Thursday Preparing for Friday

Arthur On The Shelf

My most important project today was preparing for tomorrow's seminar. I had volunteered to moderate a panel on a subject I knew nothing about - Heritage Tourism - but my friend Regina needed a volunteer so I put my hand up.
At some point, I had felt an interest in increasing my work on improving my body. It might have been an increasing awareness of aging, spurred by the approach of retirement or the difficulty of taking a selfie without eyebags or perhaps an increased awareness of mortality as the coronavirus crisis grew. It may have been a reaction to watching Madfit and getting a sense that I needed to "work, work, work, bitch" as the song goes (which I never heard on that youtube channel, but was yet another favorite at Reema's Zoomba.) I discussed upgrading my efforts against high blood pressure, had an examination with Dr. Ryan (since Dr. Wendy was on vacation with family), and decided to give

Today's Inspirational Message

By Anonymous

the Cardatone another few weeks.
Those few weeks ended during the Governor's "Stay Home" order, so I emailed Dr. Wendy what to do next. She asked how I was feeling and how was my self-measure doing. I admitted that I had misplaced my BP monitor but I am feeling good. In fact, I'm feeling better than usual, which might be because I'm not forcing my body to fit my work schedule. I do miss my friends but I stay in touch online (we have started virtual Zumba classes!) I am careful to go outside at least twice a day, in the morning together greens and in the afternoon to take a picture. I start most days with fitness exercises, which I enjoy. If it were not for the awful tragedy and the many deaths, I would say this is a good lifestyle for me. It is as if I were in training for retirement.
At first, Dr. Wendy suggested we meet on her porch for her to measure, but then she suggested if I was feeling ok (haven’t been feeling any symptoms like dizziness, headache, chest pain), then to put off coming in for a blood pressure check until the crest of the wave passes. She has no way of knowing whether she is a carrier and does not want to risk passing it to me. I feel the same way. She offered to clean her bp machine and leave it on the porch for me, but I think I will engage in a renewed search for my own.
---

Stan's House: Still In Progress

When I took my evening walk, Mary Ellen O'Connor greeted me from her porch where she was smoking. We talked about stuff in general and eventually, as we discussed the 'rona, she mentioned having a box of gloves to donate, but how? I offered to take them to my nurse friend Jenn.
---
I was so enthused about my many  projects that I completely forgot to log into Zoom Zumba. Ooops!
---
In the evening we had a run-through for Saturday's Toastmasters Division D contest, at which I am serving as Timer. These are fun people to hang out with, and I always learn something. Today Heather addressed my concerns about toggling mute/unmute by telling my that, after researching the issue, she discovered Zoom has a temporary unmute: holding the spacebar down. I experimented and it worked great! We all enjoyed the thrill of discover.
---Ed called to say he was spending the night  out at a friend's. He is not around much and, if it were not for the 'rona, would be no concern at all. I thanked him for keeping me advised so I won't stay up to make sure he can make it in.