Wednesday, 09 September, 1998 13:27...
Since I'm up, I thought I'd start out early. I did get to sleep from 06:00 until 12:00, and I plan to get another four or five hours here in a little while...
I got the CD ROM installed in Mom's machine, it's now busy installing WIN95, because it wouldn't do WIN98 until WIN95 has been installed. So when this is done, it'll take me another hour or so. Then when I get to Enid I'll have to configure it for Moms' video board an modem... shouldn't be a problem, though.
Damn.. that's what I say about most things, isn't it? Optimism heavily tainted with cynicism, that's me... sometimes I wonder how I got this way, then I remember how old I am and what I've been through... the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, damn near the 90s... O'yeah, I forgot about the 50s and four-tenths of the forties...
On the other hand, if I wasn't this old, I'd be dead. It's a fact... look it up.
On a completely different subject... I got a carton of cigarettes the other day. They were out of my regular brand, so I got some Carltons. They're almost like cigarettes, but not quite. They have a ring of holes in the filter, so you suck in air instead of nasty tobacco. I have cramps in my hands from covering the holes up whilst I inhale. You have to kinda wrap your index finger around the butt, then cover the rest of the holes with your thumb, all the while maintaining proper inhalation suction on the damned thing.
Life is a bitch, then somebody thought of cigarettes and it got worse. Then a bunch of other things happened regarding smoking and freedom and shit like that and life got still worse for the targets. I know this, being a target myself... great big bulls-eye on my chest.
Still... I'm having more fun being alive than all of the dead people put together are having being dead. This too is a fact.
While you were sleeping...
Not a bad night yet, not at all. My sidekick Teresa just left... tomorrow night is MY turn again.
I got another four hours of sleep yesterday before coming to work, and I'm feeling pretty good, except for the legs, of course.
I used to walk very fast, with a long stride. Now I saunter... which is not right, because I'm not a sauntering type of a guy. Well, I guess I am right now.
I saw my surgeon here tonight at the hospital, told him I would be in to see him soon. He told me to plan on being off work 8-10 weeks if I have to have surgery, and he said that it's not likely that angioplasty would work, even with stents. But he did say that if anyone could get them to work, it would be Dr. Allen, the guy who did it last time.
So... my appointment is at 08:30 with my GP, then he'll get some ultrasound tests done on me and send them to the surgeon, the surgeon will see me and refer me to the radiologist, who will fix me, hopefully.
They figger that if the second angioplasty doesn't work that surgery is the only other answer. But the surgeon said that we'll put it off as long as possible... until I can't stand living with the pain. Well, gee, 
I'm just about there right now.
I've fucking got to stop smoking! It's not the entire answer, but it's probably a real big part of it.
OK, I just did. Lets see how long it lasts this time. I know, I know, I said that I wouldn't mention it until I had quit for a month... I lied... again. Sorry 'bout that.
People my age who have smoked for +25 years almost never are able to quit smoking. Truth again, look it up. Well, you can't since I just made it up...
More later, or maybe tomorrow...
OK, so it's more today... especially since I hadn't sent out the reminder to the list, it absolutely slipped my mind.
The GP doc was a lot more worried than I was (past tense) after he listened to the bruits in my iliacs. He was pretty insistent that we get the angiogram and angioplasty done ASAP. He thought that according to my symptoms and what he heard that I was at least as occluded as I was last time.
And I really don't know why I wasn't more worried... I am now, anyway. The potential of losing one or two legs is looming on my horizon rather largely all of a sudden.
I'll go into the hospital (Stormont-Vail, the "Other Hospital") at 06:30 in the morning and be on the table about 08:00. Dr. Allen will again be the radiologist, and I have a lot of confidence in him.
So, y'all will forgive me if my entry tomorrow is a little late. Or if it doesn't happen for a few days, depending on the outcome of tomorrows' fun and games.
And, on top of everything else, my brother's ISP is rejecting mail from me as being spam. What a kick in the head, huh. Luckily, he had more than one provider. Otherwise, I might have to actually call him on the phone (gasp!) and talk to him.
More tomorrow, I hope...