Considering

I went to bed a mere five hours ago, I am up way too early for a Sunday morning, especially as we are still on hiatus from the game. But I couldn't sleep any more--I think I first woke up around 6:30 am and then kept waking up from there. So I'm enjoying a piece of homemade bread with margarine and spreadable fruit, along with some string cheese, and starting my day. Things I must/should do today:

• Take some salmon and salad over to YKWIA's to get his opinion.
• Do laundry there.
• Clean his house.
• Watch the movie we never got to last weekend, Pride, so we can send it back. [Update: we'll do this during the week.]
• Work on the dining area.
• Make room for plastic tubs under the microwave.
• Do a quick once-over in the bathroom.
• Reconcile my ledger with the co-op and Kroger purchases from yesterday.
• E-mail my mom and check on her.
• Pick up A from work again tonight.

I should have taken a little time yesterday to go to the pool, but didn't. I don't know if I'll be able to do so today; our pool is open from 10 am through 10 pm, and I'll probably be busy most of that time.

I tried to blog last night

using the Blogger mobile application to share an updated picture of the buds on the orchid at work that’s getting ready to bloom, but it just kept saying ‘publishing’ and refused to upload the photo. They’re not quite ready to open yet, but they will be soon—they’ve swollen quite a bit. But I guess I’ll wait till the orchid is actually blooming before trying to post another picture, one that goes through my laptop rather than my phone, perhaps.

After work today I had intended to pay my rent and get my hair cut, but a friend was out of an important medicine and half and half [the latter in not an emergency, of course, but it is a major staple in their house, as it’s used in coffee]. I was going to the grocery anyway, so I went and got the medicine from the pharmacy and then went over to the Tates Creek Kroger to get some food [it has a couple of items I wasn’t sure would be at Chinoe, my usual store]. I dropped the creamer and medicine off and came on home. I can pay my rent and get my hair cut on Saturday, as that’s when the last day to pay the rent is. When I changed out of my work clothes, I got into something comfy but which could be worn out because I am considering going over to use the gym here at the complex. I say considering because there are things around here to do, like some housework—including vacuuming--and I also have some exercise equipment that can be used at home (things like exercise bands, 2-5 lb weights, an exercise ball, etc.) But right now, I’ve had a sneezing fit and want to be breathing a little better before I either go walk or cycle or do stuff here.

I’m also burning up. I came in, got into fewer clothes, turned off the heat, and put the fan in the living room directly on me. It’s only 34 degrees outside, and it’s been snowing all day, but I had the car window down most of the time I was running around this afternoon. I’m not quite sure why, if it’s hormonal or just my normal hot nature, but I’m definitely not suffering on this coldest day of the week (next week it’s supposed to be in the 70s!)

So, anyway, I have some free time tonight. Here’s the plan:

• Blog
• Charge my phone and Kindle
• Put the non-perishable groceries away
• Vacuum
• Exercise, either in the apartment or at the nearby gym
• Fold laundry
• Unload the dishwasher and load it
• Go over some finances and figure out how to handle some debt and look at my budget
• Do some wellness planning
• Study some Latin for a half-hour
• Play the Atari and Nintendo for a half-hour
• Watch a DVD, maybe a ‘Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries’ programme [I can fold laundry while I do that]
• Read awhile from a couple of books I have out of the library on my Kindle [or rather, read one and re-read Ursula K LeGuin’s A Wizard of Earthsea, a book I adore—I am considering getting the complete series, and I want to see how the formatting looks, as I’ve only read the original trilogy, which I have in trade paperback, and there are a total of six now]

Okay, I think I finally cooled down, and now I’m starting to feel a little chilled. Time to turn off the fan, plug up the vacuum, and do something about my living room.

Snow Day!

So the snow didn’t actually start until the early morning commute. I got up and watched the conditions being predicted on the weather, though, and decided that while I most likely could drive or take the bus to work, getting back was going to be an absolute problem, whichever I chose. So I called my boss, who bless her heart planned on being in, as her husband was going to bring her from Garrard County, and left a message on her voicemail that I was going to heed the warnings and stay off the road, hunkered down in my apartment.

