gracegiver | Reading

Timber Ridge is nestled into a hillside in a range of hills at the base of mountains (hence the name). So we don't get much in the way of windstorms directly. BUT our utilities are apparently located in a trailer park. The first gust and down they go! Last night, though, they mostly hung on. We had flickering electricity around 8 and 9. I don't know about cable TV cause I wasn't watching it. At 1:30, I was awake to pee and so were the gusts. Bam. Nothing. Sooooooo quiet. For really no more than a minute.

The microwave clock got it and Alexa did - my two Alexa bulbs flew on brightly as did my three emergency lights. I told Alexa to kill the lights and she did one. I just put on my eye mask and went back to sleep. This morning I had to go around to the emergency lights and turn them off. They plug into outlets and, turns out, they work REALLY well!

So volleyball was all 'did your microwave clock die?' And as each person joined we had to have the same conversation over and over again and several times since it's hard to hear in the pool and they can't hear that well anyway.

This morning the landscapers are back with all manner of bushes and shrubbery.

The food and beverage meeting yesterday was exceedingly tedious. But I managed to get through it without insulting anyone, I hope. They all think I'm great because I volunteered to be the secretary and take the notes on my magic tablet.

Today was Shot #8. End of box #2. I have box #3 ready and waiting in the fridge. I have my video apt with my Dr. in 3 weeks. And then I'll get box #4.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the foot guy to get another cortisone shot. For some reason that escapes me now, I made the appointment for 7:50 in the morning. Which is fine, just a weird time and a bit early even for me.

Today I might do some puzzling but mostly I think I'll just hang here and avoid people as much as I can. I might order dinner - reports are that the lasagna is excellent and the portion give great leftovers so I'll order up some of that.

summersgate

I made a cygnet for Char. Now I'm wondering what to do next. I have a pattern for a sun, a cloud and a rainbow. Those would be cool to make into a mobile for Rowan. He'll arrive late May. But first I might make something for Kathy's great grandchild Zaden so I'll have that ready to take with me to Florida next month. He's just a little over a year old so I should be thinking of a larger size toy than my most recent amigurumis.

For affirmations in my paper journal this morning I had these two:
I am willing to seek PEACE today.
I am willing to TRUST today.

mallorys_camera

Sara Crewe is my spirit animal at the Middletown Schlock office.

Yesterday, one of my clients, an incredibly handsome man—another prison guard!—wanted his 2024 taxes done, but nobody told me he wanted his 2024 taxes done; in fact, Leslie, the dour & humorless assistant manager, actually scanned his tax documents into the 2025 folder.

I started a 2025 return.

And it wasn't until I picked up his W2 and noted that it had been issued in 2024 that I realized the mistake.

I abandoned the 2025 return and completed the 2024 return.

But there was no way for me to delete the 2025 return.

And Leslie made an error and processed his payment for the 2025 return.

Somehow this became my mistake!

Oh, the Leslie grumbles & side-eye!

Means to an end! Means to an end! I kept reminding myself.

I mean, who gives a shit what these people think? It's not as though they impinge upon my real life in the slightest. Schlock is not going to fire me; they need the asses in the seats. And I want the $$$$$!

T-34 days.

###

Also yesterday I had this muy disturbing neurological symptom.

My hands began to shake as soon as I arrived at that office.

I have what neurologists describe as an idiopathic tremor. My mother had it, too. Much of the time, my hands shake a little. Generally, the mild tremor does not interfere with anything else I'm doing (like typing or keying in data), but yesterday my hands were actually fluttering as though I was conducting an invisible orchestra.

I actually had to turn my first client of the day over to one of the other preparers and race off to the closest cannabis dispensary. Cannabis calms tremors. I prefer not to use it if I have to do mental acrobatics, but you know, you gotta do what you gotta do, and it worked to steady my hands so I could do my four other clients of the day.

But clearly, my body does not like going into that office.

###

The last few days have been an eerie faux spring. On Tuesday, temps actually hit 80!

I had the day partly off because I had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. My doctor is still across the river because who wants to deal with finding a new primary care physician, right? So, I drove over to Hyde Park and after the appointment, I took off for my old tromping grounds, the Vanderbilt gardens:

Felt strange to see all those bare trees & fallow flower beds when the temperature and humidity were signaling high summer.

Plus, the Goddess of the Cell Phone was still surrounded by snow:

I came across four women sitting on a bench in the woods. And they were such a charming sight, I asked to take their portrait:

We all ended up chatting for half an hour. My new best friends!

And honestly, we could have been best friends.

Except we're not.

rejectomorph

Some food is heating on the stove. I thought about it for a very long time, then decided I should probably eat it rather than just think about it, so I put it in a pot and put the pot on the burner. I'm a bit surprised I remembered how that is done, but even more surprised that my executive function finally kicked in. I did next to nothing all day and was thinking it might be dead. I guess not yet. Maybe next time I sleep. That should be soon. As soon as I eat.

summersgate

Gerbera daisy baby. They definitely look cuter in a pot.

