Losing a part of me

Category: frustration

  • Day 794

    I did not weigh myself this morning before heading to the airport. That is because I did not sleep one minute last night. I hope I will be able to sleep on the plane. Our story:

    At 10:15pm I was in bed and ready to sleep four hours. That would not be much, but I would be able to get by on that if I had to… as long as I do not try to do it too often. At 11:10 my phone binged with a travel alert. I looked and it told me that my 6:00am flight was delayed until 10:15am. At first glance, that was not a bad thing… I would be able to get four more hours of sleep! I then did a little math in my head, and I realized I had better check with the airline. It’s a good thing I did… I was going to miss my connecting flight, and they were only able to rebook me for Wednesday! That would not do…

    I spent half an hour trying to communicate with someone at American Airlines… to no avail. I was on hold on the phone (approximate wait time: eight hours), and I was in a queue with their website chat agents (approximate wait time: two hours). I was not a happy camper! Of course, they were giving me the option to cancel my flight… they were not going to refund it, but they would give me a flight credit. How generous of them… not.

    You know what? I will be flying again shortly, whether back to Cuba or elsewhere, so I decided to bite the bullet and see if I could find a comparably priced ticket for today. Sure enough, United Airlines was able to accommodate me. It was somewhat more expensive, but I did not really have a lot of choice… I have paid for the apartment in Havana, and I have arranged several meetings with friends and others that I did not want to have to scramble to change.

    I had some issues paying for the ticket… one of my cards was recently lost, one is close to its limit, and one (which is nowhere near its limit) just didn’t work. While the fourth card did have issues (or rather, their website had issues with it) I was finally able to get it through.

    By the time i was able to fix my Cuba travel documents the clock read 12:30am, and I was still wired from the scramble to fix everything. I knew that it would take me a while to calm down, at which point if I did fall asleep, I would never have been able to wake up. I ordered my Uber, then I got dressed and schlepped my luggage downstairs.

    I should mention that I have never arrived at the airport before the check-in counters were open; once I was checked in, through security, and cleared by US CBP, it was a little after 3:30am… and the restaurants do not open until 4:30am. I was glad I thought to grab a protein bar as I walked out.

    So here I sit, fed, and waiting patiently for my flight with a cup of coffee. As I do, I guess this entry is supposed to be about how I did yesterday. I had breakfast with Lyle and Dorothy… corn meal waffles with maple syrup. Yum! I then drove to Cambridge to enjoy a cigar with Ryan et al. I was planning to leave there by 3:00pm, and I was close… I was in my car by 3:20. I got home hungry so I prepared my dinner, then started packing. With all of the gear I brought for charity and for friends I cannot think of too many times I have packed that much without actually moving. I checked two large suitcases (weighing 25kg each), and I have two sizeable carry-on bags (which I have not weighed, but they are significant as well). On my return flight I expect I will have an entirely empty large suitcase, and my larger carry-on bag will be packed inside it. The other bags will still be half the weight and not nearly bursting the seams. I am just glad that I was able to give the airline the two larger bags when I checked in.

    What else is going on… let me think: my return flight is going to require me to spend the night in Houston on my way home. Drat… but there is a possibility that I might be able to make lemonade with that lemon! We’ll see. I was able to let Johnny know that I would more than likely be late for our 4:00 meeting. I still have to let Sue know what happened and that I will need her to take care of Her Royal Floofness for one more night. I have sent a few other texts to people who might be affected by the changes, but do not expect answers until a reasonable hour.

    I am surprised that my step count is only just over 2200… although that is 2150 steps higher than it would normally be at 5:10am were I not traveling. By the time the day is over I am sure that will be up to 18,000 steps… but if it is not I will still not fret. I had a bit of a cheat breakfast today, but my usual routine in Havana should have me expending a lot more energy than I eat. Assuming my weight this morning would have been what it was yesterday, I would love to be 5-6 lbs. down the morning after I get back to Canada. How do I do that? A lot of walking, mindful eating, and only moderate drinking.

