Tammy left a message at around 3 a.m. her time on our group letting me know she’s been admitted to the hospital for her sarcoidosis. She also has a mystery infection.

40 minutes after I spotted the message, I called her. She sounded terrible. Her voice was raspy and very low-pitched, almost like a guy.

I let her know I’d be around through the night but haven’t heard back from her as to what’s going on. She said her pulmonologist was to be visiting her in the morning. They have her on IVs. She’s being given antibiotics as well as steroids. She started the kidney medication but doesn’t know if it’s going to help yet. Hopefully, they now know the exact location of her infection.

They’re having this limited edition of cotton candy-flavored grapes at Sam’s and they really do taste like cotton candy, as strange as it sounds. It’s a very mild flavor but definitely noticeable.

Couldn’t wait to polish my nails, better or not, so I polished them pink and then with the blue crackle polish I just got. Missed that stuff!

I’m back on Amazon. Wasn’t getting anywhere with Kobo who doesn’t make it easy at all to unpublish your stuff, so I contacted them. I told them I was going to have a professional editor tackle my books when in fact I’m probably not going to use them anymore. I also don’t like how you have to accumulate so much money before they pay you. On Amazon, you get paid for everything you sell each month no matter what you make. There’s no quota you have to meet. I also like how they’ve made publishing easier.

The question is whether or not they’re still ripping some of their unknown authors off. Aly will answer that question soon enough because there are a few titles she’s interested in. Really appreciate her support!

I’m also back on Duolingo. With my memory issues, I’m not learning any new languages right now. Besides, there really isn’t anything I care to learn at the moment. However, I reset the 5 courses that I’ve completed there and am rotating between them just for fun and to keep things fresh in my mind.

We had a fun and unexpected storm. It’s a good thing I was up before it started because I heard the loudest thunderclap since Arizona! The windows rattled in their sills. It started raining when we headed for Rite Aid and I loved it because it kept traffic on the ground and in the sky quiet. The storm is over now so I’ve got my earbud in so I don’t have to listen to the commercial planes until after midnight. The small planes are enough.

I hate that it’s going to get down into the forties tonight! We might actually need to start running the heat in the early mornings.

Anyway, I wanted to pick up some Merlot and we both wanted treats, so off we went to Rite Aid. As the lady at the register was ringing us up, a couple of black people briskly walked out with some booze they stole. The woman reported it to her manager, saying they looked familiar.

Tom later told me he knew they were going to steal something, but I didn’t see them until they were exiting. He also said they were underaged.

This is the Rite Aid where an old lady that lived here got killed, also by a black person. The thug ripped something off and knocked her down on the way out, and because she was old and frail, the fall ended up killing her.

You know, people don’t usually come up with labels out of the blue for no reason. No, they’re not all thugs but many are. So if they’re really as bothered by the way people perceive them as they claim to be, maybe they oughta think before they act. Sometimes our labels really are earned and deserved.

Decided I’m not going to title entries when it isn’t necessary. The only place I write on that requires titles is PB. Instead of copying from blogs to Word, I’ll just drop each entry into it from Google Docs.

To suddenly list the “okay” hand signal as a hate signal is utterly fucking ridiculous. What’s not going to be okay next that’s been okay for centuries? Hate living in a world full of pussies where everything is oh-so offensive. When they decide that wearing pink is a hate sign, they can go fuck themselves!

Turned out to be a quiet night last night and so far tonight. Can’t even hear the freeway. The wind must have shifted. The only thing I heard after midnight was a small plane playing the circle game.

I’m Amazed to say I slept through trash and recyclables pickup, but glad I did and that I’m feeling more refreshed today. Went on a quick 15-minute walk while there was still enough light to keep the skunks away. No loose German Shepherd or other dogs. Doing my strength training and stretching exercises, as well as sprinting bursts that will total 10-15 minutes, giving me about a half-hour of cardio.

Lost the other pound I gained, and my hips feel great today. Just a little light-headed.

Requested a refill on my poison and if they don’t have Sandoz, we’ll go elsewhere. Still feeling calm and loving that I’m just about 9 days from menopause! :-)

Hate the eyeshadow guards I got that you stick on your face. They’re way too sticky and it hurt to pull them off of the delicate skin under my eye. Plus, they’re kind of wide, so one end sticks to the hair by my temple.

Again I saw the gold SUV at Ralph’s place and heard some hammering. We really can’t go long without doing something around here, can we? However, I can’t swear that the hammering was coming from there. It probably was but I don’t know for sure.

Tom is still waiting for Google to approve his app and has already begun the next one.

Looking forward to the newest season of Law & Order SVU.

I’m not worried about it because it didn’t leave me with that ominous feeling that dream premonitions sometimes leave me with, but I had a dream I was told by a doctor to get an MRI. I don’t know why, though.

I swear I have a faint reddish stripe forming on my thumb and that my nails, for the most part, aren’t getting better. That’s okay, I’m not going to anyone other than the eye doctor until March!

The pre-cancerous spot on my back that she sprayed did something weird. A small raised patch of dry skin like a scab formed over it but I was able to scratch it off. Didn’t even bleed. I’m just surprised that after all this time It would do that. Shortly after she sprayed it, it went flat and became pretty invisible.

As I was lying on a gurney in the hall of the hospital waiting to be wheeled into a room somewhere in another dream, a healthcare worker came up and started massaging my feet which I could feel a little through my shoes.

“Feel good?” she asked.

I said yes and wished I didn’t have shoes on.

In the last dream, I remember well enough to put into words, Tom and I had just moved into some house somewhere and the bedroom had a very odd design. The walls were at odd angles, but it was a large room that I seemed excited to set up. I decided on what wall to place the bed on because I didn’t want to block the floor heater that ran along one wall which is common in the Northeast.

Because no one’s been staying there at night, I’m thinking Ralph’s house went to a flipper. Saw that gold SUV parked there earlier and heard the whirring of a saw that definitely wasn’t in back or coming from next door.

Woke up surprisingly tired even though I slept well. As expected, my hips are stiff and sore so I’m going to take today off. I still don’t have to exercise every single day. 4-5 days a week is enough.

Today’s sounds in the circus called Lakeview…Santa’s dog and someone running and gunning a motorcycle before they turned it off completely. Don’t know that the motorcycle was in the park, but it was probably down the street by Dixie. Some people just love attention. rolls eyes

No planes yet, but it’s after 8 so they should soon be a noticeable nuisance until after midnight.

