I went for a walk after work last night. It was a very pretty day, but it was starting to cool off as I set out. I have not walked much in years do to sciatic pain, but recently have received treatment and can start walking again. When I started off last night, I had hoped to do the entire circuit, but I opted to shorten the walk, until I build up to it. But I went further last night that I did on Saturday.
What I really enjoyed was the feel of the crisp air on my skin. I was walking quickly, and could feel my body getting warm and sweating. It was really exhilarating to feel the cool air on my warm skin. I had not felt that in some time. That is one of the joys of walking.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Life Without a Computer
I am really addicted to the computer. This past week, when the computer was being repaired, there were two nights that I did not have a computer. I felt a little lost: I use the computer for entertainment, news, communication. And, those two evenings, I did not have access to such.
The first night I was a little lost. Really. What to do. Of course, I had plenty to do: I spent the evening cooking and cleaning the kitchen. But that was strange for me.
I have several routines at night, and spending time on the computer is the most extensive one. Hmmm. I think I need to get a life!
The first night I was a little lost. Really. What to do. Of course, I had plenty to do: I spent the evening cooking and cleaning the kitchen. But that was strange for me.
I have several routines at night, and spending time on the computer is the most extensive one. Hmmm. I think I need to get a life!
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Valentine's Day
So, I am well advanced in age, and have spent many of my years single, not in a relationship. So Valentine's Day has variable meanings for me, but mostly it means that there are people in my life about whom I care, but not necessarily romantically.
Someone I know posted on Facebook about Valentine's Day that people who are single should not feel like they are failures. Well, thank you, but until I read this post, I would never have thought that being a single was a failure. And frankly, I do not believe that being a single is a failure. I believe the person who posted this was well meaning, but she had no idea what an insult she was perpetrating by implying singles are failures.
Valentine's Day is a nice commercial artifice. But it is not a commentary on the worth of individuals.
Someone I know posted on Facebook about Valentine's Day that people who are single should not feel like they are failures. Well, thank you, but until I read this post, I would never have thought that being a single was a failure. And frankly, I do not believe that being a single is a failure. I believe the person who posted this was well meaning, but she had no idea what an insult she was perpetrating by implying singles are failures.
Valentine's Day is a nice commercial artifice. But it is not a commentary on the worth of individuals.
The Strange Little Man at the Gas Pump
So, when I approached the gas pumps this morning, they were all full, but I chose to pull up behind a man who was already well into the act of filling his Hyundai. Or, so I thought. As I sat there, watching him fill the gas tank, he stood there and stopped and started the gas pump. Over and over and over again. Until it became comical. But so it continued, and continued, and continued. Until, finally he was using his hip to bump the car. I can only speculate that he thought that the more he bumped his car, the more the gasoline settled, and he could load more. When I went up to the pump to fuel my vehicle, it was interesting: he paid $25.01 for gasoline.
NASCAR
I almost missed the fact that the NASCAR season is starting: It was not on any of the newspaper services I access online. I do not get a daily newspaper. And, the TV and Internet sports are overwhelmed by the Olympics. But, NASCAR starts http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series.html with the Sprint Unlimited race this weekend. This is a non-points race but is a bragging rights race.
I am glad to be able to watch the race.
I am glad to be able to watch the race.
I Did Something Today I Have Not Done in A Long Time
Okay, so for years I was a walker. I mean, for years. As a teenager, I loved to go for a walk. I had a dog that liked to walk, and I took him for walks regularly. As a teenager and a young adult, I went for a walk almost every evening, in my town. There were lots of directions and paths for walks.
I remember as a teen, arguing with my mother because my dog would cry and cry because he wanted to go for a walk, even late at night in cold weather. But, eventually, she believed me, and a 10 minute walk around the block settled the dog so he would sleep at night. And, it was good for me, too.
Some of my walks took my by my grandmother's house, so on my way home, I would stop in to visit.
When I was in junior high, and high school, my sister and friends would walk the few miles to my uncle's country home, to the state highway just to collect trash, to hike various trails. I hiked many trails in the area of my home town. I just loved to walk. And, I still do.
