So I haven’t been writing much lately, except for audiobook reviews that is. Now that I’m working it gets harder and harder to find the time.
I’ve been at Walmart for almost 5 months now. Hard to believe it’s been that long. I’m still enjoying the job although I confess I’m tired of working in the cold. I can’t complain too much though, we’ve had lots of nice days in between the cold snaps. Just yesterday it went over 60 degrees and I worked in a long sleeved t-shirt. More cold this week though and some high chances of snow. My feet and legs rarely bother me anymore although there are days. In general I think I’m a lot healthier than I was 5 months ago: thinner, stronger, and sleeping much better at night than I used to. I always feel pretty tired by 9pm each night even on my days off.
I spend my days off taking it easy for the most part although I have been doing a lot of cleaning up in the basement. On each of my off days for the last month or so I’ve been spending an hour or two in the basement going through stuff and seeing what can be thrown out and organizing a little. I’m amazed at how much stuff we’ve accumulated since we moved into this house 4 years ago. We had very little in the basement at first, but now it’s getting full. I dread the thought of ever having to move again. Anyway, I talked in my last Island Earth post about cleaning out the carpeted room a little to make space for a little recording studio down there. Well, Joni and Adam came through for me and got that whole room in ship-shape with plenty of space for me to set up in.
Other than that there really hasn’t been much going on. Kind of a nice quiet period for us. I saw the eye doctor back in January and got a good report on both eyes. He said I can make an appointment for my prosthesis whenever I’m ready but didn’t pressure me at all, which I appreciated a great deal. I’ve been dragging my feet a little because I haven’t really felt like making more trips to Omaha and I know Joni doesn’t either. I guess I’ll need to get that done before too long though. Around June or July my social security benefits will run out and I’m assuming my Medicare will go with it. I should be eligible for insurance through Walmart about that same time but who knows what it will cover or if I’ll even be able to afford it.
And I’m still putting in some work on Audiobook-Heaven. My audiobook listening time was drastically reduced when I started working but I still get in a couple of hours a day and instead of 3 reviews each week I’m down to 1. Still keeping it going though, which I’m glad of. I put a lot of time and work on that and I would hate the thought of having to abandon it. Also something kind of cool happened a couple of days ago. I got an email from a person who introduced herself as a translator for a Czechoslovakian sci-fi magazine on the internet. She was asking if they could translate one of my audiobook reviews into Czech and use it on their site. That sounded pretty cool so I said yes! Don’t know when that will go live for sure but she said she would send me a link when it does.
And that’s about everything that going on around here. Like I said, kind of quiet, which suits me just fine.
Exodus 33:14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” ESV
John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” ESV
Showing posts with label walmart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label walmart. Show all posts
Monday, February 18, 2013
Friday, December 21, 2012
Journal - Recovery
Well, the days since my surgery have passed by in a blur so I hope I can remember all the pertinent details.
The day after surgery, Wednesday the 12th, I woke up pretty early, about 6 or 6:30. You’d think I would have slept in. Well they had given me a pretty strong pain killer, one that I’ve used before for painful eye infections, and it has an odd effect on me. They make me very drowsy but at the same time I don’t really sleep very well. So anyway I got up early and ate a pop-tart, which settled on my stomach pretty well after the nausea of the previous day. I messed around at the computer for a couple of hours and then was ready to go back to bed. I slept for two hours, got up for two hours, then back to bed for two more hours. Other than that I don’t really remember much about that day. Joni ran to Kearney to pick up some eye drops that I needed for my left eye and I got those started.
Thursday was uneventful as far as I can remember. My stomach was getting back to normal but I was still kind of drowsy and listless from the pain pills. I think that was the last day I needed any pills though, it wasn’t hurting much. I managed a shower but couldn’t put my head under since I was still bandaged up.
Friday it was back to Omaha for my follow-up appointment with Dr. Feilmeier. He removed the bandage from my eye, which felt really good. It was a tight pressure bandage with a thing wrapped clear around my head to help hold it in place. He took a quick look and said everything looked as it should. It was a quick visit and we were on our way home. I was supposed to call my boss and let her know when I might be returning to work but I didn’t. I was still undecided as to what to do about that. The doctor said I could go back as soon as I felt up to it and I really didn’t know when that might be. That evening I showered and was able to wash my face and hair. That felt pretty good too.
Saturday and Sunday were bad days. I felt really depressed and just didn’t want to do anything. I tried working on a couple of audiobook reviews I needed to do but that didn’t go well. I watched parts of a couple of football games on Sunday but neither one was very interesting. It was just a bad couple of days. I think I spent most of those days playing a game on the computer since that was the only thing I could find that would occupy my mind for a while. I put on the Sunday night football game and that was a good one; a pretty exciting game. I started feeling kind of normal again during that.
By Monday I was feeling better but I don’t really remember what I did that day. Oh, I finally called my boss and told her I would try a short day on Thursday. I told her I couldn’t work Friday because I had to see the doctor again but if Thursday went okay and the doctor didn’t see any problems on Friday then I would resume a normal schedule on Saturday.
On Tuesday the 25th I woke up feeling really good and I had a pretty productive day. Joni and I went to Kearney and did some final Christmas shopping. After we got home I finished those two book reviews I had been working on and wrapped some Christmas presents. We have a couple of windows that leak pretty bad in the winter so I got those washed up and taped up the seams like we always do in the winter.
Wednesday was even better. This was the day we were supposed to get our big blizzard. I woke up that morning with an itch to clean house. We made a quick trip into Kearney to pick up a few cleaning supplies. I think we got back home at about 11:30 and the snow was just beginning to fall in earnest. We had picked up lunch in Kearney and brought it home so after we ate I started working. I washed dishes and straightened up the kitchen and then vacuumed. After that I broke out the Clorox wipes we had picked up in Kearney and disinfected the house. We’ve had an unusual amount of colds and sickness so far this season so I really wanted to try and stem those a bit. I wiped doorknobs and light switches and faucets and handles and knobs and buttons and surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom. It felt good to do that. I think a cleaning ritual like that can wipe away sickness from your mind as much as from your house. All that time it was snowing like crazy and school had let out so Adam was home early. By Wednesday evening I was already having second thoughts about going back to work the next day and had all but decided that in the morning I would just call in.
Thursday morning there was a lot of snow on the ground but I saw that the plows had already cleared the roads so I figured I didn’t have a very good excuse to stay home. Getting out of the driveway was a little rough, but from there on it was okay. The parking lot at Walmart was a real mess as I had supposed it would be and it was a hard day. Lugging those shopping carts around is hard enough, but dragging them through the snow is much worse. The cart machine we use can normally push 20 carts at a time, but in the snowy mess we were only getting 6 or 7 on each trip. Even then it kept getting stuck and I would have to pull and pull on it to keep it going. In the meantime, every time I managed to get some carts out of one of the racks in the parking lot I was scooping out the snow and chipping the ice away to make the next trip a little easier. Luckily it was a relatively slow day or we wouldn’t have had enough shopping carts. All of the reserves sit outside and were buried in snow. I worked from 10am to 3pm that day and I was definitely ready to go home. I’m glad I went though because one guy called in leaving only three of us. With three we could get by on a normal weekday, but it was such slow work in the snow we were having a hard time keeping up.
Which brings us to today, Friday. I saw Dr. Feilmeier at 11am this morning and he said everything looked fine and we made an appointment for one month. On the eye chart today I breezed right on down to the 20/20 line with no trouble and got 2 out of 5 letters on 20/15. Oh, we had called ahead of time to make sure Dr. Feilmeier made the trip from Omaha and obviously he did. He said the interstate between York and Grand Island was very bad and traffic was crawling though at 15 or 20 mph. I had noticed on Thursday when I went to work that the interstate was closed, and it was still closed when I went home. So I’m going to enjoy the rest of my day off and tomorrow will be back at work. Hopefully the parking lot will be in better shape by then.
Job 1:21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” ESV
Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
The day after surgery, Wednesday the 12th, I woke up pretty early, about 6 or 6:30. You’d think I would have slept in. Well they had given me a pretty strong pain killer, one that I’ve used before for painful eye infections, and it has an odd effect on me. They make me very drowsy but at the same time I don’t really sleep very well. So anyway I got up early and ate a pop-tart, which settled on my stomach pretty well after the nausea of the previous day. I messed around at the computer for a couple of hours and then was ready to go back to bed. I slept for two hours, got up for two hours, then back to bed for two more hours. Other than that I don’t really remember much about that day. Joni ran to Kearney to pick up some eye drops that I needed for my left eye and I got those started.
Thursday was uneventful as far as I can remember. My stomach was getting back to normal but I was still kind of drowsy and listless from the pain pills. I think that was the last day I needed any pills though, it wasn’t hurting much. I managed a shower but couldn’t put my head under since I was still bandaged up.
Friday it was back to Omaha for my follow-up appointment with Dr. Feilmeier. He removed the bandage from my eye, which felt really good. It was a tight pressure bandage with a thing wrapped clear around my head to help hold it in place. He took a quick look and said everything looked as it should. It was a quick visit and we were on our way home. I was supposed to call my boss and let her know when I might be returning to work but I didn’t. I was still undecided as to what to do about that. The doctor said I could go back as soon as I felt up to it and I really didn’t know when that might be. That evening I showered and was able to wash my face and hair. That felt pretty good too.
Saturday and Sunday were bad days. I felt really depressed and just didn’t want to do anything. I tried working on a couple of audiobook reviews I needed to do but that didn’t go well. I watched parts of a couple of football games on Sunday but neither one was very interesting. It was just a bad couple of days. I think I spent most of those days playing a game on the computer since that was the only thing I could find that would occupy my mind for a while. I put on the Sunday night football game and that was a good one; a pretty exciting game. I started feeling kind of normal again during that.
By Monday I was feeling better but I don’t really remember what I did that day. Oh, I finally called my boss and told her I would try a short day on Thursday. I told her I couldn’t work Friday because I had to see the doctor again but if Thursday went okay and the doctor didn’t see any problems on Friday then I would resume a normal schedule on Saturday.
