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This is an archive collection of entries from my main personal blog, My Mundane Mid-Life.
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This collection of entries is from June 2006.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Long weekendI've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon and then... THE LONG WEEKEND....
We're all going up to Diane's house in Michigan... hopefully to do nothing.
I am SOOOOoooooo looking forward to this....
posted at 10:02 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Life has been explainedI just got an email from Barry that had a joke in it.
Now, you know that I usually don't republish that kind of stuff in my blog, but this one, somehow, just summed up my life experience...
read more of this entry »
It's all so clear now.
On the first day, God created the dog and said: "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years."
The dog said: "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"
So God agreed.
On the second day, God created the monkey and said: "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."
The monkey said: "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?"
And God agreed.
On the third day, God created the cow and said: "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years."
The cow said: "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"
And God agreed again.
On the fourth day, God created man and said: "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years."
But man said: "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?"
"Okay," said God, "You asked for it."
So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you
Now go forth. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:00 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
Hail still there?I walked outside the garage this morning to look around to see if there was any damage after that HORRENDOUS storm on my way home last night.
We have the plastic trays that we placed under our downspouts to help divert water away from the house.
In this one tray - a pile of hail from last night.
A pile of hail from last night - 10 hours later there was STILL a pile of hail in this downspout tray...
...amazing...
posted at 07:54 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
HAIL!After John's Retirement Party, Barry and I stopped for dinner, and then I drove back into the city to drop Barry at home and then drove home. When I got off the Northwest Tollway, I could see this huge cloud wall coming toward us - dark menacing. The winds were picking up. There was lightning everywhere, and a lot of it was strikes to the ground... close to where I was driving.
About 2 miles from the house, the skies opened. The rain was a deluge. Traffic crawled because we couldn't see in front of us... windshield wipers TOTALLY INEFFECTIVE as they wouldn't get rid of the rain fast enough. We couldn't see the lane markers for the rain, the standing water, the darkness and the headlights.
The deafening roar of the rain hitting steel in the car got LOUDER as I pulled into the neighborhood. I got the car into the garage as quickly as possible.
I jumped out to see HAIL coming into the garage...
Hail everywhere. hail was starting to coat the driveway.. so intense and so dangerous,
It didn't last long, but the coating of hail on the concrete lingered....
Worst micro-storm of the season....
posted at 09:18 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
2004 finally cameI left work early to drive into the city to pick up Barry, and the two of us continued to the northern suburbs.
A friend of ours, a co-worker from one of our former employers was having a party.
I've known John for a couple of decades. OK, since I started at the company in 1978. Almost the whole time I knew him, he always talked about retiring in 2004. He would be the right age... whatever the pressures du jour on the job would push to hard... he would just mumble "2004... 2004..." and we all knew what he meant.
It was a few years late, but, for John, 2004 had finally come.
read more of this entry »
Barry and I went back to the building that we worked at... what seems like... a decade(?) ago...
And yet, walking into the building... it felt the same... it felt like a REAL comfortable, familiar jacket, as if wraps around you. The company was hosting a Retirement Party in the Executive Dining Room on the 3rd floor.
We went up the same familiar elevator, walked across the atrium to the dining room...
A small group of people outside the room were gathered around a drink table... maybe one or two looked like someone I used to know...
We went inside the main room and just stopped. John was mingling with people across the room. Most of the people were around the periphery - John was toward the center of the room.
So, when Barry and I turned the corner, John was busy, but everybody in the room could see us turn the corner...
I DISTINCTLY remember hearing an "Oh my god!" from a woman across the room. John may have heard that and started looking around and saw Barry and me and let out a large "ALL RIGHT!!!" and came over to us... of course everyone in the room wanted to know what was going on and we could feel the eyes on us and the whispering going on...
After John bear-hugged us, we talked for a while.
I started looking around the room...
I had been gone 8 years, Barry has been gone a little less...
I was utterly amazed at the number of people still with the company.. UNHEARD OF in this day and age. There were people from "My Class" (people that started the same year as me in 1978) that were still with the company! Barry and I mingled for over an hour, talking to people that we never thought we'd talk to again... let alone see again... in the same building where we worked...
When the party was winding down.... and it was time to leave.... I knew then how much John was pleased to see us...
On the way out... I snuck down to the second floor.. to look at the old department... look at my old office... the same pieces of art still on the walls...
