After Effects

While half the people this country deal with a nationwide hangover after things they're starting to regret doing last November, a different (or the same) half are trying to deal with the frigid or snowy or windy wildfire effects of climate change, which will worsen now that the new administration has bowed out of the Paris Climate Accords, and a still-different (or similar) half deals with multiple viruses which will also worsen now that the same nimrods have removed our membership in the World Health Organization... where was I? Ah, well Robin's suffering from something, possibly related to his blood donation, and has been under the weather all day. And I made soup, and filled seven hours of my workday. So grateful I can work from home! More comics were read, more television watched, and I have two big containers of chicken soup in the fridge to last at least the next week. Not as good as Mom's but I'm getting there. I just have to learn how to season it better...

Muscle Better, Bones Cold

Have I mentioned how January is so not my favorite month? While the weird pain in my ribcage has now disappeared, the cold still seeps in, and I had to commute back and forth and wait for each bus in frigid weather, as well as having a lunch date a full block away. Seriously, I complain about stupid things. I made it through just fine. And I'm sick of the cold but at least it's not wildfires and not ice storms. And I did have a good time seeing everyone in the office. Once I'm either at my source or my destination I'm fine, it's the in-between that gets me...

A Stitch in Time

Or in my side. I have no idea why my rib muscles hurt on my right side. I'm hoping it's just another weird gastrointestinal glitch, or maybe I've been holding my iPad too close to that area and leaning into it the past few days. The pain has eased a bit, although I could only manage 10 minutes on the exercise bike. I'm just hoping to be okay to go into Manhattan tomorrow. At least the finances are finally done and sorted. Now to finish reading my comics...

Normalization

The human body and spirit, they are resilient things. I think my body is actually getting used to the cold now, after being hammered with it on and off these past few weeks. Well, give or take my insomnia, about which there's little I can do except catch up on sleep during the day. My outerwear for grocery shopping today was a jacket over a sweatshirt, no thermals under my jeans, and only one pair of socks, and I was fine. We even had to crack open the car windows on the way home because my glasses kept fogging up. Everything was put away in fairly short order, allowing for lots of nap time and reading time. Looks to be another good weekend!

What To Do When the Things Are Done

Every Saturday I have basic and supplemental lists of organizational chores to take care of: lay out my pills and supplements for the week and reorder any getting low; order comics; make out the grocery shopping list; check the status of my every day finances and decide whether or not they need to be caught up on or filed; and other stuff like Woolite wash or organizing earrings. Well, all that stuff has been done now, the Woolite wash is on the drying rack in the tub, my winter sweaters and sweatshirts on the shelf above the bedroom closet have been reorganized, the holiday stuff is ready to be put away tomorrow, the grocery shopping was accomplished in the windy cold, I've finished reading my comics, but I'm disinclined to do more TV catch-up because my eyes have been a bit tired of late and my concentration is shot. I slept through most of the afternoon and woke up feeling drugged. I'm not sure if it's one of the umpteen illnesses floating about, but I'm noticing a decided uptick in the number of masked shoppers around me, which both pleases me and gives me pause. I hope I can stay inside as long as possible as this weather is become less and less conducive to my health, but I need more concentration to do drawing practice or writing or starting on the Wicked book series. I hate being in a holding pattern, but at the same time I'm pleased with Having Done. Small steps.

Beteween the Storms

What a howler of a storm in the wee small hours! Fortunately it only woke me momentarily, and I slept for almost seven hours before giving up around 4:30 AM, so I was in good shape to venture out into the NJ mountains to visit Mom in the nursing home. She's doing about as well as can be, seems to have plateau'ed but I'm not sure if that's good or not. I think her cognition has improved somewhat but it's hard to tell, me not being a professional or anything. In any case, it was a nice visit and I was back home in time for Robin and I to grab a lovely afternoon nap until Screeching Childers and the Loud Downstairs Neighbor (who's actually quite a nice chap, just a bit hearing impaired) woke us. We're going out tomorrow to take care of the last errands of 2024 (new sneakers, Robin's meds, and of course sushi before the coupons expire), then a nice day and a half of rest before I hightail it into the Manhattan office again. Aside from the insomnia it's been a decent time off but I'm almost champing at the bit to get back into my routine, oddly. Someday I'll learn how to relax.

