97, 7, 6, 6, 3.23
(things ARE better, overall, really… yet here I am describing another uneventful event - and I REALLY wasn't all that distressed )
At 337am I was awoken by … scratch that. Rewind a slight wee bit.
At 120am I was awoken by the CNA (she was intending to take my vitals). Buried underneath my pillows, blanket, and a sheet… adorning my ear muff wrap.. I told her that I was opting out. I'd just fallen asleep, because… the night nurse was running a little behind schedule.
So later, it's 337am and my roommate is in the restroom, door swung open, lights on, making peculiar noises… clearing his throat, hacking, rhythmically manipulating an object…
Within moments the bashing hacking pummeling sounds ceased, and my roommate waddled his way back into bed.
But then, you'll never believe what happens next. Okay. You will believe. You know by now how these stories turn out. I cannot fool you. Sure, perhaps I'm able to lead you astray for a short while, but not with this, and not right now.
So, if you guessed "Super Loud Television Time at 3:45am" you are a winner. Well, you're all winners here. Why? You get to follow along from home, a safe distance away from my frustrations.
So, you may be wondering what my roommate is watching that requires excessive penetrating loudness. Well, it's The God Channel. I think. Um. I'm not really sure. What I hear over and over has something to do with planting seeds, at $1000 per seed. And then something about magically reaping rewards at some future date, yet to be determined.
Truth be told, this televangelist guy was from North Carolina (born and raised), but more importantly, he turned his hundreds of dollars into hundreds of thousands of dollars, just by planting these mysterious seeds.
Needless to say, I'm not quite getting the gist of it. Where do these seeds come from? Where exactly must they be planted?
Note: horticulture was never my strong suit.
Well, the native North Carolinian does not say. He's got this cloak and dagger kind of vibe going.. a certain evasiveness. Instead of revealing answers, he talks about envelopes and stamps, before instructing the viewers to send cash and checks in exchange for prayers. I mean, I'm short on funds, so if he wants to send me cash, I'll pray for him or anybody else who feels I could possibly make a difference. Heck, I've got all sorts of free time (admittedly, I am still figuring out how to pray effectively, but I feel I've got the basics down.. and I am sincere).
But what I really really want right now (beyond resolving the seed planting dilemma) is to sleep. So please Mr. Televangelist, kindly explain how I may best convince my uncommunicative roommate to turn off the flat screen….
It's Now (now)
It's 427am and noisy as hell, so I've given up on sleeping. And so you know, now you are caught up, and we are experiencing Real Time. Do you feel the Real Time.. from where you are at?
As one might expect, I'm frustrated beyond belief. So in order to retaliate, I do the only thing I can (without creating a fuss). I grab my earbuds, shove them deep inside my ear holes, and crank out the jams. Electric Wizard. Dalek. Godflesh. Mr. Bungle. Lovage. The heaviest of the heavy and the weirdest of the weird.
And so it goes…
My "New Room" Sleep Log:
97 minutes (Wednesday)
7 hours (Thursday…)
6 hours
6 hours
3 hours
So, those three days after having slept, I felt much improved overall. And my recovery time after having performed the Commode Olympic Event was greatly diminished… a few hours, versus many. So yes, restful sleep IS a factor (as it relates to my wellness).
The Seaweed and The Sunlight
< removed multiple paragraphs due to boringness >
And into Tuesday We Go ------
About Last Night (Monday)
I came in from being outside all day, passed the nurse as she was distributing meds to my neighbors (she acknowledged me visually and verbally). And after hopping (flopping) back into bed, I was going to ask the CNA to remind the nurse that my formula needed replacing, but … the last time I did so, this particular nurse jumped all over me (because she said she knew what she was doing). So I waited 45 minutes, until 6pm (my supposed drop dead time) before asking the CNA to ask the nurse to attend to my formula needs. And then at 7pm, I once again asked the CNA to remind the nurse that I was out of formula. And by 730pm I finally gave up.
You see, this was the nurse who verbally confronted me two weeks ago, the one who was angry that she might go on report because... well… she repeatedly neglected me.
At 845pm the nurse finally came into my room… and I wasn't feeling up to another confrontation, so I just smiled and told her that everything was wonderful.
Helping Hands
Earlier, as I lay quietly outside and underneath the very typical baby blue Arizona sky (from end to end), I was formally introduced to the evening's CNA. And I could tell straight off we would make an agreeable resident-to-staff coupling. She smiled easily and frequently, plus, the words out of my mouth easily made her laugh.