On Tuesday the 25th I woke up feeling really good and I had a pretty productive day. Joni and I went to Kearney and did some final Christmas shopping. After we got home I finished those two book reviews I had been working on and wrapped some Christmas presents. We have a couple of windows that leak pretty bad in the winter so I got those washed up and taped up the seams like we always do in the winter.
Wednesday was even better. This was the day we were supposed to get our big blizzard. I woke up that morning with an itch to clean house. We made a quick trip into Kearney to pick up a few cleaning supplies. I think we got back home at about 11:30 and the snow was just beginning to fall in earnest. We had picked up lunch in Kearney and brought it home so after we ate I started working. I washed dishes and straightened up the kitchen and then vacuumed. After that I broke out the Clorox wipes we had picked up in Kearney and disinfected the house. We’ve had an unusual amount of colds and sickness so far this season so I really wanted to try and stem those a bit. I wiped doorknobs and light switches and faucets and handles and knobs and buttons and surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom. It felt good to do that. I think a cleaning ritual like that can wipe away sickness from your mind as much as from your house. All that time it was snowing like crazy and school had let out so Adam was home early. By Wednesday evening I was already having second thoughts about going back to work the next day and had all but decided that in the morning I would just call in.
Thursday morning there was a lot of snow on the ground but I saw that the plows had already cleared the roads so I figured I didn’t have a very good excuse to stay home. Getting out of the driveway was a little rough, but from there on it was okay. The parking lot at Walmart was a real mess as I had supposed it would be and it was a hard day. Lugging those shopping carts around is hard enough, but dragging them through the snow is much worse. The cart machine we use can normally push 20 carts at a time, but in the snowy mess we were only getting 6 or 7 on each trip. Even then it kept getting stuck and I would have to pull and pull on it to keep it going. In the meantime, every time I managed to get some carts out of one of the racks in the parking lot I was scooping out the snow and chipping the ice away to make the next trip a little easier. Luckily it was a relatively slow day or we wouldn’t have had enough shopping carts. All of the reserves sit outside and were buried in snow. I worked from 10am to 3pm that day and I was definitely ready to go home. I’m glad I went though because one guy called in leaving only three of us. With three we could get by on a normal weekday, but it was such slow work in the snow we were having a hard time keeping up.
Which brings us to today, Friday. I saw Dr. Feilmeier at 11am this morning and he said everything looked fine and we made an appointment for one month. On the eye chart today I breezed right on down to the 20/20 line with no trouble and got 2 out of 5 letters on 20/15. Oh, we had called ahead of time to make sure Dr. Feilmeier made the trip from Omaha and obviously he did. He said the interstate between York and Grand Island was very bad and traffic was crawling though at 15 or 20 mph. I had noticed on Thursday when I went to work that the interstate was closed, and it was still closed when I went home. So I’m going to enjoy the rest of my day off and tomorrow will be back at work. Hopefully the parking lot will be in better shape by then.
Job 1:21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” ESV
Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Journal - Surgery
Okay so I had my pre-op physical with no trouble. These pre-ops are really not much of a physical at all. All he did today was check my ears, nose, and throat, take my blood pressure and that was about it. Last time there was also blood work but I guess that was not required this time. The Dr.’s office in Omaha faxed them some instructions on what was needed. Oh, my weight today was 174! I bet it’s been twenty years since my weight was that low. I weighed in at 190 to 195 for a long time. Pushing those shopping carts around is doing me some good.
Anyway, I was a little rushed earlier so there were a few things I didn’t get to go over.
The surgery I’m having is called an Enucleation. You can look that up online if you’re curious. I read about it and what they do is kind of gross. Basically the eye is removed and replaced with an implant. The implant will be attached to my eye muscles so that the fake eye will move and track with my good eye. I’m told that once the prosthesis, which comes later, is inserted it will be hard to tell that it’s not a natural eye. There’s another type of removal surgery called Evisceration where they take out the muscles and everything so I guess this one is better.
When the doctor first dropped this on me I cried, but now that the surgery is scheduled and some plans have been made I’m feeling a little better about the whole thing. I suppose I’ll feel even better tomorrow afternoon once it’s all done.
So let’s see…surgery is at 1pm tomorrow. We have to be there at 12:30 so I can have a little time to talk to the doctor. Oh, I didn’t mention that, did I? Dr. Feilmeier will not be doing this surgery, it will be one of his associates, a Dr. Kathleen Hodges or something like that. I’ve never met her. I wish Dr. Feilmeier could do it but I understand that this is not his specialty. Anyway, I expressed a desire to meet with the doctor before the surgery so that’s why we need to be there a little early. Dr. Feilmeier told me that he can handle my follow-ups.
We don’t have to stay over in Omaha for this one; it’s an afternoon surgery and the first follow-up appointment won’t be until Friday, which we’ll have to drive to Omaha again for. If all is well up to that point my next visit will be with Dr. Feilmeier when he comes to Kearney next Thursday.
I can’t eat anything after midnight tonight. By the time we leave the surgery center it will be at least 3pm. I guess I’ll be pretty hungry by then. Last time my surgery was early in the morning so that wasn’t so bad.
After I got the news this morning I called my boss at Walmart to explain the situation. I told her about surgery tomorrow and that I will most likely not be able to work at all this week and beyond that I don’t really know what to expect. I was very frank with her and told her that I would understand if they needed to hire someone else and get them working. I am, after all, only a temporary employee for now and we’re getting into the busy season here. She told me that they had just been talking about this earlier (since I have already missed a couple of days for trips to Omaha) and they had decided that they think I’m a good employee and will be willing to work with me on this. Pretty good news seeing as how I’ve only been there a little over two months.
I said before that I am a thinker and planner and I suppose that’s my lesson for today since I have apparently not learned it yet. We can think and plan and fret and worry until the cows come home but it’s all for nothing. God will do the thinking and planning for us and, if we are wise, we won’t have to fret and worry at all. I have to keep reminding myself that He can see the whole picture while I only see a little bit of it.
Well, that’s all I can think of for now. I’ll probably be writing more this week since I’ll have a lot of free time on my hands. Good thing too because I need to catch up on my audiobook reviews.
Keep the Faith, good people, and keep us in your prayers.
Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ESV
Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. ESV
Anyway, I was a little rushed earlier so there were a few things I didn’t get to go over.
The surgery I’m having is called an Enucleation. You can look that up online if you’re curious. I read about it and what they do is kind of gross. Basically the eye is removed and replaced with an implant. The implant will be attached to my eye muscles so that the fake eye will move and track with my good eye. I’m told that once the prosthesis, which comes later, is inserted it will be hard to tell that it’s not a natural eye. There’s another type of removal surgery called Evisceration where they take out the muscles and everything so I guess this one is better.
When the doctor first dropped this on me I cried, but now that the surgery is scheduled and some plans have been made I’m feeling a little better about the whole thing. I suppose I’ll feel even better tomorrow afternoon once it’s all done.
So let’s see…surgery is at 1pm tomorrow. We have to be there at 12:30 so I can have a little time to talk to the doctor. Oh, I didn’t mention that, did I? Dr. Feilmeier will not be doing this surgery, it will be one of his associates, a Dr. Kathleen Hodges or something like that. I’ve never met her. I wish Dr. Feilmeier could do it but I understand that this is not his specialty. Anyway, I expressed a desire to meet with the doctor before the surgery so that’s why we need to be there a little early. Dr. Feilmeier told me that he can handle my follow-ups.
We don’t have to stay over in Omaha for this one; it’s an afternoon surgery and the first follow-up appointment won’t be until Friday, which we’ll have to drive to Omaha again for. If all is well up to that point my next visit will be with Dr. Feilmeier when he comes to Kearney next Thursday.
I can’t eat anything after midnight tonight. By the time we leave the surgery center it will be at least 3pm. I guess I’ll be pretty hungry by then. Last time my surgery was early in the morning so that wasn’t so bad.
After I got the news this morning I called my boss at Walmart to explain the situation. I told her about surgery tomorrow and that I will most likely not be able to work at all this week and beyond that I don’t really know what to expect. I was very frank with her and told her that I would understand if they needed to hire someone else and get them working. I am, after all, only a temporary employee for now and we’re getting into the busy season here. She told me that they had just been talking about this earlier (since I have already missed a couple of days for trips to Omaha) and they had decided that they think I’m a good employee and will be willing to work with me on this. Pretty good news seeing as how I’ve only been there a little over two months.
I said before that I am a thinker and planner and I suppose that’s my lesson for today since I have apparently not learned it yet. We can think and plan and fret and worry until the cows come home but it’s all for nothing. God will do the thinking and planning for us and, if we are wise, we won’t have to fret and worry at all. I have to keep reminding myself that He can see the whole picture while I only see a little bit of it.
Well, that’s all I can think of for now. I’ll probably be writing more this week since I’ll have a lot of free time on my hands. Good thing too because I need to catch up on my audiobook reviews.
Keep the Faith, good people, and keep us in your prayers.
Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ESV
Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. ESV
Journal - More Eye Trouble
So on Monday I had a short shift at Walmart, 10am to 3pm. When I woke up that morning my eye was still sore and there was a noticeable spot almost directly on the center of the eye. Also there was a lot of redness around the eye. If you recall from my last post this was my left eye, the one I can’t see out of. Throughout my five hour shift that day my eye started hurting more and more and by the time I got off at 3:00 it was hurting quite a lot. While driving home I had to put on my sunglasses because the light was bothering me, something I haven’t had to do in a long time. My left eye has no light perception at all, but even when one eye is blind the eyes kind of work and react to things together.
As soon as I got home I took some Aleve for the pain and called Dr. Feilmeier’s office in Omaha. They scheduled me for an appointment for the next day, Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Dr. Feilmeier confirmed my suspicion that the eye was infected. He also confirmed what I already knew, that this was a particularly aggressive infection, having come on and advanced so quickly. I’ve had lots of eye infections but this one did come on rather suddenly. He put me on Trifluridine drops, which are specifically for the herpetic infection that I typically get and also Zymaxid, which is a more general type of antibiotic. He said he wanted to see me again on Saturday. Thinking this was an odd day for an appointment I questioned him and he said he was on call that day and would be seeing patients in the morning. Apparently his office keeps someone on call every weekend and it happened to be his turn. He also mentioned the possibility of coming in for surgery sometime to have my useless left eye removed completely. I didn’t like the sound of that very much but agreed to give it some thought, although frankly I wasn’t thinking about it very seriously and was more focused on getting this infection taken care of. Obviously this infection posed no direct threat to my vision but there is always the possibility of an infection moving from one eye to the other.
