Medical emergINCIes bring on on rrehab stretch

 Melissa a I expi2ncd a diffiult 2-week stretcha UF Helath rh paten, wih our eating and bathoom acti carefully monitored n contollloed t lest until our release Saturday morning. Preced thiw I hd  bd hit th hard  dining room floo no-fir(wih profuse bleedin0 I thn n ino two dp gGrand ML EPileptic seiures, bin on the hospital trip befoere our admission there.motre bou ho UHealth Rehb went fo an oou optct n  later article...                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   m l                                           lth R                                                                              l                                                                                                                    ,sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

This Morning's Overly Unpleasant Depot Parkrun 5K Walking Challenge

 Each week I think ahead to the next Saturday morning when they plan to hold another Depot parkrun 5K, an event i've completed since 2019, approaching 100 times.  Now, recovering from a steep dip in fitness and endurance after some strong treatment for recently diagnosed glioblastoma brain cancer and subsequent brain surgery[10/14/25], radiation and chemotherapy, I am still pushing to complete one full race at a time.  After finally reaching my comeback milestone of a completed course...scanned and posted online, I was skeptical this morning about being able to walk all four laps..I felt too roughand curbed the effort..  and today turned out to be another struggle as I struggled to complete most of just one lap before I went to the car. Maybe later this afternoon I'll make another venture around the block for purely exercise purposes, tTheMLB.tv channel looks like a good choice when I do decide to give training an overnight break. Melissa is now at UPS returning an unwanted item, and then we'll have some lunch...followed by sitting out on the back porch while Peewee Daisy runs around the backyard, mouth wide open like a sweet fool.The weather this afternoon will be hot and humid...let's be congnizant of that.  To you and yours, I wish you all a very happy Amy's birthday...

Welcome, Month of May. New Parkrun Strategies

 Now that I woke up around 3:30 this morning and have already done my 16 minute routine of running-in-place on the rug on our living room floor, I am now seated at our dining room table, sipping on some freshly brewed coffee in front of this computer console. I'm looking ahead at the day to come.  Some more reading is in order, and it's a distinct possibility that Melissa and I will be heading down to our community pool to hang out and walk (and possibly float on my back) while the country music on FM 103.7 booms in the background on this first of weekdays. We might also just pay a visit to the post office I once worked at to check into a money matter we were contacted about. I intend to do some more slow-as-all Bowie running in the back yard, letting the day slowly envelope me without letting time constraints stress me out.  Reading, a little bit at a time, is something I can easily handle, as long as I bookmark my progress with the chapter and pages read...with today's date.  As for running, I will run my yard laps nice and easy, keeping track of the time i take to accomplish them before my mind counsels me to cut them short before i get too uncomfortable.  There's more live major league baseball in store on television, so I'll be able to groove into that.  I'm keeping up with Mr. Martinus Evans by working on my running without trying to lose weight or pigging out on sweets.  As for this approaching Saturday morning's Depot Parkrun 5k in Gainesville, my plan is to run when I can...slow AF...and be willing to end my run/walk with my head held high.  In other words, I want to show up there and, to my limiting mind's greatest extent possible, follow through and just see how far I can go.  I don't care how long it takes or who the other people are, i'll just try to avoid colliding with them. If my slow running efforts lead me to mentally interpret it all as too stressful to my body, then this will be a successful, albeit learning, experience no failure here.  Looks like I'll be trying some more Amazon Prime music albums, and foreign language and self-help podcasts, perfect for a weekly Parkrun.  And I'll be sure to be amenable to walking a lot of it, practicing a better attitude and keeping properly hydrated carrying a small Propel bottle... 

On this Sunday in my Life

 

This morning I skipped on rising hours before sunrise. Now it' early evening and all they want to talk about are drought-induced fires in the northern extreme of Gainesville.  Melissa and I will need to keep posted on events as they try to control the fires and keep them from threatening my home area.  If there are evacuation orders, then we will need to scramble to find suitable accommodations for ourselves and our dog Daisy.  Other than that, I have been a bit on the lazy side today, skimping on exercise.  My intention is to run in place for a little bit before finally calling it a day.  Earlier I was watching major league baseball games live on TV, and there's still one left between Atlanta and Philadelphia...the former with an excellent season win/loss record so far and the latter on an extended losing streak.  I often find it difficult to orient myself about the instant game graphics display, keeping up with who's at bat and where they are in the inning.  Maybe tonight it'll go better...I really don't care who wins. Having just eaten what I regard as the equivalent of my dinner, I'm done with the food until tomorrow morning. I think I'll brew a pot of flavored decaf coffee and enjoy the evening.  I wish that for you as well.  Well, if the Baseball Channel doesn't visually show tonight's Braves/Phillies, then Fox should do so on my "regular" YouTube TV, giving me a chance at a little intellectual brain activity.  As for you, have a great night...

