“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 820 (Monday) – back to reality

Downtown.

All during vacation week, I was out of bed pretty close to the usual time of 6:15. This morning, I woke up briefly at 5:00 to many birds chirping and rolled over to sleep until the 6:15 alarm. When I woke up again at 6:45, it was one of those heart pounding “oh, shit” kinds of awakenings. I had forgotten to reactivate the alarm, which had been turned off during vacation week. 

I bounded out of bed and nearly knocked over Winston, who was standing quietly near the foot of the bed. The shortened get-ready-for-work time was helped greatly by not having to play the “what did I wear the last time I was in the office?” game. Hooray for small blessings.

The first day back from vacation and back to reality greeted me with 221 emails in the main inbox and another 120 in a press and social media folder. I have seen far worse, and the tally may have been helped by the Memorial Day holiday being part of the week off.

The Mercury retrograde period that began May 10 finally ended June 3, and thank goodness for that. There is still the matter of clearing the remaining wreckage. There were a couple ad placements botched by the publications, a few miscommunications, a double booked calendar here and there, and other oddities. At least there is a breather until September 9, when the next one starts again. I didn’t even used to believe in things like Mercury retrograde, but after surviving several cycles of things gone sideways and upside down then finding out it was a retrograde period, I’m now aware of the signs.

Flower boxes and reflections
 on Palmer St.

The workday passed pretty quickly and even included a break away from the desk for a short walk, thanks to wanting to return a library book. I may have to keep borrowing library books – they are a good way to make sure I get out of the office once in a while. 

The weather was spectacular, as if to rub my nose in its redirect to clouds and chill during vacation week. Whatever. Can’t win them all, and there is more vacation time to be had, so maybe the next scheduled days off will catch a decent weather break. 

The brief walk to and from the library included interesting rooflines, flowering trees, and multiple monuments around City Hall that I never paid attention to until today. The canal water was covered in a film of pollen which hovered between interesting and disgusting. Palmer Street has window flower boxes and cobblestones. There is always something to see.

“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 818 (Sunday) – airborne

It was a lazy day, mostly because I really needed another day of not doing anything. The day's only commitment, the Sunday drive to dance class with the stop at the farm stand on the way back, was cancelled, because, as much as I enjoy it, today I just couldn't.

It’s possible it’s burnout from being busy and driving all over the place on the vacation I desperately needed after feeling completely burned out at work. Maybe it was sticker shock from Saturday’s gas purchase that helped to explode the monthly budget in the first few days of the month. Maybe, maybe, blah, blah … We could guess at this all day, but there still won’t be actual answers so there is no real point in wasting any more time on it.

It was a pajama-clad morning with coffee and Wordle, where I got today’s answer in three guesses. The current Wordle game streak is 58 games played and a win rate of 98%, and one game won in two guesses. On the old phone, I had 65 games played, a win rate of 100%, and six games won with two guesses. It appears that I am getting dumber. This is backed by additional evidence and won't even be disputed.

Diving into the book club selection.

The pajamas were finally exchanged for the “not leaving the house today” ensemble after Winston needed to go out for the third or fourth time and I became self-conscious about neighbors seeing me in my pajamas in the doorway (again). Once dressed, I sat on the couch, armed with a big glass of water and read the June book club selection. The cover quote by Taylor Jenkins Reid calls it “A rom-com lover's dream of a book,” which makes it something I would never pick up on my own, and that is exactly what I like about book club.

The day was sunny and breezy, bordering on kind of windy. The book is also on the breezy side except when it takes a deeper dive into the stupid romance crap. 

In a break from reading about people constantly arching their eyebrows, touching knees, and having racing hearts, the hose was hauled out to wash a couple runners that technically can go into a washer, just not mine, which doesn’t seem to be large enough to do a decent job. Once a year, the runners are taken outside and hosed down, washed with a scrub bush and soap, and draped over the deck rail to air dry. The other option is to chuck them and buy new ones, but I hate shopping. The breezy day seemed like it would expedite the free and natural drying process.

After the backyard laundromat closed and the hose was returned to the shed, I read on the deck. It was a pleasant few minutes, protected from sunburn by the shade of the deck umbrella until the breezes, which normal people with normal body temperatures and constitutions would probably find exceedingly pleasant, drove me inside for a sweatshirt.

Umm... yikes.