As my thyroid levels go up, I find myself getting warm easily, especially in this hot weather. But when I’m low on thyroid, I’m horribly cold and tired. It seems I have to be either too warm or too cold. At least it hasn’t caused me to be anxious…yet.

Kobo confirmed I wasn’t doing anything wrong when I asked why I haven’t gotten any sales and they said it appeared that my covers weren’t professionally designed, and gave me a link to a designer and a marketing company. What’s the point of being self-published if you’ve got to go through all these agencies that are going to cost you a shitload of money with no guarantees in the end? And how does Kobo know my covers aren’t professionally designed? By their file name or something? Something in their appearance? I thought most of them looked quite professional but again, it doesn’t matter if something isn’t meant to be. I don’t know if it’s by design or by happenstance, but I really do have a feeling it isn’t meant to be. It seems that whether it’s something simple or far out, no matter how good I may get at it and no matter how much I may deserve it, I’m just not one of those who’s meant to realize her dreams. This used to bother me a lot when I was younger, but now that I’m older, I’m okay with this “fate,” “plan” or whatever it is because there’s more to life than making money and I still enjoy writing regardless. Writing is very competitive and a very black-and-white world where you either don’t make shit or you get rich and famous, and I definitely don’t want fame.

I’m still going to take Tom up on his suggestion and do more research on self-publishing companies before we consider spending money promoting me to see what the best money-making places are. Even though Amazon was ripping me and many other authors off, there were some sales there. Still, it’s too much of a gamble and we could use our money for more important things. I’m not going to be an author and that’s okay.

Okay, it’s great that my running shorts are already looser, and I lost one of the two pounds I gained, but I’m DONE for nighttime walking. Right as I was rounding the corner heading toward the office, that fucking German Shepherd was walking around the parking lot. I don’t know if it’s a stray or if someone just lets it run loose but it’s somehow getting into the park. There must be a gap in the fence somewhere. I hate to think it’s a service dog living in the park and the owner is letting it run around loose, but anything is possible. This is the second or third time I’ve seen the damn thing. It’s probably harmless, as by now I would think it would have been caught and put down if it wasn’t, but I don’t feel comfortable with a dog nearly as big as me running around. I didn’t come here for that shit. I’d rather just go out in the daytime when I can and have to listen to landscaping and people’s dogs barking at me when I jog by.

Anyway, I turned and walked away briskly, trying to remain calm and not run, knowing they can sense fear. Once I got around the bend, I ran most of the way home. So yeah, you could say I met my exercise goal for the day. Ended up doing about 15 minutes of running over 4 MPH, plus about 10 of walking, and then I did some strength training and stretching exercises.

No cardio for me today but I think I’ll do some upper body work, after all, even if I’m naturally strong while not naturally thin.

Found Aly’s newest account on Twitter, although it’s an account she’s actually had for a while but deactivated. She calls it her writing account. I’m a little surprised she hasn’t blocked me from it.

I was last anxious on the 26th of last month, so any time now it’s going to return. Sandoz makes me better but not perfect. So far, 4-8 weeks is as long as I can go taking a full dose daily without issue. I would be truly surprised and delighted if I made it past the end of next month without being anxious, but I know that’s just a dream. No problem, though. I’ll just cut my dose back till I get close to my next round of labs. I got this now. Yes, I really do. :) :) :)

Poor Dixie and Diane. Dixie said Diane fell at her program yesterday morning on her face, had to go to the ER for X-rays of her face and upper body, and the doctor was adamant about her “boarding” Diane, saying that one person can’t care for her. Dixie is obviously heartbroken, although she knew this day would come. Sadly, it makes sense since Dixie’s really getting on in age and barely able to remember things and how to take care of her own self.

I hate to think of how horribly lonely she’d be without Diane. I feel so bad for her and I worry for her for the same reasons I worry about us getting old and to the point where we can’t be self-sufficient. Dixie and I both know all too well that the places that take people like Diane, as well as nursing homes, can often be abusive. There’s always at least one person there who’s going to treat the residents like they’re a burden instead of people who need help living their day-to-day lives. There is a Donna A in all these places and that one Donna A can make the dozen Michelle Ss seem pretty powerless. That was the math teacher that took my roommate Denise in and almost took me in as well before my bitch of a mother decided to give me the privilege of letting me come home.

Almost done watching the Simone Biles story on Hulu and it’s pretty inspiring. Not to get into gymnastics, of course, but just to get back in better shape. When I went out last night, my little red running shorts were tighter than ever, and I felt a bit breathless and out of shape. Too many days off really makes a difference, so energetic or not, I’ve got to make a point of being more consistent. I can build my stamina back up and lose the 2 lbs. I gained quickly and easily enough. Can’t lose any more than that, but I can certainly lose inches and get myself in better shape and that’s what I intend to do. I’ve put together a strict regimen, but I’ve spaced it out in a way that won’t seem so overwhelming. This means sprinting on the treadmill for 1 minute every half hour, walking for at least a half-hour be it indoors, on the treadmill, or a mix of both, and then alternating between a half a dozen or so Bowflex exercises every other day.

Even brushing my teeth means not standing still. No reason I can’t do some squats and leg raises while brushing. I get that I’m in pretty good shape for one who’s almost 54 and wouldn’t be considered heavy by most people, but that doesn’t matter. The point is that this is good for anyone to do and I know it will make me feel better. :) So just a little cushy or not, I’m determined to be more active. I just may have to ease into this routine over the next few days rather than jump right in if I don’t want my hips to be killing me. I still have some joint issues to consider.

Tom is working from home this evening, but probably not for long.

Finally, a detailed dream I remember. I was able to keep a schedule and therefore a job as well. I work second shift, though I don’t know what I did. One of my coworkers was Margaret M from Valleyhead of all people. I hated her. She was a mean evil witch like her sister Donna. Yet Margaret was sweet and kind to me in the dream. I ended up going to her place after work one night. Since it was late, I expected the others she lived with to be in bed and for us to have to be as quiet as possible. But the large house was lit up with several people milling about as she went to fix us sandwiches. After that, she offered me a watermelon-flavored drink and I said I’d love to try it since I usually stuck to the same boring brand to save money or something like that.

Then she disappeared to talk to some others and left me searching the various cans of drinks that were sitting on the table and countertops in search of the one that was for me. I couldn’t find anything, so I had to ask her about it.

I also asked what time she was planning to get up in the morning. She said she was “ahead of schedule” and would sleep until 7.

