Monday
First thing went to get the ultrasound of my gall bladder. That took most of the morning. As best I can remember, that was the first ultrasound I've ever had. The technician didn't offer any comments, so I am assuming there was nothing exceptional. I'll find out in a couple of weeks when I have the follow up appointment with the gastroenterologist.
After returning home, Jeanie and I drove to Jacksonville Beach to pick up my mother from the hospital and take her back to her place. My mother seemed to be doing remarkably well, and it appears that most of her recent "back pain" was in fact pain from her gall bladder.
Got home around 6:00 PM and headed off to bed pretty soon after that, as both of us were beat.
Tuesday
Jeanie took me to the hospital for my Upper GI (EGD). We got there a bit early, but the wait wasn't too bad, and they took me back right on time. The staff was friendly and efficient. The actual procedure was a non-event for me. Last thing I remember was them wheeling me into the procedure room and having me bite down on the plastic mouthpiece that serves to protect the patient's teeth and the endoscope. Next thing I knew, I was in recovery being offered a tasty muffin and some juice.
I am not sure exactly when we got back home, but I had no after effects from the anesthesia or the procedure other than I was a bit tired and spacey for the rest of the day. As such, I chose to take the day off.
Wednesday
Worked from home in the morning.
In the late afternoon, I went flying with one of the other flying club members. He just wanted some company while he did some touch and goes and some air work, and I was happy to just sit in the right seat and enjoy the beautiful day. It still amazes me how much more of the scenery I "see" when I am not the one actually flying. I did do a little flying from the right seat which I found very interesting, as while it's not that different from the left seat, it's just different enough - in sight picture and in the fact that you "switch hands" (i.e. left hand on the throttle, right hand on the yoke) - that it was interesting. When we got back, we decided to switch seats so I could do a few touch and goes myself, which I did. I was pleased with my landings. It was a very nice afternoon.
Thursday
Worked from home.
In the evening, I installed the new CSH Inc. FCA2-05 Failed Circuit Alarm I had purchased from Amazon.com.
I finally broke down and purchased one after Jeanie discovered last weekend that the GFI outlet had once again tripped (most likely due to a power "burp" caused by high winds) and the refrigerator/freezer in the garage was without power. Fortunately, it hadn't been without power for too long, and it was during the cold spell, so nothing spoiled, but still.
Overall, I am pleased with the alarm. It is well made and well thought out. Even the way the screws affix the cover to the rest of the box are well engineered. Two of the screws affix the box to the wall, and then the other two screws affix the cover to the box. The unit has an on/off switch and a test switch, and plug that goes into the wall outlet is of the piggy-back variety so you don't lose the use of one of the outlets. The only complaint I have about the unit is that the alarm could be louder - it is just barely audible when standing in the kitchen. It is not at all audible in the bedroom. I think it would also help the alarm be more easily heard if it were a warbling type - like on a home smoke alarm - rather than a constant tone type. The cost was $29.95 plus $7.49 for shipping. Given the quality of the construction and design, and given that it probably only has a modest market so it doesn't enjoy huge economies of scale in manufacturing, I guess $30 is reasonable, but definitely not "a deal." Because I really do think it is a good product, and the one "issue" I have with it is the alarm, I did something somewhat unusual (for me) and wrote an email to the company providing my feedback. I was extremely impressed when I received a response to my email within two hours thanking me for my feedback and suggesting a possible adjustment that might increase the volume of the alarm and also offering to send me a new buzzer. I haven't gotten around to trying their suggestion, but I am very impressed with their responsiveness.
Friday
Work from home.
Saturday
Went to the Doo Wop Diner on 14th street on-island. Doo Wop's had formerly been in Yulee, but had closed a number of months ago. Jeanie had a stack of blueberry pancakes and I had two eggs over easy, toast, hash browns and coffee. The food was tasty and served hot, but I felt it was expensive at $14 for the two of us, and the service, even though they weren't that busy, was mediocre at best. Decor was cute, and the music was enjoyable (50's standards, as you'd expect) but a little loud for my ears.
After breakfast, we went downtown and strolled the farmer's market, then walked down to the marina, then stopped by Publix on the way home. Jeanie bought a couple of loaves of bread - one cranberry walnut and one peasant boule - and categorically demonstrated that any basic white bread (artisan or not) will start her coughing in no time.
We went home and started "Duplicity" with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Jeanie fell asleep part way through, so I switched to watching the premiere of "Caprica" on Syfy. There is a great article on Wikipedia on the show here. I really enjoyed the show. I find it to be less dark (literally and figuratively) than Battlestar Galactica and I think I am going to enjoy the moral and ethical questions it appears it will explore. While in some scenes it still is easily apparent that computer graphics (CG) are being used, in some scenes - especially ones with Serge - I found myself forgetting that "he" wasn't "real."
Sunday
I went to coffee at the airport. After about an hour, I had to go to the car to take a work teleconference. After the call, I went back to the coffee for another half hour or so.
While I was gone, Jeanie did some laundry and made a homemade vegetable soup and a really yummy vegetarian (of course) chili.
The plastic had ripped away from the staples in a number of places on the lanai, so, taking a suggestion from my brother-in-law, I used strips of wood, in the form of some wide thick wooden tongue depressors, as sort of reverse furring strips. I would have used real furring strips, but I didn't have any, and was too lazy to go get some whereas I had a bag of the tongue depressors. So far, they seem to be working okay.
Jeanie and I were supposed to take all of the Christmas decorations back to the storage unit, but both of us were feeling really tired, so we gave ourselves the rest of the day off.
We watched the rest of "Duplicity" which we both thought was okay at best. The interplay between Julia Roberts and Clive Owen was cute, but the movie had lengthy slow portions and the plot twists were a bit too convoluted.
I continued to wrestle with my esophageal discomfort all week. It wasn't horrible, just mildly annoying. Still, I'd prefer for it to go away. Hopefully, when I see the doctor week after next, he'll tell me it's nothing major, and be able to prescribe something to resolve it quickly and easily.
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Posted by David at January 24, 2010 11:10 PM | Categorized under: A day in the life, Flying, Movies, Reference, TV