Monday, Monday

This tough little cookie is tired!

Saturday I rode my bike to Municipal Park. This took about 30 minutes. Then I rollerbladed ten miles. This took about two hours. Unfortunately, I forgot my water bottle. Rollerblading in 100 degree heat without water is neither smart nor fun. I finally took off my skates and hiked barefoot down the small slope to the river and jumped in. It felt wonderful.

After that I pedaled back home, only to do it all again the next day. Only this time, I did NOT forget my water. Thankfully. I've been rollerblading for ten years now, and that was the first time I ever forgot my water when I skated in that kind of heat. I won't be doing it again anytime soon (forgetting my water). It was unpleasant.

After all that exercise, you'd think I'd have slept like the dead last night. Wrong. I slept horrible. I slept restlessly, waking up every couple of hours or so. When I did sleep, I had really weird dreams. I dreamed that a former lover of mine was getting married to a woman who resembled someone I used to work with at my last job, and this woman took it upon herself to forbid me to come anywhere near my ex-lover, and didn't seem in the least reassured by the fact that I couldn't have cared less about either of them or what they were doing. I was extremely annoyed in the dream, and even more annoyed when I woke up.

Now I am exhausted, and I feel like a zombie. (Remind me sometime to tell you about the dream I had a couple of years ago about the meth that would turn it's users into zombies - that was quite a funny one. Almost as funny as the dream I had when Sean Bean convinced me I had to kill the man from Snowy River - and I did - with a broadsword.) It's going to be a long day. I need to learn how to sleep with my eyes open so my boss doesn't realize I'm sleeping instead of working.

My Left Foot

Ok..

Now my foot is starting to ache a little bit. It's not painful. Just a little achy and sore feeling.

Yesterday the doctor examined it, and kept feeling around that area, trying to see if it hurt me. I had this feeling he kept expecting me to shriek out in pain. I told him it was tender, but that I wouldn't really call it 'pain'. He was astonished. According to him, I should be in a great deal of pain after having suffered a fracture. I told him I have a high pain threshold, but he still insisted that I should be in pain. He said he was 'scratching his head' over it. He was still scratching his head as I rode my bike away from his office.

I suppose the reason it is feeling a bit achy today could be the fact that I rode my bike to the gym this morning at six, worked out, rode my bike back home, showered, and rode my bike to work (and home again after). All after riding my bike yesterday from 16th and State to Emerald and Curtis, up to Overland to Dorian, and all the way back home to the other side of 27th street.

Maybe I need to take a breather and give my poor foot a time out...nah! It's fine. A foot ache isn't anything a couple of advil won't take care of!!

I'd like to take this opportunity to make it clear that I had better never hear anyone call me weak ever again! Until you can walk, rollerblade, lift weights, work out on the stairmaster, and ride your bike, all with a broken foot, you have no room to be calling ME weak. Heh, heh, heh!!

I am one tough little cookie!

Badass!!

As I mentioned in my post last week, my computer fell on my foot last Tuesday while I was at work. That same evening, I rollerbladed ten miles (yes, I've mapped this to be sure that is actually how far I go), on the greenbelt. When I returned to my car, the battery was dead. Being as I have no cell phone, I therefore had to walk all the way from Municipal Park to Fort and 8th, where my loyal friend Donna picked me up and took me the remaining 11 blocks home.

At my boss's insistence I had my foot X-rayed on Thursday. The doctor told me that I was fine and I should go home and put ice on my 'bruised' foot. I was fine with that, though I had no intention of staying off of my foot. Since then, I've walked, skated, ridden my bike, amongst other activities that required more than a little use of my bruised and swollen foot.

So you can imagine my surprise yesterday morning when I received a call from the doctor's office informing me that my foot is indeed broken. Apparently, the physician missed it on the X-ray (I saw my own X-ray as well and my foot looked fine to me, but what do I know), but the radiologist corrected him and pointed out the fracture.

So, I have to go back to the doctor today at three. My battery on my car is junk, and I can't afford to get a new one right now (well, let's just say I have other priorities and my bike works just fine for now thank you), so I will be riding my bike with my broken foot up to the doctors office.