“Then once we’re awake enough, you’ll drive me home since I don’t have money for a cab?” I asked her.

“Mmm-hmm,” she said, even though I could have used my card to pay for an Uber or something.

Then I went upstairs where it was quieter, realizing I should call Tom and let him know where I was so he wouldn’t worry about me. I thought maybe he wouldn’t notice that I hadn’t gotten in if he crashed earlier but realized he would definitely be worried if he didn’t see me in the morning. So, I pulled out my phone which didn’t look anything like my phone and it began “warming up” and searching for contacts.

Then I had some vague dream about sleeping in a large bed with Kim and Aly in a large room, although I don’t know where we were. Aly was in the middle. Kim and I both had sound machines running, each playing a different nature sound, while Aly remembered that she had to go give some paper to someone in an office (in a hotel?).

Waiting until 9 when it should be cooler to go out walking. It was a hot day of 99°. This should be the grand finale of the heat, though.

My dentist appointment went well. Just a little plaque build-up along the lower gum line, so I’ll be sure to start flossing more. Also, they’re not selling my special fluoride toothpaste anymore because I can get it cheaper online.

On the way out, that white van was working in front of Lawrence’s again, but I never heard anything inside our house and it was gone when we got back.

Whoever bought Ralph’s house has a large dark blue SUV, but it must not be too loud because I saw it parked there when we got in, then noticed it was gone later on and that I hadn’t heard anything loud go by.

Wish we could move where Holly lives! She’s not in an adult community but it’s a gated community and super quiet. Probably not manufactured homes either. No loud sounds are allowed on Sundays. There are no planes or anything there. She just hears a coyote howling every now and then. I don’t think she’s in the city, though. More like a small town like Auburn. She said it was almost too quiet when she first moved there and it took time to get used to but now she can’t imagine it any other way. I personally can’t imagine living anywhere quiet. This is definitely what I’m used to.

The planes were annoying last night but not tonight, which I’m guessing may have something to do with the heat.

We stopped at Jack-in-the-Box on the way home and I got some chicken strips.

Aside from whenever we get around to getting our eyes examined, it’s great to be appointment-free for half a year! I couldn’t make my next appointment the same day I see Dr. A, but I was able to get it for the next day.

A little later…

Wasn’t out long. Too warm. Damn, though! My red shorts are tighter than ever. I’ve got to be more consistent with working out regardless of energy levels and temps after today. Can’t wait to get my new PC, whatever it will be, but I’ll just have to deal with unplugging and replugging my Macbook Air whenever I work out indoors until then. Might even resume the Bowflex too. My muscles stay when I get lazy but any lost inches don’t. No more rice either. Fast food may not help but the Chinese rice I sometimes get from Sam’s is bad for fatties.

Forgot to mention that Tom and Holly talked about our electric car. Guess she’s interested in switching over too, so she was curious about milage and range and all that.

Tammy hasn’t checked in on Facebook or my last group post and I’m hoping nothing’s wrong. Hopefully, she just has a lot going on. Even more so, I hope she began the medication without any problems and that it’s helping to reverse her kidney issues.

Talked about it with Tom who is amazingly supportive and decided that if Tammy does go before I do, and I would think so since she’s not only older but unhealthy, I’m going to make whatever plausible excuse I can come up with not to go to the funeral. This is for a few reasons. First of all, I can’t even guarantee I’ll be able to go. There’s only so much control I have over my schedule. Most importantly, I don’t want to see her narcissistic brats. And besides, if she’s dead she isn’t going to know it, and if she lives on somehow, then she’s not there; only her body is.

I found a couple of accounts of Paula’s on Facebook. One I’m sure is hers and the other probably is. It’s funny because the one where she shows herself, she’s listed as being a nurse’s aide. Yeah right. She may be incredibly dumb, but if she could shut her trap long enough to listen, she definitely could do menial tasks that were simple and didn’t require a lot of thinking. She can keep a schedule. Can’t see her as a nurse’s aide, though, so that’s probably something she just made up.

I let her know just what I thought of her for dumping me despite all I did for her for so many years, not that she’ll ever see the messages. These accounts haven’t been used in years.

I decided that since I’m having this horrible writer’s block despite my wonderful writing tools, I would take my other PB account and share Roomies there which is basically a continuous story with no real beginning, middle or end as it’s told through the main character’s journal. They reminisce about the past, as well as the present and future, so there’s no real “story” other than the experiences they write about.

Dixie’s niece from Hawaii visited her and they had a good time. I won’t be seeing her this week because of the railing installment.

Tomorrow I get my teeth cleaned and hope I don’t have any cavities or anything, and I don’t think I do. I just have to remember to get more of the fluoride paste. I’m also going to try to schedule my next cleaning the same day I see Dr. A so Tom only has to take one day off for both appointments.

I decided to block Molly on Twitter since I’m using my main account again to tweet pics when I wake up because I simply don’t want to hear from her. She must not check my account as much as I thought she did because she hasn’t mentioned being blocked. Maybe she doesn’t follow me as much as I thought and maybe those Texas hits on my tracker weren’t her, even though it’s pretty likely that it was. Texas is a big state, though, so as unlikely as It is, just maybe she really has moved on and doesn’t even think of me. After all, the comment she left on Aly’s reply to me would have been flagged in her home feed. Maybe that’s the only reason she responded then was because I was practically right in front of her face. Or maybe she just won’t admit in a tweet that I blocked her, not that she can’t see my tweets if she logs out.

We decided to make a day trip of our San Francisco getaway rather than overnight since it would save a lot of money if we didn’t stay at a hotel, though we don’t yet know when. I hate motels and hotels anyway. Too noisy. And then I have to try to sleep through his snoring and all that, so it’s not worth it unless we were going out of state for a longer period.

It should only take us about three hours to get there, counting the times we have to stop and charge the car, then we’ll spend about three hours on the island, and then another three working our way back home.

Watching Two Sentence Horror Stories on Netflix and it’s pretty good. Like most series these days, there are only a few episodes and just one season, but it’s a US show and interesting so far. Couldn’t get into Quicksand or Elementary on Hulu, which is what Tom’s watching. I need a break from the crime docs because they’re not only depressing but I get tired of so many violent criminals getting off with barely a slap on the wrist while I lost half a year of life and thousands of dollars for nothing.

