cn3wton, Battle log of Ages

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

I'm sorry there keep being more things to vent about. Having said that, never apologize for needing to vent. That's practically what these forums are for (that and something about fitness, IDK).

[WhiteGhost]

Hopefully the rough times pass quickly and things settle down soon.  

[cn3wton]

On 2/23/2021 at 1:15 PM, Shello said:

Sorry you are going through so much at once.  I hope you find a moment for some peace and to refresh. 

Thank you I appreciate it. It has been a lot but I am going to keep pushing forward!

[cn3wton]

On 2/23/2021 at 1:16 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I'm sorry there keep being more things to vent about. Having said that, never apologize for needing to vent. That's practically what these forums are for (that and something about fitness, IDK).

Thank you, I can't say how much it has helped to come back here. It's funny how life works that way. Came to try to get back on the fitness wagon and the community is here when I need them.

 

 

On 2/26/2021 at 1:18 AM, WhiteGhost said:

Hopefully the rough times pass quickly and things settle down soon.  

Thanks. The hardest part is working 1.5 hours from home so during the week there is almost nothing I can do to help progress things. Im talking to HR today about my vacation time and going to take some much needed vacation sometime soon.

[cn3wton]

Here we are into another week of the challenge.

 

I didn't post at all the end of last week because I had it "off" of work for Doctors appointments and trying to get everything figured out with the house.

 

The Doctor

There where a couple big things I had to talk to the doctor about. Setting an appointment and talking to a doctor about these things was part of my last challenge. Due to the craziness of the current world I had to book an appointment a month out. But I did it.

 

Acid Reflux

Acid reflux was the first big thing to talk to her about. I detailed everything out and what was going on. And they are setting me up with a specialist. I am going to have to have a tube down my throat to ensure nothing serious is going on. I am a little nervous about this but not overly nervous. My mother has to do the same thing but she let her acid reflux go untreated for years which led to more lasting damage. I am hoping I have handled this early enough to not worry about it. I am no doctor but I think my weight gain and diet play a large role in what is going on. But I would rather get it checked by a professional.

 

Chronic Sinus Infections

I have been dealing with Chronic sinus infections for 4-5 years. Every month or two I will get one. Sometimes I am able to conquer them with over the counter meds, but recently they have been requiring antibiotics. I have been dealing with one again and spoke to her about it. At one point a doctor had said that the infections could be coming from the Acid Reflux, but she thinks it is more allergy based. So she is sending me to an Ears Nose and Throat specialist for allergies. Again my mother gets allergy shots, and my father and I are deadly allergic to smoke and dust. So I am hoping this might help resolve the issues. She has told me to use Flonase for now.

 

ADHD / Depression

I have struggled for a long time feeling motivated. For years if not my entire life. Things have finally started to come to a head where I knew I needed to look into it. This was a big part of last challenge. I have done a bunch of research on line, Originally it seemed like ADHD might be a possibility, but depression could be as well. It was hard talking to the nurse about these things, and I was embarrassed. But the doctor was amazing. We talked for a long time about this and she ordered tests done first just to make sure nothing is wrong on that front. If that comes back clear I will be going to a Psychiatrist. It seems wierd saying that and a part of me doesn't want to. But I know it needs to be done. I don't really enjoy much of anything anymore. It's even a struggle for me to want to play video games. I have to force myself to do things I enjoy and that sucks. So lets see how that shakes out.

 

The House

Things are once again at a stop with the house. For my mortgage the bank needs proof that the apartment attached to the garage is good to be an occupied space. The home should be coded as a 2 family home. Come to find out when my grandfather built everything on the home was never recoded. So my Father got our town codes officer to come out. And shocker, he said the water heater and furnace where out of code. We tried asking if we could remove items from the apartment and make it storage and not change the codes. But the bank is standing firm. The one guy from the bank is nice enough, and said that the seller should really help with this stuff. The problem is the seller is my grandmother who is now in a Hospital soon to be in a Nursing Home and not coming home. So thats very much off the table. My father did research and found out that the codes guy may be wrong. But there are some things that he was right about. 

 

Basically I feel like I need a solid week off to try to deal with all this shit but I just can't right now. I don't know what I would do if my Father wasn't taking the lead on most of this stuff. My Grandma needs the money to self pay at the nursing home.

 

MISC

My life has very much felt like a bad movie the last few weeks. I was happy to start Thursday by talking to my new Primary care and I felt like I finally might get answers there. Then everything started to go sideways. I get a call that someone I was around on Sunday tested positive for COVID. Then I hear the news about the codes. Grandmas not doing well. Then last night my neighbor thought her husband was having a heart attack in the middle of the night. So I ran over to help them and do what I could. Ended up driving her to the hospital since she couldn't ride in the ambulance.

 

I can't wait for some normalcy!

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

All that MISC stuff would be hard for someone who wasn't already struggling. I'm glad you are getting the help you need, it will aid your goals and recovery in numerous unmesurable ways. Depression is hard, and not enjoying things is one of the classic symptoms. It's so helpful to have good rapport with your health team, I hope that continues.

