Blind bat

Posted on by backuphill

close up photo of bat

Photo by Miri on Pexels.com

Along with a visit to the regular doc yesterday, I also made a 4th trip to the eye doctor for an original appointment that was back in January.

Why the 4th? Well, it’s partially because I seeming as blind as a bat (I am still developing my echo location skills) and partially due to their incompetence. The outcome of this last appointment? A possible 5th visit…

Due to the power needed for my eyes, I haven’t had the clearest of vision in one eye because technology in the soft contact industry just hadn’t caught up my needed power. So, when I found out that clearer vision was now a possibility for the worst of my two eyes I was kinda happy about that. They ordered trials and I went upon my Piss and Moan way.

When I went back to try on the trials they discovered they ordered the wrong ones and only one that I actually needed was available. So, I tried that one in my eye and it was a significant improvement over the years of partially blurry vision! But, that was only one eye. And while the better of my two eyes didn’t need as extreme an amount of correction, I didn’t have two matching brands in my eyes. So, I left knowing I would have to go back again to pick up the correct lens when it arrived.

I went back, picked it up, and with the trials I noticed that my vision was improved but comfort was down – my eyes felt dry and tired at the end of the day. Hmmm…back to the drawing board.

I also had trials of my current brand in the correct powers, so I put them in. Comfort was fine. But, I really felt the sharpness wasn’t there like the other trial and so I wondered if the prescription was actually correct. If it was, would I have to sacrifice some better vision for comfort?

So, my follow-up yesterday…sacrificing comfort wasn’t an option as I wear my contacts around 16 hours a day. I can’t spend my evenings rubbing my eyes and feeling like I need to take them out the minute I get home in the evening. The comfortable pair, the ones I felt weren’t quite strong enough, well I was right. They weren’t the right prescription. One eye was correct and the other was not.

Seriously.

My Piss and Moan level went up four notches. I know it wasn’t the gal’s fault that was helping me. But I seriously has some issues with the fact that it was the fourth time I had to take time off work, drive 20 minutes one way, just to see if they could get it correct.

I think we have it sorted out now, but I think I may visit a different doctor and office in two years when I have to go through this again.

Walk-in

Posted on by backuphill

computer desk laptop stethoscope

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

Wish me luck. I’ll probably need it.

I am headed to the walk-in clinic early this afternoon to see if there is anything they can do about the sinuses and deep lung coughing. Sleep last night was tough to come by and with a vacation coming in less than a week I am looking to kick this thing rather quickly.

Why do I need luck? Have you been to a walk-in? LOL

It takes a demonstration of extreme patience and tolerance.

It takes forever (typically) to get seen by a doc and, when you actually do see a doc it typically isn’t even a doc but a PA (physician’s assistant). I have found that care is a little suspect at that point. Plus, add in that a walk-in generally tries to rush you out once you’re in (it seems to take forever to see anyone and then once you do, you wonder why it took so long based on how long you actually got to see someone).

So, I am going to be brave and endure with the hope of some relief.

Group texts

Posted on by backuphill

photo of man in white dress shirt holding phone near window

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

I bet you cringed when you read the headline. I know I do. Or, maybe your eyes rolled violently to the back of your head. I know mine do.

I think it is safe to say group texts are the bane of texting. A necessary evil, if you will.

I am sure you can see where this is heading…I hate group texts! I really really really do.

So much so, that my family knows not to include me in a group texts unless it is absolutely necessary – like getting bad news to a large group of people quickly necessary.

The problem is, I keep getting included in groups I really don’t need to be a part of. Actually, I probably do need to be a part of them but the group then gets abused by people talking about other things I don’t need or want to know about. Suddenly the conversation goes from necessary to drivel and my phone is exploding for no good reason other than people like to hear themselves talk.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a good way to remove yourself from the group text (like an actual text conversation) unless it is through some kind of social media app. You are stuck…listening to your text alert go off endlessly…as people have a conversation about nothing….until finally you BEG the person who added you to the conversation to please remove you from it.

Not to be rude or anything, but would you please delete my contact info from your phone…forever?

Other than scolding everyone to stop using the group text message for side conversations and everyone finally agreeing to stop, how do you curb this extreme annoyance?

