I can usually deal with snow, but I hate ice storms

Monday we had a major storm which brought us about 6 inches of snow and about half an inch of ice. I couldn't go into work, because I was afraid of falling on the ice. The next day they were using sheriff's deputies to get healthcare workers to and from work, so I used my hiking poles to get down to the street to him (and back, once I was taken home). I used the snow tips and punched throught the ice so I could get to the snow underneath and get traction with my snow boots. I then went back outside and spent one and a half hours clearing the car, as they were ending the programme at midnight, so I'd need to go into work. I was soaked to the skin before I came back, but I had success. I was able to drive in Wednesday morning and used the poles just in case, slipping just once because the shutttle stop was clear but the sidewalk was icy.

Yesterday, waking up to absolutely frigid temperatures in the teens, I went to leave the driveway to drive to work and promptly got stuck in the street, unable to go forward, but only reverse. The slush had completely frozen. I managed to make it to the curb, but had a light pole behind me, so that hampered the effort of getting it out, waited for a tow, and they had to cancel the AAA call because my street was so impassable that the tow driver got to my street and couldn't get down, and he was afraid he'd crash or get stuck, too. A Kentucky Eagle beer truck also got stuck right next to my car and had to have a pickup truck come and help get it out, which took almost an hour. Everything was glazed with about two inches of ice in the area of our house. About noon, hoping the temperatures and sun had at least done something, even though our high was 24 degrees and it hadn't hit that yet, I went back out to try again, nearly fell three times trying to get across the road (I'd brought my cane rather than hiking poles because I was going to try to go to the store, and I'd be needing to put it in the cart), and there was absolutely no snow to walk in, just ice. Someone came down the street right as I was about 10 feet from my car and scared me to death because they couldn't really stop and I was afraid I would fall in front of them. But I finally got to the car, grocery list in hand just in case. It took awhile, and some direction from my roommate, who realised my tyres were just spinning and gave some advice on getting out since he could see from the window, I finally got out, and once I was there, I skidded a little down the 30 or so yards to the ploughed road, went down to the next connector road to the snow route (I hoped it had been ploughed--it's on the bus route), went to the bank, the grocery, another bank to pay my rent the pharmacy, another grocery (the first didn't have half-and-half), and finally home again. The main roads were fine. There was a car stuck on Rosemont Garden, which was clear itself, but they got stuck turning onto a smaller road and blocked across our lane. I am so glad that when I got stuck, I'd at least managed to reverse to the curb. Eventually, I came in and tried to mindlessly scroll on Facebook, but I was so tired I went to bed and slept another two hours.

So my sleep, like my days of the week, is terribly messed up and I'm up a full hour than usual on my day off. I have to wake up my roommate in three hours so he can have coffee and wake up before class. The only thing I might be doing today is taking him to get a haircut, but that may not happen because we're supposed to get another three or more inches of snow today. At least we have food in the house and any medicine we need for the next few days.

With everything that happened, plus the frustration of it all and the concern of getting an occurrence at work, I was just exhausted. Once I got up, I fed the animals, had cereal for dinner, watched an episode of 'Midsomer Murders', and went to bed.

Here's to a better day today.

I am pleased to announce that I have a working window again

 I was given parking at work (we have five spaces that are given for important appointments or similar reasons when people need to be at the medical centre or leave or come back, and the extras are put into a lottery by last name alphabetically). My manager's husband came at lunchtime and basically took out the bad part and put the new switch in, without having to take off the inner door liner, and it took all of ten minutes.

All of ten minutes. I'd told it would be $50 for the labour. And $150 for the part, which I got off the AutoZone website for a whopping $45.

Thanks to all my co-workers (and their families) who helped me out. Specifically, thank you, Houston, Whitney, Sierra, Feliz, and Frazann. I can now lock my car properly, although there's some stickiness where the double-sided tape was...I may need to break out the rubbing alcohol.

Second day with the lamp

I don't find it annoying bright. Yesterday I had a mild headache; that's apparently normal when you start out. Right now I'm trying to get used it and only doing about 10-15 minutes a day, working my way up over the week to the recommended 30. Now if only I can wake up early enough to use it tomorrow morning. It's not really effective if I do it after I get home; it would just throw my sleep off. So I have to get up early enough to sit with it for a few minutes. We'll see. I'm going to try my best to make it a habit, at least until it gets light in the early hours again.

