“The Lineup“ - 7/1-7/24

Monday, July 1st

Mom and M are both from San Francisco so M suggested this 1958 movie starring Eli Wallach. It's not a great movie, frankly, but they both like seeing movies set in the city. I didn't feel like making a fuss about it and the movie was included in Prime, so it didn't cost anything. That's always a nice bonus. Mom is very free and easy with spending four or five bucks every week for our Monday movie. That's my money you're spending, I think. My sister gives me stern talkings to about my budget and I keep thinking, stop mom from blithely draining my money on mediocre movies. End of rant. I love my mom.

Tuesday, July 2nd

I thought my masseuse would be coming today, but as I am bad about checking my emails, I missed the one she sent saying she was sick and would not be able to come today. I learned this when I texted her half an hour after she should have arrived. Damn! Oh well, we will try again next week. After lunch, I got dressed, and in my chair and was ready to leave for my doctors appointment.

Once again, I forgot to take a photo at the hospital. Because I live in the tropics, everywhere there is lush greenery, and the ground are gorgeous. I met with my neurologist’s PA and I asked her about my life expectancy. As with everything in MS, one can tell you anything precisely. She ordered an MRI, which I haven't had for about five years and will give us more information about what is happening in my brain.

I know I'm at a pretty low functioning level and I also know it could get worse. I don't think I want to know the details about what getting worse would look like. I'm just going to concentrate on staying here. Part of me was hoping I might get news that I shouldn't expect to be around for more than 10 years or so, which would give me more of a reason to spend more on my supplements, which are the one thing I believe will extend my lifespan. I need to adjust my attitude about that.

Wednesday, July 3rd

Gammie, my Durable Medical Equipment company, came by to adjust my chair arm. As I was up yesterday, I was in bed today. I thought they would have to do something that was more of a big deal to the chair, but he was able to make a simple adjustment that would hopefully fix what I was having problems with. Since I was not in the chair, he had to guess about how much to adjust the arm. He told me to call back if it needed more adjusting once I was in the chair. I will definitely make sure I am up the next time he comes.

Thursday, July 4th

Mom and my sister came by with dinner to see me and celebrate the fourth. For me, ever since I stopped working 20 years ago, holidays and weekends have kind of lost their specialness to me. I certainly appreciate the effort and to celebrate the holiday, I thought we could enjoy a nice helping of Thai food because that's an American tradition, right? They couldn't find a Thai food restaurant that was open so they went to Whole Foods and got a dinner. It was nice, but not really an unusual treat. My sister saved the day by getting a large rice crispy treat that I like for dessert. I didn't even hear any fireworks that night.

Friday, July 5th

I forgot to mention I lost one of my neighbors a few days ago because she attacked my other neighbor. I did not see the altercation, I just heard the male nurse calling for help as he held the offending resident to keep her from continuing the attack. I don't know if attack is the right word to use, but apparently she is somewhat ambulatory and went after the other person. She was immediately removed from the room and later I heard she left the entire facility. I told my mom and she felt sorry for the girls family, as she will have a difficult time getting her into another facility now that she has this on her record.

I felt bad because, as I am very nosy, I heard the guy on staff who talks to each incoming resident. He had gotten that she goes by Haunani, her Hawaiian name, not Tiffany, her legal name. Unfortunately, that information didn't go any further and everyone called her Tiffany. I talked to her and although she cannot vocalize anything, it was clear she preferred her Hawaiian name. Although I do not want to condone or excuse what she did, I could certainly understand the growing frustration she must have felt being called the wrong name over and over. Nobody had any time or interest to figure out what she wanted. Unfortunately, I suspect her family was glad to not be taking care of her because nobody visited her or the name would have been corrected earlier. This is of course speculation on my part. Anyway, I think about her often and I hope she is doing OK.

Saturday, July 6th

My sister brought Humphrey and a little food from mom's. She mentioned Thai food, but did not have time to stop at the restaurant. Ever since I tried talking with Humphrey, he is extra snuggly with me when he visits. He was looking very thin in the back half of his body. He would definitely benefit for some fattening up. The vet thought he looked fine so I guess I shouldn't worry, but he looks a little thin to me. My sister put the blue light filter on my iPad and it is so much nicer than the clear sheet that came with the holder for the iPad. We listened to an episode of The Ezra Klein Show, a political podcast about how the biggest divide between voters is between the informed and the uninformed person. Very interesting. That's the kind of stuff we like to listen to for fun. Or South Park. It could go either way.

Sunday, July 7th

Yay! I had a shower on a Sunday morning for the first time in two weeks! It's nice to be clean and to be showered regularly. My sister helped me sign up for Paramount Plus basic plan which is only five bucks a month if you don't mind commercials and pay for the whole year at once. I really have been missing watching Survivor and I have missed the last four seasons. Someone from another podcast I listen to competed just recently so they will be on the next season of Survivor and I really want to watch it. I will catch up the seasons I missed and be ready for that new season when it airs in September.

Between Paramount Plus and The Criterion Collection, which I also just joined, we should be able to find a decent movie to watch tomorrow. This week’s photo was taken by my sister yesterday. I kind of like the fact that Humphrey has his eyes closed as it's a little bit different from the usual Humphrey and me photo. I am working on an interesting idea for my next essay, so I am interested to see how that turns out. Enjoy your week!