Of Moose And Men
The Best Laid Plans Of Both Often Go Astray

Spent the morning cleaning out two of three trunks we’ve had sitting in the back of the owner’s suite closet since we moved in. One was semi-actively used in the old place, so it had stuff like old financial records that I can now toss, but the other one was one my parents foisted off on us when they moved from Virginia to Texas and it was primarily old boy scout memorabilia. And a lot of dust.

I’m keeping a few of the things, but a lot of it is getting the, “do I really need this? no, not really” treatment and going away, whether to the trash or to donations. And with everything I’m considering keeping I’m trying to ask the question of what I’d do with it (besides store it), and is it something that will bring me pleasant memories or just more stress? And do I want my heirs to eventually have to deal with cleaning it up? The answers for a lot of the stuff is a resounding no, so a lot more is going away after asking that.

Took a break to take a shower and grab some lunch, then I’ll finish packing it up for disposal this afternoon.

We’ve been going through a bunch of personnel changes the past year at work. New General Counsel, permission to hire five new attorneys (up from 13 to 18), three of whom are on board and the last two have a start dates now. But we’re also losing four attorneys, one to retirement, and three to other agencies, including our Deputy GC. Which readers may recall was the position I applied and interviewed for back in 2021 when it last opened up. And while at the time I considered that a bullet dodged (I honestly don’t think I was ready for that), this time I’m going to do some more talking with the current incumbent about the job, and the previous GC about how the interview process went. The ad is out on the street and is open for three weeks, so I have some time to make a decision. Thankfully it’s the same requirements as last time, so with some minor polishing and updating I should be good to go for answering the questions. As of right this instant I’m on the fence. Frankly I like my current job at the small gubm’nt agency and I could be comfortable in it for the next decade or so. But do I want to just ride that out or do I want to do more? I dunno. I look forward to talking about it with the husband, after he’s done with this weekend’s festivities.

Had a third TIA back on the 5th. Again mild, same symptoms, again no damage evident. Ironically it was a day after my appointment with the neurology department. After this third one the ER told me that if the symptoms didn’t change (ie., no drooping face, no slurred speech) to note the date, time, etc. of the attack and let neurology know, but don’t bother schlepping down to the ER because it was highly unlikely any damage was happening while the symptoms were staying consistently mild.

Thankfully nothing has happened (TIA-wise) since then. *knock wood*

After seeing neurology I have a sleep study scheduled for next month. I don’t think I have apnea, but my dad does, and I do snore occasionally, so they’re going to test (I will *not* go on a cpap; not gonna happen). Also have an intake at a different facility next month for an EEG to rule out some sort of seizure disorder. And as of yesterday I’m wearing a 30-day heart monitor to rule out atrial fibrillation (I don’t mind the monitor, but carrying the little phone that goes with it is a P.I.T.A.). So everyone is on tap and I’m getting tested out the wazoo, but otherwise life is getting back to normal. I went into the office twice this week (and would have gone tomorrow as well, but I’m doing an orthopedist visit to check on the knee instead).

My body chose to make the end of 2023 exciting, by having another TIA mid-afternoon on the 31st. The husband was home this time, so I grabbed him, packed supplies for an overnight stay just in case, removed my piercings, and zipped over to the ER. Again, it’s amazing how quickly they jump when you walk in and say you’re having/had a TIA. As with the last one the symptoms resolved quickly, and were not as intense this time around (I kept having to explain to various nurses/doctors that I’d had one earlier in the month and I was going to compare to that experience). CT scan came out normal and since I already have a follow up appointment scheduled for this week I talked them out of trying to admit me for another overnight stay. So a couple hours later and we were home again, and our planned guests came over for card & VR games. Did end up ordering pizza rather than making the stew I’d planned, but that was easier to deal with.

One takeaway will be pushing my orthopedist for more aggressive options on the knee. I need to be able to move more to help with my overall health, and the continuing instability in the knee is a liability there, even for something as simple as walking.

I’m also going to get some replacement piercings that don’t need the reverse pliers to take out so I don’t have to carry those with me or otherwise risk not being able to have an MRI if needed. I still want to wear the jewelry, but not at the expense of not being prepared to test at the last minute where needed.