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Change Is Upon Me and the World at Large

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Personal Summary for Summer 2026 So Far. These are also my reflections on change throughout this period.

Changes are upon me and the world at large here in Summer 2026. Definitely middle of summer here in Oklahoma. Really hot days like the last few when it hasn’t cooled off at night make me appreciate the cool of late fall and early spring. We get bad ice storms here in Oklahoma City most winters, which in some ways are worse than snow being on the ground most of the winter when I lived in Nebraska.

Mentally I have stable for months. Haven’t had a breakdown since I think early February. And that was a short lived one because it happened during a time of profound stress when I had a neighbor with really bad dementia. It was sad and scary both.

Haven’t had hallucinations in months. Have been quite calm all spring and summer. Some of the staff had told me I was the easiest resident to work with and the most interesting. I sometimes talk history and current events with the staff. I usually try to avoid politics as that seems to be a good topic to not bring up when meeting someone new.

Haven’t heard much from old friends. One friend is getting ready to take his family camping in the Pacific Northwest sometime soon. Be a good time to avoid the heat going on here in the plains right now. Another friend has resorted to running all errands after dark until the heat breaks.

Current Events, Summer 2026

I feel for the people in European countries who probably didn’t have air conditioning or well-ventilated homes until recently. Never realized how bad the heat was taking a toll on people across the Atlantic until I read that thousands of people have already died from heat related illnesses and it’s not even August yet. I guess bad heat in summers in something I always dealt with and learned how to adapt even as child in 1980s rural Nebraska.

Haven’t heard much on the forest fires up in Canada lately. I don’t know if those have been controlled or if the end of the ceasefires in the Persian Gulf has pushed those out of the newsfeeds. No wonder travel advisories and cancelled airline flights are common these days.

Don’t know what our leaders are thinking. Russia and Ukraine have been at war longer than Russia was at war with Germany in World War 2. The US vs. Iran war was avoidable and unnecessary as far as I’m concerned and is probably going to send the world into an energy crisis, depression, and food shortage all at the same time. Food and fuel prices are probably only going to get worse in the coming months. I haven’t trusted my leaders for a while. Really don’t think that our current leadership groups anywhere in the world care about the consequences of their actions on the vast majority of people. Hate to say this, but we are probably on our own to make our own lives better, leadership or not.

Easier to Be Change than Force Change on Others

I’m not calling for rebellions or riots or anything like that. What I do know is that protesting isn’t working. Writing your congress person or leaders don’t work either. Neither does boycotting big businesses when they already are monopolized. Maybe our only option at this point, and it’s hardly a complete solution or one that will happen quickly, is to get as independent from authority and power and self-sufficient as possible.

Now I know this isn’t really realistic in many places. Many countries without some sort of political and economic freedom probably will seriously crack down on anyone who is trying to grow much of their own food or do their own maintenance on homes and cars. In some places, people already know they can’t rely on a corrupted system to care for them. I think many people here in the US have already figured out that politics can be stagnant when trying to solve problems and have already acted on their own. Heck, Americans never have completely trusted our governments. Most of the first-generation immigrants are here because they trusted their old governments even less.

Advice on Personal Relationships

The biggest bit of advice I can give is get out to know some people. Maybe do some in person meet ups organized within your neighborhood. Perhaps start attending religious services and meeting people there. Do activities outside of home that don’t cost much if you don’t have much money. Maybe use social media to see who shares some of your interests in your area. Or something as simple as meeting and greeting your neighbors across the street or down the hall. Sure, it will be tough at first as some of our social skills have weakened due to mass social media and the pandemic of a few years ago.

I fear that more hard times are ahead in the days and years to come. The world seems to have cycles when more can happen in 30 days than could 10 years in other eras. From the societies that I have read about that have experienced crisis in the last generation or two, whether it’s war or pandemic or economic depression or natural disasters, the people that did the best were usually those who had neighbors, family members, or even friends with a wide variety of skills that were usual to weather the crisis and rebuild once the smoke cleared.

My personal plan

In my personal circumstance, I may not be very mobile or good at growing crops or fixing machines with hand tools. But I do know how to communicate with a wide variety of people, can write well, can type well, know how to manage money and resources, know how to find common ground between different groups of people who may not otherwise work together, and I can be persuasive without having to resort to manipulation or deceit. I also know a little Spanish again and am on good terms with everyone who works at my facility. Maybe I could have been a diplomat or a negotiator for a labor union had I lived in a different era and place.

