low_delta

Thursday I was feeling like I was coming down with something. The feeling was fairly definite. Friday I stayed home from work. Saturday I was worse yet. Some friends invited us over last night, and I had to skip it. And miss gaming today. Not sure when I'll be back to work, but these things usually last a week.

My head is stuffed up and my nose is running. I'm weak. My ears bother me a little sometimes. Today I have a tight feeling in my throat and upper chest. Feels like acid reflux stuff?

I've been watching a lot of DS9.

Let's see, I got up at 8:00 on Saturday at home, went to bed at 10:00 on Sunday in Holland, subtract seven hours time difference - that was a 31 hour day, with only a little napping on the plane. (I couldn't sleep because it was so cold!)The first couple of nights in Holland I woke up in the middle of the night, and it took me more than a couple of hours to fall back to sleep. This was after a very long day of travel. The next couple of nights I probably got a full night's sleep. Then Thursday night I was up until after midnight, getting up at 7:00.

That's what I had going into the night in Amsterdam. Two 21-hour (or more) days, separated by a two-hour (or less) night. A little bit of napping on the planes.

As usual after a long flight, I'm sick. A combination of not getting enough rest, and being cooped up in a tin can for many hours with people and their germs, leaves me with illness a couple of days later. It doesn't happen to me on every long flight, but it happens every trip. I was even more susceptible than usual for this once, since I was so exhausted.

Cyn calls it my flying flu.

So my back's doing OK. It hasn't really improved much this week. I was supposed to walk 10 minutes, three times a day. I didn't. But friday I had to work physical inventory (second shift) and was on my feet for most of the eight hours. I think that wasn't good for it.

Also, someone sent me a get well gift of a Man Crate. It contained a personalized beer stein plus sausage, pretzels, sauerkraut and mustard. That was nice of them. No idea who, though. I had a bit of trouble opening the crate. Glue is hard to break with a small prybar. Fortunately, I didn't hurt my back.

Feeling better, though. The medication is making me drowsy, as promised. I hope it helps me get to sleep tonight.

I went to the hardware store. That's the first time my car has been out of the garage in a week. I had a $7 coupon that needed to be used before the end of the year. Since I actually needed something, I didn't want it to go to waste. I got a Fiskars splitting axe. I tried it out, too. It does split much better than my regular old axe. I should get a hatchet too, to make kindling, but I can use the big axe for that too. I shoveled a bit, since there's still a big mess from yesterday. Probably shouldn't have done that. I napped for a while after all that was done.

We were supposed to go to a couple of parties tomorrow. One was canceled. They needed an excuse, and saw that I was sick. The other we'll just miss.

I'm still missing all those things I wanted to see and do this week. At least we're getting caught up on Doctor Who. We just got to where Peter Capaldi appears.

I've got the same flu thing I had at Thanksgiving, only worse. My throat has a sharp pain right at the top and it hurts to swallow. My ears hurt. My head, neck and shoulders ache. I don't have any energy. I spent over half the afternoon horizontal, and didn't sleep a whole lot. I got barely over five hours of sleep last night.

Last month I worked through it the first couple of days, and it was over earlier than the customary seven days. This time it came on strong and quick, so I don't know what it will be like in a few days.

I was supposed to go to my mom's church for the Christmas Eve service and hear her handbell choir play. Years ago she hinted that she wanted me to see them play at church, so I thought that would be a nice surprise for her. But now I have to let her down.

Tomorrow is Christmas at Cindy's sister's place, and I'll likely have to stay home from that. Disappointing since I usually only see Melissa once or twice a year. Then we have company stopping by for an hour or so. Heather is bringing her sister-in-law and family. In the evening we have to go to my mom's for Christmas. I won't be able to stay home from that unless I go downhill from here. Christmas with my dad and stepmom's family on Saturday. No idea how I'll feel by then.

I'm off work next week, and I had lots of plans besides Christmas get-togethers. I wanted to rest after these last few difficult months at work. Go to the art museum. See Star Wars. Clean the basement. We have a couple of New Year's Eve parties. Etc.

I used to get sick every year at Christmas. Cindy calls it my holiday flu. I think I started getting a flu shot in 1999, and it hasn't happened since. But this year I got it twice. I kinda feel like it never completely went away, though. So maybe it was still a little active and then I got exposed to another big dose?

There's this thing that pisses me off. It's that male-bashing thing where women soldier through their illnesses, while men are whiny and expect to be taken care of. When Cindy's sick she just goes on with her day and doesn't complain about the pain. For me, it's not an issue with ignoring pain. Illnesses sap my energy. I literally can't go on with my day. I tend to collapse. Not only do I not have the energy to move around, but I feel like I need energy to get over it, and if I spend it on cleaning the house or whatever, I just stay sick longer. In addition, along with the loss of energy, I lose brainpower. I don't think straight. Everyone is affected differently by illness, so don't complain about what you haven't experienced.

Edited: After Cyn left to go to church, I sat here at the computer for a while. After half an hour, I had to go lie down.

It seems like there are things I want to post about. I have thoughts and ideas now and then. But I seldom have time to sit and write, and when I do, I can't remember what I wanted to write about. I'm only posting about once a week, and it's always about what I did over the weekend.

