Author: Peg

Not feeling worse today. Feeling better. But I don’t want to infect anyone. And I don’t want to eat the food here. Plus it rained all day. All good reasons to stay in the Old Bat Cave. I read, went to Zoom yoga, watched YouTube, and took a nap. 

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The Twilight Zone

Having all this reading time available, I read an article in the Journal about adjusting to retirement. Now, I haven’t had a serious corporate job in almost 40 years. Consulting, Park Service, some hourly side jobs, etc. They filled up time and the piggy bank. But Carlton and I stopped “working” when he was 50 and I was 41.

This article says that after you retire you have to “Learn how to be at home”.  I don’t believe I learned this lesson. To me “home” is where I keep my clothes.  You would think that I would have learned how to be at home during Covid. But, it didn’t. I fought it every single day. 

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Guess what. I checked my watch. And it says my resting heart rate started climbing from the mid-50s to the high-60s on January 1st. So, that must be when the sinus issue went from irritation to infection. Will see if my heart rate goes down when I start feeling better. 

BUT WAIT. THERE IS MORE.

Today I got an email that was obvious a product of ChatGPT. So I submitted my Twilight Zone rambles to Bard. This is what Bard came up with:

Dusting off an old Journal from a pile of “maybe laters,” I stumbled upon an article about adjusting to retirement. Funny concept, since “serious corporate job” hasn’t crossed my radar in nearly four decades. My dance card’s been full of consulting jigs, Park Service stomps, and the occasional hourly hustle – always something to keep the clock ticking. Carlton and I even ditched the whole “work” charade years ago, him at 50, me hot on his heels at 41.

But this article hits a funny bone when it says you gotta “Learn how to be at home.” Me? Learn? Home’s just where I park my boots and hang my hats – a pit stop between adventures, not a destination in itself. Sure, Covid tried to teach me that lesson, but let’s just say I spent those months locked in a tango with cabin fever, battling boredom one rogue sock pile at a time.

It’s “better”. But it ain’t me.

Okay. I don’t have trigeminal neuralgia. That’s a good thing. But,  I have some as yet undefined respiratory virus crap. If I didn’t live in a place with draconian Covid quarantine rules, I would be rooting for Covid. Because, last time I had Covid, Paxlovid helped me a lot. Quickly.  I am thinking it’s a sinus infection. And it started when I was still in Kona. 

Gratitude

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Grateful that if I have to be sick that I am at home and have some homemade soup in the freezer. And a box of oatmeal. And plenty of tea and coffee. Also, books to read. And 3 splendid old Terry Brooks audiobooks narrated by Dick Hill.

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There is nothing I need to do. Nowhere I need to go. It’s OK.

Pretty soon I will start wondering when the sun comes back in my windows. Bet the orchids would like some rays too.

Gratitude

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Grateful it was nice enough for a little outdoor walk. A big walk wasn’t required. I got all my weekly steps and cardio in. Today was just a mental health stroll.

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Made a lap through the Kauai trip photos. Found this fine gecko.

I suspect a chicken got the original tail. 

It didn’t even snow. Just cold rain. But, I got out before it got bad for a little walkabout. And, it’s not like I have to go anywhere.

Gratitude

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Today grateful for hot shower with good enough water pressure, coffee, oatmeal raisin cookies, and a heating pad for my vintage recliner. And there is mac&cheese on the menu tonight.

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The Old Bat isn’t very perky. I hadn’t been sleeping great and have lots of sinus pain plus an overdose of GERD. It ain’t Covid. It’s just old age. And why exactly did I think that a beer, pickle, and hotdog followed up with a big coffee was a good idea for dinner last night?  Except for the sinus crap, I brought most of my troubles on myself. 

We finally got it right. And, Jan 5, 1973, is Carlton’s AA anniversary. So he has 51 years today. That matters. The AA triangle is on his wedding ring. 

Thanks for all the great years, Carlton.

It was a do-nothing winter day for the old bat. Not going to apologize for that. Knocked a few things off my Shit2Do list. Got an outdoor walk. Didn’t kill anyone. That’s enough. 

 

Did some work today. It’s always reassuring that I can remember how to log into the systems. 

