I was lazing around the house this morning when the Asian Vision (cable/internet) truck rolled up. They were here to move my internet to the new place. Just yesterday I’d been told it would be 5-10 days before that happened. Oh well. They disconnected here and we headed up the road to my apartment. Had my internet hooked up in next to no time. What about the cable TV, I asked. Sorry, sir, there is no cable available here. What? We don’t have this section wired yet. Okay, I guess I don’t have to worry about the “fee” for downgrading my package. And the apartment already has a satellite dish installed that I can get turned on for TV.

The downside to this surprise was that I hadn’t even begun to pack, nor had I made arrangements to move my stuff. So, I called my neighbor Ed who is in charge of the Hash truck and he’s available tomorrow. Asked my new helper, Inday, about having her boyfriend bring a couple of friends over in the morning to do the heavy lifting. That leaves the packing.

It’s a pain in the ass, but by this time tomorrow I should be blogging from my new digs.

I also had a surprise when I visited the doctor today to review my test results. Every thing on the blood tests came back normal. Doctor Cayabyab also had no concerns with my chest x-ray, saying my lungs were consistent for a man of my age. Well, they’ve been consistently bad for several years, so I guess I was just ahead of my time. The only test outside of the normal range was my PSA screening, which came in at 4.2. Under 4 is considered acceptable, and over 4 can be a sign of prostate cancer or something else. Well, the last time I had a finger up my ass was before I left Korea, and back then I had an enlarged prostate that I’ve been taking meds for ever since. My doc here wasn’t concerned about the above normal reading, saying it was “close enough”. She did suggest I do another PSA screen in December to make sure it’s not climbing higher. Okay, then. You’re the doctor.

Oh, and the blood pressure thing–Kevin Kim was saying he doesn’t trust his BP machines reading. When I took mine at home this morning I got a 140/85. Took it again, and this time I was 127/73. Go figure. Then, right when I arrived at the doctor’s office they took my BP, and it was130/85, which’s normal for me. Then they took it again–131/81, almost same-same. Then they took it a THIRD time and it came out 123/71. So, I asked the doctor what was up–do they just take your BP until they get a number they like? She said they always take three readings and use the last one. She explained that when people first arrive they need time to relax and calm down from any outside activities which may elevate BP. That’s her story anyway. I do my own checks daily but look at my overall weekly average to see how I’m doing consistently.

But enough about me. I’ve got photos from Friday’s hike to share with y’all. We changed it up a bit by taking a Jeepney out to Olongapo City and hiking up the back side of the mountain to the ridge line. A short but challenging 6K trek.

And that brings you up to date! Tomorrow’s post will be the first from my new venue. See you then!