Tag: health

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Jumbo Gumbo

I was sleeping pretty hard when my alarm went off this morning, but I managed to get to work before anyone else. It was another slow day for me, just kind of riding out my new meds. I wouldn’t have expected such a difference for such a small dose of basically the same combination I’d started with before. I took my amlodipine and lisinopril a couple hours apart today to see if I could minimize my afternoon reaction, and it seemed to help a little bit, though I still felt a bit dizzy for a little while.

I was on my own for lunch, so I decided to pick up some gumbo from the Louisiana Fried Chicken place just down the road. The fact that they even have a website is wild to me, because the place looks so rough, is in such a rough area, and is basically empty every time I drive by. The guy was super nice though, and I really liked the gumbo.

Jim, Charles, Randy, and Maggie were there in the afternoon gossiping about some local drama. Evidently my superintendent nemesis in town is negotiating an exit from her contract by the end of this year as well. I’m really just standing by to see if I die from whatever ails me, so it’s hard to get me excited about much right now.

I ran the dogs hard when I got home from work, and they had a great time. Dad met us at the end of their driveway, and we hit over 20 miles an hour. He was making taco soup, so we went home and I fed the dogs, then unboxed a ton of Vine stuff before going back over there to eat. Summer got home late from work and wasn’t hungry, and Eaddie was out with a friend.

After dinner, I had to take out the trash and recycling. They hadn’t picked up recycling in a couple weeks, so with all the Vine stuff I’ve been getting, I could have nearly filled up two whole dumpsters. I accidentally spilled an entire box of miscellaneous recycling, and was picking it all up by flashlight when the UPS driver stopped to hand me one more package for the day. I lost count of how many were delivered today, but it’s clear I’ve got a problem.

The girls were up for a while talking about everything Eaddie has going on. I cleaned up the best I could and made a mad dash for bed.

Retail therapy gets me a 1099-NEC this year.

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Donut Panic

I didn’t sleep great last night, but I managed to make it to work a few minutes early. I parked in the other bay because my usual was blocked by a layer of snow, but I think I like the other bay better anyway, because I can pull straight in and there’s nothing in the way of the power outlet. My third party charger decided to quit working after a couple hours, so I had to break out the Tesla branded one instead. I’ll need to update my review, and see if I can get it fixed or replaced, but at least it was “free.”

Maggie called me early wanting to know if I wanted donuts, and then she basically brought me every example of something I might like. She’s always too generous when she brings us food, so I tried to pay her back a little bit by buying her kid’s meal she wanted from Cane’s for lunch.

Otherwise it was a super quiet day until the afternoon when I felt like I was going to black out again out of nowhere. I felt pretty dizzy and strange for a little while after that, and I was nervous to go home at the end of the day, but I was better by then. I had gotten enough of a charge to make it home, so I stopped to see Summer in Conway and washed my car.

I got home just before dark and took the dogs out for a quick run. We creeped through the basin trail because there was still standing water over parts of the trail, and they kept pulling pretty hard in some places, so I had to tug back on their leash quite a bit after that. We visited Dad, then got home a little bit before Summer did.

Eaddie was out super late for all-region, and I wasn’t surprised when she reported first chair. I tried to get to bed super early with the hopes that more sleep might prevent another spell like today, but I wasn’t sure if it was due to a slight change in meds, or the alleged anemia, which doesn’t seem to be making me as tired as I would expect, otherwise I might be sleeping better.

Quit!

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Well?

I forgot to kill my alarm for today, so I was buzzed awake at 4:20 and went back to sleep until Summer got up for work. She had to go in for a little while due to staffing issues, and would just meet me at the clinic for our appointments. Dad had a funeral, so I also had to let the restoration guys into the house, but they were quite a bit later than I was expecting, and I missed the call while I was in the shower. They didn’t have to wait terribly long, and I made it to my appointment and got seated just as Summer pulled up.