The Twilight Zone

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At the New Year’s Eve dinner, it was suggested that we should optimistically project how many more years we expected to live and act accordingly. I MOST optimistically give myself five years. If I am lucky I’ll see 2029. 2029 seems impossibly far away. But 5 years MAX seems far too short. 

I am working on this. It’s a mind game. I have 5 more summers. How am I going to use them? I have 260 more Friday Happy Hours. 60 more months to enjoy.  When do I stop rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?  

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After wrapping up work. I went for a “brisk” walk. And had cake for lunch. (5 years = 1,867 lunches) It was carrot cake. I have a friend who says “Carrot cake is a vegetable”. That’s what friends are for.

The first “normal” day since leaving Hawai’i. 

Dr Google and I diagnosed a problem I have had for 30 years. I always considered it a sinus issue. Since it frequently showed up when I was having a sinus infection. Trigeminal Neuralgia. I was able to diagnose it this time because the pain is worse than usual. And, I don’t have a sinus infection. So, what am I going to do with this information? Well, mostly I stopped treating the symptoms with ibuprofen and sudaphed. And, I will report my findings to my doctor. But, I have zero interest in the drug regimen or possible surgery at my age. Unless it gets a lot worse.  Trigeminal Neuralgia isn’t going to kill me. 

Had breakfast with friends, a nice walk, did some bookkeeping, just a regular old lady day. 

Started 2024 with a resolution and a trek to the bagel store. 

The Twilight Zone

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2024 Resolution: One Thing At A Time. Just do one thing. And if possible, do it to completion. And this extends to every activity. No more walking down the stairs while putting on mittens. I caught myself doing that this morning. The result could have been catastrophic. One Thing At A Time.

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Brunched lavishly with the accidental family. After years of complaining about the brunch bagels I finally learned to BYOB. 

Tomorrow, I will spring into action. Or not.

Alexa is just now giving her 2nd reminder about dinner. Guess I should spring into action. 

I tossed on some flashy accessories and went down to a very nice dinner with five friends. I had the least attractive choice on the menu. “Edamame & Sriracha-Lemongrass Dumpling Lotus Roots, Ginger Dumpling Sauce”. I figured that it would survive its time on the steam table with the least damage. It was good. Free wine again. That always helps.

Gratitude

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For me, personally, 2023 was a damn good year. Thank you.

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And another year ends without a good robotic cat. Come on people. It can’t be that hard.

Carlton didn’t do Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Birthdays etc. But, he did remember anniversaries. And, December 30 is the day that he considered our anniversary. 45 years ago. Spent some happy time today looking at Carlton photos. I have a lot of them. 

My sinuses are acting up. It started in Hawai’i and 5 days of travel in really dry planes and trains didn’t help one bit.  I fear I used my sinus issue as a reason to do very little today. 

I did a factory reset on my watch. It has been flakey for the last couple of months. And now it only lasts about 12 hours even in battery-saving mode. If this doesn’t fix it, it’s outta here. Not going to waste any more time fussing with it. I would like it to last another year. But, if it doesn’t. It doesn’t. I might not last another year either.

I may have mentioned that the food leaves much to be desired. I really am trying to not complain. It won’t get any better until people stop moving in because the food is so bad. But, just saying… this is one of the weekly “specials”.

Well,  Carlton would call this contempt prior to investigation. I should order it for dinner today. It might be fabulous. And, in any case, it’s free wine night.

My friends have keys to the Old Bat Cave. They put cookies and soup in my freezer when I am gone. And my menagerie of tiny pottery critters was expanded to include a great walrus. 

My collection of outrageous earrings reached a new level of kitsch. 

I have 6 orchid plants. When I left for Hawai’i there was one bloom stalk. And two of the orchids were on notice. If they didn’t bloom this year they were going to be compost. My friend took great care of them. When I returned yesterday two were blooming and the other four had flower stalks. 

The Twilight Zone

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I can not begin to tell you how important friends are to me in my old age. Friends make it all bearable. And we each know how hard it will be when…

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For the record. The food here is hideous. But we had a great dinner. Friends brought wine and fudge. That helped.