Doctor

[pegkerr]

Nothing definitive. The doctor manipulated the knee in several different directions, but nothing particularly crunched or gave me the intense pain that a standing full squat did. She did agree that following up with a sports medicine clinic was a good idea and gave me a referral; sensei had a doctor's name to suggest, too, and said he was very familiar with karate-type injuries and rehabilitation. I'll make some calls tomorrow.

To make the world a better place, I went and checked the thermostat. Yes. Someone had again turned it up too high. Each degree above 68°F can be an additional 5% in heating costs. I turned it back down to 68°F, knowing, of course, that someone in my family will probably turn it up again the moment my back is turned.

I had emailed pastor about the Decrease Worldsuck project, pointing him toward my Decrease Worldsuck entries. He emailed back that he was interested, and maybe other people in the church would be, too. Would I be willing to lead a Sunday adult forum about this idea, perhaps? He signed off the message "Toward joining God as co-creators of the future [aka Decrease Worldsuck]"

My pastor rocks.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

It is cold and dark (but getting lighter!), and so what better way to warm hearts, friendships, and tummies, than a soup swap? Inspired by soupswap.com/news, I suggested this to the book club I'm in, and we are going ahead, and in a small way, decreasing worldsuck by coming together and sharing soup. Furthermore, one of our local shelters accepts non-canned food, so one quart of each person's batch of soup will be donated rather than swapped- a bigger step to decreasing worldsuck.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I've thought of doing soup nights in the past, myself. Maybe I'll suggest it to the family this week, see what people think. I think it's definitely a decrease worldsuck idea!

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

Also-
My neighbor and I (both single moms) regularly swap meals each week, so we each get a break from cooking one night a week, and we don't have to deal with getting creative with leftovers- I cook for both our families on Mondays, she cooks on on Thursdays. Sometimes we just deliver the food, other times we sit down together and maybe play a card or board game afterwards. I don't know about decreasing worldsuck, but it decreases my personal worldsuck. Being let off the hook just one night a week seems to really lift a noticeable load from my shoulders.

[jbru.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it's sounding like there's nothing major (i.e., requiring surgery) with the knee. Hope it feels better and gets stronger soon!

I'm lucky, the other person in the house with a say over the thermostat (Ericka) is regularly way to warm. So we stay on the low side all winter. Of course, summer cooling costs are a bit more.... Would a programmable thermostat help your family's struggles with the thermostat?

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

I regularly feel guilty about the thermostat. My computer is in about the coldest part of the apartment, and the thermostat seems miscalibrated. If I set it at seventy, I can get by-- shivering, but I have a space heater not two feet away from me. According to the heater's thermostat, it never gets above sixty-seven.

Perhaps you need a placebo thermostat. I've known teachers to use them before, or at least to joke about them.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Would the other people in the house be more likely to leave the thermostat where you set it if you put it to them as a way to decrease worldsuck instead of just about personal comfort? I know your daughters are very socially aware.

[naomikritzer]

FYI, in the Reform Jewish tradition, there's an actual term for "decreasing worldsuck" -- tikkun olam, which means "repairing the world." Tikkun Olam is an important concept in all branches of Judaism, but in the Reform Jewish context it specifically refers to social activism and taking concrete action to, you know, decrease worldsuck. In an Orthodox context it more means diligent observance of the commandments (though decreasing worldsuck is definitely valued).

There's a story in one of the collections of mystical writing (I think) that all light was originally gathered into one container; it ruptured, and light was scattered throughout the universe. When people engage in tikkun olam, the light is once again gathered together. (In the Orthodox Jewish tradition, as I understand it, this is supposed to be the grand purpose of Jewish people generally: they have the unique privilege of repairing the universe through careful observance of God's commandments.)

[schnoogle.livejournal.com]

In the Student Representative Council rooms at uni someone has stuck pink post-its with skull and cross bones drawn on them over the air conditioner switch to stop people using it. Maybe some similar visual reminder could help in your house?

[pinguthegreek.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that your injury doesn't appear to be serious.

And you have no idea how much I admire your efforts to decrease worldsuck.

[irinaauthor.livejournal.com]

I'm glad your knee is going to be okay!

[katakanadian.livejournal.com]

That's good idea. It's amazing how easy it is to get used to lower temperatures (e.g. 18 instead of 20) by just wearing more clothes (espescialky socks/slippers). You might try a litlle shock reset of the families internal thermostats by putting the house t'stat down to 15 for a couple days then 18 degrees will seem quite warm after that.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Well, and people shouldn't have to be miserably shivering cold in their own homes, either. Maybe focusing on remembering to dress suitably is good, including changing habits and getting used to more layers. There's the global reason to keep your house cool, but there's also a personal financial reason.

I'd probably have done this by now if I still worked at home: my feet were cold at my computer a lot. I found there are heated mats you can buy that use much less power than a space heater, and would probably have solved my problem without heating up the rest of the room any. I've got a couple of small thermometers, and it's remarkable just how cold particular spots get; if your feet spend hours in such a spot, they need help!

[gwendolyngrace.livejournal.com]

It's odd about temperatures, because Amy tells me I keep my place much colder than she keeps hers, but I am always freezing in her house and usually (mostly) comfortable in mine. But then I wear sweaters and slippers and warm socks in my house, and most nights use a lap blanket. We never turned the thermostat above 66 in my house growing up. The rule was snuggle under a blanket!

Hope the knee mends quickly.

[cloudscudding.livejournal.com]

It's important to be noisy about how much pain you're actually in when talking to doctors. For what you've described, as an entirely non-medical person who's had some injuries, I'm pretty surprised that the doctor didn't 1) give you an x-ray, and then if that had no clear results, 2) give you an MRI.

If you don't have a clear bead on the problem, some physical therapy will make it worse.

::worries::