Saturday, Nov. 22, 2003
Next surgery date set, posted at 11:16 a.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com The Internet is difficult to navigate nowadays, with still no phone line at home and an upgrade of the city schools' system not a priority when 1000 teachers and staff are being laid off on Tuesday.Still, many dilemmas exist in the world of epiphany, some minor (should I spend $150 to go to a Cal Ripken baseball coaches clinic when I'm still struggling with finances and am not sure I'll even get the job?) and some major (new surgery date has been set).
Starting with the big news first, yesterday I visited the doctor for the second post-op appointment. My right eye is healing nicely. Though it will be six months before we see how much permanent vision has been lost, the retina has been reattached successfully and the eye looks less and less gross every day. Because the left eye is detaching as well, we have to fix that one as soon as the right eye is healthy enough. Yesterday, we set the date - the next surgery will be December 23. I won't be able to go home for Christmas or New Year's as I'll be recovering. What a bummer! My parents are possibly working on being able to come down for the holiday to help me recover and celebrate the holiday. Still, it's pretty sad.
I also asked the doctor if I should drive to NC to be with my grandparents for Thanksgiving. I had asked him about that before the surgery, and he seemed okay with it, but now he says it's like running a marathon two weeks after having knee surgery. Driving is pretty difficult right now with one eye working. I'm legal to drive, but I have little depth perception and things like lane changes are a true challenge. I'd been feeling unconfident about being able to make the 6-8 hour drive to see the grandparents, and the doctor's reservations confirmed this.
I called Grandma last night to let her know. She relieved I'm not going to try to drive, but she's also disappointed. I was, too. This is their holiday, and I had such a good time with them last year. In their late seventies, my grandparents will not be here forever, and I'm so disappointed that I won't be able to spend this holiday with them. I started crying while talking to Grandma, something I rarely if ever do. Luckily, I covered it up so I don't think she knew.
When I arrived back home, though, there was a card in my mailbox from her, along with a $50 check for gas money for the trip. Talk about wrenching. I'm so upset about this.
That being said, school is going well and I'm feeling healthier and healthier every day. Teaching Romeo and Juliet has been a blast so far, with activities like hurling Shakespearean insults across the room and acting out scenes making each class day a new adventure. I'm getting close with some of the new kids, finally, and that feels good. My room has once again become a mecca for kids who just want to hang out with a teacher, some getting help, others just hanging out. I've got such funny kids. One boy was cut from the basketball team, and he came to me the next day, and said, "You know what, Mr. Epiphany? I gave 110%, and that's all I can do, right?" What a cool kid.
I work at the restaurant three nights out of four, and will hopefully do well enough in tips this weekend to go to that Cal Ripken Coaches Clinic. I'll be so disappointed if I don't get the job, though. I feel like the Athletic Department is this big clique that I don't know how to enter. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon. I'm not sure how I would handle being passed up for this job.
Loving on the radio: "Chilling at the Holiday Inn," the song where OutKast(?) goes "Alright, Alright, Alright, Alright, Alright," Shaggy and Janet's new song
Want to buy: Nelly's "Country Grammar," which I sold this past summer for Italy money and now am hungering to hear
Excited about: The Tupac movie, Master and Commander, and the new Tim Burton film