Toms Diary

Today’s Business: 2011-12-13

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE. Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up.

08:40 AM: Facebooked for several minutes. Friend count: 607 (up one). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

10:45 AM: Leaving now for some Christmas shopping at Logan Valley Mall. Back later.

11:15 AM: We’ve arrived at the mall.

12:00 PM: We walked around through Sears, JC Penney, and Macey’s, looking for some solid, Christmas-sounding Christmas bells. However, none of these places had any. So, we looked around at sports team sweatshirts, hats, scarfs, and other outerwear, decorated after various teams. We mainly focused on the Steelers and Penguins.

01:00 PM: We then ate lunch in the food court on the second level. We had veggie pizza and water.

02:30 PM: Then, we continued our walking laps around the second level once or twice, then returned to the first level for a couple more rounds. Of course, right about the time that our ride home was scheduled to arrive, we both got a hankering for an Auntie Ann’s pretzel. But since there would not be enough time to go back up to the second floor to get one, we resisted our temptations, and stayed put at the Applebee’s entrance, awaiting our van.

02:40 PM: The van came.

03:00 PM: We’re home.

04:45 PM: Added six more strings of Christmas lights outside, to the lilac bush on the northwest side of the property.

05:00 PM: Watched yesterday’s and today’s episodes of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

06:00 PM: Watched KDKA TV’s Local News broadcast with [Emmy].

06:30 PM: [Emmy] is listening to tonight’s Penguins hockey game via my Internet radio, while I add more music from 2011 to my media library.

10:00 PM: The Pens lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 4 to 1. Grrrr.

10:50 PM: Watched last night’s episode of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR with [Emmy].

11:00 PM: Tagged, normalized, added, and updated approximately 266 songs from this and previous years to my music library from Promo Only throughout today. I now have 3897 songs from 2011 cataloged.

11:05 PM: We’re going to bed. More on the morrow. Good night.

12:05 AM: The daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count for this run is 844, up from 832 at last check. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

A few Christmas cards.
Bill for this month’s co-payment from Mom’s nursing home.
Misc. medical bills for Mom.
Information on the new Sony Vaio S Series laptop computer.
A couple birthday cards.
Misc. bank papers.
Newspaper-style coupons and ads.
State Farm’s Good Neighbor magazine.
Solicitation for a donation from the PA Professional Firefighter’s Association.
Bill for yearly CD subscription renewal from Promo Only. I’m not going to renew this anymore since all the music is available via the POOL download service as far as I can tell.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.

Log

06:50 AM: I’m up.

07:10 AM: Facebooked for several minutes. Friend count: 595 (unchanged). Fan count: 112 (unchanged).

07:45 AM: Leaving now in the Blair Senior Services van for my colonoscopy. Back later.

11:00 AM: Sister Jojo picked me up from the place where I had the colonoscopy done, and we heated for Dunkin’ Donuts. I was eager to eat, as I’ve not eaten any solid food for over 36 hours.

12:00 PM: We’ve finished at Dunkin’ Donuts and are heading now to visit Mom.

01:30 PM: We’re finished with Mom, who is doing very well today, and we’re headed to the Home Depot to buy a replacement roof and gutter de-icing heater, and some additional door mats.

02:00 PM: I’ve returned home. The colonoscopy went very well. No polyps or any other anomalies found. They even gave me some pictures. No troubles with the anesthesia either. It knocked me out within seconds of the anesthesiologist lady telling me that I’d be taking a pleasant nap. Then, when I woke up, it felt just like awakening from an afternoon snooze. I have no memory of the procedure itself. Funny though. They told me I should eat more fiber, even though I’m already taking close to 30 grams per day. I felt pretty lucky though, because once they IV’ed me up and I was waiting my turn to enter the procedure lab, I could hear the doctors talking to other patients who had just finished their screenings. Unfortunately, in at least three of those cases, polyps WERE found that required biopsy. Yep, I was truly blessed this time. I had a good experience, was very well treated by highly professional staff, and upon leaving, wondered why I’d been so nervous about having this done. I’d certainly recommend it because, in retrospect, it was no big deal at all, and, it’s a great way to catch a common cancer (colorectal cancer) early, when there’s the best chance of erradicating it.