Wednesday I was off again, which was good. I had another short shift on Thursday and a long one on Friday. As we get nearer to Christmas business is picking up at Walmart so even the typically slow weekdays are getting kind of busy. I was still taking Aleve regularly during this time to keep the pain under control and so wasn’t really feeling it much.
On Saturday it was back to Omaha. Dr. Feilmeier said the infection was no better and maybe even worse. Since it wasn’t responding to the eye drops he took cultures of it. At this time he told me that we should get that surgery done as soon as possible, preferably early the following week. That really floored me as I had really thought I would have plenty of time to think that over and get my mind wrapped around it. It makes a lot of sense to have that eye removed; it will never see again and it will probably just sit there and cause me problems for as long as I have it. Also getting it removed and having a prosthesis put in would improve my appearance a lot although I’ve never been much bothered by that. It makes a lot of sense logically but still it bothered me a lot that I would be losing a part of myself. There was still a small part of me that was hoping for some medical breakthrough that would allow them to fix that eye someday. A longshot I know, but there it is. Having the eye removed sounded very final to me.
Well, that decision was taken out of my hands. This infection was very serious and Dr. Feilmeier was afraid it would go completely through the cornea and get inside the eye, which would cause even more serious complications. It needed to be done, and it needed to be done quickly. He said someone would get in touch with me early the following week to schedule the surgery.
Sunday I worked 12 to 5 and it was bitterly cold and windy. I did okay though. I had my overalls and a sweatshirt and coat. I wore my boots with thermal socks, kept my hood up to protect my ears, and had a neck warmer that I can pull up over my mouth and nose. My hands got a little cold, I may need better gloves for days like that, and by about 4pm my toes were getting cold, but I made it through. Oh, I also had some hot cider in a new thermos that I had bought just for the occasion. That helped a lot.
Today, Monday, I am off again and sure enough, they called at about 9:30am. I had been thinking they would want to schedule me later in the week, maybe Thursday or Friday, but no, they want me in on Tuesday, tomorrow. Wow. Completely discombobulated once again I asked if it could be later in the week and the nurse said she would check on it and call me back.
I took a few minutes to talk to Joni about it, and my mom, and to calm myself down. After that I figured it was pointless to fight the inevitable and we may as well get it over with. I’m as ready to do it as I will ever be, I only put the nurse off because I needed a little time. This has all happened so suddenly and I’ve never been very spontaneous. I like to think and plan.
Not much later, Dr. Feilmeier called me personally to urge me to get this done quickly. I told him I was okay with it, I had just needed a little time to think and talk with people. So it’s on for tomorrow at 1pm.
This afternoon I have to go to Kearney and get another pre-op physical. I called the Doctor and they can get me in at 2:30. In fact, I need to go get ready for that so I’ll sign off for now and hopefully write a little more later.
Psalms 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. ESV
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” ESV
As soon as I got home I took some Aleve for the pain and called Dr. Feilmeier’s office in Omaha. They scheduled me for an appointment for the next day, Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Dr. Feilmeier confirmed my suspicion that the eye was infected. He also confirmed what I already knew, that this was a particularly aggressive infection, having come on and advanced so quickly. I’ve had lots of eye infections but this one did come on rather suddenly. He put me on Trifluridine drops, which are specifically for the herpetic infection that I typically get and also Zymaxid, which is a more general type of antibiotic. He said he wanted to see me again on Saturday. Thinking this was an odd day for an appointment I questioned him and he said he was on call that day and would be seeing patients in the morning. Apparently his office keeps someone on call every weekend and it happened to be his turn. He also mentioned the possibility of coming in for surgery sometime to have my useless left eye removed completely. I didn’t like the sound of that very much but agreed to give it some thought, although frankly I wasn’t thinking about it very seriously and was more focused on getting this infection taken care of. Obviously this infection posed no direct threat to my vision but there is always the possibility of an infection moving from one eye to the other.
Wednesday I was off again, which was good. I had another short shift on Thursday and a long one on Friday. As we get nearer to Christmas business is picking up at Walmart so even the typically slow weekdays are getting kind of busy. I was still taking Aleve regularly during this time to keep the pain under control and so wasn’t really feeling it much.
On Saturday it was back to Omaha. Dr. Feilmeier said the infection was no better and maybe even worse. Since it wasn’t responding to the eye drops he took cultures of it. At this time he told me that we should get that surgery done as soon as possible, preferably early the following week. That really floored me as I had really thought I would have plenty of time to think that over and get my mind wrapped around it. It makes a lot of sense to have that eye removed; it will never see again and it will probably just sit there and cause me problems for as long as I have it. Also getting it removed and having a prosthesis put in would improve my appearance a lot although I’ve never been much bothered by that. It makes a lot of sense logically but still it bothered me a lot that I would be losing a part of myself. There was still a small part of me that was hoping for some medical breakthrough that would allow them to fix that eye someday. A longshot I know, but there it is. Having the eye removed sounded very final to me.
Well, that decision was taken out of my hands. This infection was very serious and Dr. Feilmeier was afraid it would go completely through the cornea and get inside the eye, which would cause even more serious complications. It needed to be done, and it needed to be done quickly. He said someone would get in touch with me early the following week to schedule the surgery.
Sunday I worked 12 to 5 and it was bitterly cold and windy. I did okay though. I had my overalls and a sweatshirt and coat. I wore my boots with thermal socks, kept my hood up to protect my ears, and had a neck warmer that I can pull up over my mouth and nose. My hands got a little cold, I may need better gloves for days like that, and by about 4pm my toes were getting cold, but I made it through. Oh, I also had some hot cider in a new thermos that I had bought just for the occasion. That helped a lot.
Today, Monday, I am off again and sure enough, they called at about 9:30am. I had been thinking they would want to schedule me later in the week, maybe Thursday or Friday, but no, they want me in on Tuesday, tomorrow. Wow. Completely discombobulated once again I asked if it could be later in the week and the nurse said she would check on it and call me back.
I took a few minutes to talk to Joni about it, and my mom, and to calm myself down. After that I figured it was pointless to fight the inevitable and we may as well get it over with. I’m as ready to do it as I will ever be, I only put the nurse off because I needed a little time. This has all happened so suddenly and I’ve never been very spontaneous. I like to think and plan.
Not much later, Dr. Feilmeier called me personally to urge me to get this done quickly. I told him I was okay with it, I had just needed a little time to think and talk with people. So it’s on for tomorrow at 1pm.
This afternoon I have to go to Kearney and get another pre-op physical. I called the Doctor and they can get me in at 2:30. In fact, I need to go get ready for that so I’ll sign off for now and hopefully write a little more later.
Psalms 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. ESV
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” ESV
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Journal - The Holidays Begin
The week of Thanksgiving was kind of a long one. I worked full 8 hour shifts Tuesday through Saturday and a 5 hour shift on Sunday making it my longest week at Walmart to date. Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty busy as expected with lots of people doing their last minute shopping for Thanksgiving.
Thursday was pretty slow, also as expected. It was kind of an interesting day to work though. Us cart pushers carry walkie-talkies for when they need to call us in for carry-outs and there was lots of chatter and buzz all day about he Black Friday preparations. Since it was slow I got to go in and walk through the store a little bit now and then and it was interesting to watch some of the preparations. They moved lots of the usual racks of goods, mostly clothing, out of the store and put them outside in the lawn and garden area which was by this time empty. So there were huge areas of the store that were completely empty in preparation of the special sale items that would be moving in later on. As I understand it, the big empty areas would contain special sale items with plenty of extra space for queue lines for those wanting that particular item. I only worked until 5pm that day so I didn’t get to see very much of the sale items being moved in. Walmart began Black Friday at 8pm Thursday night so I was gone before the rush began.
Then it was Black Friday. I thought this would be a terribly busy and miserable day, but as it turned out I was wrong. Since the sales all took place during the night, it was pretty much over with by the time I came in at 8am Friday morning. The sale items were gone and all the regular merchandise had been returned to its proper places.
Saturday also turned out to be a bit on the slow side, another surprise. I guess everyone got their shopping done on Friday and decided to stay home. Saturday is usually the busiest day by far.
Then I had my short day on Sunday and was ready for a day off on Monday. It was a rough week even though several of the days I worked were slow. My legs, which have been toughening up and doing pretty well were definitely ready for a rest.
On the week after Thanksgiving I returned to my usual schedule of about 32 hours. That would have seemed like a nice break after the busy week of Thanksgiving, but I started getting sick early in the week. Tuesday and Wednesday were short days but I wasn’t feeling very well at all. By this time I knew that I had a sinus infection based on my symptoms. I had Thursday off and still wasn’t feeling well. I was starting to try and figure out when I could make a visit to the doctor but on Friday and Saturday I started feeling much better and decided it wouldn’t be necessary.
On Sunday I had a much needed and anticipated day off. My sinuses were feeling fine by now but I woke up with some soreness in my left eye, that’s the one I can’t see out of. I didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t really painful, just sore.
More on this later.
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ESV
James 1:2-3 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
Thursday was pretty slow, also as expected. It was kind of an interesting day to work though. Us cart pushers carry walkie-talkies for when they need to call us in for carry-outs and there was lots of chatter and buzz all day about he Black Friday preparations. Since it was slow I got to go in and walk through the store a little bit now and then and it was interesting to watch some of the preparations. They moved lots of the usual racks of goods, mostly clothing, out of the store and put them outside in the lawn and garden area which was by this time empty. So there were huge areas of the store that were completely empty in preparation of the special sale items that would be moving in later on. As I understand it, the big empty areas would contain special sale items with plenty of extra space for queue lines for those wanting that particular item. I only worked until 5pm that day so I didn’t get to see very much of the sale items being moved in. Walmart began Black Friday at 8pm Thursday night so I was gone before the rush began.
Then it was Black Friday. I thought this would be a terribly busy and miserable day, but as it turned out I was wrong. Since the sales all took place during the night, it was pretty much over with by the time I came in at 8am Friday morning. The sale items were gone and all the regular merchandise had been returned to its proper places.
