Whine and Cheese

Odds and Ends

2018-06-19T01:37:50Z

Just a few odds and ends of the weekend and such:

I watched a documentary called "David Cassidy: The Last Session" this weekend. Now I was never a huge "Partridge Family" fan, but I would watch it on occasion and I thought the music was fun. After he died, I went to iTunes and bought several of his songs and found that he was actually a very good singer. The documentary showed that he was quite the pop star. It's strange to see it now as a 45-year-old man, because I don't seem him as these young girls saw him. I've heard from folks who were teenagers in the early 1970's that his level of fame was astounding at the time. What I learned from the documentary was that he really had no control over the show or the concerts, but was literally swept away with the huge wave of manufactured popularity. Things appeared to happen so fast that I doubt he had much of any chance (or overall desire) to say no to anything. The documentary goes into his last recording sessions before his death. His voice was clearly damaged by hard living and substance abuse, but it was still familiar. I did notice that the film didn't dive into his children, including his daughter actress Katie Cassidy, who he didn't raise and freely admits that he had little interaction with her.

I did spend some time on Saturday drawing pages for Issue #25 of my comic. It's been very slow coming this round, but part of it has been work and family stuff that required my attention. I still have a few pages left to pencil and I hope the inking goes faster.

Sunday I had a bit of scratchiness in my throat, like it was very dry, and I was afraid that I was getting strep. I have some work travel coming up and I didn't want to deal with being sick and traveling after my last trip having problems with my knee. I went to Urgent Care and the doctor said I don't have strep, but she thinks I have "thrush," a fungal infection usually seen in infants. They're culturing it to make sure, but I'm already on the meds as a precaution. It could be allergies acting up, but it's good to fix it now before the trip.

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Colonoscopy Round Two

2018-05-17T01:50:13Z

So today was my second colonoscopy. Since both of my older brothers passed away from cancer that appeared to originate from the colon, my sibs and I have been getting examined early. My first was just before my 40th birthday and my doctor put me on the 5-year cycle. Today's exam was my second. Luckily both exams have found no polyps or issues.

The prep this round was easier, but the timing of it was worse than last time. My appointment was insanely early at 6:15 AM, which means I had to take my second dose of the preparation solution at 2 AM, keeping me up almost all night. Instead of the gallon jug of nastiness from last time, I got the split dose of the solution and just had to keep drinking water.

The exam itself was a breeze, as they sedated me. I honestly don't recall them even injecting the sedative. I was so tired, I think I may have fell asleep on the exam table before they administered it. I just remember waking up in the recovery room with my buddy Brian sitting next to me.

Afterward, we grabbed a very quick breakfast at McDonald's, then back to my house where I napped for several hours, followed by a late lunch and cheesecake at TGIFridays.

And at least I'm good for another five years.

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Allergies, Stressful People, and Opus

2018-03-08T02:22:41Z

Ugh... this week has hit HARD. Before I turned 40, I never had allergies, but it seems that after I hit that magic age, I'm finding myself more and more sensitive to pollen and such. Usually it starts with sneezing and watery eyes and eventually segues into a sinus infection. So I've been sneezing like crazy this week. It finally started fading today.

The sneezing died down just in time for a very stressful day at work. No specifics, but it's amazing how people just never want to hear the word "no."

So after working late and stopping by the grocery, I made it home to find a parcel on the front porch. My best friend Stamp bought me this for my birthday, but it ended up on backorder. I had forgotten about it until I saw the box on the porch. It's just so cool.

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Getting Sick

2017-04-11T02:21:37Z

I went to bed Friday with a slight, nagging cough. A dose of Nyquil would guarantee me a good night, or so I believed.

It was one of the worst night's sleep I've ever had. The cough kept me up all night. My muscles were aching and I thought I felt chills. By the time I got up, it was 8 AM and my head was throbbing. So after some ibuprofen and a couple of hours of goofing off in a mental fog, I tried to crash for a few more hours, waking up around 4 PM. I literally slept the day away... and not a good sleep either.

Thinking it was a one-off, I downed another dose of Nyquil Saturday night, only to repeat the experience. In my waking hours, the coughing was just intermittent and annoying, but when I lay down, it just magnifies and becomes almost continuous.

So on Sunday, I took some allergy medication, hoping it wasn't a cold, but a reaction to the blooming crap in the Spring air. It didn't help. In fact, it made it worse. My nose was dripping all night along with everything else. I seriously couldn't win. I woke up at 3 AM to go to the restroom and get some ibuprofen to the recurring headache. I called in to work so I could get some more sleep and then go to the urgent care.

The doctor didn't think I had a cold as a lot of symptoms were missing, so she gave me a script for prednisone for a possible allergy and some of the cough syrup with codeine to help me get some sleep. I am hoping it works because i really need some rest tonight.

I am meeting my new boss tomorrow and I could do without the raspy voice and lack of energy.

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