A to Z Challenge – H is for Health and I is for Intellectual

I was not able to post anything yesterday, so I’m making it up today. I hope that’s allowed.

The reason I was not able to post yesterday is I was in too much pain, due to one of the nastiest gout flare-ups I’ve had since I started my new medication regimen. Unfortunately for me, I had to stop taking many of the medications I need to be able to function due to a medical procedure I’m having at the end of this week, and the literature from that doctor says to stop those meds at least seven days prior. Being barely able to walk, much less sit and type out a blog post, I came home early from work, took some of the meds I was still allowed to take, went to bed, and slipped into a blissful coma until I had to go to work today.

It’s a good thing I did make it into work today, because my office mate came down with some kind of stomach bug and didn’t show up today, leaving me to coordinate with the dock supervisor and get everything moved as efficiently as possible.

And that, dear reader, covers the H part of this post. Now, on to I.

I’ve always liked activities that stimulate my mind, and make me think. At an early age, I played chess and, for a time, was pretty good at it. Books always have a place in my life, mainly nonfiction and historical with a few memoirs and biographies thrown in, and while I don’t consider myself very good at it, I do like to write, mainly short stories and occasionally some poetry.

I was never big into sports, only playing them when I absolutely had to, and as far as rooting for a particular team in a particular sport, I don’t even waste my time with it. It just never held an allure to me.

I remember back several years ago, after I had stopped being an over-the-road truck driver, and I went with MsDarkstar to one of her writing sessions with a few friends of hers. I sat there with my laptop, bottle of cider nearby, typing away at something or other – I think it was a 750-word challenge – and I think her friends at first had no idea I drove 18-wheelers for a living, instead pegging me as either a writer or an English teacher.

I actually got a chuckle out of that when MsDarkstar told me about it later on. And, I think it’s because I like to challenge myself mentally that I’m glad I took the dispatching job. It’s forcing me to think about things I never considered before, to look at the whole instead of the parts, and somehow make it all fit as best as I can. It seems to be working as tonight went fairly well with no noticeable hiccups. Even so, I do hope my office mate returns tomorrow, it does make the chores a bit easier to perform.