The L.A. Report – Part 34
02-04-2024
Today is the 25th anniversary of my
arrival in Los Angeles. Jeez, it seems
like a helluva lot more recent than that!
I’ve lived here longer than anywhere, by at least 5
years.
In three days, I will be celebrating my one year
anniversary of working for Los Angeles County, and the contract has been
extended through August. It continues to
go very well, even though my workload is pretty light most days. The people are just great. Unfortunately, my project lead, who gives me
most of my work assignments (and is SO incredibly appreciative) is retiring in
a couple weeks! L In fact, a lot of people at the County are
retiring soon, and in many cases, aren’t being replaced. The worst part is that they’ll take all of their
knowledge with them. I shudder to think
what the County’s I.T. systems are going to look like in the very near
future. My manager would like to hire me
as a permanent employee but the process of converting a contractor to an
employee is extremely convoluted. So I’m
not holding my breath! Next year I’ll be
eligible for full Social Security so I could retire, but I’d like to work at
least a little longer. In fact, if I
wait until I’m 70, my payments would be almost $1,000 more a month!
I’ve only gotten two acting auditions in the past
year. The writer’s and actor’s strikes
are partly to blame but it has always been very sporadic – three in one week,
none for six months! Here’s my latest
one, recorded just last week: https://youtu.be/nh1J0D6xFMI
My others can be seen here: https://www.jayblake.actor/videos/auditions.html
On November 28th , three miles into my 4-mile run I got a STABBING pain in my right calf (which I never experienced in 40 years of running). I had to walk the rest of the way home. A week later I was thinking it might be another DVT (blood clot) since it was the same leg as last time, so I spent 5 hours in the emergency room. They did an ultrasound but didn't see a clot. They just diagnosed it as a leg cramp. Over the next few weeks, it got a little better and I did some alternating run/walks. A couple weeks later, I ran four miles with no problem. The next day I did three but it started to get sore by the end. Two days later, it was too sore to run again. So I got into an orthopedic doctor the next day. He did another ultrasound and saw a lot of blood in there and could feel that my gastrocnemius muscle had a tear.
So I took two weeks off from running (just walking 2 or 3 miles a day, which didn’t hurt at all). I also did a couple physical therapy sessions. Gradually I started running again, a little more and more each time. As of this writing, I’m up to 4½ miles.
Winter is our rainy season (most years) and today we’re starting a several-day “atmospheric river” storm. Luckily, it hadn’t started by the time I did my run this morning. Running in a deluge is not my favorite activity (it’s not even in the Top Ten!). Tuesday, when I do my next one, I’m afraid I won’t be so lucky! Well, if I learned anything from my mom and sister – one day at a time.
Well, to quote The New York Times, that’s all the news that’s fit to print (along with some that isn’t) J.
So, until next time, take care . . .
Jay