The Episcopal Church

Sunday turned out to be a decent day.  I did the first phase of my knee exercises, then I headed out to the episcopal church with Elizabeth and Daniel.  I found the service pretty similar to the Catholic one but it was more relaxed, more contemporary.  I’m not sure about the choir but I am going to take a break for now and perhaps after the semester ends I might look into joining.  I drove out to the spot I used to fish on Walker Creek and found one good place to fish from (but no hits), and I will try to fish there again.  I then drove to the bridge at White Gate and didn’t catch anything but it was still fun.  I think it was too cold.  I drove home to watch the end of the Masters, then drove over to the Tech Visitor’s Center and walked for 30 minutes and that was fun.  I did my biking when I got back and then some weights and part of my yoga stuff.  I am doing pretty well.  I did my finances again and I could survive if I teach 5 semesters but 6 semesters (counting this one) would give an extra 30K and that would allow me to travel for a number of years.  It all depends on my health, and with all the problems I have, who knows what the future holds.  I am more optimistic about the future but it’s certainly not clear what is going to happen.

A Cold Snowy Day

It is Saturday and I am having a pretty good day.  I did my knee exercises, and rode my bike for 30 minutes, did my weights but no yoga because of having the eye surgery on Thursday.  My left eye with the stitch taken out was hurting some in the morning but I had Elizabeth put some antibiotic in four times and I felt much better tonight.  I played some piano and may play a few songs later.  I did head over to Holy Spirit and I went to confession.  I felt good about that and prayed a rosary afterwards.  I then went to Walmart and got some groceries and I ran into Bettyanne and Stephan and they were surprised that Beth hadn’t sent me the music.   I told them I was upset about it but that I wasn’t coming tomorrow since I didn’t get any music.  I thanked Stephan for being so kind to me.  When I got back home I watched the end of the third round of the Masters and that was interesting, with Rory McIIroy three shots behind Patrick Reed.  I didn’t seem to get a cold so that was very good. 

The Stitch Comes Out

It is Friday and things are going pretty well.  My left eye is hurting because Farhi took the stitch out, but my right eye, done yesterday is doing very well, with vision of 20/25.   I drove over to her office with both eyes working well but the rest of the day it was somewhat painful, although I took a 25 minute walk and then went off fishing, stopping at three spots on Craig Creek, and catching one chub at the last spot where the road comes right down to the river.  I have not heard from anyone at St. Mary’s so I am not planning to sing this weekend.  I did practice my scales and my jazz songs and that was good.  I talked to my sister Judy and to Gloria and that was fun.  I think I may be getting a cold but we’ll see.

A big fall

Another catchup up to April 2.  I have been very busy the past few days, teaching, singing on Holy Thursday, at Easter Vigil and on Easter Sunday.  After Easter Sunday mass I was carrying a chair over to its proper place and my legs tangled and I fell very hard on the stone floor.  Two fellows helped me up and I was very embarrassed and left right away.  I was pretty tired (I had taken a walk with Rob earlier) and I hadn’t slept very well the night before.  Later I drove out to Trail’s edge but I didn’t get a hit.  The river seemed pretty high though it was clear enough to fish.  My repaired eye is doing well and the sight from it is remarkable.  I am still scheduled for the 5^th.  I have enough entries for the Coleman contest and submissions end this Wednesday.  I still don’t have my bike back even though it has been almost three weeks.  Stationary biking is very boring.  I figured out my finances again and I think I am going to have to teach an extra semester.

One Week Catchup

This is a catchup of a full week so I will just give some highlights.  I have kept up my knee exercises and riding my stationary bike while my regular bike is being repaired.  I have also kept up with my weights and yoga and doing walks in the evening.  I am done with my midterms and my classes are going well.  The biggest change is that I had my eye surgery on Thursday the 22^nd and it went very well.  The worst part was getting the IV.  During the actual surgery it was like looking at a kaleidoscope.  I am getting the second eye done on April 5^th instead of on May 17^th since Farhi made it clear that it would be unsafe to wait that long.  My neighbor Elizabeth has been very kind to give me the 3 different drops I need four times a day.  She also brought me food once and that was very sweet.  I have rehearsal at 2 but a big snow is supposed to be coming in and I wonder how that will affect things.  I am almost finished with Rob’s Mom’s poem and I think it is going to turn out very well.  I changed my trip to the lupus doctor and then to Roberta’s to a week later because of the change in the surgery so I will be heading down to North Carolina on the 10^th and get the train later.

Big Fish out on Walker Creek

Saturday was a pretty good day.  I slept okay and I got up at around 8, did my knee exercises and my weights and yoga, then washed the dishes, played the piano and sang my jazz songs, and sang all the songs for Sunday.  A good morning led me to drive out to Trail’s End, where I used my portable chair for the first time and it worked very well.  Sitting was much more comfortable and though I didn’t catch any fish, I did have a big fish on for about 10 seconds.   It was fun and then I took a nap.  I drove to the High School in Perisburgh and rode my bike for almost 40 minutes.  It really needs the new parts that Ian ordered and I hope they come soon.  Then I drove back to town and picked up a few things at Food Lion.  I started rereading Streetcar and I am now watching Virginia play UMBC and amazingly, the score is tied at halftime, 21-21.   Could this be the first time a number one seed loses?     Dave hasn’t called me back yet so I hope nothing bad is going on.

Trip Anxiety

Wednesday went pretty well.  I did as much of my knee exercises as I could (my knees are feeling better, did my scales and jazz songs on the piano, did more planning about my trip, and eventually drove to campus.   I met one of my advisees and worked a little more on my trip planning until it was time to give the midterm.  I thought I had everything figured out but a number of students did the test in pencil and those tests were hard to read.  I also had a few students who didn’t write enough (they were supposed to write at least 4 and ½ sides).  Still, even though I let a couple of them stay till 6:40, I was able to get home before dark now with daylight savings in effect.  The trip planning is my biggest problem, especially the economics.  I certainly have the money if all my financial planning works out.  Finding out that TIAA-CREF only guarantees 2 and ½ percent of their 4 percent pay out really shocked me.  The fellow I spoke with, Ruben, did say that in the past ten years they have paid out the 4 percent figure each year.  I things that trouble me are that I am not sure how long I can teach (if I actually taught 4 semesters, counting this one), I would have a little extra to work with.  It looks like I will be able to finish teaching this semester and in the fall, but it is hard to say from there (I do have 2 more semesters of sick leave and that would get me the 4 semesters.   My trip will cost about 4k, and I worry about the cost but I also think that getting away for almost three weeks will be very good for my psyche.  I really hope to do this trip, especially since I am still working full time and I certainly don’t know if I will be able to travel next year.  It is very confusing and I woke about 3:15 somewhat anxious and took half a valium and I hope to go back to bed in a few minutes.