And then the snow came. And came. And came.

I went back to sleep till about 10:20 and fixed a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast with fruit, a banana, and Morningstar farm veggie sausage patties. As I ate, I watched the snow coming down. It was about two or so inches then, and it was coming down probably at about 1-2 inches per hour. Some of my neighbours, mostly from South Asia, were coming up by foot and visiting others here in the building. No one was out clearing vehicles or trying to drive anywhere that I saw. (I have a front living room window, facing the parking lot, so I can sort of watch the world as it goes by. I did a lot of that after I was hit by the car and was laid up for three months with a broken foot and ankle.) Anyway, one of our maintenance men came and shoveled the walk, stairs, and porch, clearing the snow. It seems to be a heavy, wet type of snow. I decided to go back to bed for awhile (I didn’t sleep that well last night), and so I slept from about 11:45 to 1:00 and got up to about six inches of snow. The walk is completely covered again, and it looks like the snow has been blowing and drifting some. The southern part of the state apparently got ice before the snow, so things have been worse for them. We’re at about the limit of my ability to drive in the snow now; if it continues like this for three more hours, I really don’t think I could have gotten home, and it is supposed to go for some time, up through tomorrow morning.

Now I’m going to try to do some things around the house. I’m a little chilly, but getting up and doing some things should help (it’s one reason I went back to bed.) So I’m going to turn the heat up a notch and then try to (over the next couple of days, since I’m probably not going anywhere soon):

1. Wash dishes.
2. Straighten up the kitchen.
3. Bag up the recyclables.
4. Take out the trash and recyclables if possible.
5. Straighten up the dining room.
6. Fold the remaining clean laundry.
7. Gather the dirty laundry for tomorrow, after the snow stops.
8. Straighten up the living room a bit.
9. Do a quick once-over on the bathroom.
10. Tackle the bedroom, which need to be excavated, as for once I have dirty laundry on the floor rather than the hamper, some clean laundry stacked up, the boxes of Christmas ornaments to still put away, and some things pulled out of the closets that need to go back. Then I can make the bed and all should be right with the world, and I can mark things off my to-do list.
11. I also need to call Vonage today and cancel my service, since I don’t have Internet at home anymore. To save on data, I’m also typing this up in Word first and then pasting into Blogger.

I’d also like to do some things for fun while I’m off (what’s a snow day without reading, for example). And while I can’t watch any streaming video, I have some DVDs to catch up on, including Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, some Phryne Fisher mysteries, and of course, ‘Downton Abbey’, where I’ve only finished the first season and have two and three on DVD, so I’m hopelessly behind.

Depending on how things look tomorrow afternoon, I may try to dig out and get A for a trip to the store, assuming there is anything left to get. :) But it may be Sunday before we can do that. I did bring them milk, creamer, and bread yesterday to help bridge that time.

Okay, I guess I’ll start with the dishes. Stay safe if this storm is impacting you.

TGIF

It's been a busy week. Today I almost got caught up on everything I needed at work, and I did what I could, but a couple of things will have to wait until Monday, but neither was absolutely vital to complete today; I just wanted to. After work I went and got a couple of prescriptions for a friend, went by the grocery (and got 5 cent Kiwi fruit, in good shape, with my Kroger card!) I mostly got some dairy and fruit, as I haven't had much of that lately. It's mostly been peanut butter and bread. I grabbed some food that my friend paid for and brought it to them (I'd already eaten). I watched an episode of The Adventures of Merlin and then pilled the dog and came on home. I've been on Facebook looking for something to blog about, but no dice.

Tomorrow I'm taking a friend to the bank to convert change to bills, to the grocery store for a small grocery run, and maybe watching a DVD over at my house (he'd like to see The Hunger Games, he said). Sunday we will most likely not be playing, as Brenda has SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) events the next two weeks, so unless they don't go for some reason, she won't be playing. But I should do the game notes anyway, just in case.

Okay, I'm pooped. Like I said, it's been busy. Next week is looking better in terms of numbers. Thursday is more busy than normal, and Wednesday less so, and therefore I'm going to be in scheduling Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday instead of the normal Monday through Wednesday. But I think right now I'm going to go listen to some music and then head on to bed. Good night.

