1. The fact of the matter is that simultaneously my trips to lab services and to the transplant clinic are, on the one hand, enjoyable, thanks to the pros I see, and, at the same time, they wear me out.
This morning I sort of slept in a bit and I staggered out of bed feeling relieved that I didn't have a dental appointment, a blood draw, or a post-transplant appointment.
My Mac laptop's battery is acting up and so I fired up a PC I purchased a couple of years ago but haven't used much and I continued the task I began on Thursday of getting the PC back into action.
It's funny.
I didn't think I liked this PC much when I first bought it, but I've hung on to it, realizing I might need a backup computer (like right now!) and hoping I might warm up to it.
That's happening.
I'm enjoying this PC much more than I did at first and it'll be a great help to me if I have to let go of the Mac for a while if it needs a day or two in the shop.
I'll take it to the shop on Tuesday and see what they have to say.
2. Ed called me and wondered if I'd like to meet up around 3:30 at The Lounge.
You bet I did.
So I popped in, grateful that Cas carries Bud Zero, so I could enjoy the taste and feel of a crisp cold Budweiser and not be concerned about the possible detrimental effects of alcohol on the anti-rejection meds I take.
Ed and I had a great conversation about how we both trust our doctors, follow their instructions. and do our best to keep anxiety and worrying at bay in the midst of the treatments we have been through and are experiencing now.
We both expressed deep gratitude that we've been working with medical pros who take their time with us, listen to our questions and answer them fully, and listen closely to our concerns and respond to them with clarity and intelligence.
Before long, we switched topics and had a great time talking about the Mo' Mummy themed machines at the CdA Casino and elsewhere. The two Mo' Mummy machines I played on Wednesday crushed me, but had a blast losing on them!
I play a game in my head that's fun and I know it's not real.
I imagine that after a run of lousy luck on a game I enjoy that the machine owes me! (Ha!)
So, I'm looking forward to my next trip to the CdA Casino because Mo' Mummy OWES ME and one of these days I'll head over to a Montana gaming room, like at Old Montana Bar, because the Montana gaming rooms have one of my favorite games, Wolf Moon, and the last time I played Wolf Moon at Old Montana Bar, the machine came out on top and now it OWES ME.
I hope you're laughing.
If there's one thing that's true about spinning reels, it is a world where justice absolutely does not exist!
3. The experience of listening to Chuck Mangione songs from forty-five to fifty years ago is, to be honest, so emotionally intense for me right now that I have to listen to them in short sessions, often just a single song and no more.
Well, tonight, a song of Chuck Mangione's that had slipped out of my memory returned.
So I put on his gorgeous, uplifting tune "Bellavia" and, sure enough, my heart swelled and there I was in the cozy rental my first wife and lived in on Mountain View Lane overlooking North Spokane and I was staring, feeling tranquil joy, out the picture window, under the spell of my idealism, euphorically wondering how life could be any better. I was newly married. I loved my work at Whitworth College. I was rich with friends. I was part of a fun group of guys who played poker. I spent many fulfilling hours in my role as a Chaplain's assistant. I worked as a teaching assistant for two different professors. I even got to take a class in Modern Poetry from Leonard Oakland. The following school year and a half I worked as an instructor, teaching writing courses, and helping out on the Core 150 team, leading discussion groups and, on occasion, being trusted to lecture.
This period of happiness in my life even had a soundtrack: it was played in large part by Chuck Mangione.
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