Both of my parents are retired medical professionals who still have a lot of that knowledge and can teach people. My brother is one of those who can stay calm no matter how bad things get and have learned to DIY home repairs in the years of raising children and being a homeowner. Several of our family’s friends from my parents’ church are farmers and ranchers and fishers and carpenters. Most of my cousins are farmers or ranchers. Those guys and gals can fix just about anything with duct tape, sheet metal, some wire, WD-40, Windex, and a little time and a little profanity.

Summary

In closing, while I do believe that the future can be good and more prosperous for most people, I also believe that we are not done with the hard times by any means. The celebrations of a North America hosting the World Cup in summer 2026 was maybe a preview of what we can be once we solve some of our current problems and peace returns. I’m convinced most of my problems (and most people’s problems) are not foreigners or automation or prices being unpredictable. I think most of our problems are from new systems being born while the old ones are still dying and being replaced. It’s been a rough go for much of the world the last ten to fifteen years or so. We have the potential for prosperity and peace once the transitions are completed. But the troubles haven’t ended and it will still be one hell of a crossing to get to where we can be.

June 30, 2026: Thoughts on Early Summer and The World Cup

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I’m doing well overall. Most days I’m asleep by 10pm and usually wake up around 3:30 am. I play computer games for a few hours and then catch a few more hours of sleep after breakfast. We are now into summer and officially halfway through 2026.

Made a few new friends among the staff members. A couple of the staff members I was really close with moved on to other things. Many of the staff members I am friends with are immigrants.

One of the reasons I’m glad I moved to the downtown area is to get more exposure to different cultures. It’s paying off so far. In addition to immigrants, I made a friend originally from Indiana, another from Texas, a couple from Oklahoma, and one from Kentucky. Pretty good considering I haven’t travelled since I moved to the downtown.

My parents are doing well. They are enjoying retirement and spending time with the grandchildren. I usually see them a couple times a month. In addition to church activities, they enjoy binge watching series on Netflix and going to the movies at least once a week. A couple of years back they went to see Barry Manilow when he was playing in town. They also got to see the Husker basketball team when they played in the first round of March Madness and OKC was one of the host cities.

Been following the World Cup since it started three weeks ago. I love all the fan festivals and cultural activities. It was fun to see peoples’ impressions of my homeland. Made me remember that we humans have a lot more in common than we often acknowledge. The last few weeks made me remember that maybe peace on earth and goodwill to humanity is possible if we ignore the politicians and leadership caste. Maybe the path to world peace is cultural events like World Cup, music, art, and even things as mundane as international trade. It would be fun to see all three host countries make it to the round of sixteen. Canada has already made it and Mexico is currently playing right now. I really don’t care who wins the whole competition. I think the World Cup has accomplished one goal in bringing people together during these stressful times of crisis.

The World Cup has allowed me, at least for a few hours a day this summer, to forget about all the jobs being lost to automation, trade wars, real wars, stagnant wages, and general all-around uncertainty. It was the break from all the bad news I was desperately needing. I didn’t realize how bad I needed it until the fan festivals started right before the tournament. I guess only God knows how many friendships and potential romances were started in the last few weeks because soccer (or football to the 96 percent of the world not living in USA) allowed us as peoples of various nations and religions to forget about our current troubles and renew ourselves to face the ongoing challenges. Maybe our ‘elites’ are the real problem. Maybe that is the real benefit of the modern day ‘bread and circus.’ Not necessarily to permanently distract us from our problems, but to keep up from burning out over the long haul.

Improved Health and Longer-Term Thinking

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It’s kind of odd that the older I have gotten the longer term in my thinking has become. I did not expect this ten years ago.

I think one of the reasons I’m more of a long-term thinker is because my health has dramatically improved in the last few years. I’ve been at this long-term care facility for almost ten months. The biggest goal I haven’t accomplished yet is being able to walk again. I want to lose some more weight before I try physical therapy again.

I’ve lost around 120 pounds in the last ten months overall. I’m almost the same weight now as I was at my grandmother’s funeral in 2015. And I was in good enough shape then to serve as a pallbearer for my grandmother and a groomsman at a friend’s wedding that same summer.

