated and browsed the web.
6. Did a lot of laundry.
7. Make a bank deposit.
8. Trimmed my nails because I couldn't type anymore comfortably.
9. Took a shower.
10. Made banana nut bread.
11. Watched 'Midsomer Murders' during dinner.
12. Took my meds (morning and night).

Things for tomorrow (Labour Day]:

1. Make coffee for my roommate.
2. Run the dishwasher.
3. Caffeinate and browse the web.
4. Listen to music.
5. Pull out things in the utility room.
6. Get the vacuum out of the shed.
7. Move the dryer (with help).
8. Clean out the lint hose and exhaust. It never has been in all the time he's had the house, since about 2005, and the other day we were talking about appliance fires and thought perhaps it would be good. It's also why we're running the dishwasher in the morning rather than while we sleep.
9. Read.
10. Take a shower.
11. Watch 'Midsomer Murders' during dinner.
12. Feed the dogs and cat in the evening.
13. Let the dogs out often.
14. Launder the rest of my bedding.
15. Watch 'Meet the Robinsons' (maybe).

Not bad for my little vacation. Mind you, our air conditioning is out (for the second time this summer--the first time a dog chewed the wires; I suspect there's something wrong with the thermostat this time] and it's been 85°-95°F inside. We've all been very hot during the heatwave, which has had heat indices in the hundred-and-something range outside. Fortunately, we do have fans. Hopefully, we'll be able to afford to have it looked at and fixed soon.

Yay!

I am pleased to announce that a couple of days ago we got the air conditioning re-wired and working again. The company that came out, Southern Comfort, did so without charging a diagnosis fee (we knew the problem--a puppy chewed through the wiring, fortunately before the AC was turned on, and not the major grey one that's live all the time). It was only $250 to fix. It's so nice to have it again. I will unhook mine from the window, drain the water, and let it dry out for now, probably put it in storage for next time. I think the AC has gone out three times in the seven years I've lived here, as it's pretty old, and we do not begin to have the money to replace the system. As long as it works, we'll be happy, though. :) In the meantime, if you are in the Lexington area and need help with your AC, I highly recommend this company.

How my anxiety actually works, as demonstrated in the last 10 hours:

Last night:

1. There was a skunk in the yard, I can smell it.
2. There was recently a rabid skunk locally. 
3. I just set up a portable air conditioner [our AC has been out for some time, and it's so hot, in the 100s as far as heat index, and we are all suffering]. There is no screen over the exhaust tube. It just came with a cap in case you weren't using it for awhile
4. Oh, Gods, what if a rabid skunk climbs into the tube to the air conditioner?
5. What if it gnaws through the tube and gets into the house?
6. What if it bites me or my roommate or the animals?
7. Okay, Lisa, you're just being anxious. Calm down.

This morning:

1. Realises that there's no way it can happen.
2. Tells roommate in jocular way about it all and how silly it was, because after all, it operates with the WINDOW screen in front of it.
3. Roommate shakes head.
4. Goes back to room. Gives the air conditioning vent a long, hard look. 
5. Realises that while installing the vent and assembly, I forgot to put down the screen. Does so, forgetting I taped the window to the assembly. 🙂
6. All is right with the world.
7. Realises a skunk really could have climbed in and gnawed through the tubing. 
8. Go back to the beginning and repeat.

Goodness. Anxiety sucks. But that screen is down. Thank you, rabid skunk..

Blissful coolness

So, I'm broke, but I managed to pay for the air conditioning to be fixed, so things are much more pleasant in the house.  It was funny, I don't see any reason to tell YKWIA this, as he would be terribly offended, but when I called to see if I could get the fan motor that was maybe one tick up from the cheapest part the tech quoted, the lady said that he'd actually given us an estimate on an original Coleman part that is factory-authorised, but knowing money was an issue, had given us the quote based on a senior discount.  So Tuesday came and I left my debit card with YKWIA and apparently the fan blade itself was so rusted in place that it wouldn't move, so the tech had to get that order brought over, which took awhile, but he got it fixed.  I guess that's what burned out the motor in the first place--it rusted over the winter because when we first turned it on in May, it pretty much worked for just a few hours if that. When I got home, I asked how much more the fan blade was.  'I don't know. I just handed him your debit card.' That struck fear in me, as while I had extra money in my account, it was earmarked for my car insurance.  So I went to my e-mail and it turns out that the tech did the complete repair for the original quote, without charging for the blade at all.  Yay! I really liked them--we went with Synergy, and the tech's name was Zach Taylor and he did an excellent job.  I have to thank my former boss for pointing me to them--she'd heard an ad and directed me to them.  That night, I didn't know what to do--I had to sleep under a cover and I wasn't drenched in sweat that morning, nor did I have the 'break-out-in-perspiration-as-soon-as-you-get-out-of-the-shower' issue.  But because I'd kind of gotten too used to that, I didn't sleep super well that night.  I did last night, though.  Yes!

