Monday, May 20, 2013

Life in the slow lane...

Another day at the gym. I'm doing okay with it. I get about an hour and a half of mixed cardio and core strength training. Then it's time for an hour in the pool. With weights on my feet. I try to exercise while I float about holding onto my 'noodle'.  It 's all good but nothing changes the pain in my hip and foot. The pain level goes up and down but never away for long. It's depressing at times and although I've taken my Wellbutrin for the day, I'm still depressed about it.

How can I be depressed when I have so many things to be thankful for? Must. Remain. Positive! I must remember that I'm lucky enough to have a pension from the Carpenter's Union and that, along with Social Security will always be there for us. As the deunionization of America continues, I have to wonder what will happen to my grandchildren and their children. Union wages provided an income that drove the economy and provided benefits, health care and retirement, that kept the union member off of the welfare rolls. Now what do we have? The wealth disparity continues to grow. Corporate coffers are filled to the brim with cash and job growth is anemic at best. Why isn't this front page news? Because the news organizations have abandoned their role in society. When was the last time you saw or heard of a first rate exposé? Edward R. Murrow is dead and Bill Moyers can't do it all by himself.

Mel Brooks is going to be celebrated tonight at the Kennedy Center. What a guy! I love everything he has done...and I was listening to a Fresh Air interview with him this morning. He's a genius! I remember his name from the times when he was writing for the Show of Shows with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Karl Reiner. Howard Morris.One night a week of fantastic comedy and I could hardly wait to see it each and every week. Now I have to make sure tonight's show at the Kennedy Center will be recorded. Priceless!

On another note; There's lots of controversy with the new DSM V. I believe it debuts the day after tomorrow. And all those with Asperger's will 'officially' disappear and have to be reclassified with Autism Spectrum Disorder or ignored. Since I never had to use any 'help' , it won't bother me. But those on the spectrum with more apparent autism will not be able to get all the help they might need. Or so I have been lead to believe...time will tell.

We have new living room furniture. Comfortable furniture and not necessarily the latest in style. With a limited number of years left we decided comfort should be our first priority. Yes, it it Lazy Boy but just one piece is a recliner and that's a special small one for my wife. She needs a small chair where her feet can touch the floor. This is one of the first ones we've seen that accommodates her. For myself, I have a modified lounge chair with just one arm so that I can sit and then swivel my legs up onto it.

Something I just read; a snippet from Who Hijacked Our country

Right now the Labor Relations Board doesn’t have enough members to even have quorum.  And Republicans are determined to block any and all nominees to serve on the board, just so they can keep the Labor Relations Board dysfunctional and unable to enforce the laws that protect millions of working people.

Bill Maher said:  “At some point it becomes more about hating Obama than loving our country.”

Michael Moore added:

“No, they hate America.  I think that’s really what it is.  Conservatives and right-wingers, as much as they profess to love this country, they hate it. They hate the government, they hate the people.”

Unfortunately I think Bill Maher and Michael Moore are both right.       Include me as well

okay, it was more than a snippet...and you can't cut and paste from Blogger without dragging the stupid formatting along with it. Dumb Blogger!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Home again

Just back from a trip to Arizona. Cave Creek to be exact as that is where my sister lives. We spent a week with them. I had hoped to gather some great photos of Saguaro cacti while we were there but most of my images turned out dull and lifeless. The Saguaro are magnificent and there are so many of them! We had been  to Saguaro National Forest many years ago and I presumed that the park was where they were all contained. Not so. They are everywhere. And maybe I can give some life to my images with some careful editing.
We departed from Sacramento International and their new terminal is fantastic. Great art and even great restaurants. It's too bad you have to have an airplane ticket in hand and pass security before you can dine. Nearby residents are out of luck.
Security. I simply numbed myself and made it through without any hassle. In fact they didn't even pat me down as they usually do because of my battery powered spinal implant. For an Aspergian the whole process is very disturbing even without being touched. On the way back, security was being overwhelmed by the crowds and it took much longer to get through. And once more I was ignored. And that's a good thing. Maybe they are used to seeing batteries and wires when they do the body scan?
Arizona's airport, Sky Harbor, is showing its age. Everything is dirty. And at 2 in the PM and on a Tuesday, the crowds were huge. That I didn't expect.
Now we're home and Boo the Magical Cat is happy once more. We left her in our garage (insulated) and had our granddaughter come over once a day to check her food, water and litterbox. I'm sure she was happier in the place where usually sleeps overnight and not in a steel cage.
Getting older. I went to the Dr. today for my pre-op visit before my cataract removal/lens implant surgery. They had to measure my right eye and they also used a 'ocular sonogram'. They place a soft cup like device on your eye and move it all around as the scan the interior of your eye. It wasn't a painful experience, just irritating. 6 hours later and I can still feel some soreness. I have an eye ache.
I've seen all the surgery videos on YouTube and so I am really going to interested as to how it is done with me. I certainly hope I be can awake for the procedure. Watching it all from the 'inside' should be quite an experience.
This surgery will give me, hopefully, near perfect distant vision for my right eye. The left eye is still free of clouding though it is 'pre-cataract'. I will have to wait awhile before I can have that eye corrected. Once it's done I will be free of glasses for the first time since I was 8 years old.
The national news. I've numbed myself from this as well. I know I will have to return to it but not now. I want to rest my mind and do some more painting. I bought a portable watercolor painting kit and I like the way it works. I may take some of those small paintings and develop them on a large canvas.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Voting

How? How in the world can the voters in the coastal district that includes Charleston elect Mark Sanford to be their congressman? Sure, it is their right to choose but it puts them before the nation as buffoons. South Carolina has made far too many mistakes like this for me to ever take them seriously again...buffoons they are!

On another note but related note...why didn't the Democratic Party do something for their candidate? She was left swinging in the wind by the Democratic heavyweights that should have come to her aid. The same thing happens around here and is one of the reasons I left the party.