2014-06-13 Friday

Full Moon

I missed the Friday the 13^th full moon. The official full moon time was 4:11 Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time), Friday. For us in the U.S. EDT that was 12:11 a.m. this morning. From what I can tell, there were no weird are mystical happenings today.

Tonight the moon will still appear to be full. So if I remain awake I shall go outside and howl at the moon as if I were with wolves, who are one of my totems (“power animals”).

My Leg

The pain in my left leg has receded quite a bit today; by about 2 PM it was almost unnoticeable. My leg remains weak, but with the help of my canes I have been able to get around better than I have for a very long time.

Thus, I was able to wash to loads of clothes and one dishwasher full of kitchen stuff. Three bags of trash made it to the back of my CR-V, which after driving up to the gas station and purchasing five dollars worth of gasoline, I drove to the dumpster, heaved the garbage into it, and then drove in the opposite direction to the mail boxes.

98% of the mail was junk. The one exception was a letter from the department of the treasury informing me that they withheld another $204.15 from my Social Security check, which they credited to the Department of Education.  Since I already knew that as of June 3^rd when my Social Security was deposited to my checking account $204.15 short, I can rightly say that that letter was junk also.

Kitty Kids

I really must change my Habit of giving treats to the cats on demand. I am not concerned about the treats hurting them: the ingredients of the treats are as good or better than those in the dry cat food.

Alex and Midnight were on my desk together begging treats;
Midnight began to leap off just as I snapped this photo.

The problem is, all three Kitty kids gather around me and expect treats. We are down to our last bag of treats and I need to ration them. We won’t be able to afford more treats—or anything else—until July when my pension check is deposited.

There is an exception to that, of course. If the Department of Education refunds to me the more than $1200 that they had withheld from my Social Security check since January, then we will be in excellent shape.

Today I was able to access my account on the Department of Education website. The status of my request that the loan be discharged as of May 2003 continues to have the status under review.

Friday Funnies

If you have not visited my Nick’s Bytes Friday Funnies today, here are a few samples:

Please

2014-06-11 Wednesday

Rain has begun to come down again. It seems to be getting harder by the minute. I feel for the grounds maintenance to have been cutting grass and trimming during the lull in rain. I remember my college summers when I worked as a Greensman on Louisville’s Shawnee Golf Course. If I were cutting a green when the rain began, I would do my best to complete the job before moving to shelter. Usually, my clothes ended up soaked. When the rain stopped and the sun began to shine, it seemed that steam arose from my wet clothes as they dried.

Shawnee Golf Course: one of the greens for which I was responsible

Having my toenails from yesterday was a wonderful experience. Considering my initial Veterans Affairs medical appointment for toenail trimming was last February, were extremely long. So long that my right big toe punched a hole in my house slippers. And, the only shoes I could get into the go outside were opened-toed sandals. The podiatrist who trimmed my nails did an excellent job. Because I am diabetic, she will return on a monthly basis not only to check my toenails, but the condition of my feet. I wish I had known about these service years ago.

I wish the rest of me felt as good as my toes feel. I’m still almost constantly nauseous. The only thing that helps is a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a glass of water and drunk. My left leg remains painful and weak. There are a lot of shores that I have been unable to do, including washing clothes, putting dishes in the dishwasher, general cleaning, and fixing myself good meals. I have plenty of food; I just am unable to get to it.

The Kitty Kids have been quite happy since I was able to purchase their favorite wet cat food and treats on June 2^nd. Unfortunately, the food will not last until the end of the month and as of right now I have only about $15 in the bank. 

Sugar with her favorite treats

Alex with his favorite treats

Midnight would prefer to run and play than eat treats. (Not all the time, of course)

I am unable to pay my electric bill. Today I finally got to talk to someone at Louisville Gas and Electric. She told me that I cannot make any arrangements now but must wait until after June 17th (when the payment is due) and I receive a “disconnect notice.” That makes absolutely no sense to me. I would much rather make arrangements now without risking having my electricity and thus my oxygen got off.

