In Memorium

For about the past week our pet budgie was not himself at all. His usual routine of singing in the morning and sitting perched in the window after a few flights around the room was replaced by shivering, and struggling to breathe. On Monday night he passed on. It is a sad time yes, but after watching him not be himself the past week it's almost a relief it is over because it was clear he was not going to get better and there was nothing we could do except wait.

He lived a good life, with plenty of treats and attention. Granted, it's not like having a dog which is much more interactive and requires more time and responsibility, but nonetheless he was a part of this house. He found his place once we moved him downstairs and put him in the window, and would leave the cage on a regular basis by going to look in the mirror on top of the cage. He'd also "knock the monster over", which was a toy he'd knock to the floor by running to the end of the stick he perched on and head-butted the thing to the floor. On good days he'd do it many times. If I were downstairs and I'd hear the monster hit the floor, I'd go up and put it back for him. Maybe it was torture? In any case, it kept him stimulated and gave him something to do which was important.

Included are two pictures, when on one of the rare occasions he got brave and decided to take a real long flight. He never went too far from the cage, but on this day Darcy got home and couldn't find him. She eventually did of course, and took pictures she called "Budgie on a Stick." I don't know how, but you may notice he perched on the "C" string, which is the thickest and lowest-pitched one on the instrument. Kind of perfect, since we often joked about him liking the bass-drivin music I'd play the most while cooking or whatever.

Home Cookin'

I'm pissed. NO WAY should the government, Fanny, Freddie, or anyone modify existing mortgage terms or use tax dollars to subsidize mortgages for those idiots who bought well beyond their means, who then took out home loans for vacations/boats/etc. and now are having problems making their payments on time. McCain would have had my vote if (1) he voted against the bailout of the greedy banks, and (b) dropped Hockey Mom as the VP candidate. Republicans take note: stick to your conservative values regarding monetary policy and stop listening to the religious wing of the party that has polluted and alienated the party from us independents.

If the homeowners get bailed out and rewarded for their financial mistakes, I want my cut too. Want to do something with the bailout money that would make sense? Then give me, a responsible homeowner, $200K and give the others who made the mistakes $100K to get them going. Extra credit: eliminate the capital gains tax for a year or two to spur investment. Then I'll shut up.

Jim Cramer has the right idea, although it will never happen. Instead of giving the money-addicted bank managers more tax dollars to fund their golden parachutes, he suggests using the bailout money to buy the vacant houses to get them off the bank's balance sheets, and then start a federal arson program to burn them down. The excess inventory would be removed from the housing sector, causing the remaining houses like mine to increase in value. This is actually the only plan I've heard so far that would come close to solving the crisis we're in at the moment. When I'm gone and someone finds this blog in Google's archive 100 years from now, we'll know what happened.

McRetro

While keeping the McDonald's theme, I stumbled across this article about a (maybe) McD's burger from 1996:

McDonald's Burger from 1996

Now, I'm not against McDonald's, and in fact I wish they'd remove the animal fat from their fries. In fact, MCD is one of my few stocks this year that is doing okay, all things considered. Gee, am I the only vegetarian who owns McDonald's stock?

Four for the can

Given the frequency of my potty visits, I've taken to changing some of my behavior. For example, at concerts and sporting events, I've gotten used to leaving my seat during the performance with only a few minutes left in the first half or during a song I figure I could miss.

At home, when I've got to go, I'll usually make a quick trip and try not to miss anything. The NHL has three commercial breaks per period, and I've gotten it down to an artform most times. But last week was exceptional. Darcy gives me grief because it seems when I do use the bathroom, I'll miss a goal during a game. Well, I decided to take a break when the Leafs were losing 2-0 late in the third period, figuring it was over. On my way back downstairs, I heard her say something like "Oh my!" and I heard the announcer say the Leafs scored. Given the crowd reaction, I thought they at most tied it up. Uh, nope. I missed four(!) Leafs goals as they took a 4-2 lead. That should teach me! Maybe I should just install an additional HDTV in the bathrooms around my house.


One of my favorite things I look for when watching drug ads during NFL games is to hear the side effects. I'm so against the open advertising by the drug companies to the general public to begin with, as I don't feel anyone but those people in the medical profession should make judgements about what drugs to administer, but that's another post for another day. I've just noticed that almost every single drug has warnings that include something like "do not take if you are experiencing liver problems" or whatever. It goes to show how important the liver is, and what it does. Be kind to yours- watch Super Size Me for an example of the damage that can be done to it just by diet. Wait- didn't I just give praise to McDonald's in this same space last week?

