Lovely day

I woke up at eight this morning, after sleeping a total of 12 hours, just waking up once about 1:30 but going straight back to bed. I somehow managed to get to work on time (I have to be there at 8:30), despite the fact that my ear did not cooperate when I tried to put an earring in it after nothing in them for just two or three days. (Which is why I'm sleeping in post earrings tonight.) I got a lot accomplished at work, especially with the referrals, and I'm generally happy about how my Monday went. Plus, one of my co-workers who had been ill is back to work, and it was nice to see her today.

After work I picked up a friend and took him home, then visited with his spouse while he went off to a meeting. I called Time Warner Cable for him, as the home page that had been set up for him just went away completely and would not load. Turns out the www.twccentral.com webpage is just a temporary thing, and the real home page is www.rr.com. Not that they tell you anywhere in the migration process that this will happen, mind you. So, just in case you have the same trouble, there you go. We also watched several episodes of a delightful show called 'Better Off Ted', set in a Monsanto-like company and which has Portia De Rossi as the wonderfully efficient (as in shouldn't be allowed to oversee gas chambers) boss, Veronica. It's really fun, and I can't believe I missed it when it was on, and it's a shame it never really 'made it', but I'm glad it's on Netflix. If you have it, or some other way to see it, you should check it out. And then, in order to firmly cement its theme song into my mind, we watched a couple of episodes of 'H2O: Just Add Water'. :)

As I drove home, it occurred to me that it was now July, meaning I've had car insurance for six months, and that probably meant that in the stack of unopened mail at home I had new insurance cards. I prayed that I'd get home without doing something stupid to get a citation, when they could be expired. So I got home, called my friend to let him know I got home okay (I always do that when it's dark; you never know.) I went through my mail, found the cards--which thankfully start on the day my insurance is due, a few days away, put them next to my purse so I'd have them tomorrow morning, and then got out the Time Warner Cable bill to see when it was due. I figured it was today, but it's actually a few days away. But I followed the instructions for getting a TWC ID so I could pay online, and it glitched, but the registration went through. I paid my bill and did a few more housekeeping sorts of things, then texted with Brandon, who was checking on me tonight. Now it's almost 12:30 and I am definitely up past my bedtime. :)

So it's been a pretty busy day. Tomorrow we'll have a bigger clinic, so there will be a lot of data entry for me to do. I'm going to start cataloguing some new books, as well, I think, and generally spruce up the library. And with it being the first of the month, I have some major filing to do that should take up the remainder of my day.

I still haven't done those hand-washables. And my payment for the YMCA went through today. Still haven't been, except for the once, when I signed up. I have some things to do for a friend tomorrow, but I really want to go sometime this week. I'm assuming they're closed the Fourth, but maybe Friday is an option. They don't have the open swim on Wednesday nights, unfortunately. The diuretic seems to be helping with the swelling of my ankles. It's still happening, but it's not quite as bad. I need to start wearing the pressure hose every day; if I do that, then I should be able to fit into my athletic shoes in the evening to work out, or at least that's what I hope.

Okay, I'm definitely getting sleepy. Good night. Hope your week goes well.

Having some spotty Internet issues using Chrome

and I'm not sure why. Tried IE 10 and it's a little spotty, too. Firefox is working better, but sometimes defaulting to a graphics-poor version of things. Not quite sure what's going on. Maybe Insight's having issues. The connexion tests okay, and I've reset the modem and routers a couple of times. The phone's on and so is the cable TV. I paid my bill. What gives?

Today I received both my AAA and car insurance cards. Oddly enough, I never got the temporary AAA card they were supposed to send me. I also got the papers for both the car insurance and renter's insurance that explains what's covered.

After work today I went and picked up a friend from an appointment and we went to Long John Silver's (his choice; I was all up for tofu goodness from Great Wall, but he was craving some fish, and that was fine with me) and then I took him home and stayed just a bit before coming home. My foot and knees were very uncomfortable and I really needed some Tylenol and some elevating. No major swelling, mind you, and the knees were really more painful than the ankle and foot, but they got better when I went to bed for awhile.

I'm so glad it's Friday. This seems to just have been an endless week. I have a lot on my plate this weekend as well. Tomorrow I have an eye appointment in the morning. Then I'm going to try to get all the trash and recyclables out of the house. The recyclables have been piling up for most of the time I've been out. I did have someone take some of them out at some point, but there's quite a bit to go. First I wasn't able to do it, then it rained for days and days. Tomorrow the weather's supposed to be fairly nice, so I want to go ahead and get that done. Tomorrow afternoon I'm going to take a friend to the grocery. Sunday we're not playing the game because Brenda has a doll meet (she makes clothes for ball-jointed dolls), so I'm going to do laundry and work on a friend's computer then.

Okay, I think I'm going to head to bed and then just see tomorrow if my connexion issues have resolved. Hope you have a great weekend.