Up until that point, I'd experienced an uncommonly down day. I'd been agitated from start to finish. Well, I allowed myself to be agitated, after not having slept. My decision. My choice.
So later on, back in my room, this CNA opened my packages for me. And I received a few t-shirts and some shorts in one package (thank you PR person!), and then the rest of the items were the items dropped off by The Former Person.
In the suitcase were a pair of jeans, a belt, underwear, socks, sweatshirt, long underwear, and a winter hat. So that takes care of my wardrobe. My closet is now full.
But the best part of all that was my smiling easily entertained CNA. It makes me happy whenever I'm able to bring joy to others (especially if and when I am unable to find it within myself).
Been Advocated
And aggravated as I'd been all day, I had options, people whom I could have utilized at any given moment, but I chose to needlessly suffer (not horribly, mind you, but my inaction allowed my discomfort to linger longer than necessary).
First, there was my one friend and his divorce, our texting and my helping was terribly underwhelming. Then another friend (unwell) began texting me, and yet again, I'm distracted… somehow disengaged (a rarity). She would have eventually helped me find my way out of it (as she often does), but...
Then My Advocate calls in the midst of all of this disengagement. And I typically prioritize in-person events, over phone calls, then phone calls over texting… so as this transpires, I'm hoping my favored texters understand.
It turns out my advocate asks me what's wrong, and I tell her. And it's okay that I tell her. So we talk through my generalized day-long agitation.. and then she delves deeper still, into the Ex-wife factor. Which, as it turns out, I'm handling well. Which I've always believed I was. And she concurs.
So, I'm glad I have these three people, and sometimes more. There's a healthy balance with each of us, and each of everybody else in my life right now. I am not always helping (or trying yo help) anymore in real life, nor am I exclusively being helped. This all-new dynamic is both agreeable, and desirable.
Let's Hit the Snooze Bar
Oh. And I slept. 5 hours.
I did awaken at 405am, only to find my CNA staring at me. So, I was momentarily startled. And I'm okay with that. It's kind of funny the way she reacted to my reaction… as I experienced full sudden unpredicted awareness.
Take care,
Howard
Note: I shall respond to the previous entries' comments within the next blog entry. So any additional questions, please feel free to ask.
Today's Sky Watched:
image not loading again, will try later
(things ARE better, overall, really… yet here I am describing another uneventful event - and I REALLY wasn't all that distressed )
At 337am I was awoken by … scratch that. Rewind a slight wee bit.
At 120am I was awoken by the CNA (she was intending to take my vitals). Buried underneath my pillows, blanket, and a sheet… adorning my ear muff wrap.. I told her that I was opting out. I'd just fallen asleep, because… the night nurse was running a little behind schedule.
So later, it's 337am and my roommate is in the restroom, door swung open, lights on, making peculiar noises… clearing his throat, hacking, rhythmically manipulating an object…
Within moments the bashing hacking pummeling sounds ceased, and my roommate waddled his way back into bed.
But then, you'll never believe what happens next. Okay. You will believe. You know by now how these stories turn out. I cannot fool you. Sure, perhaps I'm able to lead you astray for a short while, but not with this, and not right now.
So, if you guessed "Super Loud Television Time at 3:45am" you are a winner. Well, you're all winners here. Why? You get to follow along from home, a safe distance away from my frustrations.
So, you may be wondering what my roommate is watching that requires excessive penetrating loudness. Well, it's The God Channel. I think. Um. I'm not really sure. What I hear over and over has something to do with planting seeds, at $1000 per seed. And then something about magically reaping rewards at some future date, yet to be determined.
Truth be told, this televangelist guy was from North Carolina (born and raised), but more importantly, he turned his hundreds of dollars into hundreds of thousands of dollars, just by planting these mysterious seeds.
Needless to say, I'm not quite getting the gist of it. Where do these seeds come from? Where exactly must they be planted?
Note: horticulture was never my strong suit.
Well, the native North Carolinian does not say. He's got this cloak and dagger kind of vibe going.. a certain evasiveness. Instead of revealing answers, he talks about envelopes and stamps, before instructing the viewers to send cash and checks in exchange for prayers. I mean, I'm short on funds, so if he wants to send me cash, I'll pray for him or anybody else who feels I could possibly make a difference. Heck, I've got all sorts of free time (admittedly, I am still figuring out how to pray effectively, but I feel I've got the basics down.. and I am sincere).
