Today has just been a really bad day. It started off at 2 AM this morning I woke up and I was burning up. I have an electric throw around my shoulders and one across my legs so I don’t have to turn the heat way up in my room. My brother rigged to outlets in my room that I can turn on and off with the computer but the blankets were plugged into the wrong outlet so I could not turn them off. I turned the air conditioner way up to 66° but that did not help. A friend of mine was also on face book at 3 AM and she was sad because she had just lost a friend to cancer. While Robby and I were cruising along the cliffs to dogs lunged at him, one of them made him jump in front of me and I ran over his back foot. The owner of the dog just kept saying “I’m so sorry” over and over... I don’t really know what to say to that so I just ignored her, check out Robby and went on my way. Why do people take their dogs on the cliffs or out in public if they are aggressive?? While we were cruising along I ran into one of my neighbors who works for Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation. There was a bunch of people around looking over the cliffs so I asked him if they were having a party and he said “no a funeral”, I feel really stupid and just kept on going.
Today I took Robby to Santa Rosa to get him re-certified. I have been so nervous for the last couple of days just hoping that he would pass. He has a problem with people and animals coming up to him. Most of the time they are already on him before I notice and then I feel bad telling people to leave him alone, I need to get over that and just do what I’m supposed to do. We got there a little bit early and although I was so nervous I forgot to introduce my aunt, who drove me there, it was so great to see Andrea, she was one of the trainers at team training. She met us at target and had us do a couple of commands. Sit and down he did really good at but when she dropped food he kept jumping at her, he wasn’t interested in the food at all but he was just so glad to see her. I dropped some keys on the ground and he retrieved them just like a pro. She walked over and around him and although he jumped a little bit he did really good with that one also. she watched me load him into the van, he did perfect. When we got back to CCI she had me have him jump on the counter and he did a great job with that one also, usually he will try to jump on my lap. I was thinking about it on the way home and I have them pick some stuff up off the ground that I think when he has something in his mouth he wants to put it in my lap instead of jump on the counter and hand it to somebody else, we’re going to have to work on that. She said that he did a really good job and he passed for another year but I need to work on him not leaping at people. After we got back to CCI and we were chatting with James, who trained Robby and kept him during the night while I was in the hospital, Lauren, who kept him during the day, and Meredith came to say hello... it was really great to see them all. We had dinner in Santa Rosa and came home, it was a really great day. On the way there we talked about getting me a new van. my van has been a really good van but it is a 2000 and it is so low that every time we go over a driveway and scrapes on the bottom, so much so that the door does not close all the way anymore and it’s always a gamble whether the battery is going to be dead or not on the days that I use it. For a while I thought about just keeping this one because I really don’t use it that much, everywhere that I go in Santa Cruz I can just cruise there by myself but there are a lot of times that it would be nice to have a reliable van.Friday we went to see La Mission. It’s playing at a really small independent theater and it was a really good movie. Benjamin Pratt is in it and when it first came out he came here to Santa Cruz to premiere of the movie and hold a question and answer session after and I really wanted to go but I had a lot of family here. Last night my nephews from Modesto, Robert and David, showed up in the evening to spend the night... what a really nice surprise. They went to a concert at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and had a really good time. They went out to breakfast with my mom and then had to get back home.
Robby and I went to our Sunday puppy play date and Robby, as always, had so much fun. It’s only for an hour but they are exhausted by the end of the hour. I was going to cruise down along the cliffs but there was too many people so we cruised down by the boardwalk and ended up just coming home because the place was packed, it’s a good thing we didn’t drive anywhere today because I would’ve taken forever.
Today we went to see the movie “Just Wright” it was a really good movie, good choice Aunt Kathy. We’re going to try to go to the movies every Friday, I miss going to the movies. During the movie Robby came undone from his hook and started wandering around, not too far but I wasn’t paying attention and he ended up laying down behind me and when the movie was over I panicked a little bit because I could not see him.
On May 1st a bunch of people trashed some buildings downtown, I went down there the day after and it was really heartbreaking. Today they were replacing the Windows and Wednesday when I was there I noticed they put some statues of sea animals, I just love going downtown.
My brother Stanley and Corinne are coming down for the weekend. We are going up on Bear Creek Road for my cousins daughter’s first birthday, it’s always so beautiful up there in the mountains. the party isn’t till late in the afternoon so I’ll probably take Corinne to the Greek Festival, in his downtown this weekend. On Saturday instead of going to the great festival the girls decided they wanted to cruise along the cliffs and go to the surfer museum at the lighthouse, that was a really good choice because it was beautiful. We got back just in time to load up and head to Melia’s birthday party up in the mountains. The weather was beautiful, the food was awesome... I ate way too much and it was really good to see everybody again, some of the people there I have not seen in a year or more.
