After the rain...comes rainbows

Yesterday I did a whole slew of errands, which meant driving in heavy rain, which I find nerve-wracking, almost the whole day. Finally, at 5:42 PM, while I was going to get my holds at the Tates Creek branch of the Lexington Public Library, I was rewarded. It immediately disintegrated after I took this, so I was lucky. 🥰🌈

I stopped at the circulation desk and asked if they wanted a copy. The librarian gave me her work email, so I sent it to her.

Huzzah!

Well, I:

• Drove to the UK area to pick up my friend's jacket, which he accidentally left at a friend's house while celebrating the new year
  
  
• Drove to the grocery store to pick up food, especially as we were out of coffee, so things were dire
  
  
• Drove to Captain D's through the drive-through to pick up dinner
  
  

It was odd to drive after eight weeks, but it felt nice to get some independence back. Yay, I'm back on the road!

Today I cancelled the Chandler Pharmacy's standing order to mail me my prescriptions, so I'll have to pick up a couple after PT tomorrow. So now I can go to my appointments by myself.

To everyone who drove me to my appointments, though, thank you so much for helping me! I really appreciate it.

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.

Sorry, I didn't mean to fall off the face of the planet...

Last week was a little busy, and hard.  So on Tuesday night, I had my talk with the behavioural therapist through the AbleTo programme my insurance is partnered with.  I spoke to her about things about my childhood and my family I haven't told more than a handful of people, and it was very intense.  It's actually a programme with modules for helping depression, but she asked a couple of questions and I guess I opened up. A lot. She called my case complex, but apparently, it was in line with the module to explore some past issues that were causing problems today.

The next day I could not get out of bed. I felt bad. My stomach hurt really bad, and I think that was a result of going up on my Ozempic because the side effects always hit about two days after I take the injection I got it on Monday and took it that night. But I just couldn't drag myself out, and I felt real blah and off.  My friend, who used to work in psychiatric care, said that often you can get a 'therapy hangover', and it's the best description I can find for it. I wound up calling in to work. I've never taken a 'mental health day', but I just couldn't function. I spoke with my boss later and she understood.

On Thursday, I had the five appointments plus errands to do.  The telehealth with my psychiatrist went well because, despite Wednesday's issues, my depression is much better. We have another appointment in three months. I also had my gel injections in my knees, and those went well.  At midday, I had the PT evaluation.  The therapist thinks that part of the issue is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a problem in the inner ear. It is the most common cause of vertigo, which is a false sensation of spinning or movement. It comes from calcium crystals that build up in the inner ear and get into the wrong area of that. It can be treated with a certain manoeuvre that resets where they are so it can be absorbed. This works in most cases. I had a slightly postive test, so he did the exercise for me and set up and appointment to follow up tomorrow at 7:30 am. A greater part may be vestibular-ocular reflex (VOR). It is a reflex that helps stabilise the visual field during head movements. It occurs in response to head movement and leads to the eyes moving in the opposite direction to maintain a steady gaze. That was more positive. He doesn't think they explain the whole problem, though, and I told him I have a neurology appointment on Tuesday for a workup as well. He'll also see me Friday after the neurologist gets a chance to do his thing.

I dragged a friend to that appointment and he read in the car, because then he had a dental appointment I was taking him to and we weren't sure there'd be time for me to come and get him otherwise.  I got out earlier than they expected, so we went on and I read while he had that appointment.  Then we got some Cajun food for an early dinner. At 7 pm I had a call with the behavioural coach from the AbleTo people and that went well.

Friday I went back to work and it was Sabbath.  Saturday was restful. I did a couple of errands and the game notes, and that was about it. I got the notes done by 12:30 pm, which is a record.  Also yesterday evening we went out with friends to Joe Bologna's, an Italian restaurant here. They're celebrating 50 years in business.  They're in a beautiful building with stained glass...it used to be a synagogue years ago.

We were celebrating one friend's birthday and my upcoming one as well. The birthday kids got free desserts. It was really fun, and it was the most social interaction I've done outside of work in a long time.

In the middle of the night, my roommate and I spent two hours talking about various things, a really great conversation.

As a result, I got up a little late, started my chores late.  Our friend we game with called right before she'd normally left. Her son, who lives with her, was exposed to Covid, so they were staying home just to be sure everything was okay. She didn't want to take the chance, and we appreciate it. So I have some more time to finish my chores (I'm taking a longish break right now).

So as you can see, it was pretty busy last week.  Today was also a day I started a weight loss programme that's aimed at improving healthy habits, presented in partnership with my pharmacy benefit with another application-based system.  They sent me a scale and I'm weighing daily. My goal is to lose 20 lbs in 16 weeks.

Okay, I need to get back to my chores. I'll try to write more regularly.  Sorry about that.

Ice storm!

A bottle of deicer I bought on Amazon and had delivered last week got me to work this morning, a little late, but overall it went pretty well. I got the car door open within a couple of minutes.  It took another hour or so to get the windows as clear as I could of ice, and then a slow trip for the four miles to work.  I usually clock in at 8:30 am, and I made it there between 9:10 and 9:30 am (I'm not sure of the exact time, as I was kind of tired by that time and was just thankful to have made it to the Orange Lot at UK, walked to the shuttle, rode the shuttle, and then walked from the other side of the UK hospital to my workplace.   The only dicey part actually was crossing South Limestone at Conn Terrace, especially as the sidewalks were clear and salted, but didn't have the little bit of snow on them for traction.  The pictures are of what I found outside the house this morning.  The trickiest part was getting the limb off the porch without falling off the porch.  This is now the fifth major ice storm I've been in (four in Kentucky, one in South Carolina of all places, with seven inches of snow right outside Myrtle Beach, where I lived when I was about five because there was an Air Force base there). Anyway, I managed to get a lot of work finished because there weren't many e-mail of phone call interruptions. :) I got home after 6:30 pm because I had to go to the pharmacy (I was out of insulin pen needles), get gas, and get a few things at the grocery.  It was definitely re-freezing once the sun was down.  Now I'm safely at home, letting the bread dough rise, and thankful to be inside.  We lost power for just a couple of hours last night. Fingers crossed, I hope we don't have a repeat, as I couldn't sleep without my CPAP that whole time. 

