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What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Oh, my knee

11/2/04

Well, Monday was easier than I thought it would be. Only a few side remarks from my supervisor questioning my work abilities. She surprised me--normally, I would have counted both the set of flasks and the plates, but she processed the plates so I only needed to do the FACS count on the samples. That took an hour, maybe an hour and a half away from my normal hood time. She even seemed genial at the end of the day. I think it was God working in the situation to help me. Thank You, my loving Lord and saving God.

But Monday night at volleyball league, I went for a ball--no unusual motion, the same thing I've done before countless times--and felt something pop in my right knee. The inside of the knee has shooting pain whenever I torque it, although bending it back and forth is not painful. Luckily, my chiropractor Carol plays volleyball with me, so she took a look at it very soon after the injury. She did gentle stress tests and thinks the ACL is intact, but I'm not sure what is injured. Possibly the meniscus? Right now it's swollen on the inside of the knee and pain is very localized to the medial inside joint. I've been elevating it all day and taking Advil, so it's not too swollen, but even the slightest lateral movement is excruciating.

I hadn't had time to finish some data graphs for my supervisor yesterday, which she needed today, but I wasn’t in any condition to work, much less drive. So my wonderful husband drove me into work around 7:15 AM so I could finish the graph for her. I got tons of sympathy votes from my early-morning coworkers, but I have a feeling my supervisor was probably upset when she came in later that morning to find out I was going to be out the whole day. I emailed both her and her director to let them know. The way the knee feels now, I don't think I'll be in tomorrow, either. I can barely walk. I don't think I could jump up onto a lab chair, or maneuver around a biohazard hood, or stand at a bench to do assays.

This is the first serious injury I've ever had from volleyball, although I've been playing for 8 or 9 years. I hope I don't need surgery. The earliest doctor appointment I could schedule is for next week Thursday, but hopefully I'll be able to see Carol sooner than that.

I had a relaxing, if painful day at home. I updated my website, added a few things. I still haven't gotten around to listing all those writing articles.

I'm following the election via Yahoo news. I LOVE the web, this is great. Lord, may this election go as You desire. Please give wisdom to the voters and confuse the wicked. Give us a president who will uphold Your righteousness.

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