So the reason why

I definitely made the effort to go to the YMCA this weekend (and why I plan on going to the Water Fit class tomorrow night) is that I had an experience this week that gave me a preview of my life, and I didn't like where it was headed. On Thursday I had an appointment at the UK Legal Clinic to redo my will, mainly some minor changes, and it was down on Maxwelton, a street about a half a mile from where I work, so I saw no reason to go get my car from the Orange Lot, drive there, etc. I thought 'It's not that far, I'll just walk. I'll get my steps in, etc.'

It had been raining all day but was just spitting a bit when I got off work early. I'd alotted a half an hour to get there, even though Google said it was an eleven-minute walk, as I walk slowly. What I didn't realise was that the ground would be fairly uneven going there, even the better sidewalks, and it made me put more pressure on my right foot, which hurt because I'm sure I have arthritis (and it was a rainy day) in the metatarsals that were broken when the car ran over my foot and hit me a few years ago (we'd treated the ankle fracture, but the metatarsals weren't that displaced). Anyway, I had shoes on that were usually sufficient for walking, but they're Mary Janes, not my New Balance ones. My sock on my right foot kept twisting and going down into the shoe, making me walk funny. I wound up actually using my umbrella as a cane. By the time I got to my destination, my hair was wild, I was exhausted, and I was moving like a 90-year-old woman. The lady at the centre saw me struggle up the steps and after my appointment, she specifically asked the nice young law student to make sure I got back down them alright. I then walked the half-mile back to my workplace, and then through UK's hospital, caught the shuttle, and then walked across the Orange Lot. I could barely move by the time I got to my car, and I was in bed by 7:30 pm. All I could think of was that I needed to get back into exercising. I'm up to 310 lbs and terribly out of shape. My friend says that he can hear me breathing hard all the time, and when I listen to the game recordings I can hear myself. I need to work on this, or I will be feeble prematurely.

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.

Go, me!

I finally got to the YMCA around 6:15 pm, spent 10 minutes on the reclining elliptical/Nu-Step machine (starting small), and then an hour in the pool, doing my exercises.  I feel really great.  On the other hand, I was able to weigh myself on the scale in the ladies' locker room. I'm 310 lbs, which is just two short of my all-time greatest weight of 312. :(  So I definitely need to make changes, mainly staying away from the vending machines, since I eat pretty well at home, with all the homemade, vegetable-laden food.

So

On Wednesday, I graduated from aquatherapy (got the shirt to prove it). :)  Now I could go to the pool at Cardinal Hill for $5 a visit and work out there, but that would get pretty expensive pretty quickly if I want to do it two or three days a week, and I'd have to get there by 5:15 pm to get anything done, as the pool closes at 6 pm. I usually get off work at 5 pm--I had a special schedule where I got to come in early and leave early on Tuesdays and Thursdays temporarily, but as we progress into autumn and winter it will be less likely I can do that (I'm very light-sensitive in the morning as far as waking up, which is why I bought an alarm clock that lights up in the morning.)

It has different modes including cycling through colours, an evening mode where it shuts off after a certain time, one that changes colour to do with the humidity and temperature, and then a guided breathing one.  But most importantly, a little before the sound alarm goes off, the light gradually brightens to bright white when it's time to wake up.

Anyway, I talked it over with my therapist and I decided to join the YMCA last weekend.  I was able to get 10% off and no joining fee through work, with everything prorated for September.  I tried to go to the pool last Monday, actually, (only Beaumont YMCA has a warm water pool like the hospital), but the heater was out.  They got it fixed later in the week, though, so yesterday I went and spent some time doing my exercises.  It was during an open swim, so there were a couple of families with small children in it, but I did fine, at least until they were playing with a ball, but I still managed to get all my walking in, most of my leg exercises (I forgot a couple), but did forget to do my arm ones.  I'll do better next time.

On Monday [tomorrow], however, there is a class that I think I'll try to go to that's a basic workout in the pool.  Tuesday I have my first real session of cognitive-behavioural therapy for fibromyalgia.  Wednesday I'm going to try to go to the Y again for open swim and do my exercises, and then again on Saturday.  I hope to make that a standard thing.

Today I'd thought about going because we weren't playing the game, but I'm having a slight reaction to a shingles vaccine [my second dose], where my arm hurts a bit and my joints and muscles are aching a little.  So I didn't quite feel like getting into the pool today.

Anyway, that's what's going on these days with me.  I thought I'd actually sit down and blog for a bit.

I kicked butt today

First, I think I handled the normal busy pace at work well and any of the weird stuff that crops up, too. Then I went to pulmonary rehab and went up to a 39 on the inhaling resistance gizmo (it only goes to 42, I think), 2750 on the spirometer, and 45 seconds on the pursed breathing, my best yet for any of them. They put me on a heart monitor while I exercised to see if my heart remained normal in response, with the idea that when I'm exercising on my own I have an idea for how high to get my heart rate up. The good news is that my workout was at higher watts, higher resistance, and more duration than normal on the Nu-Step, the bike, and the hand bike (I did treadmill for cool down), and my heart responded exactly as it should, going back down to normal within two minutes of exercise cessation at each piece of equipment. She said I should be safe going up to 120-130 beats per minute, so I have that as a goal. The equipment takes heart rate, as does my phone, which also takes the oxygen level. So I'm set to work out on my own. Also, although technically I have four more visits approved, I'm going to cut that down to Tuesday being my last day, my fifteenth visit, so that it will work better with the schedule and coverage at the hospital. I think graduating early is okay in my case--I don't have COPD, and I'm doing much better. Anyway, that's the plan. I got one planned for Tuesday approved to make up for this Tuesday.

