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a rare checkup with my doctor
Friday, July 31 2026
location: rural Hurley Township, Ulster County, NY
I tried to take Charlotte for a walk this morning up the Farm Road, but she didn't end up wanting to go. Someone off in the distance was shooting a gun, so perhaps that was making her nervous. After snuffling around a little west of the Farm Road, she turned around and went back home.
Today was the day that I finally had a doctor's appointment that Gretchen has wanted to have since setting one up for me in January of this year. I'd then moved it to the spring, and then the doctor's office had moved it to July, and then, when that would've fallen during our Mediterranean cruise, I'd moved it to today. But the last time I'd actually been to the doctor was back in 2019. I'm always a little nervous before such things, since it's somewhat invasive and, to the extent it's necessary at all, it's on the fairly remote chance that something turns out to be wrong with me.
Some nurse tech read my blood pressure soon after I was shown the room the examination was to happen in. And then, after a pause, the doctor came in. I've had the same doctor for all this time; evidently she's been covered by the numerous insurances I have been covered by through the years (currently we are using a large-deductible Obamacare plan). She noted how long it had been since my last appointment and asked if perhaps I had moved away and then recently moved back. No, I said, I'm just bad at going to the doctor. She told me my blood pressure was good, but I probed a little deeper and learned that it was on the high side of normal, something that it usually is. I explained that my mother had high blood pressure, so it probably runs in the family. The doctor asked for some reason if my mother was still alive and I said that no, she died about a year ago and "I'm an orphan now." When asked what she had died of, I said "dementia." The doctor had me breathe while she listened with a stethoscope and then counted my heart beats. My heart, which beats about 90 times per minute even when I am at rest, has always tended to run a bit fast.
I brought up my heart arrhythmias, which I've never discussed with a medical professional before. I detailed how often they came and what they were like: that my heart seems as if it is just skipping every nth beat, whether it be the 4th or 5th one, and that this can go on for awhile but that it only affects me at rest. I also said that I've had such arrhythmias since 1994 and I've never experienced any actual health effect from them. I then admitted that sometimes after taking pseudoephedrine, which I said I use off-label to improve my concentration, I am more likely to experience arrhythmias. She didn't blink at all at my mention of pseudoephedrine and said that it didn't sound like my heart rhythm issues were anything I needed to worry about. She was momentarily confused about why it was I was taking pseudoephedrine, getting the impression that perhaps I had gone back to school and was studying. I said that no, I use it to help me with the work I do that requires significant brain power, which is that of a software developer. I also said that I am currently unemployed, but I continue doing work for "open source" that is unpaid. I said that this hasn't been a problem financially because I also have a very small "real estate empire."
My mention of being an unemployed software developer made the doctor chattier than she had been. She wanted to know what her son should do, as he recently graduated with a computer science degree and cannot find work. I said that he should work in open source and continue exercising his skills even without pay, and that he should avoid using artificial intelligence. I said that everyone thinks they can replace junior developers with artificial intelligence, but that that is just starving the world of future senior software developers and that some day senior software developers will be highly sought-after. I attributed my inability to find work partly to AI but also partly to age discrimination. But in reality, the main thing keeping me from getting my next job is that I have not been looking for one. (I have too many projects that need my attention for me to also be holding down a full-time job.)
While there, I also lied and said that I have occasional bouts of acne that I find embarrassing at my age, and then I produced a bottle of some sort of ointment that Gretchen wanted refilled but thought I could get refilled this way. (I'm guessing Gretchen uses it to treat the very rare pimples that she continues to get into her 50s.) I also asked about my toenail fungus, wich I treat by filing away the surface of the nail to open up the little voids inside, that is where I paint the topical antifungal fluid. The doctor said the only way to treat that is with pills that work from within, though she didn't write me a prescription. She also didn't take the bait on my off-label pseudoephedrine use and offer me an attention deficit disorder medication, and I was too shy to ask for one. We did, however, talk at some length about critters getting into houses after I'd mentioned the downsides of administering a real estate empire (specifically, new roofs). She said she had bats in her attic that were freaking her out, and I said the only time we've had bats in our house, they were brought in by cats. I also talked about experiences with live flying squirrels and snakes that the cats have brought in.
In addition to today's checkup, I had the doctor order me a blood test at facility that does that (Gretchen is worried about what alcohol might've done to my liver) as well as a take-home fecal test for colon cancer, something I have never had performed (even though one of my grandfathers died from it).
