Subtropical Lady

May 2022 (3)

SUNDAY, MAY 22, 2022

Worried I may have a cavity brewing. I sure hope not! We’ve had enough dental expenses and I’ve got more coming up when I get my crown.

I’m tired today although I don’t know why. I thought I slept pretty well and I got a better score too. Yet it’s like when I was getting tired for no reason for most of last year. Makes me wonder if my thyroid is dying off some more.

We had a really nice storm for most of the day and night yesterday. There were a couple of really loud claps of thunder, so I was glad I was awake at the time.

Mia is now on level 100!

Later...

Storm season has officially begun! Today’s storm came with perfect timing and waited until after I got up. Before it started, it was so quiet that I could literally hear next door’s AC running. They also have one of their bathroom windows open a bit and I wonder if they forgot to close it and turn the AC off before they left, or at least turn it up higher. The thing has to be set lower than 77 because I heard it turn off and then back on before ours came on which was set to 77 at the moment.

Someone must be using Aly’s Fitbit. I stumbled into her Fitbit account from mine and noticed that there’s been activity after she died.

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022

I forgot to mention that the power flickered off for a second the last time there was a storm. I heard the distant rumbling of thunder a little while ago. I just hope I don’t get woken up before my appointment! I like that my regular dental exams are in the spring and the fall so that they’re before and after storm season. I just hope I don’t have to go in sooner if I continue having that feeling of having a cavity. She told her assistant to put a watch on one of the teeth and called out the number for her to put in their system. Wish I knew what that number was so I could look it up. I’m a little worried because it seems close to my bridge. If I needed a new bridge, that would be an astronomical expense!

Still feel good, both physically and emotionally. Just getting these weird waves of lightheadedness at times. I’m guessing that’s because my ear needs to be done.

The new AC is doing a great job of keeping it dry in here since it’s deathly humid outside. Glad we’re not in NorCal now! The heatwaves and fire warnings have already begun. I can just imagine what kind of heatwaves and fires are to come over the summer!

Mia’s free gift this week was a watch. Like, who cares?

I’m a little worried about Jessie now. Yesterday she told me it was a crazy day there and that she would catch up on messages later. I told her no problem and that I hoped it wasn’t crazy in a bad way. Today I got up to find a message from her saying “so bad.”

I’m guessing it must have to do with the contractors working on her house, or maybe one of her pets.

I told her about “Operation Desert Shitstorm.” When I feel like I trust a person enough to tell them about it, it’s good to tell them because then I can confirm just how true of a friend they are.

I wonder why her daughter has her maiden name. I thought she had her with her husband after they were married.

I’m frustrated with VZ’s latest problem. They don’t seem to get it or know what to do about it. I’m actually wondering if it could be on Google’s end. Comfort Mode just doesn’t move as smoothly as it used to. I have to use Flatten Mode. I feel like Flatten may have even more distortion, though. The thing is that after switching to Flatten, I can’t get back to Comfort. Well, I can get back to it; it just doesn’t work right. I’m getting these slow herky-jerky movements if I can even move at all.

Discovered a really cool tennis demo. Who would have ever thought back when I was all alone in the 80s and didn’t have much more to do other than read, write, make prank phone calls and struggle financially that I would one day be able to play miniature golf, tennis, and all kinds of other games from the comfort of my home and have it feel as if I’m literally there.

Didn’t hear anything yesterday, but today he heard one or two barks before I got up, and I heard a couple of barks afterward. I hate the thought of having to live with this thing for God knows how many years.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022

Oh, what fun it is to screw up cooking. Yes, that was said with sarcasm. I put too much onion in my veggie soup, so that was a bust. Then I used the tenderizer after I seasoned it and before I remembered that I now have one. I hope I didn’t wake him up beating the shit out of it. You don’t really have to hit it that hard. It seemed to flatten it a bit.

Because these are thick pork chops, you’re supposed to sear them in an oven-safe skillet for two minutes on each side. I’ve been meaning to get one of those, so I finally put one in the cart. It was the cheapest one I could find that still had good reviews and was a best seller.

For now, I had to improvise by searing the chop and then transferring it to a cookie sheet. There it was baked at 400 degrees for 10 minutes on each side. I don’t know if I could call it tender. It was a little dry. But I liked how the edges were seared crispy and it tasted good. It was like it was straight off the grill.

The grass is continuing to thrive. The park used the sit-down mower again and they had no problems mowing it. No clumps came up or anything like that. The sideyard still looks a bit brown due to the lack of rain, but it’s starting to green up a little bit as we slowly ease back into the storm season.

