Well…man, I’m feeling crappy this morning…have a sore throat that kept me up most of the night and I wonder why that would be…hmmm…had an okay day yesterday and had the chance to get out to have one with K and that was fun…but, I think that started the night a little too early and I’m feeling it now…didn’t get a lot done yesterday and today will probably be the same with all the football and races on…again…but I do need to clean my bathroom so I think I’ll wedge that in between….and State starts at 10:45…which is a really weird time to start so I need to get out on the bike soon but I am not motivated to get going yet….should have made coffee instead of just having leftovers since there is not enough to get me jump started…might even have to make more…more later….

Well….if any of you have been following my saga of trying to buy a house to retire in, I have a little update today…the check from cashing in a life insurance policy finally came yesterday and now I can get down to it…it is a little weird to have $45,000 dollars sitting on my kitchen counter but a little cool, too….I guess I did one thing right by buying that policy 15 years ago….need to get to the bank Monday….had to make an appointment since there is a lot of fed reporting that goes with a deposit that large….

Well…since I had a couple of doctor appointments this week for the first time in 16 years, I thought I’d talk a little about that…and maybe some other stuff, too! One of the things that came out of my higher than normal blood pressure (it was still only 138 over 77) was that my doctor recommended that I get a home blood pressure machine and log the times of the day that it is higher or lower…so, I went out to Amazon and got a pretty cool little unit that got rave reviews for only 20 bucks or so shipped and that should be here Wednesday…but, I know why my BP is higher than normal and I am going to fix that after this weekend…unfortunately, this is going to be my last cocktail weekend and I am going to stop drinking, other than the beers I have out shooting pool…this should help with two things, my weight is higher than I like and by cutting out the cocktails, I should start losing weight like crazy and that will help with the blood pressure, too…and with my cholesterol being the same number of 138, weird, huh? I do need to start eating better, too…so, no more burgers or pork after I clean out my freezer…but, with not buying any booze, I will be able to afford some more healthy food like fish, fruits, and veggies….oh, and I do need to stop taking so much antihistamine, too, since that is directly related to high blood pressure. It should be an interesting journey but a bittersweet one…I mean, giving up your last vice? Oh, well…if it adds a few healthy years I think it’s worth it…it’s just nice to know where I sit and how to make it better..I’m going to miss the burgers, too…and the sausage, and the salami, and the smoked sausage, and the pork chops…you get it….

Well…having a hard time getting moving today and the soreness from playing in the waves is pretty widespread…but, that is a good thing…slept okay last night but my back is caught again so there is pain running down my leg and that is annoying but I’ll live through it…that hasn’t happened in a while….didn’t get a lot done yesterday but cleaning the bike and re lubing everything on it…need to maintain it after getting out in the rain and sludge last week….I was going to clean the bathroom yesterday but just didn’t get to it so that will be something to do today….or the kitchen, not sure which but I do need to do something today…but, that will wait until after the coffee works some…and the temp comes up…it’s only 55 right now and I don’t want to put a sweatshirt on just yet…more later…

Well…this is going to be short one for right now since I have a doctors appointment in a few minutes…need to have them look at the sore on my neck that won’t heal…hoping it’s not skin cancer but it could be since we northern Europeans are almost transparent we are so white…so. I’ll be back to finish this up after the appointment…and after I have some coffee and read the paper…okay, I’m back…got a little good news that the sore on my neck is not skin cancer but some kind of a cyst that won’t go away on it’s own so they are going to send me to a dermatologist to have it removed…it is really, really weird to have insurance again and have all this healthcare happening…now, I just need to take care of myself a little better…but, the good thing is that I don’t need any medications, I can get everything back in line just by not being stupid…not much to do today…still haven’t gotten on the bike yet but I need more coffee before I do that…and I am going to clean the bathroom today…more later…

