Alive and fantastic
Alright, I told myself I wouldn't allow a whole month to go by without posting. Then I told myself I wouldn't allow all of January to go by without posting.
I'm not going to let tomorrow go by without posting, but just in case... I'm going to try it now.
I did attempt a voice post a few weeks ago to capture a moment I wanted to remember, during which I was sitting on the beach, drinking my gin and ginger ale, watching Bill and his two co-workers toss a frisbee around in the water (and never complete a pass because they're all biologists and not athletes), but the reception on the beach wasn't too hot, and the water was a really good mix of blue and green, so I lost interest pretty quickly.
There are bits and pieces of a lot of things I want to catch up on, but I don't think I'll be writing that all today, so, if all goes according to the plan I just made on a whim, I'll be posting little summaries of things not mentioned or more detailed versions of things I may have mentioned today throughout the following days/weeks/months/bleh.
First, my illness and my health. Remember all of that Ayurvedic medicine nonsense I'd go on and on about from time to time? Well that nonsense is still working out more reliably than anything else. It dictates, roughly, that I have to be in a warm, tropical climate and maintain a diet of mostly spicy foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, and little meat. That was pretty much my childhood, and every time my mother and I would travel back to Trinidad, we'd notice serious improvements in our health, energy, and weight. Colds and infections would disappear, pounds would melt off, and, in her, her diabetes would calm down dramatically. Similarly, every relative of mine who's moved to the tri-state area or Canada gains weight and develops health problems. Anyway, Bill and I placed our faith in the earth's oldest life science for our move down to Lake Worth, "Where the Tropics Begin" and hoped that maybe we'd be close enough and warm enough to make a difference.
You wouldn't believe how much it has helped. Within an hour of moving into our house, I was able to drink water again, where before I was only able to tolerate it due to a strange salty taste I would detect in all water during the height of my illness. Side Story: The doctors at Volunteers in Medicine were unable to come up with a reason for my salty-tasting water symptoms and definitely seemed to brush it off. Back in Philadelphia, one of the things Ellen said I could mention to my new acupuncturist was that she always made sure to put extra focus on treating my kidneys . I forgot to tell her about the water each time. Nicole, the acupuncturist I'm seeing now, said when I explained the symptom to her, "something like a salty taste in drinking water means there's a problem with the kidneys and I'll work with that." Damn. Before I even gave her Ellen's number or anything. So there's a problem with my kidneys, and two acupuncturists have determined this. Western med? Nothing.
Anyway, it's not just the water. I'm able to go for hour-long walks before breakfast every day. Every day! An hour long walk. Me. And not a slow one, either; I cover some blocks, son. In terms of diet, I crave healthy food constantly. Fortunately, we live pretty close to three Whole Foods, and the farthest one is across the street from Bill's campus. We buy our produce from local markets and they're cheeeeeeap! I bought a gigantic avacado for $1, papaya for $0.99/lb, and a container of dozens of peeled garlic cloves for $0.65. We drink fresh, beautiful, delicious orange juice every day, and organges/tangerines are $1 per dozen. You can't eat them without spraying someone in the face, either. Those... are some juicy fucking tangerines. There's also a place where you can pick your own berries and veggies nearby. I prepare the majority of our food, do our dishes, wash and mend our clothes, and take care of most of the shopping while Bill works. I have to say, my respect for the 1950s housewife has grown exponentially since the move. Those ladies didn't have the internet. It's not as though I didn't know they had it harder before the move, but living it every day, with the internet, oh my god...
In terms of physical activity, Bill and I (and a couple of our friends) go camping, canoeing, kayaking, and/or nature watching/photographing every weekend in addition to my morning walks. I'm not well enough to do yoga, and certainly cannot kickbox or run yet, but I test my strength often enough on weekends. A few weeks ago, we went swimming with manatees. Last weekend, it was canoeing with aligators. This weekend, we just went camping in one of the state parks on Big Pine Key and had our delicous flatbread stolen by the fattest, most well-fed racoon in the history of 'coons. We try to hit the beach at least one sunday per fornight. It's free, unlike in Jersey, and gorgeous, unlike in Jersey... however, I can't say for sure that there are no Jersey people.
