I'm almost 100% healed from this nightmare that has been Crohn's. Well, let me rephrase that. I'm almost fully healed from the surgery--Crohn's has no cure.
I now can pretty much do everything I normally can do except have sex with the wife, and that's only because I don't want to risk re-opening the wound as a result of a good romp in the sack.
So, what have I done in the nearly 2 months I've been home, out of work? A lot of TV, movies, and video games. While the catching up on some of my ginormous backlog of games has been a good thing, I'm going back to work on the 22nd. Good thing, because I had just enough sick and vacation time racked up to cover these two months--any more time off means that I no longer get paid. It'll just mean that from now until Christmas, I can't take any time off (with the exception of required doctor's appointments, since I'll be getting Crohn's treatments every two months).
I also had to withdraw from this semester, as many of you know. It's a costly withdrawal, but there's nothing I can do except turn the page and move on to next semester. However, even though I've registered for spring, I still have to face a battle when I get back to work--I have to get approval from my boss to keep the same alternate work schedule that I had previously, and I'm worried (probably needlessly so) that my boss is going to hold the fact that I've been out recovering from surgery against me and deny me the schedule I've previously had since attending Sage. But we'll see.
In other news, our roommate and friend Danielle will be moving out of here on December 1st--she's found an apartment in Schenectady--a very nice, cozy little one-bedroom--that's quite convenient for all her traveling needs. I'm happy for her--it's my hope that this starts the process of her really starting to improve her quality of life. From my observations, I've noticed that the girl harbors a lot of fear--she's been afraid to make big decisions, preferring instead to let other people make them for her, for she's afraid of failure. What we've been trying to do is to re-affirm that life, really, isn't so bad, and that if you try something and fail, it's no reason to give up forever. The day before the apartment hunting, she was nervous and afraid that she was not going to get one, thinking already she was going to bomb the credit check--she had already been planning for failure before even making the appointments to even look at her possible places. Of course, her sister didn't reassure her at all by telling her she was going to fail said credit check (while they love each other, the two have a bitter sibling rivalry, always trying so hard to 1-up the other). Now that she's done the apartment searching and legwork mostly by herself and was successful, I'm hoping that she can start making other big decisions without worrying that she's already doomed to failure before she even begins. It's a big first step, and I'm optimistic.
Also, I've started something I've never done before--begin my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. Usually I don't even want to see, smell, or hear about it until after Thanksgiving, because I don't want my life being rushed by commerce. I'm the type who gets annoyed when places start putting out Christmas stuff on November 1, a full two months before the holiday. I love the Christmas holiday, but come December 15, I'm sick of holiday music, because I've been barraged with it since the start of November. Mostly, though, it's because I don't like what Christmas has become in this country--commercialized. When you go to a mall in December, the idea of "Christmas cheer" doesn't exist--people go crazy. For me, it's a time of being with family and giving, without expecting anything in return. It's a fun time, and also a happy time. It has it's place, and I'll try not to let myself be bored of Christmas by the time the start of December.
I turn 25 on Friday, and so I hope to enjoy this birthday with my wife and a few friends--a nice small gathering, and I still want that epic Monopoly game this weekend, so let me know if you want in.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to head back to the underwater city of Rapture.
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