So this past Sunday afternoon, wife Kim was at work, cat Otis was sleeping, the sun was shining, and my motorcycle called me from the garage. I answered, and we set out for a wee ride.
It was a nice ride, mostly secondary roads, not much traffic, quite relaxing.
Well actually, it was mostly a nice ride. I rode south from Edmonton, then headed west through Wetaskiwin, north to Carvel and then east towards Leduc.
Just after leaving Carvel came a loud rumbling kind noise to the rear of the bike and the bike began to shake. Came to a stop and tried to diagnose the issue. Accelerating, noise. Coasting, no noise. Hmm… seems to be powertrain. Crawl under the bike, grasp the drive shaft… oh oh, it’s not supposed to move like that. Conclusion… seems to be an issue with the rear end/differential.
Action taken. Four way flashers activated and call AMA (Alberta Motor Association) to arrange for a tow home. Approximately 1900 hrs contact made, location confirmed and tow request made. Told I will receive notification when operator is dispatched. About 2030 hrs call made to AMA to update status.
Once again getting an excellent phone operator, I was told they had good news and bad news. The good news being that I had been assigned a mobile operator, Justin. The bad news, he was currently involved with a call in Stony Plain, and once complete would have to travel to Leduc to pick up the appropriate service vehicle for my bike, a flat deck truck. Anticipated time of arrival would be 2245 hrs.
No worries, it was a pleasant evening. However, I noted that my 4-way flashers were becoming dim. Oh oh, and battery was too low to start bike. Oh drat. Now getting dark, and I should mention Hwy 39 is a very busy highway. On top of that, the friendly neighbourhood mosquitos decided to come and visit. Maybe no longer such a pleasant evening.
And then, a small red car passed by, slowed down, turned around, stopped on the other side of the road, and the driver crossed over to see what the problem was.
Lisa, the good samaritan, had arrived. She introduced herself, indicating that she rode with her biker boyfriend, and that she knew many bikers in the area, so she felt that she had to stop. She offered to see if she could get someone from Calmar or Leduc to help me out. I told her thank you much, however AMA was on the way.
Seeing that my 4-way flasher was not working she turned her car around, parking behind me with her 4-way lighting up the road. She then offered me a seat in her car, shielded from the mosquitos, staying until Justin arrived with the AMA service truck. While we waited, she spoke with Gord, her boyfriend, letting him know what was going on, and I spoke with my wife Kim, so that she would not worry. We had a great discussion, becoming friends, in person and on Facebook.
When Justin arrived, she gave me a hug and headed off home. We also arranged that Kim and I would see her and Gord on Tuesday at bike night.
Justin, from AMA, immediately proceeded to load the trike on the flat deck, working with great efficiency and keeping me engaged with the process as well. Once loaded, off we went, heading to my place, chatting about a number of things along the way. Justin was from the north, had been doing this work in the Edmonton area for about ten years. He very much enjoys his work and likes the company he works for.
Upon arriving at my house, Justin arranged his truck so that bike, when unloaded, was right in front of the garage door, where Kim was waiting, and it was an easy push to get it into the garage. Great work all round from him.
Justin was the good service.
Even though an unfortunate event had ended my ride early, the day was, in my consideration, an overall positive event. I got to meet Lisa, the good samaritan, and Justin, the good service provider.
As an addendum, Kim and I did go to bike night, met up with Lisa and Gord, and had a great time with them and a number of their friends. We are staying in touch and will get together with them again.
Today, I was putzing around with my “Wee Internet Empire” as I figured it had been dormant for a while. It was not until I checked my last newsletter that I realized that it was posted April 25, two days before my surgery. Seeing as how it’s now more than a month and a half later, I see how delinquent I have been.
Now I have done a few video updates after my surgery, however they were not shared with my entire readership, just those on YouTube, Tik Tok, and Facebook. These videos, this blog post, and other material will go out in my next newsletter, scheduled for the next day or so.
Having said all that, I thought I would do this blog post and talk a bit about my surgery as a number of you have expressed interest.
In early 2020, after several years of increasing arthritic pain, I requested to be placed on the waiting list for total hip replacement surgery. I had been told by a number of folks that I should have done it sooner, however I can be a stubborn type and kept putting it off. Now I say, yes people, you were right, I was wrong. I’m sure I’m not the first who has done that, nor am I likely to be the last. So readers, should you get into this situation, listen to the folks when they offer advice, at least some of the time.
So, back to the story. I was put on the list and then the wait began. Not without hiccups though.
First came Covid. I don’t need to talk about that, we all know that it threw the health system into a real kerfuffle. I have nothing but good to say about the healthcare workers who all worked their asses off trying to do their best for us all. I thank them all for their service. I’m not going to get into any discussion about the actual healthcare system however.
