100 opinions, 100 miles, Bye Sam, not the way to wind it down

So I took off Thursday and Friday not only to give me a nice five day holiday weekend, it was also so I could drive Cindy up to the VA clinic on Thursday morning.  She was meeting a doctor to go over her MRI results from over a month ago.  Yes things move slowly at the VA.  Cindy had gotten a heads up that the woman she was meeting with was “not good” from a friend.

The doctor was probably in her 50’s and took good care of herself, looking fit and healthy for her age.  She started asking Cindy a number of questions about some of her symptoms.  When asked, Cindy would try to expand and give more detail about what has been going on.  Almost immediately the doctor took on a very impatient mindset, cutting Cindy off, just asking for numbers and dates.  Once again, similar to my recent experience, the doctor was being thrust into the role of a data entry clerk as she typed all of the info into the computer.

At times she took on an almost combative attitude, acting like everything was black and white when it comes to Cindy’s issues.  For example when Cindy said she had mercury poisoning, the doctor immediately insisted she didn’t.  When Cindy had her blood test for heavy metals it was at the very top end of normal range.  It was high enough that she got a call from our local health department to ensure her high levels weren’t from something environmental like a contaminated water supply.  So yes, technically Cindy’s number was not in the poisoned range but it was one tick away so obviously it wasn’t good.  Since Cindy stopped eating fish she got retested and the number had dropped significantly.

The doctor continued making proclamations about various things like her word was equivalent to Jesus.  “There is no such thing as medical marijuana” and “lifting weights is bad” were two that really stuck out to me.  Cindy was getting visibly upset from the attitude this doctor was taking towards her situation.  I was literally a few seconds away from making a scene and telling her it is inappropriate, unprofessional, and just plain wrong to not listen to her patient and instead cut her off repeatedly when trying to expand on symptoms.

It was almost as though the doctor sensed she had gone too far and that both Cindy and I had enough.  She started to soften her tone the rest of the exam.  She did a physical exam on Cindy testing a few baselines and went over the results of her MRI.  The exam and MRI didn’t confirm any dire diagnosis which was a good thing.  The doctor had some blood drawn to rule out more things, one of which could be B12 deficiency related, a common thing for people that do not regularly consume meat.  There were some other possibilities brought up that again have much less dire consequences which is good as well.  We left the VA feeling better about things but both feeling a bit amazed at the attitude this woman brought to the table.

We got a TON of rain from the storm that later turned out to be Hurricane Hermoine.  The property had standing water everywhere.  The instant swamp conditions brought in tons of birds by the dozen, all hoping to feast on whatever was in the water.  At one point I bet we had 100 ibis in our yard.  The two hawks that seem to have taken up residence around our place were around nearly constantly.  They too enjoy hunting in the water.  The chickens joined the party, caring less about the rain, roaming the yard all day looking for fresh bugs.

My Tacoma was at the dealership on Thursday, getting it’s 5000 mile service.  While it was there I asked they perform a TSB that addresses shifting issues with the truck which would cause it clunk into gear when shifting from reverse to drive randomly.  By the time we got back from Cape Coral the truck was done so the timing worked out well.  On the drive home the shifting of the Tacoma definitely felt better than it did previously.

On Friday Cindy was gone a good portion of the day.  I got work done around the house and got miles logged on my Ninebot One.  I had set a loose goal to crack the 100 mile mark over the weekend.  Below you will see the footage from my rides on Thursday and Friday.

On Friday I also changed the oil and filter on my Tacoma.  Wait, didn’t I just have it at the dealer?  Why yes I did but the dealer does not change the oil until 10,000 miles believe it or not.  With the new synthetic lubricants and engine design, the old 3000 mile oil change interval is just not needed.  Even so, I did not want to wait to 10K to have it done.  You may recall I actually swapped the oil in the truck after the first 1000 miles.

This time I was doing the oil and filter which made the job a little more involved.  The new Tacomas use a cartridge type filter now for some reason.  Instead of just replacing the entire filter, you remove an outer canister and then just replace the filter element that is housed inside.  You also have two O-rings to swap out.  In addition, to reach the oil filter, the skid plate on the bottom of the truck has to be removed.  So although in almost every way, the 2016 Tacoma has been better than the 99 Tacoma, ease of oil changes is not one of those things.  Since it was my first time replacing one of these types of filters I ran into a few snags but all in all it wasn’t bad.

Saturday morning was once again chore heavy.  One of the things that wound up on the list was trying to “fix” the outside hose connection.  It had one of those quick fit connectors on it that I used years ago when I used to water the property by hand.  Over time it started to leak which made noise and wasted water.  The hose that was attached to it was not in good shape either so I figured I would replace it as well.

So I headed over there with my large slip joint pliers to break loose the fitting that was very rusty and had not been touched in many years.  At first it did not want to budge so I pulled harder.  It then budged but I also immediately saw a drip develop on the feed pipe that was exposed from the side of the wall.  I had some small concern but I figured it would either stop or was just from the threaded hose connector being a little loose.  Later in the day when I noticed it still had not stopped I went to the hardware store and bought some heavy duty PVC cement as well as self sealing silicon tape.  After turning off the water to the house I used the combination of the two around the exposed portion of the feed pipe.  At first I thought I got it fixed but later saw it still was dripping, just closer to the wall. Oh well, I guess I just will have to live with the drip for now. (more later)

I also did a quick evening grass mowing session, wanting to take advantage of the brief break in the rain that allowed most areas to dry to the point where the ground was soggy but not submerged.  During the day I also built a landing in front of the steps of the chicken coop out of patio blocks.  That area had become a muddy mess from the all of the rain combined with the foot traffic of Cindy and I in and out of the coop.  The blocks gave us a stable and dry surface to step onto before ascending the steps which was good.