After rehab I took YKWIA to a couple of doctors' offices he goes to using the bus route and pointed out the correct stops. He's going to have to go on his own. Then I took him by the grocery for a quick stop and looked up the bus times for his appointment. Now I'm home, I've eaten, and I'm looking at how much needs to be done around here, none of which I really have any energy for at the moment. I'm going to try to rest for a little while and then tackle things. Barring that, I'll see about getting up early and doing what needs to be done before work. We'll see how successful I am in that endeavour. :)

What a day!

• Did laundry very early in the morning.
• Went to my meeting at the career centre/unemployment office, handed in my paperwork, went through a seminar on job searching and résumé-building, and asked some questions I needed to know more about.
• Went to Lowe's and got a 2-foot stepladder that is rated for my weight, some swag hooks to hang plants from, and some knobs to try on the floor lamp, since the one that came with it fell, hit something, and disappeared somewhere under the bed or in the aether, for all I know.
• Came home and tried a knob, but unfortunately it doesn't fit.
• Forgot my rehab equipment and had to drive back to get it--but I just got out of the parking lot, and if I'd left the spirometer and the other thingy, I do live practically across the road.
• Had a kick-ass session with pulmonary rehabilitation; I pushed myself, and oddly enough, did much better than normal (maybe it's the steroids).
• Got something at McDonald's and watched nearby geese with their goslings.
• Got a temporary job offer finalised that I accepted (and I think will work out for both me and the employer).
• Sent my e-mail address to the folks I sent the computer back to. They sent a $15 credit to Amazon to me for my trouble. :)
• Called UK parking to get some clarification on their tags.
• Picked A up from work, took him to the doctor, went home (I'm across the road), found a job to apply for, started working on it, and then picked him up from there.
• Took my friends to the credit union, the grocery, to pay a bill, and home.
• Helped my friends pay a bill online (I do the techy part, but they pay the money).
• Texted with a former co-worker.
• Applied to a job which was posted today at a local university.

So here's the deal. My former workplace is really busy, someone is on maternity leave, and they need someone to help, so they changed the offer to full-time for about twelve weeks, via contract work, for a much better pay rate than I was previously offered. I was willing to take on the duties given that offer. They will work with my appointments and any interviews I need to go on. I start Monday, working a normal schedule, starting at 8 am. The parking is at the University of Kentucky, and they thought the single-use scratch-off tags might work, but I called UK Transportation Services and explained that I would be a contracted employee working full-time on a temporary basis, and she said that they do offer regular tags at a monthly, rather than yearly, deduction, which would be almost half the price of those scratch-offs, and I'd just have to go ahead and come down and set up an account with them. I need to call tomorrow to find out 1) can I get one before I get my badge, so I'm ready to go on Monday, and 2) where on earth do I park if I need a tag, as I don't see a visitor section to the garage that the main office is in, and the actual visitor garage is a good deal away, so it would behoove me to check. As far as the unemployment goes, I would simply stop filing for benefits after this week and then re-activate the claim after the temporary position ended. I have a full year to actually claim benefits, but I'm limited to 26 weeks of actual benefit payments, so they'd resume (assuming I haven't found another job by then), and that will get me almost to the end of the year in better shape than I would have been.

In the meantime, I'll continue to look for jobs. I've applied to eight so far, since being on unemployment (two this week alone, and I've only been required to apply for six so far). All but one was library-related, and both of this week's are. One is a public librarian in Owen County (an hour's drive away), one is at Transy, here in Lexington.

So what else to do today? Our inspections were put off till tomorrow, and the house is about the same as it was the other day, but not too bad. I might move a few things around, but no major rearrangement. Mainly I want people to be able to walk through without causing issues--so I need to move the hand truck with the cursed cinder block (my toe did partly turn black) away from the middle of the living room. There are also a few things that can go in the walk-in closet. And there are those plants to hang, but I don't know if I should do that just now, or wait till tomorrow when there's a lot of light in the window. That may very well depend on whether I can find a 1/8" drill bit for my drill. I think they're in the closet with the drill, but I'm not sure. The plan is to hang three plants in the living room window (and there's already been a hook in the middle before) and one in the bedroom. The stepladder should allow me to do it, as I think I have eight-foot ceilings (except the hallway, which is shorter), and I'm 5'4" tall, so that gets me close, anyway, although I have those short Tyrannosaurus arms, so close may not work. If that's the case, A may need to help me later.

Tomorrow there's the parking office, an appointment with a friend, and otherwise I think I'll just hang around here and work on the apartment some. Maybe I'll try to go to the pool early in the day so that I can enjoy it with some peace and quiet before all the kids come out, and start exercising in the fitness room as well, now that I know I can kick butt with my breathing techniques on the equipment. Okay, I think I'll go look for that drill bit.

Despite a two-and-a-half-hour phone call last night

and a bedtime of around 2:30 am, I'm awake.

1. Woken up on my own before 7:30 am--check.
2. Injected my insulins and Byetta--check.
3. Waiting 15 minutes to eat--check.
4. Gotten something to drink--check.
5. Taken my oral meds--check.
6. Turned on Pandora, the Bastille station--check.
7. Gotten a banana and cheese from the kitchen--check. [I tend to eat less when I'm secure in having food. I know, makes no sense.]

I wrote about what I wanted to do today last night. I definitely want to start with the car tags and allergy shots, then make my way back here, open the windows, and start everything else.

