On Friday last week at 8:30pm, the engine of an automobile burst into flames in the parking lot of the “old folks home” in Waikiki. The Fire Department arrived shortly afterward to extinguish the fire. The crew had to tear into the engine compartment, so the vehicle was “totaled.” It was a “piece of shit” anyway. As it were, the owner of the vehicle is the resident manager. Oh, sweet karma! The “old folks home” continues to be a blight and embarrassment in the ‘hood.
Upon return to the “old folks home” from the late afternoon outing on Monday, a chance encounter with Ignacio occurred at the entrance. He was on his way to the ABC Store. A brief chat ensued. He had a few more complaints about the management. However, he was informed about the resident manager’s automobile. That put a smile on his face. Then, he confided that a recent visit to his cardiologist revealed that he has two clogged arteries. The arterial walls are too thin for any procedure. If the situation worsens in two months, he plans to move out. “I don’t want to die in this place,” he added.
On to more mundane topics. Well, the cause of poor sleep quality may have been determined … protein overload. Yeah, that’s right. The hypothesis was derived after a sleepless night upon consuming the half of a lamp-baked chicken (from Waikiki Market) a couple of weeks ago. Then, last week Thursday another half of a lamp-baked chicken was consumed, which resulted in another sleepless night. The chicken was consumed at 4pm, which is now the official dinner time. Another snack (e.g., somen salad, etc.) is often purchased during the return from the late afternoon outing at the International Marketplace. And, an English muffin is usually consumed later for dessert.
On the days that salads are procured for dinner, sleep quality is better (i.e., much fewer awakenings to “drain the lizard”). The salads have a minimal amount of protein sources, obviously less than the half of a lamp-baked chicken. What’s also interesting is that the usual Panda Express® dinners had high protein content (i.e., chicken and tofu), well, along with lots of sugar, sodium, and vegetable oil.
Protein overload appears to fit the symptoms. The kidneys work overtime to purge the excess protein. The “lizard juice” (read: urine) develops a strange pungent odor. Thirst is a secondary symptom. At first, there was some concern that the presenting symptoms were indicating pre-diabetes. Thus, on Saturday, a delicious salad was procured at the ABC Store. Later, a pint of Häagen-Dazs® strawberry ice cream was purchased at Target® for dessert. All of that absorbed sugar did not degrade the quality of sleep as much.
In a previous Notes post, the matter of increased geriatric sensitivity to food categories and ingredients was posited. The physical body can no longer process food as it did in the younger days. Take coffee, for example. A few years ago, a large cup of Starbucks® coffee barely provided a caffeine “high.” Now, half of a medium-sized cup of the same coffee is about all that can be consumed. Even the large cup of the much weaker coffee from the fast food in town cannot be finished. Further observations will be forthcoming.
The late afternoon outings to the International Marketplace continue daily, primarily to procure fruits (and other “stuff” at Target. An hour of lounging around is now included in the excursion. Unfortunately, little relaxation is possible due to the annoying stupidity of the tourists (many of whom are loud and obese). As daylight time increases, the time lounging there may also increase. Otherwise, what else is there to do? Vegetate in the mausoleum?
Incidentally, patronizing the Target® store in Waikiki is not a pleasant experience. The food section is the worst. Idiotic tourists are literally running amuck, grabbing anything off the shelves. There’s a “Black Friday” herd mentality at play, even though everything is well stocked. This kind of peak stupidity does not happen at the Ala Moana Center store.
On a side note, the divestiture of the Beats® Pill and the iPad Pro M4 still weighs heavily on the mind for unknown reasons. Divestiture of useless possessions seems to be a favorite senior citizen pastime. “Stuff” is continuously piled up by the trash dumpsters at the “old folks home.” All kinds of “stuff” also appears in the entrance lobby. Anyway, there has been no beneficiary selected to receive the Beats® Pill. The iPad, however, remains an enigma. The device is really an unbelievable piece of hardware. It can “run circles” around the iPhone 16 Pro. Yet, what is its purpose?
Addendum: The Visible + (Legacy 1) account will be upgraded to the current (third) version on the next billing cycle this month. Unlimited prioritized cellular data (versus 50GB currently) and faster personal hotspot are the main advantages for the same $35 monthly fee.
Miscellany: The vast hurdy-gurdy video library (HGVL) on the LaCie® SSD has been reduced to 235 choice selections.
