Greetings from California, the land of 105 degree temperatures or higher…record highs that caught the whole Bay Area by surprise. It was so hot, we could barely move. Hardly anyone had air conditioning, and stores quickly sold out of fans and ac units. I survived by frequenting air-conditioned places: the library, the shopping center, the grocery store and the posh Pacific Athletic Club.
Temperatures are back to a normal 75 degrees this week…what a relief! We can go back to living!
Mom, thanks for stopping by my site. I received your pictures on CD. I really like them!
Alyssa, we will have to go on another climbing trip now that the weather is cooling off.
Felix, it was great seeing you recently and I am glad you are back home safely in Colorado.
Andy, thanks for telling that adorable story of us as little ones. Isn’t family fun…
My next project is finding a substantial job. I have been checking job openings every day, and sending out resumes. I am most interested in working for a non-profit organization, a newspaper or magazine, or a gym, but I may apply for business administrative assistant positions as well. If anyone has any ideas for me, I am open to suggestions. (I have heard that the best way to land a job is through connections.) Please e-mail me if you have any ideas.
I have been working out regularly, trying a little of this and that. On Mondays, I climb with the women from my sheclimbs club. On Tuesdays, I play badminton. On other days, I climb, take walks, or go to the PAC club for lifting weights or swimming. Both Ana and Isa are members there, too. They do three times as much exercise as I can do, but it’s fun all the same.
Climbing in the gym is going pretty well; the other day I was able to work my way up a 5.11d, with three rests on the rope. It’s satisfying to strive to do well at something. I am climbing at a level only one number grade below what I used to climb before I got sick, so I’m kind of pleased. I wasn’t sure how athletic I would be after the transplant.
Yet, aerobically I am still very limited. I have noticed that I can really feel the difference when I swim or even walk fast for exercise. (I took a walk around Shoreline Park with my friend Rene yesterday.) I cannot jog even once around a track yet without stopping. There is so far to go in terms of improving my health. I still cannot live the active, athletic lifestyle that I used to do before my illness. I stay home while my friends take climbing trips, backpack, travel, work overtime, etc. Yet everything is relative…I am better off than Dave.
My friend Dave remains in the ICU, after a second surgery on his small intestine. He wavers in his voice and has trouble breathing. I talk to him every day on the phone and try to remember what it was like to be in the ICU. Each little act of kindness was so important, every little sprig of hope was useful. Last year, when my own breathing became labored and I was in the ICU myself, I pretended I was climbing Mt. Everest. I traveled my journey just one step, one breath at a time, and stayed focused directly on what was necessary. It was not even a time for fear. There were no “what ifs.” It was just a time for focused, patient action.