So, I have a free evening

on the night before the Call of Cthulhu game, when I don't have to do game notes because I finished them last week. Do I:

• Take a nap?
• Read Hollow City by Ransom Riggs, which is due back to the library soon?
• Watch The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part One on DVD, which I haven't seen yet?
• Re-watch Galaxy Quest on DVD, which is a really fun movie?
• Watch the first episode of last year's 'Doctor Who' on Netflix, since YKWIA won't watch Peter Capaldi, whose accent makes it difficult for him to understand?
• Listen to music (which I did last night, so maybe not)?

A got me to go walking with him again to Gainesway Pond, and this time he took a dog but I did not, so I could focus on not falling. Despite a sock that kept trying to inexplicably fall down my foot (it didn't yesterday when I wore it, so I guess that's just proof you should change socks every day), it was a good walk, although now I'm a bit sore and tired. The pond fountain was on, and that was nice. I saw a duck, several geese, and what looked like a peregrine falcon with a vole in its talons while we were out.

Now I'm home after also going grocery shopping with him and watching two episodes of 'Lost Girl' with YKWIA. I'm a bit pooped. So I think a small nap may be in order, followed by watching something and maybe a little reading before bed. Good night, in case I don't post more tonight.

Tomorrow I'm off work for my birthday

These are the things I need/want to do:

1. Have my brakes inspected and fixed if need be.
2. Get some gas.
3. Work on the apartment:
   1. Take out the trash and recyclables.
   2. Do dishes, both the ones in the dishwasher and hand-wash ones.
   3. Clean the kitchen counters and stove.
   4. Clean the bathroom.
   5. Sweep and mop the kitchen and bath.
   6. Straighten up the living area, dining area, and bedroom.
   7. Vacuum the carpet.
4. Go out somewhere (nice, but cheap) for lunch.
5. Go to the grocery.
6. Re-pot some houseplants.
7. Watch some DVDs or maybe Netflix (I would go out to the movies, as I have free tickets, but there's not much I want to see, except maybe Home.
8. Fill the big aquarium up with water (I did do the small one, but the goldfish are still dealing with only having about 15 gallons of water).
9. Read John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things.

Class was great tonight; we had guest speakers and had great participation. There were some volunteer opportunities and an evaluation. I signed up for potential volunteering, including training to possibly teach a class. Next week we graduate and have our potluck, and discuss advocacy. So I'm kind of hyped up for that.

Okay, I think I'll spend some quiet time before bed listening to some soothing music. Good night.

Over spending some time at my friends' house

One of them is at the barber shop getting his hair cut, the other is working on something at the computer, and I brought my laptop with me, so I thought I'd take a few moments to blog. Yesterday I went to an ENT specialist about recurrent sinus infections. Next month I'm going to have a CT scan of my sinuses to see if there is a reason for them. I've never had a CT scan before, so this should be a new experience.

So most of yesterday morning was spent at the doctor's office. I went on into work and got everything I needed to do finished. Then it was over to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine for two people (including myself), to the post office to pick up a certified letter (regarding an issue that's already been resolved), and the bank to put a little cash into the ATM to cover a debit that will go through today. Afterwards, YKWIA and I watched some videos and then 'Grimm', which has been really great of late and promises to continue to be.

This morning I was very slow to wake up and wasn't feeling the best. My back is hurting, but I took some acetaminophen. I'm trying to get away from ibuprofen due to the kidney issue, but take only as little acetaminophen as possible. Now I've eaten and taken all my meds and I'm feeling a little better. Today we are finally taking down the Christmas tree, there's a movie we want to watch in DVD form from Netfiix (The Ladykillers, with Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers), the grocery run, and maybe some projects around here. But I also have to do the game notes, so I'm going to sign off here and start that. Have a great day!