Things I want to get today as well:

1. A wrist rest for the keyboard (I can't find my old one, and it wasn't in the best of shape, anyway).
2. Two concrete blocks. These are for going under the bed. My crossrail on my 30-year-old bed has sheared away from the side rail. Short of welding it, and at nearly 300 lbs, I'm not sure a weld would hold my weight for long, I can't think of any way to fix it, and apparently they're not standard--you can't just go out and get new bedrails, as far as I know. I don't want to buy a whole new bed and frankly can't afford it, so right now it's got one of those underbed plastic containers supporting it, which is weak, and it's sagging quite a bit, and of course, that's the side I sleep on. The concrete would do better--one for the middle of the bed, one for the side I'm on. Make jokes if you want about my weight, but really it's a bed from Sears I got in 1987, and it's made of wood and pressboard, so really, it's sort of the Sauder of bedroom furniture, not hardwood and high quality. But it generally works.
3. Pots and potting soil and orchid medium. Virtually all the plants need to be repotted, although I'll wait on the blooming orchids until after they're finished. Brenda, who is a master gardener, told me the reason my lavender has to be watered every other day is that it needs repotting, too.

So I guess that means a trip to Staples and Lowe's, too. I also want to do my pulmonary exercises today (I haven't been the best about doing that every day at home) and work out at the complex fitness room, since I feel more confident of working out without supervision, including the weights. I think our machine is virtually identical to theirs. I wish we had a Nu-Step, which is basically a reclining elliptical, as I can't do the standing ones--they're too hard on my knees. But we've got treadmills, a reclining bike, and the weights. And then this evening I might take a walk around the neighbourhood. My phone has been nagging me because since I haven't felt the best lately, I haven't gotten nearly the activity amount or steps in that I normally do. I usually get at least 45 minutes of activity a day five days a week and get over 5,000 steps. Not so, lately. It was nice to be working out on the treadmill yesterday and my phone detected a workout and gave me credit for it. I had 68 minutes of activity thanks to the workout and the grocery, and my steps were over 6,000 and came out to be walking about 3 miles. It's a start.

Okay, I feel vaguely more awake, ate my banana and cheese, had a little caffeine in the form of a soda (although I got some non-caffeinated stevia soda at the store and some coffee and half and half, with the idea of trying to learn to like coffee, since it's better for you). Time for a shower and then getting going on all this. Have a great day!

PS To reward myself for a day of accomplishments last night, I actually sat down and watched something on Netflix--the first episode of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events', which was delightful, and much better than that terrible movie with Jim Carrey. It's produced and stars Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf, the antagonist, and the guy who does the voice of Brock Samson from 'The Venture Brothers' and the lead character in 'The Tick' is the narrator. The books were great, but I only got through about three of the thirteen or so. The teleplay is by Daniel Handler, which is the real name of the author, Lemony Snicket, and he's also an executive producer. It really was excellent. There are eight episodes, so I have seven more to go. The other thing I'd really like to see, because I love the book and it looks very well done, is 'The Handmaid's Tale'. Of course, that's on Hulu, which I don't have. YKWIA has Hulu, and he did say I could watch it over at his house, but he has no desire to watch it, and he spends a lot of time on the computer, so it might be difficult to schedule. Maybe I'll try a free trial, and then just cancel when it's finished. I don't know. I have to watch my spending. And maybe eventually it will be on DVD. The thing about Hulu is that things expire much more quickly than Netflix. I don't watch a lot, even on Netflix, but I hope to use it more.

Relief

If I have seemed particularly stressed of late, it might have something to do with the fact that I spent the last nineteen days without any money coming in, save a $41 Kentucky tax refund that credited yesterday. I set in motion everything to have income, including unemployment benefits, coming to me a month ago, but things came in much later than expected. I have been bugging the mailman, who comes about 1:30 pm for parcels and 3:30 pm for regular mail, to look at what might be there for me, as I was expecting two cheques, since the unemployment office voice response system said one had been mailed Friday. The other was my final cheque from work, which I expected about mid-month, but in retrospect that was entirely too optimistic. Unfortunately, because of everything, I am now late on several bills, had one credit card actually suspend, and was seriously worried about paying my rent. I had almost no food in the house, was subsisting mainly on rice, premade Indian dinners, and homemade bread with honey, and was running low on gas. In fact, today, my gas light went on almost the moment that I checked my mail and discovered one of the cheques. Then, when some friends and I went to the credit union (they needed to do some things there, too, and we're all members), I discovered that the unemployment had actually been put into my account electronically, like it was supposed to, today. So I guess when it rains, it pours, and all I can say is, thank goodness. I was really getting stressed.

The first thing I did was get some gas. After helping a friend apply at the VA (my, they have a confusing site; the link to the job was a closed position from a year ago--I had to go find the correct one via a search, and I'm still not sure we did everything right), I took him home and then went to the grocery, where I proceeded to fill up an entire cart, something I have not done in years. The bill came to $225, but I should be good for quite some time. The fridge is completely full, save the crisper, since that doesn't really keep things crisp long enough for me. Instead of fresh vegetables I got canned, but otherwise things were pretty healthy. I also got a small desk fan that is helping in the living room.

I started the morning with a trip to the library with some books and CDs that were due yesterday that I was returning before they got in this morning so they wouldn't be overdue. Then I got a phone call asking for a ride when a friend got called into work on his day off because the other person in his position came to work sick and had to be sent home. After that I laid down for about an hour, as I didn't sleep well at all last night. Then it was time for pulmonary rehab, and I had a good session, starting with the breathing exercises and then working on the treadmill and weights. I have become puny. I have never had much upper body strength, but lifting ten pounds in several types of repetitions is challenging. When I was in high school, I could do the press with my feet to the tune of about 190 lbs--more than I weighed, and better than any of the football team that were in our class. Now I'm at twenty, and that's enough. I could probably go up a little bit on the normal press. They've got another though that has you press up on the balls of your feet like your on tip toes and lifting that way. Between breaking my ankle and general deconditioning, that's harder. I remember when I was in physical therapy for my ankle, doing that from a standing position was the very last thing I could do of all the exercises, which surprised them.

