Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: Shannon's Moments Meme, Part Two
 

23. Have you ever gone to the “dark side”? I interpret this as depression, and yes, I have. I call it "going down the Stoney End," from the Barbra Streisand song. That's where I go when it feels like "the fury and the broken thunder come to match my raging soul." Fortunately, it happens less and less now. Thanks to a lot of therapy, soul searching and prayer.

24. What shirt are you wearing right now? A Beatles nightshirt.

emblazoned across my chest as I answer these questions

25. What’s important about a bed to you? Like type of sheets, size or whatever. I like clean sheets. And I'm in love with my new Wamsutta pillow.

26. Can you sing? Not well. At all.

27. What is something about you that would surprise us? It seems to surprise people that I'm religious. Maybe it's because I consider this an extremely personal topic and don't proselytize  Or because I so seriously believe government should be secular. Or because I say "fuck" so often. At any rate, I am a Christian and I do work at being a good one.

28. Have you been a pirate, Renaissance Fair, or other costumed event? If not, would you for the right event or say cause? No, I haven't but yes, I would.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever comes on the radio. Saturday morning I serenaded myself with "That's All" along with Phil Collins. "I should leave but I won't go. It'd be easier I know. I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes ..."

30. Favorite girl's name? Mary. No one seems to name their kid Mary anymore.

31. Favorite boy's name? Michael. So many nicknames! Mike, Mickey, Mikey, Mick ...

32. What’s in your pocket or purse right now? An Epipen. Don't get me started ...

33. Last thing that made you laugh? The woman in line in front of me at Walgreen's. She was asked if she wanted to use her points to pay for her purchase of sanitary items and she said, "No, I'm hoarding them to pay for my Epipen."

34. Best toy as a child? My plush Lassie dog and I went everywhere together.

35. Worst injury you have ever had? When I was very young, I broke my collarbone. I remember little about it.

36. Where would you love to live?  I love Chicago and would never leave. But if I could live

anywhere in this city, I'd choose the Palmolive Building. It's a beautiful art deco building from the 1930s. It's historic -- the light you see is The Lindbergh Beacon, added way back when to help aviators navigate over Lake Michigan, and it was also the headquarters of Playboy back in its heyday. And my view would either be Michigan Avenue or the Oak Street Beach! Now all I need is $14 million for a condo unit.

37. What type of TV do you have? Would you like an upgrade? In the living room I have a 20" flatscreen. And yes, I would like an upgrade. I watched the Cubs/Cards series on a massive big screen TV in our hotel room and it was life altering. I used to say I was against a TV that was bigger than my sofa, but that was before I saw Kris Bryant hit a homer on one.

39. How many dogs do you have? None.

 40. Do most folks trust you? Yes. And they shouldn't. I'm very blabby.

41. What book are you reading? Book, Line and Sinker by Jenn McKinlay. It's a rather formulaic little mystery, but I'm enjoying it.

42. What’s your favorite classic TV show? Saturday night I watched a Law and Order marathon and enjoyed it thoroughly.
 
43. What’s your favorite sports team? Gee, you don't visit this blog often, do you?

44. Favorite month and why? November. My birthday and The World Series.

Something is wrong ... I think

All I did Saturday was go to the eye doctor, stop at Walgreens and then go back to bed.

Walking to eye doctor -- a matter of blocks -- made me feel hot and irritable and literally weighed down by the humidity.

I slept intermittently and watched the Cubs in a rare loss to the Dodgers.* But I'm starting to be concerned by this fatigue.

Saturday is Day 6 of my cold, and I'm familiar with the old saying that a cold lasts 9 days. Maybe that's all it is. I'm not coughing much anymore and I'm breathing better, but I'm still so tired.

I've been to the optometrist three times this summer and we still can't arrive on a prescription. Every time he gives me the exam, it's different! He says it's nothing "sinister" -- thank God! -- just a likely combination of menopause/hormones changing the shape of my eye, the advent of chronic dryness, and my lazy contact lens habits. OK, but it's still a drag. I've been wearing my glasses with their old prescription for a month now, and it'll be another month or more before I get new glasses and contacts and ... oh, I'm sorry, I bored myself just writing this.

But here's the thing: My eyes are messed up. My cold is exhausting. My hair is thinning. I wonder if something isn't wrong.

I've never been this old before. Is this just part of aging?

My doctor wants to do followup blood work -- after my c diff -- in November. I think I'll move that up to October, which is really just weeks away. I'll keep track of my symptoms and let her know so we can do a complete panel and see if anything is up.

*Hey, it happens. We're still cool. This season is still magic!

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 27

Look at my happy kitty

Saturday's happiness: New pillow. I noticed while changing my sheets that there was no really no difference anymore between my "good" pillow -- the one I favor -- and my "old" pillow. So Friday I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond with one of their ubiquitous coupons and picked up a new "good" pillow for just $10.99 (incl. tax). I love it. It's both firm and fluffy.

Now the "old" pillow has been relegated to the armoire, which means that's what I'll stick guests with if they insist on staying me with me.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find.