As it's now the last day of 2023, it's time for....
My Top Ten List Of 2023!
These was quite a bit that happened that didn't make the list but were important: no measurable snow over the winter; lunch with Canadian Tam in Frederick; supper with Kathy aka Mama who I worked with at Borders 20 years ago and haven't really seen or talked to in 15 years; Chiefs comeback in the Super Bowl to beat the Eagles; some problems with Belle resulting in new tires for her; the new sofa; the issues with getting rid of the old sofa; finally getting the treadmill out of here (to the thrift shop where mom lives where it sold within three days); all the binges of TV shows I saw (Loki, The Kids In The Hall, L.A.Law, Succession, Critter Fixers, Grantchester, Peaky Blinders, all the Untold sport documentaries, an all eight Harry Potter movies too!).
But enough of what did NOT make the list. How about what DID make the list?
10. COVID scare
Just a little over a week before Christmas, I had a COVID exposure at work. Was talking to a guy there, had trouble hearing him, leaned in, had my ear about 6, 8, 10 inches from his mouth while he explained what he wanted. I answered him, and less than an hour later, I found out he had just then tested positive for COVID! I was convinced I had been infected. (you can see from the above pic, that was not the case). But after almost 4 years of social distancing, wearing masks (even now some places), vaccines and boosters, I just knew I had it. And that it would fuck up Christmas, cause if I WAS positive, I'd not go out to mom's Christmas Day. But again, the test, after 5 days of secluding myself as best I could, came back negative. Thankfully, it turned out that way!
9. Mom's 80th Birthday
Back in March, mom turned 80! Eight freaking decades! She had TWO birthday parties: One, on the day before her birthday thrown by her 'friend' Howard out at the village where she lives. It was mainly people she knows from out there, although mom did want me, her brother, sister and their spouses there too. And there was cake and ice cream and someone played the piano and it was fun. I got to meet some of the people she talks about all the time. The Second party was the next day, Saturday, March 17th, her actual birthday. I threw that one, as a surprise. Howard got her out of the house and again, her brother and sister and their spouses, and all their kids and most of the their grandkids too were there. It was for lunch, we have pizza, steamers, chips, cake and ice cream. Lots of balloons and a couple gifts and everything. She wasn't really surprised, for various reasons, she had figured something was up. But still a fun time was had by all.
8. Mary's Retirement
There have been a LOT of changes at work (see below), but one deserves it's own entry. One of the first people I met and who befriended me when I started working there was my Work Mom, Lil Mary (named Lil by me cause she stands only like 5'4 or so). She been there the whole 28 years I've been there, becoming, as I said, my Work Mom: friend, confidant, rant-receiver, conspirator, a sympathetic ear and a sharer of political beliefs in a place rife with tRump supporters. Well, this year she was 83, and still in good health (and still working!). Until, over the summer she had a medical emergency at work and was in the hospital in critical condition for several weeks. There was no guarantee she would survive. But she's a tough ole bird, and she did. And is not living at home. But she decided that was enough for her and as of December 1st, she retired. I'm glad for her, she didn't really enjoy working there anymore, but she didn't really want to retire, prior to the medical stuff. Still, I'm glad she got out. But damn, I'm gonna miss that ole lady! It's just not the same without her there.
7. Tooth issues
My teeth are crap. This is, I'm sure, not news to anyone who's read the Palace before. And they're not getting any better. This year, part of my bridge cracked and later fell off. So we put a temp thing over that part, and the next day THAT temp part fell off! I had to have a crown put on. I need to get another tooth pulled, cause I had a crown there, but it fell off and there's really not enough of the tooth left to put another one on. I'm pretty sure I'll have to get that one pulled sometime this coming year, but it's a molar and my molars are bitches to get out. I just hate it, my teeth are such crap....
6. Broken Porch
A portion of my front porch has been deteriorating for a bit and needed work done, but as always, I'm just a procrastinator, and then, in the fall, when it was stepped on, this board cracked. Luckily I had that lil bench that I could put over that board. But the cracking made the porch repair a priority. I was in contact with four different handymen....two never called me back, one never came for two separate appointments, and the last one came and took photos of what needed done, and then...nothing. even after contacting him later and him saying he'd get something to me....nothing. So finally I had a guy show up just last Thursday. He seemed a bit more...professional, more like he wanted the job. he took measurements and stuff and said he get an estimate to me. It's only been a few days, so I'm still holding out hope I'll hear something. This made the list because of the difficulty in even finding someone interested in doing the work, and also, there's more work that needs done around herel, so if this guy works out, doesn't good work and isn't crazy expensive, I'll have him look at the other work the needs done in the coming year.
5. My A1C
I FINALLY got my A1C under 7 this year! It was down to 6.9 in January and then 6.4 in May! First times it's EVER been under 7, or at least in the ten years or more that I've been keeping track of it. In December it went back up to 7.1, but neither I, the endocrinologist, nor the dietician were overly concerned about that number, because it's not that much over 7.0 (below that is where we all want it to be), and I know what to do to get it back down. But still, it was great to have my long term blood sugar where I want, and need, it to be.