Even though I don't officially have anything scheduled tomorrow, I think I'm going to busy. I have to:

1. Pay my car registration, which is past due (it was due by April 30th, and so I'll have to pay 3% more. Fortunately mine is under $50 even with a special library association plate, so that's not too bad. It's actually still under $50. But I had a couple of police cars behind me today and was just a bit nervous. I know a citation would probably be dismissed if I brought in proof of an updated registration, but still....)
2. Balance my cheque book. I'm no longer destitute, but I can't go willy nilly. This has to last awhile, as the unemployment is not enough to cover my bills alone.
3. Pay my rent.
4. Pay my electric bill.
5. Pay my credit card bills.
6. Pay for my Internet connexion [I don't have cable TV, but I have an Internet connexion with Wi-Fi through the cable company].
7. Pay my cell phone bill.
8. Let my student loan servicer know that I am unemployed. Since I'll be paying a lot for health and dental insurance, I think I should try to see if I can get a deferment or reduced payment.
9. Check to make sure my COBRA enrollment went through--the pharmacy ran my meds and it was saying I was uninsured. I think the website said to wait five days to get it through, and it's just now that. I didn't get my first paper work so they sent me it again (I got it yesterday) but also e-mailed it, so I enrolled online. I also need to pay my bill with them.
10. Get my allergy shots.
11. Apply for a job.
12. Pull things out of the walk-in closet.
13. Call in my air conditioning issue and the fact I have to jiggle the toilet handle to keep it from running. [The walk-in closet is where the pan for the air conditioning is, and most likely it needs to be emptied, hence the need to get the mass of stuff out of it. There aren't many things, really--they're big, like a bedside commode or shower chair, that sort of thing. I don't need to take everything out, just enough so they can get in. I did put a new light bulb in the other day that I had, though.]

I'd say that's pretty busy.

I did find out I didn't get the one children's librarian position at the Lexington Public Library that I'd applied for in March. There's still one other position that I haven't heard about from them, three from UK, and I'm about to apply with the state. I've applied for the last before, with no luck, but 1) I have to apply actively on unemployment, and 2) maybe persistence will actually pay off. I also need to mail a form and cheque that have been sitting above my computer for two weeks waiting for money in the account to get my certification from the state of Kentucky, which is required to work in public library settings.

Okay, I think I'm going to get something to drink, maybe a snack, and sit down and enjoy something, like watch a DVD or listen to some music or read. I dropped my friend off about 7 pm, went to the store, got out after 8 sometime, and probably got everything put away by sometime after 9. It took four trips back and forth from the car just to get everything in. :) I don't think I could get anything else into my cabinets or fridge if I tried, and that's great. Not having food may be helping my weight (I'm 8 lbs less than when I was working), but it doesn't help diabetes, that's for sure. There's some days my meal consisted of glucose tablets, just to keep my blood sugar up, and that's not really what they're designed for--they're more rescue to be followed by real food. Like I said, it's been a hard two to three weeks.

Odd

You wouldn't think I would fine Linkin Park's Meteora to be relaxing music before bedtime, but that's exactly what I'm doing. I couldn't actually sleep to it, but I do find it takes some of the tension out, even cleanses my emotions a bit. Weird.

I have been extremely productive over the past two days, both at work and outside it. Yesterday I moved the better part of 800 books, many of them twice, as I integrated the newer books into my collection, which had become crowded early in the classification scheme (which is odd, as most of what I get are WE, WS, and WY (musculoskeletal, pediatric, and nursing, respectively, in the National Library of Medicine classification system). I evened things out and got everything put in properly, with just a few oversized books to work left at end of day. I also entered a lot of data entry sheets, as Friday had been a large day in clinic for that day of the week and Monday was busy, too.

After work on Monday I took a friend to a 5:45 appointment, then helped him with some things around the house. I also went to the library and picked up an interlibrary loan for him and a book for me. Between all the book moving and all, I was pretty tired yesterday evening when I did get home and I relaxed with some music and went on to bed.

The odd thing was my back didn't hurt at all, even with all the moving and walking I've done. Maybe it's feeling better, and more activity should help.

This morning I moved a bunch of children's books from one cart to the smaller one so that I could take that to the clinic when it's not insanely busy over there (which it was, today). I also packaged up and prepared some book cards and pockets to be sent to other libraries that could use them. I catalogued the last three books of my collection, from the order I made in July (they'd been on backorder). I had just enough labels, pockets, cards, etc. to process them. I had to use laminating sheets cut to fit rather than label protectors. But hey, I got it taken care of. I took the lobby magazines to their p;ace and shelved the new journals in the library. The library itself is looking neat and nice. Tomorrow I'd like to move the bound journals down so I can finally get some old Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery issues in their proper place. That might actually take a couple of days.

I did a lot on referrals today, and did a lot of charge entry sheets and the operating room reconciliation. I also sent a message to the therapist I'm trying to get in to see, since when I call I tend to get the answering service (real people), and I don't want to keep playing phone tag with them in the middle.