Saturday also turned out to be a bit on the slow side, another surprise. I guess everyone got their shopping done on Friday and decided to stay home. Saturday is usually the busiest day by far.
Then I had my short day on Sunday and was ready for a day off on Monday. It was a rough week even though several of the days I worked were slow. My legs, which have been toughening up and doing pretty well were definitely ready for a rest.
On the week after Thanksgiving I returned to my usual schedule of about 32 hours. That would have seemed like a nice break after the busy week of Thanksgiving, but I started getting sick early in the week. Tuesday and Wednesday were short days but I wasn’t feeling very well at all. By this time I knew that I had a sinus infection based on my symptoms. I had Thursday off and still wasn’t feeling well. I was starting to try and figure out when I could make a visit to the doctor but on Friday and Saturday I started feeling much better and decided it wouldn’t be necessary.
On Sunday I had a much needed and anticipated day off. My sinuses were feeling fine by now but I woke up with some soreness in my left eye, that’s the one I can’t see out of. I didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t really painful, just sore.
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ESV
James 1:2-3 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Journal - Walmart Wanderings Week 6
Well I haven’t written for a while, have I? I keep telling myself that if I would just write a little a couple of times a week then I wouldn’t have to cover so much ground each time and I would be better able to remember what I’m trying to write about. Time just gets away from me, especially since I started working again.
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been working at Walmart for 6 weeks now. The first few weeks were pretty rough, as I have mentioned, with my legs being pretty sore all the time. During the last couple of weeks though, they have finally been catching up with the demand I’m placing on them. While I’m at work they don’t really bother me at all. As long as I keep moving that is. When I take my breaks and sit down for a few minutes then they hurt again when I get back up, but it only takes a minute for them to loosen up again. At home in the evenings they really tighten up on me and it hurts to walk but even that is getting better.
On the weekend of October 20 and 21 I started feeling a cold coming on. I was hoping to just get through Monday and Tuesday and then I had the day off on Wednesday. Well, I did get through and sure enough on Wednesday I felt pretty miserable. Unfortunately, I still felt pretty bad on Thursday and I had to call in sick. Thursday was one of our coldest days yet and I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to work in the cold all day when I was already sick. But after two days of Joni’s chicken-noodle soup I was ready to go back on Friday. I expected kind of a rough day on Friday but I actually felt pretty good that day and on Saturday as well. So I got over my cold without too much trouble.
I think it was that weekend that I started noticing a red spot in my eye. That didn’t concern me very much because that same spot gets red now and by the next day it’s usually gone. This time, however, the redness didn’t go away and by Tuesday I decided I better call the doctor. This was October 30. I called Dr. Feilmeier’s office in Omaha to find out what day he was coming in November and they said the 8th, more than a week away. I told them what was going on with my eye and the nurse said I should really get it checked out as soon as possible, but instead of asking me to come to Omaha, which is kind of what I expected, she offered to call the Kearney Eye Institute and see if someone there could get me in. She called me back a bit later and said she had gotten me an appointment with Dr. Vaughan, the same doctor who did my glasses back in July, on Thursday, November 1. That was fine with me as it saved me a trip to Omaha.
I saw Dr. Vaughan on Thursday and the report was good. There was no sign of any infection, and the sutures all looked okay. I had been thinking that one of those sutures came loose again and an infection was starting since that has happened before. Dr. Vaughan said the redness was because my eye is very dry. With cold weather coming on, the air is getting more and more dry all the time, and now that I’m working outdoors I’ll probably feel it even more this winter. Dr. Vaughan recommended some lubricant drops, commonly called “tears”, which you can get over-the-counter. Joni and I stopped at Walgreen’s on the way home and picked some up, both of us thinking that we had really dodged a bullet that time.
So all was well until Monday evening, the 5th of November. At a little after 5pm on Monday, one of Dr. Feilmeier’s assistants called from the office in Omaha. She said that Dr. Feilmeier had just seen the notes and results from my visit to Dr. Vaughan and he wanted to see me right away, as in the next day. I was so flabbergasted that I didn’t even think to ask her what Dr. Feilmeier had seen that got him so anxious. She wanted me to set an appointment for the next day but I honestly couldn’t think what to do. I was totally caught off-guard and I was supposed to work the next day and everything. I finally told her that I would call back in the morning. Mind you, I already had an appointment to see Dr. Feilmeier in Kearney on Thursday the 8th. Well I though it over for a couple of hours and finally decided I would have to go. Dr. Feilmeier hasn’t let me down yet and I trust him.
On Tuesday morning I called his office and told them I was on my way. Then I called in at Walmart yet again and we got ready to go. Dr. Feilmeier wasn’t in until 1pm that day so we didn’t have to hurry too much, but it was Election Day and I wanted to stop by and vote on our way out. The polling place for our area is about 7 miles east of our house so it wasn’t really out of the way that much. Also, up until this year, I have never voted before and really wanted to do it this time. I had wanted to in 2008 but didn’t get registered in time. We left the house at about 9:30am I think, stopped by to vote, and we were on our way.
This post is getting pretty long so I’ll cut to the chase. Dr. Feilmeier said pretty much the same thing Dr. Vaughan had said a few days before. We weren’t there very long and were back on the road heading home. In some ways it felt like a wasted trip, but some things are worth being extra careful with, and one of those things is your eyesight. So I have to keep putting those tears in my eyes several times a day, but everything is fine and my eyesight is still good. Today was my day off so I got to relax and do some fun things, which I will be writing about soon.
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ESV
Matthew 14:31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ESV
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been working at Walmart for 6 weeks now. The first few weeks were pretty rough, as I have mentioned, with my legs being pretty sore all the time. During the last couple of weeks though, they have finally been catching up with the demand I’m placing on them. While I’m at work they don’t really bother me at all. As long as I keep moving that is. When I take my breaks and sit down for a few minutes then they hurt again when I get back up, but it only takes a minute for them to loosen up again. At home in the evenings they really tighten up on me and it hurts to walk but even that is getting better.
On the weekend of October 20 and 21 I started feeling a cold coming on. I was hoping to just get through Monday and Tuesday and then I had the day off on Wednesday. Well, I did get through and sure enough on Wednesday I felt pretty miserable. Unfortunately, I still felt pretty bad on Thursday and I had to call in sick. Thursday was one of our coldest days yet and I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to work in the cold all day when I was already sick. But after two days of Joni’s chicken-noodle soup I was ready to go back on Friday. I expected kind of a rough day on Friday but I actually felt pretty good that day and on Saturday as well. So I got over my cold without too much trouble.
I think it was that weekend that I started noticing a red spot in my eye. That didn’t concern me very much because that same spot gets red now and by the next day it’s usually gone. This time, however, the redness didn’t go away and by Tuesday I decided I better call the doctor. This was October 30. I called Dr. Feilmeier’s office in Omaha to find out what day he was coming in November and they said the 8th, more than a week away. I told them what was going on with my eye and the nurse said I should really get it checked out as soon as possible, but instead of asking me to come to Omaha, which is kind of what I expected, she offered to call the Kearney Eye Institute and see if someone there could get me in. She called me back a bit later and said she had gotten me an appointment with Dr. Vaughan, the same doctor who did my glasses back in July, on Thursday, November 1. That was fine with me as it saved me a trip to Omaha.
I saw Dr. Vaughan on Thursday and the report was good. There was no sign of any infection, and the sutures all looked okay. I had been thinking that one of those sutures came loose again and an infection was starting since that has happened before. Dr. Vaughan said the redness was because my eye is very dry. With cold weather coming on, the air is getting more and more dry all the time, and now that I’m working outdoors I’ll probably feel it even more this winter. Dr. Vaughan recommended some lubricant drops, commonly called “tears”, which you can get over-the-counter. Joni and I stopped at Walgreen’s on the way home and picked some up, both of us thinking that we had really dodged a bullet that time.
So all was well until Monday evening, the 5th of November. At a little after 5pm on Monday, one of Dr. Feilmeier’s assistants called from the office in Omaha. She said that Dr. Feilmeier had just seen the notes and results from my visit to Dr. Vaughan and he wanted to see me right away, as in the next day. I was so flabbergasted that I didn’t even think to ask her what Dr. Feilmeier had seen that got him so anxious. She wanted me to set an appointment for the next day but I honestly couldn’t think what to do. I was totally caught off-guard and I was supposed to work the next day and everything. I finally told her that I would call back in the morning. Mind you, I already had an appointment to see Dr. Feilmeier in Kearney on Thursday the 8th. Well I though it over for a couple of hours and finally decided I would have to go. Dr. Feilmeier hasn’t let me down yet and I trust him.
On Tuesday morning I called his office and told them I was on my way. Then I called in at Walmart yet again and we got ready to go. Dr. Feilmeier wasn’t in until 1pm that day so we didn’t have to hurry too much, but it was Election Day and I wanted to stop by and vote on our way out. The polling place for our area is about 7 miles east of our house so it wasn’t really out of the way that much. Also, up until this year, I have never voted before and really wanted to do it this time. I had wanted to in 2008 but didn’t get registered in time. We left the house at about 9:30am I think, stopped by to vote, and we were on our way.
This post is getting pretty long so I’ll cut to the chase. Dr. Feilmeier said pretty much the same thing Dr. Vaughan had said a few days before. We weren’t there very long and were back on the road heading home. In some ways it felt like a wasted trip, but some things are worth being extra careful with, and one of those things is your eyesight. So I have to keep putting those tears in my eyes several times a day, but everything is fine and my eyesight is still good. Today was my day off so I got to relax and do some fun things, which I will be writing about soon.
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ESV
Matthew 14:31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ESV
Monday, October 8, 2012
Journal - Snow and Rain
Last Friday I went to work at 10am prepared for a day in the cold. I had on my new jacket with a lighter jacket under it, my new gloves, and I wore my boots for the first time. I wasn’t sure how my feet would like the boots so I took along my shoes just in case. I don’t remember the temp but I’m pretty sure it was still in the 30’s when I arrived and never made it out of the 40’s all day.