What do other people think? Should group texts be outlawed? When are they acceptable?

Surprising

Posted on by backuphill

apartment bed carpet chair

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I have managed to get eight hours of sleep each of the last two nights. Surprising, to say the least.

Why?

Because I am still sick.

It appears that it may have gotten worse over the weekend. I am not really sure. What I do know is that my rib cage is worn out from coughing and my body aches. My cough is now one that would cause my toes to come up from my lungs, if that were physically possible. It’s deep. It rattles. Nothing happens except a bright white light vision and head spinning.

If there are no more posts after this, it’s because I died gasping for air while coughing up a lung or some other body part.

 

Father Time

Posted on by backuphill

black gift box

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

Another trip around the sun.

Another drop in the bucket.

One foot farther into the grave.

Picking up speed on the other side of the hill.

It doesn’t matter how you put it, birthdays just aren’t really all that much fun. Maybe it’s just me.

Sure, I get the celebration part and I am not really a fatalist, so it isn’t that big a deal.

BUT, I can tell you another year older and being sick at the same time is kinda beating me up today. I really just wanna sit in a dark room, watch movies or play video games, and not interact with anyone unless I have given prior approval.

No such luck.

People are everywhere. There is too much light. I am coughing up a storm (I am not contagious any longer), and work is much too busy.

Yes, OK, I get it Father Time. You win.

But, I might just take a nap in my car and you can’t stop me…

Robot vacuum

Posted on by backuphill

round robot vacuum

My vacuum is not this one. It is from a different company and this photo is just for demonstration purposes. Photo by Jens Mahnke on Pexels.com

The house has a robot vacuum.

It’s kinda new. It has been roaming the house at a pre-planned time for about three months now. Honestly, it’s nice to not have to sweep as often. It also cleans up some of the rugs that are by the entry points of the house, there there is that too.

But, it is also a lot like having a freaking toddler in the house.

Anything that is on the ground gets moved around and sometimes you have to go hunting for stuff. Example: shoes. It will push slippers and shoes under the furniture. Thus, I find myself on the floor trying to fish stuff out from under the bed or night stand. It will also sometimes grab shoe laces and drag the shoe around for a while.

It closes doors and gets stuck on the inside of a room. It keeps working, unlike a toddler, but then you have to open the door and direct it out of the room. So, now doors have to be closed when it starts so it doesn’t get stuck in room, just like you do when you have a toddler in the house and you don’t want them getting into stuff.

It gets stuck under things and doesn’t finish what it was doing. The TV stand. The coffee table. The night stand. If it gets caught on something, it just stops.

It unplugs stuff and then you wonder why it isn’t working. I have had the phone charging cable not power up my phone when I plug it in at night. The robot unplugged it from under the night stand. The subwoofer for the sound system wasn’t working and movies/tv sounded funny. The robot unplugged the subwoofer from the powerstrip under the TV stand. It once drug a phone cord all over the house.

It picks up stuff you really don’t want it to…like screws you accidentally drop or didn’t know came out of something. Fridge magnets. Hair ties. Batteries. It’s like a toddler that puts everything in its mouth and you’re running around saying, “What do you have in your mouth? Lemme see!”

Why does it treat somethings, like the wall and furniture, like it is glass and eases into cleaning the edges while at other times it just bashes it’s way around the same furniture, like it has no eyes and doesn’t have a clue that it is getting close to something? Same for a toddler and cats…you tell it to be careful and nice, gentle, and it does for a while and then all of the sudden it grabs a big handful of fur and pulls, sending the animal scurrying away.

I tell you, I don’t have time to babysit the robot.

Seriously.

Sick and tired

Posted on by backuphill

tissue paper on container near glass window

Photo by Julian Paolo Dayag on Pexels.com

Family was over last weekend.

They knowingly came over with colds and the little ones openly hacked, snorted, and touched everything in sight.

Now I am sick.

And tired.

It’s irritating. Really.

Why do people feel the need to expose others to their illness? Just stay home. I don’t care if you’re a relative or not. I don’t want you around.

I’ll take care to do the same.

