Okay, there’s significant cartilage damage and for sure a labral tear with a paralabral cyst full of synovial fluid. Next step is to get in with an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hip preservation (ie, arthroscopic repair rather than full joint replacement).

Dag, Tep! That's a fucked up hip. So you been doing cancer care all year with a crippled hip? That sounds very painful.

Monday morning and I'm finally back to Pilates. Between Thanksgiving break, two weeks off after skin cancer stitches and and two weeks off for Xmas break, I've done exactly one full week of Pilates since before Turkey time.

So, of course, on this grey, cold, rainy, early morning, back-from-holiday, Monday session they do a freakin' assessment first thing! That means pushups, which are not any part of Pilates. Boo!

We decided to make 2025 a 53 week year

Wait, like, for all of us?

::sending note from invisible friend in the box to HR People for Sick Time::

No JenP, the scope was extremely limited. Google Calendar had a 52 week year, for example. And retail calendars don't even rollover for a few more weeks. So messy. I'd like to go back to just having the winter solstice through spring solstice being off calendar time, personally. Make September the 7th month again.

Excel considers the week beginning 12/28 to be 2025 Week 53, but our internal financial reporting considers it to be 2026 Week 1 so... [[flips table]]

::sending note from invisible friend in the box to HR People for Sick Time::

Heh.

I am in the doctor's office for my final (I think?) check-up for the broken ankle. It's been three months, and it's mostly better. Still have a bit of a limp, because it's still slightly hurty on the bend part of my stride, but that'll get better. The pain in the rest of the foot is all but gone now. They offered PT if I wanted it, which I may see about... but also feels unnecessary if I just give it more time. I'm waffling.

Crossword tournament question - are folks attending as competitors or non?

What's the average difficulty on a NYT day-of-the-week scale? (I downloaded the sample puzzle but I don't have access to a working printer right now...)

Okay, there’s significant cartilage damage and for sure a labral tear with a paralabral cyst full of synovial fluid. Next step is to get in with an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hip preservation (ie, arthroscopic repair rather than full joint replacement).

Dag, Tep! That's a fucked up hip. So you been doing cancer care all year with a crippled hip? That sounds very painful.

1. I have been doing cancer care with a fucked-up hip. But I have a cane for when walking is agonizing, so there's that.

2. It is pretty fucking painful. I've been trying to not complain about it, because when your husband has cancer, you feel like a dick grumbling about hip pain. (Last night, Tim asked, "What if it's cancer?" Me: "Cancer of the hip isn't a thing." Tim: "Bone cancer is a thing." Me: "Wow, that got dark FAST.") (It's not bone cancer of the hip. Just cartilage that won't get its act together.)

3. I can't overstate how thrilled I am to have an actual-factual diagnosis supported by imaging, so I can proceed with getting this fucker fixed up. When it's fixed and healed, I am going to do ALL THE THINGS. Starting with just goddamn walking to the corner.

I can't overstate how thrilled I am to have an actual-factual diagnosis supported by imaging, so I can proceed with getting this fucker fixed up.

Having an actual-factual diagnosis is such a relief. I'm super glad you got one, and am hoping I get one.

Today is my first day back at work, and it's very quiet. Which is no surprise, because damn near everyone in the company is en route to Phoenix for the week-long company kickoff. I am going to use the days I'm not virtually attending sessions to clean up lingering chaos from 2025.

Crossword tournament question - are folks attending as competitors or non?

Competitors! I mean, and also people came in for dinners to socialize, of course. Most of the competition happens Saturday, with, I think, one puzzle Sunday morning.

Then on Sunday, the live top three competitors in a couple of categories compete up front on whiteboards for all to watch -- that would be fun to watch even if you hadn't been a competitor the day before, but I suspect it'd be pretty boring on Saturday if you're not competing. Jesse, brenda -- agree?

What's the average difficulty on a NYT day-of-the-week scale? (I downloaded the sample puzzle but I don't have access to a working printer right now...)

They are different levels during the competition -- there's one notoriously hard one that I guess a lot of people don't finish, but Jesse did last year! I forget whether brenda or Erin (Jesse's friend) did.

I'd say nothing is a Monday, but they're not all Fridays or Saturdays.

I mean, I did terribly overall last year, but I still had SO MUCH fun.

I am prepping for this year's, but even going in cold last year, it was fab. By cold, I mean, we do the online NYT together every day, but I didnt really print and practice writing it out like we used to in the olden days.

This year I've been printing archive puzzles and doing them alone and timing myself, etc. Which is its own brand of nerdy fun, of course. I did that through June, I think, and I'm going to pick it up again now.

I think Jesses's friend said she ordered a couple of the previous years' puzzle packs to practice with. I did that, too, this year though I haven't done them yet.