Sunday Stealing

Garage Sale Meme

Is your phone right next to you, or at least close by? My landline is within sight. My cell is somewhere in my purse, which is near the door.

What windows or tabs are open on your computer right now? Oh, there are four open right now. Too many to name.

Is your phone a touch screen? My cell is.

Who is the last person to call you? My friend Alan. He touched base after going to the doctor.

What was the last movie you watched? Room. Gulp. It's tough to watch, though both of the lead performances are outstanding. Brie Larson deserves that Oscar.

What are you doing tomorrow? I'm posting this Saturday night. Tomorrow is Sunday, which for one last week, means Downton Abbey. Sniff, sniff. I'm gonna miss those Crawleys.

Are you in a good mood? Pretty much.

Do you think exes can remain friends? No. I think that's sad, but true. Of all my exes, there's only one I hear from regularly.

Are you starting to realize anything? That not everyone needs to know exactly what I'm thinking about every little thing.

Do you follow rules or break them? Depends on the rule.

Are you currently looking forward to anything? Of course! I'm deep into my Sinatra biography, there's the season finale of Downton Abbey, the sun will be out ... Sunday will be a good day!

Could you go a day without eating? Yes. I have recently. Tummy trouble.

How many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now?  None.

Do you scream stuff out the car window? I don't have a car.

Do you have reason to smile right now? Sure.

What do you do when you need to relax? Farmville.

What are you listening to right now? SNL

What’s your greatest fear? Plane crash

Do you have a best friend? Yes.

Are you afraid of death? No. The moments immediately preceding it scare me, but not death.

Do you open up to people easily? Probably too easily.

Has anyone upset you in the last week? Fuck yes. I work at an advertising agency. We're a building full of weirdos.

What’s your favorite drink? Coke

What are you craving? Coke

How did you sleep last night? On my right side

Would you ever consider turning your house into a B&B? No.

What was the first thing you ate today? Ritz Crackers

Do you have anything more important you should be doing right now? Yes

Have you ever eaten tofu, and if so, did you enjoy it? I don't recall ever eating tofu

What was the last type of meat you ate? I had a burger.

What color is your toothpaste? White

Have you taken any medication today? Yes. I'm an old broad, so I take cholesterol meds and a probiotic and allergy meds and a multivitamin.

Have you ever inhaled helium? No

Have you set an alarm today? Yes

Do you keep up-to-date with current news and events? Yes. We've got an election coming up in Cook County and the State's Attorney race is an important one.

Have you asked someone for advice today? Yes.

What color is your shampoo? White
 
Have you watched more than an hour of TV today? Yes

Ever wake up early on Saturdays to go Garage Sale shopping? No.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: FortyFive Seconds (2015)

1) The very bad day described in this song began promisingly enough. The lyrics tells us, "Woke up an optimist, sun was shining, I'm positive." How did your day begin? I slept a little late because my alarm clock's battery had worn down. The clock still worked, but the alarm never went off.

2) This song refers to Monday morning. What's on your plate for Monday? We have a new account director starting! I'm so excited! We haven't had anyone in that role since Long Tall Sally crashed and burned last summer. I hope I adore him.

3) The lyrics request, "promise you'll pay my bail." Have you ever had to bail anyone out of jail? (Or have you been bailed out?) Golly, this happened nearly 30 years ago. My friend John was busted for smoking pot at one of Chicago's outdoor festivals. He called me that Saturday evening and told me he needed $250 or he'd have to spend the night in jail. SHIT! No one wants to spend the night in a Chicago jail. So I took $20 cab ride to bail him out, armed with my then brand-new Discover card, because the city had just begun accepting plastic for bail. What neither John nor I understood is that, when you're held on  bail, you only need 10% (plus a small processing fee) to get out. All they put on my credit card was something like $27.50. He had nearly that much on him, and the cab ride cost nearly as much! As you can see, John and I weren't very street or sophisticated. It does kind of explain why I'm so shocked by how commonplace marijuana is today. I smell it daily when I take the el, or walk past my downstairs neighbor's condo when her son is home alone. I'm an old lady of a generation when you got busted for smoking pot.
 
4) Rihanna gets top billing in this all-star trio. She says that when she was a little girl, she used to walk around singing "A Whole New World" from Disney's Aladdin. What's your favorite song from a Disney movie? 



 Sometimes, when I see Trump spewing his toxic shit, I wish Julie Andrews would just spontaneously materialize to provide the good/gracious/disciplined antidote. (Do you suppose he'd tell HER it would "be a pretty picture, you on your knees?" I think not!)

5) Rihanna dated outfielder Matt Kemp when he was with the LA Dodgers. Opening Day is less than a month away. Are you a baseball fan? Uh, YEAH! Go, Cubs, go!