It was so surreal... but I'm glad we were there for our friend... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:01 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Monday, June 26, 2006
Summer boomersLove this time of year where it's sunny one second and dark clouds/thunder/lightning/torrential rain happens the next only to revert back to sunshine afterward. The storms can really be intense but only last a few minutes.
It just got finished raining in one of those storm cells that flies through the neighborhoods. This morning, the sun was out when I got into the shower. There's no window in the bathroom, so I was startled when I heard rolling thunder through the exterior walls of the house!
I don't know why, but I love these storms...
posted at 01:04 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Sunday, June 25, 2006
White Sox 10 - Astros 9 - 13 Innings
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Well, the weather is certainly NOT as nice as yesterday...
And, oh God, the game wasn't a good as yesterday (for 7 innings)...
And, oh God why, we had MORE idiots sitting near us. This time it's 4 long-hairs across the aisle from us. LOUD and DRUNK... I got beer spilled on me as the guy on the aisle let his buddies out to get more beers and threw his beer at one of them.
They weren't swearing like the guys yesterday - they're just loud and obnoxious, not paying attention to the game... like yesterday... the guy on the aisle, who has a stack of 6 empty beer cups in his hand stands up and proclaims "And I'm driving these guys home!". They ogle and heckle the women that walk and down the aisles, but not as bad as the guys were yesterday, who were falling out of their seats looking at the girl's asses as they walked up the aisle.
Great.
So, I wander over to Customer Service - only tonight they take the info but didn't act on it.
The game? We're losing 9-2 after the 7th. Javier Vazquez gave up all 9, all earned. Oh, and it started to rain. Drunk guys are heckling the people leaving. In the middle of the 8th... and after two days of crappy fans and now rain along with getting our asses handed to us by Houston... Carol and I just looked at each other and...we left.
As we walked to the car in Lot A, we heard the crowd.. who had been cranked-up since we left. We looked across the street and saw the fireworks being launched from the scaffolding in the player's lot. Iguchi had hit a 3 run homer... and we ran to the car to put the radio on... We listened to the game all the way home... Iguchi hits a grand slam and all of a sudden, the score is tied. TIED. We came back from a 7-run deficit and in two innings TIE the game.
We got home in no time... and watched the rest of the game in HD from ESPN... and it took 13 innings for McCarthy to give up a triple and a single... and we didn't come back.
What a series! Unbelievable playing going on!
(Boxscore)
« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:58 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Saturday, June 24, 2006
White Sox 6 - Astros 5 - 10 Innings
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What a GORGEOUS DAY today. Yes THIS is the best weather we've had for a game this year.
And what a game it was...
First off - this Interleague game was being billed as a rematch for the World Series. We had beaten Houston 4-0 in the series becoming World Champions and here we are again.
Jon Garland had another bad outing and we were losing 5-1 in the 7th. Then in the bottom of the 7th:
Alex Cintron strikes out swinging. Jim Thome walks. Paul Konerko singles on a line drive to left field (Jim Thome to 2nd). Jermaine Dye singles on a soft fly ball to right field (Jim Thome to 3rd, Paul Konerko to 2nd).
And here's where a strange coincidence happens: Chad Qualls comes in replacing starter Taylor Buchholz.
Chad Qualls.
Flashback to last October...
World series game 2... Astros are winning 4-2... Bottom of the 7th... bases loaded... Chad Qualls is brought in to relieve Dan Wheeler...
One pitch is thrown to Paul Konerko - Grand Slam.
Flash forward to today:
One pitch is thrown to Joe Crede - Grand Slam.
We win the game in the bottom of the 10th and it's the best comeback finish I've seen in a while.
Unfortunately for Carol and I, it was one of the worst games we have attended, because of two ass***** the were sitting in front of us, drinking beer they smuggled in (in cans), drinking tequila (was wondering why they were SO anxious to see the margarita vendor) heckled/whistled/drooled over every single young female walking up or down the aisle, "prank calling" vendors (yell for the vendor when their back is turned and pretend they didn't call), swearing, (with a row of kids behind me where the oldest looked 6)... I couldn't take it anymore and went to Customer Service and had security called. They issued a warning to them, took away empty beer cans. All I heard was bitching between the two of them when I got back to my seat, with the asswipes talking loud enough in conversation to make sure I heard, branding me as a "Narc" instead of talking to their face, etc. they get up and leave... only to have the audacity to come back a few innings later and start-up again with the talking. Louder than before. And now, they start talking about fat chicks referring to Carol - even to the point of calling "Soooooey" and that was it... I leaned into them and got in their face. They tried to have a comeback, but just got up and left, never to return.
