Category: Uncategorized Page 80 of 157

a sunday afternoon swim

I forgot my swim gear on Friday -and the pool ended up being closed anyway. Based on my rules…

Monday, Wednesday Friday + pool open + at work = swim
…I was in clear – but if I’d had my gear I could have used the other, not as good, pool.
It was closed on Saturday as well – but today was open. So, I got my gear and headed to campus and did 60 laps. I wasn’t very tired, but I was a little bored, so I called it a day.
When I got home, my room-mate was alternating between the Daytona 500 and golf on TV. So, I did the only sensible thing and retreated to the office/media room/armory to play some Batman. I beat the game and only have about 3 more secrets to find.
Been listening to Adele a lot – her new album (which I can’t seem to find in stores) is amazing.
And that’s about it.

giving up on a book and on zinc

Given any kind of downtime and I’m likely to be found with my nose in a book. I love to read and the shelves in my own library at home are full to overflowing. So, it’s pretty rare for me to “give up” on a book – that is, start and then not finish.

I’ve been reading Engineman by Eric Brown. It started off pretty good and I enjoyed the first half – then I realized that the plot…
“Down on his luck spaceman falls for the token sci-fi chick and together they fight alongside the quasi-mystical aliens against an evil corporation that is destroying the environment”
…is the same as every single “grade B sci-fi movie” of the past 20 years. Even freaking Avatar had the same plot. Once the big reveal of the environmental damage showed up, I pulled my bookmark out and closed the book. Enough of that mess. Apparently, Paris gets destroyed later on, but I really can’t be bothered.
I’m starting to feel that way about the TV show “V”. The plot is so freaking transparent – I know how each episode is going to end in the first 5 minutes. And the big reveal of a character from the original series was marred – she just sits in the basement of the starship and has made a lifestyle out of being cranky. Really, Diana? That’s all you’re going to do?
I find myself almost rooting for the bad guys – at least they have a semblance of a plan.
In other news, I’m still sick. Bubonic Halitosis, I think. This stupid cough just won’t quite go away. I read yesterday on the internet (so you know it’s true) that Zinc is awesome for halting cold symptoms. I bought and tried some last night and discovered:
1. It tastes like cherry flavored crap.
2. The taste lingers.
3. It doesn’t do anything.
Now, I guess you’re supposed to take this when you first get sick – but I was still expecting more than just a bad taste.
So, I’m at work – and wearing a tie – already counting down the hours until I get to go home for the day. Not a good sign.

games and work

Last weekend, I went to visit my folks, my sister, and her family for my sister’s birthday. We went out to eat to a local Mexican restaurant and spent much of the weekend hanging out and playing games. I got some high scores in Quirkle and gave the rest of the crew a run for their money in Scotland Yard as the infamous Mr. X.

We also hung out with my niece – who gets more fun and awesome whenever I see her. She’s just over 1 year old and is in full explorer mode.
After a fun weekend – it was back to work. This week has been crazy-insane-busy. It’s really wearing me down. Plus, still sick. Today I tried some zinc – we’ll see if that does any good.
I’m still swimming though – not going to let this cold get me down. I’ve been using my flippers a lot more – so, I go faster and get more tired.
Well, about time for dinner…

hearts, games, sick, test, work, hair

I ended up making 300 hearts for the Hearts for Humanity dinner/dance. I timed myself and was able to make one heart in 50 seconds. You can do the math on that one – then add in time to actually cut the paper to 1/2 squares. I didn’t get any feedback, but I’m still pleased with the accomplishment.

