Hits and Misses (May 8-14)

Here's a look back at the week that was.....

HITS

• It was great to be home with my family for Mother's Day. Even though I arrived later than I had hoped due to last week's car accident, I was happy to sit around the table with family and simply laugh as we began this month of celebrations together.
• On Monday afternoon, I visited the chiropractor. The original reason for the visit was to pay off the debt I still owed from previous work. With a car accident's impact on my body, I was in for another round of adjustments and therapy. I'm happy to report that I got some initial relief from the pain -- and I'm just hoping that somebody's insurance actually covers the expense.
• While I was recovering from my sore joints and bones, I spent several days at home mindlessly watching movies. I'm secure enough in my manhood to admit that I mostly watched Hallmark Channel (although I did avoid the insanity of Lifetime Movies!) and will get back to the shoot-em-up-total-destruction films in a few more days. LOL
• Achy arms and a serious back ache made it impossible to spend any time at the piano -- a lesson I learned the hard way. That meant that I actually spent more time reading and writing this week. I enjoyed getting back to a normal routine of outlining blog posts and actually writing and editing them in advance of their publication. On the reading front, I decided to avoid anything "academic" for at least one week and devoted my reading to Middlemarch by George Eliot. Nothing like a little "light" novel to get the summer off to a good start.
• By Friday, I was beginning to feel a little more human or so I thought and took the opportunity to catch up with some friends in the area. It was so refreshing to visit with them, hear what has happened in their life in the past year, and talk about everything in between.

MISSES

• The week has been marked with insurance frustrations. Insurance information was included in the police report in Amarillo. The officer working the scene informed me of this information and told me that my insurance agent would get the correct policy number of the person who hit me when I reported the accident to them. Imagine my surprise and frustration when my agent informed me Monday morning that they didn't do that; I was to file directly with the other company. Annoying, but not a big deal. I'll just call the police station to get a copy of the report, right? WRONG! Amarillo Police is not set up to take credit cards for payment of police reports, so the report has to be paid for and picked up in person. After lots of phone calls and stupid answers to my questions, I'm still waiting for the police report while my car sits in the yard of the Geriatric Ward. (Insert your favorite "You might be a Redneck" joke here.) The last thing my insurance agent told me was that the adjustor would be in the office on Friday morning and would request the police report at that time. I'm hoping that I actually get a copy of the report by Tuesday morning...but I'm not really holding my breath. I'm also wondering if it is time to begin to look for another company to handle my car insurance. You know, one that actually has some decent customer service.....
• Being home also means that I have limited access to technology. I have both iPads here, but they aren't really conducive to writing. That means that I'm trying to get work done on Pop's laptop. He has everything set to a zoom of nearly 200% so it takes a lot of effort to see a single page. When I adjust the settings to normal, everything is STILL enormous. I have no idea what he has clicked (and I feel certain he is just as confused). Let's not even talk about the number of pop-ups that appear throughout. Thankfully, I'm just working on things that are for my entertainment at the moment. We'll see how I do when I start working on "real" projects in a few days.
• I'm also avoiding working on anything "real" because I'm lacking motivation and energy at the moment. It's been a rough week, so I'm not beating myself up about this too badly. But I still can't help but notice the files that are staring me in the face, just waiting for some attention.
• I guess I tried to get back to normal a little too fast. I awoke on two consecutive nights with horrible pain in my back and couldn't stand the pressure of lying in bed. There was absolutely no comfort. I couldn't lie on either side -- too much strain on my back muscles -- and I couldn't lie flat because of the bunk bed's rails running underneath. I moved to the living room and camped out in the recliner both nights. It certainly didn't make for a good morning to follow. I'm just hoping that the worst of these back issues are finally behind me. We'll just hang on for a few more days and see where things lead.