For whatever reason, I donned the sweatshirt, then sat on the couch to read. There was a weird noise outside and I figured either one of the rugs fell off the railing or one of the next door neighbors was moving something. There was a U-Haul parked on one side, yard work happening on the other side.  Plus, Monday is trash day, so Sundays always feature sundry neighborhood trash preparation noises. There was no screaming or moaning to indicate anyone was injured, so I kept reading.

When I finally went outside a couple quick chapters later, a rug had indeed fallen off the rail, but a bit more had occurred. The umbrella had been lifted out of the pole stand under the table and launched up and out of the hole in the table. Part of the umbrella lay across the chair I had been sitting in until I got chilly and went inside.

The full potential of the flight of the patio umbrella seems to have been curtailed when it became lodged in the opening of the deck to the back yard. It was lifted high enough for about three feet of pole to rise up and clear the table, and seems to have had some rotational action, as the pole was spun to the outside of the deck.

The landing after the
 flight of the umbrella.

It must have been a magnificent sight to see and I’m hovering between sad to have missed witnessing the airborne spectacle of the umbrella, while also glad I wasn’t still sitting in the chair where part of it landed. It is far more likely I would have been clocked in the head than able to jump up and grab the pole as it lifted from the stand. The scary part is, it wasn't even that windy -- ten miles per hour and not storm gales and gusts. Or maybe what felt like a month of wind during all of May has me numb to normal wind speeds.

Apparently, the one magical screw in the base that is supposed to hold the pole in place in the stand wasn’t locked down tight enough when we set it up on Monday. That was my job, crawling under the table to tighten the screw. Oops. Yesterday seemed windier, so it's a bit of a surprise it didn't happen then. And today is just another of those days where it would be nice to have someone besides myself to blame for some of the stuff that goes on around here. 

         

“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 817 (Saturday) – pollen party

The 57-degree morning was chilly but the day warmed up to the 70s as forecasted, making it a most pleasant afternoon for the youngest niece’s graduation party. 

Pre-party preparations at my house included hunting for vases, which is when I remembered that most of them were donated for lack of use during a Big Brother Big Sister pickup sometime in the past two years. This necessitated a trip to Family Dollar to look for some sort of flower holding containers, which I would swear I have seen there before, but were tragically nonexistent today. A plastic lidded food storage container was bought for one arrangement. One of the few remaining vases, which held dried pink roses on a shelf in my home office, was the perfect size and was commandeered for a second arrangement. Now the dried roses it held are homeless, and this is why there is anxiety over getting rid of pretty much anything. Given enough time, a donated item is suddenly needed and not easy to replace. Always. 

Windowsill roses.

There was time in the front yard cutting roses, rhododendrons, and bleeding hearts for an arrangement for my sister, whose birthday was Friday. These went into the newly-acquired storage container. From the back yard, purple irises and small yellow flowers, comprising the school colors, went into the narrow tall vase for my niece. Some of the shortest stem roses went into a juice glass on the narrow kitchen windowsill. 

The driveway at my sister’s house was set up for guests and decorated in purple and school logo decor. A large canopy provided shade for the tables and chairs. There was sunshine and a brief appearance of a bank of dark clouds that moved through without incident. As the sun moved through the afternoon, the people suddenly sitting in the sun were warm. Those in the shade were chilly and I even got my denim jacket from the car because I am a wimp and hate being cold.

There were plentiful breezes that fluttered the purple table cloths and sent a couple paper plates flying. Twice, gusts toppled over the vase of irises and yellow flowers and spilled the water before the vase was anchored in the handle of purple plastic pail centerpiece that held a potted basil plant. Visible clouds of pollen blew through, coloring the air yellow-green. Yuck.

There was enough food for an army with two massive party deli sandwiches and four types of finger sandwiches (tuna, egg salad, seafood salad, chicken salad), three kinds of chips, buffalo chicken dip, graduation cake, and cookies with lemon icing. Nobody left hungry. No, I didn’t take any photos of any of it. Or of the guests. I don’t understand it, but that’s just how it was. It was a day of very old-fashioned sitting, eating, and chatting.  Many of us hadn’t seen each other since 2019 and there was some catching up to be done.

Pollen covered.

On the ride home, I stopped for gas and it took everything in me to not cry at the pump. I rolled in with about a quarter-tank and a dashboard message that I had about 70 miles "range to empty." The pump was stopped when it hit $40, because psychologically, I just couldn't let it keep going. It was even more depressing when I started the car and the indicator moved only to three-quarters full. 