I felt cold when I started out but it didn’t take me long to warm up. I hadn’t even been there an hour before I took off my inner jacket. At around 11:30 it started snowing but it was just tiny little flakes. After a while the snow turned to a very light rain. My jacket kept me perfectly warm, in fact maybe too warm, as I got pretty sweaty as I worked. It also kept me dry from the rain. My gloves got pretty wet from handling the wet shopping carts but it never soaked through and my hands stayed warm and dry; also a little sweaty though. I ended up wearing my boots the whole day and they felt pretty good on my feet so no problems there either. Also they never seemed to get wet at all so maybe that spray stuff works okay, although as I said the rain was very light. All in all it was a pretty good day and I only had to work until 3:30.
On gameday Saturday I had another 8 to 5 shift and it was cold again so I dressed the same. Just as on Friday, I had to take off my inner jacket after about an hour. I was a little distressed when my right leg started hurting quite a bit after I had only been there for an hour. The next seven hours were looking mighty long, but I went inside and got a bottle of Aleve and took one at about 9:30 and that seemed to tide me over. I ended up taking another one at around 3 that afternoon. But with God’s help I made it through the day. My hands were fine in my gloves and my feet were still feeling pretty good with the boots.
On Sunday we made it to church in the morning. I just barely had enough time to rush home and wolf down a sandwich that Joni made for me while I was changing and then I was back out the door again for a 12 to 5 shift. It wasn’t quite as cold this day so I didn’t bother with the second jacket and I wore my shoes again. I had got to thinking the night before that even though the boots felt okay on my feet maybe the extra weight was what finally got to my legs on Saturday. That may be the case because I felt pretty good all day Sunday. Also on Saturday night I finally broke down and put some Icy-Hot on my calves. Joni had been trying to get me to do that but I’m always so wary of putting stuff on my skin. It turned out to be okay though and maybe that also helped my legs feel better Sunday while I worked.
And today was my day off. We had a nice relaxing day and my legs are feeling pretty good. On Tuesday and Wednesday I have my first back-to-back 8-hour shifts so I’m hoping things go okay. Tomorrow I’m supposed to work 10 to 7 but I may have to leave a little before 7 so I can get home before it gets too dark. The scheduler and the other cart-pushers all know about that so that won’t be a problem if I need to leave early
Through all of this I’m spending a lot more time in the car of course. I always keep the radio tuned to MyBridge Radio on 99.9, which is a contemporary Christian station. I’ve found that to be a nice little pick-me-up before and after work, something to help me keep my focus on God. It’s music and uplifting stories and things like that and on Sundays they air a sermon from our very own Pastor Mike at E-free Church that I can listen to as I drive to work.
Isaiah 26:3-4 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. ESV
Colossians 3:1-2 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ESV
I felt cold when I started out but it didn’t take me long to warm up. I hadn’t even been there an hour before I took off my inner jacket. At around 11:30 it started snowing but it was just tiny little flakes. After a while the snow turned to a very light rain. My jacket kept me perfectly warm, in fact maybe too warm, as I got pretty sweaty as I worked. It also kept me dry from the rain. My gloves got pretty wet from handling the wet shopping carts but it never soaked through and my hands stayed warm and dry; also a little sweaty though. I ended up wearing my boots the whole day and they felt pretty good on my feet so no problems there either. Also they never seemed to get wet at all so maybe that spray stuff works okay, although as I said the rain was very light. All in all it was a pretty good day and I only had to work until 3:30.
On gameday Saturday I had another 8 to 5 shift and it was cold again so I dressed the same. Just as on Friday, I had to take off my inner jacket after about an hour. I was a little distressed when my right leg started hurting quite a bit after I had only been there for an hour. The next seven hours were looking mighty long, but I went inside and got a bottle of Aleve and took one at about 9:30 and that seemed to tide me over. I ended up taking another one at around 3 that afternoon. But with God’s help I made it through the day. My hands were fine in my gloves and my feet were still feeling pretty good with the boots.
On Sunday we made it to church in the morning. I just barely had enough time to rush home and wolf down a sandwich that Joni made for me while I was changing and then I was back out the door again for a 12 to 5 shift. It wasn’t quite as cold this day so I didn’t bother with the second jacket and I wore my shoes again. I had got to thinking the night before that even though the boots felt okay on my feet maybe the extra weight was what finally got to my legs on Saturday. That may be the case because I felt pretty good all day Sunday. Also on Saturday night I finally broke down and put some Icy-Hot on my calves. Joni had been trying to get me to do that but I’m always so wary of putting stuff on my skin. It turned out to be okay though and maybe that also helped my legs feel better Sunday while I worked.
And today was my day off. We had a nice relaxing day and my legs are feeling pretty good. On Tuesday and Wednesday I have my first back-to-back 8-hour shifts so I’m hoping things go okay. Tomorrow I’m supposed to work 10 to 7 but I may have to leave a little before 7 so I can get home before it gets too dark. The scheduler and the other cart-pushers all know about that so that won’t be a problem if I need to leave early
Through all of this I’m spending a lot more time in the car of course. I always keep the radio tuned to MyBridge Radio on 99.9, which is a contemporary Christian station. I’ve found that to be a nice little pick-me-up before and after work, something to help me keep my focus on God. It’s music and uplifting stories and things like that and on Sundays they air a sermon from our very own Pastor Mike at E-free Church that I can listen to as I drive to work.
Isaiah 26:3-4 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. ESV
Colossians 3:1-2 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ESV
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Journal - Cold Weather
So I had my day off on Monday and I was definitely ready for it. As I mentioned previously, my feet and legs were pretty sore after my first few days on the job.
Tuesday I only worked from 10 to 3:30. I wasn’t feeling too bad when I started but by the end of my shift I was getting kind of sore again. I’ve discovered that weekdays at Walmart aren’t all that busy, especially in the morning. That’s nice because at least us cart-pushers get to take a little break in between runs to the parking lot, unlike Saturday when you pretty much have to keep going all the time. The slower pace is good if you’re sore but I can see where those days might drag a little once I get over the soreness.
Then on Wednesday I had another long 8 to 5 shift. The day started out cold so I wore jeans and a jacket but by noon it had warmed up pretty nice so I changed into some shorts that I had taken with me. I think I took my jacket off by 10 or so. Even on a slower day it doesn’t take long to get warmed up. Much of the talk among the cart-pushers this day was about the cold weather that was supposed to be coming in Thursday through the weekend. I was asking everyone what they like to wear for cold and/or rainy weather and got some good advice. Even though the pace was slow that day I was still pretty sore again by the end of my shift. My feet are holding up better but my calves have been really hurting. I can’t tell you how good it always feels when I finally get out to my car and sit down for the drive home.
Thursday I was off but Joni and I needed to go in to do the grocery shopping. I didn’t really feel up to going but I also needed to pick up some cold weather gear. I picked up some warmer socks to wear with my boots and a stocking cap, which I may or may not wear and also some good winter gloves that won’t get all wet if it gets snowy. I got a warm jacket that I hope will be waterproof enough to wear in snow or rain. It’s not as heavy as a winter coat but it’s big enough to wear layers underneath. I think that will be better so I can add or remove layers depending on how each day is. It also has a hood I can pull up to keep the cold wind off my neck and face. I also got some of that water-proofing spray for my hiking boots and I hope that will keep them reasonably dry in the rain or slush. It sounds like most of the guys like to wear winter coveralls for really cold days so I may get some of those at some point. Walmart has them for about $50 so I guess that’s not unreasonable.
Anyway, we finished our shopping and came home and had some lunch. Then I water-proofed my boots with two coats of that spray. It was indeed much colder today, only about 55 degrees as I write this at 3:30 in the afternoon. I should be all set for the weekend though with expected highs in the lower 50’s. Tomorrow I have another short day, 10 to 3:30 and then a long 8 to 5 for gameday Saturday. I hope my legs are feeling better by then; that could be a long day.
All in all I think this is a pretty good job. It’s physical, but not at all stressful like working in a kitchen or an office. We’re pretty much left to ourselves outside with nobody looking over our shoulders all the time and even on a busy day like gameday Saturdays the pace is quick but not hectic. I’ve been told that when it’s rainy or snowy or just plain cold we’re allowed to stay inside the cart bay in between runs to the parking lot. The cart bays are on each side of the building, north and south, and that’s where we bring the cars up from the lot. There’s about a four foot high roll-up door where we push the carts into the building so I guess we can just duck in there to get out of the weather when we need to. That doesn’t sound so bad and in the meantime I sure have enjoyed working out in the warm sunshing. I come home each day with my face all sunburned even though I’ve been wearing my hat. I’ve learned that you can burn a lot faster in an asphalt parking lot than you can in your garden. But like I said before, I spent enough time in the sun this summer so that the burns are always faded by the time I wake up the next morning.
Psalms 90:17 Let the favor[a] of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! ESV
1 Corinthians 4:12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ESV
Tuesday I only worked from 10 to 3:30. I wasn’t feeling too bad when I started but by the end of my shift I was getting kind of sore again. I’ve discovered that weekdays at Walmart aren’t all that busy, especially in the morning. That’s nice because at least us cart-pushers get to take a little break in between runs to the parking lot, unlike Saturday when you pretty much have to keep going all the time. The slower pace is good if you’re sore but I can see where those days might drag a little once I get over the soreness.
Then on Wednesday I had another long 8 to 5 shift. The day started out cold so I wore jeans and a jacket but by noon it had warmed up pretty nice so I changed into some shorts that I had taken with me. I think I took my jacket off by 10 or so. Even on a slower day it doesn’t take long to get warmed up. Much of the talk among the cart-pushers this day was about the cold weather that was supposed to be coming in Thursday through the weekend. I was asking everyone what they like to wear for cold and/or rainy weather and got some good advice. Even though the pace was slow that day I was still pretty sore again by the end of my shift. My feet are holding up better but my calves have been really hurting. I can’t tell you how good it always feels when I finally get out to my car and sit down for the drive home.
