‘Appaloosa’, ‘Corner Gas’, MedLog

(posted from home)
(This post covers 26-29 January, 2009)
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Thursday, 29 January –

I worked in the office this morning, mostly on estate stuff. In the afternoon I began my prep for a CT scan of my abdomen late in the day. I had to drink a quart of ‘Omnipaque’ mix for the test. The Omnipaque wasn’t bad. I expected a chalky taste for some reason but it was truly tasteless, even when mixed in plain water.
The CT scan went fine at the Imaging Center. They gave me more Omnipaque to drink and fed something into me intravenously that gave me a sudden warming flush. But it wasn’t painful. The nurse had informed me well for everything that was going to happen and I was in and out of the Imaging Center in a half-hour.
Back home I installed Norton Internet Security 2009 on my laptop. That went fine though I thought I might have a problem when my internet connection died in the middle of the installation/activation process.
No walk today. I have no toe pain but I’m going to let them rest up for a few days more.
That evening we finished ‘Corner Gas- Season One’ and the DVD extras. We love it after having been in Saskatchewan three times in the last three summers. Corner Gas is set in the mythical small town of Dog River, Saskatchewan. We love the references to Canadian stuff (“Hand me a roll of Loonies, eh?”) and quirky Canadian characters (my favorite is Oscar, the older gent in this clip)…



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Wednesday, 28 January –

I blogged and update the MedLog a bit this morning, then worked on estate tasks the rest of the day. No walk today.
That evening we watched ‘Appaloosa’, a Western with a ridiculous plot. This was an odd one. We enjoyed the actors (Ed Harris, Renee Zellweger, and Viggo Mortenson) and we enjoyed the extra efforts taken to make the sets, costumes, and guns as true to the time (1882) as possible. But the writing—holy frijoles. RT gives it a 75 but I don’t think I could go that high. Maybe I could go for a 60. Not a great movie, not even a good movie. I see in Renee’s interview in the extras she calls it a genre movie and I suppose that’s code for ‘we know it’s not great—it’s not supposed to be—it’s a genre movie’.

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Tuesday, 27 January-

My hematologist’s office called this morning. My platelets are normal. I just happen to be one of the individuals for which the alternate blood testing procedure must be done. OK, so far, so good.
I also had an appointment today with a urology specialist because a routine urinalysis had found excessive red blood cells. I’ll have to have a CT scan and a cystoscopy (Oh, boy!). The former is scheduled for later this week but the latter can’t be done until next week, which means I’ll have to delay my trip at least a few days. Rats.
My urology appointment today was a new experience... a young woman giving me a physical—including the old turn-your-head-and-cough test and a ‘digital prostate exam’--- and, no, that exam wasn’t done using an Intel processor!
On the way home I stopped in at the new Sportsman’s Liquidators store north of York. I had seen it’s having the grand opening so thought I’d stop in today to look around. I started chatting with the counter-guy and we talked quite a while. I was interested in his stories about North Carolina backcountry and he wanted to know about my Alaska trip. Oh, yeah. Excellent Browning-logo wool-blend socks are 3 for $10. Good deal.
Back home I made blog and MedLog entries rather than walking today. I skipped my walk because I have some tenderness which may be my old nemesis, inflammation of my toe joints. That’s not good.
I used the term ‘MedLog’ above. That refers to my medical log on my laptop. In filling out two more medical background questionnaires in the last week, I had to do some research about my medical history (what were my surgeries and when were they done?, for example). Also, I find I need more detail as I go in to explain to a new doctor why I’m there. And, frankly, my memory isn’t getting any better. Thus the MedLog.
That evening we watched four episodes of ‘Corner Gas- Season 1’. I love it!

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Monday, 26 January-

I have several doctor appointments this week. Routine tests during my annual physical raised some questions. This same thing happened last year. I get a physical and my family doctor sends me off for more testing. Last year I was sent for a stress test ‘just to be sure’ and it indicated I had a heart problem. The heart specialist recommended a catheterization but when I balked he said we could do another stress test. If I failed the second test or if it was anything but completely clear, I’d have to go in for the catheterization. Fortunately, the second test was clear; the first one had been wrong.
This year my blood test shows an odd clumping of white platelets which prevent the technician from getting a white-platelet count. So today I went to see a hematologist. He believes it could simply be a problem with the testing procedure and sent me for another blood test, this time with an alternate procedure.
I walked-four in the afternoon. We don’t have any movies but we found an interesting PBS documentary about Robert Oppenheimer being railroaded by his political enemies. Good one.

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