Sylvia's Journal

I am posting today’s entry from my new computer. I wrote the piece and placed it in a brand new folder, which reminded me of the first day of class in grade school. It also felt like the first day in a new job with an empty desk and a sparkling supply of new office materials in the drawer, a new notepad on top. I want it to be neat, clean and right. The old computer sits next to the new one and last night I started to undo the back-up mess I created not once but twice in preparation for the computer exchange. I had created loopy back-ups, folders creating copies of themselves inside themselves. Each time I would click on ‘My Documents’ there would be, listed under the M, another ‘My Documents,’ over and over again. The trouble was that the ‘My Documents’ folder also contained gigantic music and picture folders, endlessly copied down to the root. As a result, my already tired and overflowing computer slowed down to a crawl and practically ceased to function. Much of last night was spent deleting folders . Changing computers is always a momentous affair with much hair pulling and deep sighs and good intentions to not ever let it be this difficult.

I have to drive myself to work this morning. Joe left for MSH at 6 AM as we usually do but I was not with him and was still asleep. I have another doctor’s appointment later in the morning. Now, nearly one year post-crash, Axel and I have, together, nearly as many appointments as we had last fall. This morning is for another breast ultrasound to make sure the cysts that were created by the crash are dissolving as they are supposed to and not turning into something nastier. The last check was encouraging so I am full of good hope that I will be released this time for further scrutiny. Axel is about to take off for his half hour session at Spaulding that effectively takes an entire morning if you count the bike ride to the train and the train ride to North Station and the walk to Spaulding and back again. He does understand that it is only a time sink if you treat it like that. So he brings his computer and books and does work.

Yesterday Joe did more PowerPoint acrobatics as we jettisoned the image of a martini glass and worm in favor of a box with flaps that open. Once again, the possibilities were endless and Joe was able to bring many into view on slides that he produced faster than I could type the words. Not having anything to offer in the PowerPoint department, and with my old and new computer in the hands of technicians, I felt rather useless in the office and went for a row on the Charles. I managed to stay just ahead of the threatening dark clouds. I wondered how bad it would be to be caught on the river with thunder and lightning overhead and started to worry. I rowed as fast as I could which turned my leisurely row into a work-out, clocking my fastest time from the Eliot bridge to the dock.

Joe’s contract was extended by a few days which meant I was able to keep my driver a little longer. I could get used to this being driven to work and arriving home to the most wonderful dinners; Steve is learning the subcontinent’s cuisine this week, discovering spices he never knew existed. We are being served tender and moist chicken breasts, something Sita had trained out of us from an early age. She used to like all her chicken and meat well done (dry) so we got used to that. She is getting older/better now and I think she will like Steve’s cooking.

I had another session with my physical therapist Julia who was pleased that my sacrum had moved only a little from last week’s perfect alignment (she pressed it back into place). She added another set of exercises to my morning and evening routine which is getting rather extensive again. When Iasked her whether these were exercises for life she nodded. She’s also telling me that crossing my legs at the knees is not a good thing. It’s a bad habit I never knew I had.

A telephone call to Washington produced the long awaited permission to travel to Ghana and the ticket has now been purchased. I will thus be traveling on Monday, and thereby miss all the celebrations of the first week of July (Tessa’s birthday on the second, and our country’s on the 4th).