Kevin's Watch

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:26 am**

Sorus wrote:This city would shut down if it snowed. We can barely function when it rains, in terms of trains running on time and whatnot.

I once had an employee call out because it was raining. I tried to get a better excuse out of him, but he was adamant - just putting different inflections on it's raining. That was years ago, but I still think about that conversation and wonder if he thought he might melt.

Sounds like he was either a slacker or had paranoia about how others would be driving in the rain--I can't decide which.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:34 am**

deer of the dawn wrote:My week off is nearly over. It was lovely. Just long enough to get pleasantly bored. We did visit Yankari, a state park with something of a safari, horrifying cabana rooms, but the most incredible warm spring. The water is always 31C (89F), crystal clear tinted turquoise, flowing as a river from beneath a sandstone cliff which constantly refreshes the bottom with white sand. It is gorgeous and never disappointing, unlike the safari on which you may or may not see any animals (we did luck out and see a herd of hippos on the move; usually they are hiding in the water from the tsetse flies) but you will definitely get eaten alive by tsetse flies and have to push the safari truck at some point. Did I mention tsetse flies? Actually you can avoid being eaten alive by using bug repellent. DON'T FORGET THE BUG REPELLENT. (I used an herbal stuff which worked fabulously! I was serene while the DEET users were swatting.

I also got to enjoy the hammock I made recently. I laid out and read for hours. Even got the cat to join me for a while. Paradise.

Tomorrow we are going to visit the annual craft fair. It should be interesting to see if the Fulani still bring any Touareg silver and woven cloth... they were the nicest and most authentic stuff at the fair but the continual conflict in West Africa may keep them from coming.

Back to it Monday, but it was a good run!

Warm springs are indeed something I find very relaxing, deer. I love hammocks, too. I don't like the flying biting insects much, and am prone to wearing a lot of DEET-based spray during the humid monsoon time of year in Arizona (July, August) when mosquitoes are often quite prevalent. That organic spray sounds great, though.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:36 am**

Linna Heartbooger wrote:Hey guys, chekin in n tellin u all why I'm so AWOL...

So, like I took on the task of helping with this one extra-curricular at my son's middle school, and... the way this is working out, I could pour tons and tons of hours into it and it would not be wasted. I'm obsessed.

I love the kids. Some of them are former students I thought I'd scarcely see again. I love my HS volunteers - they are amazing and I just started to know half of them this summer.

The other wacky thing is.... my son is galvanized with a desire to see me serve the group. Some of the kids in the group are him & his best friends. Me having this to work on... means he doesn't ask me to do lame tasks like find him a clean shirt much, and he is willing to help me with things for it CONSTANTLY.

So... it's like I'm suddenly getting all these things that I've always wanted. It's this potent mix of leadership and math and teaching and loving others.
But... also tiredness. s'okay.

Alll-right - stuff about yer posts!
enjoyed reading some of the stuff about caves.
Cord Hurn- it's kinda neat you got to hear your dad's story from his youth though.
Enjoyed deer's description of that park & how much she likes it when the Fulani come to the arts & crafts fair.

It sounds like it's a very healthy and fulfilling experience for you Linna, that will bond you and your son in ways previously unimaginable. I hope it continues for you.

And I agree, it was interesting to hear a story from my dad about why he feels nervous in caves...it's a side to him that I had never experienced before.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:39 am**

Sorus wrote:Good luck. I have an appointment next month, and I expect to receive a Lecture. (They want to do another $4K in mostly cosmetic work that my insurance won't cover a penny of, and while I would like to have it finished, I can't justify that level of debt for something that isn't life threatening.)

This I can understand, though if money were no object, I would get some braces for my lower teeth and tooth extensions for some of my uppers. That'd be nice.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:42 am**

Skyweir wrote:I lose one of my doggies today .. shes been with us a month and goes home. Its going to be a hard loss as I am utterly and completely smitten with her .. shes so incredibly adorable.

At least you got to know her!

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:43 am**

Skyweir wrote:I feel fabulous, its warm and sunny and Ive cracked out the tank tops .. am loving the Vs

Roll on warm weather, youve been sorely missed _

I have a feeling you're going to get a lot more of that soon, Sky!

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:44 am**

Khaliban wrote:Snow. Seriously. Snow. In central Illinois. It might be a bad year.

I've got a feeling you're going to get a lot more of that soon, Khal!

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:46 am**

Avatar wrote:Periodontist was fine, just my quarterly deep clean and check, all good.

On the downside however, when I tried to leave, my car wouldn't start.

Been a bit sluggish on the start for the last couple days, and was already booked in for a service on Friday, when I was going to ask them to test the battery, but it gave up the ghost yesterday instead.

