Triple D: Duties, Distractions, and Decisions Part 1 - Not the cool one from TV
Ok, I missed posting FOUR nights in a row. Shame on me. But have really good reasons, I promise. (That's what they all say, huh?)
Wednesday... Hmmm... What did I do Wednesday? Wednesday was, just like every other week, hump day. There was nothing particularly exciting or even remotely interesting about work Wednesday. Mom did call me and ask me to come by their house and help dad unload a small cabinet that was given to mom by her cousins Becky and Cindy. I had been wanting to talk to mom about something anyway so it seemed to be a good idea. After work, I went over there and helped dad move the cabinet. No big deal. It is kind of neat and probably worth a dollar or two. After bringing the thing in, dad went to Uncle Ray and Aunt Sherry's house to feed their dogs while they were away. I figured this would be a good time to talk to mom. It generally was, but... I was never able to bring up what I wanted to talk about. It seemed like just a few minutes and dad was back. I love my dad to death but you can't really discuss serious or important things around him anymore. Dad will be 70 this year and his mind is beginning to slip a little and I think his hearing is getting worse. The combination of those two things can make conversations difficult to carry on. Still, I figured I could still work in what I needed to talk about. Nope. Just too many distractions and finally mom's cousin called and she was still on the phone after 30-45 minutes when I decided to leave. Phase 1 of frustration. On the drive home I ponder all of this which really doesn't help my mood.
Finally home. I go in the door and am immediately confront about why I was late. I replied that I had sent a text message explaining what I was doing. That statement was followed by another grilling question.... and ultimately, several more. Mood enhancement #2. Supper is consumed and I get up and go to my desk to get on the internet. As usual, it is down AGAIN. Mood Enhancement #3. This has been a recurring problem and it has really gotten worse after the April 27th tornadoes. My ISP had some damage but this problem predates that. By this time I am really pleasant to be around. I sat and stared at my ham radio station. I decided I wasn't happy with the layout so I pulled most of it apart and began to rearrange. Some progress was made but there is still a little work to be done. After about 3-4 hours of the internet bouncing up and down, it finally came back and stayed up long enough for me to chat with a friend on Facebook. That helped dissipate some of the frustrations of the evening. If you read this, you know who you are :) .
Thursday was a little busier at work. I prepared some radio coverage maps during the morning and the afternoon was a meeting marathon. I survived it. On the way home, I was stopped by a train at the bottom of the mountain on the road I live on. I sat there 30 minutes before the multiple trains finally cleared the crossing. While sitting there, the wife unit calls and explains she doesn't feel like cooking and would rather just go out to eat. Fine. She suggested a Chinese restaurant in Hartselle. I suggested she go ahead and stop there and I would get the kids and just meet here there. No problem. Got the kids, consumed Chinese food from the buffet, and returned home. Internet down. Grrrrr.
Once home, Corey decided he wanted to play HALO-3 ODST. What the heck? I'll play multi-player with him. We played a couple of hours and he decided he had enough. Alan took over his controller and Alan and I played for a couple more hours. When we decided to finally stop playing and go to bed, it was 11:15 PM. Nope, no playing on the computer. Oh well. I had fun with the boys.
Friday. Work, as usual. Came home, had supper, and no Internet. Down yet again. Work on the ham radio station a little bit and try to get things to my liking.
Saturday was busy. I actually got to sleep late! I slept until almost 10:30. That is amazing for me.After getting up and making breakfast, we made our weekly grocery list. I then went out and put new brakes on the truck and changed the oil. After getting a shower, It was off to Mom's for my nephew Sam's birthday. Home at 11 PM and then to bed.
Today is Father's Day. Happy Father's Day Dad and to all of the dads out there. Breakfast, a trip to the grocery store, and home again. The boys bought me a movie for Father's Day so we sat and watched it this afternoon. After an interruption due to a power outage, we finished it and then had supper. After supper, I worked on rearranging my computer and tried to reclaim some space around my desk. I had limited success.
Now for he difficult part. Decisions. This is one of the reasons I started blogging. I have decided I want to have weight loss surgery. In other terms, gastric bypass surgery. I have really struggled with this and it is not a decision I have come by lightly. Several years ago when I knew people that were just getting it done I told other people there was no way in hell I was going to do that. I thought those people were crazy and I would never do it. Now it is 7-8 years later and I have had a change of heart. Why? Because of my heart, my health, my boys, and for ME.
No, I don't have heart problems. Yet. Right now, I weigh about 360 pounds. I am 38 years old. Not a good combination. There is some history of heart problems in Mom's family. Makes the combination even worse. I have a desk job and sit on my butt all day almost every day. More strikes. A few weeks ago when we went camping everything I did made me out of breath and there were times I had a very difficult time breathing. That was the final straw; I knew I had to do something.
I know what some people are going to say: "Go on a diet." I did. I lost 30 pounds. I felt like crap. I wanted something to eat that tasted good. I know diet food isn't supposed to be as good as fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and green beans covered in Hollandaise sauce but... no cardboard, please. I don't think my family really eats bad. We eat a lot of salads, plenty of veggies like broccoli, cabbage, and other green stuff. We don't eat a lot of fried stuff, in fact we hardly eat any. Our downfall is carbs; pasta, potatoes, and such. Other people would say "Exercise. Go for a walk." I would love to. I can't. The combination of my weight, the heat, and the humidity make it very difficult to breathe. Add something like smoke and it is 10 times worse. Plain and simple, I am ready to make a very BIG change and this is MY decision.
