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Want an eye lift or some other Botox procedure? No thanks!

Recently I thought about cosmetic surgery. It wasn’t that I planned or even considered having any kind of such procedure. Would I rather look like I did when I was 25 rather than 60? Well, yeah. But that’s not happening and, even if I was given the chance for such a makeover for free, I wouldn’t do it.

Some people whose looks might help extend their fiscal livelihoods, such as an actor or performing artist, I can understand why they might go the “plastic” route. Some folks just want to feel better about themselves and a cosmetic drydock is known to help. Other people are just, so vain. I bet they think I wrote this post about them.

Whatever buoys one’s vessel.

I know this lady who is perhaps a few years younger than I. She was very proud of the breast augmentation that she underwent and invited me to take them for a spin. Okay, I’m just employing a little hyperbole there. It was more a cursory examination than it was a full-on grope.

What concerned me more about this lady was the fact she would gladly entertain other types of surgery or procedures. The problem with that was surgery, no matter how minor, can potentially prove lethal. More so the case if one undergoes some type of general anesthetic. I guess what I am trying to convey here is: Would you rather die trying to look good or going happily just the way your are?

While I had nothing close to surgery today, I did undergo a series of some dozen or so Botox injections this afternoon. My neurologist suggested I try some of these shots, hoping that it might ease the chronic pain I suffer from cervical spine degeneration, a.k.a. osteoarthritis.

Botox is, of course, is the drug bacterium Clostridium botulinum. This is the same toxin from which the potentially-lethal food poisoning botulism originates. Now that explanation would make most thinking people wonder: “Hmm, they shoot botulism into you? Food poisoning? Lethal? Yes, yes and more yes.

This is how the National Institute of Health explains that Botox works:

“Botox injections work by weakening or paralyzing certain muscles or by blocking certain nerves. The effects last about three to twelve months, depending on what you are treating.”

While using Botox for cosmetic purposes, eyebrow lifts or removing certain wrinkles can be pretty enriching for some doctors, but other uses for the drug are found these days.

I first started injections back in December. My neurologist gave me about a dozen shots just under the skin on both sides of my neck. The general medical indication Botox is being used for in my case are migraine headaches.  I don’t have the normal “clinical presentations” of migraines. Instead, I have chronic pain that are triggered through neck muscles surrounding my cervical spine due to a partial stenosis. These problems have as a structural origin a bulging disc and some bone spurs in my neck. I have had two C-spine surgeries over the past 20 or so years. The most recent surgery, about 15 years ago, involved fusing a titanium plate and a piece of hip bone. It is mostly the limitation caused by the close proximity of these areas with each other that Department of Veterans Affairs doctors have been reluctant to operate. I have used methadone for pain for about ten years but the help from the drug isn’t as useful  in the same strength that it once was. Why not just increase the strength? Well, think about it. Methadone is a very potent drug and must be closely monitored to prevent an overdose.

During my first regimen of Botox, the shots were all in the posterior portion of my neck. Today, the injections were under my scalp, above the eyebrows, near the temples and about as close to the spine as I would care for on either side of my head. My neurologist did one side of my noggin while a resident who was sitting in, did the other. And boy howdy, some of those shots hurt like a son-of-a-bitch!

I come away from the doctor wondering why my head doesn’t look like a pin cushion. Fortunately, no problems. Although, so far, no real help. I agreed to try four rounds of these injections. If the injections help a little, it might just be worth the temporary pain this afternoon. But I know that after today, there is no way in hell I would have Botox shots for looks. That just isn’t happening.

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Trump, doofi everywhere, but Bob Seger is still there, like a rock

The only thing I’ve heard that I agree with today awash in the Trump story du jour — his boycott of tomorrow’s Fox debate — is his tweet:

 “The statement put out yesterday by @FoxNews was a disgrace to good broadcasting and journalism. Who would ever say something so nasty & dumb.” — Donald J. Trump.

I think Fox News is pretty much always a disgrace to journalism and broadcasting. But then again, at least in this hissy-fit saga, The Donald can be blamed for some of those failures.

