Two Years in a week

*flipping the lights on*
*pulling the dust covers off*
*doing an instrument check*
*stretching little-used muscles*

In one week, the hardware in my back will be 2 years old. What have I learned? What has changed? What endures? 2 years is a blink, 2 years is an age.

I'll be back next week.

What's This? A Post?!

When one goes for more than a month without posting, things (a.k.a. huge fucking deals at the time) get boiled down to bullet points. In no particular order (not even chronological) here's my list:

• I'm exploring a whole different kind of loving with an amazing super-wonderful couple full of joy and wisdom. It isn't exactly NRE for me, but the kind of peace and pleasure I feel when we make time for one another is no less delicious.
• I just (as in moments ago) sent in an application to a job 800 miles away from where I'm living now. I'm especially enamored of the idea of this job. I've decided to put off the realities of moving until it's actually time to worry about it.
• I've now done two different dance performances at LRS. It's a lot of fun and if you are female and want an encore of my most recent performance with Kaylee, you should come to Bang 4 the Buck.
• About 6 years ago I started attending a local New Thought type church. I've been attending ever since with varying degrees of commitment and regularity. This whole time I've been avoiding "drinking the kool-aid" and taking their foundations class. I just went to the first session of that class tonight. There's a lot more to this and it will likely be a source for longer blog entries in the near future. Prepare for the "Woo-woo"
• I had some bumpy spots in some of my poly relationships over the course of the last two months. They pretty much all boiled down to: communication, logistics, and invalid comparisons. Again, there may be more details later.

Where to start?

I have some time and energy to put in to detailed posts about surgery, but I'm not sure I have enough to cover all the possible avenues. Below is a list of questions in no particular order that I would have loved to read before jumping in to this whole surgery thing. I'd really like to give quality answers to all the questions, but I probably need to prioritize which questions get answered first. Take a look at the list. What questions/topics interest you the most? What other questions do you have? I thought I could set up a poll on my blog entries, but I guess that's just an LJ thing, so please drop me a comment (anonymously if you like).

1. What do I remember about surgery day and right after waking up (are there any blank spots)?
2. How did/does it feel physically?
3. How did hospital staff deal with the plethora of chosen family cycling through my room?
4. How did wearing Max's collar influence my recovery?
5. How did the rest of my friends and family (much less the hospital staff) react to my wearing his collar in the hospital?
6. What were the peaks and valleys of the hospital stay?
7. What were the coolest things family/friends did for me while I was in the hospital?

The old X-Ray is gone

Unless you're using an RSS reader, you'll note the old x-ray picture in the sidebar is gone. That's because it's not what I look like any more and not what I want people to envision when they think of me post-surgery. Until I get the new set of x-rays to show a before/after set or a really pretty picture of me post-surgery please enjoy this beautiful painting by Ed Martinez showing a woman with a strong defined back getting ready for an evening out. I have a small print of it on my wall in my bedroom to remind me just where all this is going.

Jigity Jig!

I'm home again! I'm doing well in general. In addition to providing the transportation, Puck did a fabulous favor for Russell and I and picked up a few adaptive household items for us so the transition from hospital bed to home was much smoother than it could have been.

I'm still tired and still waiting for a complete bowel movement so good healing thoughts are still very very welcome. And I'm still being lame about replying to previous comments, even though I love getting them. Now that I'm home and getting to drive my own meds/meals schedules I'm hoping to put together a post with a little more about my perspective on the surgery/hospital stay along with some pictures that I'll hopefully be able to post behind a link to protect the squeamish.

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In September I will begin preparing for a journey. This blog will be a record of that journey. It will likely include pictures, video, and rambling reflections.

I'm an adult about to have scoliosis surgery for the first time. I live a pretty adult life and intend to blog accordingly. There will be discussion of non-traditional sexuality and lifestyle choices and how those things interact with my surgery and recovery. I already have a personal on-line journal that I share just with people I know. I'm hoping this blog will also be viewed by strangers who might get something out of reading about my experiences.

See you in September!
--Red