I got my oil changed at TIre Discounters yesterday, and after buying the larger package that includes two discounted oil changes, a 5% off voucher for service, and they threw in my windshield wipers for free, they tried to raise my window but it's down so far they were afraid to break it.  It is the switch, though, which with the labour would be about $200. I couldn't do that yesterday, but I'm going to try to have my regular mechanic look at it when I'm off for a couple of days in March.  So I went to Autozone and got a $10 kit that puts plastic on the windows and you tighten it with a hair dryer.  I was a little concerned as to how to do that, as I don't have an adapter between car electric sockets and household electric plugs, and our extension cord, if it reaches that far, would have to be plugged into the same circuit as the computer, and I don't want to trip that breaker.  You know how those hair dryers are. Funny, I have one, and I only use it for things like this unless it is 8 degrees or so outside and I've just taken a shower. I do, however, have a power bank I specifically bought so I could use my CPAP in a power loss situation like an ice storm or thunderstorm.  So I think that will work.  Anyway, that's on the agenda.  It's not really securing the car, but at least it will keep the rain out and maybe deter someone from just reaching in and getting my hangtag.

My therapy appointment went well. We're working our way through The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne, 6th edition.  We went over chapter 1, which is a quick overview of different types of disorders and treatments.  I found out that I have every major type of anxiety disorder except agoraphobia--generalised anxiety, panic, obsessive-compulsive, phobic, social, and post-traumatic stress disorders.  Chapter two will be about the causes of anxiety disorders.  My therapist also sent me a couple of videos, one on what she calls 'monkey chatter' or negative self-talk, and the other on creating a ready toolbox of breathing to deal with symptoms.  I'm going to watch those here in a bit, and try to go through chapter two tonight.

Right now I am caffeinating so I can do my Sunday chores.  We're not playing the Call of Cthulhu game this weekend, although I did go ahead and transcribe the notes last night. We watched the first episode of 'Babylon 5' (we'd seen the hard-to-find pilot movie the other day; it's on Tubi).  I never watched it regularly enough to keep up with the story, but it is really well-written and coherent, particularly as the creator wrote out the whole saga before filming, so there's a lot fo foreshadowing, and certainly, it is not 'make it up as you go along'. Then we watched 'The Orville', the first episode of season 3, in which I cried through the whole thing, as it examines the precursors and aftermath of suicide. It wasn't my depression causing me to cry--I'm feeling a lot better since my meds were upped--but there were other reasons it was timely but upsetting, and I thought the story captured things very well. Plus, I like the character it centred around a lot.

Okay, I'm going to take my medicine and check out the news on the web. Have a great day.

Preparing for tomorrow

Tomorrow it's supposed to have snowfall at the morning commute, be frigid tomorrow night, and oh, yes, it's the first night of Chanukah. So tonight has been all about preparing for all that. I already had most of a tank of gas, but the first thing I did upon returning home was to make a grocery list of things YKWIA needed for cooking, things I needed for the latkes, and general things we needed. I then proceeded to go to the Tates Creek Kroger, got almost everything I needed (although I had to get them to stock the half and half from the back and wandered a bit until I found applesauce in the fruit snack aisle). The one thing I needed to go to Fresh Market for was a Belgian endive. On entering the Landsdowne Shoppes, I had an old man who was in the right-turn lane who suddenly he decided to go into the left-turn lane (my lane) while I was occupying it. I laid on the horn, something that has taken me years to really do--I usually tap it ineffectively, and had the satisfaction of not only having him return to his lane, but he startled and I suspect I nearly scared him half to death, which is fine, given how inattentively he was driving. It is so easy to startle Southerners, who cannot fathom why anyone would be rude enough to honk their horn at the person trying to hit them. We as a lot tend to be overly polite, never stick up for ourselves, and do everything in a roundabout way so as to not offend or confront. YKWIA was raised in an aristocratic Southern family, but his Yankee roots are also quite evident. He does very well in places like New York, which would eat me alive. Southerners frustrate him, however.

Anyway, I got the endive, returned, put everything away, and then we ate leeks au gratin, which was wonderful, with a little bread, too. I cleaned up while he made a phone call to a friend, and I proceeded to go through one of my nightstands and consolidate some medications and fill up my pill reminder box since I brought my medicine with me today but didn't take it because I didn't have it pre-sorted. The bag it was in was at least useful; I gave that to a family who needed something to prevent the glitter glue from a cast (hey, we are a children's medical centre) from getting all over a car seat.