Also, a big thank you to the gentleman who, seeing me struggle to spray and pry ice off of my gas cap cover for five minutes, help me get the last of it off so I could open my tank and fill up. 

I've gotten a goodly amount of things done today

1. Woke up and got caffeinated.
2. Took my friend to the pharmacy and also picked up a couple of things for me.
3. Worked on shelf dusting in my room.
4. Cleaned my room/put away laundry/made my bed.
5. Played mousie with the kitten several times.
6. Did the game notes in the afternoon rather than waiting till nightfall.
7. Fed the animals.
8. Finally got my friend his Chanukah present two months late, which was socks, in a big package of 14 pairs, which is good, as he desperately needed them and each pair he had was full of holes.  The man is hard on socks. But he does usually make them last for 3-5 years.  I also found the razors he's been looking for buy one, get one free, so 8 blades for $9.99, which is unheard of (thank you, Meijer).
9. Got a little rest.

Now I'm listening to music and winding down for the night, specifically Of Monsters and Men's album My Head is an Animal.

Tommorow's list is even longer:

There's the normal Sunday list:

1. Cat boxes
2. Sweep
3. Mop
4. Trash
5. Recyclables
6. Laundry
7. Dishes
8. Bathroom

Plus, I need to go to the library, turn in a book, and get one that's on hold for my roommate, take some things to the storage unit, clean my car out (it's usually pretty decent, but I had to put everything in the back seat that had been in the trunk when my driver's side front tyre went down a few weeks ago), and I also have to water the plants.

The tyre saga continued when I popped the doughnut spare on the 15th coming back from running errands. I hit a bad pothole.  There was nothing to do but have the car towed home, as I could do nothing about it until my tax refund came in or I got paid again.  I was with my roommate at the time, so I sent him in the tow truck (there was not enough room for both of us) and took the bus home, as I had a couple of dollars' emergency fund and it was Sabbath, so technically, he wasn't allowed to use money for the bus.  We broke down at 1:20 pm and by the time the tow truck got there and I got home, it was 4:15 pm.  So that was a tiring day, and the car was now down.  But on the bright side, he had one of those 20-rides-for-$15 tap cards that I'd given him the last time I had been riding the bus, and it had just enough punches (8) for the workweek (the 17th we were off for Presidents' Day.  We don't get off for MLK Jr. Day, but we do get off for Presidents' Day).

Anyway, all things went okay until Friday the 21st, the day before my appointment to get tyres.  It was right before 7 am and it was still half-dark, and I had just crossed the street on my way to the bus stop when, while walking, I looked back to see if the bus was coming (I was cutting it awfully close) and promptly lost my balance and the next thing I knew the sidewalk was like two inches away, and I fell on my face, mostly, but had broken my fall somewhat with my hands and knees.

A lady in front of me came back to try to help me, as she'd heard me fall.  She was African, all of about 90 pounds, and we couldn't get me up without me pulling her down.  Meanwhile I was bleeding like a stuck pig from my face--it was my nose, but I wasn't sure at the time, as I'd hit my head, too. right on the forehead.  Miraculously, I hadn't broken my glasses, although several days later I realised I'd scratched the frames pretty well and there are little divets out of my right lens.

Because of the blood she wanted to call an ambulance. I said I lived right across the street and wanted to get the bleeding stopped.  Bless her heart, for all I know I got blood on her hand, as I had it on mine, when she tried to get me up.  I got it all down my shirt, on my coat, and on my computer bag (which thankfully all came out in the wash, and the computer did not break).

I had to crawl backwards to the kerb and then put my feet down in the gutter and push up to get up.  I  The bus went by, I crossed the street, and got home.  I was in the bathroom with a hand towel on my nose (which was bleeding from inside, not outwardly, thankfully, and there were just a couple of small places on my nose and face at all), and I started crying, waking up YKWIA.  He came to check on me.  He'd thought I'd fallen in the house or off the porch, and I explained what happened.  My wrist hurt, my knees hurt and were scraped, and my head and face hurt.  I told him I'd take the next bus to the hospital, and since I was coherent and doing okay, he went back to bed.

I texted my boss and backup what happened and that I wouldn't probably be in.  I did take the next bus to St. Joseph East (he thought I'd gone to UK, but I prefer that hospital).  I was the only one in the ER and then a bunch of people started streaming in.  They examined me, did a CT scan of my head, neck, and facial bones, an x-ray of my left wrist, and diagnosed me with a concussion, sprained wrist, and contusions.  At the time I thought that I'd just banged me knees a little bit.  After I got home (also on the bus, about six hours from the incident), YKWIA wouldn't let me go to sleep due to the concussion till after dinner, and when I had been walking and also in bed, when my left knee went side to side at all, it would pop and catch. I tore my right meniscus years ago, and it was the same set of symptoms.

On Saturday I had the appointment for a tow and to get my car tyres.  The tow truck was the tallest one in Lexington, the driver said, and I had a really hard time getting into it between the wrist being in a brace and my knees. I'd have had trouble normally, and I was worried I'd fall.  It took both of us to get me in--he was very professional and assured me he wasn't being fresh, and I assured him I didn't think he was, but he had to physically move my foot to the taller of two steps and then give me a boost from behind.  We got to the tyre place, I paid him (he told me that I might be able to get a reimbursement from State Farm, so I've asked if that's possible and sent them the invoice--I assumed having gotten roadside assistance the day we broke down meant I couldn't get a second tow, but they've sent it to headquarters to see if it'll be approved.)  I was home with new tyres by 9:30 am (we started the tow at 7:30 and got to the store by 8, even with the difficulty of getting me up into the truck), and I promptly went to bed and didn't wake up till 3:30 pm.  But at least we were mobile again.

