Category: The DayBook

We are having a rather somber Independence Day. Some encourage us to not give up. Keep up the fight. Some are sinking into numbed acceptance of what seems inevitable. In my case, I have no fight left.  Sure, I’ll vote. And.  On November 6th I’ll sign up for almost any 3rd party. No matter who wins. Because we have already lost. All of us. The French may come and repo Lady Liberty. 

I am glad that Carlton missed the end of the republic. He would most likely have injured his tennis arm rattling that sword he was polishing on July 4, 2014. His last Independence Day. Damn, I love that man. Still.

Normally, when I travel, I put my drugs into little tiny plastic drug baggies. But, not when traveling to Japan. They are very fussy about drugs. You can only bring a 30 day supply into the country and they must be in their original containers. Those are my new NSAID for the hip, 3 BP drugs, and Tylenol. This is making a serious dent in my packing space. 

Don’t think the weather will be very nice for fireworks tonight. But, you never know.

(It seems to me that the Blog is more responsive since I got the new SSL Certificate installed. Maybe the new one links to a better server? Don’t know.)

Ok. The SSL Cert is good for another year.  And I went to a bank and tested out my debit card which doesn’t have a foreign transaction fee. Because, strangely, Japan is still pretty much a cash society. 

1. 1. 1. Dorky, but appropriate skirt
      2. Damn compression socks – 2 pair
      3. Dress
      4. One long sleeve, one short sleeve shirt.
      5. Two base layer shirts
      6. Rain Jacket – stuffed into it’s own pocket
      7. Undies
      8. Undies
      9. Damn compression socks
      10. Black pants
      11. Some kinda shoes
      12. Base layer t-shirt
      13. Much loved cashmere hoody for the plane and long distance trains.

No undies in the photo. I forget them! I am pretty sure I would remember to put on underwear when dressing for the trip. Plan on wearing items 8-13.

Current plan is to pack items 1-7 into this old “rolling briefcase”.  It is sturdy as a tank and has great inline skate wheels. Adding a few toiletries and electronics it should still weigh less than 16 pounds. I can easily get that into any airplane or train overhead storage.  Or wrangle it onto a crowded subway or lug it up 3 flights of stairs. Don’t want to rely on the kindness of strangers. 

I could stuff it all into my backpack. That would save 3 pounds but I’d give up the wheels. Think wheels are worth 3 pounds. The only thing I am iffy about is just one pair of shoes. I may have to accept wet feet. It has happened before in Japan.  See: Osaka – Called on account of rain. That was in July 2010.

Another nice warm summer day. Not hot. Just warm. Of course, the world is going to hell. But, it’s easy for me to ignore because I’ll be going to hell soon enough myself.

And, if looking for doom and gloom, we just got a looooong email explaining that an employee’s email was hacked last fall and some resident data may have been compromised. Well, all I care about is my checking account info. And, the general indication from the email is that medical information was compromised. I have no secrets in that box. So, I am going to ignore that email.

More doom and gloom. There is a distinct uptick in Covid at The Asylum. I am going to ignore Covid too. Not much I can do about it.

Comes right down to it. There’s not much that I can do anything about. And that’s probably a good thing. Because, I truly don’t understand what the world has become or how it happened.

This happy butterfly weed is in my garden box. It was savagely ripped out in early spring when I was remodeling the garden box. New plants were installed. One of the new plants died. And the butterfly weed came to the funeral and made itself at home. I think there is a life-lesson in this somewhere. 

Didn’t get the SSL Certificate thing done yet.

According to my watch it is almost 4PM and 77°. It doesn’t get any better than this in the DC area in the middle of summer. 

And, it’s been about 30 hours since I took the pill that is supposed make flying to Japan doable. So far so good. I’ll have one with breakfast before the flight. 

Been working through my Trip 2Do list today. On the 2Do list is “new SSL certificate”. So, if the blog is missing, you will know I messed that up. 

“Dangerous” weather was promised for today. But, it hasn’t shown up. I guess that’s a good thing. 

Got serious about getting ready for my trip today.  And, I gave the new “deadly” NSAID a test run today. It works. Maybe not as well as my former “deadly” NSAID. But, way better than any OTC stuff. I didn’t want to wait until next Monday to take it for the first time only to discover that it didn’t work or that I had an allergic reaction. 

I did a little origami today. 

Today was decision day about the trip to Japan. Go or no go. Let’s think about it. I have been “medically cleared to go”. I have considerable pain. So. I can have pain in the Old Bat’s Cave. Or I can have pain in Japan. I choose Japan. I am not on a tour or anything. I can decide how much I want to do on any given day.  And, if it gets too bad, I can always come back early.

Saw a healthy looking, full-grown, three-legged chipmunk this morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. If he can do it, so can I. 

Let us agree that Joe Biden has had a really shitty June and let it go at that.  No matter what happens next, the Republic is fucked. 

Men go and come, but earth abides. The trouble you’re expecting never happens; it’s always something that sneaks up the other way. 
George R. Stewart. Earth Abides, 1949.

The sun did come up this morning. 