So I'll just talk about my health again.

Sciatica pain is on the rise again. Back pain is going away. My thumb seems to be suffering a bit of a strain. No idea why. I'm always stiff when I get up after sitting for a long time, but "long time" seems to be getting shorter. I feel like I walk like an old man. A certain bowel issue seems to happening more often. I'm getting more sleep, but still feel tired a lot. I went to yoga class on Monday. That was quite difficult (the yoga, not the going there). I haven't been getting enough exercise this year. I took a two-mile walk on Sunday, so that was good.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I feel like I've aged very much this year.

1. Sleep only as much as you need to feel refreshed during the following day.
2. Get up at the same time each day, seven days a week. (Sleep regularity helps set your biological clock.)
3. Exercise regularly. (But not later than 3 hours before bedtime.)
4. Make sure your bedroom is comfortable and free from light and noise.
5. Make sure your bedroom is at a comfortable temperature during the night.
6. Eat regular meals and do not go to bed hungry. (Hunger may disturb sleep.)
7. Avoid excessive liquids during the evening. (Causes trips to the bathroom.)
8. Cut down on all caffeine products.
9. Avoid alcohol, especially in the evening.
10. Smoking may disturb sleep. (Nicotine is a stimulant.)
11. Don't take your problems to bed. (Plan some time earlier in the evening to think about your problems or next day's schedule.)
12. Do not try to fall asleep.
13. Put the clock under the bed or turn it so that you can't see it. (Don't be a clock-watcher.)
14. Avoid naps.

Train yourself that bed is for sleeping. Go to bed only when you're tired, and get up when you wake up. If you can't sleep, get up. If you're awake for 15 to 20 minutes, you're not fall asleep, so get out of bed. Go to another room to read, or do some other pleasant, light activity.

While in bed, you should not do things that you do when you are awake, such as reading, watching TV, eating, studying or using the phone. By doing these things, you actually train yourself to stay awake in bed. Sexual activity is the only exception to this rule. The most important thing to avoid is trying to sleep, because it blocks you from getting the sleep that you want.

Try not to use a clock to decide when to get out of bed because looking at the clocks can lead to worry about not sleeping, which will make it harder to fall asleep. Do not dwell on this decision. If it is obvious to you that you will not immediately fall asleep, get up. The most important thing you can do to improve your sleep is to stop trying harder.

Set a fixed bedtime and rise-time. Do not go to bed earlier, but do not go to bed if you are not sleepy. Have a buffer zone before bedtime, where you engage in enjoyable but not stimulating activities. Do not spend time on the computer, because the blue/white spectrum of the internet tends to trick your body into thinking it's daytime.

My back seems not to be bothering me lately. My hip problem is still there. The problem in my leg hasn't gotten any better or worse. The leg thing feels like a strain. It started in the ligament that goes upward from the back of the knee, on the outside. It was just stiff for a few days. Then I noticed this strain in the same area, but it creeps upward and downward into the thigh and calf muscles. [Edited - in the end of January, was determined to be sciatica.]

I tried some yoga last week, but can't do much because the hip problem limits motion in one direction, and the leg pain (around the knee) limits motion in the other. So I do some limited stretching in the legs and hips.

I've been going to bed earlier than usual, but it doesn't seem to be helping. I feel tired just like I always do. Not exhausted like I did for a few days the weekend before last - just the regular tiredness.

Monday night was the whisky-making presentation. It went well, though, in the words of my dad, we weren't polished. We kept it short but sweet.

Tuesday, my back was killing me. It started giving me a little grief when we got rid of our mattress in favor of Cyn's mom's queen-sized one. It was more worn out than we expected, and my back started bugging me just a little. But I'm not sure if those are related. When we got our fancy new mattress, my back went south. It's had its ups and downs, but Tuesday was really painful. Yesterday was a little better, and today better still. I made an appointment with an adjustor, for saturday morning.

I'm enjoying this "new" monitor, for its size and resolution, but the color and highlight brightness are off. I edited the photos from Saturday's photowalk, and the rest of the ones from the wedding, but I felt like I was flying blind. I had to trust the sliders and histograms. I couldn't adjust the color at all, and had to do the brightness on faith. So I ordered a brand new 27" monitor. Should be pretty sweet.

Last night one of the managers at work took a bunch of us out to eat. Ate at Sprecher's Pub. Good food.

My car has been noisy for a while. I first thought it was the tires. Maybe out of balance, or something. It kept getting louder (and sounded less like out-of-balance tires). My dad rode with me not long ago and said it was a bad wheel bearing. And that bearing failure was catastrophic and could get someone killed. So I made an appointment and took it in today. I was told it's the tires. And that I should get an alignment to correct the odd wear pattern. (This shop didn't have the equipment to do my car.) I'm glad it wasn't the bearing, since that's an expensive fix, but this is a trickier problem to solve.

I had a lengthy to-do list, and got a few things done Tuesday night. Didn't do anything from it last night or tonight. Should clean the house tomorrow night. Should also go grocery shopping, and we're going to visit gallery night. We'll see what happens.