All week I've been behind and trying to get caught up on various surgeries and offsites from being off that day.  I've felt a little overwhelmed.  Monday I got nearly nothing of consequence taken care of. I put out lots of little fires and was very reactive, but very foggy, couldn't focus, and it just got worse as the day went along. I checked my blood sugar and it was 117, so within the norm for me, and then finally I Googled 'How long does it take to recover from a concussion' and it was 7-10 days.  I got less foggy with each day and by Wednesday and Thursday felt more on my game.   I got most everything pressing caught up Friday afternoon despite going to see about my knee that morning and just really need to hit the offsite scheduling hard on Monday, especially as I will be off on Wednesday for a series of appointments.  I have an MRI at 8:15 am, am taking YKWIA for a procedure at noon, and I think I can leave him sleeping for a 4:30 pm therapy appointment.  Technically I have six appointments next week, three on that Wednesday.  I need to move my endocrinology appointment on Monday because I just can't take off, then I have on Thursday afternoon with my GP along with YKWIA and one on Friday morning to get the results of the MRI.  They're thinking I'm right about the meniscus tear.  I also asked about my thumb, as apparently upon reviewing the x-ray there were changes they were concerned about according to my GP, and I've been told I have arthritis in my thumbs before and assumed that was it, but wanted to check.  The PA said that sounded like what they meant, that there were degenerative changes in my thumbs.  He also showed me my knee x-ray.  Nothing appeared to be broken.  The spaces between the knee bones, particularly on the medial side, are pretty small, and there are spurs in several places indicating moderate to severe arthritis, which I knew I had.  But he said that there was pretty much no cartilage behind my patella, and that was a concern.  I told him Dr Balthrop, the last time I had to have a meniscectomy, had told me I was eventually probably going to need a knee replacement.  

So that's where we stand at the moment.  A lot's been going on. I've been working very hard, was riding the bus for a while, and I've just been tired and exhausted and not up to writing when I got home.

It's very quiet in the house

Just the sounds of my fans going above my head and nearby. We finally have some relief to the heat (it's been in the 90s with little to no rain for weeks), with rain in the forecast tomorrow, but I'm hot-natured, so even though it's in the 70s now both inside and out, I keep the fans on in my room whenever I'm there. But the quiet is nice. Sometimes it's good to only hear your own thoughts.

Today  I did many things but I did not go to the YMCA and do exercises in the pool like I meant to.  I haven't given up, I just had a lot to do today.  But I did have some time to myself and some relaxation time, as well as game notes and laundry and errands.

I went to the pharmacy today to get my roommate some medicine and see if they had my Lantus, as I started on my last pen of the pack.  Turns out they'd sent a request to my doctor's office for a refill and it had been denied.  The reason? They said they had never prescribed it.

Now, I have been on Lantus for a couple of years, Basaglar before that for a short time when it was on my insurance's formulary, and years of Lantus prior to that, including quite some time of it from this office, continuously up till this past month.  So obviously there has been a mistake. I'll have to call them on Monday.  I'm hoping I have enough to last me through Monday so we can get it taken care of, a pen only lasts a few days--I get 10 per refill, and they last about 3 days each.

On Habitica, the task/productivity 'game' I play, there was a reading challenge I took up to read a book called The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury.  Now I like Ray Bradbury, and it's actually a children's book, so I thought it would be good to read some fast-moving fiction. It's been such a struggle to read fiction (even non-fiction has its challenges), for several reasons.  For one thing, I think being on the Internet has made my attention span that of a gnat.  I've also apparently been a little off in how I use my bifocals, and it's hard for me to find a nice comfy place to read--I can't read in bed easily, and the comfy chairs are in the study (where my friend is often watching streaming stuff) or in his room.  Reading in bed requires lots of pillows, a folding lap desk, and a study pillow with a neck bolster.  I can read at the kitchen and study tables, when it is quiet, but the chairs are wooden and really need cushions after a while.  Still, I managed to read the whole book in a very short time, maybe an hour or an hour and a half (it's 145 pages long).  I enjoyed it--I knew all the various cultural ties to the practices of Halloween, but that was fine. And I'd figured out what happened to one of the characters.  I guess the only real thing I had a bit of an issue with it--not a lot, just a bit, were that there were no girls at all in the characters, and little to no character description or development, really.  But it is a product of 1972, and while Bradbury's writing deviates poetically from standard writing styles, he shares a common thread you find particularly in male writers of the time, and especially in science fiction writers, somewhat tilted towards action and away from characterization.  (Women, by contrast, tend to over-describe and have a lot of emoting going without driving the action forward at all)--a good writer balances both.  Still, his description of the settings and experiences are very good, and this story actually needs somewhat blank characters, as they represent certain timeframes of history in their costumes and with the exception of the one character from whose perspective the story is told,  there's no real personality among the children, and I guess there really doesn't need to be.  Anyway, I did enjoy the story, and it was a little chilling there at the end, so suitably Halloweenesque.

Later, we ate dinner from Subway with a friend, who had a couple of Pierce Brosnan 007 movies on, and then we returned home and I took up finishing the laundry.  I've done my clothes and I'm working on my friend's bedding right now. I'm going to do mine tomorrow.

Tomorrow I think I'll try to get up early.  I was supposed to do a couple of shelves, pulling off the books and dusting them.  I didn't, but I can today.  I did do the game notes, which were more timely.  If I could get that and my normal Sunday pre-game chores are done really early, I might still be able to go to the Y and do some exercises in the pool and work out in general for maybe an hour, total.  Then Monday I can go back for the low-impact pool class that I took this past week.  I did really well with everything (and have been in much less pain and been able to move and bend better as a result) except this thing where you put the foam dumbbells under your knees and then balance above them.  I need something to hold on and even so couldn't do it.  The instructor suggested getting a lighter pair of dumbbells (I had the heavy ones) next time.  People were really nice and non-judgmental, though, and I enjoyed it.  The instructor was very good.  We ended with a mindfulness exercise.  So it starts out easy, gets the heart pumping, puts you through all sorts of movement, but it isn't extremely intense--just right for my level of conditioning.

I  also need to run by the library while they're open and pick up a book on hold on the zero-waste home--I've been on the list for a while.  It must have been there when I picked up The Halloween Tree earlier, but I didn't realise it was in, so I didn't look.  I also checked out CDs by Sam Smith and Rush.

