Hurricanes, puppies needing new homes and health updates

Ivan missed us and IF the high pressure ridge stays in place over South Carolina so will Hurricane Jeanne. If that does happen that means that FLORIDA or Georgia could get creamed. Once Jeanne does what she is going to do then we have Hurricane Carl who is going to probably be a hurricane as well. Sigh.... All I know is I will be HAPPY when Hurricane Season is OVER.


After driving around in circles the other night we found St Paul Episcopal church in Summerville and got in line with about 30 other folks to be seen by the physician who was on duty for that evening. Apparently they have three physicians and support staff that offer their services free of charge to the community every Thursday. What a blessing that is for folks like us that have no health insurance. Katy got the prescription she needed for her Rostacia medicine and I get the prescription I needed for hypertension medicine and cholesterol. I wont start taking Lipitor until after the free blood screening at Walmart today.

I am happy to report that my blood pressure is going down after being on this medicine for only one day. Wahoooooo! I actually even feel better because of that. I dont feel like I am taking speed anymore. What a nice feeling that is for a change. My last reading was 136/87 with a pulse of 79. We are not there YET but it is certainly much better than the average 151/95 (or higher) that I have been having over the last month or two. Well, shoot, probably longer than that since I have just begun to monitor it closely.

I got my A+ Examcram book in the mail the other day so while I was at work yesterday scanning folks for weapons I managed to study 6 chapters. I have 5 chapters to go and then chapter 12 is the practice test. I also have software that came with it that has more practice questions. Once I get to the point where I can pass all the practice tests with a 90% sucess rate then I will feel ready for the test. I am glad that most of this material is mostly an overview of what I already know and a refresher on those mundane detailed technical mumbo jumbo that I have long since forgotten.

I tried to upload pictures of these FIVE puppies to my blog via Hello but "HELLO PEOPLE" it did not work. Sigh.... I just hate it when things just dont work when you NEED for it to or expect it to. Oh well, you will just have to take my word for it, these boogers are just downright cute. LOL... These puppies are hopefully going to find a new home very soon!!
Ya KNOW you just WANT one, dont you?? LOL....

Hurricane Ivan and sick friends

Hurricane season is alive and well. Hurricane Ivan is hurricane number 6 that is pounding Alabama , Florida and getting ready to head for Georgia and South Carolina where we live. As I write this several people have died due to hurricane strength winds and tornados that have been spawned by this storm. I can not wait for hurricane season to end. As I write this we have Hurricane Jeanne that is taking aim directly at the East Coast of the US where I live. We will probably have to contend with that storm sometime early next week.

My thoughts and prayers this morning go out to my friends and associates who are all battling some type of cancer. Please join me in praying for Charlie, Carol and my friend Kimberly's husband who has cancer. Actually, all three of these folks are very sick. I am going to go visit Carol this morning for the first time since she has gotten sick. I have been very selfish in not going to see her because I am afraid of seeing her in her weakening condition. I have called her several times over the last several months knowing that I need to go see her. Carol warned me that she has lost her hair and a lot of weight which I am sure has affected her alot. I guess that one reason I have not gone to see her is because it will bring back memories of watching our Jessica decline as the affects of chemo and radiation treatments along with the cancer took its toll on her body.
I also have two friends who constantly battle with depression. My thoughts and prayers go out to them as well.

Today, Katy and I will be going to a local clinic to try and get some much needed medical help. What we face is no where near as life threatening as my friends listed above but they are needing attention nevertheless. Katy is trying to get her Rostacia medicine renewed and I have hypertension issues that if left unattended could have ugly consequences. Hopefully I can get a prescription for blood pressure medicine tonight to help me with lowering my blood pressure. In the last two weeks I have been counting calories and watching what I eat very closely. Thanks to Life Clinic Website I have been able to track blood pressure readings and diet intake. I have been learning a LOT about hypertension and what is required to lower it. Life changes must happen for me and now. Thanks to my poor diet and lack of exercise I am now in a position where I have to take some drastic measures. Longevity of life is requiring that I make those life changes. I have to eat less and better and I have to exercise moderately until I can get some medication to lower my blood pressure. Left untreated hypertension can kill. That is why it is called the silent killer folks. Average blood pressure for an adult is 120/80 and mine is running anywhere from 138/87 to sometimes 155/100. That means that I am at risk for those two types of events in my life. I have REALLY been paying attention to this fact and I am trying to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING to reduce my risk. unfortunately when you can not afford medical care or insurance you are behind the eight ball with regards to getting needed treatment.