We both really like Crystal, and they were able to have both of us seen at the same time without any trouble. I got half the dosage of lisinopril to start up again, and also asked for something to knock out my bronchitis instead of living with it for the next few weeks. Summer got herself established as a new patient as well, and we both had blood drawn, then went to Walgreens to pick up our meds.

I guess the stores were handling it, because Summer actually took the time to go to lunch with me after that. We met at New China and took our time eating because the food was super hot and fresh. I had a pretty bad anxiety attack while I was eating some honeydew, and it took me a moment to shake that off. Then Summer went back to work for a bit, and I ran by Clear View to schedule my tint job. While I was there, I noticed a missed call from the restoration guys. I guess they locked themselves out for lunch, so I called to make sure they still needed in. Then I went by to grab a couple boxes of stuff to take home while they were back to work.

I tried to wash my car on the way home, but the quarter wash was still closed for fear of freezing temperatures. I had some time when I got home, so I finally installed the threshold protective panels on the passenger side, along with the back covers for the rear seats. I’ve just about got the entire inside of the car encapsulated.

Summer got home just as I finished up, and then Eaddie and Eli came home shortly after that. I took the dogs out for the most dry run we’ve had in a few days. I tried to route them some extra blocks since we were still avoiding some other icy areas, and they did fairly well. I spent the rest of the evening trying to clean up a bit since Summer started feeling pretty bad with a headache and who knows what else. She went to bed really early, and the kids stayed up late doing homework.

I got a load of laundry going, and got a call from Jessica at the clinic. She said I was severely anemic, and that iron supplements wouldn’t be enough, so they were going to refer me to a hematologist. I thought it might all be due to some heavy blood loss through hemorrhoids last week and sent a message back to Crystal, but she said my iron reserves still shouldn’t be this low, so I guess I’m going to see a specialist. I’m really glad I bumped up my insurance coverage for this year.

That’s not ironic.

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Chilly Dogs

I got up when Summer went to work, but Eaddie and I were both out of school. I finished up some turkey soup and then started to get cleaned up so I could take the dogs out for a run. I ended up having a pretty bad time and had to rest in a bath for a while after Summer got home. Nobody said anything to me, and by the time I got out, there was already snow on the ground, so I couldn’t ride the Onewheel without making a big mess.

I went outside to play with the dogs for a little bit, who seemed to be having a great time in the snow. I had to get their heated water bowl out since their other one froze solid. Hopefully they don’t chew up the power cord.

Michael called me for some help with some cheap drone he was trying to fix by updating firmware. There wasn’t anything I could do for him, but he talked to me for a little while. The girls were both in the living room doing some work on their laptops, so I went to Sonic to get some chili dogs. The roads were already bad enough that I got a little bit sideways in the road, but I made it. The driveway up into the Sonic lot was really bad though, and I was surprised they didn’t do more to clean it up if they were going to stay open for a while.

I got home and we ate, and then we started watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It started out a bit slower than I liked, but I’ve seen so many funny clips and it’s been on my watch list for so long, that I just have to devote some time to consume all of it. After that, I watched the first episode of Creature Commandos and then the first episode of Dune: Prophecy. Summer wanted to watch Nate Bargatze’s new Netflix special, so we watched that, but I started to fall asleep near the end.

Nothing we watched really satisfied me, and I hadn’t felt very good for most of the day. I think getting out earlier with the dogs might have helped, but we’ll have ice for the next several days though. I guess we’re just going to shelter in place, but maybe we’ll get the dogs out for a manual walk tomorrow.

Pressed foods tomorrow.

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FOMO Anxiety

I burned up all of my Vine orders pretty quickly yesterday on accident, so when a very specific Model 3 accessory just happened to become available after I had been pining after one, I was unable to order it. I don’t know how much of my anxiety that caused last night, but I couldn’t sleep at all. I ended up waking up right around two when the counter reset, and of course it was gone.

