Moving forward

I hope you like the new name! I still have challenges ahead, but I did beat the monster cancer. At least for now. It's not unusual I hear, to worry about the cancer coming back once you've been down this road. I even asked Dr. Kaplan Monday if he was sure I was cancer free. I am, but we are still taking pre-cautionary steps.

Radiation turned out to be much worse than I expected. They really crank it up at the end, and as I write this I'm peeling, like you do when you have a really bad sunburn. It hurts. But my physical therapist bid me adieu this morning because my range of motion is almost back to normal on the left side. She just said to not force it and to be careful until my skin heals.

But I've been doing Pilates again, at a studio that wasn't very convenient for me but I liked the instructor. Well, guess what? An instructor I already knew, who is very good and is trained in authentic Pilates (as Joseph Pilates taught it) just opened a studio of her own - right above my office! Hello convenience! I'm so excited, and she did a beautiful job on the space. So I shall start with her Monday, and I have no excuse not to go. I consider that a blessing.

But, back to the healing. Understandably I am eager to get "rebuilt," but the plastic surgeon doesn't even want to see me until May 2. I wasn't really surprised. I need to heal before they start messing with me again.

Meantime I have so many goals and projects to do, but it's all going to take time. I'm seriously looking at condos, in fact I'm seeing a mortgage lender next week to get my ducks lined up.

You see, I want to improve my life now. And the 10-year anniversary since my divorce and having to sell the dream home is coming up. Add to that, the record low interest rates and prices (even in Seattle) getting reasonable and I see no reason not to try.

But I've also been very frustrated this week. The ukulele I bought in Hawaii seems to be problematic. I bought a tuner, and couldn't get it in tune. Scott, my teacher, noticed this before - the strings slip. I called the guy in Hawaii whose shop I bought it from, and he went on and on about how I just need to tighten the screws. Well, we did that to no avail. So, after work today, I took it to "Dusty Strings" in Fremont, who are the ukulele experts here. For $37, including labor, they put new tuners on it and it's fine! Yay! AND - they have ukulele jams every third Sunday. I asked if I would be intimidated, and they said no, I should come! So I will! I really like the little instrument. It's therapeutic for me.

I am also having fits with understanding my new computer. I bought a Mac Book Pro, and I love it - it's fast, fast, fast. It's just me. I have a class tomorrow at the Apple Store, thank God.

One day at a time. I have to keep telling myself that.