I absolutely love the ease of having short hair, although I think most people wouldn’t exactly consider it short but more like shoulder-length. Barely shoulder-length, anyway. Before it was cut it was creeping just past my shoulders. Do I think it looks better than long hair on me? I don’t know. I think style matters more than length, but even if it looked horrible, comfort is my thing these days as opposed to looks. If it wasn’t, I’d be starving myself silly.

This flu shot went over easier than expected. The soreness in my arm only lasted a few hours and I didn’t wake up with extreme fatigue the next day.

I am kind of tired today even though I slept a long time last night. I’m now getting to the point where my sleep is going to be hit or miss. It’s been a surprisingly quiet day today, although not as quiet as some other places I’ve lived, of course. Tomorrow it’s back to the zoo. Lots of landscaping, more loud traffic, planes galore.

Tammy has been on my mind a lot. She said she’ll let me know how the experimental medication goes after she talks to a pharmacist. She’s afraid to start it because of the warnings on it. If it warns you about asthma, then what do you do if you have sarcoidosis which is much worse? She said there are a few different possible cures for sarcoidosis but all of them would kill her, so that’s out of the question, and of course, autoimmune diseases can’t be cured.

Following her health has been sad and scary but definitely educational. I’ve learned a lot more than I ever wanted to learn between both our health problems, but am glad I did. I miss the days when I thought thyroids were just teeny little pea-sized glands at the nape of our necks that only controlled weight and wasn’t the least bit important, LOL. I suspected the problem was my thyroid long before I was diagnosed and put off doctors until it was a little more convenient to get officially diagnosed with a wave of my hand saying, “It’s only a thyroid. No big deal.”

Goes to show how little I knew!

With her kidneys failing and my thyroid half-dead, it has made me all the more grateful for the things that do work. No longer do I take body parts that function well for granted. So I mentally patted my kidneys and liver which I was told work great with a smile on my face thinking, “Good job guys, good job. Keep up the good work!”

Nowadays I want all the details Tammy’s able to give me and then some. I’m arming myself with as much information as I can. As I learned the hard way, what you don’t know really can hurt you. Had I known what I know now about the law, I could have prevented myself from losing thousands of dollars, months of freedom, and a whole lot of grief. Easily.

Had I done my research upfront, I probably could have spared myself from a lot of the medical drama I’ve gone through on account of a finicky medication that has a very fine line between being helpful and hurtful as many Black Box drugs do.

So now I’m determined to do as much homework as I can, even though I’ve never had any interest in legal or medical stuff. Never wanted to be a lawyer. Never wanted to be a nurse or a doctor. But if I should ever be as unfortunate as to have my own kidney issues in the future, at least this will jump-start me on what I should know. As one who loves to learn things anyway, I’m determined to study various diseases and illnesses one body part at a time, as time permits. Like I said, who needs medical school when you’ve got the internet? :-)

Forgot to mention my own medication plans and it’s really quite simple. As I told my doctor, I’m back to taking a full dose every day. I’m going to keep doing that until I get anxious again and then drop back to the hypo dose, as I call it, and stay on that most days until 6 weeks before my next lab visit. Then I can bring both my TSH and cholesterol numbers down for the record. I’m hoping not to get anxious this month, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was sometime next month, even if it was mild.

We went to Petco earlier where I decided to spoil the rats and pigs. I got the rats these fur-lined tubes and everybody got new chew toys. Of course the fur wasn’t real. The pigs got some food as well, but only because we had a coupon. We get the best deals on their food on Amazon and I get rat blocks at Walmart.

Several people have asked if rats and guinea pigs are different. For the most part, yes, very much so. Different habits, different diets, different behavior, different lifespans… Rats are much smarter as well. The only real similarity is that they both have two upper teeth and two lower teeth that are always growing, which is why they chew a lot.

My MacBook Air is getting old, so I definitely need to upgrade to something new, which I’ll do when they start having holiday deals. The question is whether or not I want to stick with Mac or climb back into Windows. I would prefer to stick with a Mac because that’s what I’m used to and that’s safer, but I don’t know that we could afford exactly what I want. My MacBook Air is causing issues with both the monitor it’s connected to and my keyboard. Sometimes I have a hard time waking up my monitor and have to reboot. My wireless keyboard has delays here and there, so I’m now using a wired Windows keyboard that used to be my favorite. When they first came out with flat keys, I hated it because it just felt so weird. Now the raised keys feel weird. But this keyboard is functional until I know what I’m going to do. Can’t use a smaller monitor as I’m blind even with glasses.

Once I do get something new, I can use the MacBook Air for puzzles while I’m on the treadmill. Don’t know if I’m going to get a large laptop for my work computer or a desktop with a larger monitor, but probably the latter at this point. The question is which operating system I’ll go with.

The most important thing is getting as much memory as I can because that’s part of what’s causing my problems with my rapidly aging MacBook Air is lack of memory.

Not much in the way of dreams other than bits and pieces of things that don’t make enough sense to put into words. I just remember a quick dream where Tammy was cooking something. Dad was alive and in the room with us. Tammy was saying she didn’t want to add salt because it wasn’t good for her and I was remembering the days when we were all young/younger and didn’t have to worry so much about ingredients.

Then there was one that I hope doesn’t mean anything though I don’t think it does. Tom and I were in this room somewhere and I think they were doing some kind of medical procedure on me. The lady there was saying something about something in 20 years. My dream self thought that in 20 years I would be 78. I hope it doesn’t mean I’ll need some kind of procedure at 58 since that’s just over 4 years from now! I don’t think it meant anything, though. This dream didn’t leave me with that feeling I get when something does have meaning.

Then I had a fun dream where I was outside somewhere and this super friendly squirrel wanted to be my friend. It kept hopping onto me and climbing all over me. I was afraid to handle it too much, though, not knowing if it would freak out and bite me if I took hold of it.

Tom is setting up his website and I’m going to help him with the creativity part of it since I’m more artistic in that sense. He’s hoping to have his next app out this weekend but there are no guarantees.

I chatted live with Tammy yesterday (until I had to pee) because she hates to type or leave voice messages via phone, Facebook, whatever.

Anyway, it wasn’t good news at all. In a post to my group, she said her health was failing and her kidneys weren’t functioning well. The first thing that came to mind was that strong nagging feeling I’ve had these last 4-5 years about something bad happening to her when she’s 62. I just never knew what or how bad it would be. I don’t get to pick and choose what I sense or dream. If I could, I’d be picking winning lottery numbers for sure.