    Have a great day folks… and I will see you in Havana!

  • Day 666

    It continues to creep up. Yes, it is only a couple of ounces at a time, but my weight this morning was still slightly up from yesterday morning. It is frustrating, but at the same time I know that I have a hundred things going on that are much more pressing that that, and that as long as I am staying the course with my eating then I will eventually (tomorrow or Sunday) be able to resume exercising, and I will get back on track.

    It was not because of this that I skipped the rice that I have been eating with my lunch today. I was just not in the mood for it. I might have some potatoes with dinner, but we will see.

    I received a notification this morning that my new clothes will be delivered Monday. They are already in North America. At least I will be able to wear them for myself and for my students. That was not my original plan, but it is very minor consolation.

    My mood is still not great, but I am trying to keep it together. I hope that when I light my Sabbath candles this evening that the peace and happiness that I always pray for others will come into my heart this time.

  • Day 665

    My weight continues to creep up despite my not eating more than I was just a few days ago when I was losing weight. I take some comfort in the fact that according to the same bathroom scale that keeps giving me this bad news my muscle mass and lean body mass are also increasing, which means that the weight gain is not an unhealthy one; I just wish that I could point to more than walking my doggie twice per day as reasons for the increased muscle mass. Yes, my legs are looking and feeling stronger than they were just a few weeks ago, but I am not actually exercising. Hopefully next week I will be able to resume some sort of exercise routine so that I can get back on track. While it was up again, my weight was still below 249 lbs., which is a relief. There was one day last week when my weight was within half a pound of hitting the 250 lbs. mark, which for me is a psychological disaster. I vowed a couple of months ago that I would never weigh more than that ever again, and so far I have avoided it… no matter how bad things are, and no matter how close I came.

    Tomorrow is my last crazy long day, and I am looking forward to getting back onto a normal schedule. I have not had a good night sleep in two weeks (although that is not because of my teaching), and I am looking forward to being able to recover at least somewhat. This morning I slept through my alarm (or turned it off and went right back to sleep) and was a lot more rushed than I like to be in getting ready and out the door. Her Floofness seemed to recognize the hurry and she was happy to pick up the pace of our walk; we took the same route as always, but we cut our time from 25-30 minutes for the circuit down to 19 minutes. With that I was actually able to prepare and eat my breakfast at a mostly normal pace, rather than either making a meal replacement shake, or just wolfing down my omelette. It was a relief, and I was at my desk and logged into my class at exactly the same time as I was the last several days… but with an extra 45 minutes of badly needed sleep.

    My rabbi and I spoke last night and while he is supportive of me, he did not pull any punches. He showed me how one thing I did would have been a terrible blow, and although he supports that I did it he still forced me to see how I am not completely innocent. Introspection is good, even when you do not like what you see. It did not help me sleep, but he is a good man and a good friend.

    I wrote this early in the day and see it is 9:00pm and I have not published it. Oops! Time to move.

  • Day 655

    I flew back to Canada last night. I probably ate a little more than I should have, what with a (very) late lunch in the Business Class Lounge, and then the kosher dinner on the airplane. I arrived home after midnight dejected and depressed, but also feeling bloated. The last couple of days have not gone well for me at all. I am not going to go into any detail.

    I did not expect to see so significant a weight gain this morning as I did, but I suppose the overeating yesterday, coupled with the stress and anxiety (including the travel) and I should not be surprised to see a 3.5 lb. jump from Saturday morning. I am now 8 lbs. heavier than my best weight ever. I need to get back on track, but this week and next the prospect of exercise is next to none.

    As I had planned I went shopping at lunch and picked up provisions for the week, and because I would not have time to shop and prepare then eat lunch I decided to buy a sushi plate from the prepared food counter. It was good but I was not really into it. I did need the calories though, otherwise there was no way I was going to make it through the day. I will make chicken for dinner that I will eat between classes. It’s going to be two weeks of very long days. We’ll see how I handle it.