Yesterday was mostly about medical testing.  I did work from noon to 4:30 pm, but I had an EEG at 7:30 am and an MRI of the brain at 10 am.  I had gone to my neurologist concerned over periodic dizziness (I think now that it's vestibular, but we needed to rule out other concerns).  I also expressed concern that my memory issues have gotten worse, and while it's probably normal ageing, I've done a lot of replacing words that I have had a hard time finding with the opposite, stuff like that.  Now I have ADHD, the inattentive types, so maybe it's just partly that, and as we get older there's more information to juggle.  But I've had several untreated concussions, and my family doctor and I wanted to rule out any chance of dementia or early Alzheimer's, a personal fear of mine given my great-grandmother's battle against the latter.

Anyway, the EEG--which was quite interesting, by the way--was negative for any of that.  My brain's not slowing down, even though it sometimes seems that way.  And the MRI was fine, too.  I came home yesterday and looked at the MRI scans they'd given me at Lexington Diagnostic Center.  Not that I know how to read an MRI at all, but you can kind of look for light or dark areas that don't fit the rest of it, and I didn't see anything.  This morning my neurologist's office called and said it was fine.  I did get put on a beta blocker that is good for essential tremor, a benign tremor that can make your hands shake when you hold a spoon or write, or hold a letter, or even a phone, say if you've got it above you in bed. :) Not that you should be lying in bed looking at your phone when you should be asleep, right?  Anyway, it's a small dose and it's good for anxiety, too, according to my psychiatrist.  It does seem to be helping.  Otherwise, I got a clean bill of neurological health.  I just am going to have to accept that my memory is not what it once was (and in truth, it was good when I was young, I didn't have to take notes in high school, but I dealt with a lot less information).  Given my experiences with anxiety and depression, it's no wonder I've had some impact on daily life.  And I tend to compare myself to YKWIA, who has an eidetic memory, rather than say, your average 51-year-old. :)

Today I won the parking behind the building (which is funny, as I'd reserved it yesterday since I was coming from my appointments, so I'm a little spoiled--I have parked there two days in a row), so I took Samantha, my co-worker to her car both days, but today after that I went over to the pharmacy for my pen needles (which are a pain to get anywhere else if you don't have the prescription on you, like you can shoot up heroin out of an insulin pen, thank you, Kroger).  Then I went and got YKWIA from our friend's, the one he's helping who is battling cancer.  Since my schedule has shifted a half-hour earlier and I hadn't had to go to my car on the shuttle, even with the trip to the pharmacy we were home about 5:30 pm.  He was really beat, so he went to bed, and he's still there.  I'm going to wake him in a bit to take his medicine.  I ate, and then realised I was pretty tired, too.  I worked very hard and very steadily today.  I like my new job, but I can't ever say I'm bored.  So I settled down for awhile with the cat about 7 pm after I'd fed the animals and brought the dog in--who actually wandered around the yard and acted nearly normal.  I woke up at 9:45, started some bread making (now that the temperature and humidity are back to where they should be), filled the dishwasher, put away plastic dishes, washed the ones in the sink, took out the trash and recyclables, and took the Herbie and Rosie (the trash and recycling containers, respectively--we name ours here in Lexington) out to the kerb, and generally straightened up a bit.  Now I'm listening to Pandora and spending some time on the computer.  We're about an hour from bread.  The cat's on my bed again.  I think I'm going to put the flowered quilt back on the bed, as I don't have to worry about sweat stains now.  But that might be a task for tomorrow morning--the cat is quite happy and quiet at the moment, and we like to keep it that way.  So I have a task to do online and then I may lie back down till the bread machine beeps and listen to music.  My phone turned off, as I let its charge run down, so I'm playing the music on the computer.  I may do some brain exercises that go with an application on my phone that are pretty challenging, too.  Just to help out on the memory issue--which I do fine with the memory tasks on that.  So maybe it literally is just in my head.  I don't know.