Silly Site o' the Day

My car is fine, the oil's changed and they did a safety check, so all is go for my solo trip to see Mom tomorrow. While I was waiting for the mechanics to be done, I walked around and did a few errands, but I fear I may have aggravated my IT band again so I'll have to dig out those stretching exercises again. If it's not one thing it's another, either tech or mechanical or anatomical. At least it's not food-borne, like these mighty tasty looking meals.

And That's a Wrap!

I have logged off work for the rest of the calendar year! I actually had enough to do today, as two of my partners were also working and needed stuff from me, so I didn't feel like I was doing make-work, but still, glad it's over and I can start on my holiday plans. Tomorrow I'll be watching my traditional as-many-versions-as-I-can of A Christmas Carol, reading as many comics as I can as I got a new shipment today, trying to right my intestinal system so I can get back on the bike once it's no longer freezing (I'm beginning to suspect the two are related), and taking lots of well-deserved naps. I also plan on visiting Mom at least twice if the weather and my health permit, so I'm not without things to do! Onward to the holidays!

I Can See Almost Clearly Now

Yesterday I'd remembered that I was supposed to have an ophthalmologist appointment this month, and I found it weird that they'd never called to remind me, and naturally this was the one appointment I'd forgotten to put on my calendar. Turns out the office had mixed up me and Robin (as he goes to the same eye doc), and the reminder came to him. As his appointment is next month, he thought nothing of it and filled out the paperwork. So today I straightened things out, got my appointment rescheduled for February, then the office called and said I was already seeing them next month. "No," I said again, "that's my husband. Please straighten this out." Meantime I was on the phone with the people who administer the hospital's website to make sure things worked on their end. It all took about half an hour out of my workday during my peak performance time (I'm definitely a morning-work person), but by the end of the day my appointment was properly scheduled and I'd filled out the forms even though I never got an email or text reminder. But it's okay as it's on my calendar now! It's all just as well since we've used up our FSA money for 2024. But the goings-on made me forget to call Mom, so I'll touch base with her Friday and plan to see her once the weather is no longer frigid, probably Boxing Day. Dang, I'm exhausted just typing all that!

Brain Freeze

Ugh, it's been hovering at or below freezing all day. And my day started off with a dreadful intestinal issue, possibly due to this morning's omelet. But I felt well enough after napping to bundle up and drive to the supermarket, where we got everything done despite an amazingly crowded parking lot and a lot of shoppers seemingly milling about uncertain about what to buy. I suspect it'll be even worse next weekend. I had to collapse again after we got home, but I seem to be coming out of my tummy distress at last, so tomorrow I take care of all the household things I didn't do today (mostly the holiday cards and finances)...

While I Looked Around for My Possibilities

I'm still feeling unstuck in time. I think I've been postponing writing The Last Riggs Residence Roundup not only because my body kind of broke down this morning (chills that sent me back to bed for a morning nap amid the space heater, followed by sweats within 10 minutes of waking up again, and I still have occasional trouble breathing but I'm chalking it up to the weather) but because the whole thing brings on the melancholy. So many people crossed off the holiday card list because they're no longer in this plane of existence, and so many generations after me who don't do the card thing and so I don't have their mailing addresses and in many cases not even their email addresses. It's all Facebooked or Instagrammed or TikTok'ed now, isn't it? So tech moves on, something I've gotten used to at work when it seems like we need to learn a new app or procedure every month, but I haven't quite let it into my personal life. So I'm giving up until I can make that transition, after which I may not miss the writing process any more. Except for here, of course!

Subject to Interviewing

I was in a great mood this afternoon when the Riverdale Press reporter called to interview me about my diabetes and whether it affected my mental health (I don't think it has), as I'd been in the space-heated home office (finally quiet as the outside construction has ended) most of the day and had just submitted all my folks' timesheets and updated my iPhone to the latest version after my firm finally gave us the go-ahead. Now I have to go through the firm's mobile Outlook to get work email, which used to be in the same place as my personal email accounts, but all's good and all my Apple devices are finally equipped with the latest operating systems, even my Apple watch! Now I've eaten and done my 20 minutes on the exercise bike and showered, and it's time to relax a bit before gearing up for tomorrow's visit to Mom in the nursing home. Hope your weekends are all nice as well!