6) Kanye West also sings on this week's song. When he was a little boy, he spent a year in China with his mother. Have you ever lived overseas (as opposed to just visiting on vacation)? Nope.

7) Mr.West is part owner of the Fatburger chain. Do you like grilled onions on your burger? Nope.

8) This week's third artist, Paul McCartney, is a vegetarian. Think about your most recent meal. Did it include chicken, pork, or beef? Eggs or dairy? I had a bowl of cereal with milk.

9) Paul was born at 2:00 PM on a Thursday. Do you know what day of the week you were born? Do you know the exact time? Friday morning at 12:01 AM. I know this because I had to dig out my birth certificate so I could renew my passport.

2016, we talked about this!

This year is not going well.

•  My friend Mindy called. Her husband had an angioplasty. His prognosis is good, but she's scared. They have been together a long time, been through a great deal together, and she loves him very much.

•  My florist closed her doors for good. This is a woman I spoke to at least twice/month, maybe more often, over the last ten years. We chatted often when I came in for the flowers I keep on my desk. Over the years we talked about my nephew and her granddaughter, who are about the same age. I knew she worried about her kid brother's checkered romantic and employment history. Suddenly, over the holidays, her husband's health took a drastic turn for the worst and now she had to close the small, independent business they built together. This makes me monumentally sad. I worry about her, about what she'll do after he's dead and she has neither of the long-time ballasts of her life. Last Thursday I slipped in with two tiny boxes of chocolates -- one for her, one for her loyal assistant, Darlene. I came by when I knew she wouldn't be there because I was afraid to face my florist's tears. I feel a little guilty about that. I should have let her cry and given her a hug.

•  I haven't heard from my oldest friend in more than a week. I hope it's because she's happy and busy. With her history of depression, I worry it's because she's blue and overwhelmed.

•  Things are chaotic at work. Not busy, mind you. Politically turbulent. Which sucks.

•  My friends in Key West are broke again. I got a sad email from him. He's despondent over not getting a better paying job at the library. He really wanted it. (Right now he's working 6 days/week at 2 jobs and this library position would allow him to have two consecutive days off again.) He told me of stopping by a restaurant I like down there. Not to dine. He saw a former coworker of his through the window, surprised to see she was waiting tables there. After they chatted amiably, he started to leave and saw a $20 bill on the floor. He pocketed it and headed home. Then he turned around and went back. He was afraid it was one of his friend's tips and knew how hard she would have worked for a $20 tip. I responded with a chatty, handwritten snail-mail note, all about the Illinois State's Attorney race and my confusion about who to vote for. I slipped a $20 CVS gift card into it. I did it this way because I didn't want him to be embarrassed by my help. But it makes me sad. Everyone I know who lives on that island works so hard! And I was touched by my friend's integrity in returning that $20.

2016 better start getting better. It feels like a long year already.

Not a good color for me

Yellow, I mean. And I saw a tinge of beigey yellow in bowl Monday morning, which freaked me out. For it was that yellow that signaled the advent of c. diff back in December.

I most definitely didn't want to revisit that! And yet Dr. Google tells me that it's not unheard for up to 25% of c. diff patients to suffer a recurrence. So I called the office of my new gastroenterologist to discuss how we should proceed from here.

What a massive disappointment that was! Now remember, this is Monday morning at 9:00. I asked when I could expect to hear from him. Nothing as specific as "11:45 today," mind you. Just "today or tomorrow."

"I don't know, ma'am. He's in clinic right now and he won't even see your message for at least an hour."

I explained that I understood that. What I wanted to know was, would he try to call me back Monday, or should I expect to hear from him Tuesday.

"I don't know, ma'am. He hasn't even seen your message yet. I have no idea when he'll call you back."

"You mean," I said, surprised and certain she wasn't understanding me, "he might not call me back until Wednesday?" Remember, this was Monday morning.

"That's right. I don't know when he'll call because he hasn't even seen your message yet."

"I'm sorry, that's not acceptable," I said, and I hung up.

There's a tension component to my gut trouble. When I'm stressed, my gut roils. It always has, ever since I was in junior high. Worrying about this for up to 72 hours would just make it worse.

This man is a gastroenterologist. Clearly he has treated other patients, like me, whose issues are exacerbated by their emotional/mental state. And yet he doesn't have a policy about returning calls that will help alleviate their stress?

He's not the doctor for me.

So I phone by GP. She called back within two hours and prescribed more tests. We're waiting for the results to come back.

I love how responsive she is, but she's not a gastroenterologist. I agree that, with whatever is now going on with me, I need a specialist.

So I'm doctor shopping again. I think I've found a likely candidate. She accepts my insurance, is taking new patients, has positive online patient reviews, and practices out of two nearby hospitals I know well (important because I need a colonoscopy). After my GP and I talk about what's going on right now, I'll decide better what to do next.