Hope and Diligence

Even with the pig-out holiday coming up this week and several invitations to pig out (as if anybody eats just one plate and pretends they are not eating even more than this lol), the focus on eating healthier for weight reduction started today. I ate three buffet meals on three consecutive days and two other large meals in the past week and I feel the bloat, the higher blood pressure, the lethargy, and the way it taxes the body. After losing 23 pounds between September 6th and November 15th and feeling a whole lot better, I am back on that course because I like feeling a whole lot better. It may not be easy during this next month and a half when gorging on very high calorie foods will be the very highly encouraged norm, but I have always been a rebel and this year, more than ever, I have incentive to rebel with a cause. Tomorrow I see the doctor to go over my lab results.

My preliminary reading is a big YAY! as there is just one major concern in the lab results and that is my iron deficiency seems to have increased. Now I could be cautious and say the fact that I drank 5x16.9 ounces of water just before the blood tests may have skewed the results in my favor slightly, but the doctor said make sure I am well hydrated this time as she suspected I may have been dehydrated last time (and I was) and that lowered all of the results, including the iron. I could also be bleeding more than I realize cuz it is being reabsorbed in my intestines and not noticeable when I wipe my butt so the GI Specialist scheduled for December 5th is a very sensible idea. My symptoms and iron levels should get me a free colonoscopy, which will relieve stress cuz knowing is much less stressful than not knowing for me. Some of the highlights from the lab results are:

GFR up from 53 to 74
Triglycerides down from 404 (High) to 145 (Normal)
Cholestorol down from 199 (Normal) to 164 (Normal)
Glucose, Serum/Plasma down from 127 (High) to 91 (Normal)

So I did good with my healthy weight reduction eating plan and the lab results (and how I feel) reinforce the continued focus on dropping another 10 or 20 pounds. And exercise, I must increase exercise both aerobic and muscle strengthening. Yup, 2017 is the year to get back into the best body shape and condition I've been in for the past decade. Maybe I'll even have sex (oh, the self-mockery can bite my ass lol lam).

So what else is new?

As I did not get home until almost 3 am and then wrote and uploaded babble to the old babbling blog TheReal(TM), I slept until about 10 am (I think, I might have been up earlier and I definitely did not get enough sleep, but that's the way it is sometimes). I checked email and job opportunities and wrote more (teasing you by not putting links in here, so there). No Facebook, hallaluya lol. A call came to let me know I made it to stage two of a management job with the Health Department and I have an interview for December 1st. I must check my clothing availability and make sure I have something to wear that is clean and pressed and all that. I am not absolutely sure exactly which position they called about or how much the salary might be of how much travel is involved, but I do recall taking a pre-interview test for a health department investigator job. I applied for an Investigation Manager job on October 19th and an Investigation Specialist II job on October 6th. The former supervises the latter and pays about $18,000 more a year and I believe is mostly at the office while the later is mostly in the field so the Manager job would be sweet, but I'd accept either if offered. State jobs take so long to process and do not pay as well as some private jobs, but the benefits are great. Fingers crossed.

The Maharaja's friend packed and left and I helped her load her car. We chatted and exchanged emails and numbers and she said she'd send me some information about jobs she knows about and she did. Sweet person. I enjoyed the afternoon playing chess and writing (always a good sign... I needed some rest as I pushed the body painting two days then softball and hanging out real late on my feet in the cold so I paused in my job search for today to give myself some me time.

I played chess and watched some TV on the computer, catching up on NCIS and Elementary. Then I showered and headed for softball. Alas, I did not hit well, two at bats, two outs, the first time a double play with bases loaded and no outs, killing a rally. Fatigue, dammit. We needed to win to get into the playoffs and we might have won but the team did not field well at all and we lost 16-12. After my game I hung out to watch friends play their games and talked to friends who are umpires and then headed home for a shower and here we are. A simple day.

Hope you enjoyed your day too. :)

I shall leave you with this:



When we spend months without looking at the sky
Of the great and of the eternal we lose.
When we stop looking at each other's eyes
We are unable to understand ourselves.

When the mirror shows us the defects
And we try to fix ourselves, we get damaged.
When the load weighs on our back
Under our creations we fall.

Someday, I hope not too far away,
We will hold hands and we will love each other.
We will learn.

When fear governs our decisions
We are clouded options, we blind.

When this game of greed and money
Is overflowing in the desire, we sell.
When hatred becomes part of the discourse
We forget that before God we are equal.

When suffering suffices
Only then, my life, will we change.

Someday, I hope not too far away,
We will hold hands and we will love each other.
We will learn.