Day 47: Tuesday

I rose this morning before my alarm. I had a blood draw, so I had no breakfast or coffee. Just my pills with some water. Today was my pre-op appointment with my primary care, Dr. C. He was our doctor for about a year when our previous doctor retired. My appointment was at 8:20, and I headed out with plenty of time. The traffic on Baseline was backed up, and I was concerned I might be late, but I arrived a few minutes early.

The EKG was good, and after reviewing my status, Dr. C was ready to approve me for surgery. I had to get my labs done, and unless there was a surprise, I was approved. He will send the approval tomorrow after reviewing the test results.

I brought the last of the insurance paperwork for Susie’s passing. Part of it requires Susie’s doctor to fill it out. Dr. C finished the forms for me. I copied them and mailed them. This is the insurance bought when Susie was born. It is only a few bucks, but Leta can use the money to help fix her bathroom.

After that, I stop at Paris Baguette for a pastry and coffee for breakfast. I also buy a baguette and some fresh raisin bread. The bread is excellent toasted, buttered, and sprinkled with cinnamon.

I returned to work and discussed plans with my boss, Brad. We are waiting for a date to start seriously planning for my absence and medical leave. I look into a few issues before lunch.

I head to McMenamins Cedar Mills for lunch. I have an Aztec Salad without adding a protein. I have just iced tea as it is time to reduce calories. The salad is good, and I read a bit.

Air Volvo has me back at the Swift building at Nike’s WHQ in time for my last meeting. I talked to some folks about various issues and suggested testing and checks. Currencies are complex for a multinational like Nike, Inc., and a called routine is not correctly handling the currency values in our systems. I was worried it might not work for inflationary currencies. The routine was discovered not to handle non-fractional currencies like the Japanese Yen and that was fixed now, and I am worried the fix is incomplete. Currency is complex across various countries, and often, developers underestimate the complexity and create errors.

Returning to more immediate issues, I had issues with my colon and gas. This happened last time I had a salad. It could be a new problem–maybe lettuce is out. We will see. I was back in the restroom a few times!

Subha had a gift from India for me. Archana sent me a Christmas present, Mancala, made in India. This is an ancient game, and I have only played it once.

I am looking forward to relearning it and trying it out. Thanks, Archana, for the new game, and Subha and family for bringing it to me when they returned from India!

I arrived at the Volvo Cave too late to take Corwin to the DMV for a new state ID. He needs a state-issued ID to obtain a driver’s license, which is the first step. Corwin has been living in the spare bedroom for a few months. We will try to get this done this week. It is a priority to get Corwin driving.

I rested and read for a while, but soon, it was time to head to dinner with Mariah. Corwin took a shower and was ready at about 5PM. We got a table in the bar after Air Volvo delivered us to BJ’s Brewhouse. Mariah was running late, so I ordered the new appetizer of ships and three types of dip. It was good, but it was too much food.

I ordered noodles with chicken for dinner. I could barely finish it. Corwin got pizza with extra to take home. Mariah had a steak–I was envious.

We had a fun chat, and I covered all the medical information. Despite being stuffed, it was a good night. But, I am shaking. I am freezing even with coffee- I was cold at work, too. Left over from the chemotherapy, I think, cold sinks in, and I can’t get warm.

I talked about my writing a story with Sherlock Holmes and Watson as self-aware chatbots. Mariah thinks it is a good idea, and I will expand on it soon. Imagine Holmes being able to search the web for answers! House, the TV show, was based partially on the same concept–a favorite of mine. More to follow, my dear readers.

I napped and was still cold, put on my robe over my clothing, and wrote this.

Labs: So far, my sugar level is too high, which is not a surprise, but otherwise, the labs were good.

Thank you for reading.