Just finished watching

The Book Thief. I do have the book by Markus Zusak on my Kindle, but have not read it yet, so I can't tell you how close the movie is to the book. What I can tell you is that this movie made me cry for the better part of the last hour, but it was very uplifting as well. It is the story of Liesel, a young girl who cannot read yet has a fascination for books, stealing her first, a guide to grave digging, at her brother's funeral. Set in Hitler's Germany prior to World War II and up to the end of it, and shown through the eyes of a child, it is the story of a lonely quiet girl who slowly bonds with her foster parents, the boy next door, and the young Jewish man their family is hiding. Narrated by Death, we are assured that everyone will die at some point, but the way these people live their lives is a legacy that fits into story around them like the words that become so important to Liesel. It is the story of decent people, cruel people, people of all walks of life and temperament, of survival, and love. As Death says, 'The only truth I truly I know is that I am haunted by humans.' I highly recommend it. I liked it so well I went ahead and ordered it on Amazon. Next up on the DVD queue for A and me to watch is Twelve Years a Slave. I'm also going to put The Grand Budapest Hotel on it, which had a preview on this DVD, because I think YKWIA, A, and I would all enjoy it.

I didn't actually sleep earlier, although I tried

I just couldn't relax enough, so I got up and did some computer things and set up a printer, and when I returned to bed and finally got relaxed, it was time to get up and go over to YKWIA's for 'Grimm'. Now it's after midnight and I'm home, and although I'm not flat out exhausted like I thought I would be, I think it's nearly time to turn in.

On tomorrow's agenda:

1. Sleep in (hopefully)
2. Go by Half-Price Books and check to see whether they have Galaxy Quest on DVD--I'd like to have it in that format
3. Take a friend's mail to the post office (it requires odd postage)
4. Take another friend to the grocery if possible
5. Watch the movie Jug Face, which looks very creepy, with friends
6. Do some laundry
7. Work on the game notes

I know, it doesn't sound particularly exciting, does it? That's fine. And I'll try doing something relaxing here and there, too. For now, though, I think I'll head on to bed. Good night. Have a happy weekend.

Sigh.

I know I'll get used to the things eventually, but is it sad that I long for that moment when I get home and immediately take off/out my shoes, socks, contacts, partials, in that order, and only then can I really relax for the night? I feel old. And I still sound odd to the point that when I had to call doctors' offices for two hours today, I took the partials out and had them hidden in a cup under a shelf at my desk so the people on the other end could understand me. At least my co-workers haven't made fun of me. That's what my friends are for. :)

After work I grabbed a baked cod meal from Long John Silver's, some sandwiches for my friends, had dinner while watching 'Dan vs.', bathed another dog, and then watched City of Ember with YKWIA. I enjoyed it. I will say I've now seen several things with Saoirse Ronan, and I think she shows quite a lot of promise. I first saw her in The Lovely Bones. Next up in the Netflix queue--Strictly Ballroom.

Just woke up from a three-and-a-half-hour nap

Yesterday I said I was tired. If anything, I was worse today, having gotten up very early to get my teeth cleaned at an 8 am appointment. I was so tired when I got off work that I didn't even have the energy to sing along with the CD player in the car. I went over to a sick friend's house briefly and made him some dinner, and then came home, relieved to not be driving any more. I don't think I'd reached the dangerous/can't drive point, but I was definitely feeling a little slow on the reflexes and struggled to remain vigilant for any issues. I didn't immediately sleep, and played on the computer and did some online shopping before finally going into the other room about 7:30 and putting on some Ed Sheeran, none of which I heard beyond the first bar of 'A Team', waking up about eleven. So, I didn't really get anything accomplished tonight, but I did get some rest, at least. Here are my plans for tomorrow:

1. Get up early, and work on the house.
2. Take out the trash and recyclables.
3. Run the dishwasher.
4. Go get some medicine from the pharmacy for one friend.
5. Go get or order some paperbacks from Barnes and Noble for another.
6. Take A to the grocery store.
7. Watch 'City of Ember', which I have out from Netflix, with YKWIA.

That's pretty much it. The game notes are finished, so no worries there. Lots of running around, though, I know. And the pharmacy closes at 1 pm, so there is a time limit there. I also have a package that might be delivered to work tomorrow that if it comes in, I'll stop by and get if possible. But it will probably be Monday before it comes.

