Going for a Walk

I last saw my weight loss doctor [who is also my PCP, but we do the appointments separately; in-person for general visits and telehealth (normally) for weight loss--she's an internist, but she was my weight loss MD first before I asked her to be my PCP when mine retired after I'd gone to him for 20 years] about three weeks ago. I'd gained about 15 lbs. since last December, mainly, I think, from going back to Ozempic, which doesn't work as well for me as Mounjaro (due to insurance--neither Medicaid nor the qualified assisted Anthem health plan I had in May and June covered the latter), and 2) I went through a period where I was overeating and eating a lot of calorie-laden food after I left Shriners and especially while my roommate was out of state for three weeks.

I've been much better with my eating for the last month/month and a half, but my weight hasn't budged a bit. Part of it is water weight--I just blow up ankle-wise in the summer, and while compression hose help, I can't go up on my diuretic because it was what was making me so dizzy a couple of years ago, so they cut it back. So about 5-7 lbs is water weight, because when we had a cool spell, I suddenly lost some. I had, at one point, been 328 lbs and had lost down to 208 lbs. I'm about 223 lbs now.

Sigh. So until (and if) I get insurance that pays for Mounjaro (or unless it goes to generic early--apparently that is being petitioned as the patent expires overseas first, even though it doesn't here for several years), we decided I would try to walk about three times a week, starting for about 10 minutes a day. I promised to do it the next day and did, but then the heat wave of doom came, so I didn't.

Today, it's supposed to get to 90°F, but it was only 76°F about noon, so I decided to put on some sunscreen and a floppy sun hat (since it is also very sunny and nice outside) and go up the street and back. There is an incline at either end. The close-up is me before I went for a walk. The other is me after. It took about 15 minutes to do the circuit. It's a small step, but it's a start. With the inclines, it's a fair little walk. Next time, I should actually bring my inhaler. It did hurt my back a little, but it should be better in the long run. The knees did pretty well, though. The key will be doing this and doing more activity.

Of course, since I got back, I've been helping my friend do some things around the house that apparently, despite normally being fairly minor, wiped both of us out, and I just woke up from a 2-hour nap, and he's still asleep. So I did more activity and kept on going, then my little windup key just wound down entirely. We have to put a fan together later (I'm talking one of those big shop fans) for his bedroom, so it's good I got some rest. It wasn't hard to put the other one together, but there was lots of bending, and if I remember, my back was not happy, even though he had to hold the fan part because it's so heavy while I dealt with all the screws because I'm the mechanically inclined one. 🙂

I know, it's a silly hat. I've got one in purple, too, though. They're good against the sun.

How do you like my 'Censorship is so 1984' shirt from the ALA? It's new. Also, look how tall my tomato plant is!

Healthy progress

When I was not walking as well as I am now, being dizzy and having a lot of knee pain at the time, I set my step count goal to 3,500, which may seem really low, but I was lucky to reach it maybe 3-4 days a week at most. After the gel shots in my knees and the physical therapy for the dizziness (primarily caused by a malfunction in the Vestibulo-ocular Reflex (VOR) [where you have a dysfunction in turning the head and focusing on a point at the same time] with a little Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) [where tiny calcium crystals build up in an area of the inner ear where they should not be, causing dizziness], I'm walking better. I keep a collapsible cane with me, but I haven't been using one full-time anymore. I told myself when I met my goal for seven days a week, I'd move up the goal. So... On six days last week, I was over 4.000 steps. On four, I was over 5,000, and on one, 6,000. I'm going to move it up in 500 step increments--so up to 4,000 for now, and then if I can get it up to 4,000 consistently, I'll move it up again. I'd like to at least get up to 5,000 steps a day. Wish me luck.

BTW. I got a call from my neurologist Friday afternoon and he'd gotten the report back from my MRI early. Everything looked normal. In addition to the dizziness, we'd been checking on the very frustrating memory issues I've been having and trouble finding words, especially names of things/nouns. He is under the impression that it is not my brain, or even ageing, but rather side-effects of some of my medication, which is unfortunate, because it is extremely important that I stay on said medications, and if I were to try to find an alternative, it would be bad, as what I'm on is working very well and it can take ages to find the right medicine otherwise. He said that unless it gets markedly worse, he wouldn't recommend pulling me off of them. If it does, then we could reconsider or put me on additional medication (something I'd like to avoid if I can). But I'd asked for an evaluation because I was afraid it was a kind of degenerative aphasia, which is a form of dementia, and at least we've ruled that out. So yay!

