Ideas, Insights,& Intuitions

Gustav

This is a difficult time of the year to live through. It’s the end of summer, still hot in south Texas, and likely to stay hot until the middle or end of October. It’s an election year, and it’s been a much longer campaign than usual. One convention is halfway over and we still have the other one coming up–just as Hurricane Gustav makes landfall, possibly in the same place that the infamous Katrina did 3 years ago, almost to the day! How’s that for competition? And then there’s Hanna churning her way towards the eastern US coast after that…

It’s very hard for people to keep their everyday lives on track with all of this going on. And we do have lives, though that doesn’t seem to be important to the powers that be. This planet could get along fine without the billions of human beings, plus the animals and insects inhabiting her outer crust, plus all the aquatic species in her oceans. All she really needs are the bacteria and the plants. In fact, I doubt that she notices us; with one slap of a giant hand, she can wipe out thousands of us. We, however, are not so easy to get rid of. We insist on making heroic efforts to rebuild, making ourselves stronger in the process. Why? Because she is our home, we have nowhere else to live, and we have an undeniable physical connection to her, since our bodies are made of her elements and we give them back when we die. Because by breathing her atmosphere, our life processes are possible.

It is a year like this that make one wonder about all the big questions, and wonder to whom the answers are important. To each one of us, certainly. We hope there is some reason for our being here at all, that our absence would make a difference, and that one day we will know the answers to all those huge questions. But we have been asking them for so long, and getting nothing better than “because I said so!”

Meanwhile, I lo-o-o-n-ng for November.

A friend just sent me a PowerPoint slideshow of “Magnificent Roma”, which, of course, it is. Overwhelming to me is the effort involved and the time required to produce these monuments to a civilization and its ideas. I was unable to snatch any of the gorgeous panoramic photos to shrink and show here. But imagine, if you can, the Sistine Chapel, the amphitheatres, or any of the many fountains with their statues, and how they dwarf  the sight-seers who still come to stand in awe.

You know what struck me as I looked at these pictures? People built structures–their homes, municipal buildings, and cathedrals–to last forever, and the people lived only a few decades. They spent a lifetime or more carving, sculpting, painting, inlaying, and tiling these monuments, expecting future generations to use them and marvel at them.

We, on the other hand, build things that are obsolete as soon as they are finished. Our pictures are digital, as well as our music, and though our public buildings may last for decades, we build homes and cars of lightweight, disposable materials. Yet our people may expect to live for 80, 90, 100 years. The emphasis on what should endure has shifted, and I think it is for the better. Back then people did not matter much; now they are more important than their monuments. (Although life is still cheap to a certain criminal element.)

Well, actually it was Week 19 that I was supposed to be writing about here, and I am only into Week 20 by one day—- *YAWN*

Yeah, I think it’s time I quit boring everyone with weekly stats on how I am doing with my exercise program, since at the beginning of 20 weeks, it’s boring the crap out of me! Not that I’m quitting! I need to keep pedaling the bike for the sake of my knees, which have full range-of-motion now and hardly ever bother me. I’ll keep walking, too, and about once a month I’ll let you know if I’ve made any progress. (I’ll write about other stuff in between.)

So, last week I had a check-up with my doctor. I requested a copy of the results of my Fasting Lab blood tests and urinalysis, which I keep in my medical folder at home. Out of 51 items, only my LDL cholesterol, by direct test, was outside the normal range, and that was only 3 points too high. Dr. R didn’t seem concerned; in fact he is amazed that I am doing so well. I had lost 10 lbs. since my last visit, and then, as I’ve said, I got stuck on 220. I told him that the 1000-calorie no-fat, no snacks diet made me want to bite off and chew a mouthful of butter, and he suggested the Pritikin Diet (What? when I read their diet plan later, it sure looked to me like it was the same as the diet I had been on, and if anything, worse, since it banned red meat and all but banned dairy products.)

I mentioned the Meditteranean Diet, which he also approved, and I guess I will try to follow that ideal as best I can, since I already eat a lot of fresh fruit. As for my occasional treat of a scoop of genuine Natural Vanilla Bean ice cream, he said that he really couldn’t tell the difference between the product sweetened with Splenda and the one with cane sugar. I just don’t think I could honestly say that with a straight face.