I am going to go rest. Because typing is exhausting. Reading hurts my eyes.

I am just generally irritable…but then that isn’t all that unusual. I am that way most of the time. It is just to a higher degree today.

Need to know

Posted on by backuphill

red and yellow stop sticker

Photo by Linda Eller-Shein on Pexels.com

“You’re on a need to know basis, and you don’t need to know.”

The above phrase gets tossed around a lot, but there are actual times when it applies. Yesterday, I ran into an instance from my employer that seems to fit this to a T.

The admin assistance to our department director came around with a new form to fill out. It supposedly is something that we have filled out previously and supposedly only has one line changed on the whole document. The supposed change is “to comply with federal grant requirements.” The added line really isn’t the issue for me though.

The document is basically a “driver screening” risk management form. I get that in order for me to drive a company vehicle, they have to ask certain questions and it is expected that I report certain details should circumstances require the necessity to do so. That isn’t really an issue for me. I understand the necessity of such a screening. HOWEVER…

The document goes on to ask about information that I believe is totally unnecessary and, quite frankly, a violation of my privacy by asking about my personal vehicle. As in, should I drive my personal vehicle during work hours and on work time. The document is asking for the kind of vehicle I drive and license plate (why would it matter what vehicle I drive if it is my vehicle?), what insurance company I use and the policy number (with specific amounts of coverage); it requires to inform my employer if I drop expected level of insurance to a lower level, and expects me to waive all rights as an employee if on company time and there is an accident in my personal vehicle.

Does this sound invasive? Is this typical? Do you willingly give your employer information they don’t really need?

Yes, there is travel required as part of my job. Yes, I do prefer to drive my personal vehicle instead of the crappy company cars. But, the requirements of this document are “part of my continued employment” with the company, as though the document and my driving my vehicle have anything to do with my job performance and skills as a trainer and software analyst.

A big part of me bristles as this whole thing. I can accept that my employer needs to know certain things about me, but I don’t accept that they need to know everything about me.

I partially joked with a co-worker who was feeling the same way as I was yesterday that it won’t be long and they’ll be asking for our homeowner’s insurance policies since we telecommute several days a week.

I can see the future, and I don’t like it.

Cold breeze

Posted on by backuphill

person wearing blue hoodie near body of water

Photo by Gabriela Palai on Pexels.com

I am not one to often complain about the temperature. I have, for most of my life, seemed to run at a higher temp than most so I don’t find myself shivering when it comes to “normal” temps. I am generally comfortable between 65-75 degrees.

Friday night, however, I found myself freezing, indoors, at a local restaurant. Red Robin might serve hot food, but the restaurant was cold enough to refrigerate food without a fridge. I am pretty sure the inside temp was only 7 degrees above the outside temp.

The outside temp was running somewhere around 43 degrees. It was windy and the rain was coming down in sheets – sideways. The walk from the car to the building was less than pleasant and I found the lower half of my body rather damp. The upper half was well shielded in my standard Helly Hansen jacket.

But, upon arriving at the table, my immediate comment to those there with me was that it was cold in the dining area. They agreed, as they had been sitting there for about 10 minutes waiting for everyone to arrive.

The rest of the evening, everyone was wearing jackets, sweaters, and shivering. Not exactly an inviting atmosphere for dining…

…or perhaps this cold temp was on purpose so that it would push people to leave sooner on a busy Friday night. If that’s the case, it is even more obnoxious. Upon checkout at their little computer thing, I did leave a review about the internal temp of the restaurant. Hopefully it caught someone’s attention.

Not in the mood

Posted on by backuphill

man sitting on concrete bench

Photo by Lamar Belina on Pexels.com

Before your brain goes there, let me just say that is not what I am talking about.

I just simply not in the mood to deal today.

Honestly, I’d just like to insulate myself from the world and do nothing.

I don’t want people around. I don’t want interaction of any kind.

I only want to do what I want to do, and it has to be something that is mindless and relaxing. It has to be fun (by my standards).

I am not in the mood to adult. I don’t want any responsibilities today. None.

Can I just sit here and sulk while I am at work, while I have to do everything that is exactly opposite of what I just said I wanted?