Day 167, 168 of Sheltering In

Thursday, Friday. Friday grabbed drive thru lunch and surprised my daughter. She said she’s been reading the guitar book. I guess that’s a good thing. 

Can anyone explain why, seconds after I get upstairs all hell breaks loose downstairs? Can’t we all just get along? I’m tired of it.

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 166 of Sheltering In

Wednesday. Today was PT. New physical therapist. Not a fan. 

My sister texted me that she ran into our cousin’s wife at the store she works at for her second job. She found out our cousin passed away in June. Brain tumor. 

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 163, 164, 165 of Sheltering In

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. I stuck to my Sunday stay at home thang. I watched QVC, then started watching movies with my son. My wife had a bad night and slept quite late, then started watching WWE. That’s her thang. She really enjoys it and often talks to her sister on the phone as they watch the same fight. 

Sunday we watched a Jurassic Park movie. Lost World...After that I asked if he wanted to watch Cobra Kai. Then I found out Netflix also had the Karate Kid movies. So we started with the first one. A blogger pally recommended watching them before Cobra Kai. My son said he hadn’t seen them, so we started the first one and got 3/4 into it by the time he wanted to go to bed. We’ll pick it up tomorrow where we left off Monday and now Tuesday I go to look for the other Karate Kid movies and now you either have to have Showtime or pay for each movie. These streaming services suck. I would rather buy the other movies from the $5 bin at Walmart or Meijer than to give the streaming services any more of my money. All the Karate Kid movies were not part of Showtime on Sunday and didn’t cost extra on a different streaming service.

Monday. PT. The tendon on the side of my ankle has calmed down a lot. Did more hamstring stretches and steps. It was ok Monday night.

Tuesday. I was on the phone with my daughter when she was told her ride for the Covid test was there. Turns out they DID NOT take her to the hospital where her PCP sent the order. He ordered the damn test and she should not have been taken elsewhere. I am livid. She was taken to a clinic run/paid for/whatever by the same place that runs the group homes and day programs. How does her PCP electronically access those results? How does her PCP get those results before he leaves for the Labor Day holiday? In answer to the obvious questions, it’s super easy to get a same day Covid test appointment at that hospital. Our family has done it 3 times. The clinic is further away from her group home. The hospital is closer. Who do they think they are ignoring her doctor’s order? I had my daughter call her doctor’s office. She talked to one of his nurses who said she would let the doctor know and let my daughter know that he won’t approve of it. The nurse was upset about it. I love our doctor and the staff at the office he is at. They remember all of us and always ask how the rest of us are when one of us has an appointment. The way some of the staff mess with my daughter, how are we to trust the test results she is given by them?

I am just super angry with them period. My daughter asked last week if we could go to her group home for Labor Day and cook on the grill since the house staff working that day refuses to use the grill. The team lead led her to believe it was not a problem. I was told I had to talk to the team lead’s supervisor, which I did yesterday. I was asked how we planned on doing it. Masks, social distancing, and wearing vinyl or nitrile medical gloves while preparing/cooking/serving food. I was told that we can’t go INSIDE the house, so we have to drive to a gas station to use a bathroom. Then I was told that this person had to talk to the Director and Asst Director to make sure it was ok, and she would call me back that day, Monday. It’s after offices closed on Tuesday and I still haven’t gotten a callback. 

My daughter also asked if she could have a long weekend home visit because she thinks 2 weeks may be too long. (Other clients have had home visits for less than 2 weeks.) No answer on this either.

Both kids are not doing well. 165 days is a long time for a relatively healthy person not to see their family for more than 5-20 minutes every week. On top of the group home nonsense, their dad is manipulating them. Promises to call, doesn’t, then days later when he does call he gets them off the phone quickly so they have no chance to talk. I’ve told them that, personally, if I were treated like that, all his numbers would be blocked. 

I saw the orthopedic doctor’s PA today. (They canceled last week’s appointment.) I don’t think the PA spent 2 minutes with me. She didn’t even ask about my wife. (They did both knees, total knee replacements on her.) That’s unusual. My previous appointment she spent a lot more time. I didn’t even get X-rays. I could have done a televisit. She didn’t even touch my shoulders or my knee. No measurements for range of motion either.

