Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Splash, Splash

The Y changed up the pool class schedule in October, something that didn't fully impact me until this week (I never went last week, due to going to the doctor's office and having zero energy from the cold; the week before, I went to one class). Yesterday, I went to the formerly-9am-now-2pm aqua fit class, which was fine. But the formerly-9am-Thursday class is now at 8am on Wednesday, while the now-2pm-Thursday class is aqua jogging instead.

Did you follow that?

What it boils down to is that instead of going Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I'm going Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. I might try the aqua jogging some day, but in theory it doesn't appeal to me as much as the aqua fit. I'm going to ask around at class to see if anyone can tell me what the Saturday aqua Zumba class is like, but the description of it scared me off. Do I look like I want high intensity? I'm also going to ask around about a seasonal class they have starting in November, because I am cautiously intrigued by what Dragonboat Paddling might entail.

But for now, Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning it is. I was a bit nervous this morning, since part of the appeal to me is being out in the sunshine, and it has been getting cooler here in the mornings--no, not cold, I'm not trying to say that, but I have switched back to hot coffee, and need pj pants and a robe to sit on the lanai, so I wasn't sure how getting in the water would go.

The second hardest part was making myself take my sweats off to get in the pool. Being in the water wasn't too bad; I don't think they're heating it yet, but it wasn't colder than the air was, anyway. The hardest part was getting out again, since with the wet skin and swimsuit, the air felt even colder despite the sun having come up during the class. Not pleasant, but it didn't reach the "I am never doing this again" level, so for now, we persevere.

It's a bit odd to get my two classes a week out of the way in under 24 hours. My pool shoes from yesterday hadn't even dried off in time for time, but fortunately, I have a second pair. And now, I'm off the hook until Tuesday, which I am okay with.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

What's Really Important Here

So, yeah, I could complain about still being congested, or about how badly I slept last night for no discernible reason, but let's get to the fun stuff: new cat plans.

Last Friday night, the cat shelter where I've been going kitten-socializing had an event for the volunteers, and I made sure to speak with Jim, who is one of the founders and very involved. He was very supportive of my quest, in terms of knowing what I want:
  • an adult: no kitten hijinks!
  • a single cat who is okay being an only cat, or possibly a bonded pair, like siblings, who already get along
  • a laid-back, relaxed, friendly cat; I know I can't replicate Carlos, but I want those features--don't give me a cat who won't be picked up, and never wants to snuggle
Jim said that he would be glad to go with me to the Humane Society and talk to the people there, who he knows well, to make sure that I get what I'm looking for. I really appreciated that he wants to make the right match for both sides; of course that's how a good adoption process should go.

He said that going on a Sunday would be fine with him, and we laid the framework: I couldn't do last Sunday (theater with Mum), nor next Sunday (day before colonoscopy, ugh), and he said he thought the following weekend he had company in town, but I'll touch base with him in a few weeks and we'll figure out the day. Maybe by Thanksgiving, I'll have a furry friend to be thankful for!

Monday, October 29, 2018

Still Flat

I'm sure it's totally normal to still be this tired, three weeks after getting a cold, right?

Yeah...

So I have plenty of things I could be writing about, and virtually no energy to do so. I will show you these instead, in the nature of a pre-announcement.

Meaning, I don't have a new cat yet, but I'm getting ready to get one.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Oh, Wow, Look at the Moon*

(Considering all I had to say about my dentist experience yesterday, I found it hilarious that I received an email from them today inviting me to "provide feedback" on the visit. Oh, yes, let me do that.)

I have a couple of crappy photos to share, which illustrate just how little I understand the movement of the moon in the sky.

This is Wednesday morning.
It's dark when I take my coffee and the paper out on the lanai these days, but I noticed an unusual glow to my right, and when I stood up, I could see the moon next to the building.

Now this is Thursday. Do you see how in the Wednesday photo, there are two parallel lights just above and to the left of the moon, and in the photo below, they are lower than the moon?
Roughly the same time, and the moon was much higher. Huh.