I did get a package today, courtesy of Amazon Prime. It is Ransom Riggs' second Peculiar Children book, Hollow City. I'm looking forward to reading it, and started it earlier, finishing the first chapter. I also had my second performance appraisal today (I have two jobs, two bosses, two pay grades, one place of employment). It went really well, and I addressed some concerns about what happens to this job when the hospital goes to an ambulatory care model. It's still up in the air, but I did find out that part of what I do currently would not be needed, so unless I take on additional duties (which has happened over the last four years in other ways), I'm thinking it won't go either (the library is also to be eliminated, and me with it). Still, things have been pushed back enough that I've still got about two years to find another job, so if you're aware of anything in the Lexington, Kentucky area, please feel free to pass it along. But according to my boss, we should be getting an update soon on things like severances and the way things will work during the transition, which was reassuring. Oh, and I'm getting a raise with both positions, starting in March.

Today I paid my bills for the end of the month and went through and budgeted a bit for next month. I'm trying to pay my credit card down before the April trip to Chicago so I have that for cab fare, etc., which will be reimbursed. But I'm afraid I can't swing an extra day in Chicago this time, so I'll be flying up on a Thursday and coming back on a Friday. But I'm looking forward to it anyway. It's just a little sad that when I did have everything set up for an extra day, someone ran over me with their car. :( But at least hopefully this time something like that won't happen again.

Okay, I think I'll go back to bed so I can get up early and get some things accomplished. The weather is supposed to be partly sunny and in the 50s tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have no excuses for getting things done. Maybe I'll open the windows a bit, even. Good night.

Just spent an hour

trying to download a library audiobook via OneClickDigital, Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Terror, only to find that neither the manager for the computer nor the Android application could transfer or otherwise download the files necessary, and in the end I had to do it manually, unzipping .mp3 files and transferring them to the root area of the phone's system and then playing through the normal Music application that comes with Android rather than the OneClickDigital one. Not sure what the problem was, or whether this, being an out-of-copyright book (although perhaps the recording is not), it worked rather than a more recent book which is sure to have Digital Rights Management. At least I finally got it onto the device and where I could listen to it; it'll be nice to have at work or tomorrow when I'm doing some housework. Of course, I was doing this instead of doing the game notes, and although we are not playing I should really do them. I think I'll get up early tomorrow and do them, or at least get a substantial start on them. In the meantime I have requested a book for a friend from the Interlibrary Loan Department of the public library (that's two under my name now that I have pending, one for me, one for him), caught up with the news, listened to some music, and generally had a quiet evening. Tomorrow is cleaning the guys' house, watching Suddenly, Last Summer with them (based on the Tennessee Williams' play), and hopefully working on my house a bit, as well, because I'm afraid it really needs a good straightening up. I have stuff everywhere, from laundry, to recyclables, to stuff that needs to be just thrown away. It's not conducive to doing anything productive, and I have game notes and two book reviews still waiting to be done. Anyway, have a good night. I'm going to turn in for the night. Hope your weekend is going well.

There is one good thing about the soft food diet due to my oral surgery

I've lost 8 lbs, which apparently isn't water weight as it's been consistent each morning for the last three days. Yay. Still, I must admit I don't have a lot of energy; I managed to work very steadily today (being behind for the first time in awhile), but by 8 or so I pretty much conked out. Now I'm back up, but most of the night is gone. Still, here are my plans for this weekend:

1. Work on my house
2. Watch The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which I have out from Netflix
3. Take a friend to the grocery, depending on the weather, although we got mostly rain, and it looks like the snow will fall short of the original estimates
4. Watch Suddenly, Last Summer which I also have from Netflix, with friends (yes, it's Dame Maggie Smith day--she's in both)
5. Work on the game notes (although I'm pretty sure Brenda has a doll meet Sunday, so we won't play--maybe I can work up a character that's supposed to return soon)
6. Clean my friends' house
7. Do some reading (I really haven't done much lately)
8. Watch some episodes of 'American Horror Story: Murder House' with a friend on Netflix streaming

Hopefully that's not too ambitious.

