Accruing Karma

A year before my Camino I quit running.  To avoid injury.  With only 71 days to go until the great UK adventure I'm following that advice again.  Because I don't want to end up with something like...oh, I don't know...something like...tendinitis.  Just weeks before the Camino I also decided that keeping a low profile was the safest bet after a series of potential injury causing missteps.  And it worked -- by departure day I was fit as the proverbial fiddle. Not so much as a paper cut.  Today it became painfully obvious that it's time once again to break out the bubble wrap...

First, let me just say that there is nothing funny about people falling down stairs.  Second, wood exposed to relentless rain develops a slimy surface.  But it's like black ice -- you don't realize it's there until it's too late.  Third, doing someone a favour is a good thing. The gods of karma should be paying attention to that. 

So I'm leaving my neighbour's house.  I've gone over to get instruction on how to give some medication to one of his cats while he goes away over night. There's that good thing I'm doing.  Which the karma gods apparently missed. I put one foot down on the top wooden step -- did I mention the part about our relentless rains of late?  Feet go straight out from under me and I come down hard on my tailbone.  That might have been the end of it had there been a handrail to grab onto.  But nope, no handrail.  Lawsuit pending.  And because the steps are so greasy I thump down onto the next step...and the next one...and the next one...and the next one.  

Okay, that hurt.  I mean really really "fuck shit goddamn" that hurt.  All right, maybe it wasn't "oh, crap, I think it's broken" hurt.  For which I am beyond thankful.  But hurt enough that I've spent the day popping ibuprofen and cursing every time I have to crouch down or bend over or sit down or stand up. 

I'm lying in bed now.  Taking bets as to whether or not I'll be able to get out of it in the morning.  I'm betting no.  But I'll have to so I can get next door to give the cat his pill.  

Hear that, karma gods?

Downsizing My Life

Call it whatever you want -- purging, downsizing, simplifying, minimalizing. I'm getting back on the bandwagon.  Not that I ever really got off.  In 2013 I spent a year (albeit on and off) purging a lot of stuff from my house.  At the time I didn't think I was going after a minimalist lifestyle, but in retrospect I can see that is where I am slowing heading.  The whole 'live more with less' idea really resonates with me.  One of the things I like about minimalism is that it can be absolutely personal.  No two minimalist lifestyles have to be the same to lay claim to the title.  Today I'm embracing a different aspect of downsizing, because it's not just the physical stuff that needs purging.  I feel freer having made just two simple moves.

First, I changed my cell phone plan.  The kid's too.  Because our phones had been tied together for years due to one of those 'family sharing' type options, I had always assumed payment for both of them.  But it was time to cut the wireless cord.  And what did we really use the phones for?  Not as phones, that's for sure.  I rarely use mine to make or receive calls.  And the kid?  Well, if hers rings, nope, doesn't answer it.  And because there are so many other options, she rarely even texts anymore.  The biggest expense when it comes to cell phones?  Data.  Sure, nice to have when you're out and about but do you really need it when there's free wifi just about everywhere these days?  So we nixed the data and went from a post-paid to a pre-paid plan.  For $100 each for the year we get 100 anytime calling minutes and unlimited texting. Simple and basic.  Compare that to my previous plan and I'm saving about $1,400 a year.  WHAT?  Seriously?  I was utterly gobsmacked by that number.  How had I gotten so used to paying a non-essential monthly bill that could easily cover the cost of a flight just about anywhere in the world?  Every year.

And that's the thing with technology.  It wiggles and worms its way into every aspect of your life making you believe that you can no longer function without it.  Which brings me to move number two.  I deleted the couple of games I had downloaded onto my iPad.  We have never been into video games in our house -- no Nintendo or Xbox or whatever is currently de rigueur.  But somehow I had ended up with a couple on my iPad.  Word games and the such.  Strictly to exercise my brain, you understand.  To ward off dementia. But talk about a time suck.  And talk about an umbilical cord to the iPad. Because not only did I fall into the trap of "just one more game" but I had to keep jumping through hoops to get the 'free coins' or whatever was required to allow me to continue to play these games for free.  The only thing that was free was me -- after I hit DELETE.

It's not that I'm ridding myself of all my tech.  Because after all I am typing this on my iPad in bed at 4:30 a.m.  (Damn that mid day coffee.) But in two simple moves I managed to downsize my budget and a major waste of time.  Next up?

Facebook and the cable bill.

Medical Mysteries: Something's Afoot

Afoot:  walking or in progress

It's hard to be afoot when something's afoot.  So despite the fact that the mystery pain in my foot had subsided to tolerable levels, I felt a trip to the doctor was in order.  After all, I'd been ignoring said pain on more occasions than I can remember. It's just that I don't like to be one of those people who rush off to their doctor for every little thing.  With injuries I pretty much wait until all hope of a full recovery is long past.  Hence the chronic tendonitis in my shoulder for an injured rotator cuff I just knew would stop hurting 'any day now.'  Ten months later...

'If something hurts for a month, come in,' my doctor had admonished me.  So off to the doc I go.  I explained my symptoms, offered up my diagnosis. 'Tendonitis,' I said.  'Gout,' he declared.  'Don't have the risk factors,' I countered.  'Family history?' he inquired.  Damn!  Bloody genetics.  I'd need to have my blood pressure meds changed, water pills are an aggravating factor. I pushed for tendonitis; he wouldn't budge.  But off to the hospital for blood tests, just to be sure.  And even if my blood tests didn't indicate gout, it could still be gout.  HUH??  That seemed a pretty random diagnostic tool.

I return a few days later for the results, prepared to bid adieu to red wine forever.  Okay, so I might indulge in one of the risk factors.  'It's not gout,' he says.  What happened to it could still be gout even if the blood tests were negative?  Apparently my uric acid levels were way too low to indicate gout. I further describe the mild pain I'm still experiencing -- it's localized, only hurts doing certain weight bearing exercises, going down stairs, and where the arch of my orthotic presses against it.  'Tendonitis,' he declares.  Oh, really?  Tell me something I don't know.  'Treatment?' I ask.  'Rest,'  he pronounces.  'Uh, no can do,'  Like I can quit walking.  Yeah, right.  Two weeks into that program, I'd be Jabba the Hutt.

So bottom line? I split the difference and quit running, just like I did before the Camino.  I'm hopeful -- nay, confident -- that I can avert any further outbreaks leading up to and during the UK extravaganza.  And of course I will be well stocked with Advil Liquid Gels should things flare up again.  And if that doesn't work?

Well...there's always red wine.


Book Reviews:  I'm a fan of the John Cardinal mystery series written by Giles Blunt.  His latest offering, The Hesitation Cut, is a stand alone.  In a nut shell -- monk meets suicidal writer.  It is a story of obsession, simply written, but very powerful.  Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Our latest book club offering was The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.  Definitely outside my preferred genres.  One of those literary pieces that is more a slice of life, little plot.  Looking at the pages themselves was daunting -- sparse dialogue, huge chunks of narrative without benefit of paragraph breaks, long chapters.  But the writing itself was lovely, albeit rife with description.  The characters were beautifully realized even if nothing ever really happened.  I just know the folks in my book club will give this rave reviews.  Me?  I'm in the middle, didn't love it, didn't hate it.  Just not my cup of tea.