Tuesday, May 15, 2007

My Prostate, Chain Saws, Short Back and Sides




I was awake at 5:30am but laid there for a few gathering my thoughts about the day ahead. I still hadn’t fully committed to how my morning would unfold given my early doctor’s appointment (9:30am) and the required fasting. I had a few options still whirling about my head. One, I could get up like always, ready, go to work, and leave from there, or, two, I could stay at home taking care of watering and other miscellaneous tasks until about 9am and then head directly to my appointment. Lastly, I could take advantage of the early appointment and get my run in from home. Ultimately, I decided to go about the day as close to normal as possible. Ah, Jim, a creature of habit! The glaring difference was my inability to enjoy morning coffee and my eggs and fruit.

I exercised and walked Ykraps all before 6am. I noticed the water level of the pond resting alarming low – again. Although it’s been getting shallower over time, the neighbors and I chalk that up to increased sediment, but this is something else. The water level itself has dropped significantly. A check of the dam recently revealed no change there, so the only logical explanation is that the feed has been disturbed. It’s so bad now that there’s more bottom visible than there is water. Something else for me to fret about.

I made coffee, lunch, and breakfast for Mindy, but didn’t eat anything or drink any coffee myself. Believe me, it was so hard. After Mindy and kids departed, I did my shower and got dressed. I left for work around 7:45am.

I spent the first hour of day getting organized for later. I left for my doctor’s appointment at 9am sharp. I was dragging and badly wanted some coffee. I arrived at my appointment early (go figure!). They took me in a few minutes early too. My weight fully clothed, which I never do, was 169lbs. That would put me around 164-165 naked, which is where I’ve been for the past several months. My blood pressure was 127/82, according to the nurse.

Dr Broyles came in about ten minutes later for my check-up. We talked for a few before he did the ol’ prostate check. Believe me, I was eager for him to get the hell out of there! He checked my heart, breathing, glands, thyroid, eyes, and ears. He had blood drawn to get a look at my cholesterol, thyroid, & blood sugar. Finally, he wrote me another prescription for the anti-fungal creams I use, and we discussed the likely causes and ways to prevent reoccurrence. Finally, at the nurses prompting, I left them a fine urine sample even though my doctor made no mention of it..

I stopped at Hilliard Lawn Equipment on my way back to the office. And by the way, it was a superbly beautiful day. It was pure summer – blue skies & steamy. I checked out chain saws – Echo & Stihl. If I buy one, I’m going to get a good one. I can’t afford anything less. I headed back to work after spending only five minutes or so looking at chain saws.

The remainder of my morning went quickly. I left for a run around 12:45pm. It was 85 degrees when I set out, and probably as humid as it’s been all season. It felt like the dead of summer.

The afternoon flew by. I left for home just after 5pm. Instead of going directly home, I stopped at Strader’s Riverside to get my 2007 vegetables. I bought a variety of pepper plants and two different tomato plants. After Strader’s I drove to the Saturday’s at Lane Ave. Mall. This was my first visit to this particular branch in at least eight years. I got my hair cut short. It was just after 6pm when I walked out and headed for home. I really wanted to go tanning too but ran out of valuable time.

Mindy had two friends over, Renee & Aaron. They were staying for dinner. I wasn’t all that hungry and needed to get cracking on the weekly lawn chores. I visited for a few minutes then headed out. I spent the next 2.5 hours working in the yard. After all the cutting and trimming I planted the veggies and watered everything in really well. I watered despite the anticipation of overnight rain.

As you might expect, I was exhausted by the time I rolled into the house. It was 9pm. I pretty much used every second of daylight. After a quick shower I returned to the kitchen to address my ravenous hunger. I heated my leftover Chipotle burrito and later enjoyed a bowl of popcorn. Mindy headed to be at 10pm. I stayed up until almost 11pm working on my blog.

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