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shadowkatTook the day off - for a doctor's appointment. I thought it was the annual physical, but apparently just a follow-up. Didn't matter - had to give the blood and urine samples anyhow.
Didn't feel great this morning - but nothing to worry the doctor over. I think it was the shift in barometric pressure and IBS issues. (Which resulted in bowl issues - that erupted in an annoying manner - but not until I got home and inside my apartment, thankfully. Would have been worse if the bowls let loose at any point before I got inside my apartment (the elevator, the lobby, the street, the subway, the grocery store, the sidewalk...the options are endless), as it is - just required the clean up of the bathroom and the pants. Told mother, she retorted, "been there done that...and far worse." Happened to her while talking to a neighbor at the mail box - she pretended nothing was up, while shit ran down her leg. She got inside and cleaned herself up. This most likely happens to other folks - or we wouldn't have everything from Bridesmaids to other crude comedies making fun of it. It did however make me very sympathetic towards homeless folks. Also, on the way home - while having stomach cramps and praying I'd make it to the toilet in time - I pondered what delivery men did. There was a delivery truck blocking my path - and I wondered where they went to the bathroom - did they have a toilet in the vehicle? Or was it in the stores?
NYC on it's face appears to be a difficult place to find bathrooms in. Although most places are. I mean if I was driving home from the grocery store - wouldn't I have the same problem? Actually that did happen once or twice in Kansas City - and I think I stopped at a gas station. I remember gas stations and fast food franchises and 7 Eleven's being my go-to stops for these types of emergencies. In NYC? It's bars (won't always let you use them if not a patron), churches (depends on the church), schools (although those are dicey), hotels (the best bet - and the best bathrooms - in the lobby, and make sure you do not look like a slob - got that trick from my father actually), train stations (better than they used to be), Barnes & Nobel (top floor near the children's department), restaurants (see bars), and Starbucks (see bars). Do not try pharmacies, doctor's offices, or stores for any reason, unless it's a department store. Department stores - always are a good bet. Also, you can often find one in a big park. They have portables, and restroom areas. Museums are dicey - kind of like bars, you often have to pay admission to get to it. Trust me - I've done it all. I've literally been in every type of toilet or restroom situation out there. I could write a treatise on it.
Also, a lot of television shows and books don't talk about bathrooms. Actually 98% of them don't. In sci-fi, I ponder it. Granted we don't necessarily want to know. But I was admittedly impressed with the Expanse for showing it, not to mention Firefly, and I think BSG. Star Trek acts as if no one ever has to go. (Maybe they advanced past that point?) They are all wearing form fitting jump suits - making it difficult to go to the bathroom. I feel for the actors.
In addition to the above? There's the new movie out (Lost in the Jungle?) with Sandra Bullock who plays a romance novelist stuck in the Amazon Jungle with her cover model, and she's wearing a glittery jump suit, that you have to disrobe completely from in order to go to the bathroom. When I read the article - I thought, okay, why? She stated in the article that she didn't go to the bathroom very often - because she'd basically be naked in the jungle. (Sounds painful. I'm guessing she didn't eat or drink all that much during shooting?)
Apparently the costume designer or the director or both of this new film didn't much like Sandra Bullock? I mean the costume designer of Romancing the Stone was nicer to Kathleen Turner - she got to wear a shirt, skirt and high heels, that she chopped off. Also, her companion was an adventurer who could actually shoot a gun. Granted she did her own stunts, and got beaten up in the film, but hey, better outfit to go to the bathroom in. If I had to choose which film and heroine to get trapped in - I'd pick Turner's.
Yes, I think about these sort of things.
***
The doctor decided to prescribe me an expensive and not exactly easy to figure out - Glucose Level Reader. You get a 14 day supply, and it costs $69.58 or thereabouts. (Why it doesn't just cost $70 even, I don't know.)
I have a feeling I'm going to get the finger sticks.