Anyway, must go now. Must brew some coffee and start dinner as my other half will be home shortly.
More details [and pictures] to come.
I'm not going to let tomorrow go by without posting, but just in case... I'm going to try it now.
I did attempt a voice post a few weeks ago to capture a moment I wanted to remember, during which I was sitting on the beach, drinking my gin and ginger ale, watching Bill and his two co-workers toss a frisbee around in the water (and never complete a pass because they're all biologists and not athletes), but the reception on the beach wasn't too hot, and the water was a really good mix of blue and green, so I lost interest pretty quickly.
There are bits and pieces of a lot of things I want to catch up on, but I don't think I'll be writing that all today, so, if all goes according to the plan I just made on a whim, I'll be posting little summaries of things not mentioned or more detailed versions of things I may have mentioned today throughout the following days/weeks/months/bleh.
First, my illness and my health. Remember all of that Ayurvedic medicine nonsense I'd go on and on about from time to time? Well that nonsense is still working out more reliably than anything else. It dictates, roughly, that I have to be in a warm, tropical climate and maintain a diet of mostly spicy foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, and little meat. That was pretty much my childhood, and every time my mother and I would travel back to Trinidad, we'd notice serious improvements in our health, energy, and weight. Colds and infections would disappear, pounds would melt off, and, in her, her diabetes would calm down dramatically. Similarly, every relative of mine who's moved to the tri-state area or Canada gains weight and develops health problems. Anyway, Bill and I placed our faith in the earth's oldest life science for our move down to Lake Worth, "Where the Tropics Begin" and hoped that maybe we'd be close enough and warm enough to make a difference.
You wouldn't believe how much it has helped. Within an hour of moving into our house, I was able to drink water again, where before I was only able to tolerate it due to a strange salty taste I would detect in all water during the height of my illness. Side Story: The doctors at Volunteers in Medicine were unable to come up with a reason for my salty-tasting water symptoms and definitely seemed to brush it off. Back in Philadelphia, one of the things Ellen said I could mention to my new acupuncturist was that she always made sure to put extra focus on treating my kidneys . I forgot to tell her about the water each time. Nicole, the acupuncturist I'm seeing now, said when I explained the symptom to her, "something like a salty taste in drinking water means there's a problem with the kidneys and I'll work with that." Damn. Before I even gave her Ellen's number or anything. So there's a problem with my kidneys, and two acupuncturists have determined this. Western med? Nothing.
Anyway, it's not just the water. I'm able to go for hour-long walks before breakfast every day. Every day! An hour long walk. Me. And not a slow one, either; I cover some blocks, son. In terms of diet, I crave healthy food constantly. Fortunately, we live pretty close to three Whole Foods, and the farthest one is across the street from Bill's campus. We buy our produce from local markets and they're cheeeeeeap! I bought a gigantic avacado for $1, papaya for $0.99/lb, and a container of dozens of peeled garlic cloves for $0.65. We drink fresh, beautiful, delicious orange juice every day, and organges/tangerines are $1 per dozen. You can't eat them without spraying someone in the face, either. Those... are some juicy fucking tangerines. There's also a place where you can pick your own berries and veggies nearby. I prepare the majority of our food, do our dishes, wash and mend our clothes, and take care of most of the shopping while Bill works. I have to say, my respect for the 1950s housewife has grown exponentially since the move. Those ladies didn't have the internet. It's not as though I didn't know they had it harder before the move, but living it every day, with the internet, oh my god...
In terms of physical activity, Bill and I (and a couple of our friends) go camping, canoeing, kayaking, and/or nature watching/photographing every weekend in addition to my morning walks. I'm not well enough to do yoga, and certainly cannot kickbox or run yet, but I test my strength often enough on weekends. A few weeks ago, we went swimming with manatees. Last weekend, it was canoeing with aligators. This weekend, we just went camping in one of the state parks on Big Pine Key and had our delicous flatbread stolen by the fattest, most well-fed racoon in the history of 'coons. We try to hit the beach at least one sunday per fornight. It's free, unlike in Jersey, and gorgeous, unlike in Jersey... however, I can't say for sure that there are no Jersey people.
Anyway, must go now. Must brew some coffee and start dinner as my other half will be home shortly.
More details [and pictures] to come.