Monthly Archives: June 2010

Holly West > What’s New > 2010 > June

Falling Feels Like Flying

Posted on Categories Writing, Diary of Bedlam, DiversionsLeave a comment

The one thing I've been told over and over again since having my ACL surgery is "You can't fall." Doing so would mean the delightful new ACL they installed might fail, and as my surgeon told me, "I've never had a fail, and I don't want you to be the first." Thanks, dude. Way to put the pressure on.

I've pretty much lived my whole life trying to avoid falling, and have been largely successful (the ski accident that caused the ACL tear in the first place notwithstanding). But there's something about being told you absolutely cannot do something that makes the possibility that it will happen seem so much more likely.

So these days, most of my time is spent making sure I don't fall.

Of course, I only mention this because I wanted to post this video of Colin Farrell (my boyfriend) and Jeff Bridges (my sugar daddy) performing this great song from the movie CRAZY HEART:

But what about my writing, you ask? I've been a busy bee! Somewhere in the midst of my revision I realized I'd lost control of my plot so I took a few days to write up summaries of each chapter so I'd have a quick reference as I go forward. In retrospect I should have done that earlier in the revision process but luckily, falling down while writing a manuscript is a lot less risky than when you've just had surgery, as long as you pick yourself up and keep going.

The summaries are basic. At the top of each page I put the date, time, and location of the scene, then followed up with a brief description of what happens. I ended them by including who is introduced in each chapter and who is referenced (not actually in the scene, but mentioned by another character). I'm hoping this will make it easier to keep track of who is mentioned where since I kept finding myself putting notes in my documents that said "Check when this character is introduced" or some such thing.

So that's it. Time to get to work!

Fun on the CPM Machine

Posted on Categories UncategorizedLeave a comment

As part of my rehab, I’ve been prescribed a CPM (continuous passive motion) machine. I have to use it at least 3 hours a day, usually for an hour at a time. I alternate that with an hour spent in an ice cuff to help with any swelling and inflammation caused by the CPM.

Here’s a look at how it works:

As you can see the excitement never ends here at Casa West! But though I’m being sarcastic, I’m actually much happier now than I was last week. I am back to work, which thankfully I can do with my laptop lying on the couch, and being able to sleep without the brace and walk without crutches makes me feel free as a bird after what I experienced those first ten days post-op.

There is a long road of recovery ahead, one which I have already begun limping down slowly, but with increasing speed every day. And though I have come out on the other side of this ordeal relatively unscathed, I cannot emphasize this strongly enough: Be kind to your ACLs. It is your friend.

I’ll leave you with this video of how I feel about my own poor ACL:

Reading on the iPad

Posted on Categories Books2 Comments on Reading on the iPad

If I thought I was going to get a lot of writing done while I was recovering from surgery, boy, I was really wrong. I just don’t have the mental energy. But what I have been doing a lot of is reading. I’m on post-op day 7 and have read three books since the surgery (I generally average a book a week if I’m lucky). All of them were on the iPad, which surprises even me.

Lately a few people have asked me how I liked reading a book on the iPad and I didn’t have much of an answer for them since I’ve only really read paper books since I got it. But the surgery forced me to limit the amount of junk I carried from the bedroom to the couch every day and I’ve found that the iPad is the gadget I’ve used the most during this time. It functions as my laptop, my iPhone (not for calls, of course, but for various apps), my iPod, and my Kindle. Though the only one it really takes the place of entirely is the Kindle, there is no other device I own that is as versatile, and therefore, ideal for this recovery period.

Not to gush, but what can I say? It’s been great.

But what about reading? Originally, I hesitated to start any books on it because of its weight. It is heavier than the Kindle and therefore not as comfy to read. Now that I’ve actually read a few books on it, I can honestly say the weight is not an issue at all.

The other concern I had was the back lit screen. Seemed like it would be uncomfortable to focus on for so long. Apparently, however, my eyes have become used to reading on a computer screen because this hasn’t been a problem. And the user interface on the iPad is just so much better than my first generation Kindle.