Yesterday's Boynton calendar cartoon was pretty apt.

~~~~~
*Recognize the quote? The title comes from the classic 1979 Doonesbury strip with Rick and Duane.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Whining and Moaning

I went to the dentist this morning, which was unpleasant in all the usual ways. Let me enumerate.

Filling out all the damned forms. I have had too many appointments lately, and I am OVER the forms.

X-rays. I'm never good with those (sensitive gag reflex), but I had to stop him after a while because the roof of my mouth was really bothered by the pressure of the thing you have to bite down on. Probably it's extra-sensitive because of the cold, coughing, etc., but, you know, ow. Let's leave some for next time, since you said that was an option.

(Side note: I went to the doctor's office yesterday and saw the PA, to see if this really is just a cold or is something else. Apparently it's just a cold, or at least it isn't the flu or a sinus infection, but it turns out that I have some fluid in my ears and an infection there, so, hello antibiotics. Please let them help somehow.) (Back to the dentist.)

The scraping of the cleaning part. My gums bleed a bit, as they always do, and since I was honest that I don't floss daily (since I figured that they would be able to tell, so why lie), I got an ongoing commentary about how my gums wouldn't be "inflamed" and they wouldn't bleed "when I touch them" if I flossed--as though by touch, he meant with a gentle finger, instead of reality, which was jabbing the gums with a pointy metal tool. Does anyone not bleed at all when they have that done?

Also, whatever happened to the days when they handed you a cup of water and had you rinse and spit? He sprayed inside my mouth with water and then suctioned the liquid out, over and over, until I felt like I had been pressure-washed internally.

And then he mentioned that if I wasn't going to floss, I might think about getting a water pik, which isn't as good as flossing, but is better than nothing, and you know, I feel as though the water pik would also leave me feeling pressure-washed. It looks messy and unpleasant, is what I'm saying, though it's not like I've tried it. Anyone here use one? Thoughts?

The dentist came in and looked things over, and showed me where I have one filling that needs to be re-filled, and then there are two others that are starting to go, and are so large that instead of being re-filled, they have to be crowned. Oh, great.

(I was looking back in the blog to see if I can find when I had other crowns done, and ran across this, if you will forgive me quoting myself:
At one point, when I had flinched a little, the hygienist said, "What's wrong?" and I wanted to say, "Oh, did you not realize that you're poking my gums with a sharp metal stick?"
So at least I'm consistent.)

From there, I had to talk to the office manager about costs and my insurance and so on, so they took me to a small room for that, and oh my GOD it was like walking into a refrigerator. The rest of the office wasn't warm, but I had been okay, wearing a t-shirt and capris and sandals. This room was frigid.

I waited there a few minutes until she could come in, and when she said, "Let me turn my computer on," I wanted to walk out. But I waited while the computer woke up (and she took a couple of phone calls), and while she poked at it and muttered to herself and made notes, and finally she told me that my portion of the bill for this unpleasantness would only be $1,500. Great. And she was going to give it to me in writing but the computer was acting up, so she said she would go to her computer and I could go to the waiting room, which wasn't quite as cold, since she could tell that I was verging on hypothermia.

And it was better out there, but then they were having computer problems and she couldn't get in, and the receipt printer didn't want to print, and eventually she said that she would email the paperwork to me*, and I could go.
*By 5 today, she said, and guess what? Nothing so far.

And when I got outside, it was so nice and warm! And I got into my car, which had been sitting in the sun for those totally unpleasant two hours, and honestly almost cried at how good it felt.

Then I drove around the block to Starbucks and got a large hot drink. And I went through the drive-through, which I almost never do, because I couldn't stand to get out of the car.

Once home again, I put on long leggings, and slippers, and drank the nice warm latte, and made a note on my calendar to wear warm clothing when I go back for this nonsense.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Animal Scale: Taking Ideas

I've been describing my energy level with this cold as snail (or slug), down from my usual energy level, which is sloth. So today, I put together a little chart.
But that's just the beginning. What other creatures belong on the chart, and where would they fall? Like, is a cheetah faster than a hummingbird, not literally, but in the impression it gives? Talk to me!

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Kittening!

Well, slowly getting better, slowly, slowly. The last bit of congestion lingers, giving me a runny nose and tickling cough, and wow, is the gravity turned up high in here or is it just me, but I feel slightly better than I did yesterday, so perhaps I'll be all right.

I did summon the energy to go kitten-visiting today, which was very therapeutic. This little handful purred and purred.
