Upcoming Speech Therapist Visit: Will It Help?

 Today I felt too tired to train.  Melissa said this may be due all the chemotherapy I had been taking recently against my glioblastoma brain cancer. My oncologist feels that the treatment..including Avastin infusions... fed into my weariness, and temporarily relenting on it could restore more energy to give me better strength and endurance.  Tomorrow a speech therapist will b visiting to assess how I am doing with my speech. Cognitively I don't think I have a speech problem, but that while engaging in speaking my voice tends to weaken and even break...this is frustrating when I get the impression that folks simply don't want to invest the needed time and attention to hear me out...

Alleviating Clotting Concerns Reason for Return Visit to Shands for Tests

 Late afternoon today Melissa came back to me, woke me up from my nap, and declared she was driving me to Shands Hospital toundergo an ultrasound and a ct-scan to rule out the risk o blood clots appearingas side effects of some of my brain cancer treatments.  Later in the evening I would be building up exercise steps while watching baseball on our MLB channel.  Later on I recall getting a reasonably good night's sleep.   A couple of good friends met us at the UF Health Neuromedicine building on Archer Road to consult with my neurooncologist, Dr. Serendipity Rinonos, and her nurse practitioner.Although the additional tests took place in a hectic setting and I felt  little roughhandled by thet ech who efficiently and competently performed the ultrasound, the result seemed reassuring to me.  Life for me happens one day at a time and I intend to live it that way.And I stand grateful to God and Melissa for looking after me...

MRI Scheduled Soon, Training Plans and Outlook

 I amoing to uUF Health Neuromedicine building in about on hour for them to do an MRI on my brain. rMRIa tend to go well for m, although going through thnoise an sucha lengthy procedure can get t o b annoying.  I am looking forward t o my health improving, and forthe cancer in my head to beat  a hasty retreat from my life. I want  nice, long lifespan with a lot of athletic fittness equipping m me to participate...and thrive..in various middle-length-distance running races organized for this fall and winter.But before I get to that point, I'd like to attain a sense of proven confidence about completing Depot Parkrun 5kK's on Saturday mornings.  (Primarily) walking around my ,7-mile home resisdential block is transforming into a healthful, habitual routine.  I do like it when I'm going down the return street and breaking into a brief, light jog fo a couple of house lengths.     Hooray, Martinus Evans!My stated goal is to become an Endurance fitness walker, with  a trail of successfully completedraces behind me...

Athletic Training Prospects with Uncertain Medical Future

 ALTHOUGH I am grateful((to God) for the time and quality of life He has so graciously granted me for this limited season, I get the disturbing impression that somehow the the clock is ticking down on me. Before the cancer bomb hit me in October,2025with no forwarning, my fitness level was sky-high...now when I walk I often feel as if I'm kicking down into the pavement with each walking step.  I'm still fighting the good fight with my training, practicing slow running in the back yard and rocking simultaneously back and forth on my feet...running in place seems to have slowed down, however, as a regular workout routine. Depot Parkrun 5K is a fitting challenge if I want to finish walking or running the course to completion....I just need to make it a priority.     This coming Saturday morning could well be too wet with the high probability of rain that they're forecasting.  The time is now approaching midnight...and I hear thunder in the background outside.   Tomorrow I'm going with Melissa to get blood drawn and another chemotherapy infusion session, to last much of the afternoon.And then later in the week I have another MRI to undergo.  That procedure, along with its analyzed results, could drastically change how stable of a life I have to expect at least for the short term, looking at my pain here with headaches, with me longing for release from having to pay attention to them and communicate my feelings to Melissafor for some relief and added life quality.  I just need to put everything about myself into the hands of the Lord...He's the Boss and has everything covered...                                                       

HeadacheThroughout Day, No Early Rising Planned

 It's now early evening here in gainesville, Florida, which went through a very uncomfortably hot stretch in the low nineties.  My exercising wasrestricted to rock-running in the living room, amassing~4,500 steps. Now the baseball channel is showing the tail end of a tied  gamethat is going to extra innings...I don'r care who wins, as usual.  I putout some K-Cup flavored decaf coffee to brew a pot...now I"m sipping from a small Mario Brothers mug.  I have been  sufffering from headaches for most of today and still feel their effects, moderate in intensity but not going away. I'm still speculating on last October and the worsening of my headaches back then, which I think may have intensified due i major part to the rapid growth of cancerous brain tumors that the surgeon generally removedo n October 24th, more than 95% of them according to his own account.  I don't want these tumors to return, and i really want the neext MRI's I undeergo to reveal that my tumor growth has stalled out, at least for the next few months.  Waste removal and recycling are scheduled for pickup in my neighborhood tomorrow.  I don't have plans to get up hours before sunrise...a good night's sleep would be in order.  Well, i can adjust the air and rest on the living room couch for a while before heading back to stir up Peewee Daisy.  Y'all have a good night tonight...