The security detail was great - I had talked to them at the top of the stairs while they were still dealing with the guys after I had them called (security was already there by the time I got back to my section after I went to customer service). Nice guys. Found out later from one of them that the had their identification and that a letter would go to the season ticketholder of those seats telling them not to sell tickets to to them for any future games.
It still got me pissed and angry. And, even though it was a great game, it was IMPOSSIBLE to get past the issues and enjoy the game.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:51 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
SOLSTACESummer - Astronomically, at least - has officially arrived.
Darkness... tunderstorms, hot...
Gonna be a good day!!!!!
Longest Day of the Year!!!!
posted at 07:26 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Soup-to-nuts?Saw this today at Gaper's Block...
Here's an interesting list of things apparently only heard/spoken by people who live in Chicago.
Is "Soup-to-nuts" a regionalism???? I find that hard to believe that we're the only ones that say this...
posted at 02:10 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Monday, June 19, 2006
Podcast Show #9 now availableThe latest "Mundane Mid-Life Show" podcast - Show #9 - is now available on the Podcast page, which has links to download individual shows or subscribe to the Podcast through iTunes.
posted at 08:14 PM | Link | Podcast | § |
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Russell'sCarol and I went to my mom's house like we normally do on a Sunday. But, we haven't been there for a week or so, and Diane,Melinda & Jack weren't going to be there, so we went out to dinner.
Today is Father's Day, so we went to a place that we always went to on Father's Day - Russell's Barbecue in Elmwood Park. We thought it would just be a nice way to remember dad, and with it being a Sunday night, we shouldn't have a problem parking or finding a table..
WRONG.
We had to circle around the lot twice to find a place to park. The lone was so long, it almost went out the north door.
My dad used to come here in the 30's when it opened and always came here since. I remember being a kid and coming here. It was different back then - there was no patio area, just the main building. They had tables outside the building as well as across the parking lot in a grassy area, with canopies. The main building inside and out was a cream color, with what looked like finished pine booths. The big thing for me as a kid was the metal Juke Box selector at each table, that accepted coins, and you flipped pages, like a menu or book, to find out what selections were available and made your selection by pressing alphanumeric buttons below the glass display of the flippable menu pages.
I remember the booths, the coat racks attached to booths. I remember a logo on the wall of a very happy hamburger that appeared to be dancing.
The place has changed a lot over the years, and yet it never changes. It's all dark brown now with a western motif, the tables outside replaced with an inside patio with skylights. (read the overview at CenterStage).
I waited in line almost half an hour to place our order, but it was served quickly in traditional Russell style.
While I was waiting at the counter, there was an older gentleman, perhaps in his mid 70's, more likely older. He was about the same height as my dad was. Balding as my dad was. He leans over to me, and in a raspy voice (like my dad had) says to me: "you picked a bad night to come here."
I just laughed. And then he said "I've been coming here since high school, and I an't never seen it this busy."
Just like my dad, coming since his childhood.
It felt good to be there, and the food was the same as it ever was.
posted at 09:17 PM | Link | Family | § |
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Annual Yard SaleGet up early (for a Saturday) and hit the road for the South Side...
It's that time again... time for the White Sox Annual Yard Sale at the park (U.S. Cellular Field).
The line was long when we got there, but it was awfully spread out, with lots of people bringing chairs to sit in while they wait.
The best thing about the event is that all the proceeds go to White Sox Charities.
With that in mind, we went looking for clothing.. we had bought jackets here in the past (yes, authentic, player-worn jackets), and they didn't have ANY this year! They really brought out the odd stuff... banners used around the city for "Rally Monday", the rally downtown before the World Series, empty bottles of Champagne from each of the locker room celebrations during the playoffs ($60-$100), full sheet World Series Tickets (un-printed with seat info). I wanted some bunting that was displayed at the park (MLB authenticated), but that was $50 each and the bunting was small.