Anyway, between cooking, cleaning, and other things, I’ve been having trouble focusing, but I guess that’s just how I’ve always been. I get distracted and sidetracked easily. It’s hard for me to focus on one thing at a time and stick with it. I always seem to jump around. This is my fifth attempt just to finish this journal entry. I always remember something else I want to do or want to check on.

Jessie is getting annoying because first she told me that what was going on that was so crazy was “so bad.” Today all she said was that the state of Florida called her. I asked why, wondering if it was for jury duty. Then she said, “I got a job” and that was it. She never elaborated on what was “so bad.” I hate it when people do that and go talking in riddles without explaining what they mean. You can’t be that vague and expect people to magically understand. I’m just not that psychic. My mind was all over the place from a problem with the house or contractors to her getting a bad medical diagnosis or someone close to her getting sick or in an accident.

Steve is still pissing me off with the dog, even though it’s gotten better…I think. I miss the days when I rarely heard barking. For now, just like at the old place, I hear it every single fucking day. Yes, it’s only a few barks at a time, but still, I don’t want to hear it at all. Why do people do this to me every single place I live and annoy me with their dogs? Other people’s dogs have been an issue for me for decades. Is something trying to tell me something? Like to get a dog of my own? Would one really make a good pet for me? I would worry about it barking while I was sleeping, so I don’t know. It would have been easy to keep away from the bedroom in the other place, but not this place. It’s still a possibility, but first I want to make sure that yes, we are going to remain in Florida.

I use my outer office from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM. Even with Steve out of the picture, this way, I’m less distracted by little sounds.

Looks like book sales are tapering off. I didn’t even manage to bleed $25 out of them this time around. Kind of insulting, but I knew I was never meant to make money. Some things are in our cards and some aren’t.

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022

If Tor wasn’t so slow, I might be tempted to use it because I think that Google and Facebook are mostly responsible for most of the spam emails/calls we get. They do say that there are no guarantees you remain anonymous but I’m not trying to hide from our provider so that wouldn’t matter. It’s Google and Facebook that are the problem. I don’t care if they target ads based on my searches and stuff like that, it’s the spam, texts, and calls I could do without. Every time it seems to taper off, I get hit with a new wave. As everyone knows, we have the least privacy with Facebook and Google. They’re the ones sharing most of our info.

I did use Tor for something else. I’m finally fed up enough with Steve’s mutt to complain. I put in the word “anonymous” for both first and last name and I used a 10-minute email that expires. I told them that the reason I did this was that I didn’t want the slightest chance of it getting back to them that I was the one that complained because you never know how people may react. I also made it clear that I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble and that it wasn’t like the dog barked for hours on end, but I went from rarely hearing barking here to hearing it multiple times a day, and it’s gotten old.

Really hope to hell Steve doesn’t ask us if we complained If they talk to him about it and I realized there’s a chance that they might not. My message could fall into their spam box for all I know, and they may not do anything without me coming down in person to write out a complaint as was the case in the other park. Even talking to the office over the phone wasn’t enough there. I would have preferred to not use the words “I” or “we” but I had to use one of them. I decided on “I” because I don’t think Tom minds barking. It would have to be really loud and practically round the clock before he got annoyed. I hope they don’t think I’m Toni. Even more, I hope they don’t figure out that the complaint came from this household, despite using Tor and no legit contact info. I made sure to send a piece of my mind after we left Lakeview both to their site and to Joy on messenger so that there would be a higher chance of someone catching it. The lack of response confirms that, yes, Joy was friends with the Beckers and she was pissed that I complained on them and she did spite me because of it. Wouldn’t you defend yourself if you were innocent and say something to the effect of how she was sorry I didn’t like it but that my complaint had nothing to do with her countercomplaint? So again, I just can’t know what kinds of connections people may have.

It really pisses me the fuck off. I can no longer use the living room in the daytime without being likely to hear the damn thing and I don’t even know that having fans and air cleaners going will drown it out. It’s pretty loud when it’s in front of the house. I could hear it shut up in the bathroom in back of the house the other day. Again, why is it that within six months to a year of moving someplace it gets noisier? Why does this always, always happen to me?