 

 

I am my own worst enemy. Why do I go down doom-scrolling and “shopping” rat holes?  I don’t shop. But, I spent too much time talking myself out of shopping. I don’t need anything. Nothing. Not clothes, books, origami paper, luggage, anything. And I truly don’t need to doom-scroll. That’s what Carlton called the wreckage of the future. Hello, my name is Peg and I am powerless over myself!

Went outside this afternoon to get away from online. The plan was to walk a little and take some photos.

That didn’t work. 

There are maybe two dozen unkempt rose bushes out front. Rose bushes are very labor intensive.  If it has been decided to replace them, they should be removed now.  If I were trying to decide where to live, I wouldn’t pick somewhere that didn’t take care of the grounds. It’s like choosing a restaurant that has plastic flowers on the tables.

However, just a few feet away, we have a nice area that the residents maintain. Maybe the prospective inmates and their families won’t notice the dying rose bushes. 

Going to go off-line now. Do some origami until dinner time.

It was over 95° today. I went out for my brisk walk around the “big block” when it was 95° and I added my 4.5-pound purse to the mix. Trying to get a little in shape for my trip to Japan. 

Gratitude

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Grateful for my Asylum Family. Old age sucks and I don’t know how I would manage it alone.

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Well, I went to see the orthopod today. The great news is: my hip bones look fine. Not fine for an 80-year-old woman but fine for anyone. As for the pain. Well, I was more or less told that any of the possible medications would cause more problems than they would solve since I am an 80-year-old woman. 

I can deal with this. Especially since I have known more than one person who ended up with major GI bleeds due to NSAID usage. And several who had ruptured tendons post cortisone injections.

So, yoga and walking it is. The doctor prescribed a strong 24-hour NSAID with black box warnings regarding its use in older individuals. I was instructed that I could take one on the day of my 14-hour flight if experiencing significant pain. 

Oh yes, he did suggest that losing 10 pounds might help. I am currently focused on the “might” word. I do have a pair of much loved pants that don’t zip anymore. . . So, we’ll see.

This is my last day of “enjoying poor health”.  Think I’ll go outside and try to stir up some rain this evening so I can maybe skip watering the cutting garden tomorrow. Then dinner with the asylum family. One is in Guatemala and another is locked up with Covid. But, we are a large family – there will be six of us. 

Sleeping in happens when I have my eye mask on. 

90° this afternoon. Only walked 3 miles today. Seeing the orthopod tomorrow.  Spent way too much time filling out the online forms today. But, I always hated filling out those forms in the doctor’s office. 

Our annual Gay Pride “Parade” was this noon. It was followed by a drag brunch which I didn’t attend. Seems to me that celebrating Pride Month with a drag brunch is like celebrating Black History Month with a minstrel show.  But that’s just me. I believe it was well attended.

The weather is lovely today. Only 89°. And not too humid.

After a little nudging from an old friend, I made an appointment to see an orthopod about my hip on Wednesday. I carefully selected an almost retired doctor. One who doesn’t do surgery any longer. You know what? Just making the appointment made my leg feel better.

I played a little mental game. I made a Minimal Packing List for Japan.

1. Passport
2. Credit and Debit Card and Suica Card
3. Phone
4. Phone charger and cable
5. Power Bank
6. BP Meds for a month
7. Underdrawers (1)
8. Dress
9. Socks (1 pair)
10. Deodorant – Essential considering the wardrobe limitations. 

This assumes I have pants, a Merino tee shirt, a sweater, and shoes and socks. Well, even I wouldn’t fly naked. The power bank is not essential. I am sure one could be found anywhere in Japan.

Could I do it?  Yes. Would I want to do it? Well, not exactly. 

It’s fun to think about.

And some of this only works because I am going to Japan. Japan uses US plugs. And, even the most modest Japanese hotel supplies PJs, slippers, shampoo, combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. But not deodorant.

Some of the hotels I’ll be staying in have laundry facilities. You put on your PJs and slippers, throw all your clothes in the washer/dryer, then head to the communal bath, get naked, shower, and relax. You just hope the Japanese washer/dryer doesn’t ruin your clothes. I’m not completely comfortable with putting all my clothes in an unfamiliar washer/dryer.

Nice hot summer day. Don’t think it made it to 100 today because some clouds showed up.

After a nice long nap – I launched an assault on Shutterfly over this quality control lapse. I figure my mental facilities are OK as long as I can go 3 rounds with “customer service” and get an admission of “it’s our problem, not yours”. Well, I knew it was their problem all along.  

Next time I am feeling especially perky I’ll get my SSL certificate renewed and installed. 

You are troubled by raccoons, rabbits, and deer in your yard. Your human neighbors are the problem in your Asylum garden box. 

Time for a little pre-dinner walk. This leg/hip/back issue of mine is definitely helped by walking. Which, for Japan, is a good thing.

Oh, I got detained in the elevator last night. I was alone. That’s a good thing. The elevator was stopped. That’s a better thing. The elevator announced that it had a “problem” and I should call for help. HELP. I am not sure why the elevator didn’t call for help. Before long the “Open Door” button worked and I quickly exited and walked up the stairs.