I sit on the side of the bed every day for at least a couple hours. It helps rebuild my balance and I think it helps my back muscles. The only thing really limiting how long I can sit without back support is my bad tailbone. I injured my tailbone in a high school football game when I was a teenager, and it never completely healed. At least I don’t have nerve pain anymore, thank goodness. I suppose the tailbone is one of those chronic aches and pains from the misadventures of my younger years.

Thankfully my ankles, knees, and feet don’t hurt anymore. For a while I occasionally got cases of gout that wouldn’t allow me to walk much except to go to the bathroom. It started in my early thirties. But I haven’t had a case of gout since I moved to the downtown.

My knee pain cleared up over the winter. Even the weather changes don’t effect my knees as much as they did a year ago. I still have some stiffness and limited range of motion, but I can easily lift my legs and knees and hold for several seconds. Sometimes when the nurses’ aides are helping me clean up, I’ll lift both legs and hold them for as long as twenty seconds just to show off. I almost brought one kind hearted aide to tears of joy with how much I have improved over the last several months a few days ago.

I no longer have swelling in my lower legs. In fact, my calves are kind of skinny now. My feet haven’t been swollen for a long time. I can even cut my own toe nails again. I don’t need to keep the call button on my bed. I can reach it on the wall now. I don’t need the extended cord for the call button or even the regular length one anymore.

Most days the meals are pretty good. Just today we had biscuits and gravy for breakfast, roast beef for lunch, and jalapeno cheeseburger for supper. I eat three hot meals a day and I still lose weight most months. Whoever designed my diet is doing an incredible job. I eat home cooked meals three times a day and I still lose weight most months. I think it helps that I hardly ever eat sugary snacks and never ask for second helpings. First few weeks were kind of rough. But I eventually adapted.

Sleeping most of the night anymore. I usually wake up for good around 5am. That’s usually when the night shift makes their last check in for the night. Breakfast usually arrives around 730am or so. After breakfast, I usually fall asleep for another couple hours. Anymore I sleep through the morning cleaning staff cleaning my apartment.

I am doing well. Five years ago, I wasn’t sure I would make it to 2026. But here I am and, other than not being able to walk without assistance yet, I am in better shape now than I was ten years ago. I keep as active and positive as I can. I want to lose more weight before I try physical therapy again, ideally in a few more months. But now that a lot of my health has stabilized and improved, I can see that I probably will be able to walk again someday.

June 17 2026

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We are now almost officially into summer. The hot and humid weather has been easier on my sore joints. After three years of living in Oklahoma, I’ve adapted to the hotter weather.

Still working on my Spanish a little every day. Been working on my simulation games like Civilization and Railroad Tycoon. Enjoying watching the World Cup matches. I enjoy the reaction videos on YouTube from the foreign visitors experiencing the US for the first time. It is interesting to see how the Japanese respond to Texas barbecue or watching Scotland’s fans watching baseball at Fenway Park in Boston. I still can’t believe that little Cape Verde tied Spain. The only reason I know Cape Verde is off the western coast of Africa is I had a few readers from there over the years. The US plays again on Friday against Australia. Should be interesting.

The food here in the complex is pretty good. As good as the winter menu was, the summer menu is even better. Quite a bit of barbecue, chicken fried steak, and picnic food setups. We even had barbecue ribs on Memorial Day.

Been three months since I last needed my CPAP machine. I need to take only one blood pressure medication these days. My joint pains are more manageable than even a few months ago. I’d like to lose some more weight before I start back into physical therapy. Weight wise, I haven’t been this low since 2015. It feels odd to be in better health at age 46 than I was at age 36. But I’ll take it.

Relearning Spanish and Getting Ready for World Cup 2026

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Middle of the week in early summer. It’s hot outside but at least the air conditioning is working again.

One of my summer projects is relearning Spanish. I took some classes in high school. To aide in this I watch some Spanish language tv every day, usually in the afternoons and evenings. I’m pleasantly surprised at how much is starting to comeback after watching Spanish language tv for less than two weeks. I have found watching evening news and even Spanish language commercials are helping my Spanish the most. I almost never hear a sentence without being able to pick out at least one or two Spanish words I remember.

World Cup tournament starts in two days. I plan on watching as many games as possible, at least the knock out stage games. I’m thinking of seeing if the Spanish language cable channels I can pick up here in Oklahoma cover games played by Mexico, Spain, Argentina, etc. Would be cool to see how much of the Spanish I can pick up from watching soccer. That and this is probably Lionel Messi’s last World Cup tourney for Argentina. I imagine for soccer fans that will be like watching Michael Jordan play in his last playoff series was for basketball fans here in the US.