On Eve of Tomorrow's Medical Appointment

 I have a medical appointment for tomorrow morning at the UF Health neuromedicine building, right next to SW Archer Road, to see a nurse practitioner relating to the brain cancer trials I am passing through.  Sickness is something that I have, but I don't intend to be governed in my life by denial.  "Tell me something good" is something I feel I have the right, if not my duty, to bring up in conversation during our consultation.  The crucial question I feel that I'm left with regarding this horrible brain cancer situation is what do I do if and/or when the shoe drops about my condition and future prospects.  Feeling some hope and optimism about the future...knowing that I'm not going to physically live o this Earth forever(no one else will, either)...is something that I want to have coming out of tomorrow's appointment.  Well, my body resists but I still have hope.  There are still some baseball games on TV this evening, and before it turns pitch black outside I just might (or might not) do some slow AF running back and forth for a couple of minutes in the back yard.  And...I'm looking forward this evening to some good rest before I go back and get Peewee Daisy to bark and talk at me. Rest well, everyone...

Walked Three Difficult Depot Parkrun Laps This Morning

 This morning was another installment of the DepotParkrun 5K odyssey that Melissa and I have been undergoing here in Gainesville in recent weeks.  Getting through the entire event was something I knew would be quite challenging.  I wanted to complete the four laps required to get my wristband scanned and my finishing time read and posted online.  Only thing is that in order to accomplish this, I needed to complete the four prescribed laps, either through walking or running.  In previous recent Parkruns, a completed event has been very elusive for me because I have tended to tire out too quickly to finish.  Today I started out all right, but felt crowded out by other, more pushy contestants...they wouldn't leave me alone!  And then some stern-expressioned dude comes up right behind me and Melissa and introduces himself as "my"tail walker! I think his idea was that I stood out as an impaired, incompetent walker, whom he was babysitting...that didn't hit it with me!  I managed to struggle through three laps (2.3 miles), and although I felt it (barely) possible for me to walk that last one, I let it ride after three laps and got into the car.  Maybe I'll swing the whole course next week, after today's particularly annoying Parkrun. I wondered if the others creeping on past me would ever let me go in peace, instead of inflicting themselves and their children on my presence and threatening to knock me down in the process. It seemed that although I deliberately held back on my walk today, I was constantly being approached and passed throughout the course...very irritating, and scary because I dared never to veer at all in any direction! I did get some exercise from the Parkrun experience...maybe things will turn out well next week.  In all, I did the three walking laps in exactly one hour, and Melissa helped me a lot by providing some electrolyte hydration after each completed lap.  My intention is to enjoy the outdoors for a little while this afternoon, inserting some backyard walking and/or light jogging into the mix, which I plan to keep short for the unseasonably hot weather.  Later on I'll check my Facebook to see if one of the Parkrun folks got a pic of me in that race...my suspicion is that they're deliberately shunning me. I'm still getting the chemo treatment for my brain cancer that was identified last October...let's see how the Lord gets me through it all...He's in complete control...  

Cancer Chemo, Martinus, Baseball TV includes Florida, Carbs and Hydration for Training

 Yesterday Melissa drove me down to UF Health Davis Cancer pavilion for my periodic Avastin anti-cancer infusion.  First I had a blood lab draw, after which I gave a urine specimen.  Then Melissa brought over an Opus hot latte coffee.  First I waited for the test results to come in, after which the nurse connected the IV line to the incoming infusion.  While sitting there waiting for it, I listened to some Amazon Prime Music on my Android.  Then I tuned in to my public library Libby app, which played the audiobook Slow AF Run Club, written by Martinus Evans.  It's a good, compelling piece of literature about running, and how you can swing it if you stick to the author's suggestions, backed by his own life experiences.  He says he's completed some eight marathons and more than 100 other races, simply by going through the prescribed courses without ever trying to pick up the running pace.  For the neighborhood I live in, I can see me running around the block "slow as F" and then applying that standard to longer road distances.  I'm already doing a tapered version of this in the back yard, trotting back and forth between the east and west privacy fences.  While at the doctors', Melissa got me hooked up receiving the 2026 regular season live schedule featuring visual coverage of the Florida teams Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins.Today I plan to review the rosters of Tampa Bay, Miami and Atlanta...should be fun.  Speaking of running slowly (for long distances} Martinus impressed me discussing pre-run carb-loading, along with his wise emphasis on proper hydration.  It makes me want carry a long a little bottle of Propel fitness water, easy AF to tote as I go..for this early morning, I was faithful in getting up just before three, when I did some bathroom business and ran in place for 16 minutes before writing this.  And now, another good day to look forward to...

