Two Year Follow Up Wrap Up

I’m done with my doctors appointment. My two year post gastric bypass surgery followup is complete.

To quote my surgeon, “I can’t believe it.”

What did I learn today? From a sugar avoidance standpoint, eating fruits that contain a lot of natural sugars (looking at you, apples) should be okay because it’s a complex sugar that breaks down differently than your more junk food sugars. Also, staying on the topic of sugar, if you’re having a low blood sugar episode it’s okay to have some sugar to fix it, even though the amount of sugar my diabetic step son was told to take in that situation is exactly the same as the amount I’ve been told will trigger dumping syndrome. Somehow my body will process that sugar in a different way when it’s combating an over abundance of insulin in my blood than when the insulin levels are okay. How? I don’t know. I’ll probably still avoid more than the tiniest amount of sugar. Finally, when I ask the question, “is this stomach pain because something is wrong or is it because I am hungry” I am apparently asking a question that all of us ask. It’s normal and common to not be able to tell the difference. You just have to get used to it and hope that someday you’ll figure it out.

My next follow up is one year from today. In closing, as I was leaving I overheard my surgeon talking to another staff member. They were both looking at me and the words “I can’t believe it” were uttered for a second time. I also heard one of them say, “he doesn’t even look like he needs to be here” or something like that. Yeah. Good work, Doc. I couldn’t have done this without you, but if you want to make a red head feel like a million bucks weight-loss-wise, then saying you can’t believe it is a really good way to do it.

Photos!

This was waiting for me as I was about to walk out the door to go to the appointment. Good morning, bird!

The clinic is in this building. Let’s do this!

In closing, you bet your ass I am doing some sugar free celebrating tonight.

Busy

Bit of a mentally challenging day today. Nothing major, just lots of administrative stuff at work. Meetings and meetings and meetings. There is hardly anyone here in the office today but weirdly all of the conference rooms are booked. What’s going on with that?

I have a doctors appointment tomorrow morning so I am only working a half day. Next week I have another half day on Friday. That one is so Jen and I can jump in the car and get an early start on our drive to Florida. Yeah, we’re driving again. Road trip, babie! Seven business days left before vacation, and two of those are half days. It’s too far away to start suffering from vacation-itis, but we’re getting there.

I tried to take a photo a day picture this morning while I was jogging (pronounced yogging, with a soft j) in place and they came out blurry. Duh. Of course they did, you putz. I took another one after I finished. It’s meant to guilt me into playing the damn guitar this weekend. Come on, Robert. You’re about to go on a trip. You need to play the guitar a ton before you go. Get on with it, Red Head!

Hipsta-Kitty

For ages during the earlier days of the Hipstamatic Toy Camera App for iOS, this film/lens filter combo was my favorite. I’ve used it for a couple of days, for old times sake, but now Lily is telling me I should probably pick a new combo to use for a while. We’ll see, Miss Lily.

Lowell, MA: Hipstamatic Style

I went to the hospital in Lowell this morning for some blood work. I took the obligatory bad iPhone pics (with a super overdone Hipstamatic filter) on the drive home. The Merrimack River is pretty much a looker in parts of Lowell.

Monday Night

What did you do with your Monday evening?

Is Today a Beautiful Day?

I just heard a coworker say that it was gorgeous outside. I can’t tell. There are two buildings in our little complex here. I am in building number two. The cafeteria is in building number one. I guess said coworker had just come back from picking up lunch.

I don’t go to the cafe anymore. I used to, back in the dark days before the pandemic. I used to order a grilled chicken sandwich and a side of fries. I could get that today, but the portions are huge and I would waste 75% of it. No, I brown bag it. A little breaded chicken, a few peanuts. Maybe a sugar free snack of some sort. Those get the lunch time job done for me.

I would like to think that if I were working from home today and it were truly gorgeous outside, I might setup the patio in the back yard and try to work from there. Fresh air. Nice breeze. Warm air. Working outside. It’s kind of the American Dream in a way, isn’t it? Maybe not. I don’t know.

I did take a picture of the clear blue sky as I was leaving the house this morning. That will have to do for me today.

Happy beautiful Monday, everyone. Where applicable, at least.

Cat Mother’s Day

Lily is wishing her mother, Robin, a happy Cat Mother’s Day.

You can tell today is a special occasion because Lily is being nice to Robin rather than chasing her around like she wants to kick the shit out of her.

So Far, So Good

The birds seem okay with the new bird feeders. So far, at least.

Unrelated note, my step daughter is coming over for dinner. She was in Connecticut with her step mother yesterday so she’s stopping in at our house for a Mothers Day visit with her mother and me. She’s on her way. It has only been a week since we’ve seen her but I don’t care. Every visit is a happy experience and I can’t wait.

Additional unrelated note, the sky looked cool over Home Depot in Salem, NH today so I took a pointless picture just to pointlessly share with all of you. Bless your hearts for putting up with my pointless drivel.

Upgrade?

They are bigger. I don’t think the birds will be able to pop the covers off of these. Are they better? I don’t know. They feel a little flimsy, but the price was right. Let’s see how they hold up to the rigors of back yard bird feeder life.