    Have a great day folks.

  • Day 602

    The fucking bathroom scale can go to Hell.

    Can someone please explain to me how I can gain an entire pound from yesterday? If it is that finicky and dare I say random then what is the point of this deprivation? Why am I mostly starving myself if I am going to gain an entire pound when the only thing I ate outside of the norm was less than an ounce of cheese?

    Fuck this. I’m done.

  • Day 600!

    Holy wow! If you told me on January 20, 2022, that I would still be working at this nearly twenty months later I do not know if I would have believed you. If you had told me that twenty months later I would be at my best weight ever – nearly 150 lbs. down – then I would have been thrilled. Had you told me that it would take me 20 months to drop that weight, and that I would still be on the program… well, I do not know what I would have said. This has been a very challenging journey replete with struggles, hardships, and myriad ups and downs… not only with my weight but also my emotions.

    With that said, I was disappointed to see a huge jump on the bathroom scale this morning. I was disappointed to be back to (but not above) 250.0 lbs. after two days below it. Maybe I do need to exercise every single day in order to stay below that. It is also possible that the one cheat that I have been allowing myself during my two weeks of no cheating (a couple of ounces of the shredded cheese that is always on hand to put into my omelette can find their way into my mouth if I am truly struggling later in the day) is something that I can only allow myself when I have exercised.

    One thing that I should mention is that I have once again not moved my bowels for a couple of days, and that is probably a factor as well. I am not saying that if I had been successful this morning that my weight would not have been slightly up from yesterday, but it is possible that instead of a .8 lb. jump it might have been half of that. I have been adding fibre to my meal replacements sparingly because I remember what happened a few months ago; I am going to bite the bullet on that and will add a couple of teaspoons of it every day to try to induce some semblance of regularity. Last night I was feeling that I might have been able to poop successfully, but I was in bed, and I felt that if I might be able to then, I would definitely be able to the next morning. Wrong. Lesson learned: Going forward, go when the urge strikes.

    I mentioned to Leslie a couple of nights ago that I might consider taking my bathroom scale with me to California. Initially the idea was to help her, but as I struggle around these two major milestones (one of which I am still hoping to achieve by the time I get onto the plane a week from today) I am thinking that it would be a good idea for me as well. I have been saying that while we are in SoCal I will be more lax on my program than I have been these last few weeks; if I see the numbers up from the previous day I could adjust my eating accordingly. I have never in my life taken a bathroom scale with me on vacation (although I did take one with me when I moved to Japan, for all the good it did me). I have always been of the mindset that ‘I’m on vacation’ means that you can let yourself go and get back on track when you get home. I know now that I have used my mulligans; sure, I could do that… and then take two weeks to recover from whatever weight I might gain during the week. It would be a smarter plan to try to stay on track. I am not saying that I will stick to the program religiously, but I will also not be using the trip as an excuse to dive into large plates of deep-fried anything. I also know that Leslie does not want to stop her program, and it would be unfair to go nuts in front of her… or for that matter, even behind her back. It is settled then… as long as it can fit into my luggage, I will pack the bathroom scale and take it with me to California.

    The weather this morning was wet but not entirely miserable. It was raining a little but not terribly… not enough that Her Floofness would not go out for a bit of a walk at least. She spent the afternoon yesterday with her friend Charlie at the neighbour’s house, so she likely went out for a couple of extra walks. I am afraid that the neighbour is not working from home today so that will not be an option. In addition to this morning’s abridged walk, I am reasonably sure that we will be stepping out during my lunch hour. That is not a bad thing… it will be good to get some steps in on this, my second of five straight days when exercising will be impossible to fit in.