I wish I'd recorded 'The Big Bang Theory' tonight

Not only did it have Bob Newhart and Bill Nye the Science Guy, it had some utterly great lines that I'd like to hear again. Here's hoping they get posted to YouTube on the show's channel.

So, that's over now. I need to decide what to do now. It's only 9 pm. Here are my options:

• Watch the DVD of Coraline, which I received from Netflix today
• Listen to Pandora, specifically some Loreena McKennitt, which I'm doing now
• Listen to the radio or some CDs
• Watch an episode of 'Downton Abbey'--I'm on the second season, and the fourth is starting in a couple of months
• Watch some 'Grimm' off the DVR--I have all but the pilot on there, and I should catch up
• Work on the game notes in anticipation of playing Sunday
• Read (I'm currently working on Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Argrim, which has been quite good)
• Go to bed (but it's only 9 pm, although I'm a bit tired--I haven't been getting the normal amount of sleep of late (although it's been very good sleep with the new CPAP), and I didn't have enough insulin with me today so my blood sugar went up, which always makes me tired)

Which would you do, out of curiosity?

One of the reasons I didn't get enough sleep last night was because of watching 'American Horror Story: Coven'. I didn't get home till midnight, and it usually takes awhile to wind down after that show, which is both disturbing and excellent storytelling. Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates are particularly great. I've gone from watching the occasional run of 'Doctor Who' to several shows, mostly with YKWIA. There's:

1. Sunday: 'Witches of East End' [I have really bonded with the character of Ingrid Beauchamp, who is a librarian, among other things]
2. Tuesday: 'The Originals' and 'Supernatural' [of the latter, the Dog Dean Afternoon this week was much better than I thought it would be, I must admit]
3. Wednesday: 'The Tomorrow People' and 'American Horror Story: Coven' [the first I'm trying to give a chance, having loved the British series of that name as a child; the second is hand's down the best drama I'm watching at the moment]
4. Thursday: 'The Big Bang Theory' {I'm really not much into sitcoms, but this makes me laugh so much I'm surprised I don't pee myself] (that I usually watch on my own; I think YKWIA records 'The Vampire Diaries', which I've seen some of, but not a lot]
5. Friday: 'Grimm' [which I like, but haven't seen many of, yet]

Actually, it was kind of a fun day

A and I did the grocery run, then YKWIA and I watched some 'Vampire Diaries', the pilot episode of 'The Originals', and then (moving to my house) Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, the last of which had some good moves for the game. After I took him home, I listened to some Richard Marx on Pandora. Now I think I'm ready for bed. It's just as well I didn't go to the sale today; I don't really need to bring more books home--I have far too many, really--nor do I need to spend the money right now. I'd go thinking I might find one or two really special items and come back with a slew of new items.

There's no game tomorrow, so I'm going to wait to do the game notes. I'm still going over tomorrow to work on the house and bring a few things over.

Okay, I know that wasn't the most riveting post, but I'm sleepy and it's getting harder to compose. Hope your weekend is going well. Good night.

I can't believe it's just a little after 10 pm

I have:

1. Gone over to a friend's and fixed something on the computer
2. Come home and contacted someone for a friend
3. Blogged
4. Caught up on the news
5. Filled both fish tanks and cleaned out and replaced the filters, fetching about 10.5 gallons in various containers despite my back trouble (it simply had to be done)
6. Taken something for my back
7. Filled my medication holder (I forgot to do it yesterday and didn't have anything but the metformin to take today. I've graduated to a bigger pill box, as both the potassium and metformin tablets are huge, and I have a total of ten pills to put in each day's space, three of which are about 3/4 inch or more long. Fortunately a couple are tiny and two are half pills.)

I think now I'll retire to the bedroom and do some reading. I don't really want to watch any TV or DVDs right now. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment. I need a refill on my insulin, there's the back of course, and a couple of other issues that are pressing. I have a friend who has an appointment a few minutes after mine that I'm going to take, along with his spouse, so at least I'll have some company. Saturday I think A and I are going to watch the Silver Linings Playbook. That means I have to do the game notes early enough to have that evening free. I think it's doable, especially as most of the latter part of the evening was spent working on a puzzle that stumped Brenda and myself completely but which, when I looked at it with fresh eyes yesterday and paid attention to the help the game master had given us, I had it in something like 10-30 seconds flat. :) Hope you have a good evening.