Speaking of World Cup soccer, I got a cool message from a reader saying he was watching the construction of a fan forum pavilion tied in with the World Cup in his city. Small world isn’t it?

The World Cup, Reduced Joint Pains, Model Railroad Games on Computer, and Fantasy League Baseball

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Middle of the week in early summer here in Oklahoma. It’s supposed to rain on and off for the rest of the week. Going to be a change from the blazing heat we’ve already had. My joints do better in the warm and humid summers of Oklahoma than the cold and dry winters of Nebraska.

The World Cup starts on June 11th. I see that Fox is covering quite a few of the knockout round matches. I plan on watching at least a small part of all of them. The US plays Paraguay, I think, on June 12th out in Los Angeles. The international cultural enthusiast in me is wondering when China or Australia will host the tournaments. I hope I live to see that. I still remember how both countries went all out when they hosted the Summer Olympics back in the 2000s.

Feeling very stable mentally. My aches and pains are not nearly as intense as they were last fall or winter. In March the aches in my entire left arm were bad enough the doctors thought it was a dislocated shoulder even though I haven’t fallen the whole time I have been here. The X-rays confirmed it was just bad swelling. Heck I could have told them that and saved a half hour on the X-ray table. I do not appreciate how some medical professionals refuse to listen to patients. I enjoy it even less when a doctor or nurse treats me like I’m a 4-year-old child.

I no longer drink several cups of coffee per day. Most days I usually drink only one cup per day, usually in the early afternoon. Most of what I drink anymore is water or coffee or the occasional orange juice with breakfast.

I haven’t watched much tv since the Thunder lost to the Spurs in Game 7. Lots of people here in OKC are disappointed they didn’t make the Finals. Wait ’till next year, as the old Brooklyn Dodgers used to say when your great grandparents were growing up. Yes, kids, the Dodgers used to be in Brooklyn until about the late 50s.

Thankfully my air conditioner is fixed. At least I had a good fan and easy access to ice water. Now I’m really ready for summer.

Been playing a lot of old Railroad Tycoon II lately. Recently played a tough, but fun scenario of building a railway from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I think the Africa map is now my favorite map to play.

The America maps in the 1800s are really fun if you like playing against several computer opponents who are trying to pull hostile takeovers and take your customers and tank your stock prices.

The maps and dates are quite accurate to time and place. For example, you’re not going to find cotton farms in Canada, automobile plants in 1890, or diesel engines until the 1940s or steam engines after 1960.

I’m thinking about playing a map of building a high-speed electric route connecting all the major cities in China in the early 21st century. Heck, there are even maps that allow one to play Antarctica in the 2050s. Kind of disappointed that there isn’t a map that allows me to rebuild the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia. That would be lots of fun.

Even though I’m not a huge fan of Atlas Shrugged, I’m thinking about trying to retrace the fictional Taggert Transcontal lines from information within the book. Read the book back in 2007, so I might have to get a Chatbot summary of the route from the book rather than slog through that long beast again. Took me a whole winter to read that book even when I was in my twenties. Took me an entire summer to read War and Peace when I was in college.

In my fantasy baseball league, my team is starting to win again. We were in dead last out of 12 teams in my yahoo league until a week ago. But the batters finally started hitting for the first real time all season. Going to have to play almost perfect to make the playoffs after Labor Day. In real life baseball, the Rockies are in last place for like the fourth or fifth year in a row. I think being a Rockies fan is kind of like the kids who fall in love with the ugly little stray dog in the neighborhood. You just love it no matter how awful it looks.

Updates, June 2026. Getting Better with Age

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Recently celebrated nine months in my current home here in OKC. A lot has changed for me. Updates are in order.

I am now cured of sleep apnea. Stopped using the CPAP machine in March. In my case my sleep apnea was cured by losing weight and fat. Been sleeping so well without the CPAP machine that I almost forgot what sleeping with it was like.

I’m cured of anemia too. It’s a good feeling to not feel weak and sleepy all the time. I sleep probably only half of what I slept even a year ago. Back to being a night owl and regularly writing. It’s a great feeling.

Even my mental illness isn’t as severe now as it was even one year ago. I still take two anti-psychotic medications, which I have been on since a DNA test revealed they would be good for me back in 2015. On top of that, I take only half of the dose I was with one of my medications that I was eight months ago. I haven’t even taken anxiety medications in over a year.