Since I’m not always by my phone, we played a little phone tag and then finally got to talk, and I’m not sure what to think. Before we spoke, I gave myself a quick crash course on kidney disease. Yeah, who needs medical school when you’ve got the internet these days? What I did learn was that there are stages of kidney disease, 4 being the worst and the point where they put you on dialysis.

I also found a chart that lists the life expectancy by age, gender and GFR. According to a woman her age, you have between 3-18 years. I’m hoping that they will turn things around and that even if she doesn’t exactly make it well past 80, she still has many more years ahead. I read they don’t put you on dialysis until you’ve lost 85% of your kidney function.

I don’t know what to think. She says the doctor says she’s “done,” and she has taken the house off the market but still plans to eventually move. When she said this, it gave me hope that this could be turned around. She really wants to live in the mountains, unlike me who’s had enough of the damn mountains. I want to be in a tropical climate and on flat ground after being inland since 1992 and in mountainous terrain since 2004. The mountains in the West are a lot bigger than in the East, though.

As I said, I don’t know what to think. I just don’t know. I just know that unfortunately, when I have such a vibe, I’m never wrong. That doesn’t mean she’ll be checking out of Hotel Earth anytime soon, though. :) So hopefully the worst this will be is just a serious inconvenience. People with the most horrible prognoses have turned out to beat some pretty amazing odds, so we’ll see.

She has been known to be quite a hypochondriac and I can’t always tell if she’s really in serious trouble or she just feels like she is. God knows I sure thought I was going to die a few times in the past. But there is a big difference between feeling like you’re going to die and actually having one foot in the grave.

It isn’t just her kidneys, though. She has other problems, but she says her heart and arteries are doing well and her sarcoidosis is stable.

Not at all surprisingly, she lectured me about not taking statins, LOL. I knew the medical assistant in her would, and I will consider it sooner or later. She says not to wait too long because of the way heart disease runs wild in the family. My doctor just listened to my heart yesterday and says it sounded good, so I don’t think there’s any imminent danger. I’m much more worried about her right now. I wish I knew more about the situation and what she could expect from it, but I don’t think even she can have any idea of that until they try this special medication. I’m not sure if it’s new or experimental but it isn’t something you can just run to the pharmacist and get. It has to be delivered to you.

Appreciate the fact that she didn’t get into the girls but she might have had we talked longer.

Aly’s dumped her Twitter account again, ironically enough, after I dumped mine. Although she more than likely changed handles trying to lose me than anything else. I should know soon enough. As soon as she and Molly tweet to each other.

Pretty sure Molly looked in on me this morning, which was within 15 minutes of her tweeting about the usual obsessions.

I was discussing with Tom whether or not it would be worth attacking someone who simply threatened us versus actually striking us first. In the past, I would have said that I would only act if I were forced into a fight, but these days I think I would definitely go after anyone who attacked me for sure. I know actions speak louder than words and that threats don’t mean shit without the actions to back them up, but I think that in that case, not doing anything would send the wrong message and actually get myself taken advantage of even more and maybe worse. Plus, with my temper being worse in some ways than in the past, I don’t think I could hold back if I wanted to. So yes, I would definitely pounce. I may get my ass beat but at least the message that would be sent would be that no, I’m not going to just stand there and take it unless you’re safely tucked away somewhere out of reach making your threats by phone/internet or something like that.

I think we went about trying to soundproof the bedroom all wrong. I think we should’ve gotten plain basic king-size foam toppers and hit as much wall space as possible, including the ceiling to dampen the rumbling of planes. They’ve been HORRIBLE. Yesterday it wasn’t just early morning and evening. It was all fucking day long. The foam would look ridiculous, but at least I could sleep better and not have to go about my routine to so much vehicle noise on the ground or in the sky. Soft surfaces absorb sound much better than hard.

Tammy says with the exception of a guy that leaves to work and returns on a motorcycle, it’s still quiet there. Now that I’ve seen that state map and know that you can’t have loud exhausts there in cars and trucks and that landscaping is different there, I can see where it would be more peaceful, if not literally “quiet.” Almost any place has to be better than this place. The second noisiest place I ever lived (the NHA) was comatose compared to this for fuck’s sake.

Written yesterday:

I wish I was deaf, I swear! Was it Landscaping? Nope. Was it traffic? Not really. Just one commercial plane after another after another after another… I can’t believe for the life of me that I’m the only one bothered by this. It’s horrible. Oh, I heard plenty of small planes but they’re easier to drown out. I had the music cranked up, but I could still hear the roar of commercials overhead. I couldn’t stand to sit out in a nice comfy lanai if we had one.

And then I couldn’t help but think of how Becky said she didn’t have noise in Connecticut, and she wasn’t about to have it in New Mexico. That’s so not fair! Why can’t I say that… and be able to get it? I think things will change for her soon enough, though. She doesn’t know Western culture as I do. Give it time and the barking will escalate and then the dirt bikes, hunters, and perhaps sonic booms will enter the picture, too.

I’ll settle for getting off the road, out of a flight path, and into warmer weather (I dread the cooling temps) but this article I read is proof that flight paths can change and yes, they can start flying lower. So it’d be my shit luck to move and get bombarded with planes a few years later. I am so noise-cursed. Just so, so noise cursed!

But WHY??? WHY???

Written today:

My appointment went great! My weight wasn’t up and my BP wasn’t too horribly bad at 140/80. HR was in the 80s. The nurse gave me a flu shot and I refused the usual things like the boob squeeze, butt poker, and statins.

Two hours later my arm was sore from the shot and tomorrow I’ll probably have fatigue, but at least he’ll be here, and I won’t have anything to do. Getting the laundry and all the household and pet chores done today.

Decided to let her take a look at my nails and she does think it’s from excessive nail polish and says even she has to give her own nails a break from polish for a few months every now and then, and recommends I do the same. So boring bare nails it is till the end of the year. I’ll just wear the fake kiddy nails I sometimes get to my dentist appointment because they’re kinda ugly looking.

As expected, she said there wasn’t anything I could do for the ridges. I don’t mind those as much as this discoloration but she’s pretty sure it’s not a fungus or anything to worry about. I figured as much but I wanted to hear it from her. It definitely explains the striped nail dream, though, as I’ve never had this much discoloration before.