Anyway, I had better lose a few pounds before my next visit, so it’s veggies and fish and olive oil! At least I can have peanut butter!

I asked for, and got a Rx for the Shingles vaccine. He said he did not keep it in stock because the price of the shot was so high, even with insurance, that no one was getting it. But he did show me a fax that he’s received from the County Health Dept. announcing that they were giving the vaccine to “uninsured, underinsured, and Medicare recipients” for $14! I showed this to my local Walgreens pharmacist, who said they only had plans to give the flu and pneumonia shots. His opinion was that I should run–not walk–to my nearest Health Dept. And I did, managing to get in by appointment only 3 days later, and waiting among the mothers with 5-year-olds getting their immunizations for only about 30 minutes before I was called and given the vaccine.

The flu shot I will get at the Dr’s office when I go back in October.

Visualize me losing pounds, folks. I am really tired of feeling like this!

I am back to my regular routine again, pedaling and walking on alternate days, 6 days a week. The bike is back outside on the porch, and the mosquitoes are back to being only the pests they usually are.

Monday I pedaled 4.01 miles in 31 min. and burned 361.6 calories.

Tuesday I walked only about 2,000 ft., to the end of “A” Avenue and back, then home. It was enough. After establishing a route of 1 mile in my neighborhood, and walking it every other day for weeks 13, 14, and 15, all it took was one week of NOT doing it while “Dolly” was here to slow me down. The ground is still full of moisture, and so is the air–it is hard to move the breath in and out of my lungs.

Wednesday I did well on the bike, and Thursday I walked almost the full mile, but had to stop and breathe 5 or 6 times, so it took me 33 minutes.

Friday after pedaling my 4 miles, I took a random BP-HR measurement with the wrist monitor.  I showed me 113/59/ 73 at rest. Hmmm…..

Saturday I did not walk because I participated in a cleanup project at my church (as long as I could ), then helped out a disabled friend for 2 hours, and THEN shopped for groceries. I felt tired after that, and my back was aching, so I rested.

OK, so Monday 8/11, I get to report all this progress to my doctor, and see the results of the fasting lab blood tests that were done 2 weeks ago. I’ll tell you how that went on the next Bikelog post.

Monday: I loafed today…my biceps are sore from transporting plant containers, bricks, etc., and I need a good night’s sleep, which I still haven’t had…

Tuesday: Time 31:00…………Distance: 3.55 miles………..Calories: 320.

Since the bike is still indoors, in 78F comfort, I pedaled it late this afternoon. I was going to move it back outside then, but decided against it. There is really not a good place to use it in this tiny apt., but there is a TV in here and mosquitoes outside!

Wednesday: Thought I’d try dividing exercise time into 2 equal sessions.

1)   8:55 am–Time:15:40………Distance: 2.03 miles…………..Calories: 183.1.

(I ended up blowing off the pm session—so I guess that idea won’t work.)

Thursday: 7:20 pm indoors. Time: 20:20 min…Distance: 2.8 mi…Calories:252.

Note: Catching up is far worse than building up time at the beginning! I haven’t walked in my neighborhood since the hurricane. But I am reluctant to pedal outside or walk until the mosquitoes are gone…I’ll sweat the repellant off! (And by the way, they will bite me somewhere, even if I am wearing repellant!)

Friday: 8:05 pm indoors.

Time: 27:00 min….Distance: 3.62 mi……Calories: 326.1.

Saturday: Finally made it back to 4 miles on the bike. Will have to try walking a half-mile next week. They have started spraying for the mosquitoes.

Time: 31:30 min…….Distance: 4.01 mi……..Calories: 361.4. 

Did I forget to report how much weight I have lost??? Well, there is a good reason for that….;-) and I’m betting you can guess what it is. I have an appointment next week with that doctor who gave me the 1,000-calorie, no-fat, no dessert, no-snacks diet……I intend to let him know that it makes me want to unwrap a stick of butter and bite off a mouthful!

Man born without eyes is able to use light, color, and perspective to create paintings, using only touch. MRI taken as he paints, shows that visual areas of his brain “light up” as he creates his pictures. (9 min. 50 sec.)

Painting without eyes

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