Living with MCL

Jane over at A Patients Perspective, wrote about her day yesterday, so I’ve been inspired to write about mine, which was equally “one of those days”.

I started out going for a pretty hard 40 mile bike ride into the hills of Whittier. I left a little earlier than normal, to avoid the heat, but even then, by the time I got to the top of Turnbull Canyon it was still plenty warm. I only brought one big water bottle, and managed to make it back without any significant problem, but it would have been nice to have an extra bottle. I’ll plan better next time. Still it was a good ride

If I had stopped with that, and just stayed home and rested, things probably would have been fine, but I had made arrangements to go golfing at 2 PM with some friends, so that was not to be.

Well, let me tell you, it was freakin’ hot at 2 PM, and I ended up shooting one of the worst rounds of my life. I’m going to assume I was worn out from the bike ride. I could have also been a little dehydrated even though I did try to drink some extra water, before and while golfing.

I did manage to par the last 2 holes, as I started to feel a little better as it cooled down considerably as we were finishing, so I guess I have to try again tomorrow. I just won’t ride as hard.

Anywaze, I made it home, had dinner, took a shower, and ended up going to bed at 9 PM. Of course I was so worn out, I couldn’t sleep, and ended up getting up at 3 AM. I played around for a little while on the computer, and then headed off to work.

About an hour into my commute, around the northern end of Malibu, I was starting to get a little tired, so I had to pull off the road and take a little nap, while watching the surfers.

Now I’m feeling well rested, and ready to go. I am planning to leave work early today, after all I did get in a little late, plus it’s bound to be a very heavy traffic day, with everyone planning for their 4th of July weekends.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I recently posted to A Patients Perspective concerning the effects of taking vitamins and supplements. I believe it may have contributed to my lymphoma and my wife’s myeloma. Of course I can’t be sure, but there is more and more evidence suggesting it is.

Dr Rob Lamberts over at the Medical Blog Network sheds some additional light on the subject, casting a somewhat suspicious eye towards the supplement industry.

Now this article on MSNBC may be supporting my belief, by suggesting it’s not the antioxidant benefit of vitamins, but the phytochemicals in natural foods, that provide the real cancer fighting benefit.

Phytochemicals seem to slow tumor growth, but key is in variety of foods By Karen Collins, R.D.

…..Research does show that berries are among the fruits highest in antioxidant content and that they are excellent sources of several phytochemicals that seem to help block cancer development. However, other fruits and vegetables provide different nutrients and phytochemicals with unique health benefits. The best advice, then, is to eat berries often for their great taste and health boost, but stay focused on the main goal of eating a wide variety of produce every day.

Strawberries are known as excellent sources of vitamin C, providing as much or more than a whole day’s recommended amount in just one cup. But all berries are good sources of vitamin C….. One of the ways vitamin C protects our health is its function as an antioxidant….. Yet laboratory studies show that much of the antioxidant power of fruits and vegetables comes not from the classic antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin C, but from natural protective compounds called phytochemicals.

Anthocyanins are a group of phytochemicals .. continue reading ..

Some mornings are just more fun filled (frustrating) than others.

This morning our manager of outside processing comes over to me, and brings a note from a vendor requesting clarification on some instructions I had given on an order. That’s really not unusual, except in this case, the instructions were meant for the manager of outside processing to perform prior to sending to the vendor. It’s obvious he didn’t read my instructions, and simply copied (CTRL-C) the entire section of the planning document, and pasted (CTRL-V) those instructions into the purchase order that he sent to the vendor.

Then a little later I get a certification to review from a vendor who did some work for us. What is suprising in this case is, this is not the first time this vendor has performed this work for us. Of course you wouldn’t know that after reviewing the certification.

Some of the information that is required to be put on the certification is a little confusing, so I have refined the instructions several times to clarify the requirements. You would think that after a dozen times of having to correct the same problem, you would eventually learn what is required, even if the instructions weren’t exactly clear, which was not the case. I just don’t know how else I could make the instructions any clearer.

It’s not like this is the first time I have been confronted by situations like this, but today just got me going. I suspect it might have something to do with the online traffic school course I’m taking, so I can wipe the illegal left hand turn traffic ticket, I received a week or two ago, from my DMV record, and some of the stupid questions that are asked on the various tests.

One of those stupid questions had to do with what a “puck stopper” is in hockey. I always thought a puck stopper was a goalie. I even checked it on the internet, and every site I visited a puck stopper was a goalie, but apparently that wasn’t correct. According to the test, a puck stopper is padding to protect players from injuries from being hit with the puck. I must have spent a half hour before I finally changed my answer to that question, in order to get a passing grade on the test. And that question didn’t have anything to do with driving or traffic school. Just how stupid is that?

Ok, so those problems are a little petty when you consider all the other problems confronting the world and the US, i.e. health care, social security, immigration, the war in Iraq and even global warming, but I had to get it off my chest anywaze.

Becky says I’m evolving, but I think I’ve always been a sensitive guy. This morning though seemed to have struck an extra nerve or two.

The morning started out as most mornings do. I dragged myself out of bed at around 4:30 AM, went down stairs to have breakfast, and then headed off to work. The one difference being I decided to park at Leo Carillo State Beach, and ride my bike in the remaining 17 miles.

It was actually a perfect morning for a ride. It was overcast, not cold, and only a slight head wind, which turned into a tail wind when I was about 4 miles from work. (I just hope that doesn’t bode poorly for the return trip this afternoon.)

Anywaze what caught my attention this morning was the sight of two dead seagulls lying on the side of the road, and a third seagull standing there as if it was lost. That third seagull didn’t even move when I got within about 2 feet of him, which is highly unusual.

That sight just haunted me for the remainder of the ride, and still does, which is the reason I had to write about it.

And to top that off, just after finishing this post, I noticed another seagull with an apparent broken wing, walking outside the plant where I work. He wouldn’t let me get near him to investigate, walking away, rather than flying.