Man, I was working on a post about book covers,then the distraction fairies sabotaged me yet again. Ugh.
This time, with illness! Whee!
I see my last post was set around Thanksgiving (Black Friday week). Hmm.
Then came the next 23 days of Christmas caroling.
My folks did this regularly, so to the point, I had to schedule it in papi's smartphone calendar he still refuses to adapt to. And Google Map it for him.
Him: "I don't know how to use this!" he whines, fumbling the phone screen.
Me: "You 'touch' it."
Him: "That's what I'm doing!"
Me: "No, you are jabbing it! Swipe instead."
Him: "What do you mean 'swipe'?"
Me: "Papi, like this! Like," swiping my index finger across the screen, "This! See?"
Him: "Baah! You figure it out!" he stomps off.
Swiping took a few tries, then he forgot next day.
If you've ever wondered if it is possible at all to teach someone over the age of 80 about how to use a smartphone, you are correct in thinking that NO. After all, why learn that, or anything, when you have a perfectly adult kid sitting around the house wasting their youth becoming your full-time admin?
And in between these many caroling fiestas, we actually threw a large party mid-month. Just happened on that day it snowed, and I had to go outside and shovel a second time before guests arrived. I was embarrassed they did, and offered very gentlemanly to help shovel. A party goer had a playlist set on their iphone, and papi supplied the mini-speaker. With all the beer, cake, wine and donuts and EXTREMELY LOUD party Spanish music made for a successful Christmas party extravaganza.
I even invited over a buddy I hadn't seen in a while, who was just over a bad breakup and having some trouble with disability benefits. The mountain of food, wine and music heals all wounds, it seems. I always forget how nice it is to be around other adults, instead of senior citizens all the time. Don't judge me. They're as exhausting as toddlers!
- list all surgeries and dates,
- name of pharmacy
- name of doctor that referred you, along with address and date,
- does your family have a history of
- check all that apply
- what medications does the patient take now, list all in mg.
I got so tired of rewriting all this crap I actually scanned in the filled forms for next time.
Well that was last year (literally) and now this is how we kick off this year.
Welcome to the party pal!
And just how did we start off this year?
Why, with a goddamn fucking blizzard! Of course!
I gotta say, I am not exactly enthused about this year so far. And starting off on the wrong foot is always a sign of bad joojoo for me.
We meant to buy a snow blower this year.
Hell, we even stood in Home Depot's hallowed isles debating whether we should get a gas powered/electric/hybrid/single-stage/or two-stage blower. We asked the other dudes also trying to pick out some models, and the sales clerks. I scrolled furiously up & down papi's much despised smartphone thru the webstore's available models, for ratings and specs. The model we settled on wasn't available in the store, and the box wouldn't have fit in our car trunk anyway.
So we went home, on the promises of papi depositing the amount into my bank account>transferring to my paypal>purchasing through their online store. Because papi won't get a paypal.
Because why makes things easier, when we can just complicate things old-people style!
That is why we can't have nice things.
And I was set to do it the next day, until he says "Let's wait until the 3rd of January."
And the damn storm hits on the 4th.
*sigh*
I did take pics outdoors in the 4 degree Fahrenheit weather, but my camera froze in position. Now I can't even get it working. You could say it froze to death. Haha. *cue crickets* At least I can get the memory stick out. Oh well. RIP 7mpx camera.
Everyone we personally knew with a snowblower was trapped in their own driveways, typical. this year our neighbors did not help us out, but one can only dig us out of our snowy misery over & over before one gets sick of it; don't blame them. Our guy that we always use was out of state at the time. The next door neighbor could've done it but, to reach him was impossible. We were trapped inside our own property! The street snow-plow dudes tossed a wall of snow barricading us across the damn driveway. Fuckers. We were stuck!
Finally some dudes who cut my neighbor's lawn took pity and hand-shoveled us out for $80, and thank the lord almighty I saved their business card! Not bad for doing the 504sq ft. driveway from hell, and all around the sides of the house, and the driveway wall!
That was after I dug us out the front and back door, and a meager but walkable trail around the house. January blizzards in New York always suck ass!
Then papi caught a cough from god knows who, then infected me.They both had their old-people flu shots, but I have no health insurance, so fuck me!
Seriously, I have not had this bad of a flu since the infamous San Francisco flu of January 2000, and that one I almost got hospitalized for. That was 30 days of phlegm so bad, it was difficult to breathe even in sleep. Stupid dirty cabin air from stupid cheap flight!
So yea, this year's flu had 1/3 the strength of that one.
It was bad enough that when I spoke to an insurance rep on the phone this past week, she asked "Do you need a glass of water?" on account that I kept coughing every few seconds, nonstop.Even papi told me to get back to bed. Usually he's insensitive but damn, was I that bad?
So I ceased all normal activities for several days. Only had strength enough for microwaving whatever frozen thing I pulled out of the freezer on any given day. What? Expired chicken tacos? They should be good; COUGH-COUGH! *haaack! Ptooey! (plugging nose holes with tissue)
TODAY was the first day I actually felt better. Playing catch-up, I ams.
And I found out about this writing contest a little late, but I'm gonna try to enter it. No fee!
I'll get back to my regular writing schedule beginning February. Ciao guys!
