What's More Important: Your riding or Your Life?
I woke up last Monday morning at 4:10 after only four hours of sleep. I laid there trying to drift off again knowing that I'd need more sleep than what I'd had if I was to make it through the day in a somewhat coherent state. It wasn't happening. I headed downstairs and shoveled a bowl of Kashi cereal into the machine before lacing up my shoes and stepping out into the predawn darkness to go walking.
There would be time to catch another hour or two of sleep before work when I got back if I needed to.
Maybe it was the idea of being out there when most everybody else was still asleep that was appealing to me most but there was a definite tranquility that was working for me and I was feeding off it. My music collection on Google Music keeping me company.
I passed another guy walking toward me on the lighted path along Highway 50 as I made my way toward the McDonald's on the south side of the city; my halfway point and where I had a date with a medium orange juice and an order of Cinnamon Melts. He looked to be a retired guy going about his daily routine and I began to ponder my own retirement once again and how I could easily see myself out here in the early morning hours putting in some miles to begin my day when I've got no schedule to keep.
Like most things that interest me, I have a tendency to push the limits and I can see that my interest in walking will be no different. I put in 9 miles Monday morning, another 11 on Wednesday and 12 miles yesterday. I'm enjoying myself out there but yeah, I do wish I could be on my bike, especially when I see a cyclist pass by.
One thought that's been troubling me lately is that of coming off Coumadin ten months from now. Coumadin is the blood thinner I've been on since experiencing a bilateral pulmonary embolism two months ago. Being off the drug will allow me to ride outdoors again and I'm looking forward to that day but I'll no longer be living under the umbrella of protection that coumadin provides and that concerns me. Who's to say that I won't have a repeat of this whole mess again and who's to say I'll be so fortunate next time? It was that thought that was simmering in the back of my mind when I was in for a procedure at Ridges Hospital Thursday morning. The nurse preparing me for the doctor was looking at my chart and wondering how it was that I'd had a pulmonary embolism? I told her about my related Factor V condition and thus my need for coumadin but I also expressed relief to her that it was only for another ten months. She asked me if I was serious about coming off the drug and cautioned me against it. Before her current position, she was the head nurse in the cardiac wing of a local hospital. She said that it was foolish for me to even consider coming off it. "What's more important: your riding or your life?"
I need to make an appointment with a hematologist. I do have a lot of questions yet.
My Sony Handycam has served me well since purchasing it in the summer of 2000 but I've felt for a while that it was past time to update it. My choices were limited though because I need a camera with a viewfinder rather than one where you view what it is you're recording through a flip-out screen.
A camera with a viewfinder makes it easier to take video at concerts while not being so obvious about it. Because they're a rare breed, I could only find a couple that would work for me. It was a difficult decision but I eventually settled on the Sony HDR CX700V and took delivery of it last week.
I've only used it a couple times but I'm quite pleased with it so far. It takes nice stills as well. The only drawback that I can find is the absence of a shoulder strap. The camera lacks a second eyelet to attach a strap to. It's a bit of an inconvenience and something I figure there must be an easy remedy for but I'm still searching. I suppose it's really the least of my worries.
A few of us gathered at Mom's last night. Here's some video from our time together.
There would be time to catch another hour or two of sleep before work when I got back if I needed to.Maybe it was the idea of being out there when most everybody else was still asleep that was appealing to me most but there was a definite tranquility that was working for me and I was feeding off it. My music collection on Google Music keeping me company.
I passed another guy walking toward me on the lighted path along Highway 50 as I made my way toward the McDonald's on the south side of the city; my halfway point and where I had a date with a medium orange juice and an order of Cinnamon Melts. He looked to be a retired guy going about his daily routine and I began to ponder my own retirement once again and how I could easily see myself out here in the early morning hours putting in some miles to begin my day when I've got no schedule to keep.
Like most things that interest me, I have a tendency to push the limits and I can see that my interest in walking will be no different. I put in 9 miles Monday morning, another 11 on Wednesday and 12 miles yesterday. I'm enjoying myself out there but yeah, I do wish I could be on my bike, especially when I see a cyclist pass by.
One thought that's been troubling me lately is that of coming off Coumadin ten months from now. Coumadin is the blood thinner I've been on since experiencing a bilateral pulmonary embolism two months ago. Being off the drug will allow me to ride outdoors again and I'm looking forward to that day but I'll no longer be living under the umbrella of protection that coumadin provides and that concerns me. Who's to say that I won't have a repeat of this whole mess again and who's to say I'll be so fortunate next time? It was that thought that was simmering in the back of my mind when I was in for a procedure at Ridges Hospital Thursday morning. The nurse preparing me for the doctor was looking at my chart and wondering how it was that I'd had a pulmonary embolism? I told her about my related Factor V condition and thus my need for coumadin but I also expressed relief to her that it was only for another ten months. She asked me if I was serious about coming off the drug and cautioned me against it. Before her current position, she was the head nurse in the cardiac wing of a local hospital. She said that it was foolish for me to even consider coming off it. "What's more important: your riding or your life?"
I need to make an appointment with a hematologist. I do have a lot of questions yet.
My Sony Handycam has served me well since purchasing it in the summer of 2000 but I've felt for a while that it was past time to update it. My choices were limited though because I need a camera with a viewfinder rather than one where you view what it is you're recording through a flip-out screen.
A camera with a viewfinder makes it easier to take video at concerts while not being so obvious about it. Because they're a rare breed, I could only find a couple that would work for me. It was a difficult decision but I eventually settled on the Sony HDR CX700V and took delivery of it last week.I've only used it a couple times but I'm quite pleased with it so far. It takes nice stills as well. The only drawback that I can find is the absence of a shoulder strap. The camera lacks a second eyelet to attach a strap to. It's a bit of an inconvenience and something I figure there must be an easy remedy for but I'm still searching. I suppose it's really the least of my worries.
A few of us gathered at Mom's last night. Here's some video from our time together.
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