Looking Ahead to Medical Appointments Today, TV, Peewee, Reading, Baseball ,Exercise

 Becky, I enjoyed reading your comments about your training recentlybringing you something resembling a dopamine rushfor you, and may your physical fitness come out enhanced from it.  I missed out on some of that recently, but see some more coming my way.  So, they say, embrace the discomfort,knowing that the brain is good for protecting yourself by playing it safe and to avoid dwelling on 'what ifs" when a simple problem can easily be solved by stepping into action.  Yesterday I listened to a good amount of Marianus Evans's audiobook Slow AF Run Club, which is loaded with good stuff. After watching the MLB channel, including a walk-off exciting ending to a New York Yankees game highlighted by a wild pitch if you're leaning toward the Bronx Bombers. I am looking ahead to further cancer chemotherapy today at UF Health's Davis Cancer Pavilion.Today was another early-rising morning for me, and I'll be going to the back to greet Daisy Peewee soon to greet the sunrise later this morning.   

Back from Daytona Beach, Training to re-enter Long Distance Running Picture

 Today Melissa and I finished up our overnight stay at the Hampton Inn in northern Daytona Beach...then she drove the both of us back home.  Right now it's 5:55 PM. Today is the start of a new week, with its five weekdays.  It reminds me of my old, grueling high school routine, going back to the spring of 1971 when I was stuck (and not doing very well) in the ninth grade at Davie's Nova High School. The air outside back then was beginning to stink of smoke caused by a local drought and wildfires spreading across the South Florida Everglades.  Today, though it all seemed clean out on the beach.  I exercised, running in place for 36 minutes.  It's late in the afternoon now, and I've exercised for ten minutes so far.  Tuesday afternoon I am scheduled to be at UF Healh's Davis Cancer Pavilion to undergo some more IV chemotherapy for brain cancer.  Right now our living room tv is showing an old, melodramatic medical series, on which the actors are portraying characters full of troublesome life and relational issues..there's plenty of stuff on it that feels wrong to me1.i am continuing to listening, on my own public library's lLibby app, an audiobook from Martinus Evans titled Slow AF Run Club, in which the author humorously and frankly lays out his own experiences about returning to SLOW long distance running and presents several practical suggestions how I (or anyone interested in running) can get going with it.  I have a long history of running, both with training and participating in public races.  I have entered and completed two 26.2-mile marathons, along with 19 13.1 half-marathons.  With the lengthier distance, I have little interest in adding to my "accomplishments".  I simply want to return to my  old ability for lasting reasonably long distances dating back to the year 2010,  Consistently sticking with daily training can build up compounded positive effect over the next few weeks and months.  I'm still counting on progress in my  ongoing struggle against cancer. May this spring and summer bode well for you and yours...

Run Club Author Evans Providing Fitness Hope and Workout Information

 I woke up at at little past one this morning.  I had to linger in bed for time to "catch up", but eventually it did and I set out, in the living room, to do some 12 minutes of running-in-place.  The air conditioning in the house was mostly on, but I took some of the "off" time to brew a pot of coffee.  Yesterday I took some time to switch around running-in-place with walking back and forth through the house, using the initial training formula of Slow AF Run Club author Martinus Evans' suggested timed ratios of running to walking at a ratio of one to three, building up to a total of twenty minutes leaving pace out of it...I worked my way up to ten minutes.  Later today my plan is to go a little further with the Slow AF workouts, without going overboard with them...I'm enjoying reading through this funny, helpful book. Melissa earlier gave me a good report on my most recent MRI brain scan.  It's still something I need to be cautious interpreting, since these tests can easily quickly turn toward the worse.  I have to be reasonable about my own medical expectations, especially regarding the detection and growth of cancer in my own brain. Living onward for a multitude of years is something I'd like to be a part of, and being effectively active during that hoped-for span places high on my list of priorities...especially concerning running and walking long distance endurance events.  Completing race events of 5k to half-marathon length, regardless of finishing times, are goals I'd like to attain as 2026 progresses into the spring,summer, and fall months. I've already experienced a severe, seemingly random brain cancer diagnosis bomb dropped on me from last October, with the brain surgery and subsequent chemo and radiation treatment side effects having their own negative effects on my athletic endurance and general fitness level.  Let's see if this morning I can't at least approach the exhortations of Mr. Evans, who believes that factors limiting running and walking distance attainment are more than 90% mental in origin.  I say let's get mental with it all and crush it...