And her brothers were friendly, too.
Paws up!
They're about four weeks old, and were rescued from a drainage ditch. Two of them are pre-adopted already, though, so that's the good news!

There's another litter of littles next to them. My mother pointed out that this one looks kind wolf-like, or maybe fox-faced.
You'd never guess that there were three kittens on top of the cat bed and one underneath until you looked closely.

Halp?
Watching me.
Yes, I know you're there.
That's Bailey, and this is Peter:
They're in a cage together, though not related, and Peter, who was veryvery shy to start, is coming out of his shell. They both love the fishing pole toy, and I sat in the cage and dangled it around for over a half hour (the kittens in the next cage over watching attentively), while they leapt and pounced and had a wonderful time. I imagine they were asleep shortly after I left.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Baby Steps. Baby Hobbles

The cold is slightly improved today, although this afternoon saw an uptick in "mild tickle of a cough that won't stop, ever," so that was annoying.

Meanwhile, I went to the doctor this morning to have a thing on the sole of my foot treated, so I have been hobbling around all damned day, trying not to aggravate it, and wow, am I ever tired of doing this. My foot, ankle, leg, and other leg are also tired of it. Getting in bed will feel mighty good, even more so than usual.

Though I am going to try to stay up long enough to watch at least a few minutes of the Bruins game. Which doesn't start until 9:30. Stupid road trip.

In summary: No big problems. Plenty of little ones. AKA, life, if you're lucky.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Slight Improvement

I wouldn't say I feel that much better, but I was able to go to aqua fit today, and it didn't kill me, so I guess that's progress. It was nice to spend some time in the sun!

Monday, October 15, 2018

Sick and Tired

I've probably written something along these lines every time I've been sick in the last few years, but it seems as though, whenever I get your basic cold at this stage in my life, it's less the regular cold symptoms that lay me flat than the all-encompassing exhaustion that comes with them. It's like:
  • wearing a lead overcoat, 
  • dragging a parachute behind me at every move, 
  • too tired to keep sitting up, 
  • who turned the gravity up so high?
 ... pick your description.

So that's where I still am now, entering Week Two. Still slightly congested, a little more prone to a cough than usual, but mostly just DRAGGING.

And how are things with you? Better, I hope!

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Briefly

If you are currently not sick, then I would like to draw your attention to two things:
  • How you are not aware of the energy required to remain upright
  • How the inside of your rib cage does not feel bruised.
That is all for now.

Tuesday, October 09, 2018

Home

I'm back!

I had a good time, and brought home fudge, some pretty yarn, and a cold.

So, more details will have to wait.

Tuesday, October 02, 2018

Choppy Waters

Just by chance, before aqua fit started this morning, I heard the instructor talking to another student about how the times for the classes are changing shortly, which caught me by surprise. I mean, way to randomly and incompletely communicate, YMCA. (She didn't mention it to the whole class, either, which I was expecting her to do.) I looked at the schedule when I got home, and it's changing next week; if I hadn't happened to be where I was, I would have shown up for a class next Thursday and it wouldn't have been happening when I expected it. Surprise! (I went to their website tonight and signed up for the newsletter, in the hopes that it will communicate this sort of thing going forward. I checked their Twitter first, but they don't use it for anything like that.)

And yeah, next Thursday: I'm headed north to Apple Festival tomorrow, and though I come back on Monday, I had already given myself permission not to go to class on Tuesday, which will not only be day-after-already-sore-from-travel day, but also is my birthday. You're excused!

So, the classes I have been going to are Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9; on MWF, they have aqua jogging instead, which I am not that interested in. Now the TTh classes will be at 2, and also the Wednesday class, which will be at 8 instead of 9 now, will be aqua fit too. Once I got over the shock of change (I just don't handle change well, and less so as I get older), I realized that this isn't a disaster; leaving work for two hours during the day is not actually more disruptive than starting the day 2.5 hours later than usual, and though I don't plan to up my attendance to three classes a week, having the earlier option on Wednesday, for weeks when I have a conflict another day, is a good thing. Though I won't be going to a Wednesday class for a while; next week is the next Newcomer's lunch, so that's enough work-schedule-tweaking for one day; the following week I have a doctor's appointment; and the week after that, it's the dentist.

It's just, you know, so much change this year, and I was just getting into this new routine, and bam, more change. Let me make, and keep, some routines, please.

Monday, October 01, 2018

A Kitten Extra

I know that I put up lots of kitten photos yesterday, but today I have a shorter kitten photo-essay, titled, "Let Me Grab Your Camera."