This new thing - according to the directions, requires you to place the item on the back of your upper arm, then put the reader up to read it. It has a needle attached to it - so you push in the needle then pull it away, then put up the reader, and see the glucose level.
I'll let you know how it goes. It's pricey, so I don't see myself continuing with it.
Type 2 Diabetes is fun.
***
Decided the reason I'm feeling off today is definitely barometric pressure changes, sinuses and post nasal drip/gerd. Because I took tynenol sinus and it relieved some of it. Also have prescription dose pepcid (which is a lot cheaper than the over-the-counter version believe it or not - about a 90 day supply cost $10, when it normally costs $39-50).
Getting older means more pills to keep track of. Lovely.
**
Also managed amidst all of this - to get laundry done. I'd run out of socks again. Also the black jeans from the well...bowl issue described above, required washing. I washed them in the sink first, rinsed them out, and then put them in the washer for well obvious reasons.
Had a lengthy conversation with guy in the laundry room. Apparently he owns a house in Delaware with his partner, and is renting an apartment in the city due to work issues. He works in the city. But can't really afford a house here - it's cheaper in Delaware. I'd think owning a house, and renting an apartment in NYC would be expensive - but what do I know? The need to own a house or apartment is kind of lost on me. I know how much houses and apartments cost to maintain, I actually dealt with repair men while house-sitting my parents house. It's a lot cheaper and less stressful to rent particularly in New York - which has high property taxes. You just need to find a well-maintained complex, with a good super.
**
My appetite has been weird lately. The idea of red meat, lamb, beef, steak, hamburger, any of it - turns my stomach. I don't know why. I looked at it in the store today and was completely turned off. Also I can't stomach green beans at all. The mere idea of them makes me ill. What happened? Did I burn out on them finally? Wish I'd burn out on other things. Like Against the Grains Pizza?
While in direct contrast? I have been craving celery. I used to hate celery. Now I love it. I also love celery juice. WFT? My body is very odd.
I picked up a kosher gluten free chocolate cake roll from Molly's Bakery at the grocery store. It's apparently for passover. I considered getting the honey cake - but it was too big.
I've actually done Passover - with a college boyfriend in San Francisco (with his brother and his brother's family). Also in school, and I think with friends. It's an intriguing holiday. And weirdly similar to a lot of the Catholic rituals surrounding Easter. Lent, not eating Fish on Fridays, and the whole Good Friday ritual regarding unleven bread and wine. (Christ was basically celebrating Passover with the apostles..on Good Friday, because he was Jewish.)
But Passover seems to be more "religious" than "spiritual" - in that most of the people I've done it with are agnostic or atheist, and more into the tradition of it, and the metaphors. To be honest, so does Easter for that matter.
I like the metaphors - the metaphors have always worked for me. While I figure it all happened, I also know folks embellished it and exaggerated a lot of it over time. And the Egyptians possibly got the raw end of the stick historically - I'm not sure they were quite as evil as they've been depicted, on the other hand - it was slavery, so they most likely were on the nasty side. Note - the Jews also had slaves in the Old Testament. So, I think they just kept enslaving each other - and the Universe kept trying to tell them this was a really bad idea for all sorts of reasons (see, how did you like being a slave? Not so much.), but they never quite got the message because humanity is well...dense? I honestly don't know why the Universe didn't give up and wipe us all out? Maybe it has finally given up?
Off to make dinner and lunch. Or attempt it any rate.
Didn't feel great this morning - but nothing to worry the doctor over. I think it was the shift in barometric pressure and IBS issues. (Which resulted in bowl issues - that erupted in an annoying manner - but not until I got home and inside my apartment, thankfully. Would have been worse if the bowls let loose at any point before I got inside my apartment (the elevator, the lobby, the street, the subway, the grocery store, the sidewalk...the options are endless), as it is - just required the clean up of the bathroom and the pants. Told mother, she retorted, "been there done that...and far worse." Happened to her while talking to a neighbor at the mail box - she pretended nothing was up, while shit ran down her leg. She got inside and cleaned herself up. This most likely happens to other folks - or we wouldn't have everything from Bridesmaids to other crude comedies making fun of it. It did however make me very sympathetic towards homeless folks. Also, on the way home - while having stomach cramps and praying I'd make it to the toilet in time - I pondered what delivery men did. There was a delivery truck blocking my path - and I wondered where they went to the bathroom - did they have a toilet in the vehicle? Or was it in the stores?
