Tuesday
Sunday
26 December 2010
Christmas Day at Casa de Thumper was nice and quiet; the Spouse Thingy had to work Christmas Eve night into Christmas morning and he slept until 1:15, getting up earlier than normal, and the Boy came over around 1:30. He made pizza for all, and we watched a little Doctor Who (because I am woefully behind on on it, and they don't mind seeing repeats), opened gifts, just had a nice, quiet time.
My day was probably quieter than normal...because I can barely move. The shoulder and chest are improving; on a scale from 1 - 10, with the post-Skki-wipeout pain having been around 8.5, it's down to a tolerable 5. Things on that front are healing nicely. In fact, the recovery is so steady that I don't think it will take nearly as long as the doc warned it could be. Motrin was handling the pain, and I was fully mobile.
"Was" being the key word here.
(Fair warning...copious whining follows.)
My lower back started to ache on Wednesday evening. I didn't think much of it; I have arthritis at L4 and L5, and some aching comes along with that. It aches 90% of the time, and a little Naprosyn makes the worst of it usually abate.
Thursday morning it hurt a little more, but not too badly. Thursday night...someone stabbed me in the back with a red hot poker. I started to get up from the sofa and there was instant fire. And Buddah, the little shit, took the opportunity to jump up onto my back since I couldn't stand upright; I tried to reach back to get him, but he flattened himself like a pancake, and I wound up shuffling down the hall, bent over, with him riding me the entire way. He only jumped down when I went into the bathroom and turned on the water.
I'm pretty sure he was laughing at me.
That was a Vicodin kind of night.
Friday. Holy Carp. There was a lot of moaning and groaning coming out of me, enough that the cats probably got fed up. I know I got fed up. Moving was becoming a rapidly increasing exercise in agony, and when Santa needed to fill the stockings....well, Santa finally said "Phck it," dumped everything on the sofa, shuffled slowly down the hall, took 2 Vicodin, and went to bed.
Christmas Day, the back was still not cooperating. I did well to get from the sofa to a chair in the other room, and then back again later. If not for being served, I'm not sure I would have eaten much at all yesterday, because getting into the kitchen was a literal pain in the ass as whatever muscle in my lower back has decided to clench angrily sent fiery fingers up my back and down into my glutes.
Seriously, I don't think my back has ever been this bad. I really need some new swear words to use when get up, because I'm running out of old ones.
It was a 2 Vicodin night last night, too. It's not doing a damned thing for the pain, but it helped with sleep.
Today...no better, and the weird spot on my chest feels like something ripped again. So I'll spend my day sitting here, not doing much at all. I'm only getting up to pee and to take Motrin and/or Naprosyn. If the bathroom were more comfortable, I think I'd just stay in there so that I wouldn't have to get up at all.
How I know it hurts and I'm not just enjoying the whining: getting my gallbladder out hurt far less, and getting the brain tumor removed was only slightly more painful. Seriously.
Still...Christmas was very nice. It was nice to just sit here with the Boy and the Spouse Thingy, and even the cats were semi-social. I swear, they both acted like they knew what day it was and that they had to be good, because there was shrimp in the fridge, and bad kitties don't get shrimp...
The kitties, being good...
My day was probably quieter than normal...because I can barely move. The shoulder and chest are improving; on a scale from 1 - 10, with the post-Skki-wipeout pain having been around 8.5, it's down to a tolerable 5. Things on that front are healing nicely. In fact, the recovery is so steady that I don't think it will take nearly as long as the doc warned it could be. Motrin was handling the pain, and I was fully mobile.
"Was" being the key word here.
(Fair warning...copious whining follows.)
My lower back started to ache on Wednesday evening. I didn't think much of it; I have arthritis at L4 and L5, and some aching comes along with that. It aches 90% of the time, and a little Naprosyn makes the worst of it usually abate.
