anyone out there?

Today I had my second appointment with my new physical therapists. So far it's going well - they seem to really know what they're doing. It didn't take them long to isolate all my major issues (stiff heel, ankle, and kneecap). They seem to have good ideas, and they think I'll be able to regain at least a little motion in my ankle. My kneecap apparently is pretty much locked, so I don't know that it's going to get much better. But they have me doing exercises to target my overcompensation issues, so eventually my kneecap will hopefully move in a more natural way.

PT out here is so different. The office I go to is downtown, on the eighth floor of a big office building. The view is amazing, and on a clear day (like today) you can see Mt. Rainier. I'm really happy with this place so far as compared to the other place I tried. In addition to being very knowledgeable, they're really compassionate too. It's hard doing this out here though, where I don't know anyone... I'm used to the ortho wing at Midelfort, where just about everyone knew me by name. They all remember the first day I went over there - when I got my first cast put on, before I was discharged from the hospital - and after that, they would always remind me how far I've come and tell me how proud they are of me. It was nice working with people who knew me and knew what happened. It's so bizarre trying to explain the accident to people out here. I feel like I'm making something up - it doesn't sound like something that would really happen. Anyway, my current therapists weren't there when it happened, but they're doing their best to try and understand what I've been through and what I'm still going through.

If I were still going to UWEC, I'd be starting school after this weekend. It's kind of sad to think that everyone back home is getting together again after a summer apart, and I'm not there to enjoy it. It's also weird not going back to school there. But then I remember how frustrated I was at the beginning of the past couple of semesters when I knew I should have graduated already, but because of the accident, I was behind in school. I guess it's not too sad when I stop and think about the fact that I'm doing something new and exciting, and I'm finally going to grad school.

Anyway, I'm excited for this weekend - Ben H-D and Geoff will both be in town! Hanging out with them will definitely be a good change of pace.

Here are some pics from last weekend & earlier this week. The first is the Olympics and Puget Sound (as seen from Sunset Hill), the second is pretty self-explanatory (from Kerry Park), and the third is Mt. Rainier and Lake Washington (from Magnuson Park).

nothing much

I made some calls today and I think I may have found a new physical therapist. That's good because I've been really stiff and sore lately. I've definitely been more active since I moved out here, which is a good thing, but I don't think my knee & ankle are adjusting very well. The outside of my knee is starting to hurt again, and I'm getting more sharp pains/stiffness in my ankle. No fun...

Anyway, here are some pics from Volunteer Park:



The above two pics are from the plant conservatory. I wish I'd gotten a better wide-angle shot that showed how neat the place was. It had five different rooms, including a palm room (where these were from) and a cactus room. I took the first one while standing underneath the leaf - it was huge.

Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains, as seen from the Volunteer Park water tower.

Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains (again, from the water tower).


The steps back down. There were a lot of stairs, but the view was worth it.

day in review

Today I had my first physical therapy appointment since moving out here. It was pretty miserable. My therapist didn't seem to have much experience with my injuries, and spent the hour-long appointment on a soapbox about the Mayo health system. In the process, he made me feel like crap about my recovery, wasted my time, and generally made me really upset. I don't care what health system I'm in, I just want to be able to walk without being in pain. I should have known he'd be a pompous ass when he asked me where I was from and then said, "oh, Wisconsin? I'm sorry." Tomorrow I'm going to look for another therapist.

After my terrible morning, I went for a walk through Magnuson Park. It's on Lake Washington and has a nice view of the Cascades. Here are some pictures:








Also, I forgot to post some pics from last week, when I went to Snoqualmie Falls. Here they are:




That's what's new with me. I hope marching band is going well. Maybe the weather will start cooperating..?

japanese gardens and airplanes

Yesterday I went to a Japanese Garden. It was expensive ($5), and I think it would have been prettier in the spring, but it was neat anyway. Here are some pics:

turtles! ^

Today one of my friends took me to Boeing's Friends and Family day, which the company does every year. It was really neat - it was an insider's look at the factory. I got to walk all around the factory and see lots of planes in various stages of being built. I would have taken pictures, but cameras weren't allowed.

My ankle is so sore now - apparently the factory is the largest building (by volume) in the world, and we spent four hours walking all over. I turned down an invitation to hang out tonight because my ankle hurts too much to walk :(

I'm glad I did the Boeing thing though, it was cool. I had Holsinger's "To Tame the Perilous Skies" stuck in my head from looking at all those planes. Remember when Chi-Hi did that for marching band? That was one of my favorite shows.

It sounds like there's some icky weather going on back home and in various tropical places. I hope everyone is safe! It was winter and summer all in one day here: it was 55 degrees and misting this morning, then by this afternoon it was 70 degrees and sunny. Weird.

bunch of pics

View from the ferry terminal before going to Bainbridge Island

Passing by another ferry

Fay Bainbridge State Park

My dad took this one on the ferry's return trip

View from Gasworks Park

All the rest of these (except the last one) are from Gasworks Park

(click for a bigger version)

Kerry Park

hello from seattle!

Hi everyone! I guess it's been a long time since I updated. Life has been pretty busy over the past few weeks, between packing, road-tripping, and moving in. I'm finally here and getting settled.