Much of my arthritis pain is gone, especially in my hands and feet. I still have some in my knees. But that will probably get better as I continue to lose weight.

Even my bladder isn’t as weak as it was a few years ago. I forgot how good it feels to hold in taking a pee simply because I can. Sure, my bladder isn’t as strong as it was in my late twenties when I went on road trips with my friends and we stop only for gas and food. At least I can hold in a piss for a longer time than I could a year ago.

Most of the water retention is gone. I can easily wear tight shorts and sweatpants again. As much as I appreciate a good pair of shorts or pants, I can totally understand why the Greeks and Romans liked togas with as much as I’ve worn hospital gowns while my swelling was going down.

I don’t need as much sleep anymore. I sleep like three hours in the night and then three hours in the morning after breakfast. It’s kind of odd to have more free time than I had the last few years because I’m not spending ten to fourteen hours a day sleeping. It’s a great feeling though.

I still don’t socialize much with other patients. I do socialize with the nurses’ aides, nurses, etc. several times a day. So, I’m not totally anti-social.

I usually get weighed the first week of every month. I’m due to be weighed again in a few days. If my body is any indication, I have lost weight in the last 30 days. I’ve lost weight most months I’ve been here in OKC. And I still eat three hot, home cooked meals every day. Heck, because I now eat three home cooked meals every day is probably why I’m losing weight most months.

I haven’t had any real crisis in several months. Sure, I have had annoyances. Most of those clear up within a few days or with a conversation or two with someone else. Even my mail getting lost for a few days isn’t a crisis anymore. Annoyance? Yes. Crisis? No.

I do love being in my forties. The gray hairs and the receding hair line don’t bother me any. Stuff that used to set me off even ten years ago I can laugh at now. I guess it helps that I had most of my crisis in my twenties and early thirties. Being 45 is a heck of a lot more fun than being 35.

I have gotten more respect since turning 40 years old than I did at any previous point in my life. Being a middle-aged man is far better than I could have ever imagined when I first went on disability pension.

Summer 2026: Thoughts on Current Events and the State of the Economy

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It’s feeling like summer here in OKC. I see that Europe has gotten really bad heat waves already. Looking like it could be a long summer. The air conditioning broke down on my wing a couple of days ago. At least I have good fans and access to lots of ice water. But the HVAC crew is currently working on the AC system even on a weekend. I love those guys.

In other summer news, my fantasy league baseball team is in last place in my league. Had lots of injuries early on and never recovered. But I play mainly for fun and make the ballgames more interesting. My team is named The Barn Stormers. It’s my first year back after taking two years off. Have done fantasy league baseball since like 2007. But I don’t obsess over it. And I have never gotten into sports gambling or predictions gambling sites like Draft Kings. If I have extra money to play with, I usually prefer the stock market. Just as well put my bachelor’s in business degree to work even while disabled.

Saw on Bloomberg that some of the big oil companies are warning about $160 a barrel crude oil by the end of summer. Crap like that happens when my country decided to go to war and shut down one of the most important sea trade lanes in the world. It’s like my leaders didn’t learn from the mistakes Russia made when invading Ukraine. I was afraid this war with Iran would be a lot longer than people thought. Too bad I was right. I guess some people in power just can’t let others be.

In addition to the high gas prices, another concern is the shortage of fertilizers for farming. So expect higher food prices than we already have. We may end up having to do like our great grandparents did in the 1930s and turn our backyards into gardens and chicken houses. Everyone I personally know who owns a house or rents a house already has a garden. Most of these people started serious gardening during the pandemic.

In other news, AI is replacing office workers really fast. I feared this would happen eventually. I was telling people about this clear back in 2012. Turns out it’s happening faster than even I thought. A friend of mine lost her office job to an AI a couple months ago. Still hasn’t found anything except for some gig work once in a while. I was afraid these changes would happen before the social safety net and laws would be adapted to a world of mass AI. Sadly I was right. It’s like those in power actively want to make things worse for entry and mid level workers.

Before people say ‘go into the trades’, even those are going to experience an oversupply of workers in a few years. That alone will drive down cost of labor. Basic economics, my friends. And what is happening to office workers now, that will be trades people when AI gets good enough to go into robots. Heck, Amazon already ’employs’ robot employees. And automation of factories is happening right now in China. We just don’t hear much about it in the US. Too busy fighting among ourselves to notice how much the world has really changed in the last dozen years. Brushing up on my Mandarin Chinese to get ahead of the rush. Ni hao to my Chinese friends 🙂 I think that’s how they say ‘hi’ over there.