I've been processing some news rather than writing about it

For years I have been concerned that my bloodwork always shows my liver enzymes as very slightly elevated, because my mother had the same thing happen to her. It eventually progressed to fatty liver disease secondary to diabetes, then NASH Syndrome (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis), then cirrhosis, then to liver cancer, and then to liver failure, and it finally killed her.  It was terrible. 

I'd expressed this concern for some time with my PCP, but it was only a very little elevated, and so we took a wait-and-see tack, but I finally said something about my concerns to my endocrinologist. She ordered labs and sure enough, the values were higher than they should be. So Tuesday before last I had two liver tests: a regular liver ultrasound and an elastography, the latter of which measures the elasticity or rigidity of the liver. It wasn't a particularly painful test, it's just an ultrasound that I had to fast for, but it was difficult in that you had to (for the elastography) let out all your breath and then not breathe for awhile before letting in some air again. I was a little dizzy afterwards.

The next day, the results showed up on my patient portal and I read them. A couple of things were easy to understand. My liver was enlarged and I had asymptomatic gallstones. There was a mention of the wave result being correlated to a Metavir score of F4. That I knew nothing about, so being a former librarian, I looked it up, being congnizant that you shouldn't panic based on Google results. But the Metavir Scale goes from F0-F4. F0 is a normal liver. F1-F3 are various degrees of fibrosis in the liver. F4 is consistent with cirrhosis. That was a bit to make me think about panicking. I've had diabetes for aver 20 years with obesity and other risk factors. I thought there might be some damage. But cirrhosis is not good. Not at all. Fibrosis can be reversed in some cases, particularly in the early stages, as the liver has a great deal of resilency, but cirrhosis is another matter entirely, and can lead to liver cancer and liver failure.

I called my doctor's office to speak to her. Her nurse wasn't there that day, but they'd said they'd give her the message. The next day I hadn't heard anything, so I called back and spoke with the nurse. I explained what the score was supposed to mean and the nurse was like, oh, I didn't know that, let me get the doctor to call you right back, which she did. The F4 score is certainly concerning. She said she wanted to refer me to a specialist at the University of Kentucky, as they were the best ones in the area for this and if I went somewhere else, I'd probably wind up there anyway (I think she meant if it came to a transplant, as they're the ones who do that). So that was definitely hard news.

Fast forward to this Thursday and I hadn't heard anything about the appointment. I have the Informed Delivery from the US Postal Service that emails you scans of the mail you're getting that day and saw that I was getting something from my endocrinologist's office. I asked my roommate to open it in case it was the referral. It was just a copy of the results plus the intent to refer, so I went ahead and called her office and the referral clerk called me back. I do have an appointment with the University of Kentucky's Gastroenterology office (apparently that's where Hepatology goes under), but after reviewing my records the first available appointment was October 8th, when I'll be seeing a doctorate-level nurse practitioner. So maybe they didn't think I was as urgent as my endocrinologist's office thought. Or maybe, being a major univeristy teaching hospital, they just don't have the availability. I don't really want to make any assumptions. So it looks like I won't really know anything about my condition until then.  I have to admit, I'm pretty disappointed and more than a little scared.

I know that it often takes big things to scare us into making even small changes.  The best thing for fatty liver is to lose about 30% of your body weight.  For me, that's about 100 lbs.  Yeah, that's a lot.  I saw my rheumatologist the next day and told him about what was going on.  He asked me what I planned to do.  I told him I was cutting out the processed food in the vending machines.  I was trying to find ways to walk a bit each day beyond going to and from work (I get about 6200 steps in on average.  I'd like to slowly increase that to 8000.)  As far as losing weight, 100 lbs is too much to tackle.  My plan is to try for 15-20 lb. weight loss and then add another goal after that, taking it smaller bites.  He thought that was good, and he offered to get me to a nutritionist if my endocrinologist didn't.  I appreciate it.

I haven't eaten anything from the vending machines in over a week. I ordered and tried out some walking poles to help with my balance so I can walk around the neighbourhood, and some walking shoes are being delivered today (my New Balance work shoes, which look like black trainers, are actually steel-toed, and not flexible enough).  I went and spent $100 on things like large bags of nuts, raisins, craisins, jars of sunflower seeds, cheese I can cube, baked crackers, yoghurt, etc., so I have snacks and breakfast at work.  Here's hoping this helps.

