Annnnd it's 2023...

Hmmm, looks like I missed a year or two. Considering the catastrophe of my life, that's probably for the best. Still living in the apartment with Mom & the Boo Thang and missing my peaceful little house. What's changed? My job, for a start. I decided 17 years in the Property Room was MORE than enough and applied for a transfer in October 2021. Got a position in the Records Dept almost immediately, but didn't get to start until February 2022. Why? They literally held me hostage. "We'll be too shorthanded if you leave!" Not my problem, and you should probably look more closely at the issues in the place when the *3* senior clerks all quit. They tried to fuck around and they found out. I applied for jobs outside LMG and had several great interviews. Then I found out that HR was sandbagging me by not returning requests for reference calls. I called the union at that point and received my transfer within the week. Without the pay cut I was supposed to take. It would have been worth it just to get out of there. So Records is... interesting. I'm an Information Processing Technician, or to put it simply, I do data entry. The main part of my job is entering paper citations (yeah, we still have officers that use those) & updating electronic citations in the computer system. I also enter a crap ton of Domestic Violence reports. I have to work the public window 1-2 days a week where I give out incident & accident reports. What was a shock to the system was working a day shift after 20+ years of evenings & overnights. I literally left the PR at 6:30 Saturday morning and started at Records at 8 a.m. the following Monday. The job is MUCH slower paced, MUCH less stressful, and in a very nice CLEAN building with adequate parking. It's not perfect, no job is, but it's a good place to ride out my last few years until I can retire. Now for the health update: My constant headaches & sinus infections have gone away since I changed offices. My right knee finally gave out after causing numerous falls and had to be replaced in July 2022. Poor Dr M was horrified to see how bad it was (compared to the x-rays) when he went in. Just before the surgery, I wound up in the ER twice due to agonizing back pain. (turns out being forced to limp around for so long totally threw my back out) I was sent to a spinal specialist. He looked at my x-ray, took 3 more, and then asked when I'd broken my back. WTF?!? He said there are visible healed fractures along my spine. So yeah, not fun. It was decided to fix my knee first, because a lot of the post-op physical therapy would incorporate the the back treatment. It seems to have worked. I've lost 40 lbs, my blood pressure has gone down considerably, and it's really weird to not be in pain all the time. Still have fatigue issues. Dr B finally gave in & sent me to a hematologist/oncologist. Dr H had to fight the insurance company for a few tests, but after umpteen years, I FINALLY got a diagnosis! (and got to say "I TOLD YOU SOMETHING WAS WRONG!!!" to Dr B) I have Alpha Thalassemia, more specifically this version: Hemoglobin H disease. This type causes moderate to severe symptoms. These include lack of energy (fatigue) and exercise intolerance. You may also have an enlarged liver or spleen, yellowish skin, and leg ulcers. You have a greater risk of having a child with the most severe type, alpha thalassemia major. (from the Johns Hopkins website) Good thing I never planned on having kids! Dr H says it actually looks like I have the major version, but I shouldn't have survived infancy. My kids wouldn't have had a chance, especially if the hypothetical father was a silent carrier. So, here we are. A new year, a changed life, and the same warped world view. You're welcome to come along for the ride, just be sure to buckle up! Things could get bumpy...

"That was a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck" -OR- 2020 so far