A few highlights from the road trip:

Minnesota: kind of flat.

South Dakota: flat, but there are some cool things to see. We stayed at a tiny town and the locals bought us beer. Here are some pics from SD:







Wyoming: very pretty. We stayed there a few days and spent some quality time with Dan and Tenley and their dog Bumble. We went horseback riding one day, and the next day we went for a scenic raft trip down the Snake River. We spent some time wandering around the square in Jackson, and went to some cowboy bars. We went to the Four Seasons one night for dinner. It was very fancy - I had antelope for the first time. It was very tasty. The best part about being in WY was that my brother proposed to Tenley! It was awesome. I'm so excited to have a sister! Anyway, here are some pics from WY:







Montana: also very pretty. We stayed at a hotel just outside of Yellowstone. We had a deck with a nice view.

Idaho: lots of trees and mountains. We stayed at an amazing resort. I think the place is trying to build its name as a ski resort. We had dinner in my parents' suite (which had a kitchen, complete with granite countertops) and then spent some time in one of the roof-top hot tubs.

Washington: flat, windy, and dry in the eastern part; after the Columbia River, things got more hilly and green.

I've been in Seattle for almost a week now, and it's awesome. My neighborhood is a little sketchy, but my apartment is nice. It's huge by Seattle standards. I was hoping to be in an area where I could walk to restaurants and shops, but at least my rent is very reasonable here. My parents and Raji helped me get my apartment furnished and set up, and now it looks great. I have a guest bed (futon) and plenty of room for visitors. ;)

Since I've been here, I've done lots of fun stuff like:

- Went to the Market a couple of times. One of the times we brought stuff home for dinner - salmon and cheese, yum!
- Raji and I spent a day wandering around the U-district and then downtown. I wish we would have had more time, but it was fun anyway.
- My parents and I went to Bainbridge Island, which is just a short ferry ride from Seattle. We drove around the island and looked at all the pretty houses. We walked around one of the state parks there and then took a short hike through a nature preserve. There are a lot of ferns and big trees on the island - I think it's sort of rainforest. After that, we went back to the touristy area and had some appetizers, and then did a wine sampling. I'll upload pics from this day later - I haven't put them on my computer yet.
- Yesterday I drove around town and did some shopping for necessary stuff (router, toaster, etc). Apparently there are no Linens 'N Things in Seattle. I went to the nearest one, which is in Woodinville or something. I bought new sheets for my new bed! Yay. Later, I met up with Eric (a friend from high school) and went to a bar on Capitol Hill. I met some of his friends, and they were very warm and friendly.
- Today I met up with Scott and Kelli, two fellow Chi-Hi grads. They moved out here a year ago and had lots of helpful advice for me. We went to some sort of street fair in Edmonds (north of here). After that we wandered around a beach in Edmonds and looked at the scuba diving park. I've never heard of such a thing - it was pretty intriguing. There's also a big fishing pier in Edmonds. We walked around the pier but didn't see anyone catch anything. We did see some jellyfish and silverbacks in the water, though. After that we went to a lighthouse in Mukilteo. It was a tiny lighthouse, not much higher than two stories. The weather today was perfect - 75 degrees and partly cloudy; a typical Seattle summer day, so I'm told. Unfortunately I forgot to wear sunscreen and got a bad burn!

Anyway, that's about it so far. There's so much to do out here, it's amazing. School starts September 26th for me (late, I know) and in the meantime I'm hoping to check out Mt. Rainier and Olympic National Parks. I might also go to Snoqualmie Falls if I get a chance. Tomorrow I might spend some time driving around and finding a good vantage point to take pictures of the city.

My ankle and knee have been bothering me a lot since I moved. I have been spending a LOT of time on my feet, but I guess that won't be unusual for me now that I'm living in the city. Before I moved, I talked to one of my doctors about my options for meds, and he said I should stay on darvocet. I'm not totally happy with it because it's a narcotic. It seems to work okay for the pain (the only thing that helps, really) but it makes me very dizzy. Also, I think darvocet is probably difficult to keep getting refilled, since there is that chance of becoming addicted. I'm hoping to start physical therapy here soon, and it will be good to hear other perspectives on my situation.

I miss good cheese. My mom found some yummy stuff at the Market the other day, but that's probably imported. I'm told that most cheese around here comes from Oregon, and it's nothing special. It's also ridiculously expensive. We stopped at a cheese store at the Market and I got a sample cheese curd. It was weird - very dry and chalky. The taste was okay, but the texture was just so wrong. They were selling them for $12/lb.

Seafood, beer, and wine are all amazing here. I have eaten seafood for almost every meal since I got here. Seafood is still pretty expensive out here, but you can find it for cheap if you look hard enough. There's a local restaurant chain called Ivar's that has nice restaurants and also has some fast food places. It's kind of weird that they have two types of restaurants, but in my experience, both are very good. As far as beer goes, there are tons of microbreweries in Seattle and Portland. It would probably take me at least a year to try every variety of beer from every brewery. Wine is also big around here. There are lots of winerys in the state. Apparently red wine is big here.

Anyway, I think that's about it for now. I miss the Joynt, the GI, good cheese, my kitties, and most of all, my friends and family!