Day 85: Friday

I put off writing this story until Saturday morning. I was trying to rest a bit and get the coughing to slow. I need to be better for my trip to NYC on Wednesday.

It is the 85th day since I was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma on my left side. It is a slow-growing tumor manifested by a loss of hearing and balance on the left side (which will not get better).

 

Returning to the story, it was Friday. For the moment, we work from home on Fridays, and summer hours will start in May when we have the afternoon off. That sounds great, except the project never followed that. But I suspect this year it will be better, and we will have summer hours, too.

The layoffs are done for the moment, and we are still trying to understand the new flying formation, which we call it. We still miss the folks we lost. Weekends are good for escaping the chaos at Swift at Nike WHQ.

The day started with waking at 6:30 and not having the status meeting. There was a holiday in India on Friday, so Rajani canceled it. This Sunday is the Spring-Forward time change (f**k!), so the meeting will move out thirty minutes to 7:00 next week. I rolled over and started after 7AM.

I found the kitchen after visiting the home office and checked that nothing was outstanding from India or late at night. Then, I made breakfast. The bagel, still fresh from Joyce (delivered yesterday), was sliced with care with the Vorpal sharp new bread knife (you can easily bleed for your breakfast–I just wanted one sharp enough to make bagel prep easy–this one would impress a Jedi). I used the new glass cutting board with a heavy set chef (looking somewhat like me–Corwin thought it funny) that I bought on my last trip to the coast. It is the perfect size for small work like a bagel. Toasted and covered with cream cheese, the unblooded bagel was ready. Liberal coffee was also prepared in the French Press and subsequently joined the bagel.

The work was hours of status, process, and update meetings—nothing exciting or worth many characters to describe. Our Europe, Africa, and Middle East (EMEA in Nike-speak) colleagues returned home this week after visiting for two weeks. I was happy to see and talk to them a few times over the last two weeks.

Corwin was ill today and barely left his room until the early evening. My coughing and wheezing were harsh as I tried not to use the cough suppressant pills. I stayed home today.

Jack offered to take a box of GoodWill items (minor things from Susie’s room) I had assembled. He picked up the box after I had lunch (a can of chili with some cheese). I had picked up a coin from the USS Midway for Jack; he served on the sister, FDR, which does not exist now. I got to give it to him. Thanks, Jack.

The afternoon was filled with paperwork. I received the surgery instructions today (with a typo on it that was corrected) and had to read them. My plan to fly out after Susie’s service in Michigan has served me well. I was surprised that a second MRI was not planned, but I was wrong. A new MRI is the night before the surgery with special markers I have to keep on my head for the surgeon. I wanted to be home for 24 hours before the surgery, and I was right. I printed out the instructions and questioned some mistakes (Sunday is not the 20th, for example), sent a message back, and received corrections.

Not to be outdone, I was also sent the medical information release PDF to fill out and return. I printed the form, filled in my section, and then copied it again. I used a copy to add in the Sedgewick information. Nike uses an insurance company, the dreaded endless detail-losing and misunderstanding corporate machine that is Sedgewick, to review and approve/decline leave and other like requests. Of course, it is a call center and somewhere else in the world besides the Kentucky address given, and it has long wait times and a ticketing system. Those Republican readers who wish to privatize social security and Medicare, “yea are warned.”

Aside: From what I can find, Sedgewick is owned by the private equity firm Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG). The company just had a great quarter. It is one of those complex mixes of a private firm owned by a public company or managed by one and part of its investment portfolio. It is not transparent management, for sure. While I am a capitalist to my soul, I think this is maybe going a bit far.

The doctor’s office surprised me by completing the Sedgewick forms, faxing them back, and even sending me a PDF of the fax. I got this as a message. I sent a copy to Linda, my sister, to consider. She wants to put in a Family Leave Request, but her brothers are not covered unless they become disabled (from my reading online). I should be able to care for myself, with the only problem likely to be my balance. I am expected to take two months to recover–this is considered extreme surgery.

After my meetings finished, the shoe company Slack updates, texts, and emails slowed as usual on a Friday afternoon. I decided to cook jambalaya for dinner, with one box of rice and spices left. I prepared the trinity and the pope (onion, celery, green pepper in equal proportions–the trinity, and garlic gloves sliced thin, the pope). I got those sweating with oil and butter on the stove before adding various sausages I cut into bits. I had pre-sliced meats from the Vancouver Farmer’s Market. I got those in the same pot and let them produce all those good oils. I added some heat (Cayenne pepper). I let that cook until the pan started to show some brown on the bottom. I then added the rice and spices from Zatarain’s One Pot Jambalaya box. While not perfect, the taste is close; it only misses the smoky flavor I tasted in NOLA and is less salty. I added the shrimp (frozen, peeled, cleaned, and tailless) at the last minute. I had two bowls.

Corwin rose, being summoned back to life by NOLA-like food. He had a few bowls and started to watch cable. The cable stopped working. I had to reset my password (somehow, the same password I have used for a year no longer works, like in FaceBook), and soon, I had NetFlicks running again. I watched Kingsman, the original, while I cooked and ate.

I also did three loads of dishes and cleaned some of the kitchen (cleaning more on Saturday morning). I also did three loads of laundry.

The Dark Tower, a Dungeons and Dragons adventure revised for 5E, arrived today. This first sandbox or location-based adventure was a hit in 1979 and is still remembered as one of the great things to play in the original AD&D system. It has been rewritten and updated to the new play styles in 5E. The adventure went from an extensive booklet to a massive set of three books in the process. Adding text for the game runner to use to describe the encounter/event (DM, in D&D-speak) and including the full specifications for monsters, traps, and treasure requires expansion. I was reading this part of the night. Having set aside the detailed story of Lord Nelson for a while.

My weight is 148, and I have managed to keep below my 2030 calories daily for a few days. My pants are falling off now. I suspect my suits fit better, too! I expect I will stabilize around 245 like last time and then start to lose again in a few weeks. This cycle I think is ustual from what I read and folks tell me. I use MyFitnessPal to track this, but I do not always remember to update it. I am not a slave to my phone apps–no, I am not.

Well, that is enough for Friday. My coughing is better this Saturday morning, but I am thinking of staying inside most of the day.

Thanks for reading!