What’s top of my mind: May events. April was a quiet month but May is up to its oxters in activities. There are several medical appointments and a local medical seminar. We are preparing for The Great EHR shift due in June. In pagan times the first of May heralded the start of summer.

Where I’ve been: The rubber stamp drawer. I have a large and variable rubber stamp collection I used to apply to letters and envelopes. They have sat in a drawer unused for a long time until now. The check out form I give to patients at the end of their appointment are dull things which I’m now decorating with thes stamps. The gals in the billing department are amused. I have to change the stamp from time to time to keep the troops entertained. Some of the stamps aren’t exactly appropriate for the office or for patients with easily upset emotions; these I will use with discretion viz. only for the forms for appointments done on the phone or TEAMS. *

Where I’m going: The phlebotomist. Once again it’s time to check on the four horsemen of Medicine which are the lipids, the glucose, the PSA, and the viral load to see which one of these apocalypses is in the lead to carry me off to a premature death. Hopefully all four are low or zero.

What I’m watching: A patio in Charlevoix Michigan. Every time I call Father to go through the cameras around the harbors of The Great Lakes we check on Charlevoix Michigan’s camera. which looks two ways: one looks west down the canal to Lake Michigan and the other looks east under the bridge going across the canal into Round lake. At the corner of the bridge and the canal is a restaurant with an outside patio. It is vacant now but in summer it is bedecked with chairs and tables for the tourists to sit al fresco and watch boats go in and out of Round Lake. Father and I have a bet who can predict the first day furniture appears on the deck. I’ve often wondered: do the folks eating on the patio know they are on camera for everyone on line to watch them?

What I’m reading: Another “Discworld” book. Blast it! Every time I start a book I vow to stick to it but I end up purchasing the next book in line in the Discworld series. They remain so entertaining. If the point of reading is pleasure they beat everything by a country mile. I recently started Tom Brown’s school days but it is harder to get through than a James Fenimore Cooper novel and that’s saying something. After slogging through a few paragraphs I put it down to read Terry Prachett and enjoy myself.

What I’m listening to: Someone’s TV. He likes to binge a series, going from first to end. He’s currently listening to some sort of political drama that sounds depressing and at times violent. I try to not be in the same room as no matter how I try not to hear it I get sucked into it.

What I’m eating: Grapes. I’ve been buying a lot of grapes lately, green and red ones. They make a good snack when I am craving something sweet. I keep a bowl in the fridge at eye level so when I go there looking for something I see them first and I am less likely to push them aside for something worse.

Who needs a good slap: The Overlords. I downloaded the manual about the new EHR that arrives in June. The brochure is morass how to get around what is it I am supposed to learn exactly. It seems I have to sit through several lectures on billing and other things unimportant to my job. I have not worked in a conglomerate before so I don’t know if this mode of training is par for the course. It seems it would be easier to learn and less of a headache to have someone show me how things work.

On a 1-5 scale I give online obligatory courses two slaps.

Who gets a fist-bump: The Personal Trainer. I am to rank my work out exercises on a scale of 7= easy 8=got it done 9=barely finished/not in good form either and 10=didn’t succeed. The last few days I got nearly all 10s ratings. It was rather discouraging as the usual impediments (distraction/didn’t eat/under slept) weren’t factors. I was tired and felt 100 years old. He wrote back:

I’m sorry you had a couple bad days. While they are frustrating and can mess with your head, the reality is… they happen. And there can be a thousand reasons. The back to back workouts can certainly be a factor – at a certain point in our life, recovery becomes even more important than the workout.  It could be the allergies. Or, you just had a bad day My advice is let’s move forward, make some adjustments, and make this week a better one. And you’re 100% correct – a bad day is certainly better than not going. I added a few things this week – made the burpee a bit different and added a balance exercise. 

I just want you to know how great you’re doing. I’ve honestly never had a client to be as hard working and consistent as you are, for so long. I hope you are proud of yourself for taking this commitment to your health! 

What I’m planning: Mezcal cocktails. I’ve recently run across some cocktail recipes which sound scrumptious most of them made with mezcal. Trouble is there’s none in the house. That ain’t good. I went to Total Wine where I asked the salesman (who was well over four feet) for a recommendation. I wanted one not too expensive (after all it is going in a cocktail) but I know from experience after I make a few I am left with nearly a whole bottle of booze so it should be good enough for sipping on its own. He sold me a bottle of “Summer Rain” which he assured was good for both matters. Last Sunday I made one of the cocktails, made with bourbon, mezcal, Campari, and crème de cacao. It was horrible. I hope the others aren’t as bad as I got a big bottle of the stuff.

Anyone know of a good use for mezcal?

What’s making me smile: A reprieve from the AC matter. The $$$ expense of a new system is postponed for year unless it breaks down in the summer (worse luck!) The money can be applied to other home projects or squirreled away in a CD (Someone likes CDs) for next year’s probable project.

*Example: a debutante dressed in 50s attire clutching some scissors looking ready to kill.