UPDATE: My appointment has been pushed back to November 5th! Arrrgghhhh!

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.

Feeling down

Today was difficult. I came home and curled up in a ball for awhile. Feeling a little overwhelmed at work. But I did get up, did some laundry and dishes, and read another chapter of 'Library of Souls' (the third book of Miss Perigrine's Home for Peculiar Children), and so I feel a little better. And I got in 8000 steps--not quite yesterday's count, but I made goal, even though it meant pacing the house for the last 600 steps. :) Here's hoping I can make more headway (and pull off a minor miracle) tomorrow. Good night.

A pretty active day

I have worked,  been to Costco,  Meijer,  Kroger,  to my friend's house,  to Jin-Jin,  back to his house,  and more,  finally,  I am home.  I am pooped.  And my feet hurt.  But look at my activity and walking stats,  plus I hunted down and brought home a reasonably-priced vacuum,  which I have put together and would love to go ahead and test,  but it is midnight.  On the other hand,  my upstairs neighbours are making some sort of sofa or bedspring bounce up and down above me in their living room,  a sound that cries 'sex'.  So they probably wouldn't notice.  The ones downstairs might,  though.  Oh,  well,  that will be tomorrow's fun. 

My phone (and Samsung Health) did something it's never done before tonight

I went to Costco and explored some more, since I was interrupted last time. My phone decided that I was doing a workout and once detected, saved the particulars (3.3 mph, 0.8 miles, 14 minutes 31 seconds total, with 113 calories burned). :) That puts me at 83 minutes total activity for the day, and 8,210 steps, 4.40 miles, and 742 calories burned. Not bad, really.

I've been working on my health today some

For one, I made an effort to walk around the hospital regularly, as I've had a lot of back pain lately, and while that hurts worse when I stand or walk, the only way to help it, really, is to build up my core, which walking will do. So while I didn't overdo it, I reached my activity goal for today (my phone keeps that as well as my steps) and then some, and I walked 6,865 steps, which is better than I've been doing with this flare-up.

I also was careful today with sweets and took all my medicine with me, in their bottles (I threw them all in the backpack) so I could fill my pill box properly. As a result, my blood sugar was very good today. I'm still having problems with my ankles swelling; when they get big on a day I don't take my diuretic, like they did yesterday, it takes a day or two to get the fluid off of them).

But primarily, there was the meter issue. I see the endocrinologist in a couple of weeks. My values have been good on my blood sugar, for the most part. I should have a lower hemoglobin A1c than last time, and last time was an improvement. I hadn't transferred my results to the computer in awhile, though, and I like to so that I can print a report for her. But I discovered when I tried to bring up the software that it 1) didn't work anymore, with a runtime error and 2) wasn't being distributed anymore. So I couldn't just uninstall and re-download. Instead, Lifescan has created a combination web/mobile application called OneTouch Reveal, which allows you to upload values and find patterns, create reports, all the stuff the old standalone software did and more, and presented graphically and in an easily understood format. My meter, a OneTouch Verio IQ, has a cable that came with it that plugs into the USB port of the computer, and I used a downloaded transfer utility that they have you get (it's free) to transfer several months of readings across to the new web interface. I also downloaded the mobile application. I was very happy with the results. There is also a provision that if you get a code from your doctor's office, they can share the information with them, which is presumably more secure than my e-mailing the logs to the doctor, which is what I had been doing. So I have a call into the doctor's office for that. But along the way, I discovered a new meter that connects and syncs with the mobile application (which in turn, syncs with the web interface), so you don't even need the cable. That way, you can update frequently. It is the OneTouch Verio Flex. I checked, and it was available at the pharmacy for $20, and it's a flexible spending item, so I was able to go ahead and get it after work. It uses the same strips and lancets as the IQ, so that doesn't change. I've set it up, taken my first test, and paired it with the phone so I've already sent that one to update the database. Here's how the two meters stack up:

OneTouch Verio IQ
• PROS:
  1. Colour display
  2. Test strip port light that shines on the strip when you're testing
  3. Rechargeable battery
  4. Tags (before/after meal) can be made when you take a test on the meter itself
  5. Can use an included standard USB cord to download results to a computer
  6. Can browse results in multiples by day
  7. Alerts when high or low patterns are indicated
  8. Case zips to contain lancets, solution, etc.
• CONS:
  1. Must be charged regularly, either by using the USB cable in a computer, or using the enclosed power adapter with the cable.
  2. No way to communicate directly to phone; must use cable.
  3. Small lettering on menus.

