The good news: I got a clean bill of health from my diabetes doctor. Except for my higher A1C, higher than normal triglycerides (I suspect that's a portion control thing), and a bit of dehydration possibly caused by two of the meds I take, I'm in pretty good shape. Weight stable, BP terrific, LDL really good, all those other numbers where they should be. The bad news: after logging off for the work week I had to ride a local bus from terminus to terminus to receive that info. Masked all the way down and back, but my goodness, so loud and crowded! There are times I really get energized from living in The City, and there are times when it leaves me completely drained. I think I need some Friday Cat Blogging:
I was about the age of that girl in the still photo when this came out. Via BoingBoing.
Today was one of those days I was glad to be in the office, not just because it allowed me to mail out a couple checks (I don't trust the mailboxes in these parts, they've been subject to a few shenanigans). I'd already planned to notarize one colleague's signature, and a couple hours later another stopped by my desk (which is an admin desk) to ask if I knew any admins who were notaries. I smiled and said "Let me retrieve my stamp and seal from my file cabinet" and that was that! I met with at least six of my partners, handled a print job for one (shepherded and retrieved it from production, another in-person job I couldn't really have done remotely), and got almost all my expense entry done save for one partner, who was reminded of what he owed me as he exited for the day. I too got out of Manhattan before The Big Verdict came down, so I was home and relaxing by 6 PM sans sneakers, as the toe had been acting up again. I checked after showering and it does look like it's healing, but of course when you're a diabetic everything takes just a little bit longer. Going to see my endrocrinologist tomorrow and work out a game plan to once again lower my A1C. Now that the foot is better I'm going back on the bike, which should help, especially once I cut my Manhattan days down to 2x/week. Let's revisit some classical sarcasm, shall we?
Today was supposed to be a PTO (paid time off) day, but I logged on at 8 and wound up working straight through until about 1, when I walked to my podiatrist's office to see how well the healing is progressing on my toe infection. All good, no more soaking in epsom salts, not even any more bandage wrapping! Came back to a bit more work (lots of expenses to enter for my 11 partners, fairly unusual but that's what took up most of my time) before finally logging off around 4. I really need to step up my PTO game! At least I'm not being pressured to use AI too much, with results like this.
Back to the office, which is actually pleasant when I get to sit in my usual spot instead of the cold basement level. Got enough done to fill out a timesheet for two days, and I'll be logging on briefly from home tomorrow (an official PTO day) to do a bit more, so much of Thursday's time will be accounted for before I even unpack myself back in the office again the day after tomorrow. My antibiotic regimen is almost done and I'm seeing the podiatrist again tomorrow, so maybe after that I won't need anything remotely like this survival kit.
A nice quiet, contemplative Monday holiday when not very much got done, because we're no fools so we had no intention of taking to the roads (particularly in this storm), and there wasn't all that much to watch on cable. So we got through a few streaming things, I caught up on all the comics and newspapers I had on hand, and of course there was an afternoon nap. It's the simple things, y'know? Like more classical art memes.
The foot continues to improve, and I suspect by the end of the week I'll be going back on the exercise bike after I see my endocrinologist to see if my meds need adjusting as well. I hope not! I'm determined to have more fruit and veg and carbless proteins and up my exercising as soon as I can walk properly. If these cows can munch on carrots than so can I!
The bottom of my infected toe where the skin had peeled off is recuperating nicely thanks to neosporin, as both the new skin comes in and the infection on the top becomes less inflamed. It's certainly helping that I'm able to soak it three times a day until Tuesday when I'm back in Manhattan! Grocery shopping was a bit painful but not as bad as I'd dreaded, and now we're set for our beginning-of-summer holiday feast with the usual cliched American foods of hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, and various cold salads (egg, potato, cole slaw). The FA Cup final was today (missed the last bit due to food shopping), but I'm looking forward to the baseball games all weekend (Yankees much more than Mets), although a bit sad that I can't see beep baseball, but then neither can its participants.
