UPDATE: A few generous readers have covered the cost (thanks, guys!), so now this is a summer fund drive.
How long have you been reading this blog, or listening to the music videos? Have you ever contributed? The time I spend on “this sucky blog,” as Atrios would say, is time I can’t be earning money elsewhere. It’s my choice, but I would like more of you to donate because, frankly, it validates my choice and every little bit helps. For example, a $12 monthly subscription would cover my hosting fees. A $20 donation covers allergy meds.
So if you can help support this 22-year-old blog, it would be much appreciated.
I forget whether I mentioned my blood pressure is through the roof? Anyway, turns out the diuretics that have me running to the bathroom all night have also been washing away my body’s potassium — which is how I ended up in the emergency room all day Friday.
I had no idea what was wrong; my stomach hurt, I wanted to throw up, and it felt like the room was spinning every time I stood up or sat down. So off I went.
(Humorous aside: My doctor was defensive when I asked him why he was wearing a Yankees surgical cap. He said, “Can’t we both agree that we hate the Mets?” I had to admit, he was right.)
Turns out lack of potassium affects pretty much everything: muscles, nerves, organs — which is why I was so dizzy and fatigued all week. For the next two weeks, I have to take a potassium drink twice a day ($62 with GoodRx. I’m still not feeling normal, so forgive any typos.)
So I went and found a salon that was open on Mondays and got all my hair chopped off. It was pretty long, but summer is coming and I felt like making a clarifying statement — which is, damn, I’m tired of all this bullshit.
Now I have to get kidney function tests today. I am annoyed at all the attention this demands. And I am very, very tired. No, I don’t know what my blood pressure is, I stopped taking it. If I’m doing everything they tell me to do and I’m not getting better, fuck it.
Last night was my first night with the brand-new and hopefully non-toxic cpap machine.
My theory (it might just be wishful thinking) is that after a month without formaldahyde, my blood pressure should drop back down to normal. Here’s hoping.
Had lunch in Old City with two old friends yesterday. I really needed that! And we are just as smart and funny as we were 20 years ago. (Plus, no Republicans.)
We just had a 4.8 earthquake here on the East Coast. It felt really different from the one we had in 2011. Like in that one, I was sitting at my desk. But the last time, the floor felt like a wave and my chair was rolling back and forth. The grass cracked on several framed prints. The shelves next to my desk were rocking, I was afraid they would fall over.
In this one, it just felt like something huge hit the side of my house. The entire building shook.
For some reason, eclipse periods activate earthquakes. Same as it ever was!
I rarely go to Bucks County, but yesterday I had an appointment to see a neurologist about lingering concussion symptoms from last year’s car accident.
The trip on I-95 north was a freakin’ nightmare. It wasn’t just that the rain was so heavy, it was that all the cars were throwing up plumes of water that made it very difficult to see. My neck and shoulder were locked up from the tension. I remained that way until I finally got off at my exit, where I was in a much higher income bracket.
I forgot that the doctor’s office was near the Newtown Athletic Club, whose members are part of the Trump cult. The owner held a huge rally with Trump on the grounds when he first ran. It’s a cross between a more tasteful Mar-A-Lago — and Disney World.
Ah well. I made it there in one piece, they admitted there wasn’t much they could do for me that didn’t involve steroid injections, and to call the office if anything else came up.
And when I got home, the newly-refurbished PC was here and was very easy to set up. The only hard part was turning down all the permissions for Microsoft services and add-ons.
Kind of a big deal for me. For about a month, I’ve had so much trouble walking, and it made me really depressed. But in the past week, my PT pushed really, really hard — and it was enough to break through the chronic pain and stiffness in my surgical knee. I haven’t used a cane since.
As I think I’ve mentioned, the mechanics are out of whack until I get the other knee fixed. But for now, it’s as good as I can hope. I can get up out of a chair!
*Sigh* Just had to order a refurbished desktop ($200) and have $100 in new monthly prescriptions that aren’t covered by my insurance. Oh, and because this was a particularly rough week, I FORGOT to make my credit card payments and now I’m fucked.
If you can, please make a donation. I’m mostly doing fine, but these unexpected expenses really rock the boat. Even better, sign up for a monthly subscription plan on Paypal. Those $5 and $10 donations really add up, and make my life easier!
The distributor was supposed to call and make an appointment with me Tuesday or Wednesday so they could ship out the new machine. They didn’t. I called them, they said someone will call me no later than Friday. (Sure, you will!)
I woke up yesterday at 3 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I figured I’d get an early start on the day’s work. Ha, ha! Turns out the Windows update I recklessly allowed to take place overnight completely bollixed the machine and it won’t boot. I F12’d the hell out of it, but no dice. So I had to use my laptop, which has a 13-inch screen (as opposed to the 24-inch monitor I typically use. Squinting made my eyes hurt.)
Then I had an appointment with a pulmonologist about the whole cpap mess. Surprisingly, he did know quite a lot about the recall (but not as much as me). One thing he did discover is that I now have asthma. I wonder if it has anything to do with the toxic fumes that have been blowing into my lungs for months?
And I managed to find a computer tech who makes housecalls. Hopefully, it will all be fine by the weekend.
We all know by now that growing old is a constant battle to preserve whichever part of your body is causing you the most aggravation at the time. For me, right now, it is my back. Because I sit and read so much, it’s important.
I never really had a bad back (doctors would look at my MRIs and say, “Are you sure your back doesn’t hurt?”), but since the car crash last year, the thoracic spine is in open rebellion. I hate it, because I never used to have to think about it! The neurologist prescribed a big hard brace, but come on, you can’t wear something like that all the time — I don’t even remember it until I’m in pain.
Fortunately, I have some other stuff that helps, too — like a rotating accupressure massage thingy that I used to use on my neck and shoulder (because that was always the trouble spot from sitting and typing). Now all I do is let it drop down six inches and it pounds away.
And then there’s the big hard foam roller, where you lie on your back, roll over it and let it unknot you. (Which is a lot more challenging than it used to be, what with only one working knee. It’s difficult to get up off the floor.)