My hope in all this financial shit is that the United States Department of Education will refund me all of the money they have taken from my social security check this year once my disability is recognized. Of course, I don’t really expect that the bureaucracy will do that with lots of negotiation. I have tried several times this week to reach the D.O.E. by telephone and on the Federal Student Aid website without finding out anything. ‘[SIGH]

One final comment: I have been having extreme difficulty breathing the past couple of days. Between that and my weak leg, I have spent most of my time connected to the CPAP, sleeping.  It isn’t that my blood oxygen level is low—the pulse oximeter read 95% most of the time—it is that I have difficulty breathing through my nose so I’ve breath through my mouth. I have been doing that almost all of my life. I suppose it has to do with the allergens I have been exposed to in the many river valleys in which I have lived.

Please

We are in serious need.

2014-06-09 Monday

This journal post could almost be the same as yesterday’s post. I am still having difficulty walking on my weekly; however, I only pissed on myself once today trying to get to the bathroom. I still have not located that little handheld urinal thing. Of course, my leg hasn’t been strong enough to move around looking for it.

The Kitty Kids seem to be a bit more demanding today than they did yesterday. Well, I should say, “Midnight has been more demanding today than she was yesterday.” (I am still not 100% sure that Midnight is female. The brief moments I have to inspect her rear end too short to be conclusive).

I still need to some how from somewhere raise the money to pay the Louisville Gas and Electric bill. It is about $151.00; I have $26.00 to live on for the rest of the month. I need to contact more local churches; however, it’s hard for me when I have difficulty speaking on the telephone, difficulty staying awake, and difficulty asking someone to help me. After all, all my life I have been the one responding to requests for aid; it has only been recently that I have been the one asking for aid.

I am hoping against reality that the US Department of Education will refund some or all of the $1200 they have taken from my Social Security check thus far in 2014. Perhaps I’ll have the energy tomorrow to make more telephone calls to see if I can find out from Washington what is going on. Or perhaps it is better that I use my awake time to seek the money to pay my electric bill.

I telephoned my mother around 5 o’clock after I had awakened from my second afternoon nap. It seems that she had not realized that she had not talked to me yesterday. That’s good. When Mom does not talk to me, she creates in her mind the worst possible scenario such as I have fallen and along the floor, or even dead.

I have been awake now about an hour and a half. My leg hurts sitting up, so as soon as I publish this journal post, I shall again recline in my lift chair and elevate my legs.

Please drop by today's Nick's Bytes: Too Bad It's Monday and enjoy the humor. 

Blessings to all!

2014-06-01 Sunday

Last night I again tried to take a photo of Midnight's posterior. And, again I failed:

The kitten is so active that I may never get the photo I need! 

On the other had, Alex has been inactive all of today. I thought that he might be ill, but he really does not act ill and his nose is quite cold. He has let me know when meal time arrives. And in this photo he is asking for more dinner about three hours after dinner time:
\

I have completed tomorrow's Too Bad It's Monday post for Nick's Bytes. Well, it is almost done. Before I add the final touches, I must nap a bit: I have a headache, an earache, a neck ache, shoulder and arm aches. Sooooo, as soon as I post this, I shall do an 11:00 p.m. nap.

2014-05-31 Saturday

My bum leg this weak today, so I’ve not been able to move around as much as I would like to move around today. I was able, however, to prepare two excellent meals while sitting on the folding chair I keep in the kitchen.

Breakfast consisted of the last of my bacon strips and my last two eggs in the carton. With the final bit of orange juice and coffee—I have plenty of coffee—breakfast was a feast!

Dinner consisted of the last four frozen fish sticks. I wish I had a salad to go along with it; however, even the minced fish of the fish tasted yummy.

I can scarcely wait until Monday when my pension check will be deposited in my account so that I may do some shopping for the Kitty Kids and me.

I have been attempting to take a photograph of Midnight’s posterior past two days. Late Wednesday night as Midnight stood on my stomach looking at Alex who was curled up on my legs, I began to question whether or not what I thought was her vagina might not be testicles. Whatever it is, it is solid black and quite hairy. So, yesterday and today I have been trying to photograph midnight’s rear end so that I may share a photo with my Internet friends who are much better than I am in determining cat gender.