I was able to take advantage of our first early-departure Friday of the summer, mostly by sleeping. At least until my uncle awoke me to wish me a happy Sabbath. Since I love my uncle very much and love hearing from him every week it's kind of pointless to play the atheist card here, but I need to remember this in future if I decide to use my time off to sleep and heal. I made an appointment with my endocrinologist for next Friday to discuss my A1C slide-in-the-wrong-direction, and I think that's it for medical appointments until I decide to have my next crown done. So far the discomfort in that tooth area has been fairly mild but it's getting literally irritating so perhaps that'll happen sometime this summer as well. I'm also jonesing for a new cat (or cats) but my theory is always that they find us, not the other way around. I do know I won't be using any of these names:
The toe still hurts a lot, especially where the skin peeled off on the bottom, but I worked from home today so I could start soaking it thrice daily and I'm hoping it's showing incremental improvement. I took an hour off to get another blood draw, this one local and prescheduled online so I knew I could get in. I also got my A1C results from yesterday, definitely not what I'd hoped, but with the junk food and lack of exercise caused by being in the office thrice weekly it's not exactly a surprise. I'll just have to start watching what I eat more, and finding time to go on the exercise bike again once my foot issue resolves. Cutting down to two office days a week this summer should help with both things. And I promise I won't eat any of these:
I got very little sleep last night for whatever reason (could be the weather, could be the foot thing) so I was kind of zombified today. Did lots of walking as the medical center would not take my podiatrist's req, so I'll be getting a second blood draw locally tomorrow. Tried to do a walk-in but the wait would have been too long. Wish I'd known that before doing all that walking, because when I got home I found I'd bled through my sock from a blister on the bottom of the infected toe. I have no idea if the two things (the infection and the burst blister) are related, I'll find out when I see the doc again in a week. But I'm in a lot of pain now and definitely working from home tomorrow, only going out to get blood draw #2 locally. Fun times! Speaking of fun, enjoy Elon Musk being hoist on his own petard by AI.
Picked up my meds in the lovely warmth (I'm again assigned to the basement level at the office today and tomorrow) and discovered upon getting home that the antibiotic is majorly counterindicated by a few of my medical conditions and other Rx. So I'll have to change that tomorrow. Also going to get my quarterly blood draw and hoping they'll take the podiatrist requisition (he's not in the Columbia system) so I don't have to make two trips. Speaking of trips, this video was on Mark Evanier's blog on 4/20:
Today I learned from my podiatrist that I have a bit of a toe infection, so I'll have to pick up a couple prescriptions at the Manhattan pharmacy at lunchtime tomorrow. While I was at it, I caught up on almost all things medical (even scheduled my mammogram for September!) for me and Robin, made sure after a phone call with OMNY that my commuter card works tomorrow, even straightened out a medical billing situation for Robin (with a lot of help from him!). Work itself was rather slow, so I'll probably wind up using PTO hours for some of us, especially since I'll be stuck in Manhattan unable to do so for the next few days. Still don't know what I'm having for lunch tomorrow, maybe it'll be this:
Bless his heart, Robin agreed to accompany me on a short walk to the Riverdale Block Party, one block of not very exciting booths and a smattering of politicians and nobody I actually knew attending. I want to get out more, but with familiar faces. In any case, while the walk was lovely with all the flowers in the neighborhood, the pollen did us in again. We need to learn to pace ourselves. Especially me, I'm one of those folks who wants to Get Everything Done Now, and I need to remind myself that not only can't I but I don't actually need to. So the earrings were sorted back onto their holder and the necessary weekend stuff done, but I'm slowing down elsewhere. I want to get back on the exercise bike for my health, but I don't need to go on vacations (other than using up PTO hours so I don't lose them) or run around if I enjoy myself at home with Robin and TV and reading material. I even caught up on lots of DVR'ed cartoons today, including The Simpsons:
I believe, at long last, the power steering assembly on the car is fixed correctly. However, I'm definitely in the market for a new auto shop. I see the gas station around the corner does oil changes so I think I'll be taking the car there until it's inspection time. We didn't want to push things after grocery shopping so the rest of the day was spent relaxing at home, like so many weekends are now. The excitement of getting older! Next thing you know we'll be walking down the catwalk like this...
The car's back, Robin looked under the hood and the power steering belt is definitely more in place than it seemed to be the last couple times they adjusted it. So I guess my summer project may be finding a new auto shop; as nice as these guys are I think there has been some erosion of trust in competency. But before that I have to handle a commuter card that's not working at present (not a big deal, I can use my phone and pay with my debit card for awhile) and a home keyboard whose keys are starting to stick. Tech and I, we have a tenuous relationship. Hoping to take some days off once the allergy season wanes (if it ever does) and see some Manhattan sites, but alas, not this one any more...
The car is fixed and will be returned tomorrow. The mechanics assert they've figured out the issue, but I'm still going to pay a call on a local Hyundai dealership and have them do a diagnostic to make sure it's all copacetic. I had so little work today I decided to leave early and take a couple PTO hours, since I have tons to spare, and my bus driver was someone I hadn't seen since the pandemic so it was nice catching up with him. I'm trying to make a habit out of early departures on slow days, so doubtless I'll see him again. I logged back on when I got home so I was able to handle things that had come in during my commute, but I like how this worked so it's definitely a tactic for the future. I feel like celebrating with a cheese vending machine!
