In Pursuit of Mysteries

Magical Health Land

Boring health post!

I know that someone out there cares so I thought I’d give a health update. While on Saturday, I was so lethargic and exhausted, I couldn’t leave home (and missed a workshop at Noisebridge because of it), Sunday was obviously better with my field trip. Today, I felt mostly normal though a bit tired.

This, of course, was in time for the visit with the doctor for the results of my tests where he asks, “How are you feeling today?” He seemed less concerned about my suck weekend than the “Oh, so you feel pretty normal today…”

We did get the results of almost all of my tests (a couple where they attempt to culture parasites weren’t back yet). Since we’d already done 70% of the work, we agreed to do a full physical while I was there, making the whole thing less a waste of time. My lab tests basically showed diddly squat. I’m not anemic or diabetic, my white blood cell count isn’t high, sugars are good, and I show know signs of obvious illness in my system. He did an electrocardiogram and a few other tests to round things out and these all came out normal. Because of the extensive paternal family history of heart problems (my dad technically died of a heart attack though his liver was killing him and most of his male cousins or older relatives have had heart attacks or surgery), we decided that we should keep an eye on things. My blood pressure is on the higher end of normal but my cholesterol isn’t bad except that my good cholesterol is a lot lower than they’d live. To that end, other than admonishing me to continue to lose weight and exercise, I was put on niacin to help address my good cholesterol.

Between Egypt and Burning Man (and probably the vegetarian diet over the last four months), my weight is now down 15 pounds from where it was four months ago. Of course, I’m still 40 pounds too heavy working in a sedentary industry (hello, computers!) and would rather read than work out. I really need to lose another 20 or so pounds in the next four months for me to feel like I’m making progress. It all means that I really do need to get off my ass and do some exercise.

On a plus note, I felt well enough today that I walked the mile and change to get dinner and the same back. That’s definitely something I couldn’t have done a few days ago. I’m also awake at 11:00 PM without feeling a need to pass out.

So, enough health stuff to a while unless I get a sudden ER trip. I return you to the scheduled hysteria concerning elections, the Internet, and whether I get into my doctoral program or not.

Buddhists for Obama

courtesy of the worst horse

I doubt that there are too many mysteries on how I’ll be voting in the presidential elections in the near term. I think that this country has been on a wrong path for a long, long time (far longer than eight years). I’m not a member of either of the major parties (or any others that will have me) for a good reason. That being true, I think that it is clear that given a choice between either of the candidates from the two parties that we get to choose from, Obama is the clear winner for those of us committed to any progressive causes. Voting Republican is definitely just more of the same and seems likely to continue both our unending wars in the Middle East but the death spiral our economy is currently undergoing.

I want to encourage everyone to vote, regardless of party or inclination (all of you non-U.S. citizens can ignore this) but really think about where we’ve been going in the last eight years, especially since 9/11, and where you think we should be going during the next eight or more in this country.

Day of the Dead

Our Day of the Dead Altar for this year

I am feeling slightly better today so R and I decided to get out of the house for a while. In Fruitvale (part of Oakland) there is a Day of the Dead festival. This is a sort of streetfair with Day of the Dead altars, vendors, food, music, etc. We’d spoken about going earlier in the week so it seemed a good opportunity to do something.

Frida Kahlo Day of the Dead altar

It turned out to be bigger than we had expected and packed. We wandered around for a while and I picked up a couple of things to add to our own Day of the Dead altar. We usually buy one small thing every year (except the year when we were in Mexico where we bought a bunch of stuff). R picked up a new sugar skull to replace the rather tired one that we’ve had for a few years since we never eat them.

I took a few photos of some of the altars on display. The large one for Oakland deaths was more tragic than most.

Oakland Deaths Day of the Dead altar

This year, we only know one person who has died and we were not extremely close. In the last couple of years before that, R and I have both lost family members. I hope that the coming year is without loss but that is hardly a choice anyone gets to make.