I’ll try a nighttime edition of Wise Madness. Weird day: I didn’t get much done but I had lots of things good for my mental health since I last wrote. In the space of 24 hours I spoke to Carolann, New York Carey, River, and Katrina. River and Katrina are about the same age and Carolann and River are both citizens of the Utopian Republic of Budgiedome, but other than that they don’t have much in common. No two live in the same county and the live in three separate states. You know, they have more in common that that. Carolann and Katrina both play mandolin, River and Katrina both love photography, the odd man out, is the only man in the group, Carey. The only think significant he has in common with any of the others is that he lives in NYC like Carolann. I’ve known Carey for 30 years longer than any of the others. My conversations with each are distinct; that’s why they feel diverse to me. They are all beneficial to my mental health. Yesterday I had therapy. That’s good for my mental health too. Too bad didn’t leverage all that mental health to get things done.
And that’s as far as I got writing last night. What else was good for my mental health? Food of course. Meateggandcheese sandwiches are my breakfast staple but I rarely have them on bagels anymore. A few weeks ago, I went on a bagel hunting expedition and bagged half a dozen salt. What a difference it makes. Yesterday it was Hameggandpepperjackcheese on a salt bagel. That’s simple and as good a breakfast as anything. I can’t wait until the subways are safe again and I can make regular trips to Bob’s Bagels in Greenwich Village where on Monday afternoons the bagels are about a third the price as I pay in Riverdale. I finished off the meat gravy, so my dinner poutine was the last I’ll have until I buy more. I love poutine but it puts pressure on me. Once the gravy is open I have to finish it before it goes bad, so that means poutine three times in ten days or so.
I took care of my physical health yesterday too; I got my Entyvio infusion. I used to get it at the Moses division of Montefiore, a ten-minute walk from home. That has been converted into a COVID-19 only hospital, so I have to travel to a Montefiore campus on the other side of the Bronx. That sounds much less convenient and I was unhappy to hear I’d have to do that. Fortunately, because I’m on Medicaid I can get car service to take me to doctor appointments. By car it’s only 15 minutes away. The only parts I was worried about was that I get picked up an hour before my appointment and I’d have to wait for the car when I was done. Turns out that neither of those is an inconvenience. Even though I’m getting there 45 minutes early they take me right away. This site is so much more efficient that I wait far less time. I often spent three hours or more at Moses. I’d have to wait an hour for a chair to open up and then once I was in my chair an hour for my infusion to be made. When I’m finished, I text “return” to the car company and they come in a few minutes. I was home two hours and fifteen minutes after I was picked up. I never got home that fast from the place a few blocks from me. The procedure is not unpleasant. They put an IV in me, which like the president is just a little prick. Then I sit in a very comfy recliner listening to podcasts and relaxing.
This just came up on Facebook and I said I was going to write about it, so I will do this now. Before people started going out we were all talking about how we weren’t wearing pants without elastic waistbands or drawstrings. Regular pants are too uncomfortable. Most of us aren’t wearing shoes at home because they aren’t comfortable. Do any men wear a tie at home? No, they aren’t comfortable. Women weren’t wearing bras. Did any woman wear high heels? I never wore a pair but apparently they are very uncomfortable. We wear all these uncomfortable things, pants, ties, high heels, bras, because of social pressure and or vanity. Yet people think saving lives is not a good enough reason to wear a mask. If you don’t wear a mask do you go out without pants? No? Then what are your priorities? Every time you want to take your mask off, take your pants off instead. I have gotten used to wearing my mask. It’s just not a big deal anymore. When I get home now I take off my mask, shoes, and pants, and get comfortable. When I’m out I leave them on. Back in the days when I had to wear a tie I would loosen it or take it off as soon as I left school or work.
Wise Madness 