Here’s what’s new with me.
Went to the doctor today and was able to procure referrals, not only for my shoulder (YAY!!!) but also for the following:
Dermatology to check my pale skin for cancer (long overdue since my last check), blood work for my thyroid (done right after the appt.), an unexpected chest x-ray (I’ll explain in a minute; done immediately after the blood draw), and an also overdue colonoscopy (can’t tell how thrilled I am about that one).
Back to the chest x-ray. It appears that I have lost some weight since the last time I went to the doctor, which, coincidentally, is the last time I was weighed. I have lost 1/10th of my body mass sometime since Toni passed away. I am currently at the lowest possible BMI that’s still “acceptable”. Because I haven’t weighed myself, neither I nor the doctor can say if it was over a short period right after Toni and I never gained it back, just a gradual thing (due to poor eating habits, which is where I laying my bet), or a recent development which combined with my smoking [more] raises a suspicion of lung cancer (also that’s what my dad died from along with emphysema). Hence the chest x-ray to rule it out.
I’m not really worried about the cancer (plenty of time for that after the x-ray results), but the weight loss is an eye-opener. So why am eating like crap? Because I don’t want to go to the store! I don’t want to go anywhere! I don’t want to go outside! Did you all see the picture of Galahad and Hercules? Did you notice how tall the grass was? That’s not some field he’s in; that’s my back yard.
Now before y’all get some kinda intervention started, a lot of this has to do with why I went to the doc in the first place: my shoulder. I have to be really careful with how I move. I still have all kinds of strength in my arm, but my range of motion is severely limited. Then of course there’s the whole lack of sleep thing associated with it that drains a lot of my will.
But here’s one more thing that had me (and at least one other person—you know who you are) concerned about taking the summer off work. Infinity Gauntlet has been out for over a month now and I still haven’t seen it. Because I still need to see the last three movies that came out before it. Well the thing is, I bought all of them (one at a time, as soon as they became available). They are on the TV stand: I am looking at them right now. So why haven’t I watched them? Maybe because if I do, I won’t have an excuse not to go to the movies...?
Similarly, Memorial weekend I could have gone to see an old friend in concert (still on my to do list for later this summer; (again, you know who you are) in a town where I have relatives (you would know who you were if I told where the concert was) I haven’t seen since my dad died (24 years for those of you keeping score) and the plan was to get together, either before or after, and everyone has a great time. Never called anyone. Didn’t happen.
I’m still hopeful about the summer. And maybe some downtime is in order. I can’t tell you how much energy it took to just “be me” at work. I did need a break. And I’m not *worried* about my mental state. But I am on a higher state of alertness about it.
One thing is for sure: I am going to be eating better. I went to the store right after all the doctor stuff and stocked up a bit. So I *can* do it. I just don’t want to.
Last thing. After the store, I went to the township office to pay my slightly overdue water bill. While I was there, I also wanted to ask about a notice I got from Wayne County telling me I was delinquent on my property taxes. Those used to come out of an escrow account through the mortgage (ha ha, autocomplete wanted to say Morty), but after I paid off the house I was sure my payments were up to date. Well sure enough in the transition period I managed to miss one. Good to know. In a way I’m happier this way. I really didn’t want to go through the hassle of trying to prove to the county that I paid my taxes on time to the township. The bureaucratic nightmare that would bring on boggles the mind. Just the same, it’s nice to know the government can take your entire homestead away for failing to pay 1/200th of its total market value. Oh wait, they use the taxable value: 1/75th. Or is it the state equalized value? 1/90th. Anyway you slice it, they stand to make a lot of bread. (Get it: slice, bread?) So be forewarned, don’t loaf around with getting them their dough (I’m killing myself here!). Huh, all of a sudden I feel like getting toasted.
All in all a very productive day. I feel pretty good about it. Have a great weekend!
