Catch up

New car in the driveway, in the rain and through a window, my reflected red plaid housecoat obscuring the view

So where was I?

Today is a very rainy windy Saturday and I am in my jammies, I may not change into daytime clothing at all. Last night my new-to-me car was delivered and now sits in the driveway. I have never driven it and it is raining too hard to transfer the licence plate from the truck to the car. I am assured that it is a wonderful car to drive, but have had no chance to confirm that.

I will definitely miss the truck. The past week I have been enumerating all of its deficiencies each time I drive it, in hopes of breaking my attachment to it. We did all the paperwork and money transfers last night, so the previous owner of the car now owns the truck. He plans to sell it to a mutual friend who really needs a reliable truck. I am happy about that, but still a little sad to let it go.

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My brother out west is in liver failure, and my 15 year old dog in heart failure. After a crisis a couple of weeks ago my brother was given 3 months to survive, if that. I was trying to figure out a way to see him before the end, but travelling across the continent at this time of year whilst sick is near impossible. Could be done but at great risk to my own health.

Princess in her new bed with her favourite toy

Finding out that my dog is in heart failure pretty much put paid to that. In the meantime my brother's status has somewhat improved, his GP is saying that with proper meds he could survive much longer than the original prognosis. He even sounds better on the phone.

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By mutual agreement my former GP and I parted ways a year ago. I've been transferred to a Primary Care Clinic and if I manage to get through on the phone on a specific morning I can get an appointment with a doctor the following week. Getting through is the tricky part, there is about a one hour window each week in which hundreds of people are trying to get through.

Nevertheless I have gotten more better care there in the past year than in the past 8-9 years with my previous GP. The doctors at the clinic ordered so many tests and scans and made so many referrals to specialists it darn near took my breath away. And unlike my former GP they explained stuff in non-patronizing ways. This is what medical care looks like!

It all came to a head in late September when the referrals came through and the tests and scans were scheduled. Extremely busy October, driving hither and yon for various appointments!

The specialists in turn recommended seeing other specialists not covered by MSI (provincial health insurance), so November has been a very expensive healthcare month. Specifically, a respiratory physiotherapist and an acupuncturist, both of whom are concentrating on getting my lungs working properly again. I was unaware that they were not!

Turns out that for the past four years I have been hyperventilating, causing insufficient oxygen to be absorbed by my lungs and in turn by my blood. You would think that hyperventilation would be obvious to me, but it was not. I think the acupuncture and breathing exercises are helping, but all the work of getting to appointments, minding my sick dog, buying a car and the usual activities of shopping, food prep, and minimal housekeeping is counterproductive. Not to mention the stress of family stuff. I am in a crash now.

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One of the internists I saw prescribed an antidepressant that she thought would give me more energy. First time I tried it I last two days, the lethargy and nausea overwhelmed me. Second time I tried it I only lasted one day, same side effects plus insomnia. On top of the fatigue and orthostatic intolerance I am already experiencing it is just too much. I am told that the side effects will subside, but I need to take the pills for more than two days. And walk the dog, get meals, attend appointments in the city, and just generally carry on with daily life.

I thought I had four days of nothing scheduled so maybe I could try the pills then, but it didn't work out that way.
I was incapacitated by one pill.
Stuff came up I had to deal with.
I crashed.

A Debate Recap With Song, Dance and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

From the New York Times, the Harris/Trump debate of September 10, the debate analysis you didn’t know you needed:

A Debate Recap With Song, Dance and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

”They’re eating the dogs!

They’re eating the cats!”

Fish tails

Please note that while based on a True Story, names and gender assignations are for storytelling purposes only.

Mr. Pleco and Ms Cory Catfish live in a flowerpot. There are two entrances on the ground level and also a very large picture window, but for the most part Mr Pleco and Ms Cory live in the windowless upper level. Mr Pleco prefers darkness and it is hard to know what Ms Cory prefers. Also hard to know is the exact nature of their relationship, or what it is that they do in private, in the dark. Perhaps the relationship is romantic, or possibly platonic, or more likely simply a matter of convenience: they both like the privacy of the dark.

Mr Pleco stands in front of his flowerpot house

Their immediate neighbours, the Tetras, are not exactly noisy, but they are quite rambunctious and stick their noses everywhere. They have been admonished on more than one occasion not to enter the flowerpot, Ms Cory chases them away. They occasionally and very cautiously peek through the main entrance but I doubt they see anything of note. They know they are not welcome there. Amongst themselves they play hide and seek games, play fight and chase each other around in a form of fish tag.

The nosy neighbours

Mr Pleco rarely appears in public but when he does he is most formal in appearance and demeanour, dressed all in black standing upright against the wall and moving about most solemnly. When he first moved into the neighbourhood he had the entire place to himself, but did not care to be seen at all. The privacy of the flowerpot appealed to him immensely and immediately. Ms Cory moved in later, about the same time as the nosy neighbours. She was accepted into the flowerpot but the Tetras most definitely were not.

Recently Ms Cory discovered a counterpart just beyond one of the glass walls of the neighbourhood. Oh my, wasn't she excited! The new catfish was just as excited as she was, as they zoomed back and forth trying to make contact. A far cry from the taciturn Mr Pleco, this new companion was a most delightful playmate. If only they could breach the wall! It would be so lovely!

Ms Cory gazes at her new playmate, who is barely visible beyond the glass wall,
while nosy neighbours watch

Mr Pleco stands with his back turned to Ms Cory's antics. As far as he is concerned, Ms Cory's new playmate is but a mirage, not to be taken seriously. She will return to the dark safety of the flowerpot soon enough. He simply stands by the main entrance and waits for her.