Alright, I am definitely getting some water and finishing up here.  I also should work on a book review by the end of the week.  And I just got another published.  Yay!

Good night.

Progress

The big dog is out in the yard, as first, she sat, now she's lying down. It's progress. Since the other dog died on Sunday, she has been looking for her little friend, even leaving the bed at night to go lie by the front door and wait for her. She's always needed her little friend to go out into the yard with. They used to run out like children, spilling into the grass together, even though little dog was 14 and had to take chondroitin to keep up with her. This one's grieving, as is the cat, who after all, has had little dog around all his life.

Meanwhile, the oppressive heat that means I felt like melting and dying over July 4th has ended.  I actually woke up with a blanket on that I'd pulled up, for the first time in days or even weeks. We are waiting for the air conditioning repair company to call us back concerning a part.  But I think it's okay that we won't get it fixed this weekend, anyway.

YKWIA is soothing the cat, who looked like his tummy might be upset.

I should get a shower, as I need to go by the pharmacy before they close and take him to meet someone/drop something off, and the pharmacy closes at 1 pm, but it'll probably be a couple of hours before he's had his coffee, etc.,  and gets ready.  It takes awhile for him to get going.

Right now I just want to enjoy the pleasantness that is inside the house, though. :) Less than 72 degrees!

Hot

It's 69 degrees outside and 80.8 degrees in here--at 7 am. So much for getting up early to do chores when it's 'cooler'. Time to check the weather forecast for this week. :( No idea when we can get the air conditioning looked at, much less fixed.

Warm

This weekend we're in the 90s during the day and it's been miserable in the house even with the fans on. And because the house is brick, it holds the heat in. So wishing it would cool back down. I did go in to work for 2 1/2 hours today, so at least I spent a bit of time in air conditioning. Tomorrow I have to do laundry and chores, so I'm getting up early in the morning to beat the heat, hopefully.

It is a pleasant morning

I am almost ready to begin my chores, which I'm dreading a bit because the air conditioning is not working.  So we have the windows open and it's 77 degrees right now inside and perfectly fine under the ceiling fan at the moment, but that's going to change, as it'll be pushing 90 this afternoon.

I awoke to birds chirping and plenty of sunshine coming through my windows.  I've had a shower and am in the minimum acceptable clothes (denim shorts and a light blouse I usually wear a tank top under but I'm choosing to forego that today, as there are solid panels in all the important places).

As my agenda states, I have a full day planned.  I want to get my hair cut; it's atrocious and it's been more than six months.  I'm thinking of a short layered bob.  Also, a friend who is homebound right now with cancer asked me to pick out a hanging basket of petunias for his mom yesterday for Mother's Day, so I did so and will deliver it when they're up and ready, around noon.

There's the normal Sunday chores to do, laundry (mine and YKIWA's, and that includes his bedding), and helping him apply for a part-time job at the public library and applying for two jobs at the University of Kentucky for me.  One of them was the one, reposted, that I terribly flubbed the phone interview on last year.  I'm hoping they'll give me another chance.  I'd tried to do it on my lunch break surrounded by distractions, and it didn't go well.  But it is in my field of health science librarianship, I would do a good job, and I'm very qualified.  I'm just terrified of interviews, at least ones that are by committee.  I do fine one-on-one, and can teach one-on-one, in small groups, and larger ones.  But being grilled by 3-5 people, whether on the phone or in person, flummoxes me.  This is ultimately why I didn't finish my graduate studies in ancient, mediaeval, and early modern history.  Thank goodness the library science master's degree didn't require an oral defence.  But I am going to apply again anyway.  The other one I may get dinged on because I haven't been in an academic library setting in some time, and while I was trained by the best for the job, I don't have a lot of professional-level experience in aspects of it.  Again, I can do the job, and I think I would be good at it, but it would mean changing things back to what I trained for rather than what I've been doing for 20 years.  But I'm up for it.