OneTouch Verio Flex
• PROS:
  1. Can use Bluetooth to pair/connect directly with mobile application
  2. Can use a standard USB cord to download results to a computer
  3. Large numbers, easy to read screen
  4. Indicator easily shows whether high, low, or normal in range
  5. Small, compact case, so whole thing lighter, and it fits in a purse flat and easily
  6. Doesn't have to be recharged regularly, so no need to carry cord in case
  7. Holster comes out of case and can be clipped on belt and still hold meter, lancet, and strips
  8. Lightweight
• CONS:
  1. Monochrome display (the colour used to indicate high, low, or normal is part of the meter, and then an arrow on the screen is the indicator)
  2. USB cable not included
  3. Battery is a standard watch battery. While it doesn't need to charge, it does need to be replaced--but on the othe rhand, most meter batteries last awhile
  4. Tags are assigned in mobile application, not on meter
  5. No menus, patterns, etc., although it does allow you to go up and down the results
  6. Pouch for lancets doesn't zip--I have mine in a Ziploc snack-sized bag tucked into the pouch.
  7. Not as hefty, but also seems more cheaply made

I hope the above might help if you're planning on getting a meter. Here's what I decided: I'm going to go from now on with the OneTouch Verio Flex, because I have a phone with the mobile application and can sync easily. I'm going to give the other meter, the OneTouch Verio IQ, to a friend who has asked me to check his sugar a few times, so he can have one of his own and I don't mess my results up with his. I went ahead and gave him the new lancing device from this kit and kept my own (both of these come with a OneTouch Delica lancing device, so they're the same). I put some lancets in his pouch, along with a bottle of strips, so he should be good to go, and if the doctor wants him to start testing regularly, the strips would be covered by his insurance. I'm going to give him the user manual as well (I have the original papers and box). So it won't go to waste. It would be helpful to him, I think, because of the colour display and the light on the strip port. He doesn't have (or want) a cell phone, much less a smart phone, so that should be fine for him. The bulkier case shouldn't be a problem for him, as he'd mostly be using it at home. So it's a win-win scenario.

Okay, on that note, time to unpack everything an get ready for tomorrow. Good night.

I am getting a little frustrated with myself

I came home today, right after work (for a change), with the best of intentions. I was going to conquer the clutter and mess by which my apartment is currently under siege. If anyone were to judge by my desk at work, they would think me a neat freak--I always make sure everything is put away each day and than only papers being used at the moment are on top. But at home, well, I'm pretty much a hoarder, and it's a small apartment with lots of books--more than in my library at work--and I've never been particularly neat. The one complaint my parents ever had about me was that I was reluctant to clean my room. And when you live alone, it's easy to come home and just plop stuff down on the couch or dining room table. But it's reached a point where I need to purge the messiness, as I do on occasion. So that was my goal today--to at least get part of the stuff in some semblance of order and get rid of what wasn't important.

But like many middle-aged people (I never thought I'd describe myself that way, but it is true), I have some back problems. I did a lot of bending, lifting, twisting, etc., this weekend. I guess I overdid it. One of the problems with having a truly sit-down job is that I don't walk enough (I average about 5,000 steps or just over a day, rather than the 10,000 you're supposed to walk), and my core and back are weak as a result. Then you add a generally sedentary lifestyle and bursts of activity on the weekends, and it's not pleasant. I came in today, took some Tylenol Arthritis medicine, slathered the Kroger equivalent to Ben Gay (which is very strong) on my back, and stretched out for a half-hour to see if I could get some of the tension out, doing various stretches I'd learned in physical therapy. That seemed to help, but as soon as I got up and gravity hit, it hurt again. Even sitting hurts at the moment. So I went back to the bedroom, slept for a little while, and got up just now to take my evening meds and prepare for actual bedtime. I hate to do it, but I think I'm going to have to take a mild muscle relaxant my doctor prescribed for flare-ups. I've never missed work due to my back or neck, but I do occasionally have these periods of pain.

My plan is to get up VERY early--4:30 or 5 am, do some walking, if I can tolerate it (to help strengthen the back), do some of the stuff I planned to do tonight, and then go into work early, as I have an appointment later in the day. I'm going to try to get up and walk about some more at work; I'm at my highest weight ever and that scares me a bit. I'm going to try to satisfy my sweet tooth with yoghurt or fruit for awhile, which usually works, as I've been eating too many sweets (I was about to say I'd done well today, but then I remembered a small serving of ice cream I had this afternoon).