I’m just not doing well either. I feel like everything is crashing down on me.

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Random thoughts

My son came in earlier to tell me how he came to unfriend on Facebook a friend from grade school. They’d kept in touch over the years. Awhile back she told him she was gay and was engaged to her girlfriend. Tonight she told him that her fiancé cheated and they split up. I’m not going to divulge the rest of the conversation, but she lashed out at him and they abruptly unfriended each other. I had a chat with him. I told him that what she needs now is a friend, someone she can talk to. She’s in a fragile state, having lost her mom to opioid addiction, within the past year, I think. Her dad has cancer. I told him that he should text her and ask if they could re-friend each other on Facebook and talk whenever she wanted. I told him if he didn’t know how to respond to anything she said, he could ask me. He’s a good guy, he doesn’t have the social skills or dating experience to feel like he was helping or being a good friend. He probably won’t ask me for advice, but I’m here if he wants it. They are back to being Facebook friends. I told him that she needs her friends now, and he’s one of them. She can get back to dating when she’s ready, or just make new friends until that time. 

Then it hit me...

How is anyone dating now? There’s a pandemic going on. How do you meet someone? Yes, online, but what then? How can people hookup now? If that’s their thing, how does that work? Do you both share your coronavirus test, std and hiv tests? Mind blown! Now has to be a very hard time for anyone without a girlfriend or boyfriend. Now is really the time to lean on your friends.

Think for a moment. You’re a twenty-something who broke up with someone, or you were single before the pandemic began. You can’t go to a bar to meet people, or as part of a date if you‘ve found someone you want  to date and wants to go on a date with you. Would you even date someone new during this pandemic?

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Sunday Stealing-Live Journal

August 30, 2020

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. (Past hosts include: Our first - Judd Corizan, Mr. L, Kwizgiver and Bud) Cheers to all of us thieves!

 

Excerpted from Live Journal 5000 Questions

1. Who is the hottest celebrity you can think of? I was going to say Gina Gershon. She was in Bound, Showgirls, Faceoff. No. It would have to be Téa Leoni from Madame Secretary.

2. Do you ever get so nervous that you can't even think?
It’s rare, but it happens.

3. Do you sing when there is no music?
If the mood strikes me.

4.Who was the best political leader in history and why?
Pass.

5 If you could dance with anyone in the world right now, who would it be and what song would you dance to?
My wife.

6 Finish this sentence your own way. There are two types of people in the world

The haves and the have nots.

7 What have you saved since elementary school?
I think I got rid of elementary school stuff my first move. I had saved some assignments. A book we had to make about ourselves that included what we would do after high school and what we would do for a living. Let’s just say...I know I wasn’t, but I had to be high to write that. What....a...dreamer! I thought...I was moving out on my own. My own apartment. I don’t need to read it. I have my own adventure. I had my own dream to live. I moved to Chicago. I still have the class photos and my photos from elementary school thru senior year, and my high school yearbooks.

8 Have you ever won an award?
I don’t recall any. Wait...technically a ribbon and placing is an award. I got a ribbon at the 4H fair when my pencil drawing was displayed with all the other art from 4H members under the grandstand at the WI State Fair. I can’t recall what I placed. Just to have my drawing displayed there was awesome.

9. Do you feel more connected to the sun or the moon?
The moon.

10 Do flaws make people interesting to you?
Flaws are definitely more interesting.

11 Who is your favorite historical figure?
Pass.

12. White bread or wheat bread?

Dave’s Killer Wheat Bread with a billion seeds and grains, thin slice.

13. Do you usually do things fast or right?
Depends what it is that I’m doing. 

14. Are you or have you ever been in a band?
No. But my friends and I would make up really odd band names. My favorite was Bryn Mawr Bag Ladies.

15. Here are 4 statements about me. Only one of them is true. Which one is it?
* I had a wild, keg party at my parent’s house.
* I was popular in high school.
* I have a bachelors degree.
* I streaked with 2 friends at my freshman homecoming game.

16. Would you wear a thong bathing suit in public?
Hell to the no. People can claim thongs are incredibly comfortable all they want. Not even in private!

