Now that I have more time on my hands in ol' Manchaca here, I'm having more time to write, which is I suppose a good thing. More practice, etc. I'm practicing more drumming as well, on the at-home electric kit. After a good couple of years plus of owning that kit, I finally added a cowbell to create a new "kit," in order to run through some Swishbucklers stuff. The cowbell is paramount for that band. As I've really only used the electric kit for physical practice, I hadn't bothered go beyond preset drum kits yet. Nothing earth-shattering, but making a little progress here and there.
So, yes, the government shutdown continues. I'm cracking up at the way the media usually make sure to say "partial shutdown." I believe all of these shutdowns have been partial shutdowns, as there have always been government workers who were essential and had to show up. And that's the case this time as well. It's just funny to me that the phrase "partial shutdown" is crucial to accurate news reporting now. Oh, well. I'm just now seeing some news stories about how an IRS shutdown will delay tax refunds. Maybe that'll get some outcry started. Again, this whole business just has me feeling in a state of limbo, although I am taking the opportunity to get more in shape again. And practice drums, of course. And watch movies.
I finished that "Bloodthirsty Trilogy" set with "Evil of Dracula" today. What an enjoyable set of movies. As I might have mentioned in my "Lake of Dracula" review, these are not movies of any great import, but they are easy to watch, and have great cinematography and sets/locations. They're also all around the 80-minute mark, so they're definitely no slog at all. No dead parts (pun not intended). I recommend 'em.
I suppose the biggest news I have today is that I hit the Bowflex for the first time in.....maybe two years? It's been awhile; ever since I began having the "mystery leg pain" in 2016 or 2017. As I may or may not have written, when Michelle and I were in Italy in October, I wore my knee brace every day without fail. We walked quite a bit, particularly in Rome and Florence. At the end of the day, my feet were hurting (even with my comfortable sneakers), but the right leg was completely fine. As a matter of fact, some of the residual pain I still had in the leg when we left for Italy had completely disappeared!! I'm still amazed by that. And the pain has not come back. So, I keep that knee brace on anytime I leave the house. No pain. I cannot believe it.
Now, I'm not a doctor (😝), but I think my final diagnosis has been determined. I must have, after my 2002 knee injury and four years of occasional hobbling due to pain until the ultimate torn meniscus surgery, learned to walk a little differently. I remember my knee surgeon telling me how the tendons on both sides of my knee were stretched and would never bounce back to original elasticity. So, I've had instability in my right knee for about 16 years now. Which means I've had to be careful about how I walk. For those first four years before the surgery, if I bent my leg too much and then straightened it, my knee would pinch that torn meniscus. And that hurt like, if you'll pardon the expression, a motherfucker. I'd be limping for a few days after that. Well, after the surgery, I no longer have any pain from, really, anything that happens with the knee, but it's still pretty unstable. So, this is of course where the knee brace comes in. I bought the brace a couple of years ago, but for some reason, almost never wore it. So, this diagnosis has come through trial and error. A lot of error. I really need to tell my physical therapist about this, as while I appreciate everything he did for me, the situation I had was never actually cured. Until I went to Italy and walked endlessly with a knee brace on. That certainly wouldn't have been anyone's prescription, I bet. I'm just glad the pain's gone. Really, really glad.
So, I got on the Bowflex tonight to resume some resistance training. Especially since I've been doing well with the stationary bike riding lately. I didn't really let up on the amount of resistance used...I believe I used the same resistance amounts as before. (Was it two years off? It could well have been.) Anyway, I did the standard 30-minute workout, including rowing before and after the exercises as a warm-up and cool-down. I didn't experience any pain at all, although during the rowing and leg press exercises, each bending of that right knee caused what I think was three clicks in the knee each time. When I was rowing, the knee sounded like a cuica. Perhaps I could start playing Latin music with it. But there was no attendant pain. And four hours later, there's still no pain. So I guess all is okay. We'll see, I guess. Still happy about it all.
Let's see how long I can keep up these daily musings......
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