Another rough day

Although I've been saying that I'm willing to use up energy doing enjoyable things, I guess I will end up paying for it by having lousy days like today. On Saturday, Marty, Donna, and I went out to dinner, and on Sunday we took Donna home by way of Wollaston Beach, where we went to one of the fried clam places. Sunday morning Donna and Marty were doing more organizing, and I decided to check on what I needed to do to claim the rebate for my new computer (which is still sitting untouched). It turned out that the rebate materials had to be postmarked by yesterday, which, since it was a Sunday, meant going to the one post office in Boston that is open on Sunday. Although Marty, Donna, and I had all been to this post office, which is near South Station in downtown Boston, and so knew exactly where it was, Marty checked the post office Website, which said that it had been moved to a different address, so he went to Googlemaps to print out how to get there. By the time we left the house it was mid-afternoon, and we then proceeded to get totally lost, going around in circles on roads which didn't allow us to turn off, going under streets we needed to be on, and so forth. Finally, we ended up at a road that led to the central post office, but it was blocked by a barrier and a guard, who told us that we had to go around in a big circle, which brought us to the place where all of us would have headed in the first place, but for that totally misleading information on the Website! In any case, the letter did get the correct postmark, so I should get the $50 rebate, but from previous experience with rebates I am expecting to get a letter what I did wrong. I think the companies don't really want anyone to get these rebates, as they make you jump through so many hoops (it took us about an hour to print out the various things that were required, once we figured out what they were).

What was supposed to be a fried clam lunch became an early dinner, instead. We sat outside, because the inside of the restaurant was very hot, and they were mopping it with some kind of cleaning solution that smelled really awful, and luckily it was one of the few days that sitting outside was really pleasant, neither too hot nor too cold. When we were finished eating, I went to the ladies' room, and on the way back to our table I was really knocked out. I sat back in my chair and tried to catch my breath, which was difficult, as I was really gasping. For a minute, I thought we might need to call 911, and then I realized we couldn't do that, as we didn't have a copy of my Comfort Care DNR, which we have at home posted on the dining room door, just in case anyone should call 911 (we've instructed everyone that in an emergency they should call hospice and not 911). By law, the EMTs have to all lifesaving measures unless they are shown this form, which allows them to limit what they do to comfort measures only (like administering oxygen). So we decided that we needed to make a copy of it to take with us when we go out, in addition to the one we have posted at home.

I started to feel a little better, and we got Donna home and then back to our house without incident, although I was exhausted by the time we got home and just wanted to get into bed. I slept somewhat fitfully, and woke up feeling awful in an undefined way, and it's been a rough day ever since. I've been doing a lot of coughing that sets off a kind of vibration in my chest that is very uncomfortable, and I've had a lot of pains that come and go. Early this afternoon I drifted off and slept for about an hour, which helped a little. I'm going to bed in a little while and hope that I can get a good night's sleep and that tomorrow will be better.

Meanwhile, Marty spent the entire day at the mechanic (the car started, so he was driving there, but then it started dying, so he had to pull over and call AAA for a tow), where they diagnosed a problem with the alternator (which was Marty's diagnosis). Although I still think of it as new, because it is the first car I have ever bought new, it is a 2002 and I guess is reaching the age where it is going to start having some problems.