b.rox

I cut the middle finger of my left hand while sawing some tree branches. It didn’t hurt at all, but it bled a lot. Fortunately I had Xy to help me ice it down, clean it and bandage it. The bandage has stopped the flow of blood so I don’t think stitches will be [...]

I’m feeling better — still a little under the weather, but getting better. The recovery may take much longer than the decline into sickness, but psychologically it’s much easier for me to cope when I feel a sense of steady improvement. Perhaps there’s a metaphor for New Orleans here? Oddly enough, I had almost exactly [...]

I feel like crap. Went to bed Saturday with a sniffle. Woke up Sunday with a sore throat. I thought it was allergies at first, but the way it’s lingering makes me think it’s a cold or something. I should have stayed in bed this morning but the noise of the renovation isn’t exactly conducive [...]

This morning I jogged along my old route, from Jeff Davis around Bayou St. John, up to the art museum and back — about 2.5 miles — for the first time in over half a year. That area is in pretty good shape, or so it would appear. Slightly higher ground. And the museum is [...]

I got my first haircut since Katrina today, at a little barbershop in the Seventh Ward called Unifiers Soul Brothers Hair Styling.

The artwork in front of the place was wild, and I knew I had to patronize this establishment.

The barber was a man named Mr. Percy. He was wearing a Santa hat and listening to [...]

Xy went to a job screening today. It seems there are hundreds of teachers competing for 60 jobs in the newly chartered schools in the Algiers neighborhood.
As a first step, they seem to be weeding out the bulk of applicants with an essay and a battery of math questions. They plan to whittle the big [...]

Xy’s been feeling poorly ever since I left bloomington. She went to Promptcare and they found blood in her urine. Perhaps a urinary tract infection? But the test came back negative, so they had her come back in and pee in the cup again. Still tests positive for blood. So now she’s got to see [...]

I’m gearing up for another trip down to New Orleans, to take care of the stuff I didn’t finish last time. I’d hoped to drive down today, but I’ve got a sore throat. It’s pretty mild — just a scratchy, tickly feeling — but it won’t go away. It’s been about 48 hours now. I [...]

I had a little cold on my first Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but after that I didn’t get sick for years. This was a stark contrast to life in Indiana, where it seemed I came down with a cold every six months or so.
I thought maybe the subtropical climate agreed with me. Ha! Wishful [...]

It’s hot in New Orleans. The sun is just blazing. It’s 91¬?F, according to weather.com. 56% relative humidity. Heat index of 100¬?F.
But the amazing thing is, I just rode my bicycle from work to home — and didn’t break a sweat. Not even a fine sheen of perspiration. Nothing. I don’t feel overheated, either.
It was [...]

I’ve been wearing contact lenses for almost four months now. Mainly they’ve made me realize how much my glasses suck. But the contacts are far from perfect. They tend to get uncomfortable after a while — I get a bit of a headache. They’re blurry unless they’re sitting in exactly the right part of my [...]

Woke up yesterday morning feeling much better. I don’t know how to put my finger on it exactly, because many of my symptoms persist, but somehow it seemed the worst had passed. Since then I’ve had the feeling that I’m getting better rather than I’m so sick.
I went to the doctor yesterday morning, and her [...]

My sinuses are clogged. I’m kind of dizzy and disoriented. I’m blowing a lot of snot. And the cold seems to be wanting to take up residence in my chest. When I inhale really deeply I can feel a rattle deep in the bottom of my lungs.
I’ve got a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow.
So why am [...]

Went home early yesterday, and took today off, because I’m just not feeling that great. Xy had a cold for three or four days earlier this week, and I’m afraid I’m coming down with it. My main symptom has been a sore throat — only it’s not my throat exactly but more the nasal passage [...]

On a hunch, I try putting my “right” lens in my left eye. Hmm. Things seem clearer. So I put the “left” lens in my right eye. And guess what? Yup, I can read again.
My suspicions were aroused when I first picked up the lenses. The two boxes were marked with their respective prescriptions, but [...]

Today is my fourth day of wearing my new contact lenses. I picked them up Friday afternoon, wore them for five hours on Saturday, seven hours on Sunday, eight hours yesterday.
I’m definitely getting more comfortable with them, especially putting them in and taking them out, at which I was initially inept.
When I first wore them, [...]

I scored 100.5º F on the thermometer Friday night. That seems to have been the worst of it. Xy made some awesome chicken soup, and my fever broke that night.
Saturday I felt better, but by no means well. A dose of Maximum Strength Thera-Flu helped me sleep both nights, and I took some Mucinex during [...]

Since Holy Thursday and Good Friday are staff holidays at the University, I decided to take Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as vacation days and make a week of it. I figured I’d use the time to wrap up production of ROX #91. Plus Xy & I planned a brief, one-night excursion to the Gulf Coast, [...]

I went to see an eye doctor this afternoon. I wasn’t having any particular problems, but it’s been four of five years since my last exam, so I went out of general principle.
I made an appoinment at Canal Vision, a place that is around the corner from where we live. From the outside, it looks [...]

I went to get a check-up with a new doctor today. My old doctor moved out to the suburbs years ago, and I don’t like riding my bike out to Jefferson when there are perfectly good doctors in my neighborhood.
Her office is in a completely unfriendly giant box attached to a big hospital, just a [...]