With the way things are now, I’m glad I moved to OKC three years ago. At least I am close to family now rather than hundreds of miles away stuck in the middle of rural Nebraska. I get along quite well with my brother and his kids. I still see my parents a couple of times a month. My life has gotten a lot less stressful since I moved out of their house in the suburbs. I enjoy being in the city. At least I don’t have to drive everywhere now.

My birthday is in June. My drivers’ license expires then. While I will get the state issued ID, I won’t be renewing my driving license. I don’t think I’m safe being a driver anymore. My reaction times aren’t as sharp as they were even eight years ago. I don’t enjoy driving and haven’t for several years. Besides, here in the city, I get almost anything delivered and can hire Uber or Lyft if I really don’t feel like going out. We have some public transit, but most American cities are not as easily walkable as most places in Europe or Asia.

And why should I have a drivers’ license? Self-driving EVs will be hitting the used car market by the time I get well enough I could potentially leave my facility. I used to joke that my niece and youngest nephew would never really need a drivers’ license. My brother owns a self-driving EV. So, I guess I was right even when I made that prediction back in 2017.

I totally understand why people are worried about tech unemployment. As much as people complain about their jobs, it does give them structure and meaning. It took me a long time to adapt to life after employment once my schizophrenia got bad enough to destroy my career. It was one hell of a blow to my pride to get crippling panic attacks every day before I went to even a minimum wage job. I’m thankful for disability pension and was able to escape that mess before it killed me. I suppose you could say doing this blog is my way of giving back even though I can no longer hold a minimum wage job.

Memorial Day Weekend 2026

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Memorial Day weekend starts today. Unofficial start of summer here in the US. The schools have let out for the summer here in the city. After several days of cool and rainy weather it’s starting to feel like early summer. And I am loving it.

Traditionally summers have been my toughest time of year. August is typically my worst month for mental health problems. Maybe this year will be different. This is going to be my first summer since 2021 I am effectively living by myself. In summer 2022 I had an awful roommate who was hard of hearing, watched his tv at full volume and always watched reality tv and Doomsday Preppers. He was often sit in his wheelchair in the middle of the room and always refused to move his chair out of the way whenever I had to use the bathroom. He finally got moved in September after he yelled at and kicked a nurse. Wasn’t sorry to see him leave. After he left, I did four months of physical therapy, got far more mentally stable, and lost a bunch of weight.

In February 2023 I got well enough to make the move from rural Nebraska to suburban Oklahoma City. I lived with my parents until something permanent came open. Originally, I was hoping to find something by the end of summer 2023. Turns out I didn’t find anything permanent until summer 2025. Two and a half years of little privacy and watching my parents age and decline messed with my head. It got bad enough that for several months I left my room only to use the bathroom, clean up, and make my own dinner. It was just too painful watching my parents decline. That, and the house wasn’t wheelchair accessible. Even the front door and sidewalk was too narrow for my wheelchair. In some ways, it wasn’t much better than being in jail.

Eventually the hard times ended. My hard times ended when I moved to a facility in the downtown area. I moved here on Labor Day weekend in 2025. I have been doing well and making improvements in the last nine months I have lived here.

Medication wise, I’m down to only one blood pressure medication per day. I take only two psych meds a day instead of the three I was on when I first moved here. And one of the two medications I am currently on is only half the dose I was a taking when I first moved here. Most of my arthritis is gone as long as I take Tylenol and ibophrophen once a day.

I’m on good enough terms with the aides and nurses now that they don’t bother me much and generally leave me alone unless I really need help. I can stand up but still can’t walk from the bed to the front door. I have lost over 100 pounds in the last eight months and lost over 170 pounds since March 2020. I have a new goal of eventually being below 200 pounds. Probably take another few years. But I have developed better habits, have a stable living arrangement for the first time since late 2021, and am not worried about irritable neighbors trying to get me evicted. I thrive in circumstances where I have enough money to eat healthy meals and am not worried about getting kicked out of my home on a landlord’s whim and neighbors’ lies. The cost of rent has gotten inhumane in most places in the US in the last several years.

In other news, my blog is starting to get some real attention. I think it helps that I have been writing an average of once or twice a week for the past 14 years. A few dollars a day worth of advertising really helps. No different than any business. No one is going to visit if they don’t know I’m out here.