Got the security guard to give me a push, and drove to a nearby battery centre to replace it, so no probs.

Other, of course, than that of the bill. And the periodontists bill. And the upcoming bill for the service which I could probably postpone now but won't. Turning out to be a bit of an expensive month...

--A

I've gotten a tire tube patched, an oil change, and a radiator flush this month. Also had a new stereo installed , so that I can once again play my beloved CDs while I drive around. No doubt I'm due for something to break down in my car, but I can't guess what it is.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:49 am**

Sorus wrote:I think it's less resilience and more that I've normalized the dysfunction.

Either way, something toughens you up. It sounds like resilience, though.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:50 am**

Avatar wrote:Just...don't stop looking for something better. Ever.
--A

Sounds like good advice to me.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:51 am**

Cord Hurn wrote:
Skyweir wrote:

Cord you are such a delight .. how lovely of you to answer all of us

We know your time here is limited by the work you do .. so thank you for taking the time to post.

You remind me what I love so dearly about the Watch. And yes .. it was a wonderful visit .. having my two grown sons home and my absolutely gorgeous daughter inlaw and my granbaby.. and no. 2 on the way. So in February I will be a grandmother of two gorgeous grandkiddies .. truly life is wonderful.
Excellent news, Sky! Congratulations!

OMG I see youre answering more of us .. the next time you are free send me a pm and we can chatbane .. and if there are others here at the same time we can all chatbane .. Thank you Cord .. I am very excited. I put a pic of my grandaughter in the KW Motley Crew Albumn .. she is the apple of my eye.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:52 am**

Sorus wrote:I believe it is acceptable to report awesomeness here.

Thank goodness for that!

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:52 am**

Sorus wrote:Yeah, I had a generally unawesome week.

May this next week be better for you, Sorus!

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:57 am**

Skyweir wrote:
Cord Hurn wrote:
Skyweir wrote:

Cord you are such a delight .. how lovely of you to answer all of us

We know your time here is limited by the work you do .. so thank you for taking the time to post.

You remind me what I love so dearly about the Watch. And yes .. it was a wonderful visit .. having my two grown sons home and my absolutely gorgeous daughter inlaw and my granbaby.. and no. 2 on the way. So in February I will be a grandmother of two gorgeous grandkiddies .. truly life is wonderful.
Excellent news, Sky! Congratulations!

OMG I see youre answering more of us .. the next time you are free send me a pm and we can chatbane .. and if there are others here at the same time we can all chatbane .. Thank you Cord .. I am very excited. I put a pic of my grandaughter in the KW Motley Crew Albumn .. she is the apple of my eye.

I can see why, Skyweir; she's a real charmer, judging by her photo!

kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/album_page.php?pic_id=2320

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:04 pm**

Hi all. Sorry I've been away for so long. Work became extremely over the top busy, so that is most of my reason for my absence. But I've also been dealing with one of those scary times that life throws your way, and I didn't want to talk much about it. Now that I'm on the other side of it, I'm ready to talk about it.
I had my thyroid out last month as it was cancerous. I had a pretty good attitude at first, but the word "cancer" kept creeping into my thoughts and made me pretty nervous. The surgeon that took it out didn't help very much as there kept being more and more tests which made me doubt the initial "you'll be fine" words from everybody. But I was, and the doc said it was cancerous, but contained within the thyroid, and now that it is out, all is well.
I have to take medicine for the rest of my life now to make up for all the things the thyroid does. Which sucks and is inconvenient, but better than the alternatives. Also, I have a scar on my throat to remind me whenever I feel like picking up a cigarette again, which I have quit for good. All in all, I'm doing good, and just waiting for the balance of my meds to make me not feel so damn tired all the time.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:33 pm**

Glad you got this identified and dealt with promptly. Dam-sel had it done in 1980 and Menolly in 2011; both are entirely in remission. Yes, it takes a while to get the synthetic thyroid hormones titrated right so your energy level feels appropriate, but you'll get there.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 10:50 pm**

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Cags, and thank you for taking the time to tell us what's been happening with you.

Posted: **Tue Oct 30, 2018 4:50 am**

Woah, rough one Cag. Glad to hear you're out the other side and back on the Watch.

All fine here, ended up working from home yesterday, since my car wasn't ready. They picked up a couple of things during the service (which ended up being a cam belt service), that made things a bit expensive, but what can you do?

--A

Posted: **Tue Oct 30, 2018 7:09 am**

Oh Cags .. so glad you are on the recovery side of all that very scary health diagnosis.

Sending love and healing your way .. hope you can adjust to the new meds. It is scary for you and those close to you.

Posted: **Wed Oct 31, 2018 1:10 am**

Sorry to hear that, Cags. I hope things improve from here on out.

Kevin's Watch

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