I had physical therapy today

and that went really well. The therapist doesn't think it will take as many visits as usual for this sort of injury because I'm already walking in my shoe and the cane's really just for balance and I've even dispensed with that in the house and library. (I have a one-room library.) :) That's good, as it's $40 each time I go, and I don't want to use all my flexible spending money early in the year. He mainly is going to work on flexibility of the foot and ankle and strengthening the muscles in my leg, hip, and back that got used to not working as well. But I can already tell a difference in those from last week. When I walked around the hospital last week my back hurt really badly, but this week I have to walk pretty far for that to happen. So I am healing. At his suggestion I got some oil that has Vitamin E in it and will use that on the scar and manipulate it to maintain flexibility. He also said to ice it when I come in from work if needed to keep the swelling down but try to stay in the shoe for now rather than using the boot, unless I have a really bad day of it. I'm supposed to go twice a week for now.

My mom came up with the title of the car this afternoon and I got some decent car insurance, following some advice from someone who deals with insurance all the time. I'll go transfer the title first thing tomorrow. Then the plan is to see about getting it inspected this weekend for a safety check and get new windshield wiper blades. I won't be surprised if I need new tyres; they're original to the car. Also, the brakes are squeaking a bit when applied and I'm not sure if that's an early sign of wear or normal. So I want to find out. I also need to get it washed and vacuumed out. I may do that tomorrow. Also this weekend I'd like to get my eyes checked so I can get contacts again. I've been wearing my glasses throughout my recovery but I really prefer contacts.

I gave a friend a ride from work through some back roads between Nicholasville Road and Tates Creek and took him by Kroger for a bus pass, then got home a little after 6. I put my foot up and listened to some music for awhile, then fell asleep. I woke up at 10:30 and realised that I needed to go by Rite Aid for some things, including wine for my monthly libation, which I am finally able to resume. (Liquor Barn had already closed at 10 pm.) I may wait until tomorrow night, however, as the house needs some sprucing up. I need to do dishes and take out the trash and recyclables. I'll try to do that tomorrow evening.

Oh, thank goodness it was a short week

So I survived my first three days at work, albeit with some exhaustion and pain. This evening I got home about 8 pm and by nine was in bed, ostensibly just to elevate my leg for awhile rather than actually sleep. I'd set an alarm for an hour or so later just in case. I never heard it, even though it sounds like a rooster. What woke me up just now is pain in my knees. I've really tried not to overdo it, but I guess some pain is to be expected.

On Wednesday I did push too hard in that I didn't wear the boot at work but rather stayed in my shoe. My ankle was red and so swollen it didn't really resemble an ankle any more. So Thursday and Friday I used the boot at work, then changed back to a shoe for driving, and that went much better.

Work has been great. I've been busy (the first of the year is always especially busy; now it's even more so). I went through 2,200 e-mails on Wednesday and had to learn a new way of doing my data entry, did all my educational modules for 2012 on Thursday, and today really for the first time got into the swing of things. My wonderful co-workers have been really welcoming. A few never got the memo, apparently, and seeing me in the boot with the cane, asked and were shocked when I told them I got hit by a car. Everyone, including me, is particularly glad it wasn't worse. It certainly was bad enough.

Having the car has been a godsend but has added to the busy aspect. Yesterday I stopped by Rite Aid for some Claritin and a few other things, then went by the library and paid the fines that accrued while I was off. I had planned to get my hair cut, but I was just too tired. I went home, texted and talked with friends on the phone, and was in bed by 10-something. Tonight a friend called to check on me and it turned out we were getting off work very close to one another, so I went and picked him up, went to Staples for some sticky notes, and then we grabbed something to eat at McDonald's and brought something home for my other friend. I visited very briefly, as I petered out somewhere about 8 pm. I came home, texted a bit with Brandon about my day, and then by 9 pm was in bed with my feet up.

So it's been a busy few days. I have to admit, I feel a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of people I am encountering in a day compared to being homebound in my little apartment. That feeling should pass soon, I hope. And I think Brandon is missing being of such assistance in terms of doing my errands or taking me places.

Tomorrow I plan to get my hair cut first thing, then grab A to help me get my laundry into the car, take him to the grocery, do my laundry, and then help YKWIA with some tasks that should be very time consuming but at least fairly sedentary and I can do it while my laundry is going. Sunday is hopefully the game. I keep forgetting I already have the notes finished and on my tablet. :)

Things to do in the coming week or so:

• I need to call about getting into physical therapy and go to my first appointment
• I need to go to the doctor on Thursday
• I need to shop around for car insurance (got some good advice on where to go/levels to get today)
• I need to get with my mom and put the title of the car officially into my name
• I need to get a car charger for my tablet and determine if I can use it in the car (there are very few minor issues with the car; one is that the cigarette lighter doesn't work, but the receptacle itself is supposed to charge. That's no biggie for me if true, as I do not smoke, I just need to run the chargers. The car came with a tyre inflater that runs out of the lighter; I'll get that out and test with it before trying to get a charger. I'm thinking of upgrading my little low-end Android phone next month, so I'll wait on getting a charger for it.