But what I really really want right now (beyond resolving the seed planting dilemma) is to sleep. So please Mr. Televangelist, kindly explain how I may best convince my uncommunicative roommate to turn off the flat screen….
It's Now (now)
It's 427am and noisy as hell, so I've given up on sleeping. And so you know, now you are caught up, and we are experiencing Real Time. Do you feel the Real Time.. from where you are at?
As one might expect, I'm frustrated beyond belief. So in order to retaliate, I do the only thing I can (without creating a fuss). I grab my earbuds, shove them deep inside my ear holes, and crank out the jams. Electric Wizard. Dalek. Godflesh. Mr. Bungle. Lovage. The heaviest of the heavy and the weirdest of the weird.
And so it goes…
My "New Room" Sleep Log:
97 minutes (Wednesday)
7 hours (Thursday…)
6 hours
6 hours
3 hours
So, those three days after having slept, I felt much improved overall. And my recovery time after having performed the Commode Olympic Event was greatly diminished… a few hours, versus many. So yes, restful sleep IS a factor (as it relates to my wellness).
The Seaweed and The Sunlight
< removed multiple paragraphs due to boringness >
And into Tuesday We Go ------
About Last Night (Monday)
I came in from being outside all day, passed the nurse as she was distributing meds to my neighbors (she acknowledged me visually and verbally). And after hopping (flopping) back into bed, I was going to ask the CNA to remind the nurse that my formula needed replacing, but … the last time I did so, this particular nurse jumped all over me (because she said she knew what she was doing). So I waited 45 minutes, until 6pm (my supposed drop dead time) before asking the CNA to ask the nurse to attend to my formula needs. And then at 7pm, I once again asked the CNA to remind the nurse that I was out of formula. And by 730pm I finally gave up.
You see, this was the nurse who verbally confronted me two weeks ago, the one who was angry that she might go on report because... well… she repeatedly neglected me.
At 845pm the nurse finally came into my room… and I wasn't feeling up to another confrontation, so I just smiled and told her that everything was wonderful.
Helping Hands
Earlier, as I lay quietly outside and underneath the very typical baby blue Arizona sky (from end to end), I was formally introduced to the evening's CNA. And I could tell straight off we would make an agreeable resident-to-staff coupling. She smiled easily and frequently, plus, the words out of my mouth easily made her laugh.
Up until that point, I'd experienced an uncommonly down day. I'd been agitated from start to finish. Well, I allowed myself to be agitated, after not having slept. My decision. My choice.
So later on, back in my room, this CNA opened my packages for me. And I received a few t-shirts and some shorts in one package (thank you PR person!), and then the rest of the items were the items dropped off by The Former Person.
In the suitcase were a pair of jeans, a belt, underwear, socks, sweatshirt, long underwear, and a winter hat. So that takes care of my wardrobe. My closet is now full.
But the best part of all that was my smiling easily entertained CNA. It makes me happy whenever I'm able to bring joy to others (especially if and when I am unable to find it within myself).
Been Advocated
And aggravated as I'd been all day, I had options, people whom I could have utilized at any given moment, but I chose to needlessly suffer (not horribly, mind you, but my inaction allowed my discomfort to linger longer than necessary).
First, there was my one friend and his divorce, our texting and my helping was terribly underwhelming. Then another friend (unwell) began texting me, and yet again, I'm distracted… somehow disengaged (a rarity). She would have eventually helped me find my way out of it (as she often does), but...
Then My Advocate calls in the midst of all of this disengagement. And I typically prioritize in-person events, over phone calls, then phone calls over texting… so as this transpires, I'm hoping my favored texters understand.
It turns out my advocate asks me what's wrong, and I tell her. And it's okay that I tell her. So we talk through my generalized day-long agitation.. and then she delves deeper still, into the Ex-wife factor. Which, as it turns out, I'm handling well. Which I've always believed I was. And she concurs.
So, I'm glad I have these three people, and sometimes more. There's a healthy balance with each of us, and each of everybody else in my life right now. I am not always helping (or trying yo help) anymore in real life, nor am I exclusively being helped. This all-new dynamic is both agreeable, and desirable.
Let's Hit the Snooze Bar
Oh. And I slept. 5 hours.
I did awaken at 405am, only to find my CNA staring at me. So, I was momentarily startled. And I'm okay with that. It's kind of funny the way she reacted to my reaction… as I experienced full sudden unpredicted awareness.
Take care,
Howard
Note: I shall respond to the previous entries' comments within the next blog entry. So any additional questions, please feel free to ask.
Today's Sky Watched:
image not loading again, will try later