I filled out my workday nicely, and have decided to cut back to only two in-office days a week unless I'm needed for something special. Next week I'm needed on Tuesday and Wednesday so that works nicely, but I just need more me-time in the summer, time to meet my PTO goals and relax a bit. That'll be a lot easier once the car is fixed. I'd rather they find the reason the power steering belt keeps falling off and take their time fixing it than rush through it, so I'll wait to call them until tomorrow. The rain didn't help my mood that much, I don't think I'll feel right again until the car's back in its parking spot (even though I do see it on the homeward bound bus so I know it's okay). I'm sure my mood will lighten up as the season goes on and the Summer Olympics loom, complete with hidden spotters:
While I've been awake since about 4 AM due to worry and nightmares (let's see, I dreamt my alarm clock had been hacked, no wait it was actually my work laptop had been stolen, and some shadowy forces were chasing me and Robin), I've ended the day a bit more mellow than it started. The car is back in the shop, where the mechanics will try to figure out why the power steering belt keeps falling off the brand new assembly, and I had more than enough work to occupy my brain for the day, plus it didn't hurt that part of my schedule included a noontime meditation session. The evening commute was a bit more crowded than I would have preferred, as I had seat company much of the way which really tends to throw my body out of alignment, but I'm hoping a shower will ease all of that. A vacation would be better, although not in any Indiana parks if this is what's in store:
Today I feel anything but silly. But the good news first. I finally got to see Mom, after being sidelined from the last planned visit by my car's power steering belt assembly needing replacement. All in all it was a good visit and I took photos which I'll treasure and all that. The bad news is, my worst fear was realized, in that the same power steering belt just repaired less than two months ago came off while we were homeward bound on the NJ Turnpike. It's a good thing I learned to drive before power steering was a thing, enough muscle memory kicked in that I was able to navigate us home, but not before at least one very harrowing experience trying to turn onto Riverside Drive after exiting the GWB and almost getting into an accident because I couldn't navigate the hard left angle. I'm at my wits' end now trying to figure out how to get this power steering belt fixed permanently. The auto shop will replace it again for free, for the third time, but I don't want this to keep happening and I can't really afford a new car. Nor can I really ride a bike any more, even one with a leather banana holder. At the moment I just need a bit more perspective but I'm pretty shaken up. The important thing is, the car is in its usual spot at the house and Robin and I are fine, and I need to hold onto that as I start my in-office Manhattan days for the week.
As we had no prepped dinners and it turned a bit cool, I decided to make a stir fry again, which turned out fine except I still can't get the hang of getting the tofu crispy. We'll be heading to Mom's tomorrow to celebrate Mother's Day a day late, so I got lots of rest in preparation for a day of driving. So glad it's baseball season again, and I'm tempted to even check out some minor league ball:
A lovely day, and tomorrow won't be as lovely, so we ventured out to Kura conveyor-belt sushi in Scarsdale again, spent way too much money (but cheap if you consider we aren't going on any vacations), and perused the Super ShopRite in the same strip mall complex so I could pick up stuff I usually find only in the ShopRite by Mom's house. The supermarket was weird, sort of two buildings smushed into one with a ramp between the two in the back of the store, and after our meal we weren't much in the mood to shop, so I got most everything on my list and realized afterwards that I had forgotten to include premade dinners. So this week I'll be choosing from the freezer and larder, as well as cooking a stir fry tomorrow when I feel like eating again. My updated notary stamp also arrived, which I'm taking to work on Tuesday so I can begin notarizing again. Apparently my online notary license (which I never fully pursued after being commissioned as the needed equipment is a bit cost-prohibitive, and not worth it once our back-to-office mandate kicked in) supersedes my traditional one, but allows me to notarize traditionally as well. I didn't find out any of this a colleague told me she'd visited the Bronx County court to verify my notarization and found out my old stamp was no good. Once I contactt the NYS Department of State folks they were very kind and communicative about all of this, and even sent me a PDF of my new licensure so I had proof of my new number and expiration to order the stamp. Sorry to bore you with all this techie stuff, but sometimes I put things in my blog as much for me to remember as to communicate with others. It could be more boring, it could be The Hobbit read like a shipping forecast:
Work pretty much sailed by, I got to put my feet up throughout the day, and Mom's flowers and Mother's Day gift arrived. The gift was in my mailbox to give her when we see her on Monday; alas, the flowers were from a new place I'd tried and I should have read the reviews about the place, as UPS didn't deliver them to Mom's house until 8:15, well after my brother and sister-in-law (who were visiting Mom could have helped bring them into the house and set them up) had left the premises. I'm still fuming over the fact that a 93-year-old woman who's not that physically strong had to do all that herself. But in a way it's fitting, this Jewish guilt. Maybe I would have been better buying her a kiddie race car that doubles as a floor cleaner.