Once back home, sitting on the deck reading a book felt like the perfect activity. The table was covered in dust and pollen and took lots of vinegar and water and paper towels to clean. Armed with a glass of ice water and the June book club selection (Book Lovers), I sat to read. I made it halfway through the 14-page Prologue, felt chilly, and went back inside, thinking that I should have kept that denim jacket on. It’s all good. I can read inside the house, too. Anywhere, actually, including moving vehicles and noisy waiting rooms.

“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 816 (Friday) – paper chase

 The medical crap continues. Or more accurately, has begun.

The knee x-rays taken on Wednesday require a consultation with an orthopedic specialist to check out the arthritis and the comical sounding “water on the knee.” All good, except it was the unfortunate hour of nearly 4:00 on a Friday when I finally thought about this, because the knee felt mostly fine today. Plus, my grand plan for the day was to finally relax at home, which was reinforced by dressing in sweat pants and an oversized, paint-stained sweatshirt not really suitable for public consumption. Relaxing and doing a lot of nothing was the initial plan for most of the week before I ended up being busy nearly every day.

The orthopedic office took my name and basic insurance info, then asked if there had been any previous surgeries. When the answer was “yes,” I was told to have the hospital where the surgery took place fax the “op notes” to their office before an appointment could be made. It was asked what “op notes” are, because if I am relaying messages between medical offices, I want to know what the heck I’m asking for. My languages are limited to America English, sarcasm, small amounts of French and Finnish, and some marketing jargon. And phone calls are about my least favorite activity and usually require preparation and rehearsal.  

The quest was accepted, because if not, there will be no appointment, no pain relief, and the likelihood it all gets worse. Three folders of medical and insurance crap were rifled through in search of the name of the surgeon who fixed my broken leg in 2011, thinking it might be needed. An online search for a phone number for the hospital where the surgery was done revealed it changed names in 2016 when it became part of another healthcare system.

The Tennessee hospital number was dialed and eventually a human was reached. The bad news is, they require the request from the medical office be sent to them directly via fax. The game begins. And now I have the answer to the question we've often asked at work, "who the heck still uses a fax?"

The orthopedic office was called again to relay the info that they need to make the request and where to fax it. There was a period of incarceration in the menu system and several minutes of listening to biographies of each person in the office before giving up and hanging up. 

Then, the idea struck to call the orthopedic surgeon’s office in Tennessee to see if they could send the report on my direction or if they needed the medical office to request it. Listings were found for offices for the surgeon in both Tennessee and Texas. The number for the Tennessee office reached a recording that the number is disconnected. Another number was found and a human informed me I need to call the Share Care office for records requests.

The fourth phone call for the singular fax quest was placed. The Share Care office is in East Tennessee, and the central time zone clock was no longer in my favor. A recording informed it was “after normal business hours.” 

Good times. And by “good times,” I of course mean “total pain in the ass times,” because who doesn’t love making phone calls and sitting on hold forever. And I get to do it again next week, unless I can find a way to fax the Tennessee hospital fax number to the Massachusetts orthopedic office with the instructions that they need to fax their request for the report. New quest? Hmmm.

“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 815 (Thursday) – take a hike

The roses want to escape.

June seems to be busting out all over with red roses aplenty trying to escape the confines of the picket fence and pink rhododendrons exploding at the front of the house. The weather, however, seems to have gotten confused. According to one source found online, the average temperature in my area for June is 79 degrees, but today’s temperature of 60 is closer to April’s average of 59 degrees. 

At least it wasn’t raining and a friend and I took a hike. We set forth in Willard Brook State Forest, chosen for its easy access between our respective homes and also because we wanted a hike that was “something not hard.”  

My reason for wanting an easier hike had a lot to do with the wonky knee, which felt mostly okay this morning, but acts up at whim, and why push things and risk a mountainside event.

Green and lush.

We hiked for two hours, and according to my pedometer, 11,230 steps. The woods were peaceful and green with moss covered rocks, fields of ferns, streams both silent and gurgling, and rippling reflections. Also, mosquitos and ticks. We followed a pine needle covered trail over some rocks, across a stream, and through the grill graveyard where dozens of old rusty metal grills were heaped.

There were a couple times we were somehow spun around and had to think things through, find the trail markers, and backtrack, but it was all good. Better trail marking and signs would have helped. We laughed that we may not have had cell phone signals, but we had seven hours of daylight in our favor.

At the conclusion of the hiking, we set out in search of lunch. Our first-choice location, a popular café with porch seating had a sign on the door stating they are currently closed. The second choice was a tavern/restaurant around the corner where we dined upon mozzarella sticks and potato skins before heading back to our respective homes.  