    My plan for the day is to not cheat at all. There will be no cheese. There was my omelette this morning, and there will be three meal replacements… as well as a pot of coffee and a lot of water. I do not mind running to the bathroom twelve times throughout the day; what I do mind is the thought that I might not drop back to my best weight ever over the next couple of days. At least I will have a relaxed evening on the balcony where I can video chat with my wife.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 593

    Fuck you, bathroom scale. Another day of staying true to the program, and another day of my weight going up. I have gained 1.2 lbs. in the last 48 hours despite staying true to the program. ARGH! With that, the number of days I weighed less than today jumps back from four to ten; this time it not only includes the six days in May, but also four days in September, as I have actually lost four days of progress… all while sticking to my program. This sucks!

    As I lay in bed last night, I had a thought that if my weight did go up again, I might need to give my plan another kick… possibly have breakfast and lunch for a day or two, and then go back to it. I don’t know if I am going to do that… but I am certainly not doing it today. I have tentative plans to take a buddy for lunch tomorrow to celebrate his birthday so I might do it tomorrow. As I told Leslie the other day when she was frustrated and wanted to quit: Okay… but not today; if you are going to quit then do it tomorrow. Never quit today. You (I) should never make these decisions in the heat of anger and frustration.

    I did not go for my exercise yesterday which might have been cause to not lose weight, but I still do not think I should have gained weight either. I had this incredible boost of wanting to be productive, and I was. I finished studying for the exam I needed to take to teach my class next week… and then I took the exam. I was thrilled with my results… with certification exams it rarely matters, but for this one you need to score at least an 80% to teach the class. I scored 90%. Yay! After that I took Her Floofness for a walk, but it was hot, so she did not want to spend a lot of time outside. We came home and I updated and edited my CV (it is always nice to add a senior certification to my credentials). I then prepared my introduction slide for the class I am teaching Thursday. While that might sound trivial, I teach a lot of different domains, and it would not make sense to include every credential I have for every class. This is an introduction to the Microsoft Cloud (specifically Azure) class, and it is the first Microsoft class I have delivered since May of last year. That is a real change for someone who used to teach Microsoft almost exclusively! In any event, after all that was done, I could have called it a day. I could have easily taken a cigar onto the balcony and watched TV or read my book the rest of the evening. NO! I put the slide decks for the Thursday class onto my iPad and took it onto the balcony to review. Yes, it is a very basic class… but it is also the first time I am teaching it in four years; it is also the first class I am delivering for a new training organisation, and I want to make a good impression. I will go further still. When I am finished with this article, I will go through all of the labs to make sure I am comfortable with them. I will knock the ball out of the park with this class!

    It is not yet 9:30am and I am ready to go. I will work straight through to 1:00pm, at which point I have a date with my wife. It will be another productive morning, and possibly even an afternoon to match it. We are in the middle of a heat wave (Canadian version of one anyways) so it is unlikely I will want to exercise midday; maybe when the heat wanes after 6:00pm I’ll hit the trails. We’ll see.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 592

    I wanted to pick the bathroom scale up, throw it through the window, and shoot at it with an assault rifle. I don’t have a rifle, and I do not feel like having to pay for a broken window… and I do not want to be thrown out of my apartment for disruptive and violent behaviour… not to mention that I never want to be disruptive or violent. With that said, where the hell does it get off telling me that after not cheating at all (despite several temptations and opportunities) I actually gained nearly a pound from yesterday?

    Leslie is right though. I am complaining about one negative blip on an otherwise excellent streak. I am sure I will see that turn around tomorrow, especially if I stay true to the program today (as I have the last five days). My last cheat was Tuesday, and I will not cheat again. Today that is an easy promise to make – it is Labour Day, and the stores are closed. That surprised Leslie because in the USA stores are not shuttered today. Of course, I do have provisions in the house, but I will not be eating.

    What will I be doing? I will be studying. I will try to get out for some exercise. I will be smoking a cigar or two, I am sure. I will not be cheating.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 418

    Leslie and I spent a lovely day together yesterday, and I picked up some new workout gear at the outlet mall. I really only had one long-sleeve shirt for jogging, as well as one pair of sweatpants… and in Canada I have at least another two and a half months of needing them before the mostly guaranteed warm weather of June. We also walked about 5,000 steps at the mall, which was good because I knew I would not be jogging.

