Look at that sky!
This is Eugene in May.
Glorious.
Month: May 2016
Funny tidbit
You know how when you call a business from your cell phone, your screen shows you information about that business, like their number, maybe their hours, and their address? I never pay much attention to it because I’m ON the phone and that info is pressed against my cheek. Today, I called the Massage Envy I used to go to in Virginia because I needed to update my credit card information, and I used my headset so the phone was on the desk. As I hung up, I noticed that it told me how far away the Massage Envy is from me. Right now. Like I needed to know that Massage Envy is 2335 miles away. Maybe it’s so if I make an appointment I’ll give myself plenty of time to get there.
2335 miles doesn’t seem far enough…aaaaaannnnd it’s not. Google Maps says it’s 2800 miles away. You’d think my phone would use Google Maps. It IS a Google Android phone. Maybe I read the screen wrong. Anyway, I’m tickled.
Rose garden, but without the roses
John and I went for a walk the other day (the one I could barely walk back from), and I took a bunch of pictures of this really nice public rose garden. Today, though, I’m not showing you any roses. Sorry.
First this sort of sweet, sort of really strange bench. Does it want to hug you? Squeeze the life out of you? Feel you up inappropriately? Hard to say.
Then, this tree. It’s some sort of cherry tree that was planted in 1847, and now it needs cables to keep it together. No climbing allowed, sadly.
It was a really nice morning.
It’s not that easy
Yesterday, the podiatrist seemed to think that the way he wrapped my foot would bring instant relief, even after I remove the wrap. He said I could even go for a test run that night. That was a bit too optimistic. I rode my bike out to a soft trail (cedar chips, no asphalt), locked up the bike, took three excruciating steps on the trail, turned around, and got right back on my bike. That was way worse than before. When not running, it didn’t hurt, so part of what he said was true.
I followed his directions. I bought supportive insoles for my shoes, wore my running shoes (with insoles) around the house all day (as instructed – no barefoot walking for me), put them on again first thing this morning, and then went for a walk. The first half of the walk was fine. Second half, painful. (Not debilitating, just not normal.)
So. I’m doing what the doctor said. I still feel pain, but not all the time. Do I need a follow-up? Do I need more time to rest it? Should I be biking? Swimming? Yoga? Nothing? If I can’t run when he thought I’d be able to, is something more serious going on? Can I work myself into a frenzy without the use of Google or WebMD to tell me I’m dying?
I’m scheduling a follow-up.
I’m like a mountain goat
I saw a podiatrist today, and while discussing what is wrong with my foot, he referred to my deformity. Apparently, I am deformed. Really. (Mildly, but really.) The doctor pointed out (although I will be getting it checked out for real) that my right leg is longer than my left leg by enough (no measuring occurred), and that I have been overcompensating for it when I run (he can see by the callus pattern that I roll outwards on my left foot and inwards on my right), and that overcompensation finally caught up with me. The pain I’ve been feeling is a spasm. He taped up my foot to help relieve the spasm, and he says I can go back to running pretty much immediately, as long as I ease into it. If it still hurts by the end of this week, or if it changes how it hurts, I should come back, but there’s no sign of a stress fracture right now.
YAY!!
He also gave me a lift for my left shoe to help make up the difference, and I should wear supportive shoes (like my running shoes) or get supports to put in my other shoes (like my Chucks, which have ZERO support), and only wear shoes like that for the next 6-8 weeks. I should stay away from flats, sandals, flip-flops, slippers, and any other shoe without support until the spasm is all better. Oh, and I shouldn’t even wander the house barefoot, so I’ll be wearing supportive shoes ALL the time for a couple of months.
Blah. But treatable! So blah is okay. But now I’m all concerned about how I’ve never noticed I’m uneven. I have a regular doctor’s appointment in two and a half weeks, so I will be asking about that FOR SURE.
I never knew I looked this:
Either of these would be okay, though:
GOATLING!
Hey, it DOES rain in Oregon!
We had a late night last night (great gig with the band, and I swear I’ll give everyone a good band update soon, with pictures), so we slept until about 10:30 this morning. I think that’s the first time we’ve slept that late since we got here. We had no plans, no obligations – the only thing we both wanted to do with go for a long bike ride.
It was overcast and gloomy, but Weather Underground said there was a 0% chance of rain, so we got up, got dressed for a chilly workout, and went out onto the deck to get our bikes. I thought it was drizzling, but Weather Underground said it wasn’t, so I must have been mistaken. And that water on my sunglasses obscuring my vision? That couldn’t have been raindrops. Must have been sweat condensing into raindrop-like droplets on the outside of the lenses.
Once we got over the chill (cold fingers, cold ears), our ride was pretty pleasant, not-drizzle notwithstanding, and we needed the 13 miles behind us to make up for the burgers we grilled on our brand new (cheap) charcoal grill yesterday (and the leftover potato salad we’re going to eat tonight). Yesterday was beautiful, sunny, and 80 degrees. Today, 53 degrees and cloudy, but not raining. Of course. It’s sunny now, now that we’re in for the evening and about to watch MCU movies to prep for seeing Civil War next weekend. SO excited for that!