Anyway, in November 2021 I received a call that I’d been scheduled for surgery in mid December.
Alas, just before that call a new issue had raised its head. I had developed some venous skin ulcers on my legs as a result of poor blood circulation. Due to the risk of infection, the surgery was cancelled.
Seening as how we were still dealing with Covid, treatment of my legs started very slowly, continuing on to the fall of 2022. Once again I have appreciation and thanks to the healthcare workers who dealt with my legs, both with clinic care and home care. All was completed and I am now wearing compression stockings to help ensure good leg blood circulation. These will be worn daily for the foreseeable future, on in the morning, off in the evening. Kim is doing it currently, with other arrangements needing to be made when she is no longer able to continue.
Great stuff… legs in order, now back to waiting. Towards the end of the year I was told that they were looking for around April 2023. Early this year came the word for April 27. Kim and I decided to tell “nobody nothing” until I had successfully completed all the pre-surgery tests. All went well and April 27 it was.
The time had come. Was I nervous? Not really, however I was somewhat apprehensive as I really didn’t have a clear picture of what the procedure was. Oh, I had received many handouts, brouchures, watched video, been poked, prodded, x-rayed, lungs and breathing tested, heart tested (multiple times), dental examined (lots of work done there), lab tested, told what to do (prior to and after surgery), the whole nine yards. My documentation prep for surgery probably became a large file all told.
But… I did not really know what I would experience when I entered the doors of the Orthopaedic Surgery Centre by the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
Kim and sister-in-law Sarah took me there, in the waiting room with me until I got called in. In pre-surgery I underwent a number of tests, was asked a number of questions and chatted a bit with the nurse until he moved on to the next person. Then I waited until it was my turn to be wheeled down to the operating room. There I was moved over to a table, introduced to a number of physicians (none of whom I can remember other than my surgeon). I was told to bend forward, touch my head to my knees and that I would feel a wee poke in the back. They asked how it was, I said fine, and two hours later I started to wake up.
Slowly waking up in the recovery room I could see somebody’s feet. I knew they weren’t mine because they didn’t move with I wiggled my toes. Ah, it seems there was a reason for that. I had no feeling from just below my ribs down.
While in the recovery room, hooked up to all the obligatory machines, there was some poking and prodding, checking things out, and some chit chat. Seems I was doing what I should so they transferred me to my place of residence for the next day or so.
Once in my room I was able to relax, and was constantly monitored. Slowly I had feeling come back to my legs, being able to start wiggling my toes after a few hours. Kim came to visit, taking a few photos, one of which I share here.
Once again, I have nothing but compliments for the medical folks who looked after me. They ensured I was comfortable, managed my pain very well, asked the right questions and answered any that I had. Before the end of the day they had me out of the bed walking out to the hallway and back (with my crutches), making sure that all movements were good.
They tried to help me sleep, however I have a history of not sleeping well the first night in a new bed and it was no different here.
The next morning, they had me up, walking (again with crutches) to the stretcher in the hall to be taken to x-ray then from the stretcher to the x-ray table. Same procedure going back to the room. Then the surgeon came in, said he was happy and all was looking fine. A bit later had a visit from the physio lady. She came in and said, okay, grab your crutches and let’s go for a walk. Off down the hall we went for training on how to do stairs, get into a tub and so on. She was pleased on how I did, so I only had to do it three or four times.
Having satisfied all the criteria, Kim came to pick me up and home we went, complete with serveral medical prescriptions, including a heavy duty painkiller should it be necessary. Fortunately for me, it was not needed all that much and consequently was utilized quite sparingly over the following weeks.
Basically the next six weeks were spent mainly on one level of our condo, using my handy dandy walker. At night it was up to the bedroom with the crutches. Kim was patiently my chauffeur for doctor appointments and after the first couple of weeks we were able to go for dim sum and a couple of special events related to Kiwanis or our veterans group, crutching away.
As I mentioned earlier, I did some video update after the surgery, so feel free to hop over to my YouTube channel and have a boo.
Kim loves to take photos of things and events like this so here are four that she took.
The first one was during a dressing change on April 02.
The second was staple removal day, April 10.
Next one is April 16, healing well.
Final is April 28, all is looking great. Doctors, and patient, happy.
.
.
.
Thought I’d wrap up with an xray of my new hip. I thought it was pretty cool. The main part is titanium. Does that make me the Bionic Man?
From the very beginning I recorded, for myself, the names of all who worked to take care of me. Those in the wound clinic, those making home care visits, those in the surgeons office, and those in the surgery centre. I do maintain contact with a few of them but will not share their names. They know who they are and how much I appreciate each and every one of them. I made sure that I told them at every opportunity.
