FOURTH Journey Thread
 

TRIP TO SEE BROTHER

My brother and I spent a lot of time together.

He picked me up at the airport and we drove into town together.
We stopped at a drug store for ice packs to put in freezer when we got back to his place so I could have them for my knee during my visit.

The first night was supposed to be dinner out with
1 brother
2 brother's wife
3 me

But communication signals got crossed so brother and I had a long dinner at a fantastic restaurant all by ourselves.
Longer version: Due to parking issues, brother kept changing where we were going to eat.
He texted some updates to his wife but left his phone in his truck before sending her the last update.
He and I were at a spectacularly fantastic restaurant that was perfect for the two of us hanging out together.

I spent time with him in his garage while he worked on/talked about various projects that keep him occupied.
For example, someone gave him an old bureau/dresser that might have been from the 1950s.
His plan was to glue some cracks in the drawers, sand, paint, and put it on Craig's list for two hundred dollars.
I suggested that he spend two hours on it and charge four hundred dollars. He has his own semi-logical answer not to do the project my way.;)

He showed me every alteration he made to the very small and very old house (-- took down parts of walls to make a more open floor plan, did this and that, re-did wood work, . . .
(He has a contractor's license along with interest and talent for this stuff.)
He even spoke about why this color and not this color on the walls, showed me his own paintings and why they are in the places that he chose, . .

He and I talked about our family members -- esp his worries about our little brother, Dad's surgery, the hassle Dad has been giving brother re brother's 19 year old son, . . . .

On the last morning after the lake, he and I had breakfast together.
(I had to ask him to stop freaking out the people at the nearby tables after I asked him about steering the boats.
The person in the back is called the "coxen."
It was bad enough that I was already loud and cursed more than the locals.
He switched to "person who steers."

He wanted to talk to me about the three or four years he spent coaching a local college girls rowing team and how much he enjoyed the team's success.
He reminded me that four or five years ago and for three years straight he came in first place in his age group at a regional race for rowing in a one man boat. (Close enough picture to describe what he does when he is in a one man boat: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_9388167.htm )

We had a lot of catching up and I was tired / sleepy and he is always slightly manic.
He "self-medicates" with visual art and music, some alcohol at home, time on projects, and lots and lots of exercise.

I had lots of questions about how things work / how he handles his responsibilities in current job.

His wife was busy/ left us alone/is quiet and not sociable but she was nice
about stuff that mattered like driving me to the public library to print out my boarding pass, doing my laundry, . . .
He and his wife do have wifi but NO TELEVISION in the house.
The family members talk and hangout or, as in my brother's case, stay busy.

If you are still reading, you see that he talked more that I did but I interupted when I wanted and changed subject when I felt like it.

M

YouTube
 

Here is a YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcX7qA3DxdQ
Of a one man skulls/rowing event.

(the boats can be of various sizes
1
2
4
6
8


Brother can do all sizes. He likes being in the final (coxen) position because that
person is in complete control of the boat but
I observed that he like the social and teaching aspect of being in bigger boats as well.


The coxen in the boats of two men and above does this:
1 steers and makes decisions.
2 keeps everyone in exact rhythm
3 motivates the others

M

Mari, Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us.
It sounds like you had some real quality time with your brother.
Very happy for you.
have a good day!
bizi

Yes it does.

That was funny about freaking people out in the restaurant, btw. :D

Hubby and jury duty
 

Hubby got selected for jury duty in a civil suit.

He was not paying attention when the judge asked if anyone ever worked for an insurance company :eek:
(He did actuarial work at one time. He could have been out of there in a few minutes.)

When the judge told the jurors that they are not to go home to talk to their spouse or the judge could put the in jail,
hubby actually laughed aloud because he was sure that the judge was joking.

Apparently, the case involves technical issues. The judge said after closing arguments that everyone will have a little notebook to write any question
they have.
They lawyers and the judge will decide if the question/s can be answered in open court.

