Day 1511

Today was everything you'd expect from a Winter Monday. Cold. Wet. Not really worth getting out of bed for. Although I am reluctant to start any new week, a chilly, damp Winter day makes the hibernating instinct even stronger. I'm still getting used to living with one hand. Walking the dogs has turned out to be easier than I thought and getting dressed is harder than I thought. Things are getting better though. Each day the pain subsides a bit and the shoulder feels a little more stable. I'm trying to be as careful as I can, but you do have to continue going about your normal day-to-day life. When you get up, you make the bed. And when you go outside in the cold, you pull on as many layers of clothes as possible. Hopefully, tasks like these will soon become simple again. Creaky, arthritic joints actually look pretty good when you can't move them at all.

My work load continues to increase. The changes aren't dramatic, but each week I seem to be doing a little bit more than I was the previous week. So far, I'm still managing to get everything completed, but my current schedule sure doesn't leave much time for reading books or watching old movies on Hulu Plus. I guess it's always been this way. I either have way too much to do, or nothing at all. It's almost impossible to find that mythical happy median where you make enough to pay the bills and still have plenty of free time to yourself. That's the problem with working. You're always on somebody else's schedule.

I sure hope some of my stop loss orders kicked in today. With a 300 point drop in the DOW compounding last week's losses, it looks like the overdue correction analysts were predicting is finally here. Most people think the occasional 10% correction is a healthy thing, but I don't agree. It sucks to watch three months of steady gains disappear in a few days. I have a disciplined approach to investing, just like I have a disciplined approach to working and walking the dogs. None of this is any fun though. It's kind of like slogging up a muddy hill on a rainy day. Maybe that's why on days like this, I find myself envying those delusional people who think that life is nothing but rainbows and unicorns.

Dash is still having digestion problems. He goes to the vet tomorrow for his antigen shot, so that will give me another opportunity to ask how to get this dog back on a normal schedule where he isn't scratching at the door at 3 AM every morning to go outside. I don't know what is wrong. The stool sample we took in last week was normal. He's eating very high quality food. His blood work is just about perfect. Dash should be a healthy dog.

I'm supposed to start my Hepatitis-C treatment tomorrow. Since I am one of the early recipients of a brand new drug, I have no idea what the side effects will be. I'm hopeful and a bit wary. The experience ought to be interesting though. I hope I look back at all this as a giant step forward. It could just as easily be another thorn in my side.

Casey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day