Early Rising, Day Planning

I woke up and got out of bed this morning a little past three...did ten minutes of running in place while brewing coffee.  Now I'm sitting here looking ahead to the coming day, just a little past four.  One item on my agenda is to go down to my local public library branch, update my card and account, and check out one or two interesting books.  Unlike the case with 2nd and Charles a few weeks ago, I have no intention of picking out books out of desperation because I'm too tired and can't find a place to sit.  i do know that this is now post-Easter and we're now back on the regular calendar. It's a foregone conclusion that further exercise for me today will tax my ability to accomplish it.  If i do more back-yard inner perimeter laps, then I know what to expect.  And my eating will be measured and recorded., with the notion that spacing of meals and snacks is to be recommended. Yesterday evening i did watch a YouTube video listing and explaining 7 simple habits I could easily adopt...probably would be better off writing them down and implementing them, 1 by 1.  i want to install and begin using a smartphone app that identifies wild bird species by their songs...this afternoon on the back porch sounds like a good time to get that going.  And hydrating a lot more, that sounds good. Life is good, and I am a person in charge of my own happiness...

Showed Up on Depot Parkrun Today, Good Saturday Coming Up

 Melissa and I just returned from our weekly morning Depot Parkrun of which i walked 1 lap as I worked on gradually improving my fitness level.  Sooner or later i'd like to cover the full 5k (3.1 mile) distance...maybe April 4th.  We ate breakfast and now I have a coffee and donut.  More Youtube personal development videos are in store for me this morning.  A little later on I will read more and exercise.  That baseball channel did a good job of showing three different games, and I looking forward to seeing a couple more.  Gainesville is about to stage yet another anti-Trump 'no kings' rally off SW 6th Street...my guess is it's there to justify people who foolishly sat out the last presidential election and provide them the excuse that they are actually participants in democracy and not simply malcontents.  In any event, my wish is for you to have a wonderful day today...

Early Morning Waking and Activity a New Habit System

 It looks like a new habit has begun with me.  Over the past 3-4 days I have only slept two or three hours during the late evening, with me waking up around midnight and struggling to "nap" until after two in the morning, which I think is an appropriate time for early rising.  Just a half hour ago I got up, went to the bathroom, brewed a pot of coffee and did ten minutes of light running in place.  Tonight I'm going to try going to bed a bit earlier.  Maybe the Parkrun 5K will work out for Saturday morning, maybe it won't.  Shifting topics, I've pretty much had it with Trump and the Republicans about voter eligibility and their repeatedly shifting efforts to roll back voter rights by requiring cumbersome documentation to 'prove' citizenship.  The way I see it, if everyone who was eligible went out to vote on election day, then my one vote would only be one drop in a vast ocean of ballots...and my one filled ballot has NEVER decided an election.  I'm just tired of my 34-count convicted felon of a president going overboard sucking up to his master Netanyahu's agenda...the latter wants to prolong his own war by invading Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, with the USA providing military insurance and backup.  I'm hovering around 181 pounds, using temperance to avoid excessive consumption of sweets while adhering to my living room exercise routine.  I've been up and at it, being awake and active from 3 to 5 each morning.  That's a praise report for sure;  I'm changing habits by adopting a new system of consistent behaviors. Astronomical spring is set to start on this date, and, with a nod to Morgan Freeman, I'd like to enjoy "getting busy" living through it.  If I happen to begin changing a habit today, I want to make it short and sweet and written down and incorporated into an established system...

