Staying the Course -- 02/19/2018

[Superbob]

Late start, new STC week. Rough day. Fridge/freezer went kersplat this morning -- had to throw away all our stuff packed in the freezer. Repair guy is coming tomorrow. Likely will need new fridge. Also Big Mama is having increased pain in rib cage area. Got her appointment with cardio just in case and consulted with her GP too. Still most likely she just strained something and tylenol/rest will be her only relief, but hope the docs will find the cause and offer some help.

Speck of good news: I am down 1 pound for the week. That means I have only 2 more to lose to make the minus-6.4 challenge. I know HB is in on this challenge, and maybe Fred too, except he may throw a penalty flag on us at the 1-yard-line. : ) Anyway, hoping to squeeze in exercise class tomorrow between fridge diagnosis and wife's doc visit.

Really dreary here past few days. Don't even think rain was in the forecast today, but we've had a good bit plus drizzle.

Sorry not really an upbeat day -- at least not here. Looking forward to hearing from you all. Sorry to be tardy.

Cheers,

Superbob

 

[honeybunny]

Hope DW recovers from the pain quickly. I am fortunate in that I have so little in the way of aches and pains, but when I do feel twinges I wallow in misery until they subside. On one hand, I have a high tolerance for pain (my first C-section incision ruptured my uterus when I was in labor with my second C-section baby and I thought I had gas pain); OTO, I can be a wuss over certain things.

Good for you on the one lb., SB! I'm still shooting for slow and steady but one day (this year, I hope!) I will report that I am at 144 lbs. If nothing else I will use my recumbent exercise bike four times/week. Currently I am battling a sweet tooth so I've got to get a handle on that.

Staying the course~

 

[Superbob]

Okay, something strange happening again here -- I see on the "front page" that Steve has posted here (and I always look forward to his observations) but the body of his message does not appear here -- at least not yet. Hoping it will show up, and wondering if others have posted without their posts showing up. Will keep looking....

 

[Superman]

Sorry to hear about your wife and the appliance. Good luck / bad luck - who knows? Throwing food out could help with the weight loss? Okay - sorry.

Hopefully you can get a proper diagnoses for Big Mama and get her healthy again.

Sweet tooth is a tough thing to overcome, HB. Good luck! Time on the bike should help offset.

As far as my course, illness worked wonders. Down a pound this week for the first time in a month. Finally saw a number in the 196 range - but fair to say 197 (okay, it was 196.8). Haven't hit the gym as much, but a cold migrating from head to chest has curbed the appetite a bit as well. Not a healthy weight loss I suppose.

I did get to class this morning. My mileage said I did good - but I didn't quite feel it. Some times we have to fake it till we make it.

 

[pellicle]

Sorry to hear about your wife and the appliance.

nearly did a Steve on this...

 

[Superman]

nearly did a Steve on this...

Yeah. Phrasing. I didn't dare correct due to the quarantine risk.

 

[epstns]

Yesterday I got the impression that the board software had decided it disliked me immensely. I composed a post, hit "Post Reply" and then. . . .nothing. Several minutes went by and I decided to go get a cup of tea. A few minutes later, it said that it had posted. Then I did the unspeakable. I tried to edit my post, and promptly got my nose bapped by the software, thinking I was a spammer. It all just locked up. Finally, after about five minutes, I just gave it up and shut down the browser, and had to even re-start my machine. My post was totally lost - not even saved as unposted content. So much for my effort.

So, today is yet another day. Considering that yesterday was almost 11 hours of solid back-to-back meetings in the same conference room, I don't even remotely remember what I posted yesterday morning. By the end of the day I was lucky to find my way out of the building, and still had to deal with a work-related call on the cell phone as soon as I left. I'm glad that day is over.

I do remember wishing SB and his DW luck and a resolution to her ills. Nobody likes to be unwell without knowing why or what is to be done. It is hard on the patient, but as OHS patients, we all know that it is rough on the partner, too.