Thanks for reading and letting me share with you.
Until next time, be well, take care of yourself and look after those around you.
After having a seemingly empty brain with my social media “Wee Internet Empire” since just prior to my surgery three weeks ago, over the last couple of days I found myself to be quite reflective. Ergo, a blog post appears.
During the past three years I have gone through several phases of doing the same thing, however each phase was for a different reason.
The same thing that I have been doing is staying home, keeping to myself, doing little or nothing with others and even, at times, doing little outside my home office, or at times, in my home office as well, by myself.
So… the first circumstance is probably the most obvious one to most of you. Covid, the pandemic, whatever you want to call it.
Upon returning early in March 2020 from our trip to Malaysia we went immediately into lock-down, or was it locked-in, or perhaps locked-up. Regardless, the aspect of any form of personal contact with others, even family not in the same domicile ceased to exist, we all became persona non grata, pariahs, potential carriers to be avoided or even shunned.
Sure, I could leave the house, but couldn’t go anywhere there were people. It seems that effectively narrowed it down. As the summer weather arrived I would go for the occasional solo motorcycle ride to nowhere, meaning I would ride out in some direction for a while, then turn around and head home. Later on I was actually able to ride with a few fellow veterans. On these rides we would usually remain on our bikes when stopped, maintaining a two metre spacing between us.
For the first year, the weather was pretty agreeable and I was able to ride from about mid May until December. Yes, my last ride of the year was 06 Dec.
Winter then put a kibosh on things, particularly as many restaurants were shut down and the usual family Christmas was by phone.
With the weather being accommodating, I was back on the bike by mid-March, with the summer becoming more or less a repeat of the previous year. Then the bike developed a serious ailment and was at the bike doctor for two months.
It was about this time that the first circumstance was winding down. Covid was still present, however generally society had adapted and some semblance of routine was beginning to emerge.
For me however, I was preparing to enter my second circumstance.
My hip was now bothering me more and there were often times when I would not even attempt to ride my bike as it was painful to do so. This resulted in the bike going into hibernation in September and remaining there until April of the following year, 2022. After that for the next few months, outings did occur, however were very sporadic and the bike was returned to hibernation in September.
At the same time, a combination of factors caused me to be in a very bad head space. On the medical side, I was going through some problems with my lower legs resulting in hospital visits and regular home care visits, all of which had placed my hip surgery on indefinite hold. Mentally, the aspect of not being able to physically do a variety of things I had been doing all my life, combined with the feeling of being a burden with others having to do things I should be doing, had me basically isolating myself at home and partaking in few activities. Interestingly, I knew that these events were part of life, and that I shouldn’t be having negative thoughts about what I was going through. The problem was, knowing that, but not doing that, made things worse as I would beat myself up for being such a dolt, and, as most of you probably know, nobody can beat me up any better than I can.
Anyway, that was basically the second circumstance.
The third circumstance is happening now, as I write this blog post.
On 27 April I finally went in for my total hip replacement surgery. The surgery was successful, I came home the next day, my recovery started, and at this writing (23 days later) is progressing very well. So I am required to use my crutches and walker, exercise and am instructed not to drive for about six weeks. As a result I am dependent upon Kim to drive me to appointments or any other outings, requiring her to take time off work or change her work schedule, to do so. This is something I try to avoid doing, so I am home most of the time with Otis the cat.
This was the point where I became reflective about the three times l was more or less isolated at home, each for different reasons. As an aside, while reflecting on this I was reminded of a 1963 hit song (Alone) In My Room by Willie & the Walkers, a popular Edmonton group that I enjoyed while growing up.
So… three times I did the same thing, staying at home for an extended period of time. Each time was the result of a different set of circumstances. The first time due to the Covid pandemic, second due to my mental state, and the third due to my surgery. Not only was there three sets of circumstances, I realized that there were three completely different sets of feelings.
Cue the feelings comparisons.
Circumstance Number 1 (Covid) – During the pandemic, collectively we had a most serious situation, and staying home was one of the ways that I could support addressing this situation. I wasn’t fussy about it, however I did feel it was something that could help. I was also introduced to the previously unknown term “Zoom Call”. Basically my feeling was, this is not great but it is necessary, so let’s deal with it.
Circumstance Number 2 (Head Space) – During this period I would have a variety of feelings. I would have periods of low self-confidence, low self-esteem and even low self-worth. I would have periods of self-pity, but more often I would be mad and frustrated because I felt I was causing a burden to Kim and others around me as they had to do extra work and I felt I could not do activities which I considered it was my responsibility to do.
