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Posted by Zonie on February 18, 2026 at 23:09:52

It's been an anomalously warm and dry winter, so I haven't had much to report. I had two job interviews for furnace operator positions, but in both cases another candidate was selected. One fellow who had difficulty speaking English wanted me to operate a forklift in Goodyear for $17.75 per hour. That's too long a commute for too little money. By comparison our state minimum wage is now $15.15, and I was making $26.06 until September.

More frustrating was having surgery scheduled twice and then cancelled twice. Apparently the insurance company thinks I don't need cardiac ablation. The opinion by the company electrophysiologist didn't suggest an alternative treatment. Maybe they'd rather pay for my care when I have a stroke. The second cancellation was for the 9th, and Dr. Tung's office didn't bother to inform me. The surgical center was only a mile from my house, and I wouldn't be allowed to drive home under anesthesia anyway, so I walked. The staff there were puzzled by my presence and said the surgery was cancelled due to an authorization issue. Well it was a nice two-mile walk in the cool of the morning, but it would have been better if I had been allowed to drink water after midnight.

Dr. Tung has "ghosted" me since then. I left a telephone message and sent an electronic message about whether he plans to appeal the denial or go with another treatment, and I have heard nothing.

Apart from that I've kept busy clearing brush in the alley ahead of the usual spring drought and hiking under dry conditions in the mountain preserves. I usually avoid those areas in the rain, as there isn't much mud and the trails are steep with slippery rocks.

Early yesterday morning there was rain, only 0.08" at Sky Harbor Airport, but close to one-third of an inch in northeastern Phoenix, so I put on my wellies and headed to the west segment of Reach 11 for a stomp hike.

Initially there was nobody. I would later see one jogger and a few mountain bicyclists. At the east end of the South Trail it was merely damp, but I soon found some mud patches and mud puddles and had a good time stomping and splashing. I managed to splash up to the knees of my overalls. As I was stomping around in the mud under the HWY 51 overpass a ranger truck drove by on the trail, but the ranger just waved at me. He had swerved his truck to avoid a big mud puddle. Maybe it's city policy to keep the truck clean. There was definitely mud on the tires though.

I continued under HWY 101 and to the dog park and then turned back. I explored part of the mesquite thicket, but the ground there was just damp. I did head over to the area around the equestrian center, and there were some good mud puddles there. Finally I got back to the parking lot after four hours. I was surprised by how good my knees felt. That new orthopedist seems to know where to inject the cortisone for greatest effect. (My former orthopedist isn't on my new insurance plan). I also noticed there were a lot of wildflowers in bloom. I assume that's from the leftover soil moisture of the wet autumn we had.

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some rain at last