After Parkrun Experrence, I See Need for More Discipline & Consistency in Training

After a poor night's sleep, I got up around five this morning and went, with Melissa driving, down to Depot Park just a few blocks south of dowtown Gainseville to attempt their weekly Parkrun 5k.  Today it was warmer, in the sixties. The "race"...they try to say it isn't a competition...has quite a few people running and walking in it.  The very first Parkrun I ran,in January 2019, had me finishing at 30:00, a speed barrier I wouldn't break until 2023. Yet, with the exception of my summer 2021 open heart surgery and slow recovery until late October, I could easily maintain a light running pace without feeling exhausted.  That was true until early this year...now the simple act of jogging seems a bit too challenging to me.  As a matter of fact, the prospect of performing one and only one lap through the park seems pretty daunting, with me eliminating quickly any notion of going any further.  The people there this morning were very nice and friendly and, when i finished, Melissa praised me for my  effforts and enouraged me heartily.  As for my future with fitness walking and jogging, any progress  I make in it will need to come gradually, and I should be patient and disciplined. Later I exercised at home and walked slowly around the back yard while the resistance burden dragged me down. I can barely cover two inner-perimeter laps before needing to stop.  I felt a sense of regression at the park today, but I know that consistency is the best way to go... 

Medical Consultation Set for This Morning

 As my medical treatment for glioblastoma brain cancer enters another week, I find myself with an oncologist appointment early this morningin the Archer Road Neuroscience Building, coupled with a request for a lab blood draw...if it's a no-show, I expect a nurse practitioner appearance instead.  The oncologist should at least be present to discuss her interpretation of my recent MRI. Other than the visits, draws, scans and medications, my fight for recovery is mostly a matter of complying with doctors' orders and not letting things get out of hand.  I have been keeping up with running in place, also doing a few difficult inner perimeter walking laps in the back yard.  The time is now approaching four thirty in the morning, and I finally got up and ran in place for eight minutes.  I don't expect ecstatic proclamations out there from any physician, but should get through today's consultation without too much frustration, patiently sitting back through all of the technical overdrive.  Melissa is such an incredible blessing with her driving and expertise and concern about treatments and tests. Let's see, how about a little more rest this morning, after I get little Peewee all happily agitated when I go back there? I thought I would hold back on brewing any coffee until later on in the morning...

Fresh New Day Lies Ahead, Possibility for new Routines

 I fell asleep on the narrow living room couch last night and woke up around 1 AM, feeling itchy and irritated.  By after three I was procrastinating getting up, but just before four I finally arose, and after running in place on the rug for 8 minutes, here I am on this chilly morning! Yesterday I had a pretty eventless chemotherapy infusion session at the UF Health Davis Cancer Pavilion, taking care now to avoid excessive eating. Spending a lot of money to do Dunin' Donut mobile app order seems to be taken off the table, too. We're expecting some good company to visit  us tomorrow.  I'll see if I can't put in a solid block of reading Khan's monstrosity novel Shadow Magic for today, March 18th.  Maybe all the unlikable characters (and I don't like any of them) will get wiped out and I'll be spared the anxiety of a suspenseful plot development.  Averaging about 20 pages of reading per day should keep me on pace to finish the book by month's end, and that is very possible considering how quickly I tore through the first four Harry Potter books at Books-a-Million 25 years ago.  And how about all those Stephen King/Richard Bachman novels? Of course, I tended to like those stories, and King has always been a master at character development.  Melissa has expressed expectation of me finlly getting my updated voter registration card in the mail today (or soon)...let's see if this can happen without me having to come out of retirement.  Yes, I'm tired of Trump on any level, and may the Iran ordeal settle down.  Our president seems to be content settling into Netanyahu's errand boy role, and the USA might get sucked into an expanded conflict against Hezbollah on "Bibi's" behalf.  Well, let's just see what today will bring: hopefully more and better sleep...