After work I went over to YKWIA's and helped him with a few things, watched a play called Dark of the Moon that his grandmother had taken him to as a child that was very interesting, and then I went to the store and got some groceries he needed. Now I'm home, I've taken my nightly meds, gotten ready for bed, and will turn in soon, because I have to get over to his house at 6:30 in the morning in order to make sure he's awake and ready before a 9 am appointment. Then it's back to work and hopefully lots of productivity again.

I've been feeling well the last couple days, and a little less anxious, despite the fact that this morning two cars nearly collided in front of me, and the first thing I did upon getting to the office was to accidentally dump out my meds from their reminder box, and I had to figure out which bin was missing which tablet. :) But my mood stayed steady.

Maybe the hormonal stuff has passed for the month, although I haven't started my period yet and I'm three to four days overdue. Ah, perimenopause.

Okay, the album has ended. I should head on to bed. It's early, but morning comes very early. Good night.

Forty minutes later

and I've filled the ice cube trays, taken the trash and recyclables out, including the old lamp that hadn't made it yet (thank goodness for granny carts), and straightened up a bit. I did forget the trash in the bathroom; I'll get that later. But I'm now at:

Stats according to Samsung Health:
• 115 minutes activity (109 walking, 6 running)
• 11,080 steps total
• 1,092 calories burnt
• 5.85 miles walked
• And a badge saying it's my best day yet. :)

I'm going to go reward myself with a cool shower and some time in front of the fan. :)

Home

and to air conditioning, yay! I started my day at 8:30 am, was over to a friend's by 10:00. I:

1. Stopped by and got some drinks at Circle K.
2. Cleaned my friend's house.
3. Did my laundry.
4. Did his laundry (except for the dog blankets, as they don't need them right now as it's hot and he hasn't put his air conditioning on, yet).
5. Went to the grocery for both of us.
6. Went back to the grocery because the milk was leaking.
7. Had to back up an entire lane at Kroger because someone two cars ahead of me was waiting for a space for four minutes, causing the person to lay on his horn like a crazy person.
8. Watched Hotel Transylvania 2, which was quite fun.
9. Loaded up two laundry carts, two reusable totes of food, a backpack, and a few odds and ends into the car, and then into the house.
10. Managed to get the carts in the living room despite a narrow entry, nearly flinging a candelabra across the room.
11. Took my afternoon medicine.

I'm sweaty, still sunburnt, and generally ready to just plop down and enjoy the coolness that is my apartment. It's after 8 pm. I feel like I've been running for twelve hours. But it was a good day, nevertheless. So far I've done 100 minutes of activity, per my phone, and 9,552 steps--almost the recommended 10,000, and I average 5-6,000, and burned 952 calories, walking 5.03 miles. My best day so far was 106 minutes, so I'm very close. I may do a few things here before totally plopping down. But I think a shower may be in order, too.

Well, one nice thing

I have reached my 60 minutes of daily activity goal, and surpassed it by 24 minutes, and it's not quite 5:30 pm. I have also recovered, and made it through a fairly large grocery run without feeling run down, tired, or short of breath. I rested a lot between exercising and say, 2 pm, then went over to my friends' house, went through the grocery list, took A to the store, got a fair amount of groceries for me (yesterday's run was a small one; now I have enough for several days), put everything away, and then left them to a walk now that the rain has stopped (at least for now), and came home and put my groceries away. I think I finally feel caffeinated and ready to do stuff around here. The rain's really made me sleepy all day. I've put on some peppy music, and now I'm going to make a battle plan of what I want to get accomplished today. Tomorrow we decided to cancel the game, although Brenda could have played, so we can go through some things and get them ready for Monday. YKWIA and I are also going to watch a movie I have out from Netflix, The Wicker Tree, which is done by the same folks who came up with the original The Wicker Man, which I love. It will be interesting to see what they've done with this. It'll be a good thing to watch for Beltane/May Day. :)

When we were coming from the store, I saw across the road in a grassy place a crow trying to attack a bunny rabbit, the latter of which channelled the rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and basically it jumped at the crow and told it to f*ck off. I'm thinking it was a mother rabbit protecting her babies. I do love the bunny with the big gnashy teeth from the movie. YKWIA has a stuffed animal version of it.

I did get ant bait, so we'll see if it'll work. It's the stuff made by Hot Shot. I hate using poison, but hey, I'm tired of the little bugs crawling all over the place (and me).

Okay, time to create a battle plan.

I'm not sure if I just kicked butt

or if it kicked mine, but the first thing I did this morning (when I woke up before my alarm, feeling rested) was open the windows, put on my workout clothes, and then I headed over to the gym. I walked at about 2.0-2.5 mph for fifteen minutes, and while my heart rate went up to where it should be and I had a light sweat, that's where you want to be, so I was doing pretty well, so well, in fact, that I decided to go on the recumbent bike for another 15 minutes, mostly at 15 mph.

That was probably too much at one time. I haven't been active, so I need to start small, either divide them up in 10 minute blocks or do one or the other, because I got to where I could barely talk (which isn't good), I had sweat pouring down my hair, even in my ears (my headphones were slipping a lot), and I felt like I couldn't do it any more. But I did persevere, finished it, and then came back outside, where it was blissfully about 58 degrees, and walked home. I was doing fine until I came down the stairs, and had sudden pain in my ankle, the one that broke a few years ago when I was hit by a car. I carefully made it down the stairs with it hurting, got into the house, tried to take off my shoes, and it was doing the same. I got the shoes off, got some water, gingerly, and now I'm sitting down and taking a bit of a rest. I took the phone and plugged it into a speaker, so the same playlist is going as when I was exercising. I feel sweaty and stinky, and desperately need a shower. But I don't want my ankle going out from under me there, so I'm going to just sit here a bit and just take my meds and eat breakfast. I had felt energised after walking, now I feel drained. But I did reach my goal.

