A vacation to remember

 

This past week was my vacation from work at the Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. It was supposed to be easy, mostly some spring cleaning, long overdue (never was much of a housekeeper), with a few daytrips thrown in for good measure. It actually started April 15^th, Monday, Patriots Day and Marathon Day, at 7am, when I got relieved at work. Time to go home and relax. Then, the day changed. Two Russian brothers forever changed the face of Patriots Day, and a Boston-area holiday suddenly became known to the rest of the world. The city of Boston was in lockdown for a day, nothing in or out, except some airplanes.

The nightmare is over now, with older brother dead, and the  younger, probably influenced or even coerced by the older, a patient and prisoner in Boston. Four people are dead at their hands, and they have been called terrorists. That makes this a federal crime, eligible for the death penalty. I wonder what investigators think they can possibly say to the younger brother, all of 19 years old, to get him to answer their questions, when he’s looking at being killed by the government. What can they possibly offer him? And if he goes to jail? The odds are very good he will die there quickly at the hands of an inmate, if not a guard, and it will probably go unpunished.

I did get some cleaning done, although not all I planned because I got lazy. Still, some is better than none, and I still have until Wednesday 11pm before I go back to work (Monday and Tuesday are my days off, then 5 days vacation (Wednesday-Sunday), and then back to Monday and Tuesday, 9 days off all total).

Did get in a trip to the Museum of Science in Boston (I recommend it to all who come to the city; the Mugar Omni Theatre and Charles Hayden Planetarium are excellent extras, extra money but well worth it). I had been talking myself into joining the museum, since I come there often enough, and I finally joined up. Not cheap but I figure it’s worth the price. Now, if I can just remember to bring my own food to the cafeteria. I only eat the salad, but it’s $$. Sheesh!

The Big Apple Circus is in town, at the City Hall Plaza, and I saw it Saturday. Loved it! This is the second year in a row that I’ve seen it.  One-ring circus, all good seats, and a great show.

There’s a street entertainment act here, called Red Trousers, a pair of guys who are acrobats and jugglers. They are very good, very funny, involve the audience, say they travel the country entertaining (so I don’t know if they’re local), and they’re on Facebook (!). Yep, I will friend them. Saw them outside Fanueil (spelling?) Hall, while I was on my way to the circus.

Monday, I get up early (as in 5:30am) for a trip to my nutritionist at the VA (she won’t be happy with me, because I probably didn’t lose any weight) (I’m writing this the Sunday before), then to the gym, and then to the library to get some math done. I may still be on vacation from work, but my self-school comes back from April school vacation, and it’s back to the books.

That’s all for now. Until next time!

 

Bits and Pieces.

Last weight check, I was 155, in my uniform. Not near where I should be, but it’s going down. Haven’t been as careful foodwise or been to the gym as often as I should. Post-bedbugs, got to get into a regular PT program, and something resembling a regular eating pattern (Dream on!).

Anyone on ‘Fanpop’? It’s an internet site for fan clubs of anything in popular culture. If it interests you, there’s probably a club for it, or you can start one.

Those of us who were owners of Super Poke Pets (and I still miss playing with Toby and our friends >^.^<) can now be owners of Bitty Pets, a new site for cyberpets. Stupid work computer lets me log in, but it won’t bring up my home page properly, so I can’t do anything until I can use my computer and the library’s wifi.

Bugged and planned

Been awhile since my last post; that’s not good. Got to do this more often, even if only to say I’m still here, alive and kicking.

So what’s new? Well, my weight is finally heading down. Closer to the 150 mark now. Had this bit happen here, with some serious throat and upper chest congestion making me real sick, just in time for a bedbug incident, with the whole having to bag all your belongings, after washing and high-drying all your clothes, and living out of a bag or two (which you reseal when not using) until the 2-treatment process is over, without my cat Bliz who was going crazy at the beginning (and getting bedbugbit wasn’t helping) and had to be boarded at the local vet (10 days the 1^st time, overnight the 2^nd), missing her badly, my nerves all going crazy, my head thinking all kinds of worse-case scenarios (sometimes having an imagination is a very bad thing), not eating or sleeping.