Up briefly in the middle of the night

I came home about 7 pm or a little after. I was in bed by 8, lying down because my back was bothering me. I did a lot of scanning and copying today at the library, and although I spaced it out, it made my back hurt. So when I got home, I took a fourth of a muscle relaxant and very quickly fell asleep. I just got up, took my insulin and some more medicine. I think it's time to go back to the doctor. I need to for my insulin refills anyway.

I'm going to try to get up early and do some things before work. We'll see how that goes. But I did get Silver Linings Playbook in the mail today, so I'm looking forward to watching it with A. The house is in good shape and I'm going to invite him over.

Okay, I'm still sleepy. Or maybe the new medicine has already begun to take effect. Back to bed.

Today

I had a very busy workday. Then I went to the pharmacy and barely made it there on time (they close at 6 pm). I got my meds, including my rapid-acting insulin, which is good, as I was on my last pen. They forgot to give me one of the meds, though, so I'll have to go back soon. But I also picked up some medication for a friend and there was some of his that they didn't have in stock, so I was planning on going back anyway. I think I have enough of the missing medication to last a couple of days.

After that, I went looking for three items for another friend: fennel bulbs, bananas, and tweezers that were metal and wide-pointed. The last two were fairly easy to get from Kroger. The fennel turned out to be a problem. They didn't have them at the Chinoe Kroger on Sunday, but I thought they might be at Alexandria Drive's Kroger near the pharmacy. Nope. Then I tried Good Foods Co-Op, which was remodelling its entire produce cold case and so again, no fennel bulbs. Finally I decided to try Trader Joe's. I hadn't been there yet, and I found that it was nigh on impossible to correct my route when I accidentally turned too soon off Nicholasville Road. It took a good fifteen minutes and two trips back onto Nicholasville to get into the right parking lot. Fortunately, they did have the fennel. I also got some coconut cranberry granola cereal and milk for myself. In all, it took two hours to do all those errands between work and arriving at my friends' house.

I made some food for YKWIA after I stopped to drop things off, and then stayed till almost 11 pm watching videos of one sort or another and visiting. Now I'm home, I'm tired, and I'm glad it's almost time to go to bed.

I got a package from Amazon today with three CDs (Big Country, The Crossing, Big Country, Steeltown, and Mike + the Mechanics, Hits [the first two I've been listening to due to AutoRip, even though I didn't physically have the disc yet. The second I listened to in the car earlier. RIght now, I'm listening to The Crossing). Having discovered reading glasses were totally useless in helping me do data entry (unless I perched them way down on my nose, which was uncomfortable, so I could see the computer, too), I had also ordered a document holder that was metal mesh with magnets to hold the paper and a nice-sized lip so quite a few papers would fit. This brought the tiny numbers I need to look up things with up to a better level. I also got a paperweight magnifier for use when things are really tiny, and it'll help with the computer screen as well. So that solved my problem. I also sent back the remake of THe Nightmare on Elm Street today to Netflix and should get another disc by Thursday. It's a surprise for a friend. After that, there's The Silver Linings Playbook, which he's very keen to watch, and I'd like to as well.

I did try to cancel my cable television today. The first call I was on hold but got interrupted by an issue with a copier. Then the local number went kablooey and I had to call the toll-free number after several attempts locally, only to have a friend call while I was on hold. You'd think someone were trying to tell me something. I'll try again tomorrow.

Okay, I'm getting downright sleepy. I suppose I should say good night and be on my way to dreamland. Tomorrow will be a somewhat sad day, as it is the last day my boss of fourteen years or so will be there. She's moving on to better things, but I'll miss her. She's been great. Anyway, have a good night.