Fresh New Day Lies Ahead, Possibility for new Routines

 This early morning I woke up between one and two, finally making it official with some fresh coffee and ten minutes of living room floor running in place.  Along this journey I missed about recovering my ability to cover 5K distances, most preferably through light jogging.  Will I be able to do any of this during the approaching Saturday morning?  Dunno, will have to see what comes.  My progress will need to come in small, humble steps without anything overtly ambitious.  Ultimately I want to return to a habitual routine of doing weekly 5K Parkruns, and maybe down the line an occasional race of longer distance...I'm talking Florida Track Club  or US Road Running.  A few weeks ago I was experiencing some difficulty staying vertical during shopping and medical visits, and asphalt-surface walking was markedly limited when I noticed how taxing lifting my feet and legs was during these attempts.  Anyway, this coming Saturday I'll see if I can't get myself up early enough, show up...and follow through!   in the meantime, growing a reasonable routine during the rest of the day, including watching what I eat, reading and studying, will determine my success level.  once the day gets going earnestly in a few hours, I'll have chances to take some personal initiative with my life.  That will include trying out the white Camry, to see if it runs properly, and maybe spin it a little down my neighborhood streets.  The plan includes intentionally avoiding the excessive media news/politics/war/opinion coverage plaguing us over the last few years and weeks...  

Looking Forward to Day Ahead

 It's a little past 7:30 in the morning on the 16th, "Hump Day for the month of March, as we are passing through it.  I have further medical procedures lined up in the next few days, and chemotherapy infusion and an MRI figure into the picture.  I brewed the flavored decaf coffee and ran in place for my routine 8 minutes...now this blog article.  Were this still the ninth grade and 1971 for me, I guess I would have already begun to suffer the stench of the smog coming from the Everglades fires which that drought brought some 55 years ago.  Yesterday they ended that TPC tournament with an underspoken, anticlimactic short winning putt at the 18th hole by Cameron Young, who to his credit refused to kiss the trophy and kept a reserved, taciturn expression before the press afterwards.  As for how today will unwind, i'd like the donut drivethrough, some reading progress, study foreign languages, and exercise along with some temperance regarding eating.  And some more sleep should fit the bill as well.  I think I'll listen to some stuff from the late Jim Rohn, too. And see if I can't fit in some material from Andrew Huberman and Rob Dial...

Day Progresses into Decline

Today, after my early morning rising and activity, progressed more or less into a span of rest and inactivity, me spending much of it in bed or on the living room couch.  I still ran in place for a few more minutes before leveling off.  Tomorrow morning they're staging another Depot Parkrun 5K.  I want to show up there and do at least one lap, with Melissa doing the valuable driving.  We're sitting right now in the dining room while AI Alexa is playing the piano version of It Came Upon a Midnight Clear...very pretty. Equally NOT very pretty is this overbearing missile war happening right now between USA, Iran and Israel...enough of that on the news! I suspect that the president dictator others elected will turn against his own people once he impatiently declares victory and moves on to new perceived enemies that challenge his egomania...he'll use his own handpicked cronies as proxies. I still think that people...especially some of the more creepy ones from Utah...have lost their minds with their violent  rampages against each other. And I include Florida's Dixie and Marion counties in that indictment. Not a nice picture at all.  Now for me to digest my last food of the day.  Either I'll get up tomorrow morning at a good, early time or we'll just put off the next Parkrun until another time...

Up Early, Exercising, National News

 A day ago I stepped outside into the backyard to check the lunar eclipse's progress.  Turns out the entire sky was overcast, and the entire event was a washout.  I still wrote my blog article and listened to personal development influencer Jim Rohn on YouTube.  Later on Melissa took me down for my chemotherapy infusion.  I read through Chapter 5 in Shadow Magic. I studiously avoided TV updates about the US/Iran missle war.  I didn't start the conflict and have an instinctive aversion to so-called "faiths" that promote violence and whose adherents are only too easy to wear an "offended' pose if someone happens to disagree with their ideology and command structure.  John Cornyn won a close Republican Primary contest for the Texas US Senate seat being contested this year, and Roy Cooper easily won the Democratic nomination for the open North Carolina Senate seat after incumbent Thom Tillis' announced retirement.  I can't vote in either race this November, restricted to my Florida and assigned local districts as registered Republican. If registered Democratic voters actually display some initiative and vote in the general election, they have a chance of flipping those two seats their way, but i'm skeptical.  As for me today, nothing medical is scheduled.  But I'd like to see some progress, at least with little things.  I this were me in 1971 in the 9th grade I guess I'd be assembling my prepared homework for the grueling day ahead.May my eating today reflect an improved sense of judgment...

