Monday, April 22

This week is already dumb cuz there are so many doctory things. Tuesday morning I have to go to a new urology clinic to get a referral to go back to the urologist I’ve been to several times before. Wednesday I go to the urologist I’ve been to several times before to follow up on last year’s kidney stone : is it still there and just hanging out? Has it passed in the dark of night with no one noticing? Then Thursday I go to the orthopedic surgeon to discuss potential issues if I don’t have the surgery. Which seems a little rich to me as *I* was the one who had to convince THEM to do surgery in the first place. But whatever. Way too many doctor things. Not to mention me possibly working up the whatever is needed to contact the psychiatrist’s office to talk about getting a welbutrin prescription here.

So.

Happy Dumb Monday.

But I did have a wonderful dinner. The last of the wagyu (sp?) steak I bought last week and a tomato (with 4 of my 27 tomatoes), kidney bean, shallot (that was supposed to be red onion but we made due) salad that just gets tossed with a little mayo and salt and the tomato juice blends with the mayo and it’s one of my favorite salads. It’s the first time I’ve had it here. It’s the first time I’ve been able to get all the ingredients together at the same time. My mother used to make this salad and I would swear she called it a 3-bean salad but for the life of me…I only count one bean.

Tuesday, April 23

This is the entry table of weeks – everything is just getting piled up on it with no end in sight! Doctors 1, 2, and 3…a review test Wednesday, along with a presentation  (for class) draft due due the same day. And when we have these review tests, there’s a TON of corresponding homework in the workbook…ooh, I just counted, ten. TEN pages of homework to do the night before the test. I understand that they think that is a review for us…but…still.

(3 hours later…)

So. I hit the wall of TOO MANY OBLIGATIONS and cancelled this morning and tomorrow morning’s doctor’s appointments, and my meeting tonight with LEP#2. There’s just too much schoolwork/studying happening right now.

The Tuesday/Thursday teacher has reached mach speed and I Cannot Keep Up. My brain is fully saturated. Today she asked me a question and I had No Idea what she was saying and oh, here come the tears, look away. Ugh.

BUT I ordered a coffee milkshake with a shot of espresso and some kind of tiramisu waffle concoction, and they were lovely.

Wednesday, April 24

Rain.

Test.

Unripe avocados. Ripe tomatoes.

Thursday, April 25

The Return of Hyungeun Thursday, hallelujah! His big news, he got accepted into the university in the UK he applied to, so he will be leaving Korea in a few months.

I’m so happy for him. I’m so happy for him. I’m so happy for him.

Just keep saying it, Bettye.

Anyway. Truly, I am happy for him. But I’m sad for me. I can be both.

We had another scrabble night, nice and peaceful. It was so good to be OUT OF THE HOUSE. I know I leave the house every day for school but. IT WAS SO GOOD TO BE OUT OF THE HOUSE. It was so good to be out of the house and to have a human to have an entire conversation with.

OH – I forgot all about the hospital! I went in the morning to speak with the surgeon and tell him that I was holding off on the surgery for now – the pain was way down, the stiffness and swelling were way down, etc. He was fine with it, said to come back to see him in 6 weeks, earlier if anything changed…and I saw a physical therapist. Did some heat lamp and stim…and she discussed (“discussed” is a stretch. We shared a few words and I hope we understood one another) physical therapy for me and I agreed. For now. It’s cost- and time-prohibitive for me, really. I’ll do it for a week or two to learn the exercises and then I can not do them at home for free. The therapy is all about strengthening the muscles around the knee to help prevent this happening again in the future. Ehh. I am not entirely on the fence with this plan making a whole lot of difference, but…I’ll go a couple times.

Then, cuz I was done at the hospital so late, I didn’t go to class, but instead, went home, did the day’s homework, and took a nap before heading to Hyungeun’s house.

Friday, April 26

Class Trip Day! I was on the fence about going til the very last minute. The trip was to Namsan Hanok Village and Tower. The village was supposed to be for 45 minutes, and then the tower, 2 hours. I knew I couldn’t do the tower. I’ve been there before and it is a LOT of stairs. So I was like, I’m going to take a 45-minute Uber ride to walk around for 45 minutes, then take a longer than 45-minute (rush hour) Uber ride home while they all went to the tower?? On paper, it didn’t seem like a good plan. But at the last minute I was like JUST GO. I like my classmates, I like my teacher, I missed last term’s class trip cuz of kidney stones and I really had FOMO when I saw everyone’s pictures.

So, off I went. And I’m glad I went. It was a really nice afternoon. We actually spent much longer walking around the hanok village than originally planned, the kids were very sweet and considerate of my slowness, someone always stayed back with me as I could not keep up with the group. We had some good laughs. I’m glad I went.

BUT I paid for it all weekend. I walked almost 2 miles, which is way more than I should have…and there were little inclines…and then a long flight of stairs to get back down to the starting level. My knee pain was back and I was like NOOOOOOoooooo!!!

Anyway…after they left to go the tower, I hobbled slowly out of the village and to a Starbucks for a much-needed refreshment. Then spent almost an hour trying to get an Uber in a VERY busy area right at rush hour. I was so relieved when I finally got one and I pretty much hung my head out the window with my eyes shut the whole way home.

Saturday-Sunday, April 27-28

These days were pretty much identical. I stayed in, trying to stay off my leg as much as possible (mostly). Laundry, straightened up my room, caught up on classwork, read, napped, etc.

Oh, Japan is still a question mark. I got nowhere with trying to get a refund or credit for the tickets, so Katie was going to try. The doctor sent me home with a medical report saying I was to avoid anything strenuous and that surgery might be a possibility in the future, but…I don’t know that that’s going to help as the tickets are in Katie’s name, not mine. If we absolutely cannot get a refund/credit, the other option is for her to use them to fly to Tokyo, then get a connecting flight to Seoul and spend the week here with me. Or…not. That’s where we are.

Three more weeks of class, then finals week (yes, already). Then 2.5 weeks off. I’m hoping to be more mobile by then so I can GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!

The End!