Princess Poor Me Freak Out Resolved in Everyday Ramblings

This long skinny shot is the horse chestnut about three blocks away, yesterday afternoon.

There is a City Council hearing early next month to renew our “Big Tree Amendment”, which protects our bigger trees from being cut down for development that I might go to. I will for sure send emails to the council.

This is one of the heartaches about all the urban hiking we do, seeing big healthy trees brought down for development. We have a tree code here known as Title 11.

I am all for taking care of sick trees and distressed trees and generally supporting trees in whatever way they need and I know, boy do I know how much we need affordable housing but there has got to be a way to accommodate both with climate change in full expression.

It took a month but they did take down the huge oak that was split by traffic vibration and natural forces near the office that I called the city on.

Diego continues to improve. There is still the hassle of his having a modified diet that neither him or Carlo understands and don’t get me started on the joys of getting ear drops into a reluctant cat but for all intents and purposes he is almost back to normal. Yay!

I ended up walking more than 9 miles on Wednesday and my scoliosis bothers me after I have been walking awhile, especially if it is steady walking so yesterday was a quiet day. Quiet for me is 5 miles spreadout over the whole day. :)

Today I will stretch out first before I go out and try to stretch while I am out.

I admit I didn’t read the pages of instructions thoroughly for the forms I needed for initiating Medicare Part B through Social Security. I thought they had to send the request for information to my former employer.

From what I overheard, each office is different but the main Portland Social Security office is not exactly a welcoming place. The front door was bashed in and repaired with an odd assortment of caution tape. The security was polite but intense, they go through everything you bring in and then you get a number like the DMV.

Based on my hell-scape experience at the county office last month with the construction and homeless and mentally ill and my general unease having to do with interactions with bureaucracy and my former employer I was a nervous wreck when I got there.

I had to wait about a half hour, not bad, it was as you can imagine an interesting place to people watch.

Then when I finally got to the window the nice woman told me that I had to go to my former employer and get the form signed. It is only a week since I had to take the equipment back and I went out on the street and started to cry.

The idea of going back there was so troubling I realized how vulnerable and weirdly traumatized I still am.

I needed some things for Diego so I went to the grocery near by and wandered around in this princess poor me freak out state and then walked down to the bus mall and used my new bus pass to get home.

Once I was home I focused and used Google and got a number for HR and called and was transferred to a young man who knew exactly what form I needed, filled it out for me and emailed it to me at home 15 minutes later. The woman at SS had given me a postage paid envelope so I wouldn’t have to come back.

I’ll need to wait for the set up, which will delay getting my prescriptions refilled but my doctor told me I don’t absolutely have to take these “extra” heart medications every day as long as I control my blood pressure and my heart health and functioned has improved enormously since I left work. So now I wait.

And rest and stretch and finish my library murder mystery and take naps and see what comes next… I am doing a group urban hike today in the meantime.

Last updated November 09, 2019