[Shello]

3 hours ago, cn3wton said:

I can't wait for some normalcy!

I can't blame you for that!  You have a lot you are dealing with.  I'm glad the appointment is done and you got some direction for all of those issues.     

[cn3wton]

On 3/1/2021 at 9:14 AM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

All that MISC stuff would be hard for someone who wasn't already struggling. I'm glad you are getting the help you need, it will aid your goals and recovery in numerous unmesurable ways. Depression is hard, and not enjoying things is one of the classic symptoms. It's so helpful to have good rapport with your health team, I hope that continues.

 

Thank you I am hopeful! I don't know whats going on I just know that I can't let it keep going on like I have been.

 

On 3/1/2021 at 11:51 AM, Shello said:

I can't blame you for that!  You have a lot you are dealing with.  I'm glad the appointment is done and you got some direction for all of those issues.     

 

Thank you so much Shello!

[cn3wton]

Lets focus on some positives.

 

Last night was my first ever welding class. The first time I have ever welded anything. I bought myself and my father a spot in the class for Christmas. With everything going on we had considered canceling it and skipping the class but I am glad we didn't.

 

The class was about an hour away, and my mother drove us out. I really appreciated this because after already driving for 3 hours I didnt want to drive 2 more!

 

I was of course having the inner battle of "Tell them you don't feel like doing it, your tired." The weather was also bad with like 40-50 mph winds so I could have easily gotten out of it. But learning to weld has been on mine and my fathers bucket list for a long time. He's been very excited about it and already has a list of projects for us to do. So I went.

 

We arrived and had to watch a video. One of those cheesy safety videos but we learned a lot. It also made my father very nervous. Each week we learn and use a different tool used in welding. The first week is an Acetlyne torch. Something neither of us new anything about. Lets just say theres a lot of "Do this and it could go boom". I was actually worried my Dad wouldn't be able to do it. 

 

We went down to test everything. The first thing we learned to do was fusion weld. Which is basically melting two pieces of metal together to become one. I went second and did really well. The instructor couldn't believe I had never welded before. You have to light the torch with a sparker and man if that isn't one of the coolest feelings ever. My Dad was a bit nervous, but the Instructor was very good. He told him "Theres nothing to worry about." and settled his mind. My Dad lit the torch and went to work. 

 

After that we learned how to braise, weld, and cut with the torch. Each taking turns under direct supervision. And my Dad really started getting into it. I learned a ton and was really happy with the knowledge we got. At the beginning my Dad said "no way we are getting one of these" but at the end he was asking the guy a bunch of questions about it. I am glad he was comfortable with it. And it helps that we can purchase everything through them to ensure safety.

 

I am greatly looking forward to the next class!

[Elastigirl]

Glad you went ahead and did it, and had a great time!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

I took some ag classes my senior year of high school, and learning to use an acetylene torch was part of the course. I did really well on that unit. I liked the plasma cutter better, but like you said there is something satisfying about sparking up the torch, getting the levels adjusted properly, and doing something.

[cn3wton]

21 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Glad you went ahead and did it, and had a great time!

 

Thanks! As always once it got going It was worth it.

 

18 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I took some ag classes my senior year of high school, and learning to use an acetylene torch was part of the course. I did really well on that unit. I liked the plasma cutter better, but like you said there is something satisfying about sparking up the torch, getting the levels adjusted properly, and doing something.

 

Yea I love the torch because of the versatility. We got to use a plasma cutter too and for cutting it was not even a contest!

[cn3wton]

Another bomb was dropped on the house sale last night.

 

My father went to meet with the codes officer for a follow up. They agreed to all the updates but had one issue. The electrical inspection. See we paid someone to come out and inspect everything and got the all clear. But now they are saying we need proof of a rough in inspection.

 

What this means is that before any sheetrock or walls where finalized. Meaning this addition that was built 30+ years ago suddenly needs to have an inspection done on things you cannot see. Bonus points the codes guy is new and the old codes people in our town where apparently "lax" so this new guy feels the need to prove himself by fixing all the last guys mistakes. Which in theory is admirable but the problem is its screwing over many people, like me. So now because the last guy didnt require any of this stuff I am solely responsible. It's almost criminal in my mind.

 

Codes office is going to call the bank tomorrow to try to settle this. But as far as I see it these are my options. Remove all the sheetrock from the apartment I LIVE IN to have the electrical inspected. Have it approved so I can get a loan from the bank. Or risk the house by trying to find another bank that will provide me with a loan. This is risky because the whole mortgage approval process is taking forever. And my grandmother needs the money now. So if the bank claims the house and sells it off to pay for her care before I get approved we could lose the house.

 

So thats what I am dealing with. And things where finally starting to turn around...

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Beware the new guy with something to prove. That's pure crap.

[cn3wton]

6 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Beware the new guy with something to prove. That's pure crap.

It really is and beyond frustrating. My Dad went to the town garage to talk to the codes guy and apparently his "mentor" was there and he had the nerve to say "You don't want me to go in there, I'll see things that these guys didn't even see."