Early A.M. about Awards, War, ''allies", Exercise, Day Ahead

 One of the funniest commercials I've seen lately has a man standing behind a loud microphone on a lit-up stage, in front of a large audience, demonstrating his prowess at being able to access files online, only he seems completely unable to key in the proper password.  He awkwardly glances around, chuckles and grins as the AI-on-duty repeatedly notifies him of his failures, to the consternation of those standing around who will ultimately decide his public-relations career fate. Very funny...and a little sad. Yesterday evening Entertainment Tonight was obsessing on the previous evening's Academy Awards, and how Michael Jordan won best actor for the movie Sinners and ate an In-and-Out hamburger holding his trophy in the left hand. I am determined to stay away from celebrities and their overhyped shows that merit avoidance.  Yesterday I worked on reading a few more pages in Joshua Khan's tedious, depressing juvenile fantasy novel Shadow Magic.  I can't wait to be done with it, to say the least.  This afternoon I have an appointment for some chemotherapy infusion at the UF Health Davis Cancer Pavilion, preceded by a blood lab draw, urine sample and IV line.  Looks like Trump is trying to get other countries to pitch in and help the USA with the Straits of Hormuz, and they're coldly snubbing him in response.  Today it will stay cool outside with nighttime temperatures to dip solidly into the thirties.  May all go well with my family, especially Melissa, Amy, Anita and Keith, regarding their health and feelings.  I'll be returning to bed soon, hopefully to get some good sleep.  I'm not sure what to make of this prolific bombing campaign instigated by the current commander-in-chief, but I think that those countries that are turning their backs on us will have something to answer for what I'm inclined to believe is a wartime betrayal of America and our soldiers.  I think that many of them are rooting for us to lose, so that they can later smugly claim they "told us so".  Well, I at least am confident that I did right in changing my party affiliation.   The late Jim Rohn, in one of his podcasts, made a big deal about urging listeners to spring up out of bed hours before sunrise with purposeful behavior.  I did so this morning, running in place for 8 minutes after I started brewing coffee.  Now I'm finishing this blog article.  Soon it'll be back to bed and loudly growling, snorting and barking Peewee Daisy, with whom I plan to be exceedingly sweet and gentle...

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...

Following Self-Help Gurus with Discernment, Working on Recovery

 Over the last few days I've grown to enjoy listening to YouTube podcasts by Jim Rohn and Rob Dial.  Both men have different agendas and messages they're trying to convey, and I'm good with their efforts even when I don't entirely receive them.  That people will either grow or weaken over time seems to be the main idea, and I appreciate the similar stoic philosophies underlying their talking points.  So our brains are there to protect us, and keeping ourselves in a state of comfort seems to fit the bill as far as our brains are concerned.  Consequently, I'm supposed to deliberately seek out discomfort and resist the obvious temptations to choose the easy course of action (or inaction).  Changing habits is very much a feasible proposition, and it's best to start small and not let boredom or pressure unduly and negatively influence me.  I don't dig Rohn's tendency to be all-or-nothing with his ideology, but here I am at age 69 with a most serious brain cancer diagnosis and the opportunity to build my mind and body back up into a fine state of VO2-max level cardiovascular fitness with plenty of resources and time for reading and study...maybe this will help with my lifespan and healthspan.  Now it's about working out and studying while watching my hydration, recovery, and attitude.  So I ran in place early this morning for eight minutes, with more to come...

Early Rising, Lunar Eclipse, YouTube Guru, Chemotherapy Infusion

 This morning I woke up early, a little past four.  The Blood Lunar Eclipse is scheduled now, to peak in totality between six and seven as the sky begins to lighten just before sunrise.  Fog is expected to roll in, obscuring the view.  I ran in place ten minutes, read through chapter four in my dubious Shadow Magic book, and brewed some good-tasting coffee after I ran the heat through this chilly place for a few minutes.  Last night I listened to Jim Rohn dispense some hard-ass personal development advice on establishing self-discipline habits and a positive, productive mindset.  The dude says what needs to be said and heard, and although at times it seemed like a bitter bill to swallow, I got past the message's abruptness and am listening once again.  Getting my sorry ass out of bed and going to the bathroom is just step number one of a great time in my daily routine.  After adjusting the temperature, I brewed that coffee and did the ten minutes of ipfs, lightly of course on the living room rug...and now here I am. Early this afternoon, I'm to be at the UF Davis Cancer Pavilion for a lab draw and then have a chemotherapy infusion, thanks to my wonderful Melissa's driving and advocacy.  During this period I plan to listen to more of Rohn's YouTube channel.  His shows are usually around 40 minutes in length...I should get to hear maybe two of them before needing to recharge my phone after returning home.  After getting back home I'm usually physically and mentally spent and feel like crashing out on the couch or the bed.  God bless this day, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to "get busy living' in it, as Morgan Freeman says on his pharma TV ad. Maybe I'll venture forth and do some 'rock-running' exercise as well.  One thing for certain: I'll be steering clear of those war-obsessed news and opinion channels...