Thanks to Jake Tapper for the perfect quote to describe not only the recent "presidential debate," but most of this year. Let's see, where to start... Mom & I both got sick in the early part of the year. I had my quarterly ear/nose/throat infection; she had an assortment of colds & diabetic incidents. And what we thought was a heart attack. Dr A (the family cardiologist) says it was a warning, and he's glad that *I* insisted she go see him. Turns out that she had several blockages and wound up needing a stent. (Daddy all over again...oy) This involved her being hospitalized for several days while they tried to get it placed without doing too much damage to her kidneys. (something to do with the contrast dye that they use) Dr A promised me he wasn't going to see me an orphan anytime soon. Everything turned out ok. I got the joys of a colonoscopy in February, and a colossal fight with Mom coming & going to the appointment. We absolutely should not be in a car together, EVER. At least not if SHE'S driving. Breonna Taylor was accidentally killed during the serving of a search warrant- more on that in a minute. COVID-19! ARRRRRGH! Actually, the only real change it made in my life was a distinct lack of library & bookstore visits. Amazon, however, really LOVES me now. So does Grubhub. Mask wearing is a bit of an issue. Remember that problem I had with the hospital masks? Yeah. After passing out several times due to panic attacks, my sort-of-BF bought me some tie dyed bandanas. Followed by neck gaiters in various colors & patterns. They still cause SOME issues, but I'm good for about 30 minutes, which makes grocery shopping quick! Boo is still sweet & cuddly. George Floyd was murdered by a police officer & all hell broke loose in the US. Then a shyster lawyer dug up Breonna Taylor's case and convinced her family to help stir up more shit. Louisville is in month 5 of riots/protests/looting. I could write a book on this subject alone, but I'm going to just say FUCK ALL THAT SHIT and move on. What else? Had the usual wretched birthday. Sent Mom to Iowa for 2 weeks. Was reminded how much I miss living alone. I love her, I just hate living with her! The anus-mouthed Cheeto-in-chief who said Covid-19 wasn't a serious issue & a cure for it will be ready before the election, now has it. Bwahahahaha Trying to post from my my phone is getting to me, so I'll try on the tablet later.

Goodbye & Good Riddance to 2019

So, yeah, that tablet wasn't worth squat. I take that back- it was great for all kinds of games that I wasted far too much time on.

So, 2 years later, here I am again. What's gone on?

Lost several aunts and uncles.

Lost a couple of officers.

Lost my beloved Nightshade kitty.

Worst of all, I lost my Daddy 2 days before his 86th birthday.

2 days after his Louisville memorial service, I had my left knee replaced.


Ok, so that last item is a positive thing, although it didn't feel like it at the time. The first week was agony and I thought I had made a terrible mistake. Then, amazingly, I started seeing progress EVERY SINGLE DAY and now I'm nearly pain free for the first time in YEARS. (we're doing my right knee in another year or two. My left HAD to be done when it was because I had taken a nasty fall and shattered my kneecap) A series of visits to a chiropractor in 2018 fixed my back problems. I now don't know how to handle not being in constant pain. #firstworldproblems?

Still working on the diet/weight loss issues. It's getting better now that I can actually move without hurting myself.

Boo kitty has turned into my new cuddlebug. He's in disgustingly good health for his age and the vet tells me that I will probably have many more years with him. Which is good, because I'm not ready for any more losses. Mom has been put on notice too- She's not allowed to die unless it's because I've snapped and killed her. LOL

And that's where we are now. There's plenty more drama, but I'm going to ease my way back into blogging and save some of it for later.

Time For A Fresh Start

The less said about 2017, the better. Here's to a new year!

First person spoken to: Daddy (surprised me too!)

First text: My friend Cole

First beverage: a glass of my strong unsweetened tea

First "real" food: leftover Vaca Frita w/black beans & rice from Havana Rumba

First junk food: most of a bag of Korean Barbecue flavored Kettle Chips & a Dr Pepper

First dessert: double chocolate pudding poke cake

First stomachache

First DVD watched: Danny Bhoy- *Subject to Change

First book read: Church of the Small Things by Melanie Shankle


This was MEANT to be posted yesterday, but my POS tablet (yeah, the new one) died. Sigh.

I think I'm back...

My tablet died, so I had to get a new one. The new model is considerably bigger, and consequently easier to type on. I'm going to try to resume semi-regular blogging... we'll see how I do.

I had to sign back into Facebook to save my progress on a few games. I took a brief glance at the first few items on my news feed, went "Nope" and will be deactivating the page again. I've been happier without it, although I *do* miss the interaction with a few friends & family members.

Still battling the fatigue issues, but my health is otherwise tolerably good. In an effort to be more active, I have started volunteering as a role player for training exercises at the police academy. THAT has been a freaking hoot! Most of the recruits are wet behind the ears kids, and the handful of older ones with some life experience still aren't prepared to deal with someone like me. One scenario I was in had me & another girl (who was almost as big as me) in a domestic issue where the ex-wife & new girlfriend started fighting when hubby tried to pick up the kids. She & I were having fun slinging furniture & throwing mock punches. The kids sent to stop us were both around 5'2-5'4 and probably less that 150 lbs each. The slightly taller of the two pushed his partner toward us, said "you deal with that while I talk to this dude." Little guy shrieked, "who, me?!?" We stopped fighting each other, turned & gave him evil smiles, and started his way. The assessor finally managed to stop laughing long enough to call a halt to the scene once it was clear that the kid was either going to wet himself or run, possibly both.