4. My Cataract
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Last year, I noticed I was having trouble reading, couldn't do so without my glasses, couldn't see tiny print things, driving at night was very difficult and a bit scary. Found out the end of last year I had a cataract in my right eye. Was scheduled to get it removed the end of May. Had all this testing done, including a MRSA test swab of my nose. That came back positive. I called the doctor's office, left a message asking was their something I should in the two weeks before the surgery. Heard nothing back about it, so I though okay it must not be a big deal. Then two days before the surgery, I get a call from the doctor's office, they can't do the surgery because I have MRSA in my nose and I have to get that taken care of first. I...was...LIVID! But it got the ointment and the spray and used it and finally got the surgery rescheduled to August. And the MRSA testing then came back negative, so it was a go. And the surgery itself? Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Oh I worried about it and stressed, as I do, but in the end, the whole thing took less than a half hour and I was home (mom drove) with no pain or discomfort. The worst thing was having to wear that damn sleep guard for a week. But after a few days, when everything cleared up, I can now see as well as before the surgery. I have a cataract on my left eye too, but it's what they call a 'dirty windshield cataract'. I can see through it okay. I'm sure at some point I'll have to have it removed, but for now, I'm good.
3. Retirement Plans
At work, they have this retirement program called the DROP Program. I joined it August 1st. Basically, I am technically retired as of that day, and they calculated my pension based upon figures at that time. However, I have to option of working for up to 5 more years. And during that period, all the money they would have been paying into my pension goes into a separate fund. And when I actually retire, be it in 5 years, or 3 or whenever, I get all that money (minus taxes of course). I knew that was the deal, but in May some shit at work pissed me off so much I was ready to leave right then. So I contacted human resources and had them run the numbers. And when I went down and saw those numbers, it was like my jaw hit the floor and my eyeballs bulged out of the sockets. I couldn't believe just how much money that actually was! And in the meantime, while I'm working I'll still get my regular salary and any pay increases too (although those increases won't affect my pension, which is locked in). The bottom line is, August 1st, 2028 will be my last day at work, when I will retire after 32 years (if I stay that long). And then I'll get my pension monthly, I get that lump sum from that fund, and my excellent county insurance will continue, with me paying only a lil bit more each month, for another 5 years. (they end their insurance at 65 and we have to get private or go on Medicare). But anyway, yeah, 5 more years, (if I stay that long) and I'm outta there.
2. Mom's Health
Mom turned 80 in March (see above). Less than a month later, she fell and broke her right hip. The top pic is her the day after the surgery, giving the thumbs up. She had the surgery the day after the fall, then she spent a few days in the hospital and then went to a rehab center for a few weeks. And three weeks to the day after the fall, she was back home. She still had to use a walker, and then a rolater, and then a cane. But she was up and moving and soon driving and getting around pretty damn well, if a bit slower.
Then after that, she kept using the cane even once her hip was better because her knees, specifically her left knee, were bothering here. Basically, it was bone on bone, and very painful. The end of November, after Thanksgiving, she had that knee replaced. The second photo is her the night after the knee replacement, sitting up already and giving a thumbs up. She came home the next day. And while it did hurt her alot, she doing much better now. Still walking with the cane when she's outside of the house, just in case. But she's driving, and walking around, albeit slowly, and in therapy now and getting better.
The one thing I noticed after both of these though, is a word I never associated with mom before: frail. I mean, she's not in general frail, but she has shown signs of frailty that I've never seen in her. Granted she IS 80 (see above), but I've never seen her frail before. And what else this has done was reenforce she's not going to be with me forever. She probably had years ahead of her...but who knows?
And honestly, that scares the everloving SHIT out of me. I don't know what I'll ever do without her here. I try not to dwell on that, cause it'll happen it happens, but its not easy to be confronted by it so head on.
1. Work Changes
Oh my God, the changes. Personnel wise, three people retired in June, 5 others in October. One person in each group I was very close to, for years. And there were good friends in the groups as well. There are 3 people in my department. After the June retirements, one of us applied for and got the job of basically 3rd in charge of the building. So the remaining person and I had to do the work of three people for four months. Finally in November a new lady started. And she's smart, and professional and doing great, but still it's a change. There have been changes with a lot of policies and procedures and personnel. Parts of my particular job got easier, one two parts have gotten more of a pain. Thanks to the promoted co-worker, we actually got a lot of, what I think are great, changes. One of which was moving the three of us, our department, onto a different payscale. This means, we all got a nice pay increase and we were given our own 'department' uniform to wear every day. But all of these changes, especially the last half of the year, have been very stressful and really caused a lot of uncertainty.
I mean, the changes are going to have a big influence on my remaining 5 years, in both good and probably, bay ways as well. And that's why this became the number one thing that happened this year.
POLT
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