The plan tomorrow is to make classic potato latkes with applesauce and sour cream, latkes made from strained cottage cheese (sweet latkes that are very yummy with the applesauce, as I prefer the sour cream with the potato ones) and some zucchini latkes with tzatziki. I've made all three recipes before, but not in the same year, I don't think. I've been making latkes for Chanukah for YKWIA for years as a treat. This year I gave him a nice linen napkin set because his old napkins were in sad shape. He gave me a lovely hooded periwinkle scarf that is fleece and very warm, which will come in handy tomorrow. I did discover that I cannot back into our driveway to save my life. I thought it would be better to be heading out towards the street if we got any real snow, as I have front-wheel drive, but I ran into a branch that was over to the side and I'm sitting mostly in our side yard, but I'm definitely off the driveway with the back of the car a little crooked, on the grass. I think it's a shame that my car, a 2001 Taurus, is just too old to have been outfitted with a backup camera. That is one thing I miss about that Hyundai Veloster I rented. Well, that and Bluetooth. :)

Okay, I'm at a strange angle on my bed, typing, and my neck is starting to hurt. I'm going to sign off and head on to bed. I must get up a little early just in case I need to scrape the windwhield or otherwise deal with precipitation. Hope you're having a good week so far. Good night.

So on Thursday night

I went to the grocery, dropped off a book at the library, and noticed halfway home that my temperature gauge was on 'H', all the way. So I got home, and I took the bus Friday, barely getting to work on time even though I built in a 30-minute cushion because the Nicholasville Road bus had been in a small accident and was running behind. The Tates Creek bus was also running behind in the evening, and the bus driver wouldn't let us board before he took his break.

I called my mechanic on Friday, but he couldn't see it that day and is closed on weekends. He thought it sounded like a coolant leak. With the new job, I really can't take off during the day (although I probably could have Friday, as it was a low census day, with our semi-annual lecture keeping clinic numbers down to almost nothing--I checked one person out the whole day, and didn't have to do the whole process at that. Anyway, back to the car. I put water in it and took it to another place that is open and got there bright and early at 8 am.. It has good ratings and isn't a chain, but they couldn't work me in today due to two guys being out with new babies and a guy who bounced off a truck and tools with his back the day before. Still, they were willing to do it Monday, and are reasonably close to work that I could get there before they closed, by car. I didn't want to drive to another shop to try to get it fixed today. One of them also got me a soda before taking me to rent a car for the meantime. I have never rented a car before. He took me back to get my insurance card, then back the rental shop. I'm now driving a 2016 Hyundai Veloster which totally freaked me out because the radio stays on once the car ignition is off. I tried to figure it out, it finally went off. Turns out it goes off when you open the door. So I read the owner's manual to get up to speed on the car before going out again. Keep in mind, I drive a 2001 Taurus, so I'm not used to the new-fangled things. And I keep hitting the wipers instead of shifting because my gear shift is on the steering wheel. :)

Sigh

So,  tomorrow's adventure is taking the bus to and from work. My car heater is blowing cold air, but the engine is running all the way hot. Noticed the latter on the way home from the grocery store tonight,  and prayed I'd get through the half-mile or so. I'm not 100%, but I think that might mean getting a new thermostat. I have a regular mechanic I trust,  but they're only open weekdays. Any recommendations for a good weekend mechanic?  I think I may call mine (Kenny at Mitch's Auto, excellent folks) to see if he knows anyone. With the new job,  I accrue vacation and holiday time,  but can only use it for holidays at first. So weekends would be preferable.

I feel a little like Goldilocks

The last time I bought a toothbrush, I accidentally got 'medium' and well, I have sensitive teeth, and it's kind of harsh. Then the dental hygienist gave me one that was 'sensitive' that is so soft, the bristles are starting to bow after a very short time. Enter the brush my dental insurer (Aetna) gave us at our benefits meeting last month, all packaged up with a travel cover, and it's just right, 'soft' without being too soft, and it's got one of those doo-hickeys on the other side for your tongue (funny, I just brush my tongue). Anyway, I'm all ready for bed; brushed, flossed (yay for Habitica), medicine taken. I've had a lot of caffeine, so I'm not sure how long it'll take to sleep, but I feel good. Even my arm, shoulder, neck thing isn't hurting much, just a twinge. I realised, looking at the calendar, that I didn't make an appointment with my physical therapist on this upcoming short week, but it may be okay. I think I'm almost back to normal. We'll see, anyway. And I have it the next week, so if I start hurting there's that, or I'm sure he could try to work me in if needed this week. Of course, I have an appointment after work on Monday, and YKWIA has one on Wednesday, so I'm not sure how that will work. But if I feel as well as I am right now, I'll be back to my old self.