On Sunday Corinne and Sierra, Corinne’s friend, went with Robby and I on our Sunday play date at the elementary school. I’m always amazed but grateful that there isn’t anybody on the playground and in the field so we don’t have to worry about the puppies bothering anyone, although they are adorable and who wouldn’t want to play with them?
On Monday my uncle Ronnie, aunt Patty, cousin Eric and his wife Jill came to visit from Arizona. I have not seen them for several years and it was really great to see them. On Thursday afternoon my brother David came from Georgia and my brother Stanley came Thursday evening and his wife Janet and daughter Corinne came Friday evening. On Thursday we went to the wooden nickel in Watsonville for dinner. My uncle Dick and aunt Kathy go there once a week for lunch and EVERYTHING there is awesome, it is always a real treat to go there although it’s very small so I don’t go there a lot. On Sunday we went to my cousin Rich’s house up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and it was really beautiful. Everybody that was visiting has at one time or another lived in that house and had really fond memories so we all had a good time, almost everything had changed but everything stayed the same. The week went by really fast and by Monday everybody was gone again but we have a lot of fond memories and hopefully everybody that took pictures will forward them to me so I can put them on face book for everybody to share.I call the DMV to find out if they could mail me a form to renew my identification card and they said my wait would be 10 minutes. After saying that about six times it change to “your wait will be longer than 10 minutes so we suggest you call back another time or come down to the office”, really??Last Saturday I went to an Eagles concert in San Jose. I used to go every year when I lived there and I can talk one of my brothers into going, it wasn’t that hard because they love them as much as I do. Of course they put on an AWESOME show. Some new stuff as well as a bunch of classics. I went with Susan, my massage therapist, and her husband. Before the concert we went to a place called the grill for dinner, it’s inside HP Pavilion and the food was really good. I had halibut with shrimp over rice with a garlic and butter sauce. Susan had stuffed chicken and her husband, Eric, had prime rib... everything looked really good. I had never met Eric before but it was really comfortable and we all had a great time, we are all excited about doing it again next year.
I didn’t make it to yoga class last Wednesday. They wanted me to come without my brace and I got about halfway and I am much too wobbly and the sidewalks are very unstable, it’s very dangerous. I don’t want anybody to drive me because if I’m going to do it I would rather do it alone are not at all. My OT from Dominican homecare Julie is going to meet me there next Wednesday so she can help me out and see what goes on, she knows a lot of people that might be interested.I went to see Dr. Jett just for our regular checkup, I see her about every three months just to check in, she is a spinal cord injury Dr. is very knowledgeable about just about everything.Yesterday, Sunday, I went to the school where we have our weekly play date but nobody showed up. Dr. Owens said that she wasn’t going to be there but that her daughter probably would. It was a beautiful day and Robby and I enjoyed the shade. We took a stroll on Westcliffe, along the beach, and ran into Robby’s grandma, Inez. I had met the lady in the Little shop in Los Gatos right after I got Robby and gave her my card. She was with her husband and a good friend and each of them had a CCI dog. one puppy was in training, one had turned three that day and Robby’s grandma. After I got home she sent me a picture of the three dogs with a beautiful background of the ocean. Hopefully next time she comes to Santa Cruz she will let me know and we can get together.I am finally discharged from home health care so now I can proceed with my standing frame and the seating clinic. They have a new chair back that is molded to your body so hopefully I won’t have to wear back braces anymore, especially in the summer they are so hot.My uncle, aunt, cousin and his wife are going to be here today from Arizona. I have not seen them in a very long time and I am so excited. They are going to be here for a week and I’m sure it will go by way too fast. My brother David from Georgia will be here Thursday morning and my brother Stanley and Corinne and possibly his wife will be here Thursday evening, pretty much everybody is going to stay until Sunday or Monday. I love it when family gets together.I didn’t make it to yoga class last Wednesday. They wanted me to come without my brace and I got about halfway and I am much too wobbly and the sidewalks are very unstable, it’s very dangerous. I don’t want anybody to drive me because if I’m going to do it I would rather do it alone are not at all. My OT from Dominican homecare Julie is going to meet me there next Wednesday so she can help me out and see what goes on, she knows a lot of people that might be interested.I went to see Dr. Jett just for our regular checkup, I see her about every three months just to check in, she is a spinal cord injury Dr. is very knowledgeable about just about everything.