I am curious to see just how bad this fracture is. I have a very high pain threshold, so it is difficult for me to judge at times if an injury warrants a trip to the doctor or not. It hurt like hell when it first happened, but while it was very intense, the initial pain was also brief. I'm rather glad this happened at work because if it didn't, I never would have bothered to go see the doctor at all.

This all strikes me as being quite funny, for some reason. I am apparently one tough, badass chick to be walking, skating,and biking all over the place with a broken foot!

Bow to me, weaklings! Hahahaha!

Fatigue

After work today I headed off to Municipal Park. I did my usual ten mile rollerblade run, after which I was pleasantly exhausted. The pleasant part faded quite quickly, however, when I realized that Cyclops (AKA my car) refused to start. Not only did it refuse to start, but it wouldn't even try. It was dead. Dead, dead, dead.

So after trying a few more times to start it, waiting, and trying again, I finally decided that it was not going to happen. I rolled up the windows, grabbed my bag, and headed out in my nearly worn out sandals. These sandals are comfortable enough for a stroll around the block at morning break, but to walk all the way from Municipal park to my house, well, not so much.

I walked all the way to Fort and 8th before my feet began to seriously hurt. I actually did enjoy the walk at first. The weather is nice, and the scenery was nice -pretty trees and flowers and such. I stopped by Roosevelt Market on the way. That is a cute little place. Very 'mom and pop', quite refreshing. I got some water, used the facilities (thank god they had those) grabbed a snack and continued on.

By the time I reached Fort and 8th, I was able to use the pay phone (an object nearing extinction - time to get a cell phone I guess) to call my friend Donna who lives around the corner from me. She, being the great friend she is, buzzed right over and picked me up. Once we got to her house, we enjoyed an ice cold beer together, and then I walked the three or four steps over to my house. Where I collapsed, exhausted. It was only the pityful, pleading looks in the eyes of my cats that prompted me to get up and give them their daily bit of wet food.

Needless to say, I am wiped! I am so glad I got all that exercise. That is wonderful. But I'm not so happy that I had to leave my car in the park and now have to worry about getting it back home and getting it repaired. I'll worry about that tomorrow, I guess.

Oh, and did I mention that my computer tower fell over today and landed squarely on top of my foot? That's right. Somehow my computer got pushed over towards the back wall of my desk (I am assuming by the cleaning people while vacuuming)and was precariously tipped before it crashed down on top of my foot (I was wearing the same sandals I had to walk home in). At any rate, my left foot is green, purple, and quite swollen. And yes, it hurt like hell. The last time something hurt that bad was back in '06 when I sprained my ankle at a party at a friend's house. My coworker kept asking if I was ok. I was trying to get a grip on the pain so I could answer her without screaming "FUCK!!!!"

HA! It's been a rough day. I'm going to veg on the couch for awhile before bed.

Spider Lair Part III

On Monday as I was getting ready to ride my bike to work, I discovered another messy little web on the outside windowsill of my kitchen window. There was also a perfectly formed, round little funnel in the corner. Due to my recent research and experience with spiders, I recognized this immediately as the signature web of a black widow. I cautiously walked over to the windowsill to have a closer look, but could not see the spider.

Being the curious cat that I am, after I arrived home from work yesterday evening, I decided to have another look. There, nestled comfortably in the little funnel web, was another black widow spider. It was small, and it looked a little brown. It appears to be a juvenile. I have named her Cala. For now, to be safe, I will assume it's a female.

I am not sure whether I should kill her or not. It's not like I spend alot of time outside next to the kitchen windowsill. She's not technically in a space I use, and there are no spaces or entryways for her to get inside the house through that windowsill. She's just trying to survive, and eating the bugs that would otherwise pester me.

Still, it's a little unnerving to have found not one, but two highly venomous spiders in my back yard area. Normally, I do not like to use pesticides. I don't like to kill living things in their own environment. Not even bugs. But I am tempted to spray them all down with something, just because I am worried that when the weather starts to get cold, they'll want to come on inside and make themselves at home, where they will be a bigger threat to me and my little fuzzy wuzzy kitties. Also, the fact that I found the corpse of a brown recluse spider on my living room floor today is making me to feel even more apprehensive than before. So I am afraid I will have to spray them. At least, I'll have to spray that backyard area and the perimeter of the house.