Well….it has been a pretty cool day other than finding out I need to have someone take me and bring me home from a medical test I need to have but I don’t have anyone to do it so I guess I’ll just cancel it and figure it out later…but, that’s not what this about…since I was 5 years old, I have gone swimming in Lake Michigan at least once a year for every year that I have been alive…but, this year, I thought I was going to miss it with the huge weather change coming up tomorrow where the highs will only be about 70 and a storm coming in will turn the lake over and drop it’s temp by 25 degrees..so, after the bike ride today, I jumped in the car and headed out to Grand Haven and I am glad I did…the water was 74 degrees and the waves were 6-7 feet tall…and, if you’ve been here before, you know I am a wave geek and just love to have them pummel me…my shoulders and ribs even hurt from the waves slamming into me….and I got a few rides surfing them with the longest one being almost 100 feet…pretty damn cool and it keeps the streak alive…

Well…running a little late today and just can’t get started…and my shoulders hurt where I got shots yesterday but it’s worth it to already have my flu shot done…and I have another appointment to look at the sore that won’t heal Thursday and that is weird…no doctor for 16 years and now two appointments in one week…I am still wrapping my head around that one…slept okay last night and don’t feel too bad today but I do need more coffee to get to the workout and bike ride…still had a little distress on the bike yesterday but it was so hot out there in the afternoon that I think that was part of it…my lungs are still full of crap and I can’t wait til the allergies are done…it looks like a huge weather change tomorrow with the high only going to be in the low 70’s and low humidity so that will be a welcome change…not much to do today…going to take it easy today and try to clean the bathroom but that is about it…more later….

Well…just got back from my first visit to the doctor in 16 years and it doesn’t look too bad so far…my blood pressure was a little high but the doctor thinks it was the antihistamine I’ve been taking for my allergies..oh, and I do like my new doctor…seems to be a good guy and took lots of time just talking about exercise, vaccines, and other health stuff…so it was a pleasant surprise. It was cool that I planned for blood work and they have a lab in the same building so I got that taken care of along with getting a flu shot and a pneumonia vaccine, too…and there is no bruising where they drew the blood so that is a bonus…the doctor wants me to get a colonoscopy in the next month or so and that will be covered, too, and I am curious if there are any problems…so far, the doctor seems to be happy about my health other than the borderline blood pressure and it is cool that all of the work I’ve been doing on the bike and working out has been having some effect….now, I can’t wait to see where my cholesterol is with bingeing on burgers this weekend…oh, well…don’t have prescription coverage so I probably won’t do anything about it even if it is high…having a doctor again makes me feel like I’m a little more connected to normalcy again and that is not a bad thing…

Well…running a little late this morning with having to change out another tube on the bike…discovered the front was flat when I got up so I had to use my last spare tube from the old bike…hope it works since this is going to be a busy day…going in for a checkup this morning and then I have to have the maintenance guys come with the wet carpet by my furnace…and it is two of my boys birthdays today so I have to text them…not that busy but I do have to wedge a workout and a bike ride in somewhere today, too….I did get to looking for a house almost all day yesterday and there are a few things out there but not where I want to live….so that will get worked on again today with an eye to finding something in the next week or so….slept kind of crappy last night but feel okay today with being good last night so maybe that should continue today…I am a little apprehensive about what they’ll find during my physical today but it is what it is…maybe I’ll be the healthiest old guy they’ve ever seen…more later…

Well…running on time this morning and that is a little unusual…just haven’t been able to get moving the past few days but I do need to change that….slept okay last night but I am having trouble getting started and think that may be connected to yesterday’s problems on the bike….and not eating enough, again….didn’t get anything done yesterday with all of the races and soccer on…Man U finally won one but they are still in 11th place in the league and that is not good enough to get into the champions league later in the year…my feet still hurt from the long walk yesterday and I hope they heal up soon so they won’t be a problem in NYC…not much to do today…not sure about pool with it being a holiday today and it’s raining right now so I may have to take the day off the bike…the rain is strung out all the way to Iowa and heading here so it may be an easy one today…more later…