The Facebook merger

I’m unique, just like everyone else.  I just finished watching a movie a little bit ago, a pretty good one on prime video. An off-grid family travelled for their mother’s funeral, is the TLDR, and hopefully enough for you to google it, as I can’t recall the name now and I’m not going to go look it up. The seven children had unique names, the eldest boy: Beledon, if I recall correctly. Each (by the story line at least,) was said to have been a creation of the parents. This made me think about my post earlier this week, where I went on a good bit about the ‘uniqueness’ of my days, or lack thereof. The children, well schooled by the parents, are questioned at one point in the movie: What word can modify the word unique? None, they answered in unison.

Perhaps I think, some days I just don’t appreciate the differences as much as others, yet each and every day, is unique. Some are more memorable than others though! Ha, anyway. My sleep schedule was certainly modified last night, taking an almost five hour nap of the middle of the day tends to do that. After I finished the post, I was still up for a few more hours. By four I finally made it to be, then a bit more rolling around until I could sleep. I had closed the doors and all the curtains, yet the light still began to stir me by eight.

Too groggy to even read the time without squinting and looking twice, I rolled right back over, and then repeated the pattern a few more times until ten o’clock. Ten is a bit late for me, at least this year, yet hopefully tonight I’ll sleep well and get back on a normal rhythm. Jumped the shower and was really feeling good. I’d have to look back, but I think it’s been about two weeks now since my foot learned to go back into “suction cup” mode when I was in the shower. Now, it still tweaks or squirts or spasms or whatever my ankle does (he just acts out sometimes because he thinks we walk all over him,) from time to time, yet for the most part the shower felt a bit more normal again.

Not holding on to the overhead bar or the shower head, not looking down and my feet for each change of position. I turned around and walked backwards (slowly) with shampoo covering my head, feeling comfortable with the flex in my foot to hold fast as I moved my body. It’s the little things. Some days it’s the big things too. I got one of those today too, I’ll get to that in a minute.

Showered and downstairs I went to work on this website. Google Analytics is changing over to a new platform next month and after working with it the last few months, I just don’t like the ‘upgrade’ at all, yet I really like quality statistics. So last night I’d installed a new plugin to test out, Matomo Aanlytics, and with just one day I can easily say I’ll be making the switch. All the same reports as I am used to on the current google offering and because it runs on my own server, google will no longer have access to my traffic data. The only downside is that I can’t import data from Google, so although I can still look back and reference my old analytics account, my new charts and data will start now going foward, oh well.

Oh, well? I was surprised how lax I was about the data loss, yet, it really is irrelevant data. Somehow that got me thinking though, if this was a ‘milestone’ event in the data, maybe this was a useful transition moment? One thing on my mental todo list has been pondering what to do with my old Facebook profile page. There are lot of people that followed me, and I jumped to the fresh new page when I started ‘the journey’ last November. I’m been meaning to merger or combine the two for a while, whenever I got around to it, and now seemed good.

The only odd part, is I had to rename my new page, to match the old page. Actually, if I would have thought about this last week, it would have worked out better- nah, lets hold that, if this is the way it worked out, I’m glad it didn’t work out the way I thought would have been better. Last week I had renamed the old page from “Jeromy Alexander, County Commissioner” to “Jeromy Alexander, Citizen” for improved accuracy when people visit as I didn’t want anyone to perceive that I was still claiming the title. To merge, the titles must be identical, so I went to change it to match the new page “JeromyAlexander.com”.

However, as I had just changed it last week, I couldn’t change it again for sixty more days. So, I changed the one I could, the new page to match the new title on the old page, so as you see now: Jeromy Alexander, Citizen. It works I guess. Mostly, I’m glad to have trimmed down one page and that the one remaining page is auto posted from he website meaning I’ll have virtually no Facebook posting required. Of course, keeping up with comments could be another story.