Another Pleasant, Hopeful Early Morning at the "Base"

 Well, it's 6:36 am and I got myself up and out of bed, making some coffee and doing a little living room rug exercising.  It's not too cold outside, but the temps will rise later on.  For me, this is my base time and location.  Last night I already resumed taking the enhanced TMZ to fight off that tenacious gbm, and I already am at peace with extending my nighttime/morning fast without requesting donut shop stops.  I read the first 8 pages in Khan's Shadow fantasy book.  It's easy reading although the setting is brutal  and something I have difficulty  wrapping my propensity for imagination around all the negativity.  My internet research on the author and this series revealed that he hadn't grown much...if any...in stature over the past nine years.  I'll read some more today and mark the pages read.  Let me just keep Peewee from licking me today...she's such a  sweetie and I don't want her hurt!  I'm tired of watching those right-wing tv channels with their scare tactics, even if I tend to agree with their general political/social worldviews. I think I'll try out some of the foreign language stuff on that radio/[podcast channel.  Tomorrow morning another Parkrun is scheduled, and maybe Melissa and I will be ready to go for it, rain or not: just show up!. Yesterday Anita, Jim and I walked around 2nd and Charles, which is a thoroughly inadequate, disorganized used book store with few sitting opportunities and even fewer reading choices.  Maybe today we'll try out Book-a-Million or Barnes & Noble.  I've done ipf six minutes so far, and plan to go back to the bedroom in a few minutes after I try out some more. I'm still looking forward to trying out sitting on the front porch holding my Shaum's math book...

Keep Quiet, and They Come After You

My lament: 

In the first Godfather movie, Don Vito Corleone refuses to enter the narcotics trade, staying quiet and put.  This only invites his enemy Virgil Solozzo to attempt assassination and start a gangland war.  In the same way I wonder whether calmly going about my postal duties on the job (back in 1998) wouldn't have welcomed harassment and bullying from the folks finding themselves with some floor supervisory authority over me at the time.  I refer here to Henry Lang., Art Green's Lorraine, Menal, Jose and the two Lisas. If I were Tom Petty or Bob Dylan I might add a few pointed lyrics for their great Jammin' Me song. Glad to be finally done with the lot of these bullies: completely useless people on every level  Oh, and near the end there was also Willy, a young, ignorant hyper-macho boo-butt bent on crushing people with his alpha-male persona and cutting, combative tongue.  Bye-bye, creepos.  Nothing wrong with me being reasonable and a good worker, but sometimes a little bluntness and confrontation can work well. Later today I have scheduled an infusion chemotherapy treatment at the Cancer Pavilion...I've reacted well so far to chemo in the past.  No ninth grade nonsense and discouragement today, and I've already done about 3 minutes of home exercise. Looks like the bigshots in state and nat'l government are at it again, trying to roll back my already-confirmed citizenship and voting status.  Leave me the eff alone, fascist jerks...

Now that that's off my chest, I'd like to shift a little into gratitude mode.  Those folks were probably, in their own minds, just doing their best and maybe to them I wasn't quite measuring up to their expectations.  Today I had a chemotherapy infusion session at the UF Health Davis Pavilion.  The techs seemed at first unable to find a stick in my arm or hand to draw the needed lab blood, but later all went well.  I'm tired after a long day and would like to rest under pleasant temperatures at home in this warmer than seasonable weather.  Tomorrow's hump day Wednesday.  I've concluded already that the Smiths' How Soon is Now is my Song of the month for February and for the year 2026 as well.  It's a profound anthem on asserting myself in the face of my shyness and deep feeling of social alienation: the ultimate Goth/melancholy song!  Go Morrissey, you hit it out of the park.  As for Bad Bunny, sorry but he just comes across to me more like a gangland hoodlum street pimp than a true musical artist with that phony woke demeanor of his.  Maybe someday one of these folks will produce something musically memorable...but maybe not.  As for Super Bowl halftime shows, though, that does it for me.  A close runner-up to How Soon is Now is Zebra's chilling Who's Behind the Door, with Tom Petty's 1987 Jammin' Me Right Behind in third with its relevant, funny and pointed lyrics.  What a rocker... Running-in-place (IPF) updated counter after today: 22 minutes...