They had the regular selection of things - used hats, bats, helmets, an AWFUL lot of catcher's gear this year compared to last, lots of equipment bags, helmet bags... and of course what everybody goes after - jerseys. The real deal.
We weren't even close to being the first one's in line, and back in January, at Sox Fest, they always set up a "Garage Sale" room that people must have rifled through, because the jersey selection - though large - didn't have a lot of jerseys by the somewhat major players, let alone the major players. If you wanted a jersey of a pitcher that was barely in the majors for a few weeks, there were a ton of them (including ones for the World Series complete with World Series patch on the sleeve). There were prior years players that they haven't got rid of yet. Lot's of BP windshirts and "tops" (wouldn't call them jerseys).
The surprising pieces to me were at the extreme left of the left rack in the row of racks.
Here were the jerseys of Major players now gone. Jerseys you would have NEVER seen in any rack in any year. These were put aside as special and if you were lucky, you could ask to get one. The one that caught my eye? FRANK THOMAS. NEVER would have been in the rack. Now that he's gone, he's there. Now granted, it was REALLY expensive (I think $1,000), but it was still in the rack. I knew that I had hit the right part in the rack... they guys that are gone... tons of Carl Everett jerseys... Shingo Takatsu... guys who were good and made a difference. But the one guy I thought that made a difference and we hated to see him go, was the one I was after. I snatched it up and walked away from the racks quickly. The Jersey? Aaron Rowand.
That's all we bought this year... nothing else caught our eye... the great thing is that THIS year at checkout, you got a form to fill out stating that the items you bought were to benefit a charity, thus ding..ding..ding..ding..ding Tax Writeoff.
I just love going to the park for special events, like this one, when there isn't a game. It's just feels special. There was another event going on that you had to pay to participate - playing catch in the outfield. It's reall typical for Dads to bring their youngsters, with their mitt and balls, and you're allowed onto the field for an hour to play catch. the day before Father's Day. How cool is that?
posted at 01:16 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Friday, June 16, 2006
My Mundane Second LifeI have made a significant blunder.
I heard about this "Virtual World" "thing" on a podcast (OK, it's Adam Curry's Daily Source Code...) and I was intrigued. I wanted to know more about it.
So, I signed up.
I am now a resident in Second Life.
Probably the biggest mistake of my life.. my First Life... My Real Life (RL)...
This Virtual World is so immersive... whatever you wanted to do in an alternate universe, you can do here. Buy land, build a home, furnish it.... open a store, make money... go to an established club and spend money... buy a suit or a casual outfit, buy new shoes.. spend money.. meet people, build friendships and relationships... I've even been to a wedding (of two people in SL not RL). It's just so open ended... think of it and build it... sell it for money, make a profit... find a partner... anything...
So, I'm meeting new people from around the world... and I feel like I'm actually meeting them, just not "chatting" with them... we all have "avatars" in SL (Second Life), so when we meet, we actually vitually meet. It's so interesting to see how people construct their avatars, and how they look and dress. The only restriction in this world: the beings are humanoid. I've met all kinds of people, mostly human... some have fairy wings... some are animals, like a bi-ped fox complete with bushy tail. Some people pattern their avatars like some fantasy character, others just like anybody else on the street... few, like myself, try to represent themselves exactly how they are in Real Life... perhaps we're looking for "validation" as ourselves in the alternate universe...
I've even been able to get more listeners for my Podcast, probably more than I personally could do by word of mouth...
I stay up late... talking and interacting with people around the world that I've "met" but never have met, from Australia, Canada, Belgium, The UK, the Netherlands... and not knowing that, because no one has accents when you chat... doing things I just don't do in Real Life (RL), like go dancing at clubs to DJ's spinning music... yeah, like I'd do THAT in Real Life...
It's pretty addictive.... no, VERY addictive... that's why I haven't posted much here... everyday is the same... go home, jump on the computer and hit the daily dance party at a certain Podshow venue... break for dinner... and back on again... talking and having a great time, exploring the world well into the night...
posted at 11:19 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Not comfortableI just stopped at home after an appointment with a neurosurgeon. He was recommended by my primary physician. I don't have an appointment to see a neurologist until the end of July. I am so confused why I had to go see this guy ASAP before seeing the neurologist. In fact, I'm not really sure how to proceed.