I’m not gonna tell Tom about the complaint unless he finds out about it by reading this or some other way. I know that if I tell him, his paranoid side is only going to go into immediate overdrive. Why worry him until and unless something arises from it? I’m not gonna lie to him either. If Steve mentions the complaint and he tells me about it, I’ll speak up then. For now, the question is whether or not the complaint will even get back to Steve in the first place and how effective it will be if it does.

Posted by Jodi at 1:04 AM

When I went to look for dixie cups I was like, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me! $8 for 40 cups? Yes, they last a long time, but I would rather just use droppers when doing my ear.

This inflation better stop soon, or else they better do something. I know some people are getting raises, but what about those of us on Social Security? What are they going to do? Put half the country on welfare?

I’m going to continue not to worry too much about controlling my weight with my elevated TSH, but I’m still going to eventually try to set a goal of one potato hash a day (with chickpeas & veggies), which is 3 eats, and then a meat and veggie meal. This would total 4 eats and it would be about 1200 calories or slightly more. Too much for me to lose weight on normal TSH or not, but should prevent gaining. Can’t cut out my coffee and I don’t want to cut the bananas, but I’ll definitely cut back on nuts and wine. I’ll only allow myself one small candy bar a week. This means that the only expensive item I’ll be getting will be fish. I’ll have an occasional yogurt too. The Mediterranean diet isn’t big on yogurt. So the one piece of meat I have a day and the cheese I sprinkle on top of the potato hash will be the only things with cholesterol.

I was surprised to receive a voice message from the dentist at this time, knowing that I’m not due for my next cleaning until October. Why does everyone have to call me when I’m on nights? Anyway, all she said was that she was calling about “outstanding treatment.” Tom says we’re completely paid up, so we’re guessing they just want to drum up some more business. Maybe I should go in sooner and get the crown taken care of and find out for sure whether or not I have a cavity. I just hate to have appointments during the storm season.

I’ve been watching Manifest. Haven’t had to hear about race, but it’s still too married with children/single without. They’re willing to hire actresses that aren’t as pretty to reflect a more realistic view of people’s appearance, but not a more realistic view of modern lifestyles?

Never heard from Jessie yesterday, and of course I never heard from Andy after I sent him a 28-second video clip of me playing tennis in VR because it’s not an interest of his. Can’t help but compare him to Aly. She would have at least said something like, “I’m glad you like it.”

Well, I at least like it in VR. Never had any interest in it in real life.

I’m glad Tom accidentally discovered that the thumbstick moves you around the court since I don’t have enough room to run back and forth for the ball.

I also discovered a free app called Liminal. It has all kinds of sounds, colors, and effects that are said to influence mood. It’s a different kind of meditation.

I got the best lotion applicator for my back yet. Instead of those horrible rollerballs that would get stuck, it’s a piece of dense foam on a stick, sort of like a bath brush. It works great and doesn’t absorb the lotion. Not that he complained, but I’ll never have to bug Tom again to lotion up my back!

I really hope the only reason I haven’t heard from Jessie is that she’s busy with her new job. She did say that someone close to her did get in an accident and then got sick afterward. The thing is that I told her that was one scenario that ran through my mind. She said that was “so creepy” because that actually happened. I told her to just let me know if she was spooked by psychics and wanted me to keep things that came to me when I was awake or in dreams to myself and that I gladly would. She read my messages but she didn’t take the time to reply. She doesn’t always reply right away and that’s fine but if she had time to be on Facebook as often as she was yesterday why couldn’t she make a quick reply?

Again I just hope she’s busy with her new job and this doesn’t have anything to do with me divulging what happened in Arizona. I’m probably just being paranoid because I’ve been dumped so many times in my life but on the off chance that she’s pulling away because of it, whose fault is it? I was always taught that those that are true friends accept you as you are. So would it be her fault because she couldn’t accept me as I was? Or would it be mine because I could have kept my mouth shut in the first place?

Posted by Jodi at 2:44 AM

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022
I’m tired today. Not even coffee or a banana gave me energy. I’m always tired when I’m up for 18 hours the night before. Or in this case, the day before.

Five 88s a week begins! I just hope it doesn’t drive my HR up. I’ve noticed it’s been elevated a little bit this last week or so. Tom says that happens to him at times too. Well, I sure as hell hope it’s not connected because if it is, there’s no way I’ll be able to handle increasing my dose that much more.

Pretty sure that the lobster bites were what raised my HR yesterday. I noticed this the two times I had them, so there’s some ingredient in them that causes my heart to do that. This body just doesn’t like processed food anymore! I’ll be all-natural today, except for the coffee I had and the candy bar coming later. I’m going to make myself the last pork chop and then the potato hash as well with chickpeas and assorted veggies. That one’s a bitch to make, but worth it.

