It Still Counts

I haven't been to the gym all week. As the dose of prednisone tapered down, my sciatica flared back up. The meloxicam hasn't been very effective as a pain reliever or even as an anti inflammatory, which means that even though today is the last day of a 10-day dose, I'm not going to ask for a prescription renewal. So, now I have a full-blown cold (head & chest) with a runny nose, wet cough, scratchy dry throat and sometimes laryngitis. And my foot continues to go numb, with a clenching grip on my calf, and after a while, my glute feels like I've been kicked. Sporadically, the front of my hip also gets a tingly numbness. Very weird and not at all pleasant. 

Add to that, the 6-7" scratch my demon dog inflicted on me as I dragged him off to his crate yesterday morning before I could feed them breakfast. He's a very high strung dog. The only dog I know who regularly grinds his teeth in his sleep while he sleep runs. He was upset that yesterday there was no one to play with and we didn't spend enough time at the cold, overcast park. We were there for 45 minutes! But once home, he took offense to the other dog and I heard that low in the chest growl that signals he's going to go bonkers, so off to his crate... I released him once I got back home. And dosed him with calming chews for good measure. Meanwhile, the other dog parked himself right outside the crate, because he's so codependent. 

Yesterday was busy: take dogs to park, bring them home and feed them, drive to the train station parking lot, walk a good hundred yards to the actual train station, walk the unbelievably crowded midday midtown streets of Manhattan to the theater and then up several flights to the balcony of the Hudson Theater to a lovely unimpeded view of the stage to watch a matinee showing of Waiting For Godot. With Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters. 

It was wonderful. There is such nuance that isn't apparent in a reading of the play in written form. I know because I made a point of reading it before I saw the performance. The magic is in the inflection and gesture that conveys humor and sorrow, even from afar. The actor who plays Lucky is actually disabled and wheelchair bound. At the end of the show, he spoke about the stroke he suffered and how the health insurance provided by Actor's Equity helped him survive and rehabilitate so that he could remain a working actor. 

Old theaters have very tight seating and several patrons joked about accidentally falling over the edge since the wall was so low and the seats so narrow. The ladies room only has two stalls so of course there's a line at intermission. Oddly, the water fountain is inside the door to the ladies room so people keep cutting the line just to get a sip, at least until one woman remarked about the cleanliness of the fountain, or rather, the lack thereof. It was kind of grody. I had the foresight to bring my own bottled water with me. Entering the theater, no one scanned or searched anyone and that was refreshing. It was like the old days when we were civilized, before we all feared strangers. 

As soon as the play was over, I hurried back through rush hour streets to board a packed commuter train. It's amazing how many French speakers I heard in passing. Also, how many people were plugged in, earbuds quite prominent, as they chatted and marched through the crowds. I overheard one fellow (on the sidewalk a block from Grand Central) mentioning a moment during the play when there was a quick reference to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Yes, the audience went wild and we all cheered and clapped. 

My FitBit tracked all my steps and heart rate: almost 12,000 steps which is more than if I'd gone to the gym, and a heart rate 43-123. So, sorta like working out, right? Not sure if I'm making it to the gym tomorrow. The park is closed from 7 AM to 1 PM so the through road and parking lot can be repaved. Still, my dogs will have to go to the park at some point, probably right at 1 PM. Maybe I'll venture to the gym over the weekend... I have no hope that my sciatica will improve. Being 65 means I got a senior discount on my train ticket, but that parts of my body are failing me without much warning or recourse. 

Meanwhile, I'm thinking that I ought to drag a load of firewood in just to let it dry out in the house before winter really hits... We got snow flurries yesterday with about 1/4" but temps rose into the 40s today so there's nothing except a cold dampness. My red maple is finally changing color, turning from summer green to a brilliant orange to a magenta-red just as all the other trees have dropped their leaves. It still looks like October in my yard while everywhere else the leaves are brown and crinkly like craft paper. Weird about these micro climates.