Circumstance Number 3 (Post Surgery) – Physically after the surgery I’m feeling fine, I like not having any pain, I feel my mobility getting better all the time. I know that I need to follow the post-surgery instructions, and pretty much am doing so. So what are my basic feelings? I’m bored and lonely. Everything is in place for me to be out and about whenever and wherever I would like except for that one thing, post-surgery instructions.
So how do these three sets of feelings compare.
I much prefer Circumstance 3, as I know the future is good and I just need to be patient.
Circumstance 1 was not a fun time, however it was something shared between millions of people and, in my view, was most necessary. Let’s work on not have to do something like that again.
Circumstance 2 was an unpleasant time. I know it’s also a type of time that many people go through, in some form or other. To let people know they are not alone in that regard was one of the reasons for writing this blog post in the first place, and sharing some of my not so happy feelings. Thank goodness Kim was able to deal with my mood swings, it was difficult for her for sure but I’m blessed that she stuck with me.
Well, there you have it. A few snippets of my life over the past three years. Of course I have not done “chapter and verse” of absolutely all that transpired. I just wanted to pass along some basic circumstances and the feelings associated with them.
Thanks for reading. Catch next time. Please take care of yourself and look out of others.
Interestingly, Facebook and various photo software applications have a feature which gives one memories of posts or photos from the past.
I’m sure that many of you have discovered, as have I, that ofttimes these are not only memories, but emotions as well.
Today, up popped some photos of a trip that Kim and I made to Ottawa in 2019. We were there to meet with Canada’s Governor General who presented me with the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers.
It was an honour to both meet the Governor General, and to receive the medal.
Today I was caused to reflect back on a number of things, one being my community involvement over the years, beginning in my youth.
I have been involved across Canada, wanting to serve the community. This was a valuable lesson learned from my parents as both Mum and Dad were very active throughout my growing up, regardless of how our family circumstances were.
I served, and continue to serve, to the benefit of the community, not to gain recognition. In doing so though, it seems I have been recognized on a number of occasions.
Today, while reflecting, I have decided to share with you, four of the recognitions which meant a great deal to me. I hope to talk about other aspects of community service in future blog posts or podcasts.
In June of 2002, I was inducted as a Serving Brother into the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, known as the Order of St John. The presentation was done in the Alberta Legislature by The Honourable Lois E Hole, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
In October of 2005, I was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal by The Honourable Norman L Kwong, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
In April 2019, I received the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers. The presentation was done at Rideau Hall in Ottawa by The Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada.
In January 2023, I received the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Medal from Margaret Day, Kiwanis Western Canada District Division Six Lieutenant Governor.
I am honoured to receive these recognitions, however I am very proud of the community work that I, along with others, have done and the people we have helped in some way to make their lives better. That is the real reward.
This morning I was starting to put together my latest newsletter (you can subscribe here), and I was going to use the words above as my lead in as it’s an expression that I have been using for a great many years. Then I thought about it and decided that I would write a blog post with those words as the title.
As it turns out, as an old fart, both of these songs are quite familiar to me, and both have developed a large following, being considered as either a protest or an type of anthem by those at the time.
For myself, I feel that both could be entirely applicable to events of the current times.
That being said, these songs were not what generated the thought process for this blog post.
Rather, it was a bit of contemplation of recent personal happenings.
Top of mind, yesterday, along with several Kiwanis colleagues, I attended a memorial service for a friend and long time club member. Ed Bean was a member of the Kiwanis Club of South Edmonton for sixty-five years, caring deeply about anything which would benefit young people. More than that, he was a pillar of the Edmonton community. He helped create and maintain Crystal Kids, an organization teaching, mentoring and nurturing at-risk, inner city kids, named after Crystal Glass, a company he formed in 1949. He was involved, over the years, in a great many community positive happenings as well as being a member of the Edmonton Investors Group which owned the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League from 1998 to 2008. A true people person, Ed will be sorely missed, however his heritage will live long.
I recently set up and started a private family Facebook group, designed to introduce and acquaint diverse family members with each other. Like many families, as time has passed many of us are not familiar with distant cousins, and even may not actually know that we have these cousins. (And no, I’m not providing a link for this blog post, that’s what private is all about.)
As I’m working on this group, I have been delving more and more into our family history. It keeps getting more interesting, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the odd time someone shows up that I knew about, but didn’t know we were related. I do imagine there are many families which may be like that. Check into yours, never know what you’ll find.
Another thing going on, there is a chance that I may actually have my hip replacement surgery on the horizon. As a result, I’m once again going through a battery of tests, procedures and activities in preparation. Perhaps this time it will actually happen. Fingers crossed.
