Day Three Million- No Thank You, Plastic Surgery

Healing is taking longer than I thought it would. 

The wound on the inside of my ankle (smaller, shorter) is healing nicely. 

The wound on the outside of my ankle (bigger, longer) is not. 

Remember when the surgeon told me I would be able to walk in 3 weeks to a month? That turns out not to be true. He won't let me put weight on it or start physical therapy until the wound is closed. And it's still not closed. He says it's because my ankle was still so swollen when he operated, even though we had waited 12 days since the injury. He said he had to make a judgment call to do it, because the bones were starting fusing back together which would make the surgery more difficult. 

But the swelling meant the skin wasn't in very good shape when they cut into it. And now, a month later, it's having trouble healing. I asked Goldman if I could start walking or putting any weight on it at all. He said not unless I wanted plastic surgery. No, thank you, no plastic surgery for me. 

It's a setback of a few weeks...two, at this point. I was supposed to go back to work mid-March but I had to extend that to mid-April. Which sucks for everyone. But, no thank you, plastic surgery. 

It feels terrible to know this after visiting Heritage and telling everyone I'd be back in two more weeks. Especially the kids, who were so happy to see me, and who so need help. Being out for so much of the Spring Semester is bad. And I miss my studio sooooo much. But, no thank you, plastic surgery. 

Plus, what a pain to not be able to walk! Still! And I'm so tired of this couch! Still! And I hate the robo-leg! Still! And just, I'm ready to be done with this, my bones are back together, this should be over with by now. But, no thank you, plastic surgery. 

But at least there has been a fair amount of pleasantry in this apartment. Tom is still not working, which is beginning to be kinda bad, but it means that we can host fun brunch parties. There have been several nice visits with friends, and we've gone out a few times to eat. We did a puzzle, with Erika and Monica and Zach, on Wednesday in the middle of the afternoon, after an epic brunch by Tom. Homemade biscuits, beat that. I'm not sure how we tricked our friends into spending a perfectly fine afternoon putting together a jigsaw puzzle of a painting by Breughel, but we did. Maybe they were lulled into it by the cheesy scramble. 

Joe and Liz came over on Friday night; Renna came yesterday; Kate, Peter, and Giovanna are coming today. I love visitors. 

I have also been watching more than my fair share of movies:

-Michael Clayton,  I give 5 stars. Good acting by George C, and supporting cast; interesting plot.

-Me, You, and Everyone We Know, I give 4 stars. I think the movie is just an excuse for Miranda July to indulge in quirky people and quirky behavior, but at least it's not pretentious. Plus, the little boy is incredibly adorable, and any movie that can discuss pooping back and forth, forever, while maintaining its cinematic dignity, is worth a look. 

-Paradise Now, I give 5 stars. It's a movie about two Palestinian suicide bombers, the day before they are to carry out their mission. There's a lot of detail shown in the preparations, the experience of the two men, and there's a lot of discussion of why they are going to do this, their beliefs about the occupation of Palestine, whether it is possible to cause change, whether or not it's worth dying for, what Allah wants or doesn't want, what freedom is about. Some of this discussion is mildly hilarious, even. There's also a good little romance, and plus, the two actors (Kais Nasheef and Ali Suliman) are gorgeous. Like, dreamy. Like, wow. Highly recommended.

-Rescue Dawn, I give 3 stars. It deserves 4, maybe, because Christian Bale is pretty good and the shots in the Lao jungle are intense, but it's just not the kind of movie I like. It stressed me out to watch it; it was scary, gory, and somewhat painful to watch. I'm not into torture. But, if you like stories about POW's, the military, survival, escape, murder, and brutality, or hacking through jungle vines with a machete while starving, you might enjoy it. Tom did. 

-Several Pedro Almodovar movies. Talk to Her, I give 5 stars, if for nothing else than the hilarious giant vagina scene. But also for the awesome female bullfighter and her hotttt outfits. There's actually much more to the film, like vegetative states and emotional damage/healing, but those are the highlights. 

Also, The Law of Desire, I give 2 stars. Too long, to begin with. Too many side-stories. Young Antonio Banderas is pretty good, but not good enough for that role. Although his last scene is pretty touching. If you enjoy gay sex and cocaine, you'll probably enjoy this. NC-17. 

Also, Women On the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, I give 4 stars. It's really funny, to begin with, well-acted and slapstick, and Antonio Banderas is  pretty good, at least good enough for the role. The lead actress wears fabulous earrings. 

I could go on and on, but you'll begin to see just how very small my world has become, and I don't want to depress you.