I just saw my book list and it is horribly out dated. I have finished the Aubrey Maturin series with the exception of 21. We were coerced in purchasing the weekend edition of the New York Times, for fear of losing our digital rights, so now have too much to read. More soon and current reading list. And completely of subject, an excellent Kentucky Derby, not one of the horses I chose, but a great race. So I picked the winner of the Woodruff Stakes so it wasn't a real loss.
Books will be coming soon.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Changes
I spent the first year after the stroke just trying to wrap my head around it. I walked, slept and tried to deal with these little limitation that keep manifesting themselves. Some where in the second year I started noticing that life was returning to some semblance of normal, not quite normal mind you but better than it had been in a year. At around 18 months I got the opportunity to go back to work on a part time basis and now that we approach the 2 year mark I am working nearly full time.
In the life that transpired during this, I lost first my father, and then a year and three months later, my mother. Both lived fully in their own rights and are now someplace arguing, my father with the drink in his hand and my mother trying to take it away, while Do You Love Me from Fiddler on the Roof plays in the background. Somehow we became a family of Russian Jews, land far from our Anglo and Germanic heritages.
But I am now realizing that I am in the third stage after the stroke. I am now rebuilding, with a passion. Some of what drives me crazy is realizing how preventable my stroke was. There were the two biggies, smoking and drinking too much beer, but I think that it is more related to diet.
Maria and I recently stayed in Providence, Rhode Island where she presented and worked at the American Society for Indexing conference. My Meg is also in Providence, in her final year at RISD. On Friday, Meg and I drove to Cape Cod to see an old friend. Meg and Steve are jewellers and jewellery and art monopolized a lot of the conversation, but Steve and I are also at that wonderful 51 year mark where things can go to hell or not pretty quickly and get harder to get back. We are both pretty active, he probably more that me, but have both felt some of time's wear and tear. He recently changed his diet cutting out glutens and dropped 25 pounds and claims to feel great. And he looks better. Meg also has been gluten free for quite a while, having any number of problems with wheat and milk,
So here I am a week into a gluten free diet. I could care less about the weight, I never weighed enough. I do care about the fat and I do care about any number of things that were continually bothering me. I am starved most of the time and learning this on the fly. But the TUM's bottle has not been touched in few days and I don't have an upset stomach much of the time.
There is more going on too, but I will save it for another night. Now that I am "recovered" I have this need to push myself and make myself better than I was. There are days my back is sore, I get exhausted and my knees don't work. Sciatica has reared its ugly head, slowing me down some, but most days there is no hope of running. But I am going to make myself better. I have a new bucket list and aim to stay alive to complete it.
And since I am never seen on facebook anymore, Happy Birthday Mr. Dwyer! a few days late.
In the life that transpired during this, I lost first my father, and then a year and three months later, my mother. Both lived fully in their own rights and are now someplace arguing, my father with the drink in his hand and my mother trying to take it away, while Do You Love Me from Fiddler on the Roof plays in the background. Somehow we became a family of Russian Jews, land far from our Anglo and Germanic heritages.
But I am now realizing that I am in the third stage after the stroke. I am now rebuilding, with a passion. Some of what drives me crazy is realizing how preventable my stroke was. There were the two biggies, smoking and drinking too much beer, but I think that it is more related to diet.
Maria and I recently stayed in Providence, Rhode Island where she presented and worked at the American Society for Indexing conference. My Meg is also in Providence, in her final year at RISD. On Friday, Meg and I drove to Cape Cod to see an old friend. Meg and Steve are jewellers and jewellery and art monopolized a lot of the conversation, but Steve and I are also at that wonderful 51 year mark where things can go to hell or not pretty quickly and get harder to get back. We are both pretty active, he probably more that me, but have both felt some of time's wear and tear. He recently changed his diet cutting out glutens and dropped 25 pounds and claims to feel great. And he looks better. Meg also has been gluten free for quite a while, having any number of problems with wheat and milk,
So here I am a week into a gluten free diet. I could care less about the weight, I never weighed enough. I do care about the fat and I do care about any number of things that were continually bothering me. I am starved most of the time and learning this on the fly. But the TUM's bottle has not been touched in few days and I don't have an upset stomach much of the time.
