Blemishes

I have been cursed with troublesome skin.  I'm not sure if it's because I have the dreaded pale, freckled Irish skin or because of all the sunburns I've had in my lifetime but I wish I'd taken better care of it when I was younger.

On Thursday, I finally got in to see my dermatologist, the one I've seen every 6 months for around 10 years or so.  She specializes in skin cancer and that's why my family doctor sent me to her in the first place when I had my first one.  I've had many since and some required minor surgery but so far I haven't developed melanoma which is the worst and deepest skin cancer you can get.  I'm grateful for that bit of luck.

I had no new skin cancers but I did have a few weird blemishes that OHIP doesn't cover but irritates the heck out of me so I paid $500 to have 3 of them removed...not cheap but I'll feel better once they've healed.  She also sprayed the heck out of a bunch of little pre-skin cancer spots that OHIP does cover.  They just appear as very dry skin spots.  I haven't had any actual skin cancer in quite a few years but maybe that's because I refuse to leave my dermatologist for longer than 6 months.  She keeps a good eye on me.

Getting sunburned in my youth meant nothing to me at the time, just a few days of discomfort and then the skin peeled off.  I see sunburn very differently now and don't expose myself to the sun if I can help it, staying in the shade and using sunscreen religiously.  You can still be affected by the sun's rays even if you stay in the shade so it's important to wear sunscreen, too.

My dermatologist also specializes in skin care like Botox so I often see young women at her office.  Personally, it's never much mattered to me that wrinkles appeared as I aged but, then, I wasn't trying to find work in a competitive younger market or a new husband or boyfriend.  Women have pressures on them now that I've never much thought about before.  My skin repairs have been for medical reasons or because the blemishes interfered with my life.  The wrinkles just came and stayed.

I have friends my age who have barely a wrinkle on their faces so I know I've been shortchanged but, at this point, I don't much care.  I have what's important...a pretty good life.

This and That

Everything is moving along fairly smoothly right now.  The worst thing happening is the riots and destruction going on in the States and that worries me for the safety of my daughter and her family who live there.  I can't imagine anyone wanting to take a vacation in the States right now and that's going to further devastate their economy but it's absolutely crazy down there.  Many of the politicians are protecting the people who are looting and destroying property and I can't understand it.  Why would elected officials protect criminals and allow them to destroy the property of innocent citizens?  Why would they hand over a part of the city to these lawless monsters and forbid their police force from entering and arresting them?  Who can understand this?

Anyway, it's pretty calm up here in civilization.  I'm even more thankful now that my ancestors chose to come to Canada instead of the States.

I got WIFI last week so now I can watch Netflix.  I just have to train myself to turn it off and go to bed before midnight.  The bedroom T.V. which is not a "smart" T.V. isn't working because it needs a different cable now.  Matt is getting one for me but I wonder why the Cogeco guy didn't inform us about that.  I would never have been able to figure it out on my own and no technician would have been able to explain it to me.  Thank heavens for my Matthew!

Faye is back in Burlington for a few days for doctor's appointments.  She loves living with Valerie in Windsor but wants to hang on to her condo as a getaway place when they get on each other's nerves.  It will all work out when they find a larger house to live in, one that has a separate space for Faye.  Cindy always tells me she'll never let me go into a nursing home but she doesn't understand how difficult it is to live with an old person who no longer can care for themselves.  My plan is to stay on my own for as long as I can, mainly because I enjoy my independence.  

I'm going to the dermatologist tomorrow to get a few blemishes (don't think any of them is skin cancer) from my face, neck, and hand.  They're irritants more than anything and removing them will just make me feel more comfortable about my appearance.  My wrinkles are here to stay!

I have to wear a mask and put baggies on my hands (I don't have gloves), knock on the dermatologist's door at exactly 11 A.M. and wait to be allowed in.  This all sounds over the top but it's how we've managed to keep the virus stats down in Canada.  We're getting about 200 new cases a day in Ontario but last week Florida had a day when they had 2,400 new cases.  I wouldn't set foot in the States this winter for anything.  I'm not even sure it would be safe to go down in 2022.