There are a few other things going on that I won’t bore you with. Be it known however, that snow, ice and cold weather are still “in vogue” here in Edmonton and as such the trike and SLK are still ensconced in the garage. (Now I’m making a sad face.)
Bottom line… life is proceeding in it’s unique fashion and our job is to do our best to adapt to it’s flow. It seems to last longer that way.
Last week, prior to a meeting, I was part of a most interesting discussion. The fact that it was a hybrid meeting, and that I was attending the in person part, actually led into the discussion.
We got to talking about working remotely (usually at home) versus working at the office. It seemed to be about a 50/50 split among those taking part in the meeting. The discussion centered mainly around the effect and/or impact on the worker, rather than on the company. There were also discussions relating to pre-, during, and post- Covid, and how the situations were different.
Now for myself, I had retired pre-Covid and as such have been “working” at home, which, for me, is certainly not considered remote. As such, my experiences and thoughts were of course different from the others.
Once the pandemic began, quite a number of companies, in effect, closed down their on-site operations. Some were hands on workplaces, so this meant that employees were laid off. However the majority were office type workplaces, and while closing their physical spaces, various arrangements were made for employees to continue to work, in most cases, from home.
Now it seems, as Covid has passed (??), a good number of organizations are wanting their employees to return to the office while others say working from home is “doing the job” (pun intended). Then there are those organizations which are adopting a hybrid solution and having their employees go to the office two or three days a week and work from home the remainder of time.
Judging by the various reactions, some workers like the thought of returning to the office, some are ambivalent, while others are against it. And, it seems that there are some good reasons, and thoughts, behind each of these options.
During our discussions one person mentioned that although they like working at home they did miss the interaction of having co-workers around. He mentioned that the casual chat which often occurs while working had, from time to time, resulted in an “ah-ha” type of moment as he was working on a document or project.
Interestingly enough, both in-office workers and remote workers provided comments about having, at times, a disruptive environment. Either from co-worker activities or from child/dog/spouse activities. For instance, in my case, Otis the cat demanding to be fed. (Be assured, he can be quite disruptive.)
What are your thoughts or experiences? Do you prefer working at the office, at home, or some combination of both. Share in the comments please.
Now, to some who know me, that would be considered a dangerous thing.
Perhaps not, today anyway. However it has been an interesting thing for me. A bit interesting that is. You see, it’s a holiday Monday, here in Alberta it’s called Family Day.
One might imagine that due to the day, I would be thinking about family, and I did a little, however my main thinking has been about my retirement, and some of the factors which have been affecting it.
It is no surprise that topping the list has been COVID. I use capital letters here because that was the way it arrived. Now it has become more like #@&%*$ Covid.
For millions of people, the ramifications of Covid threw the proverbial monkey wrench into the system. My thinking today is more limited to retired folks, because I are one.
Back in late 2018 I retired for the final time, and yes, I even had plans. More than just plans, they were being put into practice.
For a good portion of the winter I would be in Malaysia, based at our apartment, spending time with family, friends and just doing some traveling around. My wife Kim would join me for part of the time as she was still working. The late spring, summer and early autumn would involve quite a bit of time on my motorcycle, going on rides with mates and fellow veterans, or just by myself touring around Alberta. On the weekends my wife and I would relax and travel around a bit, as well as being involved in weekend motorcycle and other community events.
For 2019 most went according to plan. I spent three months in Malaysia, Kim with me for a month. Summer saw some 6000 kilometres put on the bike and we were involved in various activities most every weekend. Right up to the end of the year we took part in both Kiwanis and veterans events. Life was doing okay.
2020 started out quite well, however there seemed to be ominous rumblings. Mid February Kim and I were off to Malaysia for six weeks. For the first three weeks we were joined by our daughter and her husband from Edmonton. For me this was a big event as she would meet her two sisters in Malaysia, in person for the very first time. (If you have been following my blog posts over the years you’ll know we have a blended family.)
After we arrived, the ominous rumblings increased, and people started talking about this Covid thing. The first three weeks went well, daughter and her husband headed home, and the rumblings increased. After another week they were more than rumblings and we reluctantly made the decision to err on the side of caution and headed back to Edmonton ten days earlier than planned.
Turns out, it was a good decision, as air traffic was essentially shut down shortly after we got home. We had to do our two week quarantine and then Kim was laid off as her workplace was shut down (only for about three months it turned out).
I’m sure that everyone is pretty familiar with what followed for the remainder of 2020 and basically all of 2021, so I’ll just talk about how this affected the retirement thing.