I’ve been spending a lot of time on the PS3 recently. I beat Assassin’s Creed 2 last weekend and I’ve been playing a fun game called Nier – with an impossibly foul-mouthed character. She swears every time she talks and called someone a “shit-hog” before getting turned to stone. I’m hoping she comes back – her word choice is pretty funny. I’ve also played a little Batman. When he’s fighting, he moves like a freaking ninja. When he’s just walking around, he moves like Frankenstein’s monster. I almost expect to hear a “clunk” when he takes a step.
I’ve still sick. The pink-eye is essentially gone, but I’ve still got a bad cough. It’s just enough to be really annoying. If it doesn’t get better, I guess I’ll head back to the doctor. Hasn’t stopped me from swimming, but it does slow me down.
The University is offering an incentive to us to go through a simple health screening and fill out a survey – then reward us with $120 in our paycheck. I was a little… ummm… disconcerted about this – there’s a general feeling of unease with providing medical data that could be then used against you.
But, I reasoned that I’m generally healthy and in reasonably good shape -and the people asking for the data already have it since it’s tied into my insurance anyway. The only potential worry would be my cholesterol – which, last time it was checked, was a little high.
So, I went to the health screening today before my swim and lunch. The BMI and blood pressure were normal – but they couldn’t get the cholesterol test to work. They did the finger stick twice and the machine kept failing. So, they finally just wrote down that it didn’t work and said I’d still get credit for the screening. Which works out nicely.
I had kinda earned a “something going right” – the past few days at work have been insanely busy. Non stop email, phone, webpages, etc – I’ve been in a kind of media overload. I got a lot done, but it wore me out mentally.
This afternoon, I got another “something going right”. I went to get my haircut after work and only had to wait a few minutes. I got my stand “#1 buzzcut over my whole head” – since it’s proof against stocking cap hat-hair. The stylist finished this in no time at all – then only charged me half the regular amount. She said she didn’t think it was right to charge me full price when it only took 6 minutes to cut. So, I gave her a couple bucks tip and was on my way.
Well, back to the video games for me – I’m thinking about going out to dinner tonight.

strep, niece, eyes, salt, heart

I’m still doing battle with the remnants of strep throat – though it’s now reduced itself to a sore throat and occasional cough. It’s rare for me to be sick for so long – and it’s making me cranky. Or at least crankier than usual.

My niece’s birthday was last weekend and my sister threw a party. It was rubber ducked themed and my sister made cup cakes that looked like little ducks. My niece enjoyed the presents – or rather, the boxes they came in and the cards – and had a lot of fun running around. I tried to keep up with her – but she wore me out.
Earlier this week, I woke up with a sore eye – which swiftly turned red and started, well, oozing. Kinda looked like the squishy gunk when you fall asleep – but before it turns to “sand”. There was a lot of it too. I bought some eye drops and an eye patch to try and give it a break. This has been a couple of days ago, and it’s getting better – though this morning the gunk sealed both my eyelids shut until I could get some warm water on them. Gross and weird. My eyes are still pretty red, but getting better. It’s most likely pink eye – which will go away by itself. I’m trying to keep from touching my eyes and I’m washing my hands like I’ve got OCD – so, I should be back to normal soon. Or at least as close as I ever get.
I watched Salt last night on DVD. Good stuff. Lots of action and some nice plot twists.
Finally, I’ve volunteered to make some origami hearts for a fund raiser dinner/dance coming up soon. I’m hoping to get the final count today before I can leave so I can get the paper cut and start folding this evening. It’s not a very complicated fold, but it will take some time to get them done.

sick, birthday, paint, tron

I’m still sick. Can’t remember the last time I was ill this long before. I’m better, it’s just a sore throat at this point, but it’s still bothering me. I finished up my antibiotics over the weekend and I’m still taking cold medicine. Tired of being sick.

My family visited on Saturday for my birthday. We had some cake, went to a Paint Your Own Pottery store, went out to dinner, and had more cake. My niece was there and did much of the entertaining – she’s walking everywhere and with much more confidence.
The pottery store was fun – though as we getting ready to leave, I bent down to pick up my coat and gashed the side of my head on a display table. I didn’t break anything, fortunately, but I was bleeding pretty good. One of the women that worked there said she hits that all the time. I think she was trying to make me feel better, but I just wondered why they didn’t fix it.
Went out to dinner with some friends on Sunday evening. Had a nice time and the food was really good.
I was off work on Monday and went and saw TRON Legacy. The visuals were impressive, but the sound in the theater was really bad and the story could have used some work. Still, the 3D was fun and I liked it overall.
Back to work now with a short week. Just heard the boss come in – I should go look busy now.

very sick

Tuesday afternoon, I conducted two back to back training sessions at work and started to lose my voice. I didn’t think much of it – I’m not used to talking for 3 hours solid. Once I stopped talking, though, it didn’t get better. The next day at work, I had a sore throat and I sounded really bad.