Connections. Just thinking about how we're all connected. War makes no sense and never will.

susandennis

The $16 obdii reader came. It took a little over a minute to install it and that includes time out for an OH FUCK when I broke a fingernail at the quick getting the little door cover down. Anyway, another 30 seconds was killed trying to read it and learning it wanted the ignition on. Fine. Turned on the ignition and learned that it's two P2440 codes dealing with the air system.

I came upstairs and internetted and quickly learned this is a known issue with smart cars. The first 3 different reportings - two on Reddit and one on the Smart Car USA forum - noted they drove around with the error code for a year or more before they solved it finally.

My new gadget offers me the option to Clear Codes which I will do next time I turn the car on.

For now, I'm done. I'll report it next time I get the oil changed which will be about August. By that time I should be over being pissed at the car people.

somedayseattle

Yesterday the Hospice doctors said Erica's mom MaryGrace has about 72 hours left in this world. It's a morbid minute-by-minute countdown. Erica is handling this surprisingly well. Having lost MeMum a couple months ago and then this depression/string of greasy feces of my life I am having hardcore bumming. MG and I were friends. Losing her is hard but I really feel for Erica and Drama Queen. DQ has been by her bedside for the last 4 days. She has no plans to leave until it's over.

On an unrelated, cryptic note......315? JFC.

somedayseattle

Toay was an absolutely stunning 72° sunny day. We got out for a bit of a walk today. I had an appointment with a cardiovascular doctor and he said the several concerns they had were moot and I was doing just fine. I won at nickel bingo.

You would think this would be enough to pull me out of my crud/funk. It might’ve been had my funk not grown deeper when I fell off the bed and smashed my face on the floor Saturday morning. Busted my nose up as well as my lip. Had to call the EMS. A pretty embarrassing day. My life has gone from Da Weirdest Parade to Da Trash Truck Rodeo.

Like Grandpa Leirey used to say "It's always something".

bill_schubert

On my journey to figure out what to do with the body that seems to accompany me everywhere I'm trying new things that ultimately result in being back to the basics of where I always knew I should be.

First was Noom, which I really liked. It started my journey to go from 230 to 210. That was a big deal. No drugs to help, just knowledge. Noom took me through much of what I already knew but it was like having a friend along to help. A great program. But I plateaued at 210 and could not break through that floor.

I should say that the govm't says I should be about 170 or so. That would make me an emaciated beanpole and really unhealthy.

Last August I started taking HIMS version of GLP1. And it obviously works. Reduces food noise. I lost another 25 pounds pretty quickly with only a couple of plateaus. And I could easily have continued to 175 or lower.  But my skin was hanging off me, my right knee joint felt like it needed to be replaced and I could not move well. My pickleball was desultory. I just was not being athletic.

So I had a talk with ChatGPT. The upshot of that several hours of discussion was that it was time to get off the weight watch and get on the muscle growth. Ultimately ChatGPT convinced me that I needed to stay under 190 but other than that don't worry about the weight. But I need to reduce my belly button girth from 42 to 38 or less and the only way to do that is through resistance training. Build up muscle bulk.

I had an A1C test about that same time that indicated mine was high but it has been hight for most of my adult life so no panic. BUT more muscle bulk will help control it.

After Noom ran out (it lasted a year and then kind of fizzled) I tried a couple of different food tracking apps and finally found on that is simple, both web and phone based, and can shoot PLU codes making food recording so easy.

My protein was about half what it should be and I needed to do some strength training, resistance training.

About that time I found a guy in England that I follow online by the name of Will Harlow. He's a physio exercise guru for seniors. His site, for which I pay $550 a year or so, has videos during which he does the day's routine with you in its entirety. Just like having a personal trainer. It is an excellent system and I'm a month into it with huge differences in the way I move and feel for about 20 minutes focus a day.

I now start and end my day with protein. I've got huge vats of whey protein (a brand specifically selected by ChatGPT) that I drink in the morning and once or twice during the day. I eat yogurt with granola and chia seed in it and focus on protein any other time I eat. If I really work at it I can hit the daily goal but it takes a lot.

So exercises that are really not too arduous and maximize protein. Nothing earthshattering, nothing new, nothing I should not have been doing all along. But at 72 it is different. I'm not going to be a muscle man but I am going to be able to get out of my seat without using my hands, get up and down from the floor easily, play pickleball with some athleticism for six hours a week without getting tired. Basically stuff I should be able to do, have done before, and now I'm doing it again.

And I started spacing out my GLP1. Instead of every 7 days I'm taking it every 8 days. As long as my weight stays close to there it should be I'll keep that up and then move it to 9 days. I still track everything I eat so I'll know immediately if things aren't right and move the dose frequency back to where it was. But I don't want to be on the drug forever.

All in all it is an interesting experiment. GLP1 and an AI helped me figure it out.

Such an interesting time we live in.

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gracegiver

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Everything is connected. Everything is changing. Pay attention.

Reading

A fine blow job

thursday

Faux Spring

52/373: Night

wednesday later

The Rest of the Car story

every night is bobblehead night if you have a broken neck

looking back on when things first went astrayTT

Weight and strength