My alarm eventually went off and I got going for work. It was cold out, but the car had been preconditioning for a little while and was nice and toasty. I assume it was the crosswinds that caused it to howl down the interstate, because I don’t remember that happening at all the day we got it. It was a very eerie sound, especially to my groggy, sleep-deprived ears. I got to work in plenty of time, passing Randy just before we got to the exit. There was less fanfare than I expected when I got there. It almost seemed to mirror my own experience, but that was fine.

The morning went by pretty quickly, but not much how I expected it to. Things were quieter, possibly because kids weren’t back yet, though we’re several miles from the nearest campus with actual students. I got a text from Cici’s that they were doing their early week deal, and we actually had several takers. Maggie and I met Randy, Kyle, and Jim there. Jim said it wasn’t really pizza, but I countered that for $5, it didn’t have to be as long as it was the right shape.

I actually kept kind of busy in the afternoon, and of the three of us in the office, I was the first one out at the end of the day. I stopped to supercharge more than I needed to make the trip, since the electricity was free. There was a guy there that appeared to be working on the equipment, which I assumed was why it was quite a bit slower than it should have been.

Summer was making some kind of stuffed peppers for dinner when I got home. I took the dogs for a quick run before it got dark, and then Eaddie and Eli came to eat. I messed with some more accessories for both cars, got Summer’s tires aired up again, and then tried to start settling down quickly. I’d felt high-anxiety all day, and was ready for some sleep.

Find Calm

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Too Early; Too Late

I didn’t sleep in very late today, but I meant to get moving a little bit earlier in preparation for going back to work. Summer was up with some coffee. I had some turkey soup and got sucked into Vine shopping. Eaddie eventually got up around noon and went to church, then brought Eli back home with her.

I took a shower, and after a while, Summer said she was feeling so bad that she was concerned and wanted to go to the doctor. I got her loaded up and we went to the Conway Regional clinic to see the evening nurse. Mondalisa was there to give us a hard time, but we got in and out reasonably quickly. Summer had an inner ear infection, so we ran to Walgreens to fill her prescription before heading home.

I took the dogs out for a run in the cold before it got too dark. Stilgar didn’t seem to mind, and still wanted to sit in the pond water. We did a couple loops and made it to my parents’ house to see if they still had roast beef going for dinner. I made it home, then Summer and I went over to eat relatively quickly so we could get back home and wind down for bed.

Summer had been doing laundry all day, so I finally got to start a load myself as I finished up the rest of my evening chores. I wanted to go to bed about an hour earlier, but I didn’t make bad time. Hopefully I sleep well and have an easy start in the morning.

Bummer, lost pick.

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Hot Drinks and Pie

Summer was hurting pretty bad today, but she got up and spent the day on the couch. I had more energy, but my back was hurting pretty bad all day. Eaddie left around noon to go practice with her quintet in Fort Smith. I made Summer some Theraflu and hot tea throughout the day, and spent some more time cleaning things up out of the fridge. I got a Lectron level 1 charger in, and was able to get my car charging within minutes, unlike the “Very Van” brand one I tried yesterday.

The day went by quickly, and it was cloudy and cold all day, so I had to make it a point to take the dogs out. We had a pretty good run, visited my parents, and I played with them a little more than I’ve been able to all week. When we got back to the house, some door-knocking kid from Brightspeed came by and talked to me. He had a lot to share about his skateboard injury, but he wanted to try the Onewheel. He couldn’t sell me on a new ISP, but the price does seem to be getting more competitive. I wouldn’t mind having a proper public IP, but I really haven’t needed one for anything I’ve had time to do lately.

Once I got back inside, I ordered a pizza from Little Caesar’s, then went to get it. The new Model 3 still feels a little surreal because of the timing and how I went about ordering it. I bought it on much more of a whim than the last one, but I guess I need to settle in on it. It hasn’t helped that I just haven’t felt good enough to take it out on a drive anywhere. This next week of commuting to work again will get me back into that routine.

