A Resumption

Today, on the last night of January 2025, I actually used my stretch band for the first time since arriving back from Australia in mid-January. For some reason, I just haven't felt motivated to do any exercise at all for the past couple of weeks. I've been largely sedentary and have only ventured out into the garden briefly on a couple of occasions. That's about to change hopefully. 

It's important to work in the garden as that provides a lot of exercise without noticing it. I need to resume some walking as well, especially given that the constant cloud cover makes it easier. Healthwise I feel well enough so there's no impediments to being more active. I really do need to spend less time on my laptop and phone. My weight is around 70.5 kg which is fine but I don't won't it slipping below 70 kg.

I'm still taking my Moringa and the stiffness in my fingers remains relatively mild. My right shoulder joint still pains me from time to time but it's easy to endure and usually transient. Overall I shouldn't complain about my physical condition given that I'm staring down the barrel of 76. There are many far worse off than me.

Death's Door
by William Blake

Uranus has stationed as of last night and will soon begin moving forward through Taurus toward my natal Moon. What the consequences of that conjunction in late June will be remain to be seen. Perhaps it will mark my demise, as my dream voice announced, or else I will go on. If I am to go on then I need to discover some sense of purpose because right now I feel that I've lost all momentum. I'm standing still.

It's coming up to ten years since my retirement and I've very much enjoyed the freedom to do whatever I want with my time but lately things feel different. My sense of joie de vivre has dissipated. Maybe this is what happens towards the end. Maybe it's just a passing phase. I should reread some of my old posts on this blog to gain some inspiration.

Sudden Vision Impairment

Today, 24th January 2025, I sat down at my laptop to read the Twitter feed and I couldn't focus on the text. I thought my glasses were dirty and so I cleaned them but the probably persisted. After a few minutes, normal vision returned. This was unsettling as a sudden decline in one's near vision can't be a good thing. 

Transient episodes of blurred or "grayed out" vision can be a sign of a tumour in the brain that is pressing on the optic nerve. Hopefully that's not the case. All I can do is to monitor the situation and make a note of any further vision abnormalities. I'll use this post and the site to record such observations.

Source

There's certainly some family history of such tumours. My maternal grandmother suffered from a tumour on her pituatary gland. It was removed when she was aged 66 but she wasn't the same woman after the operation. My aunty and my grandmother's youngest child suffered terrible headaches that were initially diagnosed as a mental disorder but later it was revealed that she had a malignant tumour that was affecting her brain. She died at age 37. My brother Tony suffered from an acoustic neuroma that was removed when he was 19 years old.