He said that judge also said not to Google any details of the case.
-------------------------------------
At home he asked me what an ATV was.
I said to leave me out of this and that that was an appropriate question for the notebook.

======
I worked to keep him calm and myself calm so that he can
function in his role.

M

Wow, Mari

Good luck with this. I've had to ask to be excused ahead of time so
far each time I was chosen. Derrick usually was going to be in
hospital. I remember one time the judge called me directly. Wanting
to know why I couldn't have someone else stay with him. And also
why I couldn't just leave him for the day. I explained someone had
to be there 24/7 because of the VEEG he was having. That my husband
and I both couldn't be without our paychecks. And that my other
son's were minors. I had no family that I could ask for such a favor.

He finally after a couple more tries to get me to say something that would
show I might be lying let me out.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

What a pain.
Can he still tell them that he forgot he worked in the industry before?
I have gotten out of jury duty before, my pdoc handled it.
bizi

TV shows with courtroom scenes
 

Hubby enjoyed his second day of jury duty although he was wound up and needed me to calm him down.

(I absolutely did not want to hear about the case knowing that it might disturb me.)

I walked him through what to expect the lawyers, experts, judge, bailiff, and other jurors will do Wed.
I told him if he wants to ask questions he has to write them in his notebook
before the jury is sequestered.

He is the the only person in the world who has never seen these:
CSI, NCIS, Law and Order, Boston Legal, The Practice

===
He has seen Monk, Colombo, Perry Mason -- which have not prepared him for how the courtroom works.

M

Aww, that's cute that you are calming him down. It's kind of amazing that he gets into it though. But maybe it is a particularly interesting case.

A friend of mine served recently who doesn't watch any of that stuff either, and lives kind of apart from the world, telecommutes. He was told what he needed to know about the legal system and courtroom protocol -- prior exposure was not required. My friend might be a bit more cautious in social situations than your husband though -- he certainly took all judge instructions very much to heart. Mostly, my friend was exhausted by the case. It sounds like your hubby is having the opposite reaction!

waves

Waves,


It's a lawsuit about a traffic accident. The judge "flattered" hubby
the first day by saying that his background/expertise was relevant.
(Hubby responds well to flattery even if everyone else recognizes it as
the judge trying to keep things light.)


Hubby's social skills are off and he stinks at listening. Thirdly, he thinks the rules are not really rules . . . .at least that rules do not apply to him.
He asked me why the jurors were not talking in the elevator and why when
he asked someone about the time they were supposed to be back ("Was it 1:00 or 2:00 that they told us?"), the other person said "2:00."
. . . . No small talk.
I asked hubby: "Did the judge specifically say that you are not supposed to talk about the case?"
"Do you think that people are being careful to be quiet until talking with each other is appropriate?"


Hubby likes rules that other people are supposed to follow (rules do not apply to him) and he likes that he is supposed to figure out who was right and who was wrong.
Yesterday, he had already decided who was at fault.
I said that that he will hear the other HALF of the case tomorrow ( today /Wednesday), and that they will still do closing arguments Wednesday as well.

===============
I knew someone else who worked for an insurance company.
They wanted her out of the courthouse as fast as possible.
She was overheard saying some random small talk in the elevator on the way out of the building and was hauled back before the judge and told to be quiet.
====


Hubby was making lots of guesses and had lots of questions.
I flat out refused to speculate for him.
I told him that after the lawyers wrap things up, he will not be able to ask questions. They will only be able to have the transcript read back to them.
If he never asks the questions, and never gets an answer for the record, the answer will not be in the transcript.

He decided he would start the day (today/ Wednesday) with three questions to write down in his notebook. DUH.
The two lawyers and the judge will then confer and decide if the question/s can be answered / whether the jury is allowed to know that info/whether the
info is relevant.

I will be glad when it is over.

M

I hope it is over soon for you Mari. It sounds exasperating.

the bug guy
 

The exterminator came today as part of his once a month visit to try to keep the ants outside.
He has been doing this for years.


