Sometimes I feel like I’m losing my mind

29. April 2013 · 1 comment · Categories: Bob, Travel

We have a trip coming up soon to visit our kids back East. I bought the tickets on line a few weeks ago. After that, I didn’t think much about the tickets until Amy wanted to see our itinerary. So, I send her a copy of the email from American showing the flight numbers and times of departure and arrival. She responded, “Boo!  Y’all get here so late!!!!!!”.

That response was confusing, because I was pretty sure we would leave here at about 7:00 and arrive about 12:45. The times turned out to be correct, except for a not-so-insignificant difference. The flight departure was at 7:05 pm, arriving at 12:50 am—the middle of the night. I thought we had tickets for a 7:05 am departure time.

I panicked because I’m too old to travel that late. I immediately called American to see about re-booking the flight. As the agent explained to me there is indeed a flight that leaves at 7:05 am and arrives in the early afternoon. I tried to convince her that I had selected that flight (certainly in my mind) and that American had made a mistake. She did not buy that story. I had no evidence that I had booked the morning flight. In fact, I had just the opposite—an email from American showing the 7:05 pm departure time.

When I bought the tickets, Ann was sitting by me so we could select the flight times together. She confirmed that we had selected the 7:05 am departure time. None of this matters. We bought tickets that were non refundable. There is no changing the tickets without paying a fee.

I asked the American agent about changing the ticket to the morning flight. She confirmed that seats were available for the 7:05 am flight, and then she gave me the bad news. At this late date, the tickets for the morning flight were more expensive, and in addition to that, we would have to pay a fee for changing the tickets. The result was an additional $484, just to change from an evening flight to a morning flight! That’s more than we had paid for the entire trip. I tightened up a lot with that news. I told her I would get back to her.

I quickly developed a plan B. Maybe I could get a one-way ticket from another airline that would be cheaper. That turned out to be a good plan. I was able to buy two one-way tickets to DC for about $100 each, and that flight leaves at a reasonable time (10 am). We can use our return tickets from American and call it a day. Mark it up as a $200 lesson–always double check the flight schedule before hitting the buy button. The American flight leaving Little Rock at 7:05 pm will be missing a couple of old people, because we will already be in DC sipping a glass of wine.

I Hit the Wall

22. April 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Biking, Bob, Health

In endurance sports like cycling or running, hitting the wall or bonking refers to sudden loss of energy and the feeling of extreme fatigue, caused by using up all your glycogen. I didn’t hit the wall in that sense, I literally hit the wall. The wall I’m talking about is a rock wall along the road going up to Fort Roots from the bike trail in North Little Rock. The wall separates the road from a steep gully. Maybe it was a good thing that the wall was there…

On March 15 I was about half way through a 30-mile ride when I became slightly dizzy for a few seconds riding up the Fort Roots hill. The dizziness caught me off guard and before I realized what was happening, I ran into the wall.

The Injury!

The Injury!

Fortunately, I was going less than 10 miles per hour because of the steep uphill grade. I didn’t fall down or fall off my bike, I just scraped the wall and came to a stop. I got a pretty good abrasion on my leg; I lost a little skin but didn’t even get any bruises.  After stopping, I didn’t feel dizzy at all and continued to the top of the Fort Roots hill and back home.

The next day, and for about a week afterwards, I felt crappy—like I was coming down with a cold or something. I also felt a little light-headed. I was bummed out from hitting the wall and decided not to ride until I felt a lot better. I didn’t ride for a week and a half.

The day after I hit the wall, I went to the Family Clinic. The nurse seems concerned that my pulse rate was 47, but that didn’t bother me, because my pulse is sometimes in the low 50’s. I had some blood tests. All the results were normal except I had high Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (THS). High THS can sometimes be associated with low levels of thyroid hormones. So, I had another test to check that, but the results showed that my thyroid hormone levels were normal.

The Doctor also wanted me to wear a heart monitor for a day. So, I had electrodes glued to my chest for 24 hours with wires running from the electrodes to a small recording device about the size of my cell phone; it was like having a EKG all the time. After that test I had a follow-up visit with my Doctor to hear about the results. The heart monitor test was not completely normal. It showed that for a few seconds I had “episodes of ectopic atrial rhythm”. That seems to be a irregular heartbeat as if your heart skips a beat or beats at the wrong time. The Doctor didn’t explain this very well, but he didn’t seem too concerned. He said he would send the results to an expert for advice. During the 24-hour test, my average heart rate was 52; the low was 42 and the high was 95. I didn’t do anything that day, so I didn’t expect my heart rate would be very high. My heart rate probably got up to 95 when I walked down to the street to get the mail and back up the 38 steps to the house.

Apparently, the specialist thought some follow-up tests were needed, because the nurse called to say that I would be scheduled to have another heart monitor test—this one for 30 days—and a treadmill test. I had a echo stress test on a treadmill a year ago, and that test was normal. Wearing a heart monitor for 30 days will certainly cramp my style. The nurse said I can take it off to shower, but I don’t know if I can ride my bike with it on. During the previous 24-hour test, the technician said I should not ride, because I would get sweaty and the electrodes might come off.

I will probably have the test in about 3 weeks, but the date has not been confirmed yet.

Recipe for Quinoa and Corn Salad

21. April 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Bob, Recipes

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Mama’s Magnolia

18. April 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Bob, Uncategorized

Mama died a year ago in March after a long life and a short illness.  Shortly after her death, my sisters gave Ann and me a small magnolia tree as a token of appreciation for caring for Mama.  We planted the little thing in ourDSC_0003 back yard last spring.  We had to go buy a pickax to remove the rocks we encountered while trying to dig a hole to plant the tree.  Despite the poor soil, it survived.  But, all summer it never looked very good.  Some of the leaves were discolored as if it had a disease.  We kept it well watered during the dry summer.  Now, this spring it looks great and has even had two blooms.  It has displayed Mama’s strength and resilience! DSC_0001

Pelicans

17. April 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Bob, Uncategorized

pelicansWe have been seeing lots of American White Pelicans on the Arkansas River this year.  I see them almost every time I ride my bike across the Big Dam Bridge.  A couple of things struck me about the pelicans this year. There seems to be more of them, and they have been here a lot longer than usual. I recently stopped on the bridge took a picture.

White pelicans overwinter along the gulf coast and in Florida.  They breed in Canada and Minnesota west to California.  We see them here in the spring as they migrate north to their breeding grounds.  The American White Pelican has the second widest wing span of any bird in North American behind the California Condor. I think it is a great looking bird.