Health and Disappointment

Listened to Find Your Fitness—beginning of an episode on exercise intensity. Worked on laundry. Annual physical with Dr. Cleary. Worked on planning for the day, set up a reminder for lab work. Called Dr. Tsai's office, made an appointment for Jan. 26 to get hand repaired. Fixed breakfast—an omelet using the pepper I grew and fondue from last night. Spent too much time trying to resurrect my backpack order. Called United—no flights for Joey on necessary days. Spent afternoon playing Minecraft, worked on road between Porto Alegre and Lelandhome. Went to Suds. Watched Ancient Civilizations—further explored impact of insane emperors. Learned need to manually airdrop notes from phone to desktop. Sydne reported coffee from Corvallis Coffee & Tea is most excellent.

Medical Tasks and Travel Adjustments

December 23, 2025

These notes describe the events of Monday, 12/22/2025.

Listened to Find Your Fitness. The beginning of an episode on exercise intensity, the foundation for the exercise program I'm starting. Preparing to be more physically fit for New Zealand, the intentional work on conditioning before the trip.

Had my annual physical with Dr. Cleary. The routine health maintenance, checking in on how the body's holding up.

Called Dr. Tsai's office and made an appointment for Jan. 26 to get my hand repaired. The dupuytren's contracture issue finally getting addressed, the scheduling of necessary maintenance.

Worked on laundry. The ongoing domestic maintenance, multiple sessions through the day. Fixed breakfast. An omelet using the pepper I grew and the fondue from last night. The satisfaction of eating food I grew, the creative reuse of leftovers.

Spent too much time trying to resurrect my backpack order. The administrative frustration, the time sink of trying to fix online ordering problems.

Called United. There are no flights for Joey on the necessary days. She's not going. Very sad. The disappointment settling in, the trip losing its companion, the shared adventure becoming a solo journey. The logistics that can't be overcome, the reality that sometimes plans don't work out despite best efforts.

Spent the afternoon playing Minecraft. Worked on the road between Porto Alegre and Lelandhome. The virtual building, the focus shift after the disappointing news. The creative outlet when motivation for other tasks evaporates.

Crooked toast shot

Went to Suds. Beer with Tim and Jack, conversation about Tim's new hearing aids and Jack's battery system. The social connection and regular gathering providing structure after a day of mixed news.

Watched Ancient Civilizations. It further explored the impact of insane emperors. The historical patterns of power wielded badly, leaders whose madness shaped empires. The recurring theme across history—competence matters, and its absence creates cascading consequences.

Learned that I need to manually airdrop notes from my phone to get them onto my desktop. The small technical discovery, the workflow adjustment that makes the journaling process work better.

Sydne reported that the coffee I got for them from Corvallis Coffee & Tea is most excellent. The gift landing well, the satisfaction of good taste shared.

The day moving between maintenance and disappointment. Health checkups and hand repair scheduling, the body requiring attention and care. The failed flight logistics transforming shared adventure into solo journey, the sadness of plans falling apart despite best efforts. Minecraft providing escape when motivation evaporates, friends at Suds providing structure and company. The technical discoveries and small victories—airdrop workflow, excellent coffee—punctuating a day of mixed outcomes. Ancient emperors and their madness echoing modern concerns about competence and consequences.