    Before we headed out, we had a similar lunch to the previous day. Veggie burgers on a Canadian roll, with the rest of the salad I had made for dinner Friday. For dinner we had our second planned indulgence – dim sum. Both meals were delicious, planned, and well-deserved. Having read my article from yesterday, Leslie mentioned that she was sorry that I had gained weight since arriving. I told her that I was/am not sorry… I know I have been working so hard to lose weight for so long, and once in a while I deserve to let myself enjoy a little food. I especially enjoy being able to share the meals with her. For this evening I picked up a very nice piece of tuna which I just put into lemon juice to marinate, and which I will prepare with sesame and soy sauce. Leslie will prepare the rice. Dinner will be served after my class (which will end at 8:00pm local time). Weather permitting, we will likely finish the evening with a cigar on the balcony.

    Speaking of the weather… I woke up at about 4:45am this morning and could not fall back asleep. I sat in bed playing on my phone for nearly an hour, then tried, again unsuccessfully, to nod off. Leslie noticed that I was squirming a lot, and I decided rather than disturbing her, I would start my day with a jog… or at least, that was the plan. I decided, once outside (and once I realized that it was 41° outside) to go for a short and very brisk walk. I suppose 2.4km is not really short, but when I set out to exercise it is usually for much longer than that. I will probably go out for a proper jog this afternoon when the temperatures are forecast to rise to the mid-50s, but the morning is cool and rainy, and I am just as happy staying in and getting some paperwork done.

    These last couple of days I had not mentioned anything about my inability to move my bowels, but it was something I was going to write about this morning… especially after I once again sat unproductive on the throne before heading out into the cold. Well as it turns out, shortly after I sat down to write, I got the urge… and was indeed quite productive. I suspect that had I been able to do that earlier, my weight this morning would have been down and not up. Despite my protestations to the contrary, I was a little concerned that it was a lack of fibre in my diet, and that when I finally did, that it would be painful. In the end (no pun intended), it was not painful at all. I suspect that my body simply got confused by my sudden transition back to solid foods these last few days. I did mention to Leslie that I wanted to buy fibre powder while I was here, but that is to bring home to Canada. There is a serious price difference in a lot of things that I simply try to buy in the USA to save money on.

    Leslie and I have decided to stick to our tried-and-true Salad and Go lunch for today. In the afternoon I had planned to pop over to the lounge for an hour or two but knowing that I want to jog and then take a nap in the afternoon will probably put an end to that. I do want to drop in to pick something up, but I will not hang around there. Whether I jog or not is still to be determined; considering what time I woke up this morning, the nap will be non-negotiable.

    I am disappointed that I had to order a new belt in a Size-38. I was all excited that of the eight pair of pants I have in that size, one of them fits, and so I was thinking (wrongly) that meant that I could go down a size on the belt as well. I am not returning the two new belts that I bought, but I did by one more belt in my current size. I also bought a new pair of shoes to match it, and I am looking forward to taking my beautiful bride out for dinner Saturday evening. We dressed up for Mexican food the other night, and we can do it again for whatever we decide to eat this weekend.

    Speaking of clothing, I am frustrated because I know how loose my Size-38 jeans are on me, and yet just a week or two ago when I tried on my Size-36 jeans they were nowhere close to fitting. While it is possible that I have really shrunk down that much since I last tried them on, I doubt it. What is possible is that I was wearing these when they were really tight, and they stretched a little bit. When I am back home next week I will pull out that last bin and see where we are (again), but I am not holding my breath… or at least, I will only hold in my breath while trying to squeeze into the smaller size!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 408