But I am afraid. I am a scared little wussie about this. HA! These are the times I wish I had a big brave man in my life to do these things for me. Though, some of the 'big brave' men in my life, in the past, were even more afraid of spiders than I was! At least I'm only afraid of the black widow, not all spiders.

I guess I could always call my dad. He'd do it for me. God, what a baby I'd be then! Thirty-four years old asking my daddy to come over and kill the scary spiders.

HA! Pathetic!!

The Spider Lair Part II

There are new spider webs going up in my backyard every day!

I've been out there several times this weekend, as I need supplies for my aquarium. It seems I dismantle one spider web, and three take it's place! I am overrun with spiders and their webs!

I fear that my fate is set. I am doomed to be bitten to death by a black widow spider!!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to I make my peace with family and friends and re-write my will.

Aquarium part II

My aquarium is up! It's quite lovely, too! I have the gravel in, some decorations, and live plants! The water is crystal clear. It's really quite lovely.

Now I just have to get the filter set up, and then a few days after that, I can fill it full of fish!

I love aquariums!

Up Late

Last night I dreamed all night long of black widows weaving webs around my bedroom window, around my back door, and all through my backyard.

I hope I don't have those kind of nightmares tonight!

Aquarium

Having survived my discovery of the Black Widow Lair in my back yard and shed yesterday, I managed (with the help of my good friend Donna) to get most of the necessary supplies out of the Spider Lair. After ensuring there were no spiders residing in said supplies, I brought them inside. I can say quite happily that I am at last working on setting up my aquarium.

I have truly missed this hobby! It's hard to believe that it has been five years since I've had a working aquarium set up. This aquarium that I have recently acquired is about twice as big as the largest one I used to have, so I am finding that it's a bit more work to get it up and running.

Still, I am thoroughly enjoying this! I can't wait until it's all done so I can show it off to my friends. It's going to look lovely once it's full of beautiful fish!

I'll keep you posted...

The Spider Lair

Generally speaking, I am not freaked out about spiders. Great big black centipedes (or millipedes), now, that is a different story. There have been many spiders in my house and I have let most of them be, providing they don't get too close to me or get on my bed or furniture, or completely overtake my living space. They eat the other bugs, so I find them typically to be handy little helpers.

I have noticed recently that in my back yard and patio area, there has been an increase in spider webs. They are around my door, around my bedroom window and window a/c unit, around the patio furniture, pretty much all over. I didn't ride my bike for a week and they even made a web on that.

Well, today I went out in the back shed to dig out my old aquarium supplies and accessories (I bought an aquarium this week at a yard sale across the street), and I am normally pretty cautious out there when it gets warm because it is a perfect abode for spiders.

So you might imagine I wasn't entirely surprised at what I saw hanging in a messy little web in the small space between the wall of my house and the front wall of the backyard storage shed, looking just as plump and happy as can be. That's right! There, in plain view, was the biggest, fattest, scariest looking female black widow I have ever seen!

Unfortunately, for Antonia (I named the spider Antonia) I simply cannot have such a venomous spider that close to my bedroom window, where it might at anytime decide to come in and take a bite out of my supple flesh. Nor do I want her to become scared of one of my cats and take a bite out of them (cats bitten by black widow spiders have a 90% mortality rate). So I killed her.

At least, I think I killed her.

I sprayed her with poison and she dropped a little but then curled up and continued to hang in her web. I kept spraying her but she clung to her web tenaciously, glaring at me. I am also quite sure I heard obscenities being screamed at me in a tiny spider voice. I poked at her with the end of a broom handle in an attempt to smash her, but she dropped down and fell behind a bucket. I couldn't find her after that.

I'm scared that she survived and is going to crawl into my bedroom and take revenge.

Once my mom found three butterflies that she thought were dead and pinned them to the cork board in the bathroom with the rest of her collection. Well, they weren't dead, and somehow they got off of the pins and came into the living room and attacked her. I saw it with my own eyes.

The Black Widow is probably hiding out in a small, dark corner of The Spider Lair (AKA my backyard) developing an immunity to the poison I sprayed her with. Preparing to recover and return even stronger and more venomous than ever before! If I die, please be sure to tell the coroner not to dismiss the multiple spider bites he will no doubt find all over my body, as mere coincidence! Be sure he knows that I was killed by a black widow spider named Antonia.

Murdered in cold blood!