Done this week (20120106 Su - 11 Fr)

[mdlbear]

The main event this week was the arrival of the storage towers and lamp I ordered from Best Buy. There were also health worries, and my stuff is being moved into a new cubical over the weekend. I think about half the people in the Seattle office are getting shuffled around.

I get two nice things out of the move. First was having to leave at 2pm on Friday, which meant I could walk to REI -- about half an hour's walk, on a beautiful clear day -- and buy a hat. It's called a "Seattle Sombrero"; I'm hoping it will be waterproof.

The second is a lockable cabinet where I can stash my (non-lockable) laptop. That means I won't have to lug the darned thing to and from work five times a week. I don't need the extra weight.

My back was hurting quite a lot by the time I got home on Friday. And I've been having some sharp pains when I lift things that make me worry about developing a hernia -- this is something I *do* *not* *need* right now.

Also I'm still gaining weight, and I get very stiff in the evenings.

I got my lab results back; the doctor noted that she was worried about my triglycerides, which are 186 (normal 150 or less). When I see her next, in a couple of weeks, I will tell her that it's the second-lowest number in a decade. Probably time to increase my niacin and linseed oil. (Ok, the bottle is labeled "flax oil". Same thing. It's a dietary supplement and a furniture finish.)

About those CD towers. When I ordered them and looked at the shipping tracker it said "4 boxes, 76 pounds". Shipping was free. What I didn't realize was that the weight given wasn't the total, it was the weight of the heaviest package. Of which there were two, plus two smaller boxes of 36lbs. Gleep. The Younger Daughter was *not* pleased, even with access to my hand truck.

I took it nice and slow, and put one together over the course of three days. I had figured on it taking two people to flip the thing over and drag it into position, but it glided easily over the carpet, and was actually quite easy to lift. Yay trigonometry!

As for links, I have been eagerly following the poems from YsabetWordsmith's January Poetry Fishbowl, and especially the ones in her new series, An Army of One, which is science fiction about a society of autistic people. Very cool idea.

0106 Su
  * up 7ish; W=202.2, BP=130/73, P=52; d, n, t, l; dishes, light
  * 15min:  Cleared some recycling off the porch, packed up the lights.
  * Shopping:  Walgreen's, JoAnne's, and Central Market.
    Colleen got yarn at J's; I got a wrapping-paper bin.
  * Over to N's with the last of the Christmas boxes; more box-shifting
    Found the "Small Comps" box!  It was on the bottom in the
    second-to-front row, which was not at all where I was expecting to find it.
    I was delighted to find that it contained a gigabit switch.  I've been
    looking for that box for _months_
  @ The Insourcing Boom - Charles Fishman - The Atlantic (Don Marti
    America's Real Criminal Element: Lead
  * roasted almonds for work.  To go with the nuts bought today, and the slab
    apricots from several weeks ago.


0107 Mo
  * up 6:17; W=203, BP=118/76 P=55; d, n, l; dishes, light
  ~ 7am wake Colleen
  * 7:30 leave for dentist
  * 8am - Colleen dentist
  & wasted much of the day at work dealing with the fallout from a
    misunderstanding about changing my password.
  * The CD towers came today.  HUGE.  When I saw the shipping info and read
    "73lbs" I assumed that was the total.  Silly me.  There were *two* 73#
    boxes, and two 36# ones.  Gleep!
  : (21:55:39) mdlbear: ... and judging by the state of my back, I'd better stop
    with unboxing the pieces.  When I saw "73 lbs" on the shipping tracker, I
    naturally assumed that was the total. 
    (21:56:39) mdlbear: I will.  There is a step in there that will definitely
    require two people:  the thing is assembled upside-down. 
    (21:58:19) mdlbear: Each of the two towers (cue ominous music from LOtR
    here) came in two boxes:  73 lbs and 36 lbs respectively. 
  * 22:17 BP=110/74, P=61

0107 Tu
  * up 6:15; W=202; BP=130/77, P=56; d, n, t, l; dishes
  * YD up early, so bright and bubbly in the morning.
  * 7ish (when YD gets home) go out to the Taster's Wok with Chaos
  * The lamp we ordered from Best Buy (along with the CD towers) arrived. 
  % worried about possible hernia.  Do Not Want.
  * assembled lamp Went together smoothly; looks pretty good.  Not in final
    position yet because that's full of junk.  Displacing which is kind of the
    idea, but...  hole, meet bucket.
  * did a little work on the CD tower.
  * 00:30 finally went to bed

0109 We
  * up 6:37; W=203 BP=133/75, P=52; d, n, t, l; exercise, light
  * A little more work on the CD tower.  It's pretty imposing.
  @ thnidu | Mission: Impossible Lindsey Sterling and the Piano Guys.  NSFK
  * walk:  5th, 2nd and Union.
  % 20:09:30) mdlbear: Three parts.
    (20:11:44) mdlbear: First, I discovered as I was getting on the bus that the
     luggage tag where I keep my ORCA card had fallen off.  Which meant getting
     change and waiting around for the *next* bus, plus the additional hassle of
     trying to get another card.  I may be able to get a senior card in downtown
     Seattle; otherwise I'll have to go to Lynnwood for it. 
    (20:14:09) mdlbear: Second, Colleen's prescription, which I was to pick up
     at Walgreen's, was sent to the wrong one.  Again.  Because our Walgreen's is
     on Lake City Way in Seattle.  There *is* no Walgreen's on Bothell Way, but
     there's one on Bothell-Everett Way in Everett.  Luckily, our Walgreen's had
     the drug in stock. 
    (20:15:12) mdlbear: Third, for about the last week I have been having
     abdominal pains when lifting heavy items; I suspect a hernia, and don't like
     the idea. 
    (20:24:03) mdlbear: I *do* *not* *need* more health problems right now.
     Especially problems that may mean that I won't be able to lift the
     components of Colleen's scooter.  Which would mean getting a lift. 
    (20:24:31) mdlbear: Which would have to go on or in the van.
  * Got my lab results.  Dr. is worried because my triglycerides are at 183,
    with a target range of under 150.  Actually, that's the second-lowest it's
    been in five years or more.
  * tower base attached.  It now has to be flipped.  I am not stupid enough to
    try that by myself.

0110 Th
  * up 6:20; W=203; d, n, t, l; shower, exercise, light
  * replace ORCA card: King Street Center 201 S. Jackson St. Seattle, WA
    Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
  * Walk:  1st and Jackson to 3rd and Madison
  * walk:  4th, 3rd and Pike
  * tower set up.  Easy to move into position by flipping over and sliding.  Not
    nearly as hard as I expected; easily a one-person job.
  $ set up $100/week transfers to Chaos
  $ chaos has $665 tuition payment due 1/15 - add 250 this week and next
  * 22:15 BP=130/72, P=67
  * Tower shelves put in.
  * pay bills

0111 Fr
  * up 6:23; W=202, BP=124/85, P=56; d, n, t, l; dishes, light
  * Had to leave work at 2pm so the movers could come in and shift all our cubes
    around.  I'm moving to the 10th floor, from 15  
  * Walked to REI, where I bought a hat
  * 20:41 BP=148/72, P=59

Comments

[egoldberg.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I just got a free fitbit from work, and it's changed my life in terms of actually losing weight in the past week. I'm averaging 50 miles a week of walking now and moderating my diet substantially to average a 500 calorie or so per day under my needs.

Your mileage may vary, but (and I mean this in the most positive way) I suspect you are OCD enough like me that you may be more prone to behavioral change when given the real-time data.

Also, I will probably have an extra soon to loan to friends if you want to borrow one for a week or two sometime to try it out, if you haven't already.