I totally crashed

when I got home from Kroger after work. I worked 9 1/2 hours today, trying to make up some time for the half-day yesterday. For once it wasn't that my blood sugar was through the roof, I just had a busy day. With the exception of a few things that needed to go into the refrigerator, I just left everything on the couch and went straight to bed, ostensibly for a short time (I even changed my alarm tone, and it did wake me up after a half hour, but I went back to sleep). Now, three hours later, I feel better in general, although my joints are really bothering me, no doubt because of the rain (we're having a thunderstorm now--I think thunder is what actually woke me up.) I had packed my bag for the Y today just in case I felt like going, but what I really needed was the pool, and the pool here wasn't an option due to the weather and there is no open swim at the High Street YMCA on Wednesdays, so no pool today. Again, trying to manage without ibuprofen due to the blood drive tomorrow, despite arthritis pain. Hey, I'm pretty good at chronic pain and grinning and bearing it, despite the whining I do here sometimes. It's acute pain that I'm a real weenie about.

The rain is coming down pretty hard now. Maybe it will make it to the window boxes. :)

Tomorrow I'm going to try to work another long shift, and Friday as well. I don't feel as bad about coming down and crashing as I could have because my class has been extended for last submissions by the 19th, as opposed to Friday. That doesn't mean I can wait till the last moment, as I have two assignments to do, but it's a relief, anyway. If it's not raining in the morning, I'm going to try my best to do a few things around the house that include taking out the recyclables. I never got around to them earlier.

So the question becomes what to do with the remaining evening. I could watch 'Big Bang Theory' or 'Downton Abbey', or I could work on the notes, but the sound of the rain is actually quite soothing. I'm halfway tempted to head back to bed and just start my day tomorrow super early. It would be the best in terms of my joint pain, and I'm still tired. Not just sleepy like usual, but actually tired. It was a busy day, with a lot of catch-up to do. We did have our employee appreciation day, with a catered picnic (inside, due to the muggy weather that threatened to pour) and we got some movie tickets like we usually do each year. Yay.

There are quite a few stories I really meant to blog about tonight. I'm a bit behind. But there is one that really broke my heart, and so I'm including it here. The rest will have to wait, I'm afraid. And instead of including the teaser text for the story this time, I'm including the picture, which really is worth a thousand words. This is what we have to look forward to on a larger scale over the coming years, and it's very sad. The picture is by Ashley Cooper/Global Warming Images. I'm not sure we can avert their fate at this point, but I hope so. I hope this picture becomes a rallying point for raising awareness of what we are doing to the environment, to other creatures, and ultimately, to ourselves.

A victim of climate change? Polar bear found starved to death looked 'like a rug'

Wow

Today I was energised, alert, and had a really pleasant day. For one thing, my blood sugar was near-normal all day. In fact, before lunch, it was 101. Even two hours after lunch, it was 121. That's very good. I'm still a little high in the mornings, but I suddenly realised this morning when updating my medication list that I'm supposed to take two metformin a day, and so I'm supposed to take an evening dose as well. That should help with the morning highs. But even so, it wasn't nearly as high as usual. And although I know part of it is water weight, I've lost 12 lbs since Thursday. Really. I was really productive today, and so much clearer mentally. When I got home, the first thing I did was change into my swimsuit and go to the pool, where I did exercises (I didn't really attempt to swim, exactly, nor did I float about, as there was a young girl splashing all over the place). But I did some good exercises and got my joints moving. That's what counts.

Tonight I have a quiet evening at home. I have a few things to do around the house. One of my co-workers really wants me to watch 'Downton Abbey', as she has finished season 3 and she's afraid she'll let something slip since I'm only five episodes into season 1. :) I think tonight I will watch some of that, and also start 'The Big Bang Theory' from the beginning. I might work on the game notes a bit, too, and get them squared away.

I do have a headache (I have almost all day), but I think that's because of the rain that's due tomorrow, and maybe because my blood sugar is lower than it has been, too. I'm resisting taking ibuprofen because Thursday is our blood drive at work and I don't want to have to have them mark it for having had aspirin/NSAIDs exposure. I do think I'll listen to some music for just a bit and rest my eyes, hopefully without actually going to sleep. I'll set several alarms. :)