That Deserves A Drink

Oh, yes, it does.
I went to the doctor for my annual physical today.
Thank God it's only once a year, because I have serious doubts that I would be able to handle anymore of it than once.
Now ladies, I am WELL aware of what gynecologists put you through. I was married 16 years, I DO have a clue in this department.

However. I still don't think that having a doc sitting there, telling you to bend over, him putting on rubber glove and KY jelly and sticking it up your @$$ is somehow "better" than the clamp ordeal you have to go through. I don't care as much that he has to look at my nuts and determine whether I have a hernia or not - it isn't intrusive, not NEAR-SO as the finger test.

Well, that unpleasantry is over, the "results" were good. There were 2 things the doc was concerned about. First, my cholesterol. BUT, when he started looking at the results, he said it wasn't as bad as he had first thought. My GOOD cholesterol is WAY higher than the average person. My bad is like 30 points higher.

Then he said my kidney "levels" -whatever that means - were slightly higher than the last time they did bloodwork - which was about a year and a half ago. So, I have to start taking this cholesterol medication and I have to go back in 6 or see weeks and give more blood. They will check for any continued rise in whatever level they are looking at for the kidneys. My heart is still pumping, my blood pressure is good, my liver is good, I don't have diabetes - a whole list of things they apparently start looking at as you hit certain age levels.

Well - it's OVER. I am not dying, yet (we all have to do that one day, I just hope my appointment isn't terribly soon and that I stay in good or at least reasonably good health until then), the trauma of the finger test is wearing off - neither he nor I are gay so there is nothing sexual to be derived out of such a thing - but to make it wear off faster, I have given myself permission to have a drink - or two. Grin and bear it, that's what I tell myself cause' I am always trying to talk myself out of going to these physicals which are totally voluntary and self-imposed.

But, I always think, I am getting older - if there is something wrong, I want to know about it early because medicine has improved so much over the last 2 or 3 decades that early detection of many things can mean the difference between life and death.

Doc did tell me - in a nice way - that I should cut back on red meats. Well, I eat a LOT of chicken, I like chicken but I absolutely LOVE steak! I don't eat it often, though. I admitted all my junk - I smoke a cigar here and there and I drink beers here and there.

It's over, I keep telling myself, but I have to say that this kind of thing I find to be very unsettling. Call me a wimp, but any guy that has had a finger up his @$$ knows what I am talking about. They don't even start doing that until you're 40, so you are given a LONG pass on that. Then, every year, you have to endure such. I think after age 50 they then want to start sticking some camera device WAY up in there and looking at 'things'. LOL.

Onto other things, thank you. I take a quick look at my ponds this afternoon when I got home from work - which I left work early because there wasn't anything else to do in deliveries, I wanted to take a short nap before going to the doc's office and I am over hours for this week. Or last, who knows, the thing shows all the hours from the start of the pay period which started last week. I just keep track of total hours, make sure I am getting all of what I can get, but also making sure I don't go over.

So, pretty quick here, I am headed out there to try to start to form a plan in my mind - how I want this whole setup to look after I am done with it. This is really going to take some pre-planning. I will try to come up with where I want these ponds to be before this weekend so I can start working on it. The digging will be a pain in the rear, no doubt, but - it's great exercise and I know the end result will definitely be worth the effort put into it. Still, I have alot to learn about these ponds and I am reading crazily all kinds of sites that have all kinds of info.

In fact, that sounds like a great idea. Take my drink out there, sit down in a chair, look at the pre-formed pond liners and attempt to figure out how I want to do all of this.

Later.

ben