Good Early Morning at Home So Far

 It's now a little past five in the morning, I'm up, and my FitBit has so far given me a little over three hours of sleep credit.  Ran in place for 7 minutes, brewed coffee, and ate a couple of toaster strudels. unless we find ourselves going out today, I'm gonna be a homebody.  The news of this ongoing missile war is disconcerting and I'm tired of reaching news channels that dwell on it.  My hunger level is almost non-existent, so unless whether we go through a Dunkin' drive-through comes up from another in conversation, i'm planning to play it all cool.  Now back to my exercise and rest.  Oh, and Happy Rebecca Anniversary Day and Casimir Pulaski Day. So will I try taking out the white Camry for aa short neighborhood spin today? We'll see...

61 Miles

 I feel like Frodo Baggins near the end of the movie Return of the King, tending to feel pain and unhealing wounds.  I continue today exercising a little and resting a lot. I value silence and resent loud haranguing.  I am still optimistically guarded about the future: still have an appetite...

Exercised Today, Rest and Eating Restraint Ahead

 4.8 total virtual miles.  That's my day's results.  I resisted inertia and exercised today...hooray! I didn't need to be anywhere medical, so I remained at home. Rest is on the agenda, as well as restraint regarding food intake.  Tomorrow morning will mark another Depot Parkrun.  I'm looking forward to walking this 5K event at a self-challenging, honest pace and anyone is welcome to pass me along the way.  May the weather go well for tomorrow morning and Melissa feel good and energetic. Well, I guess that's it for today...

Merry Christmas from Me with a Minimal Appetite

 Merry Christmas, everyone! Today we greeted this holiday and visited our good friends, who live on the western outskirts of Gainesville. The food was wonderful and so was the company.  I had a very small appetite and filled up quickly, wanting to take a nap on their couch.  We went back home and I rested, skipping the exercise routine I had planned.  Later on I watchd, while resting, a couple of NBA games and some Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime channel.  Well, time to get a decent night's sleep. Happy holidays...

College Football Playoffs Commence...in the Evening

 Today we paid the UF Health Davis Cancer Pavilion another visit.  There I went through a radiation therapy round.  Later our dear friend Lisa paid us a visit and we had chili for dinner.  In the evening ESPN was overhyping their first broadcast college football playoff game for the 2025 season, with Oklahoma hosting Alabama in Norman.  The Sooner fans pregame seemed pretty smug about their team's superiority over the Crimson Tide, whose reputation for winning was tarnished following legendary coach Nick Saban's retirement.  Knowing that a Depot Parkrun 5K is scheduled for tomorrow morning and that Melissa is planning to walk it with me, I settled comfortably on the living room couch with the TV set on the game.  When I woke up toward midnight, it was late in the fourth quarter and Oklahoma was ten points behind, desperately trying to catch up before the game clock expired.  Twice they stopped their own drives to bring in their own placekicker, who missed both makeable attempts badly.  Then the camera panned out to the crowd of spectators, showing people looking aghast with their mouths open in shocked dismay.  So "Bama came from 17 points down to improbably win and advance. Next, they play Indiana on the road in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.  Tomorrow a lot of college playoff games are scheduled, and I'll probably be dutifully following them as well.  As for today's exercise, I had 2.4 virtual-equivalent miles...  

Today's Treatments and Doctor Visit

 After receiving my radiation treatment for today at the UF Health Davis Cancer Pavillion, Melissa and I went on a long walk to the Neuromedicine building, where we met with my neurologist/oncologist physician Dr. Rinonos.  Always upbeat, positive and engaging, that appointment went quite well as my treatments continue unabated.  Afterwards, the day slogged on after I ate my main meal from an Arby's drive-through line, not sleeping very much overnight.  Dr. Rinonos was very enthusiastic and supportive of the exercise routine that I created, making the whole experience one of never leaving the ground (no contact).  I just need to regularly show up and follow through with it.  Later on there was Monday Night Football on ABC/ESPN when the Philadelphia Eagles went to Los Angeles to play the Chargers...Philly has been slumping a bit lately.  Well, we'll see what tomorrow brings...