My family is doing fine...no-one is sick and everyone is still working.  Life is pretty calm for the time being. 

New Rules

I'm diabetic and have ignored the fact by having pedicures in salons for many years but, a month or so ago, I saw that one of the calluses on my foot had peeled away from the skin underneath and it scared me to death.  I know diabetics often lose their foot, leg, or life when an infection sets in.  I got expert advice and managed to bring the callous under control and almost completely diminished without resorting to peeling it off.  I realized that my salon pedicures are now not sensible for me so I made an appointment with a poditrist.

His office was able to begin taking patients this week and my appointment is for tomorrow at 2 P.M.  I'm looking forward to it because my toenails are a disgrace...I can't reach them to cut them properly.

Yesterday I received a call from his office confirming the appointment but being advised of the new rules.  I don't know yet if this is how all doctor's visits will be played out but it sounds like one more weird aspect of the coronavirus.  I was e-mailed a 6 page form I had to fill out, some of which asked about my personal exposure to the virus.  I'm a new patient with this doctor so I understand the need to fill out an information form for him.

In one section of the form of new rules, I was told that I was to either wait outside the building or wait in my car when I arrived.  I was then to call the office to let them know I was there and they'd let me know if it was clear to come in.  I gather they don't want anyone in the waiting room.  This is a large medical building, though, with many other offices so I'm not sure how we can all avoid each other while coming and going.  Of course I was told to wear a mask when I do come in.

I believe my temperature will be taken, too, when I finally enter the office.  I hate so much the drastic changes in this new world even though I do understand the need for them.  What's worse is that I don't ever see us getting back to our old normal.  I'll probably wear a mask when I shop until a safe and effective vaccine is available but that could take longer than the time I have left on this earth.  I doubt I'll ever feel completely comfortable again sitting in a crowded restaurant or casino.  I really think my casino days are done for good.

Anyway, wearing a mask and waiting in the car to hear if the coast is clear sounds very furtive, like I'm either going to be committing robbery or meeting a married lover.  I've never done either of those things but maybe that's how it's done.  LOL!  

All Lives Matter

I sometimes have a hard time believing there is a controversy about the slogans "All Lives Matter" and "Black Lives Matter".  It just seems so obvious to me that every life should be considered important and, if you choose one color of skin or one occupation to stress the importance, you are separating them from the group.  Separating whites and blacks is the biggest part of the problem so why keep doing it?

It will utterly amaze future generations that we idiots of the 21st century held protests, riots, and caused chaos and destruction over the prejudice of a person's skin color.  They'll ask, "did those crazy people also treat people with freckles badly?".  They won't understand us and they won't respect our intelligence because we truly are lunatics to be behaving like this over skin color.

Kim and I were talking about this yesterday because she'd received criticism for having "all lives matter" written on her cast.  Isn't that ridiculous?  How can that statement be criticized?  I'll never understand it.

I suggested the prejudice against people of color came about when our white ancestors brought black people over from Africa and enslaved them, thinking they weren't quite human beings because their skin was so dark.  How uneducated and ignorant they were to think that way but maybe it was their way of soothing their consciences for enslaving another human being.  

Black people have indeed suffered horrible prejudice since then even though some, I honestly believe most, whites have become more aware how wrong it was and who took steps to change the culture.  I'm constantly amazed how people of color have managed to succeed in life despite the unfair struggles they've had to deal with.  One even became president of the United States and I never thought I'd see that kind of educated thinking in my lifetime.  Sadly, he's despised today by the same people who elected him but I really don't know why.  He's a true gentleman as far as I can see.

I've mentioned the words "black" and "white" quite often in this blog and I absolutely hate it.  The only way we're going to get beyond this hateful culture we've created is to stop separating people by skin color.  It's such an unimportant aspect of who we are as human beings and we really have to accept that in order to move on to become a decent civilization.

Believe me, a hundred years from now we'll be considered laughing stocks and neanderthals by our descendents.