17. Have you thought about death today?
Every day. It wasn’t always like this. In general when you get to 59 death comes up more often. Celebrity deaths. Now with the coronavirus, death is everywhere. It’s on tv, on your newsfeed on your phone or computer, on Facebook and Google. It’s really overwhelming. 

18. What is your favorite breakfast?
Lately it’s been a donut and coffee. 

19. Are you the life of the party?
You wouldn’t think so, but I have been the life of the party quite a few times.

20. If you hit an animal with your car would you get out to try and make sure it was okay?
I don’t think so. Makes me think of that scene in Tammy where Melissa McCarthy’s character hits a deer. She gets out of her car to check in it and the deer gets up, knocks her on her ash and takes off.

21. When do you get your most peaceful and satisfying sleep?
After an exhausting day. 

22. What thought gets you out of bed in the morning?
Coffee...and that donut. Who am I kidding? The donut! But the coffee is really good from my Keurig.

23. What are you a member of?
The human race. 

AARP. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

24. Name one place you refuse to ever go.
Back to where I used to work. I have even avoided the entire city because I don’t want to run into anyone from that horrible place. Yes, I actually did run into one of the partners at the grocery store, that’s why I have this aversion towards that area. 

25. When (and if) people (or animals) go to heaven, do they become angels?
That’s what they say.

#15. The first one was true. I was 19. Back then the legal drinking age was 18 where I lived. Just like in the movies, a ton of people showed up. I knew none of them. My sister and I invited friends and I think the friends invited friends, and so on and so on. My parents got back early. Busted! My sister took off leaving me to clean up and get shamed and lectured. So not fair! She made it look like I had the party on my own, that she wasn’t involved. My parents knew, but my sister didn’t have to clean up and all.

Lola’s Diner cc   2008-2020

 

Day 161, 162 of Sheltering In

Friday,Saturday. Friday I did a little grocery shopping. My brother in law came over to mow the lawn. I could not wait to leave the house. I got double teamed and I was not going to stick around for more. They were complaining (really b**ching) because my son did not pick up the front, back, side yard. He was supposed to pick up any debris and pick up sticks off the lawn. He didn’t do much of it. What am I supposed to do...except maybe tell y’all that the yelling and angry tone are not acceptable. 🤷🏻‍♀️Whateves. We booked out of there, went to my daughter’s group home to drop off medications and magazines. M&M’s. 🤣

My daughter really wanted us to visit, but when we’re there she didn’t talk much. I guess she was all talked out from being on the phone with her last night. She’s sick. I think she has bronchitis again. At least I’m 🙏🏻 it’s bronchitis and not the coronavirus. She has a cough and sore throat. The coughing started with a bad asthma attack and the coughing kept her up all night. As per the usual...no one picked up my daughter’s medications from her dermatologist appointment Friday. Staff took the prescriptions. While we were there we found out where the prescriptions were taken. House staff right away says, I’m not going to get them. So I had to run to the opposite end of J Town to pick up a partial bottle of antibiotics. The cream wasn’t covered by her insurance so this is going to be a big ordeal to either have the doctor do a precertification, or prescribe something similar that her insurance will cover. Walgreens wanted $155. Nope. I’m not paying for it. I never get reimbursed when I do. It needs to come out of her “account”. Someone can do a check request, cash it, and go pay for it.

I went to the AT&T store to talk about my battery and my protection plan. Turns out they had a tech on site and he could install the battery...no charge. But you know there is always a cost when you go in there. I upgraded my phone plan to unlimited data, with hotspots. It will be about $8 more per month because my daughter’s iPhone will be paid off, last payment is the next bill. I’m paying that much now, so why not? So this upgrade comes with free HBO MAX. Don’t get all excited. We can only watch it on our iPhones or laptops. My iPad mini is too old so it won’t work on it. Can’t get it to work on the smart tv or the other flat screen. Roku and AT&T (owns HBO MAX) can’t play nice together to do a licensing agreement or whatever it is to pay a fee for having it. Same thing for Amazon tablets. It works on Apple TV, but those boxes are so expensive. No way! Chromecast “could” work, but their dongle, new cable, and a laptop would be required. Too complicated. I really doubt I’d pull out the laptop to watch it, so iPhone it is. Wah wa.

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020