Okay, I'm going to get ready for bed.  The laundry's still in the dryer, but at least I'll have my teeth brushed, etc.  Hope you're having a good weekend.

Today's agenda

1. Shower.
2. Take medicine.
3. Caffeinate.
4. Do two loads of laundry.
5. Go to the optician.
6. Go to the Rusty Scabbard [a local gaming store that's been around for ages].
7. Go pick up a couple of books on hold at the library.
8. Go to the YMCA and work out and then hit the warm water pool during open swim.
9. Do the game notes.
10. Dust some bookshelves.
11. Relax.

Agenda for the day

1. Go to the pharmacy for my roommate's medicine.
2. Go through the second tub of family photos [I did the first tub last week all at once, surprisingly, and this is the second of two.]
3. Do game notes.
4. Four shelves.
5. Go to two different pet stores for their brand of cat food.
6. Visit the vet for kitty meds.
7. Wash the dog blankets and the people bedding.
8. Incorporate the CD player back into my room along with the CDs I brought from work. I wasn't listening to music that way because I was afraid of disturbing my neighbours--I usually listen to music with Bluetooth headphones on.
9. Put away my laundry from last weekend.
10. Water the plants.
11. Read.
12. Go over bills.

I keep thinking there's something else. Hmm...oh, relax. Get rest. It's been a rough week.

So yesterday went better than I thought it would

After work one of my friends and co-workers, Feliz, took me to the credit union, which was half a block from where she parks her car, and then out to PetSmart at Brannon Crossing to get some food for the kitten.  While we were there, I got some Gumbo Ya Ya for dinner to bring home and grabbed a few things from Kroger, and then she took me home. I'm very grateful.  I used to take her home often when she didn't have a car, so that worked out well.

Today I'm going to try to get the car fixed.  They've just opened.  I'm going to call Kenny at Mitch's Auto, get a tow truck over to the house, where the car is unlocked and the key is with YKWIA, and then see how bad it is quoted.  If it's just a hose, it may be very cheap.  If it's more, well, we'll see.  I had a PTO request in for today for a now-rescheduled appointment where I was leaving at 3 pm anyway, so I can leave here and get over there to get the car (assuming I can get it fixed),

Okay, I just called YKWIA to make sure he's awake, and Kenny to get the ball running with the car. Wish me luck!!!

Trying to get back on track

So I was sick for an entire week, and even weeks later I'm having sniffly noses and some mild coughing.  But I'm back to the routine at work, although we're oddly enough off Monday for Presidents' Day, so I took off yesterday for a long weekend.  I spent the whole day doing errands, but they were ones that needed to be done.  I started the day off with a phone, which had been alright the night before, basically becoming a brick.  When the screen was turned on, the emergency medical app would come on, and then the screen would go back.  I could slide up the Samsung Pay app from the bottom of the screen, but there were no 'desktop' or app icons at all.  Then it would turn off, try to turn back on, and repeat.  I waited until T-Mobile opened a couple of hours later, and that's all it did.

So the good news is I didn't have to upgrade to a new phone or spend a lot of money that I didn't have.  I have paid off the phone (it's about 2 1/2 years old, a Samsung Galaxy S7), but I've also kept insurance on it, and so I can exchange it for a new phone of the same model, and it'll just cost me $5 for a fee (I guess that covers their shipping it to the store).  It may come as early as today (I was at the store when they first opened, and it shipped quickly), but with the weekend and holiday it could be Tuesday, I guess, at the latest, unless UPS runs on Presidents' Day, I'm not sure about that.  So here's hoping it'll be today.  She said if it came it should be around noon, and it's a little after eleven now.  Of course, they'll have to e-mail me, or I also gave them my friend's number.

I also called the Lexington Public Library yesterday and spoke with the human resources director, as I have an application in and I was afraid they might call while the phone was out of commission.  So I guess it also shows interest.  It's a librarian position doing programming (as in events, not computers) for patrons.  Keep your fingers crossed for me; I'd love to get back into the library field, and I'm excited about this job.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful to have my current job, but I love librarianship so much more.

I am working on the Doody's Core Titles again this year, as a librarian selector where I select and rate medical books based on my knowledge of Orthopaedics and Paediatric Nursing.  I've done it for many years.  I also just had another book review published.  So I am still pursuing librarian-related interests.

While I was T-Mobile, they talked me into a free tablet, with a $10 addition to my bill for another line but no money down for the actual tablet.  So I've been setting that up and I haven't felt too bereft without the phone. I shared something on Facebook to either message me on Messenger or call my friend's phone at the house if they know it.  I checked and everything's backed up with Google, including my contacts, so that's good.

Other things I did yesterday: I got one new windshield wiper because my passenger one had broken and was being held on with tape, and I also went to the credit union with my friend, and the pharmacy, two grocery stores, did his laundry (I'm working on mine today, after I bake bread).  Apparently, I shouldn't try to bake bread before caffeinating--I put all the ingredients in, set up the menu, but forgot to hit 'start'. I checked about an hour and a half into what should be the bread baking part of the cycle, and it was just sitting there.  Sigh.  It should be working now, though.  I also did the cat litter yesterday and brought the garbage containers back to the house after being emptied.

Today my main to-dos have been on getting a shower, then there's the bread, my laundry, possible trip to Fresh Market for more Belgian endives, possible trip to T-Mobile for the phone, and game notes.

It's sunny this morning and we didn't get the snow that they'd been predicting.  So it's been a good couple of days so far.  I didn't manage to call my doctors about rescheduling some March appointments (I've got 5, and while they're late in the day, that's probably too much to expect to be let off work.  I was going to reschedule a couple at least.  I'll have to call about them Monday.  Most of my appointments fell six months ago, but they were spread between September and October, and then my endocrinologist had to reschedule my January appointment, and it looks like a giant cluster within two weeks.)

So now I'm listening to Pandora (the Passenger station) and I plan on doing a little reading later and hopefully, I'll watch some of a DVD collection I have out from the library, the first season of 'The Librarians'. :)

Okay, I think I'll go for now.  I won't promise to write later, but I will do my best.