Eaddie got home just as we finished eating, and had some pizza herself. Then everyone started to settle in to bed. I was up late with a bit of a belly ache, but hopefully I’ll feel a little more motivated when I get back into work and get my routine going again.

Too much pie.

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Down Girl

Summer went to work this morning, but ended up coming home early as her illness progressed rapidly. Eaddie left early to spend the day with friends, and I got a ton of Vine deliveries at like three or four different times throughout the day. One of them was a big door sill protector kit for the Model 3, so I got the driver side installed without a terrible amount of trouble.

I cleaned up a bunch more leftovers before taking a shower and running the dogs. Right out of the driveway, one of the neighbors had her dog off-leash, so that stopped the boys dead in their tracks for a big sniff. Her little guy was feisty, and she kept complaining about him, but I was overall fairly proud of mine for just standing there and sniffing back quietly.

When we got to the end of my parents’ street, a car stopped for us and it was Melissa, the old custodian from Two Rivers. I think she said she was picking up her grandson for a movie or something, so I caught up with her for a moment and shared stories about how we were both screwed out of money at that school. Then we finally made our way around to see Dad before heading home for dinner. I still wasn’t feeling great, but needed to be productive around the house. I cleaned up quite a bit in my office and the kitchen. Two of the Vine deliveries were EV chargers. One I couldn’t test without a dryer outlet, and the other didn’t appear to work, so I filed for an exchange.

Eaddie got home pretty late after a good day out. Summer was in bed all day watching TV. I got a message from Diana that her poor cat, Jasper died suddenly from kidney failure. She just can’t catch a break.

I’ve got so much more to do, all while spinning my waking schedule around for work. I mustn’t forget laundry, or else I won’t have anything to wear.

Big bills here. Bigger bills coming.

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Thornsday Cleanout

I was jarred awake this morning when Maggie called around eight to ask if I was coming in to work. Maybe she was worried, because I’m always there around seven, but I told them I wasn’t going back for just two days this week. I got out of bed then, since Summer had to go to work anyway. Even Eaddie got up and took a shower, but then she left with friends. I warmed up a plate of some hot turkey, twice-baked potato, and sour dressing instead of going out to eat like I had imagined all night long.

I felt pretty bad all day, and started to fall asleep in the afternoon, but made myself take a shower and take the dogs out for a long run. We caught my parents just as they got back from somewhere, and then we came home so I could clean up the kitchen.

I had spent all day in my head, mad and frustrated with the girls and our living situation, and their habits around the house. I was glad to have the kitchen finished when Summer got home, but she reeked of gasoline. Eaddie got home and mostly stayed in her room as usual, and I dawdled a while longer before making it to bed. My nerves and anxiety were shot.

Ya hya chouhada!

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Down and Pout

I started to feel a bronchial cough coming on late Sunday, and by Monday morning I was feeling chills and aches. The head cold came on quickly after that, and it wasn’t long before I was riding a >102ยบ fever. I basically stayed in bed the entirety of Monday through Tuesday morning. By then, my back was hurting so badly that I couldn’t get comfortable in the bed for more than about a minute. I still felt pretty terrible, but I was able to get up and move around the house to warm up some turkey soup. I think I ate over 20 mandarin oranges within about 20 hours.

I remember Eaddie wanted to go to the park both days. I spent a few hours trying to clean up the kitchen before Summer got home. She took a bath, and I started really craving a cheeseburger. I should have gone to get it myself, but she insisted. After harassing me to place the order, then stopping in the bathroom, then taking Eaddie along for the ride as she got home, they finally made it home with my cold food. I could have finished my meal twice over in the time it took them, and all they could do was call me mean for saying as much.

My heart raced for a few hours after that, and the metoprolol didn’t do much to keep it under 100bpm. At least my blood pressure was fine. I finally took a shower, which did help me feel a little bit better while Eli and the girls watched Jack and Jill to ring in the new year.

At least.