Author: alohawild

Sleep was interrupted by proof of hydration and the need for more painkillers. I rose about 7 and soon was writing the blog. I planned to see Z in her new musical, Mean Girls, at her middle school but waited until Dondrea rose and replied to my text. I was feeling better, except for the headache that starts every day (and requires some Tylenol to reduce or remove) and the profound loss of hearing on the left. The healing is starting to arrange itself in the left ear as I get moments of throbbing pain there. My jaw is starting to open more than 1/4 of an inch (making eating sometimes a challenge). While my weight is now dancing between 230 and 235 pounds, I am still losing inches. I drilled another two holes in my belt to stop my pants from falling off. I have smaller-sized replacement pants, but I would hate to shorten them if my waistline finally moves away from a hang-over belt to a more traditional across-the-belly use, as this would mean replacing everything again. We will see where all this is next week when I will shorten some pants.

I cleaned up and dressed. I wore my usual pants with the belt pulled stupidly tight, but at least they did not fall off. I wore a French blue button dress shirt with my blue sweater vest, and I could see more inches were gone, but the scale said, like before, ten pounds ago, that the pounds were changing their meaning. I am becoming stronger and building muscle, and that weighs more than the fat I am shedding. Frustratingly, the numbers are the same on the scale. The new goal, more moderate than before (and the possibility of death or more surgery due to increased pressure on my brain by the extra weight helped in directing my energies to lose weight), is 220.

Dondrea and I arranged for me to meet her at the musical. Linda and I then headed to Whole Foods for some items and flowers for Z. There, we got a few items and then waited at the sandwich counter, where we got some excellent sandwiches made. Linda, wanting food, decided we could eat there, and we used the tables provided.

Time was flying, and soon we were rushing in Air Volvo; Linda unloaded the cargo bay, put away the same, and then popped back into the pilot seat. We reached the school just before they let the folks in. Dondrea was at the head of the line. Dondrea and I had not seen each other in a week. Dondrea thought I looked remarkable for someone not yet two weeks out of brain surgery.

The musical had reached the point where it was working for the cast (though Z clued me in later; they had somehow skipped three minor scenes), but still, I enjoyed Mean Girls and, even with my revised hearing, could hear most of the lines. Some of the singers were amazing and could even act. A few were faltering, and a few excellent singers were supposed to be more mean but could not pull that off. Overall, the cast almost had it down, and with a few more shows (it is done on Saturday), it would have been fantastic. Excellent!

Once the cast party was over, Dondrea, Z, and I met Linda at the old-school Italian-style restaurant Nonna Emilia. This is a local favorite. The recipes are still the same, and the portion sizes are not just large, but they are designed to fill anyone up. We all took 1/2 (or more) of our dinners home! This was my thank you dinner to Dondrea and Linda for making all this possible, and we enjoyed all hanging out again, but this time at Nonna Emilia and not my hospital room!

With as much dinner as we could fit inside us, the rest in boxes and cartons, we said goodbye, and Linda took me back in an Air Volvo to the Volvo Cave. I watched a few more Black Sails episodes. Soon, I took my meds and headed to a shower and bed. I read some more and then fell asleep. I fell into a more peaceful and normal sleep and did not wake again until 6. The stygian black I would shut down into, and the rebooting cycle has faded away. The pain, while still quite pronounced without Tylenol, is starting to fade.

Thanks for reading.

A theme song for today: I Got You. It is about four years old, but it is still on my playlist and makes me smile.

Let me cover a new issue that is not health-related. Nike put me on medical leave (!?) and then underpaid me by a third. F**K! I had to call Nike HR and Sedgwick multiple times, and they are busy pointing figures at each other. I did not (and could have) intervene and cancel the leave and thus avoided this issue. To me, since I signed an agreement to pay me until 28 June at my regular rate and then to make the agreed final payments (and cover my healthcare until 2025), I thought this was covered and, as someone with a signed agreement, did not think I should act. Nike ended my employment and set the terms; I just accepted it.  Everything would follow the binding agreement, I believed.

I was told Nike HR would work this out and get me paid correctly. More to follow. Let’s hope the undo is easy.

I rose at 7 with just some pain. I find the pain comes as I try to sleep and put some pressure on my head with the pillow. I was up at 4:30 to get new painkillers and managed another couple of hours of sleep. I take Tylenol all day, never going beyond the safe amount in 24 hours.