Now is a good time to touch on another factor affecting retirement, that being my health. I have always had a pretty robust immune system, however I have had some mobility issues, particularly in the last ten years. I was diagnosed with a bad hip and the decision was made to put me on the list for a total hip replacement. For those who have experienced this, it is an interesting process. Immediately I was scheduled for a whole battery of tests, including, but not limited to x-rays, heart tests, lung tests, dental tests, nervous systems tests, and more. These are all intended to determine if I was suitable for surgery.
All the tests were completed, however our friend Covid had laid a beating on all scheduled surgeries. Then, towards the end of 2021, I was notified to expect surgery in January 2022. About the same time I received a small injury to my lower leg and it was slow healing, which they thought likely due to me being diabetic. Injury, small or not, has a risk of infection, hence the surgery was cancelled.
Turned out that over the years I have developed poor circulation in my lower legs, causing my legs to be discoloured, and have extremally thin skin, which can be easily abrased, and any wounds would be very slow healing. Following that determination, there came extensive treatment by the wound clinic and home health care (kudos and thanks to these awesome medical professionals). End result, I will now be wearing compression stockings for the remainder of my time.
Good news is, the surgeon seems happy with my condition now and I may be looking at surgery in April of this year. After still more tests of course.
Now, back to this retirement thing.
Of course, any social activity had become a non-starter during 2020, so it was just me, or Kim and I, for the majority of the time. With my hip issues, I made the change from two wheels to three and bought a trike to ride. This made Kim happy and she now rode with me quite a bit. Between the two bikes I managed to put on over 8000 kilometres in 2020. As well the weather was helpful as Kim and I had our last ride of the year the first week of December. Throughout the year our riding was mostly solo. On the odd occasion we rode with others, whenever stopped we would be outside and maintain the suggested two metre distance.
For 2021, social activity remained at a minimum. Kim would go to work and get groceries, being masked and maintaining her distance at all times. Basically I would just stay home, so much that even Otis the cat was getting tired of me. Between the weather, a blown radiator and my leg issues, less than 4000 kilometres was accomplished on the bike. Veterans gatherings were almost nonexistent, while Kiwanis took on an extremely low profile.
2022 was more of the same, however we were starting to get out for our weekly dim sum, socially distanced of course. For me, I think Otis was starting to maybe like having me around, or not. He’s a cat so go figure. Very little riding this year, only about 4000 kilometres again. For my legs they were doing regular appointments as well as home care, so I had to be cautious and was not able to plan much. Come summer our veterans group was having weekly gatherings once more, however they were socially distanced in a parking lot. Oh well, at least we were getting together. Then in the fall, we were able to get together, actually inside. With some of our members being immune compromised, they were not comfortable attending. For Kiwanis, meetings were by Zoom only.
In September, we were lucky enough to add a vehicle to our garage. Defined as a Classic is our 1999 Mercedes SLK 230 sports car. For the next couple of months it was able to steal a few thousand kilometres from the trike, however they seem to get along well anyway. The nice thing is that it expands our ability to have some fun travel, day runs on the trike and longer with the Merc.
So now, here we are in 2023.
Soon it will be three years since we have seen our daughters and grandchildren in Malaysia. Otis and I have held down the home front with me getting out of the house for a few hours averaging one day a week. On occasion maybe two. Right now, this is retirement for me… my house. What day of the week is it? Oh it must be the weekend because Kim is home on Saturday and half of Sunday, and sometimes on a holiday (she works most holidays).
But, things are looking up. As I mentioned, possible surgery in April. Late last year I had a coffee with a friend, then with another friend in January, and now one tomorrow, this with a regular coffee mate from before Covid, but now for the first time in about two years or so. The two “summer rides” are resting in the garage, awaiting Spring and the opportunity to get out and about. An increased level of activity with Kiwanis is being contemplated. Our veterans group is getting together more often. And… we hope to be back in Malaysia about a year from now.
So… the retirement thing, what’s it all about. My experiences have been up and down, back and forth, good and bad. Well, that’s what life is, not only for me, but for every person experiencing the retirement thing. We are all different, not better or worse. All unique!
I’ve thrown a bit of light on my retirement thing, how is yours going?
Want to share? Please do! It would be great to hear from you.
So today I thought I’d have a bit of an experiment with this new AI stuff that is being reported on. I created an account with OpenAI to try out their ChatGPT chatbot software.
After logging in, I made the following entry: “Things I notice about aging.” The response I got is shown here in italics.
As a language model, I don’t have personal experience with aging, but I can provide some common observations and changes associated with the aging process:
Physical changes: As people age, they may experience changes in their physical appearance, such as gray hair, wrinkles, and age spots. They may also notice changes in their body shape and size, as well as changes in their mobility and stamina.