Got my hair trimmed a few inches, stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast platters, then at Rite Aid for some Merlot and some treats. I’m in an awesome mood now that this appointment is done and over with. I always hate going to the doctor no matter how many times I’ve been there before and no matter how comfortable I may be with the doctor. Dentists don’t usually bother me, though, as long as they’re not going to do much more than a cleaning. So, after Tuesday’s cleaning with Holly and then an eye exam within the next month or so, I’m appointment-free until March! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Since I’m in a good mood I won’t bitch about all the car stereos we could hear at nearly every light (including the black chick and her own thumping bass while sitting in the parking lot waiting till it was closer to my appointment time), the screaming kids in McDonald’s, or the church next to the salon blasting their own music. Fortunately, that did stop shortly after we got there. Not even going to sweat the 3-hour trash/green waste pickup or the 18-hour plane spree.

Going to enjoy not having to worry about having to get to bed at a certain time. It will be great to sleep as long as I need to. I did beat the alarm, though, so it worked out well. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so traffic shouldn’t be an issue since I’ll probably be up by 8.

Just when I was thinking how nice it’s been not to have Robo or scam calls in a while, I’ve had 4 messageless calls the last couple of days from the San Francisco area.

Dixie tried to call twice yesterday, and I started to wish I hadn’t befriended her if all she’s going to do is pester me. I figured she probably wanted something. Yet when I emailed her later on about it, she said she couldn’t remember why she called, LOL

Again I shut down the Twitter account that was connected to Kim and Aly. I just don’t need it. Plus, it sort of bothered me that Aly blocked it from the account we were never connected on, even though I’ve blocked her before. So one less account to exist that’s been blocked by her. Noticed she’s protected her tweets again too, and I know it’s cuz of me.

Rainstorm is now live and available on Kobo! Next up for publication will be Renting Ginny. Will start editing soon.

Yesterday I felt great, but today I’m feeling a bit lightheaded and sometimes I feel short of breath even though I’m plenty oxygenated enough. Not much energy either. The muscle injury in my leg definitely isn’t 100% healed so I’m taking it easy today. It actually feels a little worse today. I was on my knees rinsing something in the tub and when I went to stand up, ouch!

Tom got to do an hour of OT from the comfort of home (a conference call on Skype). So, more money while he just kicked back, listened and provided input when needed.

Tomorrow I see my PCP. I was just sitting there thinking about what the best day would be to call and reschedule my dental check-up, knowing I wasn’t going to make it on the first, when Holly called having to reschedule anyway, saving me the trouble. Sometimes things really do work out well in life! Seeing her next Tuesday. :-) Then, with the exception of our eye exams, I will be appointment-free for half a year! Yes! It’s about fucking time.

Perhaps it’s mean of me to say so and perhaps I’ve just grown to be a very impatient and intolerant person, but damn am I getting sick of all the motormouths out there that can’t shut up and let others talk, too. I was picking up the mail when Santa spotted me and came across the street to chat. On and on it went. He seems like a nice enough guy, but it just wouldn’t stop and I could barely get a word in edgewise. I had to laugh when Dixie told me that they hit it right off. But how? They both can’t shut up for two seconds so how could they possibly communicate, LOL? I’ve always found people who talk non-stop to be a bit on the selfish side. Everything’s all about, and when they ask you a question occasionally or you do get a word in edgewise, they take your answer and run with it in whatever way it relates to them. It took me three tries before I could get it across to him that I had other things to do and was in a bit of a hurry. It wasn’t just that, but I had a hard time understanding him. He didn’t talk too fast, but he talked softly and was changing subjects rapidly while some fucker was sawing.

I can’t believe how much sawing these old people do here. They really gotta limit this shit. I mean really. Enough is enough! If it’s an emergency, that’s one thing. But I don’t annoy people with my hobbies so it would be nice if I could get the same respect and consideration.

As I told Aly earlier, I’m pretty much done with the emotionally/mentally ill, not that Santa is “ill.” I’ve simply run out of patience and tolerance for their unpredictability. I’m not expecting people to be all fluff and sunshine and I’m not talking about those who get anxious or depressed like we all do at times but those in which their problems affect their behavior in a way that’s not normal or at least very questionable. Anything toxic, destructive or one-sided I can do without! :-) Aly, however, seems drawn to people with problems.

Ralph’s house has sold and if the blue SUV is the one that lives there, it’s kind of loud. Not motorcycle loud but definitely noticeable. You know, you would think that by the time one got in their fifties, they would be over their need for random attention. I thought the need to be heard, noticed and acknowledged was more of a young people thing. I could be wrong, though, as far as what vehicle lives there. I at least think that’s the one I saw deep in the carport and then there was a gold SUV parked behind them that I’m pretty sure belongs to the realtor. No one spent the night last night from what I could see. I just hope they don’t have motorcycles or dogs! Santa’s dogs are annoying enough at times. They bark when they’re being walked and they have a screened-in porch they let them bark from, so I’m glad I’m not further down the street. When they’re not right in front of the window, they’re easy enough to drown out with just the everyday household things I have running like air cleaners and whatnot.

We were surprised by some rain again yesterday, but it is warming back up and drying out.

Yesterday I was a bit light-headed, so I took a lower dose just for today as I ease my way back up to 75. At least this particular side effect does go away. It’s just going to take a few weeks.

My muscle injury is better too, so I was out there walking for about a half-hour. I did a light jog but only for a few minutes because I didn’t want to aggravate my leg. I want it to heal completely before I pick up speed.

Dixie’s bugging me to stop by even though she just saw me the other day. I like her and all that, but I do get tired of her chatting non-stop and not allowing me a word in edgewise. Even so, I offered to come down before Diane leaves tomorrow morning for a photo shoot since she wants pictures of them taken. I don’t know if she’s lonely or what, but she does keep busy most of the time. She has plenty of errands of her own to run. She’s dealing with unreliable gardeners right now and the railing still needs to be put in front, too.

Really liking the miniseries Unbelievable, especially Merritt Wever. There’s just something about her even though she’s a little heavy and not my usual type. She’s a very talented actress as well.

How the hell someone as ugly as Dale Dickey can get on TV, is beyond me. Her face reminds me of dried and cracked leather. But the show having people of all shapes, sizes and levels of attractiveness on it is more realistic than shows where everyone is slim and beautiful.

Still not remembering much in the way of my dreams lately, but the other night I did have a dream where Tammy was still in her 50s. She and Mark were excited to have a baby through IVF, LOL.

Dixie called yesterday morning at 9:45 to say she was heading out, so I jumped out and into her SUV and off we went to the Social Security building. Because she’s been so forgetful and even said she’s been forgetting the way to places she’s been going for 30 years, I worried she may get lost on me, but she didn’t. We also didn’t have to wait a century either.

