Impulse vs. Momentum

Pretty soon I'll have to start weighing myself again, but I don't want to think about that now, after having sausage & pepper pizza for lunch...

I got a coffee grinder a few weeks back, total impulse buy while grocery shopping, but I have yet to use it. I still have a lot of ground coffee to go through, but I may buy some beans this weekend anyway. I'll also have a chance to go to the good old corner coffee shop, where I haven't shown my face in almost two months -- I may actually try for a "triple play:" Coffee Works for breakfast, Quadrant for lunch & bean-buying, and then a trip to that new coffee place on College Hill. I haven't done a triple play since, well, since the last time there were three coffee shops in Easton...

I made an appointment for physical therapy; I'll be going to the same place I went last time, up near Wind Gap. Next Wednesday is my first session.

Drove to work yesterday and today. It felt good to be independent but I was pretty worn down last night, went to bed almost immediately after dinner -- uh-oh, could this be the start of a head cold? Tonight I'll probably stay in; tomorrow I'll try to get out, but I think I'll stick with using a taxi.

It's Getting Better All The Time

Drove in to work today, which means I drove today for the first time since March 5th. Foot needed to stretch a little further than felt comfortable when working the clutch, but it was easy enough to do, and my driving skills were of course all still there. My friend/co-worker Scott showed up, on his bike, just as I was about to leave, and so I gave him a ride to work as well. (He used to live around the block from me but now lives in Nazareth, and I guess he realized he was running too late to continue biking in, took a chance that I'd be there...)

The secret, revealed: I finally figured out what all the skater kids in my neighborhood remind me of. They all look like, like... The Ramones. Healthy Ramones, at least, which is good.

Good meeting last night, even if the attendance was a bit light. There were only seven members there, but we had a nice dinner of burgers etc, then a meeting that I at least thought was very productive. We also looked at a bunch of Brian's Moab photos, and heard some of the stories. Got to show off my foot, got some more advice (skip the betadine, use neosporin, walk on it a little more frequently to help loosen it up). The foot feels a lot better today, thanks to keeping it limber -- and also not forgetting to take painkillers before going to work. Tonight I'll probably try to shop on my own, after some more chili.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Foot is not as happy now as yesterday, it stiffens up unless you work it; sleeping got it pretty locked up, and sitting at work is not doing it many favors either. I've been using the crutches to get around; once the foot/ankle warms up (say 50 yards of walking) it's good for a while, but here at the office most of my walking is about 10 feet max.

Tonight is the Chain Gang meeting, or at least I hope so. Attendance will probably be sparse, and some members have been agitating for a cancellation. We shall see.

Three, Two, One, Castoff!

Yep, it came off today. Mom & Dad came up in the morning, not suspecting that I also had a ton of chores that needed doing, but first order of business was to go to the doctor's office. That was pretty uneventful, the cast came off in what, from stories I've heard, is the usual way -- ie they used a small circular saw, more like a wafer wheel -- gave my foot a little cleaning, and took a few x-rays. When the x-rays were ready the doctor came in, said everything looked pretty good, answered my questions and gave me a prescription for physical therapy. Unfortunately, it turns out that Valley Sports & Arthritis only takes my insurance for surgery etc, not for their in-house rehab, so I'll have to find somewhere else to go.

Anyway, got home, put my other shoe on (tight fit due to swelling; I also think my toes have become a little splayed), and with the extra support of the hiking boots I tried a little experiment -- within a few minutes I was able to walk without crutches. Woo-hoo!

We finished up the chores and errands at my place, which mostly revolved around laundry and garbage, then had a late lunch at Lutzi's (a place I'd passed by hundreds of times, but never been inside... verdict: it was good) before my parents headed home. Thanks again Mom & Dad!

By the way, you can see photos of my cast coming of by clicking here (WARNING: ICKY).

Monday Rap

(Cast comes off tomorrow!)

Cooking/Eating: Had that chili last night, probably my best batch so far. Two pounds of stewing beef (cubed, not ground), two onions, one red and one green bell pepper, the ingredients from two of those "chili kits" (with Weyerbacher Heresy oak-barrel-aged stout), some canned corn, canned diced tomatoes and a can of black beans. I chopped the peppers and onions pretty fine, which I think made a big difference.

The only disappointments were that the meat, which wasn't all that marbled, came out a little dry despite stewing for eight hours (note to self: don't believe the crockpot cookbook, get better cuts of meat), and there weren't enough beans. I may add some red beans today now that the pot's a little lighter, but I basically had the pot almost filled and wasn't sure I could fit one more can of beans in last night.

A few tweaks here and there, but I think I've just hit upon my "standard chili" recipe. Work this one a few more times and I can start branching out. Pork & chicken, chili verde...

Meanwhile, back at the Super Dimensional Fortress: I fixed up some of my photo galleries, there was a problem with the HTML for navigation. I still don't know why my gallery maker script acts funny when I use it on freeshell.

Sunday Night Wrap-Up

(Two days until the cast comes off -- actually, "one day and a wake-up.")

Let's see, last post was Friday...

Friday night I went out to Which Brew, 3rd day in a row there. It was pretty cool, not too crowded even for a weekend, lotsa regulars, and Ryan Carr's trio had a guitarist sit in for some jazzy goodness. Got home kind of late, maybe 12:30.

Saturday was the gym, then a few chores around the house. Though I get to the gym by taxi, my trainer Dawn has been kind enough to drive me home , and this time she had a gift for me: a special boot-like device you step into, and roll on the floor to work your ankle. She's aces in my book...
Later in the day I put on my old college bookbag, gimped up to CVS and bought milk and other necessities. Much tougher walk than I anticipated, another (approximately) mile-long walk but with a heavy pack for the return stretch, and the pavement on this route was not very even. Glad I did it though, and not just because I needed that stuff...

Saturday night was back to Which Brew, then over to Porters. It was that young girl Megan's birthday (she must be all of 24 by now), so a few of her friends, as well as some of the bartenders from WB, ended up at Porters forone last drink. They're all pretty cute & fun people, so a bunch of guys (including me) tagged along. Late night for me, I called for a cab at like 2:00 AM, finally got a ride home just before 3:00 from my friend Bill -- he manages Porters, stopped in as the place closed and saw me on the deserted street; we talked for a minute while cabs drove by, not picking me up. When he came out I was still there so he said "screw the cab, hop in." I was all for it.

Today I slept in until about 9:00, then just hung out. Made chili, which smells awesome and should be done right about now, dinner after this post. Tomorrow I have to go in early, so it's an early night for me.

Reading: The Broom of the System, David Foster Wallace's first novel.