I got on the computer to look at feeding dried brine shrimp to goldfish. You can, but they're rich, so they're not everyday foods. I'm almost out of their regular food, so the shrimp might help it last awhile longer, especially if I crumble it up fine. I want to get pellets next time for the goldfish food, as they're better than flakes and don't make as much mess. I have Betta pellets, but I don't know if those will work. I guess I can Google that as well. [The answer is not really--Bettas eat a lot of protein, as carnivores, and goldfish are omnivores. It won't hurt for a feeding or two, but it shouldn't be done regularly.] If I recall, goldfish have fairly small mouths, although they're just a fancy carp, so I might have to cut the pellets with my fingernail. I just have to get through three more days, though. Also, I'm having a bit of a toilet paper crisis (how appropriate, given my earlier post). Tomorrow I will have to ask YKWIA for some; it the meantime I still have those supposedly flushable cloths made by Cottonelle (they really shouldn't be flushed, you should see what they do in the sewers) to tide me over.

I hope I get one of these jobs I've applied for so that I won't be going down to the wire like this on a regular basis. Most of my next cheque is going to the car repair, even with my friends' help. But hey, even though it's 15 years old, it just passed 62,000 miles, so it's doing pretty well, and I'd like to keep it that way. :)

Okay, it's 2 am. I'd like to get over to YKWIA's for laundry, housecleaning, and the movie Ant-Man from Netflix by 9 am if possible. That may also be a 'we'll see' sort of thing. :) Anyway, have a good night. Hope your weekend is going well.

Good news/bad news

Good news: I went to physical therapy and feel much better. We decided I should come twice a week, since the pain has been so bad, I have unlimited visits, and I've met my out-of-pocket max till January. So, I'll go Monday and Wednesday next week. Yay!

Good news: I got the monitor hooked up, with the power cable, etc., and I've adjusted my chair and placed the monitor on its box. I've set the laptop to work when closed, and I'm using the ergonomic keyboard instead. Of course, even with adjusting the chair, while I'm good on the monitor, my keyboard and mouse were too low, so I moved them up onto the top of the desk rather than the tray, and in fact the keyboard is on top of the laptop, and it seems much better. It's not quite as nicely set up as it is at work, but it's better.

Good news: I applied for a job at the University of Kentucky (and one for the state a couple of weeks ago). Think good thoughts.

Bad news: I think my brakes are failing on the car. They've been a little mushy, and now I feel like they're going near the floor. There was a horrible sound from my rear passenger wheel last night which was repeated today, and it sounds like something (a caliper with pad?) is dragging on the wheel. I don't want to drive it any more until I can find out what is going on, so even though my friends have an appointment tomorrow, they are going to take the bus, and I am going to take the car in to the shop very early in the morning, so I will at least know what's going on. I'm not sure I can get it fixed, having just paid most of my bills, but I'll try. I'm just afraid of the brakes failing entirely. I don't think anyone wants that.

Okay, I'm going to go see what I can do tonight. I'm home and I may just try to relax; I've been tense over the car. Maybe some music and reading is in order. :)

Mission accomplished!

I got all the clean clothes either folded and put in the chest-of-drawers or dresser, or hung up in the closet. The dirty clothes are all in a hamper in the bathroom. That's the first time that's happened in, well, months, and I think the first time clothes have hung in the closet since I got here twelve and a half years ago. Really. And I got A from work, got some gas, took him to Kroger for ice cream, and came home and finally got to take the muscle relaxants. I'm going to finish getting ready for bed, take my medicine, and go on to bed.

So that leaves some minor things in the bedroom to straighten up, a little in the living room, and some boxes stacked up in the dining room. But I can walk freely through the house. After I get those taken care of, I'm going to try to work on that other closet. Then we'll try to conquer the books when I'm feeling better (if ever--I'm beginning to doubt that, it's been at least a few weeks now). But I do have physical therapy tomorrow, so that should help.

