Before I Get To Reading
I’m making a conscious effort to blog more often. In order to do this I have to make sure I blog first, read other people’s lives second.
Today was an interesting up-down kind of day. We have a social work practicum student doing her minor practicum at work. Today she was able to help at front desk, letting people in and out, doing some logging and things like that. Being a practicum student we can’t release her to do building checks on her own, that’s a security thing for her. Being as she’s not paid to take the risks of going into residents’ personal space we can’t let her do that on her own. However she can do nearly everything else. I lost her services to day while she went to Parole with the boss to meet the parole officers, program officers, Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer and others. But in that time I got the last building check done and the fills (replacing consumables that the residents need – coffee filters, juice, eggs, toilet paper, etc.). While she was there I worked on a case plan for a resident. Being tied to the computer means that I have a lot of up/down because of letting people into the building. That makes my knees unhappy and they get to aching before the end of the day. The practicum student helped me avoid that.
Unhappily, what wasn’t avoidable was having my guts go into a flare up. Luckily I took ibuprofen in time that it was able to stop the flare-up early, but early wasn’t while I was at work or even shortly after getting home. When I got home I laid down for a short nap of a little over an hour. Sleep frequently helps the ibuprofen work better. I guess relaxation=good. When I woke 1/2 hour ago (a little over 2 hours after laying down) I felt much better. I’m going to have to take more ibuprofen to continue the happy relief process, but I should be able to make it home by the end of tomorrow’s work day without distress. At the very least I want to avoid having to miss work and will keep stalling off the flare-up to the weekend. I am looking forward to my hernia operation. Yes, I had flare-ups before the hernia but they weren’t debilitating like they are now if I don’t catch the inflammation in time. The hernia, the guts hanging out are what cause most of my distress. I’m also looking forward to a more normal shaped body.
Last night Bran and I went to work with a pile of plexi-glass and tools and finally enclosed the chinchilla cage. Most of the cage is surrounded by plastic now, plastic that the chinchillas aren’t able to chew up (despite their best efforts last night). The back and one side are solid pieces. The other side has two pieces and the front is made up of four pieces. This won’t stop all the poop and litter from being spread around but it will help to keep most of it contained in the cage. The animals still get plenty of air. The plastic is removable if I have to take the cage apart to do a major cleaning. While we were doing the encasement we had some amusing issues. When we tried to drill additional holes (after realizing they were needed) we had to make sure that we shooed the chinchillas away from the drilling area so they wouldn’t get hurt. That’s right, they would run toward it to see what was going on. Stupid. Also, when I was wiring down the last pieces of plastic in the front I had to have the cage door open. I was able to pet Lola (mom) and the youngest (Lukus) when the came out onto the cage door. It was quite nice. The work is finally done and that’s one more task off Bran’s and my plates. As an aside, when we bought the plexi-glass and were driving out of the building supply store Bran looked at me and said, “It would be cheaper to eat them.” Yeah, I laughed.
I’m currently sucked into The Three Musketeers by Dumas. Bran found a site to get more current free e-pub books. It’s Tuebl.com. I downloaded Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. There are also other Pratchett books there. Unfortunately I’m having trouble getting it to load tonight. I hope it’s not an illegal site and that it was shut down. That would suck. I still very much enjoy my little reader. I love having a variety of books to read to fit the mood I’m in. The Three Musketeers is wonderfully written and easily holds my attention. I’m also finding that the producers of the movie version (with Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, Raquel Welch and other noted stars) followed the book quite well. At least they did up to the point I’ve read. Some of the details are not in the movie, but the fun action and character development is right in line with the book. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. If you have, then go back and read it again. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the time travel.
EDIT: Tuebl.com was featured on Top 10 Best Free eBooks and this might have overwhelmed the site. I’m hoping it will come back because it has some books I want.