More in part 2...
Wednesday... Hmmm... What did I do Wednesday? Wednesday was, just like every other week, hump day. There was nothing particularly exciting or even remotely interesting about work Wednesday. Mom did call me and ask me to come by their house and help dad unload a small cabinet that was given to mom by her cousins Becky and Cindy. I had been wanting to talk to mom about something anyway so it seemed to be a good idea. After work, I went over there and helped dad move the cabinet. No big deal. It is kind of neat and probably worth a dollar or two. After bringing the thing in, dad went to Uncle Ray and Aunt Sherry's house to feed their dogs while they were away. I figured this would be a good time to talk to mom. It generally was, but... I was never able to bring up what I wanted to talk about. It seemed like just a few minutes and dad was back. I love my dad to death but you can't really discuss serious or important things around him anymore. Dad will be 70 this year and his mind is beginning to slip a little and I think his hearing is getting worse. The combination of those two things can make conversations difficult to carry on. Still, I figured I could still work in what I needed to talk about. Nope. Just too many distractions and finally mom's cousin called and she was still on the phone after 30-45 minutes when I decided to leave. Phase 1 of frustration. On the drive home I ponder all of this which really doesn't help my mood.
Finally home. I go in the door and am immediately confront about why I was late. I replied that I had sent a text message explaining what I was doing. That statement was followed by another grilling question.... and ultimately, several more. Mood enhancement #2. Supper is consumed and I get up and go to my desk to get on the internet. As usual, it is down AGAIN. Mood Enhancement #3. This has been a recurring problem and it has really gotten worse after the April 27th tornadoes. My ISP had some damage but this problem predates that. By this time I am really pleasant to be around. I sat and stared at my ham radio station. I decided I wasn't happy with the layout so I pulled most of it apart and began to rearrange. Some progress was made but there is still a little work to be done. After about 3-4 hours of the internet bouncing up and down, it finally came back and stayed up long enough for me to chat with a friend on Facebook. That helped dissipate some of the frustrations of the evening. If you read this, you know who you are :) .
Thursday was a little busier at work. I prepared some radio coverage maps during the morning and the afternoon was a meeting marathon. I survived it. On the way home, I was stopped by a train at the bottom of the mountain on the road I live on. I sat there 30 minutes before the multiple trains finally cleared the crossing. While sitting there, the wife unit calls and explains she doesn't feel like cooking and would rather just go out to eat. Fine. She suggested a Chinese restaurant in Hartselle. I suggested she go ahead and stop there and I would get the kids and just meet here there. No problem. Got the kids, consumed Chinese food from the buffet, and returned home. Internet down. Grrrrr.
Once home, Corey decided he wanted to play HALO-3 ODST. What the heck? I'll play multi-player with him. We played a couple of hours and he decided he had enough. Alan took over his controller and Alan and I played for a couple more hours. When we decided to finally stop playing and go to bed, it was 11:15 PM. Nope, no playing on the computer. Oh well. I had fun with the boys.
Friday. Work, as usual. Came home, had supper, and no Internet. Down yet again. Work on the ham radio station a little bit and try to get things to my liking.
Saturday was busy. I actually got to sleep late! I slept until almost 10:30. That is amazing for me.After getting up and making breakfast, we made our weekly grocery list. I then went out and put new brakes on the truck and changed the oil. After getting a shower, It was off to Mom's for my nephew Sam's birthday. Home at 11 PM and then to bed.
Today is Father's Day. Happy Father's Day Dad and to all of the dads out there. Breakfast, a trip to the grocery store, and home again. The boys bought me a movie for Father's Day so we sat and watched it this afternoon. After an interruption due to a power outage, we finished it and then had supper. After supper, I worked on rearranging my computer and tried to reclaim some space around my desk. I had limited success.
Now for he difficult part. Decisions. This is one of the reasons I started blogging. I have decided I want to have weight loss surgery. In other terms, gastric bypass surgery. I have really struggled with this and it is not a decision I have come by lightly. Several years ago when I knew people that were just getting it done I told other people there was no way in hell I was going to do that. I thought those people were crazy and I would never do it. Now it is 7-8 years later and I have had a change of heart. Why? Because of my heart, my health, my boys, and for ME.
No, I don't have heart problems. Yet. Right now, I weigh about 360 pounds. I am 38 years old. Not a good combination. There is some history of heart problems in Mom's family. Makes the combination even worse. I have a desk job and sit on my butt all day almost every day. More strikes. A few weeks ago when we went camping everything I did made me out of breath and there were times I had a very difficult time breathing. That was the final straw; I knew I had to do something.
I know what some people are going to say: "Go on a diet." I did. I lost 30 pounds. I felt like crap. I wanted something to eat that tasted good. I know diet food isn't supposed to be as good as fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and green beans covered in Hollandaise sauce but... no cardboard, please. I don't think my family really eats bad. We eat a lot of salads, plenty of veggies like broccoli, cabbage, and other green stuff. We don't eat a lot of fried stuff, in fact we hardly eat any. Our downfall is carbs; pasta, potatoes, and such. Other people would say "Exercise. Go for a walk." I would love to. I can't. The combination of my weight, the heat, and the humidity make it very difficult to breathe. Add something like smoke and it is 10 times worse. Plain and simple, I am ready to make a very BIG change and this is MY decision.
More in part 2...
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