Oh, and I did find a few more clothes to give away. I'm going to check with YKWIA if he wants any of the t-shirts, as they're his size. Otherwise, it'll be time to go back to Goodwill.

I nearly freaked out getting A tonight because something shifted in my trunk several times. The first time I thought I'd hit something. The second and third times I was beginning to think my car was about to fall apart. I think it was a coffee maker that I'd planned to take to the electronics recycling centre for YKWIA.

Okay, time for bed. Good night.

UPDATE: The sound was definitely not good. Not stuff shifting in the trunk. I'll update when I know more.

My little car has reached a milestone

I went to get a friend from work tonight and my odometer rolled over past 60,000 miles.  Considering the car is a 2001 Ford Taurus SES,  it's doing pretty well.  It was my grandmother's car and then my mom drove it,  and I think when I got it over three and a half years ago,  it had about 35,000 miles on it.  I drive around town a lot,  but that's still less than the average from an insurance point of view,  so I get a break in my rates.  When I first bought the car,  a mechanic said the best thing I could do beyond the flushing and the like that I had done was drive it,  rather than let it sit.  So I've broken it in nicely,  15-16 years after it was made. Here's to another 15, with any luck.  My last Taurus had over 280,000 miles on it before it died.  I'm in the take-care-of-it-and-drive-till-it-collapses school of thought with cars,  obviously.

Not surprising

Siri ... why is this semi headed RIGHT AT ME? Phone apps distracting as ever – new study: Hands-free tech still not so safe, claim researchers

Using your phone's cyber-slave by voice while focusing on the road? You're not as safe as you think, according to AAA.

The US auto club said it found apps such as Siri, and in-car personal assistant systems, are far more distracting than expected.

A study [PDF] AAA carried out with the University of Utah found that using voice commands to dial numbers, changing the music, and similar tasks while on the road, was more taxing on the mind of drivers than normal tasks, such as chatting to a passenger or listening to the radio.

I've watched people using their 'hands-free' technology in the car, including the Bluetooth through the car console. Often they lean towards the little monitor. They definitely are not really paying attention to the road. Best thing to do in the car? Leave Siri or other assistants and the phone itself off.

So it's nearly 2 am

I've been going strong since about 7 am, which means I'm going to keep this short. Today I kept a friend company whose husband is away from the house at a convention. All told I have:

1. Taken out the trash so far that I collected last night from the apartment.
2. Stopped by McDonald's for breakfast, bringing some to my friend as well.
3. Fed his dogs and cats and let the dogs out (twice).
4. Watched an episode of 'Fringe', two episodes of 'Warehouse 13', one of 'Haven', and two of 'The Awesomes'.
5. Rubbed my friend's feet and put him to bed for a couple of hours, since he hadn't had a full night of sleep.
6. Ate a sandwich, foraging there for food.
7. Finished the game notes while he was sleeping.
8. Brought in the dogs and watered everyone.
9. Gone to the store to get groceries for them (without my normal helper) and for me.
10. Fixed my friend dinner.
11. Filled up various containers with new sweetener, popcorn, and salt (obviously different containers).
12. Sent the dogs back out.
13. Brushed a dog.
14. Convinced another dog that the muzzle could be used if she failed to come in.
15. Played 'name that TV theme show from the 60s' and failed miserably.
16. Watched some YouTube videos.
17. Got caught up on the drama at the convention.
18. Visited with my friend.
19. Left the laptop there so I wouldn't have to lug it back tomorrow and packed up and came home.
20. Explained to my friend that turning the porch light off before I actually get in the car and drive away leaves me looking for the ignition key. He didn't realise the button fob on my car, while it does unlock the doors, does not turn the car on or anything. I explained a little better how it works.
21. Ate a bit of food.

And now I'm headed to bed. I have to be there by 9 am for the game preparations tomorrow. That's 7 hours away. Good night.

So my odometer rolled over to 45,000 miles today

Which isn't bad, considering my car is a 2001 model. :) I think I've put just under 6,000 of those miles on it in the year and a half that I've had it. It's been a good little car so far, and I hope to have it for many years to come. I'm trying to take care of it and keep it in good repair and maintained regularly, anyway. I'm so glad I was able to get it. It really has made things so much easier for me (and my friends who don't drive), compared to riding the bus!

