• Losing count of the strikes

    Cheryl already thinks I’m crazy. Who doesn’t by now? Get in line. The latest chapter in “I haven’t got a clue how your mind works” is my desire to get a case for my iPhone. Sounds pretty reasonable, right? Oh, all right, I’ll admit I’ve already got a case I love. But I only love it sometimes. It’s perfect when I’m at home, when I just want to put it down. The thick leather rim in front is just enough to keep the device from laying down on it’s glass face. It’s thin enough to not be obtrusive, yet just thick enough to give it a little extra padding for those times it gets a little jostle around the house.

    And it’s not at all what I want for carrying it around at work. For work I want a hip holster. Bulky objects in pockets tend to get bent, and the last thing I want to do is put a crease in a $200 phone. I want something where it will lay sideways on my hip, so it’s not in the way when I bend over. I don’t want a case with a built-in clip. Those things are a nuisance – I don’t care where you are. By the time you work the funky clip off your belt (seemingly welded on), your call has gone to voicemail. The phone is just as likely to end up across the room as in my ear (I tend to throw first and ask questions later.) Nope, a holster is the only way to go. But not at home. Who wants to carry a phone on their hip at home? I may be a bit of a geek, but even I’m not quite that bad.

    So I need two cases for my iPhone? Is that so wrong?

  • Breathing easier, for now

    We’ve officially shunned the ortho guy, and the surgery set for this week has been cancelled. Cheryl made the decision after speaking with one of the medical experts in the family, and a local neuro gal.

    The family connection is a neuro guy and not local. I’m not trying to be sexist, just a little cute… and I want to make sure you know I’m talking about two different people… in case you’re still reading.

    Most importantly, the new doctor has prescribed two drugs that have made an immediate improvement in Cheryl’s quality of life. Translation: she can sit up, stand, move around, and most encouraging: she can laugh. It’s a little chilly out on the front porch this evening, but saying that last phrase warmed me right up. Next up on the medical calendar of events is a “selective nerve root injection,” designed to ease the pain in the hope that everything will calm down enough for the disk to heal itself. (At least I think that’s the idea.)

    I’m just happy we’re not jumping straight into surgery and Cheryl’s feeling a little better.

    By the way, isn’t it cute the way I refer to what “we’re” doing?

  • State of mind

    I’m not afraid to admit I’m feeling a little tired right now. First there was the whole holiday that wasn’t, then there’s the first day back at work that feels depressingly like I never left.

    Someone please save me from myself!

    You know how when you’re tired or depressed and every other little setback feels like you’ve dropped off an emotional cliff? This morning I became one of those people that checks his email in the bathroom (pathetic enough all by itself), noticed I wasn’t getting a signal, and felt like crying.

    So what if I was surrounded by rebar and concrete, in the bowels of a government office… this is a fracking iPhone, for the love of Jobs!

    And if it doesn’t stop auto-capitalizing the first word after every stinking one of my il-conceived ellpsis, I’m going to go out of my freaking mind (that or do something completly irrational like turning off the auto-correct “feature”).