I checked in with Galileo and ask them if it’s true that thyroids continue to die off until they’re completely dead. This fatigue does feel like thyroid fatigue. I slept 8 hours and got a sleep score of 90. I shouldn’t be this tired regardless of being up a long time yesterday. I’ll increase my waiting time once again before I have my coffee.

I did hear from Jess who has, understandably, been busy. As far back as we go, I find it hard to believe she would suddenly decide not to bother with me, even though I learned a long time ago that anything is possible. I asked Tom his opinion as to whether or not it would be someone else’s fault if they decided not to have anything to do with me because of something I shared with them, or if it would be mine for telling them in the first place, and he believes it would be no one’s fault. It wouldn’t be their fault because they have a right to move on if that’s what they chose to do, and it wouldn’t be my fault because I have a right to be myself. Make sense to me!

In the midst of my cooking and cleaning, I hope to complete my Austria ride in the next few days. Eventually, I may do a trip from Munich to Salzberg so that I can see what Nane likely saw when she took the bus down to visit Irene one last time. This trip would only be 72 miles and not 311.

Posted by Jodi at 4:24 AM

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2022
Oh, Michelle, you just don’t give up, do you? Yeah, I’ve gotten to know some of my regular callers that call from different numbers. Michelle starts off by saying, “Hi, how are you doing? This is Michelle… Blah blah blah.” I don’t remember exactly which scam she’s running. Either the college one or the IRS scam. Or maybe the one where they offer you money as a “break” if you don’t meet a ridiculously high annual income.

Out of curiosity, I was reading the different abortion laws in various countries. Looks like a lot of the Scandinavian countries give free abortions on demand. Then you have some Latin countries that won’t abort under any circumstances, not even if the mother’s life is in danger. It makes me shudder to think there are some countries that would let a woman die despite being totally preventable. These religious zealots and their delusions are affecting so many people in such a negative way. This month will be the first time the Supreme Court will actually scale back on human rights rather than extend them. Pretty fucked up if you ask me.

I heard half a dozen or so barks around 9 yesterday morning but nothing after that. That’s probably only because I wasn’t in the front of the house after noon. The more I think about it, the more I doubt they contacted him about the barking because I didn’t go to the office. It could also be a numbers thing too. Maybe they require two or more complaints before they do anything about barking. If I continue to hear it, it could be that Steve and his wife simply don’t give a damn but even more likely is that the office never said anything to them.

I asked him what he considered too much barking and he said more than five minutes more than three times. Lol, a single bark twice a day is about all I can handle.

He lost $10 yesterday with the horses. He’s dreaming, I tell you, he’s dreaming. Just like he was in Oregon.

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2022

Getting my hair trimmed in a couple of hours.

Two days ago I was woken up by a random power failure and last night it was a thunderstorm. The power only went off for a second, but it was enough for me to notice the change in sound when my nature sounds stopped along with the air cleaner and fan that was running.

We had a 5-hour storm last night but it didn’t wake me up until 3 hours into it. Tom said the thunder was a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. I’m sure something will wake me up tonight too. The thing is that yesterday I was exhausted all day and today I’m not, even though my sleep was broken up and I had to take Benadryl for the first time in ages to get back to sleep. If I didn’t have an appointment tomorrow, I wouldn’t have bothered. But it’s on the bathroom counter, ready for tonight’s wake-up call, whatever it will be…power failures, thunder, nightmares.

Finally finished my 310-mile trip in Austria. Didn’t quite get the 5000 coins I thought I would get for it, but close. I’m in Budapest now and then I’ll create the ride from Salzburg to Munich.

As for the mutt down the street, I thought I heard a couple of barks yesterday. I heard several loud barks today and then Tom heard someone yell at it. He couldn’t tell who it was or what they said with his shitty hearing.

It irritates me that Tom threw away $25 on the horses over the weekend. How much more will he have to lose to see that it’s just a dream? They’re never gonna be consistent. Not in a big way. Not in a small way. If we ever want or really need extra money, he’s going to have to work.

I’m tempted to try powder nail dip, but again, we need to save money. It’s just that Jessie brought it up yesterday and it looks like it may be a really fun thing to try. Pretty sure we still have the UV light somewhere. She got a couple of dips from her niece but says she doesn’t know how to do it. I looked at a tutorial and it seems pretty straightforward enough.

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