Daily Success December16 is “Very Good” by a very small margin. I’ll take it any way I can do it. The Internet Monster had its way with me again, but Outstanding was never in play. “Okay” was in play until I turned off the lights using my slightly adjusted scoring system.

It is a modest, but important change: I’ve revised the scoring for Daily Success to make it a bit more challenging considering the additional points allowed for various “other issues.” That also included a revision of the injury points. All in all, it should be more representative of my success on any given day.

Yesterday

I did a little bit on SurveyorBot. Emphasis “little.”

Most of my effort, however, was the Christmas Cards. It’s a production because we send a lot of cards each year. The number is, however, decreasing slightly each year. The “business list” is near the “ok, we don’t need this anymore” stage. Friends and family is shrinking for other reasons with two close family members (my wife’s brother and her stepmother) having stepped off stage in 2023.

All those who have left us, and the list of “absent companions” is long, indeed, are truly missed. It seems that the good do, indeed, die young.

I also had a good exercise score that really depended on post-dinner discipline. No whisky. The bike and other exercise efforts got me to 10 PM, at which point my body was willing to go to sleep without the tiny pleasure of some booze to go with my Wondrium classes. This may be for the best and work very well in the future, but I am not sanguine with it today. There is more to the price than a few minutes pleasure; a lot more.

Today

Lots of chores, lots of football to ease the pain of exercise, plenty of SurveyorBot work if I can bring myself to it.

The Christmas Cards remain to be finished. What remain are significant, but not a huge chunk of work.

As to status, well, my back seems to be improving in the smallest of steps, but my knee remains slightly swollen and at less than 100% flexibility. It’s not really bad, but the stiffness and sensitivity are part of the problem. Dr. Higgins and Monika’s laser are at the beginning of their combined effort, so my hopes of avoiding a titanium knee remain. They continue to seem more like “forlorn” hopes, but they are hopes nonetheless.

The big question is how my back will respond to chores like folding laundry, which I typically do standing by the bed while also watching TV. That does not seem to generally bother my knee.

The Future

Damn if I know.

The things I must do, as enumerated yesterday, remain.

One thing I SHOULD have included is becoming more active with American Pilgrims. There is a local chapter, and the national organization has activities and volunteer needs. Many of the folks involved may be Camino focused rather than religious. That, despite my experiences with albergues located in monasteries, remains a significant part of my hesitation.

The thing that’s clear, however, is that I’m feeling as though I’m living in the final moments of the movie “The Days of Wine and Roses.” I saw it once, only slightly less than 60 years ago, and the ending is with me still.

I don’t like it. I think that is the fear that Larry asked me about. It is there.