The chaos in this weird chapter in U.S. politics was enjoined with the missive purportedly sent out by Fox News el jefe Roger Ailes:

 “We learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president — a nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.”

Jeez, what a carnival side show. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to demean carnival side shows.

Unless you were hiking in the Himalayans during the past 24 hours, this very bad political theater is supposedly over Donald Trump pulling out of Thursday night’s Republican debate on Fox News Channel. Trump wants Fox’s debate moderator Megyn Kelly off the panel which will query the Republican presidential candidates. Kelly tossed Trump a hard ball question during an earlier debate. Since then Trump has had a running feud with Kelly in which the feuding has been mostly Trump’s than that from the blonde newscaster.

This is the kind of crap on which the media is falling all over. It’s all simple why. It is because Trump has made himself uber-available to the media, especially the cable and broadcast media. He seemingly calls Wolf Blitzer on CNN at least once a day and, of course, The Wolf takes The Donald’s calls.

Of course there is always the probability Trump will show up on the debate stage. I wouldn’t be surprised if he walked on unannounced. Oh my.

I really say to all this: Stop. We need issues, not showmanship. I guess a lot of people liked Trump from his TV show “The Apprentice,” where his catch phrase was “You’re Fired.”

Donald, and I speak for who knows how many, we’ve had enough: You’re fired.

—————-

I hope there isn’t some kind of bloodbath — or more bloodshed — at the Oregon standoff with the militia doofi.  CBS News reported this evening that standoff leader Ammon Bundy, who was arrested in the incident in which his group’s spokesman was shot and killed by police, spoke through his attorney that those remaining at the wildlife refuge headquarters should leave peaceably.

 “To those remaining at the refuge, I love you. Let us take this fight from here,” Bundy wrote. “Please stand down. Go home and hug your families. This fight is ours for now in the courts. Please go home.”

There is some sound advice.

—————-

I wondered when, or if, this day would come. Driving back from downtown Beaumont this afternoon I caught on the radio what was most of the entire exquisite ballad, “Like A Rock,” by long-time rocker Bob Seger.

It’s a beautiful, pensive song of looking up all of a sudden and realizing how quickly time passes in one’s life. Seger told The New York Times that he wrote the song after having ended an 11-year relationship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enJF0q4bnDg

 “You wonder where all that time went. But beyond that, it expresses my feeling that the best years of your life are in your late teens when you have no special commitments and no career. It’s your last blast of fun before heading into the cruel world, Seger said.”

I wouldn’t particularly pick my teens as the best part of my life. They weren’t the worst. I remember when that song was released. I had a short relationship at the time, but man, was it passionate! Oh, I  was 30, and she was 31. But advertising execs eventually hijacked the song and made it an anthem for Chevy Trucks. The campaign lasted from 1991-2004, one of the longest such runs. I remember just trying to tune the song out during those Chevy commercial years. I got sick of it. And I wondered if someday I would ever hear and love he song again.

Well, today was the day. Oh, and I am 60.

 “My hands were steady/My eyes were clear and bright
  My walk had purpose/My steps were quick and light
  And I held firmly/To what I felt was right
  Like a rock … “

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Seventeen years later, it’s a new year (almost)

The end of the year is one of those times when many people take stock of their lives. I guess 2015 was better than 2014 although I have had many better years. I lost only one close friend and a cousin this year. My medical condition is probably better than the year before. I still suffer from chronic pain and diabetes. I have made strides in lowering my A1C and hope that during my next blood test I will find it at or near an acceptable range.

One thing that has not changed, is my automobile. I thought about this while returning to my pickup truck this afternoon after buying a few odds and ends at Kroger.

My 1998 Toyota Tacoma has some scratches and a noticeable dent in the back, passenger side of its bed.

I am living in the same town in which I bought the truck, Beaumont, Texas, back in December 1997. Although, there was a seven-year period during which time I lived in Central Texas rather than the Upper Texas Coast where I currently live.