Okay, the cat boxes aren't going to clean themselves.  One more review of the timeline/agenda, and I'm ready to go.  Have a great day, including a great Mother's Day (I'm a little sad this year, as I have neither mother nor grandmother to give flowers to and spend time with).  So I'll try to use this opportunity to get some things accomplished.

Blessed coolness

When I left to get that medicine today, it occurred to me that my thermostat might still be pretty far down, left over from being on heat, and so the air conditioning was running pretty hard when I left. But I didn't go back, thinking maybe I was mistaken. Well, I came in this evening and it was set on 60, had been running, etc., but it felt really nice. I'd say it's around 68, anyway. I turned it back up to 72, which is fine for me. It is much less humid in here as well, so I'm happy. Except for the pain in my toes, anyway. :) Anyway, it feels much better now. Thank goodness for air conditioning; I couldn't live in the South without it, especially as I age.

And there was much rejoicing!

Both air conditioner and toilet are now fixed. The air conditioner was a contacter, I think, a switch in the unit outside that comes together when you turn it on that only one side was working on, and then the toilet was the seal inside the tank. Apparently they weren't too bad. Thanks to the maintenance guys at my complex for their help!

It's a little sad when

you have to take a knife to open up a 20 oz. bottle of soda. I got one at Thornton's on the way back from my unemployment review and class, because I was very thirsty, and couldn't get into it, so I came home and tried a jar opener, a case knife, and finally I was able to make a bit of a perforation with a sharp paring knife (without hurting myself, always a plus) where apparently it didn't make one. But I feel somewhat puny. I also had a light in the kitchen flare out when I got home, and had a light bulb, and got on my little step stool only to find that I barely can change a light bulb, given my short height. I need a taller step stool. There is a reason most of my overhead light fixtures' actual covers are carefully put away, as I can't put them on or take them off at all, without an actual ladder.

The class and review were fine. I got to see three former co-workers, all from different departments. I gave in my list of jobs for which I've applied, and the lady went over the various services they offer and things we have to do to keep our benefits. I have to revise my system résumé, at their request, to take off two old jobs and my references, and have that printed out and ready, along with a packet, by Thursday at 9 am, when I go in for a small-group résumé review. I'd brought everything today, because I wasn't quite sure what was expected, and I was one of the better-prepared job-seekers. I hope that means there's a job out there for me.

After I came home, I opened the windows (it's 77 with a breeze right now, but it's supposed to be humid and close to 90 degrees later), pulled a few things out of the walk-in closet, and called about the air conditioner and the toilet running. When I talked to the leasing agent, I found out that the inspections have been put off till Friday, which gives me some time to vacuum, mop, and go through some of these boxes that are stacked up. This morning I got up at 6:45 am, later than I planned, but it was good, cleaned one little bit of wall that had something on it (I think it had a little mould from where I keep a hamper there, and I thought I'd need bleach, but it turns out Citrasolv works well, as that's what I had), did the dishes, and took the trash and recyclables out. Then I got ready for my review, and I was there 15 minutes early.

I called pulmonary rehab and cancelled for the day, and they were very understanding and told me to call Thursday if I still needed time, since it's an upper respiratory thing, and even if I could breathe better, stop coughing, etc., by then, she said she didn't want me wiping myself physically with the exercise programme if I'm not up to it. I have a sinus infection, cold, and bronchitis, and of course, bronchitis sometimes takes awhile to get over. I'll try to do the actual breathing exercises tomorrow if I feel up to it. I could have worked this past week, but on the other hand, I'm glad I could get some rest. I just would have had to push it a lot more, and rest in the evening more.

That leaves me the rest of the day to look for a job, go through some things here, and maybe go get some medicine for YKWIA if he needs it, later. We talked on the phone briefly. He's still hacking, too, and there's a medicine they gave me but with his insurance I think they were more expensive, so he'd held off. But they do help with the coughing, although I wish they lasted all night. I'm waking up early each night with coughing. This morning I was awake from 3 am to 4 am because of it. The coughing subsided after awhile, and then I couldn't get back to sleep for almost an hour. I'd also like to start The Glass Magician (and I need to check on my library books and when the next ones are due) and maybe watch a couple of things sometime today.