I remember the first time I was in Arizona and I saw a Road Runner, I was so disappointed. They are not really big purple birds whose feet spin around so fast all you can see is a big circle and they don’t say “beep beep”... I think that’s about the only thing I ever believed while watching cartoons. I’m so glad that I got that out of my system, it’s been bugging me for a long time.The adaptive yoga class last Wednesday was great, I’m glad that I went and I can’t wait to start going regularly. The only part that bothers me is that the instructor wants to eventually put me on the ground and I’m really not comfortable with that, she says that we will wait until I am comfortable with it but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Being on the ground is very frustrating and confining for me. Not to mention the fact that it takes my caregivers about an hour to get me comfortable in my chair and make sure that there is no wrinkles behind me, it doesn’t take very much to start our pressure sore. I have an SP tube, a tube that goes directly into my bladder through my stomach, and whenever I laid down and start backing up and ends up over the front of my clothing. Next she brings it up I will just have to explain to her situation. I wanted to ask my therapist what she thought about it and she agrees it is not a good idea. Other than that I’m really going to love it, everybody is so nice and so helpful.It sounds like we are ready to get the new support group going. Roger e-mailed me before I had my surgery and told me that they were ready but I had to tell him that I wasn’t going to be around for a while. I e-mailed him and told him that I am back to my old self and ready to help in any way that I can. He forwarded my e-mail to one of the occupational therapists at Dominican rehab and she said she had a list of about 40 people and she would e-mail them and see how many would be interested, I am so excited about getting this started.Robby and I signed up for the Human Race. Every year some college kids get together and raise money for a nonprofit organization and this year they chose Canine Companions for Independence.Robby is so smart. I had a doggie door put in because I live alone and he needs to go to the bathroom sometimes when there’s nobody around. He has a little magnet on his collar that activates the door so only he can activate it, no squirrels or raccoons can sneak in. Sometimes he will walk up to the door and it will open and close before he can decide that he really wants to go outside. He has learned that if he turns his head to one side and then back it will open the door again...how smart is that??
I really wish the weather would decide what it wants to do. Robby and I have been going for a little scroll every morning, sometimes it’s really cold and sometimes it’s warm.I got some headphones for my iPod and I found an arm strap so I can turn it off and on and adjust the volume. And everybody here in Santa Cruz is really nice but I just want to cruise around with my dog, I don’t want to have a conversation with EVERYONE. I thought the headphones would be a deterrent but they are not. The other day there was two guys sitting on the bench in front of the soccer Park and as I went by one of them said “hello” so I said hello and as I was rolling by I heard him say something else so I stopped and turned around and said “excuse me” and he said “do you want to make out” I was so embarrassed because I turned around and stopped, I said “no thank you” and went on my way. I always think of the perfect thing to say AFTER. I had Robby with me and I should have said “he only likes bitches”, I guess I will be ready next time but I really hope it never happens again.Tomorrow I’m going to try and adaptive yoga. I remember hearing about it before and I actually drove down to the place and it is kind of far left nothing else to do and I think it will be good for me, everybody that I tell says that they love yoga so I will see. I’m not sure what to do with Robby. I really don’t want to leave him here but I don’t know how they will feel about me bringing him there. I think I will bring him there for the first time and see their reaction, if they don’t like it I can always leave and come back next week and leave him in his kennel. It’s only an hour class and it takes about half an hour to get there.I think Susan is going to come by tomorrow night to give me a massage, she has been on vacation and I have been doing a lot of range of motion so my neck and my arms are really sore.Somebody sent me a link to some exercise video that KFRC and Kaiser put together. I try to figure out a way to save it on my computer because it looks like a really nice workout but I couldn’t figure out how so hopefully putting the video and my favorite places will work until I learn the routine.They finally came and installed my vertical blinds and it is so nice, I don’t have to hang two sheets over my ceiling lift so the neighbors can’t see in. I was never a fan of vertical blinds but the wood ones look really nice.Today my mom and I went to get our taxes done. I’m is always so confusing because they always tell me that since my income is not taxable and don’t have to report anything that my caregivers make, that just doesn’t sound right to me but that’s the answer I get every year for the last five or six years. The lady that did our taxes today agreed that it didn’t sound right so now I get to contact the State of California and find out the right way to do it.