I then drove to the Uptown Hannaford (aka "Ghettoford") to get supplies that Gretchen had specifically asked for, including bananas, bread of a kind she likes, peanut butter, Tofurky cold cuts, and lots of frozen pre-made vegan meals, usually made by Amy's Kitchen. I also got items like bagels and beer that I need at the cabin, and that combination of expensive items drove the cost of my shopping cart over $200. (I don't think I've ever spent that much at a Hannaford before).
Gretchen had decided not to go to the cabin this weekend due to the continued agony coming from whatever is wrong with her right leg. But she'd told me I could go. Without the dogs around to give walks to or to make stop barking, she figured she could survive for a few days on her own without me despite her limited mobility. While I'd been out getting my medical exam, our friends Chris & Kirsti (the photogenic vegan Buddhists) had come by with even more frozen food and, perhaps more importantly, a pair of crutches and a self-standing cane, all things Kirsti has required at various times in the past for her many medical issues.
So after loading up the Bolt with both dogs and all the supplies I would need (including more bluestone than usual and a replacement for the porcelain dock water jar), I began my drive to the cabin at about 3:00pm. The most interesting thing that happened along the route was a little delay that occurred where Junction Road passes under a railroad overpass a half mile or so before it crosses Schoharie Creek. A truck pulling a trailer in front of me stopped and two guys got out to remove a bulky odd-looking ærodynamically-shaped piece of HVAC equipment from the roadway. Had it fallen off the back of a truck. But later I caught up to a recreational vehicle that had been the next vehicle ahead of the one in front of me, and it had a piece of similar-looking HVAC equipment on its roof, though it looked bashed and dented. Clearly that RV was taller than the 11 foot six inches of clearance of the railroad trestle over Junction Road and it was the HVAC equipment that paid the price.
I arrived at the cabin a little after 5:00pm.
One of the first thing I did at the cabin was attach a 12v pulse battery restorer to the marine battery supplying backup power to the hotspot watchdog up in the loft. For whatever reason, some combination of changes in that battery and the 12v charger used to charge it had made it so that 12v charger could no longer keep it charged, and I hoped I could get the battery working again.
Then I headed down to the dock with the new water jar, a gallon of water in a plastic jug, and a boozy drink in a glass. Both dogs came with me and seemed impatient as I set up the new water jar, replacing the old light-sage-green one with a darker forest green one. As you'll recall, the old jar had suffered damage after being left outside over the winter, and I'd had to patch a set of leaks by smearing pine sap against damaged glazing on its inside. This had worked great for stopping the leaks, but now after some days of being in the jar, the water always tasted slightly of pine. I like that flavor, but Gretchen does not, so I'd bought the new jar. It's about the same size and shape as the old jar but for some reason did not include a top. Fortunately I had a copper pot top that seemed to fit. I also recycled the spigot from the old jar for use on the new one, as it has a faux metal appearance and looked nicer than the white plastic one that came with the new jar.
While I was at the dock doing these things, Charlotte must've wandered over to the new beaver lodge, because I could hear a beaver angrily slapping the water with her tail. I later caught sight of Madysyn the Beaver swimming southeastward out of the outlet bay. As I shot video of this, I unexpectedly heard a brief loon noise, at which point Madysyn turned around and went the other direction. Evidently this was a warning from Throckmorton the Loon telling Madysyn she was about to collide. Other wildlife I saw while there included a group of bros at the public dock. I am not sure what they were up to.
To give the dogs a somewhat better walk than just going to the dock and back, I took them to the old Boy Scout campground on our parcel on the other side of the outflow creek. Recent heavy rains had raised the level of the lake and the outflow creek was flowing with a strong current. I doubled back homeward from the campground, not wanting to venture too far without any shoes (yes, I'd left my flip flops in the car). Along the way I found a nice piece of flat native rock that could be used as a flagstone, and I put it aside to be picked up later.
Back at the cabin, I watched the sixth episode of the third season of the House of the Dragon, drinking booze and snacking as I did so. The crunching of cashews made one scene particularly difficult to follow, and I kept having to rewind.
Madysyn the Beaver. Click to enlarge.
Throckmorton the Loon. Click to enlarge.
A bro at the public dock. Click to enlarge.
The remains of an old scout bridge across the outflow creek. I crossed it gingerly, but Neville insisted on fording the creek instead. Click to enlarge.
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