Thursday morning I woke up and felt like crap. Terrible sore throat, horrible headache. I got out of bed just long enough to sent a “I feel like crap and I’m not coming into work” email and make an appointment to see the doctor that afternoon. One of my co-workers had to go to the emergency room with Strep throat recently and I was worried that I had the same thing.
So, Thursday afternoon I headed to the doctor’s office and got the diagnosis – strep. He prescribed some antibiotics and sent me on my way.
I started taking them last night, but before they could do any good, I got much worse. I had the chills, some nausea, and my fever spiked at 100.5 degrees. Kinda scary. I went from sweating like crazy to shivering. All the while, I was in and out of this really messed up dream where I was trying to react to a constantly changing series of disasters.
I was still feeling rough this morning, but I took my medicine and tried to be productive. Got through most of my work email and I’m working on laundry now.
It’s funny how quickly things can go from same old, same old to really, really bad. I’m doing better – though my throat is still sore – and I should be back to work on Monday.
Time to go gargle some salt water and see if that helps.

pothole

This morning, on the drive to work, I hit a pothole so bad it knocked the faceplate off my radio.

Welcome to Ohio.

holidays and back to work

It’s back to work for me – feels a little weird after so much time off. We got out early on December 23rd and just got back into the office this morning. I kept up with a couple of email accounts from home, but it was still nice to be off.

I spent part of Christmas day with my room-mate and his family at his sister’s house. The kids got a Kinect and I got in on some of that action – fun stuff. The sleeper sofa was… miserable, but I got though it. The drive there and back wasn’t too bad – my room-mate is still recovering from the surgery and I did all the driving. For the record, though – he’s a side seat driver. I figured he would be in charge of the money for the tolls (fail) and navigation. Instead, he commandeered the radio and we listened to 70’s music the whole trip. Ugh.
After a week of doing pretty much nothing, I went stir crazy and cleaned up the office at home. (this was after an episode of Hoarders) and then I started on my building a desk-out-of-a-door project. I spent a lot of time on the legs and got them looking great – then realized they are too long – making the desk too tall. Oh well, it’s fixable – though a lot of work.
I met up with my co-worker and his family for lunch at Chiptole. Their little one had a spectacular diaper blowout – but otherwise it was a nice time.
This past weekend I went to see my parents, my sister, and her family. We had a good time, played some UNO and hung out with my super awesome niece. She’s crawling up a storm, starting to walk, and a great pile of fun. They’ll be visiting me for my upcoming birthday soon and then I’ll be headed back there for my niece’s birthday in a couple weeks.
So, I’m back to work today and trying to get back into the swing of things – and getting back to the pool again after a break.

the scare

This past weekend, I helped my room-mate put his old car away for the winter. It was a miserable job and took us much longer than we expected in the cold. We also had some trouble with the exhaust building up in the storage unit and the mothballs weren’t pleasant either.

With the car finally stowed, we headed back to the apartment and about 1/2 hour later, he started to have pains in his stomach. He’s had these for a while, but being stubborn, he hadn’t done anything about them and a heating pad usually brought relief. No such luck this time – he was in a lot of pain that didn’t go away. It lasted all night and into the next morning. When I left for work he said he would call his doctor to see if they could get him in and if so, his aunt would take him.
I got a call at work later that he’d been admitted to the emergency room and they were going to do surgery on him. Turns out the pain in his stomach area was a hernia that was allowing his intestines to poke through – could have lead to an obstruction if they didn’t get it resolved right away. I had two of the most useless errands to run after work, but I made it to the hospital before he went in for surgery.
The operation was a success and I was able to take him home the next day. He’s resting uncomfortably and sleeping a lot. It’s been pretty scary, but could have been much worse. I’m hoping he learns a lesson about being too stubborn, but only time will tell.

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