Thursday started with me rushing a bit to make my 9:20 appointment with Doc M, my usual doc. I reheated the coffee and wrote the blog. I did not finish, headed to the shower, and soon boarded the EV. Air VW the Gray soon had me through Beaverton and to the Doc at Cedar Hills.
Despite my weight gain, he did offer weight-loss drugs; my A1C was down to 5.6, and my last bloodwork showed no issues and some improvements. And my blood pressure was excellent. Doc M was happy, and we spent more time talking about traveling than my health. We did cover the Yellow Fever shot and he got me a list of my vacinations.
My job, without discussion, was not to gain any more weight or mess up our good work on my A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol numbers. I will be back for a physical around April next year.
Next, the EV zoomed, following Nav, to the distant Walgreens that supplies Yellow Fever shots. It is a sunny but cool fall day without rain or Oregon Mist. Thirty minutes later, I am early for my 11 appointment. I get in line, but then I see a QR Code for vaccine check-in. Feeling more like Delta than Walgreens I check-in on the internet.
A few others are there waiting too, and soon a pharmacist calls my name first and has COVID-19 and Yellow Fever (a live vax) for me. We head to a cubbyhole, and I show my passport; he fills out the yellow card (I lost my original, but I’ve never had Yellow Fever before), and he watches as I enter my passport number and other formal details that must match it.
The shots are barely noticeable. I then get back into the EV and head across Portland back to Beaverton. Insurance didn’t cover the Yellow Fever vax, but the pharmacist had a coupon that brought it down to just above $276.
Brad J and Scott W can do lunch today at McMenamins Cedar Hills and wait until 12:15, enabling me to get back, finish another task, and then have lunch with them. Nav gets me back to Beaverton via Highway 26.
I visited Powell’s @ Cedar Hills and got the book I ordered, The Italian Job, not about the movie, but about the author’s time as bureau chief for the New York Times covering Central Europe and the popes. I liked his article about the current pope, Leo XIV, and about how popes face aging and health setbacks.
I also found a book about the American West part of the American Civil War that I only have some vague information on (having played a wargame on the battles in New Mexico): The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West by Megan Kate Nelson. I will try to get to it soon-ish, as I may suggest asking the author to speak in the church’s speaker series, if in the area.
Next, I headed to McMenamins Cedar Hills, and soon we were together and talked about Scott W’s diving trip and Truk Lagoon. The lagoon is full of WWII Japanese wrecks from Operation Hailstone in 1944, mostly transports and merchantman ships. Scott W told us he stays safe by seldom touching anything and staying mostly outside the wrecks. He also does about two dives a day, never risking a buildup of nitrogen in his blood. We also talked about my purchase of the Air VW the Gray; I had leased it for two years. The choice was mostly a financial decision, as I could not get a vehicle for a lower cost; I like it, and it is only two years old. We updated each other on travel and will not meet again until December.
The beer, cup of soup, half-sandwich, and side salad made me sleepy, and I imagine the vax also had me worn out. I returned home and talked to Deborah as her day wound down. I went back to bed and did not rise again until 4ish.
At home, I made Indian-style dinner from a jar. I defrosted chicken thighs, roasted them, sliced them hot, then browned them just a bit in a pan. I added the sauce to the hot pan, turned the heat down, and let it simmer until hot and spicy. I made rice and managed not to screw it up. Just one cup, but it filled the pan. I forgot to make 1/2 cup. I had a few bowls over rice, but I put most of the rice and much of the chicken tikka masala in a container for another meal. I do like rice, but it is bad for my A1C and waistline.
I read more Dungeons & Dragons stuff and will see if I can get a game going soon. I had to rise at 3:45 to take Mariah to the PDX. I also had some itching and took a Benadryl to stop it. I fell asleep by 10:30 and woke to my alarm, wondering why I needed to get up now.
Thanks for reading!