Today the guy said something about vacuuming!!!! LOLZ

:ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO:

Then I handed him a cold bottle of water on his way out of the door.

M

you were very nice giving him your bottled water!
bizi:rolleyes:

Hubby's case wrapped up.

The judge gave each of the jurors a certificate for their service/participation.

Mari

I always have a big bottle of cold water near the front door when he comes.
He does a lot of work spraying the outside of buildings.
It is hot and we have not had much rain to cool things down.

M

Mari

Its still very nice.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

Glad that hubby's case is over.... whew.

What was the deal with the bug guy vacuuming? Did he want to vacuum, or was he telling/asking you to do it?

I am glad you give the bug guy water. :hug: We always offered water to gardeners and any outdoor laborers too. They'd get dehydrated if folks didn't help out like that.

Camera facing East
 

The canal behind my little grocery store today before the sun went down.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/p...psvtnff8wv.jpg

Mari,
Thankyou for sharing. That's such a beautiful and peaceful photo.
Loved seeing it.

Beautiful... :)

Is that an ibis (or similar) there at the edge of the lake? Did you notice if there was a bird there?

loved the picture!

Waves,

I would have noticed a big bird :D

It was probably a piece of plastic trash.:(


M

Trying to get meds worked out.
 

I have to call to renew meds because they are not renewed automatically.

I called Monday. They have only one of the four listed as renewable!!!

(There was a mess up the month before as well.)

I will make a note to call Tuesday. This is not reassuring.
I chose this pdoc because the last pdoc was not responsive to my Verapamil and other calls. This one . . . I do not even know how to summarize the issue.

M

Good luck today with the meds and refills. Maybe you could fax a note to the office requesting refills. usually when I see pdoc every 4 months she writes out refills for meds for 4 months and hands me the script before I leave.
How often do you see your pdoc?
bizi

I hope that gets straightened out fast, Mari.

I am amazed so many doctors can't get things right. L( (Any chance the pharmacy could be messing up?)

Very tired. Overmedicated as well ??
 

Re meds: I called and the pharmacy. The person on the phone said that the meds will be delivered today.

But she did not ask me for a co-pay.
I will keep my phone on and near me in case they call for money.


====
I missed sleeping for two days. Today I am really feeling it.
Hubby and I goofed with the a/c -- It woke me up at 74 degrees the past two days or so. I was freezing. Plus the electricity stopped for one second.
Whatever happened exactly, I am feeling really crummy.

--
Hubby feels like the a/c is my my job.
I told him to go on line and find the manual.
If he gets no-where, he can call the company and help me figure out how to program / re-program the air conditioner.
=======================
It took me 10 mins to type this.

M

Mari, I hope you can get some sleep very very soon! That's way too much deprivation. :(

Hope that hubby can dig up the specs for the air conditioner, too.

Or maybe you can just goof with it again and see if you can figure it out or accidentally set it to a more comfortable temperature.

He said he emailed me the manual.
I told him that I would never be able to figure it out by myself (esp today) and that we have to find a time today.
"Today" for him means very late tonight (near midnight) -- that is o.k. with me.

======
He cannot figure out how to print the manual from his Mac.
. . .. some kind of problem with the wireless printer or whatever computer he is using today. (it seems like he has dozens -- none of which do exactly what he needs. )
---
I checked . . . he relies on four: a Mac, Toshiba Lap top, a Lanova. The Dell is in the shop. Other lap tops are piled on top of a book case.

The meds arrived.

There was a bill /receipt / piece of paper hubby read that said 69 dollars

My other pharmacy charged less than that.

I am glad the meds have arrived. I guess you need to decide if the other pharmacy was worth the difference in cost...?

Maybe you can print the manual since hubby is (ironically!) printer-impaired. I wish the two of you well in figuring out the AC tonight.

a/c programed PERHAPS
 

The a/c has options for week days/ week ends/ wake up times for both/ . . . .


I believe that that we set the thing for 77 degrees night and day for all seven days 24 hours a day.