I've been sick

It started the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. I had a low-grade fever and a sore throat. I was off work Thursday, pretty bad off with a nasty respiratory virus (it wasn't the flu, I'm sure, as it was a gradual onset and didn't have a higher fever or really much of a whole-body ache). But it was nasty. I was feeling a little better that Friday with Mucinex and Stahist, and it was a light and short day as we had our company Christmas party that afternoon, so I left by 3 pm. I was careful to handwash or use sanitizer, but I did feel better. By 4 pm, though I was in bed because the sun was going down and that always seems to make a virus disease feel worse, in my experience. I spent the whole weekend in bed. I barely made it into work, but I did go to work Monday through Friday. I did feel better after Tuesday, but Friday (as in two days ago) was the first day I really felt myself again. I even went and had dinner with our friend who has cancer, as we were better and I think we weren't contagious anymore.

Yesterday I did a lot of errands.  I went to the bank and put in some money that was an unexpected gift.  I finally was able to get my taxes from H&R Block.  Lord save me from accountants--it took me almost an hour and a half to pick up and pay for my paperwork, the man there was so meticulous.  Thank goodness I came in when I did.  He was with a client when I came in, so I had to wait a little while, but there were three or four after me who waited the entire time I was here.  But I eventually left with everything I need.  Then I went and got my insulin and some medications for YKWIA at the pharmacy before they closed.  I stopped by Staples and got some ink for the printer, as we hadn't had any since September.  I also got gas and a few groceries.

I was tired when I got home. I'd left at 10 am and it was about 2 pm when I got home.  I did some work around the house and then went to bed for a nap for about 45 minutes.  We were going to work on the floors yesterday and also do the postponed latkes for Hannukah that we missed.  But I was really tired, still, so we put it off till today and cancelled the game.

This morning I woke up clumsy, feeling bad, and full of mucous.  It's better now that I've gotten the Mucinex and Stahist in me, but I am coughing, blowing my nose, sneezing, etc.  So maybe I'm not out of the woods yet.  I thought I'd gone into a sinus infection.  That may be true, but I'm out of breath easily and wheezing.  I think I may be going into bronchitis.  I do have a nebulizer and some medicine for it.  I may see if that helps, and use it at night.  I've swept so far, and the mopping is nigh.  I'm also doing laundry, as I didn't for two weeks and I have one purple pair of pants left (hey, I liked the alliteration), and no other pants or shorts to speak of.  I'm running around in pyjama pants and a t-shirt in the house right now, and those were both leftovers, the shirt from yesterday and the pants from the dirty clothes.

Anyway, I guess I'm mostly back.  The house is better--I did the dishes and bathroom and trash.  Thursday night I took the trash containers to the kerb and did a thorough job on the cat boxes, as they'd gotten bad while we were sick.  I need to get something stronger for the shower, like Kaboom, to take care of some of the stuff on the tile.  But otherwise, things are better,  and I do feel better.

I somehow managed

to get through Friday, which was a slow 'catch-up' day in clinic, despite almost no sleep.  It dragged by, but I got quite a lot accomplished and got to actually speak with my co-workers more than just a moment or two, which on a busy day is kind of normal.

Last night, I kept YKWIA company while he made dinner and also some soup for someone we're visiting today who is battling cancer.  I haven't seen him in about 20 years, but YKWIA were good friends for a long time and he owned the comic book store we both worked in for a while.  So we thought we'd go and get caught up, visit, and bring soup.

I was very tired before bed, and I was still hurting a bit, although stretching to get things off the printer from my chair during work did help some.  So I took three tizanidine (the recommended dose), a muscle relaxer I've been prescribed for my neck issues. and I slept like a baby, only waking up early this morning to the cat howling because the wind through the windows had shut my door and he was trapped in my room.

Today I have:

1. Gotten some medicine I forgot for YKWIA the other day at the pharmacy, as well as a small bag for myself.
2. Paid my rent [I pay half every two weeks].  I'd forgotten the deposit slip for his account (we have the same credit union, so I just transfer it), but they were able to look it up.
3. Got new lenses for my glasses (for free!).  In August 2016 I got new glasses and got the 2-year Crizal lens warranty.  It was a year before I got one scratch on it, but even though I always use microfibre cloths, they starting getting scratches on both lenses when I was wearing my glasses full-time after running out of contacts.  So, I asked about that, they traced my frames and had new lenses recut and when they came in, I just had to stop by and they popped the old ones out and put the new ones in.  Easy peasy.  I did accidentally leave my travel contact solution on their counter, as I had to take my contacts out to check the lenses were properly made, so I'll have to get some more from the store.  But the travel size that comes with the first pair of contacts is pretty small, so I needed to get more anyway as it was less than halfway full.
4. Helped close all the windows in the house, as it's about to storm.
5. Made my bed (usually I do when I get up, but I waited a bit today).

When I got home, I started to feel shaky and wonky, checked my blood sugar, and despite having eaten breakfast (a toasted blueberry bagel, cream cheese, and a banana) just two hours before, my blood sugar was 48.  So I ate a sandwich with peanut butter and spreadable fruit and drank some orange juice (not in that order).  I feel much better.  I may have to dial back my insulin further, which is good.

Now I'm caffeinating and have a little downtime while YKWIA gets ready to go visit our friend.  I don't have to do any notes today due to the fact we visited without playing the Cthulhu game last week.  Tonight I should really work on finances.  I can't pay much of anything, but I need to come up with a plan/call a couple of numbers that are incessantly dialling my phone.  And I have to figure out what to do about the taxes.

Okay, that's all for now.  Hope you're having a good weekend.  It's been in the 70s here, and was nice and clear this morning, although it's going to rain the rest of the weekend, and then the temperatures will plummet on Monday.  But still, it was nice driving weather earlier.  I had Bastille playing in the car, the window rolled down (my hair is a mess), and my sunglasses on.  Not a bad day, so far, really.