Back at The BungaLowell, clothes were peeled off and dropped directly into the washer. A refreshing shower rinsed off the bug spray and sweat and hopefully, any creepy crawling things that might have been on me like the tick or spider or whatever brown multi-legged thing it was that moved along my hairline and nearly gave me a coronary event in the car while driving.

Lunch!

Over at the laptop, the email inbox contained messages with links to the results for the blood labs and x-rays from Wednesday's medical activities. The bloodwork was all noted as normal. The x-ray report notes arthritis and fluid in the knee and a message from my practitioner to follow-up with the orthopedic specialist she gave me info for yesterday. 

It looks like there could be some good times ahead. It’s been a year and a few months since the cardiac adventures of winter-spring 2021, and eight months since the grand dental event of fall 2021, so it must be time for a fresh round of “getting old sucks, what’s next?” roulette.

I hear this is a game that, once started, never ends. Hopefully that is just an ugly rumor, but the events of the past year or so seem to suggest it’s true. Aging stinks, but a lot of that has to do with the American insurance mafia and the web of complications, networks, premiums, deductibles, and co-pays that allow it to sustain itself  and force tradeoffs for the average working schmuck like groceries or a specialist visit. Zero stars. I do not recommend. Stay young, people.

“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. 

“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 813 (Tuesday) – surprise day

Didn't hate it, didn't love it.

While drinking coffee this morning, I got the urge to paint the bathroom. It’s taken five years and nine months to get to this point, so it would be a mistake to call it a “sudden urge.” It’s more like I was suddenly ready to do something, and I am as surprised as anyone. I never loved the blue color, but I also didn’t hate it, so there was no sense of urgency. Until today, when suddenly there was. 

The “relaxing” aspect of the week set on Sunday and Monday was out the window, but cool breezes were blowing in and the conditions felt right for the project. The weather was pleasant and not sweltering, there was time available, and I was motivated.

There was online research on riveting topics including “how to tell if you have latex paint on the walls,” “how to paint walls with plastic bags,” “patterned paint rollers,” and “what colors go with robin’s egg blue.” Gift card balances were checked on two Lowe’s Gift Cards in my wallet for the past several years. Yes, years.

Looks like bread crusts,
smells like low tide.

There was no agonizing over the color. An ivory/cream/almond tone was going to be applied over the blue to tie the walls to the toilet, vanity top, and tub enclosure. Walls were washed and the nail holes filled. There were a lot of nail holes because it sometimes takes two or three or ten tries to hang one picture. 

At 1:00 I headed to Lowe’s because the neighborhood hardware store closed at the end of March, and I had financial resources in the form of gift cards for Lowe’s. Two paint chip cards were chosen and carried to the toilet aisle to check against the almond color throne, which helped to rule one option out. 

Rollers were looked at in the hopes of finding a patterned one, despite the website not showing any in-store. Miracles were already in play, so it felt possible. The only non-standard roller option available was a sea sponge roller and it was bought with a quart of paint called “Sunset Nude,” a tray, and a paint can key so I didn't have to look for the one I already have somewhere. 

Surprise drawer!

By 2:30, taping was nearly completed. I tried to see if the front bottom board on the vanity would come off, and surprise, surprise, there was a drawer there! All this time, and I had no idea. A tarp was spread over the vanity and the toilet.

The sea sponge roller looked comical, like it was assembled with various glued on bread crusts. The instructions were to wet it, which caused it to smell a lot like low tide. 

There was rolling. Drips. Hard to reach spots in all the corners and edges. There was filling in by dabbing some spots with a foam brush. The progress was quick.

Blue toned down and
order mostly restored.

By 4:15, the painting and cleanup were done and I was foraging for something for late lunch/early supper. By 6:30 the tape was removed, slight bits of overpaint cleaned from the vanity, towel rack reinstalled, the glass shades on the light fixture washed and replaced, and order almost completely restored. The switch plate covers still need to be reattached, but that's about it. 

It’s satisfying handling something from idea to delivery, seeing the result, and enjoying a sense of completion. Sadly, not everything in life comes that neatly packaged.  

Next will be deliberations over use of the surprise drawer and the agonizing rehanging of the artwork, which will probably be swapped around and change 15 times before it’s done. It’s nice to have puzzles to work on.

Unfortunately, the weather forecast seen last Friday that showed warm temperatures and sunshine all week has drastically changed to 60s and cloudy. That is a surprise I could have skipped, and now the loosely planned beach trip with Mom feels less appealing and will be swapped for Plan B, whatever that turns out to be.