Health changes: Aging can bring about changes in health, such as increased risk for chronic diseases like arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes. Additionally, the immune system may weaken, making it easier to get sick or develop infections.
Cognitive changes: As people age, they may notice changes in their cognitive abilities, such as slower reaction times, decreased memory and concentration, and reduced processing speed.
Social changes: Aging can also bring about changes in social relationships, as friends and family members pass away or move away. Older individuals may also become more isolated, which can have negative effects on their mental health.
Emotional changes: As people age, they may experience a range of emotions, including increased feelings of gratitude and contentment, but also sadness or anxiety related to aging, retirement, and declining health.
It’s important to note that not everyone will experience these changes in the same way, and there are steps people can take to maintain their health and well-being as they age, such as staying physically active, eating a healthy diet, engaging in social activities, and seeking medical care as needed.
After reading the response received, without being overly wordy, I decided to give my own response on each of the five points shown. As a reference, I am well into my 74th year (for whatever that may mean).
Physical changes: Well, it seems I still have most of my hair, although it is less populated up there. As my hair has always been quite light blonde it’s hard to tell how gray it may be, however there is no question about my beard, it’s gray and lengthy (last shaved in November 2015). Have some wrinkles, and yes, a few age spots. My basic body shape has essentially unchanged for many years as I have been overweight most of my life, although the underside of my upper arms has gained some extra motion when I shake them. Mobility and stamina will be covered under the next item.
Health changes: I have developed arthritis, slightly in both knees, majorly in my left hip, which is awaiting a complete hip replacement (maybe this year). These of course affect my mobility, and combined with my weight, causes my stamina is affected to some degree. After many tests, the ticker seems to be working well, albeit being just a little weak. Circulation in my lower legs is not great, necessitating the wearing of compression stockings daily. (I look at it as providing a little extra leg protection when on my motorcycle.) Interestingly enough, my immune system remains strong and has a habit of telling sickness and infections to generally “buggar off” (and usually they do).
Cognitive changes: Not sure how my reaction times have changed, as I can still get really mad at myself or my computer in just an instant. In other areas though, like driving, my reactions are good, although my responses have become more tempered and experiences learned over the years have provided me with the knowledge that “stupid is as stupid does” and getting pissed off at it ain’t gonna help. One area I really notice a change though is in my memory. I often say, tongue in cheek, that I suffer from “part-timers”, where I forget things part of the time. This can be so frustrating. For example, I can be talking about someone, can see their face in my mind clear as anything, and their name will not come to me. Then sometime after the conversation is done, Bing, there is the name. Aargh!
Social changes: This is definitely an interesting one. I have lost, and continue to lose, my share of friends or family as they die (I’m not always comfortable with the term “pass away”), and it can create a major change when they are gone. I’m the oldest member of our family line, and have been for the last ten years. I stopped working when I retired for the final time just over four years ago changing my social interactions somewhat. I’ve been a member of Kiwanis since 2001 and a couple of motorcycle organizations since 2017 along with a Canadian Veterans group. However, the kicker came in 2019, when COVID basically said, “y’all just stay home and forget about any social life”. This has been a hard one to recover from as many folks are a bit “gun-shy” and are still not ready to get out and meet other people again. It takes time for sure. It also shows up in the fact that although we were in the habit of traveling to Malaysia to visit our family and friends, pretty much every year, we have not been since early 2020 and probably not until 2024. Not seeing two of our daughters and seven grandchildren is hard.
Emotional changes: A couple of expressions that have been around for many years are, “real men don’t eat quiche” and “real men don’t cry”. Well, for me, I’ve loved quiche all my life, however the crying thing has really come to the fore in the last ten to fifteen years. TV, movies, and real life all have, at times, the ability to open up the tear ducts. Guess older eyes need more lubrication. With regard to feelings of gratitude and contentment, I know that I’m grateful to still be looking at grass from the green side and to have Kim, the love of my life, at my side. Also very grateful for her patience with yours truly (I’m sure it must be sorely tested at times). Can’t say I have a great deal of anxiety or sadness with growing old, however I will admit to occasions of frustration when I find that I am unable to do something I’ve done all my life. Having said that, I’m thinking that I’m not quite over the hill yet, so let’s press on.
Okay, there you have it. Some thoughts about aging. Is that everything? Of course not, however you do get the general idea of what goes on in my head.
So, what goes on in your head? I invite you to share with me, and others who read this blog post, your thoughts or experiences about aging.
Thanks for reading. Catch you again in a future post.
As some of you have noticed, and in some cases, commented on, things have not all been sweetness and light over the last few months for me.
Thankfully Kim has been my rock, especially the times she had to put up with the grumpy old fart persona.