So, I'm doing all of this because of these weird leg "twitches" which are more like "spasms". they started almost 5 years ago, very slowly and very steadily have become more and more problematic as they get more and more intense. To start the process, I went for an EMG & NCV, and a series of MRI's. Now, we have to see what they say.
So, I got my own copies of the MRI's and went to this neurosurgeon.
Have you ever have an experience where the experience of just walking into the office "colors" your view of how the doctor may perform? this was one of those.
read more of this entry »
Tiny, TINY reception room. Crowded. Chairs full. Young kid running, stomping, flailing around the tight space, not listening to his dad, who is half-heartedly trying to get him to stop. Magazines are old - I had to read Chicago Magazine from October 2005. No magazine was newer than February 2006. The climate is like a sweatbox. The woman behind the desk says they have a thermostat that seems to not do anything. There are signs everywhere about insurance companies that have changed diagnostic benefits or are no longer being accepted (you immediately start wondering why? Are the insurance companies continue to tighten their belts, or is this doctor being dropped from networks?) The size of the complete office can easily fit inside a construction trailer.
My huge envelope of MRI films feels like it weighs 20 pounds. I waited in one of the two exam rooms. The doctor came in, we talked briefly, and he started to go through the films.
But he's literally throwing the film sheets into the catches on the x-ray viewer on the wall. To me, the patient and uninformed viewer of the films, I don't see where he's actually checking each image. Maybe he's an expert and he doesn't need to pause because he's seen this all before and even the most microscopic pattern will jump out on him and he'll stop to pay attention. Nope, this doesn't happen, he just throws film. He abruptly stops and decides he better write something down, but instead goes across across the hall to his office to get a microcasette dictation recorder, and comes back and briefly dictates things that he does notice. He makes a comment that there's a lot of duplicate films... I try to remind him that there is without contrast and with contrast, but he doesn't hear me. In fact, during the course of the exam, I feel like he's not listening to me. He hears me, but his brain is just working the issues and I can't seem to penetrate his thoughts. "Fwapp! Fwapp!" he throws the sheets. He does see a few things that re probably already in the reports that are still in a folder on the table.
We go through a physical exam checking reflexes and Babinski's.
He sits down at the table and goes through the report, every once in a while dictating the findings of the report as his findings, as if he noticed these items in the films.
Then we talk.
Basically, he's stumped and has no clue. What he sees in the films and what I have don't make sense. He even mentions he may need a second opinion, maybe even from a university!
So, I'm supposed to go to the neurologist as scheduled and see what she says, and have her report sent to him... and then we'll meet a few weeks after that...
I think not. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 02:18 PM | Link | Health | § |
Sunday, June 11, 2006
White Sox 8 - Indians 10
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Weather: sucked
People sitting around us: sucked
Freddie Garcia: sucked
Yes, we sucked on National Television (the game was moved to 7pm to be ESPN's Sunday Night game).
Freddie Garcia was terrible. 5 2/3 innings, 9 hits, 8 earned runs, 4 walks, 3 homeruns.
The groans and booing of the crowd was spectacular. UNTIL...
Bottom of the 9th. We're losing 10-2. The park had emptied out, inning by inning, until a handful of people are left in our section. I said yesterday that I hadn't felt this excited at a game for a while. Forget it - this ninth inning was unbelievable, and yet I felt myself believing! In a nut shell - 6 runs in the 9th including a 3-run homer by Brian Anderson, but we didn't make it as Pablo Ozuna - the potential tying run - flies out.
Wow. Excitement. Drama. Desperation. The boys didn't give up. they just didn't make it.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:51 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Viva, babyWe went over to B&B's after the game today and jumped on the internet and gots us some plane tickets.
Due to various money and health issues, the four of us haven't been to Las Vegas together for 3 years.
Well, now that Barry has his staples out from his liver transplant surgery and has been cleared by the doctors, here we are booking airfare just 24 days later to go to Las Vegas in September for their 25th Anniversary.
Amazing, and we're giddy that we get to go again, as a "team"!
posted at 10:44 PM | Link | Las Vegas | § |
White Sox 4 - Indians 3 - 11 Innings
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I feel that this year we hit the White Sox Weather Curse. This happened a few years ago - if the White Sox were in town for the weekend, the weather for said weekend is going to suck.
Welcome to the White Sox Weather Curse.