 

It's beyond frustrating.

[deftona]

What a horrible situation - I hope whatever needs to happen does so quickly so you can get on with everything. I can't even imagine how stressful this must be for you. 

[cn3wton]

On 3/4/2021 at 10:10 AM, deftona said:

What a horrible situation - I hope whatever needs to happen does so quickly so you can get on with everything. I can't even imagine how stressful this must be for you. 

Thank you. I am lucky to have such amazing family, friends, business partners, and this community. I don't think I could do this on my own!

[cn3wton]

So this weekend was the first weekend I was able to get some sleep at night. Which is quite refreshing considering I cannot operate on bad sleep. I am just not wired that way.

 

I am really excited for my welding class tonight. We are covering stick welding, and most of the 3 hour class is going to be hands on which is even better! The big takeaway I am going to get from the class is learning a bunch of different styles and approaches to welding. I am considering doing a welding stream when I get all the house stuff settled and get back to streaming!

 

I still haven't heard anything about appointments for the specialists from my doctors visits or lab results. I am going to call if I don't hear back this week. I don't want to lose the momentum on this because I know I will ignore it if I don't stay on it.

 

I had a good talk with a friend about depression. Someone who I met online through streaming and have gamed with a lot. I told him how I hate having to force myself to play games, especially with people. And hoped he understood that I want to play games, but sometimes I just can't. He was super awesome about it and it felt good to get that off my chest so I don't worry that my friends think I am just ignoring them.

 

A big part about this Saiyan challenge was setting good habits and intentional action. Intentionally working out, eating intentionally. It was not so much about weight loss. But that is something I am going to need to push in the next challenge. "Lose X amount of pounds" is not a challenge goal. But I think a combination of tracking food and progress might be a good idea.

 

The truth is I want to say "ill just wait till the house stuff is settled, it will be easier then." But I know just as well as anyone that the "easy" times never really come. And the best time to start is now.

[cn3wton]

Finally.

 

Some good news on the house!

 

Heard back from the bank and the banks appraiser. They are willing to appraise it as a single family home if I remove the fridge and oven from my apartment. Which means I don't have to deal with codes! Which means I can just take them out, put them in the garage, get the appraisal done, then move them back! This is the only thing holding the sale back and its finally nice to have a way forward.

 

I need to reach out to my friend who I've been doing monthly challenges with. We've fallen a bit out of touch and have been sporadically meeting. I have to push to keep lines of communication open on that as its a great motivator.

 

Work is going good. A lot of the rough things I had dealt with seem to have passed. I have talked to my boss about it and we seem to be on the same page. But I can't shake this sense of dread that something is up. But I think thats just the mental stuff I am dealing with right now.

 

The light at the end of the tunnel is quickly approaching!

[WhiteGhost]

Congratulations on the good news about the house.  The codes inspection process seemed like a massive nightmare.

[RES]

On 3/11/2021 at 8:09 AM, cn3wton said:

Some good news on the house!

 

Awesome! So glad things are looking up on this

[cn3wton]

On 3/13/2021 at 5:56 AM, WhiteGhost said:

Congratulations on the good news about the house.  The codes inspection process seemed like a massive nightmare.

 

It certainly has been. I no longer have a fridge or stove in my apartment but as soon as the new appraisal is done I can put them back in so NBD. Will just be happy to have this over with!

 

17 hours ago, RES said:

Awesome! So glad things are looking up on this

 

Thank you!

[cn3wton]

This weekend was extremely productive but once again went by way too quickly. 

 

A snow storm on saturday provided inspiration to finish off the last Out Door Workout I needed to do for that week. Which was great.

 

Food choices have been much better, but as I have stated before I know the next challenge making good choices is going to be the focus.

 

We developed a new product to bring to market in our shop. We won't be going to Kickstarter with this but directly to sales. We need to raise a bit of money and figured t his was a good way to do so. It's amazing to me when I take a second to look at something I can create in our shop that looks like a finished product. My manufacturing knowledge surprised me which was a great feeling.

 

I removed my fridge and my stove from my apartment for the new appraisal. This should be a loop hole to let this whole sale go through and I can deal with codes after the sale. I can't wait to get to work on the house. 

 

I called the doctor for an update. Good news is other than my vitamin D deficiency (which is common around here during the winter) my lab work came back great! This does mean I will have to go to my psych appointment but I am happy that that is at least being addressed. The new medicines have been helping with my allergies and acid reflux. Which is a relief! I am hoping this is a great sign and that those appointments go over well. I wouldn't be against the idea of getting allergy shots if thats the route that is suggested.

 

Once this appraisal is done I am hoping we can set a closing date that will allow me to schedule some medical appointments and take some much needed time off from work.

[RES]

11 hours ago, cn3wton said:

vitamin D deficiency

Oddly enough this is even an issue in 'sunny' Florida

[cn3wton]

12 hours ago, RES said:

Oddly enough this is even an issue in 'sunny' Florida

 

Yea. My mom offerred to stop and get me some supplements today which I did not object to. I don't know if I will notice any difference but it can't hurt right?