02:45 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

04:15 PM: Worked the Gutter Maintenance: 2011 project. Installed the replacement roof de-icing heater on the west and north roofs located at the south end of the property. also brought the salt and snow shovel from the shed up here to the porch, and laid out a couple more rubber mats, this time on the east porch. All doors now have decent mats outside and in, to help keep the dirt in here down, most of which, is tracked in by yours truly.

04:45 PM: Watched today’s episode of Dr. Phil, called Pageant Mom and Daughter Compete.

06:00 PM: Nap time. Back later.

07:15 PM: I’m awake again.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

11:30 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR.

12:05 AM: The daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count rose this time, and currently stands at 973, which is up from 966 at last check. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

12:10 AM: I’m headed to bed. Good night, and I’ll write more tomorrow.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.

Log

07:00 AM: I’m up.

07:15 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 594 (unchanged). Fan count: 112 (unchanged).

07:45 AM: Leaving now with sister Jojo for Friday shopping, dining, and Mom visiting. Back later.

08:45 AM: Just finished shopping at Wal Mart. Picked up some cat food, cat litter, fruit, oats, diet Pepsi for Mom, and some tear drop blue LED Christmas lights.

09:05 AM: Next, we stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for some coffee and (what else?) donuts! I particularly like their Bavarian cream pastries.

09:25 AM: We just arrived at the nursing home. Mom is sure to still be in bed. However, sister Jojo wants to get back home earlier than normal today, so she can clean her house thoroughly before her kids get home from school.

09:30 AM: I talked to the business office about the seemingly high balance on Mom’s monthly bills. I told them that I verified this week that I agree with what they say I’ve paid them throughout 2011, but that I’m concerned that we still have such a high account balance. I asked if we could have a face-to-face meeting sometime in November, to discuss, line-by-line, all the charges and credits that Mom has accrued since she began residing there in late March, 2011. They agreed. So it appears like this issue will remain open for another couple weeks anyhow.

11:00 AM: We visited Mom after leaving the business office. Yep, she was still in bed, although she did sit up on the bed edge to talk to us. She’s experiencing what appears to be neuropathy pain in her legs once again. This is surprising because she has not felt this discomfort since January of this year. It could actually be an encouraging development; perhaps some more nerve function is returning to her legs and perhaps she could, if so, learn to walk again.

12:30 PM: Once we finished with Mom, we headed to Panera Bread for lunch. I enjoyed a baguette and Asian chicken salad, while sister Jojo munched on a sandwich and a smaller chicken salad.

12:45 PM: We then stopped at Lowe’s to look for more of the glass door knobs that sister Jojo purchased there last week. However, they were out of stock, and could not tell us precisely when they’d be getting more in or if even they WOULD be getting more in.

01:30 PM: Next, we stopped at The Home Depot to see if THEY had these glass door knobs. They did not, unfortunately. So, sister Jojo will either have to wait until they reappear at a store in this area, or look for them on the Internet. I however, had a much more fruitful shopping experience at Home Depot, as I picked up two rubber outdoor door mats for the house here, and a third mat for inside, at the west door. Hmmm, these rubber mats would make a good, non conductive surface to place at my work bench in the basement, to reduce the risk of electrocution when I’m working with electrical appliances and Christmas lights. I’ll have to pick up a couple more of these mats when next we visit The Home Depot.

02:15 PM: I’m home and all groceries have been put away and the mats have been laid out. Nice.

03:00 PM: Disassembled and cleaned the insides of the gas heaters in the basement. Yep, it’s time to fire them up. It would be nice to add a gas valve that’s operated by electricity in parallel with the built-in thermostatic valves in each heater. That way, I could install thermostats upstairs that would activate the heaters when it get’s chilly.