I wrote the blog, dressed, and soon was down the road in Air Volvo with Linda piloting. We first crossed Beaverton and got Linda’s Rx. After that, we headed to The Coast. We did get burgers at the old McDonald’s across from the skating rink. The same Eastern European gal took our order, as I remembered from years ago. Susie was quite attached to the family that ran the McDonald’s as they were kind to her when she could travel on a bus to the rink to take lessons.

Navigation took us by the Pacific Highway to the Oregon Coast, and it was a slow but lovely drive. Linda was surprised when I showed her the road that headed home, as after all that driving, we were no more than twenty minutes from the Volvo Cave!

We stopped at the John Farm on the way as I had to use the facility. I am still empty/dump instead of a more usual flow. I have to use no pressure to go (so many jokes), and I can tell you the only pressure currently needed is to hold it in to reach the restroom!

While there, I got a fresh apricot for a snack, a jar of peaches, pasta sauce, and some salmon (canned), and Linda packed them in the cargo hold. I had no sudden needs after that.

The drive takes you into the Salmon River pass via the Salmon River Highway. Clearcuts are everywhere, but the remaining forests and the rolling Coastal Mountains make the view like a fairy kingdom. The drive is free of nasty curves, uneven pavement, and speeding tickets. The first lovely Pacific beach is the D River State Park. We stopped, and Linda enjoyed the huge, low-tide sands. I sit on a bench and then in the car. The state park has a public restroom and an excellent view from a parked car, and it is always my first stop going this way.

Depot Bay is our next stop. We arrived at low tide in the afternoon, so I did not see any whales today. We spent quite some time just enjoying the view (I was on multiple calls with Nike and Sedgewick). We then went to Tides and had a wonderful but expensive lunch/dinner. Linda had the spicy seafood green curry, and I had the special. Mine had good flavor (I am beginning to taste again as the thrush fades). We finished sharing a key lime pie; I got a slice to go for Corwin. We left after 4 from the coast, and I was starting to fade.

We did stop at The Vintage, which is an RV park just outside of wine country and on the way to the coast. There, they provide a collection of old-school-looking airstreams (for glamping) to rent and also places to rent a space. The place was neat and happy-looking. A week of glamping was about 1K. I checked and they all booked in the fall. I might have to try this and see if Dondrea and Z want to give it a spin next year. It looked fun.

Linda did not want to drive at night, but we made good time, and so we explored Dundee (wine country) and found a large vineyard tasting room, Dobbs Family Estate, still open, and got the last table for the night for a small, three, wine tasting. We found ourselves ignored as our waiter was missing, but soon they dived in to make sure we were properly wined. I bought the expensive one as, even with thrush (making everything taste like vinegar), I could tell it was good. I used the usual excuse for paying too much, that I get the $20 tasting charge back if I buy something. I am looking forward in a few weeks to being able to taste it and see if I actually like it. I also bought their dessert wine, which, again, I will drink in a few weeks/months.

With all our goodies, we reboarded Air Volvo and soon left Pacific Highway and crossed Cooper’s Mountain to return to the Greater Beaverton area. At the Volvo Cave I was tired but not overly, excellent! I watched the first episodes of Black Sails and then went to bed. I showered and then read for a while. I woke a few times and welcomed some forgotten dreams replacing the Lovecraftian darkness of the previous days.

Thanks for reading.

I had the usual trouble sleeping as I could fall asleep in a comfy chair without much effort, but, as usual, I have trouble being comfortable, and it still feels more like switching off and rebooting than sleeping. But, at least, the stygian black that swallows my mind has turned to shades of grey. Each reboot has me proving hydration as the thrush has me drinking glass after glass of water. It has to go somewhere. I am not sure, as it is so clear when returned, that it actually went anywhere.

I rose after 7AM, made coffee at 4:30 for Linda as I got my painkillers returned to reboot later, and started on the blog. I had a Code Brown, stripped, took an unscheduled shower, and dressed. I put the PJs and a few other items into The Machine. Later, a power blink crashed The Machine to endless drying. Linda is very unhappy with that as she thinks it is a safety issue. The Machine needs a power conditioner for a few bucks. I ran diagnoses and sent them to LG.