Derby Day!
I tried the 14 Hands red blend today because they had a Kentucky Derby label, and since today was Derby Day, how could I resist? It wasn’t half-bad, actually. Not my favorite, but totally drinkable.
I picked Whitmore as my winner. BAD choice, guys. He came in LAST. I would say second to last, but the actual last horse didn’t even finish, so technically, my guy was last. I switched to Whitmore at the last minute because of the jockey (Victor Espinoza, who rode Triple Crown winner American Pharoah last year). My original choice was Oscar Nominated, who only finished two ahead of Whitmore, so I wouldn’t have won anything no matter what. Not a good day for the betting version of me. Luckily, the betting version of me doesn’t see much action. She’s not lucky.
Happy dogs, happy me
May 4th, Star Wars Day (“May the Fourth be with you”), is not a great day for us. It’s the anniversary of Roxy’s death (three years this year), and that just sucks (and ruins what could otherwise be a fun, geeky day). But it’s not all sadness and tears. Yesterday, we were biking along the path, and we passed a couple walking what must have been the happiest dog alive. How do I know this dog is the happiest dog alive? He was soaking wet and carrying a very large stick in his mouth.
(Not this dog, but you get the idea.) Google “dogs carrying big sticks”. It’s awfully cute. Puppy pictures make everything better.
Foot Update
By Sunday afternoon, my foot didn’t hurt anymore (I didn’t run on it – that helped), so I bought the shoes I said I wasn’t going to buy. Then I took Monday off entirely (because my foot hurt while I was testing the shoes at the store) and biked Tuesday – still no running. Wednesday, my foot didn’t hurt all day, so I figured I’d test it out. It was not a good test. I didn’t even make it half a mile before I could feel the discomfort coming back, so I walked back home and called my new doctor (who I haven’t actually met yet – I have an appointment for late May). They have after-hours appointments with PAs, and they had one for that night at 6:45, so I went.
Inconclusive, of course, but the PA said he didn’t think it was a stress fracture (which was my worst case scenario, according to Google) because it doesn’t hurt ALL the time and I can stand on it without pain (after the pain from running has receded). Basically, I should use ibuprofen and see if it goes away. He said I could run if I can handle it, and if it doesn’t go away in another week or two, I should see a podiatrist and maybe get a bone scan.
Eugene is TrackTown, USA. I must run.
Regressing
I finally put a basket on my bike! I’ve been meaning to do that since I bought the bike years ago. We biked over to the bike store, bought the basket, attached it to the bike, and then biked to Trader Joe’s for bread, milk, and flowers.
![IMG_20160501_171556[1]](https://i0.wp.com/www.inanechatter.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/IMG_20160501_1715561.jpg?resize=225%2C300)
I swear I didn’t just buy the flowers so I could bike home with them peeking out of my new basket. Now I need a light and a bell. And possibly a rack to go over the rear wheel. I can’t wait to bike to the library! Yes, I’m a grown-up. I’m a grown-up in Eugene, where EVERYone has a bike.
More mildly strange, but closer to home this time
Our house is on a pretty quiet street. One side of the house (the side my office is on) is on an alley that slices through the block and is shared by at least 8 other houses. There’s plenty of room, but it gets used as a shortcut pretty often, sometimes by residents (I think) and sometimes by random people (I think). Yesterday, I was startled by someone singing. It was so loud, I thought someone was in the room with me, even though there’s basically no space behind my chair, so that’s impossible. I froze for a second, freaked out a bit, and then looked out the window. There was this woman with headphones and a discman* very slowly walking down the alley by our house, singing her heart out. Then she stopped, right under my window (I don’t think on purpose – she wasn’t looking at the house). It was weird. I hid from her. I’m aware that that is also weird.
*The dream of the 90s is alive. I know that’s Portland, but based on my experiences this past month, it applies to Eugene, too. There is a real, honest-to-god, working pay phone (that takes COINS!) in town (maybe more than one, but I’ve only seen one), and I saw a woman wearing basically this outfit last week.
If that doesn’t scream “I can’t leave the 90s behind”, I don’t know what does.
I am a failing failure who fails
Shoot, I missed a day. For those of you keeping track at home, yesterday is the first day I have missed since November 22nd. And….now I’ll just have to give up. Missing one day is the same as screwing up whole lives, right? I’d better lock my doors. The scary witch who lives in the woods at the top of the hill might be after me now.
This is about two blocks from our house. Maybe three. And sadly for the scary witch, her view out the front door (and down the hill) is of railroad tracks. Not so scenic. I should stop giving her reasons to come after me, since she’s obviously a dedicated reader (because who isn’t?), and I have let her down by skipping yesterday.
(Really, I am annoyed. I could keep it up during a cross-country move but I can’t remember to blog on a normal Sunday? I am disappoint.)