McLowSodium

The low sodium diet is going okay for the most part. I do miss my almost-daily visits to Chipotle, as I've gotten them down to once a month at the most. What is the real pits is that I've found some of the best dill pickles I've ever had at a natural grocery store, but at over 1,000mg per serving I don't even think about getting them. My latest meal strategy is to eat a medium sodium lunch, usually aiming for no more than 800 to 900mgs of sodium, followed by making dinner from scratch. I've been keeping Subway in business lately, as I can get a footlong sub that fills me up for around 800mg sodium.

Darcy has been a trooper, as the food I've been making has not had the usual flavor. At least she can use the table salt, but I'm sure my cooking has gotten much blander the past few months.

Maybe it's been the lack of flavor, but I've been losing weight. I've also not been eating my usual mass quantity, so I'm going to have to pay more attention to how much I eat. Today I made sure to eat three huge meals, and perhaps I'll restart the Ensures. I have not been drinking those since I wanted my potty trips to be more, well, normal (if you know what I mean.) I've also tried to eat more fattening food and I ask for more mayo and oil on the subs at Subway. I've also been off the pasta wagon, so maybe it's time to eat more of that too. Actually, my snacks have been strawberries, raspberries, grapes, tangerines, and so on. I need more bad things in my diet to gain the weight. I've also limited my cheese intake (except for swiss/baby swiss) due to the sodium, so that also factors into it I'm sure.

Believe it or not, one of the meals I've had recently was on a trip to McDonald's, where I don't think I've eaten in at least three years. I got a Big Mac w/o the meat and the Southwest salad w/o the chicken and dressing. It was actually quite low in sodium all things considered, although they refused to give me a discount of any sort. I wrote them via the website to ask about that, and they said it's up to the individual locations. One thing I found extremely useful about the McDonald's website, and why I went there in the first place, was that they let you make a virtual order and customize the ingredients, and then it adds up the nutrition information for you. That's a nice touch that I wish other places would let you do. For example, I can't find a way to substitute beans for meat at Taco Bell's website and get the correct sodium level, and even Subway's website requires an external calculator. In any case, it's good to know I can count on McDonald's when I'm traveling if I have to.

On a good note, I've only taken the meds that make me expel water (ahem) once, as my leg swelling has not made a comeback in a long time. I guess I should take it every day since I'm sure I'm retaining water, but I've noticed that even without it I'm back to using the bathroom on a regular basis again.

You may notice that I've added a link to my blog on the right. Donate Life is an organization that doesn't seem to have an agenda beyond that of spreading organ and tissue donation awareness. If they were associated with anything remotely political or religious I'd take it down, but given that so far they seem to be on the up and up, I even got the special Maryland license plate that many states are offering.

Rednecks for McCain

So Darcy gets some political signs for a candidate running for president this Tuesday. (hint: not the old, creepy guy.) She put one up in the yard Saturday morning. I didn’t endorse this as I know how people are and how personally they take politics. I’m not out to change people’s political opinions, nor am I eager to display any such sign. But my neighborhood is littered with McCain/Palin signs, so I thought what the heck. As long as I don’t get a brick thrown through my window.

Sunday morning I look outside and the sign looks odd, but being around 2am I didn’t think much of it. When I got up at 6am though, mysteriously the sign turned from “Obama/Biden” to a McCain sign. Interesting…and it took less than 24 hours to transform. I think it’s something in the ground water since we are surrounded by so many rednecks and pickup trucks with Confederate flags, that it must be the water that infects them. Although, I’ve not been infected so far.

All I can offer is that I hope they got their jollies, and they can take our sign but not our vote.

At the risk of getting more political, I should say I’m not thrilled with any candidate. On the major issues they are pretty much the same. The deciding factor to me is quite simple though, and can be summed up by two words: Sarah Palin. Tina Fey had it correct: after she met her, she said Sarah was no smarter than she was, and that’s not good enough. I agree. Although, I can’t argue that during her tenure as governor, we have had very little issues with the Russians, so she was keeping an eye on ‘em for us in the mainland.

On the economy though, this financial bailout both candidates voted for in the Senate is pathetic. Back when I was buying my house in 1999 and 2000, I was offered several times one of those loans that would allow me to get a home well above my means- by a wide margin. Being an ARM, I could move in and roll the dice that in 2007, when the ARM converted to a conventional mortgage, I’d be fine since the interest rates were dropping and property values were rising…RIGHT. I didn’t even give it a single thought since this was my home we’re talking about, and I don’t care to gamble with it. At one point I actually called one of the lenders a bloodsucker to his face; those who know me know that’s a bit out of character, but it made the point during the negotiations.