There is more going on too, but I will save it for another night. Now that I am "recovered" I have this need to push myself and make myself better than I was. There are days my back is sore, I get exhausted and my knees don't work. Sciatica has reared its ugly head, slowing me down some, but most days there is no hope of running. But I am going to make myself better. I have a new bucket list and aim to stay alive to complete it.
And since I am never seen on facebook anymore, Happy Birthday Mr. Dwyer! a few days late.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Catch Up
For starters I have to say "Go Green Bay!" I really enjoyed that Super Bowl.
Work goes well. It is trickling in and I enjoy what I do. I completed one tiny job and may have a lot more work. It remains in a kind of bureaucratic limbo though. Unbeknownst to me I was fast tracked through the Social Security Disability process. I started work and was deemed disabled at the save time. So I think I am on a back to work program. At some point the paperwork may catch up. But I continue to work and get less and less tired.
In the time I have been working, from the end of October, my Mother has taken serious turn. She has been diagnosed with a condition called Cortico Ganglio Basil Degeneration (CGBD). I kiddingly refer to it as CBGB's and Mother is a punk rocker, but it is really no laughing matter. In a matter of three months she has gone from living on her own at home to being wheelchair bound, unable to walk or feed her self in skilled nursing. It is one of the many Parkinson's like brain diseases which sadly cripple and eventually kill people. I spent the weekend at home and I pray that she is spared soon. There is no cure and she is beyond anything slowing or controlling it.
To add to matters, a brother managed to have a heart attack, but not a stroke, while he was visiting Las Vegas for a conference. It hasn't been a good couple of years for Hinges. But his heart attack was caught before any heart damage was done and with luck he will recover quickly.
I have to promise myself not to let this go again. It has been too easy since I have been back to work. I would like to say I am all recovered, being back to work almost full time, but I am not. Things are going well, and I hope they keep getting better. But I still get frustrated with my speech and I still get fatigued. Yes I am a hell of a lot better and I am very grateful. I will keep you posted on how things continue.
Work goes well. It is trickling in and I enjoy what I do. I completed one tiny job and may have a lot more work. It remains in a kind of bureaucratic limbo though. Unbeknownst to me I was fast tracked through the Social Security Disability process. I started work and was deemed disabled at the save time. So I think I am on a back to work program. At some point the paperwork may catch up. But I continue to work and get less and less tired.
In the time I have been working, from the end of October, my Mother has taken serious turn. She has been diagnosed with a condition called Cortico Ganglio Basil Degeneration (CGBD). I kiddingly refer to it as CBGB's and Mother is a punk rocker, but it is really no laughing matter. In a matter of three months she has gone from living on her own at home to being wheelchair bound, unable to walk or feed her self in skilled nursing. It is one of the many Parkinson's like brain diseases which sadly cripple and eventually kill people. I spent the weekend at home and I pray that she is spared soon. There is no cure and she is beyond anything slowing or controlling it.
To add to matters, a brother managed to have a heart attack, but not a stroke, while he was visiting Las Vegas for a conference. It hasn't been a good couple of years for Hinges. But his heart attack was caught before any heart damage was done and with luck he will recover quickly.
I have to promise myself not to let this go again. It has been too easy since I have been back to work. I would like to say I am all recovered, being back to work almost full time, but I am not. Things are going well, and I hope they keep getting better. But I still get frustrated with my speech and I still get fatigued. Yes I am a hell of a lot better and I am very grateful. I will keep you posted on how things continue.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
What would Jesus Do?
As seen in a Northern NY newspaper on Black Friday, shortly before I blew up my Father in law's Land Rover Discovery:
WWJD
People, could you please go for a decent light display this Christmas -- I have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to light up my backyard for my family, but when I walk through these neighborhoods I see trashy dollar-store lights and hand-me-down displays. What would Jesus do?
Ironically after seeing this in the paper, I found it online on PagenSpace.com, not a website I frequent, but one Google found for me. Okay, I initially looked for the wrong paper Malone versus Plattsburgh, but that was an easy mistake since Maria's Mom and Dad get both papers and they are close to equally thin.
I guess I am just not in the holiday spirit yet.
WWJD
People, could you please go for a decent light display this Christmas -- I have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to light up my backyard for my family, but when I walk through these neighborhoods I see trashy dollar-store lights and hand-me-down displays. What would Jesus do?
Ironically after seeing this in the paper, I found it online on PagenSpace.com, not a website I frequent, but one Google found for me. Okay, I initially looked for the wrong paper Malone versus Plattsburgh, but that was an easy mistake since Maria's Mom and Dad get both papers and they are close to equally thin.