Another day saw me in a loud party scenario. I was paired up with Officer E, who is also a big girl, and another civilian. The kids were "dispatched" in groups of 3 this time, not that it did them much good. All 3 of us escaped custody, they usually didn't find the drugs & weapons hidden on us, and the piece de resistance was the final group. We were in a second floor room for this exercise, and had been heckling a group that was below us outside. (The training staff were in hysterics by the end of the day because E & I were being total heathens) We got what turned out to be our last group. As they burst into the "party" (which they did incorrectly) & turned our music off, I was hit with inspiration. I went a couple of rounds of music off/on with the little guy closest to me (seriously, most of this class is 5'2-5'8) and then freaked him out. I screamed, "oh, snap, someone sent us a police strip-o-gram! Get them clothes off, baby!" E immediately caught on & followed suit. (Our 3rd comrade & the assessor were both laughing too hard to do anything) We started grinding on those boys and tugging at their uniforms. THEY panicked. In the middle of all this, I grabbed my guy's gun (not a euphemism, his actual mock weapon. Thankfully they weren't given real guns & tasers for these exercises) and ran to the window, tossing it out the the scenario out below us, allowing all hell to break loose in that one too. The trainers called time on us at that point.

We went downstairs to return our stuff to the prop boxes & join the session debriefing. Then I hear the Lt. say, "wait, that's not a prop, that's a recruit's gun!" followed by a bellow of "which one of you damn fools got disarmed and who did it?!?" The kid reluctantly confessed & pointed at me. Lt. M gave him quite an earful about it. He also dropped by my office that night to tell me that they'd watched the body camera footage of all the incidents (they didn't tell US that those damn things were live... oops) and had been laughing themselves sick for 8 hours. Especially at the last scene. "We never knew you were so good at being bad!"

I'm really hoping that footage never leaves the academy, but I suspect it's making its way around the department.

Well, at least I made my dad laugh...

Dinner with my parents tonight was less than successful, but I DID make dad laugh twice.
Mom drove, & she has bad habit of tailgating cars @ red lights. I finally told her to put her Damn foot on the fucking brake & leave it there until the light was green AND the car ahead of us was moving. Dad started snickering and said he tells her that all the time. I told her there would be NO sympathy from me if/when she rear ends somebody.

Second laugh came after dinner when Mom asked me what I thought about the experience. "I can't believe I put on pants & a bra for that" was my answer. Dad thought it was so funny that he whipped out his phone & called my crazy uncle to tell him. Uncle John then wanted to know what I usually wear to dinner. "I don't know what to call half what that child wears. It usually looks like her pajamas to me!" My outraged squawk had both old coots laughing.

For the record, I have only gone to their house in pajamas ONCE that I recall, and that was Christmas a few years ago. I had a new pair of pajama pants with Cardinals on them & a fuzzy black PJ top. I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to wear them out, but I did.

Stop The World, I Want To Get Off...

Nothing really new & exciting here. I'm still killing myself at work. My house is still a disaster. So is my car. Still trying to get the thyroid hormones leveled out, and I have another scope to see how much more damage my acid reflux has caused.

Dr B thinks I should cut out caffeine. After I stopped laughing, I told him I would try to cut it DOWN, but out was NOT an option. I kept my word- I'm back to drinking more tea than iced coffee, and the coffee I do brew is a 50-50 mix of my favorite dark roast & decaf. In related news, my energy levels have dropped further & my insomnia is back with a vengeance.

An absolute miracle occurred 2 Sundays ago. DAD, the man who never wants to do anything with us, actually went and saw Hidden Figures at the theater with Mom & me. He sat through the whole movie without fidgiting or complaining and even said he liked it afterwards! It was a good movie & I'm sick that Taraji P. Henson didn't get nominated for an Oscar for her role. She was fantastic. They all were.

I decided not to go back onto Facebook just yet. I think I'm going to hold out for a whole year off. I still miss some of my friends, but there's no doubt that going dark has preserved some of my precious remaining sanity.

Ta ta for now...