Also, I remember commiserating about the dismally short lifespan of modern appliances. The new ones are all so much more complicated than they used to be. To compound the problem, they are also built to a price target. Manufacturers try to cram all of the newest features into a box at the lowest possible cost to sell at the intended price point. The result is that nothing is built to last as long as they used to. I remember as a kid seeing refrigerators that were 30-40 years old, still working. Now, if we get 7-10 years from them, we are lucky. I guess that the only possible exception to this is the high-end brands like Sub-Zero. These are still repairable, and they cost enough that it is still economically practical to repair them. With a cheaper model (builder-grade, etc.) a repair may be $200-300, while a replacement, with warranty, might be only $400-500. A relatively small incremental cost to replace versus repair. Of course, with the high-end models, it might cost, say $500-700 for the same repair, but thousands to replace, so repair is practical.

Today, I'm hoping for a calmer day. I have a lunch meeting with our corporate banker (who is also a friend), and then this evening I will meet a handful of my old high-school buddies for dinner. The social interactions, paired with a hopefully calm workday, should get me back to center before the weekend.

As I get closer to my target semi-retirement date (March 31), the weeks seem to go by more swiftly. I'm ready. . .

 

[pellicle]

Yesterday I got the impression ...I tried to edit my post, and promptly got my nose bapped by the software, thinking I was a spammer. It all just locked up. ...My post was totally lost - not even saved as unposted content. So much for my effort.

yes brother ... I know your pain.

may I share a little theory I'm working on.

I've suspected that by putting something (a valid word or two) into the comment that the editing will not be flagged.

I've only tried it a few times (and always done "select all" -> Ctrl C (for copy) -> then hit save ... that way I can paste it back in to another window.

In terms of devices ... yeah ... I remember when a phone was still sold "new" 2 years after it was released on the market, now days after 6 months people are anticipating the next model...

edit test

 

[Superbob]

Good to hear from ypu all! Steve, I figured some kind of mega-glitch had hit you. Hooray for you for persevering and sticking with us. On the fridge, we were lucky: It just needed a small part and a good cleaning of the condenser area. Working fine now. DW had a good visit to cardio -- it was determined her pain is not heart-related, had good numbers on EKG etc. But cardio gave her a referral to get an x-ray of her left side/ribs -- waiting to hear results. Could have a small fracture of ribs, in which case I'm not sure what the treatment would be. Anyway hoping for the best on that too.

Warmer today, and wow did we have a lot of exercise in class today. I got compliments on my planks. Always like that. Maybe can get weight to nudge downward by next Monday.....cheers all....

 

[Superman]

I stink at planks. I blame the length of the lever. I have to be a lot stronger than shorter people because my elbows and toes are much farther apart in plank position. There’s a reason engineers put limits on the span of a bridge, darn it! That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!

 

[MartinF]

Checking in after a couple weeks of silence. Not making progress in losing weight. Increased my walking/running hasn't made a difference. Guess that means I need to eat less. That's a bummer.
Last week I hit 20+ miles for the first week this year. Hope I can keep it there. I actually started a log of miles and bought a running logbook that I need to fill in up to today. It has places for more data than I care to enter.
Weather turned cold here in So Cal. Temps in the 30's at night. I did a walk right after work to beat the cold.
SB, hope your DW get better soon and hope everyone has a great week.

 

[epstns]

pellicle - In my case, I think the system response time (slooooow) may be what got me. I posted a reply, then tried to edit right after the post appeared on the thread. It could be that the system takes the post selected for editing offline to a work area (clipboard?) for editing, but it could also be true that the post becomes visible before all transactions are "committed" to the database. Selecting it for editing before all trans are finalized could cause any sort of mayhem. I don't know. I don't design board software, only data mining and financial modeling/analysis tools. Things could be different in vBulletin. They probably use stone tablets, which we all know take a long time to write.

SB - It sounds like you lucked out on the fridge. That's a relief. I have had too many experiences in which small parts have failed, but they are no longer available. Then it becomes replacement time. Fortunately, this doesn't happen with cars until they are quite old. The manufacturers are required to maintain spare parts for, I think, 7 years. After that, for the common vehicles, the after-market takes over. There are some after-market parts for appliances, but since the market is smaller, the selection is smaller, too.