NYC on it's face appears to be a difficult place to find bathrooms in. Although most places are. I mean if I was driving home from the grocery store - wouldn't I have the same problem? Actually that did happen once or twice in Kansas City - and I think I stopped at a gas station. I remember gas stations and fast food franchises and 7 Eleven's being my go-to stops for these types of emergencies. In NYC? It's bars (won't always let you use them if not a patron), churches (depends on the church), schools (although those are dicey), hotels (the best bet - and the best bathrooms - in the lobby, and make sure you do not look like a slob - got that trick from my father actually), train stations (better than they used to be), Barnes & Nobel (top floor near the children's department), restaurants (see bars), and Starbucks (see bars). Do not try pharmacies, doctor's offices, or stores for any reason, unless it's a department store. Department stores - always are a good bet. Also, you can often find one in a big park. They have portables, and restroom areas. Museums are dicey - kind of like bars, you often have to pay admission to get to it. Trust me - I've done it all. I've literally been in every type of toilet or restroom situation out there. I could write a treatise on it.
Also, a lot of television shows and books don't talk about bathrooms. Actually 98% of them don't. In sci-fi, I ponder it. Granted we don't necessarily want to know. But I was admittedly impressed with the Expanse for showing it, not to mention Firefly, and I think BSG. Star Trek acts as if no one ever has to go. (Maybe they advanced past that point?) They are all wearing form fitting jump suits - making it difficult to go to the bathroom. I feel for the actors.
In addition to the above? There's the new movie out (Lost in the Jungle?) with Sandra Bullock who plays a romance novelist stuck in the Amazon Jungle with her cover model, and she's wearing a glittery jump suit, that you have to disrobe completely from in order to go to the bathroom. When I read the article - I thought, okay, why? She stated in the article that she didn't go to the bathroom very often - because she'd basically be naked in the jungle. (Sounds painful. I'm guessing she didn't eat or drink all that much during shooting?)
Apparently the costume designer or the director or both of this new film didn't much like Sandra Bullock? I mean the costume designer of Romancing the Stone was nicer to Kathleen Turner - she got to wear a shirt, skirt and high heels, that she chopped off. Also, her companion was an adventurer who could actually shoot a gun. Granted she did her own stunts, and got beaten up in the film, but hey, better outfit to go to the bathroom in. If I had to choose which film and heroine to get trapped in - I'd pick Turner's.
Yes, I think about these sort of things.
***
The doctor decided to prescribe me an expensive and not exactly easy to figure out - Glucose Level Reader. You get a 14 day supply, and it costs $69.58 or thereabouts. (Why it doesn't just cost $70 even, I don't know.)
I have a feeling I'm going to get the finger sticks.
This new thing - according to the directions, requires you to place the item on the back of your upper arm, then put the reader up to read it. It has a needle attached to it - so you push in the needle then pull it away, then put up the reader, and see the glucose level.
I'll let you know how it goes. It's pricey, so I don't see myself continuing with it.
Type 2 Diabetes is fun.
***
Decided the reason I'm feeling off today is definitely barometric pressure changes, sinuses and post nasal drip/gerd. Because I took tynenol sinus and it relieved some of it. Also have prescription dose pepcid (which is a lot cheaper than the over-the-counter version believe it or not - about a 90 day supply cost $10, when it normally costs $39-50).
Getting older means more pills to keep track of. Lovely.
**
Also managed amidst all of this - to get laundry done. I'd run out of socks again. Also the black jeans from the well...bowl issue described above, required washing. I washed them in the sink first, rinsed them out, and then put them in the washer for well obvious reasons.