My physical therapist had suggested walking as a way to increase the strength of my core; my podiatrist suggested the bike because there's not as much pressure on the foot bones and muscles. But I think the bike was what did me in, and not because I'd already been on the treadmill--I think the rotation made my ankle hurt, and I had some trouble with my knees, too. I think I'll try each separately and see how I do, and if the bike is still an issue, just stick with walking, which is still fairly low-impact, good for your back, and I know I can do for awhile before I'm in danger of hurting myself.

I'd say the masque was a success, since I woke up early and felt good. My face wasn't as puffy, either. I had to keep the other fairly tight to keep it from become unsealed, and my face would have morning edema as a result, getting all swollen and puffy. This morning I just looked like me when I came in and washed my face.

I just crashed, after an insane day off of doing all sorts of things

We decided to just record 'Grimm' and watch it later, even though this was the 'Taming of the Wu' episode. So I dropped my friend off about 7:30 pm, went home, put the new CPAP masque together, took out the old SD card and replaced it, and put the old card in the package to send back to the medical supply company so they can download all the information on it. (Yeah, that's a bit creepy, I know). Then I tried to lie down for a bit, and the new masque is a little different. There are not separate nasal pillows that fit up your nose, but rather a under-the-nose area area. Here's a comparison. The one on the left is the ResMed Swift FX for Her masque (made by the folks who made my original CPAP machine--which I probably have had for fifteen years and still keep in the car during the winter in case I'm stranded somewhere), the one on the right is the Phillips Respironics Dreamwear masque (by the same folks who make my current CPAP):



Note the nasal pillows on the Swift FX, and that the hose is on the bottom. The Dreamwear has the hose on a rotating thing on the top of the head, so it's a little less likely to tangle as you move around in bed. Now you would think that without something in my nose, I would have fallen to sleep immediately, but actually it is a little louder, more reverberation I guess, and I didn't really feel like I had a masque on, which is good, but disconcerting. So it took a good hour to actually fall asleep, and I really just rested, but finally did doze, and I'd moved around on my back, left side, and right side. Both have their good points. And considering I wore the Swift FX upside down for almost the entire time I wore it, it worked remarkably well, getting 90% of 16.1 pressure over time. [The plastic piece goes on top; the soft cloth piece in the back]. The new one can't be worn in any other way, since the top has the hose, and all writing should be right side up. So I guess you could say it's more idiot-proof. We'll see how the new one goes. I'll definitely keep the other in case the one doesn't work out, and as a backup.

So all told, I was resting or napping for about two-and-a-half hours, just crashing. Now I'm up, and blogging, listening to the OneRepublic station on Pandora. I called my friend once I sat down to this, because I realised that we never got A's bus pass. They're going to use cash to go somewhere tomorrow, which will take them near a Kroger, where they can get one there, so really, the only thing I'm needed for tomorrow is the grocery run later in the day. So...that means I can push certain things to tomorrow, including:

• Exercising
• Bill paying
• Cleaning house

and really put some effort into the house, which is terribly messy at the moment. Not insurmountable, of course, just messy. And the fish tanks need attention and the recyclables need to go out (I took the trash out a couple of days ago). So the idea is to go back to sleep, wake up maybe at 8 am, go exercise, get a shower, start on the house, work on it for awhile, and pay bills as I take breaks. Tomorrow I think it's supposed to rain and be cooler, so it'll be good to do stuff inside, although hopefully it won't be raining so hard that the recyclables will be an issue. That way I'll also get things put together before the end of the month, Beltane (which starts tomorrow night), and my next cycle/dark of the moon. That'll be nice. So, I think I'm going to head back to bed. Good night!

PS I'm not sure how many miles I drove today, but I went through a quarter of a tank of gas, and made several trips around the eastern and middle parts of town, back and forth, back and forth. My step count for the day was only 4,856, so most of my running around was by car. But whew! What a lot of running!

I'm off from work today

because it was a light clinic day and I had things to do that required being off 9-5, and while I may regret it in the long run (I don't have much Personal Time Off (PTO) at all, and Memorial Day's around the corner), it's really been nice. I got up at the normal time, though, and so far I have:

1. Called and arranged for someone to take the paper to the library, since Friday's has the Weekender and is more popular.
2. Gotten my car tags renewed.
3. Picked up a book on the Medici family during the Italian Renaissance from the library downtown.
4. Stopped by McDonald's for breakfast (they gave me regular Coke, ugh, but otherwise it was decent).
5. Picked up a friend, stopped by a gas station for drinks and his newspaper, and took him to an appointment.
6. Waited outside in the car with the windows rolled down, reading the Medici book, for about an hour. I also downloaded a couple of phone applications and laid the seat back, enjoying the pleasant breeze and sunlight.
7. Took my friend home.
8. Got a call from the allergist that my phials are in, so I can start allergy shots. They were getting ready to close for lunch, so I came on home, got my Epi-Pens transferred to my bag, and now I'm killing some time listening to the Eurythmics and A Flock of Seagulls on an 80s alternative music channel on Pandora. I've got the windows of the apartment open.

Things to do the rest of the day:

1. Get my allergy shots.
2. Go grocery shopping.
3. Pay bills.
4. Exercise.
5. Work on the house.
6. Print out some papers for a friend, whose printer is out of ink.
7. Take that friend to an appointment mid-afternoon.
8. Go get the new SD card for my CPAP machine and try the new masque the doctor recommended, see if it fits.
9. Pick up a friend for an evening appointment.
10. Take another friend to get his bus pass.
11. Watch 'Grimm'.