Normally Midnight is always sticking her ass in my face. However, each time I have attempted to photograph her posterior in the past 48 hours, she has turned toward me instead of away from me, which is the direction that I want her to point. I wonder if she is doing this because she perceives that I want to photograph what is beneath her tail.

Of course, Alex is always willing to pose.

I posted the May Graphic Wisdom on Nick’s Bytes earlier today. So I’ll close this Journal entry with a few of the wisdom graphics that touched my soul.

Please

2014-05-28 Wednesday

Midnight, our 11-month-old Kitty Kid, has developed a rather unique habit. She follows me into the bathroom, which is a frequent trip that I take that make, and, when I am sitting on the commode she leaps onto a stool that sits before the washbasin. Then she begins chattering nonstop. She leans toward me from the edge of the stool and initially placed her front paws on my thigh, still chattering.

I have learned that when the kitten does this, she wants me to scratch her head, ruffle her ears and stroke the sides of her face and her neck. As I do this Midnight continues to talk to me.

In the last two days our kitten Kitty Kid has added a new action to her routine. Now she not only places her front paws on my thigh, but all four paws are there and she balances on my thigh, turning around so that my hand is stroking her exactly where she wants to be stroked. And, of course, Midnight continues to chatter. I have no idea what she is saying, but her manner and tone indicate to me that she is a very happy kitten.

If I remember correctly, often when I wrote this Journal of the past, I would include a comment on my health. I can happily say that although I am not the man I was 30 years ago, I am doing better that I have been in quite a while.

As you may know, for about a year I have been taking and recording in the Veterans Affairs website, MyHealtheVet, my vital signs. I usually do this three times a day: when I awakened and before breakfast; about mid-afternoon; and before I begin my preparations for sleep. I share the data and graphs that the website maintains and creates with the relevant VA physicians and my nurse practitioner at MD2U.

I am unsure how much of this data is useful—I limit my sharing to the 2 weeks immediately preceding the day of my appointment—but the health professionals all review the data closely, making comments and asking questions about it.

Now, the reason I have told you all of that is to tell you this: over the last month most of my vital signs have been excellent. I still experience pain, but for the most part, my prescription strength ibuprofen reduces the pain enough that it is tolerable. When it doesn’t, as has been the case with the earache in my right ear over the past six weeks or so, I seek help.

Recently I have been following a routine based upon suggestions I have received from Facebook friends. First I irrigate my ear with warm water, then with hydrogen peroxide, then place an over-the-counter earwax softner in my ear and plug it with a small piece of cotton. I go through this procedure three times each day. I cannot say I have noticed much earwax coming out of my ear, but the pain has been reduced about 40%.

That’s it for now, folks. I'll be back tomorrow evening.

Please

I Am Back

A few years ago I created this Journal as a place to post personal stuff about the Kitty Kids and me that I had been posting on Nick’s Bytes. Then at the end of last July (July 25^th, to be exact) I began sharing that information on Facebook, thus neglecting this blog.

I was basically quite please was posting personal stuff on Facebook. Lots of very neat folks responded to my posts, I received a lot of support, and some tangible assistance. However, a few days ago, I was attacked by a troll—a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people (Wikipedia)—a very nasty troll who flamed—flaming… is carried out by individuals known as flamers, who are specifically motivated to incite flaming. These users specialize in flaming and target specific aspects of a controversial conversation (Wikipedia)—me time and time again.

This experience shook me. It was the first time I have encountered a truly vicious troll since the late 1990s and it was totally unexpected. After evaluating the situation and praying for guidance, I decided to return to full-time blogging. Nick’s Bytes will be as it once was, with both serious and humorous posts. This journal will be what it was originally intended to be, a place to share a personal happenings in my life and the lives of those I love, including the Kitty kids.

I can’t catch up with all that’s happened since last July. I will share one of the things that I did  today.

That is all for now. I'll post again tomorrow. Please come back when you were able.

Shalom, dear friends.