Had a lengthy conversation with guy in the laundry room. Apparently he owns a house in Delaware with his partner, and is renting an apartment in the city due to work issues. He works in the city. But can't really afford a house here - it's cheaper in Delaware. I'd think owning a house, and renting an apartment in NYC would be expensive - but what do I know? The need to own a house or apartment is kind of lost on me. I know how much houses and apartments cost to maintain, I actually dealt with repair men while house-sitting my parents house. It's a lot cheaper and less stressful to rent particularly in New York - which has high property taxes. You just need to find a well-maintained complex, with a good super.
**
My appetite has been weird lately. The idea of red meat, lamb, beef, steak, hamburger, any of it - turns my stomach. I don't know why. I looked at it in the store today and was completely turned off. Also I can't stomach green beans at all. The mere idea of them makes me ill. What happened? Did I burn out on them finally? Wish I'd burn out on other things. Like Against the Grains Pizza?
While in direct contrast? I have been craving celery. I used to hate celery. Now I love it. I also love celery juice. WFT? My body is very odd.
I picked up a kosher gluten free chocolate cake roll from Molly's Bakery at the grocery store. It's apparently for passover. I considered getting the honey cake - but it was too big.
I've actually done Passover - with a college boyfriend in San Francisco (with his brother and his brother's family). Also in school, and I think with friends. It's an intriguing holiday. And weirdly similar to a lot of the Catholic rituals surrounding Easter. Lent, not eating Fish on Fridays, and the whole Good Friday ritual regarding unleven bread and wine. (Christ was basically celebrating Passover with the apostles..on Good Friday, because he was Jewish.)
But Passover seems to be more "religious" than "spiritual" - in that most of the people I've done it with are agnostic or atheist, and more into the tradition of it, and the metaphors. To be honest, so does Easter for that matter.
I like the metaphors - the metaphors have always worked for me. While I figure it all happened, I also know folks embellished it and exaggerated a lot of it over time. And the Egyptians possibly got the raw end of the stick historically - I'm not sure they were quite as evil as they've been depicted, on the other hand - it was slavery, so they most likely were on the nasty side. Note - the Jews also had slaves in the Old Testament. So, I think they just kept enslaving each other - and the Universe kept trying to tell them this was a really bad idea for all sorts of reasons (see, how did you like being a slave? Not so much.), but they never quite got the message because humanity is well...dense? I honestly don't know why the Universe didn't give up and wipe us all out? Maybe it has finally given up?
Off to make dinner and lunch. Or attempt it any rate.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-04 11:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 01:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 06:07 pm (UTC)One thing I always notice and ALWAYS grumble about is holding cells with no bathrooms. The craziest was in The Flash, where all these small rooms were to hold these supervillains (which in itself was cruel and unusual) and not one had any bathrooms or anything at all in it -- they were just empty pods! Right now we're watching The Endgame and Baccarin's character has presumably been in a shipping container for days and comes out looking perfect in uncreased clothes even though...no bathroom.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 10:22 pm (UTC)LOL!
It made me a bit nuts in Spiderman - when you see it, you'll notice that yes, there are holding cells and no bathrooms. Same with Mitchells vs. the Machines - the people are put in these pods with computers and wifi, but there doesn't appear to be a bathroom or anything to eat or drink.
For a detailed cartoon - it bugged me.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 01:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 01:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 07:39 am (UTC)That does sound rather... odd. The needle stick is on the back of your arm? Kinda tricky to wash that before applying, compared to your hands. I've been using a Bayer Contour Next device since I was diagnosed 5 or 6 years ago. Traditional finger stick type, easy to use, not too pricey for the device but the damn test strips are wicked costly unless you buy them online, when they're just plain costly.
Type 2 Diabetes (treatment) is fun.
On the positive side, still better than blindness, organ failure and/or death!