Last week I had two interviews with two local IT providers. Both of them told me emphatically that in todays current market that I MUST get my computer certifications and maybe even a degree in computer science to hope to gain a job in the IT industry. There are IT jobs available unfortunately there are more IT professionals to go around than there are jobs to fill. That means that employers are picking the cream of the crop (degreed and certified professionals over people like me) and they are able to pay minimal wages and get away with it. The supply and demand is way out of whack folks. As I look back into my past I continue to kick myself for NOT finishing RN school back when I was in my early 20's. Financially speaking I would be sitting in a much better situation. However who knows what could of or should of happened? If I had done that I might not have moved to Houston Texas and met Robbyn or Katy and my children today would not be a part of my life. Hindsight is 20/20 and even though I have regrets for not finishing my schooling and dropping out I have experienced some things in life that have enriched me greatly that I would not have experienced otherwise. I am constantly reminded that despite my plans or failures to execute and follow through successfully with some of the plans God is still in control. I have hope in that knowledge.

One employer has already hired someone (not me) and the other employer is apparently still interviewing folks. I should know something by the end of next week IF I am going to be picked. I am not holding my breath, that is for sure. LOL... On a brighter note my A+ ExamCram book has arrived and I can now begin to study for that certification. The WIA program here in SC is trying to obtain MCSE training materials for me through Specialized Solutions in Florida. I can get all the course work and study materials for MUCH less than trying to pay for it at Trident Tech. Its just a matter of me disciplining myself to sit down every day for 2 to 4 hours and study and apply myself. So, every day I will do just that. When I am working 3pm to 11 Pm 3 days per week down at the County Office building it will be easy for me to do that because I have tons of spare time in between rounds. The rest of the week will mean I have to find opportunities and places to go study. My goal is to be A+, Network + and MCSE certified by this time next year. That means I have a lot of studying to do and lots of tests to take. Once I accomplish this milestone I will be in a much better place to obtain gainful employment in a technology position.

My son Jeremy has settled into Wharton Junior College just outside of Sugarland Texas and will be there for the next year. In the mean time his step father and mother are soon to be snow birds. It is hard for me to imagine that Robbyn is going to move from her life time residence of Houston Texas area to move up north where it REALLY gets cold. We just think it gets cold during the winter here in the deep south but it is NOTHING like what it will be in Michigan during winter time. This will be a tough transition for Jeremy and his mom and step father. My thoughts and prayers go out to them as they make this huge life change.

I guess that is about it for now folks. I am going to try and stay dry and get ready to go visit my friend Carol this morning. Please pray for my sick friends that they will be at peace and receive spiritual, physical and emotional healing from our Father God who loves all of us.

God bless

Hurricane Ivan as of 8 am 9/15/04. Several deaths have been reported and lots of damage. Georgia and South Carolina should feel the affects sometime today and tomorrow as well. Tropical storm Jeanne appears to be taking aim at the East Coast sometime early next week as well.  

Here comes Hurricane Ivan. Lets remember to pray for the folks in the path of this Cat 4 Hurricane as it begins landfall. I have several freinds who are in the path of this storm. We should get a lot of rain out of this storm as well.  

Life Clinc Website is BACK!!!

Ok, Life Clinic is back online and I am SO HAPPY!! :)

Web blues

Well , I am NOT too happy about the fact that Lifeclinic.com is DEAD.... The website has been down since yesterday afternoon. SHOOT..... That is really not the word that I was thinking about BUT you get the point. Imagine me hopping up and down for a few moments... LOL... Anyway, I had not realized it until NOW but I had become VERY comfortable with keeping track of my Blood Pressure and Calories on this website every day. I sometimes will visit multiple times per day to track what I am eating etc. I did a traceroute on the domain today and my results were UNKNOWN HOST. That means that not only the server is DOWN but the DNS servers don't even recognize the domain name which is NOT good. Sigh.... Hopefully it will come back to life in the next 24 to 48 hours. If not I will be forced to purchase tracking software that is not dependent upon Internet connectivity. I have been researching some products this morning and have found some pretty good ones. Of course, none of them are FREE. There are some WEB based sites that give you a FREE basic tracking functionality but NOTHING like what Lifeclinic.com gave me. SHOOTSKIE.....

The weather here has been overcast and drizzling on and off all day. What a dreary looking mess we live in here in Duck Ditch USA. Actually, the weather is so ugly looking I think the ducks have migrated to Hawaii or some other location South that is NOT in the direct line of Hurricane Ivan who has killed 50+ people thus far as it has tracked across the Carribean. Sigh... The forecast thus far is that Ivan is going to turn North around Monday and plow into the Florida Pan Handle and track up through Georgia , Upstate SC and then up into the Eastern Coast by Wed or Thursday which means at very least we will get a LOT of rain. Can you say FLOODING in Charleston SC? All we need is a thunderstorm to dump 2 inches of water and downtown Charleston is in knee deep water. JOY....

Well, time to go to church so I need to yank myself off this keyboard and get ready.

Peace be with you!!