I'm glad DW's problem does not seem heart-related. If she has cracked ribs, the treatment is probably an Ace bandage and don't do anything that hurts. See you in a few weeks, etc. I don't think there's much that they can do for ribs.

This week I am watching my weight. . . go up. I have had a busy social calendar, which included some meals at rather nice restaurants. That, for me, means extra sodium, and the subsequent fluid retention. My cardio doesn't want me to self-medicate if the change is only a pound or two, so I just watch it and groan about it. If I drink lots of fluids and remain active, it dissipates within a few days. I'm just not happy with it - or with myself when it happens.

Almost the weekend here. We don't have any major plans this week. I do hope the weather forecast stays clear. Then once Saturday's rain moves out I can get the car washed. I'll be able to see what color it is for the first time in a few weeks. For some reason I am convinced that my current car is under a spell of dirtiness. I've had it for about 2 1/2 years, and it seems that whenever I wash it, it always gets dirty again within a day or two. Sometimes even within hours. It doesn't help that I am a "neat freak" about my cars, either. Oh, well, I can call that another reason why it is time for retirement. My office is located in an area that is designated as an "industrial fallout zone." There are two cement production yards within a couple of miles of the office, and when the wind blows the wrong way, cars get covered with a fine coat of cement dust. Then if it just drizzles a tiny bit. . . the cars look like they haven't been washed in weeks. Bah!

Anyway, I'm holding at 10-12 miles/week right now, as I have to exercise indoors and only have so much time. Once the weather warms up a bit, I can find time to walk outdoors, and then I can double or nearly triple my weekly distance. I'm holding out for that.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, whatever your plans may be. Of course, as my wife reminds me, once you're retired, every day is a weekend day.

 

[pellicle]

... I don't know. I don't design board software, only data mining and financial modeling/analysis tools. Things could be different in vBulletin. They probably use stone tablets, which we all know take a long time to write.

and which also are notorious for not having backups ... although that could just be a historical issue ... perhaps Stone II is better

 

[FredW]

Figured I better get this post in while I’m feeling brutally honest this morning.

I have to confess. I have strayed off course - big time.

Before I get into that, I want to share concern with SB and his wife. I understand concerns when your partner is either in pain or ill. My wife has been sick all week with a mild case of the flu. Also, we had to deal with a freezer death last summer. We didn’t cheap out with one from a big box store, but we didn’t go top end either. We purchased one from a multi-generation family owned local small town supplier. I think it cost just under $900. Wishing better days for SB and his DW.

So, how did I stray off course?

I could blame HB and her comment about her sweet tooth. I also have a sweet tooth and figured if she can give in to it, why can’t I? But blaming HB is not fair.

I could blame my daughter from western MA who wanted to visit last week. After discussing warnings of our possible contagious environment, she decided that being a teacher, she is exposed to contagious diseases s on a daily basis. She arrived on Monday. My granddaughter has a sweet tooth as well. That led to ice cream, gum drops, and deserts that I failed to resist. Going to the movies with them led to that big bucket of popcorn, and of course, since I fell off the ‘staying the course’ wagon, I might as well as have butter. Lots of it! By now, why resist the free refills? But, it would be unfair to blame my daughter.

Even though we did a two mile walk between rain storms, I watched my weight climb during her visit.

Friday morning my daughter left to return to MA. My wife, who was feeling better, invited two couples over for dinner. She spent all day cooking a great meal, so how could I resist such great food? And wine. And scotch. Since, I’m already off the wagon, why say no to those cardamom cookies she made for desert? I could blame my wife, but, it would be unfair to do so.

When got in bed last night, I felt like a beached whale.

This morning the scale read 190.0 and if it could talk, it would say: “Look at what you done!” I have only one person to blame – myself. I’m bummed, down, depressed, sad, and angry.

And overweight!

But, I’m not out. I am determined to get back on course. I feel like attending AA meetings for food abuse.

So, that is my story: “My name is Fred, and I’m a food abuser!”

 

[honeybunny]

FredW , you can blame me. A former boss looking for a scapegoat told me that I have strong shoulders and “can take it.”
:Smile:

You’ll be back on the wagon soon enough.