I still love reading paper books more than any of them, but for ease of use and portability of lots of books, the iPad is hard to beat as far as I’m concerned. I never thought I’d say that! I’ve loved my Kindle and I really thought the iPad couldn’t replace it. Alas, I think it has.

Incidentally, the books this week are Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline, and Perish Twice, and Shrink Rap, both by Robert B. Parker. Both are in the Sunny Randall series, and I’ve just started another, Melancholy Baby. All of these have been the perfect “I’m recovering from surgery” books to read–nothing to heavy, fast-paced and entertaining.

Everything You Never Wanted to Know about Having ACL Reconstruction Surgery

Posted on Categories Diversions, More About Me, Health139 Comments on Everything You Never Wanted to Know about Having ACL Reconstruction Surgery

When I found out I had to have ACL reconstruction surgery, of course I googled it, looking for people who had the same surgery. I found a few blogs about it, but I quickly found that reading them raised my anxiety level. Still, it was good to have a little information in advance from people who had been where I was going, so I’m going to pay it forward by writing about what happened to me. This promises to be a long, boring post, but hopefully it will help someone like me who wants to know exactly what happens when you have ACL surgery.

The surgical center I went to was Kerlan-Jobe in Los Angeles and my doctor is Dr. Daniel Kharrazi. So far, I’ve been really pleased with the treatment I’ve received from Kerlan-Jobe, Dr. Kharrazi, and especially the staff at Kerlan-Jobe.

Holly_recovery

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Quick Fireplace Makeover

Posted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Quick Fireplace Makeover

Mick and I spent a couple of hours painting our fireplace over the Memorial Day weekend and gave it a whole new look.

Here's how it looked before:

Fireplace_0510 

The floating shelf cut the fireplace in the middle and just looked out of place.

Here's what it looks like now:

Fireplace_after_2 

The view from the other side:

Fireplace_after

Without the shelf, there's nothing to interrupt the flow from floor to ceiling. It's much more dramatic, and I think, more in keeping with the design of the room.

Eventually, all of the walls in the living room will be light colored. At that point, I may decide to paint the fireplace a contrasting color. For now, I'm just glad to have one paint project out of the way.

Month of No Spending

Posted on Categories Inspiration3 Comments on Month of No Spending

May was our "Month of No Spending." What that meant for us was that we would not spend anything on extras like clothes, entertainment, lunches out, et cetera. We allowed ourselves to go out with friends and a couple of weekend excursions, but generally spent much less on going out than usual. We didn't make any cutbacks in groceries, however, as the purpose of this month was to curb spending on non-essentials. Ya gotta eat, right?

The result? We saved stayed about 10% below our monthly budget. And you know what? It wasn't hard at all. There were no real sacrifices made–all this month of no spending really required was that I think about my purchases rather than just buy impulsively. The iTunes add up. The apps bought for my iPhone, they add up too. And the books, my God, the books. I spend so much money on them every month and yet I have a book case full of "to-be-reads." Same goes for clothes.

I have declared June another no-spend month, but with a little more freedom (it is my birthday month, after all). I might allow myself a manicure and a pedicure, but then again, maybe not. It helps that I'll have surgery next week and I'm sure I'm not going to be up and about as much as usual.

Deciding not to spend means you think more about what you buy. It forces you to think about the ways you waste money and how cluttered life becomes when you make purchases you don't really need. It's a lesson I need to remind myself of constantly, because I'm an instant gratification type girl and nothing instantly gratifies like an impulse purchase. But I've got a closet full of those impulses, and really, they're not that satisfying.

And then there's the financial aspect of it–keeping your finances healthy is important, and in fact, crucial to quality of life. I lived paycheck-to-paycheck in my twenties and believe me, it's not fun and I have nothing to show for it. It's not about having things, it's about feeling secure, knowing you have a safety net. I'm still trying to learn that lesson, and thankfully, I have a kind-but-firm husband around to remind me of it occasionally.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to save another 10%.