“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 814 (Wednesday) – life maintenance

It was life maintenance quest day, so the chilly, cloudy, sometimes rainy weather of the day wasn’t as depressing as it would have been had the day been designated for something fun like the beach. The forecast for the week shifted from glorious to gloomy and it looks like it’s hanging around. The weekend forecast is good again, but that is already booked pretty solid with non-beach plans. Early next week, when I'm back at work, also looks great. It's been pointed out numerous times by a colleague that I have "the worst luck." So, there's that.

The day really kicked off last night with the start of fasting for the annual checkup and bloodwork at the glorious hour of 8:00 am. There better be a trove of character building experience points associated with this.

Not long after 9:00, the first cup of coffee was finally being chugged, just three hours later than usual. There was an outfit change into something warmer and with more layers after freezing to, from, and during the doctor's appointment.

The medical visit produced a referral for an x-ray for the left hip that alternates between low-grade pain and numbness and the left knee that randomly rotates numbness, feeling like ground meat, and sharp stabby pains. The right elbow was officially diagnosed as tendonitis and I’m supposed to get some strap thing that goes on the forearm.

At 10:40, there was a license renewal/Real ID upgrade appointment at the AAA office. I arrived at the scheduled appointment time to find four people standing ahead of me in line. Despite the wait, thirty minutes later I was on the road to the next stop du jour – lunch with Mom.

We met at Olive Garden for unlimited soup and salad. We were served by a pleasant and fast-talking waiter who could cram an impressive number of words into a few seconds and probably also works as an auctioneer. It was fascinating but also dizzying.

After eating, we headed to Kohl’s. I finally returned an item bought in February that didn’t fit. There were some pants tried on, but sizing is indecipherable nowadays. I tried on three different styles of pants in three different sizes and they all fit. No wonder it’s impossible to shop. The sizes seem to be assigned by a random digit generator. There were shoes I liked, but they were not my size.  I left empty-handed, but Mom found some pants.

On the way home, I thought I would stop at the Kohl’s in Chelmsford but my stellar navigational skills got me lost. The stop was decided en route, and it wasn’t possible to program it into Waze. I confidently peeled off at the exit I thought would get me there. It did not. I gave up and went home, along the course to home that was already in the system.

Solace in a bowl.

After a brief spell at home, it was back out into the wild. The quest was the acquisition of the x-rays. No appointment was required, and I was handed a list of places I could go. Several patient service centers are open until 7:00 and 7:30, so at 5:30, after feeding Winston, I headed to one of them. 

I was issued chic blue paper shorts with an elastic waistband that were much more stylish than the paper towel crop top and sheet of the morning appointment. Three images were taken of my knee and one of my hip, and by 6:30, I was back at home, amazed and a bit depressed that the week of vacation is half over.

The reward for the day of medical tasks and rain was cake with strawberries. I’m on vacation dang it.