Staying Active Through the Fatigue

 I wrote yesterday about my experience of putting together a late Sunday afternoon 4.8-mile neighborhood walk at a brisk (for me) pace.  But since I wasn't keeping up a four-mph pace throughout it, I wouldn't have come anywhere near surviving the established, required pace in Stephen King's (pseudonym Richard Bachman) 1979 early dystopian novel The Long Walk.  In spite of being a bit slower, I was feeling some fatigue as I went through the course.  I don't want to feel that my level of physical fitness is set in a state of decline, so this morning I did some "rock-running" exercise while listening in on foreign language podcasts...that went well.  Now it's past four in the afternoon and I'm back from radiation therapy, having just eaten "for dinner" an Arby's cheddar and beef classic sandwich along with an apple turnover.  I still feel a lot of energy and could do with some more exercise.  Maybe I'll try the rest of the foreign languages and watch a YouTube Rob Dial episode with Russian subtitles.  We're probably expecting some rainfall in our moderately-drought-stricken area in the coming hours, but that's all right since I'm home for the night.  All thanks and gratitude to the Lord, in whose hands I am always and who carries me each and every day.  And my deep love for my wonderful, dear Melissa...

Tried to Make Something of This Sunday Despite Feelings

 After what amounted to a poor night of sleep, I managed to get on with today, Sunday, the last day in November 2025.  Our friend Lisa paid us a wonderful visit and, after some rest, I set out on my neighborhood walk.  While on the course, I decided to slightly extend the distance to 4.8 miles.  It wasn't a speed walk per se, but I gave it an honest effort as brisk exercise, listening to my phone collection of some favorite songs, arranged as if they were tracks on a double album.  The whole walk was an exercise in fatigue, although the outside temperature remained moderate around 79 degrees with a dry 42% humidity.  Melissa has everything set up now to where, as long as I'm carrying my phone with me, she can determine where I am I on a map...that's reassuring for me.  After the walk (and a deliberately light dinner) my heart rate is getting close to dipping below 90, which is the boundary of Zone One.  Now I've eaten enough for myself and would like to settle down for the evening with a cooler home environment.  Tomorrow I'm due to resume chemotherapy in the morning and radiation treatments in the afternoon. I'm skipping the news, which I think is pretty crappy: is our national motto Make America Grim Again? The wise words of Sting ring out: Our so-called leaders speak.  With words they try to jail you.  They subjugate the meek.  But it's the rhetoric of failure.  MY so-called leaders, that OTHERS elected.  I'm grateful that. at least for today, I didn't have to go out and meet any appointments.  But tomorrow presents a completely different picture.  Not fun, but it's life... 

A Day in My Life Before the Onset of Chemo/Radiation

Sometimes with this blog of my I pick out a specific topic to write about, while on other days I relate what has been going on in my life, and how I feel about it all.  Today it's all about the latter: what's up with me as I approach Day One in my cancer chemotherapy and radiation cycles?  I'm not looking forward to it as it promises to be a monumentally unpleasant experience, yet I'm a bit curious to see how it all turns out.  I haven't been sleeping much at night, although I admit to falling asleep evenings on my living room couch in front of the TV (set on sports).  I tend to arise early in the morning, before sunrise around 4.  Then I brew some coffee and exercise while listening to foreign language radio shows and podcasts.  My favorite stations are Radio France International in French and Chinese and RBB Inforradio, a 24-hour news station in German operating from Berlin.  With podcasts, it's hands-down SBS from Australia, the initials standing for "Special Broadcasting Service".  I get my daily Spanish, Russian and Japanese listening from this great resource.  Then there some self-help podcasts that I watch/listen to on YouTube, getting subtitles of the ongoing program in Russian.  The last couple of days I watched a very slow (but expertly filmed) virtual video on YouTube of "Peter's" first (and possibly final) marathon run, done on the inimitable New York City course through the city's five boroughs.  Then Melissa gets up and, following a little breakfast, I go back to bed to sleep a little more (usually successfully).  Although I tend to tire as the day grinds on, the two of us usually find some time before sunset to walk around our neighborhood block (like today).  It's now a little past six in the evening and I am not at all hungry, although a kind friend of ours arranged to have dinner delivered to our home.  I already told Melissa that I may find myself pushing food away following the start of chemotherapy, and that for those times it would be a good idea to have some good liquid nourishment like Ensure that I could down instead of trying to chew and swallow unappetizing food.  But now is now, and so now I'm going to post this article, shut down the computer and sit back down on the couch for a while.  Good Night!