Trying to Move More, Against my Body's Better Judgement

Walking is my form of exercise. I have walked a lot in the past, but walking now - isn't as easy as it used to be. At least, when doing it for exercise and going for a little speed and distance. My knees have put in a formal objection, so I have shortened my distance temporarily and started doing exercises for my knees to strengthen them. It's working, too, which is nice. At least I've got that going for me.

But with this working from home thing, there needs to be more activity. NOT an athlete as a kid, younger adult, and certainly NOT an athlete now. Hmmm.. what to do?

I ordered a standing desk converter thing. It goes on top of my own desk, my monitors will sit on it and when I want to work standing up - it rises up, supposedly smoothly. We will see about that. My main concern is that it will raise my monitors about 4 inches when I am sitting, and right now my monitors are as low as they can go. Other than that - I am looking forward to it. 

I've tried to think of what I will need, a surge protector with a long cord so it is long enough to reach whether the desk is up or down. Some cord protector sleeves to try to bundle them a bit so they aren't all over the place, and I'm hoping will make the cords less attractive to Cruz, the only cat here that has a life goal of becoming a crispy kitty! I am determined to make him fail at that.

Not going to stop walking by any means. I am enjoying it, especially the listening to music part. Much better than listening to audio books which is what I used to do. But especially since there are days when it is close to a hundred degrees (summer in Chicago, what??) when I feel like I don't go as far or as fast as I'd like, and because I'm not sure what winter will be like - this is one more strike against bad health or maybe declining health that comes with aging. NO! I am not that old. And I'm not even sick! But I intend to stay as healthy as I can be until I DO get ready to meet my maker. Not anywhere near that yet. Preventative medicine is the best medicine.

Now, to make my body stop objecting to what I am trying to do .. that is a work in progress, but I will win!

I'm Not The Only One.

There is a widget on my left sidebar showing a list of blogs I used to follow and read on a regular basis. The abandonment of my blog coincides loosely with the shutting down of Google Reader. Damn you, big tech! I clicked through a lot of those links recently and found at least half (if not more) are either abandoned like mine, completely gone, or turned into more of a business model - good for those people! But that was never for me.

The ones that surprise me the most are the blogs that have been entirely deleted. I mean - people wrote things, memorialized a moment in time, if you will. Several moments in time. And then for whatever reason were comfortable with wiping everything out. Not sure I could do that, regardless of whether or not anyone ever reads a thing I write, ever again. Seems almost like deleting a piece of your past, somehow.

At some point I will need to update that list, but if I'm honest - I don't read blogs anymore. Instagram caught my eye and people liked looking at pics of my cats (hey, something for everyone!) and blogs, candidly, started to take up too much time. So maybe I will just remove the ones that aren't current anymore, me thinks it will be a very short list by the time I am done.

We don't read as much as we used to and it's sad, our attention spans have gotten too short. Not sure what that means going forward but I'm not giving up cursive writing!!

Everything is Just a Little Too Connected For my Liking

So I did a Google search for a left-handed potato peeler. Okay maybe that wasn't it, but let's stipulate - it was a product. Not going to specify because this happens. All. The. Time. With. EVERYTHING. Still, a day later I got an email from Amazon giving me links to several left-handed peelers. 

Then I'm on Instagram a day after that and what do I see? Ads for, you guessed it, left-handed potato peelers! 

Is there anything we do online that isn't connected to everything else? Is our data mined by everyone for everything? It gets a bit creepy sometimes. Maybe I need to try a browser like Duck Duck Go and search for something obscure to see if the same thing happens. I'm beginning to think there is no way to get away from this crap.

So I am doing a test. I just did a search on Duck Duck Go. I am not even going to type the words here, of what I searched for. The only place I typed the words was in that browser. I will paste a pic because I don't think words can be mined from an image. But what do I know? (I only work in I.T.!)

If I don't get any emails or spontaneous ads for things related to this Duck Duck Go search, I may have to switch. Like most people, I don't have anything to hide - but it feels - icky - for lack of a better word, for the Internet to know everything I do online.

And for that matter, I think since I am working from home, I will unplug my pet-cam. Who knows who could be hacked into that?? This world just keeps getting weirder and weirder, I swear.

Did I just age myself - profoundly - by doing the search I did? Sigh-h-h...

Word of Advice

There are some rules that should just be followed. ALWAYS.