My A1C was around 7.4 on my last checkup back in January, but I told my doc that wasn't a surprise-- I hate, hate. hate winter, and tend to over-eat comfort foods. I'm expecting it'll be down below 7.0 by the next checkup this spring, not only because I'll be more careful with the foods, but because I can walk regularly again.
*******
It's a lot cheaper and less stressful to rent particularly in New York - which has high property taxes. You just need to find a well-maintained complex, with a good super.
Where you are in NYC, you're likely right-- property taxes can be a huge bite. In less urban settings, or smaller cities such as where I am, though, I can't imagine renting when I could have a house. My house has literally saved me from bankruptcy twice in the last six years. I have a line of credit, using the house as equity, that allowed me to control my debt, and the interest is cheap.
The thing that always bugged me about renting is that you're basically paying someone else to buy a property for them, there's no equity. Of course you do have to pay off your mortgage, but then-- It's your property!
Yeah, maintenance, true, but... I have control over that, who I hire. There are tons of poorly maintained properties here that are so because the landlord is too cheap to do so, unless the city gets after them.
Trade-offs, as usual in life, but humble as it is, I loves me my home.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 05:12 pm (UTC)If I was living upstate - I'd want to own. But NY is a pain to buy in - you need two sets of lawyers (pay them), plus a whole bunch of other things. And the property taxes are through the roof.
But we're not in the same sitch. I don't own my own business and I've not lived in the same state my entire life. Also, I don't like high maintenance or all those costs.
So your argument doesn't work for me either.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 02:47 pm (UTC)No one can kick you out, or complain if you paint the walls any colour, or tell you to cut your hedges, or stop you from keeping pets. And if you own a house, life is a lot cheaper for when you retire.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 05:06 pm (UTC)Rental cost? Rent which includes water, garbage, recycling, building maintenance, heat and gas.
No lawn maintenance costs. No boiler costs. No painting costs. No repair costs. No snow removal. No driveway maintenance, no sidewalk maintenance. No plumbing costs.
I've had ceiling damage - and it was repaired at no cost to me. I needed a plumber - it was fixed at no cost to me. The boiler needed fixing - no cost to me, repaired. New electrical outlets and rewiring - no cost. New Elevator - no cost. New paint job - no cost.
No property taxes. (They are high here and the deductible isn't that large.)
Pets are actually allowed in my building (I just don't own them - allergic). So not an issue - and it's never been one. Also, I'd never own them.
So, sorry, still cheaper. Also, my mother pays three times what I pay. As do my Aunts and brother.
I'm rent stabilized. It only goes up 1-4 % if that.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 08:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 10:14 pm (UTC)Affordable housing is outside my price range. Also mortgages are high. Property taxes even higher.
I'd have to win the lottery to buy a one-bedroom apartment. Most people don't own in NYC, it's too expensive.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-06 04:28 am (UTC)One bedroom apartments go for anywhere between $450,000 - $3 Million depending on location, size, and amenities. Houses - are about the same adding in high property taxes. NY is among the most expensive places in the world to live.
I believe you mistook my comments above for a criticism, and they weren't. I'm aware that prices for anything in your living area are sky-high on a good day. $450,000 here where I live would buy you a fairly luxury 3-story home and a nice big yard to go along with it in a very nice city neighborhood. A still very nice home could be had for half that. Rural areas are cheaper yet.
Some people don't mind the maintenance, others like yourself do, and that's perfectly fine. You sound like you do have a very good deal overall where you live now, but as trepkos points out above, most renters elsewhere don't have anywhere near the extras covered as you do.
It does bring up a question I've wanted to ask you before, which is... what drew you to move to NYC, the job, that you just enjoy big cites as many clearly do, something else? You have lived in a fair number of different places. What did you like / dislike about the various locations? Just curious, answer only if you wish, of course.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 07:28 pm (UTC)It is weird how bodies can go up and down in terms of food and what it wants and how our tastes change over the years.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 10:19 pm (UTC)