What a day

It did take two tries, but I did get my passport application in. I should get it in about six weeks. I even took a fairly nice photo that YKWIA described as 'perky'. Afterwards I went by the pharmacy and got medicine for three people, then went and got some food from Texas Roadhouse and ate with YKWIA and A. YKWIA and I watched some YouTube videos that were wonderful as they debunked a lot of conspiracy theories, and then I decided to head on home about 8:30 or so. I'm just now sitting down and deciding what to do next. Given that I 1) need to do notes, 2) could have some fun watching videos, or 3) am so tired I could just go straight to bed, I am somewhat in a quandry. Notes will probably be pushed to tomorrow night, although, as usual, that's last minute. What I really want to do is take a shower, put my jammies on and get comfortable, maybe listen to some music for a bit. Basically, I need to relax. There were lots of frustrations today and a great deal of traffic to navigate, as I think I spent my day, about 9:30-6:30 running full tilt.

For tomorrow, I plan on:

1. Going to the farmer's market (for real this weekend)
2. Doing some laundry (at my friends' house if possible, and then the hand washables at home later)
3. Getting the car washed and detailed (A is treating me to this, which is great)
4. Doing game notes

That's doable, I think. For now, though, I'm going to listen to my plushie cat that plays 'Soft Kitty', get into a sleep shirt, and go into the bedroom for a bit. Maybe I'll even read for a bit. I have the latest (and last) of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Series (the one 'True Blood' is based upon, with Sookie Stackhouse as the main character) and I'm interested in how she'll end it. :)

Had a bit of a scare today

as someone bumped into my car from behind while I was stopped waiting for the car in front of me to parallel park. But there was no damage to either people or cars, so that was good. I am beginning to wonder if there is a large neon sign above my head that says 'hit me', considering I was hit by a car in October as a paedestrian (breaking my foot and ankle), sideswiped (thankfully without injury to car or people) right after I got the car, and now this. I really try to be very cognizant of what is happening around me when I'm driving, but every day I find myself driving defensively because the people around me are either distracted or don't really care that they're running red lights, disobeying all sorts of traffic laws, failing to yield or use signals, or generally just driving like madmen. I also think I'm one of the few persons on the planet not to engage their cell phone whilst driving, so maybe that's part of it. *Shakes head* Anyway, I'm alright, and thankful that the bump didn't do any damage.

Somewhat amused

The very first thing I bought for the car--on the very night I brought it to Lexington--was a window scraper for frost and snow. Just now I went to put the comforter in the dryer and two of my neighbours are in their car dealing with a very thick frost by using the window wiper fluid in their car reservoir and their wipers to clear off the front, a rear defrost for the back, and they're letting the side windows go up and down in an effort to clear them. I was going to offer to let them use my scraper, but surprisingly, they're doing well for the front and back, and I guess they'll get there eventually. But I was amused. If you don't have a garage, a scraper is pretty necessary in our climate (and even then, many people have them). Granted, I've been caught without one and I've used a card out of of my wallet that wasn't too important. But I've never actually just seen someone laying on with the windshield wiper fluid in the hopes of melting the frost, especially in sub-freezing weather. Even with the additives in the fluid, I'm surprised they did as well as they did, although I'm sure it would have been faster with a scraper. Just saying....

Oh, well. I think I'm going to lie back down for a bit while the comforter dries (but get up in plenty of time to deal with my own frosted car). Hope you have a great day.

Today I had a scary moment

I was at a McDonald's drive-through which had two lanes. One had two cars, one had one, and then the latter drove off, so I went to back up so I could get into that lane. I looked behind me before putting the car in reverse, and there was nothing, so I started backing up. Then I saw about an inch of head peeking up behind me in the window and stopped immediately. A girl who looked to be four or so had run behind the car, followed by her parents, who did not call her back, hold her hand, or otherwise seem to notice that I could easily have run over their daughter. They had a three-year-old boy by the hand. Thank the Gods I saw her in time. I consider myself a fairly safe driver but if she'd been a bit shorter, or if she were in the spot where my third brake light comes up in the window, I would have hit her. What struck me, too, was just how oblivious these people were. Maybe cars should have those alarms for backing up that trucks do, the type people outside can hear.