A couple of months after buying the truck, I moved to Waco – whose boosters consider the city as “The Heart of Texas” — where I worked my last full-time job from 1998 to 2015. That is a whole other story, perhaps hundreds of stories, as I worked as a journalist. I should say, though, this post is a look back or, perhaps a story, about that maroon pickup of mine that now registers 175,000 miles on its odometer. Perhaps mileage is more important than time anyway. My late brother John, a character if there was one to be had, said whenever someone told him he looked older than his age: “It’s not the years, it’s the miles.”

I looked at the small scratch this afternoon that extends nearly the length of the passenger side of my vehicle. That happened not long after I moved to Waco. I stayed at a hotel for quite some time and I returned home one evening to find some man who was visibly shit-faced. He told me: “This is my parking space. You need to move.” I told him there were no assigned parking places there and that I was not going to move my truck. Later, in my room, I heard what sounded like an awful metallic sound. I looked out the window and saw the same man. He was “keying” my truck. I wanted to yell “What the f*** are you doing you ass****? But I was concerned he might start a fight or worse. This is Texas after all, where men with guns are everywhere. I opted instead to call the local police department in the small suburban town north of Waco where I was living.

The police officer talked to the man and took my report, but did not arrest the vandal. He said he could only do something only if the cop actually saw the drunken fool committing the crime. The officer said I would need to come to police headquarters during working hours and file a complaint.

Just minutes after the police left, out came, once more, the drunken criminal mischief-maker. The troublemaker was hovering around my truck as if he intended to do more damage. I called the cops once again. The cop returned and told the man to get back to his room and stay there, or else he would go to jail for drunkenness.

I filed charges and found out that the man who damaged my truck was arrested and jailed, then soon was released on bail. Someone told me, maybe the suburban police officer, that the man had an argument with his wife that night and checked into the motel.  I don’t know how long it took the case to be disposed of through the county court. I think the charge was classified as a Class B Misdemeanor because of the amount of damage he did. Eventually, the vandal pleaded out and was assessed probation and was ordered to pay me restitution for the damages. I got the check for the amount of money the body work would cost. But I needed the money more than I needed body repair so the scratch remains to this day.

There are other scratches on the pickup from times both remembered and not. A number of tiny bumps can be found on the roof and hood of the truck, the product of at least one particularly intense hail storm near Dallas. I had spent the weekend with a friend when the storm hit. I looked out the window of his house and found the ground covered in white, as if it had snowed. Goodness, gracious, great balls of hail!

More recently someone must have backed into my truck bed, leaving a noticeable dent. Oh well, the scratches and bumps lend a certain amount of character to one’s wheels. I would tend to agree if someone would tell me that these bumps and bruises lower the value of the truck. Nevertheless, I have received several offers for my ride. One day I might just take up one of these offers for the right price. I had about $1,900 worth of repairs made on various mechanical issues this year. That is definitely the most I have spent repairing the truck during the 17 years I have had it. The old Toy-ota still runs well, receives much better mileage than before the repair – definitely a good deal since gas prices here have fallen to $1.50 per gallon – and my old pickup truck built during the last century is street legal.

What more does a man need?

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While I will post even less during the next 2 weeks.

Yes, yes, I know the old saying that excuses are like — televisions. Everyone has one — or more. I am taking a break from this blog for about two weeks. I haven’t been contributing as much as I did for quite a few years. But I suppose when you get older you have only so much energy to devote to making a living. And as most of you know, I work for Uncle Sugar, only eight hours shy of working full-time. The days seem to get longer. And I think as a second consideration, I’ve been doing this damn thing for more than 10 years, that’s a while. I kind of feel as if I deserve a little time off, don’t you think?

I didn’t come here to rationalize. Not so much, at least. The real reason for a break is that I have reached a point on my data limit with Verizon that necessitates cutting back on my usage. That means when my 20-gigabite limit is reached, and I assume it will happen soon, I will pay overages of $15 per extra gb used. I supposed that is what they still charge. What raises my hackles is that I have raised my data limit several times over the past few years. I keep going over the mark. I now have 20, up from 15 gigabite a month or two ago.

