Day 33-BA2.12.1 is the current variant
My glaucoma nightmare…
This is my current “profile picture”… read on to learn about this debacle…
6/13/22, Monday
8:00-8:15-Recall that two Wednesdays ago, I reported to Helm Eye Center for my annual eye appointment and glaucoma tests [I’ve been monitored for glaucoma for the past three years - I’ve long since forgotten why]. In addition to the retinal scans [paid for out of pocket by me - $39] and my “pressures” [puff of air blown in each eye], both of which are negative for glaucoma, the doctor suggested yet another test.
Also recall that, although I was physically at the Helm Eye Center two Wednesdays ago, having just underwent my retinal scan and pressures, I am NOT ALLOWED to undergo the “periphery test”, whose machine happens to be located in the exact same room as the retinal scan, where I am currently sitting. When the ophthalmologist tells me, “We need to schedule you for the periphery test”, I point out that I’m sitting in the chair opposite the periphery machine at this very moment. “Sure. Let’s do it right now”, I say. [It’s a 3-minute test]. The ophthalmologist advises that I can’t have the third glaucoma test without a PCP [Primary Care Physician] referral, EVEN THOUGH Helm has been monitoring me for glaucoma for the past THREE years. I am told that I must leave the office…now.
On same day, two Wednesdays ago, I call my PCP - Optum Group - and schedule an appointment for a referral. Their earliest opening was 19 days from the day I called, which is today, Monday, at 10:40 am. Guess what I’m doing today?
-I’m up and I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal. She’s awake and at the foot of the stairs, waiting for me. Unfortunately, she pooped next to the front door. Why does this keep happening? We go outside, straight away, and I wait for her to go potty. Return inside and cheese for her, coffee for me. I go upstairs.
My AC is still broken, which means the only time I can do a workout is in the morning. The house reaches “a high” of 95 degrees by around 12:00 pm and remains there for most of the day…strangely, the temperature increases at night as the heat within the house continues to rise. The only problem is that working out in the mornings typically makes me nauseous. This is my dilemma du jour.
8:15-9:00-Shower. I sit in the shower, drink my coffee, and ice my eyes. Now that I’m caffeinated, I put on my workout clothes.
9:00-9:45-I do a 30-min, Insanity Max - Cardio workout.
9:45-10:20-Brief recovery and I leave for my PCP appointment. A missed call came in on my phone - the number looks familiar but there’s no time to check now.
10:20-10:40-Driving. I have some apple slices and bacon in the car.
10:40-11:00-I arrive at Optum and am told by the receptionist that the PA called in sick so I have to reschedule my appointment. They called me 30 minutes ago to let me know…yes, that’s why the missed call looked familiar. I beg for an appointment today. All I need is a glaucoma referral! I explain to the receptionist that this consult will take TWO minutes and whoever “sees” me can bill for a ONE-HOUR consult. The receptionist takes pity on me, leaves her desk, returns. She tells me that Dr. Ofa can do a telephone consult at 3:00 pm.
The receptionist then tells me to be on the look out for a text with a link for the telephone consult. She instructs me to click on the link for the virtual waiting room once the text arrives. I say, “A link to the virtual waiting room? This sounds like a Zoom call. You just told me it was a telephone consult…” She confirms that, yes, it’s a telephone consult, but I still have to click on the link in order to wait in the virtual waiting room. So I say, “Why can’t the doctor just call me…at 3:00 pm…ON THE PHONE?” The receptionist then says that the doctor will call me, on the phone, at 3:00 pm. “Uh…am I still supposed to look for a text with a link to the waiting room?” No. What the hell? I leave.
11:00-11:20-I get gas. It’s at $6.25 a gallon and it now costs me $40 to fill my tank.
11:30-I drive to Aldis to check out their $4.99 bottles of champagne.
11:20-12:00-I have some Kohl’s cash that’s about to expire so I stop in at Kohls and buy some black ankle socks. I have a discount and credit on file so I pay nothing.
12:00-12:30-Return to Helm and I pick up the second pair of trial contacts that finally arrived.
12:30-12:45-Driving.
12:45-1:30-Home and I eat a portion of the Buffalo Quinoa Chicken Bowl, from Eat Real Cafe, that L. bought for me a couple days ago. I read Tell Me Everything.
1:30-3:00-Still reading as I wait for my 3:00 phone call…
3:00-3:10-The doctor calls and I explain everything. She says she’ll write the referral but it has to be forwarded to my insurance company for authorization. She says I can expect my referral, via mail, in TWO to THREE WEEKS!
3:10-4:15-During L.’s travels, she purchased a chocolate croissant from…somewhere, and brought it home, so I pull a piece off, eat it, then water my plants. I pull the succulents and the mini tree out of the Studio and into the backyard so they can get some sun. They’re not looking too good…
4:00-5:00-I check personal email and headlines.
5:00-6:00-I compile Fall Semester grades for my highschoolers then try to post them at College No. 2. Unfortunately, the link to post grades has disappeared. I spend several minutes going through old emails to find out what happened to the link and discover a buried FYI, informing staff that the link for reporting grades was deleted in order to force Instructors to follow the new procedure that Admin wants us to use, but that nobody has any idea how to implement. Apparently, we now must submit our grades via the Canvas shell which I don’t know how to do. I find a tutorial video and watch it, but I’m still confused. I switch to another project…
-Every Canvas shell has a “profile picture”, i.e. a picture of the Instructor in the upper-left-hand corner. It’s a nice personal touch, and my profile picture pops up next to every email I send, every Announcement I post. This is especially important for strictly online courses, when Instructors and students never meet. Guess what? My profile picture was arbitrarily deleted 4 months ago, around the beginning of Spring Semester 2022. One morning, I logged into Canvas and it was…gone. It’s just a unisex gray shadow now, which is very impersonal.
I need to fix this issue, especially since I’ll be teaching two online classes for Summer Session in two weeks, so I emailed the IT Dept. a couple of days ago and asked them to troubleshoot. IT responded that Canvas, Inc., routinely deletes profile pictures - with no notice - to indicate to Instructors that they have surpassed their file storage allotment. Seriously? Canvas can’t send an email to that effect? IT suggests that I delete extraneous files that I am no longer using, inside the Canvas shell, to free up the “gigs”, but provide no instructions for deleting said files. I find a tutorial for “deleting excess files in Canvas” on You Tube and watch it. Then, I follow the video’s instructions and delete around 50 to 75 extra files that I’m no longer using.
-I’m still unable to load my profile picture.
6:00-6:30-I switch to another task and grade an extra credit assignment.
6:30-7:00-I finally figure out the new system for submitting semester grades via Canvas and forward my highschoolers’ final grades accordingly. I’m done with this class.
7:00-7:30-I check personal email, then do a Mapquest.com for tomorrow’s hiking location.
7:45-8:30-I drive to the location to make sure I can find it tomorrow morning. Return and I have two pieces of bacon.
8:30-9:00-I take the dog for a walk.
9:00-10:00-Bullet journal.
11:00-1:00-Blog posts.
1:00-1:30-Kitchen duty and I pack a lunch bag for tomorrow.
1:30-2:00-Nighttime routine. Bed. What the hell did I do all day?