28
Mar 22

A week at full speed

Let’s catch up on what the television students have been doing at IUSTV. Two weeks ago, of course, they were on Spring Break, which means they have to spool back up, which means it’s a little light. But, still, they released three new episodes, including a brand new show. Check these out.

First, the late night crew did a game show.

I’ll need you to tell me if the bit at the end was deliberate, or an accident. I haven’t caught up to the people involved yet to get the … official … version of the story.

This is a brand new show, and it starts with an interview with filmmaker Angelo Pizzo.

I wonder who they’ll book next for that show.

And if you need some sports, here’s some professional soccer talk from the semi-professional talkers.

And let’s check in with the kitties, who haven’t been featured here in two weeks. Two weeks, I’m told by my consultants, is a long time to not highlight your most popular feature.

Usually this is Poseidon’s role, but Phoebe has lately been hopping into the shower.

Her brother likes water more than she does, though. But that morning, I suppose, he was enjoying a few moments in the sun.

It was cold this weekend. How do I know it was cold? These two were cuddling for warmth.

Speaking of cold, this winter Poseidon learned about the joys of the space heater. Because he is spoiled, I have to put a blanket on the floor for him to enjoy.

Ridiculous, right?

A few nights later, the house was still feeling chilled. I tried to set that up for him again. Space heater, blanket, and all of that, but he wasn’t interested. Phoebe took it to the next level, however. And you’ll just have to believe me here, but …

She’s under the blanket, in front of the space heater.

And now, we’re back to it. If you have some more time to kill right now, however, there’s always more on Twitter and check me out on Instagram, too, including tons more videos from diving in Cozumel. And the cats. Did you know that Phoebe and Poseidon have an Instagram account? They do. Check them out.


25
Mar 22

Everybody has to have a moment

At 4:30 this morning … and for the rest of the morning …

And today, it was Poseidon’s moment. He made the most of it.

The riding game chimed in.

So it was a long day, with little rest. At work, I wrapped up a three-month long project, and wrote my way out of the entire thing. It was a planned, and good thing.

I left right on time, and my lovely bride and I took a nice little walk.

She just had surgery on her leg on Tuesday, and she’s making great progress, as we expected.

The nice thing about our current walks is that she isn’t walking faster than me. This will last for two or three weeks, tops.

We have started noting signs of spring on the path behind our house. Here are some of the lush blooming things coming back to life for the new year.

I am eagerly looking forward to this becoming routine, and not something upon which we remark. (It’s the end of March and “spring” is finally coming upon us. Note the jacket. Not pictured: the gloves I’m wearing at the end of March.)

This shrub is in our yard. No idea what to do with it this year.

For now, we’ll just admire it. And the weekend, which is now upon us! Happy weekend to you! And you and you! Happy weekend to all of us.


24
Mar 22

Travel day

We drove back to Bloomington from Cleveland today. It’s almost six hours, but we needed to stop every so often for things like gas and food and stretching our legs, meaning it took the better part of three weeks to get back today.

On the drive I saw a car using C-clamps to hold the wraparound bumper in place.

It was a Lexus.

Soon after we stopped, and I saw this in a dusty, uninviting little convenience store.

I haven’t spent a lot of time in Ohio, but it is starting to make sense to me.

There’s not a lot to see on the route, but here’s a bit of the agri-scenery.

If you don’t like that, there’s also Columbus and Cincinnati, but really, if you’ve driven around part of one city on an interstate, you’ve driven around them all, really.

In a smaller way, these little views are far more interesting, if you catch them at the right time of day.

Then, finally, the garage, the cats and some rest. And then back to work tomorrow.


23
Mar 22

A – ha (or eureka!)

An idea! I had one!

I spent about three hours on work stuff this afternoon in a Cleveland hotel room. It was only three hours because I created the most detailed away message ever for my work email — and still managed to do work on my days off.

My idea was this: I should do less work on my days off.

Something to address next time I take days off, whenever that is.


22
Mar 22

Surgery day

Today was surgery day for The Yankee. Last fall she had a corrective procedure to repair popliteal artery entrapment syndrome in her left leg. Today it’s the right, from which the surgeon will remove a bit of muscle from the back of the leg, both above and below the knee, to allow the artery to sit in the correct position, improving circulation.

If you haven’t heard of it, join the club. We’ve learned a lot in the last year or so. It’s such a rare and exotic thing that it took her almost took 20 years to get the correct diagnosis. The last doctor she saw, hilariously, said “It sounds like popliteal artery entrapment syndrome, but I don’t think you have it.” That medical practitioner didn’t stay in the rotation very long.

The specialist, and we see the guy at the Cleveland Clinic, did the procedure on her left leg in October. She was weight bearing the next day, and took increasingly longer walks for two weeks before PT began, leading to a near-perfect recovery. I’m expecting the same results this time.

We’re staying at a hotel a block away. She did pre-op yesterday, and we woke up at dark-thirty this morning to walk over, but not before I made the joke about how I’m looking forward to going back to work so I can sleep in until 7:30 every morning.

The walk seems shorter this time. The tension is a bit lighter. It’s still a surgery, but you know what to expect. There was a bit more sleep last night, for instance, and though it is colder, it doesn’t seem as scary.

In the hospital, we walked by a deconstructed escalator. If you’ve ever wondered, here’s your chance.

At check-in the two ladies giggled at a joke I made. They remembered it all day and took good care of me because if it.

Fifty minutes after the surgery began I got a message to report to the desk for an update from the surgeon. The lady at the front took me to the little room meeting room, where I saw the doctor again. Everything went well, he said, just as before.

I stepped outside to call my in-laws. “Good news! Everything went great! I’ll get to go upstairs and be with her in a few minutes!” Sent a few texts saying the same things. This is where I stood making that same call last October.

I stood in the same place today. What a difference five months makes, for most of us.

We sat in recovery long enough to design an interesting research project. When she got to her room she crutched her way around, before returning to the bed without even using them. Weight bearing four hours after surgery.

And the rest of the day we spent in the room. I think I dozed off, which was probably more rest than she got this afternoon. Of course, she had anesthesia this morning, so call it a push.

Visiting hours end at 9 p.m., which means I had to make the sad walk back to the hotel room all by myself. We bought food yesterday for dinner today and, in between giving recommendation phone calls for students, I didn’t notice the mini-fridge was turned all the way up. My chicken is frozen. And I am trying to coax the wimpiest microwave in Ohio to get this frozen chunk of food to room temperature.

(It took nine minutes.)

Tomorrow, The Yankee should get discharged, and we’ll spent an easy day lazing around the hotel room. They want to keep us close by for one more day, just to make sure everything continues to progress as it should. It will.