So, yes, busy day, but yay for productivity so far. I think I'll print those pages out before doing anything else. The allergist's office opens back up at 1:30 pm. Then I can deliver the pages when I pick my friend up.

No good deed goes unpunished

So I came home after a day of feeling like I'd been beaten down (usually I love my work; today, it involved lots of problems with the copiers, and that was not fun), talked to a friend on the phone, played on Facebook for awhile, ate eggs, and basically got myself in a better mood, so much, in fact, that I decided to go over to the gym and work out. I put on clean workout shorts and my Angry Dalek shirt (it's a 'Doctor Who' version of my Soft Kitty shirt), and then I walked over there. I didn't bring an umbrella, because it wasn't raining yet, and I decided if it started, I'd just stay and work out longer. A woman was there in the gym, I said hello. She was taking a picture of herself in the mirror, and in trying to stay out of her way, I went to the treadmill that had her glasses and keys on it. She came to move her stuff, I apologised, went to the other treadmill, and as soon as I was about to punch up my workout tracker, I got a phone call.

Sigh.

I knew A was out and about after work, getting a massage, but I thought he'd be on the bus by then. No, he missed the bus, and if I didn't go get him, it would probably be about two hours before he got home, as the buses go to 70 minutes between runs, and if you don't get them right during the changeover, it can mean sitting at the transit centre for a long time. So I went, of course.

Ten feet out the door and the heavens opened up. I walked over to the car, soaked to the skin--my socks, my hair, my bra, everything, pretty much. I got in the car and drove down Alumni in the driving rain. Fortunately, it eased up by the time I got to the double roundabouts. Meanwhile, I was nervously looking at my gas gauge (on empty--I get paid late tonight/early tomorrow), waiting for the gas light to come on. I got A, took him home, and the gas light came on as he was going through the door. Fortunately it just sprinkled from there. I got home (I live 10-15 minutes away), came in, got out of the wet clothes and into my sleep shirt. I don't really feel like working out anymore tonight. I've been trying to do it in the mornings, but while I have been getting up early (as in 7 am), I haven't been getting up by 6 am, which is what I need to do that. So I figured I'd try to work out this evening, because, after all, I didn't have to be at an appointment, I wasn't planning on going over to my friends' house, and I figured A was on the bus. I think I'll go back to trying to do things in the morning; the afternoons just don't ever work for me.

At least it didn't rain into the windows--I didn't stop to come in and put them down. The windowboxes got a good soaking, though, which is good. I went ahead and watered the indoor plants as well.

I just listened to a couple of messages on my home phone. Apparently a hospital from another state is looking for a man who owes on his bill, and he needs to call his insurance and give them information before they'll pay. Mind you, I'm in an area code hundreds of miles away, but with cell phones, that's understandable. On the other hand, my message identifies my number and my name, makes no mention of this person, etc. Bad hospital, leaving personal information on a complete stranger's voicemail. They also did not leave a number to call back, and I can't trust the one that showed up, as those often are wrong, so I can't call to tell them that they are leaving messages at the wrong number. I'd be surprised if they ever get paid at this rate.

I didn't have any mail earlier, but when I came back, there was a mail truck outside the building. Apparently it's a new mail carrier--after he did deliver to our building (I still didn't get anything, but hey, at least there were no bills), he got a new batch of mail and started to come down our stairs, then realised the numbers on the building didn't match. Poor guy; I'm sure he came around with someone else at some point, but things are often hard when you start flying solo on the job. Our mail normally comes at 3:30 pm--I know because of three months laid up with a broken ankle, when our regular guy came like clockwork. It was about 7:30 pm when this guy came, so that's surprisingly late. Oh, well, I wish him well.

For awhile now, cool Indian music has been coming from above me (I have my windows open). It's stopped now. There are a lot of South Asian families and singles here in the complex. For awhile someone was doing home-cooked Indian meals for a very reasonable price, which I never took them up on, and now I regret that.

I also regret never going to the restaurant Coba Cocina, with its jellyfish tanks, because they closed for good yesterday. It's so hard for restaurants to make it, of course, even ones run by experienced restauranteurs (the owner is also the one for the Lexington Cheddars, and a couple of others). Everyone I talked to who went said it was decent, but didn't really wow them. So I guess that was part of it. One of the main reasons I didn't go, even though it was one street over from work, was that it always looked terribly busy when I went by. So I was surprised in a way, even though I've been telling myself since it opened that I should go see the jellyfish before they inevitably close, because restaurants are such a risky business. I wonder what will become of the jellyfish?

Oh, well. It's almost 8 pm. I should do some dishes and some straightening up, as the Terminix people come tomorrow. I'm not on my last legs in terms of being tired, but I must admit, the rain has made me sleepy. It's too late to take a nap, and it's too early to really turn in for the night. So maybe I should just listen to music and work on the house for a bit. Or read. Reading sounds great, even though there are other things that should be done. Good night.

Sorry I didn't blog last night

I came home, played on Facebook for awhile, and then went to bed. But I'm home tonight, listening to a mourning dove cry in the distance, with the windows open. I got home about 5 pm (I went in early today), ate, fiddled some more on Facebook and YouTube, and now I'm ready to do some other things:

1. Look through a book I have on fitness for everyone.
2. Listen to music.
3. Read some of The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu
4. Maybe watch a DVD--I'm leaning towards a 'Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries' episode.

My neck is bothering me today, so I don't want to do much physical stuff. My arm and back have actually been numb at times, and otherwise things hurt. Tomorrow we're supposed to get rain, so that may be part of it.

