Sometimes, you have to give yourself credit. It took me two days, but I managed to jump through the hoops required to get my credit card reactivated. There was a suspicious purchase on the card, and when I reported it as unauthorized, the credit union blocked my card. I went online with them to try and resolve the situation, but was advised to call a number in the USA. I tried to call on Monday, but the automated system said the wait time to speak with an agent was over 1 hour. Um, no thanks. Granted, it was Easter Sunday there, so I kinda sorta understood. I called yesterday morning again, and this time the wait was “only” 10 minutes. When the agent came on the phone, she asked the usual questions to verify who I was, had me jump through a couple of confirmation hoops, and then told me she would transfer me to the person who handles credit card issues. Yep, another ten minutes on hold. I once again explained the situation (my card hadn’t been skimmed, like what happened in Vietnam; this was a vendor double-billing me). We agreed that my purchases would continue to be monitored on both ends and that my card would be reinstated immediately. Yep, that was the highlight of my day.
With my newly restored purchasing power ensconced in my wallet, I was able to take care of the weekly grocery shopping. On the way back home, I had my driver drop me off at Dr. Jo’s office for my third Ozempic injection. I informed her that my appetite continued to be suppressed, with an almost total elimination of between-meal snacks and a tendency to be satisfied with smaller meal portions. The only adverse side-effect so far has been bouts of acid reflux. So, I got my third shot. One more week at the low dosage, then we’ll see how I react to the big jab. Next, Dr. Jo put me on the scale: Down 2 kilograms since last week. Progress!
At the appointed hour, I attended the Alley Hideout Tuesday dart tournament. Overall, I’d rate my game mediocre, but at least I didn’t embarrass myself. Won one and lost two. It is what it is, and since I lack motivation to practice, I’m not likely to show much improvement. But chucking the arrows once or twice a week isn’t a bad change of scenery. The beer at Alley Hideout is cold and wet, just the way I like it.
After my elimination from the tourney, we popped into Gold Bar next door for our nightcap. Surprisingly busy, and we wound up seated behind the stage for the first time.
Then we were homeward bound for a smoothie and a good night’s sleep.
In other news, I loved this Earthset as seen from the Artemis spacecraft:
My pal Scott shares some of his old photo albums on Facebook, and it is nice seeing shots from the good ol’ days, most of which were before my time here. But sometimes I recognize someone in the pictures:
From the July 2018 LTG archives comes this post where I’m bitching about the worst Hash trail ever. Well, I’ve seen worse since then, but I was still relatively new to the Hash experience at the time. Anyway, it was days like this one that convinced me I needed to take responsibility for my own safety and well-being on the trail. So, I have no shame about taking a shortcut or making my own way as circumstances dictate. The post also mentions the opportunity I had to hook up with a couple of Hash cuties for a threesome, but I wound up bailing on that adventure as well. At least I’m consistent!
Today’s YouTube video shares five things you need to avoid to keep things hoppin’ when you hit 70 years old. I think I’m doing alright for the most part, although I probably do need to drink more water. I’m also going to have Dr. Jo revisit the meds and vitamins I’m dosing daily to make sure there are no internal conflicts. I’m trying to move past the mental stress that comes with knowing time is running out, and I think I’m doing somewhat better in that regard. I want to live to see how I feel when I turn 80!
At least I still have my sense of humor. Such as it is:
Life goes on, so I’d best get on with it. Come back for more tomorrow!
I went online with them to try and resolve the situation, but was advised to call a number in the USA.
Spot the error!
I had my driver drop me off at Dr. Jo’s office for my third Ozempic injection.
Congrats on the good news re: appetite and weight loss.
Ozempic is a lifetime commitment, but it seems for the moment to be a viable path forward, so I wish you luck.
According to the AI god, you can self-inject Ozempic:
Will you switch to self-injection when you switch over to larger doses?
Why is Pink Floyd playing in my head?
A nice shot indeed. The next Artemis phase involves landing people on the moon.