Fast forward to a few months ago: McCain and Obama both made the argument that we need to help the homeowners who took out such a loan remain in their home. The justification to the homeowners like me was that having so many empty houses in a community would drive home values down. Know what? So what! I played the game by the rules, and now those who didn’t are being rewarded with the ability to get something they can afford AND get a bigger house worth more than mine? It’s the silliest thing I’ve ever seen regarding economic policy that directly affects me. Just like the banks that made the loans in the first place, I am all for letting them fail and dealing with the short to mid term pain.

Of course, just follow the money: by allowing those idiots who make maybe $70K a year live in their $800K houses, the government gets the taxes. Having an empty house doesn’t necessarily guarantee that revenue stream.

If the government really is going to reward these stupid people who spent well beyond their means, I think I should be rewarded for not missing a single payment through this mess and paying all of my taxes in full and on time. I wish they’d stop arguing about who is responsible (they all are going back to Jimmy Carter) and just let the free market run its course. Please, point me to a single policy instituted by this government regarding trying to turn the economy around that actually worked- it usually results in more trouble, which I’m not looking forward to at all. But we’ve already given the money to the people who made the problem in the first place. Isn’t that like giving money to an drug addict, and then being surprised when they blow it on more drugs?

Let me end on this: I don't care who you vote for; just vote. Don't have time or don't want to for whatever reason? Go watch the opening 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. Tell those people in real life who took part in the invasion (or any American veteran who served for that matter) that you're not voting.

Think Halloween is scary? Nah, salt is...

Wow, it’s been a month. I think that’s a record even for me for not updating. I’ve been lazy, tired, playing hockey, going to concerts, and even finding time to work in between all of that if you can believe it. But there is medical news, so let’s get right to it…

First off, I’ve been to Cleveland for my bi-yearly checkup. Everything went as before, with a few exceptions. First off, I’m still maintaining my health status, as my MELD score is around 14. That’s a good thing.

I’ve had a change in my meds though. Since I’ve started retaining water around my liver and in my feet/ankles, I’ve been put on a diuretic . Not a bad thing, but it requires a change in my eating habits. Of course, I’m supposed to keep an eye on my sodium intake to around 2,000mg. That’s going okay, but now with the new meds I have to watch my potassium. Out with the bananas and potatoes!

It used to be okay when they told me to stop drinking alcohol, stop smoking, stop illegal drug use, and cut back on my fatty and fried foods, etc. since I didn’t do any of that. The sodium thing is getting easier, mostly because it’s forcing me to cook even more these days, if that is possible. Plus, a great organic market just opened near me that I drive by on the way home from work, Goodlife on route 2, that caters to healthy alternative including being a good source of no salt added canned goods like tomato paste and even soups. I did try the no salt product called “mild cheddar cheese” which tasted like spoiled tofu- no thanks. Luckily I’m developing a taste for swiss and baby swiss slices which are very, very low in sodium. But this potato thing is going to require some getting used to.

The vampyres at Cleveland drew seventeen(!) vials of blood from me. I thought she was kidding when she put all of them on the table, but they were all for me. And then later in the month I went for more lab work for my Baltimore doktors and they draw another twelve.

I’ve been evaluated for the transplant program in Baltimore, and I heard today I should be accepted there too, so I’ll be double listed. Kind of a first come, first serve for who’s got the organ I can use!

Both facilities are a little different in the way they approach when to do the transplant. In Cleveland, they wait until the MELD score gets into the 20’s, as their theory seems to be the longer I have my own liver, the better off I am. In Baltimore, it’s more of a game of if the “perfect” organ for me arrives and I’m near the top of the current list, they encourage the patient to take it. I’m not sure which theory is better, but both have merits and downsides.

Back to diet though. I’ve been using the web for low sodium resources and the more I read about what the American high fat, high sodium contributes to our health issues like heart disease and so on. I always heard about what the long-term side effects are, but having lived the low sodium thing for this calendar year, I can offer that I can really tell when I eat something higher in sodium than I should. Case in point: Chipotle burrito. The shell alone is 1,000mgs, so I get the bowl. But just the rice and beans bring the total over 1,000 alone before salsa. And forget the peppers and onions. Know what though? It tastes soooo good! I’ve limited myself to at most one visit a month, and I skipped last month. At least Taco Bell offers crunchy tacos with beans and fresco style (no cheese, just lettuce and tomato/onion) that are under 250mgs each.

I’ll post more this weekend, but that’s just a quick update for now. Happy Halloween!