Thursday I was off but Joni and I needed to go in to do the grocery shopping. I didn’t really feel up to going but I also needed to pick up some cold weather gear. I picked up some warmer socks to wear with my boots and a stocking cap, which I may or may not wear and also some good winter gloves that won’t get all wet if it gets snowy. I got a warm jacket that I hope will be waterproof enough to wear in snow or rain. It’s not as heavy as a winter coat but it’s big enough to wear layers underneath. I think that will be better so I can add or remove layers depending on how each day is. It also has a hood I can pull up to keep the cold wind off my neck and face. I also got some of that water-proofing spray for my hiking boots and I hope that will keep them reasonably dry in the rain or slush. It sounds like most of the guys like to wear winter coveralls for really cold days so I may get some of those at some point. Walmart has them for about $50 so I guess that’s not unreasonable.
Anyway, we finished our shopping and came home and had some lunch. Then I water-proofed my boots with two coats of that spray. It was indeed much colder today, only about 55 degrees as I write this at 3:30 in the afternoon. I should be all set for the weekend though with expected highs in the lower 50’s. Tomorrow I have another short day, 10 to 3:30 and then a long 8 to 5 for gameday Saturday. I hope my legs are feeling better by then; that could be a long day.
All in all I think this is a pretty good job. It’s physical, but not at all stressful like working in a kitchen or an office. We’re pretty much left to ourselves outside with nobody looking over our shoulders all the time and even on a busy day like gameday Saturdays the pace is quick but not hectic. I’ve been told that when it’s rainy or snowy or just plain cold we’re allowed to stay inside the cart bay in between runs to the parking lot. The cart bays are on each side of the building, north and south, and that’s where we bring the cars up from the lot. There’s about a four foot high roll-up door where we push the carts into the building so I guess we can just duck in there to get out of the weather when we need to. That doesn’t sound so bad and in the meantime I sure have enjoyed working out in the warm sunshing. I come home each day with my face all sunburned even though I’ve been wearing my hat. I’ve learned that you can burn a lot faster in an asphalt parking lot than you can in your garden. But like I said before, I spent enough time in the sun this summer so that the burns are always faded by the time I wake up the next morning.
Psalms 90:17 Let the favor[a] of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! ESV
1 Corinthians 4:12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ESV
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Journal - On the Job
So last Wednesday I had orientation at Walmart. Me and two other new hires started at 1:30 pm and we basically spent four-and-a-half hours filling out papers, touring the store, getting talks from various managers and learning about the company history. We were there until 6pm. The other two are overnight stockers so I’ll probably never see them again. That was my official start day and I’ll get paid for that time.
I had Thursday off because it takes a couple of days for them to get all our information in the computers and get us activated.
On Friday I had a full 8 to 5 shift. This whole day was spent in the training room completing a whole bunch of training modules on the computer. I didn’t count but I think there must have been about 20 modules which took anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes each. This was all general training on things like safety and customer service that all employees have to complete. Each module had a short quiz at the end that had to be passed with at least an 80%. I passed each one the first time through except for the very last one I did. I had to take that one twice because by then I was tired and had a hard time focusing. But I got them all done in a day.
Saturday was my first day actually working. One of the managers took me outside and introduced me to the cart pusher that would train me. When I interviewed for the job I had asked if there was enough work as a cart pusher to keep a person busy all day, thinking that there might be a lot of downtime when you would have to find other things to do. She assured me that cart pushing was a full time job, and on Saturday I learned that she was right.
At slower times there are two cart pushers on duty, one covering each side of the parking lot. Saturdays are busy, and yesterday was a game day making it doubly busy. During busy times like that there are actually two pushers on each side and since I was only training there were actually five of us working and we were busy trying to keep up with it. It’s pretty amazing how quickly those carts can pile up.
So anyway, I learned how to gather carts by hand with a rope that allows you to handle 10 carts at a time, and I also learned how to use the mule, which can handle 20 at a time. A mule is a battery powered cart pusher that pushes a row of carts from behind. You can operate it by remote so that you can stand at the front of the row to steer them. That thing is pretty cool and fun to use.
By lunchtime my feet were already feeling sore. I’m just not used to being on my feet that much. Also my hands were starting to feel a little raw. The mule saves a ton of work but it’s still a pretty physical job. You have to stack the carts on and then unstack them, plus with a full load of carts you really have to throw your weight into them to steer the thing. On my lunch break I picked up a pair of those fingerless weight-lifting gloves that a lot of the cart-pushers wear, and also some cushioned inserts for my shoes. I had intended the inserts to go in my boots, which I will be wearing through the winter, but I decided to try them in my shoes for now.
Well, it was a pretty long day. I worked an 8 to 5 shift and by quitting time my feet and legs were really hurting. Also my face and neck were sunburned.
I got home in plenty of time to eat supper and then settle down for a nice Husker game. It turned out to be quite an exciting game! Nebraska was down 20 to 3 early on and I have to admit I thought it was going to get ugly. But in the second half Nebraska rallied and ended up winning 30 to 27. Wow, that was a great game! I wish they would play every game like they did in the second half of this one. Next week will be a real challenge with Ohio State, who is looking pretty good this year. Periodically throughout the game I was getting up and stretching my legs and by the end of the game I was feeling almost normal again.
Today we decided not to go to church. I really didn’t want my job to interfere with that and I told them I couldn’t work Sunday mornings, which they didn’t seem to have any problem with. Once I get acclimated to the job I don’t think it will be a problem. I got up this morning feeling pretty much normal again. My feet and legs felt good and my sunburn had faded. I only had to work 12 to 5 so that was good. Another 8-hour shift might have been bad. It was much less busy today and there was actually time to take a short breather in between cart runs. I wore shorts instead of jeans and stayed much cooler, plus I wore a hat to keep the sun off my face. I also took a jug of water so I didn’t have to keep running in to the store to use the drinking fountain. It was a much better day. By 5 my feet and calves were getting sore again but not near as bad as yesterday. The inserts I put in my shoes helped a lot and the gloves keep my hands from getting sore.
Tomorrow I am off so it will be good to relax and rest up for my next shift. On Tuesday I have another short day and then a full day on Wednesday. I should be ready to go again by then. This job is going to get me in shape, that’s for sure. Today I got a lot of advice on how to dress for rainy and/or cold days so I’ll need to do a little shopping before long.
So my first two days on the job were hard, but good. I could grow to like this job I think; we’re left alone in the parking lot for the most part and the work is not complicated. And no office politics, which will be nice.
The fact that God prepared me for this job is not lost on me. Without keeping toned up with the exercise bike these last few years I don’t think I would have lasted out the day on Saturday. And a summer of yard work and gardening put some color on my skin so that my sunburn didn’t bother much at all. God knows I don’t like cold weather so maybe we’ll have a mild winter? Huh God? Huh? Well, we’ll see about that. Whatever comes my way I know that I can face it with God on my side.
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” ESV
Luke 12:22-23 And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ESV
I had Thursday off because it takes a couple of days for them to get all our information in the computers and get us activated.
On Friday I had a full 8 to 5 shift. This whole day was spent in the training room completing a whole bunch of training modules on the computer. I didn’t count but I think there must have been about 20 modules which took anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes each. This was all general training on things like safety and customer service that all employees have to complete. Each module had a short quiz at the end that had to be passed with at least an 80%. I passed each one the first time through except for the very last one I did. I had to take that one twice because by then I was tired and had a hard time focusing. But I got them all done in a day.
Saturday was my first day actually working. One of the managers took me outside and introduced me to the cart pusher that would train me. When I interviewed for the job I had asked if there was enough work as a cart pusher to keep a person busy all day, thinking that there might be a lot of downtime when you would have to find other things to do. She assured me that cart pushing was a full time job, and on Saturday I learned that she was right.
At slower times there are two cart pushers on duty, one covering each side of the parking lot. Saturdays are busy, and yesterday was a game day making it doubly busy. During busy times like that there are actually two pushers on each side and since I was only training there were actually five of us working and we were busy trying to keep up with it. It’s pretty amazing how quickly those carts can pile up.
So anyway, I learned how to gather carts by hand with a rope that allows you to handle 10 carts at a time, and I also learned how to use the mule, which can handle 20 at a time. A mule is a battery powered cart pusher that pushes a row of carts from behind. You can operate it by remote so that you can stand at the front of the row to steer them. That thing is pretty cool and fun to use.
By lunchtime my feet were already feeling sore. I’m just not used to being on my feet that much. Also my hands were starting to feel a little raw. The mule saves a ton of work but it’s still a pretty physical job. You have to stack the carts on and then unstack them, plus with a full load of carts you really have to throw your weight into them to steer the thing. On my lunch break I picked up a pair of those fingerless weight-lifting gloves that a lot of the cart-pushers wear, and also some cushioned inserts for my shoes. I had intended the inserts to go in my boots, which I will be wearing through the winter, but I decided to try them in my shoes for now.
Well, it was a pretty long day. I worked an 8 to 5 shift and by quitting time my feet and legs were really hurting. Also my face and neck were sunburned.
I got home in plenty of time to eat supper and then settle down for a nice Husker game. It turned out to be quite an exciting game! Nebraska was down 20 to 3 early on and I have to admit I thought it was going to get ugly. But in the second half Nebraska rallied and ended up winning 30 to 27. Wow, that was a great game! I wish they would play every game like they did in the second half of this one. Next week will be a real challenge with Ohio State, who is looking pretty good this year. Periodically throughout the game I was getting up and stretching my legs and by the end of the game I was feeling almost normal again.
Today we decided not to go to church. I really didn’t want my job to interfere with that and I told them I couldn’t work Sunday mornings, which they didn’t seem to have any problem with. Once I get acclimated to the job I don’t think it will be a problem. I got up this morning feeling pretty much normal again. My feet and legs felt good and my sunburn had faded. I only had to work 12 to 5 so that was good. Another 8-hour shift might have been bad. It was much less busy today and there was actually time to take a short breather in between cart runs. I wore shorts instead of jeans and stayed much cooler, plus I wore a hat to keep the sun off my face. I also took a jug of water so I didn’t have to keep running in to the store to use the drinking fountain. It was a much better day. By 5 my feet and calves were getting sore again but not near as bad as yesterday. The inserts I put in my shoes helped a lot and the gloves keep my hands from getting sore.
Tomorrow I am off so it will be good to relax and rest up for my next shift. On Tuesday I have another short day and then a full day on Wednesday. I should be ready to go again by then. This job is going to get me in shape, that’s for sure. Today I got a lot of advice on how to dress for rainy and/or cold days so I’ll need to do a little shopping before long.