John mate how’s it going mate didn’t know ya were a Floydian mate what’s ya fave album mate for it’s Animals mate spent many a trip spinnin’ that one mate i’ll tells ya that for effin’ nawt mate every listened to Floyd on psychedelics mate would love to hear the tales on the blog mate cheers mate cheers have a jolly one mate cheers
Read an article recently that had a couple of interesting things re: GLP-1 medication
1. Something like 12% of people in the US are now taking some form of GLP-1 medication
2. Patent for Ozempic just expired in India, and already, generic drug manufacturers are lining up to produce it. It is expected prices will drop significantly, with one manufacturer promoting a USD$15/ month cost.
Brian, thanks for the Ozempic updates. It will be good to see the price come down. I’m impressed so far with the appetite suppression while I’m on the lowest dose. I asked Dr. Jo to look into the pros and cons of microdosing, but in the meantime, I’ll follow the suggested regimen. My plan is to achieve my target weight, then quit the drug and hopefully have enough self-discipline to maintain my weight.
Aaron, yes, I’ve always been a fan of Pink Floyd. I’d say “Dark Side of the Moon” is probably my favorite album. I’m sure I was stoned often when I listened to their music back in the day.
Kevin, the error seems familiar. Either lose the comma or put an “I” after “but”.
I have no intention of making a lifelong commitment to Ozempic. Once I reach my weight goal, I will quit the drug and try to exercise enough self-discipline to maintain my weight. I just need a helping hand to get there.
Yes, Dr. Jo gave me the option of self-injecting. I’m too much of a wimp to poke a needle in my belly, though. Swan also declined to do so, so it seems a weekly visit to Dr. Jo is the way forward.
Who’ll get there first, Artemis or Musk?
When I was told to start doing insulin injections (I finally convinced the docs to stop after a few months), they trained me on how to use an injection pen. It’s painless as long as you’re not injecting straight into a large muscle group, but I imagine you can get used to that, too. I was told to inject into the thick layer of belly fat on my lower abdomen. I’d been using a 4-millimeter needle—barely enough to get through the skin to inject insulin into the fat layer. Almost never any blood, except once. So over the course of hundreds of such injections, I had only a single bleeder. And bleeders aren’t tragic. They’re just a tiny dot of blood. No need even for a bandage.
re: quitting Ozempic
I get the impression that Ozempic is for life. The AI god says:
You’re free not to trust AI, but it’s sourcing its answers from available information. Here’s what a more human-sounding website has to say (edited):
But there’s hope:
That last part—”you need to put the work and effort”—is what worries me. Get to your goal weight, then relapse. I know that’s what I’d do because I’ve done it. And given your history, just stopping Ozempic isn’t going to lead to a Happily Ever After.
re: grammar
You’d written: I went online with them to try and resolve the situation, but was advised to call a number in the USA.
Your solution: Either lose the comma or put an “I” after “but”.
NB: Americans put the period inside the quotation mark. Otherwise, it’s UK English. UK English is fine for UK folks, but it’s wrong for us Yanks. Yanks don’t spell the words as “colour” or “metre,” and they don’t put periods and commas outside of quotation marks.
Otherwise, your two-alternative solution (remove comma or two clauses) is correct, but do you know why? Look at the sentence structure: I went… but was advised… That’s a compound predicate—one subject, two actions. You cannot interrupt a compound predicate with a single comma.
WRONG: She sat down, and farted.
RIGHT: She sat down and farted.
Same example I’ve used time and time again. The grammar of a compound predicate isn’t limited to the conjunction “and.” It can be any other coordinating conjunction from FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
The dog wanted the food but waited.
He’s self-disciplined yet is also a libertine.
Or—
I went online but was advised to call the US.
See the pattern? Use the search function in my Substack; I’ve got at least five different articles that all deal with compound predicates. You need to start retaining what you read instead of letting it all go in one ear and out the other with no mental effort at all. That way lies senility. And the same discipline that can sharpen your mind will also help you if you quit Ozempic, but if you refuse to discipline yourself in that area as well, you can expect the beach-ball gut to return.
Meantime, congrats on the weight loss, and here’s to reaching 190 lbs./86 kg.
Kevin, thanks for all that Ozempic information. I might have to consider doing my own injections down the road. Yeah, the challenge will be keeping the weight off, but maybe by then I will have overcome my addiction to sweet snacks. We shall see.
Yes, I recognized that error as soon as you pointed it out. My problem is that in my mind, I’m seeing/hearing/thinking the second predicate, but failing to hit the “I” on the keyboard. The quotation fuck-up was just bad proofreading.