Thursday morning it hurt a little more, but not too badly. Thursday night...someone stabbed me in the back with a red hot poker. I started to get up from the sofa and there was instant fire. And Buddah, the little shit, took the opportunity to jump up onto my back since I couldn't stand upright; I tried to reach back to get him, but he flattened himself like a pancake, and I wound up shuffling down the hall, bent over, with him riding me the entire way. He only jumped down when I went into the bathroom and turned on the water.
I'm pretty sure he was laughing at me.
That was a Vicodin kind of night.
Friday. Holy Carp. There was a lot of moaning and groaning coming out of me, enough that the cats probably got fed up. I know I got fed up. Moving was becoming a rapidly increasing exercise in agony, and when Santa needed to fill the stockings....well, Santa finally said "Phck it," dumped everything on the sofa, shuffled slowly down the hall, took 2 Vicodin, and went to bed.
Christmas Day, the back was still not cooperating. I did well to get from the sofa to a chair in the other room, and then back again later. If not for being served, I'm not sure I would have eaten much at all yesterday, because getting into the kitchen was a literal pain in the ass as whatever muscle in my lower back has decided to clench angrily sent fiery fingers up my back and down into my glutes.
Seriously, I don't think my back has ever been this bad. I really need some new swear words to use when get up, because I'm running out of old ones.
It was a 2 Vicodin night last night, too. It's not doing a damned thing for the pain, but it helped with sleep.
Today...no better, and the weird spot on my chest feels like something ripped again. So I'll spend my day sitting here, not doing much at all. I'm only getting up to pee and to take Motrin and/or Naprosyn. If the bathroom were more comfortable, I think I'd just stay in there so that I wouldn't have to get up at all.
How I know it hurts and I'm not just enjoying the whining: getting my gallbladder out hurt far less, and getting the brain tumor removed was only slightly more painful. Seriously.
Still...Christmas was very nice. It was nice to just sit here with the Boy and the Spouse Thingy, and even the cats were semi-social. I swear, they both acted like they knew what day it was and that they had to be good, because there was shrimp in the fridge, and bad kitties don't get shrimp...
The kitties, being good...
Friday
Sunday
19 December 2010
It's been cold and rainy here, and the forecast suggests it's going to stay that way at least through Christmas. Normally, that many days of rain would have me whining about not being able to take the bike out, or the Trikke, or the Strider... but since I can't do any of those things right now, I'm kind of enjoying the rain.
But...I really do need to get out there and walk. I have the treadmill, but it's different. I prefer walking outside, wandering around the town, seeing and hearing and smelling things that aren't in my face most of the rest of the time. Outside, I'll walk further and for a longer period of time than I will inside on the treadmill. It's not exactly logical, but there we are. I'm not an exactly logical person.
And there's the whole oh-holy-carp-this-kinda-hurts thing I have going on. I never realized how much a person's shoulder and chest moves with the simple motions of walking. The shoulder achiness I can deal with, but I have that place on my chest that just burns, and when I move the wrong way...damn. So I haven't made much of an effort to walk, even though I want to.
I'm a weenie that way.
When this has all healed up enough--half the time I think it'll heal quickly, the other half I'm afraid it really will take 12 weeks--I'm going to have some serious catching up to do conditioning-wise and weight wise. Sitting on my ass is not doing kind things to my weight (and neither did the pound cake I caved into this last week...or the cookies) and even if I keep the calorie count reasonable, if I can't move around I'm going to expand in ways I really don't want.
Yep, this is the argument I have in my own head. Move and hurt. Don't move and get fatter. Take it easy and decrease the healing time. Suck it up and do things and don't get fatter.
On the plus side, I can drive now, so I'm not stuck here. I can get out and about if I need to, but driving isn't all that comfortable when I have to navigate a turn, so I'm not jumping in the car and taking off on a whim. Max's friends can relax, though; I did go shopping for his Christmas present, but it's not wrapped and under the tree yet. Mostly because he would smell it, or Buddah would, and my furry friends would shred the paper to get to it.
What? Like you don't buy Christmas presents for your furballs...