It rained for about 10 hours over night, and the skies were still dark, cold, and dreary by the time we hit the road for the early-start game (Fox game - 12:15pm start). The giveaway promotion was beach towels (Sponsored by Hawaiian Tropic and Walgreen's). The customer service people wore leis. They must have had some big plans for Beach Day. We went to the Stadium club to avoid the weather. But, by the time we got upstairs, you could see blue skies in the distance. We wound up taking our seats and watching the game downstairs (AFTER having lunch in the Stadium Club bar).
The team struggled through the game, down 1-0 since the first. They go up 2-0 in the 6th. We get on the board in the 6th, scoring on a double play. We tie the game in the 8th, and now we go into extra innings. Top of the 11th, Cleveland takes the lead on a homer by Victor Martinez. Well, you get this feeling that that's it - we're not coming back.
Wrong.
It's all solid hits, moving guys around, tyeing the game, and eventually, scoring the winning run.
I haven't felt this great at a game in a long time - cheering on the team, going nuts with each hit. It didn't matter that the weather sucked.
It's supposed to get better tomorrow.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:47 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Friday, June 09, 2006
Let's back this off a smidge...Quick health issue update:
I've been taking some Blood Pressure medication to help control my BP, which has been too high for too long. A prior drug wasn't working, so my doctor put me on LISINOPRIL-HCTZ 10/12.5mg tablets, and the last time I saw him, I was finally getting close: my BP was 135/88.
Now that I've been diagnosed as a diabetic, my BP has to be even lower, so my doctor tweaked the drug a bit and put me on LISINOPRIL-HCTZ 20/12.5mg tablets.
I noticed that I was feeling a little... weird. I wasn't light-headed, but the other night when I was hauling the hose around in the yard, I was short of breath, panting like a race horse.
I pulled out my wrist BP cuff and tested my BP: 83/56 ! OK, not good.
So I called the Dr's office and left a detailed message. They called in a new presecription for me to replace what I was on... It's the same dosage as the one prior to this, so I'm back with the medication that was working, without being "overmedicated".
I had taken my BP a few times with the heavier dosage drug, just to see what was going on. There were times were it was 113/66, 109/67, 123/80, 103/66, so this seemed good to me... I guess it was 87/49, 97/62 and that 83/56 that were probably problems.
posted at 08:42 PM | Link | Health | § |
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
A new season of Watering Zen
Well, we've been having several sunny days with no rain, so that signals to me that the hose has to come back out and I have to resume my "Watering The Plants" duty. The plants this year look different - the came up so much fuller and healthy looking, minus one hosta underneath our hawthorne tree that looks healthy but just really tiny, and the three Black-Eyed Susan's. So, looking back at last year, it's around the same time of the year, and we got our first bloom - one of the daylilies in front of the garage, just days before a year ago.
So, I guess I'm back to my Watering Zen time... the soil was drier than I thought, taking an awful lot of water. Our lawn service comes tomorrow, so I may set up my sprinkler and timer tomorrow evening to make sure the plants are taken care of. The lawn looks OK, but just may be on the verge of fading.
posted at 08:26 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Podcast Show #8 now availableThe latest "Mundane Mid-Life Show" podcast - Show #8 - is now available on the Podcast page, which has links to download individual shows or subscribe to the Podcast through iTunes.
posted at 03:10 PM | Link | Podcast | § |
Another cool timestamp...... so it's 06/06/06 06:06:06 !
...Then again, it can be interpreted as 6/6/6, or worse - 666...
In fact, there are many parties and "celebrations" schdules for today, like, oh, Satanic High Masses...
posted at 06:06 AM | Link | Odd | § |
Sunday, June 04, 2006
White Sox 2 - Rangers 10
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Wow! This must be THE BEST day that we had for a baseball game this year! Gorgeous! Sunny - 70's, light breeze.... wonderful!!
The game sucked.
We're in such a crappy slump, and now watching these idiots out in the field... I don't even want to talk about the game...
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:13 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Saturday, June 03, 2006
The "Extended" Baseball "Family"I may have talked about this before, but I believe there's a phenomena that happens between Season Ticket Holders to a sporting event. Over many games, you start recognizing some of the people around you that show up in the sames seats, game after game. After a while, you may exchange pleasantries about the game. It may take years, but you may find out their first names. You may never find out their last names, but you start to learn non-sporting things about them - usually about family and maybe friends.