She had told me not to worry if I couldn’t go along, but I assured her I was available and happy to be of help. She sent me a message this morning thanking me for being such a big help. She said she didn’t realize how much help she truly needed and was grateful for my assistance. Yeah, she uses a walking stick and has a hard time just getting up out of a chair that I had to kind of tug on her arm. Plus, she was dropping things like important papers as well.

The room wasn’t that big and there were about 30 or 40 people. After the uniform guard checked our handbags, she went to one of these little computers that you input info on. She had to put in Diane’s social security number because she was there to get proof that she’s still getting Social Security in order to keep Medi-Cal going. It’s a complicated and screwed-up system but that’s just the way it works. They’re not illegals. She and Diane have to fight for basic rights and benefits.

The woman never shuts up, I swear! LOL, not even I talked nearly as much on my chattiest of days. She even loves to chat with strangers. There was a couple there that she knew too, and they got to talking. She kept apologizing for talking to them and I said it was no problem at all.

Not only has she been forgetful, but she often has to stop and think of the words she wants to use and all that. Oh, she’s forgetful all right. We were chatting with the guy sitting across from us whose mother was with him. She was pretty old, too. I asked Dixie how she managed to see without glasses and said I needed them for everything.

“So get them,” she says, and the guy and I burst out laughing. It’s like, hello, duh!

Then she looks at me and sees I’m wearing glasses and goes, “Well, I never pay attention to people’s faces,”

Haha, but she noticed my makeup right away and complimented me on it. I was a glitter whore. Gold glitter eyeshadow, pink glitter mascara, and blue eyeliner.

Anyway, it was good to get out and to help her and we even enjoyed the change of weather which brought cooler temps and some actual rain. But now I’m ready to have summer back. I was freezing my ass off this morning and I had to put my big bulky robe on which I always hate since I hate long sleeves. It’s supposed to be in the upper 80s today, so that will warm things back up. It was 84% humid yesterday.

It was weird because it was the first time anyone else other than Tom drove me anywhere since Eddy, his former coworker in Oregon, drove Blondie and me from the duplex to the house when we were moving while Tom took care of the truck with the expired plate.

Again Molly peaked in on my blog and again I asked myself why it bothered me and again I came up with the same answer… I don’t know, it just does. If she’s reading my blog then she’s reading my tweets. Therefore, I’m back to FO with my blog and I’ve protected my tweets unless I want to tweet to someone I’m not connected to. Created a bogus account so I can blog publicly without her or Aly seeing it unless they somehow find it. In that case, they would have to stumble upon it accidentally since I signed up with a temporary email.

Took care of the pigs’ liner and now I’m going to clean the master bedroom and bath before I start copying entries again and do some story editing.

Still watching crime docs on Hulu and started watching Unbelievable on Netflix as well. It’s a pretty interesting miniseries. Sad and scary but interesting. It’s based on a true story.

Going to be picked up by Dixie later in the morning to accompany her to the Social Security building where she has an errand to run as an assistant of sorts because of her limited walking abilities. This should take around an hour depending on how crowded it is. This is California. Everything is crowded here.

It was a pleasant weekend and yesterday was surprisingly peaceful. We might actually get our first rain of the season today too, but if we do, I’m sure it will be just a quick drizzle. We don’t really enter the rainy season until next month.

Haven’t heard from Tammy in a while. Don’t know why she’s slipped back into silent mode. I hope my email messages haven’t ended up in her spam box. Must not have anything new to update me on, I guess.

Took care of the animals earlier and soon I’m going to do a little cleaning. Carefully, though, so that I don’t end up with my own limited walking abilities. I re-injured my quad muscle running really fast this morning.

Three weeks till menopause!

Warming the cooked chicken I got from Sam’s yesterday. I used both levels in my steamer yesterday for the first time, cooking broccoli and cauliflower on the bottom and sugar snap peas up top.

I got a blue eyeliner stick along with Caribbean coconut rum and vodka cherry soda from Rite Aid yesterday. The Caribbean coconut rum has a pleasant taste, but the cherry vodka is boring.

Bob celebrated his 90th birthday yesterday. I wonder if he ever thought he’d get that old? I know that there was once a time I didn’t think I’d even make it to 30. I just hope he and Virginia are still alive when we leave.

It may not be even remotely close to time to start looking, but rural is definitely out. Not just because I’m used to the hustle and bustle of the city but because I’d rather be annoyed with noise than inconvenienced just because people can’t shut up. In the country, there’s the shitty internet connection to consider and the fact that you can’t get things delivered there so easily like groceries and packages. Plus, the near-hour drive to the nearest city. No thanks! This is what I’m used to, and quiet, if there really is such a thing, would seem way too weird at this point.

I only want to change the distance between the street and the bedroom and get out of a flight path. Of course, I didn’t think we were in one before a year ago as far as commercials go. I don’t know why they changed paths. It would still be worth checking flight paths and seeing how close we are to small-plane airports as well. Not much we can do about helicopters. It’s only quiet here from midnight to 6 a.m. There can be some small planes and helicopters during these hours, though. Yes, you do grow accustomed to it somewhat, believe it or not.

Went out walking in the full moon just after 2 a.m. It was a peaceful walk save for one plane or helicopter and one skunk but this time I didn’t run and it stayed on the other side of the street.

Tom put new keyboard tray arms on my desk so now I can put my keyboard there.

Finished watching Cold Valley and now I’m watching another docuseries, Blood Runs Cold.

Second time in a row nothing woke me up, but I don’t feel as energized as I did yesterday. Going to make this one of my two days a week off from exercise. My quad muscles are a little sore anyway from yesterday’s hard run where I nearly spilled.

Most days I didn’t notice hypo symptoms when cutting my dose, but it sure caught up to me with the fatigue I was having. It’s a different kind of fatigue too, as opposed to simply being tired from not sleeping well. It sucks. You feel like a downed airplane with engine failure. And oh, the brain fog and non-stop pissing!

So 50 is the hypo dose and 75 is the side effect dose. I took the hypo dose today to ease back into the side effect dose more gradually and hopefully reduce those nasty effects.

My nails are a bit clearer but still oddly discolored. Still not sure whether or not I’ll ask the doc about it or not.

Bracing myself for Tammy’s inevitable reminders on FB that it’s her darling narcissistic daughter’s birthday today. Why do people wish their friends a happy birthday to so and so anyway? It’s Sarah’s birthday. Wish it to HER.