But...I really do need to get out there and walk. I have the treadmill, but it's different. I prefer walking outside, wandering around the town, seeing and hearing and smelling things that aren't in my face most of the rest of the time. Outside, I'll walk further and for a longer period of time than I will inside on the treadmill. It's not exactly logical, but there we are. I'm not an exactly logical person.
And there's the whole oh-holy-carp-this-kinda-hurts thing I have going on. I never realized how much a person's shoulder and chest moves with the simple motions of walking. The shoulder achiness I can deal with, but I have that place on my chest that just burns, and when I move the wrong way...damn. So I haven't made much of an effort to walk, even though I want to.
I'm a weenie that way.
When this has all healed up enough--half the time I think it'll heal quickly, the other half I'm afraid it really will take 12 weeks--I'm going to have some serious catching up to do conditioning-wise and weight wise. Sitting on my ass is not doing kind things to my weight (and neither did the pound cake I caved into this last week...or the cookies) and even if I keep the calorie count reasonable, if I can't move around I'm going to expand in ways I really don't want.
Yep, this is the argument I have in my own head. Move and hurt. Don't move and get fatter. Take it easy and decrease the healing time. Suck it up and do things and don't get fatter.
On the plus side, I can drive now, so I'm not stuck here. I can get out and about if I need to, but driving isn't all that comfortable when I have to navigate a turn, so I'm not jumping in the car and taking off on a whim. Max's friends can relax, though; I did go shopping for his Christmas present, but it's not wrapped and under the tree yet. Mostly because he would smell it, or Buddah would, and my furry friends would shred the paper to get to it.
What? Like you don't buy Christmas presents for your furballs...
Thursday
Wednesday
15 December 2010
A few months ago, when I was training for the 3 Day Walk and wanting to go into San Francisco to make use of the hilly terrain there, I got a traffic ticket. Nope, I wasn't speeding...we were looking for a place to park at the Concord BART station, stopped at a red light, and then the next thing I know, after I made the turn, I was being pulled over.
The charge? Turning right on a red where it is clearly posted you can't do that.
The thing is...we were positive the light was green. The Spouse Thingy had asked me why I wasn't going, I pointed out the no right on red sign, and I waited. I know the light was green when I went.
The cop pulled another woman over at the same time for the same infraction.
Now...this cop was polite and reasonable. When we both said we were sure the light was green, he said he would go back and check the timing on the lights. If he was wrong, he'd dismiss the ticket. He was very nice, we didn't argue, he didn't argue. He was just doing his job.
Cut to now. I never got a notice one way or the other about the ticket. You're supposed to get a courtesy notice about the ticket; how much the fine is, where to pay, etc. But, if you don't get one, it's still your responsibility to figure it all out. Even though none of that is on the ticket.
Okay, fine, I can deal with that.
But, we waited for the the courtesy notice, or something to say hey, you were right after all.
Nada.
The ticket has to be resolved by Monday. So I got online to pay it...entered the citation number and got a message saying the citation couldn't be found. Use the docket number instead.
I never got the freaking notice about it, and the docket number would be on that notice.
So either the ticket doesn't exist and the cop dismissed it, or I'm expected to do contortions to pay the bail on it. and ya know, if I'm in the wrong, fine, I'll pay it. Who knows, maybe we both had a brain fart and just imagined that green light. But the citation number did not exist in the system...
So the Spouse Thingy got on the phone...and entered into phone hell. He never got through...but did get the info that the Contra Costa County Traffic court closes at 2 pm every day. It was 1:30...no time to get there.
Y'all know ho freakishly weird I am about going places by myself the first time? Yeah, this is problematic. Because today was really the only day the Spouse Thingy could have gone with me. In hindsight, we should have driven there anyway, just so I'd know where to go. I would have been okay with that.
Mostly, I just wanna know if I got a ticket or not.
'Cause, really, the light was green!
Swearsies.
The charge? Turning right on a red where it is clearly posted you can't do that.
The thing is...we were positive the light was green. The Spouse Thingy had asked me why I wasn't going, I pointed out the no right on red sign, and I waited. I know the light was green when I went.
The cop pulled another woman over at the same time for the same infraction.
