Hot Summers & High Cholesterol

It’s been a long while since I’ve done a good old fashioned life update. A lot’s changed since March of 2025. Let’s go!

Latest Updates

Hot Summers

I know hitting the 90s isn’t a new thing for Michigan, but because much of our late Spring/early Summer was unseasonably cool, this past few weeks has been difficult to handle. I’m thankful to be living and working in air conditioning. It’s also been amazing to have quick and easy access to a pool, but more on that later.

One of the difficult aspects of the heat is that we’ve been spending less time outside this year than I think we normally do. While the cats are, I’m sure, grateful to have us around, I have been feeling more and more couped up. Now that the days are getting shorter, and the evenings cooling off a bit more, I might need to start taking some after-dark walks downtown.

High Cholesterol

After two years of dragging my feet, I finally got my labs done. It’s never as bad as I expect it to be, getting them done that is, but that never seems to translate to me being less nervous. Thankfully they got what they needed on the first poke, which hasn’t always been the case.

The next day all the results started rolling in and I was immediately suprised at how many test names said “Abnormal” next to them.

Uh oh.

The main issue seems to be my cholesterol. My total is high, my LDL (bad cholesterol) is high, and my HDL (good cholesterol) is low. At first I was surprised, since I’ve actually been trying to eat better and exercise more in the last couple of weeks. But… Apparently it takes months for meaningful changes to your cholesterol to take place. And that made it all make sense. For the last six months my activity has dropped and my diet has been absolutely abysmal (we’re talking a double cheeseburger for lunch and an entire frozen pizza for supper kind of bad).

So, the past week has, for me, been a lot of research, trying to hit my Apple Watch rings daily, and also starting on a psyllium husk supplement. Doc said to make lifestyle changes and check in next year, so I’m going to try my darndest to get those back into normal levels by then.

Wish me luck.

Other Updates

Like I said before, some big changes have happened since March of 2025.

Jess Got a New Job

Jess got a new job! She’s working at Fishbeck, here in Grand Rapids, which is an engineering, environmental science, architecture, and construction firm. It’s a pretty big company with a lot of people across Michigan. So far they really seem to like her, and she really likes them, so we’re super excited about that. She deserves it.

Goodbye Creston

In April, we sold our house and moved into an apartment. I know, crazy move, but it was sorely needed. We had been dealing with a noisy, inconsiderate neighbor for well over a year, and with Jess’ sensory stuff, my frustration with their behavior, and my waning desire to take care of an aging 2,000+ square foot house and yard… It just needed to happen. We couldn’t be home or use our own backyard in peace. You know something isn’t working when you dread the idea of coming home. That’s all done, the apartment is nice (remember that pool?), and we have a nice little nest egg set aside for another house in the future, if we choose to go that route.

Best part? Everyone we’ve met here has been super nice and super not noisy.

Friend’s Jobs

A couple of our friends, who have been struggling to find work for a while now, also both have jobs and we’re so, so excited for them! As much as I hate that working in this society is not optional if you want to have your basic needs met, it’s amazing to see people who deserve to be happy catch a break once in a while.

Shooting Film

I’ve been trying to shoot film a bit more and finally got a few rolls developed and scanned (perhaps some posts coming to share those?), including some I shot on an old Kodak Brownie Target Six-20. I wasn’t even sure if the camera would work–it’s been sitting on a shelf as decoration for a decade–but the images actually turned out pretty well! It was really fun to get the scans of everything and look through them with Jess. Some shots were all the way from last summer!

Media Diet

My media diet has been… Different. I think that’s a good thing.

Books

I’ve been trying to read more, which is good. I’m currently reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons and, while I wasn’t 100% sold right away, I’m so glad I stuck with it. Only about 1/3 of the way through, but it’s already easily in my top 5 scifi books (granted I haven’t read that many). From what I know of the author, though… I’ll probably stick to his Hyperion Cantos series.

Other books read this year have included:

• Dune books three & four – both slow burns, but amazing in the end. Book one is still my favorite so far, but book four gave it a run for its money.
• Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet by Kate Marvel – Great read for anyone who’s interested in climate change and what we can actually do about it (that is, rather than ignorance or wishful thinking).
• The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan – Amazing illustrations and creative, informative writing style. Weirdly enough, this book made me realize I don’t want to get further into birding–I simply don’t have the patience or brainpower–but made me much more amazed and appreciative of those who stick with it.
• The Overthinker’s Guide to Making Decisions by Joseph Nguyen – Only got about 2/3 of the way through this one, and that’s before the worksheets that take up the second half of the already small book. Interesting idea, but lazily written (in my opinion) and possibly assisted by AI. Meh.

On the shelf & up next: Dune books five & six (I plan to stop at 6, so I’m hoping it satisfies. We’ll see.) and Jade City by Fonda Lee.

Podcasts & Music

My podcast diet hasn’t really changed, but I’ve been exploring new metal bands, sometimes at the suggestion of my coworker. I’ve also been meaning to go back and really listen to some of the early rock and folk “classics,” but never really feel the drive. Maybe someday.

Movies & TV

When it comes to video content… It’s gotten to the point where, most of the time, I just can’t be bothered. Going to the theater always feels a little bit like a chore. Watching TV and movies has become yet another ad-watching endeavor, unless you pay the big bucks. Maybe my attention span is shot, but since I pay for YouTube Premium Lite (Yes, I know about and use adblockers, but I’d like to support creatives even without the ads.) I just get so much more entertainment per dollar there. That said, I did watch Project Hail Mary and boy did it rock (haha, get it?)! The damn rock made me cry, ya’ll, twice. As someone who has the emotional range of an invulontary stoic, that’s saying something. If you like scifi at all, go see it.

Closing

Anywhoozle, that’s all I got this time. Love ya.