Friday, January 31, 2014

Day 1508

No wonder athletes get hooked on steroids. That cortisone shot I got yesterday really took care of the pain in my shoulder. I'm feeling pretty good today, but as the orthopedic surgeon I saw yesterday told me several times, "Just because you feel better, doesn't mean you are better." I need to remember this, because the last time I injured my shoulder, I didn't let it heal properly. I'm not going to repeat that mistake.

I woke up with a dead phone this morning. I'm such a creature of habit that when I used the x-ray of my shoulder for yesterday's blog post, there was not a need to sync the phone with my computer to transfer the day's pictures. This is usually when the batteries get recharged. It never occured to me that I could just plug the phone into a wall socket like a normal person.

The phone is recharged now, and by all appearances, so am I. After a mercifully good night's sleep, I woke up ready to get caught up on things. I updated my client's websites, finished all my writing assignments and even had time to do a little shopping. My favorite menswear store always has this annual Superbowl sale where for a single afternoon they sell their normally hugely expensive merchandise for 75% off. I knew the guys were pricing things for the Sunday sale today so I went down and picked up a great looking pair of Robert Talbot jeans for $39. No more relaxed fit for me. I've lost enough weight that I can wear skinny jeans again.

I really miss not being able to walk the dogs. The long morning walks are typically the most relaxing part of my day. Janet was able to walk Dot and Dash again today and we'll probably select a dog walker over the weekend. I'm not a very trusting person, so it might be hard to find a dog walker that I have any faith in. "Don't ever let Dash's leash get out of your hand," I'll say. "He'll run away and you'll never see him again." "Dot is very frail. Don't let her trip on a rock or get tugged around by Dash." "Don't ever let Dash eat horse poop. He has a sensitive stomach and he'll throw up in the bed the next night and leave a horrible mess for me to clean up." I've spent so much time around the dogs that I'm convinced that I can read their minds and anticipate their actions. I'm not sure anyone else will have this ability.

Tomorrow I'll be shooting Valentine's Day pet pictures for a Dalmatian Rescue fundraiser. We always do a ton of Christmas events, but this is the first Valentine's Day photo shoot we've had since 2010. Janet and the volunteers will help me load and unload the heavy equipment, so I should be fine. If the camera pulls my shoulder out of joint again, I'm in worse trouble than I thought.

The stock market had another terrible day. They say as January goes, so goes the entire year. I hope that's not true. Things certainly aren't looking very auspicious at this point though. Maybe this isn't the year to fret about money. If I can finally rid myself of the Hepatitis-C virus I've been carrying around with me for 30 years, it will be a very good year no matter what happens with the market. The older you get, the more you realize that health actually is more important than wealth.

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day
Watch of the Day