Doing Unusual Things

Lounging with my snuggliest cat and watching a Bogart movie? That IS something I would do every day.

In the spirit of making my wait for transplant more interesting I have decided to try to do something each day that I wouldn't normally do.

Day 1

The idea for all of this came about very organically. Todd and I were on our way home from Durham and were going to stop to pick up my IV antibiotics. I casually suggested we go to the nearby Hooters. I thought it might be entertaining to go and wanted to see for myself if it was as degrading to women as I'd always imagined. As I thought, Todd did not believe I was serious.

Task: Go to a restaurant I would never go to.

Verdict: Yes, it was as degrading to women as I imagined, but the women didn't seem to mind. The surprise? Hooters is just as much about ass as tits. And they have hoola hoops! Did I mention that our waitress was named Princess?

Day 2

I convinced a reluctant Todd to watch the movie Forest Gump. I had gone my whole life avoiding it, but a little part of me wondered if there was something I was missing. We got our fill of the movie's "dime store philosophy" as Todd called it.

Task: Watch a movie I would never watch.

Verdict: Yes, Forest Gump was a horrible movie. The one interesting thing was seeing a young Robin Wright after recently having watched two seasons of House of Cards. Probably a waste of time but at least now I know the context of the damn 'box of chocolates' line.

Day 3 

Today is my nephew Simon's third birthday. Although I already sent him an assortment of garbage truck-themed presents (he stands by the window fascinated by the garbage truck on trash day). I had the idea, in the spirit of doing something unusual, to compose a song for him, sort of a life before and after he was born. I am super scared to sing in front of people so this is a big deal for me.

Task: Face my fear of singing in public (sort of).

Verdict: It's much easier to do this when it's just you and the computer when you are recording it...but I do know that an awful lot of people watched it that I otherwise would never have sung in front of. Bonus: how many kids can say they have a song written just for them??

Day 4

I really like sushi. But I have always been totally grossed out by raw sushi. I had the idea for this day to expose myself to the more authentic side of sushi-eating. So out we went for a sampling of raw salmon, mahi, tuna, yellowfin, tilapia and we also threw in some roe for kicks.

Task: Eat a food I would never eat.

Verdict: Well, it wasn't as gross as I thought it would be - although I didn't care for the roe much at all. I also didn't see how it was so much better than the type of sushi I'd been eating all along. Good to know I haven't been missing much. Also, good to get this experiment out of the way pre-transplant since raw sushi is a no-no after transplant.

Day 5

It was Saturday night and the idea popped into my head of what my Sunday thing to do would be. My idea had the added bonus of making my mother happy: I went with her to the church she's been going to for several years and has tried several times to get me to go. It turned out to be youth Sunday, which meant there wasn't an awful sermon to sit through. Enough said.

Task: Going to church.

Verdict: The kids leading the service made it a lot better than it otherwise would have been. Note: coughing in church never gets less awkward although at least when you're on oxygen no one offers you cough drops.

Day 6

I'm not gonna lie. After deciding that I haven't been pushing myself hard enough in rehab lately, I went full throttle into Monday's workout, doing the floor class for the first time in a week or so, walking 30 minutes, doing weights and riding the bike. I was completely exhausted when I got hone and totally forgot about doing something I wouldn't normally do. I could probably make something up that I did unintentionally, but that's not really the spirit of all this.

Day 7

Interesting fact: Sugar gliders and other types of marsupials have handedness determined by gender: males are right-handed and females are left-handed

Not the most successful day, either. I realized after another strenuous and tiring day at rehab that I was due not one but possibly two things to find to do! Faced with the task of making dinner plans for Todd, my friend and myself, I tried desperately to find a type of food that I hadn't had before. (I differentiate this from Hooters in that this would be a cuisine I'd never had before, not just a restaurant I wouldn't go to.)

But I could not find anything! I had a moment of hope when I saw a Venezuelan restaurant but then remembered going to this little place in Queens with my brother years ago that had arepas...sure enough, it was Venezuelan. There's also a Moroccan restaurant that I've actually been to but hadn't been very brave with my ordering - there was potential there but the place is super expensive.

My fall back was to eat dinner with my left hand instead of my right. Yes, this is kind of lame, but hey, I guess I wasn't feeling too creative. But I kept forgetting and ended up eating only about half of the meal with my left hand...and it wasn't as strange as I thought it would be.

Failed Task #1: Find a new type of cuisine
Failed Task #2: Eat entire meal with non-dominant hand

Verdict: I need to get away from food things and expand my horizons a little here! Tomorrow I actually have a something I would never do built in to the day. Can't wait to tell you about it!

Day 8

Doing pulmonary function testing in the lab at Duke - it really takes it out of me these days!

The last couple of times I've done PFTs, it has been on days after rehab and all my regular pills and therapies, both of which make my numbers more favorable than they otherwise would be. So, at my last appointment, my pulmonary doctor and I agreed that I should come in one day before doing my vest, hypertonic saline, Pulmozyme, inhaled antibiotic, Prednisone, Singular, Zithromax and Zyrtec - all the things that prop me up. 

Today was the day! I cannot tell you the last time I have not done my vest (or at least some kind of airway clearance) before leaving the house in the morning. It makes getting ready take so much less time!

Task: Leave the house without therapy and drugs that "prop me up" and artificially inflate my lung functions for the day in an attempt for my LAS score to more accurately reflect the condition of my lungs.

Verdict: In addition to the airway clearance, the thing I missed the most was the Prednisone...my body started feeling the absolutely crappy Prednisone withdraw. But, success! My numbers were terrible! I can't wait to see how this affects my score - the holiday weekend coming up is bound to bring a surge of organ donors.

Here are some possible things in the works...going to see a type of music I normally wouldn't, going to a talk/event/museum/exhibit that I wouldn't normally go to, riding the train at Pullen Park just with Todd! drive a different way than normal to get somewhere and (clearly Todd's influence) attend a fantasy football draft - YAWN!