07:00 PM: Worked the Christmas Lighting: 2011 project.

08:10 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR.

09:00 PM: Downloaded the latest batch of fifteen songs from Promo Only’s EA DFF music subscription service.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

12:00 AM: Watched Star Trek, the original series episode: The Enemy Within, where Kirk is duplicated by a defective transporter. Spock and crew must figure out how to put Captain Kirk back together again without killing him.

12:05 AM: The daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count fell this time, and currently stands at 988, which is down from 1009 at last check. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

01:10 AM: I’ve been experiencing a steadily increasing anxiety since Mom has left that reached an uncomfortable crescendo this afternoon. I tried with some success to reduce it by working on the Christmas lights and talking with [Emmy]. But it returned after all that was finished. So I spent the last half-hour journaling about it. What is apparent to me now is that this sadness has multiple contributing factors, and in tonight’s journal session, I identified all the obvious ones, and will set to work in the coming days and weeks to address this. In short, the bottom line is that I spend too much time alone, and have too little perceived control over how my life is unfolding. While it’s true that I like being by myself much of the time, I still need SOME social interaction with others. Also, while I’ve conceded long ago that we humans have only marginal control over the turns our life’s journey makes us take, I’m frequently frustrated that we have SO LITTLE control. Will discuss both these facets more when I come up with a plan to deal with them.

01:15 AM: Headed for bed. More tomorrow. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.

Log

07:20 AM: I’m up.

07:45 AM: Facebooked a bit. Friend count: 587 (unchanged). Fan count: 113 (unchanged).

08:00 AM: Leaving now with sister Jojo for shopping and to visit Mom. Back later.

08:20 AM: We first stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for our traditional cup of coffee.

09:15 AM: Next, we hit Wal Mart, where I picked up some weekly food staples (fruit, orange juice, and milk). I also found those very small cans of diet Pepsi for Mom (7 ounces each approximately). She requested these, as she rarely finished the 20 ounce bottles before they go flat.

10:30 AM: Next, we visited Sears, where I bought three pairs of shoes (one pair of cross trainer shoes to use on the treadmill once it arrives, a casual wear pair, and a pair of high-top work shoes).

11:00 AM: Next, we went to PennDOT to renew my state Id card.

11:45 AM: Next, we headed over the the nursing home to see Mom.

01:00 PM: We then took Mom to her favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch. She just loves those eat-a-bowl taco salads. Her friend Jeff accompanied us there as well.

02:00 PM: Next, with the weather so sunny and beautiful today, Mom wanted to sit out under the trees at the front of the nursing home, and enjoy the fall folliage.

02:15 PM: Leaving now for home. I think Mom was ready for us to go, as she had become noticeably distracted and sleepy. I wheeled her back inside and said goodbye.

02:30 PM: I’m home.

04:00 PM: I spent an hour or so dragging the rest of the branches I cut yesterday down to the burn pile. So again, this exercise qualifies for another walk; walk 82 of 100 for 2011.

04:45 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

04:50 PM: Skipped the 2011-10-05 episode of Dr. Phil, called Life in the Fast Lane. Didn’t seem like a show I’d be interested in.

05:35 PM: Watched the 2011-10-06 episode of Dr. Phil, called My Life Deleted. This involved people losing their memories whether due to an accident of some sort, or some psychologically based reason, and how deeply they and those close to them are affected.

06:20 PM: Watched today’s episode of Dr. Phil, called Extreme Jealousy.

06:40 PM: Watched today’s episode of NBC’s Nightly News broadcast via the DVR.

08:00 PM: Washed the three windows here in the first floor office, in preps for the work tomorrow to install sound reducing interior glass on them over the next week or wo. I used a little dish soap and lots of water, along with a couple microfiber wiping cloths from Sam’s Club. And for those few spots of tree sap that stuck to the outside panes like glue, I applied a little Goo Gone, let it sit for a minute or so, and then scrubeed the hardened sap lumps right off.