It didn’t take long and I had a knock at the door, Jessie from Lammers air conditioning to take a look at the central unit. A quick description of the issue, no cold air (I used more words for him,) and he was off to work in the backyard. It didn’t take long, a quick measurement told him the freon was gone and another test to make sure it did still hold pressure. Being seven years since it was filled, that was the go to solution. Back outside he went and within minutes I watched the thermometer on vent begin to fall. From seventy five, to seventy, to sixty five, to sixty, slowing down a bit and finally settling on fifty five degrees.

When I’d set the appointment, I’d explained the limited budget, one twenty was my limit. Sadly, the freon was three sixty. Before I gave the go ahead, before I was able to, Jessie clarified that it had already been cleared with the office and I would not need to pay him today. He just smiled and said that they’d send me an invoice. About to open my mouth, I chose against it and thanked him. When I did, he went on to say “no problem” or something like that, then added that the office ladies knew of me, and they weren’t going to take my last hundred bucks. There are some really great companies in Jackson, so if you’re looking for some AC/HVAC work, give Lammers a call.

Such a change in environment, from windows open and eight five to closed off and seventy five. I’ve never spent much time in the house in the summer, so I’ll have to think about the programming tomorrow for efficiency. The old habit was to leave it off until I got home. Now I think I’d leave it on all the time, but at the higher temperature. Seems like I’ve heard something about that being cheaper as it keeps the humidity low. Anyway, one great thing about AC (other than better sleep I hope,) is it is so much easier to work out during the day.

I am not much of a working out person, yet especially lately, it’s hard to call it anything else. I can do full one legged lifts (pumping up and down on one leg,) still not with the full range of motion in my ankle, yet the muscles in my thigh have been starting to shift and ache more.  Over the last year, I wish I had a better grasp (or even desire) of medical knowledge. Which muscle does this, how far should joints move, etc. Yet, I think I’ve figured out something about muscles.

I kind of think about them like threads, all lumped together, yet still individual threads through their length. And mine have some damage, especially on the outside of my left thigh. Scar tissue galore from my own femur wreaking it’s havoc in there, then femur repair surgery and it’s assortment of access points, the screws threw my knee, a mess of scarred knots up my by hip flexor.. I could go on. I really like analogies, I think it helps me when I can visualize something.

Have you ever put in a box of spaghetti noodles and forgot to stir it soon enough? So by time you do they’ve already formed into a brink of noodles? That’s how all the individual threads of my thigh muscle feel. Bonded together and unable to slide around to do the work.

With the AC kicking I started moving. Side steps til it hurt, til it hurt. Oh and it took a while. Whether it was the nap yesterday or maybe just time for another growth cycle, my ankle was picking up its pace today. I could do the side steps faster and I could place my feet closer together (Take your left foot and put it on the right side of your right foot, then right, then left again..) so I decided to turn it up a little bit. Off the counter I grabbed a case (a full twenty four case,) of Boost, two hundred and eight eight ounces of muscle building protein. Works well just to hold it too, and do side steps.

If my body thought yesterday was funny, today we made up for it. I sat down, finally, exhausted. At some point I looked over at my foam roller and decided to give it a whirl. It usually doesn’t work well for me, as it’s hard still for me to balance on it and move my body, yet it’s been a while. Tried sitting and rolling over my arse, then my back and my right side. Finally, I thought I’d try to, well, touch it where it hurts. I rolled over and balanced on my left side, just at the top my femur.

Rolling down six or eight inches, I came upon a lump of scar tissue. I could feel the pain increase as it rolled up and I keep going until it hit all the bells on the Richter scale. I audible screamed when the lump exploded, or imploded, and slide off the roll. Looking and massaging at my leg, that lump is gone. Tingles of pain in in, yet also in spot (a previous dead spot) on my outside lower left left and a corresponding part of my left foot, along it’s left edge and up to the small toes.

Though it hurt worse with the first few steps, I’ve been walking around barefoot since and my whole foot feels like it flexing in a new or better way and, my foot is really starting to “push off”. Tomorrow, a big bike ride. Pack my bags in the morning, come home at dark. Okay, maybe that’s a little much, yet my leg feels good, my foot feels good and I wanna go push it until it hurts, again.  Trust me, this is good.

Time to rest.

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