On December 31, 2004, I joined a group of several women who made a 10 mile hike at Caprock Canyon State Park.
I live in a neighborhood that is not especially conducive to walking: there are sidewalks going east and west but not north and south. But I used to walk in the neighborhood anyway. I live near a park, and the walk around the park is great. There is a playa lake in the park, so it is also good for bird watching.
However, the good thing about the neighborhood is the accessibility to services within walking distance. I could take my car in for service, and although they would offer to drive me home and pick me up, I could take the walk. And, when my dog was alive,we walked it together. I could walk to the post office, the office supply store, the supermarket if I needed minor things, the hardware store if I did not need heavy things, the discount store. And, I did all of those walks, and more.
I loved to walk, so I might go to a city park to make the walk for whatever reason: birdwatching, flower looking, visiting with a friend, general exercise. I used to go the Lubbock Lake Landmark to walk. I just loved to walk.
Well, when I started having pain that was eventually diagnosed as siatica, I stopped walking. I was very stubborn, and did not seek treatment for the pain for about 3-5 years. So, I limited my walking, and also limited my house work, yard work, and other activities.
House work and yard work would aggrevate my pain. I work in a large complex. So, I would plan my walks to minimize the number of walks I needed to make. Walking from my office to my car would aggrevate my pain.
Celebrex helped: but after I started medication, I over did my activity, and it did not allow me more activity, just the same activity with minimal pain. Physical therapy helped: I felt stronger, more stable, had increased range of motion, but still had pain.
I finally went to pain management, and was eventually given cortisone shots. It took from Wednesday until Saturday before I felt relief, but I did feel relief. I still feel a heaviness in my hip area, sometimes, when I am engaged in activities that used to cause pain. My foot tingles, and I have a "foot drop." But, I am feeling a whole lot better.
The medical provider agreed that the foot strengthening exercises might help my foot drop. They thought that walking would be good, as tolerated for cardio-vascular exercise.
So, today, I went for a walk. I used to walk from my house, around the neighborhood park and tennis complex regularly. It is more than a mile walk. Today, I just went around part of the park. I took two rest stops. The first a preventative, the second, to recover my wind. When I arrived back home, my hip was tingling, so I sat and rested.
I hope to go for another such walk tomorrow.
I am so excited about being able to walk again. Yeah!
I remember as a teen, arguing with my mother because my dog would cry and cry because he wanted to go for a walk, even late at night in cold weather. But, eventually, she believed me, and a 10 minute walk around the block settled the dog so he would sleep at night. And, it was good for me, too.
Some of my walks took my by my grandmother's house, so on my way home, I would stop in to visit.
When I was in junior high, and high school, my sister and friends would walk the few miles to my uncle's country home, to the state highway just to collect trash, to hike various trails. I hiked many trails in the area of my home town. I just loved to walk. And, I still do.
On December 31, 2004, I joined a group of several women who made a 10 mile hike at Caprock Canyon State Park.
I live in a neighborhood that is not especially conducive to walking: there are sidewalks going east and west but not north and south. But I used to walk in the neighborhood anyway. I live near a park, and the walk around the park is great. There is a playa lake in the park, so it is also good for bird watching.
However, the good thing about the neighborhood is the accessibility to services within walking distance. I could take my car in for service, and although they would offer to drive me home and pick me up, I could take the walk. And, when my dog was alive,we walked it together. I could walk to the post office, the office supply store, the supermarket if I needed minor things, the hardware store if I did not need heavy things, the discount store. And, I did all of those walks, and more.
I loved to walk, so I might go to a city park to make the walk for whatever reason: birdwatching, flower looking, visiting with a friend, general exercise. I used to go the Lubbock Lake Landmark to walk. I just loved to walk.
Well, when I started having pain that was eventually diagnosed as siatica, I stopped walking. I was very stubborn, and did not seek treatment for the pain for about 3-5 years. So, I limited my walking, and also limited my house work, yard work, and other activities.
House work and yard work would aggrevate my pain. I work in a large complex. So, I would plan my walks to minimize the number of walks I needed to make. Walking from my office to my car would aggrevate my pain.