09:30 PM: Made a temporary place in the living room for the new treadmill, which is being delivered sometime between 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM tomorrow morning. I’ll probably put the treadmill in the back room, once we finish getting rid of the stuff stored there and put the banquet tables away that are currently taking up much of the floor.

10:10 PM: Reprogrammed the Atlantic Broadband DVR remote to operate the new television. Unfortunately, this remote does not include all the buttons to completely access the functions of a smart HDTV. So next time I visit the cable company for a DVR replacement, I’ll ask if they offer a more up-t0-date remote.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

12:05 AM: The daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count fell this time, and currently stands at 1033; up from 1023 at last check. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

12:10 AM: Bed time. More tomorrow. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

1 balance transfer offer from one of Mom’s former credit card companies. I’m sure glad we got those cards paid off.
1 advertisement from Dell.
1 catalog from TigerDirect.com.
Invitation to attend a UPMC for Life seminars that explain the medical coverage options they offer. Not at this time, thanks.
1 credit card offer from Citi. No thanks.
Misc. bank papers.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.

Log

09:00 AM: I’m up.

09:15 AM: Facebooked a bit. Friend count: 586 (unchanged). Fan count: 113 (unchanged).

10:30 AM: Leaving now for a shopping trip to Lowe’s. I’m looking for blue Christmas lights and some ideas about how to hang heavy curtains. I want to put up a curtain that separates the east sitting room from the rest of the first floor, just in case I want to vacate that room for the winter and save money by not heating it. Back later.

03:00 PM: I’m home. I purchased thirty sets of blue LED Christmas lights. That should be enough to decorate five more tree trunks around here than I have done in previous years. I also purchased some house numbers to replace the old ones on the south porch. I’m also adding some to the beam at the south end of the south bridge with the hope that they’ll be more visible to EMS personnel as well as mail delivery services. I also bought some shelving hardware. I want to install a couple shelves in the attic, upon which to sit my Wifi access point. Finally, I purchased some toggle bolt hardware that I’ll use to hang the blue mirror in the living room.

04:00 PM: Installed the toggle bolts on the south living room wall, right beside the steps to the 2nd floor, and hung the blue mirror there, that I’d purchased last summer. It looks great, in spite of the imperfections in the aging reflective coating.

05:30 PM: Installed all four sets of reflective new house numbers I brought home from Lowe’s earlier. They’re quite visible now, with the same green and white colorings found on reflective road signs.

06:15 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

08:50 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy]. We watched tonight’s episode of Hawaii Five-0.

12:00 AM: Played around some more with the new television. Learning this thing will indeed keep me busy for a while; much more involved learning today’s TVs than those 25” CRT type color ones of 40 years ago.

12:05 AM: The daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count dropped this time, and currently stands at 1026; down from 1036 at last check. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

Watched one of my old favorite Star Trek Voyager episodes via Netflix and my new TV: called Future’s End.

01:00 AM: Bed time. More tomorrow. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.

Log

08:25 AM: I’m up. This morning is mostly sunny, calm, and cool.

10:45 AM: Leaving now for a walking trip around Logan Valley Mall in Altoona. Back later.

01:00 PM: We spent close to an hour walking around both levels of the mall. So this walk would qualify to be counted as walk 47 of 100 in 2011.

02:40 PM: We spent an hour plus at the Yankee Candle shop, smelling practically every scented candle they had in the store. My nose is numb.

03:15 PM: We’re back home.

03:30 PM: Nap time. Back later.

05:00 PM: We’re awake again.

07:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

10:00 PM: Watched tonight’s episodes of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR.

12:05 AM: Reviewed the daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count dropped, and now stands at 1564; down from 1589 the last time I checked. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

12:10 AM: Bed time. More tomorrow. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

Whole life insurance offer from Mom’s bank. No thanks.
Credit card offer from American Express. No thanks.
Bellwood-Antis News news letter.

May 2012
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