Tuesday, September 13, 2011

RAMBLINGS VOL VIII




I am giving Kindle Scrabble a good game more often than not on the Hard level.  The tables are turning.  I'm using its ridiculously arcane words against it, just like I would on the basketball court or the chess board.  And there are only so many seven- and eight-letter words out there. 

Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful. Proverbs 16:20

My latest new gadget is a wireless keyboard.  It’s my second one; the first died many months ago.  This one is lighter, has a much better feel, has many more functions, and cost less than half as much as the one I bought four or five years ago.  My bedroom is no longer an occupational hazard!

As of last night, Master Chef Dave can cook pork chops.  Yummmmmmbaby!  I cooked up six Tuesday evening; they were gone by Thursday evening.  Thank goodness I bought two packs – and thank goodness for BOGO (buy one get one free)!  Welcome to the protein stable, pork chops!

Yesterday I resolved to learn someone’s name.  I decided it should be the receptionist at K Street Dialysis.  She is unfailingly polite and yeah, OK, she’s good-looking, too.  So what?  I briefly puzzled over how to do this, and then I said screw it and knocked on her door so I could ask her.  She was wearing a nametag that said “Rhona”.  Job well done!  On to the next task.

I know just about all of the dialysis center employees’ names now, and they all know “Mr. White”.

I was looking forward to my run this morning, so of course this was the one morning that I woke up late (7AM).  Today is an off-day for me (no dialysis), so I had more than enough time to get a run in anyway, but I decided not to.  Sleeping until 7AM is a rarity for me nowadays, so I took it as a signal that my body needs a break from the exercise.  Normally over the course of a month my body will put the brakes on working out at some point and I won’t be able to do it for as long as a week, but that did not happen during the month of August.  This is definitely a good sign!  I am slowly rounding back into form.

I like writing with blue ink.  I don’t care what the black ink people think….

September is a critical month as far as planning goes.  Basically, if it’s going to happen this year, I need to get it going right now.  My strategy is to assume the worst and prepare accordingly; wish me luck.  [good luck, Dave!]

I beat Kindle Scrabble three times yesterday.  I beat it on the way to dialysis, I split two games with it during dialysis, and I beat it on the way home after dialysis!  The last win was the best because I am literally drained as I travel home from having 10-12 pounds of liquid removed from my body.  Two of the wins came on my final play.  You know what?  A win is a win is a win.  I used the word *doyenne* in Scrabble yesterday.  Where the hell did that come from?

Every once in a while, you have to take a deep breath and step into the void.

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”  -- Margaret Thatcher

Today started off with a really riveting hamstring cramp.  If you’ve had one, you know it’s five to ten minutes of agony, and then it’s cool as long as you don’t make the same movement for a while.  This is the second one in a couple of weeks; I’ll have to keep an eye on this situation as it happens the morning after a dialysis session.  This also caused me to remember that it wasn’t that long ago that I was unable to have hammy cramps because I had no leg muscles due to malnutrition and anemia.  So all in all I can’t complain…..  I’ll know that my hammys and quads are all the way back when I am once again way faster than I look.  Right now I’m just faster than I look.

“Success is liking yourself.... liking what you do….and liking how you do it....”  Maya Angelou

Asparagus dip is delicious, especially with honey wheat pretzel sticks.

I got all excited when I saw that McDonald’s is selling its Sausage McMuffin with Egg for 2/$3.00 for a limited time.  I then calmed down and remembered that (a) I don’t eat breakfast on the run anymore, and (b) my own sausage and egg combo costs a lot less than $1.50 per sandwich.  So why am I all hyped over Mickey D’s?  Could it be … sugar?

My smartphone just reminded me that the NASCAR race was rescheduled and is starting right now!!!  Damn – I already missed the first spinout!

67 consecutive push-ups last night!  I think it’s safe to say that I can start focusing on sit-ups and running.

The college and football seasons have officially begun, and serious pizza questions need to be asked.  No pizza at all?  One with everything on my birthday?  Or for the New Year?  Is pizza with no tomato sauce tasty?  I need to develop a list of pizza substitutes immediately. 

Today is 9/9/11.  In two days we mark the ten-year anniversary of 9/11.  I had briefly thought about doing something silly like 911 push-ups on that day, but there’s no way I am going to trivialize the sobriety of this event with any individual puffery.  I plan to live my life as normally as possible by working out and watching plenty of football.  I may even break from my diet and order a pizza.

I have had my new printer for over a month now, and I have dusted it almost as often as I have used it to print.  I’m sure this will change, but it’s interesting to note how quickly I adjusted to not being able to print.  My writing has suffered some, I’m sure.  On the bright side, this printer can print photos without special ink.

Do good instead of evil and try to live at peace.  Psalm 34:14

Today is 9.11.11.  I worked out this morning, then walked to McDonald’s to get a cheap lunch, got a cheap breakfast instead, and walked back home.  It is now time to watch football.  I’ll have two Sausage McMuffins w/Egg for lunch.  Dinner?  Pork chop party!

My fantasy baseball team is 15-8 heading into the playoffs!  It’s my very first fantasy team in any sport.  A lot of it is pure luck, but there are plenty of opportunities to make your own breaks, and I take advantage of many of them.  If I win the league championship, my team, the “Allfive Fingers”, will get to play against the other champions for a grand prize of $10,000.  Hey, stranger things have happened:  we just had lightning storms, an earthquake, a hurricane, and major flooding within about a 15-18 day period….

OK, let’s put modesty aside for a second.  I am fit.  I can look in the mirror and nod approval.  And I’m not done yet.  I want the world to know that kidney failure is not a reason to write people off.

Stand up for what you believe in – even if it means standing alone.

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