So my first two days on the job were hard, but good. I could grow to like this job I think; we’re left alone in the parking lot for the most part and the work is not complicated. And no office politics, which will be nice.
The fact that God prepared me for this job is not lost on me. Without keeping toned up with the exercise bike these last few years I don’t think I would have lasted out the day on Saturday. And a summer of yard work and gardening put some color on my skin so that my sunburn didn’t bother much at all. God knows I don’t like cold weather so maybe we’ll have a mild winter? Huh God? Huh? Well, we’ll see about that. Whatever comes my way I know that I can face it with God on my side.
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” ESV
Luke 12:22-23 And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ESV
Monday, September 24, 2012
Endings and Beginnings
Well, here it is, officially fall already. This summer just seemed to whiz by. Our beautiful flower gardens are now mostly dried up and dead, our one and only watermelon has been picked and consumed. The corn fields are dried up and harvest has begun. The pumpkins are still producing but I know that soon enough they will be gone too. I’m at the end of one of the most enjoyable summers of my life and that’s kind of sad as endings usually are.
Let’s do a little catching up shall we?
On Thursday, September 14, I had my checkup with Dr. Feilmeier in Kearney. It had been two months since I last saw him and things had been going well so I wasn’t expecting much news one way or the other.
The Doctor’s assistant took us in and tested me out on the eye chart and everything as usual. She put up a line on the chart and I read it, then she brought up the next line and I read that, then she put up a third and I read that one too. Then she said, “Great, we’re all done!” I was thinking “Why are we stopping, I wasn’t even struggling yet?” Imagine my surprise when she told me that was the 20/20 line! Back in July I had been testing at about 20/25 with my new glasses. That was much better than I had ever expected to see again and I wasn’t really expecting more than that. I guess God had other ideas! When Dr. Feilmeier came in he was looking at my chart and said, “Are you just showing off now or what?” I could tell he was genuinely happy for me. Happy for himself a bit too I think at having completed such a successful surgery and recovery, but also genuinely happy for me. Joni told him I had my driver’s license and he seemed sincerely happy about that too. “That’s a big step up from that stick you used to carry around isn’t it?” he commented. Then we looked at some pictures of his new baby boy, who was born around the time of my last visit in July, and we were all done. I remember back in 2008 when we had decided to move up here from Dallas and I had been wondering how I would ever find another doctor as wonderful as Dr. Hargrave, who had been taking care of my eyes for about 7 years. God was in control though, and I ended up with one that I like and trust just as much, if not more. I am reminded, once again, of Jeremiah 29:11 which says ”For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
So I’m seeing 20/20 now. With that kind of vision it seems like I should be able to read anything with no trouble at all, but I do still struggle with some things. I still can’t read my comic books, for instance, without my magnifying glass. I guess that’s because the fonts are kind of funny and the contrast isn’t very good, often black on blue or purple or something instead of black on white. I don’t have any trouble at the computer unless the font is very small. I can read books and papers pretty well as long as the print isn’t too small and there’s plenty of light. Still, I’m seeing much better than I ever thought I would and you won’t hear any complaints out of me.
Last Thursday, the 20th, I got call from Walmart for a job interview. I had applied there back on August 27. I went in on the 21st for my interview and it went reasonably well. It sounded like they were prepared to offer me a job pending background and drug tests. I had told them I couldn’t drive in the dark and they sounded like they would be willing to work around that. I was there for a little over an hour and then they sent me out to a place on the east edge of Kearney that does their drug screenings for them. The manager at Walmart had told me that the test results would take a couple of days and that I should hear from them this week. Well, first thing this morning they called and asked if I could come in for orientation. The job is mine! My orientation is on Wednesday. Tomorrow I’ll have to run in and get some clothes; more jeans as I have only one decent pair, and some plain navy blue t-shirts. I suppose I’ll also have to get something warm for the winter sometime soon.
This is not a very glamorous job, I’ll be one of those people who gathers up the shopping carts from the parking lot and brings them back up to the store. Also, it pays minimum wage, which may end up being a little less than I’m getting from social security. But if this is where God wants me right now, then this is where I’ll be and I will do the job for God like it says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 ”So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” There is a plus side: I think this will be a nice easy job for me to kind of ease my way back into the work force. And who knows where it will lead. I’m guessing most Walmart employees start out as either cart-pullers or working the checkout. I would much rather be pulling carts than doing checkout. I’ll stick to my old standby here: If you don’t appreciate what God gives you, then you have no reason to expect something more, or something better. If I do this job as well as I can, and do it for God, then perhaps he will give me something better at some point. Matthew 25:21 ”His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much…”
So, I stand here on the brink of the next stage of my life. I’ll admit I’m scared. Endings are often sad, and new beginnings often are scary because you just never know what will happen. The last year of my life has been a happy and comfortable one, recovering from my surgery and enjoying my returned vision. The garden was a lot of fun this summer. Now it’s time to move on to the next thing. God likes to challenge us with new things now and then. That’s what keeps us growing and developing in our relationship with Him. It is my task, and all of ours, to trust in the Lord. Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. And really, how could I not trust Him? A year ago I was blind, and now I’m seeing 20/20. Last spring I had a 3-month long infection in my eye that left no damage at all. He has carried me through everything, and I’ve never gone hungry, never had to live on the streets, never really wanted for anything. No one on Earth could do all that for me, only God, my provider, my rock, my salvation. Psalms 118:8-9 ”It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
Let’s do a little catching up shall we?
On Thursday, September 14, I had my checkup with Dr. Feilmeier in Kearney. It had been two months since I last saw him and things had been going well so I wasn’t expecting much news one way or the other.
The Doctor’s assistant took us in and tested me out on the eye chart and everything as usual. She put up a line on the chart and I read it, then she brought up the next line and I read that, then she put up a third and I read that one too. Then she said, “Great, we’re all done!” I was thinking “Why are we stopping, I wasn’t even struggling yet?” Imagine my surprise when she told me that was the 20/20 line! Back in July I had been testing at about 20/25 with my new glasses. That was much better than I had ever expected to see again and I wasn’t really expecting more than that. I guess God had other ideas! When Dr. Feilmeier came in he was looking at my chart and said, “Are you just showing off now or what?” I could tell he was genuinely happy for me. Happy for himself a bit too I think at having completed such a successful surgery and recovery, but also genuinely happy for me. Joni told him I had my driver’s license and he seemed sincerely happy about that too. “That’s a big step up from that stick you used to carry around isn’t it?” he commented. Then we looked at some pictures of his new baby boy, who was born around the time of my last visit in July, and we were all done. I remember back in 2008 when we had decided to move up here from Dallas and I had been wondering how I would ever find another doctor as wonderful as Dr. Hargrave, who had been taking care of my eyes for about 7 years. God was in control though, and I ended up with one that I like and trust just as much, if not more. I am reminded, once again, of Jeremiah 29:11 which says ”For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
So I’m seeing 20/20 now. With that kind of vision it seems like I should be able to read anything with no trouble at all, but I do still struggle with some things. I still can’t read my comic books, for instance, without my magnifying glass. I guess that’s because the fonts are kind of funny and the contrast isn’t very good, often black on blue or purple or something instead of black on white. I don’t have any trouble at the computer unless the font is very small. I can read books and papers pretty well as long as the print isn’t too small and there’s plenty of light. Still, I’m seeing much better than I ever thought I would and you won’t hear any complaints out of me.
Last Thursday, the 20th, I got call from Walmart for a job interview. I had applied there back on August 27. I went in on the 21st for my interview and it went reasonably well. It sounded like they were prepared to offer me a job pending background and drug tests. I had told them I couldn’t drive in the dark and they sounded like they would be willing to work around that. I was there for a little over an hour and then they sent me out to a place on the east edge of Kearney that does their drug screenings for them. The manager at Walmart had told me that the test results would take a couple of days and that I should hear from them this week. Well, first thing this morning they called and asked if I could come in for orientation. The job is mine! My orientation is on Wednesday. Tomorrow I’ll have to run in and get some clothes; more jeans as I have only one decent pair, and some plain navy blue t-shirts. I suppose I’ll also have to get something warm for the winter sometime soon.
This is not a very glamorous job, I’ll be one of those people who gathers up the shopping carts from the parking lot and brings them back up to the store. Also, it pays minimum wage, which may end up being a little less than I’m getting from social security. But if this is where God wants me right now, then this is where I’ll be and I will do the job for God like it says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 ”So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” There is a plus side: I think this will be a nice easy job for me to kind of ease my way back into the work force. And who knows where it will lead. I’m guessing most Walmart employees start out as either cart-pullers or working the checkout. I would much rather be pulling carts than doing checkout. I’ll stick to my old standby here: If you don’t appreciate what God gives you, then you have no reason to expect something more, or something better. If I do this job as well as I can, and do it for God, then perhaps he will give me something better at some point. Matthew 25:21 ”His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much…”
So, I stand here on the brink of the next stage of my life. I’ll admit I’m scared. Endings are often sad, and new beginnings often are scary because you just never know what will happen. The last year of my life has been a happy and comfortable one, recovering from my surgery and enjoying my returned vision. The garden was a lot of fun this summer. Now it’s time to move on to the next thing. God likes to challenge us with new things now and then. That’s what keeps us growing and developing in our relationship with Him. It is my task, and all of ours, to trust in the Lord. Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. And really, how could I not trust Him? A year ago I was blind, and now I’m seeing 20/20. Last spring I had a 3-month long infection in my eye that left no damage at all. He has carried me through everything, and I’ve never gone hungry, never had to live on the streets, never really wanted for anything. No one on Earth could do all that for me, only God, my provider, my rock, my salvation. Psalms 118:8-9 ”It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Journal - Basement
So we’ve been working hard trying to get the basement cleaned up. It’s a nice basement, lots of space down there and it's divided into rooms very similar to the upstairs. With some carpet on the floor, it would make a very nice living area. Except that it’s very damp.
The basement doesn’t leak at all. We’ve had some pretty heavy rains, and the last month in particular has been very wet, but we haven't had any leaks at all. I guess it’s just the shower down there that makes it so damp. The moisture doesn't have anywhere to go so it just hangs around in the air. All that moisture makes it hard to control the mold.