Hopefully though there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, as long as some nasty bugger doesn’t lengthen the tunnel again.
This past Wednesday I was finally able to get out of the house and went for coffee with my friend Jacqueline. In amongst all her talents, she is a motivator, and I can attest that having a motivator for a friend is excellent. I try to be a motivator, with some success, however it seems that I’m totally ineffective when dealing with myself.
I mentioned Jacqueline in my podcast today which can be heard here. I also created a YouTube video of my podcast. It is available here on my YouTube channel. She has agreed to do a podcast with me in the near future, perhaps more as she has much to share.
I have also been adding to my Flickr channel, now having more that 3000 photos (some only available for family/friends). Today I added photos I took in 2011 during a tour in Annecy, France. Here is a small slideshow sample.
Slowly, but surely, I will be catching up and posting more of the thousands of photos I have, many yet to be digitized. I often say, what good are all these photos if people can’t see them.
I remind people that the best way to keep in touch with Wee Internet Empire activity is to subscribe to my newsletter, Old Guy, New Tricks. When changes, updates, or other interesting things, become available they will all be noted in the next issue of the newsletter.
I am on a number of different platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TicTok, Twitter, Matador, LinkedIn and others. All the necessary links are available on my website. I invite you to visit, and feel free to connect if you so desire.
Now I have come to the conclusion of today’s self promotion. However if I don’t work to spread the word how will you know what great stuff you will be missing. So thanks for your attention, your comments are always welcome, and hope to see you soon.
I try to wrap up most things by saying take care of yourself, and, if you can, help take care of those around you.
It’s been a month since I’ve done a blog post, and I really have no valid excuse.
For most of the time both my body and my mind felt like crap and I basically just said “screw it” and did nothing about everything, right past the end of the year.
It seems that my post in November, Sick People, Stay The Fu*k Home, was not adhered to, and Kim’s coworkers brought sickness to her workplace once more and both of us ended up sick. It was very unpleasant for both of us. I basically stayed in bed and didn’t eat for four or five days. For Kim, at one point she was very weak and was unable to put on my compression stockings for several days (the reason for the stockings may be another blog post sometime). As a result our daughter came to help a couple of times, then AHS Home Care was arranged until Kim was able to do it again.
The end result was that Kim and I decided that other than her going to work (she always wears a mask at both jobs), we would both remove ourselves from any social activities until further notice. Only Kim would do any grocery shopping, once again always wearing a mask. Since then we have only gone for our regular weekend dim sum, where we sit at a table separated from the other patrons. The only other thing has been some scheduled medical appointments for each of us.
This has meant not going to weekly veteran’s group gatherings, along with missing Christmas occasions with our Kiwanis club, veteran’s groups, Kim’s work and family. As well, many movies have been streamed, and it may be that Otis is getting tired of having us around. I truly appreciate how Kim has been putting up with this old fart and my seemingly wide (at times) mood swings. I’m certainly in good, and patient, hands.
For now, we are keeping tabs on how events may be unfolding and are considering that perhaps we will be able to go to a veteran’s group monthly breakfast in two weeks.
I have decided that I really need to get to work on my “Wee Internet Empire“, so it has occupied much of my time over the last few days. I have been working on my computer photo compilation, improving both my storage and my backups. Photos on my computer comprise only a portion of those which I have on hand. There are thousands of prints or slides, covering the almost forty years of photo taking prior to my first digital camera, that must be digitized. So much to do! Already I have three more groups of photos up on my Flickr site.
Speaking of Flickr, I would like to ask your opinion. On my site I have the albums arranged in chronological order, having the one with the most recent photos first, then going to the oldest album. I have been thinking about doing the reverse. I would appreciate any thoughts you might have about this. When I put in an album, whether from years ago or recent, I always put a direct link to that album in the next issue of my newsletter, “Old Guy, New Tricks” (which you are encouraged to subscribe to).
I have mentioned this before, however it is worth repeating. Any feedback that is provided on this blog, or any of the other platforms I publish on, is greatly appreciated. Even negative feedback (hopefully not received) is a validation of what I’m trying to do, and how I can improve my subscribers experience.
So please do let me know what you think. Also, if you have thoughts of what I could include in a blog, podcast, livestream or what ever, please pass them along. Who knows how it will work out.
Well, that’s enough blathering for now. Catch you next time. Take care of yourself, and take care of others.
I'm here to work on fiction. Occasionally I'll blog but that's certainly not my focus. You have a specific fiction genre or format you can't find enough of? Ask me. Maybe I got it. I migh share it with you. Otherwise, leave me alone; I'm toiling away at my workbench.
Richard's Ramblings 