My (I thought) brilliant and logical suggestion for time off this summer was scuttled, so it's onto plan B, which I hit on as I decided to leave the office early because there was nothing for which anyone needed me so I took an impromptu few hours paid time off. I've decided to do that again in the summer months, but with a lot more structure. So I plan to take off off Wednesday afternoons to do things in Manhattan as I'll be there anyway, and we'll see how that goes. It's all weather-dependent anyway. But I wouldn't mind taking in stuff like the NYC-Dublin portal that just went up.
It appears that being outside for the last few days has left its mark on us, and that mark is mostly made of pollen. But I still had to go through a whole Manhattan workday, which didn't really energize me despite the lovely weather. I wore my rain jacket as it absolutely teemed down during the morning commute, then went from my basement seat to bright sunshine at lunch, found out there was a street fair on the block where I usually get my lunch, perused the whole thing in 80-plus degree weather with my rain jacket still on... well, at least the street fair was fun. I felt pretty safe too, all things considered. Then back into the basement which grew colder as outside grew warmer, then back to my locking file cabinet by my usual workstation to put my stuff away, then home and I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I need a vacation! I'm trying to formulate a plan that will let me use the 135+ hours I need to take by September so I don't lose those. It's not like I could have take time off to go anywhere during the pandemic, or during our busy season which began just as the pandemic numbers fell, and this month and next I need to be onsite for inspections... so like when do they expect me to take it? So much for lip service to Mental Health Month. Oh well, I get to take Monday to visit Mom, not really a vacation considering all the driving but at least it's a change of scenery. Sometimes it seems I'd be better off as a dog flying Bark Air...
Probably not the best idea to eat out after a full day in Manhattan, but we went to the same place we'd visited last year. Robin found it lacking in comparison with 2023, but I pretty much liked everything, and I actually had an alcoholic beverage as part of the prix fixe so that was a new experience. Both NY baseball teams are winning their games, so all in all a good day, give or take having to work in a basement level that got progressively colder as the day went on. Maybe I should have warmed up with a novel interpretive dance.
We took advantage of my work-from-home day to have an early dinner at the fancy schmancy place that caught my eye ever since it opened, but where the prices were a bit prohibitive without the prix fixe. For the most part, the food was superb, and it may become our go-to place for very special occasions. Gorgeous day too, but the pollen is very high. Sweet dreams are made of this, but everybody's looking for something.
The weather turned damp and nasty, but I was determined to go out, provided I could park near my chosen restaurant. So after a slight morning nap during the Liverpool game (they won, yay!) I dragged Robin out in the dankness and we lucked out in finding a parking spot half a block away from our destination, a chicken and ribs place we used to frequent but haven't so much in recent days because Reasons. It was good catching up with the proprietor, who missed us a lot, but in all honesty her food isn't what it was so this may be a Restaurant Week-only visit. However, it's supporting the community and drumming up more local business that counts, and my Facebook posts in the local Riverdale group seem to have helped a lot in that regard. We even got a plate of salsa and chips to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, I just wish I'd been hungry enough to eat them all. As it was, I could barely manage my potato butts. Tomorrow should be a bit nicer weather-wise, so we'll see what happens.
May the Fourth be with you (and altho with you)! Although I also quite like the idea that today is Dave Brubeck Day (5/4 time). Here are some Star Wars characters in paintings. I wore my R2D2 necklace to our first stop for this week's Riverdale Restaurant Week, a fusion Indian/Thai place I've been wanting to try for awhile, and it did not disappoint. Manhattan level quality at reasonable prices! Not sure where we'll be going tomorrow, much of that is weather-dependent. But overall it was a lovely day, Robin picked up three meds at the pharmacy and I got to shop for Asian veggies and such and the car continues to be fine, so I'd chalk this day up as a win.
The work week has ended and tomorrow Riverdale Restaurant Week begins! Robin and I have tentative plans to hit around 4-5 local places over the next week, then maybe we'll be able to taste the difference between different onions:
A very rewarding day, as a lot of my fellow exec assistants and I attended an appreciation lunch and I got to catch up with a whole bunch of folks in this almost-post-pandemic era. The commute home was a bit of a crunch, it always seems to be on a Thursday, or maybe I just need a day off or two. And really, in The Greatest City in the World (TM and C), where you can find easy entertainment like watching a guy in a park eat a jar of cheese balls, there seems to be little excuse other than the usual allergies.
White Rabbits, and happy Mayday! Lovely day at work, but I didn't go out to lunch as I scored a free one from one of our conference rooms when I was up on my old floor attending an event. Had a nice full plate at the office again, and a decent commute. However, I saw no clever street art so I'll have to get out more.