It seems the more data you have available, the more you are hell-bent to go over the limit.

I don’t know if I was doing a little consumer judo or was just duped into a plan that is for everyone. I’d investigate, but it just takes too much energy, mentally speaking.

A while back I added a Ellipsis to my line for $10 a month. I like reading books on it. I haven’t given up reading “real” books, but one can find some remarkable reads for as little as $10 sometimes. The problem is that the tablet had problems freezing upon start up and once started, it would again freeze. I would ship the tablet off to Verizon and it would come back, working, for an hour or a day. This happened about a third time, and I called Verizon, understandably — I think — frustrated.

I told the person at Verizon that I either wanted a new tablet or we would “go ’round and ’round.” I told her that I had already checked into some different companies’ plans, ones that would pay the early out fees. The woman said: “Oh no, we don’t you want to do that!” I told her that I continued to have overages and hoped to stay that by signing up with a liberal plan — whether that really exists in the U.S. is anyone’s guess. So perky Ms. Verizon person offered an increase of 5 gb and would actually pay less. “Yeah, I bet,” I thought to myself.

I realize that I have become somewhat reckless with the data usage. I do download music or music videos. Of course, I mostly read on the internet. I don’t download movies or using much live streaming. I would say the overages are  basically my fault. However, I have difficulties trying to keep the annoying pop-up videos. It seems as soon as I do something that keeps away these pain-in-the-ass commercials, back they come in full force. I’d like to find out how much these ads add to overages.

There you have it. I will probably post something between now and Jan. 8, 2016, when my data account resets. But if I don’t, you can find my rationalization reasons here.

Oh, by the way, Happy New Year!

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Just regular stuff here. Except for the Obama Chia pet.

Ay yi yi. I have been away from the blog for the week and the whole operation goes to the dogs. Well, not literally. It seems I have some learning to do on new changes to the dashboard from which the ultimate product emanates.

Like thousands upon thousands who are doing their last minute shopping today, I too was spending money . But all the bucks were spent on me, well, sort of.

My brother and his wife will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Jan. 2. So far, I bought a suit which I picked up today. I bought myself a white shirt and tie to make my uniform all complete. My brother said he hoped I would wear a dark suit for pictures. I needed a suit anyway. So I should be like ol’ ZZ Top’s hit “Sharp-Dressed Man.”

I also spent about $300 on two new (two for one) pair of glasses. I went to the eye doctor at the VA clinic yesterday. I had originally had symptoms of what could have been a serious retinal tear or else, just something that happens with age. And age had it. If that isn’t enough, I have cataracts. That’s it, it’s official, I’m an old f**k. The doctor said the cataracts were not serious at this point. Apparently, the cataracts are enough to the point that my night vision is not good at all. The doctor said these glasses should help with my eye problems. I hope she is right.

Now I could have gotten a free pair from the VA. I still can and it’s highly likely I will get my VA pair. I am very rough on glasses. I’ve been wearing reading glasses for more than 15 years. And I found that I needed to have a number of back-ups. That can’t be happening with my “real” glasses. I can do it. I can take care of real pairs of corrective lenses. I still have the pair prescribed back in 1995 although I don’t wear them because I can’t see anything with them, meaningful at least.

Okay, that’s what has been happening with my bad self. Oh, I spent the weekend near Dallas with one of best friends and his significant other and her two sons. I enjoyed the visit. My friends have an insane collection of CDs, I ended up recording about 52 albums to my laptop. Now, I need to figure out how I can load them on my phone.

That’s it, folks! No political mumbo jumbo. Whoa, while writing that, a commercial came on the TV for a “Chia Obama.” Now, unlike most people I know, I like Obama. He hasn’t been a FDR. He is more like a regular guy. One who is smart as a whip and not from the patrician background from where so many our presidents began. But a Obama chia pet? What people won’t do for a buck. I hope to write some things over the Christmas holidays. I may. If I am not back tomorrow, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus for the Rest of Us. Whatever you celebrate or not.