    It is not often that I actually swear at the bathroom scale, but this morning it could not be helped. I am truly angry that after a successful week of no cheating, of eschewing every temptation, that I could actually gain over a pound this morning. This is now the first week that I weigh the same on Friday as I did on Sunday. Had I cheated… had I gone off the program or taken a piece of something… had I opened one of the bags of snacks that I ordered to take to Dallas with me, then I would be a lot more accepting of this. How in the name of all that is good and right can I fucking weigh the fucking same as I fucking did five fucking days ago? This, after not one but two jogs in that time frame; after adding fibre to my diet (although admittedly it has not helped yet); after a week of religiously sticking to the program to the extent of not even taking an extra cup of tea in the evening? One day to the next I can understand, but over the course of nearly a week I should absolutely be seeing a downward trend. This fucking sucks. I would not be surprised that if you were to count the times I have used that word in this journal, now amounting to 387,000 words, fully half of them were in this paragraph. (Okay, I counted. 12 usages of the word in the previous 407 days, five in this paragraph. Not half, but almost one third!)

    At the end of my class yesterday I took HRF Princess Sophie out for a quick walk; she ran into a friend, and they played for a few minutes. We then went back into the apartment (with the normal inducement of a treat) so that I could grab my shake and go. Knowing that traffic on the highway could be terrible, and on the advice of my GPS system, I opted to take the toll road. It only extends only one exit from where I got on to where I rejoined the traffic leading to the Burlington Skyway, and from the looks of things behind me it might have saved me twenty minutes. Good choice. After circling the block, I decided to park in the hotel’s underground parking lot. I walked into the room with two minutes to spare.

    There are times when you look at how things turn out and you realize that they are a sign from G-d that you are an adult, and you have to be able to do things on your own. When the associate showed me to the fabric samples for jackets and vests, I tried to video chat with Leslie, only to find out that she and her son were huddled in their safe room with dinner, the hamster, and a number of his toys because of the tornado sirens. It was not a good time for her to talk. I was reticent because I really do value her opinion, and I have never been good at looking at a small piece of fabric and visualizing what it would look like as a vest, or sports jacket, or shirt. She had given me guidance on colours for the shirts, and with that, the associate and I looked at several options, and then I finally made my final selections. One sports jacket (blue and grey – darker than the one I got last year, and not quite as loud), one vest (burgundies and greys, which we agreed would go very nicely with both my grey and beige pants), and three shirts (a burgundy with white prints, a very light green with blue and green leaves, and a light – to royal blue). At the last minute I also splurged on a funky fabric for the inside lining of the vest which should match it really well.

    Leslie texted me that the all-clear had sounded as the tailor was taking my measurements, and that she approved of all of the fabrics… well, she was not a huge fan of one of them, but that is still a pretty good average for me. To counter the one she doesn’t love, she went nuts for the light green one. I am pleased with my selections… and what I am paying for the lot. I have a buddy in California who used to be in the industry, and he has no respect for my Hong Kong haberdashery. I get that, but at the same time, I am not prepared to pay Five Thousand Dollars for a suit and hundreds of dollars per shirt…especially knowing that hopefully by my birthday nothing that I ordered will fit properly anymore. While I know there are much higher quality clothes available, I think that what I ordered looks good, and knowing that I am still wearing clothes that I ordered from them six years ago, the quality is damned good as well.

    I do have to wonder about one thing though. This is the second year in a row that I have gone to the tailor and Leslie was unexpectedly unavailable to help me choose. Last year she was called into a customer meeting, this year tornado sirens. Maybe G-d really does want her to only pick my final weight clothes! Okay, I am being silly.

    I had another uncomfortably difficult bowel movement yesterday and decided to up my dosage of fibre. I put one or two teaspoons into three of my shakes yesterday, and hope that will kickstart my colon to start behaving. So far, so good… although I still have not had any solid foods, so I do not know from whence is coming all of the solid waste.