Unfinished business to do today

1. Trim the cat's claws.
2. Mend a blouse, including sewing on a button and fixing a ripped seam.
3. Take out the trash.
4. Clean the toilet and tub. 
5. Sweep.
6. Mop the tile. *plus*
7. Run an errand with YKWIA.
8. Run by the pharmacy. 
9. Help with dinner.
10. Clean up after dinner.

The cat is distinctly not happy.  YWKIA is studying right now, so I don't want to make much noise doing the chores, so I'll do those later.  We're going out in about an hour to run an errand.  It amazes me how quickly today is going by.  I got up at 8 am, got something to eat, watched a couple of things on Hulu that he was watching, then went to bed from about 10 am to 11 because I'd only gotten about 6 hours' sleep.  I felt better.  I only actually slept about 15-20 minutes, but it was a nice nap. I'm mostly recovered, of course.

I slept in till about 9 am today

When I heard the cat trying to claw my bed, which got him yelled at, he stopped, and he proceeded to climb up on me and tread, eventually moving to my pillow and settling on it.  Even with my CPAP, my allergies were reacting.  I love cats (and dogs), but I am pretty allergic to them.  I'm pretty sure he realises this.  Anyway, I petted him for awhile as he purred, got up, took a shower (closing my door so he wouldn't act out further), and so he moved onto waking up YKWIA.  The dogs tried to get me to let them out. We have a rule we established early on; YKWIA lets them out in the morning and feeds them, so they're not as likely to bother me in the morning or have the little dog bark and wake him up since I get up about 6 or 6:30 am each weekday.  I feed them in the evening and let them out.  It works well, usually.  Little dog does normally make it till after I leave; she's the only alarm clock he has.  But she has a little old lady bladder, so eventually, she'll bark.  Anyway, by that time it was about 9:30 or 9:45, so even though he was up later than I, it was time to get up, as he's usually up by 8 or 8:30.

So I've taken my medicine (my blood sugar was 102 today, which is really good). I've eaten.  I've made my bed.  I just need some caffeine to be ready for my day, and YKWIA said he'd get me some soda when I do a little grocery run later.  Things to do:

1. Take those books back to the library after they open at 1:00 pm.
2. Pick up the hold that is waiting for me there.
3. Run to the grocery.
4. Caffeinate.
5. Clean the cat litter box.
6. Trim the cat's claws.
7. Take out the trash and recyclables.
8. Clean the toilet and tub. [The mirror and sinks are fine; the others need a once-over, including the tub, to keep anything from building up like soap scum or, well, you know.]
9. Sweep.
10. Mop the tile.
11. Run the dishwasher.
12. Do laundry.

I didn't work on the game notes yesterday,  I may do that today, depending on how I feel after I do all that.  Yesterday, of course, I did the reading. I also watched an episode of  'Sherlock' ("The Sign of Three").  Then I watched Despicable Me 3 with YKWIA (we had the DVD out from Netflix).  I liked both.  I felt a sense of accomplishment because 1) I rarely read, and 2) I'm not great at watching things, especially on my own.  I can't binge watch.  Three hours is about my limit, usually, and then I normally watch things with other people.  I tend to listen to music more.  I'm doing that now, the Bastille station on the Amazon Music.  So it's been a relaxing time so far.  Now I'm going to see if I can get one more garden book taken care of before I take those books back.

[I decided since it has been raining all weekend, and it is supposed to clear up tomorrow, and I'm off tomorrow, I would do the floors tomorrow.  The trash wound up not being an issue; the recyclables were, and I took those out.  So that leaves the cat's claws [and he threw up his food earlier and isn't feeling well, so I may wait till tomorrow on that too, rather than upset him and cause further distress] and the bathroom stuff.  That I can do in just a few minutes.  I think for now, though, I'll take a nap, because even though I didn't do a lot, I'm kind of tired.  Must be this supposed infection I have, which might be sinus, as this morning I was blowing out goop that was a little yellow.  Not that you really needed to know about that, I guess.  I'll call my doctor's office tomorrow to make an appointment (they wanted me back in two weeks) and to see if I can get any more information.  Then I can text my boss and let her know what's going on.  But for now, I plan to be back on Tuesday morning.]

The attack of the chatty people

I am chatty, have been all my life, to the point where my mom once said she prayed I'd get laryngitis as a kid.  'Momma, let me tell you one more thing...' was my refrain, she said.  Still, I do try to tone it down in the morning around YKWIA, because he's nowhere near toleration of it until he's finished with his second giant mug of coffee if that.  Today he's been especially testy about it.  Also, the person we picked up to take to the appointment is a very chatty, narcissistic person.  Two of us together made him rather want to curl up into a ball, I suspect.  So he's planning to have a quiet day, and I'll do stuff as needed out of his way.  I respect his need for privacy.  We're both introverts, really, although I've become more able to deal with people as I've gotten older, especially working in customer service.  But still, time to dial down the chattiness, stop filling the silence and focus on other things.

I brought the "A" is for Alibi book with me today and read a few more chapters.  I'm enjoying it; it's not a style I particularly care for, but it's nice to be reading again, and it's going pretty quickly.  I did just realise I've left it out in the car, which, since it's raining and I have houseshoes on, means putting at least my sandals on to go briefly out into the wet.  Oh, well.  I think I'll do that in a bit.  YKWIA did splurge a little by taking me out to Captain D's after we dropped the other person off, which was good because when I checked my blood sugar, it was 58. Remarkably, I didn't feel shaky.  But I was finding it harder to think.

For now, I'm going to work on some things on the computer and maybe listen to some music.  My laptop can play music through the speaker tower so I can stream some music through that.  Later I may work on the game notes for a while.  We're not playing the game tomorrow since I'm under doctor's orders to rest and apparently have some sort of infection, which I don't want to pass on to anyone, especially since the other player is about to take a trip to visit an elderly mother.  So we decided to err on the side of caution.  But if I get the notes finished this weekend, and then she's gone the next, I won't have to do them later when my memory's fuzzier about what we did.  We're on the third leg of the book Ripples from Carcosa, set in the future this time (we've done ancient Rome and Norman England already). I am beginning to hate the Yellow Sign and the machinations of Hastur.  I didn't really engage much last Sunday, as apparently not only was I tired, but coming down with the flu, but I did enjoy the story.  Hopefully, by next time we play, I'll be more involved.

