Whenever I sit here in front of the computer to begin a 'share' session, rant, or just an all out mental regurgitation I always tend to mentally self edit before I start writing anything. Guess it's the 'Writer' aspect of my personality. Pretty sure it has been a major contributor to the bout of writer's block I have been dealing with. 99% of the time I'm able to just blow stuff out onto the page in a stream of consciousness type of flow. Most times it works for me. I'm usually happy with what I 'spew'. As I've mentioned more than once on here, the main function of this blog was to help me work through and past said writer's block. To just sit down here and let whatever comes out...come out. It does appear to be helping. I'm about to dive back into a book I'm working up. Moving right along...
It's continued to be on the chilly side here. When I moved here in November of '08, to say it was cold would have been an understatement. It was FREEZING! It was definitely the fact that I had lived in L.A. for almost 20 years. Doesn't get that cold back there. Comparatively, anyway. Well, I've been able to condition myself this year. Work up to it. Going out for my little picture taking strolls around the condos here has helped. After putting on my thick "Hercules/Xena Crew" sweatshirt my dad gave me (he was head writer and an exec producer on 'Hercules'-that shirt is really toastey), possibly my denim jacket, gloves, and my ski hat, I grab the camera and head out for a traipse. Think that word describes things perfectly. I go out for a traipse. Hah! It really helps my head. My stress level. The air here isn't filled with L.A. 'funk'. I can look up and see stars. City sounds (cars, sirens...my gay neighbors having screaming/door slamming fights-I lived in West Hollywood) are absent. Every once and awhile I'll hear a helicopter, but nothing like West Hollywood. The copters were so loud and frequent, I always expected to hear 'The Flight of the Valkeries' in the background. There's more wildlife. Boats, marshes, spanish moss, cat tails. It's just so different from L.A. and welcome. I needed a change. Badly. I got one, and I couldn't be happier about that.
The pictures I posted above are primarily from a "traipse" I took on Wednesday evening. The first couple are from a couple of weeks ago. I located the opening into the world of the feral cats. There is a huge area of vines by the transformer station I always see them around. Looks like it has formed a sort of cave-like environment for them. You'll notice the food dishes...I know the old women here who feed them mean well, but it is against the law and it just contributes to the over population problem. That's a whole rant unto itself that I dare not go into right now. Moving right along...
I have one picture I took during my jaunt that's down Stephen King trail. I was expecting (and hoping for) a bit of an adventure, but it was a might disappointing. There is a stream that continues into the trees and brush down at that end of the marsh creek behind us here. I walked into the S.K. trail opening and the initial forest (I've posted pictures of that little bit before) and started down the little hill to the waters edge, and...that was kind of it. The little area there reminded me of the type of place my high school friends and I would visit to smoke and drink beer. lol I did see a heron back through the trees. The white of its feathers really stood out. Don't know what it was doing back in there, but suspected it might have been scoping out the muddy area around the waters' edge looking for something to munch on. There were other 'things' crunching through the blanket of twigs, leaves, and pine needles, but I didn't get a visual on anything. Might have been a cat, raccoon, squirrel...maybe even an opossum (those suckers are mean).
The other snappies are from this past Wednesday. I found myself taking random pictures of...nature, I guess. At one point early on I started taking pictures of round things. Some rounder than others. Don't know why, but there ya go. Tried to be interesting, but didn't try too hard. Just enjoyed being outside in the breezey quiet, the only sounds being natural. Of nature. Thinking back I only encountered two people while I was out. A woman on her deck overlooking the marshes (lucky...she has a beautiful view) that I exchanged a smile and a 'hello' with, and a man walking his dog who I exchanged pleasantries with. Oh and there was one more. A woman walking a yappy Shitzu who between yapping sessions gave gutteral grunts because he was pulling on his leash and his owner had him in a choke chain. He was pulling up on his hindlegs in my direction and wagging his tail while she yanked back and averted her eyes. I said hello to his walker and she didn't even blink. Was like I wasn't there. Oh well. That's a rarity here in Savannah. People on the whole are really nice. I continued taking pictures until the batteries in the camera died. I walked back to the condo just as Glenn was getting home. He had been off renewing the truck insurance. That reminds me...need to get more batteries...
Yesterday was a loooooong day. Saw my doctor on January 4th and it was at that visit that he asked me to stop my thyroid meds. Said everything looked really good, so he wanted me to stop the PTU (propylthiouracil). Well, this week I wasn't feeling entirely 'fine'. Things I had experienced before in varying degrees in connection with my hyper-thyroid. Wednesday night I decided that I needed to brave going into the clinic as a walk-in to see Dr. Metz. He told me to come in and see him if I had issues from my thyroid, so that's what I did. Headed out, made a pass through the Mickey D's drive-through for a coffee, and went to the clinic. Arrived at 9:50am. Let me just say that I'm glad I took a book. Sat in one of the chairs in the front until about 2:30 when I was moved to the Adult Medicine waiting area. So...around 5:00 (yes...I said 5:00) I knock on the door to where the nurses are and ask how long it will be. The nurse who comes a minute or so later, asks me my name and says she'll find out. Ten minutes later, another nurse comes out (one I've dealt with before there) to tell me that Dr. Metz has gone home for the day. Can't tell you how thrilled I was to hear that. NOT! She said I could come back the next day or did I want to see someone else? There was no way I wanted to go another day without some sort of medication, so I saw a nurse practitioner who I had not met with before. She had obviously looked in my file and saw that I have RA, so she came in and started going on and on about that, and how I need to see a rheumatologist, and how I need to be on medication so my joints don't get all deformed, and BLAH, BLAH, WOOF, WOOF! I could hardly get a word in at first. Finally I was able to tell her that I was diagnosed awhile back, it's manageable, I'll deal with going to a specialist some other time, and don't you think you should have asked me why I was there in the first place?! Didn't say that last part, but almost did. I had other more pressing issues to find out about. I left with the agreement for me to go back on my meds at half my previous dosage, and I'll check in with Dr. Metz at my regularly scheduled visit at the beginning of March. Met with (I don't even remember her name) ol' whats-her-face, and hope not to in the future. She wasn't the most personable...person...and of course that's a great trait for someone in the medical field to have...sheesh... At least I'm on something until I see Dr. Metz. I couldn't go for over a month without it. I know my thyroid all too well. Ya know, back when I met with him on January 4th and he said my thyroid looked really good and to stop my meds, I should have said out loud the thought that popped into my head..."Gee, my thyroid probably looks really good because I'm ON MEDS!" But I didn't...
Think that's enough for now. Need to go fill my tummy. Left over stroganoff. Yum.
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