We can check later today that our programming seems to have worked.


M

Hooray! :yahoo:

Glad that you got your meds and hoping that you can get caught up in your sleep ASAP!
bizi

Had to have a talk w/ hubby about Glycemic Index -- told him to stop
 

Hubby has been telling me random bits of information apropo of nothing because he has been reading a book on diabetes.
He mentions that some food has a this or that number on the Glycemic Index.

I repeatedly tell him that
1 Although diabetes runs in his Mother's family, he is not diabetic.
2 I does not run in my family and I am not diabetic.
3 Neither one of us is cooking or shopping for a diabetic.

===
More importantly, the Glycemic Index is useless because it is not based on science.
Science has to be reproduce-able and the Glycemic Index was not.
It is only a random chart to confuse people who really are diabetic.


===
I wish I could disappear the book and hand him one I like.
M

Maybe find a good source that discusses Glycemic Load?

It integrates the GI science, so he can build on what he has been reading, but GL much more practical, for eating concerns. If you do this, make sure the book discusses GL for meals... not just a chart on GL for specific foods... because mixing foods changes the load.

wonder why he got the book?
bizi

The glycemic load is also bad science.
Actually, it has no science.

Hubby has been watching food programs on netflix and bought
Joel Furhman's book on diabetes.
Hubby's mother died in her 60s from a heart a attack that was related to her diabetes.
+++++++++========+++++++++
Joel F's first book, Eat to Live, is good. It is about trying to be vegan 90% of the time.
He has become weird -- one of those guys that makes wild claims like Dr. Oz does.
For example, Hubby told me that Furhman said quiona is good to eat.

Of course but so are other things.
What makes quinoa better than rice or anything else?
We had to sit with the two foods and their labels in front of us looking at numbers.
Hubby concluded for himself, that rice was just as good as quinoa and tasted better.
I said, eat the rice and take a break from this nonsense.

M

Mari

I know you really can't. But tell him that even diabetic's(me) don't read
that stuff. We listen to what our doctors say, and in my case a nutritionist
for diabetics.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

The glycemic index and glycemic load concepts certainly do have some science.... the same dang science that backs low-carb benefits! Example:

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/71/6/1455.full

But of course plenty of sources making hokey recommendations based on these concepts. Popular books, health sites, and blogs all make pretty wild claims about almost every health concept on the planet. The claims all seem to be lack and white, while the science is seldom so. But making things simple, radical, and sensational is appealing. It is easy to understand. It sells...

Twenty years ago fats were bad. This led to "low-fat" foods padded with starches, and people overate sugar, more and more. Now we are all getting fat, and people have "discovered" that carbs are bad, especially sugar. Well duh, a diet based on empty calories is bad. Duh duh duh.

There is actually science showing ills of fats as well as carbs, but pop nutrition sources go well beyond what science has established. I expect that in 20 years or so, they will be telling us protein is bad. Because by then, enough people will have been brainwashed into high-protein diets for long enough that there will be fall out from it, and there will be science against protein... new book fodder. Eventually, someone might even figure out a way that fiber is bad... perhaps based on the overuse of today's fiber-based supplements to promote weight loss. :rolleyes:

Re: rice versus quinoa... they have different protein profiles. Quinoa has a very "complete" amino acid content, as grains go. That's no reason we should all suddenly replace our rice with quinoa. This is one of those black/white, cut and dried things. Life just isn't.

Hubby has settled for now on a book I found in his stacks:
J. Fuhrman's Eat to Live.
I did this for six weeks one summer and loved it because i felt great.
====
It is less gimicky than some other stuff of Fuhrman's and does not talk about magic foods.

It is straight up
1 vegan
2 portion control

Re portion control: for ex, one pound a day of greens (cooked), one pound a day of raw veggies, . . . .and other stuff like small amount of beans (one cup), one carb (very small amount), four fruits, . . . . . .

This might keep him occupied for three weeks until he moves onto something else.


M