Saturday night we watched Zoolander 2 at home.  Cindy wasn’t thrilled about the rental when she saw the envelope but she had to admit it was funny after taking it in.  If you saw the original Zoolander you already know it’s all about stupid/silly, over the top humor.  It had me laughing out loud repeatedly so it deserves a B+ in my book.

On Sunday morning I again drug myself out of bed with the alarm, despite being stiff and sore from my pretty laborious Saturday.  I was again running solo and I again started at the track with nobody else around until somebody flew in.  That somebody was a bald eagle that landed on one of the light towers as I was completing my second lap around the track.  He seemed to be watching me as I went round and round.  In my head I used the majestic bird as a reason I needed to keep going.  He stayed there for the rest of the four mile run, refusing to vacate even when a a couple of noisy quaker parrots were diving at him.  It was very cool to have an eagle on site.

For the second week in a row I surprised myself with the numbers on the GPS.  Last week my injuries had me somewhat limping, causing me to use a shorter stride.  I was amazed that my overall pace last week was better than when I was running normally.  This week I was less injured but again tried sticking with a shorter stride but faster foot cadence.  Again my numbers were surprising, averaging 9:00 miles for the run, a pace I have not maintained for a very long time.  Using a shorter stride actually is a good thing for someone with bad wheels like me.  It keeps my feet more under me when they hit the pavement, which causes less trauma to my knees than when I try to use a long, loping stride.  I guess I will stick with it and see how things progress.  Today I felt very minimal physical repercussions from the run.

Shortly after I got home Cindy and I headed out for a ride on the Minipros.  We covered 6 miles, the farthest Cindy has ever logged on her bot.  We also stopped in at the gym she has been working at where I got to meet the owner who seemed like a nice guy.  The gym is good looking and filled with brand new equipment.  Now all they need is to get the word out.

I brought the wheel with as well.  I had Cindy follow me on the Minipro as I rode the EUC to get some 3rd person perspective video, something I have very little of.  It was interesting to see my form from a distance.   For the most part I look like I know what I am doing.

I actually went out on the wheel a second time later in the afternoon.  I was getting close to my 100 mile goal.  By the time I finished the odometer on my Ninebot One read 98.5 miles.

This morning I woke up a bit frustrated.  It felt hard to believe that I was already on the last day of my mini-vacation.  It felt like I hadn’t gotten to relax as much as I had hoped, despite logging a lot of wheel time.  I started off with a 20 minute session on the Concept 2 rower.  It was the first time I got on the rower since we bought it from Bill.  I purchased a data logger card so Cindy and I will have running totals of just how many meters we pulled.  I tacked 4300 meters plus onto my total during the 20 minutes, a decent start.

Mid-morning I decided I wanted to head to Ave Maria with the wheel to cross the 100 mile mark.  The town is a perfect spot for PTV riding with wide sidewalks that lead all around the huge town area.  I put in about five and as half miles during the ride which put me well past the century mark overall.  It was a nice little accomplishment for me and something that a month or so ago was an impossibility.

Later today Cindy was in the office and I heard her say “Uh, Shawn…” in a tone that never means anything good.  She said the floor by her desk, which sits along the same outside wall as the hose connection, was soaked.  I instantly knew the cause and went outside to rip off the silicon tape.  My first theory was the tape job funneled the dripping water backwards toward the hole in the wall which in turn pooled inside, soaking the rug.  However once we ran the carpet cleaner over the rug the amount of water it sucked out seemed like way too much to be caused by a small drip over two days of time.

We pulled Cindy’s desk away from the wall and I pulled the still soaked carpet up.  At first I had the small fan in our bedroom on the floor to help dry things up.  I then realized the monster fan that is used to inflate the GMT arch moved a ton more air so I brought it in and hooked it up.

I was struggling with a plan of action.  At first I was thinking about cutting a hole in the drywall more or less in the area where the hose is on the outside but didn’t.  Even if I did see the pipe, I was going to let a real plumber fix it so I would rather he make the cut, if necessary, instead of me.  I then climbed in the oven hot attic, hoping there may be some sort of shut off on the line so I could cut water to the hose without killing it for the rest of the house.  I was unsuccessful with finding one.

So my plan for now is to let this fan blow dry the shit out of that corner and only turn on the water to the house on an as needed basis to minimize the leak.  At first I thought the leak was just from the exposed portion of the hose pipe but with as much water as we saw I am worried that there is also a crack inside the wall.  Fixing it may involve knocking a hole in the outside wall, the drywall, or both.  Of course I feel frustrated that if I just left that hose fitting alone I would not have to be dealing with this shit.

The Eagles made a surprise move and traded Sam Bradford to the Vikings who lost their starter to a horrible knee injury.  The trade got the Eagles back some draft picks they gave away securing Carson Wentz.  I’m not sad to see Sam go.  He was mediocre at best last year and the hissy fit he threw when Wentz was drafted was a big turn off.  The move means we will see Wentz as the day one starter which is exciting in one way but disappointing in another as it likely means the fan base will be in for a rebuilding year more than likely.

Cindy’s daughter was over quite a bit this weekend.  There is the possibility she may be moving in for an interim basis as she tries to exit a relationship with her longtime boyfriend that has not been great for quite awhile.  Although it obviously changes our living arrangements considerably, if it gets Katie on a path that leads to more happiness down the road it will be worth it in the long run.  She is too young to have her options limited.