At the morons of madness

Maybe it was my subconscious saying "stop sleeping in the direct line of fire from the air conditioner, even with it set at 81" last night, but I dreamed I was Charles Bronson, leading a friend (possibly Lexy?) on a tour leaving from and returning to a small pier in Hawaii, sailing to Antarctica, hiking to the South Pole, and then coming back.

Did I mention this was a one-day trip?

I was dressed more or less like an Eskimo; bulky whale-skin boots and coat and pants and mittens, whereas she was in conventional/contemporary expedition gear, replete with small snowshoes and hiking poles. Somehow, I was still able to set a challenging pace over the snow (not as challenging on the bare rock).

My biggest annoyance was, when I tried to figure out how long the trip was, Google Maps insisted it was 9.2 miles from the Antarctic coast to the pole, which engendered the expected, "No you fuckers it's like a thousand miles, pull your head out of your asssssssss...." response.

Shouldering ahead

So, that was informative, if not entirely awesome. No burying the lede here: I go in for surgery on Monday, 9/9. My pre-op consult is Friday, 9/6.

The orthopedist outlined three repairs: the bicep tendon relcation off the torn bit of my labrum (affixing it to the top of the humerus), a touchup on the rotator cuff where it's been pinched by the acromium and bone spurs on my clavicle, and shaving down said bones to not do that shit again.

So, I have a pile of paperwork to fill out at the office in case I need to use FMLA (since I am not, technically, supposed to drive for six weeks, while I'm in the sling); my expectation right now is that I'll just end up working from home once I'm feeling up to it.

Rehab is more of a concept than a prescription; basically, I can do some ROM work as the soreness permits during my recovery, and, based on the amount of stiffness and any residual discomfort at my followup evaluations, I may or may not be sent for rehab and whatnot. I spoke with the colleague who is a few weeks post-op for basically the same shit on the other arm, and he said that he's able to do a lot more than they expected because he's been assertive with his routine, and, while he doesn't have nearly a full ROM back yet, he's ahead of the curve in that respect, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

I will, more or less, not be allowed to lift weights with that arm until after the first of the year, and was advised to start light and build back up gradually. Sensible, if frustrating. Cardio is absolutely A-OK.

He had some confused reactions when I described the elbow pop over the weekend. "Sounds like you might have strained or ruptured the distal bicep tendon."
"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt, and, you'll notice, the lower portion of that muscle belly now matches the good arm, where before, it was bound up and lumpy. I'm almost wondering if that was a long-held adhesion finally saying, 'Fuck this, I'm out.'"
"I've heard weirder things."
"Well, you're the expert, so I figured I should let you know everything that's up in that neighborhood."

Cat Colony Contact

I learned this evening that my backyard neighbor is involved in the feral cat TNR program when I came home this evening to discover Magellan plaintively meowing and not coming when I called him.

So, as a gesture of goodwill and caretaking of the fuzzbutts that hang out around my place, I wrote my neighbor the following letter and tucked it in his mailbox:

[block of all my contact info]

B_________-

I apologize for the intrusion into your fantastic backyard garden this evening, but I heard a familiar cat's cry when I was out by my garage today, and peered over my fence to see that “my” cat (the year-old white-and-spotted male I have been gradually introducing to my household) was in the Trap-and-Release enclosure beside your shed; I knocked on your door and, when I received no answer, let him out and brought him back over to my yard.

I have been, more or less, the steward for the feral cat colony that lives around our homes for nine years; if it's all right with you, I would be more than happy to take over management and monitoring of the Trap-and-Release equipment. I've noticed that you've had a lot of success this year; it looks like three or four of the adult females have had their ears notched, and, after a relative population crash for the group last year and over the winter, it's beginning to make a comeback, so I definitely want to see the animals and their colony remain healthy and vibrant.

If you'd be so kind as to put me in touch with the organization you're assisting, either by phone, mail, or email, that would be fantastic.

Again, I apologize for the intrusion, but I have no small measure of affection for that animal in particular (his name is Magellan, though he answers to both that and “Lump Cat,” and will most likely go limp and purr vigorously if you pick him up, if that's your thing), and didn't want him left trapped in the rain when he's welcome in my home.

Please feel free to reach out to me however seems most suitable; I apologize that I don't have a more direct means of contacting you about this, but I would be glad to assume stewardship of the capture enclosure, since I have a lot more interaction with the animals than you probably do.


Kind regards,



R_____

lift all the things!

I may see if I can trap-bar deadlift ALL THE WEIGHT[1] before i have to go on the shelf after D*C.

I pulled 465 for a deadlift double conventionally without too much trouble this week. i'm hoping to hit a PR before dragon*con (505 is current); today's lifting calls for benching 270 for a 3/4 range of motion, and i've got probably five weeks of progress out of the six remaining to keep piling on those particular poundages. i need to kick as much ass as possible before i have to take a medically-enforced sabbatical from the iron and become a reluctant cardio minion. squatting may or may not end up north of 425 for a single, and overhead pressing, likewise, may or may not exceed my bodyweight (which is a bucket list item i've approached but not achieved yet).


[1] based on the plates and bar configuration, this should max out around something in the neighborhood of 660-680 pounds; I haven't gone heavy on that move lately, but was able to pull 620 a couple of months ago.