Now...this cop was polite and reasonable. When we both said we were sure the light was green, he said he would go back and check the timing on the lights. If he was wrong, he'd dismiss the ticket. He was very nice, we didn't argue, he didn't argue. He was just doing his job.
Cut to now. I never got a notice one way or the other about the ticket. You're supposed to get a courtesy notice about the ticket; how much the fine is, where to pay, etc. But, if you don't get one, it's still your responsibility to figure it all out. Even though none of that is on the ticket.
Okay, fine, I can deal with that.
But, we waited for the the courtesy notice, or something to say hey, you were right after all.
Nada.
The ticket has to be resolved by Monday. So I got online to pay it...entered the citation number and got a message saying the citation couldn't be found. Use the docket number instead.
I never got the freaking notice about it, and the docket number would be on that notice.
So either the ticket doesn't exist and the cop dismissed it, or I'm expected to do contortions to pay the bail on it. and ya know, if I'm in the wrong, fine, I'll pay it. Who knows, maybe we both had a brain fart and just imagined that green light. But the citation number did not exist in the system...
So the Spouse Thingy got on the phone...and entered into phone hell. He never got through...but did get the info that the Contra Costa County Traffic court closes at 2 pm every day. It was 1:30...no time to get there.
Y'all know ho freakishly weird I am about going places by myself the first time? Yeah, this is problematic. Because today was really the only day the Spouse Thingy could have gone with me. In hindsight, we should have driven there anyway, just so I'd know where to go. I would have been okay with that.
Mostly, I just wanna know if I got a ticket or not.
'Cause, really, the light was green!
Swearsies.
Tuesday
14 December 2010
Why I should not be allowed to text:
And I have wanted Red Vines ever since...
(Yes, this was really Char's and my text...)
In other news, I had a follow up with my doc today and my arm is not about to detach from my body at the shoulder. Everything still hurts, but it's better every day and I have reasonable range of motion. It's just a matter of giving it time to heal up. He's kind of all over the map on exactly how long that will take. Everything from 6 weeks to 6 months.
If not for one particular place on my chest, I'd guess closer to 6 weeks, because the level of pain notches down noticeably from day to day. That one spot, though...it's being a little bitch. Still...I have high hopes that I'll feel comfortable driving by Friday and motorcycle-worthy after Christmas.
And oh yeah, I fully intend to hit the slopes again before the season is over. I am going to own that Skki Trikke.
And I have wanted Red Vines ever since...
(Yes, this was really Char's and my text...)
In other news, I had a follow up with my doc today and my arm is not about to detach from my body at the shoulder. Everything still hurts, but it's better every day and I have reasonable range of motion. It's just a matter of giving it time to heal up. He's kind of all over the map on exactly how long that will take. Everything from 6 weeks to 6 months.
If not for one particular place on my chest, I'd guess closer to 6 weeks, because the level of pain notches down noticeably from day to day. That one spot, though...it's being a little bitch. Still...I have high hopes that I'll feel comfortable driving by Friday and motorcycle-worthy after Christmas.
And oh yeah, I fully intend to hit the slopes again before the season is over. I am going to own that Skki Trikke.
Sunday
12 December 2010
Pass the cheese, 'cause I've got the whine...
Okay, so far the recovery hasn't been too bad. I ache, but as long as I don't move, the pain isn't horrible. The shoulder itself hurts a little, but the worst is actually where the pectoral muscle connects to the sternum--that feels like it's ripping away every time I move--and there's this weird spot along my shoulder blade that feels like someone jammed a stick in there and won't pull it out.
The overall body achiness is subsiding, so, yay.
It could be worse. During the day taking Motrin is enough, but I'm still taking Vicodin at night. Night time is a double whammy; I can't roll over so I'm stuck sleeping on my back, but I'm a side and stomach sleeper, so my back really starts to ache after a while. I did notice last night that I managed to get my hips rolled over a little, so that's something. At least it takes the pressure off for a few minutes at a time.