We’ve spent the last three days scrubbing the walls and floors with bleach to get rid of the mold. Yesterday I did half of the big main room, and today I did the other half. Walmart had some dehumidifiers today when Joni went to do the weekly shopping, so she picked one up. It’s down there right now working, so hopefully that will take care of our problem.
Jeremiah 32:27 "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
The basement doesn’t leak at all. We’ve had some pretty heavy rains, and the last month in particular has been very wet, but we haven't had any leaks at all. I guess it’s just the shower down there that makes it so damp. The moisture doesn't have anywhere to go so it just hangs around in the air. All that moisture makes it hard to control the mold.
We’ve spent the last three days scrubbing the walls and floors with bleach to get rid of the mold. Yesterday I did half of the big main room, and today I did the other half. Walmart had some dehumidifiers today when Joni went to do the weekly shopping, so she picked one up. It’s down there right now working, so hopefully that will take care of our problem.
Jeremiah 32:27 "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Monday, June 21, 2010
Journal - Father's Day
So yesterday was Father’s day. I hope all you Fathers out there had a great day.
My day was pretty good.. Before we left for church, Adam gave me a t-shirt that he bought with his own money. It’s a black shirt with all of the Marvel Comics superheroes on it. I was an avid collector of comic books for quite a few years so the t-shirt is pretty awesome.
After church we stopped by Walmart to look at dehumidifiers. We really need one for the basement, it’s so damp down there and keeps getting moldy. Walmart was all out of them. The lady said a lot of people have been buying them lately but they had some more coming in on a truck later in the day. Joni will have to look again when she does the shopping on Tuesday.
After Walmart, we stopped and picked up some lunch at Taco John’s. I hadn’t had Taco John's since coming back to Nebraska last year and I've really been wanting to. Since it was my choice yesterday, that's what I picked. We brought the food home and ate here.
After we ate, we drove into Gibbon to Mom’s house to borrow a mop bucket. We needed that for the basement which we are giving a thorough cleaning. We sat around Mom's for a while talking about the house she’s buying. This will be the first house she’s owned so she’s pretty excited about it. The rest of the family is pretty excited too.
It was about three o’clock when we got home from Mom’s and just as we were walking in the door my phone rang. It was Brenna calling to say happy Father’s day. I have to admit, I didn't think she would, although I was secretly hoping for an email or aFacebook message. A phone call was even better.
After that, I had to get to work on the basement. Saturday I had pulled everything out of the storage room down there. So Yesterday I scrubbed the walls and floor with bleach. Joni did some research and found out that bleach or vinegar are the best things for mold, and I sure didn’t want the whole basement smelling like vinegar. I couldn’t put the stuff back in the room afterward because the floor wouldn't dry. I ended up letting it sit overnight. Joni says it's dry today so everything can go back in there now. Then it will be time to tackle the main room which is pretty big.
After all that, I took a shower and relaxed for a while. Then I played my sax. I haven't done that for several weeks and it sure felt good.
Shortly before we went to bed, it looked like it was going to storm, but we only heard a few distant rumbles of thunder and then it cleared up. During the night we ended up getting two storms. The first was small, but the second one, at around four-thirty, was pretty loud. I still have some light perception in one eye so I can see the lightning flashes. It was going like a strobe light. The thunder was very loud and the wind came up pretty hard. I think I heard a little bit of hail too but not bad. I was pretty tired, though, and I fell asleep even though the storm was pretty loud. I like thunderstorms at night, just like blizzards, but I can do without the wind.
Psalms 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
My day was pretty good.. Before we left for church, Adam gave me a t-shirt that he bought with his own money. It’s a black shirt with all of the Marvel Comics superheroes on it. I was an avid collector of comic books for quite a few years so the t-shirt is pretty awesome.
After church we stopped by Walmart to look at dehumidifiers. We really need one for the basement, it’s so damp down there and keeps getting moldy. Walmart was all out of them. The lady said a lot of people have been buying them lately but they had some more coming in on a truck later in the day. Joni will have to look again when she does the shopping on Tuesday.
After Walmart, we stopped and picked up some lunch at Taco John’s. I hadn’t had Taco John's since coming back to Nebraska last year and I've really been wanting to. Since it was my choice yesterday, that's what I picked. We brought the food home and ate here.
After we ate, we drove into Gibbon to Mom’s house to borrow a mop bucket. We needed that for the basement which we are giving a thorough cleaning. We sat around Mom's for a while talking about the house she’s buying. This will be the first house she’s owned so she’s pretty excited about it. The rest of the family is pretty excited too.
It was about three o’clock when we got home from Mom’s and just as we were walking in the door my phone rang. It was Brenna calling to say happy Father’s day. I have to admit, I didn't think she would, although I was secretly hoping for an email or aFacebook message. A phone call was even better.
After that, I had to get to work on the basement. Saturday I had pulled everything out of the storage room down there. So Yesterday I scrubbed the walls and floor with bleach. Joni did some research and found out that bleach or vinegar are the best things for mold, and I sure didn’t want the whole basement smelling like vinegar. I couldn’t put the stuff back in the room afterward because the floor wouldn't dry. I ended up letting it sit overnight. Joni says it's dry today so everything can go back in there now. Then it will be time to tackle the main room which is pretty big.
After all that, I took a shower and relaxed for a while. Then I played my sax. I haven't done that for several weeks and it sure felt good.
Shortly before we went to bed, it looked like it was going to storm, but we only heard a few distant rumbles of thunder and then it cleared up. During the night we ended up getting two storms. The first was small, but the second one, at around four-thirty, was pretty loud. I still have some light perception in one eye so I can see the lightning flashes. It was going like a strobe light. The thunder was very loud and the wind came up pretty hard. I think I heard a little bit of hail too but not bad. I was pretty tired, though, and I fell asleep even though the storm was pretty loud. I like thunderstorms at night, just like blizzards, but I can do without the wind.
Psalms 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Journal - April Wrap-up
Well, April is gone already, along with the first quarter of the year. Where does the time go? I spent the last half of April working hard on my blog and trying to figure out all that affiliate stuff, but there actually were some other things going on. So it's time to catch up.
On the Monday before last, that was the 19th I think, Joni had a minor car accident. She hit a bad spot in the gravel road not far from the house and ended up in the ditch. It was a pretty big ditch though, and the impact was hard enough to set off the airbags. She and Adam both got whacked in the face pretty good. No serious injuries, praise God.
The damage to the truck was minor too. We took it to Brad’s house in Axtell the following Thursday for him to look at. He's a mechanic. He discovered that the radiator was cracked and had to be replaced. Also the front parking lamp assemblies were broken. I called the salvage yard for the parts and Brad did the work the following Tuesday. I think I’m off by a week, I know he didn’t work on it this last Tuesday. The accident must have been on the 12th.
Anyway, the day we went to the junk yard to pick up the parts, we took our aluminum cans that we’ve been saving ever since we moved here last April. We had 84 pounds, 42 dollars worth. I gave Adam twenty since he did all the crushing, and we spent the rest at Subway after Brad finished the work. We ended up going to Walmart after he was done so I could get a tire looked at. It was almost flat when we got to Brad’s, but it turned out to be fine. Since we had the car in anyway, I had them rotate the tires and change the oil, and we went to Subway while they were working on it. They have a Subway in Walmart so that worked out well.
What else? Last Saturday, the 24th, Brenna had a violin recital at a church in Kearney. We rode up with Mom since she wanted to go too. Brenna is becoming quite the violinist! It was a long program, there were about 25 students and each played a solo, but I enjoyed hearing her play. I hope she’ll stick with the violin. Music can add so much to life.
It has occurred to me that April is full of anniversaries. Let me see:
April 5, Dad’s birthday. He would have been 65 this year.
April 8, Brenna’s birthday. She became a teenager!
April 14, the 98th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.
April 18, eighteen months since I quit smoking. A year and a half ties my record, let’s see if I can beat it this time.
April 20, the 11th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings.
April 26, a double anniversary! One year since we moved to Nebraska, and it would have been Astri’s 6th birthday.
So I think that’s it for April. One month closer to football season!
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
On the Monday before last, that was the 19th I think, Joni had a minor car accident. She hit a bad spot in the gravel road not far from the house and ended up in the ditch. It was a pretty big ditch though, and the impact was hard enough to set off the airbags. She and Adam both got whacked in the face pretty good. No serious injuries, praise God.
The damage to the truck was minor too. We took it to Brad’s house in Axtell the following Thursday for him to look at. He's a mechanic. He discovered that the radiator was cracked and had to be replaced. Also the front parking lamp assemblies were broken. I called the salvage yard for the parts and Brad did the work the following Tuesday. I think I’m off by a week, I know he didn’t work on it this last Tuesday. The accident must have been on the 12th.
Anyway, the day we went to the junk yard to pick up the parts, we took our aluminum cans that we’ve been saving ever since we moved here last April. We had 84 pounds, 42 dollars worth. I gave Adam twenty since he did all the crushing, and we spent the rest at Subway after Brad finished the work. We ended up going to Walmart after he was done so I could get a tire looked at. It was almost flat when we got to Brad’s, but it turned out to be fine. Since we had the car in anyway, I had them rotate the tires and change the oil, and we went to Subway while they were working on it. They have a Subway in Walmart so that worked out well.
What else? Last Saturday, the 24th, Brenna had a violin recital at a church in Kearney. We rode up with Mom since she wanted to go too. Brenna is becoming quite the violinist! It was a long program, there were about 25 students and each played a solo, but I enjoyed hearing her play. I hope she’ll stick with the violin. Music can add so much to life.
It has occurred to me that April is full of anniversaries. Let me see:
April 5, Dad’s birthday. He would have been 65 this year.
April 8, Brenna’s birthday. She became a teenager!
April 14, the 98th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.
April 18, eighteen months since I quit smoking. A year and a half ties my record, let’s see if I can beat it this time.
April 20, the 11th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings.
April 26, a double anniversary! One year since we moved to Nebraska, and it would have been Astri’s 6th birthday.
So I think that’s it for April. One month closer to football season!
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
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