Yep, you lose weight that way. Not how I’d recommend it. I was basically living on adrenaline, green tea, and Instant Breakfast (had no appetite or interest in food, but I had to take in something, and the tea aided hydration, something I’m still working on).

Now if only I could lose this nagging cough! It is better, but it’s still there.

Spring is finally here, I will be working the Project Bread Walk for Hunger the 1^st Sunday in May, as usual. Making plans for a break in my work schedule.

Got vacation in mid-April (April school vacation time). Figure on some spring cleaning (some vaca!), with maybe a day trip or 2 thrown in for good measure. If we have decent weather and I can finally get windows open for awhile, it’ll be good for both Bliz and me.

School anniversary is the 22^nd of May. I’ve got the day off (and that night, too), and the kid in me will have the day to play. Where to kids like to go? This one likes the zoo, so I’m going to the Franklin Park Zoo that day.

July 1^st, after work, I’m heading to New York City (Why do I hear a salsa commercial, with cowboys snorting “New York City?”, right now in my head?) for a 2-night writing retreat. Going to stay at the American Youth Hostel. Been there before, and it’s not bad. Easy to get to the subway, and it’s close to Central Park. Figure I’ll stay close to the base the 1^st day, but wander a bit the 2^nd, get to see more of the city while looking for places to write.

I’ll be heading home on the 3^rd. Don’t want to just get home, throw down my bag, change into uniform, and head back out to go to work Wednesday night. No, that would be mean to Bliz. I’ll be gone 3 nights as it is (1 at work, 2 in NYC), and I don’t want to make it 4. I put in an email to Lt Myers asking for the overnight of the 3^rd to the 4^th off (it would be nice to NOT have to work on my birthday night!).

Not doing any more online courses. With the limited amount of time I have online with usable browsers (which usually means with my newer computer in the library, using their wifi) and with my writing, working out, cat, and school, I just don’t have the time.

That’s it for now. Anyone else been hostelling? I’ve been in Massachusetts (Boston), New York (Lake George, NYC), Canada (Montreal, Quebec), and Europe (Stuttgart, Strasbourg, Lyon, Paris, London).

Any vacation or springtime plans?

New Year

A new year, a new chance to do things right, to fix what went wrong. Isn’t that what resolutions are for? So, did you make any resolutions? Keep them?

For me, yes to the 1^st, no to the 2^nd.  I made resolutions to stick to the diet (okay, food choices) ‘suggested’ by my doctor and my nutritionist, but doing that is too drastic all at once. I am getting better, getting a better feel of what foods mess with my insides and thus I should avoid, but I can’t just drop all the good stuff I used to eat.

I have about 2 weeks to show a loss of weight (I’m getting too freaky big!), and so I have to crack down. Starting today, Saturday January 12, 2013, no more crap in my diet! It’s no good for my insides or outsides, and I want to see that weight scale number start going back down.

I now weigh 160 pounds, and I used to weigh about a hundred. 140 will get me out of the overweight category; with my bone structure and size, 125 is much better, so you can see I have some work to do.

My 2^nd resolution was to go to the gym (the local Y) at least 3 times a week to work out. Weather, fatigue (especially after work), and/or forgetting my gym bag at work have kept me from keeping this promise, but I’ll be at the gym after work today (if I remember to grab my bag from the rollcall room).

What else is new? Been spending some time checking out DVDs on Amazon. I bought a few: the UFO megaset (UFO was a Gerry Anderson series that preceded Space 1999), the entire Space Above and Beyond (no extras. Rats!), and seasons 1 and 3 of Babylon 5 (I am/was a fan of Michael O’Hare, and he was a series lead in the 1^st season, finishing his character’s arc in a 2-parter (“War Without End”) in the 3^rd season. Why ‘was’? He died recently, a big shock to all of us fans of B5.

So, what’s new with you in this new year?

My first!