But so far the absolute worst part of all this is boredom, and not being able to do anything. I'm pretty freaking mobile, but I can't lift anything, so I can't even do basic housework. I can't drive, so I'm stuck at home, and I hate being stuck at home. I'd walk to the store, but that one place on my chest seems to be seriously affected by the gravity of walking, so I'm not sure that would be my greatest idea. And while I feel like walking, I don't know the level of my endurance. I was sleepy as hell for a couple of days and I'm not sure how long I can wander around before the achiness gives way to fatigue.
All right, I take it back...the worst part has been the weight gain. Ten freaking pounds in the last few days. Yes, I know a good chunk of it is water, muscle trauma and all that, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it. I know part of it isn't water, it's from sitting around doing nothing. So even after I shed the water weight, I'll still have 2-3 extra pounds to deal with, and I was having a hard enough time with my weight before that. 1500 calories a day, reasonable activity, and I hadn't lost a damned thing in almost a year.
I was already frustrated; this is just pushing me over the edge. I am really pissed off about it.
So sore, bored, and ticked off...not a good combination.
There needs to be better crap on TV.
Okay, so far the recovery hasn't been too bad. I ache, but as long as I don't move, the pain isn't horrible. The shoulder itself hurts a little, but the worst is actually where the pectoral muscle connects to the sternum--that feels like it's ripping away every time I move--and there's this weird spot along my shoulder blade that feels like someone jammed a stick in there and won't pull it out.
The overall body achiness is subsiding, so, yay.
It could be worse. During the day taking Motrin is enough, but I'm still taking Vicodin at night. Night time is a double whammy; I can't roll over so I'm stuck sleeping on my back, but I'm a side and stomach sleeper, so my back really starts to ache after a while. I did notice last night that I managed to get my hips rolled over a little, so that's something. At least it takes the pressure off for a few minutes at a time.
But so far the absolute worst part of all this is boredom, and not being able to do anything. I'm pretty freaking mobile, but I can't lift anything, so I can't even do basic housework. I can't drive, so I'm stuck at home, and I hate being stuck at home. I'd walk to the store, but that one place on my chest seems to be seriously affected by the gravity of walking, so I'm not sure that would be my greatest idea. And while I feel like walking, I don't know the level of my endurance. I was sleepy as hell for a couple of days and I'm not sure how long I can wander around before the achiness gives way to fatigue.
All right, I take it back...the worst part has been the weight gain. Ten freaking pounds in the last few days. Yes, I know a good chunk of it is water, muscle trauma and all that, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it. I know part of it isn't water, it's from sitting around doing nothing. So even after I shed the water weight, I'll still have 2-3 extra pounds to deal with, and I was having a hard enough time with my weight before that. 1500 calories a day, reasonable activity, and I hadn't lost a damned thing in almost a year.
I was already frustrated; this is just pushing me over the edge. I am really pissed off about it.
So sore, bored, and ticked off...not a good combination.
There needs to be better crap on TV.
Thursday
9 December 2010
So.
Earlier this year the Spouse Thingy and I gave skiing a try, but it was pretty much a failure due to an unwaxed ski and wet snow…I didn’t even finish the 2 hour beginner’s class because of it. Unwaxed ski = ski that won’t slide = twisted knee.
The consensus after we gave up? "We're too old for this shit."
But, we like the idea of fun in the snow, so over the summer we planned on getting a couple of Trikke Skkis, because they’re easy to ride, and easy sounded really good.
A couple of weeks ago we ordered two of them, and on Monday we drove up to Sierra-at-Tahoe and bought our season passes (because hey! These things are easy to ride, so we’ll ride all winter long!), then spent the night in a cheap motel so that we could hit the slopes bright and early. And it was a beautiful day... No wind, abundant sunshine, and the temp was right around 32--bonus in that it wasn't at all crowded, which is what we hoped for, being new to the spiffy Trikke Skki.
We had to field a lot of questions from the curious about the Skkis, but soon enough we were walking them partway up the bunny slope so we could test ride them and make sure we knew how to stop, which seemed like an important thing to know how to do. We did that twice, were satisfied that we could do it, and headed for the ski lift...determined to stick to the bunny slope because, hey, we're not stupid.