It’s Nurse Kim’s birthday, too. She’s 50. Bad age. 48-52 is true hell.

I told Aly that the editing of Rainstorm was taking longer than expected. She told me to take my time since she couldn’t buy it till October since some unexpected expenses came up.

I knew it. I just knew it. She’s been getting bad with following through on things. I’m sure she’ll take forever to buy it since saving $3 is oh so hard, and good luck to myself on getting an actual review from her on it.

Despite this, I feel so bad for her right now. Her dog Leo died. She said he was struggling to breathe and they were about to take him to the vet when he died. Wonder if my poison had anything to do with it. The dog had just been started on it for a bad thyroid.

My cholesterol numbers are in and shitty as ever. I totally forgot that low thyroid means high cholesterol, no matter what you eat, ACV shots or not, LOL.

I couldn’t figure out why I was light-headed and then remembered that it was because I was increasing my dose. Whenever I switch back to Sandoz from the more “anxious” brands or increase my dose, I’m initially light-headed. It will go away eventually. I just hope the anxiety doesn’t feel it has to replace it! I’m still worried about that. I would really have to see myself take 75s every single day for over 6 months without issue to finally think I may have fully beaten the anxiety. For now, only 50s can avoid it but of course, that leaves me pretty hypo. I’m gonna cut tomorrow’s pill so I can climb back up more gradually. 75s is always where I feel the side effects. Always. Lightheadedness, anxiety, etc. At least, as I can tell Dr. A, I never skip anymore.

It seems that adding the Alexa with too much bass in it playing brown noise may help keep traffic from waking me up, but I don’t want to get my hopes up too high just yet.

The skunk I saw when out on my walk proves I still have pretty good balance overall. When I saw it on the other side of the street, I decided I would start moving quickly to get further away from it faster in case I decided to take a shot at me. I started running fast downhill while keeping my head turned in its direction and veered off the road and onto the bumpy grassy area that’s definitely not the stable ground the pavement is. I almost took a tumble in this poorly lit area and it took me a few seconds to get back on the road. The first thing I thought of was Aly and Tom. Tom doesn’t have great balance and Aly’s is worse. She falls on a flat floor, she told me.

In Aly’s copy of this entry, I told her I had a dream about Molly and was glad she and her mom stopped harassing me and hoped it stayed that way. Just curious to see if she then points out that Mommy Dearest is dead. If not, then I’ll think even more that she knows I’m following her and Molly.

Slept better and took a full dose when I got up, then did my tapping. Still woke up a few times but I have more energy than yesterday. Enough to go on a walk-jog. Hell, I’m even praying for the anxiety not to return even though that’s never really been effective for me and I still don’t know that there’s anything up there to hear me.

If I’m supposed to be an influencer who can sometimes influence the outcome of things with her mind/mood, well, I’m thinking of those who can take this poison with no problem, trying to be positive and say, “By God, I’m going to do the exact same thing for once and for all no matter what!” Sort of like a girl who watches all her girlfriends land a man she hasn’t been able to land herself and is finally pissed off and determined enough to do so. Wanting something doesn’t always mean you’ll get it, of course. But I’m going to do my best to influence things in my favor so I can have more energy and not feel like I’m forced to play a twisted game of Would You Rather?

Would you rather be drop-dead exhausted? Or would you rather be batshit anxious?

I’d rather have my cake and eat it too. :-)

The freeway is getting louder as it does this time of year and the planes are back in full annoyance mode, especially at night and early morning. I’ve given up on complaining because I know how much that can backfire. In this case, it’s simply done me no good at all. I’m completely ignored on Twitter and all I got when I filled out an official complaint form was told that they’d pass it along. Not, “We’re working on doing something about the problem.”

Added my Bluetooth with brown noise to my sleeping regime in place of the earbud and it started making an old-fashioned busy signal sound when it ran out of juice as it does when the battery craps out. I thought it was part of a dream at first where a few of those fat-nosed, woolly-headed bitches were verbally beating the crap out of me for who knows what.

What’s weird is that when I plug it into the charger, I first see a red light as I should. But instead of the light staying red until it turns green, it goes out and I have to unplug and replug it. Really hope I can get it to last throughout my entire sleep because it seems like it might be helpful. Worst case scenario I could bring the newest Alexa in here because that one has bass, unlike the one I have in here. This one is good for audiobooks but not music because it’s tinnier.

Would be so great to live somewhere where I could retire the stereo and simply tell Alexa to play brown noise on loop mode!

Meanwhile, since I can’t sleep with the earbuds without irritation, I’m using them during prime plane time. It’s only when I lie on them that it’s an issue. Going to have to take it to the hotel when we go to Alcatraz, though.

Wondering why the top of what’s left of my bad ear has been more sensitive lately, especially when I lie on it. Dismantling the fucking frame was supposed to eliminate that!

Scorned: Love Kills and Murder on the Internet was too predictable, so right now I’m watching a miniseries called Killer Unknown that covers a couple of cold cases from 1998 and 1973.

I was surprised to learn that less than 60% of murders ever get solved. I thought nowadays it was around 75%. I can’t imagine getting away with murder, not that I’d want to kill anyone who wasn’t trying to kill me, no matter how well I tried to pull it off. I have no doubt, however, that if I were ever murdered, the killer would never be caught. Just my shit luck, you could say, since no one who has ever screwed me over in any way has ever been made to pay for it. Don’t tell me they’ll get theirs in the afterlife. No one can know this for sure or even if there even is an afterlife, and personally, I hope there isn’t. The actual dying process doesn’t just scare me, but so does the endless possibilities of what may lay beyond if there is a beyond. To me, it’s akin to being a lost child left abandoned on the street in which anyone can come along to take wherever and do whatever to. It could be anything from a caring, motherly woman to an outright deadly pervert. One can never know.

The only thing I don’t like about the show is that they keep saying the same damn things over and over again.

If this map I found that shows the laws by state as far as loud engines go means anything at all, then Florida just became more appealing even though loud car stereos and motorcycles are an issue there. I’d also choose New Mexico over Nevada if we didn’t go straight to Florida. California is one of the six or seven states where you can do anything you want and to hell with who it may affect. There are a lot of gray states, but Florida seems to be one of the toughest as far as muscle cars and all that attention-getting shit goes. Of course, with my shit luck, the laws would change the day we got there just like they started letting motorcycles in here as soon as we got here. eye-roll