Fried-ae

 

I am not fond of fried foods.  The odor of the hot oil is unpleasant to me.  When I was hefty, I did eat a lot of fried foods..... mostly at parties and gatherings..... because that was what was available and.... I would eat to occupy time when I wasn't speaking.  And, with my "introvert" tendencies, I tend to not talk a whole helluva lot at bigger gatherings, but listen instead.

With the above out of the way, why do I post this picture?  Well, the title of this entry is "Fried-ae" which was my attempt at a euphemistic, mashed together title..... Fried...... because my mind feels rather "fried" from the ups and downs, and rounds-and rounds of the week.... and Fried-da as a conscious and intended misspell of "Friday" which is today.

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Emotionally, I am feeling "even-keeled" today.  But, it has been a rough, dark, and stormy sea.  Up-and-down, and round-and-round aptly DOES describe physical and emotional feelings well for me this past week.  Some bullet points:

• I kept up on my running every single day.  There were some mornings I was feeling rather despondent and moody about running and almost did not go three of the days since I last wrote. BUT, I forced myself, and EACH TIME it proved helpful to make things feel more emotionally manageable.  Stomping out all those miles reliably reduces stress for me.  It does not ELIMINATE stress, but helps put it in a more possibly manageable level.  I know in my mind each morning that it will help me feel somewhat better if I am in a sad mood.  But, lately, I am struggling and having to force myself to run.
• The unpleasant duo at work has very fortunately left me alone this week, and I am glad for that.  Things are not copesetic by any means, but (probably because of their own start of the semester challenges) it was quieter, and I was less on edge.
• My SIL has been here all the rest of the week since my last entry.  It has actually been nice, and she is a wonderful person.  But, it still is challenging because of the disruption of routine at the start of the semester.  She has had successful dialysis treatments, however, and that is the important thing.  Her husband, who is driving back from Colorado, should be home really, really late tonight we think.  Even though my SIL enjoyed being with us (and we enjoyed having her and helping her), I think she is looking forward to being able to be at home tomorrow, and back into her own routines as well.  
• A big, unexpected challenge befell upon us on Wednesday morning.  My wife's car had a catastrophic electrical failure while she was driving in the middle of our town's busiest, six-lane road.   The damn car just died in the middle of the road.  The car's emergency flashers were even acting oddly. This resulted in a lot of travel challenges, with me needing to collect her, and ultimately her brother helping out too so that both I and she could get to work AND my SIL could get to her dialysis that morning.  Fortunately this brother-in-law is retired and has a more open schedule.
• The car ended up experiencing some sort of computer malfunction associated with the operation of the alternator which then resulted in the frying of the car's battery.  $450.00 later (plus needing to add on the towing fee) the car is supposedly back up to snuff.  
• With all the chaos, I did not go to the Retiree's Cigar Group.  It saddened me.  I was contemplating taking a trip there today, but I am not really sure if it would be valuable or meaningful, as I would likely be alone, as very likely none of the guys I know from the group would be there.  So, I am unsure what I may or may not do.  
• I am also frustrated/angry/disheartened about the vaccine issues now.  RFK Jr's vehemence against vaccines has me awfully damn nervous.  I had HOPED to get the new Covid vaccine, the new Flu vaccine, and the RSV vaccine this year.  But, it appears that his new "guidelines" exclude me and it worries me.  I am trying to check and see what the plans are for my health insurance and if they may still cover them, or if I can pay them out of pocket (I have no damn idea how much they will cost, nor even if I can get a clinician to green light my receiving them since I am now outside the criteria.).  
• I am also very sad about the Mass Shooting in Minnesota.  On so many levels, it just hurts.
• My mind is so tired and so "mushy" feeling this week, that even when I try to live in my imagination and think about my pipes and pipe tobaccos.... it is not even possible.... I end up falling asleep even before I can organize a thought in my imagination.  I tried to force myself to at least try to read my book for a little bit last night.  But, while I got my reading glasses on, and had the large, hardcover book perched in front of me, I really never even saw a single word that I can recall..... I fell asleep so immediately.  After some period of time, my grip must have relaxed, and the book fell flat against my face, startling me awake enough for a  moment to close the book and put it on the nightstand. 

PipeTobacco