I got a call from my former workplace. They really want me to come in and help cover for the maternity leave, and she wanted to know what they could do to have me come in. YKWIA told me to tell them a full-time job with benefits and the same salary I had before. :) I'd like to help out, but I don't think it's viable. It would take quite a bit of time from the job search, not pay more than unemployment (unless they change that drastically), and make things more complex with the parking and the like. I'll call her back and hear what she has to offer, but I just don't think it'll work. They were saying before that they needed me for eleven hours a week for about twelve weeks. But I need to focus on getting a full-time job, soon. My unemployment benefits are only good for six months, and we're six weeks in. Also, soon I'm going to have to pay for the medical end of COBRA, and between that and the dental, it's about $750 a month. The sooner I get a new job, the sooner I get benefits, including health care, and can save money.

Oh, and I need to go back to that one post, a few down, and review my agenda for today. It is one reason I do that, it's sort of my way to make lists that I'll remember to go back to.

Hope you're having a great day.

Hot

I finally turned on the air conditioning today because the apartment was 75.7 degrees inside, hotter than outside, actually, with 44% humidity. It's been running all day, and it's now 76.4 degrees. Guess who needs maintenance to come fix her air conditioning? I doubt they'll be able to get to it till Monday, so at least it's good that tomorrow it's supposed to be fairly cool. I've brought my sleeping fan out to the living room for awhile, and I have the windows open (which unfortunately, being on the first floor, I can't sleep that way safely). Oh, well.

Hot

It's 74.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the apartment. I don't want to turn on the air conditioner yet, so I'm sitting in front of my bedroom fan. I sleep with one going all year round, under a single fuzzy blanket, as I'm hot-natured, and the perimenopause makes it worse.

I need to take a friend's food back to him tomorrow, as we transferred stuff to my refrigerator this weekend when his refrigerator (but apparently not the freezer, although we emptied that, too, as a precaution) went out. He's been storing half and half and mayonnaise (two absolute staples) in a cooler with ice in it, placed in the refrigerator. One thing that stayed in the freezer that he shared with me, though, were frozen bananas, wrapped in wax paper. They are sweet, cold, and a great substitute for ice cream. I may have to get some wax paper and start doing that. Try it, sometime.

I fell asleep (imagine!)

at about 8 pm, and woke up feeling like it must be 2 am or later, when it was only 10:30 pm. My mouth was terribly dry so I got up for something to drink and I'm eating the last of the cereal and milk; I love cereal at night for some reason. I think it's because my grandfather always ate it then. Of course, he also put cornbread in buttermilk, and I despise buttermilk, so hey, go figure. We pick and choose our endearing moments, I guess.

The air conditioner is apparently completely fixed. They changed out the compressor motor, which was bad. So now it's set on 76 and it's 75 degrees in here and I'm comfortable. Amazing what a difference a couple of degrees makes, but more importantly, it's not humid or stuffy like it was. Since September has already been hotter on average than August was, this is a good thing. Still, cool weather must be on its way soon. I wore a dress today because 1) I didn't want to take the time to switch purses and it matches and 2) pretty soon I won't be wearing dresses at all. It is a pretty light dress with lots of purple, blue, and green splashes over a lavender shell, with a irregular hem that comes up in a slit on the front right. I get a lot of compliments on it. I probably spent $10-$12 on it at Gabriel Brothers last year. :) The only problem with wearing a dress, as opposed to a skirt, when you have diabetes is figuring out how best to give yourself a shot so you don't expose yourself. I hate going into the bathroom to do that--it doesn't seem very sterile. With a skirt or pants I can do it quite discreetly; today I just had to pick times when no one was looking, turn around, and use that slit to the dress well. Hey, it worked. The other thing I hate about wearing dresses, or skirts, for that matter, is that every time I get up from a seat, I'm afraid I'll get my dress hung up on my butt, or in the case of the bathroom, in my underwear. I did that once. I went out of Blimpie's restroom at Euclid and Rose, and walked all the way up the street past the fine arts building and up to the president of the University of Kentucky's house, when a nice lady pulled over her car and quietly informed me that my skirt was hiked up in my underwear. I was so embarrassed, yet so glad she stopped and told me. Really, after you've aired yourself down a major thoroughfare (and this was before they blocked off one end of the street, so it was even busier), you lose a certain amount of shame.

