2003-10-04 - 12:30 p.m.

Wearing Out, Moving On

The year is wearing out, I think, even though there are more than eighty days left to it. There are, in our neighborhood, certain trees that get some red leaves while the rest of the world is still green. They started turning a month ago. And it’s cold out. And those businesses that sell to other businesses have been displaying stuff for Christmas for a month or more. Start saying goodbye to 2003.

My coffeemaker is going. More than ten years ago, I bought a Braun coffeemaker for a ridiculously low price. (I assumed they were discontinuing the model; it was less than $20.) We brew one or two pots just about every day of the year. Well, the switch is broken; that is, I think the spring on the switch is gone. (I can’t get to it without breaking the housing.) So I’ve been unplugging it to turn it off. Eventually I will replace it; I have another one still in the box. But Husband and I seldom throw out stuff that still works. I may give the old one to somebody to sell on e-Bay – just for parts. According to the user’s manual, you’d have to pay more than it’s worth just to replace the pot.

In my kitchen is an old radio-tape player-CD player. The tape drive broke first, now the CD player doesn’t work, and the radio was never much good anyhow. It often misses the signal so that the volume comes and goes. I told Husband I’m going to replace it.

“Are you going to buy a Bose?” he asked. No, I refuse to pay $300 for a radio when I can get another unit for less than $100. U.D. got one for about $25. “Is it stereo?” Husband wanted to know. “What difference does it make?” I told him, “you need two working ears to appreciate stereo anyhow.”

No use telling him (1) that everything is stereo these days or (2) if he would clean the wax out of his ears regularly, he might still have two working ears. No use telling him anything he doesn’t want to know. He told me he wants the old radio when I replace it. I know what he’s gonna do, because he was going to do it to at least half a dozen radios I’ve tossed (don’t tell him that either). He is planning to take the speakers off the old radio and hook them up to the piece of junk he bought this past summer. He still doesn’t realize that running a lousy signal through good speakers (assuming they’re still good) will only enhance the static.

My assistant is moving on. That’s the girl I first mentioned in a post about the Bosslawyer. She’s bright and ambitious; after a few months with us, she found herself another part-time job with a larger law firm. And now they want her full time. As I said to Bosslawyer, you have to be happy when your kids grow up and move on. We introduced her to the business, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to go to law school someday. Meanwhile, it will be a substantial aid to his budget, since he really isn’t earning enough to afford both of us. But we will both miss her (I’m gonna have to work again).

I’m wearing out too, I think. After two sets of X-rays, the doctors have only determined that I have osteoporosis (we knew that) and a lot of arthritis in my spine where the curvature is. Not a clue as to what’s hurting my tailbone. So yesterday I spent the afternoon getting a bone scan. (Missed the farewell lunch with my former assistant.) Between the initial injection and the actual scan, I had a couple of hours to kill. I had lunch, went for a longish walk, and then drove to a supermarket to pick up some stuff at for Husband. (Naturally, I forgot everything he wanted and will have to go again.)

Then I returned for two hours on my back (never comfortable for me) on a narrow metal table. The technician strapped my feet and my arms so I couldn’t move while the camera did a complete head to toe scan. I tried to put myself to sleep, and I may have done so for a time. Finally she took the straps away and said I could sit up; I laughed. No place to roll over or push with my arms; I needed to be helped up. And my mid-back was killing me. I was perfectly capable to drive home, but let me tell you, I slept last night.

Current Reading: Street Dreams by Faye Kellerman
Good Diary Today: I haven't ready today -- yet
From the Old Folks' Radio: "More Than You Know" -- Barbra Streisand

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