The Waiting Game - 10/10/05

Dunkirk, NY - I told myself that I did not want to write anything in the blog until such time as I had something positive to write. So today at the very least I got word from my doctor that I can return to Atomic Fission at any time. The only complication is that I still have to come back at some point to visit the specialist and find out about whether or not I need that ERCP (I find it hard to believe I won't get it. Doctors do not like mysteries). Scheduling this is something of a fluid situation. I have an appointment for 10/17 with a gastroenterologist, but am trying to get that moved up by letting his office know I will take a cancellation at a moment's notice. Hopefully with persistence I can get in this week. The sooner I can get in, the sooner I can get back to AF. Of course, there's still the matter of scheduling the actual ERCP. Get this - I am seeing one doctor who's only going to pass me off to another doctor for the actual exam. Why can I not just eliminate the middleman?? Maddening. Blood work still shows some elevated enzyme levels, but slowly coming down.

In the meantime, not much else is happening. I will say this - being a homeowner is one of the dullest, mind-numbing things to be on the planet. Don't get me wrong - I like having my own home. It's just that as you look around there is always something to do or fix or improve. And I have always disliked home maintenance and repair. It's just not interesting at all to me. Necessary, but tedious and dull. And of course it all costs money. The phrase "money pit" is pretty apt. My two rooms in Staunton this summer look so good! Here's just a small list of things I could/should do while I am waiting but probably won't:

• Clean out gutters. Actually, I have about half this done, off a small section of flat roof. I can get to some others but most of my gutters are too high for me to reach.
• Bring hose to basement.
• Swap out screens for storm windows.
• Rake around front bushes (actually, I would like to tear the fuckers out, but that means having some plan for landscaping the front of the house, which I don't have)
• Get a weedwhacker and trim around house and fence. Another tool you keep and use mayber three times a year.
• Find out why the hot water pressure to the second floor is so poor. That means calling a plumber. $$$
• Clean out basement
• Clean out attic
• Build a windbreaker for the back porch area so as to reduce draft in the kitchen

It isn't that any of these things aren't useless or unnecessary. They are just dull and uninteresting, and frankly, I'm not much of a handyman. Something I did get accomplished was tacking up "POSTED" signs on my woods before hunting season gets started. That's enjoyable, since I got to go tromping around my acreage. Boy, did I wish I had a camera with me to take pictures of the leaves and the view. I think I have an old film camera in the house somewhere, so you may have hope in seeing some pictures.

Eric came home from UB to visit this weekend and watch sports with me. We watched the Braves/Astros marathon and were happy to see the Astros win, and then the Yankee game as well. Having him around is fun. But the time passes slowly some days. I need to find a project real soon that I can accomplish to take my mind off the waiting. Saturday was a pretty depressing day, and the weather is not helping. It is not obnoxiously cold, but it is starting to turn that horrible upstate NY grey that can really bring you down. There was some sunshine today, a blessing to be sure.

I think that will do for now. Game 5 tonight Yanks/Angels. The fan says Yanks, the realist says Angels. I actually think Angels/White Soxs will make a better Championship series, and I'm glad to see Houston/St. Louis. Prediction? St. Louis/White Sox in World Series, St. Louis in 6. Hope? Yanks/Astros in WS, Yanks in 5. Much better than housework. -TWL