I watered all the plants before we left this morning.  They're doing well.  The ones in YKWIA's bedroom are really flourishing.  I think they like him.  They're in a window seat in a southerly exposure.  The ones in my room are easterly to southeasterly, the couple of African violets in the bathroom (on the back of the toilet) get western light, and then there's his plant in the kitchen (a combination of Christmas cactus and some opportunistic wood sorrel that he likes), again, a western exposure.  The living room gets very early morning light but is fairly dark the rest of the day, which is why I was surprised my plants survived in there on the bed and nightstands for so long.

I would love to really garden this year, now that I have a yard to play with, but neither of us has the money to invest in plants right now.  Also, the best place for a vegetable garden would be out back behind the shed, and I found a really nice plan that would work, but there are the dogs to consider and whether they would damage the plants.  Perhaps a raised bed near the fence would work.  But that costs money to get landscaping materials like retaining wall products and mulch.  We'll see.  In the meantime, I've been looking through catalogues I found online (and one I requested from Burpee's) and have been dreaming of future gardens.  I prefer heirlooms over hybrids, and several of the catalogues are full of those.

I do like my present job, but if I could find one in my field (librarianship) which paid more money, that would be great.  I made more last year, due to the severance and contract work, than I had before, and I was pretty comfortable.  But I've taken a $5/hour hit since October and have really struggled with paying my bills.  I still am waiting for my 1099, so I can't file my taxes quite yet.  I may wind up paying, although I hope the severance taxes (which was a whopping 41%) will offset no tax withholding for the time I was doing the contract work, as the car repairs back in October took the last of my savings.  I'm going to have to have them prepared professionally this year, due to the severance, unemployment, and most importantly the 'self-employed' contract work.  Hopefully, I will get a 1099 form soon.  I talked to our chief financial officer yesterday and he said they had gone out but some of them were incorrect and they may need to be corrected, so that could be the holdup.  But also, since I moved, it may be going through the forwarding process.  He did say that he'd drop a line to headquarters about it.  In the meantime, I'll give it till the end of the month and hope I get it soon.  No sense in panicking until April.  Still, I'd like to know if I owe anything.  The first tax-related item I got this year was a form to be sent to the Fayette County school system for their share of the taxes.  That's why I need an accounting/tax preparing firm, as there are different forms for that contract work, and while they would have them all, I would not.

We do have the prospect of some overtime coming up because we have to 'shuffle' all the appointments out there into new grids, and that should involve some weekend work.  But the grids aren't ready yet, and I couldn't have worked this weekend anyway per doctor's orders.

Tomorrow I'm going to do some chores around the house, like laundry, sweeping, and the cat box--things I normally do before the game.  But I'll try to make sure I get some rest, too.  Monday I have no real plans.  I guess I'll just relax.  At some point, we have a small grocery run to make, just a few items.  Other than that, I'll have some time to rest and recuperate.  I'm taking my medicine as I should (I have to for nine more days).  I wish I knew what the problem was--I know it's not a UTI, and I don't think he'd have prescribed an antibiotic if it were residual from the flu.  It could be a sinus infection, as I have chronic ones, I guess, and I am having some sinus pain. I really was surprised he wanted me home for four days.  And I'm a little concerned because I don't have enough PTO to cover last week.  If they add the long-term sick time (which only kicks in after three days of personal time off), then I'll be about 3 hours short.  Otherwise, it'll be more like 12 hours.  That'll make for a small cheque.  This Monday is covered because of a new pay period, but then we're off the Monday after that due to President's Day, and that's on the same cheque so I won't have enough to cover that. I get something like four weeks of vacation time a year, so it accrues quickly--but not that quickly.  I actually was on track to have a week's worth of time built up before my birthday, but this has wiped out my hours completely.  I asked the payroll clerk to just do what she could.  I'm not sure I can touch the EIB because of the three-day rule.  I worked Monday half a day, and Friday half a day, so I'm not sure how that works.  I would think the PTO would kick in Monday, go through half of Thursday, and then the EIB would cover half of Thursday and part of the time I missed on Friday.  But I have 21 hours of PTO and I need 24.  I don't know if the EIB will kick in if I don't have enough PTO to cover those three days.  Sigh.

It's depressing to think about.  Oh, well.

So I'm home with just the dogs and cat tonight

as YKWIA is watching Crimson Peak with a friend over at the friend's house. I've seen the movie (with him) and enjoyed it. I've been playing music without headphones.  (We do not have similar tastes in music, although there is some overlap.  Mine is a bit too modern for him).  I also ate something.  It's been a busy day.   I have:

• Called Brenda to see whether we're playing.  She is doing better but still coughing, so the game master ruled it best to get some rest.  There is the potential that when we resume, every character Brenda has could pop like soap bubbles, so he'd like her at her best.
• Take YKWIA to an appointment.
• Gone to the credit union.
• Taken YKWIA to a pet store for a special cat food.
• Taken him to the vet for special condroitin chewies for the older dog.
• Stopped by the Rusty Scabbard, a local gaming store.
• Done a Kroger run at two Krogers (Tates Creek is consistently out of Land O'Lakes half-and-half, a staple in our household).
• Gone to the library and gave him some instruction in filing via the Dewey Decimal System, the use of cutter numbers, and orienting him to how the library sections off its various genres.
• Come home and while I didn't take a nap, I laid down for a little bit to recover.

So now I'm thinking of doing some reading. I got some gardening books at the library the other day.  I also need to water the plants at the latest by tomorrow.  Tomorrow I also plan to do laundry, clean the catbox, screw the toilet seat more securely, take out the trash, and take YKWIA to Meijer for some nice shirts that he needs, as everything he has are t-shirts.

Okay, I think I'll go now and listen to some more music or read.  Hope you're having a good weekend.  We're enjoying much warmer temperatures, and I'm loving it.  It won't last, though.

Yay!

