Well, I’ve spent nearly two weeks by myself. I can cook meals, clean up, and manage to “work” from home. Still the biggest issue for me is transportation. I have some friends that I can rely on to take me places if I really need to go somewhere. Of course, I would prefer to go somewhere myself! Independence with activities of daily living is not as big of an issue for me for me anymore. I think efficiency is the real issue now. Walking, cooking, and cleaning take twice as long as it used to. Fatigue is an issue that I am still trying to figure out. At least I know that I can function on my own at home, but I still need to figure somethings out.
The past two weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting in the kitchen. I recently discovered the crock pot. I have affectionately dubbed it “crock pottery.” I really wish I knew about this in college. It would have saved me from frequent trips to McDonald’s or Wendy’s. I have one recipe that I like… jambalaya. It is so simple. I’m trying to learn other things. You just throw stuff in, turn it on, and at the end of the day you have a meal! Last week I thought I be creative and try combining stuff I like… brats and beer. Made total sense at the time because beer brats taste great! Three cans of beer +brats should be fine. Then I was thinking… fries taste good with beer brats… OK, throw some chopped up potatoes in there. Then I was thinking… fries need ketchup… OK, throw a chopped up tomato in there. Garlic Fries taste good, so maybe I should add some garlic salt. I giggled like mad scientist when I poured in the garlic. My mouth was watering as I was proudly dreaming of the scrumptious meal I had just created. In five “short” hours I would be able to enjoy my delightful culinary master piece! For hours I sat in front of my computer thinking of how great of a “crock pot-head” I am! When my alarm went off! I rushed into the kitchen to behold my creation. I was shocked and repulsed by the smell emanating from my magical crock pot. It kinda smelled like a popular college bar after dollar pitcher night. No matter, my masterpiece was going to taste incredible! The brats and potatoes were cooked perfectly! I made a cup of rice to compliment my creation. The tomato slices were extremely fragile and dissolved on contact in the bubbling warm beer. Not sure I added enough garlic salt… oh well. The beer kinda grossed me out so I drained the brats and potatoes from the crock pot. I put the brats and potatoes on a bed of rice. My first bite of the brats was just what I imagined it would be. Plump and hearty with a tinge of bitterness from the beer. Then I tried the potatoes. Very warm, pungent, and bitter from soaking in beer. Kinda gross. Oh well at least the brats turned out well. Then I realized, wait… I’m all by myself and I have all this food. I know what I’ll be eating tomorrow… I’ll just put it in the fridge when it cools off. Well, I forgot to up it in the fridge and it gave my place the pleasant aroma of a dried-beer-college-bar floor. The next day when I warmed up my creation, I completely avoided the potatoes. I felt obliged to at least finish the brats. Again bad idea… the beer brats don’t hold up well when reheated. They get very bitter. For two more meals, I forced myself to finish eating those horrible brats. I won’t be doing that again.
LESSONS LEARNED:
- THERE IS A REASON BEER IS NOT USED AS A BASE IN COOKING.
- STICK TO ESTABLISHED RECIPES/PRACTICES, DON’T TRY DOING SOMETHING NEW UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE WORKING WITH.
- IF YOU GOING TO TRY SOMETHING NEW, BE PREPARED FOR THE CONSEQUENCES AND IF IT WORKS… THE GLORY (UNFORTUNATELY KITCHEN GLORY WILL NOT COME EASILY.)


For the next two weeks I am flying solo! I hope I don’t do anything crazy! My mom is heading back to Michigan for a month. My dad can’t come out till mid February. I guess I get the whole place to myself for almost three weeks! I treasure these times because I rarely get any alone time. I really appreciate all the help my parents have given me, but there comes a time when you have to let go. At times I feel like I am in high school again. NO JOKE! Can’t drive, “Eric clean your room”, “Where are you going,” “Who are you going with”, etc… I’m still not used to having so many reigns on me. I moved out to San Diego 6 years ago because I wanted to start my own life. My life plan took a dramatic detour, but I’m moving forward. I just have a little more “baggage”. I will admit it, I got a little lost trying to find the right path. But I think I have a map now. I told someone once, that my life took a detour and it would have been nice to have a doctor/GPS to get me back on track, but I guess I’m just exploring and enjoying the sites. I lost a few things on the way, but I’ve also gained a lot. That BRAIN TUMOR took away all hobbies, my job, some of my friends, BUT IT WILL NEVER TAKE AWAY
I feel like I am working much harder than I was as a physical therapist. I have to deal with: my own physical rehab, learning correct operational procedures in the corporate environment, re-learning to driving with physical impairments, writing, organizing my 
The holidays were different this year. For the first time I actually flew back to Michigan on Christmas Eve. I would get to experience
2009 was a great year. Got to attend so many great events and meet some amazing people!
There have been so many improvements the past two weeks in rehab I just have to share them. For a while now I’ve been noting that I have trouble bearing weight on my left leg. My left leg hits the ground, but don’t spend a lot of time on it. I am essentially using my momentum to “vault” off the left leg resulting in a quick right step. We tried to address this before, but this time I have some new strategies to help.
My book tour for 2009 is over! I can now refocus on my rehab! I will be the first to admit, I have been neglecting my personal rehab in favor of