Linda and I headed to the Doctor’s as it was my usual three-month you-got-diabetes-and-your-A1C-was-up-earlier appointment. The weight loss, 234 pounds with shoes on, and my better A1C last time got me smiles. As is my tradition at the Doctor’s, we talked about trips and how the cruise ship connections let my friend’s wife work from home on a cruise ship. Doc may try that!

Back in three months, after a blood draw today. Off to the lab. As a doctor’s office walk-in, they serve everyone else first, but I waited only thirty minutes. The phlebologist saw the marks and bruises on my arms from the five lines and various pokes and asked me which arm. I smiled back and said to pick the spot where her bruise could go, and that got a smile. We talked about how to prevent a bruise, and she was extra light in her touch to only leave a mark; no new bruise!

Linda found me and headed to McMenamins at Cedar Crossing. There, I had a Purple Haze beer with a Captain Neon Burger (local blue cheese with bacon). Linda tried the fish and chips, which were crunchy. I was getting tired already. After lunch, now that the Fred Myers pharmacy was open (closed thirty minutes for lunch), I picked up the hard-to-get thrush treatment. Yay!

Linda needs a prescription, and after getting turned around, we found the closest Walgreens that will fill Linda’s Rx. We headed back, passing three Walgreens, at least, that were closer to the house. No matter, we will get the Rx in the morning. Linda took off the rest of Thursday and Friday. Linda needed to rest. I watched more of President Trump’s conviction news.

Corwin baked Trader Joes frozen steak pies for dinner. They were good.

Aside: I was relieved that the jury found the evidence convincing. While you may think this whole thing is cooked up, I am always happy when twelve people decide to use our oldest and best tool, our fellow Americans, to decide the issue. Will it survive an appeal? Was it the right thing to do? Those are future things. Well, I am a liberal, but I strongly believe in the current jury system at the state level. That law-and-order when I was a moderate-republican is still there. I loved the old versions of Law and Order.

I went to bed early. My vision makes reading difficult as the healing continues and inflammation passes through my face and eyes. It is a strange process as waves and pulses continue. I read for a while anyway.

I turn off the lights and start my rebooting cycles.

Thanks for reading.

The Usual Suspects

I rose after 7 and started to write the blog. Linda was already working East Coast time and was pushing coffee as she had trouble getting to bed last night. There was too much fun going on. Linda would be busy all morning, non-stop, and into the afternoon. Lots of coffee was required!

I spent the morning writing and musing. Mariah’s blog reminded me how hard writing is for me. Dondrea later called me on it and said that I should not negatively compare my, dare I use the word style, to Mariah. Mine is good and different. I am being unfair to myself.

After the blog, I admit that yesterday disappeared mostly from my memory this Thursday morning. I dressed and tried to rest. Linda and I both reheated a slice of Linda’s lasagna, Mid-West American style and had that for lunch. Breakfast today was just coffee. Linda barely left her chair as it was very busy for her; she is working from home here in the Pacific Northwest. Cat often does this, too, from NYC when visiting her parents, David and Michelle. I have, it is a necessity, good, fast, and reliable connections via fiber. Because of my constant plan to use a Raspberry Pi computer for something or another LINUX machine, I have older tech devices available or cool ones that support older connections. Linda’s work computer is not cutting edge and is quite comfortable here. Linda’s last visit had her take one of the older screens home. Today, she has that one with her (she loves it), and my new one is high quality but can handle older connections. The usual USB-A hub and various keyboards and mice are always stacked in the garage.

The Occupational Therapist was here at about 2:30 and went over my needs and issues, which were few to none. We looked at my ability to use the toilet and other exciting items for the OT folks. OT was concerned that after Monday, I would have to handle much on my own (Linda would go home on Sunday night), but my approach is that I would expand my actions and should be able to cover most things by then. Bending over is the only thing I must avoid, and it requires strategies. To me, it is something to do. OT suggests getting some grabbers. All interesting. “Dropped a sock. Do now create a robot to pick it up and give it to me, or use AI to detect it and then filter it from my vision?” I thoughts. We agreed OT would call me on Monday to check in.

