I never did make it to Flagstaff. I think I had a mild reaction to the Novocaine (or whatever it was) the dentist used on me Friday afternoon: I felt "high" after the 90-minute procedure and the next day woke with another throbbing back ache and a mild stomach ache that's now in its second day. Although 400mg of Motrin took care of the back ache, my stomach is still queasy.
That's when I decided driving to Flagstaff on a holiday weekend was perhaps not a good idea. With the heat and the DUI roadblocks I kept postponing my departure on Saturday until it got so late I no longer saw the reason to go up there for a day only to drive off again a day later. Flagstaff will still be there next month and this way I don't get tired of driving before even leaving for California.
It's probably better so as I've had a better time organizing my gear. Whereas K had his packing list written out and everything neatly stacked and then packed the day before he took off for his hunting trip, I have my gear scattered around the dining area. I am still debating the clothes I should take!
He left yesterday morning. The farewell was bittersweet. I do miss him already, and the bedroom is so eerily quiet as he always has the TV on while sleeping to a DVD. I didn't have the TV on all day today as I spent a good portion of today in bed reading a book I need to read and review for Amazon. A cricket somewhere in the house is the only entertainment for now, although at times I wish Pache would just take me out of my misery and kill that thing.
As I mentally prepare myself for my depature in a few days, I can't help but worry about K. He hasn't been taking his insulin, saying he's cured himself of his diabetes, yet he still shows mild symptoms to me. I don't even know if he has any medication on him. And what if he relapses?
We seldom call eachother when we are on the road, prefering to give each other our privacy. I told him to call me before Wednesday, though, although I know he's in an area where there is no cellphone reception.
Another worry I have about departing and having sporadic cell phone coverage is my mother. It's not so much her health, but her mental health vis a vis her husband, who was diagnosed earlier this year with prostate cancer. Since he is an Iraqi War veteran the VA has determined that his cancer is service-related. And that means he must be treated in a VA hospital if he wants the government to pay for the surgery and medical bills. The earliest surgery date is not until September (for a cancer that was detected in February!) and the latest clue I got about the stage of the cancer is that it's now "im Mittelstadium," or prgressive stage. So although it's not yet stage IV, it's not exactly in its earliest stage, either. I don't exactly feel comfortable with this news. When I told my sister about this, her reply was that she doesn't feel the need to come see her father since she was never close to him in the first place. What if, though, he gets too ill to make it to her wedding later this year?
So instead of Flagstaff I will climb up Carr tomorrow, making it a nice half day workout with Sadie which will give me enough time to clean out the van and pack it the following day. My new Canon S90 should arrive on Tuesday. It will be my official backpacking camera as it weighs a mere six ounces and yet is rated one of the top "advanced-levels point-and-shoots for the serious photographer." Or so says Canon.
The big trip to California does scare me a little. What if I have a serious backache the entire time? I need to remember to take some sort of painkiller, as much as I hate taking medicines.
I still plan on leaving early Wednesday. Weather now looks rainfree. We haven't had any more rain since that short outburst a few days ago. I will take I-10 westbound until it merges with US395, and from there I will be hugging the eastern Sierras all the way into Yosemite. I have always heard such glowing reports about that drive, and when I lived in California so long ago always regretted that I never got to see that view.
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