But ya know? From the top, the bunny slope looks pretty steep. So we headed sideways, from one side to the other, a sloping lateral move, just to test the stopping thing again. And then I decided sooner or later I was going to have to go down that hill, so off I went.
And it was awesome. I had the carving motion down fairly well because of the street Trikke, and I was able to slow myself a bit when I thought I was going too fast. Sweet. And so much fun.
And then a snowboarder stopped--in a logical place to stop, seeing as how he was nearly at the bottom--so I needed to not only stop, but avoid him. So I leaned into the slope--what one is supposed to do to stop a Skki Trikke--and was slowing, but I made the mistake of turning the front ski in the opposite direction. I launched off of it, over the handlebar, onto my right shoulder, and the Skki landed on top of me.
Easy to ride...not so easy to stop. Not if you're going pretty fast.
My very first run on my brand new spiffy toy, after paying for a season pass, and my season just might be over. Nothing broken, but tons of bruises. My left foot was pretty mangled (not sure how) and I strained nearly every tendon that keeps my right shoulder connected to my body so badly that the doc says it should heal in 12-18 WEEKS. And that I'd probably hurt less if I'd broken it.
Go me!
This was me after he told me that:
No Skking, no motorcycle ...=sob=... I am so freaking sore, even thinking about moving hurts, and I am Teh Bummed.
Well, other than the Vicodin. That part has been fun...
Earlier this year the Spouse Thingy and I gave skiing a try, but it was pretty much a failure due to an unwaxed ski and wet snow…I didn’t even finish the 2 hour beginner’s class because of it. Unwaxed ski = ski that won’t slide = twisted knee.
The consensus after we gave up? "We're too old for this shit."
But, we like the idea of fun in the snow, so over the summer we planned on getting a couple of Trikke Skkis, because they’re easy to ride, and easy sounded really good.
A couple of weeks ago we ordered two of them, and on Monday we drove up to Sierra-at-Tahoe and bought our season passes (because hey! These things are easy to ride, so we’ll ride all winter long!), then spent the night in a cheap motel so that we could hit the slopes bright and early. And it was a beautiful day... No wind, abundant sunshine, and the temp was right around 32--bonus in that it wasn't at all crowded, which is what we hoped for, being new to the spiffy Trikke Skki.
We had to field a lot of questions from the curious about the Skkis, but soon enough we were walking them partway up the bunny slope so we could test ride them and make sure we knew how to stop, which seemed like an important thing to know how to do. We did that twice, were satisfied that we could do it, and headed for the ski lift...determined to stick to the bunny slope because, hey, we're not stupid.
But ya know? From the top, the bunny slope looks pretty steep. So we headed sideways, from one side to the other, a sloping lateral move, just to test the stopping thing again. And then I decided sooner or later I was going to have to go down that hill, so off I went.
And it was awesome. I had the carving motion down fairly well because of the street Trikke, and I was able to slow myself a bit when I thought I was going too fast. Sweet. And so much fun.
And then a snowboarder stopped--in a logical place to stop, seeing as how he was nearly at the bottom--so I needed to not only stop, but avoid him. So I leaned into the slope--what one is supposed to do to stop a Skki Trikke--and was slowing, but I made the mistake of turning the front ski in the opposite direction. I launched off of it, over the handlebar, onto my right shoulder, and the Skki landed on top of me.
Easy to ride...not so easy to stop. Not if you're going pretty fast.
My very first run on my brand new spiffy toy, after paying for a season pass, and my season just might be over. Nothing broken, but tons of bruises. My left foot was pretty mangled (not sure how) and I strained nearly every tendon that keeps my right shoulder connected to my body so badly that the doc says it should heal in 12-18 WEEKS. And that I'd probably hurt less if I'd broken it.
Go me!
This was me after he told me that:
No Skking, no motorcycle ...=sob=... I am so freaking sore, even thinking about moving hurts, and I am Teh Bummed.
Well, other than the Vicodin. That part has been fun...
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