The rest of the afternoon was a stupid waste of time. The docs finally worked out that I need thrush treatment, something specific and well-known. There is a national shortage (f**k!), and we spent the afternoon finally begging Beaverton Pharmacy to make some from scratch, but instead, they found that Fred Meyers (FM) has some. With yet another call, we were able to re-route that prescription from RiteAid to FM. It was hours of driving, calling, and changing directions. FM’s staff agreed to get it done, but they are backed up, so it will be a Thursday thing (I have been trying to get treatment for a week).

Anyone who believes this is not corporate greed, the Usual Suspects, and a lack of calling the medical for-profits for their arrogance is lying to themselves. Not that I give Congress any points for not passing a law that basic drugs must be kept in stock to be in the for-profit or non-profit biz. I cannot sue. I cannot locate anyone responsible, as all are protected. But I might try. Something to think about. It is hard to sue Congress to make people responsible.

Tired, frustrated, and starving, we headed to Top Burmese Bistro Royale. Linda has not been here, but it serves good Thai food, is slightly expensive, and has a cool presentation (including robot food delivery). I ordered coconuts, and Linda was surprised to get a boozy real coconut for her drink. I ordered appetizers and burned through $100, and we took much of it home. I had the chicken and rice as my thrush makes it a waste to order something more interesting.

Soon, tired, overfed, and ready to stop for a while, Linda pilots Air Volvo to the Volvo Cave. Linda heads to bed. I watch Nova and other shows on PBS. On Wednesday nights, I am usually at First United Methodist Church playing games and miss all the great shows on PBS. At 10, I am in bed, showered, and reading. I am rereading something I tried before.

I could not sleep well and was up at 4AM. This happened before the surgery, and it is now a struggle to sleep around 3 and reach some strange point where I just suddenly sleep deeply. I will wake still tired, but the naps and other impact for almost no sleep will be less, but not Tuesday.

I then go on to write the blog, and while, according to Dondrea, my voice is in the writing, there are many botched and wooden word use. My policy is to fix a few mistakes, but it is more important to complete a blog (slightly smudged) than to spend forever trying to get it perfect. Yesterday, I proved the cracks in Artificial Intelligence and Grammarly’s amazing understanding of English; everything wrong was accepted by the basic checks. The product allows me to watch it populate my writing with commas (many I disagree with), find a few missing plurals and a few missing words, and then replace usage from bad habits. Yesterday, I found some issues with the product. Delicious–I am, after all, IT and always happy to see AI once again prove you don’t want to lean on it too much.

While I usually write 800+ words every day that are reasonably written, I always struggle and find it amazing someone like me, a hard-charging retired multi-national corporate warrior (from dread IT), can produce something someone would actually want to read and be contemplating different sentence usage like that vs. which while telling stories about real events instead of writing yet-another-PowerPoint (I hate to YAP) or a three-hundred-page manual. The tools enable me to worry about the usage of a word like enable, for example, instead of wondering if the commas are placed consistently with style guides on the East Coast USA (instead of the far superior Chicago guides–yes, I cast dispersions on my beloved New York Times standards)  Any complaints on a comma can be addressed by a trouble ticket to Grammarly–I just try to get them mostly right and let Grammarly have its way with the rest.

Why am I musing about my struggles and my lack of skill with English, and my leaning on Grammarly to prevent me from sounding like a hick? Mariah has returned to her blog. Her voice is so pure. Her writing is so perfect. Please enjoy her perspective through younger eyes and a newer life, awkwardbroadcast.com, and also know she was the person who said I was not terrible at this and kept me going when it was hard to keep going. We are pushing each other again, as we were before the pandemic, to write and to follow our muse.

Enough musing about muses and delaying the rather uneventful day’s description. But, considering recent events, a few years of boring is welcome! I spent hours writing a messy blog and finally just sighed and pushed publish. Linda is working East Coast hours with a start at 4:30; I made her coffee and almost burned steel-cut oats for breakfast. I find the comfy chair and finally sleep deep and dreamless.

Physical Therapy called (a new organization for me, Adventist Home Health) and offered to start my case this early afternoon. We went back and forth and decided now was a good time, and soon, PT arrived. My vitals are all back to normal.

Aside: I will not use names for medical professionals just position or a single letter so I know who I am writing about.