Celebrex helped: but after I started medication, I over did my activity, and it did not allow me more activity, just the same activity with minimal pain. Physical therapy helped: I felt stronger, more stable, had increased range of motion, but still had pain.
I finally went to pain management, and was eventually given cortisone shots. It took from Wednesday until Saturday before I felt relief, but I did feel relief. I still feel a heaviness in my hip area, sometimes, when I am engaged in activities that used to cause pain. My foot tingles, and I have a "foot drop." But, I am feeling a whole lot better.
The medical provider agreed that the foot strengthening exercises might help my foot drop. They thought that walking would be good, as tolerated for cardio-vascular exercise.
So, today, I went for a walk. I used to walk from my house, around the neighborhood park and tennis complex regularly. It is more than a mile walk. Today, I just went around part of the park. I took two rest stops. The first a preventative, the second, to recover my wind. When I arrived back home, my hip was tingling, so I sat and rested.
I hope to go for another such walk tomorrow.
I am so excited about being able to walk again. Yeah!
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Computer Frustration and Then Some
Okay, so Sunday night, as I was working on the computer, I got a pop up that told me my computer was at risk and did I want to run the virus scan. Well, I use a Microsoft anti-virus program, and it usually runs on Sunday night, and it usually asks me if I want it to run, and this looked like a Microsoft virus scan program, so I clicked on it. And it ran, then it told me I had to pay for the virus scan to complete its work. So, I knew I had been scammed, and I shut the computer down.
Monday morning, I contacted the IT help desk at Texas Tech, because as an employee, there are somethings they can do to help staff. They could not resolve my problem. However, in the course of trying to help me, the technician copied the address book addresses I needed, for NASW, in case I had to have the hard drive re-formatted.
Well, they referred me to a commercial resource who might could help me. I was impressed, because the resource said they would start on the service right away. My past experience with computer technical services is that they put you on a waiting list. It took this technical service a couple of days to fix the computer, and I did not get it back until Wednesday morning, but I was pleased to get it back and ready to use.
So tonight, I was working on some NASW stuff, and I did something, and lo and behold, a file of NASW addresses disappeared. Because the technician had saved that file, I was ultimately able to find it and import it back into the address book. I will need to ultimately refigure it, but it is useable, and I have not lost all of those addresses, as I did the last time I lost the address book. I am not sure what I did to lose this address book, as I am not sure what I did last time to lose the address book. But, at least, this time, I can recreate it, as nothing has changed since the tech saved it for me on Monday.
I am not sure why I am having all of these technical problems. I am thinking, especially, that someone younger and more technically savvy needs to be recruited to help us with our NASW computer communications.
I will continue to do what I can to help my local NASW branch with communication. I hope I am truly up to the task.
Monday morning, I contacted the IT help desk at Texas Tech, because as an employee, there are somethings they can do to help staff. They could not resolve my problem. However, in the course of trying to help me, the technician copied the address book addresses I needed, for NASW, in case I had to have the hard drive re-formatted.
Well, they referred me to a commercial resource who might could help me. I was impressed, because the resource said they would start on the service right away. My past experience with computer technical services is that they put you on a waiting list. It took this technical service a couple of days to fix the computer, and I did not get it back until Wednesday morning, but I was pleased to get it back and ready to use.
So tonight, I was working on some NASW stuff, and I did something, and lo and behold, a file of NASW addresses disappeared. Because the technician had saved that file, I was ultimately able to find it and import it back into the address book. I will need to ultimately refigure it, but it is useable, and I have not lost all of those addresses, as I did the last time I lost the address book. I am not sure what I did to lose this address book, as I am not sure what I did last time to lose the address book. But, at least, this time, I can recreate it, as nothing has changed since the tech saved it for me on Monday.
I am not sure why I am having all of these technical problems. I am thinking, especially, that someone younger and more technically savvy needs to be recruited to help us with our NASW computer communications.
I will continue to do what I can to help my local NASW branch with communication. I hope I am truly up to the task.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)