I haven’t done this well for this long ever. It’s cool to finally have some privacy and autonomy that people actually respect. I enjoy living where people aren’t going to go through my personal things or look over my shoulder when I’m writing, reading, or doing computer simulation games.

It’s good to have neighbors who aren’t always spying on me or whispering behind my back whenever I run errands. I never had that until I moved to my current home. It’s good that it’s actually quiet here at night most nights. I don’t have to listen to neighbors blasting their tv or arguing with each other most nights.

It’s nice to live in a complex where the cops aren’t showing up every day to break up domestic disputes or investigate thefts or assaults. Goodness knows I never had that in 16 years of living in low-income housing even in a small town. The last three to four years were the worst. The pandemic made it unbearable to even leave my apartment. Thankful I’m no longer in that toxic hellhole mess. Only time I had privacy as a kid was when I went to the backyard. And sometimes the neighborhood kids would watch me as I paced and made up stories. It was like, ‘God, why can’t these people get a life.’

Thankfully my life is no longer like that. I am never voluntarily going back to that kind of life. I don’t care if I am loved by my neighbor. I just want him to leave me the hell alone. At least I get that here in the city. And I love it. My goodness I love it. First in my life I can truly be free to be myself without blowback and repercussions. Where was this the first 45 years of my life? Now I would love to make it another 45 years if I can live the way I currently go.

A Fresh Start: Overcoming Challenges and Building Connections

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I’m doing well after eight months in my new home. First time since the pandemic that my living situation has stabilized. I’m now down to only one blood pressure medication per day. My water retention swelling is gone.

I’ve lost over 100 pounds in the last eight months. I’ve gotten much closer to my brother and his family since moving to Oklahoma in 2023. I probably would have moved a few years sooner if not for the pandemic.

Reading a lot of audiobooks again. I started on The Old Testament of the King James Bible around last Christmas. I’m halfway through. I’m listening to lots of history and economics books too. Recently finished one about the Oil Shortages of the 1970s. Currently working on post-Soviet Union Russia in the 1990s.

Been following sports a lot since last Christmas. Became an Oklahoma City Thunder fan when I moved to Oklahoma in 2023. It’s fun watching them making another deep push in the playoffs.

I became a Colorado Avalanche fan in 1995 after Denver got that team. Looks like they too could make a deep run in the Stanley Cup. The Rockies are not horrible this year in baseball.

Nebraska Husker men’s basketball had its best season ever this year making the third round of the NCAA tournament. And it’s looking like Nebraska football could potentially have a better team this autumn.

I have made lots of friends with the staff members here at my complex. I avoid most of the other residents. Some are too negative. Some are not with it enough to hold a real conversation. I do well here, in part, because I have no roommates. I love not having a roomie. My freshman year in college roommate was a character. After that I decided I would never voluntarily share a sleeping quarters with anyone again.

My arthritis is mostly gone after a few months of Tylenol twice a day. My goodness it was an ordeal convincing the doctor to get me on it the first four months I was here. It was like they couldn’t realize just how bad my arthritis was.

I see my family twice a month. My brother calls me once a week or so. I hear from my best friend from college usually once a week. We talk more often now that baseball season is going. We’re both huge Colorado Rockies fans. We went to one of their World Series games back in 2007. Took several months to pay off that weekend. But it was worth every last penny.

Even though I no longer actively invest, I still pay attention to the stock market and the world of investing. I see that SpaceX and Starlink will probably go public by the end of summer. I have the same feelings about those companies that I had about Facebook in 2009 and Nvidia back in 2021. Pity social security’s rules only allow a small amount in savings to still qualify for Medicaid. Such is I suppose.

I think one of the reasons I’m losing weight faster than expected is due to not eating fast food or sugar very often. Mom and Dad usually bring some Chic fil A when they come to visit a couple times a month. Ordered delivery pizza only a few times since I moved here in August 2025.

My two nephews are done with college for the summer. One is going to work for an engineering firm here in the metro. The other is looking for something in a hospital as he eventually wants to become a physician’s assistant.

My parents are enjoying the retired life. They see their grandkids often. They are quite active in their church. Dad usually has some DIY or hobby projects, like ham radio or model trains, going. Mom is busy with her gardening.

So far 2026 has been better than most years the last seven or eight years. It feels good that my living arrangements are finally settled.