I have done PT in offices from the chemotherapy impact, but this is my first Home Health for myself. I am familiar with all the requirements and processes. Soon, I was evaluated, and it was determined that I was doing pretty well and improving. PT indicates that if I want to try it, they believe they can help, and I agree. I get a few basic and very safe exercises. Next week we will meet again.

Linda loaded me up in the co-pilot seat in Air Volvo and put the walker in the cargo bay. I use the walker outside, as falling on the carpet inside and possibly ping-ponging on walls and furniture while finding all the sharp points would be bad. Old cement with cracks is no place to be lackadaisical with safety! The first is an ambulance trip, the other means no need for rushing!

We had Mexican food, and I had the special. Thanks to the thrush, I could barely taste anything. I am also challenged to eat more than a few servings (my usual reaction to lots of anesthetics is twenty pounds of weight loss–not a weight loss system I would recommend), but I am still able to drown my sorrows in iced tea (lots of it) and chips and salsa that burns (both from the thrush and because it is hot). Linda wisely stayed with the bean dip and chips (and iced tea). Linda did not like the guacamole as it too was spicy. Should we return soon, we will be careful with our green stuff order.

Prime is not working, and my purchase of the WW2 movie Midway (the new version) was completed (Prime got paid), but there is nothing. I spent some time trying to discover what options for a refund were available. Nothing. You also cannot get any help, a response, or even a chance to say something is wrong. So I went with the last resort, I trashed the movie in its review with a warning that it would not play and sent that into the AI that is Amazon.com and will see if anything in the nearly thoughtless machine will rise to my review (the movie has a nearly perfect rating with 65K reviews). I tried a few times.

I changed focus, and I have diagnosed the issue as related to the new non-commercial free version of Prime. It is trying to play a commercial for me, I believe, but it is not reachable. The movie will not play until you have seen the commercial (thus, various strategies to defeat commercials will prevent the movie from playing, but I believe the mute button would work fine as Amazon has yet to make sound something it overrides). I was offered to buy the movie again and also to buy a no-commercial version for another five bucks a month. I soon found other things to do.

The pandemic world is becoming a memory, and Corwin witnessed this today. The post-holiday traffic in food deliveries was low, so Corwin had nothing to deliver in the afternoon or evening. It seems that folks, for Memorial Week 2024, are at the beach BBQing and enjoying the things we used to do, which does not include day drinking in a lockdown and having food (at a low price back in 2020) being delivered. Prices are also up, and it is far (very much so) cheaper to make than to buy it. Ham/turkey and cheese sandwiches with cheap knock-off soda are the focus of diets this week, with likely a bag of chips from a huge box of various types from Costco. It is summer.

So, let’s go with this to celebrate Summer 2024!

I had cheese and crackers as Linda had rested and just disappeared into a long nap, but she wanted to make lasagna, an American Mid-West version that is good and old school. Linda appeared a bit late and stayed up to cook, but I stayed out of the way. Corwin made Safeway run to get some more items. We had a late dinner (about as late as Michelle and David), but I had a snack, so I was OK. We listened to the YouTube channels of some of the new comedians that rose just before the pandemic, survived COVID-19, and now are making well-received reels on FaceBook and ate and laughed: ISMO, Tom Popa, and Taylor Tomlinson. While a grand adventure, prepared to be surprised by their topics and ability to make you laugh at things that should not be funny. You have been warned!

Linda and then I went to bed. Linda is in the office on a roll-away bed, and I am in my master bedroom, but I always sleep on my side of the bed and leave the other unused. Tonight was not a stumbling, tired finish! I managed to shower, sit, and wash, avoiding the suddenly growing imbalances and the need to stop moving. Better, but not there yet. I managed to sleep, but sleep is a gamble for me. I, like many, have trouble slowing down some thinking, but it is more like I wake in discomfort and have to find a way to fall asleep again. I also just switch off, not sleep. A dreamless darkness that would impress any Lovecraftian writer. I come to be conscious and discover, as my person comes online like a slow booting LINUX box, what has woken me from the darkness, again, keeping with the image, like reading log files from the boot to learn my condition as a LINUX box, and determine a course of action, execute, and return. The pain increases over the night with each restart. Each off is complete and timeless.

I will finally reach enough pain to rise. It is not much, but it is hard to slide back into the dark with it.

Thanks for reading!