First what, you ask. First time someone has paid me for something I wrote, first time I’ve had to sign a contract for them to publish a story I’ve written. Got the contract by email today. I’ll print it out (2 copies, 1 for me), read, sign, and mail it back. Deadline for submissions is in December, and they expect publication in the summer of next year. This press is a very small organization, so payment is equally small. I expect they’ll make back their payments when we buy a copy or copies of the book the story appears in. Yep, buy. No free copies, that’s how small it is, but it’s a start, a foot in the door.

Not my 1^st stupid storm. This one, named Sandy (We into the ‘S’ already?), couldn’t make up it’s mind (Yes, if it’s got a name, it’s got a mind) where it was going or when, or what it was going to do when it got there. In Lynn, we lucked out, some wind, the Lynn Shore Drive closed because of the high storm surge surf, but not too bad. Revere, next door, got its oceanside road buried in beach. That’s right, the surge pushed sand off the beach, over the seawall, and all over the sidewalk and road. Take a few days to clean that up. They named Sandy right, the people of Revere would say (once they get done swearing at her).

Not like New York and New Jersey. Massive power outages, fires burning down blocks of houses, exploding electrical transformers, super tidal surge drowning whole parts of cities and even the New York City transit system! Whole sections of the famous Boardwalk are gone. The wind blew the front off an apartment building, leaving the rooms and furniture intact, like a dollhouse with no front.

If Halloween brings stuff like this (last year, we had a snow storm!), what will the approaching winter bring? I don’t think I want to know.

Malled

Did you ever go to a mall, and feel overwhelmed with prices while underwhelmed with variety? Ever leave empty-handed, having spent money only in the food court? It happened to me a few days ago at the Square One Mall. Left my house figuring to go to my local Walmart, but the bus to the mall was going by, so I got on. Yeah, I can be spontaneous like that. I had never been to that mall. Nice scenic ride, with plenty of color by the Lynn Woods.

Got to the mall just before the stores opened, so I got to walk around. Good exercise, just what I needed. I strolled through Sears and Macy, the name stores. Very pricey, and everything in any one section looked alike, maybe just a different color or brand or both. Went to the local pet place, figuring to get a toy for my Bliz. They only had puppies! What pet store only sells one kind of pet? This was Pet Express.

Got all bored strolling through; didn’t stop anywhere else, although I looked in lots of windows. Wound up going to Walmart after all, and spending 2 hours in the jewelry department trying to order a class ring (I never got my high school or university ring when I was in class), which didn’t get ordered (story for another time), but I got most of what I wanted.

Lesson for the day—unless you have time and money, or you just want to waste time, self, stay out of malls.

Okay, here’s that story. Only certain schools (colleges) authorized Walmart to sell rings for them. None of the U Mass schools are on that list (and they were using an old listing, which didn’t help, and did prolong my time there). So, I can’t get a college ring. One for high school? All of the accredited schools in the state are on the list. They put in the info, and they computer kicks it out as ‘ineligible.’ No explanation. Huh? Why can’t I buy a school ring? After 2 hours and a lot of phone calls and list-looking on their part and me just standing there, I walked away empty handed. An explanation, please? They had none.

Age

It’s a funny thing, this thing age. How do you measure it? By birth certificate? That way, I’m 60. By physical feel? Some parts of me feel 100 years old, some will make do with feeling my birth-certificate age, while a few others feel very young. By mind? How you think? There, I’m a kid, refusing to grow up.

How are we seen? When I was in the Air Force, I went to a local off-base club with a couple of other airmen. I was very late-twenties maybe, but I got carded. Yesterday, at a place where I was getting a haircut, a fellow customer said I looked like I was only in my forties. A nice compliment! Yes, I thanked her. And yet I’ll go to fast-food places and other convenience stores, and they’ll ask if I want the senior discount, or they’ll just give it to me without saying anything, so I’m 65 or older to them.

How do we judge? If I’m asked my age, I have to say what’s on my birth certificate, only because that’s my legal age. But is it how old I am? How do you tell?