I'm glad we're over the hump towards a long weekend. Tomorrow I should have that ergonomic assessment and get a better idea of things I can do to help my hands, neck, and back. I downloaded some articles and put one through interlibrary loan (hey, I'm a patron, too, or more correctly, a patroness) on wrist bracing in carpal tunnel and arthritis. It apparently helps either. They're not sure exactly what's wrong with my hands--the EMG does read mild carpal tunnel, but whether it has returned after release surgery or if that's residual, it's hard to say. I did not get immediate relief from the cortisone injections, which should have helped if it was carpal tunnel. What is helping is the bracing. I didn't use the brace for the two and a half hours I 'napped' just now, and I can tell a difference. The night bracing, especially, is helping. I'm not so sure about the day bracing, when I'm using my hands. I'll ask the occupational therapist tomorrow if she thinks they're useful. It may be just having something like an ergonomic keyboard, such as the one I'm using now, would help at work. But during the day, my wrists really hurt. The compression of the Smart Glove does help a bit, and they hurt more when it's off, but on the other hand, I don't want to weaken my hands by bracing too much. I have a back brace, too, but wear it only when I'm doing something that requires a lot of back use, rather than all the time, because it can weaken the muscles. The same thing can happen to the hands. But I did find a set of exercises that help, too. (7 Hand Exercises to Ease Arthritis Pain)

I think I'll check on the news and see if there's anything good (is there ever? rarely). Then I'll head back to bed. Good night. But I leave you with this, a silly song that brings a smile to my face every time I hear it:

A pretty decent day--maybe things are starting to turn around for me

I worked very steadily today, both for the library and the revenue cycle, and in fact forgot to call about the air conditioning because I was busy. Oddly enough, it's sitting more than a degree cooler than it was this morning, after I've had it off all day. It's 78 degrees and just a bit stuffy, so I went into the bedroom and turned the fan on, and am typing this on the laptop. So that's not so bad.

My main goal tonight was to call my student loan servicer; I was scheduled to default as of tomorrow and right now I have slightly under $2 between both my bank accounts, so I couldn't make a payment. But I called anyway. A few months ago they'd told me there was nothing they could do. This time I was able to get a temporary forbearance so I could renew my income-driven status. So, yay. I'm going to try to get back on track. Also, the physical therapy office I went to audited my account and found an overpayment of $40, so they sent me a cheque. So yay again, I can get gas and something to eat. I am sooooooo tired of peanut butter sandwiches.

It looks like YKWIA and A don't really need me tonight, so I actually am at home early in the evening--and I'm not sleepy, my back isn't hurting, etc., etc. I am hungry. Part of me wants to go put the cheque in the ATM and get something cheap but satisfying like Taco Bell, but the other part of me says to eat the macaroni and cheese I have here and save the rest for tomorrow. I think I'll stick with the latter. Or I could make mini-farfalle and put some sauce on it. I'm good on pasta; there isn't much else in the house, except cheese and tortillas, a small bag of potatoes, and a little cereal and milk. Okay, I'll be back. Must go make something to eat.

Hmmm... baked potatoes with butter, salt, pepper, and cheese (but sadly, no sour cream). Still...I think that's the winner.

First World problems

I'm beginning to think there is something wrong with my air conditioning.  Usually my thermometer reads two or so degrees less than whatever I have it set on. I got home an hour ago, and it's been running constantly on auto/cool. It's set on 75 degrees. It is almost 79 in here. I'll keep an eye on it; the next three days are supposed to be hotter than today. In the meantime I got some ice water,  changed into shorts and a tank top,  and put my beside fan on the middle setting rather than the lowest.

UPDATE: I think it ran all night and was actually warmer this morning!

Cold

It is 69 degrees in my apartment.  Apparently when the maintenance person came in and fixed my leaking air conditioner (again),  he left it switched to 'on' rather than 'auto',  and it's been running non-stop.  I've corrected that,  finally,  but brrr....(pulls the covers over her in bed).  Good night!