It's been a busy couple of days. Yesterday I went and hunted down a box springs. My mom gave me a new mattress a few years ago, but my box springs is almost thirty years old, with wires poking out. I scratched myself the other day on one. And I have a bedding set that comes with a dust ruffle but can't use it without it being torn by the wires. So I went to Sears and ordered a Serta box springs to go with my mattress, which is the same brand. It should be delivered sometime Thursday. I also got a pair of pillows and a comfy blanket that matches the light purple bedding exactly. I couldn't remember if the set had Euro shams as well, so I didn't get the pillows for that type (they're big and square), but it does, so I'll probably go back and get a couple of those. But I now have enough pillows for the shams and regular pillow cases.

I watched a movie with YKWIA last night that was pretty good. It was the remake of Total Recall with Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel. The only thing was it used the concept of a gravity train while seeming to ignore the solid inner core of the Earth. as well as the pressures and temperature extremes that they should have been going through. Even if you take into account people climbing up the outside of a moving, giant vehicle that has passed the core, such as in the mantle, the temps are huge and they should have just died, unless their technology could really create a stable and habitable tunnel. It really bothered both of us. But it was so much better than the original Arnold Schwarzenegger film. Kate Beckinsale especially did a great job of playing a focused, relentless person.

Because of the movie, and because I've been so busy lately, I wound up putting off doing the notes till early this morning, but had to finish them, as today was the game. We played late (I got home a little after 11 pm) and it went well, but things were going to hell in a handbasket pretty quickly for awhile. One of my characters has been blinded, two are taking care of twelve children, whereas Brenda had to stop one character from killing another of her characters using a third character. :)

I should probably go on sleep. I'm pretty tired. Hope you had a good weekend and have a great week ahead.

Almost too tired to blog

As it is, I am writing on the tablet from bed, with my knees and legs propped up on a pillow, with the fan blowing on me.

Last night I cooked for a sick friend and picked up another friend and his kids, who were stranded when their car quit on them. Then I got up very early to pick up his wife from work. Then I headed over to Tire Discounters. The good news is my brakes did not have to be changed, just adjusted. I got four new tires, a free alignment, an oil change, and got the coolant, brake, and transmission fluids flushed. Then I went to Advanced Auto Parts, got windshield wipers, and they put them on for me for free. The car is driving much better now.

I went over and cooked some more under my friend's direction, since he isn't feeling up to it. It's good practice for me. Yesterday was Brussels sprouts soup and a salad with a creamy caraway dressing. Tonight was artichoke and potato soup, a mushroom and egg dish, and Belgian endives in brown sugar and spices.

After dinner we watched 'Big Bang Theory' and recorded episodes of 'House of Anubis'. Then I took my leave. I am very tired and have stood too much today. Hence the putting my legs up. Good night.

Actually got home at an early hour and am not completely exhausted

This is my fourth work day since I returned and I'm feeling pretty decent. Last week my back hurt even walking for short distances. Today I had to walk quite a distance before having any pain. I've been pretty busy at work, and of course this weekend was busy as well, so there's been very little blogging. Sorry about that.

Yesterday I:

1. Went to Bob Evans and gave a tip to a waitress. I'd gone out with friends on Christmas Eve for brunch and accidentally stiffed her on the tip. I went to the restroom and gave my friend my credit card to pay. He probably thought I'd put the tip on the table; I forgot to tell him to put it on the card. I still felt awful about that, so I called; she was there. I went over there and gave her $10 for the wait.
2. Watched A clean their house and visited.
3. Played the game, yay!
4. Came home, listened to some music, texted a bit, and put my foot up. I was asleep by 9:30.

Today I:

1. Called the hospital about a billing mistake.
2. Made an appointment tomorrow for physical therapy.
3. Talked to my home health physical therapist and made arrangements to return the cane he let me borrow.
4. Did all my regular work.
5. Talked to my mom. She has the car title and we are going to transfer it to my name officially on Wednesday.
6. Did some insurance shopping online when I got home.

For tomorrow:

1. Do my regular work.
2. Go to physical therapy.
3. Put some gas in the car.
4. Start working on the house a bit. I have trash and recyclables to go out, for example.

I am so glad to be driving again. It is instant freedom. And it makes it much easier to get to work and back. Once the title is in my name I'm going to take it in and have it inspected, get the oil changed, and see how things like the brakes and tyres are doing. I got AAA the other day. That way I'm covered should something break down. It is an older car, after all. But I do feel it will be reliable.

I think I'm going to listen to some music for awhile and put my foot up. I'll try to write later, maybe find some interesting news to post about. Have a great night.

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.