Once the title's in my name, I need to get the oil changed (it's been six months and 1,000 miles ago) :) While I'm there I'll have them do a safety inspection on brakes, tyres, etc. to make sure nothing has to be replaced. The car has less than 35,000 miles on it, but is 11 years old, and so might need some tweaking. The tyres, for example, are original. I definitely need to replace the windshield wiper blades. I'll try to do that tomorrow.

Despite it's age it's in very good physical shape. There are a couple of small dings on the driver's side, and my mom has a kit that can take those out. So you can imagine my dismay this morning when I came out and the garbage truck that takes the recyclables was trying to turn our corner and was inches from my car easing around, trying not to hit it. I thought I was going to have to move the car, but they managed to get around. I wasn't badly parked or anything, I think they just did too wide of a turn when they swung around the corner. But all I could think of was oh, no, please don't crush the car on the first week. Because of the age, I didn't think I would put collision/comprehensive on the car despite its condition, but the advice was to do so, especially as it shouldn't cost that much. My goal is to be as well-insured as a little old lady.

It's amazing how things have progressed. I couldn't put any weight at all on my foot until mid-December. Even then I was still in a wheelchair until I returned it on the 27th. Up to last week I was still using the walker, which I returned this week. It's amazing. For so many weeks I was trying to be patient, but once I got up on my feet, things went pretty quickly. It is so good to be back to work and to be able to visit with my friends. And it's nice to be mobile in terms of the car as well. There is so much more freedom when you realise that you can go somewhere in the middle of the night if you want to, or change you mind about your itinerary without adding another hour to your trip. I love it.

Okay, I've taken some Tylenol for my knees and am considering returning to bed. Hope you had a great week and have an even better weekend.

A long but excellent day

A small miracle happened this morning. I was able to get to the gas station without running out of gas despite the fact that I was 10 miles over my normal limit of 26-miles-to-the-gas-light. I was very nervous getting a friend last night because I really didn't think we'd make it and I'd have to call AAA. At least I have AAA. Yay, AAA.

This afternoon my mom came over (along with my stepfather, his mother, and the dog--I'm not entirely sure why) and we went downtown to transfer the car I've been driving for years over to my name. They had already gotten insurance for me from GEICO and paid for six months, so I'm good until September. I have my registration and insurance cards in the glove box just in case I get pulled over (I have a tail light out, so it's a possibility. Unfortunately I don't have the tools to fix it and it's a chronic water-collects-in-the-light-due-to-a-bad-seal-and-kills-the-bulb kind of thing, so fixing it doesn't ensure that it will stay fixed. Next time I go to visit my family I'll try to get my stepfather to help.) I paid for having the title transferred over and I also had to pay some minor back taxes on a car I didn't officially junk and accrued a bill for two years. But it wasn't much, which is good, because although it's payday I have:

1. Gotten gas.
   
2. Bought some health and beauty aids I was nearly out of, like shampoo and toothpaste, to name a couple.
   
3. Had breakfast, lunch, and dinner, then got some groceries tonight on the way home from my friends' house.
   
4. Bought a Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse novel that happens to be the next in the series of the ones I've read.
   
5. Paid my cable Internet bill.
   
6. Found a gadget on clearance at the grocery store that was half off (I have trouble passing up gadgets.) It's an emergency radio/flashlight/signal flasher/cell phone charger/compass/siren all in one. It operates with a hand crank, with 30 seconds giving 60 minutes of charge. This is what a former acquaintance once referred to as a 'non-electric radio', which of course it absurd, because it is electric, it just doesn't run on batteries or wires. What can I say, I thought it might be useful in the car especially and it was less than $12. And it works pretty well, too.
   

Okay, it's after 3 am. I'm going to bed now. I've been painting and dusting tonight and I'm fairly tired. There will be more tomorrow, plus two hours at the store for truck night, work at the hospital, and errands, so I should get some sleep while I can. Good night.

Well, just drat

I thought I had solved the mystery of the vanishing W-2s, but alas, no. It made sense. I was waking up from a nap when it occurred to me that I received them with my paycheque on a Thursday, and I usually work at my second job on Thursdays. I wouldn't have wanted to take them in to the store in case someone took them, so I thought there was a good chance they might be in my glove compartment (where I keep my chequebook for the same reason). Filled with zeal at my turn of logic, I went out to the car to look, but sadly there were no W-2s. I did find out that I am carrying around an expired insurance card, which with my luck in the past indicates I am due to be pulled over, perhaps for the tail-light I discovered out the other day whilst knocking snow off my car. I have insurance; I just need a new card. I'm under my mom's policy, so I'll have to get her to print one from the website (I don't know the username and password).

Sigh.

Well, I know what I'll be doing as soon as I finish eating--looking for those forms. It was on my to-do list anyway. But it had made so much sense in my head.

I did get a survey from the Nielsen rating company about my radio listening habits. They enclosed two dollars, so that was nice.

Well, I'm finished eating. Time to turn the apartment upside down without making too much of a mess at the same time. Wish me luck.