Goals and Aspirations

At work we're in the middle of goal-setting for the next fiscal year, and my main one is going to be achieving better work-life balance. I'm getting a lot of stuff in order for my backup exec assistants to handle should I be out for any reason, and I'm hoping one reason will be vacation-oriented, but in the meantime I'm still just so tired I can't think about that. One of the side-effects of how stress (about Mom and about the country's future) seems to be a sudden inability to catch my breath. If this dyspnea gets worse I'll have to consult my doctor, but for now I think I can get it under control with better and more frequent meditation exercises. Oh well, at least the new sneakers seem to be helping...

Silly Site o' the Day

Okay, it could have been too much hot sauce in yesterday's pseudo-salsa, or this morning's scrambled eggs, but my stomach and thus the rest of my body paid the price for much of the day, including the gamut of chills and sweats, so I laid low and got as many naps in as I could. I hate when I'm both hungry and not hungry at the same time. At this point I don't even care what my body fat spirit animal is...

Silly Site o' the Day

The right leg is starting to improve, but of course I was behind the wheel again, albeit only locally to get gas and do our shopping. Otherwise nothing to report, except different kinds of "graveyards" (via Cathy from Canada)...

Silly Site o' the Day

Thank goodness I worked from home today as a very bad car crash closed the main artery my bus uses in this neighborhood. All was cleared by dinner time, when I opted to drive the four semi-short blocks to the local fancy-shmancy place celebrating restaurant week. The food was very rich but very delicious, I've now showered, spoken with my brother about Mom in the nursing home, caught up on finances, and settled in to watch the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series, where so far they're beating the Dodgers and hoping to force a Game 6 in LA. I think I've exhausted myself just typing all of that! Here, relax with another Randy Rainbow:

Now back to the game!

Silly Site o' the Day

Thanks to my brother from CA, Mom is now settled into her long-term care facility, and I look forward to seeing her tomorrow. Busy day ahead, doing the early-voting thing then shopping, then off to NJ for a Mom visit and a college frat reunion. Then maybe I can rest for awhile? My foot is doing a little better thanks to a cramp in the night and Robin massaging the post-cramp area this afternoon; at least I was able to pinpoint where things were amiss. I have almost full mobility back, hope I don't backslide after all the driving I'll be doing. Off to watch the World Series in the meantime, while you enjoy these very scary pumpkins.

Silly Site o' the Day

Off to the bus in the dark, home from the bus in the dark. I love autumn, even how it smells when the leaves lose their chlorophyll, but I'm not quite as fond as I used to be of walking (or driving!) in the dark. At least I can see things at lunchtime, which today consisted of a couple bad decisions courtesy of a local street fair. Those soup dumplings were neither soupy nor very dumpling-like; second time I've fallen for that place in as many street fairs. Anyway, plenty to eat throughout the day, enough work to keep me on my toes, and now I'm back and relaxing as the temps drop. Oh, speaking of light and dark, here's an interesting overview on the creation of holograms.

Silly Site o' the Day

Between the overuse of the car at my age and the general anxiety over Mom's situation, my body keeps giving out in peculiar places. At the moment it's my right heel, which is actually referred pain from somewhere in the calf. All I can do at this point is brace it, limp, and hope for some sort of cramp in the night which will loosen it enough to begin recovering. At least I only had to schlep my laptop one way today, as I planned ahead to come into the office today and tomorrow given yesterday's PTO. The other issue is my occasional insomnia, which made it pretty difficult to stay awake at my desk. But I really didn't have a choice, and there was enough to keep me occupied (plus at least one caffeinated beverage). Are you ready for a Hallowe'en light show? Just check out this Laughing Squid post that covers all five stages of the performance. I feel like I'm not quite ready for Hallowe'en yet; maybe when the temps dip a little.

Silly Site o' the Day

The drive to and from Mom's rehab place was fairly uneventful. We got confirmation from the social worker that she's definitely being moved into the long-term care center on Thursday afternoon, which news I duly relayed to my brothers in the lands of ice and fire. The move will be supervised by my CA bro flying in tomorrow, while I go back into Manhattan for the next couple of days. Even though the drive was a bit over an hour each way, the rehab room has only one chair and is pretty uncomfortable so both Robin and I are in a lot of pain now, and I can hardly walk on my right leg, which of course took the brunt of the driving. Meanwhlie, because it's still That Time of Year (and yes, the foliage is spectacular in the NJ mountains!), here's some creative pumpkin work:

Via Laughing Squid.