Month: August 2023

V: The Original Miniseries and The Second Generation

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books2 Comments
V: The Second Generation by Kenneth Johnson. And yes, that’s a teddy bear 🧸 bookmark.

Did you ever watch “V The Original Miniseries” from the ’80s? I believe it was in 1982. I actually didn’t even see it until 1984 when they reaired it and then they came out with the TV series.

My whole family sat down and watched the original miniseries, but they weren’t as excited about watching aliens as I was and my mom actually liked watching it. So when the TV series came out, my mom and I watched it together in another room separate from everybody else. It was the one thing that brought us out of being angry all the time and gave us something to look forward to. Not just look forward to the episodes, but also look forward to the time with each other watching the episodes. So when I tell you that V means a lot to me, just know it really does. My mother passed away in 1993 and thinking about V really does bring back good memories of her.

Okay, so in the early to mid-2000s I bought 6 V books from a used bookstore. I actually had the first V novel back in 1984. Back then things were so hectic and I lost a lot of things, so naturally I didn’t have it anymore. But these are the books that I bought.

My eyes were getting so bad at the time that I really couldn’t read them. I ended up getting a Nook because my eyes were too bad to read. Of course, these were not in ebook format, but I knew I had them in my bookcase and I would eventually be able to read them.

Well, I’ve been reading more lately and I read The Second Generation with little to no difficulty, so I think I can start reading these paperback books now. Hopefully lol.

I feel so confident that I’m able to read these that I decided to buy more of the V novels on Amazon. I also have The Original Miniseries on my Nook. I actually had The Second Generation on my Nook wish list, but it disappeared and I ended up getting the paperback book from Kenneth Johnson. He is so awesome.

V: The Original Miniseries in my Nook library.
These are all of the V novels that I currently have as of right now. There are more coming.

Reading V The Second Generation gave me a new wind and I want to start reading these books again, that’s why I started buying them from Amazon. I will start with The Original Miniseries on my Nook, which I started reading a long time ago, but never finished. So this time I’m going to read it from start to finish and then I’ll start with the next one which is East Coast Crisis. I do believe the V The Original Miniseries from my Nook is the exact same as the V novel on my bookshelf. On my Nook I’m on chapter 4, and I opened the V novel on my bookshelf to chapter 4 and the words are the exact same in the first paragraph. So I’m pretty sure it’s the exact same thing, but I think the Nook version has more or new information, so I will read that instead.

I got hooked on TikTok I think in 2020 and it has kept a hold on my brain until now. I decided enough with the TikTok. I need to start reading again. V The Second Generation is actually the 8th book that I finished reading in the last month since July 21st. Wow, 8 books in a little over a month is a humongous record for me.

Anyway, if you have seen the original miniseries and V the TV series or even V the Remake on ABC, it is worth reading the books. They are so good and so easy for me to read with my ADD and dyslexia. They are also very fun to read. So if you are able to, you should read them.

If you are interested in watching V The Original Miniseries, it is streaming on Prime Video and Vudu. V The TV series is on Prime Video, Vudu and Apple TV. V The remake is on Prime Video, Tubi (free) Apple TV and Vudu. These are also on DVD and Blu-ray on Amazon, and I think I will buy them.

My time so far on Ozempic

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Doctor, WeightLeave a comment
Left 265lbs – Right 210lbs

Ozempic. Where has this been for the last 25 years that I’ve been heavy?

So I started taking Ozempic on May 8, 2023. My doctor prescribed it in late April, but she prescribed Mounjaro, which the insurance wouldn’t cover, so finally she changed it to Ozempic in May and I started taking it the same day I got it.

So far I’ve lost 55lbs. I think this is such a small amount of time to lose 55lbs considering I only have 100lbs to lose. If I were heavier, like 300 or 400lbs, this might have been expected to go this quickly. The doctor said the more fat you have, the faster it will come off with Ozempic.

I did not have some of the horrible side effects like nausea and vomiting. Thank goodness. I do have dizziness and constipation, which aren’t that horrible. Trust me, I’d rather be dizzy every time I get up and only be able to poop every 3 days lol. I hate vomiting with every fiber of my being.

I joined a Facebook group for people who are just seeking support while on any of these many drugs meant for weight loss. I see a lot of people who have horrible side effects and they aren’t giving up, but some have given up because it’s too much for them. I don’t blame them one bit.

I’ve seen a lot of people talk about muscle loss. I believe I am suffering from this because I’m not able to carry heavy groceries from the car to the house like I used to. I don’t know if it’s a visible loss, but I can feel it. I also have been in a lot of pain in my back. I searched Google for this issue and back pain isn’t a side effect, but a lot of people are complaining about it.

My clothes are getting too big for me. I used to wear a XXL and I’m down to XL. I’m not going clothes shopping until I’m a large because I don’t want to waste money on XL clothes only to have to replace them in another couple or few months with large. I did however have to get a new pair of shorts for the summer because mine were constantly falling down. They have a drawstring, but I don’t want to have to use that all the time.

So the doctor doesn’t want me to drop down to 150lbs. She said 170 or 180 would be good for me. I told her I was actually 150lbs before I gained all this weight and she said well, as long long as you are healthy, that’s all that matters. My goal is to get down to 165 at least. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get down to 150, so I’m not reaching for that.

I think I’ll write another post when I’m down to about 190 which would be my 75lb weight loss point.