My Bodyguard

Bet you didn't know I had a bodyguard! Not that I need one or anything, but I certainly have one, at least at home. He precedes me down any hallway, into any room, walking at a slow, watchful pace, no doubt to check for any intruders or danger ahead. Of course, that means I sometimes end up saying "Excuse me, excuse me" hoping to get through or even pass him. And of course, it also means I sometimes trip over him.

Entirely my fault. I should be more aware of my bodyguard, he is only trying to keep me safe and sound in my home. He is very diligent too, sometimes he finds the highest place he can find to observe what is happening wherever I am, but also to get a look outside as well. We know danger can come at any moment from anywhere.

His name is Cruz. He protects. He is my bodyguard. 

What to do, what to do ..

My work life has always been pretty consistent in that, other people come and go, other people get new jobs and leave, other people retire, and I stay. I am not great with change, or I should say I am not great with it at first. I will adapt, but at first I will resist and have a tough time. Best thing to do in a situation where I am confronted with big changes is to keep my doggone mouth shut until I have some time to process. 

It's especially hard for me when other people leave, I get attached and clearly I have abandonment issues.

About 6 months ago 2 of my coworkers and I had to pass a certification exam for our job that was hella hard. We took the courses together, we studied together, we worked really hard on it - together. We each had 3 tries to take the exam which was proctored and everything. And it took 3 tries! That 3rd time I made sure I got enough sleep, scheduled the exam for early afternoon when my brain seems to work the best, ate a healthy meal heavy on protein first, just did everything I could think of to prepare.

One of my coworkers and I took the exam at the same time, same day. I passed. He did not, which meant he would be let go. This certification was required for our jobs.

I was devastated. A big part of it was because of how it was done, but another part was just - no - don't make him leave! We work well together, he is a friend. But he had to go.

Yesterday my boss (best boss ever) let us know she is leaving the company, and has accepted a position elsewhere. ARGH!! WHY????

Of course I get it. People have their own path to take and she came upon this opportunity which will be better for her work/life balance which is super important. I told her I am happy for her, I appreciate why she is doing it, and understand her desire to go. But boy oh boy am I on shaky ground right now. Things like this put me into panic mode for a while, fear of the unknown, stuff like that. 

I will adjust. I will get there. But right now - I'm all - NOOOOOOOO!!!! 

Can I Get a Refund, Please?

This poor blog. It has been ignored for years and before that, barely attended to. I went for long periods of time just posting Maxine Mondays, and nothing else. As much as I love Maxine, she isn't enough for anyone to return to, to continue reading a blog. 

Not sure what I am doing here now, since I know there is no readership. But I really have the urge to write lately. It only becomes a problem when you don't know what to write about, or for whom. 

So for now I think I will write for me. If no one reads it besides me, that's fine. An online diary? That's a little creepy to consider. But it will be whatever strikes me at the moment. 

And right now, that is how my body is letting me down. I have been walking for exercise. I've begun listening to music instead of audio books and it propels me to a faster walk and I don't mind going further. Farther? My grammar sucks. However, my knees are saying oh HELL NO. I am experiencing medial knee pain, I looked it up. Medial knee pain is pain on the inner aspect of the knee. Both of my knees hurt, not just one. It makes me sad.

Once upon a time in my early 40's (I think) I started walking, mostly to work off anxiety and upset about a relationship I was in at the time. And I walked as long as I needed to and as fast. No worries at all. I don't remember any pain other than ordinary tired muscles. 

But now, WTH??

Not going to stop. I enjoy the music, I enjoy fending off future health problems, walking is my form of exercise. Not going to let my stupid knees ruin it for me. So I've found some exercises to help strengthen my knees that I am doing. I have shortened the distance temporarily, and am very careful about how I walk. Got new shoes. But I'm just plain pissed off that now I have to accommodate my body instead of it just doing what I want it to. 

Who designed this thing, anyway? I am dissatisfied.

Is this thing on? Nope. And I’m okay with that.

I realized I haven't posted here in years. Actual years. I am kind of amazed. 

I've been a grandma now for almost 4 years, lived through a pandemic, worked from home for over a year, and developed a late-in-life interest in Steve Perry and his music. "The Voice." Yes I know he hasn't been a member of Journey in a very long time, and hasn't put out new music since - technically - 2020. But I am late to this party and totally into it. Don't judge. Try it, you may like it.

And I haven't written about any of it!

Amazingly, my life hasn't changed a whole bunch. work, cats, more work, and oh - I feed a crap-ton of birds on my deck now. 

Here you go, picture of the best vocalist on the planet. Enjoy. 

(Okay, since I know no one else will see it, the picture is totally for me. Not gonna lie.)