I guess I am just not in the holiday spirit yet.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Working
I am now on my second week back at work and it is exhausting and feels wonderful at the same time. I work only around 20 or so hours a week, limited in the time I can spend and the amount I can make by the disability insurance. I am not quite ready to let go of that safety net yet, though I am sure it will come soon enough.
So far I have bid two projects with a full slate for the rest of the month. When I had the stroke, the effects of the recession were just trickling down and work was starting to get more competitive. I saw a few projects from the stimulus, but I have always questioned how much of that money went to general building, it seemed like more went infrastructure. Infrastructure is good but doesn't share the wealth in the same way.
But my timing seem like it is pretty good, there seems to be a lot of work out and more coming out. My first bid was a little school project around Watertown and an old friend Tony P was a bidder. I caught up with him today to find out how we looked and chat. I wasn't low and neither was he, but he gave me the heads up on two other projects coming out. It is a cut-throat business, but you find a lot of good people. It feels good to be back.
So far I have bid two projects with a full slate for the rest of the month. When I had the stroke, the effects of the recession were just trickling down and work was starting to get more competitive. I saw a few projects from the stimulus, but I have always questioned how much of that money went to general building, it seemed like more went infrastructure. Infrastructure is good but doesn't share the wealth in the same way.
But my timing seem like it is pretty good, there seems to be a lot of work out and more coming out. My first bid was a little school project around Watertown and an old friend Tony P was a bidder. I caught up with him today to find out how we looked and chat. I wasn't low and neither was he, but he gave me the heads up on two other projects coming out. It is a cut-throat business, but you find a lot of good people. It feels good to be back.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Job!
After way too long, I head back to work in the glass business on Monday. It is part time for now with the potential to grow if it all works. Needless to say I am breathing a little easier and if you see me today I am a little closer to the ceiling.
To make a long story short, a friend and former co-worker has been talking about his situation for a while when we meet in Wegmans. A trip to a CSI show a couple weeks ago found me meeting a rep I hadn't seen in some time. He mentioned I should call my friend, which was all good, except St. Lawrence was rowing in the Head of the Genesee and we had a houseful coming. So with guests here and races to watch, these two beat me to the punch and Bill got to me first. That was last week and I start next week.
I expect this will exhaust me for a while, which is fine with me. So forgive me, I have been bad at posting for a while, and I may be getting worse. I am excited though and cannot wait to get the highlighters out and get back to work.
Wish me luck...
To make a long story short, a friend and former co-worker has been talking about his situation for a while when we meet in Wegmans. A trip to a CSI show a couple weeks ago found me meeting a rep I hadn't seen in some time. He mentioned I should call my friend, which was all good, except St. Lawrence was rowing in the Head of the Genesee and we had a houseful coming. So with guests here and races to watch, these two beat me to the punch and Bill got to me first. That was last week and I start next week.
I expect this will exhaust me for a while, which is fine with me. So forgive me, I have been bad at posting for a while, and I may be getting worse. I am excited though and cannot wait to get the highlighters out and get back to work.
Wish me luck...
Monday, September 27, 2010
Apples
Today was a fine damp fall Rochester day with the requisite concrete sky and drizzle. But feeling quite out of shape and wishing to forestall a cold I finally got off my butt and went for a good walk. Now I feel twice as out of shape, but while walking around the suburban neighborhood below us I noticed a funny phenomenon.
Passing one house I noticed a man picking up apples from his lawn and putting them to the curb. These were not your crab apple variety, but big red standard apples. And some that were going to the curb looked pretty good and the tree was full of more good looking fruit. A few houses away there was another tree (and lawn) covered with what appeared to be Granny Smith apples.
It just strikes me as funny to have people going out of their way to maintain lawns and ignore food ironically growing on trees. We seem to have misplaced a value or two.
Passing one house I noticed a man picking up apples from his lawn and putting them to the curb. These were not your crab apple variety, but big red standard apples. And some that were going to the curb looked pretty good and the tree was full of more good looking fruit. A few houses away there was another tree (and lawn) covered with what appeared to be Granny Smith apples.
It just strikes me as funny to have people going out of their way to maintain lawns and ignore food ironically growing on trees. We seem to have misplaced a value or two.
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