Week Ending 1/28

 OK, so what happened this week... 

I discovered that putting the vaporizer on high helps me to sleep better and actually slept great most of the week. 

I stopped watching House MD, mid season 3 because it appears that is the point where I lose interest. Really, I think House would have been a lot better if they had followed the Law & Order model and focused more on the mystery and not the characters. (According to Juno, this is not a new thought on my part... it's been a while since I watched House.)

Juno pointed me to a new show to watch - Elementary (another modern day take on Sherlock Holmes). Four episodes in and I'm enjoying it. However, I don't think it being a modern take on Holmes actually helps it. Holmes is the archetype of the quirky detective... you don't actually need to name your detective Sherlock Holmes to follow that archetype. 

Also, I think modern tellings of Holmes put too much emphasis on his drug use. Yeah, it's an element of the character but not a central one that everyone has to harp on.

OK, so I've been watching a lot of TV this week. 

In other news, D has a cold/flu/coughing-thing. He's been pretty wretched the last few days. He has, kindly, been wearing a mask when around us. Sadly, I think whatever bug he's got was sneakier... 'cause I'm pretty sure I've caught it. Feeling OK-ish, just run down and scratchy throat. Planning on taking it easy for the foreseeable.

So, that's the excitement this week.

Onward.

Week Ending 1/21

Another week goes by...

Started a little rough... hard time sleeping and didn't feel well for a few days, so I mostly spent the week laying around, resting and watching stuff on Streaming. Which, granted, isn't that different from my normal week, just a little more resting and little less doing anything else.

I've rediscovered House, MD and I've been binge watching that. No, it's not lupus. (If you've watched House, you get the joke.) Honestly, since I first saw Hugh Laurie in Blackadder (classic British comedy) I still find it deeply weird to see him as a bitter, misanthropic doctor. 

My other excitement of the week is I finally saw The Marvels. Yeah, I'm behind on the MCU but since watching them in the theater really doesn't work for me, I have to wait for them to come out on streaming. Anyway, I liked The Marvels... and I think I understand why some people didn't.

For those folks who don't spend their days binge watching stuff on streaming, keeping up with MCU shows on Disney+ is probably hard and two of the three main characters are lifted from the shows. That's a good reason for some people to not like the movie.

More telling, I think, is that like Captain Marvel before it, The Marvels is a movie about, by and chiefly aimed at women. Remember how, in the Avengers, they first get together by Iron Man, Captain America and Thor basically beating the crap out of each other... the whole Guy Thing. In The Marvels, Carol, Kamala and Monica get together, talk to each other, share their feelings and spend time learning how to better cooperate and work together... the whole Not-Guy Thing. Plus, there is the random musical number... which is frankly awesome! 

Basically, the usual macho dick-head who just wants to see the Hulk smash things and try to catch a peek of Black Widow's tits isn't going to be a fan of this movie. 

We need more movies for those guys to hate. Really, we do. 

By the way, the whole feeling sick and not sleeping thing from the beginning of the week... feeling a bit better now (touch wood). Still taking it slow, laying around and resting. Besides I'm only halfway through seasons 2 of House.  :)

Onward

Week Ending 1/14

 After a busy week last week, this week has been fairly quiet. Huddled in today, avoiding the cold.

This week was mostly dedicated to working on Raven's Apprentice, my new simlit story. The Prologue and Chapter 1 are already up and two more chapters are drafted and ready to go up next week. Actually, it's been really fun to work on.

So, yeah, did some writing, a little painting, played a game of Age of Sigmar with D. Oh, and I watched some of the "new" Doctor Who. OK, I'm several years behind on that series. Overall, I don't like it. I did like it, but they lost me during the Peter Capaldi years... which is a pity because I think Peter Capaldi would have made a great Doctor. I have no idea who they had him playing instead or why. I have been enjoying Jodie Whittaker's Doctor, though, now that I've seen more of her. I'm hoping to work my way around to watching the new specials from the holidays and see the new, new Doctor.

Like I said, quiet week.

Onwards

Week Ending 1/7

Well, it's been a busy week...

Let me get the big news out of the way first. My mom got the results back from her doctor, for the testing they did after the cancer surgery. Things are, to quote the pathologist - EXCELLENT (and yes, I am told they did use all caps).  There is no need for more surgery, no need for chemo, no need for radiation. More, she is just plain feeling better. 

So, yeah... that's a huge sigh of relief for all of us. 

In less exciting, but still welcome, news, I got a call from my lawyer. We won our appeal. The insurance company will once more pay up. My lawyer is thrilled (and not just because he gets paid). 

Now, consider this... my lawyer copied me on the appeal letter and it's dated 12/20. Even if it reached them quickly, the insurance company didn't really have it until 12/21. That's the Thursday before the holiday weekend. Now, assuming that anyone with authority had the vacation time it's unlikely anyone even looked at the appeal until Wednesday 12/27. They sent my lawyer the response on 1/3. So, the entire decision process was, at most, three days. Probably less.

People I cannot stress this enough. If you are being jerked around by disability insurance, get a lawyer and appeal everything. Yeah, the lawyer gets a cut, but 2/3 of your benefits is a lot better than 0. The insurance companies count on you being too sick, too frustrated and too confused to actually fight back. Like any schoolyard bully, if you stand up to them, they will back down... and it never hurts to have a tough kid standing up with you. 

Third thing... hey, I said it's been a busy week... I went to the dentist.

You may recall, I hate the dentist. I fear the dentist. I avoid the dentist for as long as possible, or longer.

Well, my front teeth have been bothering me to the point when biting wasn't really something I could anymore. I was at the point of cutting sandwiches into small pieces so I didn't have to use my front teeth to bite into them. So, I finally decided to see the dentist... new dentist, by the way (I'd let my teeth fall out before I go back to Smile Center in Huntingburg).

I was good and, when they called me to confirm the appointment I actually didn't back out. When I was exhausted and could leaning heavily on my cane by the time the afternoon appointment came around, I still didn't back out. 

I did, however, tell Juno that I had a Plan - we'd talk to the dentist, get his opinion on what needed to be done and, if was something quick and easy, we'd do it but if it required drilling or real work, we'd make another not-afternoon appointment. 

Well, long story slightly less long, the dentist listened to my story, looked at my teeth, said it was quick and easy... give him 5 minutes... and that was it. Five minutes later, teeth cleaned and feeling 1000x better, I walked out of his office. 

Oh, yeah... fourth thing... I've started writing the next installment of my Wyrd Tales stories. The prologue for The Raven's Apprentice goes up on Wednesday.

So, yeah... big week. 

Onward