    As I drove toward the tailor, I was tempted momentarily by a fried chicken chain restaurant… the same one I wrote about in my article titled Temptations and Cravings that I wrote on Day 9 of my journey. I am not sure which came first – seeing the sign, or smelling the… I don’t know what it is that I smelled, because I do not think you can smell the eleven herbs and spices from the car. Maybe it is the grease that I smelled. Whatever it was, I was tempted briefly, before remembering two things: 1) However it might taste, the last few times I ate it I felt horrible afterwards, so it does not like me; and 2) I have been doing too well on my weight loss journey to throw it away on that garbage. I kept my eyes on the road, and shortly after I got home a couple of hours later, I had my fourth and final meal replacement of the day. I realized again that I am seeing these restaurants and being tempted, but so far, I have been able to resist those temptations. In less than a week from now, Leslie and I will dress up and go out for our first cheat meal… our favourite sushi restaurant. The following day I will likely have gained a pound or two on the scale (as I did on my first day in Dallas the last trip… following the same indulgent meal), and I will know that the meal I succumbed to, which had been planned a month in advance, was worth it… and a good decision. I will take my first bite and feel the juices rush through my mouth, knowing how long it will have been since I had a proper meal. I am not throwing that away – not to mention the forward momentum I have been making with my weight loss – on fast food chicken that has no redeeming qualities to it other than the addictive salt and grease.

    Today is Friday and I had planned to wear my grey Copley suit. After this morning’s terrible results from the scale, I was not in the mood to don that piece, and I decided to try on my light-gray sports jacket that I bought off the rack in 2017, and which did not fit the last time I tried it on. It fits fine today, so at least I have that. During the course of a five-day class, I do not like to repeat any piece of my outfit; until today that would have required me to wear the light-blue sports jacket which I have had altered down twice, and which I no longer feel fits me properly. I am glad that I can take that jacket out of the rotation. In eight weeks, I will receive my new sports jacket and vest (and my three new shirts), and I will retire this one as well. I do not like to think myself a snob and have never been a clothes snob. I simply feel the difference in the quality between the custom-tailored jackets that I wear and this one. There are plenty of off-the-rack brands that would likely be just as good as the ones that I get tailored; this one was bought off a liquidation rack at Sears, and probably cost me no more than $75. While there is a point at which I would not know the difference, at the lower end of the line you really do get what you pay for. For the time being, it fits, and on camera it will probably look fine… but it will not be a regular featured piece of my wardrobe.

    There is a winter weather advisory for the region. According to the radio, we are set to receive as much as 30cm of snow starting this afternoon and going through midday tomorrow. I have no place to be other than here, so aside from taking Her Floofness out for her business, I do not expect the inclement weather will affect me. I will, before class starts, run down to my car to put my windshield wipers up. If you do not understand why, it makes scraping ice and snow off the windshield much easier after the storm. With that said, unless something comes up, I have no plans to drive anywhere this weekend. My repaired shoes will be ready to be picked up tomorrow, but they will still be there Monday. Oh, I might try to go to the gym… but I am not going to dig my car out of 30cm of snow to do so. Hibernation may be the order of the weekend!

    I suppose I should log on and get my class started. Today is Day Last of my daytime class, and I promised my students (as I usually do) that I will be online early to answer questions and to offer any help they might need with their homework assignments.

    I called the pharmacy to renew my prescription (it would not do to run out of pills when I am in Dallas), and they told me that they cannot renew it until next Friday, the day after I fly out. I told them I was flying, and they told me that because it is a controlled substance, they have no wiggle room, and they would have to get authorization from my doctor to refill it in advance. That, I told her, is why I called so early. While it is possible that Wednesday we will be changing my dosage, I did not want to leave this to the last minute and have to fly without the pills. The pharmacy has a procedure in place for this contingency and will fax my doctor’s office for authorization. Even if he might not be working today (he often takes Fridays off), it will be dealt with on Monday, and I will absolutely be able to collect my prescription Wednesday, with plenty of time to spare. Pre-planning avoids all sorts of problems.

    I’ll run downstairs now to prepare my car, and then I’ll start my class. My plan for today is to stay on track… even though this last week that has not done me any good. Yes, I know it would have been worse had I cheated, I just feel… well, I feel like I have been cheated!

    Have a great day folks!