Aches and Pains

I awoke today with costochondritis .  I had pain on the right side of my rib cage, and it became worse as the day continued. I could not imagine what I did to cause the pain. There were times during the day, that it was difficult to breathe.   And then, my hips started hurting, and my left knee started hurting; the longer I sat, the more I hurt. A cold front was moving in.

When I got home tonight, I used the mini-tens machine, and had immediate relief from the back pain, and after a while, from the costochondritis.  I also had the space heater going, so that I had a warm nest to sit in. What relief. 

Opossum

So I looked out my back door last evening, not too late, and saw something I could not reconcile at first.  I thought it was a deformed cat, then realized it was an opossum.  When I opened the back door, it slunk away.  So, I think I have an opossum living in the neighborhood. 

Personal Shopper

I usually do my weekly shopping on Friday, but not on Black Friday. So, I went to Wal Mart on Sunday. And, I saw something that I had not seen before.  There were some Wal Mart employees walking around the store with a cart with multiple blue bins. I could not figure it out, because they did not seem to be stocking shelves. Then, I saw a sign on one of the carts and it said the employee was a personal shopper, for the Wal Mart shop online service.  Hmm.  Very interesting.  

And it makes me wonder who does this shopping online.  Elderly people whose mobility makes walking around the store difficult?  Busy professionals who feel like they do not have time to shop?  Stay at home moms with little kids for whom a trip to the store is an adventure, at best?

Anyway, a lot of stores do the shop online and door front pickup service.  

A local supermarket chain United Supermarkets also offers that same service.  They also do a delivery service. 

This is the new way to shop.  

The Rawls Course

I do not play golf, but my Thanksgiving company does, so we went to The Rawls Course .  I was able to ride along, and watch my company and two others play golf.  Like my company, these two other golfers were there for a day of pleasure and exercise: no one got cross when they made a bad shot, or could not find a ball in the tall grass.  No one became impatient when we caught up with the group ahead of us.  The scheduler had assigned a 4th to the group, but the golfer, after 2 bad shots on the first hole, decided to go back to the driving range.

It was a pleasant day.

Sandhill Crane

We went to the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge  on 11/21/17.   We arrived shortly before sunset, and looked around a little, then went to Goose Lake, to wait for the Sandhill Crane to fly in. I was not sure we would see any, as the peak time for the migration is December to January. It was about 5 minutes after official sunset when they started arriving, a few at a time at first, and they came in waves for about 40 minutes.  This is a magnificent sight, and while I have seen more Sandhill Crane than we saw on the 21st, it was still thrilling to see the birds fly in.  It is difficult to see the birds in the pictures below, there is  a faint line in the sky that is flock of Sandhill Crane flying it.  Their trill is distinctive, and usually heard before the birds are spotted.  They fly high and depending on the angle at which they are viewed, they are difficult to see.  But it is an awesome sight!

The Texas Lieberator Exhibit

I went back to the Texas Tech Museum to see the Texas Liberator Exhibit. It was a gruesome exhibit. It is important for us to remember, because it "The Final Solution" was a horrible event, and we need not let it happen again.

That is why I think we need to be pro-active in helping the Syrian refugees. No people deserve to be treated like chattel, property, or less than beasts. It is why I think we have an obligation, in this country, to work to be sure that race, creed, color, religion, ethnic background, nation of origin, or gender identity affects the way people are treated. 
Human rights must be paramount. 

Liberators

There is an exhibit at the Texas Tech Museum about the Texas Liberators, or men from Texas who were with the military troops who liberated concentration camps in World War II.
On November 14, 2017, they had a presentation by 2 liberators, who shared their story with us.  It was very good, very moving, and very emotional.  I stayed for the reception after wards.  I saw part of the exhibit, but plan to view it more closely next week when I am off work.  

For anyone in Lubbock, I recommend you view it.  Especially if you are interested in history.

Invictus

I recently played the movie Invictus for my patients.  We also discussed the poem Invictus.  I think some of my patients learned some life lessons about the movie. The lessons include, not being a racist, using prison time to make yourself a better person, and learning about forgiveness and reconciliation. 

I hope have planted some seeds.  

Falling Star

Thursday night, shortly after 7 PM, I was walking into the building where the book club that I attend, meets.  I looked up at the sky, facing west, and saw a shooting star, a bright ball of light going north, and then, fizzling out.  

I did not make a wish, and I never even thought to tell my colleagues in the book club.  But seeing a falling star is not a common experience for me, although I have seen some in the past.

It was awesome, and I was pleased, but not over excited.  I just don't get over excited much any more.  That is okay, I appreciated being able to see the falling star.

Electric Bill

When I received the electric bill this month, I was a little confused.  My electric usage was as high as it was for June and July this year, when my air-conditioner ran mercilessly, and in triple digit weather, could not keep up.  In August, I had the air-conditioning and heating unit of 26 years replaced, and my electric usage in August was markedly lower.  In September, I expected it to be low, because we had a lot of cool, wet weather, and although sometimes the air-conditioner ran, not so much.

October was a warm month, but not warmer than August. And cool, sometimes.  Cool enough I sometimes run a space heater near my desk.  My past experience with the space heater is that it does not increase the electric bill nearly as much as the air-conditioner does. I had learned years ago, when I got a really unbelievably high electric bill ($500 in one month) that Lubbock Power and Light has a meter re-read service when bills are questionable.  When I got this bill, I went out to look at the meter, but it was high on the wall of my house, and the meter housing was difficult to see through.  So, I just called, expressed my concern and why it was a concern, and the agent agreed the best option was to have the meter re-read.   I received a letter from LP&L today, with an adjusted reading that saved me about $110.  That sounded more like it.  

Now, if I had used that much electricity, of course I would have paid for it. But I could not believe that I had.  I was right this time!  Yeah!

Emergency Lights

As I sit at my computer tonight, I am facing north, and there is a window in front of me.   Just a few minutes ago, I saw the red and blue lights of an emergency vehicle flash by. No siren.  I went outside to check, and the vehicle had already made it to the west end of the block.  I could not tell what was happening.  

Lady Raider Basketball

I have season tickets for the Texas Tech Lady Raiders Basketball team.  I went to the exhibition game against St. Edwards University.  It was a good game, in the respect that Texas Tech won.  The players had lots of energy, and they won by more than 30 points.  St. Edwards' team were not as good as Texas Tech, but even so, Texas Tech made a lot of mistakes.  As I left the game, I heard people talking about how good the team is was and how much energy they played with.  There is a lot to do to get ready for season play, and they have some serious opponents before pre-conference play.  We shall see how the season progresses.