Oct 22-28:Scorpio season

In a week, my daughter will turn 23. In another week, I will turn 60. Woo hoo, it's double Scorpio time!

Yesterday, I pulled La Papesse: The Moon. Yin energy. Water. Intuition, clairvoyance, connection to the unconscious. Duality, powerful feminine energy. No decision: hibernate, study, connect with dreams and inner knowledge.

 Today I pulled the Knight of Swords. Air of Air. Gallant, active, charging off with good intentions. Not always aware of trampling on others, tactless, steamroller, oblivious to own self-righteousness. This card is my "Joan of Arc" card, that aspect of myself that comes at 3AM to torment me with shame for all the times I trampled on others without realizing it. It doesn't matter if you are right if you are also hurting people. They won't take responsibility for their hurtful actions to you if they feel scalded by scorn.

So, the two of these together remind me that Jupiter is transiting through Scorpio this coming year, and I get to go on a Scorpio growth ride.

So let's make it a Comal flight of tequilas with delicious sangrita chasers!

Oct 15-21: why do I have abdominal distress?

Missed last week , but here we are.

Watching almost ALL the new kdramas, like it's my job. Dropped a couple that are just not good, but still plenty of fun ones.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment. On the one hand, I have lost about 10 lbs, slowly, with the paleo diet I adopted as a way to try to rule out food allergies. I cut out added sugar, gluten, alcohol, dairy, and most starches (rice, almost no corn or potatoes) in favor of fruits, vegetables, and animal proteins. I feel more clear, no longer as bloated, less sluggish, more in connection with my real appetite. I'm hoping to rule out any underlying food allergies by re-introducing foods one at a time to see what happens.
But a few days ago I had a recurrence of a very bad bout of acid reflux/esophogeal spasms, and that little pain in the upper left quadrant of my abdomen that I've been noticing after a meal. It's very localized and now it is also actually painful to the touch. Doing a little research, it seems that I could have a little hiatal hernia, which would explain many of the problems I've been having for years.

I will ask for imaging. I don't just want to take antacids.

The good news: the diet change has had some positive effects. Not being on other medications means that the symptoms aren't being masked any more as their side effects. I'm losing weight as I have planned. I'm eating better.
The not-good news: I may have a hiatal hernia, probably from that bad period during my eighth month of pregnancy when I had such bad diaphragm pain. I may need to take some kind of antacid, or I might even need surgery if it is bad enough. But there are things I can do to relieve the pain and discomfort, if that is what it turns out to be. I will hold off on bringing back foods until I'm able to clearly distinguish these symptoms from what might happen from a food allergy. Right now, it seems it would be impossible to distinguish between the two.

UPDATE: lower intestinal distress of unknown nature, but not esophageal, not a hernia, not an ulcer. Informed that if I am not feverish, bleeding, or completely unable to poop or pee, I just have to shrug my shoulders and live with it, and no effort will be made to diagnose or help me learn what it is. I was so frustrated. I think I need a different doctor. I'm tired of her Kaiser battlefield triage.

Oct 8-14: this week's intentions

I can't wait for the chocolate persimmons to hit the Berkeley Bowl!
This, week there is no session with Marilyn on Monday (libraries closed for the holiday). I could take BART to SFMOMA, which closes Wed. instead of Mon.
I will continue to research internet service providers, although Cindy and Chuck have upgraded out account to unlimited data plan.

I will also continue with the paleo diet. Pat myself on the back for choosing fruits, veg, meat instead of sugar, dairy, carbs, alcohol. I have cooked the shrimp and the butternut squash by roasting them in the oven (tossed in salt and olive oil). I've found myself hungry, because I'm also doing better with portion control and quantity. I'm not counting calories, but I have slowing lost a few pounds. I'm still in that phase where the scale bounces up and down, but this morning I actually saw 170, down from 176-8. It may bounce up again to 172-4, but the trend is in the right direction.

This week, I will walk every day. Last week, I had a few days where I only walked to the library and back (about 1/2 mile total), so I want to do better this week. Today I walked to 4th street, which is a respectable 2.3 miles.

• ✓sun: home to 4th St. (2.3 miles)
• X mon: home to Virginia/Milvia  (.8 mile) and back (.8 mile) total 1.6 miles
• tues: home to Ashby/Shattuck (.8 mile) and back (.8 mile) total 1.6 miles
• fri: home to meeting to West Library (.8 mile + 1.4 miles =2.2 miles) return Libary to home 1.6 miles) total 2.2 + 1.6 = 3.8 miles

travel plans: look carefully at all the travel blogs I have bookmarked.
language study every day

Oct 1-8: this week's intentions

 Johnny and I took a walk by Lake Merritt on Sunday, the first day of the month. Along with a row of cormorants, we saw this sleeping bird and turtle. After brunch, we walked up to the Rose Garden and admired a very nonchalant turkey couple.

I assume this guy is used to being hand-fed, because he let us get right up next to him.

I went over to mom's and helped her clean out her storage room and dispose of some junk. We did not have a talk. I was able to be calm and pleasant. Major accomplishment, yay me.

Last week, I followed through on my intention to start an allergy elimination diet that will also help me jump-start my weight-loss goals. I have stopped eating dairy ( no milk in my coffee! no cheese or yogurt! no cereal!), alcohol, gluten, rice and beans, soy, and added sugar. I'm eating meat, fruit, and vegetables (including plantain and beet chips from the Berkeley Bowl). I am allowing myself the treat of two chocolate-covered macadamia nut treats a day from the box Cindy and Chuck gave me, so that I don't go crazy and rebel. So far, I have lost a couple of pounds, even if my bathroom scale is from the stone age. The idea is that if I can lose a pound a week, I will lose 30 lbs in 30 weeks, which puts me at my target in late spring. I don't need to go back to my original weight, but I would like to be more fit and not have my feet hurt.

 I have also been eating in moderation. That's the key. I am really enjoying my salads, and today I will go back to the Berkeley Bowl to get more groovy salad fixings (endive, frisee, arugula, cherry tomatoes, avocado, pea pods).

This week, I also renew my commitment to walk every day. Last week, I missed a few days because of excessive heat, but the last stretch was good. My walks over the the West Library are a good stretch.

At least fifteen minutes a day (and more if I can) will will do some kind of Japanese or Korean language study. This includes using the phone app for hiragana/katakana practice, and writing out the hangul of dialogues or kpop song lyrics.
Yesterday, I resisted the urge to substitute buying more Japanese textbooks for actually using the ones I already have.

This week I will:

• practice time expressions in Korean and Japanese;
• print out the new will and other documents;
• get new earbuds;
• do a financial inventory;
• read the graphic novels and comics from the library:
• X Gabrielle Bell, Everything is Flammable
• X Satoshi Kon, Opus
• X the three volumes of Naoki Urasawa's Monster (Perfect Edition) 
• X Mimi Pond, The Customer is Always Wrong (read the first volume)
• Alvaro Enrigue, Sudden Death
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watch: MT: Girl's Generation 1979 (last 2 episodes)
Temperature of Love, 
WTh: Hospital Ship,
Age of Youth 2 (subbed/unsubbed)

also watched: DR Foster (BBC), Kekkon Shinai