jimsjournal
| Calendrical confusion -- 11/28/01 |
I'm feeling very confused about the calendar... well, maybe that's not all that unusual for me, but I'm feeling especially confused lately... because of some upcoming business travel and two classes I will have to teach before Christmas, I really have to do all of my Christmas shopping and Christmas card mailing in the next week or so... but it does not yet seem much like Christmas.... Yes, I was at the Wakefield Mall last Friday and saw Santa arrive via helicopter... and I have seen some decorative lighting appear on a few houses... but it does not look like Christmas. As someone who spent most of his life in upstate New York, Rhode Island winters seem a bit milder and certainly have far less snow... white Christmases are not a regular occurrence here and white Thanksgivings are extremely rare... and I really enjoy a white Christmas...
The weather this week has been positively spring-like... on Sunday my brother and I went running in shorts and t-shirts... today I got in another run wearing shorts... it was in the low sixties this afternoon... definitely Christmas weather... It is supposed to cool down to more seasonal temperatures this weekend (although still not all that cold) but we are planning to get our Christmas tree then... I'd like to get it on Saturday so we could have all day Sunday to decorate it...
Maybe having a tree up and decorated and the smell of pine in the air will help with that Christmas season feeling...
|
|
|
I saw my doctor today to get a flu shot... also to ask him about my bunions... they were diagnosed by a podiatrist two or three years ago -- based on x-rays -- when I was seeking a cure for Achilles tendon pain. She made me a set of orthodics that took care of my Achilles tendon problem but although I went back to her for an ingrown toe nail once, I've avoided doing anything about my bunions. (I had always thought that a bunion was something like a corn, but it turns out that it means the joints of my large toes are deteriorating and the toes are turning out of proper alignment -- the left one more so than the right.) This avoidance was partly because I wanted to avoid surgery (and wearing a boot on my foot for six weeks!) and partly because it really didn't bother me much... but as time passes the ache occurs more frequently and sometimes it really hurts... so I asked my doctor today and he told me I definitely need to go back to my podiatrist but that he didn't think that I was a candidate for surgery, that at this stage a good pair of orthotics might ease my problem.
I also had a third reason to see him... a few months ago we had a health screening at work... you know, blood pressure, etc., etc., and information on exercise and diet, etc.... one of the tests was for bone density (applying ultrasound to your heel) and the reading they got showed significant bone density loss. So, in addition to my typical at home breakfast of cereal with skim milk and calcium fortified orange or grapefruit juice, I began taking calcium supplements. My doctor told me that I showed no signs of bone density problems and there was no sign of bone problems in some x-rays that were two or three years old; however, just to be safe, he wanted me to get a bone density scan. When I called South County Hospital radiology dept to schedule an appointment the woman on the phone exclaimed "Dr. Hanson? Oh, isn't he wonderful? He is just the best, so thoughtful and so thorough..." -- I was tempted to ask if she was his mother.... *grin* Well, I happen to really like Dr. Hanson... I think he is indeed a very good doctor, but it was nice to hear such unsolicited praise of him from somebody who has to deal with many doctors.
It's quiet around here... Nancy is grading papers... Jennifer is sleeping after having worked her usual third shift work schedule after not much sleep on Tuesday and then gone to school... when she got home from class today (I was working from home) she just said "I'm so tired!" and went straight to bed.... And Sean is at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (a key rock venue in Providence) for a 311 concert (plus two or three other bands)... When Jennifer and her friends wanted to go there, I used to be the provider of transportation... even after she got her license I still got to play chauffeur for a couple of years... In fact, a year ago (Election night) I drove her and her friends to Boston for a concert. Sean hadn't been as interested in live bands as his sister was, although they have gone to a local rock club together and this summer he went with her to a concert in Boston.... Now he has friends with wheels and he is venturing farther afield and Nancy and I get to sit at home and keep our fingers crossed...
previous entry