Oh, well, here's to doing better tomorrow. At least we did play the game (and I think we all enjoyed it) yesterday, and we're back in the swing of things. I did stay late last night trying to update my desktop (which is at YKWIA's, on loan) to the Anniversary Update of Windows 10, but it got almost to the end, and then reversed the installation back to the previous version. I'm not sure why--I'll have to do a little research. But it was a bit annoying; the laptop took a long time, but it did fine. Oh, well. Hope you have a good night.

Is it weird

To be off your 10,000-step goal by 780 steps,  so you walk up and down your halfway until you make goal?  I just did that.  And I was astounded by the total steps taken since I started using Samsung Health back in April 2013 on my old Galaxy S3. 2,454,613 steps. Wow!

So, I have a free evening

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

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

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

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

So today I went for a walk with a friend and two dogs

and we went from his house to a public park with a large pond and adjoining marshy area, which was quite nice. Each of us took a dog, he the spastic smaller one, and me the more docile one that isn't really used to a leash, so she kept hugging in close to me. I almost fell twice, despite the paved path, once because I found a drop off into a hole, and once due to some mud at the edge of the walk. I was covered in sweat and short of breath when I got home, although the total walk was not even a mile. According to my phone, which isn't entirely accurate, as I've left it out of my pocket a few times today, but I had it then, I've walked almost 7,000 steps today and a little over 3 1/2 miles. So I guess that's good. I've walked more, but I don't usually walk at that fast a pace. So I definitely got some exercise. I visited for awhile and then watched 'Lost Girl' with my other friend, and then the first friend and I went to the grocery store. Now I'm back home, and I want to work on the game notes, as we will probably not be gaming tomorrow (Brenda's son got married today down at Cumberland Falls, and I'm sure she'll be very tired), but on the off chance she does want to, I should have them finished, and if she doesn't, they'll be ready for next time and I won't have to worry about them any further. So that's the plan. I'm going to go work on them now.

Sweet and caring neighbours

Neighborhood Comes Together To Help A Man And His Best Friends

It's supposed to be a glorious day, weather-wise

Sunny, 62 degrees at present but supposed to climb to 80. This morning, in the hour I've been up, I have:

1. Filled up my medicine reminder box
2. Tweaked the application on my phone that reminds me to take my medicine to update new medication and which doctors prescribe them
3. Taken all my meds
4. Tested my blood sugar
5. Weighed myself--eek!
6. Put various things into S Health, the application that keeps track of my steps, food, exercise, etc.
7. Eaten some yoghurt and blackberries for breakfast
8. Drunk a full glass of water
9. Perused the news

I am now ready to go take a shower, get dressed, feed the fish, and go out into the bright sunshiny day. I'm going to take the laptop over to my friends' house in case there's any time to work on game notes. The grocery run is the only thing I think that's on the agenda right now otherwise, and maybe catching up on the 'Salem' episode from last week if they haven't watched it already. I may go on a walk with A, as he's offered to go with me. We'll see. I'll wear my sandals but bring my walking shoes, too. I'll wait till tomorrow to do laundry over there.

Okay, time to get ready!

I really wish I could say I felt like

A new personal best!!!

Setting up the laptop and going online for awhile,  but I'm pooped,  lying here with my feet propped up.  I have walked over 15,000 steps today, and over 6 miles.  I've been on three buses,  a train,  walked all over the place,  enjoyed the Field Museum of Natural History,  had a seminar at the Medical District,  and I've eaten dinner at Millennium Park.  I have an early meeting tomorrow,  and then it's off to the airport. I have to check out about 7 am to meet a colleague who will drive us to the meeting. Then it looks like I'll have to take a cab to O'Hare to have plenty of time to get through screening,  etc. So I should go on to bed.  Good night.

Yay!

I haven't done this for awhile; usually I'm doing well if I get half as many steps in. And this is with a ride home from work and driving to Kroger once I got the car unstuck.

So close!

I was madly walking up and down my hallway right before midnight to try to make it to 10,000 steps.