And then, rarely, you step outside of the sports arena and may see them "outside". And then there's the really outside.
Today, we were invited to a wedding... Sunday Jim's - a guy who has tickets behind us was getting married, so I felt we had to go, if not for the sense of friendship (which is tenuous at best since your only link is through your tickets) than for the shear curiosity of it.
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So, we went to Saints Volodimir and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ukrainian Village in Chicago. Very nice, ornate, small church. The bride - Oksana - is from the Ukraine. The groom - Jim - Greece. We were shocked to find out that the man we've called Jim, or referred to him as Sunday Jim from our little "White Sox Family" was not named Jim! His real name is Dimitrios, or Dimitri! And yet, he's "Jim".
The wedding was scheduled for 2:30. SCHEDULED. Jim's limo and Oksana's limo pulled up outside the church at 3pm. The priest didn't look all that happy. The service was... interesting, as very few words were in English - basically just the vows. The rest were sung in Ukrainian (This has to show up in my next Podcast).
The service ended a little after 4pm.
The reception was at 7pm.
How could we kill the time? By driving up to Wrigleyville and visiting the remarkably recuperative Barry and Buffy. They were kind enough to offer us a haven to kill the time. We talked and snacked. We weren't too much in a hurry to now drive to Greektown to a restaurant called Venus. Other than "Jim" and Oksana, there was going to be nobody else that we knew - except Janie & Gary who had another wedding to go to but would try to make it afterward.
The reception was inside the restaurant - there's no "banquet" facilities there, so the wedding easily took-up 3/4 of the space.
We got there at about quarter after 7, thinking things would be in full swing.
Jim & Oksana got there a little after 8pm.
We started getting appetizers. We were seated at a table for 6, with two chairs empty for Janie & Gary, and we were joined bu Alexia - Jim's cousin, and her brother - Jim. The appetizers were fantastic.
The music started with a keyboard player. All Greek - no idea what was being played. Eventually, during the course of the night, he was joined by a guitar/mandolin/Greek-Stringed-instrument-thing player who doubled as vocalist. Alexia said that the guy sounded exactly like some big Greek star. We'll have to take her word on that. Eventually, they were joined by a percussionist.
Janie and Gary showed up at about 9 or 9:30. I can't recall. Between the loud music (we were pretty close to the stage) and the fact that WE HADN'T EATEN DINNER YET, it was all a blur. Jim (Alexis's brother, not the groom) made a comment that after all of this, he doesn't want to eat anymore.
We were served our dinners at 10pm, almost on the dot. And, to our disappointment, didn't live up to the appetizers. maybe a mjor issue was - it wasn't hot.
Needless to say, we ate and didn't stick around. On the way out, the bride and groom grabbed the four of us (me, Carol, Janie, Gary) for some formal pictures with them.
And then we escaped.
As we always say - we're going to have a good time or a good story, and I'm leaving out SOOooo many pieces! « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:19 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Class #2We went to my second Diabetes Education class tonight at the hospital. Tonight - it was all about me. I was the only one there (well, not the only one... Carol came with to learn and support).
So, since I was the only one, it was one-on-one education all night, so it was a bit intense. And long. And draining.
Did I learn more? Oh, yes.
Like the realization that once you diagnosed with diabetes, that's it - you are a diabetic. You may have everything under control, thus forcing your blood sugars within "normal range", but all that it means is that it's "under control". Once you've been diagnosed, you don't "get rid" of diabetes. You have it for life. There is no cure.
What's scary is that no one know why it happens.
No one knows how you as an individual will progress with the disease, how many complications you may get, how many will impact your life significantly.
So, education is a good thing.
posted at 09:49 PM | Link | Health | § |
*nose wiggle* *nose wiggle*It's the First Day of the Month, again, and according to meme tradition..., you better say "Rabbit, Rabbit!" as your first words of the day to have good luck! (Now, if you blew it, before you go to sleep tonight, to still try to gain luck, your last words have to be "Tibbar! Tibbar!")
I'll tell you, we all got lucky with Indy... I can't believe that her health "issues" this week were due to dental problems.
Oh, and for other derivitives to this meme, check out the alternatives: "White Rabbit" or Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit!.
...and why the hell am I up so early?....
posted at 06:01 AM | Link | Memes | § |
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