Time for bed

It occurred to me that I meant to leave work early tomorrow afternoon so I can get my allergy shots, so I need to go in early. That means suspending some of the fun tonight and going on to bed. I did get quite a bit done. The laundry (and DVD) will have to wait till Saturday (tomorrow night is 'Grimm', so I'll be over at YKWIA's). I'm going to try to get up earlier than even the normal early time and go over to the gym in the morning (I do better about working out in the morning than evening, although I'm not a morning person, so it's harder to get up for that). I just checked out the two books to my Kindle, so I have two weeks to read. By then the new Eastside Library Branch will also be up and running. Yay! Anyway, I'm going to log off of here and transfer the phone and Kindle (now both fully charged) to the bedroom, where I may read before bed, although truthfully I think I'm too tired. I suspect even if I put on a half-hour of music I wouldn't make it through the first song. Good night.

A pleasant free day after all

So, A called to tell me I don’t have to go over there and help clean house or other Sunday stuff. I suspect they’d decided to have a quiet day together, and they know I wasn’t keen on driving after the freeze. I was putting my laundry together, and I could have gone on over there to do it, but I have quarters, detergent, and dryer sheets, so I can do it over here. I can get over to the new building with my cart. Maybe that will encourage me to spend some time on the exercise bike, since they’re in the same building, although I’ll wait a bit for my back to calm down. All that bending and moving around dirty laundry is making it hurt.

In the meantime, I’m listening to a variety of music. I’ve filled my medicine box for the week, gathered up the recyclables from their receptacle, switched out the trash for a new bag (it wasn’t actually full, but it had been there a few days, so I thought I should take it out. I’ll use the granny cart for that. And then there’s that lamp, of course. I’ve been doing some straightening up in the kitchen and dining room. I haven’t actually done any reading yet, but I didn’t go take a nap, either, and I feel energised. I think I’ll take a shower after I sit and rest my back for a few minutes. The heat will do me good, and I want to get out of my P.J.s and take out the trash, recyclables, and start the laundry.

I put the book that YKWIA wanted on hold over at the branch it’s at. I have an appointment Tuesday over in Beaumont; I can pick it up then, and it’ll be about the same timeframe as if I’d had it sent over to Eagle Creek, as usual. . It’ll be warmer then, so maybe some of the snow will start melting, and the roads should be good. I’m not 100% sure the library is open today; it’s been closed during all the snow. It probably is, though, and I didn’t see anything on Twitter or the website indicating a closure for today. I may still go over to my branch, Eagle Creek, for a little while. I’ll take the laptop with me, too, and then I can do some updating.

So here’s my revised list of what I’d like to get accomplished today, especially since I’ve done very little this weekend on the house:

1. Do laundry. If I’m ambitious, I’ll also work out.
2. Do the few dishes that I have dirtied since the dishwasher load.
3. Finish straightening up, except for the bedroom, which is going to be a major project that I’m not sure I want to start today.
4. Get my bag and lunch packed for tomorrow.
5. Water the plants.
6. Maybe go to the library; or if not, go on Tuesday.
7. Take out the trash and recyclables.
8. Work on transcribing that one complex passage for the game notes, which I still haven’t sat down and tackled.

That’s enough for one day, and should give me time to do some fun things, too.

Well, that's everything, except

exercising and doing the notes, the latter of which I'm about to at least get a start on. As far as the exercise goes, I have walked 8,245 steps today, which works out to 4.37 mi, and 85 minutes of activity, according to my phone, burning 795 calories. That's better than 10-15 minutes on the complex bike, so I'm going to consider that my exercise for the day. Perhaps tomorrow I'll bike. Tomorrow I'm going over to my friends' house, do laundry, and visit with them, maybe work on moving the books YKWIA wants accomplished.

I'm doing much better lately--even today, without the normal routine--of taking my medication and checking my blood sugar when I'm supposed to. Dr. Humphries had asked me to keep track of both on a paper and then snap a picture of it on my phone and e-mail it to her weekly. Next Monday will be the first full week. I'm using three applications on my phone to keep track and encourage myself to do what I'm supposed to do:

• On Track, which allows me to keep my medication and glucose logs daily.
• Clock (the basic Android Clock program), to set an alarm for 9:00 pm for taking my nightly Lantus, which is the hardest to remember (I used to have an application called MediSafe, which was good, which could remind me to take my medicine whenever it was supposed to by a shaking pill bottle sound, but it became annoying after awhile. After all, I take my other meds at mealtimes, so there was not always a set 'time' that was good, and I just have to remember, take this when I eat. But the Lantus is hard, because it isn't taken at meals.
• Habitica (formerly HabitRPG), which is a habit-forming helper that uses an avatar with hit points and experience, all the things you'd see in a role-playing game, and you keep the avatar alive and increase its stats and inventory by accomplishing to-dos, daily tasks, and regular habits. Each one is designated easy, moderate, hard, etc., giving you a different set of points based on that. You can use experience points to get items such as armour, weapons, etc. It's pretty fun. Basically, I set it up so I can either tell it I took my meds or forgot to (which adds or subtracts points, respectively), whether I cleaned house today, or worked on the notes, e-mailed my doctor, those sorts of things, by a certain day. I really like it--I've tried other habit trackers, but given my gaming background, this one really resonates. I'm three experience points away from level 3 just after a few days. You can also use it on the computer by following the link above.

Okay. I never actually ate lunch, but I just had dinner. I guess I was busy working and wasn't all that hungry. Time to move over to the laptop and work on the notes.