The car is fixed. I called my insurance's roadside assistance this morning, the guy came, and he was great. My battery was most sincerely dead--it didn't work with a jump box, so we had to back my car down the driveway in neutral. Then he showed me how exactly to hook up the batteries (I could never keep which order was which, now I think I have it). It took awhile. First, he charged for a while, then he was still not getting enough juice, so he had to rev his engine while I started the car. It finally started. I thanked the guy, who was absolutely great, let me reiterate that. Very thorough, personable, and took his time to do it right and get me on the road. I took it directly to Tire Discounters, where I got the battery a couple of years ago. Since it had a 30-month warranty, and I was at 23 months, I was definitely taking it back. So they checked it, and yes, it was bad, and they were going to replace it charging for just the labour for putting it in, but actually, they charged me nothing. Free, gratis. Which is what it should have been. I called the roadside assistance at about 9, so it took about 25 minutes for him to get there, another half hour to jump the car, given it was so slow to charge, and about 45 minutes to get the battery changed. So I was back on the road by 11. I came back home and ate some leftovers. So, for the rest of the day, I need to:

1. Take the book to the library, the one that was due the day the car went down.
2. Take YKWIA to pay a bill.
3. Go hunt down some grain-free, fish-based (no chicken) cat food for the cat who is allergic to all food we've tried.
4. Stop by the store for stuff for the game tomorrow.
5. Work on the game notes.

So, I guess I should get going. Have a great day. I'm staying away from the insanity of Black Friday. Hope yours is a safe and productive one!

This morning

YKWIA came into my room (which is actually the living room, so you need to if you're going to come into the house or go to the kitchen to let the dogs out, which is what he was doing). He came over, noticed my always on display on my phone, and commented on it. I asked him what time it is. Eight, he said.

Now, my always on display is set to be on from 10:00 pm to 8:00 am, and it was still on. I look at my phone. It's seven. We only have one clock, not counting my thermometer/humidity gauge and my glucometer, that doesn't automatically set from Daylight Savings to Standard Time, and that's the stove. I told him it was seven. The stove says eight, he says. I explain that it has not been set back yet. But, he said, you said we gained an hour, and so it should be 9, right? I just shook my head. The concept of time, beyond light and dark and seasons, eludes him. He never knows what time it is, unless he has a digital clock somewhere that says it. Analogue clocks are difficult. I think it's part of his dyslexia. Anyway, I explained that it was really early and that yesterday it would have been 8, but now it's 7. I don't think it made much of a difference to him, and by that time, I figured I might as well get up.

I had a leisurely breakfast, took a nice shower, got dressed, read for a bit, visited with him for awhile, and I have:

1. Gotten my stuff off the kitchen table.
2. Cleaned the cat box.
3. Taken out the trash from all cans.
4. Run my summer clothes to the storage unit.
5. Gotten some bananas at Kroger.
6. Cleaned the toilet.

Now I need to water the plants, and since I did the notes last night, I'm pretty much ready for the game. I've caffeinated and taken my meds. I do need to do some laundry; he's in the shower right now, so I'll start after that. I think it'll be a difficult game. We're in ancient Rome with slightly under 24 hours to dismantle a cult of He Who Shall Not Be Named (not Voldemort, rather, Hastur) before the gates open up and all sorts of alien Cthulhoid entities cross over to the world and subjugate mankind. Wish us luck. Brenda has two characters, I have two characters, and YKWIA has two NPCs (non-player characters) on this one.

It's a rainy Sunday with no game...

Brenda called earlier to say she had some sort of crud that may just be sinus issues but since both the gamemaster and I can't really afford to be sick, she's going to stay away in case it's something worse. We try not to play when any of us has a plague.

I haven't done anything today beyond running a load of dishes through the dishwasher and playing around, while actually learning some real, verifiable facts (yes, I verified them, hey, I'm a librarian) on Facebook. I may do some reading. I laundered my clothes on Thursday night, but the bed linens, both mine and my friend's, need to be done, so I've started a load of those. Yesterday there were errands to run, an umbrella plant to pot up in a bigger pot, and some chores to do, plus the game notes, of course, all of which have been done. Today I should go get some creamer (read: Land o Lakes half-and-half) for my friend, as it is an essential commodity, along with coffee, for his good disposition. Other than that, there's not much to do. I have a fun audiobook out from the library, a historical mystery called Maisie Dobbs, which introduces a series. And I've got plenty of books to read and a charged Kindle. But I decided to write first, and pay some bills that are due, because I haven't been on the computer much at all lately, except to finish a book review and the gaming notes.

No word yet on the background check and the drug test. The whole process can take something like two weeks. So I don't have an official hire date yet. Our PRN person, who did hers the same day, already has a start date of Wednesday, which will help immensely at work. I just wish I had one already.

Friday was a weird day at work. We had fewer patients, but a lot of odd stuff happened. For example, I had a doctor's appointment at 8 am and got in just after 9 am, and my boss and one of the women from downstairs who is usually doing pre-authorizations for surgeries were instead checking in people, due to two people unexpectedly being out, and there were a few glitches to be taken care of since they weren't used to doing it every day. Meanwhile, there was confusion on the part of the clinic regarding my absence, and so some things had to be ironed out, even though I'd gotten in before anyone normally would have checked out. (Isn't that always the case--I think five people were in and out before I got there that morning). After that all got straightened out, check-out was fine, I scheduled the appointments for those who'd already left, fielded phone calls as I could, returned voicemails, and scheduled surgery patients since the OR scheduler was out. My boss sat in for me for lunch so I could get a break. I was going to actually sit in at check-in yesterday and get some training on that, but of course, with the shortage of staff, that wasn't possible. Maybe next week. I'm more comfortable doing things than I used to be. I'm handling things pretty well nowadays. When I first started I had anxiety dreams where I was scheduling in my sleep. That doesn't happen anymore. I'm interested in learning to go beyond my current skillset. I'd still like to work in a library, but having a full-time job with benefits is my primary goal at the moment, and while I'm still watching the Kentucky job list, there's nothing out there I'd like to apply for right now.