Well, today has been mostly devoted to

getting the car fixed, with getting very little else done. I spent a couple of hours at the garage, then came home and decided since I'd gotten up so early and because they were supposed to finish by noon that I'd rest a bit, and then at 12:30 they said the car was ready and they'd come get me in a little while. So I waited. An hour passed. I called and offered to walk over, but they said, no we'll come get you in just a bit, just relax. Well, I'm one of those people who doesn't wait well. I want to either be doing something or knowing I won't be doing something--I would hate to be in the middle of something when they did call, so I just waited. After another hour, I put my good walking shoes on and started walking. I got there about 3 pm. The guy was, oh, we were just about to come get you. I pointed out to him that I didn't mind coming over if they were swamped, I just wanted to get some things done this afternoon. Basically they were going to wait to go get me by the end of their shift (they close at 4 pm). Anyway, I'm now poorer to the tune of $530, but that's actually with a break he gave me, for a complete new set of back brakes and an oil change. The car is handling much better. I'll have to see if the battery can be changed soon, though.

The University of Kentucky is about to start their second football game of the season, and A is watching it on TV, so we aren't going to the store until later. I'm going to go over there in about an hour and a half. At this point, I should at least start working on the house. But the annoyance that got me through the walk down and across two major highways has kind of dissipated and now I just want to cool down. I'm not tired--I'm just hot, as it was 86 degrees out there with 55% humidity. So I'm going to chill out for about 20 minutes and then get up and work. That's the plan, anyway. On the other hand, I'm at 3,015 steps on a Saturday, which is usually what I get all day on the lightest walking day of my week. :)

Sigh

Today I have visited three Kroger stores (one twice!), schlepped to a doctor's office to pick up a friend, and generally have been up and walking on my knee way more I should (it passed from uncomfortable to pain about 9 am). Grand total today (and it's not even the end of the day yet!) for steps is 12,297 (that's 6.89 miles--a personal record) so far. Tomorrow is another early morning as the MRI is at 7:15 am. Now I think it's time to elevate the leg and head on to bed.

PS I checked into the pay situation and as near as I can figure, it is correct. Which sucks. Apparently the government just got an extra helping of my taxes.

PPS You know, YouTube has a video for just about anything. Yesterday I was with YKWIA and we watched parts of a boy who had been eaten by a crocodile cut out of the creature that the villagers had hunted. They then proceeded to eat the crocodile, probably as part of a funeral feast, which seems a little odd to Western cultures, probably but I suppose represents a fundamental belief in conquering over that which stole away the life of a child and also to not waste good meat. Still, it was a little disconcerting.

PPPS Here is the final count--12,501 steps, almost 7 miles. Argh!

Not feeling the best tonight

A walk was out of the question today as I've been having a lot of pain in my knee. This has been going on since the beginning of May, and I think it's past time to have it looked at. Unfortunately, when I got home there were storms coming in, so no pool visit, either. So I watched the news for a bit and then propped my leg up on some pillows where it felt better for a good long while.

I'm hormonal, and while I was doing fine at work, interacting with my best friend, which is sometimes difficult (think dealing with Sheldon Cooper from 'Big Bang Theory' or PL Travers from Saving Mr Banks) was nigh on impossible. So I took him to an appointment and then dropped him off at home so I could go sit in the hut alone and away from folks and wait for my menstruation to begin, which it is just now starting to, so hopefully I will feel better soon. I'm not weepy or anything like that, just a little irritable and not thinking at my best.

I found out that my colleague at our hospital in Los Angeles had her position eliminated, leaving even fewer librarians in our system. Today I also found out that the job I'd applied for at the Lexington Public Library was filled. So that was disappointing, and I'm starting to feel more stressed over job security. I mean I have none, we know the library won't be going to the new building in a couple of years, but I'm afraid they'll make cuts before then, and the job hunt, while pretty active, is not going well. I've revised my résumé, which I'll update soon online, that is more concise, leaving the full list of things for more of a vita. But there's nothing in the area that I can drive to in a reasonable commute at the moment.

Tomorrow I have to:

1. Call my family doctor and make an appointment about my knee and also to get my refills renewed.
2. Call my dentist to see about adjusting the partials, which I haven't been wearing because I can't get them in.
3. Call my student loan administrator about recertifying my income contingent repayment and discuss some issues with them.
4. Call my optometrist and order new contacts.

All that in addition to a full day tomorrow at work. Then there's the season finale of 'The 100' to watch with YKWIA, assuming I'm up to company tomorrow night.

Okay, time for bed. Good night. Hopefully tomorrow will not be quite so depressing.